The Gentlewoman (31 page)

“Do you like that, baby?” he demanded, his hips slapping her
ass.

“Oh yes.” He released her breast and slid his hand down to
her clit, pressing as he slammed into her over and over. The pressure on her
clit and his hard thrusts finally threw her over the edge. He brought his hand
up and covered her mouth as she cried out from the hard orgasm. She bit his
hand and he stilled and jetted into her, breathing roughly as he came.

She looked into the mirror as they caught their breath,
still connected. His still-hard cock slid slowly in and out of her.

“You are mine, Rory. All mine,” he declared.

“Yes, I am all yours, Jackson.
All yours,
” she
promised. He stared into her eyes a moment longer before crossing his arms over
her chest, kissing her shoulder and laying his head against hers.

Several minutes later they casually emerged from the
bathroom and returned to their seats. They curled up tight under the blanket
and sipped their champagne. Jackson reached into his pants pocket. He told Rory
to hold out her hand, and gave her back her ripped underwear. Rory laughed
hard.

Rory woke to a bright Thursday morning in Jackson’s bed in
Portland, Maine. With her eyes closed, she smiled at how much this bed felt
just like the one in DC. He was such a creature of habit. She bet he had bought
exactly the same one for both places. She opened her eyes and looked around the
cavernous room. The shower shut off and she guessed that’s where Jackson was.

He had given her a quick tour when they arrived the night
before. It had been so late, and Jackson so horny to fuck her in this house,
they had gone straight to bed. She was looking forward to a better look at the
place. It had surprised her how large it was. She stretched and sat up in bed, smirking
to herself that she was sore in all the right places again.

Jackson emerged from the giant bathroom, a towel around his
hips. “Good morning, baby. How did you sleep?”

“Good,” she replied, smiling. “Really good actually. I was
out like a light. Must be all that good sex.”

“Mmmm, I know it is for me,” he murmured, bending over her
and kissing her lips. “Listen, I need to get to Maine Medical Center right away
and talk to my mom’s doctors. Will you be okay alone here for a while? The
agents are going to stay on the street for the duration, just keeping watch.”

Rory’s nose crinkled at the mention of agents. “Go and take
care of your mom. I brought lots of work to keep me busy.”

“I’d take you with me, but I want to assess things first.”

“I understand, Jackson. It’s okay.”

He stood and finished dressing. “I’ll call Ryan today. Maybe
we can all go out for dinner tonight?”

She beamed at him. He was so eager for her to meet his son.
He had mentioned it twice last night.

“I can’t wait to meet him.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Make yourself at home.
Literally, my house is yours now.”

He left quickly and Rory hopped out of bed. The master suite
was cavernous indeed. She looked up at the two-story, vaulted, beamed ceilings
as she made her way across the room to her suitcase.

She went into the bathroom and was blown away by its size.
There was a large shower surrounded by clear glass, a huge Jacuzzi tub and two
separate counter areas with two sinks each. The floor in between that was large
enough to hold Pilates class. Once again she was reminded of how rich Jackson
really was. It always caught her off guard. It wasn’t something she remembered
about him often.

After a quick shower, Rory found the kitchen. She was happy
the mammoth refrigerator wasn’t completely empty. She boiled an egg and made
toast. Everything was top of the line, shiny stainless steel and huge. There
was a vaulted ceiling in here too, sunshine flooding in from skylights. There
was a large round glass table and Rory set up her laptop to work there.

After an hour or so, she rose to take a break. She walked
around the main floor. In addition to the master suite and other rooms, there
was a study and nicely equipped workout room that she intended to take
advantage of. There was a large laundry room and separate media room with
big-screen TV. Rory was impressed. This made her house look like a thimble.

She wandered upstairs. There were four bedrooms with
attached bathrooms. They all opened to a sitting room with overstuffed sofas,
another big-screen television and game consoles. Obviously Ryan hung here.

She felt her cell phone vibrate and pulled it from her
pocket. “Hi.”

“Hi yourself, how are you?” Devon sounded piqued.

Rory realized she had forgotten to talk to Devon about the
engagement announcement. “Good, how are you?”

“Well, I’m wondering why I have to hear about your impending
nuptials on the news rather than from the horse’s mouth. I mean, I am your only
living relative.”

“Dev, I’m so sorry. I honestly was going to call you right
away, but things got a little intense and time got away from me.”

“I’d say things have been intense; you’re marrying him? Last
we talked I was convincing you to screw him, and now you’re marrying him?”

Rory sat on the sofa and closed her eyes. “Well, kind of…”

She filled Devon in on the reason for the announcement but
also the fact that Jackson had genuinely proposed. She explained that she
hadn’t given him a firm answer yet.

“Oh, and by the way, I’m in his mansion in Maine right now.
His mother’s in the hospital and we flew in last night.”

“Jesus, Ror, this is crazy. Are you sure it’s Roan? That son
of a bitch.”

“The FBI seems pretty sure. And that box episode pretty well
sealed it for me. I don’t want to talk about it, but hopefully this works. I’d
like to get on with life.”

“With Jackson?”

Rory laughed. “Maybe.”

“Are you in love with him?”

“Yes.”

“Wow…what a breakthrough for you. Do you want to spend the
rest of your life with him?”

“I can’t imagine being without him. I know it’s insane, but
in five weeks’ time he’s become…a part of me, I guess. A good part.”

“You trust him? That’s a hard one for you.”

“It was hard. Very hard. But I do now. He’s shown me he
understands what I need from him and that I can count on him. And I believe he
won’t fuck up again. It’s incredible how he sticks by me. Like, ‘Crazy human
trafficking drug lord? No problem’!”

“Sounds magical. So what’s the problem? Sounds like you want
to say yes.”

“Well, I guess the brother-in-law out to kill me is a
hindrance. I’m so scared for Jackson. If anything happened to him because of
me, Dev, I’d fucking die.”

“I hear you. I’m scared for you both. Can anything else be
done? Seems to me they’re leaving too much to chance there. They ought to be
doing more.”

“I don’t know. They don’t seem to have many bright ideas.”

“Should we start planning a wedding?”

“Uhh.” The thought made Rory’s heart jump to her throat. “I
don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know? Sounds like you know very well from
what you just told me. What’s holding you back?”

“It just feels so…foreign.”

“I see. I know you never thought you’d have a life again.
But you’ve made it halfway back and look what it got you. You have Jackson now.
Think about going the rest of the way.”

“You sound like Jackson.”

“Then I like him already.”

Rory dug through her suitcase for something to work out in.
She pulled out yoga pants but couldn’t find anything but her colorful sports
bras. She thought about wearing a t-shirt of Jackson’s, but they hung to her
knees and restricted her stride. What the hell, bra it was.

She eyed the fancy treadmill. It seemed brand new and she
gingerly pressed several buttons, finally turning it on. There was a TV mounted
to the wall and she found CNN, turning the volume up high before stepping on
the treadmill and taking off. She was absorbed by news as she ran.

She must have run for about fifteen minutes before she heard
the loud “Hello!” from behind her. Scared shitless, she jumped from the
treadmill, tripped and landed on her ass. Three teenage boys stood in the
doorway. The one who looked identical to Jackson stepped forward to help her
up.

It was hypnotizing. Same dark hair, same blue eyes, with a
less mature but identical build. He was smiling at her just like Jackson did.

“I’m sorry! You’re Rory, right? I’m sorry we scared you! I’m
Ryan,” he said as he extended his hand. “We saw the Secret Service guys
outside. Thought we’d come in and say hi.”

Rory took his hand and he pulled her up. “Hi, Ryan, it’s
good to meet you. I’m fine; you just startled me.” Her hand went to her rapidly
beating heart.

He smiled, and she was mesmerized again. She had seen
pictures, but the real thing was much more Jackson-esque.

“We’re here to get my dad’s snowmobile out of the garage.
This is Ethan and Tim.” Both boys’ mouths were hanging open and Rory remembered
her skimpy outfit. She smiled and shook their hands.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She turned back to Ryan. “Your dad
was going to call you to have dinner with us tonight, but this is a nice
surprise. He’s at the hospital right now checking on your grandmother.”

There was a beat of silence as all three boys’ gazes moved
back up Rory’s body to her eyes. She smiled self-consciously.

“Let me go change. I’ll be right back.”

Ethan and Tim stepped aside, shamelessly following her every
move. As Rory moved down the hall, she heard, “Holy shit, dude, is that gonna
be your new step-mommy?”

When Rory emerged, properly attired, she found the boys in
the kitchen with Jackson. He put his arm around her and kissed her lightly.

“I hear you met Ryan and his crew.”

“Yes, how’s your mom doing?”

“It was the medication and she’s already responding to the
changed dosage. She might be coming home in the morning if she continues to
respond well.”

“Oh that’s great.”

“Ryan said he’s free to do dinner with us tonight. I’m going
to help him load my snowmobile into his truck and we’ll pick him up later.”

“What’s the snowmobile for?” She studied the resemblance
again. It was like looking at a seventeen-year-old Jackson.

“For the Follies,” Ryan said. “They’re Saturday, the best
races in all of Maine!”

“Oh?” She smiled.

“Ryan can fill you in at dinner. Right now these guys are
heading back to school. Lunch break’s almost up, right, guys?”

The boys grumbled and pulled on their hats and gloves,
making their way to the garage door.

“Nice to meet you, Rory,” Ryan said and she returned the
sentiment. His friends nodded and muttered shyly.

Jackson followed, pulling his coat on to help with the
snowmobile. “Too bad you guys aren’t headed home. I bet you could use a shower
right about now.” He winked at Rory.

It was impressive to Rory the detailed manner in which
Jackson was able to keep up with his son’s life while spending most of his time
in DC. He knew everything about Ryan’s day-to-day life, including his teachers,
grades, friends, and friends’ parents. And somehow he achieved this information
on his own, because it was obvious from the way he and Ryan conversed that he
didn’t speak to his ex-wife. Rory supposed that would be a natural reaction
after finding one’s spouse screwing a friend in your marital bed.

She squeezed his hand and he turned and smiled at her as he
and Ryan rambled on about basketball practice and the upcoming dance he had
asked his latest girlfriend to. Jackson was such a good dad. He was fun and
easy to talk to while still giving guidance and authority. He was a natural. It
made her feel melancholy.

They enjoyed the dinner at the lobster shack Jackson had
chosen. He had insisted they get lobster. They were Mainers, he had said. They
sat in a cozy booth.

“So tell me about this race, Ryan,” Rory asked.

“The Follies! It’s a day of the best races in Maine! You
have to come! Dad, you’ll be here, right? You’ve missed it three years in a row
now. You could do the Metal Man Race!” His excitement was contagious and they
all laughed.

“Metal Man Race?” Rory looked at Jackson.

Jackson rolled his eyes and explained. “It’s the snowmobile
race. Kind of like the Iron Man. The Dorn Foundation Frozen Follies are held
annually in support of the March of Dimes. There’re a lot of different races,
some serious and others folly.”

“Folly?”

“Folly, like the snowshoe race and the Noodle Man, the
snowmobile race where everybody dresses up like wilderness men and rides around
like idiots.”

Ryan chimed in. “It’s hilarious! But Dad holds the record
for the Metal Man. Nobody has ever beaten his time.”

Rory raised an eyebrow. Jackson smiled. “It’s been awhile. I
was younger then.”

“Let’s enter. I’d like to race snowmobiles.”

Jackson shook his head at her. “You have no idea what you’re
getting yourself into. You can’t do the Metal Man. I wouldn’t even do it. It
takes months of training and preparation for the best of athletes.”

“Excuse me? I can jet-ski with the best of them on the lake
at home. I can do snow.”

“Can you lift a snowmobile out of a snowbank by yourself?
Because that’s how strong you have to be.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’d like to try,” she muttered.

“Maybe the snowshoe race. That’s a good one for you.”

“Look, old man. You may not be up to the challenge, but I’m
ready,” she teased him.

Ryan started laughing and Jackson grabbed her, tickling her
ribs. “I’m nobody’s old man, little girl.”

“You’re my old man,” Ryan interjected. They laughed.

“We’ll see which races are running in tomorrow’s paper.
We’ll see,” Jackson said.

Jackson excused himself and went to the restroom, leaving
Rory and Ryan alone.

“I’ll help you enter whatever race you want,” Ryan offered
when Jackson was gone.

“Thanks, at least somebody thinks I can do it.” They both
laughed and sipped their sodas.

“So my dad seems happy,” Ryan said shyly.

“I hope so. He’s such a wonderful dad to you, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, we’re tight.” He looked at her quickly, then down at
his plate. “I’ve seen him with women before. You’re different… He’s different
with you.”

She knew how it felt for life circumstances to change. “Your
dad is awesome, and you’re the most important thing to him. That’s most
important to me too.”

He smiled up at her with those eyes that were just like
Jackson’s. “I can tell he’s into you. You’ll fit in great here.”

Rory laughed softly and was relieved that she had passed the
test. “Good, cuz it seems really great here.”

“When will you two get married?”

“We haven’t worked any of that out yet.”

He smiled widely. “Maybe you’ll have kids. I always wanted a
little brother.”

Caught off guard, Rory flinched and tried to recover. She
took a sip of water and mustered up a smile. She didn’t know what to say.
Luckily, Jackson came back and eased in next to her, his arm going around her
shoulders.