Stronger with You (With You Trilogy)

by R. J. Sable

  “I like that you’re comfortable with me.”

  I liked it too. I almost giggled to myself when I thought back to the first time I’d done that for Jason. I’d been so scared I could hurt him, so nervous that I wouldn’t be any good. I had no doubt that I’d gotten better since that but he’d still made me feel comfortable at the time.

  He’d not made me feel inadequate or clumsy, which I probably had been. He never did. He always made me feel like I was the best he could possibly ever imagine. Like I was the only girl he’d ever want or need for the rest of his life. I can’t believe I ever doubted him.

  Chapter 26

  Thursday, 14th February 2013

  Jason followed me into the kitchen, carrying a shopping bag in each hand. I’d promised to make him a top-notch dinner for Valentine’s Day. Josh had bagsied the kitchen at their flat so that he could wow the woman he was seeing and Jason had let him because Josh didn’t bring girls home very often. It was fine by me, I didn’t mind being at my flat for the night.

  I planned on putting my crochet blanket on the floor and lighting some tea lights so that we could eat in the privacy of my room. I loved my flatmates but I wanted this to be a night for just the two of us. I’d never had a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day before and I was over the moon to finally be able to do all the gooey romantic stuff that I wasn’t ashamed to admit I loved. Jason hadn’t really celebrated it either, although he did tell me he’d once made a card, all by himself, to give to his teacher when he’d been in year five.

  I’d thought it was adorable but he’d actually been embarrassed to tell me, which of course was ten times more adorable. It was almost impossible to get Jason to be shy or embarrassed about anything, so seeing him blush was a rare thing.

  “Oh, those are beautiful,” I cooed, seeing the large bunch of white roses on the kitchen table.

  “Whose are they?” Jason asked, putting the shopping on the table next to the flowers. He reached over to grab the unopened card that was attached to the flowers and frowned, looking up at me.

  “What?” I asked, puzzled by the expression on his face.

  “You tell me,” he scowled, handing me the card.

  It was addressed to me and I felt my face crack into a broad smile because I already knew who they were from.

  To my favourite girl

  on Valentine’s Day

  Col. C

  I beamed and clutched the card to my chest. The flowers really were beautiful. I can’t believe he still remembers.

  “Jamie?” Jason prompted, glaring at me, still stood by the table.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Jason,” I said gently, a little amused that he looked like he was about to turn green and burst out of his clothing.

  “Who are they from, Jamie?” Jason demanded through clenched teeth.

  “Someone who loves me,” I teased, both amused and affronted by his reaction.

  “Jamie,” Jason practically growled, casting evil glares at my beautiful flowers.

  I contemplated torturing him a little further but he looked close to exploding and it was Valentine’s Day after all. I held open the card for him to read.

  “Colonel Carter,” I explained.

  “Your brother?” Jason frowned.

  “No,” I laughed, amused at the idea that one of them would have sent me flowers. “Neither of them are that highly ranked, my Dad wasn’t either. My Granddad was a Colonel before he retired,” I explained.

  “Your Granddad?” Jason repeated, looking immensely relieved.

  “Yep,” I nodded, putting the flowers into a large vase with some water. “He sends me flowers every year, has done for as long as I can remember. He’s seventy-nine this year and he still remembered.”

  Jason let out a long sigh and looked at me apologetically.

  “Worried I had a secret admirer?” I teased.

  “Sorry, baby,” he winced. “I didn’t mean to-”

  “Didn’t mean to doubt me?” I asked, cocking my head at him coquettishly and pushing myself up against him.

  “Jamie,” he scowled, holding me against him. “You know I don’t do jealousy well,” he frowned. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I grinned, cutting him some slack. “I think it’s cute that you’re jealous of a pensioner.”

  He growled and nipped at my earlobe playfully. I giggled and pushed up to give him a kiss and let him know that I wasn’t really angry with him.

  “Your Granddad was military as well?”

  “Yep,” I smiled happily. “My brothers are fourth generation,” I said proudly. “My Granddad is so proud of them.”

  “I never got the military thing,” Jason frowned, his eyes on the sauce he was stirring.

  “What do you mean?” I asked curiously.

  “Soldiers get their asses kissed all the time. They get treated like heroes no matter what kind of assholes they are,” he said sullenly.

  “Jason!” I scowled, pulling away from him. “That’s an awful thing to say!” I was absolutely horrified that he could even think such a thing. My Dad had lost his life serving his country and my brothers risked the same on a regular basis. I felt physically sick at Jason’s words.

  “Jamie, I didn’t mean your br-”

  “Don’t you understand how much it hurts me to hear you say that after what happened to my Dad?” I said, tears burning my eyes, my fists bunched so tightly that my nails were cutting into my skin.

  “Shit, Jamie, that’s not what I meant,” Jason blurted, taking a step towards me.

  I backed away again, too angry to let him touch me. My stomach tightened painfully as I looked at the man I loved in utter despair.

  “What did you mean, Jason?” I spat angrily. “That my Dad, Ian, Karl, and even my Granddad are all assholes because they chose to give up huge parts of their lives to serve the country?”

  His mouth opened and closed gormlessly, clearly unable to find a way of digging himself out of the crater-sized hole he’d made for himself.

  “Tell me what you meant, Jason, because honestly I’m having a hard time understanding!” I yelled, tears spilling out.

  “I meant my Dad!” Jason yelled back, his facial expression pained and angry as he shoved his hands through his hair. “I meant my Dad.”

  That’s not what I’d been expecting. I hadn’t known Jason’s Dad had been in the military. Then again, how would I have known? He hardly ever talked about his parents. I couldn’t think of anything to say. I compensated by sidling back up to him and wrapping my arms around him.

  My tears continued but this time they were for the little boy that Jason had been, the little boy that was still inside him somewhere. My family had worn their military uniforms with pride, they’d chosen to risk their lives because they considered their jobs worthwhile. Not everybody deserved to wear the uniform though, Jason’s father had clearly not been one of those people who did.

  I heard the kitchen door open as Jason held me and I rushed to dry my eyes on the back of my hand.

  “Oh, sorry,” Bradley said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  “It’s a communal kitchen, Bradley,” I said, making my best attempt at chuckling. “We were just making dinner.”

  Bradley smiled and nodded, grabbing a pack of beer from his shelf in the fridge and opening one before retreating.

  Jason had turned away and was stirring the sauce again. He smiled meekly at me but didn’t speak, even though we were alone once more. We fell into a comfortable silence until the meal was ready. I love how tactile Jason is. Whenever he passed me at the stove, he’d put his hand on my hip or on my shoulder. He was constantly stroking the back of my neck or kissing me or holding me. I loved it.

  I knew we hadn’t really resolved what had been said but I liked that we weren’t arguing about it. I knew Jason was thinking about it, I was too, but instead of bickering back and forth we were both calmly thinking it through whilst we cooked and enjoyed each other’s company.

  Jaso
n held the plates and followed me down the hall to my room. I searched my pockets for my keys but I couldn’t find them. I frowned, trying to remember what I’d done with them. Adam had opened the front door for us on his way out to meet Laura so I hadn’t used them then.

  “Looking for something?” Jason grinned cheekily, watching me check and recheck my pockets.

  “My keys,” I frowned, wondering why he looked so cheerful all of a sudden.

  “My front pocket,” Jason grinned, nodding down to his jeans.

  What’s he doing with my keys? He was grinning mischievously and waited for me to retrieve them from his pocket.

  “Why have you got them?” I asked, stepping forwards to recover the keys seeing as his hands were carrying a plate each.

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out,” he grinned as I groped around in his pocket unsuccessfully.

  “They’re not here,” I frowned when I couldn’t find them.

  “Nope,” Jason shook his head. “They’re in the other pocket.”

  “Why didn’t you say something sooner?” I pouted, loving the mischief in his eyes.

  “Because I was enjoying it,” he grinned.

  I raised my eyebrows at him and quickly retrieved my keys from his other pocket. I flashed him a fake frown before I unlocked the door.

  “At least your Granddad didn’t outdo me,” Jason smirked from behind me as I took in the room.

  My desk was filled with flowers and beautiful red candles were placed all around the room. It was reminiscent of the night I’d lost my virginity and I loved it. I breathed out appreciatively as I stepped into the room and smelt the scent of the flowers. There was every shade of red, pink, purple, and white, and they were beautiful.

  “Jason,” I breathed. “This is lovely, thank you.” I turned round to grin up at him, letting him put the plates down on the bed so that I could jump up and wrap my legs around his waist.

  “You like it?” He smiled, wrapping his hands under me to support my weight.

  “I love it,” I beamed. “No matter how cheesy it is.”

  “You think I’m cheesy?” He laughed.

  I buried my face in his neck so I wouldn’t have to answer and began kissing him gently.

  “Alright, it is a little cheesy,” he admitted. “But I wanted to make sure you got a proper Valentine’s Day.”

  “That’s so sweet,” I murmured against his skin, my gentle kisses turning a little naughtier because he tasted delicious.

  “Jamie,” Jason warned, setting me down on the floor. “Dinner’ll get cold.”

  “Sacrifice I’m willing to make,” I grinned, sliding my hands up his shirt so I could feel his hard muscles against my hands.

  “Usually I’d agree,” he smiled gently. “But we really should talk first.”

  He was right. I knew he was right. The military argument hadn’t really been resolved. It felt a shame to sour our romantic evening by talking about it but it was best to get it smoothed out. I was still hurt by what Jason had said but at least I understood why he’d said it now.

  I spread out my blanket on the floor whilst Jason lit the candles around the room and we sat down for our make shift picnic.

  “I’m really sorry, Jamie,” Jason started. “It was a really stupid thing to say.”

  “I didn’t realise your Dad had been in the military,” I said quietly whilst Jason poured me a glass of the red wine he’d smuggled in along with the flowers and candles.

  “RAF,” he nodded, his brow furrowed. “Only one term. He got out as soon as his four years were up.”

  I nodded my understanding, popping a small floret of broccoli into my mouth because I couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “People treated him like he was some sort of hero because he fought in Iraq. They didn’t care about the person he was behind closed doors because he’d once worn the uniform,” he said, his voice hard and emotionless. “I didn’t mean to offend you or your family, Jamie.”

  “I know,” I said quietly, nodding. “I’m really proud of my brothers, Jason,” I added, because I was.

  “I know, baby. I didn’t mean to compare them. I know they’re in the army because they believe in it, not because they had no other job options.” He ran his fingers through his hair and I could tell he was still anxious. “Are we okay? I mean, do you forgive me?”

  I nodded my head with a small smile. I did forgive him. I understood what he’d meant, and I knew he hadn’t meant to offend me. “We’re okay.” I pointed to his mostly untouched dinner with a wry smile. “Weren’t you worried about dinner going cold?”

  “It would still taste amazing if it did,” he grinned, relaxing. “It’s so good!”

  I smiled happily, delighted that he liked the food. We chatted away happily for the rest of the meal, putting the dirty dishes to the side to sort later. We lay on the floor on top of the blanket, hand in hand with the flickering candles around us and the scent of fresh flowers filling the air.

  “You want your Valentine’s Day present?” Jason asked me, rolling onto his side with his mischievous glimmer back once more.

  “We said no presents!” I frowned.

  “No,” he shook his head at me. “You said I wasn’t allowed to spend lots of money on you.”

  “Were the flowers and candles free?”

  “Are you complaining?” He laughed.

  “No,” I giggled. “I’ll let you off that one.”

  “Then you can let me off the present as well,” he nodded, looking pretty sure of himself. “There is a precursor to the present though.”

  “Oh?” I smiled, sitting up and crossing my legs. “And what’s that?”

  “You have to be naked first,” he grinned, sitting up to join me and trying to pull my t-shirt up.

  “Fine,” I sighed in mock protest, already lifting my arms to make it easier for him. “Reciprocal?” I pouted, leaning back so that he could pull my jeans and knickers off.

  “We’ll see,” he grinned.

  I stuck out my bottom lip and gave him my biggest pout yet but he just grinned more broadly.

  “Your skin looks even more beautiful in candle light,” Jason breathed appreciatively, lifting himself over me and licking his way up my stomach to my neck.

  I groaned and arched my back towards him, wrapping my hands around his back and pulling his t-shirt off because I wanted my reciprocal naked time and I wanted it now. Jason chuckled and helped me pull his t-shirt off completely. I grinned and kissed him enthusiastically, already making full use of the access his semi-nakedness afforded me.

  Jason began nipping at my neck, his gifted tongue lavishing me with attention. I let my hands travel over his broad shoulders, tracing the butterfly shaped muscles that were tensing in his back as he held his weight over me.

  “Is this my present?” I breathed, squirming as Jason’s tongue travelled back down my body and dipped into my navel. “Not that I’m complaining.”

  “No,” he chuckled. “You distracted me.”

  “That’s usually your job,” I grinned, regretting asking because now he was drawing away.

  He chuckled and knelt back between my legs. I knew what he meant about candlelight on skin. The subtle flickering made shadows dance across his tight body and highlighted every beautifully toned inch of him. Jason had been ripped when we’d met but he’d refined his body even more now. He managed to maintain the perfect balance between trim and lean, and broad and powerful. Jason was perfectly between the two, he was just muscly enough. Goldilocks would have approved if she was as much of a perv as Jason had turned me into.

  I reluctantly drew my eyes away from his body as he reached under the bed and pulled something out. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat as he handed the box to me.

  “Chocolates?” I asked, accepting them.

  “Well, sort of,” he nodded.

  “They look like chocolates to me,” I teased, opening the box to admire the delicious looking truffles.

  �
�They are, but they’re not your present,” he chuckled.

  “Oh?” I frowned in confusion. “What’s my present?”

  “For every chocolate you eat, you get to ask me a question or remove an item of my clothing,” he explained. “I promise I’ll answer honestly, no matter what you ask.”

  “Really?” I asked, wide-eyed because this was huge. He was offering to open himself up to me in any way I wanted.

  “Really,” he nodded.

  “Are you wearing double socks and underwear?” I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out,” he grinned.

  “Tease,” I pouted in mock protest. “You want to open your present first?” I grinned, knowing he wasn’t expecting one.

  “You got me a present?” He asked, his eyes lighting up.

  “Sort of,” I blushed, reaching into my bedside table to hand him the envelope I’d hidden there.

  He snatched it out of my hand excitedly and ripped it open before I could explain. I’d made him some coupons, which had seemed like a fun idea at the time, but I was seriously regretting it now that he was about to see them. I could feel my cheeks burning and pulled my cushion off the bed so I could hide behind it.

  “Jamie,” he chuckled, pulling the cushion away from me as he looked through the coupons. “This is awesome!”

  “You don’t think they’re silly?” I blushed, crawling onto his lap so I could hide my face in the crook of his neck instead.

  “No,” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around me and pressing kisses to the top of my head. “I love them.” He tilted my face up to meet his to give me a thank-you kiss.

  I watched as he looked through the coupons, his eyes shining happily. I’d given him a bunch of them: some simple such as a kiss in the rain, others for things that he’d wanted to do but I’d not let him, like take me underwear shopping. I’d given him one that meant he could fight in the cage with Craig and I wouldn’t protest at all. One of the coupons I’d not been able to write the actually words on because it’d just felt too naughty so I’d just given him permission to “take my final first and last” and hoped he’d get what I meant.