A Kiss For You

by Rachel Van Dyken

  “You were dealing with all of that, and she was banging someone else on the side,” I said, furious. “What a bitch.”

  Jensen looked off in the distance, the memory hitting him fresh once more. “As I told you, I moved back to New York. As far as I know, their relationship stopped after that. I don’t know if I believe it for sure, but I think Marc was worried Colton was his kid and cleared out. His dad wasn’t doing that well, so he moved back to Austin around the same time that I got to New York.” He took a long sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair.

  “What a creep,” I grumbled. “So, how did you find out?”

  “I was there when Colton was born. I took him home from the hospital. I changed diapers. I fed him when Vanessa was sleeping. I was there every single second that I wasn’t working. Colton is my son in every way that matters.”

  I smiled at that statement. I loved the thought that Jensen had never treated his son any differently.

  “Marc was in town on business for Colt’s second birthday. We all went out to dinner together.”

  “And you had no idea?”

  “None.”

  “How could Vanessa go out to dinner with him?” I gasped.

  “I think she thought it would be fine. I really don’t know. The next day, I found her sitting in Colt’s bedroom, crying. I asked her why she was crying, and she said she couldn’t keep lying to me. Then, she told me about her affair with Marc. It must have been weighing on her for a long time for her to actually break down and tell me.” He set his cup down and sighed heavily. “We probably could have survived that. It would have taken a long time, but we could have made it. But then she told me that Colt was Marc’s, and I lost it.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  “No, I mean, I actually lost it, Emery. I rampaged throughout the apartment. I broke furniture. I found Marc and beat him to a bloody pulp.” Jensen clenched and unclenched his fist, remembering the bloodlust. “I never told him it was because of Colt though. He thought it was because of Vanessa, which is probably why he didn’t press charges.”

  “Still…I don’t blame you, Jensen.”

  And I meant every word. How could I possibly blame him for what happened? Vanessa and Marc were to blame. They had taken everything from him. Even his son. A son he had raised for two years, thinking Colt was his. No wonder he never told anyone. How could he bear the shame? The sense of loss?

  I reached out and took his hand. He glanced up at me with surprise in his dark eyes. He must have thought that I would turn on him, like everyone else had in his life.

  He deflated before my eyes. As if he had been so pent-up over the whole thing that finally telling someone else the truth had drained him. He tightened his fingers around my hand, and we stayed like that for a few minutes in silence.

  “So, that’s the whole story,” he finally said, drawing back. “I know that you’re upset with me, and you have every right to be, but I do trust you. Or I want to. I want you in my life, but I know that we have a ways to go. But, now, you know the whole story. I feel like our train got off the rails somewhere or took a wrong turn, but I want this to work. I wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t have given you my mother’s necklace if I didn’t want that.”

  He pulled the diamond necklace out of his pocket and let it dangle between us.

  “This belongs to you.”

  “Jensen,” I whispered.

  He took my hand and gently laid the necklace into my palm. “It’s a promise. I’m going to make this right. One way or another.”

  This was a lot to absorb.

  He wanted to prove to me that he trusted me. That he could trust.

  It didn’t make up for what we had gone through, but it was a start.

  I closed my hand around the necklace. He smiled brilliantly, the hours of anxiety from the past day falling off of his shoulder. He leaned forward and brushed his lips to my forehead. Slowly, I let a smile stretch across my face as I put the necklace back around my neck and tucked it under my shirt.

  I’d given him hope…and now, I had some, too.

  He stood up to leave and give me space when his phone started ringing. He gave me a sheepish look and then glanced at the screen. His face paled.

  “Who is it?” I asked. I did not like that look on his face.

  “Marc.”

  “Why would he be calling?”

  Jensen shook his head as if he didn’t know, but I could see on his face that he did. And it was bad.

  He sank back into his chair and answered. “Hello?”

  Marc’s response was so loud that I could hear it through the other line. “You son of a bitch!”

  “What do you want, Marc?”

  Marc responded, but I couldn’t hear what he said, then Jensen said, “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  “I have a right to know!” Marc shouted back.

  “It’s been almost seven years, Marc. This is fucked.”

  “What’s fucked up is you lying to me for that long! I’m getting on a plane right the fuck now. I’ll be in Lubbock tonight, you motherfucker.”

  “Marc, you cannot get near my son.”

  “He’s not even yours!” Marc screamed.

  “I am his father!” Jensen said, raising his voice in fury.

  “We’ll fucking see about that.”

  “Colton is my son, and I’ll be damned if I let you fuck with his head by walking into his life. What you’re going to do is irresponsible and reckless. And there’s no way I will let you near him.”

  “Well, you don’t get to decide that!”

  “Like hell I don’t.”

  Jensen slammed his phone down on the table and fumed. “Fuck,” he muttered. He put both of his hands into his hair and pulled. His teeth were gritted. His body tense. He looked as if he were ready to erupt.

  “What’s just happened?” I asked softly, though I feared I already knew the answer from that conversation.

  “Vanessa told Marc.”

  My heart stopped beating for a split second. I couldn’t believe that Vanessa would go to such extremes.

  “Fuck, I should have known. I went to see Colton this morning, and we argued. She threatened me by saying she would tell Marc, but she has said that a million times before. I told her it was an empty threat. Apparently, she took that to heart. I guess, she was so upset that I was going to introduce Colton to you that she decided that the best route was to inform his real father and get me out of the picture.”

  “You cannot stand for that! You have to do something!”

  “I’ll get my lawyers on the situation. They knew this was a possibility and we’re prepared for it,” he told me. But he sounded like he’d been hit by a truck when he said it. “I just…I have to meet with Marc tomorrow when he comes into town. Before he can see Colton, he’ll have to get permission. My lawyers will file paperwork so that neither of us can go near Colton until this is resolved.”

  “Oh, Jensen,” I said, my heart breaking for him. “You won’t be able to see him at all?”

  It took him a full minute before he could respond, “No.”

  “What do you need from me?”

  “I can’t ask…”

  “You can.”

  “I just…I can handle this, Emery. I can stand up to Marc again. I can face down Vanessa for the hundredth time. I can fight for Colton, like I have been doing since he was born. I need…want…”

  “Jensen,” I whispered, reaching out for him, “I’m here for you if you need me.”

  “I hate to ask it of you when your sister is about to have her baby.”

  “The baby will come soon, and then they’re going to need their space. Kimber will understand. I want to help.”

  “I need you,” he told me.

  “Okay. What’s the plan?”

  Chapter 33

  Emery

  I stayed at the hospital the rest of the afternoon at Jensen’s insistence. I wanted to be there for when the baby was delivered, and I k
now that he had to deal with his lawyers in the meantime.

  Later that day, I finally got to hold my new niece in my arms. She was as light as a feather and adorable to boot. Little Bethany Ilsa Thompson came in at seven pounds and three ounces and nineteen inches. She slept, swaddled up to her chin, with her eyes firmly shut, and everyone in the room was huddled around her.

  I wasn’t ready to relinquish her. I knew I was going to spoil her to death as she got older. But I also knew that her mom and dad and older sister wanted a turn. Not to mention, her grandmother kept trying to take her out of everyone’s arms.

  But it didn’t matter. This was perfect.

  Forget the last couple of weeks of madness in my life. Bethany was too perfect for drama.

  Reluctantly, I handed her back to Kimber, who was setting Lilyanne up to hold her. A nurse knocked on the door just as we got Bethany into Lily’s arms.

  “Hey, hey, everyone!” she said with a bright smile. “Coming to check on y’all and see how you’re doing. I’m going to need to take Bethany for a little while for some tests if that’s all right.”

  Lilyanne looked like she was about to cry, but she nodded and handed Bethany to the nurse.

  “I promise I’ll bring her right back to you, big sister.”

  Lily beamed at that. She was loving the idea of being a big sister.

  “All right, it’s that time,” Kimber said with a sigh. “I’m taking a shower.”

  “About time, you mean,” I joked.

  “Such a kidder.”

  “I think I’m actually going to head out and go see Jensen. I’ll be back in the morning!”

  “That’s cool. We’re going to be sleeping,” Kimber said. “And probably eating and showering.”

  I laughed. “All right. Don’t let her do anything cute without me.”

  “Promise.”

  I smiled at Kimber as she grabbed some fresh clothes to take into the bathroom. I knew she’d be in there for a long time after the night she’d endured. Hours and hours of labor with no respite. It had been tough, but I knew she thought it was worth the effort. We all did.

  I was excited to see Jensen again. I hated what was happening to him because of Vanessa. After we had just sat down for our big talk at that. I appreciated that he had recognized that he couldn’t trust and that he was working to fix it. I still wanted that man who had gone out of his way to drive me through Christmas lights, who couldn’t resist asking me out—in church, no less—and who had hired someone to pack up my apartment so we could spend the afternoon together. But I wanted him with all his skeletons out of the closet and our pasts firmly in the past. Hopefully, after this week, that would be the case.

  I left the hospital and went straight to Jensen’s place. The door was unlocked, and I entered the house.

  “Hello?” I called into the foyer.

  Jensen appeared then at the top of the stairs in dark-wash jeans and a plain T-shirt. His muscles rippled from the tightly fitted shirt, and I practically salivated at the sight of him. I knew I was here to be emotional support and help him make it through the next twelve hours, but my mind apparently had other plans.

  He smiled, and those dimples did me in. “Emery,” he said with a deeply relieved sigh.

  “Hey,” I said climbing the stairs. “We have a new baby girl in the family.”

  “Congratulations. I’m so happy for Kimber and Noah. What did they name her?”

  “Bethany Ilsa. And she’s adorable. I can’t wait for you to meet her. Though Lilyanne might be worried about her boyfriend coming to see her sister.”

  Jensen grinned. “She shouldn’t worry. Her real competition is standing in front of me.”

  I grinned and willed my mind to get myself under control. It had been too long since we slept together. And, now that I could see him clearly again, all I wanted to do was jump his bones. Except that I knew he needed something more than sex tonight. Sex might make him forget, but it wouldn’t heal anything.

  When I came eye-to-eye with him, I noticed how ragged he looked. Still sexy as hell but beaten down. Vanessa was trying to undo him. And, while he stood tall and had the presence of the brilliant CEO that he was, I knew him well enough to know that he was lost and crumbling into that dark place in his chest. A place from which I feared he would not return.

  “Have you slept at all?” I asked.

  He cocked his head to the side and stared off into space. “Sleep doesn’t get anything done. There’s too much work, too much to deal with for sleeping.”

  I sighed. I was sure that, in his head, that was true. But I also knew that his body would start to shut down, and he had to be cognizant tomorrow. To be able to face Marc and not lose control again around him, not like the time he’d beaten his face in after Vanessa had told him about the affair. He needed to be sharp.

  Wordlessly, I took his hand.

  He stared down at it with a mixture of awe and concern. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Do what?” I asked, bringing his hand up to my lips and kissing it.

  “Be here.”

  “Don’t I?”

  “No.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “All too often.”

  “You need me,” I whispered, drawing him closer to me. “So, I’m here.”

  “Good,” he said, his voice deep and guttural. A feral sound that bordered on hysteria.

  “And I know what you need.”

  “That so?” he asked.

  I could see in his eyes that he thought I meant everything sexual. A thought that had obviously crossed my mind. I wanted that to make him feel better, but I knew he needed so much more.

  I held on to his hand and pulled him down the hallway without another word.

  Our relationship might have been a bumpy ride. We had secrets. We’d traded lies. We’d tried to find ways to fit the other into the mess that we’d been living in. But, at the end of the day, I knew Jensen Wright. I’d chosen him, and I’d be here for him through the worst of it.

  When we entered his bedroom, I languidly tugged his shirt over his head. Lust swirled in his eyes as I did it, and I knew, if I gave in, neither of us would sleep ever again. We’d stay in bed all night. Lost in our own desires.

  He reached for my shirt, but I stopped him.

  “Uh-uh. Look but no touch,” I warned him.

  He fumed but dropped his hands. I flicked the button on his jeans, dragged them down his legs, and watched as he kicked them off, leaving him in his tight boxer briefs. He was rock hard for me, and it took everything in my power not to lick my lips.

  I directed him into bed, and he went willingly. What man wouldn’t?

  Then, I stripped out of my jeans and T-shirt. Jensen looked ready to launch himself across the room when he saw the black lace set I’d been wearing for him on New Year’s Eve. But I hastily threw on his T-shirt, which was way too big for me.

  Then, I turned out all the lights and crawled into bed. He reached for me as soon as I was under the covers, pressing his dick firmly against my ass and squeezing me tight to his chest.

  “You’re killing me,” he breathed into my neck.

  “I just came here to help,” I whispered.

  “This is helping.” He thrust against my ass, and I squeezed my legs together.

  “You need to sleep.”

  “You think I’m going to sleep after seeing you in lingerie?” he asked, as if I were insane.

  With effort, I turned to face him and saw his dark eyes filled with lust. I wanted this. He wanted this. But I didn’t trust myself to stop.

  With Jensen Wright, there were only two speeds—more and, God, more.

  I gently placed my hand on his chest and slightly pushed him away. “You need to sleep. You’re a walking zombie. I came over to help you. I don’t think marathon sex is going to help.”

  “It’s not going to hurt,” he groaned.

  He slid his hand up and down my side, fisting his shirt and exposing my stomach and la
ce thong. His hand snagged on the material, and he flicked it with his thumb. It snapped against my skin, causing my whole body to clench up.

  “Jensen,” I moaned. My walls were weakening.

  He pushed into the space I’d put between us and ran the stubble of his chin across my shoulder and up my neck.

  His voice rasped into my earlobe as he tugged on it. “Let me make you come, Emery. I want your taste on my lips.”

  “Fuck,” I whispered.

  He took that as a yes and slipped the rest of my clothes off of me with aching slowness. First, the T-shirt went over my head. Then, he snapped my bra off and tossed it off the bed. Finally, he dragged my thong down my knees and over my feet. I shivered the whole way down. He removed his own boxer briefs next with much less care, and just when I thought he was going to give me what I wanted, he flipped me over on top of him.

  His dick nudged at my wet opening, and it took everything in me not to rock back onto him. I eased down, savoring the feel of him. Just the head…just the tip…just an inch…maybe two. My body tightened around him, wanting to feel him fill me up.

  But then he stopped me and pulled me off of his dick. I groaned with dissatisfaction.

  “Jensen…”

  “Sit on my face,” he demanded.

  My eyes found his in shock. “Seriously?”

  “I said I wanted to taste you. This is how I want to taste you.”

  I hesitantly edged forward until my pussy was directly over his lips. Then, he clamped his hands down on my ass cheeks and ground his face up into my body. I cried out as he ravaged me from below. My hands jerked out and landed on the headboard, bracing myself as my body abandoned my control.

  He licked and sucked and got the taste of me on more than just his tongue. My whole body convulsed, and I tried to pull up from his incredible assault, but he wasn’t having it. He tightened his grip on me and brought my pussy closer to him. I writhed in ecstasy until I exploded from the most amazing orgasm. Then, I sat there, trembling, with him still licking me past the point of my release…prolonging my pleasure.

  When I was finally sated, he flipped me backward and fell on top of me. I was so wet, he slid into me with ease. I arched my back off the bed, purring like a kitten as he took me balls deep.