Chapter 12
Hayden
“Sometimes it’s best to start at the finish line.”
~ Nora O’Sullivan
As I sat there on the couch with Jade’s head resting heavy in my lap, stroking her silky hair while I listened to her even breathing, the moment struck me as just too precious. I vowed once again to make things right with her. And if I ever got another chance with her, I wouldn’t blow it again.
But if not, I’d always be grateful for this time with her. Taking care of her last night, spending the night watching her, making sure that she was okay, it gave me back a part of myself. A part that I was scared was gone forever. Maybe I had changed, but there was a part of me that was still the same kid from Wishing Well. The same guy that fell for his next door neighbor when he was sixteen years old. I may have seen things, done things, and experienced things that I could never forget, but that didn’t erase who I was.
Just like Ranger had given me back a part of my life, Jade had too.
There was a lot that needed to be said between us, but I knew that she still wasn’t ready to hear it. As much as I’d like to put all my cards on the table, tell her that I love her, that I want to marry her, if I did, she’d rebel against it. She wasn’t ready to hear what I needed to say, but she was closer than she was yesterday.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I did my best to slide it out without waking her.
It was a text from Hudson.
I’m at the warehouse.
Shit. I totally forgot that he was supposed to drop off some extra lumber this morning.
Can you drop it out front?
Where are you?
My first instinct was to lie and say that I was at home. Old habits die hard.
I drove by your house. Your truck was gone. I figured you were here.
Glad I didn’t lie then.
I didn’t really have to hide the fact that I’d stayed at Jade’s all night. I didn’t want to give people the wrong idea. Jade’s and my relationship was complicated enough without the town being involved.
Stayed at a friend’s.
I set down my phone, figuring my brother would let it go. He never made it a habit to pry into my life. But before I even let it go, it buzzed again with another text from him.
Tell Jade I said hi and I hope her headache is better.
Why had I thought that I could keep my whereabouts secret? This was Wishing Well. Half the town probably knew that I’d stayed here all night.
Jade writhed and I knew that she was starting to wake up. She shifted a little and nuzzled her head into my leg. Her mouth was lined up perfectly with my crotch and the sight alone had me going from zero to sixty in three seconds flat. Her breathing was still deep and even, so I knew she wasn’t doing it intentionally to get me revved up, but damn. My cock sprang to life and there was no getting it back down.
Her chest heaved as she breathed in one big sigh and then she rolled over so that she was on her back, her head still on my leg as if it were a pillow. Her face was so beautiful. It hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. She looked like an angel with her eyes closed, so peaceful and sweet.
I grinned to myself. There were a million things to love about Jade when she was awake, but “peaceful” and “sweet” were pretty much limited to when she was asleep.
Her eyes fluttered open and met mine as she yawned herself awake.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” I teased.
Her eyes widened. “It’s morning? Did I fall asleep?”
“You did. How’s your head. Is the worst over?” I knew that these episodes could sometimes last days. I also knew that with the right TLC, the duration could be much shorter.
She moved her head slowly from side to side and reached up to massage her neck and a big smile lit up her pretty face. “Yes,” she sighed, relief coloring her tone. “Thank you. And Ranger.” She glanced to the right. “Where’s Ranger?”
“He’s asleep on your kitchen floor. He likes sleeping on tile when he’s hot.”
He’d worked hard last night. After Jade had fallen into a sound sleep, I posted Ranger by her side while I took care of a few things around her house. My special ops training had come in handy and I was able to fix everything on the list of repairs I’d seen on her fridge without waking her.
A yawn claimed her and she raised her arms above her head to stretch. The movement caused her to brush up against my erection, which by that time was about ready to bust out of my pants.
She narrowed her eyes at me but I just shrugged. I had nothing to hide.
“Sorry to disappoint you, stud, but you’re gonna have to keep that thing in your pants. There will be no hanky-panky happening here this morning.”
I leaned down so that what I said next would be more intimate. My voice grew raspy as I spoke. “I think you might need a little more massaging.”
Her eyes flared. “Do I?”
“Yes.” I flashed a wicked grin.
“What did you have in mind?”
“I’m more of a show-not-tell kinda guy.”
I cradled her head in my strong hand as I slid out from underneath her. The sound of her shallow breaths filled my ears, and my heartbeat pounded faster in my chest.
As I stood, she naturally scooted up and reclined against the couch cushions. Sure, she could talk a good game, but the flush on her cheeks and the supple way her muscles yielded to my touch told me a very different story.
Without a word, I knelt between her legs, which had fallen open just a little when she leaned back. I put one hand on each knee and coaxed them open even further, revealing inches of creamy smooth skin that tightened my throat with lust at the sight of them. Saliva pooled at the back of my mouth as I eyed her thighs. Her flesh was mouth-watering, in the most literal sense of the phrase.
My eyes found hers and I saw hunger burning there. I growled low in my throat as I contemplated what was about to happen. I was going to touch her. I was going to taste her. I was going to feel her quiver and shake uncontrollably under me.
Damn, it had been too long.
With a small smile on my lips, I lifted her leg and turned my attention much farther south than my final destination. I couldn’t give her the satisfaction of starting right off with the good stuff. I was going to work up to it. Make her remember just how good things were between us. Make her remember just how good I could make her feel.
Starting at her ankle, I planted gentle kisses and moved my way up her supple calf. My pace was slow. Glacial, really. But with every brush of my lips against her skin, I felt more of a tremble. Her breath came faster, her body became hotter.
I was doing my job.
When I reached the crook behind her knee, I gave it the attention it deserved and then set it down and lifted the other leg to repeat the process. Her moans of protest only made me more determined. I was going to build her pleasure slowly—and if that seemed like a synonym for “torture” well, hell. That wasn’t my fault.
Knowing how I was getting to her, I slowed my pace even further on this trip up her other calf. Now, she was whimpering and every one of those high, mewling sounds sent a jolt straight to my dick.
I slid my hands up the outside of her legs and hooked my fingers into the top edge of her panties and cutoffs, the elastic hugging her body as I dragged the fabric down her legs. I slipped them over her feet and tossed them aside, my focus was on the sweet center of glistening flesh I’d uncovered when I slid the lacy material away.
The slick heat was tempting. Oh, fuck, was it tempting. My hands and lips both trembled with the overwhelming desire to just dive in and devour her.
But, no. I had started this encounter with a goal in mind and I was going to finish strong.
With renewed determination, I bent and gave Jade’s leg the first kiss in yet another agonizingly slow and sensual trip up the insides of her thighs.
I might not be able to say all the things that I wanted to say, but I could show her.