by Wendi Zwaduk
With one arm around her waist, he threaded the fingers of his other hand through her hair. He pressed his forehead to hers. Her scent, a mix of flowers and vanilla, twirled around him. His brain went fuzzy on the Jaden contact high. “Good. I’d hate to suffer alone.”
Behind them, the sound of claws on upholstery filled the room as Sparky and Riley jumped onto the couch. Jaden giggled. “As per normal, the most important members of the family have chosen their seats. Do you mind sitting on the floor? I vacuumed this morning.”
He glanced at her feet then into her eyes. “In heels and diamond earrings?”
She shrugged. “The great diva, Carley Moreno, taught me well. She said, ‘a girl has to look good at all times’. She wasn’t kidding. What if you came over and I looked like a frump? You’d turn tail and run to the hills.”
“You don’t need to follow the mandates of some has-been actress. You’re always beautiful to me, babe. In full makeup, in sweats, it doesn’t matter. I look at you and turned-on doesn’t begin to describe how I feel.”
“I think you’re hot, too, even when you get all bad-ass cop on me.”
“Smart ass.”
Stepping from his embrace, Jaden bent to retrieve the remote for the television. Her ass could stop traffic. No wonder she’d posed in that nudie magazine. She could model for him any day. Swimsuits, lingerie, hell, even turtleneck sweaters—he didn’t care as long as she gave him attention between wardrobe changes.
When she turned, she flashed him a disarming smile. “Speaking of looking hot, will you go with me to the Hallowe’en mixer tomorrow? Cass said it’s a great time and since the band’s playing, I thought maybe we could have real date.”
“You beat me to the punch.” When she looked away, he cupped her chin. Something else brewed on her mind. “What are you thinking about?”
“Something from earlier, not that I can hide much from you.” She let out a long sigh. “You wanted to know about Summer. I’ll say this. Summer Tyler is quite the talker.”
Biting back the groan, he sat down on the edge of the couch. “She is. And?”
“This probably isn’t the time, but were you going to tell me you have a wife?”
He winced. “Had.” Minor technicality that had the potential to cause major damage. He sucked in a ragged breath. Trust Summer to blab things he wasn’t ready to deal with, even four years later. “There’s a big difference.”
Sitting on the coffee table opposite him, Jaden tangled her fingers together. “Summer said you two dated, but she couldn’t wipe out your wife’s memory. Sounds like she was one in a million—your wife, not Summer. I’ll stop talking now.”
“It’s fine.” Marlon sighed. How to answer without sounding like a shit? He rubbed his chin with the pads of his fingers, as if the nervous gesture would help him find the answers. “Some women make good friends. Others make good lovers. Summer is a friend. You are my lover and my girlfriend.”
Her voice remained low. “Oh, well, that’s good to know. What about Sabrina? I trust you. If you say there’s nothing there, then there’s nothing there. But, man, she’s persistent.”
“I admit it. She’s clingy.” He tilted her head to catch her gaze. “Jaden Marie, look at me. I need to see those beautiful eyes of yours.”
“You stink when you try to rhyme. Go back to cop mode.” Slowly, she shifted her focus. “Really, the greeting card industry is not the place for such a smooth-talking man.”
“Back to cop mode? Try to rhyme?” He feigned surprise by clutching his chest. “I don’t try to do anything. I succeed.”
“You do.” Those two words turned his guts inside out.
“Baby girl, I have a past just like you. It’s not as colourful, but it’s mine. I won’t make excuses.” He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. “I’m a man who wanted physical affection and I found a couple of women who fit the bill on a temporary basis. But when it comes to you, it’s different.”
“Really?”
Pulling her onto his lap, he wrapped her in his arms. His cock pressed against her crotch, causing delicious pressure. “Do you feel that? I think about you and have to work like hell to hide the stiffy. Making love to you blows my mind. Yes, I was married once and one day I’ll explain, but not right now. Addy’s a wound I don’t know how to heal or deal with, but being with you helps. I thought I loved her, so I married her. I was wrong.”
“How do you feel about me?”
Her question, simple but powerful, rocked him to his core. He ached to be inside her again, to make love to her again. Why not tell her the truth? He wiped a tear from her cheek with the pad of his index finger. “This is so unlike anything I’ve ever felt and it took me too long to understand it. There’s some things I need to get sorted out, but I don’t want to be without you.”
“I love you, Marlon.” Although she continued to cry, she laughed. “Screwy, huh? Here you’re being all covert and confused, and I was afraid to tell you I love you.”
Fusing their lips, he sipped from her. The ache in his groin increased, only to find relief in her. Her small hands clutched his shoulders. A whimper ripped from her throat. He pushed the kiss further, caressing her breast. She wriggled and pressed her chest into his hand. Her nipple pebbled. Determined to turn her on as much as she affected him, he pinched the hot flesh. She gasped and held on tighter. “Yes, Marlon.”
“God, I want to fuck you right here.”
Jaden gyrated her hips and licked his bottom lip. “Why else do you think I wore a skirt?” She fumbled with her skirt and produced a condom.
“Smart woman.” Marlon whisked his hands under the skirt and palmed her thighs. The higher he touched, the silkier her skin became. He clawed at her panties and shifted them to the side. Her cream coated his hand. “Hell, yes.”
Jaden worked the zipper on his jeans and withdrew his penis. Using measured strokes, she worked the condom onto him.
His breath stuttered. “Fuck, I won’t last.”
“Then don’t.” Jaden eased down on his latex-encased dick and her head lolled on her shoulders. She clutched the sleeves of his shirt in white-knuckled hands. Whimpers floated on the air.
His thrusts became frantic and sweat beaded at his temples. Damn, he’d love to be lost forever in the tight heat of her pussy. Grabbing her hips, he slammed into her body and muffled his cries against her neck.
“Come for me, baby,” she murmured.
He shuddered and released his seed. Her words rocked straight to his core and resonated in his balls. He gasped to catch his breath. “Yeah.”
She whimpered once more and collapsed against his chest. “Yeah’s right.”
As if they thought she was being hurt, Sparky and Riley began to bark. Soon, two wet noses butted in to the kiss. Jaden jerked back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Sparks! Riley! Really! I know where those noses have been on more than one occasion.”
Marlon laughed, really laughed. Yeah, so the dogs interrupted things. Oh well. She loved him and he loved her. Things were good. “See? When I want to be smooth, I do just fine. I even got the dogs’ attention.” He slapped her bottom. “Scoot. I want to chuck this before Judi comes into the room.”
Jaden wriggled off his lap and handed him a tissue. “It’s fine. She’s lying down. We scrubbed the kitchen this morning and it wore her out.”
After tossing the tissue into the waste bin, Marlon strode back into the living room. His Jeep sat alone in front of the house. Still, the earlier odd flash in the street unnerved him. “Have you noticed anything out of order? Any people following you for too long or people on the sidewalk staring? I need to know. Has that jerk bothered you again?”
Her brows knotted. “No, I haven’t seen him since. Why? Things have been pretty boring and peaceful, save for arguing with Leonard and avoiding Steven’s grumpy attitude when he checks on Judi.” She caressed the top of his hand with her index finger. “No phone calls or anything from the weirdoes this week. I’m not compla
ining, but you’re scaring me.”
“Phone calls?”
“Yes, someone prank called the house a few days ago, but it stopped. Why? Did you see something?”
“Nothing important.” He shook his head. “No, there is something. Are you seeing anyone else?”
Smoothing the wrinkles in his shirt, she nibbled the corner of her mouth. “No one but you.”
Marlon rubbed his thumb over her chin. Bits and pieces of his conversation with Sabrina came to mind. Was Sabrina trying to sabotage the relationship or had she told the truth? His response to Jaden felt too right, too bone deep to be wrong. Changing the subject, he smoothed his hand to the back of her head and cupped her skull. “I need some Jaden love time.”
Scooting closer to him, Jaden smiled. “Then kiss me, sexy man!”
How could he say no to a direct order? Marlon nipped her lips as he succumbed to her charms. She sucked his tongue into her mouth and the suction sent sparks and flames to his erection. Holy hell, he’d never last if she kept teasing him so.
“Jaden!”
Judi’s scream from the other room made him pause. When she stumbled into the living room, both he and Jaden broke apart and jumped up. They spoke in unison, “What’s wrong, Judi?”
“It’s my heart.” The older woman gasped for air. She leant against the doorframe. “My chest hurts. It’s tight. My left arm aches and the room is spinning.”
He turned to Jaden, his adrenaline surging through his veins. “Call 911 and tell them Judi’s having a heart attack.” Focussing his attention on Judi, he checked her fluttering pulse. “Do you have any aspirin?”
Jaden raced into the room with a purse. “In here. She keeps a bottle just in case. The ambulance is on its way.” Her voice rose a couple of octaves. Panic infused her words. “Oh God, Marlon. Save her.”
Moments later, when the red and white lights flashed through the windows, Marlon allowed himself to breathe steadily. Thank God the fire department and ambulance service were only a couple of blocks away. Adam Stafford and Greg Brewer were some of the best EMTs he knew. They’d take care of Judi until she arrived at the hospital.
He held Judi’s hand. “Sweetheart, can you hear me? Two of my friends are going to take you to the hospital. Jaden and I will be right behind. I’ll have her call Steven, okay?”
As Adam whisked Judi into the ambulance, she nodded. Her eyes closed and the monitor beeped more loudly.
Marlon reached for Jaden, who stood clutching Bobby Hutching. What the fuck? Both Sparky and Riley howled. His heart dropped to his toes. Sure, he’d seen accident victims, shooting victims, and people with health issues, but never anyone he was so close to—other than his parents. Other than Addy. The thought of losing Judi bothered him almost as much as losing his folks. Losing Jaden.
“Bob—”
“Don’t get your pants in a wad. I was at the station with Adam.” Bobby stroked Jaden’s arm and nudged her towards Marlon. “I’m just here to help.”
Jaden’s voice broke through Marlon’s anger-induced fog. “Put Riley in his crate and we can go. He tends to chew on the dining room table legs if no one’s watching, and since I don’t want Judi to be alone, he’d better be confined.”
“You got it, honey.”
Marlon kissed her temple and held her close—a sign to Bobby she belonged to him. The thought of sharing Jaden with anyone didn’t sit well with Marlon. She trembled, blotting out his frustration. “I’m scared. She’s the closest thing to a mom I’ve had in a long time. I don’t want to lose her. Hold me.”
He stroked her hair and kissed her head. “I’m holding you, Jaden Marie.”
Her voice cracked and her words rushed together. “I can’t feel it.”
“I promise, baby. I won’t let you down.”
Sparky continued to howl from his spot on the rug while Riley jumped all over the couch. Jaden wiped her face with the back of her hand. Her voice dropped to a low octave, the raw sound twisting his insides. “We’d better go before she thinks we forgot about her.”
Marlon scooped Riley into his arm and strode to the crate to place the dog inside. Turning circles on the navy and black blanket, Riley barked and whimpered.
“We’ll be back, big guy.” Marlon checked the lock on the back door. When he entered the living room, Jaden fumbled with her purse. The contents spilled onto the floor. Her hands shook as she tried to put the loose bills and makeup into the leather bag.
“Slow down, baby. We’ll get through this.” Marlon knelt next to her and held the scratched metal tin. He toyed with the catch, opening the container. White tablets. No lettering, but blue flecks.
“Mints. You know, the cool breeze that knocks out the worst breath?”
He looked up and caught her gaze.
“I liked the tin, but you can check. Just mints.”
He handed her a pink tube of lipstick, the tin, and her license. The picture was of the blonde Jade. He chuckled. She’d changed so much in the month since she’d arrived. Compassion and concern enhanced her beauty. Her smile, once plastic, now shimmered when she laughed. Once things calmed down, he’d confront her properly concerning Bobby and her past habits. Then he’d get down to loving her.
Chapter Fifteen
Two hours after Judi had been rushed to the ER, Marlon paced the waiting area in the hospital’s critical care unit. Crawford General wasn’t the largest hospital in the area. The building had stood in the centre of town for over fifty years, serving the residents of Crawford. The pale blue paint on the walls, though clean, needed an update. The vending machines lining the far wall had seen better days.
But none of that mattered.
Crawford General had the best staff. Few hospitals could boast such an attentive group of doctors and nurses. He wasn’t fond of the place, only because a hospital visit meant questioning a banged-up victim or, worse, talking to a woman who had lived through spousal abuse. Like the animals at the shelter, the abuse victims reminded him that some people were blameless while others were plain evil. The women always had the same pleading look in their eyes. Help me.
He glanced at the doors to the main hallway. A nurse pushed a man in a wheelchair past, but there was no sight of a doctor. Marlon turned his attention back to Jaden, who sat in a ball on one of the couches. Her eyes, puffy from crying, had lost their sparkle. Bobby sat across from her with his hand on her knee. There to help… Marlon wanted to believe him, but come on. He was too damn close and the coincidence was too easy.
In three long strides, Marlon reached her couch and sat down. “I’ll get you through this. Judi still has things to do. She’s not ready to go home to her husband.”
Clutching a tissue, Jaden sniffled and curled in to him. “I believe you, but I can’t stop thinking. What if she passes? Riley lost his home when Pearl died. I came into Sparky’s life by accident. They’re the lucky ones. Who will help the other older people who want to keep their pets? I can’t adopt them all.”
He sighed. “Honey, you’re right. You can’t take them all in, but you can pray that Judi gets better.”
Bobby stood and cleared his throat. “I’m going to check on Judi. Be back in a bit.”
Marlon allowed himself to relax a little once the other man had departed. “Things will get better.”
“And what about me? I have a little money, a huge credit card bill, and four animals who depend on me. I took care of her, but if something happens, I have nowhere to stay! God, I’m irresponsible!”
Tucking her safe within him arms, he kissed her temple. “Don’t say that. There’s more to you than a glossy magazine page. Besides keeping the animals happy, you keep Judi from betting too much when she goes out to play bridge and bingo. And I trust you with my life.”
“You do?”
“I do.” The vision of Jaden in white murmuring those exact words flicked into his mind. His bride. Jaden Cross. Even her name linked with his sounded perfect. Once things with Judi settled, he’d propose to Jaden. Life w
as too short to waste it with uncertainties and gossip.
“Thanks for the kind words, I needed it.” She sat up and wiped more tears from her cheeks. “Bobby might be around, but Daddy doesn’t care what happens to me. Momma’s been in heaven since I was little. All I have left of her is their wedding band.” Her voice caught and exhaled slowly. “Maybe that’s why I came back here to Ohio. Between you and Judy and the kids, I feel like I’ve got a snuggly warm blanket shielding me from the shit I lived through in California. You know what I mean?”
“I know exactly. Mom and Dad weren’t too fond of the choices I made, but they never gave up on me. I’ll be damned if I let anyone hurt you.” Even Bobby.
“I must sound like I’m helpless.” She twisted the ring around her middle finger. “Will you tell me about Addy someday? I don’t want any secrets between us.”
He froze. His past wasn’t up for discussion. How to detour the conversation? “You don’t want my ancient history. There’s so much I don’t know about you.”
She nodded. “I know some of it from Summer. I’d rather know the truth from you when you’re ready. Lies and assumptions just get people into trouble.”
She glossed over her own past, but wanted to know about his wife. Well, hell. He fidgeted in his seat, staring at his work-roughened hands. Scars from a recent scuffle marred his knuckles. “It’s nothing exciting.” He sighed. When Jaden squeezed his fingers, he found the strength to tell his story.
“I’m thirty-three years old and not real suave around women. My idea of a hot date was going to the Wing Hut and sharing a soda over a bucket of hot wings.”
She cocked her head. “Nothing wrong with that.”
“Not in this town. The bar scene is the place to be, except it’s not my thing. But you asked about Addy.” He wrinkled his nose and sighed. “When I was fresh out of the academy, I met Addison Davids. Until that point all I wanted to do was be a cop, but she blew my mind. All long legs and blonde hair. I wanted to run away with her.” He paused and toyed with the thick band on his watch. “But being with Addy wasn’t exactly easy. She liked men—all men—without commitments. I wanted her for myself, and it took convincing. That right there should’ve told me she wasn’t wife material, but I was young and dumb and horny. Even my parents hated her.”