She had left home to be with him. Ran away, in fact. Mustering up courage from deep in her soul she came here to his place. He was the one. He had to be. No one else on earth made her feel this way. Nobody else made her body burn with desire—not the way he did. She managed to gain control over her nerves and looked one last time in the mirror before she forced the car door open. What would he say? Would he be shocked? Would he be pleased she came for him? That she gave everything up for him.
The little house he called his own sat right outside of the city. Situated on a cozy little cul-de-sac, the small house held promise. She hadn’t seen him since he worked with her father a few months ago.
Taking a deep breath, she surveyed her surroundings. The place hadn’t changed much. Still the same white siding, the same pink roses—the only color in all the shrubbery of his landscaping, she mused. She smiled at that. Pink. Of all colors for a man to choose.
She took a step toward the walkway and smoothed her filmy white shirt down. Perspiration slicked her palms, and her stomach fluttered as she neared the door. The staccato beat of her heels clicking along the concrete was the only sound in the night air. It hadn’t turned full dark yet, and a lamp in front of a window revealed someone was home. She hoped Jax would answer. She hoped all would go well.
Taking a deep breath she raised her hand and rapped twice on the wooden door. Her heart beat frantically, her mind reeling with all the possibilities. This past summer had been the best three months of her life. Every moment she spent with Jax the more she grew fond of him. At first, she thought he didn’t like her, that he didn’t want her because she was too young. But he soon proved her wrong and showed her just how fond of her he was. Autumn’s cheeks heated at the mere thought of what they did. Half the stuff he taught her didn’t even grace the pages of her sex ed book. Half the stuff he made her feel didn’t begin to describe her want, her need, maybe even her love.
When no one came to the door she knocked again, this time harder in three consecutive raps.
“Coming,” came a voice from the other side. When the door opened, a blonde dressed in a man’s white button-down shirt and disorderly hair greeted her. Scrunching her nose, she looked down at Autumn. “What do you want?”
Maybe it’s his sister. “I’m here to see Jackson Cooper. I’m, ah . . . friend.”
She pursed her lips. Then, she yelled over her shoulder, “Baby, you’ve got a visitor.”
Autumn scratched “sibling” off her list of who the lady was and waited patiently for Jackson. Her heart hammered in her chest, her stomach knotted into a little ball. Maybe this was stupid. What the hell was I thinking?
Jackson came around the corner wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers. Autumn gulped, reminding herself to breathe. His tousled dark hair was in desperate need of a trim. Bronze skin covered hard muscles and a very thin piece of cotton fabric hid a nicely large package that was branded in Autumn’s memory forever. She allowed herself a few seconds to admire the view, knowing that if all else failed she deserved at least that much. He had a tattoo from the Marines on his upper arm, something that resembled the same one her father and brothers had. Her gaze roamed back to his face, the dark stubble hiding his strong chin and only adding to his handsome features. But his eyes . . . oh, his eyes made her weak at the knees and wet between her thighs. Deep chocolate eyes that simply said, “I want to fuck you” with tiny swirls of gold in the mix. Their first night together, he had promised her without words all the carnal deeds he’d deliver. His eyes alone reminded her of each and every one.
“Do I know you?” He wrapped an arm around the busty blonde, both of them waiting for her response.
“You, uh—stayed with my family this past summer. I’m Autumn Callaghan.” Heat rose to her cheeks. How could he not remember me? It’d only been five months since she’d seen him last, and she would have been here sooner if her father hadn’t put two bodyguards on her who acted like leeches. Finally she escaped their iron grasp and headed for the hills, and yet the one she came for—escaped for—didn’t even remember her? “My father, Major Callaghan was on assignment with you. In the Amazon.”
Realization struck him and he nodded his head. “Oh, yeah. You’re his daughter. The one he tried to keep away from the neighborhood boys.”
Her cheeks grew hotter. Three months shy of her eighteenth birthday, she didn’t appreciate being treated like a child. She was more adult at thirteen than most twenty-five-years-olds. She was anything but naïve.
“What brings you here?” he finally asked.
Autumn looked to the girl standing in his arms. Her hair was styled in the fresh out of bed look, her clothes—or rather his shirt—was wrinkled and barely buttoned enough to keep her decent. Her lipstick was smeared, her face holding the ‘I’ve just been fucked’ look Autumn knew Jackson perfected over the years. Hell, she’d had that look herself and he was the one who gave it to her.
“Um, can we talk in private somewhere?”
The blonde rolled her eyes. “I’ll be in the hot tub. You better return naked or I’m going to be mad.”
She gave him a small pout that turned into a devious grin before she leaned in to bite at his lower lip. Her hand traveled down his chest to his abs and then to his crotch where she squeezed him with a giggle.
Oh, my god.
Jackson watched her leave with a smile before returning his attention to Autumn. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, waiting.
On the way over here, Autumn had it all planned out. Her speech was foolproof, perfected and rehearsed, guaranteed to get him to come back to her. When she left, though, she hadn’t dreamed a woman being here. A pretty woman who obviously slept with him.
“I came to ask you what this past summer meant to you.” Whew, what a way to start this conversation, Autumn. Just pack up your pride and go home now. “When you left, you sort of gave me the inclination you wanted more with me. That after all those nights we spent together that you sort of . . . cared.”
He chuckled, unexpectedly shaking his head. “Did someone put you up to this? Who was it? I know I deserve some payback from the guys at the base but this is classic. Who put you up to this?”
He thought she was joking?
Autumn frowned. “No one. I’m serious. You told me when you left that I was special to you. But then I never received a phone call or letter. I-I just wanted to know if what you said was true. If you really care about me and want to be with me.”
He smirked, almost mocking her. “Sweetheart, I say that to every girl I fuck. They’re all special when I sink balls deep into a warm, wet pussy. But I was talking about your sweet pussy. It wasn’t special, but extra special. So tight and ripe, perfect for fucking. Damn, I could come right now from the memory.”
Autumn’s stomach crashed to her toes. She fought back the hurt his words caused, the anger she had for herself in coming this far and being so foolish. She pushed aside the words her brother Jeffery said when he told her what boys like Jackson wanted. They didn’t care and she was foolish to assume they would.
What the hell was she thinking? The sting of tears gathered in her eyes and she forbid them to fall. She refused to humiliate herself anymore than she already had. It was a stupid move coming here. A stupid move to assume some kind of connection was made. She wouldn’t give him ammunition to mock her and laugh at her stupid naïve ways. As much as she hated to admit it, her brother was right.
“I’m sorry I misunderstood. Please forgive me for barging in on you and your”—she waved her hand indicating the blonde—“companion.”
Jackson blew out a harsh breath. “You’re just a girl, sweetheart. A little high school girl who lets her emotions overrule her clear judgment. Why the hell would you think a man like me would be interested in anything but your sweet untouched pussy? I don’t want marriage. I hate kids, and I sure as hell can’t picture myself with one pussy for the rest of my life. Even as great as yours was, I can’t see myself making that kind of commitment. Sorry.”
A sob caught in her throat. After several years of living with a family full of soldiers, she considered herself tough. Emotionally, physically, mentally—everything in between. There was nothing she hadn’t won in her brother’s stupid competitions at least once, and some of them had been pretty damn hard. Yet, this man crumbled all her defenses with a simple speech.
“You’re a bastard.”
“You’re not the only one who thinks so.” He shrugged. “Nothing new to me, sweetheart. Go back home and play with your dolls. Get your head out of clouds and back down to reality. You don’t belong here.”
Autumn turned away as the first drop of wetness hit her cheek. She didn’t look back. Her dignity wouldn’t allow it. Jackson Cooper was an ass, and now she saw the neon sign proclaiming it shining before her bright and florescent. What had she been thinking coming here to him after so long? She left her life, the only life she knew, willing to risk everything on him and the ludicrous idea of a possible relationship. Or, God forbid, love.
Fuck love.
She climbed into the driver’s seat and finally stole a glance toward the door. The blonde was back, in his arms and obviously checking his tonsils with her tongue. Rage coursed through her veins hotter than the pits of hell. She turned the key in the ignition, put the car in gear and took off down the street. She had no choice but to go back home. Even with the humiliation of them knowing why she left, and returning with a broken heart. She’d get her damn veterinarian degree. She’d open her small clinic. Anything and everything she could do to get as far away from Jackson Cooper as she possibly could.
Turning the radio on, Tina Turner belted out the lyrics, “What’s love got to do with it?” And Autumn couldn’t agree more. She had sex for the first time with an asshole who simply used her for that and only that. She was foolish to think love resorted from the dick she had inside her. Jackson was right. Love had nothing to do with them fucking. Or better yet, why the hell did she think love had to do with anything?