Page 39 of The Sacrifice
I flop over onto my back.Jackson’s room.
Everything floods into my brain at once. Giving Hadley a bath. Her bedroom. The hall. Oh my, the hall. Heat sears my skin from my chest to my ears. And the bed. It might have been lights out in the bed, but it was nothing like being with Warren. Jackson is an amazing lover. He knows exactly where to touch and when.
By the time we’d passed out from exhaustion, my muscles were liquid goo from coming so many times. I’d never even made it to one without a vibrator, and I stopped counting last night after six. The rest of the night–and morning–are a blur of ecstasy.
“I’m ruined.” I try to lift my arm, and it flops back to the mattress with a thump.
“Thank you.”
I jump at Jackson’s voice.Doorway.I sit up, causing the sheet to drop to my waist. His eyes drop to my chest. “How do you feel?”
“Tired. Achy. Spent. And…” I smile. “Fucking good.”
While I slept, he changed into clean clothes and shoved on a backward baseball cap. And he’s all mine. Lord, that makes me giddy as a schoolgirl. I was never a giddy schoolgirl. This is so awesome.
“That’s my good girl.” He winks. “Own that shit. By the way, you slept so long I’ve made you breakfast, fed Hadley, and put her back to sleep.” He ambles toward the bed. “What should we do after you eat?”
“Go back to bed,” I groan and fall back to the mattress, making a couple of the pillows flop off the bed. I inhale.Bacon. Do I smell bacon?I scramble off the bed on the opposite side he’s on and shove out my hands as he stalks toward me. “No, you don’t. Not until I’ve eaten.”
“Spoilsport.” He bites his lower lip, and my entire body tightens in response. My survival instincts have been destroyed by him. I’d rather be fucked blind than eat.
“Thirty minutes. Tops. Let me shower and throw on my clothes. And eat. Then, you can ravish me.”Where are my clothes?I spin in a circle. The hallway. I’ll get them on the way to my room. I stop and waggle my eyebrows. “If you’re super talented, you can do me while I eat.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He turns and walks to the door. Before he steps into the hallway, he glances over his shoulder. “I think I’ll start by slathering your pussy with whipped cream and eat it off you.” The butterflies in my belly flutter. “Because my dick is chaffed.”
“You’re welcome.” I couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling inside of me if my life depended on it.
I don’t remember being this happy. In school, I was worried about grades. And making sure I was in all the right clubs. In college, I was worse. The pressure made me sick.
When I started working, I strived to be the best nanny that the company had ever hired–working hours longer than my contract required. Then my worries about not being able to conceive drove me to latch onto the first guy who made some comment about being pro-adoption and look how that turned out.
***
Thirty Minutes Later
I descend the stairs and search the first floor for Jackson. Okay. I follow the scent of bacon from the living room to the kitchen. Yes, I want to find him. But I’m hungry. I don’t want to pass out while searching for him. What if there’s a blizzard?
Last night’s lasagna seems like a million years ago. On the kitchen table is a plate covered with a napkin. He made my plate.
Stop. You aren’t fourteen years old.
I straighten my shoulders and lift the napkin. Eggs. And bacon that’s been broken into six pieces and laid out in the shape of a heart. I clutch my chest.Fuck that. I’m a fourteen-year-old girl.I’d save it and frame it, but I’m starving.
Once I finish my breakfast, I wipe my mouth with the napkin, guzzle the orange juice and proceed with my search for Jackson.
He walks down the stairs with Hadley in his arm. She’s wearing a yellow and brown onesie and jabbering her adorable nonsense as she bats at his face. My heart squeezes as tightly as the orange did to give up its juice. I’m hooked on these two.
“Thank you for breakfast.”
“You’re welcome. Anything for my ladies.” The doorbell chimes when he reaches the bottom step. “That’s probably the mailman. I’ll get it.”
Seconds later, he opens the door to a glaring Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes.Oh, shit.I cringe. He was right. We should have locked the door and thrown away the key. I’m not ready for this. He’s not ready for this.
“Mom. Dad.” He nods. “I should have known Tate couldn’t keep his big mouth shut until we had the DNA tests back.”
“Tate didn’t say a word.” Tammy’s eyes narrow into slits. “And when I talk to him, I’ll give him a piece of my mind. I can’t believe he knew and didn’t tell us.”
“I guess that’s the hazard of being a big name in town.”