by Sienna Skye
I saw Julia start to get up to check on them, but Morgan stopped her.
“Sit, babe. I’ll go check.” He leaned over and kissed her on the head.
A few moments later he came back. “Well Ryan is engrossed in the movie, but Alexis and Sophia are knocked out on Sophia’s bed.”
“That’s my cue to get going,” Madison said as she stood up. My heart dropped a little. I liked being with her.
“I’ll carry Alexis out to the car for you,” Morgan offered.
“Thank you, Morgan.”
“Will you be alright carrying her back into your house? I can follow you and take her in for you if you like.” Was that too much?
She looked at me and appreciation filled her eyes. “Thank you, but I have had to do this before.” I saw her do that thing where she gazed off as she ran her options through her mind. “But, it has been a long day, so if it wouldn’t be too much trouble…”
“No trouble at all.”
Morgan walked back into the room, a sleeping Alexis in his arms, and a yawning Ryan following behind him.
Madison reminded Ryan to say thank you and then told him to come with her. She headed out to the car ahead of Morgan.
“I’m following Madison home to help her carry Alexis.”
I saw that patented Morgan smirk and the glint in his eyes. “That sounds like a great idea. I will get her out to the car for you.”
I followed Madison to her house, took Alexis out of the car, and carried her to her room. Poor Ryan was stumbling behind like a little drunk sailor. I put Alexis down on her bed and then waited in the living room while Madison tucked both kids into bed.
A short time later, she came back out and smiled at me. She thanked me for helping her.
“You’re very welcome. I was happy to do it.”
She looked up at me with appreciation in her eyes…and with unmistakable need. She wanted me to kiss her. I was as sure about that as I was sure of my own name. And I sure as fuck wanted to kiss her, too. Every inch of my body screamed at me to grab her and kiss her like she’s never been kissed before.
But this was Madison and I knew that even if she let me kiss her, she would be second guessing the decision tomorrow. I watched the rise and fall of her chest quicken as I tried to keep mine from doing the same. I was on a mission now, but I needed to proceed carefully. She was worth the wait.
“I better go. I’ll see you on Monday for your session, right?”
I saw a fleeting expression of disappointment. I knew how she felt. But then she covered and smiled at me. “Absolutely. Wouldn’t miss it.”
Still wanting to feel her close to me, I gave her a hug. She hugged me back. Damn that felt right. She felt right. For a moment, I began to doubt my decision to leave, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I couldn’t stand to watch her pull away from me because she had regrets.
I grabbed the doorknob and hesitated for a second. I pushed down the urges that had not yet subsided, turned and smiled at her, then walked off into the night. When I got in the car, I dropped my head onto the steering wheel. Damn, that took every ounce of strength I had.
***
The next six weeks brought a lot of positive changes. Madison threw herself whole heartedly into her training sessions. She never missed one and she worked her tail off every single time. I could tell she was gaining more self-confidence. It was in the way she held herself. How she walked. She noticeably spent less time looking around to see if anyone was watching her. All positive signs. I also started inviting her to do little things with me. Like helping me out with some things I had to do at the gym or running an errand with me. It was all just to spend some time with her and for her to become more comfortable with me. And it was working.
One day, at about the six week mark, she showed up wearing a regular fitted tee shirt. She had always shown up with an oversized shirt. It was her security blanket. She wasn’t quite at the point where she was wearing a tank top, but I considered that shirt a huge step. So, after our workout, I suggested she join me at the gym’s café for a post workout snack. She accepted without hesitation. Conversation came easy and we lingered there for well over an hour. When we were done, I walked her to her car.
“Madison, I have really enjoyed spending time with you. I would love if we could make plans to go out and grab some coffee together.”
“Sure, I don’t see why not.”
“As in a date, Madison. I want to take you out on a date.”
“Like a date date?”
“Like a date date.” I would have loved to have taken her out for more than coffee, but I reminded myself that baby steps were the way to go with Madison. Even though we had come such a long way, I saw her hesitation and then watched as she worked herself up to agree.
“How about Saturday afternoon? The kids are with their father for the weekend.”
“Saturday is perfect. I will pick you up at noon.”
“Jace, I can drive myself.”
“Date, Madison. I am picking you up at your place. That is not up for negotiation.”
I saw a slow smile spread across her face. Then she nodded her head in agreement.
“I will be ready to go at noon.”
On Saturday morning, I was freshly showered and pulling out clothes to wear when my doorbell rang. I pulled on a pair of basketball shorts and went to the door. When I pulled it open, Julia and Sophia were standing on the other side. I saw Julia take in the look of surprise on my face.
“Why do you look surprised? Didn’t Morgan tell you we were stopping by to drop this off for you?”
Crap.
“Sorry, sweetie. Yes, he did. It slipped my mind.”
Well that shocked the hell out of her. She handed me the packet. Morgan had asked me to go over his scribbling of some expansion ideas he had for the gym. While she was still studying my face, I ruffled Sophia’s hair. She grinned up at me. I looked at the container she was holding in her hands.
“What do you have there?”
“Cookies. I told Mama we should bake you some cookies.” She handed me the container.
“Why thank you! Come on in.”
As Julia walked past me, she looked at me over her shoulder.
“You smell good, Jace.” She paused and then grinned at me. “Plans today? Come on, let’s go find you something to wear.”
“How do you know I don’t plan on wearing what I have on?” I spread out my hands and made an exaggerated effort to look down at my shorts.
“Oh good gravy, don’t even kid like that.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me to my room. “Is this going to be a casual date?”
“Who said I was going on a date?”
“Please. I have known you for too many years, Jace Monroe. You are going on a date. I can feel it in my bones. So, casual?”
“It’s a coffee date.”
She nodded. “Good choice.” Then she cocked her head to the side. “I think Madison needs the baby step, but if it goes well today, you can kick it up a notch.”
“Who said I was going out with Madison?”
She looked at me and rolled her eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh. She saw my jeans which I had already taken out and thrown on my bed. She went to my closet and started going through my shirts. She pulled one out, held it up, eyed it, and then handed it to me.
“Here, wear this.” She handed the shirt to me and then she placed a hand on my arm. “When you drop her off at her house, ask her out again. While the energy of today’s date is still fresh. Just turn on that Jace charm. I know you know how to do that.”
“How do you know that she didn’t want to drive herself?”
“I don’t. I don’t know her well enough. But, like I said before, I know you, Jace. It’s a date. You wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She gave me a quick hug and then called out to Sophia.
“Let’s go, Sophia. Let’s get out of Uncle Jace’s way.”
“You guys are never in my way.”
&nbs
p; “We are today. Have fun tonight.”
“Thanks.”
“Details, Jace. I want details.”
“Thanks for stopping by.”
“Yeah. Yeah.”
I brought Madison to this small local coffee shop. It was quiet and cozy and a great place to enjoy someone’s company and talk without competing with the environment.
“I never knew this was here. This is great. I thought we were going to a chain place.”
“That’s great for grabbing a quick coffee, but when I want to sit back and relax, maybe read for a while, this is where I come. The baked goods are made on site, too. They are amazing.”
We ordered our coffee and snacks and then I found us one of my favorite spots, in the back of the store. Private. I guided her with my hand on the small of her back. She sat down and I watched as she took in her surroundings with appreciation.
“I really like it here. I can’t believe I have never heard of it before.”
“I didn’t discover it until I moved back from Virginia.”
“Was that when you were in the military?”
“Yes. The Marines”
“What made you decide to leave?”
“The Marines or Virginia?”
“Both.”
I didn’t like talking about why I left the Marine Corps. But, I wanted to build something with Madison. I wanted her to learn to trust me. That meant telling her what happened. At least somewhat. Morgan knew more than anybody else did. And even he didn’t know everything. Some things I couldn’t tell. Some things I didn’t want to. I’d give her what I could. Which wasn’t really a lot, but more than most. I felt a twinge in my left leg. That was strange. The mind is a powerful thing. I realized I had probably paused for much longer than I thought I had.
“There was an explosion. I was thrown. Buried under debris.” I paused and then shook my head to clear it. “Anyway, the injuries I sustained were significant. I couldn’t walk for quite some time. I left on a medical discharge.”
I expected to see pity on her face, and I braced myself for that reaction. Instead, I saw her look off as she processed what I said. I realized she was putting the pieces together from a medical point of view.
“You must have had extensive physical therapy.”
I nodded in response.
“So, you moved back home after you finished therapy?”
“No, not exactly. I still had a significant amount of therapy left. I came back home because Morgan and Julia insisted on it. I moved in with them for a number of months. They even set up a room in their house with all the necessary equipment.”
“I think I saw that room when I was there. Then you decided to join the gym as a trainer?”
“Morgan came up with that idea while I was still in Virginia. I felt kind of lost. I had no intention of leaving the military that soon. I guess the frustration was starting to take a hold of me. Morgan could sense that. I could tell it concerned him. He visited a lot. I knew it wasn’t only my physical well-being he was concerned about. Anyway, I told him that I was interested in starting my own security firm, but I made the mistake of telling him that it wasn’t financially feasible.”
“He offered to give you the money?”
“Yes, ma’am. When I told Morgan that I couldn’t accept the money, he brought up the idea of working as a trainer in the gym. Let’s just say we get paid much better than most personal trainers. Hunter and Morgan are rather generous.”
“Are you still planning on starting your own business?”
“Absolutely. I’ve been working on some ideas. Hunter has been especially helpful in giving me advice to fine tune things. Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoy my job.”
“That is never to be under appreciated.”
“Why do you say that? Don’t you like your job?”
“No, I do. And I am very lucky to have the schedule that I do. I just think that so many people are just working that nine to five grind and it takes over their life.”
“I agree. I see that all the time with my clients. Now that I think about it, the people who are closest to me really love what they do. Look at Morgan. He’s a CEO of TechStone, but he has never stepped back from doing the software stuff. That’s his passion. Ever since we were kids. Hunter is a natural at negotiation and management. He is the other CEO and he brokers deals. And Julia kind of fell into the whole advice thing while she was in college, but as soon as she did, she knew she found her calling. They all love what they do.”
“That is pretty amazing. You know I was looking at the gym’s app and looking over the trainer bios —”
“Are you planning on leaving me?” I joked. At least I hoped I was joking.
She laughed. “No. I was going through the app and was kind of fascinated by it.”
“No surprise. That was a Morgan creation too.”
“I saw that Trey was a Navy Seal.”
“A few of the trainers are former military.”
“Well, I was just thinking about what you said about starting your own security firm. Would you ever consider going into business with Trey?”
“I guess he always seemed happy doing what he is doing.”
“I’m sure he is, but so are you. And you have other aspirations.”
I was stunned for a second. Why that thought had never occurred to me was a mystery. I mulled it over for a moment. It made a lot of sense. Our combined knowledge and skills would certainly be beneficial and both of us investing funds would make it happen sooner than if I just did it myself.
“I think I will talk to him about it. Thank you, Madison.”
“Just don’t tell the Stones it was my idea. I don’t want to be held responsible for them losing two of their best trainers.”
We both laughed at that.
“I’m one of the best, huh?” I winked at her.
“Oh please, false modesty does not become you.” She laughed.
I loved seeing her laugh. The sparkle that her eyes took on when she was genuinely happy. The way her whole face lit up. I looked her in the eye and to my surprise she held my gaze.
I reached out and took her hand. I ran my thumb softly over the back of it. I liked the connection to her. She looked down and blushed but didn’t pull away. We talked until I lost track of time. We talked about a hundred things. I asked her to tell me more about her kids. I wanted to know everything about her. It was hours later when we decided to leave.
When we got to her house, I walked her to her door.
“Thank you, Jace. I enjoyed this.”
“I’m happy to hear that. I would love to take you out to dinner.”
“I would love that, too. It’s just that the kids are only with their father on Wednesday this week. I guess I could always get a sitter.”
“We have to eat on Wednesday, too. There is no law that says a date has to be on the weekend,” I told her.
“Wednesday then.”
I lifted my hands and placed them on the side of her face. I slowly stroked my thumbs up and down her cheeks. Then I leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. When she didn’t pull away, the fire that had been trying to ignite in me took over. I kissed her again and then a third time. She grabbed my shirt and leaned in to kiss me back, her lips soft and hot. When her tongue met mine, I thought I was going to lose my mind. I kept my hands on her face, but all I wanted to do was explore her body. I wanted to take in her every curve, feel her softness under my hands. I kissed her harder until I had backed her up against the door. I heard her moan and knew my resolve would weaken. One hand moved to her back to pull her harder against me and the other was on the back of her head, her hair entangled in my fingers. I kissed her until we were both breathless. I pulled back, but just enough to rest my head against hers.
“Now that was incredible,” I whispered.
“Ah huh.”
I leaned back and took in the flush of her cheeks, her swollen lips, and the heavy rise and fall of her chest. Fuck, it was going to be ha
rd to walk away.
She took her keys out of her purse and unlocked the door. Once she had safely stepped inside, I started to leave. I turned back and looked at her over my shoulder.
“Madison. I love the feel of your lips on mine.”
She smiled a big goofy grin at me and waved goodbye.
Chapter Five
Madison
I stepped through the front door and closed it behind me. I leaned back against it and closed my eyes trying to catch my breath. The image of Jace pushing me up against the door played over and over in my mind. My stomach did little drops like I was a young girl again. That one kiss…that man…had awakened things in me that I didn’t know even existed. I had never felt very sexual or sensual, but I swear I would have let that man take me right there on my front steps.
I opened my eyes and tossed my keys and purse on the table. I kicked off my shoes and then walked to my bedroom. I looked in the mirror and took in the woman looking back at me. I wanted to see what Jace was seeing. My cheeks were flushed. My lips full and swollen from his kisses. My hair, well that was wild. And that look in my eyes. That was the look of a woman awakened. I wanted to tell someone. Sarah. I could text Sarah. I hesitated for a moment because she was in Jace’s friend circle. I paced back and forth a few times, staring at the phone in my hand. I’d call her instead. Then I could hear the tone of her voice.
She picked up on the second ring and greeted me.
“I have something to tell you. I have to tell someone, and I want that someone to be you.”
“Jace finally asked you out!”
“Wait. How do you know that?”
“Well it was obvious at Sophia’s birthday party that you two were into each other,” she said rather matter-of-factly.
“Was it really?”
She laughed. “Yes, most definitely. So, when are you guys going out?”
“We kind of already did.”
“Get out! When?”
“He just dropped me off back home. We had a coffee date.”
“That Jace is a smart one.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, he knows you have been through a lot and a coffee date is a little less…oh I don’t know…intimidating?”