by Erica Lynn
Jackson stood in the yard for a few minutes after Alec had left, not sure what to do. He knew he had to go inside and see Gigi. Hell, he wanted to see her. What he didn’t know was what the hell he was supposed to say. A million thoughts ran through his mind, and none of them were good enough. None of them made sense. None of them would make this a damn bit easier.
He walked toward the door, the low hum of country music beginning to fill his ears. He took a deep breath as his curled his fingers around the doorknob and twisted, and then he was inside.
Gigi sat in the corner of the studio, a canvas spread out in front of her, her paintbrush going wild.
Jackson had purchased a small collection of painting supplies he kept in there for the few occasions when she’d come with him. He liked to have those things there for her. To paint whenever she wanted. He’d wanted her to feel at home in the place he considered to be his creative outlet. At the time it had made him incredibly happy, but now, seeing here there, knowing it would probably be the last time…
She glanced up when she heard him, her brush pausing in midair. Her gaze roamed to his desk, then back to his eyes, her cheeks flushing.
He walked to his desk, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I was looking for the iPod doc,” she stammered, her voice sounding a little nervous.
He tore his eyes away from her and some photos spread across the desk. Her photos. He looked back at her, her head already down, her paintbrush flying across the canvas again.
“I wasn’t snooping,” she said, not looking up at him. “I love them, by the way. You’re so talented…it never ceases to amaze me. They’d be stupid to not name you the winner of the contest.”
Her words hurt him. They physically caused him pain. Like tiny shards of glass, digging their way into his skin. He swallowed the lump in his throat, did his best to calm his nerves, and then spoke the words he’d been dreading all day. “I heard back today. From them.”
Gig’s paintbrush paused, but she still didn’t look up at him.
Look at me, Gigi. Please.
“And?”
“And…I made it. I won. They picked me.”
“Wow, Jackson. That’s amazing.” Her voice was small and shaky, like they brought as much pain to her as they did to him. “Truly. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks.” Tell me not to go. I’ll fucking stay. I’ll do any damn thing you ask of me. Just tell me not to go.
“You’re going to do amazing work in Dallas.”
“Gigi…”
“It’s okay. I swear.” She stood up, the paint brush still in her hand. “This was always supposed to end. You know?”
Jackson’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. His mouth was dry. His head pounded.
Gigi slowly walked toward him. She still wore her black dress from dinner, but he saw she’d put on the smock he kept here for her. Her smock…and her boots.
“Where’d your heels go?” he asked.
“Trashed them,” Gigi said, a smile curving her lips. “Thank you for that. It was exactly what I needed to hear.”
“It’s the truth. Just felt you needed a reminder.”
Gigi stopped in front of him, her eyes burning up into his. “Can you do me a favor? Just one?”
“I’ll do anything you ask.”
“Promise?”
“Always.”
The smile she gave him was too sad to deal with. She was killing him. The pain in her expression, the sadness in her every feature…
“Kiss me.”
Chapter 11
Gigi watched as Jackson’s eyes fell to her mouth. She ran her tongue over her lips, her cheeks heating with anticipation. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just can’t let you leave without knowing you. I want one night. Just one night. And then we can—”
“Stop,” Jackson whispered. He pulled her chest flush with his, then ran his lips over her forehead.
She sighed at the contact. So tender. So intimate. It was everything she’d been wanting from him, four months too late. She knew, deep down she knew, that they were almost out of time.
He inhaled her scent, then placed a chaste kiss on her temple. “Just…stop.”
Hot tears filled Gigi’s eyes, blurring her vision. She worked to swallow the lump in her throat, dry like desert sand, not sure what to say. What, after all, was there to say? Too many thoughts, all jumbled and desperate to be the first to escape her mouth, to be out in the open, and yet none of them passed her lips. She, instead, chose to say nothing.
She said nothing as his hands ran down her arm. Nothing when he laced his fingers through hers, taking the paint brush and letting it fall to the ground, small bits of purple flying through the air before settling on concrete. She didn’t make a sound when his other arm circled around her waist, his fingers pulling at the knot on her smock.
He pulled it from her body, his eyes locked on hers as he dropped the material to the floor. “Dance with me.”
“Jackson…”
“Sshhh,” he whispered against her cheek, his arms pulling her to the middle of the room. He wrapped her arms around his neck, his fingertips once again breaking her skin out in goosebumps as he ran them down her forearms, returning them to her waist. “Be with me. Here. Where we can just be us. The one place we work.”
Gigi took in a deep breath, desperately trying to settle her nerves. Everything hurt. Her head. Her heart. Her soul. She looked up into his eyes, terrified it would be the last time she saw them. The last moments she would be able to admire their deep shade of green. The way they danced back and forth when they were locked on hers.
Jackson bunched up the bottom of her dress until she felt cool air on the tops of her thighs. Any higher and he’d be able to see her black lace panties…and she desperately wanted him see them. To look at them. Take them off. To make love to her.
His arms fell down her back, his large hands brushing her backside. “You’ve ruined my life.”
Gigi pulled slightly away, searching his face for his meaning.
He smiled down at her, his eyes pained. Tortured. “I mean it. Each time you smile. Each time you put your hand on my arm. Each time your eyes meet mine, I lose a little bit more of myself. And I don’t know how the hell to get it back.”
“Jackson…”
“It’s okay,” he insisted.
“I never wanted to do that. To hurt you.” The tears fell, now. There was no holding them back. Not anymore. They fell in hot streams down her cheeks.
He placed both hands on the sides of her face, his thumbs wiping her wet skin. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me. These past four months have been the most wonderful moments of my life. I’ll be forever grateful for you.”
“Jackson—” she whispered “—I…I think I…”
He lowered his mouth to hers, brushing his lips against her lips. He stepped forward so his body was flush with hers again. His body was so warm. So hard.
Gigi tilted her head slightly, deepening the kiss. She moaned into his mouth as he swept his tongue against hers, running her fingers up through his hair.
The next thing she knew her back was being pushed into the wall. She lifted her leg, hooking it around his hip, and began to grind against him. She pulled away from his kiss, breathless and achy. She ran her tongue over his lips, then looked up at him through her lashes. “Make love to me, Jackson.”
His chest rose and fell with his heavy breathing, his hardening length pressing into her stomach. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she rubbed her lips against his, her fingers curling in his hair. “I can’t let you leave without being with you for at least one night.”
Jackson pulled her in for another hungry kiss, then brought his mouth to her ear. “What you were trying to say? Before?”
“Yes?”
“I do, too.”
Gigi reached with trembling hands for his belt. After a few nervous tries, she managed to get it undone, then slip it out
of his belt loops. She let out a breathy sigh as he pulled her dress up and over her head, his hands traveling back down her sides to her waist.
Jackson unclasped her black strapless bra, his chest shuddering as he stepped back, then slowly, inch by inch, pulled it off her body, letting it drop to the floor.
Her sex quivered under the intensity of his gaze on her flesh. His eyes lingered on her breasts, then traveled down her stomach to her black lace panties.
“You’re so perfect,” he said as he pulled his black T-shirt over his head, then tossed it to the floor. He kicked off his shoes and pants, then got down on his knees in front of her. “Don’t ever forget that.” He ran his fingertips up her legs and thighs. “I’ve fantasized about what your naked body looked like for months. Every night I’d close my eyes and imagine us up in bed. You underneath me. Me sinking into you. Over and over until you came, moaning my name in my ear. And now I’m here, finally about to find out, and all that’s keeping me from you is this little piece of silk.”
Gigi’s body broke out in goosebumps as his fingers played with her skin just underneath the tops of her panties.
“I almost don’t want to find out,” he admitted.
“Why?”
He looked up at her, his eyes genuine. Loving. “Because once I do, it means I’m that much closer to losing you.”
Gigi’s offered him the best smile she could, then ran her fingers through his hair. “Let’s not think about it. Not tonight. Let’s just be.”
Jackson nodded, but still didn’t move.
She placed her fingers on top of his, then slowly pushed her panties down her legs, stepping out of them when they reached her feet.
Jackson’s mouth was on her next, exploring her wet folds. He drug his tongue down her slick center, his warm breath making her melt. He placed one hand under her knee, hooking her leg over his shoulder, opening her up to him. He grabbed her ass, pulling her closer as he tasted her. He growled against her wet flesh, licking and biting and sucking.
Gigi kept her fingers curled into his hair, tightening them every time he hit that perfect spot. She began to circle her hips, steadily grinding against his mouth, moaning as her body reacted to his touch. “I’m going to come,” she whispered.
“Yes, God, yes. I’ve been waiting so long. Come for me, baby. Please. I want to taste you. I have to taste you.”
Gigi desperately gasped for air as he slid two fingers inside her sex, curling them as pulled her clit into his mouth, and then bit down.
She let her head fall back as she came. The orgasm ripped through her body, causing her vision to blur. It began in her center, then worked its way out until every nerve was on fire. She jerked against him, her body desperate to ride out every single moment of pleasure.
Jackson stood, pulling her up into his arms.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked her to the bed.
He laid her down, so gently and sweet.
She watched in awe as he pulled down his boxers, his erection hard and ready for her.
“Give me a second,” he said, starting to turn.
“No,” she said, not missing the desperation in her voice. “I’m covered. I don’t want anything between us. I want you. All of you.”
Jackson looked at her for a moment, then nodded slightly. He knelt between her legs, lowering himself to give her one last, long lick. He placed his cock at her opening, but didn’t enter. Instead he placed his forehead against hers, his eyes searching hers for she wasn’t quite sure what.
She took his face in her hands, her thumbs running over his slight stubble, then pulled his mouth to hers.
He kissed her as he slid inside her, breaking the contact only when he was all the way in. “Fuck, Gigi. I…I…”
“I know,” she said, a tear falling down her cheek. “Me, too.”
They made love to each other like they’d been doing so for years.
He entered her with long, deep thrusts. Her legs wrapped around his waist, lifting her hips to meet each of his pumps. He kissed her hard, his mouth demanding she give him everything she had, and hers happily obliging.
When he pulled her on top of him, she laced her fingers through his, using his hands to hold her steady. Grinding on top of him, loving the look of him beneath her.
His palms explored her entire body. Her hips, her stomach, her breasts. He tenderly rolled her nipples between his index fingers and thumbs, pinching them, sending delicious tingles of pleasure straight to her core.
When she told him she was about to come, he sat up and hooked his arm around her, his other free hand finding its way to her hair, his fingers curling through the strands, gripping them tight. He angled her head to his, forehead against forehead, his eyes staring into hers. “Come for me,” he whispered. “I want to see it. Every second of it.”
Gigi wrapped her arms around his neck, bucking her hips faster. The orgasm overtook her quickly, wrapping itself around her body. She brought her hands to his face, gasping at the sensation, and when she began to moan, Jackson crushed his lips to hers, swallowing her pleasure.
He groaned with his release, her name falling form his lips, his fingers digging into her flesh.
They stayed that way, connected, panting, and satiated, until he eventually rolled her onto her back. He grabbed his shirt and gently cleaned her up, then lay down beside her. He curled his arms around her, pulling her back into his chest. “You’re perfect,” he whispered. Over and over until she fell asleep.
And when she awoke the next morning, the sun peeking through the blinds in the small windows, he was gone.
Chapter 12
How are you doing, sweetie?”
Gigi sat at her desk, her arms folded in front of her, her head laid on them. She glanced up, not bothering to move too much, and gave Stassi a slight shrug. It’d been three weeks since Jackson had left, and she missed him every single day.
Stassi placed a small bag of peanut butter and chocolate candies on Gigi’s desk. “Have you told Lacey?”
“No,” Gigi groaned. She reached out and grabbed the candy, then held it up for Stassi to open.
Stassi chuckled as she opened the bag, then handed it back to Gigi. “Are you planning to tell her?”
“I know I have to. I’m just not ready to get my ass kicked by my big sister yet.”
Stassi pulled up one of the spare chairs to Gig’s desk. “Where did you tell her he was?”
“She knows he’s in Dallas. I just didn’t give details. You know, the part about him moving there but it really isn’t that big of a deal because this entire thing was a charade in the first place. So no worries.” She massaged her temples with her fingertips, then looked back at Stassi. “I’m such a mess.”
“I know,” Stassi agreed, offering Gigi a small smile. “But you’ll be okay. In fact…” Stassi reached into her purse, took out a small piece of paper, and placed it on Gigi’s desk.
Gigi popped another candy into her mouth, looked at the paper, but didn’t reach for it. “What’s that?”
“Open it and see. I’m not your secretary.” Stassi stood, pushing the chair back to its original spot.
“Stassi,” Gigi asked.
“Yeah?”
“I love him.” There. She’d said it. The words she’d been wanting to say for a while now. She’d thought when she said them, it’d feel…good. But it didn’t. They only hurt more.
“I know.”
“Do you think I’m a terrible person for not telling Lacey? For lying to her this entire time?”
“You mean to her and everyone else?”
“Forget it. I know. I suck.” She dumped the remaining candies into her palm, then chunked the wrapper in the trash.
Stassi groaned, then came around the desk and wrapped her arms around Gigi. “You aren’t a terrible person. Not by a long shot. Neither is he. The two of you did a ridiculously stupid thing, and now it’s come to an end. Just like it was always supposed to.”
Gigi nodd
ed into Stassi’s shoulder. “Okay. I may not be a terrible person. But I’m at least an idiot.”
“I won’t argue with you there,” Stassi teased. She pulled away from Gigi, picked up the paper she’d put on her desk, and held it out to her.
Gigi watched as Stassi walked out of the office, her long, blonde hair swishing behind her. The woman was too damn gorgeous. Gigi doubted Alec would ever leave her for Dallas.
She looked at the folded paper in her hands, sighed, and opened it. The message was short and sweet, and even though she knew it wasn’t from Jackson, she couldn’t help but wish it was.
Be ready at eight. We’re taking you out.
Gigi couldn’t help but giggle as Lacey and Stassi pulled her onto the dance floor.
“I love this place,” Lacey yelled over the music. “Cameron and I come here all the time, now. This was where we had our first date. Remember?”
“I remember,” Gigi nodded.
“Oh, duh. Of course you do.” Lacey brought her palm to her forehead and gave it a light slap. “How could you forget, right? This is where you surprised us with news of the world’s quickest engagement.”
Gigi plastered a fake smile on her face, then narrowed her eyes at Stassi the moment Lacey’s back was turned.
Sorry, Stassi mouthed.
Gigi waved her concerns away and continued to dance, the music and positive vibes radiating off everyone actually doing her some good.
Lacey and Stassi had shown up to take her out for a girl’s night, and they’d come to Stassi’s favorite bar.
Kara’s was a local favorite. Low key. Chill. Every Friday and Saturday night they had a live band on their patio area, and it was always a good time. Even it brought as mall pang of sadness to Gigi, she remembered the exact booth where they’d told Cameron and Lacey they were engaged, putting this entire scheme into play, she still loved it.
“I’m going to get a drink,” Stassi yelled.
“We’ll come with you,” Lacey yelled back. She grabbed Gigi’s hand and led her through the crowd of people.
Inside was much quieter, and Gigi could actually hear herself think. They squeezed up to the bar, Gigi now holding both Lacey and Stassi’s hands, and ordered two beers from a gorgeous redhead.