Legacy of Love

Chapter 14





Jackson wrapped his arm around Zoe’s waist and held her as close as their spooning bodies would allow. He buried his head in her hair and let the essence of her scent drift through and quiet the racing beat of his heart and the tumultuous thoughts that tore through his head.

He wasn’t sure what had happened between them. He was here with her, inside of her but at the same time he felt as if he’d been transported someplace else in the distant past. That was crazy, of course, because he was right here in her bed in her house on Drew Lane in Atlanta, Georgia. Yet, it felt like a dream that had somehow come alive. He cupped her breast in his palm and tenderly kissed the back of her neck. This was no dream.

Zoe stared into the darkness, listening to the comforting beat of Jackson’s heart against her back. She’d been there, on the mat in a small hut with the villagers drumming and dancing in celebration of the consummation of her marriage. But she wasn’t married. She was a single woman, with a history of mediocre relationships, a family tree with leaves that shook, a job that she loved and a man in her bed who she’d only recently met but somehow had known forever. How could all of that be true at once? Zoe wondered if he’d had the same experience. The same waking dream that she’d had the instant he’d entered her. She shivered. Jackson pulled her closer.

“Something happened,” he whispered into the night.

Zoe’s senses heightened. “Something…?”

“I’ve never felt that way before. Been to that place.” Jackson exhaled audibly. “I can’t explain it.” He kissed her shoulder and caressed her breast, teasing the nipple back to erection. He felt himself growing hard again.

Zoe moaned when her swollen * twitched in response to his increasing caresses. She pressed her rear against his rising member and gyrated her hips until he thought he would go mad. She twisted her body away from him until she was facing him. She cupped his face and kissed him long and deep then pushed him onto his back before straddling him. She felt free and totally uninhibited as she rose up then slowly lowered herself onto the length of him.

Jackson squeezed the taut globes of her rear and pulled her fully down onto him. Her head flung back and the veins in her neck stood out as she was totally impaled on the hard shaft that pulsed deep within her.

Zoe leaned forward and gripped the headboard to steady herself as she began a languid ride. Their bodies moved in perfect symmetry, flowing one onto the other, letting the sensations guide them, the intensity increase their speed.

The headboard banged steadily against the wall. The mattress gave and released as Jackson pushed upward, willing his body to touch the core of her. “Come on baby. Come to me,” he ground out.

Zoe’s heart pounded like crazy against her chest making her light-headed and her breath come in short gasps. “Right there, right there,” she groaned, thrusting her pelvis forward and the muscles in her body tightened and that white hot heat sluiced through her veins, then pooled in the pit of her stomach. Her walls clenched and her entire body shook as the grip and release of her shuddering orgasm milked Jackson down to the bone.



When Zoe opened her eyes, the first light of daybreak lurked just beyond the horizon. Jackson stirred beside her. In the filtered daylight, she studied this man she’d lain with. In a word, he was beautiful. He was physically fit from head to toe, with toned muscles that rippled when he moved and a rock hard stomach that could easily be in a body-building infomercial. His skin was just rough enough to keep it from being soft, and his scent when she pressed her face to his flesh drove her crazy.

Tenderly her hand trailed the length of his side and across his flat belly, and moved lower to stroke his treasure. The air caught momentarily in her lungs as her fingers traversed the silky skin that covered his penis that even at half mast was long and thick.

She moaned softly, letting her fingers wrap around him. He was simply magnificent. She’d been with men before. She’d had great orgasms, but none had filled her. None had stretched her to her limits. None had made her see things, leave her body and come back for more. No, none of the others had done that. She stroked him now, slow and steady, reveling in her power to make him rise fully in her hand and hear his moans of pleasure as he awakened.

Zoe wanted to taste him, to feel the pulse of the veins in her mouth, run her tongue along the sleek head and make it weep. She licked the very tip then began making tiny circles until her lips captured him.

“Ahhhh.” He laced his fingers through her hair and sucked in air through clenched teeth, knowing that all he could do was give her what she’d wanted and enjoy the ride.



In the full light of day, Zoe expected to feel shy or awkward. Oddly enough, she didn’t. Moving around in her kitchen preparing breakfast and listening to Jackson sing off-key in the shower seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

She poured orange juice into a glass carafe, scooped softly whipped eggs onto a platter alongside whole wheat French toast and fat turkey sausage. She placed the tray on the table just as Jackson appeared in the doorway. The whole room seemed to shift or maybe it was her heart finally settling into place.

“Morning again.” He grinned and strolled over to where she stood. Holding her steady with a look he lowered his head and gently kissed her still swollen lips. “Hmm. Just like I remembered.”

She giggled and playfully poked his arm. “It hasn’t been that long.” She hooked her fingers along the edge of the towel that was tucked around his waist.

“Long enough for me to recover.” His large hands nearly encircled her waist and he realized how fragile her body was. He took her mouth with his own and savored again the sweetness of her tongue playing with his. He backed her up against the counter teasing the underside of her breasts with his thumbs. He nuzzled down her neck, pushing aside the folds of her robe. “Hmm. You make me crazy,” he groaned before taking a dark nipple into his mouth.

Zoe’s knees wobbled and she felt the inside of her thighs tremble. Jackson tugged on the belt that held her robe closed and practically tore it from her body. His hunger for her flashed so quickly and with such urgency that he was oblivious to where they were. All he knew was that he wanted her. Now.

He pushed his towel away, tossed it on the floor and lifted Zoe into his arms. She wrapped her legs above his hips and laced her fingers behind his head an instant before he rammed inside her with such force that starbursts flashed behind her eyes.

She buried her face in his neck to keep from screaming. The intensity of his thrusts drove her rapidly to the edge and there was nothing she could do to hold back the inevitable. She was coming hard and fast.

And so was he.



It was nearly noon by the time Zoe and Jackson got themselves together and settled on a truce to stay at least five feet away from each other until they got this crazy lust thing under control.

“How about we kiss to make it official,” Jackson teased, finishing up his second shower of the morning. He shoved his arms into the sleeves of his shirt.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so, buddy.” Her cat was still purring and she didn’t dare risk him coming anywhere near her anytime soon. She twisted her hair on top of her head and tied the string on her sweatpants into a knot, not that a simple knot would stop him if he really decided to get back inside her pants, so to speak.

To seal the deal they sat on opposite sides of Zoe’s couch intermittently stealing glances at each other and laughing like fools as they finished up brunch and watched Intimate Betrayal, a made-for-television movie.

When the movie was over, Jackson helped clean up the kitchen and kept his promise to keep his hands and body to himself.

“So how long do you think your sister will be staying with you?” Zoe asked as she put one of the glasses into the overhead cabinet.

While they lay in bed earlier that morning, they’d found themselves whispering into the morning light about the importance of family—good or bad—and the impact they have on your life.

Zoe told him bits and pieces about growing up in a house full of women and that most of her life was spent under her grandmother’s care because her mother wanted to pursue her singing career. She said she’d been an only child until she met Sharlene, who became like a sister to her. And Jackson found himself telling her about Michelle, how close they had always been and how hurt and angry he was about what her husband Trevor had done.

“You were engaged?” Zoe asked, more curious than concerned.

“Yeah, for about a year.”

“And your ex slept with your sister’s husband.”

He nodded, the anger beginning to brew again. He rinsed the last dish and placed it in the rack.

“She deserves jail time for that one,” Zoe said and meant it. She couldn’t imagine that kind of betrayal. “Right out of a Jerry Springer show.”

Jackson couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I know. Totally over the top.” He shook his head slowly. “I always believed that Michelle and Travis would be forever. They were the couple to emulate. I introduced them.” He blew out a breath. “And Carla, it never occurred to me that she was capable…”

Zoe touched his shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself. It’s messy, but they are all adults. You do what you need to for your sister, but don’t take on that guilt. It won’t help her or you.”

His mouth formed a tight smile. “I could listen to your advice all day. How’d you get so wise?”

She grinned. “My Nana.”

“You talk about her with such reverence. Every time you mention her name, your face lights up.”

She dropped her gaze for a moment. “She means the world to me.”

“I’d like to meet her one day.”

Zoe’s eyes traveled over his face, looking beyond the surface, and saw the essence of the man and felt the goodness of his soul within her own. “I’d like that, too,” she softly said.