Chapter 26
“Promise you won’t go too fast?” My heart pounds as I awkwardly climb onto the motorcycle, trying not to eat shit before we even go anywhere.
Jackson nods, and I wrap my arms around his waist, clutching him like we’re already speeding down the road.
His hand rests atop mine and gives it a squeeze.
“The more you relax and follow my lead, the better it’ll be.
And remember, the helmets have an intercom, so the moment you need a break, tell me. ”
“Right.” It’s strange to hear his voice through the speaker in my helmet, but once we’re on the road it’ll be hard to hear him over the noise otherwise. “Just how many people are you taking for rides that you needed to have intercom helmets?”
He snorts. “None. I got these for us. Dolly’s the only one riding with me on the reg, and she hasn’t mastered human speech yet, so they’d be a bit superfluous with her.”
I laugh, my stomach fluttering, knowing I’m the only one he’s done this for. I don’t understand why. A hot guy on a motorcycle is so many women’s dream. “Come on, you’re telling me that you didn’t take babes out for a spin on this thing? It’s not like you were a monk before we met.”
Jackson chuckles. “No, definitely not a monk. But I can count on one hand the number of people I’ve had on my bike, and only one of them stuck around for long enough to warrant getting these helmets.”
There’s a hint of hurt in his tone. I squeeze him tighter, fighting off the ridiculous spike of jealousy my omega feels that there was one person who was important enough. “Who was she?“ I ask hesitantly.
“Huh?”
“The woman who stuck around.” I’m stalling for time before he turns on the engine and we get going, but I’m also keen to know. And maybe a little jealous, even though he said I’m the one he bought the helmets for, not her.
Jackson releases a huff of laughter. “It wasn’t a woman.”
“Shit, sorry, my bad. I thought you mentioned before that you’re straight.” Way to stick your foot in your mouth, Camille.
“I am,” Jackson says, sounding perplexed but not upset. “The other person is River.”
“Oh! Right.” If I didn’t have a helmet on my head and I weren’t holding on to Jackson, I’d smack myself in the forehead.
“Mmm, I kinda like that you were jealous for a moment.”
“I wasn’t!” I definitely was, and judging by his answering laugh, he does, too. “So the guys ride with you?”
“Ambrose refuses to ride on my ‘death trap’, but River has on occasion. He’s not a great passenger because he’s a control freak.”
A flash from earlier tonight, when River was helping me practice resisting alpha barks and the intense, commanding presence as he gave his orders, comes to mind. “Yeah, he sure is.”
“So I’m hoping you’ll be a better person to ride with me.” There’s a rasp to his voice that goes right between my thighs.
I release a strained laugh. “No pressure.”
“None. If you hate it, I’ll still have Dolly for my weekend joyrides.”
The image of this massive man and the tiny dachshund rolling down the highway together is so adorable my ovaries might explode.
“Alright, gorgeous, are you ready?” Jackson asks, patting my hand resting on his taught stomach.
My heart rises into my throat, and I tighten my grip, planting my feet on the footrests and saying a silent prayer. “Yep,” I croak.
The engine rumbles to life, vibrating up through the seat. At least it’ll hide the fact that I might be shaking from nerves.
“Oh god,” I murmur as the motorcycle pulls out onto the street when there’s a gap in passing traffic. My eyes screw shut for a second, but that makes things worse.
“Breathe for me, Cami.” Jackson’s voice through the headset helps, and when I open my eyes again, I see that we’re barely going more than twenty miles per hour. “You good?”
“Maybe?” Now that we’re moving, it’s not that bad.
He’s careful as he navigates us through the city streets, the tail end of evening traffic thinning out as we get closer to the outskirts. As the nerves wear off and I relax into the ride, the purr of the engine and his nearness have a dull ache of need building between my thighs.
“Still doing okay back there?” Jackson asks when my breath hitches as he revs the engine and speeds up a bit.
“Y-yeah.” If we weren’t whipping down the empty street, I’m sure a cloud of my perfume would be choking us. “I’m good.”
Jackson chuckles and leans forward as he speeds up more, and I let out a squeal of surprise and delight as I grip him with all my might.
This is fun. No wonder he likes it.
I’m almost sad when he takes a turn into an empty parking lot, and slows to a stop.
My heart is pumping hard from the adrenaline, and I tug the helmet off, my hair streaming out behind me in the evening breeze.
The grin on Jackson’s face as he offers me a hand off the bike matches the one plastered on mine.
I beam up at him as he pushes a flyaway back behind my ear. “That was…awesome. Why did you stop?”
He chuckles. “We reached our destination. But I’m so glad you liked it. Felt incredible having you with me.”
“Yeah?” A flush rises on my cheeks at his heated gaze. I look away to stop myself from jumping him in the middle of… Wait, where even are we?
“Uh, why did you take me to an abandoned drugstore parking lot?”
He shrugs. “It’s secluded.”
“It’s creepy.”
Jackson shakes his head at me. “Appearances can be deceiving. Come on.”
My brow furrows as he takes my hand and tugs me toward the building. “Breaking and entering isn’t my idea of a fun date.”
He turns and rolls his eyes at me. “Trust me.”
“I do!” I huff, earning a pleased smile from the beta.
He tugs my hand again, and I follow, begrudgingly accepting that if Jackson says I’ll like whatever we’re about to do, I will.
We end up bypassing the boarded-up entrance, circling past an empty dumpster to the back of the building. “If you’re secretly a serial killer and brought me here to murder me, well played.”
Jackson lets out a booming laugh but doesn’t say anything as he pushes through a thin line of trees behind the building, making sure none of the branches scratch me.
“Seriously, what are we—Oh!”
I freeze when I see what’s on the other side of the trees.
I didn’t realize how high up we were until I look down at the expanse of the city, sprawling out in twinkling lights below us.
There’s a rusted railing to prevent people from tumbling accidentally over the edge of the steep hill we’re perched on, and an ancient picnic bench covered in moss.
It shouldn’t be special, but something about the forgotten, hidden nature of the spot has the tightness in my chest releasing. Jackson slides in behind me to wrap his arms around my waist and press his chest to my back as I continue to stare out at the unexpected vista.
“I know it’s weird, but I thought maybe you might like to go somewhere away from everything. I used to come here after work sometimes back when I was at the law firm I hated. Something about it felt like an escape. Like I could breathe again.”
A shuddering exhale releases from me as I melt against him. “It’s perfect.” He’s perfect. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”
“I want to be this for you, Cami,” he murmurs, lips warm against my skin as he presses a kiss to my shoulder. “Let me be your space to breathe.”
I turn in his arms to face him, chest tightening at the adoration in his gaze. “Okay. As long as you let me be yours.”
The corners of his eyes crinkle. “You already are.”
Not for the first time, I realize that I’m in love with him. But this time, it’s not frightening. It just feels right.
“I’m falling in love with you, Jackson.”
His eyes widen, mouth falling open. “What?”
If it weren’t blatantly apparent that he loves me, I might take his reaction as rejection. I laugh, tugging him down to press my lips to his in a soft, reverent kiss.
“I love you,” I whisper as our mouths part.
“You do?” It’s heartbreaking how stunned he sounds. Like he’s never heard anyone tell him that before, or at least say it and mean it. From what he’s said about his romantic history, that’s more than possible.
“Yes. Anyone who has a functioning brain and eyes and a heart would love you. I’m just the lucky one that gets to have you.”
“You’re everything.” He draws me in tighter. “I love you so damn much, Cami.” He kisses me. “I love you,” he rasps again, gripping me like he’s worried I’ll change my mind and bolt.
Our kiss is deep and full of breathtaking promise. I’m panting against his lips, aching for him by the time we pull apart. Jackson shakes his head with a breathy laugh. “Goddammit, this isn’t how I wanted to tell you. I wanted it to be romantic.”
“It’s perfect,” I say, scent-marking his cheek.
He groans. “It doesn’t have a bed. Or even a stable surface for us to use.”
“You think because I told you I love you, I’m going to let you fuck me?” I tease.
Jackson grinds his leg between my thighs like he did earlier, and I let out a moan.
“Let me fuck you?” He raises an eyebrow at me. “We both know you’ll beg me for it.” His mouth falls to my throat as he grips my hips and guides me to grind against his leg.
It’s not enough. I need him inside me. A whine pulls from my chest.
Jackson lets out a dark chuckle. “What is it, Cami? What do you need?”
My reply is instantaneous as I reach between our hips to grip his hard cock. “Fuck me.”
“Right here, out in the open?”
I nod, and he spins me around, kicking my feet further apart.
“Like this?” He grabs the waistband of my sweatpants and yanks them down. I didn’t put any panties on when I got changed, and his groan at the sight makes it worth risking soaking through the sweatpants with my slick.
A startled cry bursts from my lips as he drops to his knees and buries his face in my pussy, pulling me apart with his strong grip. I have to brace my hands on my thighs to stay upright, and the position is so strange and lewd that it stokes my arousal higher.