Page 3 of Unveiled

“I don’t know. I just… everyone kept saying how wonderful he was, and I thought maybe it was me that was wrong. He looked so perfect on paper, I had to be missing something. I kept waiting to feel more for him, but it just never happened. My mother told me I wasn’t trying hard enough, that I was being blind and stupid.”

Jaxon lifted a brow. “I have a feeling that you’re a lot of things, Adalyn. But stupid is most definitely not one of them. You’re better off without him.”

“I know.” It was true, and she felt no remorse as she made the admission.

“I have a personal question for you, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay?” Her brows lifted slightly at his serious tone, and unease skittered down her spine.

Jaxon studied her. “I can understand why that would hurt you. But you don’t seem… heartbroken.”

“I’m really not,” she admitted. “I think I knew deep down something was wrong. I just didn’t know it was… that,” she finished lamely.

His eyes narrowed on her, and he picked up her hand. “You’re a smart, beautiful woman, Adalyn. You said it yourself—you know deep down what you want. And it wasn’t him. Your mother said he was perfect for you. But what did you feel? Did you really think he was the right man?”

“I…” She bit her lip. Was he right? Maybe in the back of her mind, she had been hoping that, with enough time, she and Shawn could work things out. But in her heart of hearts, she had to admit—it wasn’t true. She didn’t love him. “No.”

“Well then, here’s to a fresh start.” He gestured to her glass, and she touched it to his.

Jaxon was Florida born and bred, she learned. He’d enlisted in the Army and completed Special Forces training just a few years earlier and had been deployed all over the globe on missions he couldn’t speak of, to places he never wanted to see again. But he was doing it for the greater good. His parents had both been big into charity and had died on a mission trip almost a decade earlier.

“I figured going into the military was my way of giving back,” he said. “We help eliminate these terrorist cells that control people and take innocent lives.”

Adalyn tossed back her third shot—or was it her fourth?—and laid a hand on his knee. “I think that’s fantastic. You’re a good man, Jaxon.”

“You think so?” His gaze slid over her, and her body warmed from the inside out.

She nodded. “You’re a total catch. Any woman would be lucky to have you.”

“Yeah?” A sexy little grin tugged at the corners of his lips.

Warning bells went off in her mind, but fuzzy from the alcohol, she tuned them out. “I deserve to let loose and have some fun, don’t I?” She stared at Jaxon, and he looked back, his expression a mixture of amusement and concern.

“Of course you do, darlin’. What did you have in mind?” He turned to face her, one foot planted on the floor, and extended a hand to help her off the tall barstool.

She stepped down and moved into the vee of his legs. He watched her closely, his hands moving to her hips, gripping her tightly. “You all right there, beautiful?”

She grinned up at him, and he pulled her closer, lifting her arms to loop around his neck. “Perfect now.”

She leaned into him and rose up on her toes, pressing her lips to his. He reciprocated, his lips soft and warm, the kiss demanding.

She pulled back just enough to speak against his lips. “The night is young, cowboy. What do you say we get into some trouble?”

CHAPTER

TWO

This woman was something else. And she deserved more than the idiot who’d run her through the emotional wringer. What a jerk.

Jaxon was infuriated on her behalf. The man had led her on, letting her think she wasn’t good enough when he was the one who’d been at fault. Who cheated on a woman like Adalyn?

Her warm, lithe body pressed to his felt like absolute perfection. Her heels boosted her a couple extra inches, bringing her forehead right in line with his lips. He felt huge next to most girls, awkward and ungainly. But Adalyn was the perfect height, and he knew she’d fit him like a glove. He wondered if he’d ever have the chance to feel her silky skin sliding against his rough, scarred flesh.

That sexy grin slayed him, and he slipped off the stool. Holding his arm out to her like the gentleman he most certainly was not, he asked, “Where are we headed?”

She curled a hand around his bicep and fell into step next to him, then misstepped and fell against him. She dissolved into a fit of giggles as she righted herself. “Oops! Sorry!”

“You good?” He slipped a hand around her waist to steady her, his fingers curving into the soft flesh of her hip.