by Carrie Elks
“Get in the shower, Lydia.”
“See?” She looked over her shoulder. He was shaking his head. “Hot.”
He closed the door behind her, and she could hear him muttering something, though his voice was far too low for her to make out. Hanging the towel on the gleaming heated rail next to the shower, she pulled her shorts down and lifted her t-shirt over her head.
That’s when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her eyes widened as she took in her wild, matted hair. Dear god, had he really seen her like this and not laughed? He was sweeter than she’d thought for not saying anything.
Five minutes later, she was happily singing in the steaming hot shower as she massaged Jackson’s shampoo into her hair. It smelled like him, all woody and mellow. She took a look at the name on the black plastic bottle. Maybe she’d treat herself to some.
Not because she wanted to smell of him. Just because it was good. That was all.
Once she’d rinsed and conditioned, she turned off the spray and stepped out of the oversized cubicle, reaching for the towel. The room was full of steam, though the vent was doing its best to remove it. She walked over to the mirrored cabinet, pulling it open, wondering if he had a spare hairbrush in there. Sadly it was empty. She did her best to rake her fingers through her slippery locks before wrapping them in the towel.
“Your coffee’s out here,” Jackson called through the door.
“Thank you.” She looked around until she saw her wet clothes in a bundle on the floor. Picking up her soaked panties, she grimaced. “Um, do you have those clothes you said I could borrow?”
“Sorry?” he called out, his voice muffled.
“I need some dry clothes,” she shouted again. “Do you have any?”
“You need what?”
Sighing, she wrenched the door open. “Do you have a t-shirt or something?” she asked him. “My clothes are soaking.”
It was only when his mouth dropped open that she remembered she was as naked as the day she was born.
Jackson froze long enough for his wide eyes to take in her perfectly curved body. When he finally looked away his body pulsed with heat, and his voice was thick and low.
“You have a tattoo.”
Lydia looked down at the cherry blossom curling around her left hip. He was struck again by how different she was. Any other woman he knew would have screamed and either covered herself up or slammed the door in his face. But not Lydia. Instead, she was looking back up at him, her eyes soft.
“Cherry blossoms were my mom’s favorite. She went to the festival in Washington every year. I got it on my twenty-first birthday while in Japan.” She slowly untwisted the towel on her head, the movement lifting the perfect swell of her breasts. When she pulled the towel around to cover her body, he wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or grateful.
“It’s pretty.” He hardly recognized his voice. He really needed to stop looking at her like this. She was a guest in his house. Autumn’s sister. Verboten. “I have one, too.”
“A cherry blossom?” She tucked the end of the towel in over her breasts. Even covered up, her body made his blood feel thick and heavy.
“No. An eagle.”
She laughed. “Let me see.”
“Now?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“Yeah, now. You saw mine.”
It was only fair. He pulled his top over his head and threw it on the floor, looking right at her. She could see the eagle, wings spread, covering the top of his right arm. Her gaze dipped, taking in his bare chest.
The air between them was so thick he could feel it pressing against him. Their eyes met again, and he felt it in his gut. Blood rushed straight to the part of him that didn’t care he wasn’t supposed to be here doing this.
Standing half naked in his home with Lydia Paxton, who was completely naked under her towel.
“Can I touch it?” she murmured, her voice low.
“If I can touch yours.” He was all about quid pro quo tonight.
Her lips curled. “I was banking on it.” She reached out, tracing the outline of the eagle’s wings. “Why did you get this?” She moved her hand to his chest, tracing the outline of his pectoral.
“Because I was young, foolish, and drunk.”
Her finger brushed against his hard nipple. “How young?” She stepped closer. Until he could feel the warmth of her skin radiating from her.
“Lydia…” It was a warning. This aching desire felt inevitable. As though everything before this was leading to them standing here, half naked, in his hallway. He’d tried to fight it. Tried to ignore it. Tried to push it away. But he was tired of fighting. “I was eighteen.”
The attraction was winning out.
She moistened her bottom lip with the tip of her pink tongue, and it made him ache harder. “Do you regret it?” she asked him.
His head was fuzzy. He couldn’t think straight. “Regret what?”
“The tattoo.”
How could he regret it when it had somehow led to this? To her standing in front of him, her body less than an inch from his. “Regrets are useless,” he told her, his voice thick as molasses. “I don’t have time for them.”
“Me either.” She looked up at him through thick eyelashes. “Now it’s your turn to touch mine.”
She opened the towel until he could see the twisting stem of the cherry blossom. Jackson swallowed hard and reached out, his finger feathering her taut skin as it traced the tattoo.
She moved, parting her thighs just enough that he could tell it was an invitation. “You want me to?” he asked, his voice thick.
Lydia swallowed. “Please. That’s exactly what I want.”
“Damn, Lydia.” He lowered his head until his brow was touching hers. Could feel the wetness of her skin against his. “What are you doing to me?”
“The same thing you’re doing to me.” Her breath was soft against his lips.
There was an edge to her voice that sounded as needy as he felt. Her chest was lifting and falling rapidly, the towel brushing against his bare abdomen every time she exhaled. One pull, and her breasts would be against him. His dick swelled at the thought of it.
With his free hand he cupped her jaw, angling her face until her deep green eyes were staring straight at his. She swallowed hard, and her lips parted, and he knew this would be the best first kiss he’d ever have.
Because it was with her.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, tangling his fingers into her wet hair. His other hand curled around her bare hip, pulling her closer, until there was no air between them.
“So are you.”
The drumming in his ears reached a crescendo, matching his racing heart. He ran his thumb along her jaw, adjusting her face until their lips brushed. She moaned softly against his mouth, making him so damn hard it was painful. He was full of her. Her touch, her smell, the way she looked as she stared back at him. There was no space for conscious thought or rational decisions. He was her and she was him.
He slid his hand down her stomach, swallowing hard at the thought of touching her there. Once he did, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“I’m sure.”
He opened his mouth to tell her she was beautiful, but Eddie started barking, the gruff sound echoing through the hallway.
Jackson pulled away, his brows knitting as Eddie let out another howling bark. Releasing her hold from his neck, Lydia pulled the towel tightly around her, looking over her shoulder in concern.
“Is he okay?”
“Jackson?” another voice called out.
They both blinked at the unexpected interloper. Unlike Lydia, he knew exactly who it belonged to.
“Where are you?” the masculine shout echoed through the house. The dog started barking happily, as though he was being stroked. “Hey Eddie. Is my boy upstairs?”
“Your dad?” Lydia asked, looking down at the small towel wrapped around her, and at Jackson�
�s bare chest.
“Yeah.” He exhaled, stepping back to have some air between them. His skin protested at the sudden cold against it. “That’s my dad.”
Tiptoeing downstairs, Lydia tried not to trip over the grey sweatpants Jackson had given her. She’d rolled them up to make them fit. Her hair was brushed away from her face and the old, soft t-shirt she’d knotted across her waist smelled so much of him it made her chest feel tight.
Her skin felt overheated. A combination of the shower and Jackson Lewis. She let out a sigh, remembering how good it had felt to be touched by him. His soft fingers, his warm lips, and that almost-kiss.
“She fell in the ocean and that’s why she had to take a shower?” Jackson’s dad was laughing in the kitchen. “Sure. That’s exactly what happened, son.”
There was a bang, as though Jackson was brewing more coffee. How much did he drink in the evening? No wonder he couldn’t sleep. Maybe she should introduce him to green tea.
“Will you cut it out?” Jackson said. She lingered on the bottom step, not wanting them to know she was listening. “She came to walk the dog, got submerged by a wave, and needed a shower. End of story.”
“You have a beautiful woman in your house and nothing happened?” Ryan sighed. “Why not? Are you blind or something?”
“She’s Autumn’s sister,” Jackson said as though it explained everything. “And she’s leaving soon.”
Lydia sat on the step, resting her chin on her hand. It was wrong to listen, she knew that. And yet she couldn’t help herself.
Anyway, she was still trying to calm down. She’d rather not let Jackson’s dad see her all flushed and excited. That would really contradict Jackson’s story about nothing happening.
“So she’s leaving. Doesn’t mean you can’t see where things go. I think she likes you.”
“Can we shut up about this now?” Jackson asked. There was a loud bang, as though he was closing a cupboard with force. “What did you want anyway?”
“I just wanted to check on Eddie. Make sure you’re taking care of him.”
Hearing his name, Eddie gave a bark.
“Eddie’s fine. And so am I. Now I’m going to finish my coffee, give Lydia a ride home, and get on with some work.”
“I’m worried about how hard you’re working.” Ryan’s voice was low. “You need to let go. You’re still young. Life doesn’t get any easier once you settle down and have a family. You should be enjoying it now, letting loose, having fun.”
“Like you did?”
“If you’d like,” Ryan agreed. “I got to travel the world, follow my dreams, and achieve everything I wanted.”
“And then you met mom and everything went crazy.” Jackson sounded sad. Lydia shifted on the step, her brows knitting together.
“I’ve never regretted meeting your mom. She gave me you,” Ryan said softly. “The best kind of prize a man can get.”
There was silence for a moment. Lydia’s heart clenched at the emotion in Ryan’s words. She had to blink to stop tears from forming. How sweet was he? Was that where Jackson got it from? Because despite his hard exterior, she knew he could be sweet, too.
“Dad…”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. I’m not like you. You gave your life up for mom and me. She walked out and left you alone to raise a kid. I saw how hard it was for you. How hard I made it for you sometimes. And I know you don’t regret it, but maybe I wanted more for you.”
“That’s not the way it works, son. We take what we get and make the best of it.”
Jackson sighed. “Yeah, and that’s what I’m doing. Building my business, making sure we’re both set for life. That’s all I have time for right now.”
“And if Hayley hadn’t left? Would you have chosen something different then?”
Who was Hayley? Lydia leaned forward, shaking her head at herself. This had went from listening to a father and son conversation to something more. Something she wasn’t supposed to overhear. She stood and cleared her throat, padding across the cool tile floor from the stairs to the kitchen. “Hey!” she said, painting a smile on her face. “What do you guys think of my outfit?”
Ryan grinned as soon as she walked in. “Looks better on you than Jackson.”
She gave him a little curtsey. “Thank you kindly, sir.”
Jackson was on the other side of the breakfast bar, his bare elbows leaning on the Corian counter, his hands curled around a grey coffee mug. Their eyes met, and she felt it again. That slam in her chest which made her heart skip a beat.
His eyes were dark. Narrow. His lips pressed together. He swallowed hard as he scanned her from head to foot, taking in his clothes knotted and rolled on her small body.
“You warm enough?” he asked, his voice graveled.
“Yeah. You have a toasty shower. And thank you for the coffee.”
“Shower’s even warmer with two.” Ryan coughed behind his hand.
Lydia bit down a grin. “You offering?”
“If I was twenty years younger, I’d be begging, sweetheart.” He winked at her. “But I have a feeling you’re too much woman for me.”
From the corner of her eye she could see Jackson watching them intently, a rhythmic tic to his jaw.
“I think you could cope.” She shrugged. “I hear you taught Jackson, Griff, and Lucas how to surf. If you can wrangle those three you can do anything.”
“Do you surf?” Ryan asked, tipping his head to the side. He was a handsome man, the same square jaw as Jackson, but unlike his son he was freshly shaven. His silver hair brushed back from his face.
“I’ve tried it a few times on my travels. In Hawaii, of course. And Bondi Beach. And did you know they surf in England? In the west of the country. I tried it there once.”
“I was in a competition in Newquay once.”
“Fistral Beach?” Lydia asked.
Ryan grinned. “That’s the one. Those English guys are unbelievable. And that water is damn cold. I swear I had goosebumps on top of my goosebumps.”
Jackson cleared his throat. “If you two are finished with the travelogue, I need to take Lydia home. I got a hell of a lot of work to do tonight.”
“Oh. Of course.” Lydia nodded at him. “Sorry for delaying you.”
“It’s fine.” He grabbed his keys from the counter. “You okay to look after Eddie for a minute?” he asked his dad.
“Sure.”
“Then let’s go.”
The air in his car crackled and buzzed between them as Jackson drove down the cliff road toward the beach. Griff and Autumn had a ranch house on the other side of town that they’d bought before they had Skyler, complete with ocean views.
“Do you mind if we take a raincheck on the driving lesson tonight?” Jackson asked her. The thought of being in the car with her any longer than necessary was putting him on edge. It was hard enough knowing she was sitting next to him in his clothes. His dad was right, they did look better on her.
They’d look even better in a heap on the floor of his bedroom, while he ran his lips along that tattoo on her hip.
He gritted his teeth to chase away the thought.
“That’s fine by me.” Her voice was light. “I’ve taken up way too much of your time already.”
“You’re not mad?” he clarified. He wasn’t sure why that made his chest tighten.
“Why would I be? It was a nice offer, but we can do it another time.” She shrugged. “Or not at all.”
“No, we will,” he said quickly. “I’ll call you and we can arrange something.”
She smiled at him. “Sounds good.”
The lights were red as he drove along the main street in town. Jackson took the opportunity to look at her as she stared out of the car window at the bookshop. Her jaw had the perfect curve to it. Delicate, yet defined. He wasn’t sure he’d ever noticed a woman’s jaw before, let alone felt drawn to it. He had to tightly grip his hands around the steering wheel to stop himself from tracing a
line across her soft, tender skin.
Yeah, sure, a driving lesson would be great. Well done, Jackson.
“I really like your dad,” she said, turning back to him. “He’s a sweetie.”
“Yeah, well he likes you, too.” Jackson pulled his gaze away from her jaw. Didn’t stop him from wanting to touch her, though. Every time he inhaled he could smell the aroma of her freshly washed skin. It made him feel weird inside to smell the woody notes of his soap on her.
“He does?” She looked strangely gratified at that.
“Of course he does. Who doesn’t like you? You’re… very likeable.”
Lydia laughed. “I can be too much for people.” Her voice dipped. “I know I make you angry sometimes.”
“You don’t make me angry.” He glanced at her, frowning. “What makes you think that?”
Her lips twitched. “I guess it’s the way you look at me. Exactly the way you are right now.”
How was he looking? Jackson took stock of his expression. Brows knitted together, lips turned down. Eyes narrowed to a slit. She thought he was angry at her? Dammit. He was angry at himself, not her.
Angry because he wanted her even though it was wrong. Angry that he couldn’t have a normal life like Griff and Lucas and their families. That he couldn’t seem to get it together the way his friends had. And that he spent way too long thinking about this stuff.
“I’m not angry with you,” he said, his voice soft. “Not at all.” He steered the car onto Griff and Autumn’s road. The sky was completely black now, with pinpricks of stars shining down. Their reflections lit up the dark ocean, dancing with the waves. Jackson turned into the driveway and brought his car to a stop.
“You’re not?”
He shook his head slowly. “I’m not.” He switched the ignition off. Silence filled the car. “And what happened back at my place? Outside the bathroom? I’m sorry.”
Lydia blinked, her lips parting. “Okay.” She nodded. “In that case, I should be sorry too.” Unclipping her seatbelt, she reached for the door knob. “And thanks for the clothes, I’ll get them back to you once I’ve washed them.”