I nod, swallowing over the messy ball of emotion in my throat.
“When I make love to you, it will be for the right reasons, at the right time, in the right place, and it will mean everything, Nessa.” He brings my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “Everything. You feel me?”
CHAPTER FIVE
Jackson
“YOU’RE MEETING VAN again?” Hunt asks the following morning as we’re eating breakfast in the kitchen.
“Yep.” I shovel the last spoonful of cereal in my mouth. “She can’t get enough of me.” I flash him one of my signature grins.
“I still don’t like this.”
“Bite me.”
“If she’s changed, like you’ve said, I don’t get why you can’t just ask her.” He scrubs a hand along his jaw.
“It’s too risky. She’s vulnerable, and if he’s reached out to her, she might already have loyalty to him. I want to catch him unawares, not tip him off.”
“Can’t you drop some hints?”
Dude is starting to get on my nerves again. “I don’t see what the big issue is. I’m treating her like a princess. She’ll get some great sex out of it and learn a valuable lesson about how to protect her heart in the future.” I walk to the sink and dump my bowl and spoon in. “She should probably be thanking me.”
“You really are an asshole.”
I shrug. “Think what you like, Hunt. This is about Dani. She is all that matters.”
“Dani wouldn’t want you trampling all over innocent girls in a quest for revenge. She’d hate that.”
I see red, yanking him up off his stool and shoving him back against the counter. “Don’t fucking tell me what my sister would or wouldn’t think. And Vanessa is far from innocent.”
He shoves me back, glaring at me. “I’m not talking about her virginity or lack thereof. I was there the night we gave it up to one another,” he says, smirking.
I don’t hide my scowl fast enough, and he scrutinizes my face like I’m a puzzle he desperately wants to figure out. I flip him off, annoyed at him for bringing that up. It’s never bothered me before that Hunt took Vanessa’s virginity. It never even factored on my radar, but I don’t like how it’s making me feel now. I rub at the tightness in my chest. Fuck this shit. I need to get with the program.
“I’m talking about how she’s innocent in all of this,” he adds in a less angry tone.
I fold my arms across my chest, drilling a hole in his forehead. “You can’t say that definitively. We don’t know what involvement she’s had with him.”
“If any,” he adds. “You’re making assumptions, and everyone knows what’s said about that.”
“Fuck you, Hunt. You want out, just say the word, and I’ll do this myself.”
He sighs. “I don’t want you handling this yourself. I’m as invested as you. I just don’t like that you’re duping Vanessa.”
“If you have other options, I’m all ears!” I shout, grabbing fistfuls of my hair. I’m sick of having the same conversation on repeat. “We’ve had guys searching the web for months. Paid a small fucking fortune to that PI, and we’ve still got zilch. Unless you want to defer freshman year at RU, and join me on a fruitless global search for the prick, I don’t see that I have any other choice. This is the only tangible lead we have.”
He sighs again, looking up at the ceiling. I wait him out, rubbing a sudden tense spot between my brows.
“Fine,” he admits. “You’re right, but just … try not to hurt her too bad. Something doesn’t feel right about the whole scenario with her parents, and I have a gut feeling there’s a lot we don’t know about Vanessa. She’s cleaning up her act, and I don’t want your actions to send her spiraling.”
“You know I can’t make any promises, but I hear ya. Okay?”
_______________
“I am so unfit,” Nessa admits, her voice all breathless as she flops down on the grass under the tree in Central Park. She looks utterly fuckable in her tight yoga pants and cropped sports top. Girl has legs for miles and perfect curves, and keeping my hands off her is becoming a real challenge.
“You should come running with me every day,” I suggest, handing the bellboy from our building a hundred-dollar bill. It’s his day off, but he agreed to take the picnic blanket and basket here and wait until we showed up. Dude nods, smiling and whistling under his breath as he saunters off.
“You’d be amazed how quickly you can improve your stamina and speed,” I add, laying the blanket down on the grass. “I used to run a fair bit, but my party lifestyle definitely impacted my fitness levels. Then, I cut back on booze, cut out weed, and started running consistently every day, and it really didn’t take long to improve.”
“I’d have to get up early to run because I’m usually too wrecked after work to do much of anything,” she admits.
I extend my arm to her, and she takes my hand. I pull her up and into my arms, uncaring we’re both a little sweaty. “I can force my lazy ass out of bed early to go with you.” I rub my nose against hers.
“You don’t have to do that. I can run by myself.”
I swat her ass. “No fucking way, babe. Jogging around CP by yourself is not happening. I know there are lots of people around, even early, but it’s still not safe.” I kiss her cheek. “I’d only worry.”
She practically swoons in my arms, and my stomach churns unsteadily. “You say all the right things,” she murmurs, zeroing in on my lips.
She wouldn’t say that if she knew the truth.
Even if my words just now were sincere.
I kiss her, because I don’t want to be thinking the things I’m thinking right now. “Hungry?” I ask when we break for air, nuzzling into her neck.
“Yeah. But not just for food.” She clutches my shoulders, staring at me, making her intent clear. I think my shy Nessa is getting a little braver.
“Food first, and then, we’ll see,” I tease, pulling her down onto the blanket. We unpack all the food my favorite deli prepared, and then, we lean back against the trunk of the tree, eating and drinking as we people watch.
“Leave some room for dessert,” I say when we make fast work on the gorgeous salads and wraps. “We have chocolate strawberries.”
“You trying to fatten me up?” she asks, nudging my shoulder.
“Hey, I could’ve brought brownies. And we burned some calories from our run.” I lift a strawberry from the container, deliberately licking my lips as I home in on her beautiful face. “We can always burn more off later if we need to.” I waggle my brows suggestively. When I bring the strawberry to her mouth, her lips part, and her warm breath trickles over my fingers.
“I like the sound of that.” She opens her mouth wider, biting down on the strawberry as her eyes lock on mine. Fuck, that shouldn’t be so hot.
“Me too.” I grab another strawberry, ready to pop it in my mouth but she takes it from me.
Her smile is wide as she brings it to my lips, urging me to open for her. I dart my tongue out, licking along the side of her finger, and she sucks in a gasp. Her eyes darken with molten heat, and my cock wakes up. I open my mouth, biting into the strawberry, without breaking eye contact.