Chapter Text
“We have to do something.” Luisa stared at Gustavo with wide, pleading eyes. They were alone, sat within the compound, very late at night. A laptop and phone sat on the table between them. “This is not something we can bury, ‘Stavo.” She ignored his flinch at the reminder of what had happened to her.
“Luisa, this is not our business.” Gustavo tried to reason, but he recognised the mulish glint in her eye. She’d had that same glint when she’d told him she was going to London to train to be a pathologist, when she’d told him she was helping to find people’s lost loved ones. It was the one expression he knew he’d never win against, not that he didn’t try. “Luisa, drop it. Please.”
“She is hurting, ‘Stavo.” Luisa’s face crumpled with worry. “When I called Nikki last week, she was hurting. And I knew I had to find the phone when she mentioned it. I just was not expecting what we found.”
Both turned to stare at the device, looking completely innocuous despite the contents they’d just listened to after downloading the data to the laptop. “It is her private thoughts, Luisa.” Gustavo shook his head. “I know you and Nikki are similar, but even you must admit you would want such thoughts to stay private.”
“Normally, yes, but this isn’t normal. ‘Stavo, she might be back in London now, but she is still trapped under the ground. And Jack… Jack is a lot like you.” Luisa cupped the side of his face tenderly. “Do you remember what happened just after you saved me? You tried to shut me out, pretend nothing had happened, that I wasn’t there.”
“And you didn’t let me.” Gustavo covered her hand with his own, smiling gently. “I remember.”
“You told Jack that love is weakness, didn’t you?” Luisa pursed her lips, only a little irritated as Gustavo nodded. It was true enough in their world, but not in the lab she’d worked with Nikki in. And those two were definitely in love, just as she and Gustavo were. “He is pushing her away, ignoring her calls. The one person she needs most in the world is shutting her out.”
“And she does not know how to make him see.” Gustavo finished thoughtfully. “London is far from here, love is hardly weakness there.”
“Jack will not see it that way.” Luisa nodded to the phone. “I think we can make him see just how much Nikki needs him, we can make him know how much she cannot cope with him shutting her out. You heard her on that phone, ‘Stavo. He kept her sane in that box. I had other people in there. Nikki only had Jack’s voice. And now she is out of that box…”
“But she still needs Jack to keep her sane.” Gustavo sighed, sagging as he gave in to Luisa’s reasoning. “And he needs her to ground him, to remind him she is no longer missing, trapped in that box.”
“Exactly. I think he needs to hear her, really hear her and what she thinks.” Luisa shrugged. “It may be the only way. Otherwise she may stay trapped in that box forever, inside her head at least.”
“Just another buried soul in the city of buried souls.” Gustavo nodded. “Do you still have Jack’s email?”
“Yes, I have both his and Nikki’s.” Luisa typed in the email address quickly on the laptop. “But on this occasion, I think it would be best to just send it to Jack.”
“We send him this email, Luisa, but if it does not work, there is nothing more we can do. You know that, yes?”
“I know, but I know you, Gustavo. If that was me on that voice note, it would be the most powerful thing to show you how I felt. And Jack is very much like you. He would do anything for Nikki. I knew that within five minutes of meeting him, so did you, so did Eva.” She shuddered lightly at the reminder of all Eva had put her friend through. Gustavo attached the audio clip to the email as she continued. “He needs to hear her voice, to hear how she felt in that box, when she thought she would never see him again, and it will make him see that he needs her just as much as she needs him.”
“I hope you’re right, Luisa, I really hope so.” Gustavo quickly typed in a message for the forensic scientist before hitting the send button. “Hope is all we have now.”
…
Jack blinked in surprise as his laptop indicated an email, pausing in his tracks as he rubbed a towel through his hair to dry it from his shower. He’d been for an early morning run, habit now despite it being his day off, only having to pause twice on his regular route to decline Nikki’s calls. Each time he hit that red button the guilt threatened to overwhelm him, but he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t hear her voice anymore on the phone, not when he’d been sent out to save her, to bring her home, and he’d failed. If he’d just been quicker, worked things out faster, then he could’ve been there, could’ve gotten her out of that box before she’d been forced to save herself. Again. And now she was back, they were both back, but it didn’t feel right. Sometimes it felt like she hadn’t really gotten out of that box at all, like he’d failed in more ways than one. The nightmares didn’t help either, hearing Nikki’s screams and cries night after night begging him to get her out. And every night he failed. The phone went dead and she was lost, forever. What was it she’d said? She was one of a whole city buried beneath the earth. It certainly felt like that. Sighing, he made his way over to his laptop and sat down, wiggling the trackpad to wake it from its sleep.
One new email. Jack knew it wouldn’t be Nikki. She tried calling him several times a day, but she’d not attempted emails. He wasn’t sure what to think of that. Usually when Nikki wanted to see him, he’d get a barrage of texts, calls and emails before she’d just show up on his doorstep and pound on the door until he let her in. Only this time, she hadn’t. She’d been home for a month and though she called at least twenty times a day, she hadn’t sent him any texts or emails, nor had she shown up on his doorstep. It was unsettling, to say the least, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
He stared at the email with a confused tilt of his head. Gustavo. Why would Gustavo be sending him an email? He, Gustavo and Ernesto had been the ones to find Nikki eventually, when Jack had been kicking things out of anger and trying to figure out aloud where she could be. Ernesto had overhead and pieced it together before both had run to Gustavo and he’d driven them both to the burial mounds on the coast. One of which had definitely been burst open from the inside, and recently. One of her trainers was discarded near the broken pieces of wood. He knew it was her trainer. He’d stumbled down the slope to the beach, to find a soaked, dirty blonde wandering about, barefoot and dazed in the hot sun. Jack had never run so fast in his life, tripping over the sand to reach her as quickly as possible, actually lifting her off her feet with the force with which he’d swept her up into his arms. She’d clung onto his shoulders just as tightly, he remembered, sobbing into his ear how glad she was he was there.
Jack forced the well of emotions down ruthlessly. Nikki had saved herself, no matter that she’d thanked him for it. He had simply collected her after she’d saved herself. He’d failed. He glanced back at the email, blinking furiously to clear his gaze of the tears that welled up automatically with the memory of their reunion. Gustavo had seen it all, and seen the way he’d had her curled up on his lap the entire way back to the compound, unwilling to let her go just as much as she appeared unwilling to let him go either. But he’d not had contact with the other man since they’d gone to the airport a month earlier, so why would Gustavo try to get in contact now?
Opening the email, he quickly scanned his eyes over the message he’d been sent.
Jack.
I know things are difficult. Just listen to the audio file attached to this email, please. It will explain so much to you. I promise. Just listen. And Jack? Love is weakness, but it is also strength. It is all just a matter of perspective.
Gustavo.
Jack frowned. Of course, Gustavo often spoke cryptically, but this one made no sense to him. And why would he talk of love again? He already knew Nikki was taken because he hadn’t been able to hide his feelings for her well enough. Eva had seen the love he had for his best friend and had used it in the worst way possible, by taking her and leaving her to die in a wooden box beneath the ground. Because he loved her, would do anything for her. Love was definitely weakness, no matter what Gustavo said now. And he needed to be stronger. If he could just keep his distance, pretend he didn’t love her, maybe even just have her as a casual colleague, then she’d be safe. No one would take her again because he couldn’t keep control of his feelings. Still, he supposed, there was no harm in listening to whatever it was Gustavo had to say. It wouldn’t change his mind though. He clicked the audio file to open it, checked his sound was working, and pressed play.
“This is Nikki Alexander.” Jack hit the pause button quickly, his heart pounding in his chest so loudly he was surprised his neighbours couldn’t hear it. Whatever he’d been expecting, her tired, shaky voice wasn’t it. What the hell had he been sent? Because that sounded like she was in the box, the same tone she’d had when lecturing him about his love life and making him promise to burn her. Oh god. His blood ran cold and he shivered, despite the heat of his flat. Surely she hadn’t recorded a last message on that phone? And if she had, why would Gustavo send it to him, of all people? Shouldn’t it be up to Nikki to decide who heard her most private thoughts? But then, Jack knew that Gustavo never did anything without a reason, so there had to be a reason he’d sent this file to Jack and not to Nikki. He glanced at the email message again as his phone rang. He hit the decline button as soon as Nikki’s name popped up. The third time so far that day. She was leaving it a little longer between calls now. Maybe she was slowly giving up. Part of him wanted her to give up, for her future safety, but the other part screamed at him that he didn’t want her to give up, that he wanted to see that fight in her forever. She wasn’t Nikki Alexander without that stubborn tenacity, that drive to make people bend to her will in such a sweet way, no one could possibly take offence to it.
Jack stared blankly at the laptop for a long moment. He couldn’t talk to the present day Nikki, but he could still hear her voice. Maybe that’s why Gustavo sent it. He’d probably have guessed that Jack still felt guilty. There were a few similarities between them after all. Reaching out with a shaking hand, he hit the play button again.
“I’m a doctor, a pathologist from England, working for the British Home Office. I’ve been doing some with the Reunited Project. It’s possible I’m not going to live through this and there are some things I want to say.”
Jack almost let out a laugh despite the tears he could already feel building up and clouding his vision. That was his Nikki, the queen of understatement. She was trapped underground and her first instinct was to say it was a possibility she might not survive, not that it was almost certain she wouldn’t. He wanted to take offence too. She was so much more than simply a doctor, a pathologist. She was a remarkable human being who never gave up on anyone, especially him. She was kind and caring and compassionate, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. A tear slipped down his cheek. Since they’d come back and he’d started ignoring her, it was almost as though his life really didn’t have her in it anymore. And it wasn’t for the better either. It was cold and dark and sometimes, he wondered when his life had started to revolve around her to such an extent. It was like she was the sun and he had no choice but to orbit round her and hope for a little warmth. Warmth she freely gave with no expectations in return.
“Jack.”
Jack startled at the sound of his name from the speakers. She’d thought of him. Her first thought when she’d had something to say was to address him. A few more tears fell down his cheeks as his fingers tightened round the towel he still held. He could listen to her say his name forever.
“I know you’ve been doing everything you can. I know you’re frantic, I know you’ll feel like you failed,” Jack had to lean in as her voice became much quieter, almost like a confession of sorts, “but your voice has kept me sane in here.”
He hit the pause button again before his vision blurred completely and he let out a sob. She knew. She’d always known. Known how worried he was, how desperate he was to find her. She’d known he’d feel like he failed her, that he hadn’t been able to reach her in time. However, it was the last sentence that had tipped him over the edge. All this time he’d been declining her calls, refusing to speak to her to try and keep her safe, but his voice had been the reason she hadn’t lost it in that box, hadn’t lost hope and had stayed sane. He’d done that. His tears fell thick and fast as he allowed himself to feel the guilt, both at not being able to rescue her and for shutting her out for the last month, but also the relief she was safe and sound, no longer in that box, and the fear he’d never see her again, even though they were less than a mile apart at the moment, assuming she was at home. Thomas had already cleared her to stay home on sick leave until she was ready to come back, though Jack had only had a week off before throwing himself back into work. Not that it made it any easier, staring at her empty desk opposite him all day every day. No personal items because Thomas had had the decorators in and Clarissa had put Nikki’s personal items in a drawer to keep them safe. Being at work was almost like she had died out in Mexico, which only made it worse when she tried calling him.
Eventually, his sobs stopped and his tears dried up, leaving him feeling empty but freer than he’d felt in over a month. Cathartic in a way, he supposed, finally letting everything out. Finally allowing himself to feel properly, instead of using the gym and running as an outlet for the guilt alone. He’d tried going back to cage fighting, but he hadn’t even made it through the door when the memory of her disappointed face stopped him. He couldn’t do it, he’d realised. He couldn’t put her through that terror and worry and disappointment again. So the gym and running it was.
Nikki’s first thought was for him, Jack reminded himself as he stared at the audio file. She’d been dying, or so she’d thought, and her first thought was to try and assuage his guilt, to try and make him feel better. He nearly cried again at the selflessness of his best friend. The woman he loved. Not entirely sure he wanted to hear the rest of it, but knowing he had to, Jack hit the play button again reluctantly.
“Clarissa. I never thanked you enough. I never told you how loved you are.
“Thomas. I’m sorry I’ve caused so much fuss. I know I drive you crazy, but I respect you so much.”
Jack nearly snorted. “Bloody hell, Nikki. Trapped in a box and sorry for causing fuss.” Of course Nikki would be apologising for anyone having to worry over her. She never did quite believe that she was worth the fuss they gave her, never thought she was worthy of that care, the love they had for her. And not just him, he’d seen it in her eyes when it had come from Clarissa and Thomas too. Like she couldn’t believe she was worth sticking around for, that she would make them give up or leave her soon enough and she wasn’t worth fussing over. Jack swallowed heavily. He really hoped she didn’t think he’d given up on her, that he’d decided she was too much to bother with and that that was why he was declining her calls. She would never be too much for him. He’d never be able to get enough of her, no matter what. He blinked as she began speaking again, quickly focusing on her shaky yet sure words.
“I know you all wonder sometimes, why I’ve never settled down, why I’ve never focused on my own life, a family maybe. But this has been my family. Your lives, their lives. It’s the only decent family I’ve ever known.”
He stared at the screen. Of course he’d wondered, they all had. He’d half expected her to be married with a whole bunch of kids in tow when he’d first started working with her. The beautiful, intelligent pathologist. Who wouldn’t want to snatch her up and have a family with her? Obviously, he’d quickly found out that wasn’t the case and he’d been left wondering about the enigma that was Nikki Alexander. Leo had definitely been more of a father to her than anything else and Jack had half expected to get the ‘what are your intentions towards my daughter’ talk from the former head of the Lyell on many occasions. Particularly when Leo had found out Jack had taken Nikki down a sewer of all places. Instead, Leo had simply stared at Nikki, who had shrugged and proclaimed it to not be as bad as she’d thought it was going to be. Still, Leo seemed to be the only family Nikki had had, with a few careful questions over the years revealing both her actual parents were dead and that her dad hadn’t been worth the title anyway, including that Leo hadn’t liked him either. Jack had only broached the subject of relationships with her once in those first few months, before she’d gotten with that Lord bloke. She’d simply stared sadly at him and told him quietly that sometimes, loving someone wasn’t enough.
“Jack, Clarissa, Thomas. You are my family. I love you.”
Jack stared in shock at the screen as the audio file finished and the sound faded from the speakers. They were her family. And she’d put him first in the list, again. He was her family. She loved him. Well, she loved them all, but she loved him. He’d thought he failed, but she thought he was the one thing keeping her sane down there. He’d thought loving her was a bad thing, but she thought it was everything. What was it Gustavo’s message had said? It was all a matter of perspective. And from Nikki’s perspective, he’d probably done more than she’d ever hoped for for her, been more than enough.
His phone rang again and he’d hit the decline button before he’d thought it through, staring at the device. He couldn’t go on like this. Not now. Not knowing how bleak his life looked without her in it, her smile lighting up his whole world. Not knowing how much his voice, his empty promises and his words had meant to her when she’d been utterly and completely alone.
He was up and halfway to the door, phone and keys in hand, before he realised he was still only dressed in a towel from his earlier shower. Jack glanced down at himself and almost laughed. He should probably put clothes on first. But then, he was going to go and do something he should have done a month ago.
…
Jack pulled up outside the house, putting the handbrake on and turning off the engine before letting out a shaky breath. Instinct and adrenaline had carried him most of the way there but now he was here, he could feel the nerves set back in. What if he’d left it too long? She hadn’t tried calling him the whole way there, his phone lying silent and undisturbed the entire drive. Then again, no one else had tried calling him either, not that he expected them to. Clarissa and Thomas had both tried to broach the topic of Nikki with him, but he’d shut them down quickly with a muttered explanation that they’d never understand what had happened out there. Jack knew he wasn’t wrong, but he could kick himself now for shutting out the only person that would understand what had gone on out there, because she’d gone through it too. She didn’t know everything he’d been through, but then he didn’t know everything she’d been through either. He’d thought that being apart would help, would mean that he could deal with things alone, but he’d been wrong, so wrong. Sharing what happened with Nikki and understanding her side of it would probably go a lot further in helping them both heal from the psychological scars Mexico had left on them. She was the only one to understand him in general, and he understood her in a way neither Thomas nor Clarissa did.
He glanced up at the house, taking note of the almost empty vibe it gave off despite the car sat in the driveway. No lights on, but then it wasn’t exactly dark outside, so that didn’t really say much. Curtains downstairs open, but no movement he could spot from the safety of his car. Maybe he should have called, made sure she was in, but he couldn’t do it. He needed to see her, not just hear her voice on the other side of the phone again. The phone after so long apart would only bring back that helplessness of feeling as though she was still trapped, still in that box with no way out. Jack shuddered, resting his hands on the steering wheel to stop them shaking. Nikki was safe, he reminded himself. She was only ten feet or so away, nestled safely inside her house. He could see her for himself just as soon as he made his way up the driveway.
Mentally shaking himself, Jack climbed out of the car and locked it, ambling his way up the driveway and hearing the crunch of the gravel beneath his shoes. Her car didn’t look as though she’d used it recently and he found himself wondering just what she did with her days now work wasn’t an option for her. Nikki would live at the Lyell given half the chance, and Jack had lost count of the number of times he’d guided her sleepy form to Thomas’ office sofa for a nap at stupid o’clock in the morning so he could go home safe in the knowledge she’d get at least some sleep.
Jack approached the front of the house, pausing as he got to the front step. It didn’t feel right somehow, he found, frowning as he tried to put his finger on exactly what it was his brain was telling him. He didn’t know what prompted him to head for the living room window instead of the front door, but he was glad he had as he peered through the glass.
She lay on the sofa, curled up on her side under a soft baby blue blanket he’d bought her a couple of Christmases back, sleeping fitfully. He remembered that blanket because he’d gone to three different shops trying to find the comfiest cosiest one possible, settling on the baby blue one because it suited her so well. Her face had lit up when she’d unwrapped it and she’d wrapped her arms round him for a hug in thanks. Jack squinted a little as he tried to make out more from his crouch at the window. Her hair was messy and unkempt and dark circles under her eyes told him she was probably sleeping about as well as he was at the moment. Her clothes looked clean, but the general mess of the sofa and around her made him think she spent most of her time there, rather than moving throughout the whole house. As he watched, she tossed and turned, her face contorting in pain and fear, kicking the blanket off as she woke herself up with a heart wrenching cry he heard from outside. How had her neighbours not called the police yet? His heart immediately went out to her as she scrabbled to a seated position, clearly trying to calm herself down as she grabbed her phone blindly.
Realising what was about to happen, Jack grabbed his own phone from his pocket and put the ringer on silent. Just in time as his phone started up, her name flashing up on the caller ID. He stared down at the device for a moment, guilt and elation warring inside him. She had a nightmare and her first instinct was to call him. Well, he had a better option than answering the phone to her this time. This time he really could truly be there for her. Quickly, he hit the decline button and turned away from the window, though not before he caught her wiping a tear from her cheek. He quickly pushed down the guilt. He couldn’t change the last month but he could change what happened next.
Hopping up the front step to her door, he knocked quickly, waiting a few impatient moments whilst she probably tried to make herself look a little less like she’d just been sleeping on her sofa. Jack knew he’d give her all the time in the world if she needed it. His heart beat wildly in his chest as the lock on the door clicked and the door slowly opened, revealing Nikki stood there in leggings and an oversized jumper, almost drowning in her own clothes. “Jack.” She breathed out, her face contorting in shock. He drank in the sight of her eagerly, the blonde curls and dark eyes, pale skin and slender frame. She was there; she was really there. Relief and happiness to see her rushed through him.
“Nikki.” Jack surged forward, engulfing her slight frame in his arms as he wrapped her in his embrace, nestling his face in her hair as a couple of tears escaped. She was there, right in front of him, alive and well and clinging to his back like he’d disappear if she loosened her hold even a little. Not that he didn’t understand; he was scared she’d disappear too if he let her go, her escape and return home an illusion. “Nikki.”
“Jack.” He could feel her breath on his shoulder, his shirt damp under her tears. Her face nestled into his body. “You’re here.”
“I am.” He confirmed, running a hand up and down her back soothingly. She was soft and warm and unmistakably Nikki. How did he ever think he could stay away from her, shut her out? “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise?”
He hated the tiny, defeated tone to her voice, an almost childlike quality to it as she spoke. He’d done that to her, made her so unsure of him that she felt the need to get that promise from him. And he’d promise her the world if she wanted it, do anything for her. “I promise, Nikki.”
“Do you want to come in?” Her voice was muffled a little against his shoulder, but he heard her all the same, nodding against her hair. His brain was still having a little trouble registering anything other than elated disbelief that she was there, in his arms and clinging to him as much as he was clinging to her. Her question however, snapped his brain to the realisation he was there, stooped over on her doorstep, hugging her tightly to him. A scenario he’d imagined many times, though he never would have dreamt up this particular set of circumstances.
“Sure.” He stepped over the threshold rather than let her step away, taking one hand from her back to shut the door behind him so he didn’t have to let her go from his embrace. A smirk to his neck told him Nikki knew exactly why he was pushing her back into her own house. God only knew what it looked like to the neighbours, but Jack couldn’t find it in himself to care. Nikki clearly didn’t either. He paused in the hallway, only then realising he wasn’t sure where she wanted to go, and it was her house. Nikki pulled her face away from his shoulder, glancing up with big, red rimmed eyes as she read his expression expertly, smiling softly. She backed up to her living room, Jack shuffling obligingly as they entered the room. Together, they both made their way towards the sofa, still wrapped up in each other’s arms.
Jack sat down first on the comfy piece of furniture, pulling Nikki gently down to sit on his lap, his hands curling round her waist to get her sat comfortably over his legs. She snuggled in, her head finding the juncture of his neck and shoulder instinctively. They didn’t really do this, Jack knew. Acts of comfort between them usually contained a touch to the arm or shoulder, or him wrapping an arm round her shoulder for a side hug of sorts. This sort of embrace, of gaining such comfort and contentment from each other, was long overdue.
Jack glanced over the top of Nikki’s head, noting the general mess of her living room. Sure, Nikki was never the absolute neatest person in the world, but this mess looked more like she was living off her sofa than she’d simply forgotten to tidy up. She definitely wasn’t as put together as she was trying to pretend for his sake. Idly, he wondered if he’d see how much she was struggling if he hadn’t done this, hadn’t shown up unexpectedly. Would he have seen through her pretence if say, she’d shown up at work one day looking just as perfect as she always did and making out like nothing had happened to her? He wanted to say that he would in an instant, but as recent events had proven, Nikki was quite adept at tricking him when she put her mind to it. If he could go back and get Nikki out of Mexico before Eva took her, he’d do it in a heartbeat. Not for his own sake, but to prevent Nikki having to go through all she did. To prevent her having to go through what she was now, keep her safe and never having to know what it was like to be buried alive.
“I’m sorry.” Jack whispered into her hair. He felt Nikki stiffen slightly in his embrace.
“What for?” Her voice was just as quiet as his, despite them being the only ones in the house.
“Ignoring you. Shutting you out. Not being here when you needed me.” He reeled off sadly, rubbing tiny soothing circles into the skin at her waist where her jumper had ridden up a little from the awkward way she’d manoeuvred to sit on his lap.
“That’s okay. I know you’re suffering too.” Nikki pulled back from his neck to watch his eyes carefully, her own dark and sympathetic. How did she do it? Jack was genuinely astounded at the sheer intensity with which she cared about other people, even when she was so obviously suffering herself.
“It’s not an excuse.” He shook his head stubbornly.
Nikki placed a hand on his cheek, stilling his movements as she watched him closely. “I think it is, Jack.”
“You knew didn’t you? You always knew.” His words blurted out before he could stop them, overwhelmed at how much he didn’t deserve the woman currently sat on his lap, yet she appeared to want him anyway.
“Knew what?” Her face scrunched up in confusion and Jack had to fight down the urge to kiss the expression from her features.
“That I’d blame myself, for failing. I went out there to find you, to bring you home. I failed.” Jack confessed. It wasn’t like she didn’t know he’d feel like he failed, not with what she’d left in that voice note.
Nikki’s face fell, a tear slipping down her cheek as her other hand joined her first on his face, cupping his head gently between her palms. Eyes wide and imploring. “Jack, that’s nuts. You’re here, I’m here. We made it. You saved the lives of-”
“Please stop.” Jack cut her off bitterly. He couldn’t hear it, couldn’t hear her remind him of the way she’d tricked him into saving everyone apart from her. He understood why of course; Nikki always did put everyone else’s welfare and wellbeing above her own. How did she not see that she was worth all those people and more to him? Hell, he’d gotten a man killed just to try and get her back. Then again, she didn’t even think she was worth the fuss of being searched for when she was in trouble.
“Jack, you’ve got nothing to prove. Nothing.” Nikki told him with conviction, her lips barely an inch from his own. Jack stared at her. She really believed that. She really believed that he had nothing to prove as far as she was concerned. She thought he was more than enough for her. He’d spent so long trying to be the best, to save her whenever she got into trouble, to improve in a constant battle to compare himself with some of the men she’d dated over the last few years. It had never occurred to him that she didn’t want that, didn’t want him to be like the men she’d dated, the ones that didn’t last. She liked him just as he was. Imperfect, a little broken, completely in love with her.
His face dipped forward, capturing her lips softly with his own and swallowing the tiny gasp she let out at his movement. Her lips were soft and warm, everything he’d ever dreamt of. It was like floating, a heady feeling leaving him wondering how he’d gone so long without kissing her when she tasted like heaven. He gripped her waist tighter, pulling her impossibly closer as he pulled away just enough to rest his forehead against hers, both staring at the other in surprise.
“I’m never letting you go again.” He breathed out, grinning as she sent him a breathless smile in return, stroking his cheekbones gently.
“Good.”