Jason's Princess: A King Brothers Story (25 page)

BOOK: Jason's Princess: A King Brothers Story

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She smiled to herself as she moved her heads from his shoulders to his soft, cool hair. He looked up at her with such love in those beautiful, haunting eyes that it took her breathe away. He kissed his way up her torso to her breasts where he kissed each one through the material of her bra before reaching around her to unhook it. He was kissing her softly and tenderly when he took it off of her body. She stood their naked, not caring as he smoothed the hair from her face where he kissed her forehead, eyes and cheeks before placing a chaste kiss on her lips. She felt worshipped and cared for and it brought those damn tears back to her eyes with a vengeance.

Never taking his eyes from her he whispered, “I love you so much it hurts. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost you today.” His chest rose and fell as he gained control over his emotions.

Her emotions were a train wreck.

As the tears poured down her face once more, she reached up, wincing as pain from her wound shot up her back, and grabbed his face to bring his lips to hers.

Before she kissed him she admitted, “I love you too.”

She felt all of his muscles bunch up as he growled and hugged her close. She had her hands on the side of his head, her thumbs brushing the tears from his cheeks.

Jason is crying!
she thought with awe. It made her more voracious for his touch and his kiss.

“I never thought I would hear you say that,” he choked out. “God, I love you so much,” he said in between kisses. He gently picked her up and carried her to the bathroom.

CHAPTER 23

PRINCESS

His heart swelled in his chest. He thought he might be in shock. She loved him. He never thought he would ever be with her, to care for her in this intimate way and now here she was in his arms, bloody and bruised, just as he was. He would love her but not tonight. Now that Billy was out of their lives forever, they could move forward… together.

But first he had to make sure that her new stitches didn’t get wet.

Jason carried the woman he loved into the bathroom and set her in the tub, out of the spray. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.” She looked affronted that he would ask her such a thing and it made him smile.

He kissed the bridge of her nose. “Mom had someone set out some plastic wrap and some medical tape. I’m going to wash you down with a washcloth before you get into the spray, ok?”

She scrunched her face up in that adorable way, considering his proposal. He smiled when she shrugged and stayed where she was. She looked too tired to care anyway.

He wet the washcloth and began to wet her flesh, careful not to pull at the skin around her wound. She winced so he gentled his ministrations. He took a soft towel and dried her before picking up the plastic wrap and tape. He thought about just cutting off a square and taping it around the bandage but he knew that wouldn’t work.

“Don’t laugh at me, ok?” he chuckled as he wrapped the plastic all the way around her torso. She watched him in silence before he caught the smile at the corners of her mouth and then a giggle. “I told you not to laugh,” he said in a stern voice, but he was unable to hold back his own laughter. “Hold still while I tape the wrap in the back so water doesn’t seep underneath. I’m not going to keep you in the spray long, just enough to get all this crud off.”

He stood and admired his handiwork. Satisfied that her wound would stay dry, he stripped out of his dirty clothes and got them both in the shower. She was weak, so he had to make this fast, more clinical than romantic, but just being this close to her stirred him.

And she loves me
.

Tenderly he washed her hair. “Close your eyes.” He rinsed her hair out and then covered her with his body wash. He turned her under the spray again and said, “All done.”

“Your turn.”

She surprised him by snatching up the body wash. She put some on the washcloth and began to clean every inch of him. Her touch nearly killed him. He gritted his teeth and let her have full rein. She carefully washed the blood and dirt from his face.

“Close your eyes,” she repeated his words back to him. When she was finished she pushed him gently into the spray and he rinsed off. As soon as he felt clean he turned the water off and reached for a towel. He wrapped it around her, then quickly dried himself and wrapped his own towel around his waist. He scooped her up as she began to droop.

Because he couldn’t stop himself, he kissed her sweet lips while he carried her out of the bathroom and to his bed. When he sat her down he realized that her hair was dripping water everywhere.

Dammit! Some caretaker I am!

The very last thing she needed right now was to get sick. He quickly took the towel from around his waist and gently toweled off the excess water from her beautiful locks. Then he carefully removed the plastic from her waist. Her bandage was perfectly dry. She closed her eyes and her shoulders began to relax. “Let me get a comb.” He began to stand up when she grabbed his arm.

“No, it’ll be fine. Don’t leave me.”

“Never.” He kissed her forehead. As her eyes closed now, he tucked her into his bed and then got in beside her. He gathered her close to him, spooning behind her so that her wound wouldn’t be disturbed. “How’s your back?”

“It hurts but I’m ok. I think the painkillers are kicking in because I’m so tired.”

He felt her muscles relax in his arms as he nuzzled her neck and settled in for a long night’s sleep together.

“I love you, Jason.” The words sang in his ears like a lullaby before he nodded off to oblivion.

Not The End But A New Beginning

“
Mornin’, Julie. I’ll have a granola cup and a coffee, please.”

“Here you go, Dennis.” Julie smiled as she handed him his breakfast. The early morning sunlight caught the many facets of her diamond engagement ring, a princess cut, on her left hand. She sighed happily and served the next customer.

It had only been a month since Billy’s arrest. Things were far from back to normal, as Jarod had reopened the investigation into her parents’ deaths. They had also discovered that not only had Charlie suffered another concussion but Billy had drugged him to keep him from escaping while he kidnapped Julie. The mystery of the car switch was actually no mystery at all. After he dropped the van off at the jail for his buddies to drive, Billy had stolen a car from the lot. One more charge to add to his list of crimes.

The trial was set in a few months. Candy had promised to testify against him. There had been some grumblings about his attorney wanting to claim mental instability but Jarod thought that too much of his plans had been premeditated for that to stick. She hoped he was right.

Jason wouldn’t let her move back into her house so they were still at his parent’s home. They would stay there until their house was built on the parcel that James had given him. It wouldn’t be finished for quite some time, as he was still busy with the strip mall. There was now a wedding to plan and Billy’s upcoming trial. But she could wait.

Camille insisted on coordinating the wedding; there would be no other for her son. Since he was marrying “the daughter of my heart,” she had said to Julie with tears in her eyes, Camille would be doing it up big. Julie was relieved to have such a big responsibility taken off her hands. All she really cared about was Jason. How they were married didn’t matter to her one bit, just as long he showed up on her wedding day.

Charlie loved staying with the Kings; Camille mothered him like crazy and James fulfilled the allimportant fatherly role that Charlie craved. He took an interest in everything he did. It was nice to have family again.

“What are you thinking about, Jujyfruit?” Jason’s beautiful green eyes were shining up at her from the order window. She loved it when he called her that, knowing that it was an endearment that held special meaning for him.

“I’m thinking about how nice it is to have family again.”

His smile was shy but bright. “You always had a family, Julie. You just didn’t want to acknowledge it.”

She smiled down at him while she handed him his breakfast. “I couldn’t acknowledge what was right in front of me. All those years searching for Prince Charming and you were here all along. I must be the dumbest woman on earth.”

“Princess, you were under an evil spell. All you needed was a kiss from the right frog.”

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