Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Jaxon
I’ve been here for hours, watching and waiting for her to appear. The storm has come in stronger than anticipated, the rain pounding down, threatening to flood, and the thunder is shaking the building.
I saw her pull into the lot, get out of her car, and disappear downstairs. I’ve waited for her to make her way up here, right to me, and I know she will. She’s smart like that.
On my way here, I vowed that tonight would be the night I told her. I can’t hide from her any longer.
This shit with my mother has fucked me up more than I thought it would, and losing Vincent only made it worse. I have no one in my life, and I want her, and I don’t want it to be through lies.
Sailor texted me, me, on her own and asked if I ever lied to her. My answer was a lie in itself. I have been lying to her. I’ve been pretending to be someone else, just to be near her, to talk to her, to touch her.
It’s pathetic, but I don’t care. I wouldn’t change it, and I wouldn’t take it back.
Only, I want more. I don’t want to keep pretending. I’m tired of running and fighting. I’m tired of all of it. I’m too young for all this stress and all this bullshit. I just want… to be fucking happy for once in my life.
I can be that with Sailor. I know I can.
So, tonight, I’m telling her the truth. All of it. And I’m going to pray like hell that she doesn’t run away again. Because I know it’ll be for the last time.
I lose track of time, standing in the dark, trying to listen for her. The storm makes it impossible. When I pull out my phone to text her, I’m standing in the stairwell listening for footsteps and hear nothing. Once my phone is back in my pocket, I go to one of the rooms and hide in a dark corner.
The thunder is getting louder, the lightning closer. The winds are picking up, and the rain is harsh.
What a perfect night for this.
I swear I feel her getting closer, but I know how fucking crazy that sounds. Still, my body is so in tune to hers, like magnets pulling us toward each other. It’s been that way from the beginning, even if she denied it.
And that’s what I need to remind her of tonight. That’s what I need to make sure she remembers. That she was happy with me, and she stopped herself from feeling that. She did. Not me, not anything else. It was her fear that she allowed to get in the way of us.
I know what I did was fucked up, and I know it scared her. I get that, but we could have worked through it. Hell, we will work through it. We have to.
The flicker of light passes the doorway and my heart skips a beat… then beats harder.
My dick is already hard, just waiting for the chase. My fingertips tingle at the thought of touching her, digging into her flesh and feasting on her like a wild animal.
I held back that night at Sam’s. I wasn’t prepared. Tonight? I am so fucking ready for it all.
Taking in a deep breath, I let it out slowly, refusing to let my nerves get the best of me.
This is Sailor. My girl. My little dove. Just… mine.
And tonight, I’m going to make sure she knows it.
Seconds tick by like hours. I count in my head, but lose track too quickly because my heart is pounding so hard.
But then before I know it, there she is.
The light gets brighter, swaying with each step until it peers into the room. I’m standing stock still in the corner behind some tall machinery, peeking through. She won’t see me right away, but if she’s looking hard enough, she will.
The light flickers by me like I don’t exist, and I watch her as she moves into the large room, taking in the old equipment that’s lying unused, nothing but a shelf for dust and bugs.
She moves further away from me, shining the light carefully across the room to take in each corner.
A loud roll of thunder booms, and she squeals, the light shaking, but she shakes the fear off quickly.
She spends a lot of time checking the other side of the room which has me growing antsy.
I don’t know if she found something of interest or if she’s spooked and has considered turning away, but I can’t have that.
I step out from behind the equipment, taking slow steps out into the room and stand there, dressed in black from head to toe, with the mask covering my face.
When she turns and shines the light this way, she’ll see me. And hopefully, it’ll scare her.
Because that’s what she likes after all. She wants to be scared. It’s the fear and the adrenaline that make the orgasms better.
She’s going to have plenty of those tonight.
I stand tall, hands balled into fists, feet shoulder-width apart. My back is straight, head held high. I’m intimidating, and anyone, even someone expecting it, laying eyes on a man like me standing in the dark, would be scared.
Sailor checks every nook and cranny on the other end of the room. Carefully. Confidently.
Finally, after excruciating moments, she starts to turn, the light moving ahead of her so casually, as if this is an everyday thing.
My brave, brave girl.
The light moves along the wall to my right, up to the ceiling and back down, getting closer and closer to where I’m standing.
My heart is thumping. My blood is rushing in my ears.
The rain is pouring down harder than it has in years, the wind gusting.
The light gets closer, only feet away from me now. A smile creeps along my face, and the moment the light hits me, there’s a sharp gasp, and a crack as the flashlight drops to the floor.
I don’t move.
My eyes stay on her as she bends down to retrieve the light. When she picks it up, she’s shaking, but shines it directly on me. After moments, the light steadies.
A heavy crack of thunder, then bright lightning shows the excitement in her eyes. It quiets for just a moment, a lull in the wind. My grin gets wider, and I shout one word. Just one word to let her know the game is on.
“Run!”