Promise of Forever (8 page)

Then he grabbed my hand and pressed it up against his throbbing cock. “So what are we going to do about this?”

“I think you’ve been tortured long enough.” I pulled out a condom and pulled it down onto his cock. I smiled up at him. “Make love to me, Jax. I want to feel every single rock-hard inch of you inside me.”

“God, I love you, Clo,” he groaned.

I pulled him to me and kissed him again. “I love you, Jax. I’ve waited a very long time for you to make love to me.” I guided him to my entrance and I welcomed the entire length of his cock deep inside me in one slow and hungry thrust. I cried out and tightened my grip around him, causing him to throw his head back in pleasure.

“Clo, you’re so tight! You feel so fucking amazing.” He grabbed my ass and started pounding into me. Slowly at first, but with every additional thrust, deeper and harder, pushing out uncontrollable gasps and moans from my lips. I gripped his broad, muscular shoulders, digging my nails into his skin as I moved my hips in time with his thrusts.

After several minutes of sheer bliss, my muscles began to clench around him.

“God, I’m about to come again,” I gasped as I looked up at him.

“Me too!” he roared as he dove harder into me. His entire body began to convulse, and seconds later, we both reached the brink of ecstasy.

***

After my early surprise visit, Jackson decided to take the rest of the afternoon and enjoy his summer Friday. We walked around the bustling streets lined with shops and bars in the Lower East Side, enjoying the warm, afternoon sun and people watching.

When we passed by a vintage jewelry shop called Doyle & Doyle, something at the window caught my eye.

“Wanna go in and take a look?” Jackson asked when he noticed that I saw something.

“No, it’s okay.” I smiled over at him. It was clear that this jewelry shop had a lot of engagement and wedding rings. I didn’t want him to get the wrong impression.

“Are you sure? I’ve heard of this place before. They carry a lot of vintage high-end jewelry. Some of my female co-workers gush about this place.”

“You know me, Jax. I’m not really into jewelry. So we don’t have to go in.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. My co-workers seem to love coming in here and trying on the different pieces. We can pretend to be engaged or something, so you can try on the different rings.”

I took another glance at the beautiful vintage ring that had caught my eye and I felt myself give in to the temptation. I grinned over at him. “Okay, let’s pretend.”

I tried on almost a dozen different engagement rings. They were all vintage, gorgeous, and expensive. I almost fainted when I saw the price tags on the rings I’d tried on.

“So babe, which one do you like the most,” Jackson looked over at me as I looked at all the rings I’d tried on sitting on the black, velvet tray in front of me.

I picked up the first ring I’d tried on—the one that caught my eye in the window display. “I still love this one the most.” I put it back on my finger and smiled at how brilliant and dazzling it looked.
One can dream
, I thought to myself.

“Your fiancé has amazing taste, Mr. Pierce. That’s a 3.8 carat Asscher cut engagement ring. It has two Baguette cut diamonds on each side of the center stone. It’s a rare vintage piece, made in 1923. You can say it’s almost one of a kind. We just got this in yesterday morning and I’m pretty sure this one will be sold by the end of the week. Would you like to—”

“I’d like to sleep on it,” I cut in before we’re made to feel guilty if we didn’t get the ring. “Thanks so much for your time.”

As soon as we got out of the shop, I started giggling. “That was fun, Jax.”

“It was fun for me, too.”

“Really?” I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. “Should I be concerned that my boyfriend likes jewelry?”

He laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not metrosexual. You know me well enough to know I’m more of a man’s man.”

“Mmm-hmmm.” I flashed him a suggestive smile.

“I just meant I liked watching you try them on. Your eyes just lit up like you’re a fat kid in a candy shop.”

I laughed. “Whatever. I’m not into jewelry remember? It was just fun to play pretend, that’s all.”

“Riiight.” He sounded unconvinced.

Then he grabbed a hold of my waist and pulled me into him. “I’ve missed you, Clo.”

I looked up at him. “I missed you, too.”

“Move in with me, Clo.”

“What?” His words caught me by surprise.

“Would you want to move to New York and move in with me? I don’t think I can do long-distance with you. It’d drive me crazy.”

“Really?” I felt excited about his offer, because I felt the same way, I wasn’t sure I could handle long-distance dating. But I also wanted him to be sure.

“Yes, I’m serious, Clo. I know you’re in between jobs right now. So why not look in New York City? There are more opportunities here than in Philly.”

“Aren’t you worried we’re moving a little too fast? We’ve only started dating two weeks ago. Are you sure you’d want me to live with you?”

“Baby,” he said as he looked deep into my eyes, “To me, we’re not moving fast enough. I’ve been courting you for over twenty-three years. So say yes that you’ll move to New York.”

“Yes.” I nodded excitedly, unable to contain myself.

As we walked hand-in-hand to his condo in the East Village, I felt so happy that I had to pinch myself to make sure that this wasn’t all a dream.

And it wasn’t.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

Jackson

“I’ve really missed hanging out in your room.” I had my arms crossed behind my head. 

“Are you sure you’re not missing Harvard already?” she asked in her teasing tone.

“Nope. I’m pretty happy being right here hanging out with you.”

“So you’re not missing those Harvard girls…like Amber?” She looked away when she asked her question.

“Come on, Clo. None of those girls—especially Amber—means anything to me. I’m sorry you walked in on that. I know you don’t like her, and I don’t ever want you to think that I’d ever pick her over you.”

She nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Clo, I’ve really missed you this past semester. We barely talked and I was miserable. We only have half the summer left before we have to go back to school. Can we just move on from what happened and hang out like we used to? Please?”

She finally met my gaze and smiled. “You’re right, Jax. I don’t want to think about our past or what we’ve done. Let’s just enjoy our time together.”

“Great,” I said with a wide smile. I turned to lie on my stomach and looked over her shoulder. “What are you reading?”

“Just this book I picked up from the book store last weekend. It talks about setting your goals and dreams for life and not wasting the limited time we have on Earth.”

“Oh.”

“Jax, tell me about your dreams?”

I frowned. “Why do you want to know what I dreamt of last night?”

She stared at me in disbelief. “Did you listen to anything I said about what I was reading?”

I looked away sheepishly. “Sorry, my mind kind of wandered off.”

She shook her head and started laughing. “Sometimes, Jax, I really have no idea how you got into Harvard.”

“Hey, don’t be mean,” I objected but laughed along with her. “You know I don’t like to read that kind of stuff. I’ve never been good with the liberal arts stuffs. That’s why I’m taking the business and economics courses.”

She rolled her eyes.

“So ask me again,” I insisted, not wanting to get her upset.

“Ok, fine. What are your dreams for the future?”

I frowned. “I don’t have any real dreams. Does getting a good job after college count?”

She shrugged. “Yeah that does. Do you have a goal of when you want to accomplish that?”

“As soon as possible?” I said in the form of a question and laughed. “What about you? What are your dreams, Clo?”

She looked over at me. “You really want to know, or are you just humoring me?”

“I really want to know.”

“Well, besides wanting to find a good job after college, my life goals are I really want to find the one I’m going to love and marry by thirty, get married by thirty-two, have my first child at thirty-four, and then maybe a second child a year after that.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t realized she was talking about those types of goals.

“I know they’re odd goals when we’re only twenty and in college. But I’ve always wanted that perfect family with two kids, and being happy together. It’s something I always wanted for myself growing up.”

I put my arm around her to comfort her. “Don’t worry, Clo. I know you’ll reach your goals. Besides, you always have me as your safety net. Remember our pact?”

She smiled at me. “That’s assuming you don’t go and marry some floozy before you turn thirty,” she teased.

“Hey, why do you automatically think I’ll end up with a floozy?”

She laughed. “Your reputation precedes you.”

***

My eyes grew wide when I saw her come into the living room, and as I looked her up and down, a hardness grew inside my pants as I inhaled in a ragged breath. She was wearing an emerald green dress that fell just above the knee. The thin fabric clung to her sexy voluptuous body in all the right places.

“Damn, Clo. I’m not sure I can go out tonight with you looking like that.”

“Why? What’s wrong with it?” She looked worried as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror.

“Nothing. I just meant, I’m not sure I would be able to take my hands off you if you’re looking like that. The things I might do to you in public might raise some eyebrows, even by New York City standards.”

Her cheeks flushed red. “Does this look appropriate for tonight?” She shifted uncomfortably in the dress, suddenly self-conscious from the attention I was giving her.

“Baby, it’s my birthday party. That’s more than appropriate for tonight.” I licked my lips. “But I’d rather have you to myself. Let’s skip tonight and just stay in so I can remove that dress from your body with my teeth and make love to you all night.”

“Jax, don’t be silly,” she dismissed, but I could tell from the smile on her face that she was happy with my comment. “We have to go. I’ve invited all of your friends and colleagues to it.”

“I know, babe. I was just joking. I know you put a lot of effort into planning this birthday party for me.”

She walked over and wrapped her arms around my neck as she sat on my lap. “Happy thirty-second birthday, Jackson.” She leaned in and kissed me.

I pulled her down and deepened the kiss, pushing my tongue past her lips and exploring her mouth. She let out a sigh as her hands moved through my hair, urging me on. I felt my cock respond to her on my lap and my hips rocked upward against her ass.

Then she pulled away. “No funny business, or we’re going to be late, Jax.”

“Come on, Clo. Give me ten minutes,” I begged.

She shot me a doubtful look. “When have we ever had gone for ten minutes or less?”

I snickered. “Touche.”

“I’m hailing us an Uber now. So come on, let’s head downstairs.”

“You are such a tease, baby.”

She flashed me a sexy smile. “Don’t worry, Jax. We’ll have plenty of hot sex tonight when we get home.”

“You promise?”

“Well, if I break my promise, I’ll let you spank me later.” She winked at me before heading down the hall for her coat.

“Deal! Please break that promise!” I yelled after her.

***

“Jax, great party!” Nick exclaimed as he gave me a handshake and a half-hug.

“Thanks, Nick. This was all Clo’s hard work.” I looked around the lounge and saw Chloe talking to Nick’s wife Julie near the bar.

“She’s a keeper, man. I think she’s great for you.”

I smiled as I watched Chloe laughing about something Julie had just said. “I really love her. I’m glad she and Julie are friends now. It can be hard making friends in a new city, so I’m happy to see Julie’s introducing her to all her friends  here.”

“Yeah, Julie really likes spending time with her.” Nick took a sip from his bourbon. “So are you about to pop the question soon?”

I was taken aback by his question.

“No offense man,” Nick added quickly and raised his hands up defensively. “Julie was curious and told me to ask. You know how women are.”

I looked over at Chloe and Julie again. “Yeah. Well, we’ve only been dating for about eight months, so I don’t know if it’s too soon.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah I get it, but haven’t you guys been friends since you guys were in diapers?”

I laughed. “Something like that.”

“But don’t wait too long, man. Chloe’s a catch and you two really are great together.”

“Yeah. Maybe when we hit our one year anniversary, I’ll start thinking about it. I’m just enjoying our relationship and being with her. I don’t want to rush her into anything.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He looked at his near-empty glass. “I’m going to grab another drink. Let me get you a birthday drink. What do you want?”

“How about an Old Fashioned?”

“You got it.”

Just then, a hand tapped my shoulder from behind me and a female voice said, “Happy birthday, Jackson!”

I turned around to see who it was. When I came face to face to her, I froze in place and quickly looked at Chloe from the corner of my eyes.

I stood there, temporarily paralyzed by shock as Amber wrapped her arms around me and kissed me on the cheek, as Chloe watched from thirty feet away.

“Amber? Why are you here?” I asked as soon as I snapped out of it.

“I’m here for your birthday, silly.” She touched my chest playfully.

“But who invited you?” Chloe asked as she came up next to me.

“I didn’t tell you about my party,” I added quickly to make it clear to Chloe that I had nothing to do with this.

Amber beamed at us. “Don’t be embarrassed that you forgot to put my invitation in the mail. I came with Bruce, Jackson’s co-worker. We’re working on a deal together and he mentioned it during a work lunch the other week.”

“Bruce,” I repeated, making a mental note to give Bruce a piece of mind when I see him next.

“Well, it’s good to see you two.”

Amber’s eyes moved from me to Chloe and then back to me. “Ahhh. Don’t tell me you two are an item?” Then she laughed.

“What’s your problem, Amber? Chloe and I have been together for awhile and I’m crazy about her. Are we back in first grade when you were jealous of her because I liked her and not you?”

“Relax, Jackson. You know I’m engaged.” She laughed as she held out her left hand to show off the large diamond on her ring finger. “I have nothing to be jealous of.”

I glared at Amber and for the first time, I saw what Chloe had been saying all along. I finally saw Amber’s true colors.