Chapter 62

All the confidence Tapiwa had walked out with from the coffee shop had vanished by the time she got back to Jadon's house. Her nerves had her in a stranglehold, barely allowing her a full breath.

Tapiwa paced. She twisted her fingers together until they hurt, but barely registered the pain past her swirling thoughts. An arranged marriage? Seriously? Tapiwa shook her head. She knew she shouldn't be so surprised her parents had come up with that, but it still shocked and hurt her.

It also humiliated her that her father would think she was only good enough for an old widower. Tapiwa cursed under her breath, turned, and headed for the kitchen. She needed something to calm her nerves and remembered Jadon had alcohol there.

She didn't want to drink. Not really. Not now when she needed her head clear and alert with everything happening. But it was either she had a drink or she began to cry and the latter just left a bad taste in her mouth. She didn't want Jadon to come home to a breakdown after his confrontation with his father.

Just then, the thought of the confrontation and of the possible outcome only hiked up Tapiwa's anxiety, and her destination changed. Tapiwa was back in the living room, searching for her phone. She needed to call Jadon and find out what was going on before she lost her mind.

But just as Tapiwa picked up the gadget, she heard the front door open. Her heart beating at the back of her throat, Tapiwa rushed out of the living room into the hallway, her phone forgotten. The moment she spotted Jadon, something in her chest settled.

A large part of her had been worried. Confronting the blackmailer, whether it was his father or another person, was a dangerous thing to do, especially when the person had shown little boundaries about how far they were willing to go to accomplish their plans.

Jadon stopped just inside the doorway and studied her. He didn't appear any less pissed than when he had left for his father's office, and Tapiwa imagined that meant things hadn't gone well. But before she could ask, Jadon seemed to notice her own distress.

Furrow deepening, he shut and locked the door and then made his way toward her. "What happened?" he asked when he'd reached her and grabbed her shoulders as though he thought she might turn and leave and wanted to ensure that didn't happen.

Tapiwa's heart warmed at his obvious concern, but she shook her head. "You first. How did it go?"

Huffing, Jadon turned her around and headed them for the kitchen as he spoke. "As well as we anticipated it would go. He denied everything and still tried to make me feel stupid for my life's decisions."

"Your father denied paying the stalker? But his name and account were in the man's phone."

"I told him. He still denied paying or even being involved," Jadon told her. He then went ahead and gave her a summarized version of what his father had said while he found his liquor supply and poured them both a glass on the kitchen island.

Tapiwa held the glass between her hands and stared down into the amber liquid but made no move to bring it to her lips. Jadon, of course, noticed. He set down his own glass after swallowing half the contents in one burning gulp. Hands both braced on the island, he leaned forward to catch her gaze. "Are you now going to tell me why you are so agitated?" he asked patiently.

A beat passed before Tapiwa looked up. "I had coffee with my mom today."

"I see. It didn't go well?"

A scoff escaped Tapiwa. "Understatement. My father found me a husband," she blurted out before she finally swallowed half the liquid in her glass and promptly started coughing.

Jadon was at her side in a heartbeat. He patted her back firmly with one hand and took the glass away from her with the other. When she was finally done trying to expel one of her lungs, he spoke, his jaw clenched tight.

"Who is the man?"

"It doesn't matter," Tapiwa answered, her free hands curling into fists on the island.

Jadon seemed to think about it for a second, the frown on his forehead severe. "No. I suppose it doesn't because you won't be marrying anyone."

"What?"

"You heard me." Jadon suddenly held both her shoulders firmly. "I wouldn't allow you to marry anyone."

Tapiwa's frown deepened with confusion. It wasn't the reaction she had expected. She'd hoped Jadon would maybe get upset about the whole thing. Perhaps she had hoped for a little show of jealousy. However, what Jadon displayed almost seemed possessive. As though someone wanted to take away his favorite toy and he wasn't going to allow it. She wasn't sure how to take it.

This was the same man who had told her family he wouldn't marry her, she reminded herself. Yes, they were attracted to each other and burned for each other like two hormonal teenagers, but what did that say about the future?

Tapiwa's eyes narrowed, and she stepped out of his hold. "I already told my mother I wasn't going to be forced into any marriage. Even if that was my only way back into my father's good books."

Silence fell around them for a moment as they just stared at each other, unspoken questions hanging in the air like a thick fog. When Jadon finally spoke, his voice was calmer.

"I am not going to force you into marriage, either."

"What are you talking about? You already said you wouldn't marry me."

Jadon held her gaze. "That was when your father tried to force me to do it. I will not be manipulated. My father has also hinted at marriage to save my face, but I will not do it for that reason, either."

Tapiwa shook her head. "Then I'm not sure what we are talking about." Her chest squeezed. She realized that she wanted so much to hear that Jadon wanted her, but that wasn't what he was saying. He was telling her about all the reasons he wouldn't marry her. It hurt, even though she knew rationally that it was insane to talk about marriage when they weren't even dating.

But before she could run from the room because she really felt like running and hiding in some dark corner until all the emotions drained out of her, he closed the distance between them. Jadon then capped her face and lowered his mouth to hers ever so slowly, as though he were giving her the opportunity to back off. She didn't.

Soon enough their lips met and Tapiwa couldn't hold back the moan that rose in her throat. Her fingers tangled in his shirt and she held on, tilting her head so the angle was just perfect for him to devour her.

This was what she'd wanted. His tongue tangled with hers, the taste of alcohol preventing her from just tasting him, but that was alright. For now.

But then Jadon pulled away and an embarrassing whimper left her parted lips. "No." The word slipped out unaided.

Jadon chuckled softly. That made Tapiwa's eyes snap open, and her heart freeze. For a single second, she wondered if he was just toying with her, but then she looked into his eyes and saw the raw desire there. She could also feel his fast heartbeat under her fingers.

He shook his head and lifted his gaze above her head as though he needed to look away just to regain some control. "I need to say something before we get carried away," he said, his gaze still fixed away from hers.

"Okay?"

Jadon took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a second, and then let Tapiwa go, only to drop to one knee in front of her. Tapiwa gasped, her eyes wide with shock. "Wh-what. What are you doing?"

The man had the audacity to smile, although it didn't reach his eyes. "Tapiwa Mvula, our start was terrible. And we may have messed up a few things along the way."

Tapiwa blinked, her bottom lip caught between her teeth even as her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest.

"We are still more or less strangers," he went on. "But like I'd said before, I would like the chance to get to know you and possibly build a life with you." He paused then and frowned. "I don't think I am saying exactly what I want to say."

Tapiwa dared to be bold and took a step forward so that Jadon had to tilt his head back to meet her gaze. "So, what is it you really want to say?"

He didn't hesitate. "If you are going to marry anyone, it will be me."

The rest of the evening was lost on Tapiwa after that declaration. She vaguely remembered dropping to her knees in front of Jadon and kissing him. Then things shifted. She might have started the kiss, but he took over and had her under his body moments later. The rest was a haze of mind-blowing pleasure.