Chapter 14

Sierra

THE WALK — or I guess, ride — back to the mansion in Jacob’s arms was dream-like. Cocooned in his firm grip, I knew that nothing and no one would harm me so long as he was around. It felt safe, in a way I hadn’t felt safe in a long time.

And, yeah, it didn’t hurt that his chest was cut like marble, and that he’d gotten an erection when we were spooning on the deck. Oh, you thought I missed that? Not a chance. Even half-drowned and bedraggled like a wet cat, I could feel the steam rising off Jacob and his unmentionables.

So being in his arms was safe, but confusing. His presence turned me on, but our history turned me off. I wanted his body, but didn’t want our baggage.

I thought I would be strong enough to resist him, right up until the moment he’d heroically rescued me from the water. As he’d tugged me out of the choppy depths, I thought maybe the water was a baptism, a rebirth.

Or, possibly, I was just in shock from almost dying. Very possible.

He mounted the stairs, and I marveled again at his immense muscles.

“You’re… strong,” I managed to say through chattering teeth.

Jacob gratified me with a laugh. “Thanks. Construction work will do that to a guy.” He broke off, and though my head was curled against his chest, I heard his foot collide with wood and knew he was kicking open a door.

He finished, “Your castle, princess.”

I looked up just as Jacob settled me down on the plush bed, wrapping me in a large fur throw from a nearby chair and bundling me like a burrito.

“You’ll probably wanna take a shower,” he commented, hovering over me. “The blanket will help, but we gotta get you out of those wet clothes.”

My head tilted up, just enough to get a look around the room. “We’re in your room,” I noted.

“I don’t know where your key is,” he explained. “I took you to mine.”

“Oh. Right.”

Suddenly, his face turned crimson red and he cleared his throat. “But, of course,” he said hastily, “if you’d rather not be in my — in here, I can go get an extra key from someone…”

I shook my head, but couldn’t manage any words. How could I explain that I didn’t mind being alone with him in his bedroom?

So I didn’t try. Instead, I responded, “I think I’ll take that shower now.”

He nodded eagerly, and unwrapped me from the blanket. I took a teetering step out of bed, and his arm shot out to steady me. I looked at him gratefully, then toddled over to the bathroom.

As I reached the door, I turned on an impulse and said, “Jacob, would you mind sitting in the bathroom? Just in case I get dizzy or something?”

His mouth open and closed a couple of times before he finally asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Was I actually worried about fainting? Well, that’s for me to know, and you to not ask nosy questions about.

We made our way into the bathroom, and I turned the shower onto hot. The hot water was heat on demand , and steam began to rise immediately.

I looked back over my shoulder, and saw that Jacob had turned to face the wall.

With a snort, I said, “Jacob, you don’t have to do that. It’s not like you haven’t seen… this before.”

“I want to respect you,” came his muffled reply, bouncing off the walls.

Whatever else I might think about Jacob, he was a gentleman.

Without further preamble, I slid out of my soaking dress, throwing it into the nearby golden sink. It wasn’t lost on me that I was naked and alone with Jacob. Every nerve in my body prickled with desire. Rather than give myself time to capitulate, I stepped into the heat of the shower and let out a long, happy moan. The water warmed me to my very core, relaxing muscles that had clenched tight in the icy plunge.

“Feel nice?” Jacob asked.

“Very.”

I massaged my limbs for a few moments, returning feeling to them. Silence lingered in the bathroom, heavier than the steam.

“Jacob?”

“Yeah?”

I craned my head around the glass partition so that I could look at his back. Maybe it was the near-death experience, or maybe this was something that had been building, but either way, I had to ask.

“Why did you dump me?”

He sighed and his shoulders sagged, his long neck bending with an invisible weight.

“You don’t really wanna talk about that right now.”

“I do,” I replied. “Seriously.”

His back still to me, he said slowly, “To be honest… well, to be honest, my dad got sick. Cancer. And he drove the business into the ground, they foreclosed on his house. It all got really bad, really fast. I freaked out — suddenly, there was this immense responsibility on my shoulders. I had to step up and take care of my dad, to become the parent. In the chaos, I decided to break up with you, decided that it was just another thing on my plate. I felt guilty for feeling love when my father’s life was in shambles, you know? Like, if he was suffering, I should be suffering too. I meant to tell you what was happening, but once I had broken up with you, the days passed so quickly that letting you know why I had do so seemed like I would be making things harder for you and, to be honest, for myself.”

Jacob took a breath, and continued. “I’m not saying it was a good reason, or that I treated you fairly, like, at all. But it is the truth.”

I stood still. Things began clicking in my head as understanding dawned. Jacob hadn’t meant to hurt me — he’d been trying to help his dad. Because he was always trying to help someone.

“Sierra?”

Instead of responding to this news, I simply said, “You must be cold in your clothes. Why don’t you get in the shower too?”

There was a moment of silence before he asked, “Really?”

“Yes, Jacob.”

Slowly, his back turned, he raked off his wet blazer, loosened the tie and pulled it over his head. The shirt came off, and I could see the ligaments moving with mathematical precision beneath his shoulder blades. My heart raced, and though I was wet from the shower and the ocean, I could feel a very specific kind of dampness emerge between my legs. He unbuckled his belt, whipped it off, and then slid his pants down to the ground. Without a thought, I reached my hand to my private parts, hoping that the steam from the shower clouding the glass was enough to hide me touching myself.

At last, he dropped his underwear, and I could see his firm buttocks in all their glory. I pressed harder on my clit, almost past the point of caring if he saw me. I needed relief.

Jacob turned around deliberately, one hand cupping his crotch, and walked towards the shower.

“Are you sure?” he asked again as he stood at the entrance of the shower.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay.”

With that, he stepped into the shower. His eyes moved immediately from my face to my fingers, which were desperately rubbing my pussy.

“What are you doing?” he asked, eyes widening.

My chest heaved as I replied, “I’m pleasuring myself. Is that okay?”

Everything hung in the balance. I watched Jacob’s face, waited for him to give me some kind of sign. Seconds felt like hours.

Finally, he said, “It’s more than okay.”