Page 184 of Deacon

I gave him a flat look. “Ink is being an asshole and refusing to admit his feelings, so that is obviously not going to happen.” I shifted carefully against the pillows. “Also Evan is dating Garrett.”

Jackson smirked. “Which is probably the best way to get Ink to get his shit together.”

“Jackson.”

“What? I’m right.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You are messy.”

“Says the woman who’s best friends with Evan.”

Fair.

The teasing eased out of his face when he leaned closer. “Move in with me,” he said again, quieter now. “Let me take care of you. Let me take care of both of you. I know I don’t deserve how easy I’m asking this to sound, but I’m asking anyway.”

I looked at him and let myself see all of him at once. The boy who had left and the man who had come back. The father trying to learn seventeen years of Jade in a few weeks. The man who had carried me out of Jude’s house with blood on his hands and terror buried so deep in his face I hadn’t understood until afterward how close he had come to breaking.

He leaned closer. “I can be more persuasive.”

Before I could answer, he kissed me. Slow. Warm. Careful around my split lip. His hand settled lightly at my waist while the other slid into my hair, and the kiss deepened by degrees until my body remembered exactly how dangerous his version of persuasion could be.

When he pulled back, my breathing had gone less cooperative. “That,” I said, trying for dignity, “was manipulative.”

His grin flashed. “Did it work?”

I held his gaze long enough to make him wait, though we both knew where this was headed. “Yes.”

His whole face opened. Hope looked younger on him than anything else did.

“Yes?” he repeated, like he needed to make sure pain medication hadn’t made me generous.

“Yes, Jackson.” A laugh slipped out at the way he lit up. “We’ll move in.”

He kissed me again, quicker this time, and I let him have the celebration before adding the practical truth. “Mostly because I love you, it probably is safer for Jade, and I like the idea of being closer to Blue.”

His hand came up to cup my face. “I love you too.”

I let the moment sit just long enough to make him comfortable. “But I hate that I won’t be as close to Evan.”

His eyes narrowed exactly the way I wanted. “You really know how to ruin a man’s moment.”

“I’m talented.”

He kissed my forehead with a low sound of resignation. “Evan will survive. Probably while wearing something dramatic and carrying muffins. I’m sure he’ll find a way to come over as often as possible.”

“Accurate.”

Jackson was clearly not done meddling. “And if Ink ever stops acting like a moody bastard with unresolved feelings, maybe Evan will be living in the house on the other side of us before you know it.”

I snorted. “There it is. Your matchmaking agenda.”

“It’s not an agenda.” He rose and held out his hand. “It’s pattern recognition.”

I took it. “That just sounds like military speak for exactly what I just said.”

Jackson threw his head back and laughed, then helped me to my feet with infuriating patience, adjusting his grip every time my face tightened. We had barely started toward the hallway when Jade’s bedroom door opened.

She took one look at us and narrowed her eyes. “What did you two just do?”