THE NIGHT BELONGED to them, Chloe thought, as she sat astride Jackson, not caring about who might see them. She’d never felt as primal, as animalistic, as she did now, with Jackson, beneath the stars. Growing impatient with the pace, Jackson lifted her off, flipping her around so she was on her knees, back to him on the cushy outdoor sofa. Distantly, below on the street, a cab honked at a car cutting into his lane, but neither cared about the sounds of traffic below. The drivers couldn’t see them. He moved behind her and she grasped the back cushions, feeling suddenly vulnerable as he grabbed the hem of her skirt and flung it upward, the night air whisking across her bare back, her thighs exposed to the slight chill. He tugged off her thong, tired, she thought, of moving around it, and it hit his wooden deck with a tiny whisper of the elastic fabric on wood. Now she was completely bare in the night air. Her knees shook as she anticipated him, and he delivered, thrusting into her with shocking determination. She gasped as she took the whole length and width of him, completely bare, clutching the back of the couch for support. So big, she thought. So very big. Her knuckles went white.
“I’ve never felt like this with anybody,” Jackson whispered in her ear. “Do you feel that?” He pushed harder inside her, deeper. “I’m home here. I’m meant to be here.”
“Yes,” she murmured. In me. Always in me.
“You’re the woman for me,” he murmured, sending her heart racing, the pulse between her legs ticking upward, even as he stretched her, filled her. She was going to come right then, come a thousand times more, too. She burned for him, even as she felt her swollen clit protest, begging for attention.
“Touch me,” she asked him, voice husky and low.
He obliged, reaching around with his right hand, finding her ready for him, as he gently caressed her bundle of nerves with the pad of his finger. The sensation blinded her. Yes, this was what she needed. Him inside her. Him touching her. He picked up the pace instinctively, and she came with a violent shudder, losing every last ounce of control as the spasms took her. He didn’t last much longer after that, coming with a primal grunt. She realized with a shock that he came inside her. He didn’t withdraw this time, and it made her feel as if this moment were something special. He was trusting her in a way he’d told her he never trusted before.
She hoped his climax was as amazing as hers, even as she replayed his words in her mind: I’m home here. Yes, that’s what she felt like, too. I’m home with you.
He slowly withdrew with a shuddering sigh, and she felt what he’d left for her, his thick, wet want between her legs, and she felt an animalistic kind of satisfaction with that, too. She realized she wanted his come; she’d always wanted his come. He said nothing about the fact that he’d come inside her, about what this meant. Instead, he pulled his shorts up, and instantly she missed the warmth of his body. She tugged her skirt down, her legs feeling the wet combination of their primal need mingling together on her inner thigh. It made her feel both naughty and fearless all at once. She pulled up her neckline, tucking herself back into the top of her dress.
Chloe gazed about the roof, noticing a few lit windows nearby with shades drawn. She hoped nobody had seen, and yet at the same time, she knew she’d do it again in a heartbeat. She liked the feeling Jackson fueled in her, a recklessness. And now she knew he trusted her. He’d told her he felt at home with her. It’s more than she could’ve ever imagined. The cool summer wind picked up, and she shivered, acutely missing the lack of Jackson’s body heat.
“Let’s go inside,” he offered, leading her back in his house, his hand laid protectively on the small of her back.
When she offered to head back to her apartment for the night, he wouldn’t hear of it, instead insisting she stay in his bed. They slept, limbs entwined, and Chloe felt her heart fill with love.
Jackson slept the night, but woke early, loving seeing Chloe in his bed. She slept hard, her long dark hair spreading across her bare back as she lay on her stomach, naked beneath his thick cotton sheets. This was what he wanted, he realized, her in his bed every morning and every night. She belonged here, next to him. He watched her sleep, her thick dark lashes against her rosy cheeks, her thick lips slightly parted. She was so vulnerable there, so childlike. He wondered if their children would have her dark hair or his dirty-blond waves.
Their children. What was happening to him? Already he was imagining babies! Yet the thought wasn’t scary in the least. Chloe just felt...right. They belonged together, and so babies, marriage, they just came with the territory. Sure, they’d only been dating a short time, but every fiber of his being told him she was the one. The only one.
Jackson traced her bare shoulder with one finger, amazed at the softness of her skin. She stirred then, her eyes flickering open.
“Good morning,” she murmured sleepily as she rolled over, demurely covering herself with a sheet. “What time is it?”
“Seven,” he said.
She yawned and stretched. “Do you need to head to work? I’ve got a phone conference at nine, but I’m free till then.”
“I have to be in the office at eight. But I have time to make you a quick breakfast.”
“You don’t have to,” she said.
“I know I don’t, but I want to.” He grinned and kissed her on the nose.
Chloe tucked the covers around her and seemed suddenly shy. “Do you have...a, uh...shirt I can borrow?”
He tossed her a concert tee, and she pulled it over her head. She stood and it fell to her midthigh, and he’d never seen one of his shirts look sexier. He kissed her then at the foot of his bed. Their tongues met, and all he wanted to do was throw the shirt over her head and get her right back into bed.
“Wait...” she said. “Work. Breakfast. We can’t...”
He glanced at the clock. No, they didn’t really have time. Not for what he wanted to do to her. That would have to wait.
Ten minutes later he served up a plate full of scrambled eggs and toast, as well as a steaming cup of coffee. Chloe dug in and so did he, just glad to spend a little extra time with her before they went their separate ways. He watched her eat a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
“You’re beautiful, you know that?”
“You can’t be serious,” she mumbled, mouth full. She pointed to her bedhead and her lack of makeup. “I can’t look anywhere near beautiful.”
“You do to me.”
Chloe swallowed as he studied her. God, she was beautiful. She didn’t need makeup or, hell, even combed hair. She was the most beautiful woman on earth, even as she self-consciously swiped at her mouth with a napkin.
“I love you, Chloe,” he said then, the feeling welling up in him.
“You...what?” Chloe stared at him, shocked.
“I love you.”
“That’s what I thought you said.” He could see the confusion on her face as she struggled with what to say. He knew she wasn’t ready. Not yet. That was okay.
“You don’t have to love me back, at least not now,” he said. “But I promise you, you will.” He dipped down and kissed her then, and she kissed him back.
Eventually, the lovers parted—Chloe to head back to her apartment to work, and Jackson to go into his office for a set of meetings he couldn’t avoid. Jackson promised to call her later, already trying to work her into his busy schedule. When he arrived to work he was humming, in the best mood he’d been in months, maybe even years. For the first time since his business really took off, he felt the pieces of his life falling into place. He’d found a woman who might truly be a real partner, and for the first time he allowed himself to think of what that might mean: settling down, maybe having a family. The idea intrigued him. He’d always wanted to get married someday, but after all his disappointments he had worried he wouldn’t ever find a woman who loved him for him, not his money.
He greeted Hailey outside his office, but she looked withdrawn, even a little pale.
“Morning, Hailey. Something wrong?”
“Well, sir...” Hailey looked uncharacteristically flustered. She wouldn’t make eye contact with him. “Laurie is here to see you.”
Jackson felt his blood boil. He glanced through the glass doors of his office and saw Laurie there, sitting in his desk chair, moving pens around his desk. “Why didn’t you show her out? We’re working on a restraining order and...”
“I think you should talk to her, sir. She said...”
“I don’t care what she said. She’s not welcome here or at any of my other properties. I’m disappointed in you, Hailey. I’ll show her out myself.” He headed to his office door, determined to give Laurie a piece of his mind, and maybe even have her arrested.
“But...sir...” Hailey seemed so very uncomfortable. There was something his assistant wasn’t telling him.
“What?” Annoyance laced his voice. The last person he wanted to deal with this morning was Laurie. The fact that Hailey had failed at her job as gatekeeper irked him. Normally, she was so on top of things. He wondered what had made her hesitate.
Hailey moved closer, her voice barely above a whisper. “The woman said she’s pregnant, sir. With your baby.”