Chapter 17

Annie

Jake carries me across the hall to his room and dumps me gently and unceremoniously in the middle of his big, unmade bed.

“What time did you go back to your own room?” I ask him.

He crawls onto the bed like a panther, moving slowly and with intent. “I left right after you fell asleep. It was too torturous to lie there and not be able to touch you the way I wanted, so I came back in here to suffer in silence. But I didn’t sleep well.”

I’m not surprised. The pillows and bedding are all jumbled up, arranged helter-skelter, as if he spent the night tossing and turning.

I can’t help noticing that the drapes are wide open, letting in a whole lot of early morning sunlight. “Jake—wait.”

He freezes. “What?”

“Can you close the drapes?”

“Why?”

“Because they’re letting in an awful lot of light.”

He grins. “Maybe I like the light.”

I make a face. “How about a little less light?”

He climbs out of bed and pulls the drapes mostly closed, leaving just a sliver of light coming through. The room is cast in semi-twilight now. It’s certainly not as dark as I would like it to be, but I can manage.

Standing at the foot of the bed, he whips his T-shirt over his head and tosses it to the floor.

“How did you get an Ironman T-shirt here so fast?”

“Killian. He delivered it early this morning. I told him I needed it ASAP to score points with Aiden.”

It makes me smile knowing that Jake would go to such trouble just to make Aiden happy. That single gesture is more meaningful than anything Ted ever did for Aiden. “Well, you succeeded.”

Jake unzips his jeans and shoves them down, along with his black boxer briefs, dropping them to the floor. He’s certainly not bashful as he stands there naked, with his hands on his hips. Does he even know how magnificent he is?

My stomach flips, and I feel dizzy. When he starts to climb onto the bed, I notice a large black tattoo on the left side of his torso. “What’s that?”

His smile fades, and he lowers his arms to his sides, clearly in an attempt to hide the tattoo. His reaction is unexpected, and so unlike him.

I scoot down to the foot of the bed to stand in front of him and get a better look. My mind starts racing with all sorts of possibilities. What could he possibly want to hide from me?

But he’s not cooperating, which makes me even more intrigued. I have to physically move his arm aside. “Show me, Jake.”

I have to turn my head to read the sideways text. It’s a date in bold, black ink. March 5, 2005

The day we had planned to marry.

Stunned, I glance up at him. “When did you get this?”

He shrugs. “Maybe a couple years after you left for college.”

Our date. The date we celebrated every year. The day we had planned on getting married. He marked his body with it for all time. And as far as he knew at that time, we’d never be together again. My God, he held onto that date.

 Pain slices through me. “I don’t deserve you.” I practically choke on the words, and then I turn and head for the door.

“No! No no no!” He grabs me around the waist and brings me back to the bed, tossing me onto the mattress and following me down, crouching over me on all fours, reminding me once more of a dark panther on the prowl.

He grasps my jaw and makes me look at him. “I love you.” His dark eyes are burning with emotion. “You’re mine! You were always supposed to be mine. The important question is, am I still yours?”

My eyes flood with tears that spill over, running down my cheeks. I reach up and cup his beautiful face. “Yes.”

“Say it, Elliot! I need to hear you say it.”

“You’re mine.”

He lowers his forehead to mine. “That’s all that matters. Everything else is water under the bridge. We’ll deal with your ex. We’ll deal with your parents. We’re together again, and that’s all that matters.”

And then he lowers his mouth to mine, giving me the sweetest kiss, lightly brushing his lips against mine, as if reacquainting me with his touch.

“God, I want you,” he says. “You have no idea.”

Oh, I think I do. Already my body is heating up, softening, growing wet. “I want you, too.” I reach up and thread my fingers through his hair, stroking him, tugging firmly the way he likes it.

He groans. Then his lips grow more insistent, little by little coaxing mine apart. His tongue slips inside and strokes mine, and the heat grows and grows until he finally crushes my mouth with his, eating at me hungrily. He slips a hand beneath my cami and covers one of my breasts, teasing the nipple with a brush of his thumb. I cry out from the unexpected pleasure, as sensation streaks from my breast to my sex, as if the two places are directly connected by a million nerve endings.

Jake pushes my top up, exposing both breasts, and leans down to draw a nipple into his mouth, tonguing it and suckling while his hand plumps and shapes the mound.

“We gotta get this off,” he says, sitting back on his heels. He reaches for the hem of my top and pulls it off me, tossing it aside. Then he stares at me, his gaze hot.

It’s all I can do not to cover myself with my hands. But I’m thirty-one now, no longer a teenager. So I force myself to lie still and let him look his fill.

He reaches out, cupping one breast with his big hand. “Jesus.” And then he lowers his mouth and reverently kisses my nipple. “Did you breastfeed Aiden?”

His question takes me by surprise. “Yes.”

At my answer, his gaze darkens, and a muscle in his cheek starts twitching. “I wish I could have seen that.”

Jake leans down and kisses a path down my throat, past my clavicle and down the center of my chest. He lavishes attention on one breast, and then the other, suckling on my nipples until they pucker up into tight little buds. With each draw of his mouth, with each suckle, I feel a corresponding tug between my legs, making me wetter and wetter until I’m aching with need.

“Now the rest of it,” he says, reaching for the waistband of my PJ shorts. He pulls them, and my panties, down my hips, so slowly as if wanting to draw this out. My belly is quivering with nerves as the cool air brushes over my abdomen, and eventually my mound.

I’m grateful now for my little mini-spa treatment last night. At least my legs are silky smooth. And while I could never be brave enough to wax, I did a little bit of trimming just to tame things down. I had an inkling this would happen soon.

Jake whips my clothing off my legs, and then he nudges my thighs apart, spreading them wide enough to accommodate the incredible breadth of his shoulders.

From his vantage point, he can’t miss the scar from my c-section. He pauses, studying it. Then he traces it with his fingertip, so gently it tickles. “You had a c-section.”

“Yes.”

He frowns. “It must have hurt.”

“A little.”

“I wish I’d been there, to help you.”

Then his fingertip moves downward, over my mound, through the curls. I gasp when he pries the lips of my sex open, exposing all of me in my glory.

When his tongue flicks my clitoris, I throw my head back with a shocked cry. “Jake! A little warning would be nice.”

“Elliot, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m going down on you.” He laughs, and I feel the vibration in my core.

My thighs are shaking, and I’m overwhelmed by the pleasure of his mouth on me. I don’t remember oral sex being this amazing. He licks and suckles at my clitoris, setting off sparks of sensation rippling through me, before moving down, his hot tongue blazing a trail to my opening. He tongues me, lapping at my wetness with a heart-felt groan. He teases my opening with a fingertip, circling and rimming the sensitive flesh. Then his thick finger sinks inside me, so slowly, an inch at a time.

I gasp at the intrusion, at the sudden feeling of fullness. It’s been such a long time for me and, honestly, Ted was never this attentive.

Jake’s finger sinks deep, and then he withdraws it to the tip before sliding it in again, much easier this time. His finger slides through my slick channel, and then he starts stroking me from the inside. His mouth returns to my clitoris, and between his finger and his mouth, I think I’m in danger of losing my mind.

I writhe on the bed, squirming and thrashing, and he easily holds me pinned to the mattress. The pleasure intensifies, leaving me breathless.

“Jake!” His name is no more than a gasp.

And then my body detonates as an orgasm lights up my nerve endings, sending intense pleasure rolling throughout my body.

Jake looms over me, looking very pleased with himself. He grabs the sheet and runs it across his face and beard. But even so, when he kisses me, I still taste myself on his lips.

Reaching across me, he opens the top drawer of his nightstand and grabs a condom packet. Then he shucks off his boxer briefs, rips open the packet with his teeth, and lies on his back beside me so he can roll the condom onto his sizeable erection.

Dear God. His erection is just as big and imposing as the rest of his body. My belly clenches tightly in anticipation of having him inside me.

“You okay?” he asks me, as he rolls up onto his side, facing me.

I nod, not really sure if I’m okay or not.

He leans closer and kisses me, then moves to kneel between my legs. “Let’s start easy, okay?” he says, moving closer. He guides his erection to my opening. “Missionary style. But eventually, I want to take you every way humanly possible.”

I’m not sure when eventually is, and I’m not sure what ways he considers possible. My sex life has been pretty limited. When Jake and I were young, we didn’t really move beyond the basics. And Ted, well not then either. I have a feeling I’m due for an education.

When Jake presses the head of his erection to my opening, I gasp, grasping his thighs, nervously holding on. He leans forward, letting his weight and gravity do the work. My body is more than primed, soft and slippery thanks to my orgasm, but it’s still an effort for him to work himself inside. I know he’s being careful, and I appreciate that, but sometimes a more direct approach is needed.

“You won’t hurt me,” I say, tugging him closer.

He grits his teeth and thrusts harder, still careful. At first, my body resists the intrusion, but then it gives way and he sinks inside me, filling me so thoroughly it takes my breath away.

We both gasp with a mix of pleasure and astonishment that we’re together like this again. He pauses for a moment, giving me a chance to get used to him.

I look up into his eyes, which are glittering with intense emotion. “I dreamed of you so many times,” I admit, sharing one of my deepest and darkest secrets with him. “I always felt guilty about it, because it seemed so disloyal. But that was the only time I felt truly happy, when I was with you.”

“You’re killing me, sweetheart,” he says, groaning as he withdraws to the tip, then sinks back in.

I’m overwhelmed by the size and strength of him as he moves over me, thrusting slowly at first, letting me get used to him again. So tempted by the sight of his body, I skim my hands across his shoulders and down his arms. His muscles are so well defined, his arms powerful. I trace the path of a prominent vein running down his forearm, and he shivers at my touch. He’s holding his weight on his hands, one on each side of me, levered above me, and I grasp his forearms.

He’s moving faster now, his length tunneling through my slick channel. He’s like a machine, all that strength and power contained and controlled. When I brush my thumb against one of his nipples, he cries out sharply, gritting his teeth.

I want to touch and taste every inch of him, like he did with me. I lean up and press my lips to his sternum, then lick his hot, salty skin.

“Jesus, Elliot!” He shudders in my arms, and with a hoarse shout, he comes in a hot fury. Even with the condom in place, I can feel the throbbing pulse of his erection as he comes. He bucks inside me, grunting and gasping with each pulse. He tenses, arching his back, his neck muscles straining as he lifts his head and groans out his pleasure.

When the pulses stop, he rolls us to our sides, facing each other. We’re still joined together, and he’s still partly erect.

Jake brushes back my bangs and leans closer to kiss me. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I never stopped, even when I thought there was no hope. And you are my reward for never giving up.”

My eyes prickle as tears form. “I carried you in my heart at all times, and I never once forgot you.” I lean closer and kiss him gently. “I love you, too.”

“I want a life with you,” he says. “I want a family with you. I want a do-over.”

I nod, my throat tightening with emotion. “I want that too.”

“I want babies with you. And Aiden. He’s mine now.”

That makes me smile, because above all, Aiden deserves to have a father who adores him. Jake’s already shown him more kindness and affection in the past two days than Ted ever did.

“I know you’re worried about Aiden and what he’ll think of me. Of us. But I don’t think he’ll have a problem with me becoming part of your family. I don’t think you need to worry.”

“I’ll need to figure out how to explain it to him.”

“Let me,” he says. “This is man’s business. Let us men handle it.”

I laugh. “Man’s business?”

“Yes.” Jake gently pulls out of me, his erection beginning to soften. “Give me a few minutes, and I can do this again. I’m not that old.”

“I’d like that.” And it’s true. Even though I’m already a bit sore from how he stretched me, I’d love nothing more than to feel him inside me again.

Jake’s phone rings, startling us both. He reaches for it and checks the caller ID and frowns. “It’s Security.” He presses a button. “Yes?” Then his face morphs into a pleased smile. “Tell them we’ll be down in a bit.”

Jake ends the call and looks at me, a bashful smile on his handsome face. “It looks like our round two will have to wait. We have company.”

“Who?”

“My parents got wind of the fact that you’re here. They want to see you.”

“Your parents?”

“Yes. Relax. They just want to see you. And they want to meet Aiden. Shane must have told them you were here.”

I sit up, nervously trying to restore order to my hair. “I have to take a shower! And get dressed! Oh, my God, your parents?”

Jake sits up, laughing as I scramble madly out of bed. “Shower with me,” he says. “And then we’ll get dressed and go down to meet them. Don’t worry. Elly will entertain them until we come down.”