Loving Jackson (Wishing Well, Texas Book 10)

by Melanie Shawn

  I wanted to be there for her. I wanted to be the person that she went to when things like this, or anything, happened. I wanted to be the one that she kissed goodnight, and the man who woke up beside her every morning.

  But was that what she wanted? I had no idea. And with everything that had happened today, I didn’t think this was the time to bring it up.

  We stared at one another in silence and I fisted my hands and pushed them down further in my pockets. I didn’t blame myself for itching to touch Josie. The air between us was thick with sexual tension and muscle memory took over on how to eliminate that.

  After what seemed like several minutes, but was probably more like thirty seconds, I said, “Well, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

  I knew that if I didn’t get out of there, I was going to do or say something inappropriate.

  “Oh.” Her shoulders slumped and I could see disappointment in her honey gaze. “You’re not going to stay?”

  “Do you want me to stay?” I couldn’t help that my voice dropped an octave when I posed the question. My only guess as to why that happened was that the blood flow normally supporting my vocal cords all went south, putting extra strain on my pipes.

  “Do you want to stay?” she countered.

  “Fuck, yes.”

  Her cheeks blushed at my quick, and decisive response and a small, flirty smile lifted at the corners of her mouth.

  I repeated my question. “Do you want me to stay?”

  “Yes,” she answered before I got the entire question out.

  “Can I ask you one more thing?”

  Expectation sparked in her stare as she nodded.

  “What do you have on under the robe?”

  Her breath was shallow, causing her chest to rise and fall rapidly, pushing her barely covered breasts against the terrycloth material. “Nothing.”

  The zipper of my jeans might be permanently imprinted on my dick because it was straining so hard against it. “Show me.”

  Her breath hitched and her teeth sank into her lower lip as she slowly untied the belt around her waist. The robe parted, revealing her full breasts, and my mouth watered at the beautiful sight. I closed the space between us in a single stride. My fingers trailed along her collarbone as I slid her robe off her shoulders.

  As it pooled on the floor by her feet, she slipped her fingers below my shirt and ran her hands up my torso. I watched as my T-shirt bunched up and my skin twitched beneath her exploring touch. Wanting her to have full access to me, I lifted my arms and pulled my shirt off.

  A look of satisfaction crossed her beautiful features as her fingers splayed on my bare chest. My heart pounded wildly beneath her palm and my erection strained impatiently behind the confines of my jeans. I watched her as she ran her hands all over my upper body, her eyes following their path as she did. Her touch was innocent yet bold, sending my arousal spiking into the red zone.

  When she made her way down to my southern region, the back of her hand grazed my bulge as she attempted to unbutton my jeans. The barely-there touch caused my dick to throb painfully. As much as I was enjoying her attempt at undressing me, my urgency to be inside her overrode my ability to remain passive.

  I gripped her wrists, halting her progress with my buttons. She sucked in a startled breath as her eyes flew up to mine. There was an undeniable excitement in her stare as a flush rose from her chest to her neck. I loved seeing the physical evidence that I was affecting her, I wondered if she got as much satisfaction from seeing my body’s reaction to her.

  My eyes never left hers as I kept one hand tightly wrapped around her delicate wrists and used my other to unbutton, unzip, and push my jeans and boxers down my legs. I stepped out of my clothes and watched as her eyes dropped down to the evidence of how much she affected me jutting up proudly.

  The light pink blush on her skin deepened to a darker shade. Keeping her hands captive with my left hand, I gently brushed the knuckles on my right hand down her belly. She quivered beneath my touch. When I reached the small patch of hair on the pelvic bone above her sex, I roughly commanded. “Spread your legs.”

  She did as I asked, and my hand moved between them. My fingers slid easily along her slick folds. My body was strung tight as I teased her opening with my middle finger. Her body fluttered against my touch, coating my digit with her juices.

  “You’re so wet,” I gritted out and closed my eyes against the onslaught of arousal that flooded through me.

  With her wrists still trapped in my hold, her fingers somehow managed to wrap around my shaft and squeeze. “You’re so hard.”

  “Fuck,” I groaned as my dick swelled in her hand, throbbing for release.

  My eyes flew open and the sight of my hand between her legs and her slender fingers gripping my thick member was almost enough to put me up and over the edge. A hot, wild tremor shook me and, acting purely on animalistic need, I spun her around and bent her over the bed.

  I wanted to make love to her, to take things slow and show her how much I felt for her. But first, I needed to take the edge off. This was going to be fast, and dirty, and I was going to make damn sure that she loved it.

  Chapter 30

  Josie

  “Seduction has nothing to do with the physical body. It’s starts and ends with the mind.”

  ~ Josephine Grace Clarke

  My hands landed on the comforter with a thud as I gasped. I could still feel the impression of his fingers on my wrists from where he’d held my hands. Tingles spread from my head to my toes at my exposed position.

  Being with Jackson made me feel more alive than I’d ever felt. He made me feel free. He made me feel fearless. He made me feel empowered.

  I wasn’t sure how him manhandling me translated to those things, but I wasn’t complaining.

  Jackson’s hands grasped my hips. His fingers dug into my flesh as he tilted them up. I felt him lean over me and he whispered against my ear, “This isn’t going to last long, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

  The heat of his breath on my neck, the brush of his lips against my outer ear, and the smoky growl in his voice had me trembling and my inner walls clenching. I was primed and ready and when he pushed inside of me, my knees buckled.

  His hands tightened their hold, keeping me upright, but I collapsed on my forearms. In the new position I had a bird’s eye view of where our bodies were intimately joined. I watched as he moved in and out of me.

  I could feel tension building low in my belly. He moved so his knee was on the bed and the new angle had him driving even deeper into me. My fingers tightened as my forehead dropped to the mattress, and my back arched.

  My release was within reach, but I just couldn’t quite grasp it. Jackson must’ve sensed my frustration because his arm wrapped around my waist and his hand moved between my legs.

  His finger began to make a circular motion around my distended pleasure nub and my legs started to quiver. My hips bucked against him as he thrust into me. I could feel the tension radiating off of him and I sensed that he was holding back.

  “Harder,” I whimpered.

  I heard a deep, guttural moan seconds before he slammed into me with more force than he’d been using before.

  “Harder,” I gasped, wanting him to unleash everything that he had bottled up.

  My wish was his command and he began to pound into me with furious energy. I could feel him growing larger and larger inside of me, stretching my inner walls. The friction of our bodies caused tiny explosions of bliss to spread through me.

  I’d never been a particularly auditorily stimulated person, but the sound of our thighs slapping together combined with our labored breathing and my soft cries of pleasure were definitely heightening the experience.

  But it was always that way with Jackson. Everything he did was just…more. With him everything felt more intimate, more connected, more pleasurable.

  Would it ever be like this with anyone else?

  Would anyo
ne ever make me feel like I did when I was with Jackson?

  Would anyone ever compare to him?

  No. I couldn’t allow myself to go down the what-if rabbit hole.

  If I did, I’d miss out on what was actually happening.

  I needed to be in the moment and not let myself think about tomorrow or the next day or the next week. All I had to do was be present with Jackson in the now.

  With his finger brushing back and forth over my most sensitive spot, all other thoughts evaporated from my mind, making that task a lot easier. Pleasure coiled in my center as the motion of Jackson’s flicking fingertip picked up speed. It matched the rhythm of his thrusts, sending my body into an orgasmic spiral.

  I cried out; my voice muffled by the comforter that I’d fisted in my hands. White hot bursts of pleasure exploded in me as I felt Jackson surge one last time into me. His body tensed and his fingers dug into my hips. The muscles in his thighs flexed powerfully against the back of my legs as I pushed back against him. As my climax slowly subsided, my inner walls pulsed around his thick, steel-hard member, milking out his release.

  My body quaked with an aftershock as his hold on my hips relaxed and he slowly pulled out of me.

  “Lay down,” he commanded as he stood up off the bed.

  He didn’t need to ask me twice. My limbs were noodles as I fell onto my stomach, my entire body sated with pleasure. I closed my eyes, luxuriating in the coolness of the fabric against my cheek. Today had been an emotional roller coaster. I was spent, emotionally, mentally, and now thanks to Jackson, physically.

  In the back of my mind, I knew that I should probably be more upset than I felt in the moment. Not only was my time with Jackson was coming to an end, I had no clue what the fallout from speaking out today was going to be. But, in this exact moment, none of it mattered, most likely because my body was flooded with dopamine and oxytocin.

  The bed dipped beside me and my eyelids fluttered open to see Jackson lying beside me. He was holding a wash rag.

  “Turn over,” he whispered as he kissed my forehead.

  I did as he asked, and my legs parted automatically. The past two nights he’d taken special care to clean me up post-sexy time. He always made sure that the wet cloth was warm as he gently wiped it against my sensitive skin. I didn’t have enough experience to know whether or not that was something every man did, but it felt very special to me.

  When he finished, he rolled on his back and pulled me against him. My body instinctively curled into him as I laid my head on his chest. It honestly felt like we fit together like a puzzle. A naked puzzle. He rubbed his hand up and down my back, in a way that was quickly becoming my favorite thing in the world. It relaxed me and made me feel totally safe and protected.

  The thought struck me that it was strange how comfortable it felt just lying around nude with a man that I hadn’t even known a week ago. I sighed as I floated in complete and total contented bliss.

  “I wanted to talk to you…” His hand stilled.

  I lifted my eyes and noticed that he had a frown line between his brows and a very serious expression on his face.

  “I know this isn’t a great time, but…”

  He paused, as if searching for the right words to say. I could see that something was upsetting him and all the good hormones that had been keeping negative thoughts at bay were gone. My mind instantly went to the worst-case scenario.

  Jackson probably thought that I was getting too attached. He didn’t want me to think that this was anything more than what it was. He didn’t know how to break it to me.

  “I’ve actually been wanting to ask you, are you excited about your next job?” I changed the subject and did my best to make my voice as upbeat and happy as I possibly could. I didn’t want him thinking that I was taking this too seriously. “You’re working with Shemar Lancaster, right? I’ve heard he’s an amazing director.”

  “Yeah.” He nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied me.

  Feeling the weight of his scrutiny, I doubled down. If “doubled down” meant talking a mile a minute and not letting him get a word in edgewise.

  “That’s such an incredible opportunity. I bet you are ready to hop on that plane. I would be, if I were you. I honestly can’t thank you enough for taking the time out of your schedule and doing this.” As soon as I heard what I’d said, I rushed to clarify. “Not this.” I waved my hand over us. “I mean the project. Thank you for taking the time to do the project. I honestly couldn’t have imagined doing it with anyone else.”

  His left eyebrow lifted, and his lips tilted in a grin. “This or the project.”

  I was glad that he was teasing me again. Even if it was because he was off the hook from having to have “the talk” with me. More than anything, I’d let myself off the hook of being on the receiving end of it. And after the day I’d had, I was going to consider that a win.

  Chapter 31

  Jackson

  “Intentions are only as good as the actions that follow them.”

  ~ Josephine Grace Clarke

  My eyes were blurry as I blinked them open. It took me a moment to get my bearings and remember where I was. It helped that on the nightstand there was a flyer for ziplining and across the top it read, Hope Falls. Not having any clue where I was happened on a regular basis. Since I didn’t really have a home base, I often woke up and had no clue what city, or even country, I was in for the first few seconds.

  I grabbed my phone and saw that it was a quarter after seven a.m. Our flight wasn’t until four p.m., so we had some time. I rolled over and saw Josie lying beside me. Her red hair fanned out on the white comforter and pillowcase. The sun was shining in through the window and the rays highlighted her golden locks. My fingers itched to run through her silky strands, but I didn’t want to wake her.

  We’d spent three nights together. Three nights sharing a bed. Three nights making love to one another.

  And I didn’t have any idea if there would be another.

  I’d wanted so badly to speak to her last night, but she’d seemed so uncomfortable when I’d tried to bring it up that I’d dropped it. The last thing I’d wanted to do was pressure her with my feelings. I’d been on the receiving end of women wanting a relationship to be more than it was, and I’d done my fair share of dodging the subject. But last night, I could honestly say, was the first time I’d ever been the one getting dodged. I hadn’t liked it, but I’d told myself that yesterday had been a long day for Josie and she probably just hadn’t wanted to end it with a where-do-we-see-this-relationship-going talk.

  I wasn’t sure if she’d want to have that particular conversation today either, but I was going to bring it up again. The clock was ticking on our time together and I knew if I didn’t take action, the opportunity was going to slip right past me.

  If being forced to watch My Best Friend’s Wedding with my little sister a hundred times, when we’d both come down with chicken pox and it was the only thing that kept her mind off itching, had taught me anything, it was that you have to say something when you feel it, otherwise the moment just passes you by.

  Not able to control myself, I lifted my arm and brushed a long strand of hair off her forehead.

  Behind me, my phone buzzed, and I grabbed it off of the nightstand. I saw that it was Ken Lyons, the executive producer from my next job. I’d worked with Ken on several projects and, as much as I wanted to ignore both his call and the rest of the world, Ken Lyons was not someone you sent to voicemail. I slipped out of bed, pulled up my sweats and as quietly as I could, I walked out onto the patio.

  “Hey, Ken.”

  “Where are you?”

  Oh, I’m fine, thanks. How are you?

  Niceties weren’t really his style, but that didn’t mean his greeting wasn’t a little jarring. “Hope Falls.”

  “Production’s been moved up. Lancaster’s schedule changed. We need you in LA today.”

  “Today?”

  “Actually yesterday, but
today will have to do. You have preproduction meetings at eleven and three and you’re on a red eye to New York tonight. You’ll connect with your international flight there.”

  A heaviness settled low in my belly. “I thought I had another week.”

  “I have a plane landing in Tahoe to pick you up in forty-five minutes.”

  With that, Ken disconnected the call. I stood out on the patio staring at the pine and aspen trees, still trying to process what I’d just been told.

  I wasn’t shocked that he’d managed to arrange a private plane to retrieve me within sixty seconds of me telling him where I was. I wasn’t offended by his lack of phone or basic etiquette. He probably had fifteen crew members he needed to wrangle. He didn’t have time to listen to all of them bitch and complain about the new schedule.

  What surprised me was my reaction to the call. I’d wanted to tell him no. I’m not going. But I hadn’t done that. Which meant I had a short time to collect my things.

  Forty-five minutes. That’s how long before the plane would be waiting for me in Lake Tahoe.

  Shit. That meant I needed to get my ass out of here. Tahoe was a thirty-minute drive, at least.

  I debated whether I should pack first and then wake Josie up, or wake Josie up and then pack. Wait, I couldn’t do that. I had to go back to my room to pack. I didn’t have a choice, I had to wake her up first.

  But when I did, what was I going to say to her? What I wanted to say to her was so different than what I needed to say to her. I needed to tell her that I was leaving. I needed to tell her that I would arrange for a car to take her to the airport for her four o’clock flight. What I wanted to tell her was…

  I don’t want to leave you.

  It feels wrong walking away from this, whatever this is between us.

  Just say the word and I’ll back out of the project.

  None of those things sounded like what I should be saying. But they were what I wanted to say. I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration.