First Surrender (Chance Encounters #3)

Chapter Thirty-Six

Natalie

“ S issy, can we do cake now?” Dec begs with over-the-top enthusiasm. He rarely calls me sissy anymore, usually only when he’s overly happy or sad, and even though his party just started, I can tell he’s having the best day of his life.

All his friends have arrived and are taking turns launching themselves across the couch onto the balloon-covered floor. The four moms here are in the kitchen with me, watching them go wild, and laughing at their antics.

“Let’s wait just a little bit.” I ruffle his hair at the top where it’s still long and he nods, quickly jumping back into the chaos.

Little boys are energy-filled monsters, but funny monsters.

Jackson didn’t say when he’d be home, but I hoped he’d come to the party. We had Dec’s favorite dinner on his actual birthday the other day and gave him his bike, so it’s probably too much to expect him to be here too.

“Natalie the party is great. Dec’s so happy.” Sienna is the mom that I know the best. She’s the one that has been the most kind and helpful since I’ve had Dec. The other three moms seem to have their own little group dynamic.

“Thank you. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to pull it off. Last year we didn’t get to have a party, things were still pretty chaotic.” She knows more about the situation with my mom than the other three, so I don’t expand further.

“You have a lovely home,” Kelly, I think, says.

“Oh, it’s not mine. We’re only here temporarily.”

“That’s right. The Sheriff lives here, right?” She asks the question to which she clearly knows the answer.

“Yeah. Jackson was kind enough to let us stay here after the fire.”

“He is something else, isn’t he?” Jennifer adds.

“Uh, yeah. I guess.” I must blush because Sienna jumps and tries to steer the conversation away, bringing up the weather. It’s a beautiful day so it doesn’t distract the moms much.

“Are you guys together?” Kelly noses.

“Oh, um no. We’re friendly. I mean we’re friends.”

“Oof, I’d love to be friends with Sheriff Malec. I heard he doesn’t date.” Maryanna is the one who speaks up this time. She doesn’t beat around the bush.

“Aren’t you married?” Sienna asks her. She shrugs.

“JACKSON!” Dec shouts from the living room, running full speed at the man as he’s barely stepped through the door.

“There’s the birthday boy!” Jackson matches his energy, strong-arming Dec before he can react, body slamming him on the couch WWE style.

The giggles echoing out of the room make me want to cry. Dec deserves all of this.

I look back to my guests but only Sienna is looking at me, her face full of knowing. I bite my lip to keep from smiling and bless her for not saying anything out loud about my obvious crush on the man who is tickling my brother to death.

I busy my hands tidying the plates and napkins to avoid looking at him as he comes into the kitchen. “Ladies, thanks for bringing your boys over. We appreciate it,” Jackson greets them. The formality makes me want to laugh.

When he passes behind me toward the sink, I feel his lips on the top of my head at the same time his hand brushes my waist. His whole body stills for a nanosecond as he does it as if he realized that he shouldn’t have. My body is on fire regardless.

Not only did he openly touch me in front of these women, but now they’re staring at me while he washes his hands in the sink, avoiding their nosey gazes. I have to clear my throat before I can speak. “Are you hungry?”

“Always for you,” he replies casually, making me squirm internally. He is backing me into a corner with the gossip committee and he doesn’t even realize it. “I think I’ve gained ten pounds since she moved in with me,” he says directly to our audience, ignoring my side eye begging him to shut it.

They all collectively look at his still perfectly flat stomach, aside from Sienna who is becoming my new best friend. I don’t miss how he phrased my living situation. I moved in with him, not that he offered to let me and my brother stay here because we were homeless.

“Here you go.” I shove the plate into his hands.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” My jaw slackens. “Let’s go boys, I have Nerf guns in the back of my SUV.” He ushers all the kids outside, leaving me to the wolves.

“Oh my.” Kelly fans herself with an empty dessert plate while Maryanna pouts and watches him out the window.

“Yeah, you guys are so hooking up,” Jennifer states boldly.

I choke on the soda I was drinking as a distraction. “We are not.”

“Something is going on. I bet you’ve kissed. Ugh, I bet he is an amazing kisser,” Kelly croons.

My mouth is opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“What’s it like? Come on! We’re living vicariously through you,” Maryanna begs.

I don’t know if it’s because I want them to like me or because I want them to know that I have kissed him, but I decide to spill a little while they all stare at me in amazement. Even Sienna looks like she has hearts in her eyes.

When all of the kids and the moms have left besides Charlie and Sienna, she insists on helping me pop all the balloons. I spent so long blowing them up that I never wanted to touch them again, so I accepted her help graciously.

Dec blindsides me while I’m straightening the pillows on the couch, snapping a candid photo of me. “Where did you get that?”

“Jackson got it for me. He told me how to use it and everything. Said I could take pictures of anything I want and he’ll get me a new one when it’s full.” He holds the disposable camera up to show me, waving it like a maniac.

“Wow.” I can’t even begin to express what that means to me. My brother has no idea of the giant green flag we just waved in front of my face on Jackson’s behalf. He is going to make sure Dec has memories.

“Can Charlie stay the night? Please, please!” Dec begs.

“Uh. I don’t know, we’d have to ask Jackson.” He’s outside picking up Nerf bullets and I don’t know how to remind Dec that this isn’t our house without bursting his bubble.

“Dec how about you come to our house, yeah? That way your sister can relax after throwing you the world’s best party.” Sienna offers, looking at me for confirmation.

“Are you sure? You just had him last weekend.”

“I’m sure, Dec’s a great kid. Plus, I know you’re doing it all alone. I’ve had my parents to lean on after Ray died. I know how it feels to need a break.” Her husband passed away a few years ago from cancer. She doesn’t talk about it much, but I can tell how much it’s affected her.

“Okay, if you don’t mind. Thank you for everything, really.”

“Take the night to figure some things out.” She nods toward the back patio where Jackson’s igniting his propane firepit. “Life’s too short to miss out on things because you’re scared,” she tells me thoughtfully as heat rushes to my cheeks.

Dec says goodbye and they pull out of the driveway, leaving me to my thoughts. Life is short but what if I make a huge mistake? I could put myself out there and be crushed. And then potentially homeless. No, God. Jackson wouldn’t do that. Why can’t I ever give him the benefit of the doubt?

Hopped up on too much cake and a little bit of adrenaline, I change into my new favorite bed attire before joining him outside. “Can I sit with you?” I ask from behind him.

“Of course.” He turns to look at me and his eyes widen a fraction when he sees me in just his t-shirt.

His gaze stays heavy on me as I force the nerves away and sit on his lap instead of the chair beside him. His hands settle comfortably, one on my hip and the other around my waist, cradling my body against his naturally, while my legs dangle over the armrest.

“Thank you for showing up today.” I melt against his chest, hoping he can’t hear my heart beating.

“I’ll always show up for you,” he whispers sincerely, his lips barely brushing my temple.

“I know.” My lips skim his neck lightly making his grip tighten. When I kiss his jaw next, he looks at me with his brows furrowed slightly.

My hand trembles softly as I cup his cheek and pull his face to mine, kissing him for the first time in almost two months. His lips are everything that I remember. Soft and urgent, fitting mine perfectly.

He pulls back an inch, blinking his hooded eyes open. “Where’s Dec?”

The way this man cares about my brother does me in every time. Everything I feel for him would cease to exist if he treated him as a burden.

“He went to have a sleepover with Charlie.” The fire’s reflection dances in his eyes as he searches mine. “The moms asked me what kind of kisser you were.”

“And?” His focus is on my lips, waiting for my answer.

“I told them you kiss like a man on the edge of losing control. As if at any moment your perfectly curated behavior will snap and you’ll forget all sense of right and wrong. In the best way possible,” I tell him honestly, watching as the first thread of that control snaps.

He crushes his mouth to mine again, consuming me like no other. The hand gripping my hip travels, sliding along my waist and then down to my backside, squeezing the flesh roughly over the top of my panties.

My hands bury themselves in his hair, desperately pulling him closer, and begging for this kiss to continue. As my body wriggles in his lap, I feel his hardened length against my thigh, and without a second thought, I’m eagerly repositioning myself.

As soon as I settle back onto his lap with my legs straddling his hips, we both sigh into each other’s mouths, our lips never missing a beat. His fingers slip under the lace edges of my underwear, taking two full handfuls of my ass while I grind my body against his with forceful desperation.

“Jackson,” I utter his name against his lips as he thrusts against me, the material covering me is thin, the barrier not keeping me from feeling each movement intimately.

“You’re so beautiful, sweetheart. So beautiful,” he whispers against my mouth before dragging his lips down my neck. I want more. I’m desperate for more.

I whip the shirt off of my body before he knows what’s happening, exposing my naked chest to him fully, and he’s taken aback, literally. His upper half falls against the back of the chair as he stares at me in shock, blinking rapidly. His mouth hangs open like a kid seeing a nude magazine for the first time.

Grasping his wrists to snap him out of his haze, I force his hands to my chest to cup my breasts for the first time. When we were together in his office, my top stayed on, my bra too, and when he was helping me with my bath after my miscarriage, his eyes stayed above my neck the whole time. I watched intently then, waiting for him to slip.

This is a first for us and his whole buddy shutters with his approval. His eyes are locked onto where his massive hands are massaging me gently, but they flick to my face intermittently as if he’s trying to fight it.

I wrap my hands around the back of his neck, giving him the silent go-ahead to stop holding back because I’m not sure I have the strength to say the words out loud. Thankfully, he doesn’t hesitate to take me into his mouth and a sigh of relief escapes me.

“Oh, fuck,” I moan into the night sky as he takes turns sucking on each nipple and the soft skin surrounding them. He licks and bites my sensitive flesh until I’m a burning ball of need about to explode.

But when he pauses to kiss the piercing between my breasts, I’m afraid he’ll feel the way my heart skips a beat.