Layover (Open Skies Book 1) Page 16

  Jason shook his head. “Someone who’s driven and dedicated and determined to prove to the world that she may be petite on the outside, but she is not to be fucked with on the inside.” He gave her a wan smile. “You’re totally put-together. You have everything. Strength I envy. You can do anything you set your mind to. And that’s great. It’s attractive. It’s what draws me to you. I used to think I was some dumb kid from Iowa who didn’t have the grades or the money for college, so I joined the Army. They taught me I was worth something, even without coming from money or earning a fancy degree. They taught me to have pride in myself. So I won’t be some dirty little secret for a woman ever again. If you can’t scream from the roof that I’m your man, I’m done.”

  Libby lurched forward and grabbed his hands, squeezing them against his thighs. “You’re absolutely right. I’ve fucked this up. I should have had the balls to tell my parents about you from the moment we met. I’ve been a coward. Hell, I should have stood up to my mother years ago even before I met you. I never should have let her dictate who I date.”

  He stared at her. After all, this is what he’d been telling her all along.

  She drew in a breath. “But back to you. You don’t need a ton of money or a fucking degree to prove anything to anyone. It’s just a piece of paper. You’re intelligent and hard-working. You have an amazing job that’s way the hell over my head. You’re worth ten thousand other men. A stronger woman than me would have dragged you home the night we met and told her parents how important you were, to hell with their reactions.”

  He rolled his eyes as he flipped his hands over and grasped hers.

  “I’m in love with you, Jason. You’re everything to me. Nothing matters as much as you. Yes, it scares the hell out of me to tell my parents because I’m afraid they will literally cut me out of their lives. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it, nor does it mean I won’t. It just means I’m scared. That’s a horrible excuse for my behavior. I’ve been weak, and it wasn’t fair to you. And I’m so, so sorry.”

  He released her hands and reached out to grab her around the waist and haul her onto his lap. He held her tightly, his face buried in her hair as he inhaled her scent and tried to calm his racing heart.

  She wrapped her arms around him and stroked his back. “I’m so sorry, Jason,” she repeated against his chest. Finally, she tipped her head back and met his gaze. “I’m in love with you, and I swear there’s no other man I care about. There never will be.”

  He set his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, trying to assure himself this was real.

  “As for the sex, you’re wrong about that too. It will never get boring between us. Every time we’re together it gets better. Every time you dominate me, my heart races faster than the last time. My body burns for you.”

  He smiled at her and then smashed his lips to hers as he threaded his fingers in her hair at the back of her head and angled her just where he wanted her.

  She moaned into his mouth as he devoured her, reminding himself she was totally real and his. She was not Veronica. She had issues that needed to be taken care of, but he wouldn’t send her to the wolves alone next time. He would go with her. Confront her parents. And then they would deal with the outcome together. If they kicked her out of their lives, the loss would be theirs alone. Jason would do everything in his power to help mend the rift for the rest of his life, but he wouldn’t compromise his relationship with Libby for anything in the world. Not even her parents.

  They were both panting when Jason finally released her lips to draw in oxygen. For a long time, they simply sat there staring at each other with absurd grins, snuggling into each other.

  “It would seem there are a number of things I don’t know about you,” she said. “That makes me feel bad.”

  He stroked her cheek with one hand and smoothed her hair back. “My fault. I think I subconsciously didn’t talk about myself because I didn’t want a repeat with Veronica.”

  She frowned. “I would never do that. My stupidity and my past are far uglier than yours. It sounds like you had a wholesome childhood in the Midwest.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Let’s not get carried away, but yes, more or less. My parents are hard-working farmers. They would have sent me to college if they could have afforded it. I chose to go into the Army instead. I never asked you about your degree because I didn’t want to talk about my lack of one.”

  “Well, I’m not that shallow, and I don’t care about that kind of thing, Jason. I never asked about your education for the same reason. I hate telling people I have a liberal arts degree. It usually causes mocking laughter that hurts deep inside.”

  He smoothed a hair back from her forehead. “I would never mock you. I’m proud of you. You worked hard and followed your dreams.”

  “So did you.” She lifted an eyebrow.

  He smiled. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

  “I want to hear everything about you. I want to know about your farm and your parents and your childhood. Everything.”

  “I’ll tell you anything you want to know, baby girl, but could we save the twenty questions for after I have my way with you? My cock is hard, and it didn’t get what it wanted last night.”

  She giggled. “We can’t have that.” Her small hand wiggled between her thigh and his belly until she found his length and stroked him through his jeans. “Let’s go inside.”

  He shook his head. “Can’t wait that long.” His hands went to her shirt and pulled it over her head. Before she could react, he had her bra unlatched too.

  She glanced around, wondering if anyone could see them.

  He cupped her chin and brought her face back to center. “My fence is high, and my neighbors don’t snoop. Stop worrying about anything but how I’m going to make you scream out your next orgasm in my backyard.”

  She gasped. “I’m not going to scream anything in your yard, Jason. The whole neighborhood would run over and find me naked if I did so.”

  He nuzzled her neck, his hands sliding up and down her torso, grazing the undersides of her amazing tits. “We’ll see.” He flicked his thumbs over her nipples in that way he knew would make her eyes roll back, and then he lifted her off his lap, stood her in front of him, and made quick work of removing the rest of her clothes. Jeans, shoes, thong.

  She shivered as she glanced around again.

  “Eyes on me, little one. If you can’t focus on me and stop worrying about the rest of the world, I’ll take you over my knee right here and spank you so hard that your whimpering and pleading will draw the attention of every neighbor.”

  She pursed her lips adorably.

  He released her to rip his T-shirt over his head and then shrug out of his jeans. When he was as naked as her, he turned and settled back on the lounge. “Climb on top of me, baby girl. I want you to ride me while I watch your fucking sexy tits bounce and your mouth fall open when you come.”

  She obeyed without hesitation, straddling him. She braced herself with her hands on his chest and lined her pussy up with his cock.

  “Shit,” he muttered. “I don’t have a condom.”

  She shook her head. “I have us covered, Jason. I want to feel you inside me. Just you.”

  He gripped her hips, keeping her from slamming down on his cock just yet. “Baby, I’ll come in two strokes if you do that.” He slid one hand around to cup her bottom. “I’ve never once had sex without a condom.”

  She reached for his face and smoothed her fingers over his cheek. “Then it will be a first for both of us.”

  He held her gaze, not wanting this dream to end if he was still sleeping. “You’re mine, Libby.”

  She nodded. “I’m yours.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  He slid his hand between them to line his cock up with her pussy and then stroke his fingers through her folds.

  He loved the little whimper she made and the way she arched her back and trembled. He took a moment to find he
r clit and stroke it until it was swollen beneath his fingers. When she started to squirm, he removed his hand and lifted his hips to thrust up into her.

  She gasped, her head tipping back.

  He’d never seen her look sexier than she did right now. Naked in his backyard. Breasts bouncing as she lifted nearly off him and then slammed back down.

  He gritted his teeth against the growing orgasm. He hadn’t been kidding. He was going to come in seconds. She felt so damn good on his bare cock.

  His groan joined hers, and then he smoothed his hands up to cup her breasts, teasing her sensitive nipples with his fingers.

  Libby’s mouth fell open wider, and her whimpers filled the air. “Jason…”

  “That’s it, baby. Take what you need.” He slid one hand down to find her clit and stroke it as she pumped faster, bouncing up and down on his lap. The visual alone was enough to make him come. If she were porn, he wouldn’t even need to touch himself to reach orgasm. Watching her would be enough.

  Suddenly, she cried out, her body pulsing with her release. He gripped her hips and thrust in deep one last time, letting his orgasm follow right behind hers.

  He wasn’t sure how much noise either of them made, but his brain cells were completely scrambled when he finally drew in a deep breath and pulled her down to lie against his chest.

  He stroked up and down her back, never wanting to pull out of her tight warmth. Never wanting this moment to end. Never wanting to forget how damn perfect she was.

  They still had shit to discuss and issues to resolve, but they would handle every one of them together. Because he was never going to let her go, and he certainly would never drive away and leave her standing alone anywhere again.

  He closed his eyes, held her tight, and inhaled her scent. “Mine,” he whispered.

  She whimpered and squirmed against him in response.

  He smiled so broadly his cheeks hurt.

  Chapter 27

  Four hours later…

  Jason pulled his SUV up to the front of the Garcia home, turned off the engine, and faced Libby, who sat in the passenger seat wringing her hands. He sighed. “We don’t have to do this tonight, Libby.”

  She lifted her gaze to his. “Yes. We do.”

  A twinge of remorse made him inhale slowly. She was truly distressed. Was he pushing her too hard? He feared she might end up resenting him if he caused a rift between her and her parents. On the other hand, if she couldn’t face them and continued to keep him a secret, he would resent her.

  She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “You don’t have to go with me. You could wait in the car.” She pursed her lips when she finished speaking, holding her breath.

  If he wasn’t mistaken, she actually wanted him to go in with her. Moral support? “I’m going with you, baby girl. You’re not going alone.”

  She drew in a deep breath and glanced at the house. “Listen, this is likely to go south in a hurry. My mother is going to lose her shit.” She lifted her gaze back to Jason and cupped his face. “But that’s okay because I realize now that no matter what happens between you and me, I have to stop humoring her. It’s not fair to anyone. I would never marry a man my mother set me up with because every time I meet one of her blind dates, I feel defensive and put up a shield no one can penetrate. I have to tell her that her meddling in my life is over. It’s my life. I’ll choose who I date, and I choose you.”

  Jason smiled and set his palm over her hand at his face. “I’ll be right by your side, little one. I’m proud of you. And I love you. Nothing is going to happen to us. We’re solid. We’re a team. If your mom can’t see her way to accepting the man you’ve chosen to be with, then your home will be with me.”

  A tear ran down her face, and she reached to swipe it away. “I love you too.” She took a deep breath and let it out.

  “You ready?”

  “Yep.” She released his face and turned to open her door. When she jumped down from his SUV, he was already at her side of the car.

  He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

  She smiled at him. It was all going to be all right. No matter what happened here today, she was doing the right thing, and she had an amazing man by her side.

  She took a deep breath when they reached the door and then knocked. Usually, she would just walk in, but not this time. Not today. Not with Jason at her side.

  It was a Sunday, so she knew her parents would be home. Sure enough, about fifteen seconds later, the door opened. Her father. He smiled and then his brow furrowed. “What are you doing knocking, Libby?”

  She shrugged. “Is Mamá here? I need to speak to the two of you.” She wasn’t about to beat around the bush here. Time to lay out the cards.

  “Of course.” He stepped back, holding the door open to let the two of them inside.

  Jason lifted a hand. “Jason Nixon, sir. Nice to meet you.”

  Libby’s father looked confused as he politely shook Jason’s hand. He’d never been as mistrustful or blatantly racist as her mother. “Ricardo Garcia.” He turned toward Libby. “I’ll get your mother.”

  Libby led Jason into the living room and tugged him down to sit next to her on the couch. He glanced down at their combined hands when she didn’t release him. She threaded her fingers through his on his thigh and smiled. She was going all-out.

  When her parents entered the room a minute later, her mother was smiling, and then her expression fell serious. She literally flinched when she saw Libby’s hand in Jason’s. “Qué está pasando, Libertad?” she asked.

  “Don’t do that, Mamá. Speak in English,” Libby demanded. Her mother had a nasty habit of trying to alienate people by speaking in Spanish in front of them when it suited her.

  “Let’s sit down,” Ricardo said, tugging his wife toward an armchair and then pointing at it. He took the opposite armchair and crossed his legs.

  Libby honestly had no idea how her father would react to this bombshell. The man often had little to add to any conversation, which made it difficult to read his true feelings.

  “Mamá, this is Jason Nixon. We’ve been dating for about a month.”

  Her mother gasped and put a hand over her heart.

  Jason squeezed Libby’s hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  Maria barely glanced at him before returning her gaze to Libby. “That can’t be. You’ve been dating Eduardo and then Javier.”

  Libby would bet anything her mother thought by pointing this out she could make Jason flinch. “No, I haven’t, Mamá. I started dating Jason the night after I went out with Eduardo. And your stunt last night with Javier was a new low even for you. You came close to breaking us up with your meddling. I won’t let that happen again. Jason is my boyfriend. You have to stop setting me up with other men.”

  Her mother was visibly shaking. “Libertad, you know I don’t approve of you dating outside of—”

  Libby jerked. “Outside of what, Mamá? Outside of my race? Because even that isn’t good enough for you. It’s not even a Latino thing for you. My boyfriends have to be specifically from Guatemala with you. Do you not realize how ridiculous that is?”

  “People should stick with their own kind,” Maria added in her haughty voice.

  “Maria,” Ricardo interjected. One word. Slightly admonishing, but that was more than nothing. There was hope for her father.

  Maria jerked her gaze toward her husband. “What? It worked for you and me, didn’t it? I don’t see why young people these days think they need to go mixing up with people from other nationalities.”

  “Mamá. You sound ridiculous. And I didn’t come here to argue with you. I came here to tell you that I’m with Jason, so stop sticking your nose in my love life.”

  Maria crossed her arms and tipped her nose back. “Well, I don’t approve.”

  “Not asking for your approval. I’m telling you how things are. From now on, if you want me to come for dinner, you’ll invite Jason, too.”

  Maria gasped
. “That’s no way to speak to your mother.” She started playing with the pearls at her neck.

  “Just telling you how it is. Take it or leave it.”

  “And I think you need to think long and hard about your loyalty to our community, Libertad.” She stood. “You can call me when you’ve come to your senses.” She spun around and stomped from the room.

  Libby’s father rubbed his forehead and then met Libby’s gaze. “Give her time, Mija.”

  Libby stood, Jason at her side. “This is how it’s going to be, Dad. If you want to see me, Jason is part of the package.”

  “I understand. I’ll talk to your mother, but you know how she is. It won’t be easy.” He reached out and pulled Libby into his arms. “I love you, Mija.”

  “Thank you, Papá. I love you, too.”

  When he released her, he held out a hand to Jason again. “Nice to meet you, Jason. Sorry the circumstances are not ideal.”

  “Nice to meet you too, sir. Hopefully, time will help mend things.”

  Libby followed Jason out the front door, saying nothing until they were back in the SUV. Finally, she exhaled. “Gotta say, that went better than I expected.”

  He reached for her hand, a slight smile on his lips. “It did? I’m pretty sure your mom reacted exactly as you suspected.”

  Libby squeezed his hand. “Yeah, but she could have been worse, and even though my dad didn’t say much, he was clearly on my side more than his wife’s.”

  Jason cupped her face and leaned forward to kiss her. “I didn’t say much either, baby girl. I didn’t want to interfere. I hope that was okay.”

  “It was perfect. Thank you. You were there for moral support. Now, let’s go back to your house. That was stressful. I need to do something to take my mind off my mother.”