Betrayal & Redemption

Chapter 17

Caroline POV 

We descend the stairs and I try to head off to find Evelyn. Jackson holds my and pulls me back into him. He tilts my face up and kisses me. 

"No! No more. My body needs nourishment," I tell him sternly. 

"Mmm I disagree. That body needs ravaging," he whispers in my ear. 

I flush and a shivers runs down my spine. I'm about to say f**k it and have food brought to our room when Evelyn appears from the hallway. I leap away from Jackson and he just quirks his mouth up into a smile. She rolls her eyes and looks at me- he eyes focus on my neck and her face is graced with a knowing smile. 

"Finally!" she squeals. 

"Oh god," I say, facepalming myself. 

"I thought s*x at least, with all the house shaking roars, but a marking?? Must've been good," she winks at me and loops her arm through mine. 

My face flushes completely red and she takes me in from head to toe, before leaning in and sniffing deeply. 

"Ohh yes. He got ya good," she says.

"How do you mean?" 

"You smell like straight Jackson. I can't even smell under all hi-" 

Jackson clears his throat and gives her a look. She changes the subject. 

"Well we are having a fancy shmancy dinner so let's get you all dressed up! I have a dress in my closet that will make him want to take you in front of everybody!"

"OH GOD!" 

"And if he rips it, he replaces it. Right, Jackson?" she eyes him.

"Of course, Luna Evelyn," he says with a wide grin. 

With his blessing, she starts up the stairs. 

"I know you aren't planning on wearing that, Jackson. You'd better come with. You're much bigger than Carter but I'm sure we have something that'll fit," she says in a no-nonsense tone. 

He sighs and follows us, slipping his hand into mine. Just that small gesture sends desire shooting through my core and I bite back a moan. 

Is it supposed to be like this? I ask Rae.

Not always. He's sending us into heat quicker than normal... She says carefully. 

Heat? Like...heat heat? 

Is there another kind? she laughs. 

We reach Evelyn's bedroom quickly and I realize they've been chatting while I had my conversation with Rae. I try to catch up but I have no idea what Evelyn is talking about. 

"...and then Carly comes up and pushes him right into the pool! Fully clothed!" she laughs and I laugh along with her, hoping they don't realize it's forced. 

She points Jackson to another door opposite her closet. 

"Go in there, sugar, and see what you can find. We don't have time to do alterations but maybe a nice shirt, tie, and some pants with a belt and shoes. Oh and GREEN might be a good color for you," she says and winks at me. 

We walk into her closet and she shuts the door. 

"While you guys were upstairs scaring the daylights out of any children within 100 miles, I ordered some stuff online and had someone pick it up," she produces a pink bag with tissue paper peeking out of the top. 

"Is that for me??" I ask, mouth wide open. 

"Oh honey, you're gonna catch flies doin that. Course it's for you- 32DD right?? And a size medium on the bottom?" she asks, looking at her nails. 

I bite my lip and nod and she gestures towards the bag. I pull the paper out and then follows a silky emerald green lacy corset with matching panties and a garter set. I look back at her, questioning. 

"I have been waiting for the woman that steals this man's heart. Carter and I are the only family Jackson's got so I'll be damned if he isn't spoiled in the bedroom," she says. 

I blush deeply and she continues. 

"You're the closest thing I have to a sister so I'll be spoiling you too, which you will see tomorrow when we go shoppin!" a mischievous look crosses her face and she wiggles her eyebrows at me. 

I hug her tightly and thank her. I've never had anything like this in my life. I look down at the fabric in my hands, confused. 

"I-uh.. I don't even know how to put this on," I tell her. 

"Oooh well. We're about to get to know each other on a whole other level," she says, grinning. 

An hour later we descend the stairs. Jackson had knocked on the door a while ago stating that he was going downstairs and asked if we were okay. Giggling, we both told him we were fine. I'm wearing a satin emerald green and black dress with a lace bodice that is strapless and hi-low, meaning it is high in the front and drags on the ground in the back. That is pairs with black lace pumps that I am walking very well in, considering I am a total klutz. As I'm walking down, I see Jackson, his back to us. As if he can feel me behind him, he turns and his eyes instantly meet mine. He's wearing a white shirt and black dress pants with suspenders and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. I have never seen a more gorgeous man in my entire  life. My mind flashes back to the image of him standing over me, in all his naked glory, with his hard c**k in my mouth. The thought makes me instantly wet and when we get to the bottom of the stairs, he inhales deeply, letting me know that he can smell me, which somehow makes me more turned on. My hair is worn in loose curls down my back and my eyes are smoky and darkly lined, with a red gloss on my lips. He takes me in his arms and buries his face in my neck, smelling me. 

"Good. You still have my scent on you. That should cover the smell of your arousal," he whispers in my ear. "It would not be wise of another male to so much as look in your direction. I will tear him limb from f*****g limb." 

I look at Evelyn who is ignoring us and smack him in the arm. 

"Don't get all pissy over a hypothetical you came up with," I tell him. 

He laughs at me and a throat clears behind us. We all turn to see Carter looking dashing in a suit. He glances at me and then his eyes train on Evelyn, who is wearing a red version of the dress I am wearing. Her blond hair is done up, though, in a tight bun on the back of her head. I smile when I remember that she told me Carter likes it when she wears her hair up so he can take it down later. Carter extends his elbow to Evelyn and Jackson does the same to me. I take his arm as Evelyn takes Carter's and we all head towards the kitchen. My stomach does a flip flop and I can't help but be nervous. The last time I did anything like this, my mother sold me off to the highest bidder. Could that have really just been a week or so ago? So much has happened since, I haven't really gotten the chance to mourn the loss of my mother- not that she died, but she is certainly dead to me. Jackson stops suddenly and tugs me into a side room. 

"What are you thinking about?" 

"My mother..." 

"Well stop. For now. We will need to discuss it later. You are going to see a doctor tomorrow as well and you can talk to them," he says. "Now. Can we go to this stupid dinner so I can show everyone who you belong to?" He asks, brushing back my hair so that my mark shows. 

I nod and he goes to kiss me. 

"If you start, we won't stop, and I need food," I tell him, pulling away. 

"Fine. I will make sure that extra food is brought up to our room. There's a fridge up there that's full stocked but we can add some more stuff to it," he says and he leads me out of the little room. My tummy flip flops again as I think about what his plans are, and a gush comes out of me. 

"f*****g hell it's gonna be one helluva night." 

Jackson POV

I can smell her juices so strongly that it takes everything in me to not take her right then and there against the wall. There is no woman on this planet more beautiful than Caroline, and I will say that to her every second of every day if I have to to make sure she knows it. Her red hair is curled elegantly down her back and I want to twist it around my wrist and f**k her doggy again, pulling it. We make our way to the ballroom, which is past the kitchen and past the pool area. The doors are opened for us and we descend the stairs into the room. Carter sure knows how to make a brother feel welcome. The doors have all been opened so people can go inside or out. The back wall is all food, set up buffet style. There's a bar off to the left, tables arranged throughout the room, and a dance floor set up in the middle. I lead Caroline towards the bar and order 3 fingers of whiskey and look over to Caroline who is looking at Evelyn. She rushes over and whispers something the bartender and a cup of golden wine is set in front of us. 

"Come sit with us!" Evelyn says. 

I look at her table and there's Giselle, glaring daggers at my mate. We make our way over, and Caroline doesn't even hesitate to sit between me and the girl. I can't help but smile. As soon as Caroline sits, Giselle's nostrils flare and her eyes dart to my mate's new mark. 

"What the f*****g hell, Jackson?!" she screams. 

"Yes?" I say, not even bothering to look at her. 

"You MARKED this stupid little w***e?" She asks, standing. 

Evelyn stands but surprising us both, Caroline sets her glass down and rises so that her eyes meet Giselle's. 

"I don't know who the f**k you think you are or who you thought you were going to be, but it sure as s**t isn't his mate. If I find out you have so much as looked at him, I will rip your f*****g eyes out of your head. Do not come near him. Do you understand me?" she says, holding the girl's gaze. 

Caroline's voice drifts over the table and the power coming off of her almost makes me want to submit. Who the f**k is this girl? Carter and Evelyn exchange a look and Evelyn beams with pride. 

"And if I catch you giving Evelyn another look, you will answer to me. Now leave us. I don't want to see your face again tonight," Caroline spits, then gracefully sits back down and picks up her glass, taking another sip. 

Giselle, who looks like she all but pissed herself, turns and rushes out of the room. Good riddance. If I had a ring, I would beg this woman to marry me right here and now. She nonchalantly looks over at Evelyn and strikes up a conversation about the mall tomorrow. 

"Y'all are going shopping? May I come?" I ask, taking a pull from my glass. 

"Well s**t, bro, if you're going, I'll go too. I could use some new tech gadgets. Our new merger is out of Korea, and they said they would send some stuff over, but I ain't gotta clue how to use it," he tells me. 

I grab Caroline's hand under the table and run my thumb across the back of her hand. 

"Sure. I was actually thinking about getting Caroline a phone too, could we set it up on your company plan so it's not traceable?" I ask. 

He nods knowingly. The girls get up and head over to the food, heads tilted close and they giggle every now and then. 

"Okay. What is the deal? Who is she?" Carter asks as soon as they're out of earshot. 

"Dude, I have no f*****g idea. But I plan on spending the rest of my life finding out," I tell him. 

"Uh-oh. I know that look. Do we need to go to the jewelry store tomorrow?" 

I just give him a smirk and my eyes meet Caroline's across the room. My smirk turns to a smile and he punches me in the arm. 

"Good for you, man. I'll mind-link Evelyn and we will get a ring size," he says. "You sure about this?" 

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," I say and wink at Caroline who blushes.