Love Left Behind (10 page)

Jackson walked back out
with two plates, each with a large slice of white cake with about ten thin
layers, frosted generously with white frosting and coconut shreds.

"I hope you like
coconut," Jackson said, handing me a plate and fork.

My eyes lit up. "I
love
coconut." I took a bite and
it was heavenly. "Don't tell me you made this!"

Jackson grinned as he
sat down next to me and started eating his own slice of cake. "As much as
I'd like to impress you and say yes, I picked it up from a bakery."

"It's okay,"
I said, relishing each bite of the cake. "You get points for picking out a
terrific cake."

I paused mid-bite as I
looked up at Jackson.

"You're doing it
again," I said accusingly.

"Doing what?"

"Watching me
eat!"

Jackson reached out and
tucked my hair behind one ear. My breath caught at the sweetness of the
gesture. "Is that such a bad thing? I like watching you enjoy
yourself."

"Well,” I said,
drawing out the word. There wasn't much I could say to that. So I decided to
change the subject. "What did you study at Columbia?"

Jackson smiled as if he
knew I was changing the subject on purpose, but he complied. "Business
management. My father wanted me to join the family company, but it's not for
me. I can't imagine spending my whole life on dry mergers and
acquisitions."

"What type of
company does your father own?"

"It's a management
consultant firm. Boring stuff."

"What about your
mother?"

"She spends most
of her days on charity boards. As much as I like making fun of her about being
a lady that lunches, she actually does a lot of good through her
charities."

"That's
great," I said, smiling. "I think my mother just uses her charity
group as an excuse to socialize."

"What about your
dad?" Jackson asked, setting his now empty plate on the floor next to the
couch since he didn't have a coffee table. "What does he do?"

"He was a lawyer.
He passed away while I was in high school."

"I'm sorry to hear
that. Do you mind if I ask what happened?"

I shook my head. It was
amazing how easy it was to confide in Jackson. Maybe because it seemed like he
actually cared, instead of just asking out of obligation. "He had a heart
attack when I was a sophomore. It was totally unexpected. One day he was
healthy and full of life. The next day he was gone."

Jackson reached out and
cupped my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb. "That must have been
hard."

"It was, but
fortunately my mom and I are pretty close. We were able to get through it
together." I didn't add that Sean had been my anchor during that time of
my life. Despite what I told Jackson, my mother had been too wrapped up in her
own grief to help me through mine. Sean had kept me sane and grounded. I
couldn't count how many times he stayed on the phone with me all hours of the
night while I sobbed about the unfairness of it all.

"I'm happy to hear
that."

"Are you close
with your parents?"

Jackson dropped his
hand and took my empty plate from me, stacking it on top of his on the floor.

"I'm pretty close
to both of them. My dad can be a little heavy-handed about him wanting me to
join his company, but I think he's accepted that I'm really giving this acting
thing a go."

Jackson put his arm
around my shoulders and pulled me close. I snuggled into him, relishing the
feeling of his bare chest against my cheek. The music we danced to earlier had
ended long ago and Jackson picked up a remote to flick on another playlist. I
relaxed against him as I listened to Frank Sinatra croon about the way you look
tonight.

"You really like
the oldies, huh?" I commented.

"They're the
best."

I yawned, the long day
and the earth-shattering sex having taken its toll. We sat there for a while,
just listening to music as we cuddled. I felt myself drifting off as Jackson
gently stroked my arm, lulling me to sleep.

I woke up with a start,
sitting up. Jackson's head was against the couch and his eyes fluttered open at
my movement. He sat up and stretched, pulling his arms above his head, and I
admired the rippling effect it had on his muscles. He caught me gawking and
smiled at me.

"How long have we
been asleep?" I asked, flushing a little. I was the one who had balked at
Jackson watching me, and now I was the one mooning over him.

Jackson checked the
clock on the wall. "For about an hour. I'm supposed to be the trainer, but
I guess the workout you gave me wore me out."

I smiled at him
mischievously, running my fingers down his hard muscled chest. "Ready for
your next session?"

Jackson looked at me
with amusement. "Shouldn't we be pacing ourselves?"

I shook my head.
"You had your way with me before. Now it's my turn to be in control."

Jackson arched an
eyebrow, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Is that so?"

"Yup."

I grabbed his hand and
this time it was me that dragged him into the bedroom. I showed him just how in
control I could be with my hands, my mouth and my tongue, until he couldn't
take any more and flipped me on my back, pounding into me until I was the one
begging for my release.

I squinted at the sun
streaming into the room, trying to get my bearings as I woke up in an
unfamiliar bed. The memories of the night before rushed through me as I looked
over at Jackson who was still sleeping peacefully. He was lying on his stomach,
his face turned towards me with one arm hooked around my waist. I drank in the
sight of him now that I could stare at him in leisure. His ridiculously long
eyelashes cast shadows on his face and my gaze trailed down his straight nose
to his kissable mouth, resisting the urge to reach up and stroke his lips.

Jackson looked
vulnerable in his sleep and I felt a stirring inside me. I pushed the feeling
aside and just enjoyed the feeling of waking up with a gorgeous man next to me.

I craned my neck up so
that I could see the alarm clock over Simon's shoulders on the other side of
the bed. It was almost seven in the morning and I needed to get home so I had
time to shower and get ready for work.

I gingerly lifted
Jackson's arm from my waist and tried to slip out, but his arm suddenly
tightened around me.

My eyes shot to his
face and I saw that he was awake and watching me.

"Where do you
think you're going?"

"I have to get
back home to get ready for work."

Jackson turned his head
around to check the time. He then pulled me close and nuzzled his face in my
neck, enveloping me in his arms.

"It's still
early."

"Jackson, I can't
be late for work." I tried to make my voice firm, but I was weakening
against his caresses. Being so close to him, wrapped up in him, was
intoxicating. He smelled warm and masculine and felt even better.

I squealed as Jackson
licked my neck. "That tickles!"

Jackson lifted his head
and grinned at me. "That was supposed to tempt you into staying in
bed."

I rolled my eyes and
smacked his shoulder. "You're supposed to be making sure I get to work on
time. Remember? That was the deal for staying over."

Jackson groaned but
rolled over, releasing me. "Okay, okay," he grumbled but I knew he
wasn't really disgruntled because of his sparkling eyes.

I grabbed my clothes
and went into the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom. I gasped when I
looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like a fright with my hair sticking
out in all different directions. I quickly changed back into my leggings and
top, threw some water on my face, and then wrangled my tangled hair into a
ponytail.

When I stepped back
into the bedroom, Jackson was gone. I made the bed and folded the shirt he had
given me to sleep in and laid it on the bed.

I heard Jackson
rummaging around in the kitchen as I left the bedroom and I walked over to join
him. He had thrown on a t-shirt and jeans and was fiddling with the coffee
maker.

He looked up at my
approach. "How do you take your coffee?"

"Jackson," I
said warningly. "I don't have time to drink coffee."

"I have to-go cups
we can use. Now how do you take your coffee?"

"Milk and one
sugar, please."

I watched Jackson pour
coffee into two paper cups with plastic tops, just like the ones you would get
at a coffee shop.

"Where are you
going?"

Jackson looked up at
me, grinning. "I can't let you walk home by yourself. My mother didn't
raise a heathen."

Jackson was continually
surprising me with his thoughtfulness. I could get used to this. I grabbed my
bag and we made our way downstairs in the elevator.

"Hi, Sam,"
Jackson greeted the doorman.

"Good morning, Mr.
Reynard." The doorman smiled and tipped his head at me in greeting as we
walked past and I smiled back weakly, flushing since it was so obvious that I
was now making the walk of shame. The fact that the object of my shame was
walking next to me didn't lessen the embarrassment.

It was a beautiful
morning when we stepped outside. It was early enough that the air was still
crisp and the city seemed to be just waking up.

"Do you want to
take a cab or walk?"

"Let's walk,"
I said, unable to stop smiling foolishly at Jackson. He looked ridiculously
handsome this morning and it was hard to stop beaming. "I don't live very
far away."

Jackson took hold of my
hand and we walked to my apartment, sipping coffee and talking about nothing
important, commenting on the stores we passed.

"What are you
doing tonight?" Jackson asked when we were a couple of streets away from
my apartment. I was thrilled that he seemed to want to spend more time with me,
but I didn't want to overcommit myself and be distracted from work.

"Probably working
late," I replied. "There's a lot of stuff that my boss wants to
finish up before the weekend."

Jackson frowned but
nodded. "Do you think you'll be working late tomorrow too?"

"Probably not if
I'm working late tonight." As much as I didn't want to be distracted from
work, I definitely still wanted to make time for Jackson. "Why?"

"So I can take you
out to a proper dinner," Jackson said, grinning. "Afterwards, you can
come see the play."

"I was more than
happy with last night's dinner, but it's a date," I said wryly. We stopped
in front of the doors of my apartment building.

"Have a good day
at work," Jackson said, looking reluctant to leave.

"Thanks. Do you
work today?"

Jackson nodded. "I
have a day shift."

"Then have fun
whipping your clients into shape."

Jackson smiled and
leaned down, kissing me softly. When we broke apart, we were both breathing
heavily, even from a light kiss.

"I better leave
before I follow you up the stairs and really make you late for work."

I laughed as I walked
into my building. "Bye, Jackson."

He smiled at me with
such sweetness that I felt a sudden ache in my chest.

"Bye, Emma."

I practically flew up
the three flights of stairs as if I were floating. Only five days into my new
life in New York and I was already experiencing the dizzying heights of
happiness. I wanted to laugh out loud in glee.

Claire was sitting in
the living room watching TV when I walked in, which surprised me. She had
always still been in bed the past few days when I had left for work.

She looked up from the
TV and smiled. "Looks like someone had a good night."

I blushed, feeling as
if Claire could see right through me and all the illicit things I had done last
night.

"Jackson's
nice."

Claire raised an
eyebrow. "I think it takes more than nice to keep you out all night."

I flopped down on the
couch next to her with a deep sigh. "Okay, it was amazing. Exhilarating.
Life-altering. Jackson Reynard definitely knows how to make a woman feel
special."

Claire laughed at my dramatics.
"You don't have to tell me. I've been friends with Jackson long enough to
know his routine."

I sat up, feeling
deflated by her words. "What do you mean?"

Claire shook her head,
looking apologetic. "I didn't mean it like that. Jackson's not some man-whore
or anything. I just know the effect that he can have on women. I'd be blind not
to notice it."

"Does he date a
lot?"

"Well..."
Claire responded, drawing out the word. "Like I said before, he doesn't
really do serious relationships. But while he's with you, life is golden."
She shrugged. "Not that I would know. We only went out on a couple of
dates a million years ago. That's just what it seems like from what I've
observed."

I ignored the spurt of
disappointment. What Jackson was offering was exactly what I was looking for.

"That's fine with
me. I'm just looking for some fun, nothing serious. The last thing I want to do
is get into a relationship."

Claire looked relieved.
"I'm happy to hear that. I'd hate for you to be hurt once he loses
interest." She bit her lip, seeming to realize how that sounded. "I
mean, not that he'll lose interest. Who knows, maybe you could be the
one."

I laughed as I rose
from the couch. "The only one I want to be right now is the one that's not
going to be late for work."

I took a shower and got
ready for work, keeping an eye on the time. As I was emptying my purse, I
noticed that I was missing my black skirt. I made a mental note to ask Jackson
later if I had left it at his apartment.

Claire was in her
bedroom when I stepped out of my room, so I left without saying goodbye, not
wanting to disturb her in case she had fallen back asleep.