Page 70 of Jackson's Redemption

That was all I needed to hear. I took her red cheeks in my palms and tilted her face so that I could see her and know she was real. She’d come back to Alaska for me. She’d come to Hope’s Point for me.

I was the luckiest sonofabitch on the planet right now. Bending down to kiss her, I whispered, “Please don’t bite me.”

“Not yet anyway,” she muttered just as my lips met hers.

Her taste, her tongue, her breath I wanted all of it. Like I could pull part of her soul out of her body and into mine with the power of a kiss. She put her hand on my chest and pulled away from me.

Together, we were breathing heavy.

“I mean it, Jackson. We’re going to do this slowly.”

“Anything, Kate. Anything you want, however you want it. But we’re still going to fuck.”

“Okay.” She shrugged as if she was conceding something when I knew she needed me as badly as I needed her. “But I’m serious about the flowers.”

I bent down and lifted her into my arms. This time holding her like I was going to carry her over the threshold. Because that’s how it felt. Like this next step with her was heading into this weird territory where I would be in a relationship with a woman. Not just a woman, but the woman of my dreams.

“Why do you insist on carrying me?” she asked even as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I thought back to the day we met. When she hurt her ankle and I so much wanted to be her hero but knew I wasn’t anywhere near strong enough to carry the formidable Kate Lazio without both of us falling on our asses.

Only now I was ready. For both of us.

“Because I can,” I told her.

I walked us to my truck, plopped her into the passenger seat and asked her. “Kate Lazio, will go out on a date with me?”

“Why yes, Jackson Warner. I will.”

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