30. Willow Kingsley
Chapter thirty
Willow Kingsley
I drag my lips down the column of Jason’s throat, smiling at the noise my touch earns. He tips his head back against the couch, giving me better access. I slowly trail gentle kisses up to his ear. My breath catches when his fingers dig into my waist over my silk pajamas.
“I should get ready for work,” I say before kissing his jaw.
“I think I heard you sniffle. You must have a cold, and I need to stay home and take care of you,” he says and I giggle.
“Is that so?” I kiss the corner of his mouth. “And how exactly are you planning on taking care of me?”
He captures my lips in a quick but ardent kiss. “With careful, hands-on attention,” he says against my mouth, making my stomach swoop.
“I missed work last week because of a headache .” I give him a pointed look. He just grins. “I don’t think I can do that again. The game this week is big and the publicity is important.”
“It’s your fault we’re in this situation. I warned you what seeing you in these little pajamas did to me.”
I try to fight the smile pulling at my lips. “I don’t remember you saying that.”
“Let me refresh your memory then,” he says with a wicked grin.
Before I can process what’s happening, Jason’s on his feet and carrying me to the kitchen. He sets me on the kitchen island. Soon enough, we’re in the same position we were a few days ago, when he called me a torturous minx for wearing these very pajamas around him. He’d set me on the counter and showed me just how he felt about them. Our coffee was ice cold by the time we wrenched ourselves away from one another.
“We shouldn’t start this,” I say, breathless as he threads a hand into my hair and tips my head back so he can press an open-mouthed kiss to the sensitive spot below my jaw.
“Tell me you wore this on purpose.” He meets my gaze, his green eyes sparkling with a dangerous desire that makes me feel like I’m free falling.
I bite my lip. Jason uses his thumb to tug my bottom lip out from between my teeth, then swipes the pad over the tender skin.
“Tell me, Lo, and I’ll stop.”
“And if I wore it so you wouldn’t stop?”
His eyes blaze and he’s kissing me before I can draw in another breath. One of his large hands splays my back, holding me steady as he kisses all my strength away. As suddenly as he kissed me, he’s pulling away. He rests his forehead on mine, his eyes closed and his breathing heavy.
“I don’t want to go any further if you’re not sure. My desire for you–” He cuts off. His throat bobs. “It’s overwhelming. Reckless and infinite. I don’t want to push you. I know we’re married, but I want everything to be perfect.”
Emotion overcomes me as I regard his tightly shut eyes and set jaw. I trace my fingertips from his temple to his chin. I’ve never felt this way for anyone before. We’ve only been ‘dating’ for two weeks now, but my feelings double and triple by the day, sometimes by the hour. I don’t know if it’s because we’re already married, or if it’s just him , but he’s quickly overtaken my every thought. I hate being apart from him. I look forward to us both being home at the end of the day, curled up on the porch swing talking about our days. Then going to bed and being wrapped up in his arms as I fall asleep, resting better than I have my entire life.
It all feels as though it’s moving too fast, and yet I don’t think I could hold back from him if I tried. I’m hopelessly in love. But that doesn’t mean now is the right time to experience the fullness of marriage. I don’t want anything lingering in the back of my mind during that moment. It’s too precious a gift.
“Jase,” I whisper and his eyes blink open. “I’m ready, but I want the moment to be right, not rushed.”
A smile melts over his features. “I agree. You deserve nothing less.”
“So, we should probably…” I trail off.
He lets out a light laugh, lifting me off the counter and setting me on my feet with ease.
“You go get ready for work. I’m going to stand outside in the cold for a bit,” he says, making me laugh.
I turn to walk away, but he grabs my hand and spins me around, pulling me to him for a brief but fervent kiss. He steps back, then turns and heads toward the back door, leaving me dazed.
I stumble through my routine, feeling off-balance in the best way. I could spend every morning like this.
Focus, Willow , I admonish myself as I film the Lions practice. It’s very difficult to do so when my husband keeps taunting me. All practice, he’s been throwing winks my way and shooting me boyish grins that send tingles down to my toes. Every break he somehow feels the need to ignore the towels offered by the staff and wipe the sweat off his brow with his shirt, his body suspiciously always angled in my direction so I get a full view of all his muscles.
He’s certainly putting on a show, and I’m not the only one watching. All of the female staff in charge of waters, towels, and anything else the guys need have been gaping at him. I don’t blame them. I’m having to clench my jaw to keep from doing the same.
I shake myself. I should have finished the behind the scenes content for today already. I need to edit several videos up in my office. But I keep fumbling with my phone or forgetting to press film. All I can think about is our morning together. I’m a mess, and judging by the smirk on Jason’s face, he knows it.
A throat clears to my left, making me jump. I look over and find Brock Jones standing next to me, hands tucked into the pockets of his dress pants. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him in person, but he looks exactly the same.
“Brock!” I paste on a smile, my face flaming. Did he notice me staring at Jason? “What are you doing here?”
“I was in the area when I got a call from the documentary crew saying that they had gathered their legal team and were planning on suing Jason for a breach of contract.” His tone is casual, as if he’s not talking about a major problem.
I feel at a loss for words. I didn’t expect the documentary team to apologize and change the film’s direction, but I also didn’t expect them to sue Jason because of my outburst. “That’s terrible.”
“Do you by chance know why he’s in breach of contract?” Brock asks in an easy tone.
“I might know what made them upset,” I confess.
“You kicked them out and told them they couldn’t film you unless it was on your terms,” Brock deduces.
I look at him, but he doesn’t look mad. In fact, he looks…amused? But that can’t be right.
“They were rude to Jason on multiple occasions and were set on slandering him. Can we sue them? Surely they’ve breached the contract in some way.”
Brock lets out a long-suffering sigh, but he’s wearing a faint smile. “I need my clients to stop marrying sassy women who speak their minds. It’s going to send me to an early grave.”
I laugh. “Do you deal with this sort of thing a lot?”
“Not usually on this scale, but my job gets more interesting by the day, that’s for sure.” He nods to the field. “It looks like your husband is done with practice.”
I glance over to see Jason jogging toward us, curiosity in his expression.
“Hey man,” he says to Brock, giving him a half-hug. “What are you doing here?”
Brock looks to me as if it’s my job to break the news.
“The documentary crew wants to sue us for my outburst.”
Jason’s expression turns stormy. “Let them try.”
Brock runs a hand over his face. “We don’t want a lawsuit, Jason. I came here to tell you in person before it comes out elsewhere, though I’m trying to keep it under wraps. I plan on throwing back a few threats myself with the help of my law team, but I need you two to stay out of trouble.”
Though he’s maybe a year older than me–if that–he’s looking at the both of us like we’re mischievous children.
“We will,” I promise him. “Is there anything else we can do?”
“Try to have as much good press as possible. Maybe film a few videos or take some photos of your life. That way, if this all goes down, you’ll have fans rallying around you to put some pressure on the production company.”
I nod, my brain spinning with all kinds of ideas. This is my element. I could do us some good here.
“I’m sorry that I’ve put extra work on you,” I tell him.
Some of the stress melts off his expression. “It’s okay. As Jason’s friend, I’m happy he’s got a wife who would stand up for him. But as his agent–”
“I just made your life a lot harder,” I finish for him.
“A little.” He laughs. “But it’s okay. This is a part of the job.” He claps Jason on the shoulder, looking him in the eye. “I mean it. No trouble.”
“Aye, aye, Captain Jones,” Jason says with a salute.
Brock shoves him and starts walking off the field, muttering something about his poor taste in friends.
“I’m worried about him,” I say as Jason pulls me in for a sweaty hug. “He seems calm, but he’s got to be so stressed.”
“We’re trying to convince him to live a little outside of work, but it hasn’t gotten through to him yet. Maybe one day.”
I hope so. It would be terrible to have such a stressful job and no personal life.
“Are you worried about the lawsuit?” I ask, barely able to get the words out before Jason kisses me. He tastes of salt and something undeniably him.
“I’m not worried. Brock is good at his job, and we didn’t do anything wrong. We’ll get through this together.”
Together . I smile. I like the sound of that.