Layover (Open Skies #1) - Becca Jameson Page 0,62
stared at her. After all, this is what he’d been telling her all along.
She drew in a breath. “But back to you. You don’t need a ton of money or a fucking degree to prove anything to anyone. It’s just a piece of paper. You’re intelligent and hard-working. You have an amazing job that’s way the hell over my head. You’re worth ten thousand other men. A stronger woman than me would have dragged you home the night we met and told her parents how important you were, to hell with their reactions.”
He rolled his eyes as he flipped his hands over and grasped hers.
“I’m in love with you, Jason. You’re everything to me. Nothing matters as much as you. Yes, it scares the hell out of me to tell my parents because I’m afraid they will literally cut me out of their lives. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it, nor does it mean I won’t. It just means I’m scared. That’s a horrible excuse for my behavior. I’ve been weak, and it wasn’t fair to you. And I’m so, so sorry.”
He released her hands and reached out to grab her around the waist and haul her onto his lap. He held her tightly, his face buried in her hair as he inhaled her scent and tried to calm his racing heart.
She wrapped her arms around him and stroked his back. “I’m so sorry, Jason,” she repeated against his chest. Finally, she tipped her head back and met his gaze. “I’m in love with you, and I swear there’s no other man I care about. There never will be.”
He set his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, trying to assure himself this was real.
“As for the sex, you’re wrong about that too. It will never get boring between us. Every time we’re together it gets better. Every time you dominate me, my heart races faster than the last time. My body burns for you.”
He smiled at her and then smashed his lips to hers as he threaded his fingers in her hair at the back of her head and angled her just where he wanted her.
She moaned into his mouth as he devoured her, reminding himself she was totally real and his. She was not Veronica. She had issues that needed to be taken care of, but he wouldn’t send her to the wolves alone next time. He would go with her. Confront her parents. And then they would deal with the outcome together. If they kicked her out of their lives, the loss would be theirs alone. Jason would do everything in his power to help mend the rift for the rest of his life, but he wouldn’t compromise his relationship with Libby for anything in the world. Not even her parents.
They were both panting when Jason finally released her lips to draw in oxygen. For a long time, they simply sat there staring at each other with absurd grins, snuggling into each other.
“It would seem there are a number of things I don’t know about you,” she said. “That makes me feel bad.”
He stroked her cheek with one hand and smoothed her hair back. “My fault. I think I subconsciously didn’t talk about myself because I didn’t want a repeat with Veronica.”
She frowned. “I would never do that. My stupidity and my past are far uglier than yours. It sounds like you had a wholesome childhood in the Midwest.”
He rolled his eyes. “Let’s not get carried away, but yes, more or less. My parents are hard-working farmers. They would have sent me to college if they could have afforded it. I chose to go into the Army instead. I never asked you about your degree because I didn’t want to talk about my lack of one.”
“Well, I’m not that shallow, and I don’t care about that kind of thing, Jason. I never asked about your education for the same reason. I hate telling people I have a liberal arts degree. It usually causes mocking laughter that hurts deep inside.”
He smoothed a hair back from her forehead. “I would never mock you. I’m proud of you. You worked hard and followed your dreams.”
“So did you.” She lifted an eyebrow.
He smiled. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
“I want to hear everything about you. I want to know about your farm and your parents and your childhood. Everything.”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know, baby girl, but could we save the twenty questions for after I have my way