Jackson (Wild Boys After Dark, #3)(7)
Most of the time.
“Watch your step,” Jackson said as they descended a steep hill. He tightened his grip on her hand, then reached for her fishing pole. “Just in case you need to grab a tree to keep from falling.”
“What’ll you do if you need to grab a tree?”
“I’ll grab you,” he answered with a sexy smile. “And I expect you to dive beneath my body to break the fall. Since you’ll have two free hands and all.”
“Sure, no problem, as long as you don’t stick me with the fishing pole.” She stepped over a big rock, and when he said, “I’ll stick you, all right, but it won’t be with my fishing pole,” she stumbled, and he caught her in one strong arm and swept her against his chest.
“You like that idea, huh?” His eyes gleamed with the tease.
She loved the way he teased without hesitation, even with the proposal looming over them. The idea of losing that, which she knew would happen if she accepted the proposal, if for no other reason than his making an effort to respect the man she was going to marry, had her stomach in knots.
“I happen to think you have more of a rod than a pole.” She ran her finger down the center of his chest, then pressed a kiss to his Adam’s apple, which she’d always found sexy as hell.
“Keep that up and we aren’t going to get a lick of fishing done. Then you’ll go hungry tonight.”
“In all the years we’ve been camping, we haven’t starved yet. I’m not worried.”
They started down the mountain again, maneuvering between the spruce and pine trees, over fallen limbs, around ditches and rocks. It was so peaceful in the mountains, and the air was definitely cleaner than in the city. There were so many things Laney loved about camping with Jackson, from the scent of the earth to having him all to herself for however many days they chose to stay. But as the land leveled out and the woods thinned, she realized that the best part of camping with Jackson was the feeling that swept over her while they were here. All of the stress of whatever was going on in her life fell away. Worries about work, friends, family; none of it stuck with her the way it did in the city. And she had a feeling it had nothing to do with the city and everything to do with the man she was with, because, like last night when she’d fallen asleep in the safety of his arms, when she was with Jackson, nothing else mattered.
Except this morning that damn proposal had slipped back in.
***
THEY’D BEEN FISHING all afternoon, and of course Laney had found a boulder to lie on to feed her need for sun worshipping. She lay with a sweet smile on her lips and her shirt tied just below her breasts, exposing her taut stomach. The edges of her dangerously short cutoffs were rolled up even higher. She’d always loved the sun, and as Jackson moved stealthily around her, taking pictures for what very well might be the last time they would be alone on her birthday weekend, his mind tumbled back through the years.
She’d changed in so many ways since they’d met. When her parents had separated, she’d become harsher, more wary of just about everything and everyone. Except when she was with him. When they were together she’d strip away those thorns and, it seemed to him, breathe for the first time in however long it had been since the last time they’d been together. It bothered him that she had such issues with monogamy, because she was an amazing woman and she’d make an incredible wife for some guy.
Then again, that was the last thing he wanted for her—which was what made him the selfish bastard he was. He stood on a rock beside the boulder and zoomed in on her profile, trying to ignore the pull in his gut over some guy marrying Laney. Some guy was looking more and more like Bryce.
Jackson had always loved capturing Laney’s image when she was unaware and at her most innocent, completely unguarded. Just like when they were in bed together. Through the camera lens, she was all he saw, all he felt. All he needed?
He lowered the camera, chewing on that thought. He stepped closer and ran his finger down her arm.
She smiled, and without opening her eyes, she said, “Hey, you.”
He wanted to push the truth away, to make it easier for him to let go and allow Laney to live her life with a man who was ready to settle down. But he couldn’t deny the truth. It wasn’t the camera lens that filtered out the rest of the world. It was her. Even now, with the sounds of the birds overhead and the tree leaves swaying in the breeze, it wasn’t the beauty around them that captivated him.
It was Laney.
It had always been Laney.
And, he had a feeling, it would only ever be Laney.
Chapter Four
“I GOT IT!” Laney stood on a rock at the edge of the deep water with the end of the fishing rod pressed against her belly as the tip bent with the weight of the fish.
Jackson stood a few feet away, smiling and clicking away with his camera.
“A little help?” she pleaded, straining with the rod.
With the camera blocking his face and only that smart-ass grin staring back at her, he said, “But you’re so cute.”
“I’m going to be not so cute and you’re going to be starving if we don’t catch some fish.” She reeled in a few inches of line as Jackson relented and set the camera on top of his backpack.
He climbed the boulder in two big steps and pressed his body to hers from behind, wrapping his arms around her as he kissed her neck, stealing her ability to focus.