Page 10 of Claiming Jane

“What is it?”

She sucks in a breath and blows it out slowly. “My friends all think we’re really married.”

“We are really married.”

She nods and searches my eyes. “Right, well, they think we’re in love.”

I open my mouth to say we are in love, but I don’t think she’s ready for that. The idea of this party is getting better and better. I will have no trouble at all acting as if we’re a real couple and that I love her. “It will be fine.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Are you sure? I can cancel.”

“I’m sure.”

She nods her head, and I lean forward, pressing my hands to each side of her face. “Jane.”

Her eyes widen. “That day we got married, I wish I had kissed you. That I really kissed you… Can I do that now?”

“Yes,” she whispers.

I don’t waste another minute. I lean in and press my lips to hers. I try to hold back, I really do, but as soon as our lips touch, I’m completely overwhelmed. I’ve imagined kissing her for what feels like forever, and now that I am, I don’t want it to end. I tilt her head and deepen the kiss. When she gasps, I slide my tongue along hers. Her whimper is my undoing, and I know I need to stop before this gets out of hand.

I pull away, and her eyes are shades darker and filled with desire. She touches her fingers to her lips and stares at me with surprise. I swipe my thumb across her swollen lip. “That was even better than I imagined, Jane.”

She smiles and nods.

So I continue. “I don’t want you to feel pressured. We’re going to take this slow…”

“Okay. I don’t feel pressured. But okay.”

I’ve barely slept in the last three days, and there’s no holding back the yawn that takes hold of me. As soon as I do, she pops up. “Go to bed, Grant. We can talk more in the morning.”

I want to stay here and talk to her. Who am I kidding? I would love to have her in my arms and feel her against my body the whole night, but I know that’s not possible. Not only because it’s too fast but also these night terrors are impossible to predict. “Go on up to bed. I’m going to lock up down here.”

She starts to walk away and then stops. She pounces on me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Even though her voice is muffled, I can hear her plainly. “I’m so glad you’re home, Grant. Thank you for coming back to me.”

I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. It’s at this moment that I’m one hundred percent positive that I’ve made the right decision. Now I just hope I don’t screw it up.

CHAPTER 6

JANE

I moved to this smaller bedroom months ago when Grant mentioned retiring. I’ve stayed in here night after night and have slept just fine, but it feels different tonight. It feels good knowing that Grant is here in the bedroom right downstairs. I don’t have to worry about where he is or if he’s okay. I know he’s safe and that he’ll be here in the morning.

I roll to my side and close my eyes, waiting for sleep to come, but I know it’s going to be awhile. My body is still tingling from being held in his arms and that kiss. Wow, that kiss. I turn to my back and look up at the ceiling. I’ve dreamed about having Grant home, and now that he’s finally here, I’m wondering if maybe dreams do come true.

There’s a part of me that fell in love with him that first day he asked me to marry him. I know that sounds ridiculous, but the fact he wanted, or as he said, needed to know I was safe, made me fall for him. I may have only seen him in person once since then, but we’ve gotten to know each other on the phone, and even though we’ve been thousands of miles apart, he still goes out of his way to take care of me.

It’s the little things like sending me flowers on a random Thursday. Or the times he knew it snowed and he had people come to clear the sidewalk and driveway. Or when I was sick, he had food delivered and had his friends check in on me. Over and over, he’s gone the extra step, letting me know that he’s thinking of me and even though he’s so far away, he’s still going to take care of me.

I force my eyes closed, and when I do, I hear a thud from somewhere in the house. I sit straight up in bed and listen, wondering exactly what it is. Maybe instead of going to bed, Grant is walking around the house. Or maybe he’s having trouble going to sleep.

I hear a noise again, but this time it sounds like a moan and yelling. I think about it for a split second and then jump out of bed and go out into the hallway. When I hear it again, I jog down the stairs and stop outside Grant’s closed bedroom door.

Knocking softly, I call his name. “Grant.”

The scream is louder this time, and I open the door to see him on the bed, thrashing around. I’ve read about this and know that the absolute worst thing I can do is wake him up, but I can’t just stand here and do nothing.

I move closer to the bed and say his name louder. “Grant!”

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