Under My Skin (Skin Deep) (20 page)

He chuckled and kissed me again before asking me if I was okay, making sure I wasn’t uncomfortable or that we didn’t anything to hurt the baby. I assured him that we didn’t (trust me, I asked the doctor about sex during pregnancy) which made him kiss me again and before long, we’d started all over.

I wasn’t complaining about it…but poor Jackson’s leg was throbbing when we were done, so I felt bad. But not bad enough that I let him sleep when I woke up in the middle of the night wanting him again…

The next morning, I was crying again. Of course, I seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, but this time I had a reason.

I’d been in the kitchen making breakfast when the doorbell rang. I answered it, surprised to see a woman standing there with a bouquet of lilies and roses, a long envelope in her hand.

“Allie?” she’d asked.

I had nodded and she had smiled, handed me the flowers and the envelope, and turned to leave. I had thanked her and made my way back into the kitchen so I could see what was in the envelope.

And what was in the envelope is what made me cry. It turned out to be a letter from
Brandon, telling me he was leaving, among other things. This is what it said:

Dear Allie,

I know I told you goodbye yesterday at the welcome home party for Jackson, but I just couldn’t leave things like that. I need you to know that I’m completely good with you and Jacks getting married. He asked me about doing that whole thing at the hospital and I told him to go for it. I’m even going to be his best man, unless Luke throws a fit cause he’s supposed to be his best friend…But anyway, I’m sure he’s told you by now, because he really can’t keep anything from you (not that it’s a bad thing) but I even went out and picked out your engagement ring. So, in a way, it was from both of us, even though it is definitely an indicator that you will be marrying Jacks and more of a ‘one last thing’ from me. I shouldn’t have even said it like that because I don’t want you to think that I’m going away to lick my wounds and this isn’t what I really want. It is. I know I sprung it on you out of nowhere, but I knew it was time that I made the break. If not, it would have been that much harder than it already was. My timing was shitty; I know that. I also know that, knowing you, you think that you pushed me away, especially by staying at Jackson’s side every night. You didn’t push me away, Allie. I do think that the time we spent apart when you stayed at the hospital and I was working and then went home without you did give me time to think. That’s when I realized that the love you and Jackson shared, like I said that night at the hospital, is something special. I do love you, Allie, but my love for you pales in comparison to the love that Jackson has for you, and you for him. I don’t say that to hurt your feelings or to sound like I’m whining because I’m not. But I know that, in time, I probably would have ended up resenting the relationship you have together. I know we said in the beginning that we were good with the whole sharing thing, but…I watched you two together and I know now that I want that for myself and I don’t want to be a third thrown in. I hope you understand what I’m saying, and I really hope I’m not making a mess of this. Regardless, by the time you read this, I’ll already be gone. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks but I didn’t want to leave this until then. I’ll see you when I get back, but until then, take care of yourself, Jackson, and the little peanut. He and Uncle Brandon have some future plans to see to.

Brandon
 

The steady
thump-step-thump-step
coming towards me indicated that Jackson was up and making his way to the living room on his crutches. He came around the corner into the kitchen and stopped dead when he saw me.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” he asked me frantically.

I gave him a shaky smile and shook my head. “Nothing is wrong, I promise. Brandon sent flowers and a letter to me and it just made me cry.”

“You sure?”
Jackson asked.

I nodded again and showed him the letter.
Jackson read it and then held his arms open for me; I moved into his embrace and hugged him tight. He pulled away after a second and asked if I was okay.

“Yeah…I am,” I said. And I was. It still hurt that
Brandon broke things off the way he did, and that he just plain broke things off, but I understood. If I was honest with myself, I knew that what I felt for Jackson had overshadowed what I felt for Brandon just a bit…but I also think that Jackson showed his hand emotionally a lot sooner than Brandon did, and maybe that made all the difference.

Now, we’ll never know because things happened the way they did and, as the old saying goes, everything happens for a reason. So I guess we’ll have to see how it all plays out…

Chapter 23

“Shut up! Are you serious? You aren’t fucking with me, are you?”

I yelled the words into the phone at Emma, who did nothing but laugh. I could tell she’d been crying, too, and I was initially worried but when she told me what she told me, I quit being worried. Now I was simply in shock.

“Well, you are my best friend, so I guess we’re destined to go through everything together!” she said, still laughing.

Emma was pregnant! Holy shit! Both of us, pregnant at the same time…how crazy is that?

“How far along are you?” I asked her, betting in my head that she’s probably a week or so behind me if not due at the same time. As far as I can tell, I conceived the night of Luke and Emma’s wedding so it stands to reason that maybe she did, too. “And what did Luke say when you told him?”

“I don’t know yet, I’ve only taken a home test. But if I calculated correctly, then I got pregnant either on my wedding night or sometime during the honeymoon. Our kids are going to grow up together, like we did! That’s so fucking cool!” she shouted gleefully. “And Luke was over the moon. He called Brandon immediately and ever since we’ve gotten into the shop this morning, he’s been telling everyone that comes through the door. I swear, you’d think he’d won a Nobel Peace Prize or found a solution to end world hunger rather than just knock me up!”

I laughed. “I can imagine!” The bell dinged over top of my door at my store. “Gotta go, Em. Someone just came in but we seriously have to celebrate! I can’t wait to tell
Jackson!” I quickly promised to call her later and hung up, turning to greet my customer.

I stayed pretty busy for the rest of the day and by closing time, I was exhausted. These damn pregnancy hormones were hitting me hard and I found myself wanting to take naps all the time. I headed home once everything was done and found myself wishing that Chloe was back.

She was a big help in the store and my Nanny was driving my mom nuts again because she’d had a fainting spell and now had a bunch of doctor appointments to go to, so Mom wasn’t able to come in and help. The last time Mom had tried to tell Nanny that she couldn’t go with her and Poppy to the doctor’s office, Nanny had laid a guilt trip on her big time, telling her, ‘
Well, okay if you don’t want to help your elderly parent go to the doctor. I guess you don’t owe me anything for carrying you for nine months, birthing you, and then raising your ass for eighteen years…We’ll be fine. I just hope we don’t get lost…
’

That conversation had prompted another phone call to me from my mom doing her whole apology bit again. Truthfully, I think she’s just trying to make sure she stays on my good side so I don’t put her and Dad in a home when they’re old. Really.

Mom had opened the store for me the first week Jackson was home just so I didn’t have to leave him alone in case he fell or something. But then that whole thing happened with my Nanny so I had to go in the following week because I didn’t have anyone else. Emma had come over and worked long enough for me to take Jackson to his appointment to have his cast removed, but now I was all by my lonesome again. I guess I just got used to Chloe working with me every day before the accident.

Chloe was due back in a couple days; she was bringing her car with her this time, so she and Brandon were driving from
L.A. They’d left, from what I’d heard, this morning to head back to Ohio, but that trip is going to take them a couple days, because I can’t imagine that they’d try to drive straight through. That would be ridiculous!

The house was dark when I pulled into the driveway, which scared me. I parked my car and rushed in, yelling
Jackson’s name. I got no answer and the kitchen was empty. I headed for the living room to check there, planning to go room by room until I found him or figured out what the hell was going on. He wasn’t on the first floor, so I headed up to the master bedroom, hoping and praying that nothing was wrong. I skidded to a stop in our bedroom doorway when I saw dozens of tea light candles flickering throughout the room from every available surface.

I looked to see
Jackson standing on the far side of the glass fireplace looking positively edible in a black fitted button down and sharply creased smoke-grey dress pants. Pushing away from the wall he was leaning on, he sauntered toward me with a sly half-smile creeping across his face.

With a huff I drew myself up, bracing my hands on my hips. More shrilly than I intended, I asked, “What the hell are you doing? You scared the hell out of me with the lights off and you not answering when I yelled!”

Jacks stopped in front of me, his hand coming up to softly cup my cheek. “Sorry baby,” he murmured, running the pad of his thumb lightly over my bottom lip.

I nipped at it as he made a second pass and he chuckled quietly, the low, deep sound sending a shiver up my spine. Dropping my hands from my hips and stepping away from him to take in the room, I noticed that not only were there candles everywhere, there were rose petals strewn across the bedspread with a single red rose laying across my pillow, and a trail of rose petals leading to the bathroom. I followed it to see that he’d drawn me a bath, complete with rose petals floating on top of the water, and a bucket of sparkling cider chilling on the counter.

I looked at him in confusion and he drew me into his arms, capturing my lips in a sweet, altogether too brief kiss before he knelt before me, taking my hand in his.

“Jacks…” I whispered, but he just shook his head, stopping my words.

“I didn’t get to do this part. I know the whole candlelight, rose petals thing is pretty clichéd, but I just wanted to do something romantic and special for you. And I wanted to ask you again, this time on bended knee, if you would please do me the honor of becoming my wife. So, Allie…will you marry me? Still?”

I laughed and nodded, charmed and completely falling in love all over again. “Yes!” I said out loud, and then tugged at his hands until he rose and pulled me into his arms again. He kissed me breathless as he stripped me out of my clothes and then pulled me into the bathroom.

“I wanted to carry you in here, but I’m not allowed to lift heavy objects quite yet,” he said in complete seriousness.

I gasped, “Jacks!” and laughed as he stumbled over himself trying to apologize. “I know what you mean, silly man. It’s okay…this is perfect.” I smiled up at him and stepped into the tub, sinking down into the blissfully hot, scented water with a sigh. I took a sip from the icy glass of crisp, bubbly cider that he handed me, and then sat up when he knelt beside the tub, still fully dressed with the exception of his dress shirt, which he’d taken off and hung on the back of the door.

“Aren’t you getting in with me?” I asked.

“Nope. This is just for you baby…let me pamper you a bit.”

With that he pushed me down gently by my shoulders until I was lounging in the tub once more. With slow, methodical movements, he carefully and tenderly washed and conditioned my hair before moving on to my body. But, instead of washing me, his hands smoothed down my shoulders, massaging all the way to my fingertips before lifting my legs one by one and doing the same to them. I moaned as he continued his ministrations all over my body, caressing me…teasing me mercilessly.

“
Jackson…” I groaned, arching my hips as he studiously ignored those specific parts that were aching the most for his touch.

He didn’t say a word, just smiled and continued to run his hands over my body, soothing yet building the anticipation, heightening my senses. I was writhing in the water, chasing his hands, trying to make him touch me where I needed it the most but he still refused, driving me crazy with want.

I finally had enough of his torture and, grabbing my loofah and my favorite body wash, I made short work of cleaning my body and standing, the water sluicing off my body and splashing Jackson.

“Impatient much?” he said sardonically, standing and brushing the water droplets from his face and arms. He grabbed a large, fluffy towel and wrapped it around me as I stepped out of the tub. I dried myself off as he let the water out of
the tub and grabbed the cider, taking it into the bedroom.

I followed him, intending to get him onto the bed and torture him for teasing me like that…but he had other ideas. Before I could move, he jerked the towel away and pulled me against him, cradling my naked softness against the still-clothed hardness of his body. He walked me backward until the backs of my knees hit the edge of the bed and then pushed me gently so that I fell onto the bed, the silky, soft feel of rose petals surrounding me.

He stood by the side of the bed, slowly stripping his clothes off, eyes roaming over every bare inch of my body. Wanting to tease him a little I laid back on the bed, parting my thighs just a bit as I arched my back, thrusting my breasts forward, the heavy weight of them swaying with my movement. I hid a smile as Jackson’s jaw clenched, his breath hissing through his teeth on a sharp inhale. His slow, deliberate moves became hurried until his clothes were strewn across the floor and he was as naked as I was.

He put one knee up on the bed and I parted my thighs as wide as I could, baring the glistening pink flesh of my sex. His breath came faster and he groaned as I moved my hand down my stomach, the tip of my middle finger nudging the swollen nubbin of my clit, circling it once…twice…three times, before I slid my finger through my wetness and pushed it inside.

“
Jesus
…” Jackson bit out harshly on a moan. He surged forward onto the bed, moving over me as he grabbed my hand and tugged, removing it from the warmth between my thighs. He brought my fingers to his mouth and slid them between his lips, licking away the liquid proof of my desire. “Mmmm…” he whispered. “I love how you taste, Allie…but we’re doing this my way.”

Without another word he laid beside me, our bodies close but not touching. I whimpered, wanting to feel him, and he shushed me as he reached out for the single rose still lying on my pillow. He brought it up to my nose and I inhaled the heady scent, gasping as he brushed the velvety soft bud over my lips and down my throat. He stroked the flower lightly over my body…my nipples, down my stomach, up my sides, over and over again, goosebumps trailing in the wake of the feathery touch. A shuddering sob escaped my lips as he stroked the delicate petals over the bare flesh of my sex, and that finally broke him.

He shifted suddenly, tossing the rose away and moving down my body until his mouth was level with my mound, sliding his hands beneath my ass, lifting me up as his mouth came down.

My brain short circuited as he buried his face between my thighs, his tongue lapping at my clit before plunging inside. He fucked me with his tongue, using every part of his mouth in a relentless assault on my most tender flesh that had me bucking and screaming beneath him. He brought me to the brink again and again but refused to let me go over.

I tangled my fingers in his thick hair and held his mouth against me, thrusting against his tongue in a frantic race to finally finish but he fought me, wrenching himself away as I cried out. “Please! PLEASE!” I cried, wanting, no
needing
him to continue.

“Up.”

It was a short, harsh command but his tone brooked no argument. I scrambled to obey, mindless with lust and wanting nothing more than to have his hands and mouth on me again, kneeling on the bed beside him. He moved to lie on his back, his hands beckoning for me to straddle him. I complied, positioning myself over his hips but he shook his head, giving me a devilish grin. He crooked a finger at me and, giving him an answering grin, I moved to straddle his head, instead, and before I even got situated he grasped my hips in an almost punishing grip and pulled me down onto his face, his mouth sealing over my clit and sucking it roughly.

I tried to brace myself, not wanting to smother him with my lady parts, but he wasn’t having it. He went wild, eating at me with abandon, lips, tongue, and teeth plying my tender flesh with precision, every move designed to make me lose my mind. In the end, I could do nothing but ride his mouth, fucking his tongue as it thrust and parried inside me, dragging over every sensitive nerve ending until I was coming, screaming out my orgasm until I was hoarse, shuddering as he lapped every drop of my release from my folds.

I collapsed to the side of him, barely wincing at his grunt when my knee connected with the side of his jaw. I mumbled an almost incoherent apology to him and then whimpered when he moved over me, kneeling between my thighs. I peered up at him through bleary eyes that widened as he dragged the head of the searing hot, swollen hardness jutting from his body through my already drenched nether lips, circling my clit before slapping against it gently but rapidly, sending me into overdrive.

A high-pitched, keening wail ripped from my lips as he slid the length of himself down and pushed inside me, the walls of my sex clenching around him with greediness as he hit my sweet spot hidden there. He pushed in, balls deep, holding himself still for just a second before pulling almost all the way out and sliding back in, moving in and out with smooth, gliding thrusts that steadily built the waves again until he shouted, spurting inside me as I soared into the crescendo, a perfect, shining moment of pure ecstasy that left both of us boneless, breathless, and
completely satiated.