My childhood was pretty shitty in a lot of ways, but her story makes me realize how much of it I took for granted. It’s not just her words, but the look in her eyes that tells me she had it rough, and I’m surprised by how much I want her to share more. “I’m sorry. That must’ve been really hard.”
She shakes her head. “It’s . . . whatever. But as much as I love the Jacksons, as grateful as I am for them, sometimes being around them all makes me feel like that little girl hiding in the bushes.”
I swallow hard and nod. “I get that.” More than she realizes, I’m sure. It’s always been somewhat that way for me. I’m just on the outside of their family. Levi and I have been best friends since we were kids, so I grew up with them, but I was always acutely aware I was part of the group without being one of them. More so now that Levi and Ellie are together. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“If only you could.” She closes her eyes, and her tongue darts out to touch her bottom lip. “You ever want to get out of your own head for a minute? Like you just want to escape your own thoughts?”
She has no idea. Since I don’t party anymore, my thoughts can feel like a bigger prison than ever. But all I say is “Sometimes.”
She bites her bottom lip and meets my eyes. “Is there a trick?”
I huff out a laugh. “I used to get drunk and high, but now that those options are out, all I have left is . . .” I shake my head. “Well, you know, my other vice.”
She arches a brow. “Which is?”
I honestly don’t know if she’s being coy. “Fucking.”
Pink rushes into her cheeks. “Sex is a vice?”
I drag a hand over my face, memories flashing through my mind. The clubs, the parties, the women. Blacking out and waking up next to a pretty face I’d never seen before. I was such a shit boyfriend when I was using. I’m glad Levi’s a fucking saint who worships Ellie. She deserves nothing less after what I put her through. “Not for me anymore, I guess. But it can be.”
She tips her head back and sighs. “It’s been a long time since I’ve used that particular method of escape. Too long.”
“Why?” I ask before I can stop myself. Curiosity killed the cat.
She bites back a laugh. “His name is Jackson and he’s two. Doesn’t leave much time for finding a guy to fuck my brains out.” The way she says it—so matter-of-fact and unapologetic—sends blood rushing to my dick.
“No time to search for Prince Charming?”
This time she doesn’t stifle her laughter, and it rings across the backyard. “I’m not interested in Prince Charming.” She leans across the table and whispers, “I thought I found him once, and he turned out to be an entitled ass.”
I wave toward the beach, where all the Jackson brothers are hanging with their wives and girlfriends. “Not a believer even after meeting this family?”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t a believer.” Her gaze drops to my mouth. “I said I wasn’t interested. Maybe when my kid’s older, but I have more important priorities right now.”
“But a mind spinning with haunting thoughts nonetheless.”
Her gaze lingers on my lips for a few beats longer than is socially acceptable, and more blood rushes to my dick. “Shame there’s no one who can help me with that,” she says, then walks away.
Does she think I’m going to follow her? Does she want me to?
The answer was in her eyes. In the way she looked at my mouth. I don’t make it a full minute before my chair screeches against the concrete and I’m following the path around the house in the direction she disappeared. Part of my brain whispers that messing around with a Jackson relative—even one by marriage—is a bad idea. The other part says it’s been too damn long since I’ve indulged in something good.
I find Veronica at the side of the house, her head tipped back, studying the stars. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” I ask.
She grins without looking at me. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
We’re so tucked away back here—just off the stone path that wraps around the house and hidden between overgrown evergreen bushes. “Then why did you lead me here?”
She finally drops her gaze from the stars and sighs. “My son is two, and I don’t know how to do this anymore. Hell, I’m not even sure all the requisite parts are in working order.”
I fight back a smile. “Do . . . what, exactly?”
She drags her bottom lip between her teeth and looks me over before laughing and shaking her head. “Point proven.”
I step closer, ignoring the warning bells blaring in my head and loving the thrill of it. She’s trouble. She’s a bad idea, but I’m a moth to a flame. “You’re looking for some . . . entertainment? Distraction?”
“I’m no good at games,” she says. “Actually, I hate games.”
“Then don’t play.” Another step closer, and her smell fills my nose. She smells like summer. Like lavender and sunshine. It’s been too long since I’ve been close enough to a woman to smell her perfume. And if my body wasn’t aware of Veronica as a woman before, it would be now. “Tell me what you want. No games.”
She answers in the way I hoped she might—sliding a hand behind my neck and pulling my mouth down to meet hers.
Fuck yes. It’s been more than a year and a half since I’ve tasted a woman. I’ve missed it.
Veronica moans, and my already thickening cock hardens the rest of the way. I slide my hands around her, finding her ass and hauling her body against mine. Her grip tightens in my hair, and she tugs my head to the side to get a better angle and deepen the kiss.
I am such a sucker for a woman who knows what she wants, and Veronica isn’t messing around. I tear my mouth from hers, dragging it down her neck while I stroke my hands up her sides. When I reach her breasts, the weight of them feels so fucking good in my palms that I instinctively press the length of my erection into her stomach. “This what you wanted?” I ask against her neck, teasing her pebbled nipple beneath my thumb. “Did you drag me back here because you need this?”
“Yes,” she breathes, arching against my hand. She twists her fingers in my hair. “Please.”
Lust floods my bloodstream at that word, at the way her desire wraps it into one long, breathy syllable. “Since you asked nicely.” I dip my head to her breast and press my open mouth against the tank of her dress, sucking on her through the fabric. I’m breathless and already so hard that my cock strains against the fly of my jeans.
Now that I’ve had a taste of her moans and her desperate please, God yes, please, I’m greedy for more. I slide my hand between her legs and up, cupping her sex through her panties. Christ. So warm. And already wet. “This all for me?” I ask, stroking.
Her breath catches. “I caught you watching me today. In the lake. I liked your eyes on me. Liked how it made me feel. Thought about it all day. Almost went to my room to think about it more while I could still be alone.”
“You were gonna touch yourself thinking about me?” I stroke her again, but I’m dying to pull her panties to the side and feel that slick flesh on my fingers.