24. Gisele
I had not seen Jamison since we managed to coax Elle away from her place and back to the grocery store. Not that it had been easy to get my sister to leave, nope, not Elle. Josh had tried, mum and dad, me and Claudia, we all tried but it was Jamison who used more intelligence than all of us. He went and got Miracle; told her she needed aunty Elle out of his way because she was driving him nuts. My daughter knew exactly what to do, even in her grief over little Dutch’s death. She got up from her Grumpy’s lap where she had been for hours since Elle handed her over to our dad, who had taken her back our family home and sat with her watching tv, just holding her. She and I walked back to my house, collected Jamison’s dog, Optimus and then Miracle demanded her aunt accompany her and the Pug on a walk to the park, then the school then school oval. They walked around the town until arriving back at the grocery store, both of them warn out both from walking and from crying but they returned with less sadness in their eyes.
It took an eight-year-old with determination and love to make my sister smile again for the first time in many hours. Miracle put aside her fear, her pain and the horror of what had happened at her aunt’s house and did what only Miracle could do.
She put my sister back together again. At least it was a start to helping bring back Elle, she was going to be upset for a while to come, but Miracle was working her magic.
“Hey there gorgeous,” the deep voice of Jamison came from the front door of the store, pulling my lips into a smile. A real smile.
“Hey there HC.” My smile dropping as soon as I saw the tiredness etched all over his face. The poor man had been going since Claudia called him at ten o’clock earlier in the day, he hadn’t stopped since. I stayed with Claudia and mum for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, keeping an eye on Elle, who insisted on helping Jamison in any way she could to catch the culprit who burgled her house.
Many times, I caught Jamison looking over at me with worry and intensity. He did it a lot, even when he was on a phone call, he would still look around for me, sometimes looking frantic if he couldn’t see me straightaway. When I noticed that I made sure to stand where I wasn’t being obscured to help him from worrying too much. He had enough going on without having to worry where I was and if I was okay.
Somehow, Jamison got permission for Josh to help him gather evidence and photos from every room in Elle’s house. Helped pack up boxes and boxes of objects to have ready for an officer arriving from Gracefield to take back to be examined.
Josh also took care of burying Dutch. He was now buried in Georgina’s rose garden in the back yard at the house. Under Elle’s favourite coloured rose, lavender.
Realising I was just standing staring at Jamison lost in thought, I gave myself a mental kick in the butt.
Good lord woman, get your head on straight. You have a hot handsome wonderful man waiting for you to acknowledge him.I berated myself feeling like a dill.
Walking around to the other side of the counter, I walked straight up to Jamison and without even blinking wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my face on his shirt covered chest. Jamison didn’t hesitate. His arms surrounded me, pulling me in close to his warm body. Immediately I felt safe, comforted and important. Why Jamison holding me made me feel important was a curiosity to me, it wasn’t as if I was lacking love or support from my family. Every day of my life, involved cuddles, words of love and warmth, so why did a hug from Jamison mean so much more.
“You doing okay gorgeous?” Jamison asked me quietly, again using the pet name he favoured using for me. I certainly didn’t mind him calling me something so intimate.
“I’m doing okay, you?” I answered and asked, grasping the back of his shirt, not ready to let him go.
Jamison being the smart man he was knew exactly what was going through my mind.
His arms tightened around me, his lips resting on the top of my head.
“I’m not letting you go Gisele, please believe that.” The underlining promise, exactly what I needed to hear because of what I was about to ask him counted on Jamison’s promise to be solid.
“You’re not worried about —” Suddenly the front door of the shop was pushing opened, violently. I screamed and startled, Jamison did not. Using his body as a shield, he forced me behind him, to face the intruder. After what happened at Elle’s my nerves were about shot, so the explosive way the door crashed opened just did me in until I saw who it was.
Liam and three of his mates.
Shock turned into anger. He knew he wasn’t allowed in the store on my shift days, he had my schedule and up until today had never broken the agreement. My guess it was the fact he had three mates with him that gave him the gumption to burst in, but seeing the look on his face and the three idiots when they realised who was standing in front of me, their whole demeanour changed. It was also then I realised that Jamison had a gun tucked into a holster at his lower back.
How did I miss that? I asked myself absently, then focused back on Liam again.
Pushing away from Jamison, I started to stalk up to the idiot only to be stopped by a large hand on my belly. His arm across my chest stopping me from going any further.
Not happy to be stopped, I huffed at Jamison, but I remained still. Maybe it was the protective gesture or maybe it was the way his body went from relaxed to tighter than a length of fencing wire. Tension radiated off him, and something told me not to defy him, but I wasn’t going to let Liam storm into my shop like he was God all mighty. No way.
“Ducks on a pond, Liam!” I shouted at him, giving him my best bitch face. “And you three, what are you doing standing there pretending to be mafia hit men?” I yelled at the three men, who were better known as the three drunken stooges, Liam their useless leader.
“I heard about what happened at Elle’s. Miracle isn’t safe in this family,” Liam yelled back at me, his eyes flicking back and forth between me and Jamison. His surprise to see Jamison was easy to see, so was the way his bravado wilted enough for him to take a step back.
“Not safe!” I shouted, angrier than I had ever been towards the father of my child.
“How dare you even say that to me, you dickless gutless wonder!” Fuelled by hatred for the man, this time I fought against Jamison’s hold on me, hell bent on getting Liam out of my store and out of my sight, before my dad caught wind of him being there.
If that happened not even Jamison and his gun would stop my father from belting the crap out of Liam, especially if he heard what Liam just spewed out.
“Yeah, that’s right bitch,” Liam yelled back at me, “I’ll make sure you lose custody of the kid, make sure you don’t get to see her again and I will finally get her talking” Liam’s face was red, spittle falling out of mouth as he threatened me. The threats didn’t hit their mark, he’d been threatening to take Miracle of me for years, but never went through with any of them. The man barely knew how to sign for one thing and the second … Miracle didn’t like spending time with her father and my little girl let that be known to him every second weekend. Liam didn’t have the patience for his daughter, he called her non-verbal way of communication frustrating and embarrassing for me.
Nope, his threats meant nothing to me, but to Jamison they were a red flag to a bull. Feeling fingers at my jeans waist band, I felt Jamison hand shaking while he pulled me back. My HC was about to go ballistic.
“You call Gisele, that word or anything foul in my presence again, and I will forget I’m a cop and knock your fucking teeth out,” Jamison growled low and dangerously, his voice vibrating with rage.
Liam stammered and shuffled trying to look like Jamison words didn’t bother him, but I knew better. All of his bravado was gone as were his mates.
“You can’t say that to me, I have witnesses,” Liam blundered, but Jamison’s smirk and my bark of laughter gave him pause and he turned around to see that indeed the three idiots had taken off. Wiping his hands down his face, Liam looked like a cornered animal being hunted. And in a way he was. It was a mistake to threaten to take Miracle off me, but to call me something Jamison called foul was an even bigger one.
If he only knew.
Moving past me, Jamison gave me a stern look that said, stay. If it wasn’t for the turmoil in his wonderful blue eyes, I would’ve argued. This time I decided to give him a break. Secretly I kind of liked that someone wanted to protect me, someone I didn’t share DNA with.
“Prove it,” Jamison taunted Liam, “Your pathetic friends took off the minute you opened your mouth. You got nothing you sanctimonious prick and trust me when I say this.” Leaning closer to Liam, Jamison who was at least six inches taller than Liam, thrusted a finger in Liam’s chest. “Gisele doesn’t want you here, Miracle doesn’t want you here, and I don’t fucking want you here. That little girl is safer with my dog than she is with you, so do everyone a favour and fuck off before I make good on my promise to rearrange your teeth.” This was the first time I’d witnessed Jamison in real police mode. Not when he arrested dad the first night he arrived in Blessings or even today when he canvased Elle’s house collecting evidence. All that was mild compared to him right now.
It was … sexy.
Really sexy.
I watched the fight drain from Liam, nearly cheering when he turned and stormed out the door, he banged his way through. This time he left like the pathetic loser he was.
“Wow,” I breathed, walking up behind Jamison who had moved to the door to make sure Liam was walking down the footpath, then shut the door quietly.
“That was very impressive, Detective Jury,” I said jovially, but Jamison was yet to turn to look at me. His hands still pressed flat on the glass of the antique wood and glass door, his back to me and saying nothing.
“Jamison.” I said quietly, soothingly. “Are you okay?”
Dropping his head, chin to chest, Jamison shook his head slowly.
“How many times has he threatened to take Miracle from you?” he asked after another minute of silence.
Shrugging, even though he wasn’t looking at me I answered him honestly.
“Fairly often. Mainly when he gets his jocks in a knot for one reason or another. Like dad taking her for a burnout, anything he can use against me he does.”
“And what about the name calling? That happen just as often?” This question I too decided to answer honestly. If Jamison and I were going to start a relationship, then hiding things from each other was not the best way to start.
“Jamison, I don’t worry about that kind of thing. Liam has a vicious tongue and gets a kick out of it. I don’t take any notice of it anymore,” I promised but Jamison wasn’t happy with my casualness concerning being sworn at.
Turning around, I thought at first, he was going to explode at my answer. I couldn’t help but think that considering what I’d been through with Liam over the years, what I wasn’t expecting was the arms that surrounded me, Jamison’s tight hug stealing not only the breath from my lungs but also, he stole my heart.
“Honey?” I whispered, holding onto him, hearing and feeling his heart beating hard against me.
“Call me that again,” Jamison demanded fiercely, his voice muffled in my hair.
“Honey,” I murmured again, using my hands to stroke his back soothing him doing what he asked for.
“I never want to hear someone ever call you that word ever again,” Jamison muttered, pulling back to he was looking at me. “Ever.”
“Jamison, really its—” Jamison cut me off the best way possible, so much better no Blessing woman would have a problem with.
Crushing his mouth down on mine, Jamison’s tongue found mine and instantly my core was on fire. Never in my life had I been kissed like this. So consuming, so thoroughly, so passionately.
It was more than our first proper kiss though, it was a … claiming. It was Jamison telling me I was important and worth it, and he definitely did not like hearing anyone call me a bitch.
Sliding my tongue against his, I revelled in his groan that vibrated through my lips. Jamison didn’t have any problems letting me know how much kissing was affecting him. His sensual side was just as a turn on as his hot cop side. I’d take either side any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
“Fuck, yes Gisele,” Jamison groaned into my mouth his hands all over my back and arse, holding me firm and tight to me, tight enough to feel his hard erection pushing into my belly through his denim jeans.
“I’ve never been … never ever, ever,” I sighed into his mouth, refusing to stop kissing him, to break contact to explain myself.
“Me neither gorgeous,” Jamison agreed, knowing what I was saying. Never had I’d been so affected by a man like Jamison. Never even wanting to let one into my life let alone my heart. Until Jamison.
He was telling me the same thing, his lips sucked at mine, his tongue licked, his mouth devoured me, and I never wanted him to stop.
His hands left my back and came up to cup either side of my face, taking his lips away from me but still close enough I could feel them still touching mine when he spoke.
“You are a very special woman, Gisele Blessing. You and your daughter deserve love and respect and the best kind of man.” His voice coming out almost reverent, but Jamison was far from finished. “Let me be that man, Gisele, and I promise you with everything I am no one will disrespect you ever again. Not Liam, not the closeminded locals, not that fucking stupid curse. And most importantly to me, I will always treat you the way you deserve and always show you and Miracle you both come first—” Stopping his declaration with an open mouth kiss worthy of a romance novel, even if I did say myself, I showed Jamison without words that I loved everything he just said to me.
“So, you’re not scared dating me and risk breaking a limb or two,” I asked with a chuckle when we finally came up for air.
Jamison didn’t laugh at my light-hearted joke, in fact he looked devasted.
“No Gisele, and don’t joke like that, don’t hide your concerns behind that crazy humour of yours.” Still holding onto my cheeks, Jamison blue eyes clouded with trepidation.
“I’m more worried that you’ll break my heart.”
And just like that I found myself falling in love for the first time in my love.
“How about I promise not to break your heart and you promise not to destroy mine,” I reasoned with him, all humour gone.
Finally, Jamison gave me his signature smile, his eyes now clear and sparkling blue.
“Deal,” he agreed leaning in to peck my lips, “but understand this Gisele, we aren’t dating. We are together,” he insisted in his hot cop way.
Only able to nod after that, I smiled back him, so happy and content I’d been since bringing Miracle home from the hospital for the last time.
Yeah, I was falling and falling hard.