Beloved (24 page)

“That’ll teach you to be such a smartass. Now, what else did you want to know about my nonpolitical parents?”

I crawl back to my former position and nestle in. “How did your dad feel about you going into the Navy?”

“He didn’t care, honestly. He thought I was fucking insane for wanting to be a SEAL. When you know the life and what we really go through, it’s different. There is no idolizing.” He runs his hand through his hair and pulls me close.

“Did you always want to be a SEAL?” I wonder.

“There was never a doubt. Dad was adamant I finish college first. So I went to school and double majored in finance and criminal justice. Then I enlisted as an officer, but I knew I’d be a SEAL. If you’re going to join, might as well be the best. And that’s what we are—the best.” He smirks and juts out his chin, showing his arrogance a little.

I can see why he’s proud. He’s accomplished something many have failed at.

“Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t ya?”

“Well, what’s there not to be sure of?” He laughs and kisses the top of my head.

“Your humility needs some help. Your head gets any bigger, I’ll need to get a larger apartment so you can fit.” I laugh and he chuckles.

“I speak the truth.”

I shake my head and lay down against his chest.

We both grow quiet, comfortable with the silence between us. Nuzzling into him, I close my eyes as my head throbs from the night of drinking I’m still paying for. The onslaught of emotions probably hasn’t helped either. My mind drifts, thinking of a young Jackson and how it must have been difficult knowing his dad was away but wanted to be home.

“Hey,” he says quietly. I must’ve fallen asleep. “You awake?”

“Yeah, I’m up. Sorry. Between the hangover and crying I guess I was beat.”

“I need to get going but I want to take you out tonight. On a date,” Jackson says against my neck.

Before I can respond, my cell phone rings. Jackson reaches over, grabs it, and hands it to me. Neil again. I roll my eyes and huff. I’m pissed he’s still calling—there’s nothing left to say. I silence the phone and put it down. Jackson gets up and starts getting dressed. He looks over and smiles, then heads out of my room. Maybe he saw the name? He doesn’t know who Neil is, though. I hear the voicemail alert and decide to check it real quick.

“Hey, Cat. I need to talk. I know you see me calling.” He takes a shaky breath. “I understand why you’re not answering, but please—I need you.”

I slump on the bed and put my phone on the charger. Simple things I can handle, but Neil? No, not today. My chest is tight and I’m suddenly nauseous. He didn’t need me three months ago, hell, seven months ago when he made his choice to sleep with Piper. He didn’t
need
me when he told me I wasn’t enough. Screw him. He can need
her
for all I care. Yet, somewhere deep in my heart, I know I’ll cave and answer my phone or call him back at some point. It’s unlike him to sound desperate. Something could be seriously wrong. Whatever. Not going there.

I get up, put my sweatshirt on, and head out to get coffee. Despite my tearfest this morning and the stress of this Neil predicament, the medicine kicked in. I lean against the door and watch as Jackson and Ashton laugh together. It warms my heart to see them getting along. I can’t recall if I ever saw her talk to Neil when I wasn’t around. Smiling, I walk over and start my coffee, allowing them to keep talking.

“Good morning, hot tits.” Ashton laughs as I roll my eyes. Please don’t let her embarrass me again. She turns to Jackson. “So you were about to tell me about your sexy, available friends, right?”

I bust out laughing and grip the edge of the counter for support. Of course she’s trolling for men. “For real? You’re trying to score a hot friend?”

“Hey, I’d enlist if I knew I could look at guys like him all day. I’m cooped up in a lab with nerds who think they’re hot.” Her grin is wide as she leans in, tilting her head to the side. “Don’t get all stabby.” She returns her attention to the sexy man sitting at my table. “Well?”

Jackson smiles and leans back in his seat, patting his leg. Grabbing my coffee, I smother my trepidation and snuggle into him. He looks at me brightly. “Why don’t you answer her? Any of my friends hot?” Oh sure, make me say it.

Deciding to play coy and give Jackson a taste of his own medicine, I say, “Well, there is this one guy.” I smile, turning my back to him as I lean on the table with both hands holding my head. “He was
so
dreamy. Almost made think twice about Muffin over here.”

She plays along. Her eyes widen and she grins devilishly. There’s nothing Ashton enjoys more than taunting people. “So he’s like super hot, then?”

“Oh yeah, I’m talking off the charts.” Jackson leans against my back and his body heat pulses through my sweatshirt. His hand grips my hip before slipping underneath the hem and splaying across my bare stomach. I gasp.

“What’s wrong, baby?” he asks as I turn and look at him over my shoulder incredulously. “Just curious who you think was off the charts?” Slowly his fingertips trail against my stomach. The shirt is baggy, so hopefully Ashton can’t see anything that’s happening.

I bite my lip and lean back against his chest. “It’s hard to say—” My words cut off when his finger slides against the underside of my breast.

Ashton smiles. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or is it that Jackson’s feeling you up?”

Jackson leans back, laughing hysterically. Busted! My face is painted in red as I get up and put my mug in the sink.

Ashton yells at my back as I walk to my room. “Oh c’mon, hot tits. I’d touch them too if I were him. Don’t be like that.”

“I hate you both!” I yell back, laughing. Out of nowhere I’m airborne and squeaking as Jackson lifts me and throws me over his shoulder. We laugh as we make our way back to my room.

“I’m going to head into the city and get ready. I want us to go out and have fun. Pack a bag. You can stay at my place tonight,” he says with a serious look.

“What time?”

“I’ll text you details. I need to make some calls.” His lips press against mine and I lean into him. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of kissing him. Even though we’ve just started whatever this is, it feels like it’s been so much longer. It’s like every day I’m with him, a little more of the broken me mends, making me whole again.

After spending the next three hours agonizing over what to wear, I finally settled on my red, one-shoulder, A-line dress. My hair is curled and swept to the side and I’m pretty happy with the overall turnout. I’ve packed my overnight bag and threw my nude heels in there since I have to take the train into the city—there’s no way I’m running around in heels. Ashton is going out later, so she agreed to drop me at the station on her way.

Stepping out into the living room, I ask, “Well, what do you think?” She lets out a whistle.

“You look holy shit hot! Wow. He’s gonna be tenting all night long.”

“What?” I ask, dumbfounded.

“You know, be pitching a tent in his pants.” She giggles and nudges me.

“Grab your keys. I’m nervous enough without your asinine comments.” I huff and nudge her back. My nerves are out of control. I don’t know why since we’ve already slept together. We had a rather powerful talk today, but this seems so different—probably because our date is actually planned and I wasn’t roped into it.

We exit the house with Ashton’s arm around my neck. “No need to be nervous. You need to be you and he’ll see how special you are. I’m pretty sure he already does.”

“Just … I don’t know. Things got heavy this morning,” I say to her as we get in the car. “I don’t mean sexual heavy either. I kind of had a huge breakdown about my dad,” I admit reluctantly. It’s weird telling her this. Ashton and I share everything, but there are parts of my relationship with Jackson I want to keep to myself.

“Wow. You never talk about him. But he still wants to take you out, so it didn’t scare him off. Jackson seems like a good guy. He came over last night to see you. You were plastered and he stayed. He’s obviously into you.” She takes a deep breath while the words sink in. “I know it’s hard for you to see, but please don’t push him away. Let him see what I see.” She places her hand on mine and squeezes, offering me comfort I’m reluctant to receive.

“Thanks, Ash. I guess I’m just waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop.”

“Well that’s no way to live. Live for the moment.” The car stops as we arrive at the train station. Ashton turns to me with her lips pursed. “I know this is hard for you. Here’s the thing—nice guys like him don’t come around twice. From everything you’ve told me, he’s only been good to you. Yeah, he’s intense, but you guys have this insane chemistry. Stop fighting it!”

I lean over and give her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll try. Love you, Ashypoo!”

I run to catch the train. Thankfully I get on just in time. Grabbing the first seat available, I sit and text Jackson.

Me: On my way. Where am I going?

Jackson: A car will be waiting with your name. See you soon.

I smile at his gesture. He really is a good guy, and I’m going to try to relax and enjoy tonight. The train ride is only about ten minutes, so I don’t have time to do anything other than change my shoes and check myself over once. Exiting the train, I find a tall man in a suit holding a sign with my name on it.

“Ms. Pope, I’m Xavier. I’ll be your driver for this evening.”

“Nice to meet you.” I smile and follow him to a sleek black limo.

Wow, he really went all out.

“Do you know where we’re going?” he asks curiously.

My eyes widen at his question. “No, do you?”

He lets out a throaty laugh and opens the door for me. “Yes, ma’am.” I take a deep breath and scoot into the back. “It’ll only be about ten minutes to our destination. There’s champagne chilling in the bucket if you’d like a glass.”

“Yes!” I say, almost too eagerly.

Get a damn grip
.

I take a small sip and the bubbles tickle my nose. Jackson’s thoughtfulness warms my heart. Even though we saw each other a few hours ago, I’m excited to see him again. It appears he managed to plan quite a bit in a short amount of time.

We arrive at what I’m assuming is a restaurant. Xavier comes around, opens my door, and sweeps his arm to the side where I see Jackson walking toward me. He looks breathtaking. I know that’s not the manliest way to describe him, but there is no other word. He takes my breath away.

My eyes eat him up and I’m pretty sure I lick my lips at the sight of him. He’s dressed in a black pinstripe suit with a white shirt, the top button undone, and his eyes burn even in the darkness. I can see the blue shift to green and deepen as he approaches me. That may be a trick of light and shadow, but I like to think it’s lust making those eyes change like that. The same lust that has my heart racing a mile a minute right now. His smile is wide when he reaches me, but he doesn’t say anything.

Finally, after an eternity—or what feels like it—his low, rough voice breaks the silence. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you for this. The limo, last night, everything. It’s too much. I never really thought of you as a limo guy.”

“I’m not, but you deserve to feel special. So no, it’s not too much. It’s only the beginning.” He takes a step closer and extends his hand, giving me a single stargazer lily. Does he know they’re my favorite?

Between his words and now this gesture, I’m liquefying. “I love lilies. How did you know?”

“Ashton,” he says matter-of-factly. Of course she would know, but it surprises me that he thought to ask.

“I think you’ll like these plans better than the last.” Jackson grins and grips my hand. Hell yeah. I won’t be climbing any walls in this dress.

We begin to walk forward when suddenly he stops. He turns and tenderly grabs my face with both hands, pulling me gently until we’re an inch apart. “You really are beautiful, baby.” Before I can respond, his lips are on mine. My eyes flutter closed and I grip the lapels of his jacket. His strong arms wrap around my lower back, pulling me into him. What may have started as a tender kiss turns into a passionate exchange. Jackson pulls that out of me. He consumes me, making me forget where, sometimes who, I am.

Dropping his hand, he squeezes my ass and I giggle. Well, that’s one way to stop it. And very Jackson-like. My hand slaps him playfully across the chest as I shake my head at his antics.

“Come on, Muffin. Let’s go eat.”

“Keep it up and I’ll show you how much you’ll pay for using that name.”

“I don’t take lightly to threats, Muff.” I smile and walk forward. He growls and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest.

“Well, wait until I show you how fucking good it feels when it’s no longer a threat,” he murmurs seductively, staring straight into my eyes.

My stomach clenches and I tremble from the timbre of his voice before he releases his hold. Could he be any sexier?

I’m grinning ear to ear as we enter the restaurant and are seated. It’s beautiful. Candles sit on all the tables and huge chandeliers hang in the center of the room, creating beautiful rainbow prisms everywhere. The walls are deep burgundy and almost look like fabric, which only adds to the ambiance. Everything seems so upscale. It doesn’t surprise me Jackson would choose a place like this. He’s rugged but sophisticated—a walking contradiction.