Stay with Me

by Jules Bennett

  Jackson whipped his shirt off, tossing it aside, never taking his eyes off hers. The hunger staring back at her was so thrilling.

  “Do you practice that look in the mirror?”

  “What’s that?” he asked, stalking across the room toward her.

  “That predator-to-prey look.”

  That naughty grin she’d come to appreciate from him spread across his face. “I have no idea what you mean.”

  Like hell he didn’t. Jax knew exactly what he was doing, exactly how he affected her, and damn if she wasn’t enjoying every single moment of it.

  Olivia raked her eyes over his chest, that glorious, rippled, tattooed chest sprinkled with dark hair. She stared at the ink, trying to decipher what they all were with the dim lighting.

  “I’d say you have that look down yourself,” he replied.

  Her eyes darted back up to his. “I’m just taking all this in.”

  Throwing his arms out wide, he said, “Do what you want. Having your eyes on me is one of the sexiest things I’ve seen in a long time.”

  There was something about that ego she found so attractive. Maybe it was the playful way he delivered such comments, or perhaps it was just the man himself. Either way, she wanted her hands on him. Now.

  Done letting him have the lead, Olivia stepped forward and curled her hand inside the top of his jeans. Those ab muscles clenched beneath her touch.

  “These pants are in the way.”

  “Take them off,” he commanded.

  Olivia jerked the snap, carefully lowering the zipper. Jackson took over and slid his jeans off, kicking them aside. As he stood before her in black boxer briefs, she took a moment to admire the man before her. She couldn’t believe this was the same young boy who seemed so awkward, so scrawny. Lucky for her, he grew up.

  Jackson reached behind her and made quick work of removing her bra. Then they were both frantic to remove that last item of clothing. The moment their clothes were gone, Jackson lifted her up and followed her down onto the bed. His weight pressing her into the mattress had her spreading her legs to accommodate him. He was much broader than she’d originally thought.

  The instant his lips covered hers, Olivia threaded her fingers through his hair, locking her fingers behind his back. Olivia arched into him, needing more, ready for him to consume her and put an end to this achiness she’d had for days.

  Or this could totally backfire and she’d be craving more, but she couldn’t worry about that now. There were much more important matters to be addressed.

  “Tell me you have protection,” she murmured against his lips.

  Jax rested his forehead against hers. “You’ll always be protected with me, Livie.”

  There was so much to that statement. The promise, the way he seemed to believe this would happen again . . . would it?

  He left her long enough to shuffle around in the bedside table. Olivia didn’t stare at him, she waited for him to join her again. Those few seconds his body wasn’t on her had a chill settling over her skin and she was shocked that she missed the weight of this man. Something about him seemed almost familiar, yet so foreign because these unwanted feelings were all too new.

  Jax settled one hand on either side of her head, the muscles in his shoulders and biceps strained as he held himself above her.

  “You’re sure?” he asked.

  Olivia nearly groaned in frustration. “Jax . . .”

  His soft laugh washed over her. “Finally. You called me Jax without being told.”

  “Are we seriously going to discuss—”

  He slid into her, completely shutting off any thought she had. Olivia curled her fingers into his shoulders as he remained perfectly, agonizingly still.

  Olivia tilted her hips, once again arching into him.

  “I’ve waited for this,” he murmured, still staring down at her. “Here you are in a hurry.”

  “You have about two seconds to move. It’s been too long for me.”

  “Is that a demand?”

  She jerked her hips, pleased when his lids lowered as he let out a low growl. There. If he wanted to play dirty, in the most glorious of ways, she’d match him. They both knew she really held the power here.

  As if some sort of dam broke, Jax thrust his hips and Olivia was completely and utterly lost. Maybe she was just fooling herself thinking she held all the power because right now, Jax was all-consuming, demanding her body give just as much as he wanted.

  Her body heated as he captured her lips once again. They were connected in every way imaginable and still she wanted more. How did this happen? How—

  Oh, hell. She didn’t even care. Nothing had ever felt this amazing, this—dare she say . . . right?

  His lips traveled down over her chin, along the column of her throat as she tipped her head back. Never once did he lose that hip rhythm that was driving her out of her ever-loving mind. When his mouth closed over her breast, she completely lost control. Her body trembled, she shattered in his arms, and he showed no mercy as he continued to steal every shred of sense and calm she possessed. Her body thrashed, she groaned, but the moment a sound escaped her, he covered her mouth with his.

  Olivia’s body had barely come down from the high when his tightened all around her. He pumped his hips, framed her face, and continued to kiss her as if she were his lifeline to air. There was something so sexy about having a man this needy and wanting all of her. There was something so empowering about the size of Jax, especially compared to her petite frame, that made her want to lie right here, and stay connected with him.

  Jax’s body stilled as he gentled his kiss. Easing back, he smoothed her hair away from her face.

  “Stay,” he whispered. “Just for a minute.”

  A minute. The way her body still felt as if she were floating, she wasn’t sure if she could move in an hour. But there was no way she could stay here. Aside from the fact that she would be an emotional wreck if she looked at this as something more than just physical, there was a little girl sleeping down the hall who would be confused at her father’s sleepover guest.

  All the reasons mounted inside her mind, but no words came out and she didn’t make the slightest motion to move.

  “Jackson—”

  “Let’s not work backward,” he murmured against her mouth. “After all I did to get you to call me Jax.”

  She smiled, unable to stop herself and she realized this was the first time since her father had passed away and she’d known she was going to have to deal with Haven and the airport that she truly felt . . . at peace. Maybe lying naked with a younger man who had just lit her boring little world on fire had something to do with the thrill she still felt.

  “Fine,” she conceded. “Jax. I can’t stay. What if Piper wakes, what if I fall asleep?”

  He ran his hand down her side, gripping the back of her leg. “You won’t sleep if you stay.”

  Oh, those words he delivered with such a firm conviction while dripping with promise had her shivering all over again. She trailed her fingertips over his back, up and down, up and down. The ripples of his muscles were glorious beneath her touch. She could get used to this . . . but she shouldn’t.

  “We need to be realistic,” she argued, though her tone sounded weak even to her. “I can’t stay and we can’t do this again.”

  Jax rose slightly, his dark brows drawn in. “Regrets already? And here I thought you wouldn’t have those until morning.”

  She hated that he assumed she’d be regretting this. Did he always think the worst when it came to her?

  “I don’t have regrets,” she retorted. “This was amazing, but I’m not looking to dive into an affair. We have things to discuss, plans to make.”

  He jerked her leg higher as he started to nuzzle her neck. “So go ahead and discuss. I promise, you have my undivided attention.”

  She swatted him. “I’m serious. I can’t talk about the airport with you doing . . . that.”

  “What? Seducing you aga
in? I may be younger, but even I need time to recover. I just like how you feel beneath me.” He stared down at her, his eyes dropping to her mouth before coming back up to meet her gaze. “I like you in my bed.”

  She couldn’t reply because she prided herself on honesty and there was no way she could tell him that she liked it here, too . . . more than she had a right to.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Livie.”

  Jax shook her shoulder as she rolled over and settled deeper into his bed. After his promise of not letting her sleep, they’d made love once again and then he promised to just hold her . . . he hadn’t been ready to let her go.

  Yet here they were at six in the morning. He needed to get her up and out before Piper woke because his girl was an early bird.

  When Livie didn’t wake, he stood straight up and stared down at how perfectly placed she appeared. Her honey-colored hair fanning all over his navy sheets, her bare shoulder peeking out from beneath the quilt, her fingertips resting on his pillow.

  Yeah, there was so much about this scene that he could get used to, but then there was that whole side of him that needed to keep his guard up. There was so much he’d gotten over from his past that he’d promised himself never to go back to.

  It wasn’t exactly fair for him to compare Livie and Carly, but in his defense, he couldn’t help putting them against each other in his mind. There were so many similarities, yet the more he got to know Livie, he saw just how different she was from his ex-wife.

  Ultimately, though, in the end Livie would leave . . . just like Carly.

  Jax shoved aside the welling of emotions. He was stronger than this, damn it. He’d seen it all overseas in the air force, he’d been blindsided by a woman who claimed to not love him anymore and left him with an infant, and he’d faced the death of his mentor—a man who’d been like a father.

  Yet he couldn’t bring himself to get this woman out of his bed. Perhaps he wasn’t as strong as he claimed.

  Little footsteps sounded down the hallway and Jax sprang into action. Racing toward the door, he flicked the lock and stepped out.

  Piper’s hair was all in disarray. She rubbed her eyes, then smiled up at him. Her rotten little grin always melted his heart.

  “Waffles?”

  Jax laughed. He’d created a monster. He found a waffle maker at a yard sale and since that day three months ago, Piper wanted waffles every Saturday morning. But first he had to figure out how to get Livie out of his bed, out of the house, and not alert Piper to the overnight guest.

  “Why don’t you go down and pick out a movie,” he suggested. “We’ll have a carpet picnic with our waffles. I got some strawberries yesterday too.”

  Piper jumped up in the air and squealed. “This is the best day ever.”

  She turned and raced down the stairs. Jax raked his hands over his face, his stubble bristling beneath his palms. Now he had to get Livie up and dressed, keep Piper distracted, and slip his guest out the door. He couldn’t help but smile at the look on Livie’s face when she discovered she’d indeed fallen asleep in his bed and it was now morning.

  He turned and slipped into his room, but the moment he closed the door at his back, something smacked him in the face.

  “How dare you?”

  Blinking, he noticed a very angry, very undressed Livie. She didn’t seem so shy about her body now and he couldn’t help but rake his eyes over every inch of her. Granted she was walking around the room gathering her clothes, but he wasn’t about to look elsewhere.

  “You let me sleep,” she scolded as she scooped up her shirt. “I didn’t want to wake up here. I never stay, ever. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  Jax bent down to retrieve her bra. Dangling it off one finger, he merely raised his brows. “I’m assuming you’re angrier with yourself than with the fact you spent the night.”

  “Why didn’t you wake me?” She hopped into her panties and yanked them up. “You—”

  “Listen.” He stalked across the room and handed over the bra, which she jerked from his hold. “Neither of us planned on you staying here, but right now we have to work together to get you out because Piper is downstairs waiting on waffles.”

  Fisting her dress in her hands, Livie groaned. “I can’t do the walk of shame in front of her, she won’t understand.”

  The fact Livie worried more about what Piper would think than her own embarrassment warmed something in him. She wasn’t that selfish, stuck-up city girl he’d believed she was when she first stepped into his hangar. Livie cared, and seeing just how deep her concern was for his daughter now put him in a whole new level of frustration because he didn’t want to like her . . . at least not the type of like that would involve his heart.

  Jax desperately feared his heart was already involved. Damn it. Now what? He’d spent the night with her and now she stood in his room wearing nothing but the bare essentials while his daughter waited on her breakfast.

  If this weren’t awkward, this could be some sort of family moment . . . a moment he’d never had before. Even when he was married there were no situations like this. He was out of his element from every angle and at this point, he needed to take a step back and seriously think about what the hell he was doing. Because sex was one thing, but dragging his life and his daughter’s life into the mix wasn’t acceptable.

  Livie pulled her dress over her head and smoothed her hair away from her face. As she started looking for her shoes, Jax realized she hadn’t once looked at him. Regrets? Already?

  “Livie.” He put more force into his tone, one he’d used when he’d been a ranking officer in the air force. “Look at me.”

  “I’ve got to get out of here.”

  She muttered the statement as her eyes continued to search for her shoes. Jax closed the distance between them and grabbed her arms, hauling her against his chest. When she didn’t look up, he slid his finger beneath her chin and tipped her head.

  “Relax. We’re adults.”

  The flush to her cheeks, the moisture gathering in her eyes had his heart clenching. Yeah, whatever internal battle she faced had nothing to do with him. Jax knew he was just a minor component in her struggle, but he damn sure wasn’t going to let her sneak out of here like they’d done something wrong or dirty.

  He wasn’t sorry she’d fallen asleep in his bed. For the first time in years, he wasn’t sorry he’d taken a woman to bed and had her by his side when he woke. He hadn’t done that since his marriage, mostly because he was busy being a single father and didn’t want to give Piper the wrong impression.

  “No regrets, Livie.”

  She chewed her bottom lip as her chin quivered. “This isn’t supposed to happen,” she whispered. “I’m not supposed to want this.”

  A sliver of light cracked open that scar on his heart. “Neither of us wanted this,” he agreed, framing her face with his hands. “But here we are and I’m not sorry. I won’t let you be sorry either.”

  Livie closed her eyes and blew out a sigh. “I can’t deal with these emotions right now. I need to find my shoes and figure out how to get out of here.”

  He’d let her go, for now, but only because he had a toddler waiting on him who would be coming back up any minute if he didn’t get downstairs.

  “Okay. I’m going to head downstairs. I will keep Piper in the kitchen mixing up the batter.” Reluctantly, Jax released her and stepped back. “Check the living room for your shoes and just head out the front door. Try not to make the knob click. Better yet, just leave the door slightly cracked. I’ll close it.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Um . . . thanks?”

  The fact this strong, independent woman felt awkward and out of her element gave him a bit of hope. He wanted her to be just as confused as he was because he had no clue where this was going or what the hell to do next.

  But she was right. They could deal with the feelings later.

  “No need for a thanks,” he replied. “I plan on doing this again.”

&n
bsp; Her eyes widened as he leaned in for a quick kiss. He turned and left the room, leaving her with her mouth agape and speechless. Perfect, just how he wanted her. Let her think about that for a bit. Because, yes, he had no clue what they were doing, but he knew for certain that he wanted to do this again. He wanted her again.

  As he bounded down the stairs, Jax figured he’d give Livie a day to come to terms with how she felt. Most likely she’d try to go back to being all business and focus on the plans for the airport . . . which they didn’t get around to discussing.

  Well, she may try to get back to her CEO form, but he wasn’t having that. They’d crossed a line and he’d be damned if he’d let her go back.

  * * *

  Still barefoot, Olivia stepped into her back door. Two sets of eyes turned to look her way.

  “Not one word,” she warned, closing the door at her back.

  Melanie sipped on her green smoothie and Jade sank onto a barstool with her own glass of greens. Both were in their running gear, so Olivia had apparently missed out on their morning routine. Seemed to be a habit as of late. This entire town was messing with her life.

  “You do the walk of shame, barefoot no less, and not expect us to say something?” Jade asked with a laugh. “It’s like you don’t know us at all.”

  Olivia sat her purse on the counter and collapsed onto the barstool next to Jade.

  “That must’ve been some kid party,” Melanie stated, a snarky smile on her face.

  “I don’t even remember the party,” Olivia moaned. Had that only been yesterday afternoon? “So much happened since then.”

  “We can be supportive and nosy at the same time.” Jade swirled the contents of her glass before tipping it back for a drink. “So, you went to the party, then we all went shopping and had a girl day. Fill in from after that until just now and where the hell are your shoes?”

  “Probably under Jax’s couch,” she mumbled. “I’m going to need something stronger than a smoothie to get through this. Can someone get me a mimosa?”