Page 78 of Then Came Love
JORDAN FELT LIKE she was dreaming, but she was fully awake, lying in Jax’s arms, cocooned by his warm body and masculine scent in his giant plush bed, with Coco snuggled at their feet. When they’d gone to bed last night, she’d felt as comfortable as if she’d been there before, even though his bedroom was bigger and roomier than any bedroom she’d ever known, with dark wood furniture and massive windows, splashed in hues of blues and grays with a touch of white. It was masculine, calming, and open, just like Jax.
“Good morning, beautiful.” He stretched, his arousal pressing against her belly. “You look wide-awake. Guess I didn’t wear you out well enough last night.”
He kissed her forehead, and then those sexy dark eyes that made her want to do everything, found hers. “You’ve got to be kidding. I slept like a bear hibernating for the winter.”
“I’d like to hibernate inside you for the winter.” He nuzzled against her neck, making her giggle. He moved over her, and she reveled in the weight of him. “You made me the happiest man on earth when you showed up at the party yesterday.”
“If you only knew how nervous I was.”
“But you couldn’t stay away, could you? Because I’m the pig in your blanket, the chocolate in your croissant, the creamer in your coffee.”
She laughed.
“You know it’s true.”
She wound her arms around him, grinning like a fool. “Well, you do have a creamy cannoli.”
“Hey now.” He wiggled his hips. “I love that you play along with me.”
“You make me want to take chances and say yes to everything, and after meeting your family, I can see why you and your brothers and Jilly all went after your dreams. Your whole family is so supportive, they make me want to take life by the horns and go after everything, just like you do.”
“I told you they were awesome.”
“I haven’t known many people like that other than my parents, until you came along and reminded me what life could be like. That’s one of the reasons I was so drawn to you. Well, that and this.” She grabbed his butt, earning a seductive growl.
He nuzzled against her cheek. “Spend the day with me.”
“I was hoping you’d ask. You’re kind of addicting.”
“Only kind of?” He nipped at her lower lip. “I’m going to have to fix that.”
As he lowered his lips to hers, Coco jumped off the bed. “Should we put her out first?”
He laughed softly. “I’m trying to seduce you and you’re thinking about Coco. She has a doggy door.”
“I can’t help it. She relies on you to take care of her.”
“And I’d never let her down.” He laced their hands together, and as he gazed into her eyes and their bodies became one, he said, “And one day you’ll realize that you can rely on me, too.”
AFTER A LUXURIOUSLY lazy morning of making love, eating breakfast on the patio, and strolling through Jax’s gardens, they headed to Jordan’s house so she could change clothes before going out for the afternoon.
“I’ll be quick.” She gave him a chaste kiss and headed for her bedroom.
Jax went into the living room and found sketch pads, pictures, and photo albums spread haphazardly on the floor, as if Jordan had left in a hurry. He crouched to get a better look, taking in pictures of a young, beautiful Jordan, with eyes that sparkled like the afternoon sun. There were dozens of pictures of her, some with her family, some without, each one cuter than the last. She had her father’s smile and her mother’s hopeful eyes. He studied a picture of Casey, with a mix of golden brown and blond hair and her mother’s dazzling blue eyes.
Where are you, sweetheart? Little girls don’t just disappear.
He picked up a picture of Jordan sitting next to her father on a picnic blanket, holding a baby. Jordan’s hair was pinned up in pigtails with pink bows, and she was wearing a frilly pink-and-white dress, white tights, and shiny white Mary Janes. Her father wore a flannel shirt, jeans, and work boots, just as Jordan had described. He was a big, burly man. His arm was wrapped protectively around her shoulders, pride shining in his eyes, and Jordan was absolutely beaming.
Jax looked through more pictures, and in every one of them, her father had been either holding Jordan’s or Casey’s hand, carrying them, or he had his arm around them. He was obviously very protective. Jax wanted to know more about the man who had been so in touch with his daughters he’d fed their needs for fancy dresses and flannel, the man who probably saw his car rushing at a tree and thought only of his girls and his beautiful wife.
“Sorry that took a few minutes,” Jordan said as she came down the hall.
He looked up from where he sat among the pictures, at the incredible woman whose parents had poured their hearts and souls into raising her, and emotions overtook him.
“I’m sorry about the mess. I rushed out yesterday.” She dropped to her knees in skinny jeans and a peach off-the-shoulder sweater and began gathering the pictures. “It’ll just take a second for me to clean up.”
Jax took her hand, pulling her onto his lap. “I want to know more about you and your family. I want to know the stories behind these pictures and the secrets behind your smiles.”
“I don’t want to bore you with my family’s stories.”
“Bore me, sweetheart. Take me on a picture tour of your childhood. Then you can show me around Prairie View, and I can see that from your eyes, too.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
“It’s exactly what I want to do, unless it’ll be too difficult for you.”
Her eyes lit up. “It won’t. I want to talk about them. But I might have to call my aunt to ask about some of the pictures that I don’t know the stories behind.”
“Good, because I want to meet her and your uncle.” There it was, that radiant light in her eyes that lit up the room. But now he knew that light had once been even brighter, and he was going to do everything in his power to help bring that brightness back.
