One More Day (26 page)

She didn’t dare risk another glance in Jackson’s direction as she scooped up the basket and rushed out the back door. She just prayed she could make it through dinner without climbing in his lap and begging him to make love to her again.

Once she was outside, she spent an unnecessarily long time locating the perfect spot to spread out the blanket. Finding a picturesque nook under a shady elm tree, she began to prepare a cozy nest for them to dine. She spread the blanket and then made quick work of setting out the various dishes she’d prepared. She heard Jackson walk up behind her but she didn’t turn around.
 

“Did you get the boys settled?” She hated the breathy tone of her voice, but was powerless to control it.
 

Trying to keep her hands steady, she continued setting up their picnic, keeping her eyes averted as Jackson sat down beside her, so close her thigh brushed his.
 

“Yeah, they’re really excited. You were right about Katie. And since it’s just us, I figured we could have this.” He held up a bottle of champagne.

His long, tapered fingers were graceful as he reached over her for the plastic cups she’d brought. He handed her a cup and then poured a little for each of them. He touched his cup to hers, his eyes capturing hers in a heated stare.
 

“Cheers.” He took a healthy sip. “You should try it. It’s good.” He dipped a finger into the bubbly liquid and dotted it on her lower lip. She licked her lips reflexively. His eyes darkened.

“See? Delicious.” He licked his lips, too.

Then he leaned over and licked hers.
 

Ridley sat stunned as Jackson began putting food on his plate, seemingly oblivious to her reaction. She tried to speak but found her mouth was glued together and she just watched mutely as Jackson filled first his plate and then hers.

“Eat. You’ll need your energy later.”
 

Ridley gulped and stuffed half of her sandwich in her mouth. She made quick work of everything on her plate until it was empty save for a lone, squashed grape.

Jackson laughed. “Relax. No need to rush. We’ve got more than enough time.”

“It’s hard to relax when you’re looking at me like that.”

He was doing it again. He’d finished his food and set his plate aside. Now he was just leaning back on the blanket staring at her. No, not staring, devouring her with his eyes. It was positively indecent the way his eyes lingered over her breasts and hips.

“Are you finished?” he asked silkily. He sat up and moved closer. “Do you want some more champagne?”

Ridley trembled as he moved so he was sitting behind her. She was now in the cradle of his legs. “Jackson? What are you— oh.”

He slid his hand up to her right ear, stroking the downy wisps of hair that trailed loose from her ponytail. She gasped as his hand slid down to stroke the sensitive skin on her neck.
 

The first kiss against the shell of her ear made her sigh. The second kiss made her melt. He pulled her back until she rested against his chest. Then he touched her chin, turning her face toward his.
 

“I’ve been waiting to do this all day.”

The first touch of his lips to hers was soft, tentative. She didn’t even close her eyes as he sweetly tasted her mouth. She didn’t want to break the spell, for surely this was magic, the slow swell of desire that was creeping up her thighs and floating in her belly. Jackson slowly pushed her back on the blanket and trailed his hand down her arm in slow circles.
 

Her eyes fluttered closed as he took her mouth more forcefully this time, his hand coming up to cup her breast. He stroked her through the thin cotton before bending his head and gently biting her through the fabric.
 

Ridley couldn’t breathe. She pulled at Jackson’s shirt wanting to feel his skin next to hers. That was what she needed, the delicious feeling of being skin to skin. His hand moved slowly beneath her skirt, trailing along the sensitive skin of her thighs. When his hand
finally
got to the edge of her panties, she almost cried out in relief.
 

Suddenly his hand stilled.
 

“Shit, I’m doing it again,” he muttered.

“Jackson,” she whispered breathlessly, “What are you doing? Why did you stop?” Boldly she wrapped her legs around his waist. The copper flecks in his eyes darkened before he cursed and let her go.

“I’m always pulling your clothes off like an animal.” His breath was still rough but he moved away slightly. “I just can’t seem to help myself. I’m supposed to be romancing you.”

She grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and dragged him closer, until their breaths mingled. When he groaned, she brushed her lips against his.

“Do you have to?”
 

This time when he kissed her, he didn’t stop.

*
 
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*
 
*
 
*

NICK CURSED UNDER his breath as he watched the couple kissing on the blanket jump apart like guilty teenagers. He’d come over hoping he could catch Jackson alone. The manila folder he carried suddenly felt like a brick.

“Nick? What are you doing here?”

To Nick’s annoyance, his brother turned back to Ridley and kissed her soundly before getting up. He jogged over to where Nick waited by the back door. “What’s up, man? Is everything okay?”

“Not exactly.” Ignoring Ridley’s interested stare, he grabbed Jackson by the arm and pulled him into the house. Usually the floor was littered with toys and random items of clothing that Jase had removed and left in the middle of the room. Now the area was scrupulously clean. Ridley’s influence, he had to assume.

She’s already insinuated herself into their everyday lives.

“I hate to just barge in on you but Elliott found some information that I thought you needed to have right away.”

He handed Jackson the manila folder. Call him a coward but he’d thought it would be easier if his brother saw the proof in black and white. He watched as Jackson opened the folder and pulled out the thick sheaf of papers Elliott had emailed to him. He’d been surprised by the length of Ridley’s boyfriend’s rap sheet.

Jackson narrowed his eyes as he read. “What the hell is all of this? A background check? You did a background check on
Ridley
?”

“Yeah. And her boyfriend, David.”

Jackson’s fingers clenched on the stack of paper. “I already asked Eli to look into what David was doing.”

“Yeah but I asked him to look into them both.” He continued ignoring Jackson’s scowl. “It’s a good thing I did, too. It’s all there, Jackson. Ridley is the middleman in whatever scheme they’ve got going. I’ve found several bank accounts in her name with wire transfers to overseas accounts. From his FBI file, it looks like Mr. Finemore has pulled this scam numerous times with his former girlfriend. But she’s in jail now so of course he had to get a new partner. ” He motioned outside with his head.

“Wait, you think Ridley was working
with
this guy? Nick, what the hell are you talking about?” Jackson threw the papers down on the kitchen table and glared at him. “You think she made up the whole story? You think she put those bruises on
herself
?”

“I think she really was scared the day we found her. Her partner got killed and maybe the people they scammed are looking for her.” At his murderous look, Nick held up his hands. “I’m just saying. It fits the pattern. Finemore always has a female accomplice to get close to the victim, then when they don’t suspect anything he moves in.”

“I understand you’re just looking out for me but I think you’ve got this all wrong.” He held up the pages. “Her record was clean up until she met this guy. She’s not a criminal and I don’t think she’s done anything wrong other than trusting a guy with a rap sheet as long as the Constitution. She thought he was a private investigator; instead he just stole her money and her social security number. She’s a victim in this, too.”

“She’s already gotten to you. I can tell. She’s already got you defending her.” Nick crossed his arms.

“Just leave Nick, please. I’ll look at everything, I promise. I just need to think.”

“Okay. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Nick walked out without a word.
 

He’d accomplished what he’d come for.

JACKSON WALKED OUT of the house, unsure how to behave. Part of him wanted to chase his brother and ask what else he knew and the other part wanted to bury his head in the sand and ignore it. Ridley looked up as he pulled the door closed behind him.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

He walked back over to the blanket and sat down on the edge. She looked a little hurt that he didn’t sit right next to her, where he’d been before the interruption. He wasn’t sure how to recapture the carefree feeling of a few minutes ago. Not when all he could see were white pages and black ink.
 

“Yeah, Nick just wanted to talk business. He has no sense of timing whatsoever.”
 

He looked over at her, watching as she carefully collected their cups and silverware, placing them neatly back in the picnic basket. Next, she picked up the small containers used to hold their sandwiches and the leftover potato salad and put them in the basket on top. When she was done everything was arranged neatly with all the similar items grouped together. She hummed to herself softly as she worked, an unfamiliar tune that made him think of Disney musicals. He shook his head.
 

If Ridley was a criminal she had to be the worst one ever.

 
When his cell phone started ringing, he gratefully snatched it up.
 

“We got a problem, boss.”
 

Jackson closed his eyes and massaged the knot of tension just starting to form between his eyebrows. “What kind of problem?”

“One of the girls is pregnant. She’s threatening to drop out of the group.”
 

Jackson groaned. Somehow he had sensed his luck with Divine was too good to be true. However, he had dealt with worse problems in the past. The scandal with Alana flashed through his mind before he could squelch the thought. He wouldn’t let it get that bad if it took everything within him.
 

His eyes shifted over to look at Ridley, laying quietly on the blanket, her face serene, seemingly asleep. He smiled confidently. They had been interrupted before things went too far but he knew that it was only a temporary reprieve. A part of him wanted to throw the phone in the pond and bury himself in her forever. After all, whichever group member had gotten herself knocked up, she would be just as pregnant tomorrow as she was today. The papers his brother had brought would still be there tomorrow.
 

It was tempting to close himself off from the world and revel in what he had found today after a lifetime of searching.
 

Peace.

But he was a man who believed in keeping his word and he’d told Ridley that the next time they made love it would be perfect. She wouldn’t be distraught after a nightmare, he wouldn’t be tearing her panties off with his teeth and they wouldn’t rush this time.
 

He closed his eyes against the memory of her erotic pleadings. A few more moments and he would have said to hell with comfort and taken her right here in the backyard.

Mosquito bites on his ass didn’t fit his idea of perfect.

“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes. I trust that you can handle things until then.” He flipped the phone shut, ignoring Mac’s voice still chattering away.
 

He would have to go in to the office to come up with a game plan. There would be difficult decisions to make and he needed time to figure out what direction the group would take.
 

He sent a quick text to Katie to see if she could keep the boys for a little longer. Once she responded, he dropped down next to Ridley and began kissing his way up her arm. Her girlish giggle let him know she wasn’t asleep as he had previously thought and she had probably been listening to his entire conversation.

“I have to go into the office for a little while.”
 
She frowned slightly and threw her arms around his neck drawing him down on top of her. He laid his head on her breast and listened to the steady rhythm of her heart beating underneath his ear. “Come with me.”
 

Her eyes met his. “Really? I’d love to go. But wait, what about the kids?”

“We can pick them up after we get back. I already asked Katie if she’d mind them staying a little longer. I want you to meet the new group I’m producing. Besides, I don’t want to be away from you right now.”
 

Ridley turned her face into his shoulder and placed her hand in the middle of his chest. The soft touch warmed him unlike anything else. “I don’t want to be away from you, either,” she finally admitted.

Watching the wind lift her hair and the golden glint of the late evening sun off her smooth cheeks made him realize how vulnerable she was.
 

“Come on. It doesn’t take long to get there but I don’t want to be out too late.” He held out a hand and pulled her to her feet.
 

It wasn’t her fault that she’d trusted the wrong person in the past. He’d done the same and didn’t want anyone judging him for it. Hadn’t she already paid the price for her mistake? The night she’d told him about the accident, the emotion in her eyes had been real. She’d been scared and she’d done the only thing she could do. Run.

I don’t believe she’s a scam artist. I don’t care what Nick says.