Page 83 of Don't Lie to Me

God I loved that dimple. I wanted to lick it.

“Jack….the Senator?” I asked, just barely breathing even though I could feel my own pulse racing.

He shook his head as if clearing it and brought his eyes back to mine. And I waited, while he figured out what to say. Somehow, I didn’t even care anymore. I loved him. And I knew he loved me. I just wanted this shit behind us so we could figure out where to go from here.

“He had the pictures.” Jack cleared his throat and looked at me apologetically. “Somehow he paid off a security employee – who has now been fired – to release them. He showed me the video and pictures and demanded I stopped seeing you or else he would release them to the public.”

I hated seeing the remorse in Jack’s eyes. They weren’t for himself, they were for me. He had to have known I was stronger than that.

“I wouldn’t have cared, Jack.”

His head snapped to mine. “I cared, Emma. There was no way I was letting that shit get out and have you be a fucking laughingstock all over the country. That’s exactly what would have happened. I promised to take care of you.

“I didn’t want moms at Logan’s school talking about you – or anyone thinking less of you because I felt the need to screw you on the roof. It was my mistake in the first place, and mine to clean up.”

He quickly moved and sat next to me on the couch, adjusting us so we were facing each other. Far enough away where we weren’t on each other, but close enough to where I could feel the heat from his body. It seemed to emanate from every pore of his body and I saw his pulse beating a little bit too fast on the vein in his neck as his eyes dropped to the skin just showing above my robe.

“Why did he resign?”

“Marcus had his mom’s suicide note that talked about all of his affairs.” He stopped and shook his head. “She mentioned over a dozen women in her note, Emma. Marcus has held on to that thing since he found her when she died. He eventually showed a copy of the note to his dad and said he’d go public and ruin his dad’s career and reputation if he went public with the shit from our video. We’ve been fighting with him for the last month, Emma. Senator Whitmore pulling his punches, and calling our bluffs. Marcus finally had a meeting with his dad tonight and had a reporter show up. He held up the note to tell the truth about his mom when the Senator finally caved.”

“I don’t get it,” I said shaking my head. “Wouldn’t seeing that note be enough reason to get him to back down from showing the videos and pictures of us. Why force his hand into quitting?”

Jack smirked. “That was Marcus’s own personal vendetta with his dad and he finally had the winning hand. He forced him to quit because he blamed his dad’s position as Senator as the reason why he forced you to leave so many years ago and what gave him the opportunity to screw around on his mom for so many years. I didn’t know that was going to happen until we showed up tonight.”

I swallowed slowly. “You were there?”

“I figured we’d show up, scare him with the reporter and he’d finally cave. I also had some legal documents for him to sign that says he can’t contact Logan until he’s eighteen.”

I frowned.

“It’s the best I could do. Logan will be an adult then and able to make his own decision about seeing the older Whitmore, but Marcus’s dad can’t contact him in anyway until then.”

I exhaled slowly. The realization of everything he’d done, falling down on me. A faint smile touched my lips. “Because of you…”

Gently, he put his hand on my cheek and I melted into the warmth he offered me. When he pulled me so I was facing him again, I swear I saw tears in his eyes before he blinked them back.

“I’m sorry I was pissed and I took it out on you. That day….” His voice trailed off and I knew exactly what day he was talking about. “I’m just fucking sorry. It’s a shitty excuse. I was pissed and stressed and needed to feel you one more time. I met with him the day before and found out that he had people watching you since Logan’s been born,” he skewered me with a glance, “which you neglected to tell me before. But regardless, I had to know what shit he was trying to pull and when I found out you were being tailed by some goons he fucking hired, I almost lost it on him.”

“Jack….” I said softly but he started talking again.

“I’ve never loved anyone since my parents died. I’ve never cared about anyone until you and Logan. I was so wrapped up in what I was feeling for you that I would do anything to keep you safe. The only thing I could figure out was cutting all contact so there was no point in him showing those photos.” He swallowed and his voice choked out the words a little bit. I moved closer, almost curled into his lap, wanting to be near him. To feel every inch of him when he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“It almost killed me to do that to you, baby. I promised to protect you regardless of the cost, and I hated pushing you away, but it had to be done. I figured if we weren’t associated anymore then the Senator would lose his pull with the pictures and video.”

I got it. I understood everything the instant he told me in the club about the pictures.

“It’s okay, Jack,” I said and rubbed my hands through his hair. I wanted to get closer, but I couldn’t. There was too much between us, too many clothes and it didn’t matter that I crawled up into his lap and pressed my cheek against his. It wasn’t close enough.

“I never stopped loving you.”

He began pressing his lips against my cheek and laughing softly when he saw the goose bumps that followed his trail of kisses; softly, barely touching my skin but still lighting a fire and leaving a trail of proof of how much I wanted him.

“I don’t deserve you.” He whispered against my ear when he finally reached it and I pulled back slightly.

He was so dead wrong. But I had one more question.

“Have you talked to Brian?”

---