“Back in the day, we were just little kids. Scared and confused a lot of the time. Wanting that something we didn’t even know anything about. A family, with a mom and dad to look out for us, to make us complete as people.”
We stop walking, and I turn to face him, wanting to kiss him to let him know I understand, that none of it matters, that my dad’s issues are his own, that I love Colton Smith more than anything else.
“We made this promise… to each other,” he continues. “Even though we were just kids, it meant something. Meant a lot to me at the time. I was the runt nobody wanted. And I guess it meant a lot more to those other boys than I gave them credit for even all these years later, even now that they’re full grown men, most likely with their own families,” he says thoughtfully.
“I’ve given it some thought, Jaydee. And even though what your dad did, and whoever else helped him, by calling the press on me like that and making out I did something terrible. I can see he only did it because he thought maybe I’d forgotten that pledge we made. To look out for each other, all through our lives, no matter what.”
“I can’t forgive him for it,” I say firmly, and I mean it.
“And I won’t,” I add. “What he did, it’s not just embarrassing… it’s just plain stupid.”
“Yeah, it was,” Colton says, looking out over the water. “But, I’ve heard from the press, TV and police, nothing will come of it. They won’t even run the story. Not even the part about how I pulled you from the water. I made sure they keep my business and yours just that, our business.”
I feel a sigh of relief leave me. I was terrified with all those lights and cameras, people everywhere. I know I wouldn’t cope with another round of that.
“And what about my dad?” I ask, confused. “I thought you’d be so mad you’d sue them all, ruin them.”
He chuckles softly to himself, squeezing me tenderly.
“That’s exactly what I did want to do, I even had the lawyer get started on it.”
“But?” I ask him gently.
“But, I realized, just now when I turned and found you here, right in my arms. I realized that the only thing your dad’s afraid of is the same thing I was… that I’d lose you. That so soon after thinking I had you all to myself that I’d lose you all over again and I know my life wouldn’t be worth anything without you in it, Jaydee. Not a damned thing.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask him, asking myself really. “I’ll be honest, Colton. I don’t feel like forgiving my dad right now. It’s the most terrible, hurtful thing anyone’s ever done. After all you did to save me too.”
“Right now, Jaydee. All I want is you,” he says in a low voice, sending a shiver up my spine as he presses himself hard against me.
He’s so warm, hard and just what I need right now. Like a man made of rock. A real man who wants me for me, regardless of anything else.
“There’s some dunes over there,” he growls, and leans in, biting my neck gently.
“Did you lead me down here just to ravish me behind those dunes?” I ask, feigning innocence.
“You bet your sweet ass I did,” he murmurs, and grabs two handfuls of me rear end, kneading me as he kisses me deeply and I feel myself melting right into him as if we never stopped what we started back at his place.
Our place.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Colton
Jaydee proves to me once again that she like things in a lot of different ways.
I thought she’d be shy about me taking her outdoors, but the dunes are secluded enough and it’s a beautiful night. The perfect summer so far.
“It’s getting cold,” I notice, once I’ve satisfied her for the third time today, lying down next to her in the sand I gradually become aware of the sea breeze carrying some cooler air.
“I could stay here forever,” she murmurs, nuzzling in closer to me.
She almost did, earlier on today.
I think to myself, the sounds of the crashing waves, closer now that the tide’s in makes me realize how different the past twenty-four hours could have panned out.
“Shall we go home?” I ask her, and she groans the groan of someone who’s perfectly comfortable but knows they really have to get up.
“I guess so,” she says, and I promise her more of the same once we get home.
“I’ll run you a bath,” I promise her. “I’ll make sure it’s not too deep either.”
“If I can stay awake that long,” she chuckles.
“Where are you parked?” I ask her.
“Miles away,” she replies, groaning again, but I sit up and after a few attempts, manage to get her motivated enough to get dressed and we both stand up, ready to leave.
“Before or after the pier from here?”
“Before,” she says, which settles it.
“Then we’ll take your car, mine really is miles away, I’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
Hand in hand, taking our time to get back to her car, we both notice the group of party-goers by the pier. Their fire’s low, smoky and all the booze is gone.
We’re a safe distance but I can see two familiar faces nearby, on all fours in the sand as we approach the boardwalk. One holding the others hair back as she barfs into some low bushes near a trash can.
The not so sick looking Barbie gives me a disbelieving look as I hook my arm around Jaydee, kissing her cheek and proud to let the whole world know she’s mine now.
All mine.
Squeezing myself into her hatchback isn’t so glamorous, but it’s not far to go, and with a few short cut directions, we’re back home in a few minutes.
The gate is open and I hear Jaydee groan again at the same time I notice another car parked right out front.
“It’s my dad,” she murmurs, sighing bitterly, but I put my hand over hers.
“It’s alright, Jaydee. I’m not gonna start anything. Not anymore,” I tell her, and I mean it.
I’ve had a long day and I just want to have a bath and go to bed with my woman.
Everything and anything else can wait until the morning.
I hadn’t seen Noah Beckett until earlier tonight. He looks smaller now, even compared to just a few hours ago. He’s swaying a little by the front door and calls out to us as soon as I open the car door.
“I’ll tell him to leave,” Jaydee murmurs.
I feel bad for her now, this guy’s been drinking by the looks and making a bad situation worse for himself, and for Jaydee.
And he’s here uninvited for the second time today.
I swallow my mood, determined not to have a repeat of what happened earlier. I’m too tired to deal with other people’s bullshit right now, but Jaydee’s right.
He has to go.
“What are you doing here, Dad?” Jaydee asks him, getting close to him while I hang back, sighing quietly and looking up at the sky, reminding myself it’s almost over.
Almost.
Maybe I should crush this guy. All of those assholes from the boy’s home? Before they came up with their shitty pact to look out for each other, it was they who spent most of their time beating up on me.
He mutters something to Jaydee, but seems to want me instead of her. I notice the light blue envelope in his hand, flapping as he waves it in front of himself. It looks like a legal envelope.
“Your lawyer didn’t waste any time, Colton,” he says in a thick voice. Tipsy but not drunk. He’s mad but what did he expect.
“I’ll ask you once more before calling the cops, for Jaydee’s sake, Noah. Leave. Now. It’s my house and you’re not welcome.”
Jaydee makes a sound and I feel bad for not managing to keep my mouth shut after all, but seriously. How much more does this guy want to try it on before things get more serious?
“Just go home, daddy. We’ll call you a cab. Just… please, just go.”
“I’m not going home without my daughter,” he snarls, taking a few more steps towards me.
“This is gonna end badly No
ah, for you I mean. I won’t ask you twice. Leave,” I tell him, my anger starting to well up inside me and I can see at a glance that even Jaydee isn’t rushing to stop me from doing anything my way.
“We took a pledge,” he groans. “An oath, Colton, remember?”
“We were seven years old,” I growl. He trips on his shoe and staggers towards me, hands out that turn to fists and he tries to swing at me.
Hearing Jaydee gasp, calling out for me not to hurt him, I catch him by the collar with both hands.
“You think I forgot my roots, that it?” I hiss at him, my face an inch from his.
“Who do you think paid for St. Benedictine’s to stay open, huh? Who do you think paid for you and your damned buddies to go to school… college… even though you dropped out? Who do you think arranged all that, plus the dozen other foundations Mr. Smith’s money manages? Huh?” I snarl louder, fighting the urge to grab his throat with both hands.
“Colton,” Jaydee cautions me, stepping closer, not able to hear me.
“Who do you think saved Jaydee’s life today? Pulled her from the bottom of the bay and breathed her back into existence. Don’t come to my house crying shit about honor and pledges Noah. You wouldn’t know honor if it was staring you in the face, clearly you don’t.”
I let go of him, pushing him out of my way as I make my way to my front door. Jaydee looks torn for a moment, but only stops long enough to make sure he’s alright before she joins me, taking my hand in hers and making me sigh with relief.
“I want you, Jaydee. And I’ll put up with a lot from other people, but I won’t be called a dishonorable man, not in my own home,” I tell her.
“I just didn’t want to lose her,” Noah slurs, staggering closer. “You’ve got it all, Colton. Always did after you were the one who got adopted. But the rest of us? We were stuck in that home for another eleven years before we got out, before we had a chance to get a life of our own. She’s the only family I have, and I won’t let you take her from me.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jaydee
“Jaydee. You’ve known this man not even one full day. Yes, he saved your life and I owe him that, I’ll always owe him that,” Dad says, his voice shaking with emotion now. He’s been shocked sober.
“But don’t just toss me aside like I’m nothing… I’m… I’m your father. The best I could be. It’s all I ever tried to do. Everything was for you,” he stammers, finally losing control and breaking down in tears.
Colton lets my hand go, and knowing I’ll go to my father, he lets me go, but only long enough to hug my dad before he steps over to both of us.
I feel for my dad, I really do. But what he did, how he’s acting now.
“How could you though?” I have to ask him.
“You want to judge me, judge Colton after one day, but you, you and whoever else conspired to try and ruin him. Lying to the police, to the media. All for what?” But he only looks at the ground in front of him.
“You have tried your best, dad. I’ll give you that much, but you showed me the real man today, the real you underneath all that.”
He shakes his head and opens his mouth, but the words don’t come.
I feel Colton behind me, supporting me no matter what I decide to think or how I decide to feel about everything.
“I’ll let everything slide, Noah. I’ll have the charges dropped. Oh yes there will be charges. They obviously haven’t spelt that out for you yet. But I’m willing to set it all aside,” Colton tells him.
“If?” My dad sneers, suddenly looking up, filled with suspicion, but his face softens when his eyes meet mine.
“If you’ll stop acting so crazy and let me ask your daughter to marry me. I was going to do it when we got home but you’re here, making a nuisance of yourself all over again.”
I can’t believe my ears, but my legs feel weak and I barely notice Colton’s firm hands holding me up as he tells us both again, a little louder.
“I want Jaydee to be my wife, Noah. I’m going to make her my wife, whether you like it or not, but I’m giving you the chance to be a real man and do the right thing for once.”
I turn to face him, speechless.
“Just say yes, darling,” he says, shrugging a little and I feel my head shaking, which brings a worried look to his eyes until he realizes I’m shaking my head in disbelief.
“I only want you to be happy, Jaydee. And I can only guarantee that if you’ll say yes. I can only live content knowing we can have every day for the rest of our days like we’ve had today, minus all the drama with your father, of course,” he reminds me and my dad.
I glance over at dad, who surprises us both by having a grin on his face. His eyes bright with the realization that he can get to have a piece of what Colton has after all.
“You mean? You’d take Jaydee as your wife… and I’d be?”
“You bet,” Colton says, sounding relieved that dad’s finally catching on.
“You could be dad to us both. We can both have the family we only ever dreamed of, how ‘bout it? Not that I need your permission,” he adds quickly.
“And I never said you had it!” Dad protests even louder, making me step between the pair of them.
“Just say yes, daddy,” I demand, and his head nods automatically at my suggestion.
“And what do you say?” Colton asks, turning me to face him, and bringing my face closer to his.
“I would have said yes as soon as you laid eyes on me,” I tell him honestly.
“So that’s a yes then? You’ll marry me?” he asks, making double sure.
“With my whole heart, with all my soul, yes!”
Colton takes both my hands, and I hear the thud of my dad fainting as he kisses me deeply, right in front of him.
Claiming me for the second time in one day, but this time making it permanent and for all time.
“I love you, Jaydee,” he whispers in my ear.
“And I love you, Colton.”
Mrs. Colton Smith.
I think I can get used to that.
He turned my world upside down the first time I saw him, then he saved my life and finished the perfect day by promising me the rest of that life with him.
With us together as a family.
Forever.
My hero.
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER
Colton
“I know you never got to flex your real legal muscle with all those civil cases, Mark. And I did say sorry about not wanting to sue the entire police department.”
Mark Bannon stifles a yawn, and frowns as he notices the time on his Rolex and starts to gather up his papers.
“To be continued,” he promises, shuffling all the files that the ink’s dried on while the others finish off drying as he packs everything neatly into his briefcase. Capping the lid of his custom fountain pen last of all, signaling to me the end of another quarter’s ‘work’ at managing my adoptive Grandfather’s trust.
“I’m just leaving,” Mark sighs loudly, noting Jaydee glancing in the doorway.
I’ve asked her not to parade around the house, sexy as sin like that when I’m trying to concentrate, plus I don’t like anyone else seeing her in just a robe with not much on underneath. It gets me all defensive, not to mention hard as hell. Not the best mood for when I’m dealing with the lawyer.
Normally Jaydee just waits for me in our bedroom if I have business at night, but I’ve noticed the past few days, past few weeks, she’s been a little tense.
I walk Mark to the door, trying to focus on what he’s saying, but it’s been a long day for both of us and a longer evening still, going over the legal updates and requirements for a dozen foundations.
“I’ll leave the accounting and tax side of things to you, Mark,” I tell him cheerfully. Grateful when I can finally close the door, pausing for a moment after I hear his car leave, relishing the silence before I start to make my way to our bedroom.
Scratching my side and
yawning out loud myself, I’m surprised to see Jaydee at her desk, working on uploading her photographs for the day.
“I thought you were doing that tomorrow?” I ask, almost disappointed at the thought she’ll be working for a few more hours yet.
I asked her after we married, what it was she really wanted to do. Reminding her she didn’t have to do anything if she didn’t want to.
We could’ve hired help to do the day to day stuff, and she could’ve lived out her days as I’d intended, barefoot and pregnant. But it hasn’t worked out that way just yet.
“Well… You got to have such a good time with Mark,” she muses. “I figured I may as well do some work as well.”
“On a Saturday?” I ask her, looking over her shoulder at a spread on Japanese gardens.
“Yup,” she says absently, gnawing at her pen and deciding which image suits the header best.
I thought I was using my contacts to help her get some work at a magazine. One of those home and garden, slash travel periodicals that are more online nowadays than a physical magazine.
But once the editors saw her work, they forgot all about me and my connection to them. They only wanted to deal with Jaydee directly, and now, she’s one of the most sought after contributing photographic editors for a couple of publications with a ton of readers worldwide.
“You okay, baby?” I ask her, noting her mood which is studious but also a little distant.
“Yeah, fine,” she chimes cheerfully. I notice her eyes dart back to her screen after they’ve followed me to the bed.
“What is it?” I ask her, smiling. Knowing she’s got something on her mind. Telling myself I can wait to please her. If it’s not right now, or in an hour’s time there’s always tomorrow morning.
She likes to start the day that way sometimes, and I’m always ready to oblige my queen.
I sit up in bed, pretending to read until Jaydee’s humming starts.
She always hums when she has a secret or something she’s thinking about intensely.
Summer Obsession: An Instalove Possessive Alpha Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 185) Page 7