“Believe me, if I die, this is how I want to go.” He touched her, tormented her inside with his fingers and for the first time she felt herself coming undone. He lay on top of her, his fingers increasing their erotic, insistent rhythm until she was arching against him. “Hannah,” he whispered in a tortured breath, “reach for it, sweetheart. I’ve got you.” And Hannah did, coming apart beneath him in wave after wave of sweet surrender. When she slowly began to resurface she reached for him, knowing that this wasn’t enough, she wouldn’t be complete without him.
“You’re sure?”
She nodded, grasping his hips against hers. He entered her, slowly and gently, bracing himself on his forearms. Hannah knew it was killing him to be so controlled. She tucked her head into his shoulder, her hands slowly traveling the length of him until she cupped his firm buttocks. “Come inside, Jackson, please,” she said, and finally he swiftly entered her fully. The pain was short, sweetness taking over until all Hannah could do was clutch him to her. His thrusts continued and continued. She cried out his name, digging her nails into his back, never imagining she could feel this way. Complete abandon, complete withdrawal from the person she thought she was to this…sweet heaven and both surrendered to their passion together.
…
Jackson stared down at the woman sleeping so peacefully in his arms and wondered how his life had seemed meaningful before her. He hadn’t been living for anyone but himself, and now he was living for her and Emily. He bent to kiss the top of her head, the gesture coming so naturally to him when it never had before. He heard her soft sigh and a tiny smile appeared at one corner of her luscious mouth. She curled deeper into him and continued sleeping. He didn’t think anything had ever felt so damn right as it did right now, with Hannah in his arms and Emily’s adoption being processed. Nothing would ever come between them.
The vibration of his BlackBerry on the nightstand beside him sounded loud and harsh. He gently untangled himself from Hannah and reached for his phone. It was his lawyer, Nicholas Wright. He, Nick, and Ethan had all gone to college together and Nick was someone he considered to be a good friend as well as the best lawyer in town. Jackson stood, pulling the duvet over Hannah, and shrugging into his boxers. He left the room, answering the call as he shut the door.
“Jackson, I’m sorry to call you so late. I’ve been trying to reach you all day,” Nicholas said, his voice sounding no more grim than usual.
“Yeah, I was busy getting married, remember?” Jackson said dryly, standing in front of the windows in the living room.
“Good, good. And that went well?”
Jackson chuckled. “Well, she didn’t leave me at the altar, so I guess that’s a good sign.”
When he didn’t hear his friend laugh on the other end, he knew it was serious.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but child services was contacted by a man claiming to be Emily’s father.”
Emily’s father. Those words ricocheted through his body until he felt ill. “There is no father,” he whispered raggedly, looking over his shoulder at the closed bedroom door.
“We don’t know that it’s her father for sure. We’ll check this out, get the paternity tests done. There’s no reason to panic.”
“Who is he, Nick? If he was with my sister, he’s an addict. He’s probably after money. We can buy him off—”
“We have to do this by the book if we want to secure permanent custody. He’s not in town. We’ll know more when he gets here.”#p#分页标题#e#
“My sister didn’t know anyone that was decent enough to be able to raise a child. You have the note Louise left. It has my name on it. I’m that baby’s family,” he said, his hand tightening painfully around the phone.
“I know, I know. Like I said, don’t panic yet. This could be nothing. I just wanted you to be aware of what was happening.”
Jackson took a deep breath, thinking of the woman sleeping in his bed. She finally trusted him. He wasn’t going to let her down. He wasn’t going to let his niece down, or his sister. He’d been given a second chance and no one would get in the way of that.
“Keep me posted.” He threw his phone onto the couch and ran his hands down his face with a sigh. What was he going to tell Hannah? He played out each scenario in his head and guilt ripped through him. But seeing Hannah’s gorgeous face filled with pain over something that might not even be real made the decision easier for him. He wasn’t going to tell her anything. It might just be a false alarm. Why should he get her worried for no reason?