“What are you doing here?” Amber asked.
“I’m here to stay.” She shrugged, and my eyes grew wide. Alena is a free spirit, a traveler, and the furthest thing from a country girl. She prefers Gucci heels and Jimmy Choos to cowboy boots. I wondered if she realized she wouldn’t find a department store in Livingston, Montana, that carried Louis Vuitton bags.
“You’re serious?” Amber asked.
“Yeah.” Alena smiled brightly. “Chicago isn’t the same without my girls. And I’m sick of living out of a suitcase.” She glided past Amber and grabbed a brownie from the tray. “Plus, this place has some seriously hot cowboys.” She wagged her eyebrows, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Well, this cowboy is off the market.” My back stiffened and my eyes widened at the sound of Jackson’s deep, determined voice. “You’ll have to excuse Bailey for a bit. She can celebrate this little reunion later. Right now, she and I have some business to handle.”
I turned and looked up at him. “Jackson—”
“You can come willingly, or I can take matters into my own hands, but you have two seconds to decide.” I was instantly reminded of my earlier comment to him about moving out of my way. “Two,” he said as he held up two fingers. Lowering one finger, he continued. “One.”
“Jackson, I don’t—”
He gently shook his head, as if to tell me no.
I looked at Amber for help, and the traitor just smiled brightly like she was loving the show. I then looked at Alena, and she too was grinning like a fool. They would be no help.
“Time’s up, darlin’,” Jackson said as he charged forward. “I guess you coming willingly isn’t gonna happen.” He tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Oh Lord, will you stop treating me like a toddler?” I yelled as I wiggled on his shoulder, but he just walked out of the kitchen and carried me up the stairs to my apartment. He swatted my ass when I pinched his side. “Stop acting like a toddler and maybe I’ll stop treating you like one.”
He shoved through the door of my bedroom and dropped me onto my mattress. I huffed on impact and tried to roll toward the side.
“Oh no you don’t.” He grabbed my ankles and pulled me back, then crawled up the bed and straddled my waist, holding me in place. He then gripped my wrists and brought them together above my head, where he held them in one of his hands. Lowering his determined face to mine, he narrowed his eyes. “Your stubborn ass is gonna stop fighting me. You will lie here and listen to what I have to say.”
My eyebrows shot up because I didn’t give up easily. “You think so?”
“I know so, because, sweetheart, you don’t have a choice.”
“You are such a—”
His mouth covered mine in a hard, powerful kiss as he pressed himself against me. My own body betrayed me as I thrust my breasts up against his chest. God, why did he have to feel so damn good?
“I love you.” His husky, deep voice ran through me like a wave of heat. “It’s you, babe.” He trailed his nose along my jaw toward my ear. “I only want you. I won’t let you run from me. I won’t let you find an excuse to push me away.”
My throat and chest tightened. I knew I was hanging onto the edge and so close to being a blubbering mess.
“You’ve got me—completely. Anything I had before you was just a pastime. No one has ever crawled inside my mind the way you have.” He leaned up on his elbow, releasing the hold he had on my wrists. “I only see you, sweetheart.”
My heart melted, and in that moment I no longer remembered exactly why I was so mad at him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jackson
My heart felt like it might beat right out of my chest. I had just confessed my love, and all Bailey was doing was staring up at me with a lost look on her face.
“Say something,” I whispered as I scanned her face, looking for any sign of what she may be feeling.
“You love me?” she asked, and relief flooded me.
“Yeah,” I replied.
She wrapped her hands around the back of my neck and pulled my face down to meet hers. Our lips meshed together perfectly. I settled between her thighs and continued to kiss her, devouring her sweet mouth. I could feel myself growing hard as Bailey sucked on the tip of my tongue. I tried not to focus on the fact she had not yet returned my declaration of love. It didn’t change what I had told her, though. I was without a doubt “whipped to no end, melt at the feet of your woman” in love.
“I hate that she gets to spend the days with you,” Bailey said between kisses.