Dawn of Forever (Jack & Jill #3) by Jewel E. Ann Read Free Book Online

dissolve the rest of the evidence. Her frayed nerves and uncooperative hormones deserved reprimanding with a full bottle of wine as soon as she got home.
    The lines on his forehead deepened with her outburst.
    “For God’s sake.” She fisted her hands at her side, her voice escalating despite her effort to stay calm. “You asked me to marry you. I said yes. I. Said. Yes!”
    He took another pull of his beer, leaning his back against the door to keep it open.
    “You’re supposed to fight for me. You’re supposed to get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness because you were a complete jerk. Instead, you seem hell-bent on teaching me some lesson about not letting men step all over me, as if having the shit beat out of me for years wasn’t enough of a lesson. And that crap about you acting like the only thing you’re good at is fucking random women … that hurt! What is wrong with you? Why …”
    Fuck the tears. It no longer mattered.
    “Why can’t you just love me?”
    *
    It happened. She broke him.
    He always imagined it would be his sister. Both Jessica and Jillian had tried over the years. Somehow he knew his sister’s strength would allow her to persevere.
    Not Ryn. She wore a brave face over the hollow shell of a woman she used to be. Jackson never knew that woman, but he saw glimpses of her. It made him want to end Preston Iverson’s life for beating it out of her. It made him want to shake some sense into Maddie for not seeing the amazing woman before her.
    “So that’s it? You don’t have anything to say?” She sucked in her quivering lips, tipping her chin to her chest. “It would hurt less if you hit me.” Her words were nothing more than a soft murmur to herself, but Jackson heard every single one.
    He turned, letting the storm door close between them as he set his beer on the table. When he walked back toward the door, the woman who owned him had made it halfway to her car, head down, sobs racking her body.
    He was a jerk. He didn’t deserve her. And if he could live without her, he’d let her get in her car and hate him forever. If he could live without her. But he couldn’t.
    “You’re going to regret loving me.”
    She jumped, gasping for a breath, as he scooped her up in his arms and hauled her inside the house.
    “But that’s just too fucking bad.” He deposited her on Jillian’s bed, smashing his mouth to hers before she could protest or speak any words for that matter.
    There were so many things left to say, but he needed her physically before he could even think of articulating the vulnerable, emasculating emotions in his mind. Her fingers curled into his arms and he felt them gripping his soul. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, he moaned like a wounded animal.
    They became a tangle of limbs, ripping off clothes. He peeled away from her body. Standing to remove his jeans, he left her breathless on the bed. Her tongue eased out to wet her lips while her fingers traced the C-section scar before resting a hand over it. He’d seen it many times before. Her insecurities saddened him.
    “Don’t,” he whispered, kneeling between her legs.
    Keeping his eyes fixed on hers, he pushed her hand away from the scar. She swallowed hard. It broke him a little more.
    “I love you.”
    Ryn closed her eyes. A lone tear trailed down to her ear.
    “I love your imperfections. I need them. They give me hope that you will love mine too.”
    Could she love him if she really knew him? He prayed to God she could.
    Ryn opened her eyes. Sitting up, she shifted to her knees, facing him. He clenched his teeth, afraid to breathe, as she pressed her palms to his face. Her gentle touch dominated his strength. Ryn’s ineffable beauty stripped him raw, leaving him a slave to her mercy. In that moment only one truth existed: he would protect her with his life, and she would make him human again.
    “There’s nothing about you I couldn’t love … if you’d just let me,” she