Dawn of Forever (Jack & Jill #3) (39 page)

Luke opened the door wider. “Do you want to come in while you figure it out?”

The instant she stepped inside, Jones trotted down the hall toward her carrying her red hoodie in his mouth.

“Hi, Jonesy.” She hugged him, tears stinging her eyes. “I missed you so much.” When she released him, he picked up the hoodie and retreated to the guest bedroom, content with her return.

“When did you get out of the hospital?”

Jessica hugged herself, feeling like a stranger in what used to be her home too.

“This morning.”

“How do you feel?”

She took a deep breath then released it slowly. “Like I’m going to live.”

“I’m glad.” His eyes inspected her.

She chuckled, hugging herself. “Me too.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between them.

“Where are you staying?”

“Oh … I …”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t know how to navigate this. You’re welcome to stay here. You know that, right?”

“I don’t … I don’t know anything anymore. I didn’t even know if you would be alone tonight.”

He flinched.

“I’m not being cruel, or at least I’m not trying to be. The day I died, I gave up my right to walk uninvited into your home. I gave up the right to know what you’re doing and whom you’re with.”

“I’m here, with Jones.”

“I wanted you to move on. Not for me or any sort of guilt. I just wanted you to be happy. That day in the closet, you promised me you would.”

He lifted his shoulders. “I tried, but then I saw a ghost.”

Jessica wanted to tell him everything, but she couldn’t. Not yet. AJ still lived in her heart and sharing that time with Luke would require her to let AJ go completely. When she opened herself up to Luke, he would flow into every inch of her heart and take everything. That was the only way she could be with him.

Everything.

Forever.

“Can I stay? For tonight?”

“Stay as long as you want.” He turned and walked toward the bedroom. “The sheets in the guest room are clean, unless Jones has been on the bed. Sleep wherever you feel comfortable sleeping.”

After saying goodbye to AJ, there was nothing she wanted more than a warm body next to hers. She followed him down the hall. He turned into the master bedroom, and she continued to the guest room.

Having nothing but the clothes on her back, she stripped down to her undergarments and slid under the sheets. “Get up here, Jonesy.”

He lumbered onto the bed, taking up most of it. She threw an arm and leg over his mammoth body and nuzzled into his neck. “Thank you for taking care of him,” she whispered.

*

Morning came too
soon. Luke didn’t wake up, he just got out of bed. Jessica being under the same roof again made it impossible to sleep. Jackson called after he dropped her off at the airport, asking Luke to just “be there” for her. She went to Portland to say goodbye to AJ. At some point he planned on allowing his own feelings to surface, but they would wait.

After a shower he decided to make coffee. The moment he walked around the corner to the kitchen, he stopped. The unfamiliar blonde sat at the table wearing nothing but the familiar red hoodie, her legs tucked up into it, the extra six inches of sleeves doubled as hot pads for her coffee. With her back to him, she stared out the large windows, taking the occasional sip of her steamy morning jolt.

He hated the color of her hair. He hated that another man had loved her body and her heart. He hated that she sat ten feet away and yet she felt so out of reach. If he dwelled on all the things he hated, it would make it impossible to love her. And if he only chose to do one thing for the rest of his life … it would be to love her.

“I missed this view.” Of course she knew he was there.

She missed his car, the dog, and the view. Did she miss him?

“It’s a breathtaking view today.” Luke poured a cup of coffee then leaned against the counter with his legs crossed at his ankles. “Jones has slobbered and chewed on that sweatshirt for nearly a year.”

She scooted around to face him. “I just slipped it on. I only have the clothes I had on yesterday. Today might be a shopping day for me.”

He hid behind his coffee cup so she didn’t see the guilt on his face, the everything-you-owned-is-exactly-where-you-left-it-in-our-closet look.

“It’s Friday. I hope you didn’t take the day off on my account.”

A breathy laugh accompanied Luke’s grin. “I’ve had the whole week off. I flew to Chicago a week ago today.”

Jessica narrowed her eyes a bit.

“Then I rented a car and drove to Omaha.”

“What was in Omaha?”

He sipped his coffee then rubbed his lips together. “Come to find out … not much.”

“You should have looked me up. I could have given you the ten-cent tour.”

“Mmm … why didn’t I think of that?”

Jessica stared at her coffee. “You came for me,” she whispered.

“I came for you.”

“You could have died.” She looked up.

He nodded.

Setting her coffee down, she stood. “I’m going to shower then go buy a few things to wear, maybe some makeup to hide my scars and soften the appearance of my gaunt-looking face until I can gain a little weight. I look hideous.”

“You’re—”

“So help me, Jones … if you even think of trying to compliment my looks, I will make sure your face matches mine.”

He looked her body up and down, taking note of how much muscle mass she’d lost. “I think for the first time ever I could take you on.”

Jessica narrowed her eyes. “Don’t test me.”

He jerked his head toward the hall. “I’m glad to see you didn’t lose your sass. Go shower. I’ll take you shopping.”

F
riday.

Ryn needed a stiff drink and a merit badge for making it though the week. She went from planning a Monday elopement to confessing her past to Maddie in the most graphic way, followed by her daughter hating her, then the cherry on top—Jackson left, forever.

While she cleaned her two houses for the day, Omaha received another eight inches of snow, making the drive home a crawl through the busy late day traffic.

A needed grin crept up her face as she pulled into her driveway that was shoveled and covered in a good inch of ice melt. “Funny, Drew.” She rolled her eyes at his attempt to make fun of Jackson’s over-the-top ice melt incident. Payback would be fun.

After knocking the ice melt off her boots she opened the door. “Hey, baby,” she said to Gunner. Then she flipped on the light.

“Oh. My. God.” Her words were barely a whisper. Anything louder would have required her to have air in her lungs.

Breathless.

The walls were painted, the furniture was new, bookshelves, lamps, throw rugs. However, the shocking part was she’d seen everything before because every detail was a photo from her Pinterest boards.

She continued to the kitchen, but she knew how it was going to look before she rounded the corner—new appliances, light fixtures, even the wine rack—all from her Pinterest boards.

On the small, white, built-in desk by her back door was a new computer. The screen saver flashed photos of Ryn, Maddie, and even a few of Gunner. She clicked on the mouse, revealing a message on her home screen.

I changed my mind … wait for me.

Ryn swallowed her heart and turned around. There he stood wearing the sharpest black suit and tie she had ever seen.

“Did you wait?”

A million words jumbled into so many questions. Why? How? Are you for real? She shook her head.

“You didn’t wait for me?” Jackson’s eyes widened.

Ryn shook her head again. “I couldn’t. Once you left there was a line of guys waiting at my door.”

“Young, no doubt?” His eyes narrowed a bit.

“Mere babes in the cradle.” She smirked.

“Jude died. For good this time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. He stood in the way of me being with you.”

Ryn blinked back tears, swallowed hope, and waited for the unknown. At some point in her life she forgot how to dream … how to imagine having any sort of lasting happiness.

But … there he stood.

“Are you?”

With just a few slow steps, his larger-than-life presence swallowed the space between them. The pad of his thumb caught her first tear.

“Are you with me?” she whispered, desperate for him to pull her out of the shadow of doubt that loomed over her.

“Forever.”

“Jackson …” Her arms flew around his neck. She held him with all her strength, daring life to try and take him away again.

His hands cupped her face and he kissed her. She didn’t care how many people died for him to be with her. His touch made her selfish. She didn’t care why he was there. His past didn’t matter. He was her future.

Fuck the past
.

“You hacked into my Pinterest account and hired an army of help,” she murmured.

His lips devoured every inch of her neck as one of his hands laid claim to her ass and the other to her breast.

“I did.” He unfastened his pants.

“Are you going to invade my privacy for the rest of our lives?”

He bit her shoulder, a grin playing along his lips. “Yes. There’s not a single part of you or your life that I’m not going to invade, dominate … claim as
mine
.” He stood.

“What if—”

He kissed her, swallowing her words of protest.

Taking her into his arms, he backed her against her new stainless-steel refrigerator. Then leaving her breathless, he stepped back.

“Take off your clothes.”

The familiar flush surfaced along her skin. She used to hate it, but no longer. It meant the beautiful man before her wanted to see her body. It was crazy, improbable, and utterly flattering.

“You first.”

Jackson grinned. He reached for his tie.

“Leave on the tie … and your glasses.”

He raised a brow, his cocky smile taking over his face.

Ryn melted to a puddle on her new floor as he undressed for her. He widened his stance and crossed his naked arms over his naked chest, with the exception of his black tie.

“Your turn.”

It took a few seconds for her mind to stop chanting,
mine, mine, mine
 … The tattooed specimen before her was
hers
. That … she would never completely understand, but for women over forty everywhere—and the greater good—she would spend the rest of her life trying to figure it out—figure him out.

Fuzzy socks, skinny jeans, a pink V-neck T-shirt—she stripped for him. He made her feel sexy, something no other man had ever done. Letting her bra drop to the floor, she slid off her panties, leaving them next to her bra at her feet.

“Pick your panties up.”

She stood still, only her eyes shifting with a bit of confusion.

“Do it.”

Keeping her eyes on him, waiting for further explanation, she bent down and picked them up.

He stepped closer, so close she could smell his minty breath and intoxicating body wash. Ryn was certain she smelled like lemon furniture polish, but she didn’t care in that moment.

“Wad them up in your fist.”

“Uh—”

“Just do it.” He ducked down and sucked her earlobe, biting it as if to accentuate his demand.

It had to be a fetish he hadn’t revealed to her, she just knew it. Jackson would make her stuff her panties in her mouth to muffle her screams while he fucked her. She took a hard swallow and wadded them up, accepting her new life, a sacrifice for his body inside of hers.

The expectant look on his face said he was done talking. She knew what to do and he waited for her to do it.

Slowly … she brought her panties to her face and parted her lips.

He narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Um … what you want me to do?”

He grabbed the handle to the refrigerator and jerked it open a few inches, forcing her body flesh to his. “I want you to toss them in the refrigerator,
hot pants
.”

Ryn’s eyes widened in realization while her skin crimsoned with embarrassment. She tossed them inside the refrigerator, attempting to act like she didn’t just taste her own panties.

Jackson knew otherwise. He palmed her ass and hiked her up his body. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he kissed her.

“You were going to…” he mumbled over her mouth between kisses “…stuff your panties in your mouth for me.” She couldn’t respond. She would never acknowledge any such thing.

“That’s so fucking hot.”

*