Page 23 of Nomad
He faced me, looking me up and down with disgust before his gaze shifted back to Jade. “Jade, I never took you for someone who’d go slumming.”
Slumming?
I scoffed, and he narrowed his eyes at me. I wanted to expose the dirty bastard. He wouldn’t guilt her into shit, especially not after I’d seen what he’d been doing when he wasn’t with her. I didn’t give a shit what the asshole thought of me. No, I hadn’t grown up rich, and I’d come from a broken home, but I’d made something of myself and was ten times the man he’d ever be.
“Not another word to her,” I stepped closer to him, “or I swear on my life, you’re gonna have a serious fucking problem. A problem I can guarantee you don’t want.”
“Do you know who I am?” His attention landed back on me, his chin lifting in anger. “Do you know who my mother is?”
No doubt it was a line he used often to get his way. Too bad for him it wouldn’t work with me. I couldn’t do anything but laugh. It was hard not to. A man his age throwing up his mama was beyond ridiculous. While I knew him and his mother, I didn’t give a fuck. Nor did I care about his money. He was nothing more than a waste of space who didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as my angel standing behind him. He was not only a pariah to women, but to society. His mother or their money wouldn’t save his life this time because I’d be putting his ass to sleep.
“The better question to ask is, do I give a fuck who you or your mother is?” I took another step forward, crowding his space. His gaze lifted to mine as we stood nose to nose, like two bulls ready to go to war. A war I’d win. If we’d been in any other place, I would have already beat the hell out of him and put a bullet between his eyes. He was lucky I hadn’t killed him, yet. “I’ll answer that one for you, pretty boy. I don’t give a damn who you are.”
By his reaction, someone standing up to him didn’t happen often. He’d used his money and his mother’s name his entire life to get his way. It wouldn’t work this time. Not with me.
Startled by my response, he quickly stepped back, glared at me one last time like I was the scum of the earth, and shouldered past me out of the dining room.
Jade looked unsure and grateful as she rushed behind him. I followed her, standing inside the archway to make sure he left. She quickly shut the door and locked it as soon as Samuel stepped over the threshold.
Jade turned around and rested her back against the closed door, taking a much needed deep breath. Her fear permeated the room. From where I stood, the slight tremble of her hands was visible as she tried to control her breathing. All I wanted to do was pull her into my arms to reassure her there wasn’t a chance in hell Samuel Allen would hurt her. No one would ever hurt her again. Not while I was around.
How long will I stay this time?
I shook the thought from my mind as quickly as it had entered. I knew I couldn’t stay. Once the job was done, I wouldn’t be sticking around.
We stood completely motionless, gazing at one another, a myriad of emotions moving through me as the fear dissipated from her eyes. I hadn’t seen the woman I loved in five excruciatingly long years. The distance from her had been more than brutal to my heart and soul. With her standing in front of me, I realized it now more than ever.
Every day, my heart ached with the loss of her in my life, no matter how much I tried to move on. The countless women in and out of my bed, and the years spent with Angie were nothing compared to this one moment in time with Jade. None of them filled the emptiness in my heart her absence had caused. Until now, the missing part of my soul was never complete. With her standing in front of me like an angel from heaven, I questioned how I’d survived all these years away from her. Jade had always been my quiet place. The stillness amidst the chaos. The other half of my soul.
My everything.
She was as gorgeous, if not more, than I remembered. Her thick dark hair fell in tight curls a little past her shoulders, now streaked with gray strands in the front. Her hips were a little wider and her breasts a little fuller. With age, everything about Jade was different but somehow better than I had ever imagined. And no matter how much time we spent away from one another, the one thing that never changed was how much I loved her. My love remained stronger than ever.
Something intense exchanged between us, compelling me like a beacon of light to step toward her while she remained planted against the door without shifting her gaze from mine. I yearned to touch her, comfort her. To show her how much I loved and missed her.
But I couldn’t.
I fought against the overwhelming desire to be next to her, to experience her smooth skin touching mine and taste her sweetness on my tongue. Forcing myself to stand still, I resisted the impulse to shroud her beautiful body in my arms because reality sunk in. Being here was a big mistake, and I needed to get the hell out of here, now, because I didn’t know how much longer I could control myself.
I took a step toward the door to leave, but she raced toward me and jumped into my arms. Her long, toned legs wrapped around my waist, her dress bunching up around her hips. Jade’s trembling limbs clung to me like I was her last lifeline, and I held onto her like she was mine. My shaky hands held her as close to me as she could by her ass, digging my fingers into her flesh. Despite my heart racing a mile a minute, her being in my embrace felt right no matter how wrong it was.
She’s Aaron’s, not mine,echoed through my head like a ghost taunting me, trying to force me to leave behind what I wanted most in life...her. However, this time, it was hard for me to give a fuck what the voices said, no matter how true they may have been. She was in my arms, and I couldn’t let her go.
I wouldn’t let her go.
So, I did what needed to be done and pushed the voices from my mind, at least for right now, to enjoy her being with me for however long it would last.
With her face buried in the crook of my neck, her lips grazed my sensitive skin, sending a pleasurable shiver racing through me.
“William,” she said softly, her hot breath brushing my ear. Her lavender and vanilla scent engulfed me like a warm blanket. A scent I’d longed to smell for five years. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Her words immediately covered me in a layer of peace I’d never experienced before. It wasn’t exactly the words, but how she said them. Unless I was dreaming, she sounded like she’d deeply missed me. Not like friends missed each other, but how a lover missed the person they loved. However, it didn’t mean she returned my feelings.
She lifted her head and gazed at me, full of emotion. Emotions I wouldn’t dare try to make sense of in case this was all my imagination. It would break my heart all over again if that was the case. So, like the hardened soldier they’d trained me to be, I tried to wipe all my emotion from my features before she saw what truly lay in my heart.
A soft gasp escaped her, and the tears trickled down her face.
“Please, don’t cry, Angel.” My voice was raspy from the emotion building inside me. I rested my forehead against hers, trying to gain some control over the ache in my chest and the hardening of my cock. I couldn’t believe she was wrapped in my arms, but I didn’t want her pity or her guilt. I only wanted her love. I cleared my throat, hoping to get the words out without breaking apart. “I don’t think my heart can take it.”
