by Elise Marion
He laughed. “Exactly. Your light is fire, Addie. That fire in you that I love so much … that’s your light. It’s what makes you special, and—I suspect—it’s why you were chosen to bear the ring. There’s no one else in the world who can do what you do. That’s something to be proud of. As for Elizabeth …”
Trailing off for a moment, he measured his words carefully. He hadn’t been with her in Hell and had no way of knowing if Elizabeth’s presence had been real or just another one of Lilith’s tricks. He didn’t want to make assumptions or give her false hope.
“She has lived her life,” he said. “Now that it’s ended, there’s nothing you can do from here on but live yours.”
For a long while, she stared at him in complete silence, her expression unreadable. Jack couldn’t tell if he’d said the right thing or not. Then, she moved closer, her hands flattening against his chest.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I know,” he replied.
And he did know. Addison was a person who had gone most of her life without truly being loved the way she deserved. So, for her to have told him to his face more than once that she loved him … Jack believed her with unwavering faith. The only question that remained now, was—
“What about Micah?”
Her gaze never wavered from his as she replied, her voice as steady as her stare. “I care about Micah. I won’t pretend that I don’t. We became closer after you died because it was the only way we could survive. I was there for him, and he was there for me. But through it all—even those moments when I was weak enough to … do things with him … it was only because I wanted to fill the hole in me left by your absence. I just wanted to stop feeling so much pain.”
Pausing, she lowered her eyes and settled them on the zipper of his jacket.
“It’s okay,” he murmured, lifting her chin so she was looking at him again. “I was angry, but I had no right to be … not at you, anyway. I died. You had a right to move on and try to be happy. Me coming back doesn’t have to change that … if it’s what you want.”
“When I said you helped me find my light, I don’t think you understood what I meant,” she countered. “What I meant was, you are my light. When you died, and I was left to fight on my own, I couldn’t find it. Every day was a constant struggle to keep my head above water, to see myself as being on the side of Good in this fight against Evil. The only time I could conjure up the light was when I thought of you. And that’s because I love you. Nothing that happens could ever change that.”
He tightened his hold on her, pulling her as close as she could be while they were both still fully clothed. Jack knew what she meant, but he had to be certain.
“Say it, Addie,” he urged, lowering his head until their lips almost touched. “You have to say it.”
Her hands came up to cup his face, and she brushed her lips against his.
“It’s you, Jack,” she whispered. “It’s always been you. I love you … I want you. Only you.”
A low groan rumbled in his chest as he closed the remaining distance between them, her words freeing him to do what he’d wanted to from the moment he’d seen her sitting on the porch. Capturing her mouth in a bruising kiss, he crushed her against him, one arm tight around her waist while his opposite hand found its way into her hair. Threading his fingers through the strands, he tilted her head and deepened the kiss, skimming her lower lip with his tongue, then demanding access.
She sighed against his mouth, back arching as she tightened her hold on the front of his jacket and parted her lips for him. Her taste flooded his senses, the velvet rasp of her tongue against his sending lightning strikes through his veins, heating the blood racing straight to his groin.
Swiftly reaching up to the zipper of her jacket, he snatched it down and shoved his hands into the opening. Still capturing and releasing her mouth in a perfectly timed dance, he spanned her waist, slipping beneath the hem of her shirt. Addison mimicked his actions, opening his jacket and sliding one hand beneath his shirt until she encountered his stomach. The muscles tensed in reaction to her touch. She whimpered as he smoothed his thumbs over her nipples through her bra, causing them to stiffen. Her index finger traced a path through the groove splitting his ab muscles, lingering just above his belt buckle in an unspoken invitation.
It had been a long four months, and she was too close, too soft, too undoubtedly his for him to deny the urge to claim her here and now.
But …
“Addie,” he groaned, tearing his lips away from hers. “We have to stop, or else … I won’t be able to stop.”
Her heavy-lidded eyes burned into his, desire turning them into the most stunning shade of gold.
“Don’t,” she whispered, punctuating it with a short kiss. “Don’t stop. I missed you. I need you.”
“I know. Me, too,” he replied, unable to help the downward trajectory of his hands. She gasped when he cupped her ass, pressing her up against the erection straining the front of his jeans. “But not here where anyone could see us, and without protection. We played with fire once. I’d rather not risk it again.”
He sucked in a sharp breath when she stood on her tiptoes and began nibbling his neck.
“I don’t care if anyone sees,” she murmured, her breath tickling his ear. “I think there might be some back at the trailer, but if you don’t start carrying condoms on you, you’re going to miss out on a lot of opportunities to get me naked in some very interesting places.”
A chuckle melted off on a gasp when she ran her fingertip along the front of his jeans, causing his cock to leap to attention like a well-trained soldier. At this moment, she could likely command him to do just about anything.
“I haven’t carried condoms in my wallet since I was in high school,” he replied. “But now that you mention it, the idea has some merit. For now, get on the bike, you hussy.”
She gasped in mock outrage. “Hussy?”
He shrugged. “You’re the one trying to seduce me on the side of the road. But if you get on the bike and let me take you back home … I’ll do the seducing.”
With a laugh, she released him and made a beeline for the waiting motorcycle. “Okay, but this is the one and only time I’m going to let you get away with calling me a hussy.”
Throwing one leg over the bike, he settled in and waited while she climbed on behind him. She reached over his shoulder to retrieve her helmet, but he halted her by grasping her wrist. Lifting her hand to his lips, he tenderly kissed the palm.
“Why don’t I just call you mine?” he offered, placing another kiss on the inside of her wrist. “My Addie.”
Bringing her other arm around him, she pressed a kiss against his jaw. “I think I like the sound of that.”
Addison could hardly think past the need to get Jack naked and on top of her, around her, inside of her. She was on fire, her blood rushing so swiftly in her veins that the roar of it pulsed in her ears.
Arriving back at the trailer, she jumped off the bike and grabbed his hand, urging him to hurry. Alice’s car had disappeared, and night had fallen, the orange tones of the sunset giving way to a navy-blue blanket dotted with stars. There was no better time than now.
With a chuckle, Jack trotted to keep up with her. Before she could begin climbing the stairs to the front door, he gave her a tug. She fell against him, her back against his chest.
Wrapping both arms around her, he held her tight, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Slow down. We have plenty of time.”
She shivered as his lips skimmed down to her jaw, then back up toward her ear. A groan slipped from between her lips as he began nipping at the lobe. How could he talk about taking things slow and the amount of time they had? It had felt like an eternity since they’d last been together, and now that there was nothing else standing between them, she couldn’t think past the need to possess him and be possessed.
He released her and allowed her to continue inside, his footsteps sounding on the stairs behind h
er. Tossing her helmet onto the couch, she made quick work of her jacket and threw that to lie beside it.
Turning to face Jack, she found him leaning against the front door, watching her with those smoldering eyes of his. She kept her stare trained on him as she reached for the hem of her shirt and slowly lifted it. The sensation of his gaze tracing the bare skin of her stomach felt as electric as if he were actually touching her. After pulling the shirt away completely, she found him coming toward her, reaching up to peel the leather jacket away from his shoulders and throwing it to rest beside hers.
Backing away down the hall, she tossed the shirt in his direction. He snatched it out of the air with one hand and pursued, following her at a pace that told her he wouldn’t be rushed. Entering her bedroom, she plopped down onto the bed, leaning back onto her elbows and watching as he appeared in the doorway. He approached the bed, but halted when she thrust one booted foot at him with a grin.
Jack grinned, too, taking hold of her ankle and reaching for the zipper that ran along the side of her boot. He made quick work of her shoes and socks before urging her to her feet and removing her jeans. She threw herself at him and he caught her up, lifting her while she wrapped her legs around his waist.
She scraped her fingernails over the short bristles of his hair as she took his mouth, invading it with her tongue. He groaned, his hold on her tightening as he returned the kiss with a bone-melting insistence.
Setting her on her feet, he allowed her to reverse their positions and push him to sit down on the bed.
“You stay right there,” she told him, backing away to the door. “I’ll be right back.”
Grasping the collar of his shirt, he snatched it off over his head and tossed it aside. “Whatever you say.”
Her mouth went dry as he leaned back, much the way she’d just lay, and stared up at her with a little smirk. She almost jumped him then and there, but remembered that she was supposed to be on the hunt for condoms.
What a damned nuisance, when all she wanted was to climb into that bed with him and not come out until morning. But he’d been right to remind her that getting knocked up was the last thing she needed right now.
“Note to self, get on the pill,” she muttered, crossing the hall to her mother’s room and flicking on the light.
She tried not to look too closely at her surroundings, or think too much about the woman who had once slept here. For this one day, she was content—happy. She and Jack were together again, for good this time. Nothing would spoil the moment, because she wouldn’t let it.
Opening the top drawer of the bedside table, she smiled. “Jackpot.”
Taking up the half-full box she’d discovered, she carried it back to her room. Dropping it in Jack’s lap, she sat on the bed beside him.
“Take your pick.”
Peering into the box, he raised his eyebrows. “Now to decide on a color.”
She frowned, glancing at the box, her face flushing as she realized it read ‘assorted colors’.
“I didn’t even notice that,” she muttered, trying not to think about the previous owner of the tacky rainbow condoms. If she let herself dwell on it too long, her libido would likely vanish in an instant.
“Damn it, why are there no black ones?” he muttered, rifling through the box. “No to red, and green is so not happening.”
A smirk twisted her lips. “Does it have to be black?”
He laughed. “Well, I’d like the hat to match the rest of the suit, if you get my drift.”
“If you don’t hurry up and pick one, I’m going to choose for you,” she warned him. “It could be purple, for all I care.”
“Got it,” he said, turning to her with a satisfied smirk. “The only black one in the box.”
Taking the box from him, she hurled it across the room, not bothering to pay attention to where it landed. Turning to straddle him, she settled in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
His breath quickened when her lips found his neck, tracking a path up to his ear. She writhed against him, desperate for friction, for the sort of closeness she couldn’t get while he was still half-dressed.
“Too many clothes,” she muttered, bending her head to kiss his shoulder. He grunted when she scraped the muscle with her teeth before soothing the sting with her tongue.
She heard the sound of his shoes being kicked off, then he was unclasping her bra. Helping him pull the straps from her shoulders, she sighed with relief when the lingerie fell away and her breasts filled his hands. Then, he touched her, squeezing and kneading with just the right amount of pressure. She arched her back, pushing them closer to him and settling her pelvis against his.
She bit her lip and choked on a gasp when his tongue dragged across one nipple, causing it to harden in an instant. Her hips bucked against his as he took the peak between his lips and gave it a gentle pull before releasing it, then pursing his lips and blowing a light stream of air against the damp flesh. A shudder wracked her as the nipple grew even harder and a steady pulsation began between her legs.
“Jack,” she gasped, writhing against him to relieve the ache between her legs. “Now … I can’t wait.”
His lips wandered along her chest, dipping toward the other breast, then back up to her throat. She whimpered when he latched onto the side of her neck, circling his tongue just over the vein where her pulse throbbed.
“I spent four months in Purgatory,” he murmured between kisses, while taking a nipple between his thumb and forefinger and giving it a little pinch. “Four months without feeling a thing … not even clothes against my skin. I spent a lot of time fantasizing about this … getting to touch and kiss you again. Let me, Addie.”
She acquiesced, and he continued nibbling on her neck, the gentle suction of his lips giving way to deep pulls that sent lightning strikes straight down into her core. It was going to leave a mark, for sure, but she realized with savage gratification that she wanted that—she wanted the reminder the she was his to be branded into her skin, the evidence there for her to see whenever she looked in the mirror. Bringing a hand to the back of his head, she held him there, letting her head fall back as he went on kissing her, biting, tasting.
Her world tilted and shifted as he rolled her onto her back and crouched over her. He went on kissing her, his lips tracing a path between her breasts and down her stomach, his tongue teasing her navel before going lower. She shuddered when he nibbled the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh, moaned when he sank his teeth in. He left no part of her untouched, kissing his way down to her ankles, then back up again, pausing at her shoulder and sliding down the inside of her arm. He lingered at her wrist, the feather-light kisses he left there awakening her to a sensation she’d never fathomed before. For the rest of her life, she would always wonder how she’d managed to go twenty-five years without realizing how erotic a kiss on the wrist could be.
Panting and writhing with need beneath him, she reached out with one hand to snatch his belt buckle loose. He chuckled, taking her pinky finger into his mouth and swirling his tongue hotly around it.
“Someone’s impatient,” he teased.
Her only response was a low growl as she tossed his belt aside and tore at the button, then the zipper of his jeans. He gasped when she snatched down his boxers and took the hard, hot length of him into her palm. The breath he’d pulled in came out on a hoarse moan as she stroked him, urging a drop of moisture from his head. She captured his earlobe between her teeth, causing an unmistakable tremor to rock him. He moved against her, fumbling with the condom wrapper while thrusting into the hand clenched around him.
“Damn it, Addie,” he muttered. “I can’t think straight with you touching me like that.”
“Good,” she whispered, placing a kiss against his chest. “Nice to know I’m not the only one.”
He shuddered again, his hips surging as she exerted more pressure and pulled another guttural sound from deep in his chest. Dropping the condom package onto the bed, he reached d
own and took hold of her wrist. She scowled when he pulled her hand away from his erection, before taking hold of the other and pinning them both above her head.
“What are you doing?” she asked, even as she realized his intent.
The pulsations between her thighs turned into resounding deep pangs as he produced his belt and began to use it to secure her hands together before looping it around one of the wooden slats of the headboard.
“Taking control of the situation before you drive me crazy,” he murmured, now able to tear the package open and sheath himself with the condom.
“I could tear this headboard apart,” she told him. “You know that, right?”
He smirked. “Sure you could. But I think we both know you don’t actually want to.”
Damn him, he was right. As he leaned back to study his handiwork, his gaze slipping down from where he’d tied her hands and over her body, the hunger in his gaze sent a tiny thrill through her.
A retort died on her lips as her gaze fell to the evidence of his arousal—thick and angled toward her, seeming to yearn for entrance as badly as she wanted his invasion. She drank him in, sliding her gaze up over long stretches of dark, supple skin laid over lean muscle, the lines of definition begging for the attention of her hands, her tongue. If her hands had been free, she’d torture him just as he had her. But, he seemed determined for her to keep them to herself.
The slide of his palms up her thighs robbed her of coherent thought. Slipping his fingers between her panties and her skin, he slowly dragged them down, causing the glide of the fabric over her hips and legs to linger on her like a slow caress. Then, he was touching her, his thumb burying itself between her lower lips and finding the hidden bundle of nerves which had grown swollen and sensitive.
His breathing became harsher as he went on stroking her, lowering himself between her legs and poising to enter. His lips grazed her ear and unintelligible words fell from them … something about how she felt, she supposed. All she knew was that she was dying a slow death, the desperation to have him inside her coiling deep in her belly like a spring. She jerked against the belt holding her hands captive, gritting her teeth and biting back a string of curses. He was teasing her, pushing her slowly toward the edge—closer and closer, but not quite there.