Jackson

I couldn’t get over her eyes, the way they glittered. They seemed very familiar. She admitted we kind of knew each other. She didn’t give any indication we spent any quality time together. I would have considered her jailbait in school. That’s where I drew the line.

Yes, even the great womanizer Jackson Naile had limits.

She pulled out two plates. “Yes or no?” She was very direct. Authoritative. I liked it more than I was willing to project.

“Yes,” I pulled out a chair for her. Why not be a gentleman? She was gracious enough to offer to feed me. She placed the full plates of lasagna on the table and took the seat I offered.

She didn’t seem to be paying attention to the conversation. I was used to women hanging on my every word. She looked like she couldn’t get away from me fast enough.

Why did I make her nervous? Was she aroused by my hard toned body?

I worked hard on my physique and was very proud of it. It allowed me stamina in the bedroom that earned me a reputation that women sought. Certain kind of women, anyway. The kind of women who enjoyed getting nailed by Jackson Naile.

I wanted to see what was under those baggy boys clothes she chose to wear. She had a beautiful face and I loved her untamed curls. That was no doubt the reason for the baseball cap. Something about her made my cock twitch. This was the longest conversation I'd had with a women in years, and it was all one sided.

I stopped dating once I understood women only accepted my invitations with the intentions of getting me to fuck them. Now I sat at the bar like bait and waited to get hooked.

I didn’t see Angelic as the type of woman who would sit in a bar, waiting for the great Jackson Naile to make an appearance.

She sure could eat for such a tiny person. Another reason I stopped bothering to take women to dinner. They would order the most expensive thing on the menu then shove it around their plates after two bites, claiming they were stuffed.

The lasagna she made was better than some I’d had in five star restaurants. I had to give it to her, she could cook.

My mother used to say the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Did I want her to get to my heart? I’d just met her, but I sensed there was more to this. She had no idea I would be showing up early. She had no ulterior motive in offering me dinner.

“I’ll clean this up when I get back from taking pictures of the sunset.” Was she trying to ditch me? I wasn’t sure if I should be upset or flattered that she was not considering me dessert.

Did she find my company or my conversation offensive? I tried to stick to neutral topics. Nothing that would indicate the desire my body had encountered since I stared into those amazing blue eyes and dark sooty lashes. And her lips, pink and pouty.

“Don’t climb the lighthouse unless you announce yourself. I almost walked in, or rather walked up, on Richard and Mackenzie.” I gave her a teasing glare. She didn’t bite or blush.

“Thanks for the warning.” She was gathering her equipment and hid her bouncy curls under her cap. “There’s plenty of beautiful trails, and I am sure the sun looks equally amazing setting over the ocean from any viewpoint.”

She was leaving, without me.

“Hold up, you shouldn’t be roaming around at night by yourself.” She was totally not buying it. I could see it in those eyes. Those eyes which had been haunting me since she turned around.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. We are on a secluded island with Richard’s family. I am quite capable of taking care of myself.” She was mildly defensive. It turned me on that she was not melting at my feet, a common trait amongst most of the women I encountered.

“What about the wild animals that might be lurking about?”

“Wild animals?” I saw her tense slightly.

“I’m yanking your chain.” I couldn’t help but laugh. She wasn’t laughing. She didn’t look one bit amused. “Let me grab my hoodie. I wanted to check out the scenery as well so I can start working on a strategy for the campaign before my team arrives.”

We walked out the front door and before I could get out a word, she placed her hand over my mouth. Her small stature had her standing on her tiptoes to reach my tall six foot two height.

“Ssshh.”

I let her proceed, then noticed she was taking pictures of Richard and Mackenzie walking away from the lighthouse. Touching intimately, caressing like nobody was watching. It felt invasive to let her continue, to keep clicking that camera.

Before I could protest, she put the camera down. “Those are the candid shots that makes a wedding album priceless. The shots you get when the couple sees no one and nothing but each other.”

I wondered if Angelic yearned for someone to look at her like that. I could look at her like that. Hell, I had been looking at her like that since the minute I stared into those haunting eyes. Those beautiful crystal clear blue eyes. There was something more behind those eyes, but what?

We passed Richard and Mackenzie on the way to the lighthouse.

“I’m hoping to get some shots of the sunset.” Why did she feel the need to explain? Why was she suddenly nervous?

“She’s all yours,” Richard snickered as they passed by. Did he assume I was taking Ms. Brooks to the lighthouse to seduce her? It was something I had considered, but she had not given me any indication that she wanted to be seduced.

In fact, quite the opposite. She appeared as if she was looking to run in the other direction.

“The lighthouse is this way,” I pointed as she headed to the dock.

“I know,” she huffed and raises an eyebrow in frustration, “I want some shots from all angles, not just the lighthouse. Richard said I could take some off the bow of his sailboat. You coming?” She tilted her head and narrowed her gaze. “You don’t get seasick or are afraid of water, are you?”

“No,” I growled, coming off more defensive than I had intended. “I debated coming in on my own sailboat, but thought I should try out the Inn if I am suppose to promote it. I think I might return next weekend with the boat, you know, to get the entire island experience.”

“How does that work? Do you rent the dock space the same as renting a room? Do you still get to use all the facilities like the kitchen, showers? Do you book the excursions separately?”

“Those are a lot of great questions, maybe you should come work for me,” I halfheartedly teased.

“No, I like being my own boss now. I decide who I work for, what jobs I take.”

I watched her as she worked. Her movements were fluid, her concentration absolute.

“It’s hard working on your own sometimes, but for now, it works for me.”

There was a sadness behind her words. Before I got the courage to ask her to let me in, she spun on her heels. “The sun is setting. I don’t want to miss these shots from the top of the lighthouse.” She left me standing on the boat.

This time, she did not ask if I was coming with her. My chest tightened.

I followed her to the top of the lighthouse and Angelic began shooting away. I watched her in her photographer mode. Her face lit up and her petite lithe body contorted into angles that made my pants uncomfortably tight. She climbed on top of the railing and pressed her back against the lights.

“Come here,” she instructed. “Let me use your shoulder for leverage; I don’t want to take a face plant off this thing.”

I was totally enthralled by her and I didn’t understand it. I’d slept with supermodels, heiresses, and women of a professional nature but… I couldn’t put my finger on it.

The fire burning inside me wanted to grab her close and kiss her like she had never been kissed. I wanted to rip those baggy boys clothes off her body and touch every inch of her, taste every inch of her.

Hell, I wanted to fucking devour her.

“Help me down.” She was very straightforward; no teasing glances, no lightly touching my arm and coyly asking if I worked out. She hopped off the railing and set her camera down and faced the ocean. “She sure is beautiful.”

“She sure is,” I wasn’t talking about the ocean or the last rays of the sun setting in the distance as the moon began to rise. I took a quiet step towards her. I bent over to kiss the soft curve of her neck just below her ear. On my decent, my breath brushed the top of her head.

The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back with her knee in my chest and my wrist twisted so that if I moved an inch, it would shatter every bone in it.

I should have been pissed. Instead, I was aroused beyond comprehension. She didn’t appear to be upset by my actions, only amused at my reaction to her actions. She slowly released my wrist, then removed her knee from my chest and extended her hand.

A gesture meant to assist me to my feet.

I pulled her down to me so that she was straddling my lap and I yanked off her baseball cap. I laced my fingers through her curls and claimed her mouth with a hunger, a longing, a need I did not understand.

She didn’t resist. She opened her lips and gave me access to fuck her with my tongue, to taste the remains of the spicy sweet sauce on her breath from dinner. Her hands were traveling up my shirt as she deepened the kiss.

She was as hungry for me as I was for her.

For now, I didn't take things any further. We sat on the lighthouse floor, kissing like it was going to be our last kiss. I wanted her, but not here, not on the cold lighthouse floor. I wanted to fuck her senseless.

Then I wanted to make love to her.

She barely let me go long enough to take a breath. She was giving and taking willingly, but there was a hint of apprehension. I pulled away to take a breath, to take a look at the desire in her crystal blue eyes.

I saw something, I recognized something. My chest tightened and I gently kissed her swollen lips. My tongue traveled down her neck and back to her mouth. Something nagged at me. Clawed at my brain, a feeling I recognized. I’d kissed these lips before, I’d stared into these crystal blue eyes before.

Why hadn’t she told me we'd been together? It was more than that. I would not have forgotten those eyes, those lips. They beckoned me. They gave me a sense of pleasure, a sense of being home.

Then it hit me.

“Angel.” It slipped off my lips before I could stop it.

She pulled away; she thought I remembered. What was it that she thought I knew? She got up and picked up her camera. It left me confused. She was going to leave me here in limbo wondering what the hell just happened?

What memory did I trigger and why couldn’t I bring it to the forefront? She had the answer to questions only my eyes had asked.

She got to the top of the stairs and turned around and smiled.

“Do you want to talk, or do you want to fuck?”