BlackJack (A Standish Bay Romance Book 1) (4 page)

“Would you mind
if I asked your mom out on a date?”

Cameron choked
on his mouthful of food. “My mom,” he said with his eyes bugging out of his
head. “Why?”

“Because she’s
smart, talented, warm and kind, and hell, I’ve only known her for a few hours—can
you imagine how many more fascinating traits she has?” His eyes collided with
hers. The heat sparkling from her eyes and shooting across the room at him had
his blood pumping south at an alarming rate.

“I guess it
would be okay. Better than okay, it would be way cool,” Cameron replied, still
appearing a little stunned.

Cole still
hadn’t broken eye contact with Shannon. “Great Cameron, it’s late. Go to bed.”

“Huh.” Cameron
glanced from Cole to his mother and took the hint. After saying goodnight to him,
he went over to his mom and Cole heard him say. “Night Mom, I’m really tired, I
think I’ll turn in. Stay here with Cole.”

***

Shannon’s whole
body sizzled from Cole’s intense stare as he causally strolled toward the couch
and turned the television on to
Saturday Night Live.
Sitting down beside
her, he surprised her by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her
close so their heads rested against each other. It seemed completely natural
for her to be here like this with him. They sat for a time, neither one
speaking.

Every nerve
ending in her body was completely aware of him, from his manly smell of
sandalwood with a hint of leather to his breath tickling her cheek. Add the
warmth coming from his strong arms and the heat from his thighs brushing up
against hers and it was a wonder she didn’t self-combust.

God knew she
had written enough about love at first sight and strong physical attractions
over the years. But had she honestly believed it existed? Whether she did
before or not, she was a believer now. Somehow she felt connected to this man. A
piercing bond which ran deep within the marrow of her bones, and she had no
idea why? And now was not the time she wanted to question it.

She wanted to
enjoy it.

Revel in it.

Exist with it.

Shannon was snapped
out of her reverie at the sound of Cole’s deep voice saying things that surprised
her.

“My marriage to
Lindsey was not your typical marriage. I had loved her since I was seventeen.” His
voice held no emotion. “After we formed the band and started traveling she…” He
paused and Shannon felt and heard him take a deep breath and let it out. “Well,
she definitely stopped loving me. Let’s just say, she loved everyone but me. I
think that’s why I drank so much and snorted cocaine. I was embarrassed and
ashamed by Lindsey’s careless treatment of my heart. I never let on I knew
about her affairs, and she clearly had no plans to change our relationship.” He
squeezed his arms around Shannon tighter and buried his head in her hair,
inhaling deeply. “During the last two years of our marriage, I never touched
her. I never touched anybody. I could have had dozens of women, but as
unconventional as our marriage was, I would not break our wedding vows.”

Shannon’s chest
and throat constricted painfully in response to what he said. He had been hurt
badly by Lindsey, and she said the only thing she could. “I’m sorry.”

He snorted. “Yes
well, I’m sorry about a lot of things. I’m sorry Lindsey died. I’m sorry I never
found out who really killed her. I’m sorry I spent fifteen years rotting in
jail for a murder I didn’t commit.” His voice suddenly softened. “And I’m sorry
we didn’t meet years ago.”

Tears pooled in
her eyes and his name came out as a whisper. “Cole.”

He sniffed. “You’re
not afraid of me Shannon, are you? Please tell me you’re not afraid.”

Stunned by his
pleading, Shannon took a moment to think. No. She was not afraid of him.
Although he probably believed most women would be afraid of a man who’d been
convicted of killing his wife, whether they believed it or not. She certainly
did not believe it, at least she didn’t think so, and she would prove it.

His body
trembled against hers as he waited for her answer. She had something much better
in mind than words. Pivoting into him, she cradled his devastatingly handsome
somber face with her unsteady hands and gave him her most endearing smile as
she tugged his mouth to hers.

He hesitated,
and she believed he was afraid to let himself go. She continued tasting him,
running her tongue along his soft moist lips until she felt him sigh and open
his warm wet mouth to let her in. A deep guttural moan came from deep inside
his throat and vibrated into hers. He pulled her so close their bodies molded
together as one, and he took over the kiss and deepened it still. He tasted
her, devoured her air and explored every last speck of her. There wasn’t any
part of her mouth, tongue, face, neck or lips he hadn’t tasted, and it rocked
her world.

Shannon’s whole
body burned with desire for him. However, she heard little warning bells go off
inside her head. It’s too soon and too fast. Sanity broke through her hormones,
reached her mind and she pulled back and tried to catch her breath. It was then
she realized her hands were still on his face. Giving him an uncertain smile
she dropped her hands to her lap. “I never believed you harmed Lindsey, and I
am most definitely not afraid of you.” Her voice held strong conviction and
sounded in complete control, contrary to how she really felt inside. Her
insides burned with longing for Cole. She trembled with the need to have his
hands and mouth all over every last of inch of her body.

***

Cole closed his
eyes and held her tightly as his heart rate lowered to a more normal speed. Breathing
in her unique scent, he realized he never wanted to let her go. Did she have
any idea how much those words meant to him? How much they soothed his broken,
needy heart? She couldn’t know, or could she? Her eyes shone with such intelligence.
There probably wasn’t much that went on around her she didn’t notice. Could she
possibly know how he felt about her? She probably did, just as he suspected her
feelings for him ran along the same parallel lines. But the million-dollar
question was could those lines be joined?

 “I better walk
you to your room,” he breathed out. He had to, before something neither one of
them was prepared for happened. And if he held her much longer there was no
doubt in his mind
it
would happen.

“Hmm, yes you
better.”

They walked
hand in hand down two floors to Shannon’s room. Once outside her room they
heard the mumble of the television coming from inside. Cole ran his hands
through her silky hair. Had anyone’s hair ever felt better? “When we have some
time, I’d like to hear about your writing and how it all came about. Meanwhile,”
he whispered, “what are your plans for tomorrow?” Shannon’s eyes were closed
and her lips slightly parted as he continued caressing her hair.

“Hmm, I have a
book signing at Copley Place from twelve to three.”

He leaned in
close and placed soft, silky kisses along her neck and up to her ear, causing
her to moan. “Would you mind if I stopped by?”

“Hmm ... oh,
no, I mean yes, please do.”

He grinned at
her as his hands cupped her face, and he kissed her gently. “Goodnight, Shannon
Gallagher,” he murmured.

As he walked
away, he heard her soft reply, “Goodnight, Cole Jackson.”

***

When she
stepped inside her hotel room, she saw Cameron asleep and sighed with relief. She
didn’t want him seeing her all ... all what? Acting like a lovesick teenager
and floating on top of cloud nine as though she’d been kissed for the first
time? Smiling, she touched her fingers to her lips and twirled around. Cole
Jackson was quite a man. She never would have thought in her wildest dreams,
well yes, in her dreams, but not in real life, that she would ever meet Cole
Jackson, never mind kiss him. Never mind lose her heart to him in a matter of
hours. Damn, her stomach had butterflies swarming inside it. Her whole body tingled
with...something indescribable, nerves, excitement, terror, longing, both
emotionally and physically.

Shannon didn’t
believe Cole killed his wife. Being a romantic at heart, she couldn’t help but
bleed for the man convicted of his wife’s murder. At the time every picture
depicted of him told a heartbreaking tale. His eyes were so incredibly sad. You
could tell he had truly loved his wife and grieved deeply for losing her.

Nothing Shannon
had heard all those years ago would make her believe one of her biggest rock
idols committed murder. She remembered exactly where she was when she’d heard
the guilty verdict. Sitting at her kitchen table eating lunch with her son and
she cried as she listened as each juror voiced the words guilty. Cried as they
handcuffed and leg shackled a stunned Cole Jackson who had tears streaming down
his handsome face. And here she was, so many years later fancying herself in
love with him.

It had been so
long, actually never, since she felt this way and it unsettled her considering
who her feelings were for. Not because he had been to prison, but because of
the man himself. She headed into the bathroom and took an extra-long hot shower.
Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, she climbed into the nice soft bed, burrowed
deep into the covers and fell asleep dreaming about Cole. She’d dreamed about
him before, but it was the first time her dreams were based on reality, and
reality far surpassed the imagination.

***

Cole lay awake
in bed arguing with himself about this thing with Shannon—whatever it was. Hoping
he wasn’t making a mistake starting something with her when his life was in
shambles. Not to mention, he hadn’t befriended nor slept with a woman in almost
fifteen years, and in his book it put him out of practice. Well, not exactly true.
Two days after his release from prison, he had hired a high-priced call girl
from an escort service in New York. He’d hired her for the entire night as he’d
wanted to feel a warm body sleeping beside him. His twelve hours with her set
him back a pretty penny, but it had done wonders in bringing back his manhood
and some of his self-esteem. Other than the call girl, and this would come as a
shock to most people, especially considering what his lifestyle had been like,
Lindsey was the only other woman he’d ever been with. They had lost their
virginity together.

There had been
plenty of opportunities for other women. Women came backstage all the time
offering to give all the band members blow jobs. Since no one else in the band
was married at the time, they took the sex offered. Cole would sit and watch the
orgies going on around him through a drug induced haze because it never stopped
at oral sex.

Before Lindsey
began sleeping around, they would join in, but only with each other. After the
affairs began, Cole wouldn’t—couldn’t make love to Lindsey. He was dead,
emotionally as well as physically where she was concerned. As he’d told Shannon
earlier in the evening, he could not, would not, break his wedding vows. Stupid,
considering Lindsey didn’t give a damn about them.

Now, he felt
more than a little frightened at the prospect of having a relationship with
Shannon. If in fact, they even had one. He certainly hoped so because he didn’t
think his heart would ever be the same after meeting her. Which brought his
mind back to the real reason for the uncertainty? Did Shannon truly believe in
his innocence? Why? No one else did?

He would never
forget the day the verdict came in. It had seemed like a lifetime waiting for
the jurors to deliberate, when in fact only two days had gone by. Cole
remembered standing in the courtroom dressed uncomfortably in a suit, which
only added to the bizarreness of the day. His head hung down and tears streamed
down his face as the verdict was read. He barely stifled a sob as he heard the
word “guilty” and then the pain of a knife eviscerating his heart, over and
over. A jury of his peers had found him guilty of second degree murder for
killing his wife.

He pictured his
beautiful Lindsey in his mind. They had known one another their whole lives and
had been in love for most of it. Married at twenty, she was dead at twenty-three.
And God help him—he didn’t do it. Even if he didn’t remember much about the
night, he knew one thing for certain—he could
never
have harmed her. But,
it didn’t matter what he knew, it only mattered what everyone else believed and
what they believed to be the truth condemned him.

They saw a young,
budding rock star in his twenties who spent his days and nights drinking,
drugging and partying. They were easily swayed by the prosecutor’s closing
argument. He depicted him as a self-absorbed twenty-three-year-old-spoiled brat
who would do anything to get his way, and he somehow convinced the jury his
wife had gotten in his way.

Cole’s defense
attorney was Arthur Monroe. Considered by some to be the best in the country,
but sometimes the best wasn’t good enough. The evidence against him was
circumstantial at best and the murder weapon never found. Mr. Monroe argued
every case point, objected to every defamation of Cole’s character. He called
to the stand a long list of character witnesses attesting to Cole’s upstanding
and peaceful personality. None of it mattered.

In the end, the
jury heard only what they wanted to hear, that Cole had been high on cocaine,
drunk on beer and in the heat of the moment had stabbed Lindsey Jackson once in
the heart. He never went for help, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway—she’d died
instantly. He had disposed of the murder weapon, passed out on the floor next
to her body and woke up the next morning covered in his dead wife’s blood. How
could he not be guilty?

Cole remembered
feeling his lawyer’s hand pressed against the middle of his back. Small comfort
to a man whose life just crashed down around him? His lungs burned, making it
impossible to breathe as the knife lodged deeper into his chest. His body began
to tremble painfully, and Cole thought he would be sick as the reality of the
situation slammed into him. He was to be transferred to a maximum security
prison in upstate New York for a stay of twenty years. He was eligible for
parole after fifteen.