stare was enough to wipe the
smile from her face. The room went from warm to ice cold, like a polar breeze
had blown through with all its fury.
“Do you have any idea what it was like for me when I was looking for you?” he
growled.
Maddison shook her head. She’d never, ever seen Jack like this, so… on edge. As a
teenager he’d been brooding and angry, but grown-up Jack was nothing like that
boy. He’d come back from looking for her horse like a cranky bear with a thorn
in his paw. And she couldn’t blame him.
“When I saw your
horse trot past without you ? When I found you lying on the ground?”
She’d always thought he’d hated his
dad for blaming him. But she knew it wasn’t just that. Jack blamed himself too .
“I’m sorry. I was trying to blow
off some steam and I decided to pop over the jump.”
“Yeah? Well it was a crappy idea.”
He spun around, marching back into
the kitchen, dismissing her. But she wasn’t so easily put off. Wouldn’t let him walk away like that with so much anger bottled up. Because she could tell that wasn’t him exploding, blowing his lid. Jack was so tightly wound and she knew this
had barely scratched the surface of his pain.
“Jack, stop,” she called out,
pushing the quilt off and carefully standing. Maddison hobbled through the living area, following him into the kitchen.
Jack was standing with his back to
her, hands splayed palm down in front of him on the counter, his big body half
folded forward. She could see how deep his breathing was, knew that he was
struggling, that he was doing his best to stay in control.
“Jack, I’m sorry,” she said, voice
low as she gingerly walked toward him. Maddison placed her hands on his back, gently let them rest there. “All I wanted was to
have some fun and come over and see you. I never meant for this to happen.”
He didn’t reply, stayed silent, but
she knew he was listening.
“I can’t even imagine how you felt
when you found me. But you did the right thing for me, and we both know that
you did the only thing you could for your mom that day.”
He swung around then, grabbing hold
of her elbow to stop her from falling over. His gaze was dark, his usually
chocolate brown eyes swirling with black. Angry . “How can you be so sure?”
“I know it in here,” she whispered,
touching her hand over her chest, finger tapping to her heart. “And if you’re
honest with yourself? You know it in here too,” she told him, placing her palm
warmly against his chest, over his heart this time.
Jack continued to stare at her,
never blinking. She was about to move, about to step back, when Jack grabbed
hold of her. Hard. One hand kept a tight grip on her
elbow, the other slid around her waist, tugging her forward so quickly she
didn’t have even a second to resist.
His mouth crushed hers, forced her
into a kiss that she was powerless to refuse away from, and one that she
couldn’t have ended no matter how much she wanted to. Jack’s lips were soft one
moment and rough the next, his tongue dipping into her mouth so carefully and
then so insistently, making her desperate for more. She was gripping onto his
shirt, refusing to think about the pain in her leg, surrendering to him in
every way she could.
Jack was relentless, like a man
possessed. Maybe he was trying to run away from his memories, wanted to take
his mind off his anger, needed an outlet. Whatever the
case, she didn’t care. All she cared about was
this . Feeling his lips locked on hers, his body pressed firm against her. Because this made her forget
everything.
But she didn’t have time to relax
into it and enjoy the moment. Jack grabbed her around the waist, tugging her
even closer, lifting her off the floor and leaving her with nothing to do other
than wrap her legs around him. Let him take her weight. His mouth never left
hers and neither did his hands, even when he sat her on the counter, leaning
further into her, one hand on her bottom, the other
smile from her face. The room went from warm to ice cold, like a polar breeze
had blown through with all its fury.
“Do you have any idea what it was like for me when I was looking for you?” he
growled.
Maddison shook her head. She’d never, ever seen Jack like this, so… on edge. As a
teenager he’d been brooding and angry, but grown-up Jack was nothing like that
boy. He’d come back from looking for her horse like a cranky bear with a thorn
in his paw. And she couldn’t blame him.
“When I saw your
horse trot past without you ? When I found you lying on the ground?”
She’d always thought he’d hated his
dad for blaming him. But she knew it wasn’t just that. Jack blamed himself too .
“I’m sorry. I was trying to blow
off some steam and I decided to pop over the jump.”
“Yeah? Well it was a crappy idea.”
He spun around, marching back into
the kitchen, dismissing her. But she wasn’t so easily put off. Wouldn’t let him walk away like that with so much anger bottled up. Because she could tell that wasn’t him exploding, blowing his lid. Jack was so tightly wound and she knew this
had barely scratched the surface of his pain.
“Jack, stop,” she called out,
pushing the quilt off and carefully standing. Maddison hobbled through the living area, following him into the kitchen.
Jack was standing with his back to
her, hands splayed palm down in front of him on the counter, his big body half
folded forward. She could see how deep his breathing was, knew that he was
struggling, that he was doing his best to stay in control.
“Jack, I’m sorry,” she said, voice
low as she gingerly walked toward him. Maddison placed her hands on his back, gently let them rest there. “All I wanted was to
have some fun and come over and see you. I never meant for this to happen.”
He didn’t reply, stayed silent, but
she knew he was listening.
“I can’t even imagine how you felt
when you found me. But you did the right thing for me, and we both know that
you did the only thing you could for your mom that day.”
He swung around then, grabbing hold
of her elbow to stop her from falling over. His gaze was dark, his usually
chocolate brown eyes swirling with black. Angry . “How can you be so sure?”
“I know it in here,” she whispered,
touching her hand over her chest, finger tapping to her heart. “And if you’re
honest with yourself? You know it in here too,” she told him, placing her palm
warmly against his chest, over his heart this time.
Jack continued to stare at her,
never blinking. She was about to move, about to step back, when Jack grabbed
hold of her. Hard. One hand kept a tight grip on her
elbow, the other slid around her waist, tugging her forward so quickly she
didn’t have even a second to resist.
His mouth crushed hers, forced her
into a kiss that she was powerless to refuse away from, and one that she
couldn’t have ended no matter how much she wanted to. Jack’s lips were soft one
moment and rough the next, his tongue dipping into her mouth so carefully and
then so insistently, making her desperate for more. She was gripping onto his
shirt, refusing to think about the pain in her leg, surrendering to him in
every way she could.
Jack was relentless, like a man
possessed. Maybe he was trying to run away from his memories, wanted to take
his mind off his anger, needed an outlet. Whatever the
case, she didn’t care. All she cared about was
this . Feeling his lips locked on hers, his body pressed firm against her. Because this made her forget
everything.
But she didn’t have time to relax
into it and enjoy the moment. Jack grabbed her around the waist, tugging her
even closer, lifting her off the floor and leaving her with nothing to do other
than wrap her legs around him. Let him take her weight. His mouth never left
hers and neither did his hands, even when he sat her on the counter, leaning
further into her, one hand on her bottom, the other
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