“I fly with the captain,” he said, quite matter-of-factly.
“Really? As co-pilot?”
He gave me a small nod before Jackson nudged me in the back to keep moving. I slid into the large SUV and waited for Jackson to get in behind me before asking another round of questions.
“Is Monroe really a pilot?” I don’t know why it baffled me that the stoic driver had a pilot’s license.
Jackson bobbed his head up and down. “That he is. He did twenty years in the Air Force before he came to be employed by my family. He refuses to be captain so I made him a first officer.”
“Monroe really is a jack-of-all-trades,” I mused aloud, more to myself than to Jackson.
“You have no idea.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by it but didn’t press further.
We rode in comfortable silence, my back leaning against his front as we traversed snow-covered streets with deliberate speed. I felt almost safer knowing of Monroe’s credentials, and I settled back against Jackson with a sigh of contentment for the first time the whole trip. Jackson looked over something on his phone, his body tensing here and there, but not giving away what it was he was reading. I had a feeling it was still related to the Natalie situation but I didn’t ask any more questions. For once, we were relaxed and at ease while heading to a French chateau, and I wanted to keep to peace for a little while longer.
The drive from the airport didn’t take long and when we pulled up to the gates of the property, my jaw dropped again. I didn’t know what I expected when Jackson said chateau, but the immense structure that sat at the top of the hill beyond the gates was not it. The chateau looked more like a hotel than a home, with a large turret on one side fit for a castle.
“This is yours?” I squeaked out as I sat up and gawked out the window.
Jackson chuckled at my reaction. “You think it’s too much?” He asked the question with mirth and I turned and rolled my eyes at him before returning my gaze to the most beautiful house I had ever seen.
“You are full of surprises, Jackson Radcliffe,” I said as the SUV rolled slowly up the long, winding driveway and stopped in front of the grand entrance.
“You have no idea,” he said for the second time in less than an hour, and I wondered what else he was hiding from me.
We hopped out of the SUV and Jackson took my hand to lead me towards the massive double doors. I couldn’t pick my jaw up from the ground and stop my eyes from wandering around the estate as we entered. Everything was so beautiful and well-crafted, and I had never seen a more stunning property.
“I’ll give you a tour if you want,” Jackson said as Monroe set our bags down in the grand foyer.
“I’d love that!” I felt like a child at Christmas and Jackson smiled at me before leading me by the hand up the winding staircase located in the center of the foyer.
We moved from room to room, hand in hand, and just as in the SUV on the way up, I felt a sense of calm and contentment I hadn’t felt the whole time we were in France or even since I met Jackson. I wondered if this was a turning point but Natalie and the situation with the baby crept in just as we were finishing up the tour in an enormous bedroom with paintings on the ceiling, and my gut clenched. We were far from out of the woods with turmoil.
“This is my room,” Jackson said as he stopped in the middle of the room, directly in front of a king-size bed with a flowing canopy. His eyes narrowed as he focused in on my expression, which was pained due to the sudden turn in my train of thoughts.
“What’s going on?” He walked to me quickly, placing his hands on my hips, and pulled me against him.
My body instantly relaxed at the contact, though I still felt unsettled. Somehow, I had tricked myself into thinking everything was okay when that couldn’t be the furthest thing from the truth. Jackson could still be having a baby with someone else, and I hadn’t yet figured out what that meant for our future.
“Nothing.” I mumbled the word into his chest, so that he couldn’t tell I was lying.
“Bullshit, it’s nothing. Tell me what had you frowning like your dog just died when minutes earlier, you were like a kid in a candy store.” He pulled back and looked down at me, his face stern.
I sighed because I didn’t want to bring it up again and I didn’t want my mood to force his down too, when we were finally in a better place.
“My mind wandered to Natalie is all,” I murmured quietly, in hopes it would lessen his reaction.
Jackson’s body stiffened against mine as if just the mention of her name caused him stress. “Fuck.” He uttered the word just as softly as I had the ones before but the blow wasn’t softened.
He let go of me and paced to the edge of the bed, and I worried I had lost him again to his inner thoughts and fears.
“I’m sorry for bringing it all up again. I didn’t even want to mention it…” I began, but he held up a hand.
“None of this is your fault. Every fucking ounce of it is mine. I just can’t believe I let it get this far.” Jackson stalked back towards me, pulling me into his arms. He wasn’t angry and he wasn’t retreating. Some of what I said to him must have sunk in. “When we get back to New York, I’m going to fight like hell to get that woman to take the test. I know that baby isn’t mine, but I need to prove it in order to finally be rid of her.”
“How do you know?” I finally asked. Jackson seemed so sure Natalie was lying, and I wondered how he could be.
“I was drunk, but I wasn’t that drunk, Liza. I used a condom when Natalie wasn’t looking.” My jaw dropped again because I couldn’t believe he was just now sharing this information with me.
“Jackson, how come you didn’t tell me sooner? How come you didn’t tell Frank?” This changed everything.
“I did tell Frank. He knows, but since Natalie is claiming the kid is mine, there is nothing we can do, condom or not.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked again as hurt gripped my chest.
Jackson closed his eyes before they met mine again. The brown depths were so clear and calm and I wondered what it would take for him to trust he could tell me anything.
“I wanted to, but Frank thought it best to wait until we figured out if we were going to be able to get the test done. He was worried about the information getting out and muddying the waters, even though I reassured him you wouldn’t be spreading information all over town.
“I’m sorry I dragged you into this, Liza,” Jackson said again as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
“I’m not,” I replied, and was met with a blank stare of confusion. “I’m not sorry because if this hadn’t happened, you never would have opened up to me about your past with Natalie.”
“You surprise me every day.” He looked down at me again, his eyes filled with an emotion I wasn’t used to seeing.
The dark depths were filled with tenderness and caring, and something else I was too afraid to hope for. Unexpectedly, he lifted me up, turned, and deposited me on my back on the bed. My heart raced at the sudden turn of events, from baring our souls to each other to lust. I felt dizzy with it as he lowered himself over me and captured my mouth with his.
Need, unlike anything I felt for him before, coursed through me as I grabbed his head, my hands tangled in his hair, and dragged him against me. He came down hard on top of me, all the wind leaving me for a minute, but we didn’t stop our assault on each other’s mouths. I was desperate for him the way a person in the desert thirsts for water. My teeth clacked against his and my lips bruised with the intensity of our kissing. Jackson undressed with one hand as he braced his weight with the other, fumbling with his buckle before yanking his pants and boxers down at once.
He moved on to my clothes, gripping the waistband of my leggings and panties together, and ripped them down so swiftly I thought they would be in tatters next time I checked. Once I was all but nude, he came down on top of me, pushing my legs wide to settle between them. Jackson caught my mouth again, teeth hitting
flesh as we desperately clutched each other, nails scratching skin and digging in for hold. I needed to be closer to him, to feel all of him, because I felt like my world was spinning off its axis.
“Please, Jackson, take me,” I begged as his teeth raked down my neck.
He didn’t answer me or respond but flipped me over to my stomach, pulled my ass in the air, and impaled me in one abrupt motion. My back arched to accommodate him and I choked on a scream. I was ready for him, wet and aroused, but when he hit the top of my womb, the temporary pain made me see stars. His fingers found my clit just as quickly and the pain suddenly turned to pleasure, the mix of both making my head swim with desire.
This was how Jackson liked it, hasty and rough, and I would be lying if I didn’t say I was starting to like it too. The moments when he was gentle and careful were nice, but this made my blood boil with need and I hoped he wouldn’t stop until we were both exhausted in a heap on the bed.
Jackson pounded into me, his thumb continuing the swirling motion on the bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs, and I writhed beneath him, needing a release. His teeth brushed my earlobe and I shivered, the sensation shooting straight to my core.
“Do you like that,” he whispered close to my ear before he bit down on my earlobe again; hard enough to elicit a yelp but not hard enough to break the skin.
“Yes,” I groaned out the word. My body was merely a ball of sensation wrapped up in Jackson and I couldn’t focus on anything else.
He released my ear, rearing back up straight, and gripped my hips roughly with both hands. I regretted the loss of his touch on my clit but replaced it with my own as he thrust harder and faster, bringing me to the brink. The orgasm tore through me, my inner walls milking him to his release seconds later. He wrapped his body around mine as he came, his face in my hair, and put my hands on top of his, the urge for connection stronger than ever before.
I wasn’t sure what was happening this time, why all of my emotions were bubbling at the surface and threatening to boil over, but something had changed. Admittedly, it could have been the turmoil of the weekend or the heavy conversation we had moments before he ripped my clothes off, but I wanted to believe it was much more than that.
We both rolled over, and he spooned me from behind. A chill crept into the room despite his warm body draped over mine and I shivered, scooting back closer to absorb his warmth.
“Keep that up and I’ll be ready to go again,” he said, nipping my earlobe. The sensation made my core clench deep inside because I remembered the action from just moments before.
“It’s cold in here.” I scooted back even more and he wrapped his arms around me.
“Well, I’ve got just the thing to warm you up,” he said suggestively.
I was exhausted and spent but at his words and the tone he used to say them, my body came to life again. By the time he flipped me onto my back and positioned himself between my legs, I was dripping for him again. Would I never get enough of this beautiful man?
We spent the next two hours in the bedroom, and after the third time, I collapsed on the bed, utterly spent but never having my fill of Liza. She lay next to me, panting to catch her breath, with one arm draped across my stomach. Before I could overthink it, I pulled her on top of me and wrapped my arms around her as she rested her head against my chest.
“I hope you aren’t ready to go again because I’m exhausted.” She chuckled as she said it and I smiled. The sound of her laugh was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard.
“Just cuddling,” I mumbled because it was out of character for me to cuddle, but the idea of walking out of this room right now made my chest ache.
“Okay. I can get down with that.” She buried her face in my neck and pressed a gentle kiss to the spot which moments before she had bit onto as she orgasmed for the third time.
We lay there like that for several minutes as our hearts evened back out to a settled rhythm. Liza shivered and I knew it was time to get dressed, though I was reluctant to let go of her. I sat up, shifting her weight with mine, and she let out a small squeal as she slid down my body to an almost sitting position.
“We should probably get something to eat.” I was afraid to look at her for some reason, afraid to see the emotion in her eyes I saw earlier that I knew would be mirrored back in mine.
I didn’t know why I was so afraid of it. Never before had I felt for a woman the way I felt with Liza. Not Even Natalie, whom I was with for three years and married for one. But it scared me, despite asking her to marry me what seemed like moments after we met. Liza was mine, I was sure of that, and had no intention of letting her go. At the same time, I was terrified to admit I was falling in love with her.
“I’m starving,” Liza said as she stood and stretched at the end of the bed.
My eyes traveled down her body, over her curves, and lingered on her ass for a moment longer. I felt myself react to her, my dick hardening, though we just had sex three times. She caught me looking when she turned around and a pink flush crept up her breasts and ended at her cheeks. I fucked her with my eyes because my body was weary but I could still drink in the sight of her.
“Keep looking at me like that and we won’t get out of bed for the rest of the weekend.” Liza slipped a large sweater over her head, cutting off my line of sight to her delectable body, and bent over to search for her pants and underwear.
“If you keep bending over like that, I may not be responsible for what happens next.” I slotted my front, pressing my erection into her bare ass, against her, and wound my arms around her waist.
“I thought you were done,” she said, her voice hoarse with hunger.
“So did I.” I pressed against her harder and she leaned back into me.
“Jackson,” she whimpered as I kissed a trail down her neck.
My phone rang then, shrill and intrusive, and I cursed under my breath. “Fuck.”
I walked to the pile on the floor where I had discarded my pants, as the ringing grew louder and more incessant. This had better be something important or I was going to be pissed.
“What!” I barked into the phone before checking to see who was calling.
I watched Liza from the corner of my eye as she dressed, locating her clothes and pulling them on. She was trying to appear nonchalant but I could tell she was listening to the phone call.
“Mr. Radcliffe, I have some news,” Frank began.
My heart dropped at his words because I couldn’t decipher the tone in his voice.
“Spit it out, Frank.” My heart was beating through my chest with anticipation that Natalie pulled another trick from her hat.
“Natalie has given birth to the baby,” Frank said, his voice suddenly ominous.
I frowned, that didn’t make sense. “What do you mean, she gave birth? She wasn’t even that big when we saw her two days ago.” If she was further along than we anticipated, it automatically counted me out as the father.
“Apparently, when she returned to New York, Ms. Livingston went into premature labor and gave birth to the baby this morning.” Frank sounded happy for the first time I can remember.
I wanted to ask if she was okay, her and the baby, because though Natalie put me through hell, I had cared about her once, but I wasn’t sure how Liza would take it.
“What does this mean?” I asked instead.
“I’m going to expedite the request for a paternity test. I’ll get back to you soon.”
“Should we come back?” I asked him quickly before he could hang up.
“I would strongly recommend that you do.”
The call disconnected and I looked up at Liza, who had moved closer to me and perched on the edge of the bed, listening intently now instead of pretending that she wasn’t.
“What’s going on?” Liza asked me, wringing her hands in her lap.
I explained to her the gist of the conversation I had with Frank, gauging her reaction as I spoke.
“I hope the baby is al
l right. That’s awfully early,” she said, mostly to herself, and my heart expanded at her words. Despite everything Natalie had put us both through recently, Liza still felt compassion for her and the baby.
I shrugged because I didn’t feel as bad about it as I probably should. I wanted it to be over with quickly, get the results of the test as soon as possible. Frank said he would expedite it but I still didn’t know what that meant and realized as we were tossing our belongings into our suitcases, I probably should have asked him.
Slipping my phone from my pocket, I shot off a quick text to Frank about the time frame before shoving the rest of my things into the suitcase and zipping it closed. Liza was quiet and I wondered, not for the first time, what she was thinking about, and if she thought I was worth all the trouble I had put her through this last week. I wasn’t ready to give her up or let her go, and I hoped she would stick it out once we returned to New York.
We finished packing at record speed and I called Monroe to get the SUV ready to go to the airport. Silence followed us as we made our way through the chateau, the wheels of the suitcases echoing off of the high ceilings as they slid noisily over the marble floors. I gritted my teeth because it felt like everything was moving in slow motion and I wanted to speed up time and have this whole ordeal over with. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I thought about ignoring it, until I remembered the text I sent to Frank fifteen minutes prior. Pausing in the foyer, I slipped my phone from my pocket again and looked at the screen.
Frank: Usually, it can take up to six weeks but if you are willing to spend the money, we can get the results in three days.
My fingers flew over the letters on my screen as I tried via text message to convey my irritation and fury about the whole thing.
Me: Pay whatever they want but get me those results in three days or you’re fired.
I wanted to reach across the miles and strangle Frank, though none of this was his fault. I needed a fall guy, someone to blame, and I realized I was being an asshole for taking it out on him but didn’t care. My life felt like it was in a tailspin. After so long, I finally found someone who I thought I could open up to, someone I could finally love, and everything was being turned on its head to try to upend what I never thought I would have or want in the first place.
One Night Page 24