Chapter 69
Twenty minutes later, Jadon stepped out of his steaming bathroom with nothing but a towel around his waist, not feeling any better than when he had gone in. Resigned to his fate, he finally turned on the lights so he could see his way around and not break a toe.
That’s when he saw her. Jadon froze, a very unmanly scream thankfully stuck in his throat. Several emotions hit him at once. Relief that she was still there in his house but also confusion as to why she was asleep in his bed, curled up in the center in a small ball like a child. There was absolutely no way Jadon would have seen her if the lights hadn’t been on.
Jadon took a minute to get his heart rate back to normal. He could feel the droplets of water still clinging to his body. They chilled as his skin was exposed to the cooler air-conditioned air, but he ignored it and made his way to the bed.
As soon as he sat on the edge of the bed and gently used his fingers to move the long strands of hair that had covered her face away, Tapiwa’s eyelids fluttered and opened. For a moment, she seemed confused as she blinked up at him, but then it all seemed to register and she quickly moved to get off his bed.
“Oh! Oh, God, I’m sorry!”
“Hey. Hey.” Jadon moved fast. He grabbed her shoulders and stopped her escape. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” He chuckled softly then and shook his head. “I just wish I had known you were here all this time. I just spent half an hour in the shower feeling miserable because I thought you’d left.”
At the mention of the shower, Tapiwa’s eyes snapped toward the still-open bathroom door with the steam pouring out. Then her eyes fixed on him and seemed to take in his state of undress for the first time.
Her reaction was instant and almost comical. Tapiwa’s eyes widened a fraction, her pupils dilating and her nostrils flaring as she drew in a deep breath. Then her cheeks took on a darker shade, and she dropped her eyes, clearing her throat. “Uhm. You… uhm thought I left?” she stammered, unable to meet his gaze.
Something warmed in Jadon’s chest. He was certain if Tapiwa had been a dude, she would have had a very visible bulge at the front of her gray sweats. As it was, he was sure she was wet and was almost tempted to find out for himself. Damn it! It had been too long and his body was reacting to the beautiful woman in his bed like a moth to a flame. The towel was doing a poor job of hiding it, too.
But as much as he wanted them horizontal and doing something better than talking, he knew they had to talk. So, with control he wasn’t sure he still had reserves of, Jadon drew a deep breath and looked away from the temptation.
It took him a second to recall what she’d asked for him to answer. “The house was dark and empty when I got home. I thought you finally couldn’t take it. I know you haven’t been too happy since we left the police station.”
Tapiwa frowned. “It was very upsetting,” she confessed.
“I know. I also know that I would understand.” He paused and thought for a second about what he was about to say, then shook his head. “Okay, I might try to understand… if you decided you needed your family and left. But… I hope you… Don’t. Is that selfish of me?”
“I think being a little selfish is good sometimes. At least, that’s what I have been telling myself for days since… everything. I am being selfish to pick my happiness over my family’s honor, after all.”
Jadon’s eyes narrowed even as hope bloomed in his heart. “Happiness? I make you happy?”
Tapiwa tilted her head back and forth, her lips pursed. “Hmm, I was happy that morning. Waking up in your arms, watching you make me breakfast. We talked about getting to know each other and buying a ring. It all sounded like a fairy tale. Almost too good to be true.” She shook her head and rubbed the back of her neck. “Maybe that’s the illusion I am willing to bet my happiness on. Willing to sacrifice everything for.”
“But what if it’s not an illusion?” he cut in, a thoughtful frown creasing his forehead. Before he decided to just go for it, Jadon got off the bed and quickly made his way to the jacket he had discarded.
Hesitating for only a moment, he retrieved the antique box and slowly made his way back to the woman he hoped would wear the treasure hidden within. She watched him, her chest heaving with every quick breath she took. Jadon realized she was nervous and somehow that made his own nerves settle a little.
When he sat on the bed, he placed the small box between them. “I didn’t buy a ring like I said I would. My father gave this to me after the police station. It belonged to my grandmother. I hope…” Jadon paused and swallowed hard before he continued. “I hope you like it and do me the honor of wearing it for the rest of our lives.”
Then he opened the box and heard Tapiwa’s soft gasp, but she didn’t say a word or make a move to touch the ring. She only stared at it with an expression he couldn’t read. The silence stretched long enough that Jadon began to worry. Was it the ring she didn’t like? Or just the idea of being bound to him?
He was about to suggest she could pick her own ring at a jewelry store because the second option didn’t bear thinking about when she finally spoke.
“Shouldn’t you put it on my finger?” she looked up at him and finally, Jadon saw her smile and the glint of mischief in her eyes.
Laughing and letting go of all the concerns he had been carrying around with him like a second skin, he picked up the beautiful ring and slipped it onto her finger.
Next thing Jadon knew, he had a lap full of Tapiwa and their mouths ate at each other like they were starved, and kissing was the very food that would save their lives and nourish them back to health. It was everything Jadon needed at that moment and silently vowed to himself to give Tapiwa everything.
Including her family. He wasn’t going to let her lose them, even if they didn’t deserve her. But he knew she would be happier if she had some sort of relationship with them, so he was going to make it happen. Jadon was going to make sure Tapiwa never looked back on how they came together with regret. He just wasn’t going to let that happen.