Dreams: A Curvy Girl Holiday Romance Collection

by J. S. Scott

  As long as I knew he wasn’t married or involved with someone else, whatever he had to say didn’t really matter.

  I let myself relax against his muscular body, and turned my head toward the glorious, colorful display that Mother Nature was providing.

  Jackson had been patient with me.

  I could do the same for him.

  Really, I needed to process the fact that Jackson found me attractive before I could take this relationship any further.

  I was still reeling from his kiss.

  So it was going to completely screw with my head if he fucked me.

  We were silent for a minute as we watched the sun go down.

  Finally, I teased him. “It’s okay that you didn’t try to have sex with me. Remember, I don’t like sex anyway.”

  “That’s such bullshit, Hayden,” he rasped. “You want me as much as I want you. I can feel it.”

  Oh, I definitely did. “I do,” I confessed. “But I usually end up hating it when it happens.”

  “I’ll make you love it,” he said arrogantly.

  I opened my mouth to argue, and then closed it again.

  Something told me he was right.

  I’d never felt the way I felt when I was with him.

  My entire body was still aching with longing from his powerful embrace.

  I could feel his hard erection beneath my butt, so there was no doubt he’d been as eager as I’d been to feel our bodies fused together in a very elemental way.

  “You can tell me anything, Jackson,” I murmured as it got darker.

  “Ditto, beautiful,” he said huskily. “Are you getting cold?”

  My heart jumped, just like it did every time he called me that. Maybe I was getting used to it, but it still made my heart soar.

  “I’m good.”

  I was startled when my ass started to vibrate, and it took me a minute to realize it was my cell phone.

  I rolled off his lap, and pulled my phone out, worried that it might be my sister.

  The name on the screen startled me.

  Dean.

  I shuddered with revulsion.

  What in the hell did he want?

  I shoved the phone back into my pocket.

  “Did you need to get that?” Jackson asked with a frown.

  “No. Not at all. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t my sister.”

  “Who was it?”

  I wasn’t about to lie to Jackson. “My recent ex,” I muttered.

  Jackson grabbed a blanket, and pulled it over his shoulders. Then he pulled me between his legs and wrapped both of us in fleece.

  “Don’t go back with him, Hayden,” he grumbled in a warning tone. “Maybe we haven’t known each other very long, and I have no right to tell you what to do. But he’ll use you again. If he didn’t appreciate you before, I doubt the bastard had an epiphany. You deserve so much more than somebody like him.”

  I turned and kneeled between Jackson’s legs, facing him.

  God, this man was so incredible that I couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to be here with him.

  I stroked my hand over his whiskered jaw. “I would never go back with him, even if I hadn’t met you,” I said honestly.

  “Good,” he answered. “Because I don’t think I could watch you do it. It would kill me.”

  Tears sprang to my eyes, but I blinked them back.

  Jackson moved me like no other man ever had.

  “His new sugar mama probably figured out that he was just using her,” I assured him.

  “Why the fuck does he think he can just come back to you,” Jackson snarled. “What kind of asshole does that shit?”

  “A guy who is nothing like you,” I told him softly.

  He wrapped his strong arms around me, and pulled me down to the ground gently. “Nobody uses you anymore, beautiful. Nobody hurts you again. Not ever. Not while I’m here to make sure it doesn’t happen. And I plan to make you so damn happy that you’ll never want another guy.”

  I wanted to ask him if he’d always be around, but I didn’t.

  Instead, I savored the sense that there was a man who was willing to try to protect me just because…he cared.

  Jackson accepted everything about me.

  It was about time I accepted myself.

  I leaned back against him. “Thank you,” I uttered. “I’m not planning on calling him back. I think you’re right, and I’m starting to think I’m worthy of way more than I got in that relationship.”

  Someone like you!

  I had no idea what my future would be with Jackson, but he had spoiled me for any other guy. I’d never put up with what I had with Dean. Jackson was making me believe that I deserved more.

  I squirmed as I wiggled my phone out of my pocket, and squinted to see the numbers as I scrolled.

  I deleted Dean’s number from the device while Jackson watched. “Done,” I said with satisfaction as I blocked his number. “I do deserve more. I’m not even sure why I stayed with him so long.”

  Maybe because I’d never believed that guys like Jackson really did exist.

  Believe.

  I suddenly remembered the words the Santa in Houston had said to me.

  I wanted to believe in myself, and I was starting to feel more confident every day. And I hadn’t gotten there alone. Jackson had been the catalyst that had made me start to discover that I was worth…more.

  “You deserve every damn thing your heart desires,” he barked.

  “Ditto, handsome,” I joked.

  “I have what I want.” His arms tightened around my waist. “You were meant to be mine, Hayden.”

  My heart skipped a beat because he was laying claim to me.

  But nothing felt more natural than being with Jackson.

  So I had to admit to myself that there was a chance, no matter how crazy it might be, that he was right.

  Chapter Nine

  Jackson

  “So let me get this whole thing straight,” my brother, Levi, drawled as I talked to him on my cell. “You met some woman down in Galveston a few days ago. You had a few dates, and you know she’s the one. And you see nothing wrong with this whole scenario?”

  Sarcastic bastard.

  Levi was making me wish I’d never called him.

  “I don’t just think she’s the one. I know it,” I snapped at him. “I don’t know what in the hell is happening to me, actually. I’ve never had time for a steady girlfriend, and I really didn’t care. Most of the time, I was so damn tired from the season or from training camp, that I just fell into bed every night. I didn’t care if I got laid.”

  “But I take it that this is more than just wanting to get a piece of ass,” Levi guessed.

  “Way more,” I said unhappily. “I feel like an obsessed stalker. I want to be with Hayden all the fucking time. Look, I know it sounds a little crazy. I can’t say that I really like it myself. I’ve never been that possessive, jealous type of guy. But when her ex-boyfriend called her last night, I almost lost my shit.”

  “Doesn’t sound like you,” Levi admitted. “When has anything except football ever been that important in your life?”

  “Never,” I answered. “But if I hadn’t retired, I would have given up playing ball for her if she’d asked. She’s that damn important to me. Once I saw her, I knew I was screwed.”

  I laid back on my couch and tried not to think about the fact that Hayden had admitted that she was willing to let me fuck her. And as much as my dick was begging me to take action, I wanted so much more from her than just a screw.

  A low whistle came from Levi’s end of the call. “So she’s that hot?”

  “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” I confessed. “But it isn’t just that, Levi. She’s sweet, and she doesn’t have a clue just how gorgeous she really is. She’s funny. She’s intelligent. She’s everything.”

  It bugged me just a little that Levi would probably find Hayden attractive, too. Both of us had always had a thing for cu
rvy females. Maybe because we were both big guys.

  “Has it occurred to you at all that she could just be after your money and your fame?” he asked cautiously.

  “No,” I told him. “Hayden isn’t like any of the women I’ve met in the past. She didn’t even recognize me at first. She’s not into football. And she has her own money. Her mother was Anna Longmont.”

  “The model?” Levi asked.

  “Supermodel,” I corrected. “Hayden inherited a fortune when her parents died, and she’s a veterinarian with a thriving practice in Houston. She’s not after money, Levi. Believe it or not, she’s actually as attracted to me as I am to her.”

  “Then what is the problem?” he asked. “Have a relationship with her if you must, see what happens.”

  “I haven’t told her the truth about me, yet,” I grumbled.

  “Then don’t,” Levi said, his voice more sympathetic. “Why does she have to know?”

  “Because I don’t want it to be something that comes out later. I don’t want to lie to her,” I explained in a rough voice. “She hasn’t exactly had an easy life, even though she has money. Her mother and father sucked as parents, and the men she’s had in her life were users.”

  “We were lucky,” Levi mused. “We have great parents. But I think we can both relate to being used.”

  Honestly, Hayden was the first woman who really seemed to see me instead of dollar signs and fancy parties.

  I’d given up on finding a woman who valued me instead of my money.

  Until her…

  Until Hayden…

  “I didn’t know you wanted a real girlfriend,” I said. “When’s the last time you actually had a date?”

  “Probably the last time you did,” Levi replied drily. “I’m married to our company.”

  My older brother was a workaholic, but I suspected he didn’t look for an exclusive relationship because he was sick of being disappointed—just like I was.

  “Well, I’m fucked this time,” I shared with him. “I found a woman that I can’t let go. But I don’t quite know how to tell her the truth about me, either.”

  “It’s not like you have to tell her everything right now,” Levi said nonchalantly. “She’s from Houston, and you just bought a pricey condo here. It’s not like you won’t see her after you leave Galveston if you want to see her.”

  I got my ass off the couch, and went to the fridge to get myself a beer.

  I had no idea how to explain everything to my brother.

  How I felt half-crazy even thinking about my relationship with Hayden being that casual.

  Mine! She’s fucking mine!

  I’d come pretty damn close to losing it when her ex-boyfriend had called her the night before. The only thing that had stopped me from letting her know how I felt about that had been Hayden’s possible reaction if I’d told her that I wanted to tear the bastard apart for hurting her.

  That might not go over all that well.

  “How in the hell did this happen?” I asked Levi.

  Okay, maybe I knew how I’d ended up so crazy about Hayden, but it wasn’t exactly something I wanted to share with my brother. He’d really think I was nuts.

  “Date her,” Levi advised. “Wine her and dine her. It sounds like she deserves it. But slow the hell down a little, Jack. You’re likely to scare the shit out of her.”

  Yep. I knew that. Problem was, I didn’t want to slow anything down. I needed Hayden to belong to me.

  But Levi would never get it. Hell, I didn’t completely understand this whole relationship myself.

  I changed the subject, and we talked a little about some of the projects the company was taking on.

  “Are you missing playing ball?” my brother asked once we’d run through our list of projects.

  “A lot,” I told him. “I mean, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to play forever, but not working out every day is killing me. And I miss being part of a team.”

  “It’s been your life for a long time,” Levi considered. “But once you get into the swing of things here, you’ll be part of a new team.”

  “I feel guilty because I haven’t been there enough,” I shared. “You’ve had to pull most of the weight of the company, and you’ve made the corporation a success.”

  Actually, he’d exceeded our wildest dreams with Gillette Engineering, and he’d done it in record time.

  “You forked over half the money,” Levi reminded me. “And you’ve spent as much time on business as you could. Probably more than you should have considering how much you had on your plate.”

  I hadn’t exactly given over anything I couldn’t afford. Neither had Levi. We’d come from wealth, and we’d both had plenty to invest.

  “Well, I’m ready to send you on a vacation,” I rumbled.

  “I don’t need a vacation,” Levi said gruffly. “Just make sure you’re healed up.”

  “My shoulder is good,” I reassured him. “It’s pretty much healed. I’m ready to get to work.”

  “You got your head on straight?”

  “Yeah. I’m resigned to the fact that I’m starting over. I have you to thank for having a ready-made place for my ass to land.”

  “You’ve always belonged here, Jack. We’ve had all this planned since high school. You just needed to take a detour first.”

  Shit! How could I ever make Levi understand how damn grateful I was that I’d had the chance to have an amazing NFL career. Especially when he’d lost his own chance.

  “I owe you,” I said, wishing I had more words to say.

  “You owe me nothing. You would have done the same damn thing for me,” he said brusquely.

  He was right. I would have if our positions had been reversed. But that didn’t make me feel any less guilt-ridden.

  “Will you be at Mom and Dad’s place on Christmas?” I asked.

  “Do you think I’d ever hear the end of it if I wasn’t?” he answered.

  “Nope.”

  My parents would be badgering both of us about getting to their place outside Houston for the holidays. And they were both tenacious when they wanted something.

  “Are you bringing Hayden?”

  “Yeah. Definitely. If I can convince her to come.”

  Yeah, I hadn’t exactly asked her to come with me yet, but I wasn’t leaving the damn island without her.

  “I’m glad you found somebody who makes you happy, Jack. Just be careful,” Levi warned.

  “You know it,” I quipped. “But I think sometimes things happen for a reason.”

  I wasn’t about to tell Levi, but I was way beyond being careful with Hayden.

  “There’s no such thing as destiny or fate, Jack,” Levi answered cynically. “We make shit happen ourselves.”

  Yeah, I used to think that, too.

  But that was before Hayden.

  We solidified some of our work plans for after the holidays, and hung up.

  I paced around my house for a few minutes, and then went to change into a pair of sweatpants, and a cotton shirt.

  I either needed to take a long jog on the beach, or go find Hayden. And since she was in town shopping for Christmas gifts, I opted to take my ass out to the beach and run.

  Chapter Ten

  Hayden

  “Damn!” I cursed as I stretched a little more.

  I was teetering on what I’d thought was a sturdy outdoor table, trying to get some Christmas lights over the door of my beach house since tomorrow was Christmas Eve.

  I’d done some holiday shopping in town, and purchased some Christmas decorations.

  Since I’d met Jackson, I’d actually been eager to indulge in the season.

  Right now, I wish I had the man’s height.

  Unfortunately, Jackson hadn’t appeared to be home, and I wasn’t sure where he’d gone.

  I didn’t keep a ladder at the beach house, so I’d hopped up onto the large, metal outside dining table to attach the lights over the door.

  But…I wa
s just a few inches too short.

  I can do it. Just a little bit…more.

  I went up on my toes. I knew there were little hangers along the top of the door. I’d put them in a few years ago when I’d come down to decorate my vacation house for the holidays because I’d had renters that year.

  But I’d been smart enough to bring a ladder back then.

  When I’d headed for my beach house this time, I certainly hadn’t expected to be in any mood to throw up Christmas decorations.

  I felt the metal table rock a little beneath my toes, and I considered hopping down off the table and giving up.

  But I was…so close.

  Success!

  I felt the tiny hanger, and I took the string of lights and looped them over the little fixture, feeling pretty damn proud of myself.

  At least, I was elated, until I lowered my feet so they’d lay flat on the hard surface, and rocked backward awkwardly.

  The metal surface was a little bit slick from some rain the night before, and I lost my balance completely, and started to fall backward.

  There was nothing to grab onto to save myself from the fall, and I shrieked so loud my neighbors could probably hear it over the sound of the surf.

  You know how people say that right before they die, they see their life flash before them?

  Well, it was true.

  I saw my sister’s face.

  And I remembered the way that Jackson had kissed me.

  I was above the railing of my deck, and I was certain I was going to plunge down to the concrete from twenty-five feet above it.

  All because I’d wanted to put up some stupid Christmas lights.

  I waved my arms to try to stop the force of gravity sending me backwards, but I couldn’t right myself.

  I was just resigning myself to my fate since I had nothing to stop my fall and no way to recover my balance before I toppled over the railing, when I felt a powerful force wrap around my waist.

  My direction changed, and I found myself falling to the deck instead of over the railing.

  I landed hard, but my body was cushioned by a large form beneath mine.

  Jackson!

  I was shaking from the near-death experience I’d just been through, but I quickly slid off Jackson’s body, fearful that he was hurt.