CHAPTER 22
Antonio slowly peeled Jackie’s arm from his body and lifted his head.
He was sure he’d have a slight hangover in the morning, but it was totally worth it.
Jackie was still sound asleep. He didn’t want to leave her on the couch, which was about as comfortable as sleeping in a coffin.
He crouched and lifted her slowly, then placed her on the bed.
She didn’t wake up. When he returned to the bedroom after brushing his teeth, Jackie was curled up in the middle of the bed, snoring softly.
Antonio leaned against the doorway and stared at her.
He studied every line, every curve made fuller over the years.
The leggings she wore did little to hide the dimples and thickness of her thighs.
Her deep, dark hazelnut skin glowed in low light of the room.
A little wrinkle formed in her forehead as she slept.
Although time had changed her a bit, the one thing that remained was her unwavering commitment to her signature pixie cut.
And if she knew she’d fallen asleep without wrapping her hair, he knew she’d be pissed.
Sisters were very particular about their hair.
Antonio opened one of Jackie’s many bags, hoping he’d find the wrap for her hair.
Lucky for him, the first bag he opened held her toiletries, her headscarf right on top.
He gently lifted Jackie’s head and tied the headscarf down as securely as he could without disturbing her sleep.
Before he could stop himself, he kissed her forehead.
Jackie’s eyelashes fluttered slightly but didn’t open.
He stripped down to his boxer briefs and slid into bed, careful to make sure his weight didn’t shift hers.
Granted, the mattress was massive, but he wasn’t sure if Jackie was a light sleeper or not.
He usually slept naked, but he had the good sense not to do that.
With the way his dick was straining against his boxers right now, he was thankful for the layer of constriction.
Antonio hadn’t had sex in months. One touch and he was liable to explode right there in his shorts.
Antonio attempted to think of anything else.
He turned on the small lamp on the nightstand and tried to finish his book, but that was useless.
After fifteen minutes, he found himself staring up at the ceiling, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.
He tried remembering that breathwork stuff they’d learned earlier, taking a long breath in through the nose and letting it out through the mouth, but it wasn’t really helping.
Inches away from him was the woman who’d haunted his dreams for the past ten years—who’d consumed his thoughts constantly since coming to Atlanta for the merger.
A woman who, up until a few hours ago, could barely tolerate him.
But spending a surprisingly cordial evening with her had given him hope.
Clearly, Antonio Steele was a glutton for punishment.
He was about to turn to sleep on his side when he felt Jackie’s thigh wrap around his leg.
“Fuck,” he said in a low hiss. She moaned as she nestled closer, her head resting securely on his bare chest. Antonio’s dick went from a dull throb to a painful ache.
So much for the safety and security of Calvin Klein.
He tried to move, but her thigh had him pinned down.
“Quit moving, PeeWee,” Jackie groggily mumbled. “I’m trying to sleep.”
Antonio frowned. She thinks I’m the damned dog? That definitely deflated more than his ego. He cleared his throat before responding, “I know how much you love PeeWee, so I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”
Jackie jerked her eyes open and looked at Antonio. She sat up in bed as the reality of the moment dawned on both of them.
“Wait—you got your voice back?!” Antonio looked at Jackie, astonished.
Jackie cleared her throat and opened her mouth to respond. But nothing came out.
“So, you can talk in your sleep? But not now? Do you normally talk in your sleep?
Jackie sighed, shook her head no, then slumped back onto the pillows. Frustrated, she smacked her palm to her forehead, then blinked, presumably feeling the cool silk of her headwrap. She blinked at Antonio and tried again to speak, but no sound passed her lips.
He shrugged. “You’re welcome. I know you wouldn’t want to mess up your ’do.” He looked at Jackie, trying to understand why she could sleep-talk but not say one simple word awake. This wasn’t laryngitis. Was it really just stress getting to her? Or something deeper?
“So, I take it from your sleep-talk that you’re worried about PeeWee?
” He tried not to look too concerned. During their movie marathon, Jackie had shared that PeeWee’s recovery from surgery had been slow going.
The biopsy results remained inconclusive.
He could understand why the pup was on her mind.
Antonio knew she never traveled long without PeeWee, and no matter how luxurious that veterinary medical spa was, it was probably worrying Jackie to death to keep him there.
Her love for PeeWee gave Antonio a sneak peek into the real Jackie—the kind, devoted Jackie who loved fiercely.
Maybe on this trip he’d get to see more of that.
Jackie nodded an affirmative, then sat up.
Antonio gave her a slight smile. “Well, I’m sure PeeWee is going to pull through. He’s tough, just like you.”
Jackie returned the smile. She stared into his eyes a moment, then took his chin in her hand and gently tilted it, as if searching for something.
He knew exactly what she was looking for.
When she found it, he felt the tip of her acrylic nail trace the outline of the letter behind his ear.
He was glad his feet were covered by the duvet; she didn’t need to know how her touch made his toes curl.
“It’s still there, Lucky. I never get rid of my ink. As you can see, I got addicted and added more. Did you get rid of yours?”
Jackie shook her head no. She turned her back to him, pulling down the top of her leggings slightly to reveal that small four-leaf clover on her lower back. Antonio traced the shape with his index finger, and he swore he felt her shiver.
Jackie turned back toward Antonio. Seeing a quizzical look on his face, she motioned for him to speak.
“So…the voice thing,” he began. “The doctors can’t figure it out, right? And you just spoke a few minutes ago.”
Jackie shrugged.
“Do you think, maybe, for your voice to return, you need to be extra comfortable and relaxed? Maybe sleeping next to me did that for you.” He masked it as a joke, but he was serious. Some ridiculous part of him hoped it was his touch that had done the trick.
Jackie blinked rapidly and tried to turn her head, but Antonio gently touched her cheek, then glided his hand down her throat. “This many days without hearing you speak—it’s driving me out of my mind.”
Jackie gasped as Antonio replaced his hand with his lips, kissing at the base of her throat. He kissed up the short distance of her neck until he reached the underside of her jaw. “I want to hear you say my name again, Lucky.”
Jackie threw her head back, allowing him greater access to the space between her jaw and shoulder.
He could taste the faint hint of her perfume’s sweetness—and remnants of the salt from their tequila shots somehow.
Maybe he was imagining the last part, because he knew the end goal was her lips.
He wanted—no, needed—to kiss her lips, to work his way to other places on her lush body.
But as badly as he wanted to do ungodly things to this woman, he wanted to be sure that she wanted that too.
Jackie may have lost her voice, but that damn sure didn’t negate the need for consent.
Antonio pulled back, staring at Jackie. “I want you to want this. You have to let me know somehow that you want this, too, Lucky. I—”
Before Antonio could finish that sentence, Jackie had his face in her hands and was kissing him, devouring him with the movements of her mouth and tongue.
He grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her closer to him, his mouth never leaving hers.
When she tried to pull away to catch her breath, Antonio shook his head.
“No, Jackie. I’m gonna kiss you until you know how much I’ve missed you. I owe you that much. I’ll breathe for both of us if I have to.”
He found her mouth again and pulled Jackie on top of him as he kissed her. His boxers did very little to conceal how hard he was, and her clinging leggings did very little to mask how wet she was getting. Antonio had to get her out of those damned clothes.
He released her lips reluctantly and looked up at her.
In the dim lighting, he tried to compare the memories of Jackie ten years ago to Jackie now.
She’d always been thick, but Jackie was grown-woman-thick now, with a slight fupa, curves, and dips in all the places that he loved on a woman.
His eyes didn’t know where to feast. He focused on the three moles on her torso that formed a perfect isosceles triangle. God, she was so fucking perfect.
Antonio felt Jackie tap his chest. He looked up. “Sorry, I just… You’re so fucking fine, Jackie. Like, how’d you get finer? That shouldn’t be possible.”
Jackie gave a raspy laugh, shaking her head.
“You think I’m lying.” Antonio sucked his teeth.
“I’m telling you the truth because honesty, in this moment, is what you deserve.
” He placed a kiss on her exposed shoulder.
“Lying would be me telling you that you don’t feel good in my lap.
” He nipped at the curve of her neck. “Lying would be me saying you don’t taste so damn good.
” He bent down and licked the shell of her ear.
“A lie would be that I haven’t thought about having you like this again, every day for a solid decade. ”
Jackie stared up at Antonio. Her throat bobbed.
“Do you believe me now?” he asked.
Jackie rolled her eyes, then nodded her head yes.
“Good,” Antonio said. “Now, I’d appreciate if you let me go grab some protection.” He playfully tugged at the waistband of her overpriced leggings. “Because if you grind any harder on my lap, you’ll come before we have a chance to get reacquainted, ma.”
They stared at each other for a few beats, taking inventory of each other.
It was strange, to be with each other again, so many years later.
But to Antonio, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Hungrily, he grabbed Jackie by the back of the neck and pulled her down on top of him.
The warmth of being chest to chest stirred something primal in him.
He kissed her, sucking her tongue and gently biting her lip until he felt her hands grab hold of his dick.
“Shit, Lucky,” he moaned. He was so hard that he pulsed in her hands at the first stroke. When she moved her hands up and down, faster and harder, Antonio knew she was trying to play the “let’s see who comes first” game. I got something for that, though.
In one swift move, Antonio held on to Jackie and flipped her onto her back. She stared up at him, laughter dancing in her eyes. “You laughing now, Jackie. But I know what you trying to do. Make me break first. Nah, not happening, baby.”
Jackie smirked.
“Let me grab the condom, Lucky. I promise I’ll be right back.”
Antonio hopped off the bed and went to the walk-in closet to find the box of condoms he always kept in his carry-on.
It had been a minute since he’d had sex, so he prayed they weren’t expired.
He also hoped that he could last longer than five minutes.
There were six months left of use, thank God.
He tore open a packet and slipped it on in record time.
By the time he returned to the bedroom, however, Jackie was nestled under the covers, headscarf re-tied securely and asleep again. Antonio couldn’t do anything but shake his head and laugh. He peeled off the condom and tossed in the trash. So much for getting reacquainted.
Antonio slipped back into bed and pulled Jackie close to him.
She didn’t wake up exactly, but she snuggled into him.
Her steady breathing warmed his bare chest, tickling the edges of his fraternity brand.
In an ideal world, Antonio would have had Jackie in forty positions all over their suite for hours tonight.
But this was different. This felt intimate in a way that Antonio hadn’t experienced before.
He appreciated this a hell of a lot more.
And that both scared and excited him.
Before turning out the light, he kissed Jackie’s forehead, then whispered softly in her ear.
“Sweet dreams, my Lucky Charm.”