Light My Fire

32. Jackson

CHAPTER 32

Jackson

“Wow, holy shit, sweetheart, you look amazing.”

Brooke is standing in her apartment doorway in a little black dress that hits just above her knees and black heels. The dress has little sleeves that just cover the tops of her shoulders, but the neckline plunges low enough to show a hint of cleavage. She’s got her hair pulled back into a fancy twist, with tendrils curling around her face. Her eyes have a smoky shadow on them and her lashes look two inches long. She’s also wearing crimson lipstick.

I have found this woman gorgeous since the first time I saw her. But this is next level. I don’t need her all dressed up, but the idea that she spent time getting ready for our date makes my heart rate double.

She gives me one of her bright, sweet smiles and turns a three-sixty in front of me. “So this is okay?”

The low back tells me that she’s not wearing a bra. Her smooth, creamy skin makes me want to run my hands all over her. Though that has less to do with the dress and more just to do with the fact I haven’t had my hands on her in a few days.

No sex rule. No sex rule.

We’re such dumbasses.

“You look beyond perfect.” I reach out and she slides her hand into mine. I tug her close and kiss her cheek, not wanting to mess up her lipstick. “I’m the luckiest man in Chicago.”

She gives me a pretty little smile that makes me want to back her up against the wall and mess up a lot more than her lipstick. I should be focusing on nice romantic things, but this woman brings out a possessive, animalistic side of me that I’ve never experienced before. I constantly want to touch her, smell her, taste her, claim her.

“Thank goodness,” she says, her voice a little breathless. “It took me forever to find a dress. I have nothing like this.”

I frown. “You had to go get something special?” Shit, I hadn’t thought of that. “I’m sorry. I would’ve happily bought you a dress, sweetheart.”

She shakes her head. “No, I called Elise. And since she and her best friend are both with very rich men, they knew exactly what I needed.” She smooths her hands down the front of the dress. “Of course, Elise is curvier than me. And she likes the pinup style that isn’t really me. And Luna is really petite, so her stuff is too small for me. So nothing they had fit.”

“Give me your Venmo. I’m sending you money right now.”

She laughs. “I didn’t buy anything. Luna’s friend Danielle is married to a billionaire and a couple of millionaires.” She rolls her eyes even as she laughs. “She needs fancy dresses often. She let me come over and pick whatever I wanted, and we’re a pretty close fit. Dani’s shorter than me, but I think this still works.” Brooke looks down at herself.

I really hate that this was all complicated for her. I honestly had not thought ahead that she might not have something that would fit in at a five-star restaurant. “It works,” I assure her. “It really works. The only problem is that men are going to be staring at you all night.”

“If you’re sure.”

I am definitely sure. And she’s going to have to get used to dressing up. I intend to make her my plus-one for every fancy occasion I have, plus as many romantic, impressive dinners and outings as I can possibly take her to.

I am excited about our date. I haven’t planned an entire evening's itinerary with a woman in a very long time, and imagining Brooke’s eyes and smile as I show her Chicago in a way she’s never seen has me anticipating the evening more than I have anything in a while.

She ducks back inside the apartment and plucks her coat from the coat rack. It’s black with a belt and a bright red scarf that matches her lipstick. She grins. “I borrowed this too. My usual coat is way too casual.”

“The only way this entire outfit would look better is if it was on my bedroom floor,” I tell her with a grin, taking the coat and holding it out for her. Yes, I intend to flirt with her all night. But that’s the honest truth as well.

She lets me help her into the coat, then grabs her purse and loops her arm through mine. “This is going to be really fun,” she tells me with a confidence that warms me.

I have a town car waiting. I usually like to drive myself, and love my collection of cars, but tonight I wanted to give her my full attention, and not worry about traffic, especially downtown. It’s Wednesday night, so I don’t expect things will be too crowded but it’s still nice to settle into the soft leather, turn to her, rest my hand on her thigh and ask, “So how are you?”

I basically know. We’ve been texting every day a few times. I send her puppy photos and want to know everything from what she had for lunch to what time she goes to sleep. But I just want to hear her voice and know if there are any details I’ve missed. I’m addicted to her.

She covers my hand with hers. “I’m good. I’ll be perfect if you tell me that we are not going to have a no kissing rule tonight.”

I look at her in confusion. “Why the hell would I have a no kissing rule ever with you?”

“Luke made that rule when we went out the other night. He said if he started kissing me, it would get out of control. He wanted to focus on talking and getting to know each other. Not just the physical stuff.”

Ah, I have been curious about her date with Luke. I wasn’t going to ask, but now that she’s brought it up…

“Did he stick to it?” I ask, already knowing the answer. There is no way in hell Luke and Wyatt would be able to keep from kissing Brooke if they had her alone. I know them too well, and I know how they feel about this girl.

She grins. “No.”

“I’m shocked.”

“But almost. A couple of guys hit on me at the bar, and Luke kissed me after that. And then he kissed me at the end of the night.”

“A couple of guys hit on you?” I’m not surprised by that either. But I’m a little surprised that Luke left her alone long enough for that to happen. I’m also imagining how I would feel. Then how I expect Luke reacted. “He stayed cool, though, right? Like a dad?”

She giggles. “Pretty much. Or like a disappointed teacher.”

Oh, that’s a good comparison.

“He stayed cool. But he also made it very clear that we were together.”

I lean in closer. “Of course he did. You are definitely the kind of woman that men want to claim, Brooke.”

She does that cute little shiver thing. “I liked it.”

I can make her feel very claimed. “Noted.” I look at her mouth. “And no, we are not going to have a no kissing rule.”

“Because you definitely have no trouble controlling yourself around me?”

It seems that our not-so-long-ago-virgin is starting to find her inner vixen. And I am here for it.

“Oh, it’s not that at all,” I tell her. “I just don’t care. If someone sees me kissing you or touching you, that’s fine with me.”

“But you can resist having sex with me tonight?”

I study her. “Actually, I think I can,” I say after thinking about it for a moment. “I think you really want to, and delayed satisfaction can be very, very fun.”

She swallows. “I do want to,” she confesses. “It’s like I just discovered strawberry shortcake and I want it all the time .”

I grin. “Strawberry shortcake is your weakness, huh?”

“For sure. I will never get sick of it. Ever.”

I also make note of that.

“But I want to get to know you too,” she says.

“You already know me pretty well. I’m not that complicated.”

Something softens in her eyes. “I don’t know if that’s true. But either way, I want to spend time with you. Just us. This will be really nice.”

I agree. And I have something I’m excited to tell her about during dinner. “And of course,” I tell her. “There are ways of satisfying you that don’t involve sex.”

Her grin is wide. “I should have known it would be you, the playful, mischievous one, that would come up with a loophole.”

I reach up and cup the back of her head, bringing her lips to mine, just barely touching hers. “Yeah, I think we’re gonna discuss loopholes later.” I know she catches my emphasis on the word loopholes , my lame attempt to make it innuendo, because she laughs lightly just before I press my lips to hers.

I keep the kiss sweet though because we’re pulling up at the hangar where we’re getting on the helicopter for our tour over the city.

She doesn’t even notice at first.

She lifts her hand, rubbing a thumb over my lip.

“You look good with my lipstick smudged on your mouth,” she says softly, and I don’t think anyone has ever said anything more seductive in my life.

“I can think of a few other places where I’d like to have that lipstick… and your lips,” I tell her.

She grins. “Me too.”

We get out of the car and her eyes are wide, taking in where we are.

“A helicopter ride?” she asks. “I thought we were going to dinner.”

I lift her hand and kiss it as we cross to where the pilot is waiting. “We are. After. But I want to show you my city.”

She puts a hand over her heart, as if she’s truly touched. “This is so amazing, Jackson. Thank you.”

“Any time, anything, sweetheart.”

The flight is perfect. The city lights are gorgeous from above and I enjoy every minute of pointing out landmarks and famous places to her. She asks questions and I promise to take her to the museums, the botanical garden, as well as a game at Wrigley.

When we land and are out of the helicopter, I shake the pilot’s hand and exchange a few pleasantries. The owner of the company comes out to greet me as well. I’m used to that since I came into my money.

But as soon as we’re on our way to the car, Brooke stops and throws her arms around my neck and kisses me. “That was awesome!”

I hold her against me, hugging her, grinning like an idiot.

I will give all my money to make her look and sound like that every day.

The thing is, I know I don’t need to. Brooke doesn’t need fancy helicopter flights or dresses to enjoy, and appreciate, a night out. I am going to spoil her and buy her expensive, lavish gifts, and get her anything she ever needs but because I want to. Not because I need to.

“You ready for dinner?”

Her cheeks are flushed. “Yes!”

We take the car to the building on Michigan Avenue where Loretta’s, one of the best restaurants in the city, sits on the top floor with a stunning view of the city and the lake.

We’re shown to our table and again Brooke gushes about how beautiful everything is. Loretta’s really is a great place, but I almost never come. My friends and family like things simpler and my business associates mostly meet online.

We look over the menu for a few minutes after ordering wine.

I look up. “What looks good?”

She smiles. “Um… I’m not sure.”

“Not hungry?”

She chews on her bottom lip for a moment. Then folds her menu. “Honestly? I don’t know what some of this even is.” She laughs softly. “I like a lot of things. What are you getting?”

I was eyeing the steak. Because I know what that is. Some of the other items come with sauces or are prepared in ways that I’m not sure of either. I lean in and lower my voice. “I don’t know what a lot of it is, either.”

She reaches over and takes my hand. “You know you don’t have to impress me, right? I would be completely fine with a burger or pizza or tacos. In fact, I love burgers and pizzas and tacos.”

I feel a little foolish suddenly. She’s a veterinarian. She gets her hands dirty. She cleans up very nicely but nothing about this girl has given me any indication that she needs or wants five-star dining. We ate sitting on the floor in front of a fireplace at the cabin and it was fantastic.

“You look way too good for burgers,” I tell her, stroking the back of her hand.

She studies me for a moment, then looks back at the menu. “How about we get a couple of appetizers and have our wine? Then we can go find some tacos.” She gives me a grin. “No one looks too good for tacos.”

I’m in love with her.

I realize it in that moment.

I’ve had inklings before, but in this moment I know it. She’s so easy to be around. She’s so perfect. She can adapt to absolutely anything. Being snowed in, a pregnant dog delivering puppies on the kitchen floor, three men wanting her, hanging out in leggings and a sweatshirt, or dressing up in a sexy black dress.

She doesn’t care if I’m a millionaire or if Wyatt and Luke are firefighters. She wouldn’t care what any of us do or what we can spend on her. She truly just cares about us .

She’s everything.

And suddenly tacos sound amazing.

“Yes, absolutely. That’s perfect.”

The waiter returns and we pick out something with figs and prosciutto—two ingredients we both know and like—and crab puffs.

We sip our wine and chat about nothing in particular as we wait. Still, I feel so close to her. I can imagine doing this every night forever.

When the finger foods arrive, I serve us both and we start to nibble.

“So, I have something to tell you about,” I tell her, suddenly nervous. I’ve been working on this project since two days after getting back to Chicago and it’s coming along quickly. That is definitely something about having money that I really like. If you can pay, people are happy to work faster.

“Okay.” She looks interested.

I hope she finds this as cool as I do.

“I’ve decided to buy a place with some land,” I tell her. “Plenty of room for the dogs. And maybe even more dogs.”

Her brows arch. “Oh, that’s great. Luke said he was going to take one of them. Angel.” Her cheeks get a little pink.

That’s so fucking cute. I nod. “Yeah. But I think I’m going to keep the rest. And… train them for Search and Rescue.”

Brooke stares at me. Then she sets her fork down. “Really?”

“Yeah. Those first few days when I felt like I needed to stay home with the dogs, I watched a bunch of animal documentaries, ones about dogs in particular. The ones that I loved most, and that really stuck with me, were the couple about 9-11.”

Brooke reaches for my hand again and squeezes me. Her eyes are bright and locked on mine.

“After I saw what the dogs did after the attack on the World Trade Center, I dug in deeper and learned more about how dogs are trained and incorporated into fire and police departments.”

She smiles but just waits for me to go on.

“That obviously really hit close to home because of Wyatt and Luke,” I say. “The dogs are amazing and I just think… that would be something important I could do. With a big enough property, I could have a whole training program. We could have different kinds of dogs. Bloodhounds are especially good, though I know our labs will be superheroes.”

Brooke swallows. When I pause she says, “Who is we?”

I look at her with surprise. “You and me. And Luke and Wyatt. I can own the thing and get training, but you’ll be the vet and I want Luke and Wyatt involved as much as they want to be. We’ll have to hire others, of course.”

Her eyes look a little shiny suddenly. “I love how you call the dogs ‘ours’.”

I lean in. “They are ours. I can’t look at any of them without thinking of you and the guys.”

“That plan is… incredible.”

“Yeah?” I’m relieved and so happy to hear her say that. “You think I can do it?”

“Of course.”

“I mean, beyond paying for it.” I suddenly feel a little shy or something. “I’ll do that, of course, and hire whoever we need, but I’d like to actually work with the dogs. I’d like to be a trainer.”

“So be a trainer,” she says. She gives me a big smile. “Absolutely, you should do that. You’re so great with the dogs, Jackson.” She squeezes my hand again. “There is no one who trains dogs who has any special characteristics that you don’t have. You’ll get trained, you’ll learn, but of course you can do that.”

“Will you be our vet?”

She grins. “Yes. But I’m not giving you a discount.”

I love that grin. I love her . I reach over, grasp the bottom of her chair and drag her closer. I put my mouth against her ear. “Bet I could find a way to knock a few dollars off the bottom line.”

She giggles. “A few dollars ? Sir, from what I’ve seen so far, you could get me to do anything for you.”

Heat floods through me. I growl against her ear. “Eat your fancy food, then I’m going to feed you tacos and then I’m going to finger you to orgasm inside your front door, and then I’m going to make you agree to our next date. Which will not be sex-less.”

She shivers, quickly eats her figs and ham and crab puffs.

We laugh and flirt and talk as we head downstairs, then eat the best tacos from a truck only a block away. Laugh and flirt and talk as she also pulls me into an ice cream shop another block away. Laugh and flirt and talk in the car.

And then I hike her skirt up and make her come hard on my fingers against her front door before leaving her breathless and planning to see me again on Friday.

And I’m not even half-way home before I get a text.

Thank you for an amazing night. You are going to be as good at raising and training SAR dogs as you are at handing out orgasms.

And btw, that is VERY VERY VERY VERY good.

I grin and text back.

I’m addicted to you. Just so you know.

Good to know. Knowledge is power.

You don’t know anything about the five hundred dollars in cash in my purse do you?

I’d texted my cousin who had accompanied me to the last black-tie fundraiser I’d gone to and asked how much her dress cost because I didn’t remember. Then I’d slipped the cash into Brooke’s purse since she’d declined to give me her Venmo.

That’s for the dress you’ll need to buy next time.

Not Friday. But sometime I’ll need arm candy to some fancy schmancy thing and you’re it.

What’s your favorite color?

The color of your skin.

blushing

Yes, the color of your skin when you’re blushing.

I want the dress to be your favorite color.

See? She’s just so easy. She’s not going to fight with me about the money. She’s not even making a big deal about a possible future black-tie event. She’s making it sweet.

Blue. Like your eyes. You would look fucking stunning in blue.

Consider it done.

And blue will look very good on my bedroom floor.

Consider it done.

I pocket my phone with a grin.

I am so fucking gone for this girl.