“Why are we leaving the group?” I ask quietly as he begins to lead me down toward the lake. He stops and turns his face my way. His eyes find mine in the dark, and shit you not, this man is even more lethal in the moonlight.
“A few stolen moments alone with you sounded better than watching you across the flames,” Jaxon whispers before bending and pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead, then continuing our trek to the dock.Ok, swoon…He lays out the blanket on the wood and settles on top of it, spreading his legs and patting for me to sit in between them. He pulls me back against his chest and sighs at the connection of our bodies. We're quiet for several heartbeats, in awe of the stars shimmering inthe great expanse above and below as they dance across the lake's surface. It's still, the only sounds are our breathing and the crickets. Occasional laughter and the crackle of fire float down from our friends up the hill.
“You were in your head up there. Penny for your thoughts?” Jaxon mutters quietly as his arms squeeze around me reassuringly.
I lay my head back against his collarbone and am surprised when he flicks out another blanket over the top of us. I hadn’t seen him grab a second one. He snuggles up closer, silently telling me he's settled in to hear anything I have to say.
“I realized in a few brief moments how unseen I'd been with Michael. I was just a used fixture he was trying to figure out where to drop off, so he could find something shiny and new. I gave him some good memories, but he was only holding onto me for sentimentality. Keeping up with appearances, yet wasting both of our time.” I focus on Jaxon's fingers trailing soothingly up and down my arm. “He was gone long before I figured it out and ended things. I just wish he'd been honest with me. Told me his heart wasn't in it anymore. He just didn't want to be the bad guy. He did way more damage than he knows.”
Jaxon turns my face in, tilting it upward toward him. His forehead rests against mine, and he breathes in time with me.
“I see you. If there's ever a moment you wonder about your importance in my life, I'm failing you as a man. I will do my damndest to never make you feel alone in a crowded room or alone next to me. You're all I see.”
A shuddery breath escapes me, and he takes the moment to slant a tender kiss across my lips. It's a promise. I've heard promises before. But Jaxon isn’t Michael. Will I trust him at his word?
???
Jaxon
When I pull my lips back from Holly’s, I can see the wariness in her eyes. She wants to trust me. Wants to believe that I’ll put her first. I will. I will do everything in my power to erase that little voice he put in the back of her head that she wasn’t enough, wasn’t a priority. I absolutely hate that he led her on like that. How can someone look at this smart, capable, and sexy-as-hell woman and not give her his all? I just don’t get it. She deserves the world. I’d give it to her if she’d let me.
“I’ll prove it to you,” I whisper.
“Prove what exactly? I don’t like getting my hopes up.”
The sass with this one.I realize it’s a cover, though. I smirk and rest my cheek against her hair.
“That you deserve the world. That you can trust me with your heart. That I’ll put you first. That I’ll be honest, even if it hurts.”
I feel her arms tense beneath my palms and rub them out of instinct. She lets out a heavy breath and melts back into me. She didn’t think I understood fully, but Iseeher. All it takes is a bit of attention and thought. I brush a kiss against her cheek and taste the tang of salt. Oh no, that won’t do.
“Come here, Cupcake,” I whisper, turning her face toward me so I can kiss the trail running down her cheek. She turns and throws her arms around my neck, and damn if my heart doesn’t just about shatter in her hands. She can have every piece if it’ll make her feel better. I lift her into my lap and pull the hair from her face as my lips take their time memorizing the lines and feelof hers. “Will you let me prove it?” I whisper against her velvety skin.
Holly nods, leaning further into the kiss while playing with the hair at the nape of my neck. Her fingers travel down the front of my shirt, toying with the hem before roving beneath along my lower abs. I suck in a breath because, damn, that felt nice, but I don’t want her to think that’s all I want from her.
“Hol, as much as I love that, I don’t want you to think I brought you down here to cop a feel.”
“You didn’t?”
“I really mean everything I just said.”
“Good. I hope so. With that said, what if I wanted to cop a feel?” she whispers darkly against the shell of my ear, and I feel my resistance breaking.
“I mean, I’m not going to tell you no.”
Holly giggles low and sultry, the sound of it warming me as much as it turns me on. Her lips tug lightly on my earlobe before she grazes it with her teeth, and I shudder, sucking in a sharp breath.
“You like to toe a dangerous line, don’t you?” I ask, already knowing the answer. She proved that much at the little rest area today.
“You make me feel dangerous,” she puffs out, tracing her finger along one of my cut lines and along the waistband of my jeans.Fuuuuuuuuck.
“How dangerous are we talking?”
Her lips dance across mine before she deepens the kiss. She attempts to lift my shirt, but I pull it back down as I pull away from the kiss.
“Come with me.”
I pat her butt in the universal ‘let’s get up’ way, and we both stand. Snagging the blankets, I shove them under an arm and lead her toward the shoreline, where the trees are thicker.I eye one with a larger trunk and pull out my phone, eyeing the ground for any snakes or nearby things we don’t want.
