Chapter 28 Jade
Trent stands in the middle of my room, looking at the mess I still haven’t bothered to clean with everything else going on.
“What the hell happened?” he asks as I rummage through my dresser, grabbing a pair of my shorts and one of Zander’s shirts I stole the other day.
“Spencer had a breakdown.”
I snort at the memory of him losing his shit and what happened after. Trent laughs, too, but it quickly dies as he looks around and sees the truth of my words. The shattered lamp, my clothes and bedding scattered around the room.
“What!? You…you’re serious?” he stammers, following me into the bathroom, his shock clear on his face, but all that does is make me laugh harder.
“It’s not funny, Jade! He doesn’t get to treat you like that.
It’s bullshit!” he snaps, making me choke back my laughter.
I drop my clothes on the counter, turning back to find him still standing in the doorway as if he can’t bring himself to join me.
His face is serious, lips turned down in a stern frown.
I walk over to him, and his eyes dart down to meet mine when I stop before him.
“Don’t worry, he made it up to me,” I assure him with a smile, leaning closer to him until there’s hardly any space between us. His brows pinch together in confusion as he watches me before his eyes widen in understanding, and his brows shoot up.
“He’ll also be replacing everything. We just haven’t had a spare moment between then and now. But I appreciate your concern,” I tell him, bouncing up to smack a kiss on his cheek before returning to the shower, flipping it on, and getting the temperature just right.
He’s quiet, but I know his mind is reeling right now. It’s kind of what he does. I’m not sure if it’s something he’s always done or something he picked up as a cop, but man, can he overthink.
After a minute, I can’t help but peek back at him. He’s so easy to read, wearing so many of his emotions on his face, but I know there’s more beneath the surface. I desperately want to see all of him, but I won’t push him, at least not too much.
His hand rests on his cheek, eyes unfocused as he looks straight ahead, almost as if in a daze. He’s so innocent, yet not at the same time.
It’s adorable.
With silent movement, I peel off my shirt, letting it fall to the ground at my feet before I start on my jeans. The jeans are tricky to get out of with the way they hug my body, but I manage, left standing in just my bra and underwear.
That seems to snap him out of it.
“Jade!” he shouts, his voice higher than usual as he hastily turns around but doesn’t leave.
“Yes?” I say sweetly as if I don’t know why he’s flustered.
“Don’t yes me. You can’t just get undressed in front of people like that!” he grumbles, rubbing a hand down his face.
“I’m not naked. I still have clothes on,” I argue, making him groan, but he still doesn’t turn around. Taking advantage of his back being to me, I take a few steps closer, careful to remain quiet, as I stop right behind him.
“Besides, you're not just a person to me, Trent.” My voice comes out low and breathy. Being this close to him with so little clothes is exciting. I can’t deny I’m attracted to him. I wouldn’t even try. And after the other night, I know he feels the same.
He jumps a bit at my words, unaware of how close I was, before looking back at me over his shoulder.
“Jade.” His voice is rougher now, his tone lacking his earlier shyness as his eyes eat up the skin I’ve shamelessly put on display for him.
Now, it’s a warning.
“Trent,” I challenge, smirking at his change in demeanor.
“Get in the shower,” he says, turning to face me again, nodding toward the still-running shower across the room.
“Come join me?” I offer, letting him know it’s an option. He could leave, but I have a feeling he doesn’t really want to.
He closes his eyes for a second, and when he opens them again, it’s like I can see his struggle for control and how close it is to snapping. But he doesn’t give in, instead staring me down, waiting.
Fine, I’ll let it go. For now.
“Fine,” I pout, taking a step back. He doesn’t look like someone who just won an argument, though. He watches me go as I take another step away from him, and I can feel the heat of his gaze. Reaching up, I unhook my bra with practiced ease, letting it slip off to fall on the ground between us.
“Oops…”
The smile on my face is mocking, and I’m pretty sure he knows what I’m doing.
But I see his eyes darken as they drop to my chest before he pulls them back up to my face.
He was quick, but I saw the desire there, even if it was just for a moment.
I let my hands drift down my stomach before hooking my thumbs on the sides of my underwear and pushing them down.
They slip down my legs seamlessly, falling into a heap at my feet to be left with the rest of my discarded clothes.
Trent’s nostrils flare, but this time, his eyes stay on my hands as I trail them back up my body and into my hair to tie it up. I washed it this morning, so I have no reason to do it again. I just love the feel of hot showers. They’re so relaxing, and I’m sure Trent could use some relaxation.
His eyes stay on me until I reach the door, pulling it open and stepping into the steamy glass box, purposefully leaving the door open behind me. All the guy's bathrooms have these expensive shower enclosures. At first, I didn’t get it, but knowing he can see me… Well, I might see the appeal.
I walk into the water, letting out a hiss of satisfaction as the hot water washes over me.
I can still feel his eyes on me, but I don’t look at him again, instead focusing on washing myself.
He can join me or just stand there and enjoy the show; either way, it’s a win.
The pomegranate scent of my soap fills the room, and I let myself get lost in the motions, scrubbing the day and all its bullshit away.
The sound of the door falling closed brings a smile to my face. I keep my eyes closed, my back to him, as if I didn’t hear it, letting him decide what he does and how this goes.
Giving him control.
I feel him behind me. My body itches for him to touch me, to turn around and see him.
Did he get in naked?
Fuck, I’ve never believed in praying. It’s never done anything for me in the past, but I send a silent plea to the universe, anyway. I wash and rewash myself again, giving him a chance to move.
My anticipation is so high that when he finally touches me, I feel as if my legs might give out.
Trent trails the back of his fingers up my neck, hardly more than a brush of his skin on mine, but it’s enough to make me stop.
My hand pauses, loofah pressed to my chest, waiting, hoping for more.
His fingers skirt over my hair until he reaches the tie that’s keeping it up.
With swift fingers, he pulls it loose. My hair falls down around my shoulders, his fingers tangled in the strands.
“I’ve never met anyone like you before, Jade. Strong, determined, powerful, but still so soft, caring, fucking beautiful, inside and out. You're a walking contradiction, and it shouldn’t work, but it does.”
His fingers pull at the strands of my hair as he runs them through it while he talks. I don’t move away, craving more of his words and his touch.
“From the second I saw you, I knew you were different, but I never imagined the difference you would make to me. I knew better, but I let myself get close anyway. I kept telling myself I owed you, but it was more than that.” He pauses for a moment as if trying to find the words before finally admitting.
“Seeing you with the guys was eating me up inside. I knew I could have easily been as close with you had I stayed friends with them. It wasn’t the first time I questioned my decision, but it was the first time I think I truly regretted it. ”
He steps closer, and even with the hot water, I can feel the warmth of his skin. His arm comes around me to pluck the loofah from my hand, and all I can do is let him take it.
“But you had them. What would you need me for? They ran the city. They were your best bet, and I’d decided a long time ago that I didn’t want any part of their lifestyle.
Yet I still couldn’t stay away,” he huffs, sounding almost annoyed with himself.
I open my mouth to argue his worth before he drops the loofah to my back and begins rubbing it on my skin, washing me.
It’s such a strange thing to do that I lose my train of thought, lost in the feeling.
“Finding out your Froggie was almost too much. They had forced me to do Vengeance’s bidding for the last few years.
The police don’t openly go after Vengeance because they know better, and Vengeance does more good than harm in the city.
Rick’s dad wanted Sin gone after what happened to my dad, but he didn’t get to do it himself before they disappeared.
So he turned his attention to Vengeance.
I knew it would destroy him to find out his son was part of the very thing he hated.
He wouldn’t care about the good they did, so when he sent me looking for clues with Jake, I'd feed him scraps. I became a cop to help people, but I didn’t realize how that would happen.
I blamed Vengeance for taking my friends and making me a dirty cop while still having to fall in line.
I hated everything about it…” His words trail off, but I feel what he didn’t say hanging in the air between us.
He gathers my now wet hair, gently sweeping it over my left shoulder before leaning down to place a gentle kiss on the opposite one. My breath hitches at the contact, my heart threatening to pound out of my chest as his lips linger for a moment before he pulls back.
“But not you.”
His breath fans across my skin, causing goosebumps to break out on my arms before I finally turn to face him.
“Don’t compare yourself to them like that.”
He opens his mouth, but I don’t let him get a word in, needing him to hear what I have to say.
“Each of you are different person. You all have your strengths and weaknesses. Their position in Vengeance doesn’t make them better than you,” I tell him seriously, but I can see that won’t be enough to convince him.
“You take care of your mother and Hazel. You're kind but protective, rise to a challenge, and fiercely loyal. Your choices put you in a situation where you could have outed the guys. You could have taken everything you learned from Jake and ran to turn them in, but you didn’t because, regardless of what you want to admit, you care about them. Even though you weren’t on good terms, you didn’t want to see that happen to them, and you didn't want to hurt Rick’s dad.
You care about the people around you more than you do yourself. ”
I reach up to cup his cheek, wiping away a stray water drop as he looks down at me with wide eyes.
“I saw it that night at the station. How much it ate at you that you almost left me behind. And at the party, when you followed me around, introducing me to people when Jake told you to, even though anyone with eyes could see you wanted to be anywhere but there.” He huffs a laugh, shaking his head at the memory.
“You're amazing, Trent, and I’m so happy to have you here.” I swallow past the lump in my throat and force the words out.
“But if you don’t want to be, nobody will make you stay.
” I don’t want him to go, but I know what it’s like to wish for freedom.
I won’t ever do that to anyone, much less someone I care about as much as I do him.
No, as much as it might pain me if he were to walk away, it would hurt me more to make him stay, knowing this isn’t what he wants.
“This life isn’t for everyone. I know that. I just want you to be happy. If that means you need to leave to find that, go, but know I’ll always be here if you ever need anything.” My words come out shaky, but I hold his gaze, needing him to know I mean it.
“I appreciate the offer, but you weren’t listening,” he says, his voice raspy as he leans toward me.
“I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to. I’ve never met anyone like you, and I know I never will again.
You're one of a kind, Jade, and only an idiot would be stupid enough to walk away from someone like you.”
His lips are on mine before I can think of what to say. He presses into me, forcing us back under the shower spray. The water is still deliciously warm as my arms band around his neck, pulling him closer, while his wrap around my waist doing the same.
Oh!
I’d been so focused on his words that I hadn’t even realized he was, in fact, naked. I feel every muscle under his smooth skin as he squeezes me impossibly closer to him before he pulls his back, dropping his forehead to mine to look down at me.
“You're it for me, Jade. I tried to stay away, but at every turn, I got pulled back. Time and time again, I either wasn’t strong enough, or the universe threw us together another way. It doesn’t matter what it was or why, but I see now.
When you were gone, I realized that with you, for the first time in a long time, I’m happy.
I’m not looking for a purpose in life, wondering if what I’m doing is right or wrong.
I’m just living, enjoying every moment I get with you, with my friends that I missed, and a sister who you love just as much as I do. ”
Trent’s eyes shine as he looks down at me as if I’m the best thing that ever happened to him, and my heart squeezes at his words.
He wants to stay with me?
Trent barks a laugh, shaking his head.
“Yeah, Sweetness, I want to stay with you,” he says, and I realize I must have asked that out loud. “For as long as you’ll have me.”
He tells me with a sweet smile that makes my heart beat faster, and my cheeks heat.
“Forever!”
The word leaves my lips before I can think about how that might sound to him, but now that I’ve said it, I can’t bring myself to take it back. I don’t want him or any of them to leave me if I can help it. I need all of them.
Trent’s lips find mine again in a sweet kiss. It’s slow and gentle and so very him. His lips press to mine, and it’s as if I can feel his emotions pouring into me. His devotion and happiness are contagious, making me feel almost giddy.
“Forever it is,” he whispers against my lips.