by J. S. Scott
Jesus! The woman even had a passion for food, something I’d had since I was a teenager. And she didn’t care if it came from a hole-in-the-wall place as long as it tasted good.
She obviously wasn’t all about fancy restaurants. Not that I didn’t eat at those, too. But it was nice to be with somebody who just liked to try out different and unique stuff. Sometimes the food at trendy restaurants actually sucked. But most of the women I’d dated in the past wanted to go to fancy restaurants to “see and be seen” at an exclusive place. Mostly, they’d never cared much about the food.
I didn’t cook.
But I sure as hell loved to eat.
“I can bring you some of my haul,” I offered.
There was a hesitation before she answered, “Sounds good. But don’t bring too many. Just enough for dinner.”
“It’s a date,” I told her as we reached her car. “I’m parked just down the road. I’ll follow you back to the west end.”
She unlocked the car door, opened it, and turned around to face me. “This can’t be…a date. I mean, I know you probably didn’t really mean that it was really a date. It’s just an expression, right? But I’ve sworn off dating for at least a year. I’ve made enough mistakes.”
Oh, we were going to date, among other things. There was no way I’d let a woman like Hayden get away. I wasn’t like her idiot exes.
I shrugged. “Okay. No dating. We’ll just have sex.”
Her delighted laugh made my damn heart squeeze inside my chest. The sound was so incredible that it grabbed me by the balls even harder than she had the night before.
It was obvious that she thought I was joking.
“Whatever, Jackson,” she said, still smiling as she slid into the driver’s seat. “Just make sure you bring the burritos.”
I closed the door to make sure she was safely inside, and then started jogging to my Navigator.
Mine! Hayden is mine!
Never in my life had I been a possessive guy with any woman I’d dated, so the greedy, possessive, primitive emotions surprised me. So did the deep-seated need to protect her.
If anybody wants to hurt Hayden again, they’ll have to go through me first.
I was going to eventually make her understand that we belonged together.
I’d known it since the moment she’d arrived at her vacation house.
Now all I had to do was convince her that I was right.
Chapter Five
Hayden
We’re just two neighbors hanging out. It’s not a date.
I hung up my jacket in the front closet after I arrived back at my house, reminding myself over and over that Jackson was not a romantic interest.
“I should have said no,” I whispered to myself as I put away the dishes in the dishwasher.
The guys I’d dated in the past weren’t nearly as hot as Jackson. Not even close. And every one of them had dumped me.
My neighbor was way too dangerously attractive, and it was going to be difficult to see him as just a buddy when I was wildly attracted to him.
Sure, he’d called me beautiful, but I was sure he was a charmer.
Maybe he called all women by that pet name.
Then why do I feel a connection with him like I’ve never experienced with anyone else?
I hadn’t been able to make him let go of my hand once he’d taken it. Not until we’d gotten back to my car.
I’d savored that small bit of intimacy.
Even when I probably shouldn’t have.
Problem was, I liked him, and talking to him seemed so damn natural that all kinds of things had popped out of my mouth.
“God, I even told him I didn’t like sex,” I said, disgusted. “What was I thinking?”
As I loaded the dirty dishes from the sink into the now-empty machine, I shook my head.
It was like I’d known him forever, yet I didn’t really know him at all.
It hadn’t escaped me that he hadn’t even mentioned his last name, which should probably be a big, red flag.
Or was Jackson his last name and not his first? I had no idea.
My gut was telling me that he had a reason for not telling me, and it wasn’t nefarious.
Or was my instinct just twisted because I was so damn attracted to him?
My doorbell rang, and I had to stop myself from running toward it.
This is not a date. This is not a date.
I didn’t need to get all twitter pated just because the hottest guy I’d ever seen was standing outside my door.
With renewed resolve not to let him get to me, I opened the door.
And it faded away as I saw Jackson’s mischievous smile, and handsome face.
“Hi,” I said breathlessly.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said in the sexiest, huskiest tone I’d ever heard.
I motioned him into the house. “Don’t call me that,” I said firmly.
He lifted a brow. “Why? Does it bother you?”
I closed the door, and turned back to him.
Yes, it bothered me because it wasn’t true, and was probably a term he used for every woman he met, regardless of their age.
But the damn word made my heart soar, and the way he said it made me melt.
So I really, really needed him to stop saying it.
“Look, I’m sure it’s just an expression you use for every woman you meet, but it just doesn’t fit for me.”
He dropped the bag he was carrying on the table near the door, frowning as he stepped closer to me.
God, he looked good enough to eat for dinner. To hell with the burritos.
He’d shucked his jacket, probably at his house, and his biceps were straining against the white T-shirt he was wearing.
He looked like a sexy predator as he came even closer, and I was starting to feel like willing prey.
The man was enormous, but his size didn’t scare me.
Instead, I felt the unfamiliar sensation of liquid heat flooding between my thighs.
“Do I look like a charming guy to you, Hayden?” he said roughly.
As usual, I couldn’t keep the truth from springing from my lips when he was around. “Actually, yes,” I answered. “You’re so hot that I’m pretty sure you could charm the panties off almost any woman you wanted.”
His frown turned into a sexy smile as he got close enough to me that I could feel his warm breath on my face. “You think I’m hot?”
Judging by the tone of his voice, I could almost believe he didn’t think that he was that attractive. “You know you are,” I said weakly, all of my senses being assaulted by the masculine scent of sexy male with a hint of sandalwood that made every female hormone I had sit up and pay attention.
He braced a hand on each side of my head, trapping me against the door.
Without a doubt, there was so much strength in his enormous body, Jackson could easily overpower me.
But somehow, I knew he wouldn’t.
It was his fathomless gaze that kept me from moving, and not his brute strength.
“You’re the only woman I’ve ever called beautiful,” he said unyieldingly. “And no matter what you believe, I don’t sleep around like an alley cat. I have no desire to charm the panties off any woman except you.”
“Why me?” I squeaked.
“Because to me, you are beautiful. My dick has been rock-hard since I saw you on the deck last night.”
My nipples were painfully hard, and my core spasmed as I got lost in Jackson’s covetous stare.
He does…want me.
I had no idea why this gorgeous man found me attractive, but I couldn’t deny that I could see the desire in his sexy dark eyes.
There was nothing I wanted more than to climb up his body like a mountaineer, and climb inside him.
I felt enveloped in his tantalizing scent, and his ripped body.
I bit my lip hard in an effort to escape from the raw longing that he evoked inside of me, but it wouldn’t go away.
�
�I can’t do this, Jackson,” I said desperately. “Please. Stop trying to seduce me.”
I was almost disappointed when he stepped away, grabbed the bag of food, and went into the kitchen.
I followed him on legs that felt like jelly.
“Just for the record,” he said huskily as he took the food from the bag. “I wasn’t trying to seduce you. When that happens, you’ll know it, beautiful.”
I nearly dropped the plates I was getting out of the cupboard.
I put them safely on the counter. “Then what was…all that?”
God help me, if he hadn’t been trying to seduce me a few minutes ago. I could only imagine how it would be if he really was trying.
“I was just trying to convince you that I’m not a player. Never have been.”
“I’m sorry,” I said hurriedly. “I shouldn’t have judged you.”
My history was coming back to bite me in the ass. But it really wasn’t Jackson’s fault that my head was so messed up that I couldn’t understand what he saw in me.
“I get why you tend toward judgment, considering your history with other men.”
“It’s not just that,” I admitted solemnly. “My mother was a supermodel. Anna Longmont. She was beautiful, perfect. But my older sister and I were nothing like her. She reminded us of that every single day until we went to college. We failed on every diet she put us on as kids. I tried. I really did. But I could never be what she wanted. I was never good enough, no matter how much I tied myself into knots to please her.”
Jackson put the plate of burritos in the microwave before he turned to me. “You’re joking, right?”
I shook my head slowly. “I wish I was. But my mother was weight obsessed.”
“What about your father?”
“We weren’t exactly his pride and joys, either.”
Jackson stepped forward and pulled me into his body, crushing me as he wrapped his arms around me. But I didn’t mind. He was so warm, so solid, and so damn comforting that I relaxed against him.
“I’m sorry, Hayden,” he said in a graveled voice. “No kid should ever hear about their perceived faults every damn day. And there isn’t a damn thing wrong about you. You’re fucking perfect.”
I snorted against his shoulder. “You don’t know me very well.”
“Sometimes I feel like I’ve known you forever,” he said solemnly as he stepped back.
“I don’t even know your last name,” I reminded him as I turned back to the counter. “Or is Jackson your last name?”
“Gillette,” he said immediately. “I’m Jackson Gillette.”
I was relieved that he’d told me his whole name so easily. Maybe he just hadn’t thought it was that important.
“And what do you do for a living, Jackson Gillette?” I said in a teasing tone.
“Nothing right at the moment,” he said. “I’m in transition.”
“Unemployed,” I said unhappily.
“Technically, I guess I am. But it’s only temporary. My older brother, Levi, and I own an engineering company. But he’s been doing most of the work while I was involved in another career. Now, I’ll be joining him at the firm in Houston to officially take up my role as his partner.”
I hated myself almost immediately for being disappointed that Jackson was unemployed. Obviously, he wasn’t exactly a freeloader like the other men in my life. And he was well-educated if he was an engineer. So the man obviously didn’t need me to support him.
I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions the moment he’d mentioned that he didn’t currently have a job. But I was so used to men seeking me out just because I had money.
It isn’t fair to judge Jackson just because I’ve known a whole lot of jerks!
I hadn’t thought about the fact that he owned a beachfront home, something that wouldn’t have happened if he was perpetually unemployed.
Stop comparing him to every loser you’ve ever dated, Hayden.
“So what was your other occupation?” I asked curiously.
“Woman, you have to be the only person in Texas who doesn’t recognize my face or my name. I’ve been a wide receiver in the NFL for the last twelve years. I’ve been a Super Bowl MVP three times, and I hold the all-time record for receiving yards,” he informed me.
I shrugged. “I don’t pay attention to football.”
He chuckled. “So you’re not impressed?”
“Should I be?” I asked.
“I’m actually glad you aren’t,” he answered in a relieved tone. “I’m pretty much over women who just use me for money and parties.”
My heart dropped as I looked at the earnest expression on his face.
I didn’t know much about football, but I did know that excellent players made an incredible amount of money. And Jackson probably had entry to any exclusive party that he wanted to attend.
Still, what woman would be that blinded that she saw money as more important than Jackson himself?
“I’m wealthy, too,” I told him impulsively, wanting him to know that I understood him. “My parents left my sister and me a sizeable inheritance, and we have a thriving veterinary practice in Houston. Both of us are vets. Most men have sought me out because they were unemployed, and they wanted a sugar mama. They weren’t attracted to me. And they didn’t care about me. So I know how you feel. But I’m not after your money, Jackson. I have enough of my own. And the last thing I’ve ever wanted is to be in the spotlight. I just want to be with you because…I like you.”
He smirked. “What happened to you thinking that I’m hot?”
I frowned. “There is that, too. But I wish you were a little less attractive.”
“Woman, I think you’re looking at me with a different set of eyes than everybody else. I’m a really big guy, which scares the hell out of most men, and quite a few women, too. My nose has been broken more than once, and my face has more than a few scars from a long football career. I’m not exactly pretty.”
Maybe he wasn’t a pretty boy. But Jackson was ruggedly handsome, which I found so much more appealing than a traditionally handsome male face.
I’d never been with a guy his size, but I liked the fact that he was so enormous. “None of those things make you less attractive,” I argued.
He winked at me. “Glad you think so, beautiful. And just for the record, I plan on being more than just your friend.”
My heart tripped. God, he really was irresistible. I had no idea how any woman had ever seen anything except him. Jackson’s personality was magnetic, and I was so drawn to him. He might be rather bossy, but there was an innate kindness inside him, too.
I folded my arms in front of me, knowing I needed to focus on something else other than my attraction to this man. “Aren’t those burritos done yet?”
He frowned. “Are you really that hungry? Maybe we should have eaten in town.”
Jackson looked so concerned that I might be malnourished or deprived that it made my heart melt.
Like I couldn’t afford to skip some meals?
“I’ll survive,” I assured him.
“Tell me that you’re really hungry next time,” he said gruffly. “I want you to do more than survive. A body needs fuel.”
It was a reprimand, but one so sweet that I couldn’t be offended.
In fact, a few bricks from the defensive emotional wall that I’d crafted had just tumbled to the ground.
Chapter Six
Hayden
I felt so desired that I shuddered as his lips touched my skin.
His hot mouth trailed over my naked shoulders, slowly making their way to my breasts.
“Yes. Please,” I whimpered, needing more.
Like he understood what I wanted, he cupped both of my breasts, his thumbs teasing my nipples.
“These are perfect,” he said huskily, continuing the tormenting circles he was drawing on the hardened peaks. “So damn beautiful.”
My cleavage was average at best, but just like he always did, he made me f
eel like I was everything he wanted.
I got lost in sensation, and voracious need.
“Oh, God,” I moaned as he took one of my nipples into his mouth.
He sucked.
He teased.
He wrung unknown desires from my body that I never knew I had.
When he clamped his mouth down on the sensitive flesh, my pussy flooded with warm heat.
I was so ready for him.
So ready to feel him bury himself inside me.
I closed my eyes, and my hands speared into his hair, trying to urge him closer.
“I need more,” I told him in a sensual voice.
The slow tease was driving me crazy.
He was moving from one throbbing nipple to the other, back and forth until I felt like I was going to spontaneously combust.
I let out a squeak of disappointment as he straightened, and wrapped his arms around my waist.
I felt his lips linger on my forehead before he said, “I want more, too,” he said.
“Kiss me.” I fisted his hair and tried to pull his head down.
“I don’t want to let go of you yet,” he growled.
“Then don’t,” I answered. “Keep me with you.”
His hands moved up and down my naked back, setting my skin on fire everywhere he touched.
“Don’t you think I would if I could?” he asked in a raspy voice.
I opened my eyes, and looked up, but I couldn’t see his face. All I could make out was the dark hair I was currently holding onto for dear life.
“Why can’t you?” I didn’t want to be anywhere but where I was right now.
I wanted to feel wanted.
I wanted to feel beautiful.
I wanted to feel sexy.
And this man did all those things.
“Because I know damn well that I can’t stop myself from kissing you,” he said in a graveled voice.
“I want you to kiss me.” I wanted it more than I wanted him to fuck me, and I wanted that pretty badly.
I craved intimacy with this man…every kind I could get.
We were close, but we were never close enough.
He tangled his large fingers into my hair, and stroked over my scalp lovingly. “You know how much I care about you, right?”