Page 36 of Kiss Marry Kill
“Meg, baby, breathe,” he whispered in her ear, his warm breath caressing her, and instead of breathing like he instructed, she held her breath, waiting for his next move.
Megan was cocooned in his arm and the beauty of the sunset was nothing compared to being held by Jackson. She would remember this one moment until her dying breath. It was perfection and she didn’t want to take any of it for granted.
“You smell like the ocean and flowers,” he said, his voice gravelly as he brushed her hair aside and buried his face in her neck.
They were both quiet for a while, lost in thought and basking in their budding feelings.
After the sun had set and they’d been quiet for a while, Jax asked, “What now? Where do you want to go?”
“Today was the best day,” she admitted. “I think this may be the single most peaceful moment of my life.” Maybe it was the sound of the ocean or the wind or maybe it was the fact that they didn’t need to fill the silence with words. Even though they’d just met, it felt right to be close to this man.
“I know what you mean,” he said, his voice low. “But that doesn’t answer my question. What happens now?”
Slowly she rolled her head to the side where he was mere inches away. “I don’t really want to go home yet.”
“I don’t really want you to go home yet, either.” He brushed some hair off her face and leaned in, just a little, and kissed her lips softly. Her heart stopped beating for a moment. It was nothing of note, yet it felt like everything. “If I’m being honest, and without intending to scare you off . . . I kind of want to keep you,” he whispered.
Her heart was coming out of her chest. Being kept by Jax sounded blissful. She could picture them happy together, which was disconcerting since they’d just met. But there was something about him—something that felt right and familiar.
“Come home with me. I can sleep on the couch. Nothing has to happen. I still have a bunch of things to tackle on my list you can help me with tomorrow.”
Megan rolled her head back to the darkness, unable to see the ocean any longer. Go back to Jax’s house? Someone she’d just met?
Why not? Everyone was already pissed off at her. She could bury her head in the sand a few more days, couldn’t she?
She looked back at him again. “Yes. I’d like that.”
His smile was so brilliant. That alone was worth saying yes to.
Chapter 7
PRESENT DAY
Sitting at the dining room table with two laptops open in front of him and papers scattered everywhere, Jax was completely immersed in his work when Megan finally strolled downstairs at eleven thirty the next morning. He was trying to forget the night before.
What a clusterfuck.
First he’d almost kissed her silly while they’d been sitting outside, then he’d lost his shit when she’d gotten the phone call, and then he’d tossed and turned half the night until giving up and camping by the door of her room. It made absolutely no sense, he was well aware of that, but for some reason being close to her made him feel better. If there was a threat, he’d be right there. Then he’d had another nightmare. When he was particularly stressed, it always happened.
His thoughts drifted to the nightmare that haunted him every single time he dreamed. . . .
Blood everywhere. His ears rang and he couldn’t see anything but smoke. Estevez’s lifeless eyes stared back at him. He tried to reach for him, but he couldn’t move. There was too much pain, too much blood, too much smoke. . . .
“Five things,” she said, startling him out of his morbid thoughts.
He looked up and shook his head, trying to shake off the demons.
“What’d you say?”
“Five things. Remember? You made me do five things that I wouldn’t ordinarily do.”
He sat back lazily and crossed his arms over his chest. Slowly he smiled, big. She had a way of making him feel light again. He, of course, had also spent all morning thinking about what had happened after the nightmare. Her hands on him, her pleading eyes . . .
“Of course I remember. And you made me do five things on my to-do list.”
“Yeah the to-do list that never got done.”
“I can still picture your look of sheer panic when I told you I hadn’t called about shutting off my water or that I hadn’t cleaned out my fridge. You were horrified. You said, ‘it’s time to start adulting.’” He laughed. “I recall thinking, ‘God, how old is this chick and why is she so responsible?’”
