Conquer Your Love (21 page)

“I want you,” I murmured.

“Not need me?” He raised his
eyebrows, his erection pressing against my legs.

“I want you, I need you.
What’s the difference? I’m open to anything.” I removed his towel from his
hips, eager to taste him, to feel him, to have him inside me. I knew I was wet.

“You’d be surprised.” He
pushed me down and his hands wrapped around my wrists.
Gazing into my eyes, he pushed
inside me, making love to me until we were both succumbing to an orgasmic
release.

***

Later, I lay in his arms, gathering my breath, my hands trailing up and
down his sculpted torso, marveling at the smoothness of his skin and the
hardness of his muscles. He was perfect.

“I hope I’m the reason behind
your smile,” Jett said, stroking my cheek. His statement caught me off guard. I
hadn’t even realized I was smiling.

“
Mmh
.”
I placed a soft kiss on his chin and regarded him lovingly.

Do people not smile after
sex? Was it just hormones or something else?

Less than three days ago, I
had been unhappy. Actually being unhappy was an understatement. I felt
betrayed, lost, deeply hurt, and heartbroken. How strange he had been the
reason why I tumbled into my second lowest point in life, and yet all it took
to pull me out of it was for him to re-enter the picture. His words and actions
had both killed my hope and rekindled it. He had destroyed and shattered my
love only to conquer it again. If he hadn’t persisted in trying to reach out to
me, I would never have known he didn’t hurt me on purpose and we wouldn’t be
where we were today—in each other’s arms.

“I love it when you smile,”
he whispered. “But I love it even more when I see your smile and know I was the
one who caused it.”

“Having sex three times in
less than twenty four hours would make anyone happy,” I replied.

“It’s all thanks to you,
Ms.
Stewart.”

“Me?” I cocked a brow. He
pretty much instigated all of them. “What about you? You were the one to
initiate them.”

 
“I followed your thoughts’ command.
Besides, I’m just human. I can’t help myself when you’re around me. You can’t
blame a man for being weak at a vixen’s feet.”

The way his eyes glimmered with
mischief I wanted to do him again, even though my body screamed ‘no more.’

“I didn’t do anything,” I
pointed out.

“Exactly. You didn’t do
anything.” Jett’s gaze bore into me, touching my soul. “I’m not perfect. God
knows I have many weaknesses, but my biggest one happens to be you, Brooke.”

His words made my smile
widen. He was piling on the compliments. Coming from any other man, they
would’ve hit on nothing but a brick wall. But coming from Jett, I wanted to
hear more, absorb each word, and cherish it forever. If there was one person in
the world whose words were special, it was Jett.

***

Feeling a need for a bathroom
break, I entangled myself from him and only noticed the tray on the table upon
my return. It held two cups of coffee, two plates with croissants and another
two plates of bagels with fresh cheese spread. My gaze settled on the small
violet gift box almost hidden between the coffee and the plates.

“I woke up early. You were
still asleep so I thought I’d get us breakfast.” Walking over, Jett pointed at
the tray and cleared his
throat,
answering the
question I had been asking myself since waking. “I know last time didn’t go so
well but I figured why not give it another try? I hope you’ll like it.”

He picked up the tiny box and
handed it to me.

“Thank you.” My throat
constricted. My legs began to shake again, so I sat down and left my fingers
trail over the gift box.

It was surprisingly heavy for
its size. The shiny satin-feel paper shimmered in the sunlight spilling through
the window. I untied the white ribbon, and opened the lid, then removed the
black cover. Even before I saw it, I knew what it contained, but the knowledge
didn’t quite register in my consciousness until I saw it before my eyes.
Sitting on a black velvet mount was a sleek steel watch with a silver wrist
bangle and tiny gemstones that sparkled like diamonds.

“It’s beautiful,” I
whispered.

And,
judging from the feel and look, expensive.

“I thought it might be the
perfect gift so you’re never late again for our dates.”

I grimaced at him, unsure
whether to feel offended or laugh. In the end, amusement won.

“Seriously?” I glanced up,
biting my lip.

“I’m just kidding. I got it a
while back.” He slumped down in the chair next to mine and regarded me coolly.
“Call it intuition. Come one, take it out.”

I gingerly removed the watch
from its box, and was about to unfasten the clasp, when I noticed something was
engraved on the back.

“
In the stream of life, I’ll always search for you. As time goes by, you’ll
always be on my mind. Jett.
Did you come up with this?” My questioning gaze
searched his, begging him to tell me he had picked it up from somewhere and it
didn’t mean anything.

Jett nodded. “It’s the way I
feel.”

For a few seconds, I was
utterly and deeply moved, unable to say a word. My throat constricted, and my
eyes swelled up with moisture. I forced myself to take slow breaths, so I
wouldn’t give away the storm of emotions tormenting me inside. The bathing suit
was one thing—an expensive gift but nothing too personal. I could give it
back, because I didn’t want to feel like I had been bought. But the watch was
an entirely different situation. The personal message showed me he cared about
me and I couldn’t be happier that we reconnected, but more than anything I was
happy there was still
an
us
.

I wanted him to know just how
much I loved him and yet I kept silent as I kissed him in complete abandonment
of my heart, my brain racing to engrave every little detail about him forever.

“Thank you. It’s…I want to
say beautiful but that’s an understatement.”

His hand touched my chin and
he moved closer until we were barely an inch apart. “It’s nothing, Brooke. It’s
just a watch. Promise me that you’ll keep it.”

Ever so gently he lowered his
soft gorgeous lips onto mine. I breathed in his heavenly scent, savouring his
proximity, the
moment.

“I do,” I whispered forcing a
smile to my lips. “I will treasure it forever.”

Even if things weren’t meant
to last, I wanted to at least remember, because in the end my memory could be
the only thing left.

The
room smelled
of fresh butter croissants.
The coffee cups were on the table, untouched, almost forgotten now. Jett’s hand
kept touching mine as he fidgeted with the box, waiting for me to stop gushing.

Our first night together in a hotel room.

Our first breakfast together after spending the night
in a hotel room and having sex in a whirlpool.

The first gift I ever accepted from him.

I made a mental note of all
of those things because, ever since meeting Jett, I had been counting all my
firsts with him: the first time we used certain words and phrases, the things
we did together for the first time, the first activities we planned together.
My brain had become a huge scrapbook of first memories together and I couldn’t
wait to fill it with more of those.

“Let me help you.” Jett took
the watch from my hands and clasped it around my wrist. I held it up to admire
it. It was the perfect size with the right feel.

“I love it,” I said again.
And I did, but I also hated the feeling of not having something to give back.
So I was more than eager to buy him a gift—something unique, something to
remind him of this occasion, which I hoped was as special to him as it was to
me.

“It suits you beautifully,”
Jett said, placing a soft kiss on my wrist.

“Hmm.” I smiled and felt
myself melting against the magic of his lips.

“I switched on your phone
while you were busy in the shower.” His lips trailed up my naked arm and
collarbone, until he found my special spot below my chin.

“Yeah?” I moaned softly.

“Yeah.”

I felt him smiling and
wrapped my arms around his strong shoulders, clasping them behind the nape of
his neck.

“Sylvie might have called a
few times,” Jett whispered.

Oh, shit!

My blood froze in my veins.
How the heck could I forget her? She was probably waiting for me, worried that
I wasn’t back yet.

While it wasn’t unusual for
her to stay the night away every now and then, it had never happened to me.
Besides, we always at least texted our whereabouts.
She’d be
so mad. No, make that livid.

“I have to get home,” I said.

Jett shook his head
vehemently. “That’s not a good idea. You’re not safe. Better we try to find out
who followed us first.”

“But Sylvie’s all alone in
that house. I know her. She’ll freak out if I’m not back soon.”

“She’s fine.”

I took in his set jaw and the
determined glint in his eyes. The more time I spent with Jett, the more I
realized I had found my match in him when it came to demonstrating an unhealthy
amount of stubbornness. Under any other circumstances I might have given in for
the sake of preserving harmony, but not when it came to my best friend’s
safety.

“I need to see it for
myself,” I said.

Something flickered in his
green gaze. Was that annoyance? “I’d rather you stay with me at my house.”

His offer sounded tempting.
His house was huge, beautifully decorated, and not too far from Alessandro’s
estate. But—

I shook my head. “Not
happening.
I’m not leaving Sylvie alone in that old house. She’s my best friend,
Jett. If someone means me harm and I’m not there, they’ll take it out on her.”

“I can send someone over,”
Jett said.

Something told me he could
keep this conversation up all day.

“What do you mean?” I
frowned. “A bodyguard?”

“Sort of.”

I shot him an unconvinced
frown. I got it. Jett had money.
And lots of it.
But a bodyguard—for Sylvie?
How would he accomplish
that without my best friend’s noticing? Sylvie wasn’t stupid. The moment she’d
find out a killer might be after us, Jett might as well hire a bodyguard for
himself, too, because Sylvie would end up screaming and blaming him. And when
Sylvie was angry I couldn’t vouch for her sanity, or actions.

“Not working for me.” I shook
my head and finished the last drop of my coffee. “I’m sorry, Jett, but…I can’t
stay. You have to accept that. Now please drive me back.”

“Then let me come with you.”

I almost spilled my coffee.
Okay, maybe I didn’t spill it because it was already empty, but you get my
point.

“Yeah, that’s not possible
either.” I grimaced, struggling with my words. How the heck was I supposed to
tell him my best friend didn’t like him anymore and I didn’t want to have to
face that storm?

“Why not?” Jett’s eyes
narrowed on me.

Oh, for crying out loud.

“Sylvie’s—” I grimaced
again “—out of sorts with you.” I peered up at him and almost flinched at
the flicker of anger in his expression.

“You didn’t tell her about
us.” His eyes were scrutinizing me.

“No, no…” I shook my head,
then
stopped. What was the point in lying when he already
knew it? “Yes, maybe, a little. I didn’t think it’d make a difference.”

He frowned, but didn’t comment.
My fingers wrapped around his hand in the hope he might feel my turmoil.

“You broke my heart, Jett, so
naturally you’re the bad guy. She made me promise I’d move on from you and date
others. So—” I shrugged and laughed nervously “—she’s thinking I’m
moving on from you.”

A few moments passed during
which he remained silent. I tried my hardest to read his expression, and
failed.

“Okay.” Eventually, he heaved
a sigh and got up, helping me to my feet.

“You’re okay with it?” I
blinked back my surprise. Just like that? During the short time I worked for
him, I quickly realized Jett never gave up. What he wanted, he got. And what he
couldn’t have, he tried to get nonetheless. “No conditions, no requests?”

“Actually, now that you’re
mentioning it, I’m taking you home on three conditions.”

“Of course.” I regarded him
amused. Three conditions, huh? “What are they?”

“First, you call me when
you’re there and have your phone switched on at all times. Second, I’ll send
someone over to watch over you. He’ll keep to himself and you won’t even notice
his presence. And there’s no arguing about this condition.” He paused and I
raised my brow, choosing not to comment because he seemed quite determined and
I just wanted to get home and check on Sylvie, no matter what. “Third, you’ll
have to keep your visit short. So tell Sylvie whatever story you need to tell
her, but you’re not staying and neither is she. Otherwise I’ll have you both
picked up and I’ll use force, if need be.”