Harlequin E New Adult Romance Box Set Volume 1: Burning Moon\Girls' Guide to Getting It Together\Rookie in Love (61 page)

When I am on the bed, he removes my panties and then unbuckles his belt and pants, allowing them to fall to the floor. While I watch, he removes his shoes and socks and strips his boxers down. It is just him and me now, no clothing between us.

Jackson climbs on top of me and gently kisses my lips. Pausing for a moment, he looks into my eyes. I can tell he is holding back but I don’t push, afraid that I will ruin the night. “I love you, Maddy. I would do anything not to have to let you go. I had hoped that this weekend might be our chance to put things back together, but I can’t help but acknowledge that this is goodbye, no matter how good we are together. With every kiss and every touch I can feel that you’re letting me go.”

I don’t have time to answer before his lips are on mine again and I run my hands over his skin, trying to memorize every piece of him. When I tip my hips up so he can make love to me he shakes his head no. “I didn’t bring anything. I never thought this trip would end like this.” He chastely kisses my lips and starts to roll to my side but I wrap my legs around him.

“Jackson, I trust you.” I watch as he considers what I have said, and then his lips find mine again and I can feel him at my entrance.

“Well, Rookie, I guess you get one of my firsts, as well. I have never had sex without a condom.” I allow my legs to fall open and he guides himself inside me. I know not to run tonight, so I keep my eyes locked onto his, our stare only broken when he places kisses across my shoulder or runs his hands down my legs.

I surrender myself to him; I look into his eyes as mine grow heavy with lust and pleasure and see that he has all of his cards on the table and has surrendered himself to me, too. When the tightness builds and heats every inch of me, I arch my body up and Jackson slides his arms underneath me, embracing me as we unravel together. In the history of goodbyes, never has one brought such pleasure with such pain.

Chapter Eighteen

I lie awake all night cocooned in Jackson’s body, wishing that things could be different.

We are due to meet Abby and Kyle in the lobby at ten o’clock, and when the morning arrives we dress in silence. Just after eight, Jackson tells me he is going to return our wedding attire, and I know it must be that he needs to put a little space between us. My phone is going crazy with texts from my brothers, checking to see what time I will be coming home. I have to wrestle myself away from Jackson’s bag to keep from stealing one of his shirts. It is pathetic. I decide I should make a trip upstairs to have a look at the honeymoon suite.

Abby and Kyle decided to wait until this morning to let their families know they had eloped. They wanted to spend the night together free from distractions and tangled up in each other. Kyle answers my knock on their door and rolls his eyes as Abby squeals into the phone, looking the happiest I have ever seen her.

“Are you and Jackson almost ready to go?” Kyle asks. I nod yes and then try to smile, but fail. “You know, Maddy, you can just decide that love is enough. Throw all the other shit out the window and let yourself be happy. You asked me to share my answer with you so I will: when you truly love a person and believe their soul complements yours, then you find a way to make it work and accept whatever comes with it.” I swipe at a tear that races angrily down my face and whisper a quick thank-you.

When I get back to the room, Jackson is lying on his back on the bed. He has packed our bags and set them by the door, so I thank him for that. We head down to the lobby to meet up with Abby and Kyle and find a taxi to take us to the airport.

On the flight home, Jackson does not reach for my hand and I feel a sense of loss. After claiming our bags, Abby and Kyle leave to meet their taxi, on their way to see Abby’s family. Jackson stops me just before the exit and kisses my lips one last time.

“I know your family, Rookie. One day they will see that I can take care of you the way you deserve. Until then, please look after yourself and know that I still love you.” He smiles briefly, and then walks away from me, ripping my soul out as he goes.

My father and my brothers are tied up in a business meeting, so I have asked my aunt to pick me up. When she pulls up to the curb, I am a mess. I am sobbing so hard the hiccups have started and I wipe at the tears with my sleeve. She says nothing as I get in the car and stays silent until we merge onto the freeway. I can see Jackson’s truck in traffic ahead of us and I swear it takes everything I have not to jump from the car and beg him to forgive me. I tell myself I am doing this for my mom and my family.

“Madeline, if you stare at that truck any longer you are going to burn holes in it. What is going on, dear?” I can’t hold back any longer and I spill the details of the past two months of my life without pausing to let her speak. I tell her about the letter and what I think my mother would want and as we pull up in front of my apartment I see tears filling her eyes. She confirms that my uncle was the David from John’s letter, but what she tells me next changes everything.

“Your mother did choose your father, but not the way you’ve imagined. She loved John very much and when he left without an explanation it nearly killed her. She was so depressed I was afraid we were going to lose her, until one night she snuck into my room and showed me the music box she had found. She told me that John had left it for her in their special spot under the tree in the churchyard. She read me the letter and I had never seen her so at peace. She packed a bag and made me promise not to tell our parents she was planning to leave.

“In the morning there was a knock on our door. David stood on our steps and asked to speak with Isabel. He had come to tell her that his brother had been killed in a car accident on his way home from their tree after dropping off the music box.” I know my eyes must be as big as saucers, my heart breaking for my mother. “She chose John, Madeline, they just never got to see their forever. Your mother gave me the courage to choose David. She would have understood your love for Jackson.”

I hug my aunt and head upstairs in a daze. I broke Jackson’s heart and let him go. I watched his truck as it exited the freeway, turning left as we turned right.

I dig around in my bag for my mother’s box and I’m completely devastated when I can’t find it. I curl myself up in my covers and cry myself to sleep.

When I wake up several hours later, the apartment feels silent and empty and I stand in a hot shower, trying to wash away the sadness that sticks to me with an unheard-of force. I decide that I could use a few stars, and I put on my clothes, tie my hair back and make my way along the side of the apartment building to my trellis, breathing in the cold night air. When I reach the top and throw myself over, I swear I can almost hear the same low chuckle I heard two months ago, and I clamp my eyes closed, trying to recreate the sound in my head.

When my eyes start to adjust to the darkness, I move toward my corner, drawn by a faint light. There is a blanket laid out there, with a small lantern sitting on its corner, casting its glow on my mother’s jewelry box. Jackson’s voice cuts through the cold and warms my soul.

“Hey, Rookie, I thought I was going to freeze before you ran again. I wanted to know if I could have one last dance.” He opens the box and my mother’s song begins to play as he takes me into his arms and dances with me under the stars.

“I met with your father and your brothers today. I told them how much I love you and heard every one of their concerns. They adore you—don’t you ever for a minute doubt how precious you are to them. Ben is not going to be easy to win over but I think he’s willing to let me prove myself to him. We discussed how wonderful it would be to possibly merge our two companies in the future. I told them I was going to ask you to marry me, and while they may not have embraced me with open arms, we shook hands and have come to an understanding that I won’t give up, and they won’t ask me to.” He hugs me tightly as the music fades away and then he slides down to one knee and takes my hand.

“This is sort of a Hail Mary play but I’m going to go for it. Rookie, I promise to love you for the rest of my life. I never believed in love at first sight until you came along. I don’t know where this road will end, but I do know that I want to travel it with you as husband and wife. It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, or even this year, but I want to commit to
us
and what we can become. Maddy, will you marry me?” Jackson reaches into my mother’s music box and slides a ring from around the dancer’s tutu, placing it at the tip of my left ring finger.

The ring shines up at me, brilliant in the moonlight and I admire how the filigree stars are worked into the band. I am not sure how I could ever have believed my mother would want someone different for me than this man who has courted me, loved me and asked for my hand. With a smile I drop to my knees, too.

“Yes, Jackson, I would love to marry you.” He slides the ring onto my finger and wraps his arms around me. I will always be his Rookie, and he will always be my everything.

Sarah was born and raised in Southern California. When her mother helped her load up everything she could into her car so she could follow her high school sweetheart out of state shortly after he graduated boot camp, she made Sarah promise to finish college no matter what. Keeping that promise, Sarah graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and then went straight to graduate school at CSULB where she graduated with a master’s degree in counseling.

In 2004 she was given the best Valentine’s Day present ever when her first son was born. Two and a half years later his little brother joined him, completing a happy family of four. Sarah has written two children’s books,
Sammy’s Soldier
and
Somewhere Special
to help explain the importance of the men and women serving in our military. A short story that Sarah wrote about her grandmother was published on Maria Shriver’s website shortly after Sarah lost an amazing woman role model.

Somewhere along the way Sarah began reading romance novels when time allowed. It started out just a few a month and quickly progressed to a couple a week. There is currently no help available for those addicted to great love stories, so Sarah’s addiction goes untreated. When she came across a tweet that announced the 2013 Harlequin SYTYCW competition with Wattpad, she decided to see if she had what it took to write a romance novel worth getting addicted too.

Sarah enlisted her favorite high school English teacher and her also romance-addicted sister-in-law (friends don’t let friends read alone) to be her beta readers and editors. Allowing her children to eat take-out, play video games for hours and brush their own teeth, Sarah withdrew into her room and gave it her best shot. Unfortunately for her family, she discovered that writing romance was just as addicting as reading it!

Looking for variety, experimentation, innovation
and
a good quality story?

Search no further than Harlequin E where you’ll find stories ranging from sweet and spicy romance, to chilling paranormal, to gothic tales and urban fantasy…and much, much more!

Find these great Harlequin E titles wherever ebooks are sold:

Escaping Christmas
(December 2013)
Christmas Nights with the Polo Player
(December 2013)
Shivers Box Set
(January 2014)
Pride, Prejudice and Popcorn
(January 2014)
Movie Bliss: A Hopeless Romantic Seeks Films to Love
(January 2014)
Contemporary Romance Box Set
(February 2014)
Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Box Set
(March 2014)

And don’t miss Harlequin E’s first serial,
36 Hours
, a story told in 36 parts, kicking off in February 2014! A pounding rainstorm hits the town of Grand Springs, Colorado, causing blackouts and mudslides. As the people of Grand Springs are forced to come together, find out who will find love, family and each other.

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eISBN: 978-1460336151

HARLEQUIN E NEW ADULT BOX SET VOLUME 1

Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.

The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:

BURNING MOON

Copyright © 2014 by Jo Watson

GIRLS’ GUIDE TO GETTING IT TOGETHER

Copyright © 2014 by Amber Lindley

ROOKIE IN LOVE

Copyright © 2014 by Sarah L. White

All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.