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Jenny couldn’t take it in.

It was hard to breathe, but dammit she was going to.

She took a deep breath.

She wanted to cry, but she wasn’t going to.

“Got nothing to say?” Brax teased.

“You’re worth loving, too,” she whispered.

He hugged her hard and laughed. “We’re getting there.”

She needed to change the subject. “Why were you so mad when you came home today?”

“Because Edgar is in Paris and I can’t get my hands on him.”

“So, it’s Edgar who’s after me? But how does he know that Fiona told me anything?”

“He’s probably just guessing. He knew you and Fiona were friends, right?”

Jenny nodded.

“From what you told me during our phone calls, there weren’t a lot of women who worked in the London office, so wouldn’t it make sense that Edgar would assume you and Fiona would be friends?”

“I guess so. Fiona and I would go to lunch all the time, and sometimes Angela Polk would go with us.”

“Who’s Angela Polk?”

“She was the other executive assistant temp. We were the only three women on that floor.”

“Were you good friends with her, too?”

“Not really, she was a loner. Most of the time she brought her lunch to work, but we’d always ask her to go with us.”

“Of course you did,” Brax said as he settled her on his lap.

“Do you think Edgar pushed me?”

“Probably not. My guess is he hired someone.”

“And you’re not mad at me? You were mad because you wanted to get your hands on Edgar?”

Brax chuckled as he pulled Jenny closer. “If I’m mad at you, I’ll tell you. I don’t like it when people are two-faced. Can’t stand it. My mom was like that. She acted like everything was just fine, then ended up ripping the rug out from under our entire family. I promise, if there’s a problem going on between the two of us, I’ll let you know.”

Jenny looked at Brax and tried to take his emotional temperature. He didn’t seem upset anymore. Maybe, since he brought up his mom, he wanted to talk about her.

“What happened with your mom?” Jenny asked quietly.

“When I was eleven years old, CiCi was seven and her cancer came back for the third time. She was going into the hospital for another round of treatment.” Brax cleared his throat. He reached for his glass, then his hand changed directions and came back to settle on her waist. He looked up at her and gave a crooked grin.

“I was a mama’s boy. CiCi was daddy’s little girl. Mom called me her little man.” He took a deep breath and sighed. “When I look back on it as an adult, I can see how fucked-up that was. She told me things that she shouldn’t have. She and dad didn’t argue often, but when they did, she’d come to me and complain about him. She’d want me to take her side. That was such a party foul. You know?”

Jenny winced, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying. It was so different from the way she grew up. But yeah, she could see how a parent putting a kid in the role of an adult would be all kinds of wrong.

“What happened when you were eleven?”

“Mom and Dad were actually screaming and yelling at one another. That had never happened before. I heard everything. Mom planned to leave… Forever. Just up and leave while CiCi was in the hospital needing another round of chemotherapy. There CiCi was, with no hair, hurting like hell, and mom was going to take a runner. I couldn’t believe it.”

Jenny’s eyes were wide as she took in what Brax was telling her.

“What was worse is, she came into my room and tried to justify it to me. Tried to get me on her side.”

Still trying to make sense of what Brax was saying, Jenny asked, “why was she leaving?”

“She wanted to follow her dreams to live in the city and go to work at a magazine.” Disgust dripped from his lips, like cold water from the tips of icicles.

“And did she? Did she leave?”

“After that day, I never saw her again. She called a couple of times, but I always hung up on her.”

“At least my mom didn’t leave on purpose,” Jenny whispered.

“What?”

“Never mind,” Jenny mumbled, looking down at the front of his shirt.

“No, you said your mom didn’t leave on purpose. What happened to your mom?” Brax asked gently.

“She died from the flu. Dad didn’t take her to the hospital, and she died. She left me all alone with Dad.”

He pulled her tighter and put a knuckle under her chin, pushing up so he could see her face. “What are you saying, baby? What happened? How old were you?”

“I was a freshman. Fourteen. It was just me and him in the house.”

Jenny glanced away from his intense gaze.

“He hurt you?” He asked the question gently, but she could hear the rage, pain and fear behind his words. She looked back at him, wanting to soothe him.

“Not real bad. Just punches and kicks and slaps and things. Same as always. It was worse since Mom wasn’t there, ’cause he only had one target. I went to a couple of group counseling sessions in college. It could have been a lot, lot worse. I was lucky. Plus, I was fast, so I could get away from him easier than Mom ever could.”

“Did you ever call anyone?”

“It never worked for Mom, why would it work for me?” Jenny shrugged.

Brax moved his hand and started to massage the nape of her neck, it felt heavenly.

“How’d you get away?” Brax eventually asked, continuing the massage.

“He dropped dead in the garage one night. Doctor said it was a heart attack.”

“How old were you?” He whispered the question.

“Sixteen and a half. The sheriff and the doctor let me stay in the house.”

“Honey, that doesn’t make any sense. No social worker?”

“Neither of them was from our town. I made up an aunt who took care of me. They handled a lot of the little towns in our county, so they didn’t know or much care. As long as their problem was solved, they were happy. All I had to do was finish out school and keep up my grades.”

“Jesus.”

Jenny pushed against his hand, silently asking for a deeper touch. When she got it, she continued her story. “As soon as I could, I started applying for scholarships, grants and anything else I could think of to get out of Wyoming. I got accepted to the University of Colorado in Aurora, outside of Denver. I was eighteen, so I got a real estate agent to help me sell the house for extra money, and the rest is history.” She gave a half-hearted grin.

He moved her so that her legs bracketed his. She rested against his chest, and he could look her in the eye. “You are amazing.”

“Hardly.”

“Hand to God, you amaze me, Jenny Rivers.”

She cupped his cheeks and stared into his eyes, soaking up his words.

Oh my God. He’s telling me the truth. His truth.

“It’s only fair to tell you, you amaze me, Braxton Walker,” she whispered. “And do you know what else?”

His solemn look crept into a smile. “No, what?”

“You make me crazy, too.”

“I do?” His hands slipped under the back of her thin sweater, and she shivered.

“Oh yeah. Let’s see if I can make you crazy.” She let go of his cheeks and wiggled so that she could reach the bottom of his long-sleeve t-shirt.

She could.

Brax made it very easy for her to pull it over his head, and when she was done, she threw it over her shoulder.

Woof.

“Someone else wants to get in on the action,” Jenny giggled.

Brax frowned. “This is adult playtime, so it’s only you and me.” Somehow, by magic, he was able to stand up from the couch with her still in his arms.

“How’d you do that?”

“Lower and upper body strength.” With one hand under her ass, he hitched her up higher and walked them into his bedroom. He paused after they made it over the threshold. “Close the door, baby.”

Jenny did.

Brax walked them to the bed and lowered her to the mattress like precious cargo.

Every single time he thought he’d plumbed the depths of Jenny Rivers, he found out he was wrong. The woman had gone through more, survived more, and come up fighting. She had the soul of a warrior. And here she was in his bed, her arms reaching up for him.

Brax knew she loved him. She showed it in so many ways, and her heartfelt speech the first time they’d made love was definitely a declaration of love, but his woman was scared to death of loving someone and being let down. That was fine by him. He could live the rest of his life never hearing the words, as long as he had Jenny in his arms, in his bed, in his life.

He watched as she slowly undulated on his silver sheets.

“Why are you standing there? I thought we were going to play?”

“I’m just taking my time, figuring out my first move,” Brax answered.

“Like chess?”

“Exactly like chess,” he agreed. “Looking over the board, I’d say I’m at a disadvantage. You have too many clothes on.”

Her smile was pure seduction. “So do something about it.”

He leaned down and took off her sneakers and socks, then massaged her small feet. He heard her soft moan. He pushed his thumbs into her arches.

“That feels good.”

“It’s supposed to.”

He tried to push up farther, up to her calves, but was stopped by the tight denim. The jeans had to go. He put a knee on the bed and made quick work of the fastenings and stripped her out of her panties and jeans. He looked up and saw her face was still suffused with passion. Good, because he wanted her completely naked.

“Sit up,” he commanded.

“Don’t want to.”

He pulled at her arms, and she mewed in mock protest. He divested her of her sweater and bra, before slowly releasing her back to the sheets.

“Now you’re at a disadvantage,” he said.

“That’s not the way I see it,” Jenny teased. “Seems to me, I’ve got your full attention.” She was looking pointedly at his groin where the outline of his hard cock was visible under his jeans. Brax laughed.

“You always have my full attention.” He said as he took off his belt, not wanting to mark her skin, then lay down on the bed beside her and took her into his arms, cupping her ass, just because he could.

“Why aren’t you naked yet?” she asked.

“I want to take my time.”

“Nooo,” she wailed. “No taking time. I want you inside me now!”

Brax laughed again. “You’re greedy, has anyone ever told you that?”

She reached up and brushed her fingers along his temple. “Before you, it’s only been about chocolate.”

“Are you telling me I rank as high as chocolate?”

“I don’t know. Because. You’re. Not. Inside. Me.” She reared up and nipped at his chin.

And here he had been worrying about her after all of her revelations. Jenny was fire and spice, someone who could never be contained. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to spend his life doing everything he could to protect her.

She rubbed one hand up his chest, and one hand slid into his jeans. “I really think these need to go,” she coaxed.

He jumped up from the bed and shucked out of his clothes. He leaned over her. Her legs were twisting around in the sheets, a sure sign of arousal, but he needed to make sure. He batted away her hand that was reaching for his cock and slid his hand between her thighs.

She was soft as butter. He pressed in two fingers.

“Yes,” she cried. “Like that.”

She shoved herself off the bed, so that only her feet and shoulders were holding herself up. Brax started a rhythm with his fingers. He felt for that spot that would render magic, then he found it. Jenny went tight as a bowstring.

She continued to cry out his name, as he took her higher and higher. Sweat trickled down his back as he watched his lover climb her way up to ecstasy. She was radiant.

One more stroke of his fingers and she shattered. He shoved his free arm under her waist to lower her gently back down to earth, as he pulled out his fingers and licked them clean.

He didn’t know how long it was going to take her to be ready for him, but he was content to wait.

Bullshit.

One green eye opened, as Jenny slowly spread her thighs wider. “That was only a Hershey’s Kiss,” she slurred. “Now I’m ready for some hot fudge.”

Thank fuck.

Brax rolled over to the nightstand and grabbed a condom out of the drawer. His hands shook as he put it on. She must have noticed because she smiled with satisfaction.

Brax took a moment just to admire Jenny, the soft sheen that covered her skin, the slight dusting of freckles across her nose, the feminine pink that beckoned him, and those green eyes that radiated all the love in the world. His woman.

He entered her as slow as he could, savoring every second of their joining. Jenny wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he buried his face in her neck, breathing in her essence. He started moving. Her breathing quickened, and so did his. They savored this moment, then he turned for a kiss. But like all things between them, it soon turned into a wildfire.

The scorching flavor of all that was Jenny rocketed through his system, taking him somewhere he had never been before. His body surged faster inside her as he tried to inhale her very essence. She twisted in his arms, she was so close. He was so close, too.

She was his and he was hers, and finally they shot into a universe that nobody but them had ever reached before. A place just for two hurt souls, made for one another.