Chapter 22
twenty-two
. . .
Indi
I opted for a pink sundress, and I'm not entirely sure why. I'm usually a shorts and T-shirt kind of girl, but after the shower, as I was brushing my wet hair, something prodded me to switch it up and be more feminine for a change. Kinsley lent me her car, so I didn't have to pedal across town in a dress.
Jameson's truck is in the driveway, and I can hear music as I get out of the car. The sound is a little too clear to be coming through the thick walls of the house. I realize as I walk to the front door that the music is coming from outside. There's a large deck off the back of the house that looks out over the ocean.
I open the short gate to the yard and walk along the brick pavers to the deck. The horizon is a smear of pastel colors as the sun releases its final sigh for the day. Jameson is sitting on one of the lounges with a bowl of microwave popcorn on his stomach. He's tossing the white, salty puffs to a very happy blue jay. The music is loud enough that he didn't hear me come through the gate or step on the deck.
"That blue jay may never leave again," I say.
He turns to me, and there's a stretch of silence as he brazenly looks me up and down. "Nice dress, Jones."
I pull a lounge closer. There's a unicorn beach towel hanging over the back of it. Seeing it, I realize how much I miss Rio, and I've only known her a few days. It's impossible to imagine how Jameson feels. "May I?" I ask as I wave a hand over the lounge.
"Of course." I'm keenly aware that he's watching my legs as I pull them up on the lounge, and it occurs to me that I want him to look.
"Those legs," he mutters to himself. He holds the popcorn bowl out. "Dinner?"
I reach in and take a few pieces. The blue jay has turned his focus to me, and he doesn't look happy about this whole sharing the spoils thing. I toss him a kernel. He hops over, picks it up and flies off with it.
Jameson's arm has been rewrapped with clean gauze. "Did you have to get more stitches?"
"Nah. Just put on a little superglue. Works in a pinch. I wrapped it tight, so it doesn't start bleeding again." He lifts his hand and stretches out the long, callused fingers. "Can't feel my fingers anymore, but that's all right. Numbness is highly underrated as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes I wish I could just flip a switch and go numb from head to toe."
I swing my legs over and sit facing him. "You'll get her back," I say. "You've got a lawyer on it, right?"
He nods. "The best money can buy. Just worry about her in the meantime, you know? I know Nicole raised her for those first nine years, and she was fine but?—"
"But she's safer with you," I say.
A small smile tilts his mouth. "Ever think you'd be saying that about me ?"
I laugh. "Hell no. Although?—"
He lifts a brow my direction. "Uh oh, here we go. Lay it on me. All the things I did wrong in high school."
I fidget with the soft pink material on my dress. "Actually, this is more the things you did right. Only you kept them from me. Why didn't you tell me you were the one to carry me out of the diner on homecoming night? I never got to thank you."
He stares out at the sunset. "The big star is just about to wink off for the night. They say you can see the sun give off a green light just as it's about to disappear on the horizon." He smiles. "Rio read about it, so we sat out here every night for a week waiting to see that green light. Never saw it. Then she got bored of looking for it."
"Nice topic switch." I prop my legs back on the lounge.
"You thought it was Zach. I heard you talking to your friends, and you said Zach carried you out of the diner and that it was really sweet and romantic. So, I figured I'd let you go on believing that. The truth didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that I got you out of there, and I got to flatten that asshole's face for good measure."
I roll my head to the side and look at him. "He did look a little flatter as his friends led him out of the diner. I'll bet he still has trouble breathing through that nose."
"As far as I'm concerned, he got lucky that night." His jaw tightens as he says it.
"And prom." I'm hesitant to bring it up, but I need him to know. "You were pissed at Zach because you caught him making out with Emily. You were defending my honor," I add.
"Is that what they call it?"
"What would you call it?" I ask.
This time he sits up and drops his feet to the ground. There's still an ethereal glow, the last whisper of sunlight reflecting off the glassy water below. His silver-blue eyes look almost feral in the waning light. "I'd call it an eruption. I'd call it years of holding in all my feelings, denying myself the one thing I wanted. He had you, and he was willing to risk that for a quick grope and feel in his back seat."
"Kiki says she doesn't think it was the first time Zach and Emily fooled around."
Jameson looks back toward the ocean to avoid looking at me. It's all I need for an answer. "You guys had lunch today, I hear. Zander ran into him at the sandwich shop. Heard he bought you a ham sandwich," he says with a smile. "Idiot. You hate ham."
"You remember that," I say, mostly to myself.
Jameson gets up and offers his hand. "I've got a frozen pizza. Interested?"
"I could eat pizza." I place my hand in his. His grip is firm, protective. I realize that more than ever now. He pulls me to my feet and gives just enough of a tug that I land against his chest for a second. Another cocky grin forms as he lets my hand go.
I follow him into the house, and he slides shut the glass door, locking out the cool, briny air floating over the deck.
"Zach's not the idiot. I am. Although he's a far bigger asshole than I realized," I say. We're both standing in the kitchen. Jameson's T-shirt stretches across his muscles as he rummages through the freezer for the pizza. The frosty compartment is filled with kid snacks—pizza pockets, chicken nuggets and frozen yogurt pops.
He pulls free the pizza. "Yeah, he can be an asshole. But he's also got his good qualities." Jameson turns on the oven and spins back to me with a questioning brow. "Why are you the idiot?"
I lean against the counter and watch as he removes the pizza from the packaging. "All those years, all that time growing up—you were always angry with me, always scowling, and I convinced myself you hated me. And then the accident—and I hit you, I pounded you, and you let me, but—" My voice is breaking.
He pushes the pizza into the oven and turns around. "I let you hit me because you needed it. You needed to let out the anger you had about losing your dad, and I needed to feel that anger. The guilt was eating me up inside, and if letting you pound me helped you feel even a little bit better, then it was worth it. And yeah, I was always angry and scowling. It was my stupid-ass way of dealing with the pain."
"The pain?" My throat is dry.
"The pain of being near you and knowing that I'd never have you." He moves closer but doesn't touch me. Suddenly, that's all I want in the world. "It's you, Indi. Always you. You're all I've ever wanted." A moment of silence stretches between us.
I launch myself into his arms and slam my mouth against his. His hands sweep under my dress and wrap around my ass. My feet leave the ground, and I circle my legs around his waist. Our mouths clash over and over again as we both search for that kiss, the one that's been years in the making. It does not disappoint.
He carries me toward the hallway but stops short of his room, pressing my back against the wall. My feet lower to the ground, and I'm sandwiched between the wall and his hard body. His mouth moves in a long, hot trail down my neck as his fingers grab greedily at the spaghetti straps on my dress. He pushes them off my shoulders, and the bodice of the dress rolls down exposing my braless breasts.
Jameson pauses and smiles. "One less step without the bra." He covers my nipple with his mouth. I press against his tongue and shiver with delight as he takes my taut nipple lightly between his teeth and tugs. His hands move frantically over my body as if he doesn't know where to touch first.
"Fuck, darlin', I want you in every possible way." He pushes his mouth against mine as his hand reaches under my dress. A low growl rolls up from his chest as my panties fall away. My fingers dig into his thick hair as he kneels down in front of me. "Spread your legs, baby. I need to taste you." The hoarse, heavy sound of his command sends a shiver through me.
I pull one foot free of the panties, and I spread my legs. He lifts higher on his knees and presses his face against my pussy. His hands circle behind my ass, and he pulls me harder against his mouth. His tongue lathes against my clit as his fingers probe my pussy from behind. I move my hips wanting more of his hungry mouth. My hands are tangled in his hair as I hold his head against me. His tongue brings me to the edge.
"Oh, shit, yes, please." The words come out on short breaths.
He pulls my ass cheeks and slips his fingers into my pussy as his mouth and tongue tease my clit. My legs weaken beneath me, and I move my hands to his shoulders to keep from collapsing. "Yes, Jameson, fuck yes!" I tremble as I splinter into an orgasm. I can feel my entire body pulsing against the cool wall.
Jameson pushes to his feet. I'm still reeling from the pleasure when he sweeps me into his arms. I feel weak and helpless and ready for him to carry me away for good. Seconds later, we're in his bedroom.
He lowers me onto the bed and stares down at me as if I'm some treasure he's uncovered. I reach for his hand. "I'm sorry, Jameson. I'm sorry I was so ignorant, and I'm sorry I wasted so much time hating you when I should have been loving you. I'm sorry—" My next words are silenced by his kiss.
He stops long enough to take his shirt off. I unbutton his shorts and push them down his thighs. His thick erection springs free, and I wrap my hand around it. He moans in pleasure as I begin moving my hand back and forth. His eyes close as I bring slick moisture to the tip with my thumb.
Jameson growls and takes hold of my wrist. "I won't last. I've been wanting you for too long."
My dress is pushed down below my breasts. I wriggle and reach back to pull down the short zipper that's still holding it around my waist. He kneels down between my thighs and pulls the dress down and off of me. His eyes glaze with need as he stares down at my naked body.
"God, you're everything I imagined, Jones. Everything I've ever wanted. And the only thing I've ever needed."
The nickname always irritated me when we were younger. Now I find that I like it. He's the only person who calls me Jones. I reach up and press my hand against the side of his face. He grabs my wrist and holds my hand there as he closes his eyes for a second.
Then he leans down over me and kisses me again. Our naked bodies press together, and we writhe to feel every inch of our nakedness. "You are so fucking incredible," he says.
I wrap my legs around his waist. He slides his hand under my ass and pushes me higher to meet him. His slick cock slides into me, and his pale eyes watch my face as my pussy swallows up each incredible inch of him. His movements become more urgent. I tighten my legs around him and lift to meet each of his thrusts. He's pounding into me as I moan, aching with delight.
I can feel my pussy tightening around him, wanting more. He strengthens his grip on my ass and pushes me higher to meet him.
"Yes, please." My pleading whisper circles the shadowy darkness of the room. I'm heading back to climax, and this time, it's even stronger than the last. I hold him between my legs as if losing him would be devastating. He groans as my pussy pulses around his cock. We hold each other tightly as we both come.
It takes longer than usual for my pulse and breathing to slow. Jameson rolls over onto the mattress and pulls me into his arms. "I'm having a hard time believing this is real, Jones. Is it really you in my arms?"
I lift my face from his chest to look at him. "That was the old Jones. Is the new one still everything you wished for?"
He hugs me tightly. "Are you fucking kidding? Jones 2.0 is even better, and I didn't think 1.0 could be improved upon."
I giggle and cuddle against him. Then I turn my face and wriggle my nose. "Is something burning?"
"Shit, the pizza."