“Yeah. Thanks, London. Night.” I wanted to scream at how cold he was being. He barely made eye contact with me. It was as if I was a stranger.
The night air was heavy. This whole situation irked me. I should have never let my guard down. I was barely two weeks out of prison. I shook my head admonishing myself. I knew I was being ridiculous having feelings this quickly. Part of me was embarrassed and the other part didn’t understand why he changed toward me. I shook my head.
“London, wait.” My heart jerked in my chest. Footsteps fell behind me. I turned and Jaxson was closer than expected. “I know I came on strong and pulled away. I’m an ass.”
With a fake smile plastered on my face, I responded. “It’s okay. We were super tired. I get you’re my boss and I also watch Ty.” I knew better than to flirt like I did. The attraction to Jaxson had knocked me over unexpectedly. “It’s not an issue. I’m going to get some sleep. Have a good night.”
I attempted to walk away, but Jaxson grabbed my shoulders and backed me against the stone wall of the house. The dying embers between us roared to life. It was hard not to reach up and run my fingers along his scruff. “Fuck, London. I can’t get you out of my head. I’m a damn wreck thinking about you.”
My head swam. “What? We’ve been so distant to each other. I thought . . . I don’t know . . . what?” His body pressed against mine. All I wanted was to be close to him again and see where the attraction went. The connection was strong. Overpowering. Almost unbearable.
Was this happening?
His breath danced across my lips. “There’s no denying how attracted I am to you. I couldn’t stop wanting you, but knew I could fuck everything up if we kept moving at the pace we were. Then, I saw you on Sparkles with Ty.”
His nose touched mine and goose bumps danced across my arms. I kept my hands to my side, resisting the urge to feel him. “Go on.”
I wasn’t sure what our situation had to do with Ty riding Sparkles.
“He got on a horse, London. I couldn’t mess that up for him with how scared he’s been. He truly has attached himself to you. If we dated, then it didn’t work, he would be heartbroken. Tonight he wanted you as his mom.” Jaxson stepp
ed back and ran his hands through his hair. “I haven’t wanted anyone like this in a long time . . . well, really—” He stopped himself from whatever he was going to say next. His tormented eyes searched mine.
My back was still plastered against the wall. “Jaxson, I don’t know how to respond. What are you saying?”
“That I want to kiss you so bad it consumes me. That I want to take you on a date and see where this goes. That I’m scared shitless my boy will get his heart broken because I couldn’t stay away from the one woman I’ve wanted something else with if things don’t work out.”
I stepped forward and placed my hand on his chest. “At least I wasn’t crazy about how things initially went and what I felt between us.”
Crowding me again, Jaxson leaned in, barely leaving any space between us. “No, you weren’t. Not at all.”
The sound of the screen door opening nearly had me jumping out of my skin and Jaxson stepped back. “I’m heading to the house, Jaxson. We can talk later.” He nodded and I jogged to the guesthouse. There were things Jaxson needed to know.
What in the hell just happened? Where did that leave us? Unlocking the door with the code, I hurried inside, letting out the breath I’d been holding. The last few minutes felt like a roller coaster. Jaxson liked me. He couldn’t stop thinking about me. I consumed him. A dopey smile spread across my face.
With Charles we had always . . . been.
There was never the anticipation, the build, the desire to be consumed.
This was more . . . so much more, and it hadn’t even started.
A knock startled me from my thoughts. I cracked open the door to see Jaxson standing there. “Jaxson, what are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t leave with everything still unsaid between us.” Those words caused me to open the door wider. Jaxson stepped closer, piercing me with his eyes.
“Where’s Ty?”
He looked over to a truck disappearing in the distance. “My parents are watching him. They’re taking him to feed the sheep in the north pasture.”
“He loves feeding the sheep. I went with him and Levi once this week.” Jaxson stared at me for a few beats and I started to get nervous. To fill the silence, I asked, “What did you tell them you were doing?”
“Coming after you.”
Those tingles erupted again as my lower stomach tightened. I opened the door wider to let Jaxson in. Briefly, I smiled. “We haven’t talked—”
He cut me off as his hands came to each side of my face, obliterating my train of thought. The emerald-green of his eyes captivated me. Lost in his stare, he slowly lowered his lips to mine. The wait was excruciating. As his warm yet firm lips pressed against mine, not a single fantasy over the past week compared to the reality. I want this. He wants me.
A quick swipe of his tongue had me opening up to him and his tongue danced along mine. Without thinking, I intertwined my hands into his dark hair. He moaned in my mouth as he deepened the kiss. On the cusp of it turning into more, he pulled away.