Page 87 of Beneath the Hood

But now, we’re back under his sheets, our naked bodies lazily strewn against each other, his fingers tracing along my spine, holding me like I’m the only thing that matters in his world.

Right now, it feels like I am.

I’ve never been so comfortable around another person,especiallynot naked, but after so many times of him finding beauty in all my pieces, I think I’m starting to believe him. And he made me feel so...sexy.When I stripped down as he stroked himself and watched, I felt empowered.

I feltseen.

As we lie in his bed, relaxed and satiated, I think about our earlier conversation. The ache between my thighs doesn’t come close to the ache that split my heart as I listened to his memories. The agony bled out in his words as he talked of his friends who never cared to put him first. Of his father and all the ways he loved him.

“Sometimes I’m happy my mom died before I could know her,” I blurt out.

Jackson’s head turns toward mine, his eyebrows raising in question.

I huff out a laugh, covering my face. “I know, that sounds terrible. It’s just, I was thinking about what you told me earlier, about your dad, and... I can’t imagine having to go through what you did. Knowing what it’s like to have him and then to lose him, I—” My voice catches, emotion blocking the airways in my throat.

He lets out a heavy breath, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “Don’t compare our grief, baby. You don’t have to know something to mourn its absence.”

I chew on my lip, sadness knitting together like a blanket in my chest. “Do you think that’s why my dad works so much?”

“Because he lost her?”

Swallowing over the lump, I nod against his side.

He shrugs. “Only he knows why he does the things he does. But I know this, and I’m not sure you want to hear it.”

My stomach sinks. “What is it?”

“He loves you.”

I huff out a laugh.

“You can scoff at it all you want, Blake, but if he didn’t love you, he wouldn’t force his employee to tag along wherever you go, just to make sure you’re with someone he can trust. He wouldn’t assign security with so much tracking that it’s impossible to sneak away. He wouldn’t look so broken whenever you walk out of the room.”

My eyes sting. “He does?”

“He stares after you like he doesn’t know how to reach you.”

The cracks in my heart split open, bleeding into my stomach, creating a burn so intense I lose my breath.

“He loves you.” Jackson’s hand tilts my chin up to his face. “How could he not?”

I roll my eyes with a small grin, trying to hide the fact that his words make me feel like I’m breaking. A tear slips out, sliding along my cheek, and Jackson’s thumb wipes it away.

“I don’t know how anyone could be in your presence and not fall in love with everything that you are.”

My heart stalls. “Are you...” I hesitate, my voice wobbly with emotion. “Are you sayingyoulove me?”

A slow smile creeps on Jackson’s face, so perfect it makes my chest ache.

“Yes, princess.” He presses a chaste kiss to my lips. “I love you. I didn’t know what love wasuntilyou.”

My heart soars, flying so fast it makes me dizzy.

He loves me.

Suddenly, a giggle bubbles up my throat and I let it out, delirious from the gamut of emotions I’ve felt in the past few hours. “I love you too, you know.”

He smirks. “Oh, I know.”

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