“She’s worried they’ll follow her there and nothing will change…except the protesters will irritate my neighbors instead of hers.” I watch Jess for a beat looking out at the mountains; then I push to my feet. “I’m gonna check on her.”
I step onto the balcony, but part of me wonders if I’m making a mistake in joining Jess. There are so many things I need to be aware of with her. So many booby traps I need to defuse without accidentally detonating them.
She glances over her shoulder and gives me a smile that makes me wish I didn’t have to leave her tomorrow. The curve of her mouth and her expression are surprisingly blissful, content. I can’t remember the last time she looked that way.
She turns back to the view. The setting sun has turned the mountain face golden, the deep shadows highlighting the rugged terrain. In a few months, those same mountains will be covered in snow.
I slide the balcony door shut behind me. “Okay if I join you?” I never want to take anything for granted with Jess.
“Of course.” The smile in her voice doesn’t completely obliterate the sadness clinging to her.
I pull her to me, my arms securing her to my body. She fits so perfectly, her back against my front. I kiss her cheek, wanting and needing to keep her safe and happy, hating that I’m failing.
“It’s so peaceful,” she whispers.
It’s not really. Noises leak from the various apartments on this side of the five-story building, including Zara’s. Laughter and talking. Cheering for what sounds like a football game the apartment below us is watching.
But compared to the loud chanting from the sidewalk in front of Jess’s house, it is quiet here.
We stay like this for a few minutes, not saying anything. Just enjoying the view.
I kiss the side of her head. “I’m canceling going with the guys tomorrow.”
Jess turns in my arms. “Is your shoulder bothering you?” She tenderly touches the shoulder that’s recovering from the recent injuries, including the dislocation from over two months ago.
“No, it’s fine. I’ve been a good boy, following doctor’s orders, doing PT with Lucas.” I give her a Boy Scout salute. “Promise.”
“So why are you canceling?”
“I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone in that house.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me while you’re away. I won’t even leave the house if that makes you happy.” She mimics my Boy Scout salute. “Promise.”
“It doesn’t make me happy. I hate that they’ve turned your home into another form of prison.” A helluva lot nicer prison than the one she’d spent a good portion of her incarceration in, but a prison no less.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be making the most of the time working on my book. And when you get back, I’ll make the most of the time I’m with you.” She plants a soft kiss on my lips. “I’ll be thinking of you while you’re gone.”
“I’ll be thinking about you too.” I lean closer, my mouth caressing the shell of her ear. “I’ll be thinking of all the dirty things I want to do to you.”
A rough, sexy laugh tumbles from between her parted lips, and her beautiful golden-brown eyes turn dark. “And I’ll be thinking naughty thoughts about you, Mr. Carson. I’ll be thinking of all the naughty things I want to do to you as a way of thanking you for lending me your noise-canceling headphones.”
I groan playfully, my cock getting excited at the possibility. “You make me sound like your dirty boss.”
“Well, you are my boss. And you do have a dirty mind at times.” She leans to the side and looks past me. “Time to go back inside. I think everyone’s ready to start the game.”
Screw that.
All this talk about the naughty things Jess wants to do to me has me in no rush to join our friends. I cover her mouth with mine and kiss her thoroughly, giving her a taste of what I plan to do to her after we leave here. Giving her all of my heart. Trying to erase the sadness she’s wrapped up in.
We’re both panting for air by the time we pull apart.
“Let me know if you change your mind about me going away for the weekend,” I say, my hand still on her neck, my thumb stroking her jaw.
She smiles, her eyes a little unfocused after the kiss, a reaction I’d usually feel smug about, but not this time. “Never. Those veterans need you. I’ll be fine, Troy. I’m a big girl now. And I’ve survived worse than what those protesters can do to me.”
“Doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t have to put up with them. You should never have been forced to survive worse than that.”
“I know. But whoever said life is fair?” She pulls away from me and walks to the balcony door as if she doesn’t have a care in the world.
