The Truest Thing: Hart's Boardwalk #4

by Samantha Young

  My heart rejected Ian’s insinuation that Jack was only after my money.

  But that little niggle of insecurity that would always be there made itself known.

  “Bullshit.” Cooper threw me a look. “Bullshit,” he assured me.

  And then the front door was thrown open again and Jack ran in, skidding to a halt beside Cooper who held up a hand to ward him off. Jack’s clothes were askew, his hair disheveled, his skin damp with perspiration. His eyes moved between me and his father. He looked frantic.

  “Don’t do this,” he spat at Ian.

  Ian grinned.

  And then, like people were wont to do, he underestimated me.

  He swung the gun toward Jack. “Now I can’t decide who I want to shoot more.”

  I narrowed my eyes, aimed at his hand that held the gun, and pulled the trigger.

  Ian’s roar of agony filled my home as he dropped his gun and fell to his knees, clutching his wounded hand.

  I lowered my Glock, engaging the safety, and watched as Cooper kicked Ian’s gun out of the way. He then pulled out his phone to call the police.

  Jack was in my face, his grip tight on my biceps as he hauled me against him. I let him hold me for a few seconds before he pulled back to study me. “Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes roaming my body, as if searching for injury.

  I nodded. I was a little in shock. My dress was soaked with sweat. But I was okay.

  “Where did you learn to shoot like that?” Cooper asked as he stood guard over Ian who moaned like a wounded animal at his feet.

  “My grandmother. She said a lady should know how to defend herself. I took lessons at her country club gun range throughout my teen years. I used to shoot competitively. I still visit a range every month. I’m pretty good with a crossbow too.” The information poured out of me as I stared at Ian as he frothed at the mouth.

  Jack made a sound somewhere between laughter and a groan. My breath stuttered a little at his look of adoration. “You are full of surprises, Emery Saunders.”

  Cooper snorted and Jack looked over his shoulder at him. He still hadn’t released his hold on me. “What?”

  Cooper grinned knowingly at the two of us. “I think you’re both full of surprises.”

  21

  Emery

  It wasn’t Michael who came to arrest Ian. It was Sheriff King himself and one of his deputies. Jeff King and Jack weren’t exactly unalike in looks. They were both exceptionally tall (although Jeff was a little taller than Jack), loose-limbed, and had this great masculine swagger about them. They also shared a similar hard, rangy physique.

  However, while Jeff was serious, gruff, and earnest, Jack oscillated between brooding and naturally charming.

  Jeff bent his head to mine, his eyebrows creased in concern. “Are you sure you’re all right, Emery?”

  This close, I could smell his spicy cologne and saw that his blue eyes were a startling shade of aquamarine against his light olive skin. While the deputies of the Hartwell County Sheriff’s Office wore khaki uniforms, Jeff’s was black. It made his eyes pop.

  Finding myself under his concerned scrutiny for the first time, my cheeks grew hot. His lips twitched as he took in the sight of my flushed face. He looked at me with something akin to tenderness.

  “She’s fine, Sheriff.” Jack’s voice was hard as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and drew me tight to his side.

  The sheriff and Jack stared at one another for an awkward beat. How was it possible for me to keep my cool while a man held me at gunpoint but then act like a freaking mortified schoolgirl around an attractive man? It was infuriating!

  “I believe I asked Miss Saunders,” Jeff said.

  “I’m fine, Sheriff.” And with Jack’s arm around me and him sticking close even as Ian was marched out in handcuffs, I had felt fine. I felt safe and comforted with him here. I didn’t want to feel that way, but I couldn’t deny that I did.

  “Well, if we need anything else, we’ll let you know.” Jeff cut me another look. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to know you can protect yourself, Emery.”

  It sounded like a pointed comment.

  Jack tensed next to me.

  I tried not to smile. “Thank you, Sheriff.”

  As he walked out of the house, Cooper chortled.

  He stood near the sectional. For a moment, I’d forgotten he was there, which seemed impossible. His eyes were on Jack. “I’d be careful there. I think someone thinks someone else is cute.”

  Jack huffed. “What, are we in middle school?”

  Laughing under his breath, Cooper walked to us. “I need to get back to Jess. Do you want me to send the girls over?”

  “Honestly, I’m exhausted now,” I replied. “But if you could send them over in the morning, I’d appreciate it.”

  “You got it.” Cooper then enveloped me in a tight hug. For a moment, I was too taken aback to do anything and then as the awesomeness of his hug set in, I closed my arms around him and held on. Tears burned in my eyes. “I’m glad, too, that you can shoot like nobody’s business. I can worry a little less about you being here on your own.”

  He worried about me?

  “Thank you,” I whispered, my voice a little hoarse with emotion. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”

  Cooper chuckled and released me but only to cup my face in his hands and grin. “You’re welcome, darlin’, though it isn’t a hit to my reputation to tell the whole world it was Emery Saunders who rescued me and Jack.”

  I laughed softly as he stepped back and addressed Jack.

  “You okay?”

  Jack held his hand out to him, his expression grim but grateful. “Thanks for being here for her.”

  Cooper slid his hand into Jack’s. The vibe coming off them was intense. “I did it for you both.”

  “I won’t forget it.”

  They released their handshake, and Cooper narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “We’ll talk?”

  “We’ll talk,” Jack promised.

  All the while, I watched them and tried not to grin with giddiness. I was so happy for Jack that Cooper was willing to give their friendship another go. It made me forget for a second that Ian Devlin had come here with the intention of shooting me.

  Whoa. I just shot Jack’s father.

  Jack locked the front door behind him once Cooper departed.

  “You can go, Jack.” It sounded tentative because I didn’t want it to sound like I was kicking him out. I just didn’t want him to think I couldn’t be alone.

  He shook his head, staring at me incredulously. “You think I can leave you right now?”

  “What about Rebecca?”

  Jack cursed under his breath and then pulled his cell out of his pocket. “Give me your number.”

  “What?”

  “Your cell. I didn’t have your number tonight. Couldn’t reach you. Couldn’t warn you. That’s not happening again.”

  Sensing he would not be budged and not entirely unhappy to provide my number, I rhymed it off. He then called my phone, which went to voicemail. “Now you have my number. I’ve gotta call Rebecca. Don’t move,” he told me before pressing a button and holding the phone to his ear. A few seconds later, he said, “Becs?”

  Wanting to give him privacy, I strolled to the kitchen. I heard Jack’s voice following me and realized he was shadowing my movements.

  Hmm.

  I filled the kettle, preparing to make tea, as Jack stood at my island and watched me while he talked to his sister and explained what had happened … and that she shouldn’t wait up.

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “Tea?” I asked as Jack hung up the phone. I reached up to a cupboard where I kept my scotch. Now and then, on a frigid winter’s night, I liked to add a little whisky to my tea. I waved the bottle of Talisker at Jack. “Spiked tea?”

  Although his mouth smiled, his eyes didn’t. “Yeah, go for it.”

  We stood across from each other, the island between us.

&
nbsp; “Kerr went to your house to taunt you about Ian coming for me?” I asked for clarification. It’s what Jack had told the sheriff. He’d sent more deputies to arrest Kerr.

  “Yeah,” Jack bit out before taking a sip of the tea I’d slid toward him.

  “Don’t you think that’s strange? It’s almost as if he was giving you a chance to stop it.”

  His face darkened with fury. “No. He thought the deed was already done. He forgot Ian is a drama queen who likes to draw shit out. Luckily for us.” Jack looked exhausted. “Shit, Em, I am so fucking relieved you’re a secret markswoman.”

  I laughed a little. “Me too.”

  “I can’t believe you can laugh about this. I’m sorry you got pulled into my fucked-up family drama.” He shook his head. “How do I even apologize for what happened here tonight?”

  “Jack, I don’t hold you responsible. You tried to tell me that your father would attempt to use me in some way to get to you. You were right.” One of the biggest reasons for keeping Jack at bay was because I’d been angry at him for rejecting me. But he’d only rejected me because he’d been trying to protect me. At the time, I thought it a pitiful excuse, one we both should’ve had a voice in. Yet he had been proven right tonight. This realization confused me. And made me more than a little tenderhearted toward him.

  “I wish like hell I’d been wrong.”

  “It’s done now. And I’m fine.” I smiled to myself before I took a sip of tea. “People always underestimate me.”

  “I’ll never underestimate you.”

  I nearly choked at the sincerity in his promise, at the emotion in his eyes as he gazed at me like I was his whole world. I remembered how frantic and scared he’d been as he burst into my house and saw Ian holding the gun. I’d never seen Jack lose his cool like that.

  Ian’s insinuation that Jack was playing the long game with me niggled at the back of my mind. I knew I shouldn’t think that of Jack. Rationally, I knew his fear didn’t stem from losing a chance at my billions but I wanted him to know the truth anyway. “I gave up the Paxton Group.”

  Jack raised an eyebrow at the abrupt change of conversation.

  I took another fortifying sip of tea. Then I studied him, trying to decipher his feelings as I told him, “I sold my shares and donated most of the money to charity. I have no ties to the Paxton Group. I’m even selling the estate in New York. I’m … I’m not a billionaire anymore, Jack.”

  I watched as he digested this news and then seemed to deflate with relief as he exhaled slowly. “Thank Christ for that.”

  Now it was my turn to be shocked. “Oh?”

  “Do you know what kind of target all that money made you? It’s a goddamn miracle no one found you hiding out in Hartwell. Emery Saunders isn’t exactly a genius alias.”

  I huffed in indignation. “It worked for nine years.”

  “Like I said, a goddamn miracle.”

  “You’re being annoying.”

  Jack chuckled. “The truth is annoying.”

  I harrumphed, pouting into my tea.

  “You are so fucking adorable,” Jack said softly. Our eyes met and his turned smoky and hot. “And beautiful. And kind. And naive. And wise. You’re every contradiction under the sun … and I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  It was the most wonderful thing anyone had ever said to me.

  Then he was rounding the island, striding with purpose. Jack pulled me against his hard heat, my breasts crushed to his chest. My breathing grew shallow.

  “Don’t make me leave tonight, Em. I need to be near you.”

  “I—”

  “Don’t.” He squeezed his eyes closed and rested his forehead on mine. “I know you can’t make me any promises. But let me stay tonight. I won’t hold you to anything in the morning.”

  My heart raced as I realized what he was asking.

  Heat flushed through me, my lower belly trembled, and an intense ache grew between my legs. The truth was, I didn’t want to be alone either, and I was tired of fighting how I felt about Jack.

  Maybe I’d been too harsh before.

  Clearly he cared about me.

  Clearly the money wasn’t an issue.

  Jack.

  I missed being touched. Being held. Being needed.

  I kissed him on the lips. A soft brush of mouth against mouth.

  He groaned, sinking into the kiss, his arms wrapping around me, crushing me against him. His kiss was hungry. Almost desperate. And the heat coating my skin abruptly felt like flames flickering across my body.

  I broke the kiss, panting for breath, and Jack’s fingers dug into my back like he was afraid I was pulling away for good. I swear my heart was about ready to burst out of my chest. My cheeks bloomed with warmth as I whispered, “Would you like to come upstairs?”

  “Yeah, sunrise, I would like that very much,” Jack replied hoarsely.

  I took his hand and led him there, marveling at my bravery. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d have the courage to invite a man into my bedroom. But I guessed after being held at gunpoint and shooting a man, all I cared about was feeling close to Jack. It overruled every other thought and emotion.

  We stopped by my bed and Jack didn’t give me time to think. He was holding me tight, kissing me voraciously.

  My emotions fed into the kiss as I wound my arms around his neck and curled my fingers into his soft, thick hair. I loved his hair. Our tongues stroked in desperation.

  I pushed at his jacket, and he dropped his arms so he could shrug out of it. We didn’t break the kiss, our mouths pulling at each other’s.

  Jack moved me back in the direction of the bed, and our lips didn’t part until he lifted and then dropped me on my back across the middle of the mattress.

  I laid there, panting, my entire body aflame. He kept me trapped in his gaze as he unbuttoned his shirt.

  All I could do was watch in utter fascination.

  This was nine years of longing finally coming to a culmination.

  That ache between my legs became almost unbearable.

  Jack tugged off his shirt and threw it behind him. Just as I’d imagined, he was all hard, lean muscle, and I’d barely had time to ogle him when he took hold of the hem of my long dress. Slowly, he pushed it up past my thighs, over my stomach, my breasts, and I raised my arms above my head so he could pull it off. His eyes devoured, raking over me as I lay under him in my white cotton bra and panties. I had a moment of insecurity. I bet Jack was used to women who wore fancy lingerie.

  There was a twinge of pain near my heart.

  I didn’t want to think about Jack with other women.

  “Whatever put that pretty frown between your brows, get rid of it,” Jack whispered. “Because you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You will always be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You need proof.” He drew my gaze to the thick arousal stretching the fabric of his pants. “I’m a grown man and you do this to me with just a whisper in my ear.”

  I gasped at the thought, shivering with anticipation.

  When I looked up, our eyes met.

  “Do you want me like I want you?”

  Butterflies fluttered wildly in my belly. I felt like a teenager. Like a virgin. But it didn’t stop me from replying, “Yes, Jack. I want you very badly.”

  He closed his eyes for a minute, seeming to savor those words. And then when he opened them, I shivered at the stark longing and lust glittering in their blue-gray depths. Leaning over me, he grazed his knuckles across my stomach, his eyes following his fingers as they trailed along the edge of my underwear. I sucked in my breath at the sensation.

  “Jesus, Em, I’m trying to be a gentleman, I want to go slow, make love to you …” His eyes moved up my body. “But I don’t want to treat you like bone china either.”

  My nipples peaked against my bra at the dark arousal in his voice. “I’m not bone china, Jack. I don’t want to be treated like I’m fragile. I’m not.”

  His gaz
e only intensified. Then his hand flattened on my stomach and he smoothed it upward slowly, heading between my breasts. His touch was possessive, and I was shocked by how much it aroused me. He unclipped the front clasp on my bra and eased it off.

  The cool air rushed over my breasts and they swelled under his perusal. My breath hitched as he stroked them softly, his thumbs brushing over my nipples. Jack held my eyes as he gently, slowly, torturously teased my breasts. “You’re so fucking sexy.”

  I think I stopped breathing.

  “Nine years. Nine years I’ve dreamed of this.” He leaned over, his erection pushing insistently against my belly, and his lips whispered over mine. “Have you dreamed about me, Em?”

  “You know I—” I gasped as he squeezed my breasts hard, sensation shooting between my legs. “Have.”

  He slid his body down, pushing my thighs open, and he thrust his cock against me. I groaned, feeling a flush of heat move up my body from deep and low in my belly.

  My thighs parted in invitation.

  In answer, he kissed me, and I wrapped my arms around his strong back, trying to draw him closer. His lips moved down my chin, trailing in soft caresses along my throat and breasts. The scratch of stubble made me shiver even harder. As much as I wanted his mouth all over me, I was desperate to explore him. I’d wanted him for so long. “Jack … can I touch you?”

  He groaned against my right nipple. “Sunrise, you don’t have to ask. You have permission to touch me anytime you want.”

  “Can you lie back for me?”

  Jack lifted his head at the request, eyes gleaming. And then he moved, shifting off me to lie on his back. His expression was charmingly cocky. “Come and get me,” it said.

  I moved to straddle him, rubbing against his erection while I trailed my fingers lightly down his abs. His hard stomach tightened under my touch, and there was an answering throb between my legs. Jack clasped my hips in his hands and groaned as I slid over him.

  I kissed him, wet and deep, as I pumped my hips against his arousal. His groans filled my mouth, making it difficult to break away, but I wanted to explore. I kissed my way down his throat, enjoying the stimulation I felt at the mere prickle of his unshaven skin.