Madly and Wolfhardt Read Free Page A

confused.
    “What?”
    His brow wrinkled slightly, his smile widening enough to bring out the single dimple in his right cheek.
    “You mean you don’t remember that?”
    “Of course I remember that.  I just- I’m just—”
    Jackson chuckled, a sound that resonated in my chest and tugged at my heart.
    “Who could blame the poor guy?  The way you flirted with him—touching his arm and laughing up at him—he was overcome by your extraordinary beauty.  I’m sure if I had killed him, he’d have died happy.”
    “I wasn’t flirting with him.  I was just—”
    “Oh, come on!  You had the attention of every guy at the ceremony.  It’s almost as if you were trying to make someone jealous,” he said, winking down at me.
    My heart fluttered behind my sternum.  I felt like I’d had a mini-stroke or something.  What happened to the surly Sentinel that I’d been walking with two minutes ago?  Where had this Jackson—the one I’d known forever, the one I’d thought I’d loved—been all this time?
    Before I could comment, the prolonged creak of a door opening reached our ears.  Jackson stopped and turned toward me.  Although I couldn’t take my eyes off him, I saw movement in my peripheral vision.
    “Admit it.  You were trying to make me jealous,” he said, grinning down at me.  “Sell it, Madly,” he whispered, barely moving his lips, his eyes looking meaningfully into mine.
    It was then that I figured out what he’d been doing.  And it made me furious.  He’d been pretending, merely playing a part with his friendly repartee.  Meanwhile, I’d been falling under the spell of the Jackson that I used to know.  Fortunately, two could play that game.
    Turning on my brightest smile, I stretched up on my toes and wrapped my arms around Jackson’s neck.  “Of course I was trying to make you jealous.  How else was I going to get you to kiss me?”
    I stared into the powdery blue of Jackson’s eyes, daring him to back down now.  I saw the gleam of challenge light the shimmering pools, but behind it was something else—something warm and dark and forbidden.
    “Is that what you wanted?  For me to kiss you?” Jackson asked quietly, his hands drifting lazily up and down my sides. 
    As I watched, his pupils swelled to eclipse the azure of his eyes and his gaze flickered to my mouth and back.
    “Mmm,” I murmured, unable to speak past the lump of excitement in my throat.
    “You asked for it,” he whispered, tilting his head to one side and lowering his lips to mine.
    The first touch of his soft mouth was feather light, little more than the kiss of the wind on my skin.  But in that brief contact, electricity passed between us, a jolt that made my lips tingle, and I wanted more. 
    As if he could read my mind, Jackson obliged.  Bringing one big hand up to cup the back of my head, he angled his face and deepened the kiss.
    I felt the pressure of his mouth everywhere.  It spread like fingers of flame down my neck and chest and puddled like boiling lava in my stomach.  It overflowed and ran in hot rivulets down my legs, setting fire to my toes.  My lips parted and I felt as much as heard Jackson’s groan, his breath flooding my mouth with moist warmth.
    “What are you kids doing in my yard?” a harsh, old voice called, shattering the private world Jackson and I had found.
    Jackson lifted his head and stared down at me for several long, intense seconds before he stepped back and turned toward the voice.
    “Sorry, ma’am,” he called.  “We were just out for a walk, heading that way,” he explained, pointing to indicate the other side of her house.
    “Be on your way then.  There’s no trespassing on my property.”
    “Yes, ma’am.  I apologize.  We were just leaving.”
    Taking my hand once more, Jackson pulled me along behind him. 
     

CHAPTER THREE
     
    We were almost past the house into the woods on the other side before I finally managed to take my eyes off him long enough