Dealing with the Past (5 page)

Hell, he still hadn't called Aiden yet to apologise or let him know Jackson knew who he was and what he had done to him. Fear kept him from calling his mate. Fear of rejection, the idea of never being forgiven for his past rode him hard. He feared he lost his mate before he'd really found him.

Sighing heavily, Jackson ran his hand through his hair for the millionth time then got out of the car to face the firing squad. Jackson looked around and some of the tension left his body when he realised Jayden and Noah were the only ones here so far. He walked down the small path leading to the front door, and without knocking he turned the handle and walked inside.

The wonderful smell of roast beef surrounded him as soon as he entered. Jackson's mouth started to water as he thought about getting to eat his mother's wonderful dinner. "Honey, I'm home," Jackson called out but no answer was forthcoming, meaning they were all more than likely out the back.

The smell got stronger as he made his way farther into the house towards the kitchen. Jackson had a stickybeak around wondering what was being served with the beef. Several pots sat on top of the stove filled with cut vegetables and cold water. The only veg currently being cooked was the potatoes. Jackson really loved the Sunday roast at his parents' place. Stealing a couple of green beans and a piece of carrot, Jackson munched on them as he walked outside to find the rest of his family.

The second he opened the sliding glass door all eyes turned to him. His mother appeared furious with him.
Damn,
he knew better than to ignore her calls. His father's expression was a little harder to read but his brother's was easy as hell. Jayden's eyes shined with mirth, the wide grin also gave away how Jayden was feeling. Noah just sat silently next to Jayden holding his hand. Jackson noticed the gentle caress of Noah's thumb as it swiped over the back of Jayden's hand. Jackson ached at the thought that he would never get that with his mate.

Jayden was the first to break the silence. "Boy, are you in the shit with Mum and Dad."

"Jayden, language," admonished their mother.

Jackson groaned as his brother laughed.

"Sorry, Mum," Jackson said as soon as their mum turned her attention away from Jayden. The little shit stuck his tongue out at Jackson. He was hard pressed to hold in his snort of laughter at the action. He had missed this side of his little brother.

Jackson walked over to the table and collapsed on one of the chairs, taking another bite of the crunchy bean he still had in his hand.

"Okay let's get this over with, shall we? Before the rest of the family arrives," Jackson said as he looked at his parents. "Mum, I'm sorry I ignored your calls, it won't happen again. I just needed time to think about things without the rest of the world butting in."

"Butting in?" his mother screeched. Jackson winced and Jayden laughed at him. Jackson turned and poked his tongue out at his youngest brother. Jayden laughed harder when their mother admonished him.

"Sorry, Mum, maybe butting in was the wrong words to use," he tried to soothe her ruffled feathers.

"I should think so," his mother replied. Jackson looked at his dad and saw a twinkle in the man's eyes. He wasn't getting any help from that direction.

Jackson closed his eyes and groaned.

His father cleared his throat, indicating he had something to say. Jackson opened his eyes and looked at his dad. All the mirth had disappeared from his face, replaced with a stoic expression.

"I've left word with Frannie that Aiden Montgomery is not to be allowed back in the office," his father announced quietly. Jayden stopped laughing while Noah sat silently, looking between Jackson and their parents.

"Dad," Jackson started but he didn't get any further before his father interrupted him.

"No, Jackson. The man hit you in the middle of the office, for all to see, I cannot condone that type of behaviour in the workplace or against one of my children." His voice was low. His dad meant what he said.

"He's my mate, Dad, you can't ban him from the office," Jackson pleaded.

"Mate or not, he had no right to take a swing at you."

"He had every right!" Jackson yelled. He stopped himself, taking a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Aiden Montgomery is someone from my past. Someone I hurt greatly with my actions. He is also my mate and I have to live with the fact that I've caused him a great deal of pain. I have no idea if I'll ever get the chance to apologise to him for what I did or if the man would ever, could ever, forgive me. Please don't make this harder than it already is." Jackson was close to tears. Laying it all out on the table for his family—actually voicing his fears—was a lot harder than he thought it would be.

"Oh, Jackson," his mother said quietly.

"It's just the way it is, Mum." Jackson swallowed down the lump rising in his throat. "I always knew my past might come back to bite me on the ass, I just never thought it would be this bad. I honestly have no idea if I even have the tiniest chance with my mate or not."

"Aiden Montgomery is a good man." Noah spoke up for the first time since Jackson joined everyone outside. All eyes turned to him and he blushed a little under the scrutiny. "He works for my company, has done practically since we opened. When his partner unexpectedly passed away at work, I put him in touch with Jayden. He's loyal and kind and very forgiving. I have no idea what's happened between the pair of you in the past but give him time, Jackson. I'm sure he'll come round.

"Everyone loves him and I've never once heard a bad word about him. That's why I was surprised when Jayden came home and told me what happened." Noah paused. "Would you like me to have a talk with him tomorrow?"

Jackson's mind spun from information overload. Noah knew Aiden? That would explain how Jayden had ended up with Aiden's very mundane case on his schedule. Did he want Noah's help?

"Thank you for the offer, Noah, but I really think this is something I have to do myself," Jackson replied after giving it some thought.

Jayden grinned at him. "Don't worry about it, bro. Aiden will come round. He's your mate after all. Fate wouldn't have matched you together unless you were perfect for each other. Maybe he's a little more confused than usual right now because he's likely fighting an attraction to you, and with your past, that bothers him. God only knows why though, you're not much to look at if you ask me." Jayden waggled his brows and laughed as Jackson threw his last remaining piece of vegetable at his brother. Jayden ducked but it still hit him in the shoulder before falling to the ground.

"Ass," replied Jackson but he couldn't hold back his smile.

"Boys, please," their mother said, resigned.

Jackson looked at his father and asked, "Are we okay, Dad?"

His dad sighed. "I can't just ignore the fact that the man hit my son—you—Jackson."

Jackson knew his dad meant well. His parents were very protective of their children. He couldn't blame his father, not really. Jackson couldn't even imagine what he would do if he had a child and someone he didn't know decked him. Jackson slumped back in his chair and tuned out as his mum started to talk to Jayden about the deep red streaks he now sported in his hair.

Jackson hated the thought of his father not liking his mate. Until his father said his piece to Aiden himself, his dad would continue to be overprotective. Jackson didn't want to rush Aiden and risk losing him for good. He had to give his mate time.

Jackson silently prayed Jayden was right and Aiden felt the connection to him, too.

The rest of the family arrived not long after their talk, and they settled down to enjoy the evening. Jackson took a little lip from his brothers for being the next to fall victim to the allures of a mate but it didn't bother him any. His brothers were happy he found Aiden, even if he didn't tell them why his mate had planted one on his jaw.

By eight-thirty, Jackson was yawning and said goodnight to his family. "Thanks for dinner, Mum. It was delicious like always." He kissed her cheek and headed for the door.

The drive back to his apartment was quiet, just the low music from the local radio station playing in the background. Jackson was too worn out from another busy week to even recognise any of the songs.

He pulled into the car park below his apartment building and parked his car before getting out and heading to the elevator. The lift dinged a short time later, signifying the arrival at his floor, and Jackson stepped out, walking to the left down the passage to his door.

Jackson made sure to lock the door behind him and made his way to the kitchen. Placing his keys, phone, and wallet in the bowl, Jackson turned and headed for his bedroom. Even though it was still early, all Jackson wanted was a shower then to crawl into bed.

He stripped down, throwing his clothes in the laundry hamper inside his door. Jackson turned on the air conditioner so the room would be nice and cool when he was done with his shower and padded over the soft carpet to the attached bath.

Jackson turned the handle to the temperature he desired and pulled until there was a steady stream of water flowing from the large showerhead. One of the things he loved most about this apartment was the large shower, big enough for two or even three. On one wall was a shower rail with a hose and massage water function and at the other end was a large showerhead that dropped from the ceiling.

Stepping under the hot spray, Jackson let the water flow over him. His tense muscles started to relax little by little. Jackson looked over to the other side of the shower; he could imagine Aiden standing there all naked and wet. His body reacted predictably at the images in his mind, his cock hardened and pulsed. Jackson reached down and wrapped his fingers around his prick, giving it a firm squeeze before gentling his grip and starting a slow up and down movement.

Jackson closed his eyes and pictured Aiden. The twinkle he saw in his mate's eyes, along with his mischievous smile, caused Jackson's dick to harden further.

"Something you want, babe?" Aiden asked him seductively.

"Oh hell, yeah," Jackson moaned. Aiden stepped towards him and placed a finger against his mouth. The soft skin rubbed over his lips before trailing down over his chin, down his neck and over his chest. Aiden stopped and flicked one of his hard nipples. Jackson gasped as pleasure radiated through his body. His hand quickened as the Aiden of his fantasies trailed his finger down over Jackson's pronounced six-pack.

"I want to lick you all over," Aiden whispered against his ear before he gently bit down on the lobe. Aiden's soft hand cupped Jackson's balls and squeezed.

It was all too much. Jackson's orgasm barrelled through him like a runaway freight train. He cried out his mate's name as his cock pulsed with stream after stream of pearly white cum, painting his abdomen and hand. Jackson slowly stopped milking his prick when he became too sensitive to continue. The satisfied smirk on Aiden's face made Jackson smile knowingly.

The smile faded, though, when he opened his eyes and found himself alone in the shower. His heart hurt, wondering if what he had just imagined would ever come true.

Unable to handle the pain, Jackson made haste to get out of the shower. He finished washing himself. Any energy he had left had been zapped from his body with his orgasm and subsequent trip back to reality. Jackson turned off the shower and gave himself a cursory pat down with the towel before hanging it back up. He cleaned his teeth then headed to his bedroom.

He collapsed on the bed. Jackson barely had enough strength left to pull the blankets over him as he closed his eyes. He let the exhaustion he felt win. Aiden's smiling happy face was the last thing he pictured in his mind before the darkness took him.

Chapter 5

It had been a week since the disastrous appointment at the Thompson Agency and Aiden had tried everything he could to get Jackson out of his head but the damn stubborn man just kept popping up. Every time Aiden closed his eyes, Jackson was there, smiling that sexy grin of his, which Aiden had seen at the office before things took a nosedive. When he tried to entertain himself in the shower, all his thoughts kept going back to Jackson. He couldn't remember getting off so quickly or so hard. Aiden kept wondering if the six-pack abs ever took shape and what Jackson's hard thighs looked like covered in black hair. The images he came up with were certainly more than satisfactory.

Aiden hated himself for these thoughts. He didn't want to think about Jackson like that. Even though he hadn't been in love with Brendan, he had genuinely cared for him and Aiden felt a little guilty about his thoughts of Jackson. His boyfriend had only been gone for three months.

Jackson had been nothing but mean the entire time they were in high school together. Aiden could concede Jackson never actually initiated any of the bullying, but he joined in once Daniel or one of the others started. Though, despite the taunts and remarks, Aiden remembered a time or two when he and Jackson had run into each other without the others around, Jackson had looked a little guilty before he smiled nervously and walked away.

Aiden startled as the ringing of his telephone interrupted his wandering thoughts. He really needed to get it together.

"A and M accountants, you've reached Aiden, how can I help you?" Aiden rattled out as he answered the call.

"I'm sorry."

Aiden stilled then hung up the phone. He didn't need the caller to say anything else, he recognised the voice easily enough. After all, that voice had been the star of his dreams for the last week, and didn't that thought just serve to piss him off.

Aiden shook off the anger and got back to work, forgetting about the call as he got absorbed into the accounts he was currently doing for a small business. A half hour later his phone rang again. Eyes still on the screen, Aiden rattled off his standard greeting as he pulled the receiver to his ear.

"Please, let me help you," Jackson asked, with what Aiden thought to be desperation lacing his words. It had taken a moment to register who was on the phone, and that was the only reason the phone was still pressed to his ear. Why in the world would Jackson be desperate to help him?