Star of His Heart - Brenda Jackson [40]
Jada took a deep breath. “No.” In fact, she had left him right after the funeral, taking nothing more than the black dress she had worn and had gone into hiding at the women’s shelter. After a month she’d felt it safe to reenter the real world. But it hadn’t been. She hadn’t known the extent Tony would go to in order to get her back. He kidnapped her, snatched her off the streets in broad daylight, less than a block from where she had begun working as a clerk in a library.
“And that ordeal you went through when he kidnapped you could not have been easy. Yes, Jada, I think you’re someone who deserves some happiness in her life. But right now I think what you need is comforting from someone who cares. Can I hold you for a little while and comfort you, Jada?”
Jada nervously sank her teeth into her bottom lip weighing Rome’s request. She believed him to be a good person, a strong person…but then she had thought the same thing about Tony in the beginning. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t compare every man with Tony’s mistreatment of her. And more than anything, she did want Rome to hold her. “Yes,” she said quietly, swallowing hard. “You can hold me.”
Slowly, Rome took her hands. Gently he pulled her closer to him on the sofa and when she was there, just a breath away, he pulled her into his arms. His grip on her tightened, and she clung to him, burying her face in the strength of his solid chest. Then he heard the sound of her crying and wondered if this was the first good cry she’d had.
“That’s it, Jada. Get it all out,” he said softly while his hands moved up and down her back in an attempt to aid in her cleansing process. His hold on her tightened when he felt the tremors course through her body. They affected him in a way he didn’t know was possible.
A few moments later, her voice came soft, low and close to his ear. “Thanks, Rome, for holding me.”
“Jada.” His voice sounded hoarse, husky. “Can I kiss you?”
She pulled back and met his gaze. He then reached up and slowly slid the palm of his hand along the curve of her jaw. “Can I kiss you, Jada?” he asked again.
Robbed of any coherent thought, Jada could only nod. That was enough for Rome. He leaned in closer to her and gently took her mouth in his, invading her warmth, demanding her passion and eliciting her trust.
Moments later he groaned when he pulled his mouth from hers. He smiled, then kissed her again. And again.
Netherland used the key Ashton had given her to enter his hotel room. After closing the door behind her she glanced around. She could immediately tell that he had not returned.
She turned to leave and stopped before reaching the door. As much as she wished otherwise, she wanted to be here when he got back. Making another decision that she didn’t want to think hard about, she walked back into the room and tossed her purse on a nearby chair. Not wanting to consider the implications of what she was doing, she began removing her clothes. When she had stripped down to her bra and panties and felt the slight chill in the room, she walked over to the closet.
Netherland inhaled deeply when she saw his military uniforms hanging there. She studied each one, imagining how Ashton looked wearing them. It then occurred to her that she had never seen him wearing his military attire. Was it a deliberate move on his part because he knew of her aversion to military men? She pulled a jacket off the hanger and slipped it on. The jacket carried his scent. At the moment she knew it was the closest thing of his that she had. That thought made her feel warm inside. A brief moment later she returned the jacket to the closet.
Still feeling the chill in the room she walked over to the dresser and pulled open a drawer to retrieve one of Ashton’s T-shirts. She slipped the shirt over her head, liking the way it felt on her, big and loose. She then moved over to the window and looked out, wondering if he