From his laptop bag he withdrew an envelope, the contents of which were probably going to send Scarlett into something of a tizzy. He’d prepared himself mentally for her reaction, knowing there was a real possibility she’d tear up the papers inside, and then throw him out of the apartment. Jackson shuddered as the rain lashed against the window, and crossed his fingers that she wouldn’t be pissed off enough to toss him out in this weather.
She had already put away the leftover pizza and tidied up the kitchen when he ventured out, and looked up at him quizzically.
“You look like you’re heading off to get a root canal or something,” she joked. “What’s the matter? We haven’t run out of condoms, have we? And we really don’t have to use those anymore since I went back on the pill last month. In fact, I called my OB/GYN and she assured me enough time had passed that we’re perfectly safe now just relying on one method of birth control.”
“Good to know,” he mumbled. “And that’s not why I seem terrified. It’s, ah, this exactly. An early Christmas present. And please, please keep an open mind about this, okay? I already know you’re going to go berserk but let’s at least talk about it.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Jackson,” she scolded, snatching the envelope out of his hand. “Stop beating around the bush and just let me see it, okay? Though I probably will go a little nuts if this is the deed to a car or something. Or a - oh.”
Scarlett’s hand shook a little as she studied the sheet of paper that represented her first class airline ticket to Las Vegas. Her outbound flight would leave on December 23, and she would return home on the 27th. Provided, that is, she didn’t wad the sheet up into a ball and throw it at his head.
“I know you’ve always insisted you don’t want to go back there,” Jackson offered tentatively. “But I thought maybe you’d like to see your foster moms, spend the holidays with them. I, um, might have already called them to talk it over, and - and both of them cried at the thought of getting to see you again, babe. They miss you something fierce. And while I’m going to hate like hell having to spend another holiday away from you, at least I’d know you were happy, spending the time with people who love you like their own. And - ”
Whatever plea he’d been about to make was cut off abruptly as she flung herself against him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against his shoulder. He held her tight, realizing belatedly that she was crying softly.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he whispered, stroking her back and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I know it’s a lot for you to deal with, going back to a city with so many lousy memories. Margie and Roz swore they would understand if you didn’t want to make the trip, no hard feelings. But Margie did say to tell you she’d be making her special peanut butter cheesecake, your favorite.”
“That rat,” replied Scarlett hoarsely. “She knows damned well I can’t say no to that cheesecake. But I’d go anyway, whether she makes it or not.”
She lifted her face to gaze up at him, and the breath caught in his throat at how beautiful she looked at this particular moment. Her blue eyes were enormous and wet with tears, her cheeks flushed pink, and that lush mouth of hers trembling as she tried to get control of her emotions. He brushed a tear or two away with his thumb before kissing her cheek, then the corners of her mouth.
“Thank you,” she whispered, turning her cheek into his palm. “Not just for the ticket but for making this happen. I know I’ve been stubborn, know that I’ve hurt Margie and Roz by not visiting all these years. But I honestly don’t think I could have done it until now. I haven’t been ready, wouldn’t have been able to face down all the old demons. Being with you these past few months has changed all that, Jackson. You’ve made me stronger, helped me to be more confident, and definitely to feel more secure. So, yes. I’ll accept your gift, and I’ll go visit my moms for Christmas.”
She pulled his head down to hers, rising up slightly on tiptoes since she wasn’t wearing shoes over her fuzzy dark green socks, and kissed him with that wild, no-holds-barred sort of hunger he’d become addicted to. He kissed her back, cupping the back of her head in his palms to hold her still as his tongue swooped voraciously through her mouth. Her own tongue got tangled up with his, as her smooth, warm hands tunneled beneath the black thermal Henley he was wearing with a pair of jeans to find the bare skin of his back. He flinched in reaction as her hand changed course and slid down his chest to where he was already hard and ready. Jackson groaned deeply as they continued to ravage each other’s mouth and her hand found its intended target.
“Fuck, that feels good,” he rasped against her ear, grinding himself against the slow, steady stroke of her hand along the length of his cock.
“Mmm, exactly what I was thinking,” she purred, her fingers toying with the zipper of his jeans. “And I’ll bet this is going to feel real good once it’s inside me. I missed you, too. Phone sex, no matter how raunchy, just isn’t the same as the real thing.”
He picked her up then, way too aroused from the really phenomenal hand job she’d just been giving him to hold on much longer. Having gone without sex for nearly two weeks, he was intent on having his dick buried as deep inside that tight, juicy pussy of hers as possible when he came for the first time in twelve days.
They undressed quickly, with Scarlett pausing to pull the covers back. It always amused him to observe the care she took with her things, how neat and tidy she kept her place. Such behavior was entirely at odd with her otherwise rebellious, fiery personality. But he figured the reason she treasured her belongings so dearly was because for most of her life she’d had so few of them. And as feverishly and frantically as they could fuck at times, Scarlett would have been horrorstricken to get sweat and other bodily fluids on the plush, expensive duvet.
She had quite obviously missed him - missed sex - as much as he had, given the frantic way her hands roamed over his naked flesh, the increasingly loud moans that rose up from deep in her throat, the thrashing of her limbs as he kissed his way down between her breasts to her flat belly. His exploring fingers found her wet and needy, her hips thrusting up demandingly against his hand. The merest brush of his thumb over her clit sent her soaring, only to leave her greedy for more, much, much more.
“Forget about the condoms,” she ordered brusquely, sounding far more like the bossy, independent woman he’d first come to know. “Get that big cock inside of me now.”
Jackson threw back his head and roared with laughter, then gulped as she took hold of his penis and guided him between her thighs. He needed no further encouragement - much less orders - to surge fully inside her vagina, groaning at the exquisite sensation of being sheathed within all of that tight, hot heat.
“Ah, you feel so damned good, Scarlett,” he rasped, burying his face against the side of her neck. “I’ve missed this, missed you. Just - just give me a minute here, okay? A minute to just sort of savor you, to feel.”
She ran a hand through the damp hairs at his nape. “You got it,” she whispered. “But not more than a minute, okay? Because I need it bad tonight. I need it rough tonight. So rest up a bit and then it’s going to be go time.”