Reawakened Secrets (12 page)

His smirk turned into a face splitting grin. “Challenge accepted. I plan on melting your panties right off. No throwing necessary, baby.”

Jackson moved closer slowly, giving me plenty of time to move back before his lips brushed against mine in a chaste kiss, sweet enough to steal my breath. Then he moved away from the table and walked down the private stairway with Scott and Will following close behind him.

I looked over at Alice, still stunned.
What the hell just happened?

There was only a minute to process it before “Dozer” was yelled over my shoulder. Adam came bounding up the stairs, followed by a stunning red head. Since Adam normally dated nurses from the hospital, it was unexpected to have no clue who she was. Adam didn’t do well with change. But he did plenty of nurses, and I wasn’t aware of him ever switching up his normal rotation unless there was a new hire at the hospital.

Without so much as a glance at his date, Adam slid his large frame into Jackson’s seat, right between Alice and me. Any sympathy I may have felt for the red head faded away when she mutely chose an open seat and signaled the bartender to the table. Freakin’ Adam and his beautiful, but desperate harem of women.

I may have been totally gone for Jackson, but I still had a vagina that had been neglected for the last ten years. Dusty and borderline deranged, it was far less choosy than my brain. Therefore, Adam’s appeal to women far and wide was not a mystery. He was smart and wealthy. His job as top neurosurgeon at the most prestigious hospital in the US afforded him some major clout. He was also hot. Not Jackson Montgomery hot, but he still had his own brand of bad boy swagger that most women found irresistible. It also appeared as though he had an even better body than I’d imagined hidden under his scrubs if his well-defined forearms and bulging biceps were anything to go by. In fact, I began to wonder if attraction is what had Alice squirming in her seat while she and Adam engaged in some weird type of silent stare off.

“Adam,” I said tugging on his arm. “What took you so long?”

Still looking at Alice, he asked, “Did you tell him yet?”

“No,” I sputtered.

“Then I’m not late, am I?” he countered, finally turning to me.

Now I was the one squirming in my seat, and I didn’t like it—at all.

“How long have you been dating Little Red Riding Hood?” Alice asked.

We all turned to look at the scowling face of his date. Then Adam glanced down at his watch.

“About forty-five minutes. Her name is Melissa.”

“Are you sure? Not Big Red, or Melly-Mel?” I unfortunately asked out loud.

“No,” was his curt reply.

There it was. She was beautiful, granted, all his dates were, and she wasn’t a nurse, but she wasn’t different.

“You’re unbelievable,” Alice practically snarled. “How does this work? Are you going to ignore her for another forty-five minutes and then give her a quickie in the bathroom before you send her on her way?”

Adam threw his head back and laughed. In all the years I’d known him, I swear to God I’d never seen him do anything close to that. At work, Adam was serious. He was brilliant, but he could also be a bit of a dick to people he didn’t respect, which was almost everyone. He didn’t tell jokes. I didn’t even think he understood them, but somehow, Alice had made him laugh. Although, I’m not really sure that’s what she was going for.

“Beauty, I take pleasuring a woman very seriously,” Adam said, leaning closer to Alice. “It’s a skill you cultivate, much like surgery, and I have put in hours upon hours of hard work honing my skill. If I want it to be so, Melissa will wake up with a very big smile on her face. You don’t have to worry about that.”

He’d just called her Beauty. At first it was Sleeping Beauty or Aurora, but never Alice. My jaw dropped open. Before I could decide whether Adam was being his normal looney-tunes or actually coming on to my best friend while his date sat across the table, the music stopped and a spot light came on.

With the music off, all eyes turned to the stage. The restless crowd chattered curiously, trying to figure out what was happening. Then Jackson stepped forward from behind the curtain. A few appreciative whistles pierced the room as he dragged a stool to the microphone in the middle of the stage. He took a seat, propping a guitar on his leg before looking out at the crowd. His turquoise eyes shined like iridescent beacons, drawing attention to the perfection of his face. His fingers gently caressed the strings of the guitar, like he was trying to acclimate himself with an old friend. Damn, he was breath taking all in black, cradling the guitar in his arms. It was like watching a hot guy holding a baby.

“How’s everyone doing tonight?” Jackson boomed into the microphone? The crowd went wild and a sexy smirk graced his lips. “My name’s Jackson and since this is my club, I hope you’re having a good fucking time. If it’s all right with you all, I’d like to sing you a song.”

Once again, the crowd roared. I could feel the vaginas quivering left and right, mine included. Now I understood what Scott and Will were talking about. If he sang like Donald Duck, I don’t think it would matter one bit; not to me or any other woman here. He could continue to talk, bust out in a gansta rap or interpretive dance, and I would still be mesmerized.

Jackson strummed a cord before speaking again. “It’s been a while since I’ve performed, so please be gentle with me,” he teased. The women erupted in a screaming frenzy, probably imaging all the ways they could be with him, gentle or otherwise. After thirty seconds, it was already clear Jackson was a natural on stage. He had that thing all stars have: charisma, magnetism, the inexplicable star quality that grabs your interest and doesn’t let go. The lights loved him. The crowd loved him. Fuck . . . I loved him.

Finally everyone settled down, and Jackson said, “I’m going to start with something familiar to get warmed up. This is ‘Hurt’ by Johnny Cash.” Then he looked up at the VIP section and although it had to be impossible to see clearly through the spotlight, it felt like his eyes were focused on me. “I hope you like it.”

Looking back down at the guitar, he played the opening of the song. I recognized the melody, having heard my mom play it a time or two. Then he began to sing, and my world once again flipped on its axis. Jackson got lost in the lyrics, and I got lost in him. The sexy rasp of his voice blended perfectly with the soulful melody of his guitar. It wasn’t just the words coming out of his mouth, but the way he sang them. It was in the taut lines of his body curled around the guitar. He was telling his story, just using someone else’s words. This was another side to someone I thought I knew inside and out. How could that be? All sorts of questions began to float inside my head. What the hell had he been doing for the last ten years? How did he get so good? When did that happen? And what, or even worse who, made it possible for his voice to enthrall a room full of people with his pain? Jackson made me feel everything, and it left me craving more. I was panting after a stranger. A talented, haunting stranger disguised as the man I love.

Jackson crooned the last riff and then the music faded until there was nothing but silence. We were all frozen, completely mesmerized, until the first person clapped and then everyone else enthusiastically joined in. The noise catapulted me back to reality and reminded me I wasn’t alone. I looked to the side to see Adam stroking Alice’s hand on the table, whispering into her ear and comforting her as tears slowly leaked from her eyes.

Adam’s date, Melissa, leaned across the table. “He’s a really good friend, huh?” she asked.

“What? Who?” I replied. Reluctantly, I turned away from Adam and Alice.

“Adam,” she said with a soft expression on her face.

“Uh, sure,” I started, before giving up and signally the bartender for a shot. Ignoring Melissa’s delusional ass, I turned my attention back to the stage.

“Thank you,” Jackson said and smiled at the crowd. “That felt good—so good, I’m going to sing one more.” The crowd erupted, but this time, Jackson tried to speak over the noise. “I’ve never performed this for anyone before, but this song speaks to me and says everything that’s in my heart. A lot more of you may know this one. It’s ‘Far Away’ by Nickelback.”

Wow, I loved that song. I knew every word, and Jackson had already started singing it to me. At least that’s what it felt like. Nothing else existed except him, his guitar and his amazing voice seducing me from the stage. I picked up the shot of Patron the bartender had just placed in front of me and downed it with a flick of my wrist. I concentrated on the burn in my throat instead of the one in my soul and focused on resisting the urge to order another one. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t block out Jackson’s soulful voice telling me that he loved me and he was home to stay. He came back for me. Tears began to prick my eyes. I furiously blinked them back and signaled for another round. I was so close to losing it and completely breaking down and sobbing in the corner like a baby. Only I could have everything I ever wanted offered to me like an all you can eat buffet, just to crash into the invisible bullet proof glass, keeping it out of my reach forever. Everything we could have been was ruined before it even began, and there was no fixing that. Damn, just damn.

A rowdy Jackson, Scott, and Will rushed up the stairs to the VIP area, in a much different mood from when they left. I knew the instant Jackson got a good look at me, because the unguarded happiness froze on his face. His lips thinned and pressed into a firm line as he took in the empty shot glasses in front of me and what I could only assume were red rimmed eyes, still brimming with tears.

Breaking the tense silence, Adam pushed his chair back and said, “Hey, Melissa, why don’t we try out the dance floor.”

Alice quickly did the same, turning to Scott and Will and asked, “Which one of you want to dance?”

“Why not both of us?” Will replied.

That seemed to bring Jackson back to the here and now. He stepped in front of Will and said, “No fucking way.”

Once again taking charge of the situation, Adam placed a hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.” Then he looked at Scott and Will and said, “Boys, meet Melissa,” tilting his head back toward his date. He took Alice’s hand and led her down to the dance floor. The others followed leaving Jackson and I alone.

“Dance with me?”

He held his hand out, helping me from the chair and pulled me straight into his arms. God knows it was the only place I wanted to be. Even if it was just this once as long as it was him and I. I held on tight and breathed him in as we swayed to the music. I was in Heaven and Hell. I felt every inch of his reaction to me. Everywhere I touched, muscles bunched and tensed under my hand. His solid warmth supported my weight as I melted into him. Our hearts pounded in unison while our accelerated breaths mingled in short bursts of air. Desperate to feel the connection we had, I looked up. I would never get enough of looking at his face, especially those unparalleled Montgomery eyes, turning me inside out. I wondered if he could see the depth of my feelings just by looking at me. I hoped so.

“Claire,” he sighed against my cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” I gasped. “Why?”

“I made you cry. I put that sad look on your face.”

“No, it’s not you. I just-. I mean -.” I shook my head, unable to get the words out.

“Come on. Talk to me, Claire.”

“You were amazing up there. Is that what you were doing the whole time you were gone?”

His eyes flashed, darkening noticeably, even in the muted light. “Let’s save the discussion about my time away for another night, okay?”

“Why?”

Gently, he cupped my face in his hands. “Because, I’m one hundred percent devoted to making this work. It’s all I can think about right now. Let me convince you to take a chance with me before we worry about anything else.”

“I think if you were singing the words, you could convince me of anything.”

“Is that a bad thing?” He looked down, giving me the smirk I loved.

I tightened my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest. “Only if you make me want things I can’t have.”