Come Back To Me (13 page)

I heard the door push open
and when I looked up, Jake was standing there with a coffee cup in
his hand.

"Hey Em, how you
feeling?"

"I'm uh...I'm not really
sure. My head hurts."

He opened his palm and
handed me some Tylenol. "Here take these, they should help a
bit."

"Thanks Jake."

All the memories of what
happened the previous night flooded my brain, and I began to sob
uncontrollably.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe
now Em."

"I'm s-sorry for putting you
through that Jake. Did you get hurt?" I cried.

"Me. Hurt? You forget who
you're talking to here. I'm a rough and tough Texan,
remember."

Boy did I ever remember. He
was for sure that. His muscles bulging from his t-shirt clearly
reminded me of what he was. I felt like a wimp for crying like I
was, but the emotion of it all turned me into a blithering
idiot.

"Look, I'm uh sorry about
changing your clothes, but I didn't think you would want to sleep
in that dress." He shyly said.

I looked down and realized
that I was wearing just a t-shirt and my panties. My cheeks burned
with heat. "It's fine Jake."

"Don't worry I closed my
eyes when I undressed you." His eyes turned dark.

I really hoped that he was
telling a lie, I wanted him to see me. I wanted his hands and mouth
all over me. I had to stop thinking like that, and soon. My mind
was drifting into dangerous territory, like a derailed
train.

"It's fine really. I could
use a shower though."

"Yeah sure, there are towels
in the linen closet, and I'll lay out some sweat pants and another
shirt for you to put on. While you're showering I'll go make some
breakfast. Anything you don't like?"

"Nah, I'll eat anything that
doesn't eat me first." Oh my God, that was an ignorant thing to
say!

"Good to know." he
smirked.

The spray of the shower felt
heavenly, and I just stood under it for a while before I started to
soap up. Jake's body wash and shampoo were sitting on the ledge of
the shower stall and I lifted one to my nose. Taking a huge whiff
of his manly scent made me shudder. Something about using his stuff
and being in his shower was so erotic to me, and I wondered how
many times he got himself off in this shower. I wanted so bad to
slide my hand between my legs and do the same while picturing him.
No. I wasn't going to do that. It was wrong on so many levels. And
after the incident with Grant I really wasn't sure I wanted any
sexual contact ever again.

Once I felt clean enough I
dried off, finger combed my hair and stepped back into Jake's
bedroom. On the bed lay some heather grey sweat pants, and an NYU
t-shirt. I quickly dressed, and found my way to the
kitchen.

It was a sight to see, Jake
leaning against the counter, flipping pancakes on a griddle. I
stood there for a moment taking in his domestic ability. He looked
divine, and I really wouldn't have minded having him for
breakfast.

"Hey hope you like pancakes,
it's my specialty."

"Love them, can I help with
anything?"

"There's some juice in the
fridge, could you grab it?"

"Sure thing."

I opened the fridge and was
surprised at the abundance of food in it. I guess I expected to
find some old Chinese takeout boxes and cans of beer, but it was
stocked full of actual groceries. Very unusual for a
bachelor.

"Anything else?" I
asked.

"Nah, these are about done,
have a seat."

"So where did you learn to
cook?" I inquired.

He let out a laugh. "My mom.
She always said that we Bradford boys needed to know, just in case
we met a girl that was crap in the kitchen."

Jake pretty much described
me to a T. I was a horrible cook. Sure I knew how to boil water,
but that was about the extent of my abilities. Turning on the
coffee pot in the morning was like climbing Everest in my
book.

"You're lucky, the only
things my Mom taught me were how to determine if a Coach bag was
legit, and how to walk in heels."

"Some would say those are
valid talents." He winked.

"Yeah well, cooking skills
might have come in handy at some point you know."

"Well maybe sometime I could
show you a thing or two. I'm no gourmet chef, but could help, if
you want."

Oh God. Spending time with
Jake in the kitchen might not be the best idea. If it involved
chocolate sauce, or whipped cream, I might be inclined to lick it
off him at some point.

"Sure, that sounds like
fun."

He moved the food to the
table and my stomach growled at the sight and smell of it all.
Pancakes, Bacon, and fresh sliced melon. I had died and gone to
heaven.

Jake filled his plate, and
looked at me. "Eat up. I can't put all this away by
myself."

I was starved, but was
extremely nervous around him for some reason. His face was so kind
when he looked at me, like there was something more than friendship
there. I had to be imagining things.

I dug into the buffet of
treats he prepared, and sighed when the morsels hit my tongue.
"Wow, this is good."

He smiled. "Glad to hear it.
I've never fixed breakfast for anyone but Gabe and
Myself."

"Really? I figured you would
be sharing this treat with all your lady friends.”

He groaned. "Uh no. Not
gonna happen. No sleeping over and for sure no
breakfast."

That struck me as odd. Jake
didn't have women sleep over? Ever? So I was the first woman that
slept here? And the first one to enjoy his cooking? Warmth spread
over me.

"That's unusual." I
commented.

"How so?"

"I don't know. Just seems
strange that you wouldn't let your girlfriend stay the night,
that's all."

His jaw tightened. "First of
all I don't have a, and second, this is my personal space, you
would have to be pretty damn special to be able to
stay."

Holy shit. He was dead
serious. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you."

"No harm no foul. I'm not
upset." He stood to clear the dishes. "So what was the deal with
that asshole last night anyway?"

"Nothing."

"Sure didn't look like
nothing, he had his fucking hand around your throat Emily." he said
angrily.

"Like I said it was nothing.
Just drop it okay."

"Look Em, if you need help
I'm here. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'm fine. Everything's
fine."

"If you say so."

"Where's my
purse? I'm going to
call a cab to
take me home."

"Nonsense. I'll drive
you."

"Really you don't have to
Jake. It's fine."

"You always were so damn
stubborn. I'm taking you home and that's final. Okay?"

"Okay."

I gathered up my stuff and
followed him into the parking garage. He held up his key fob and
pressed it. The lights began to blink on a brand new, Mercedes
sedan.

"Nice ride." I
whistled.

"Thanks, I have a few cars,
but figured I'd put some miles on her finally."

A few cars? This was Jake.
The last vehicle I remember him driving was an early nineties model
Ford pickup. We would cruise around in it on the weekends and I
would pray that I wouldn't fall through the rusted out floor board.
I nicknamed that truck "Fred", after the Flintstones.

Jake hurried to the
passenger side and opened my door. It was a welcome gesture. I slid
into the heavenly leather seat and buckled myself in. He slid in
next to me and I felt his arm brush mine. It was like a lightning
bolt hitting my senses. The jolt spread from his point of contact
to every nerve ending. Then it ended up in my lower belly. Holy
shit what was that? Jake must have felt it too, because he let out
a sigh and shivered.

The ride to my apartment was
unusually quiet. We spoke about the weather, and he commented on
the Sunday traffic. As for me I couldn't think of much to say. Well
that was wrong, I had lots to say, but telling him that I wanted to
jump his bones in his new car might not sit well. So I kept my
mouth shut and nodded in response to his banter.

Jake pulled in front of my
building, and hopped out of the car to open my door. "Thank you for
the ride."

"No prob. Give me your phone
and I'll program my number in."

I fished my cell out of my
purse and handed it to him. I turned it off last night so that I
didn't chance it ringing in the middle of my speech. I watched him
as he powered it on. Once it booted up it beeped, letting me know I
had a waiting text.

"What the fuck?" He said,
looking at the screen.

"What?" I looked at his
face, and he was pissed for some reason.

He handed me the phone and I
glanced at the message. My stomach went to knots when I saw it was
from Grant.

Seems your
knight in shining armor saved you this time. Make no mistake, I
take what I want, and I want your sweet cunt. Don't forget what I
told you...

I felt the blood drain from
my face, and looking up at Jake it seemed that his blood was
boiling.

"What the hell is going on
Emily?"

"Look it's none of your
business, just stay out of it Jake."

"Did this guy hurt
you?"

I wanted to confide in him
so bad, I wanted to spill my soul to him, and count on him to keep
me safe. But I couldn't do that. I couldn't dump my problems and
issues onto his shoulders.

I looked up at him, took my
phone and walked toward the door. I felt tears sting my
eyes.

"Em wait..." He
called.

I just kept walking. I
couldn't turn around and let him see how upset I was. I had to be
strong.

Seventeen

Jake drove away from Emily
seething with anger. He wasn't angry at her, but at the vile
message he discovered on her phone. Why didn't she trust him enough
to explain what was going on? Some dude had her by the fucking
throat and she acted like it was nothing. Something was seriously
amiss. Who was that guy? And what was his connection to Emily? Jake
was determined to unravel what was going on with her.

Once he returned home he
decided to make a call.

"Sam Here."

"Hey Sam, it's Jake, I need
a favor."

Sam was a contact Jake used
often at work. He used to work as a detective for NYPD, but had
since retired, and began his very successful private eye
business.

"You do realize it's Sunday,
right?" Sam pointed out.

"Yeah I know, and if this
wasn't really important, I wouldn't be calling."

"Okay then, lay it on me."
Sam let out a sigh.

Jake ran through all the
details of what he witnessed with Emily at the fundraiser Saturday
night. He explained the text he saw on her phone, and how she
played it all off like it was nothing.

"Sounds like you have a
complicated woman." Sam smirked.

"Look man, she's an old
friend, and I think she is in trouble. Dig up what you can
please."

"Sure thing, do you want her
info too? Maybe some background stuff?"

Jake wondered if he really
needed info on Emily, but decided it wouldn't hurt to have it.
"Yeah why not."

"Will do, I'll
call you
if I figure anything
out."

"Thanks" Jake hung up the
phone and sunk into the chair in his home office.

He realized that he had
never gotten Emily's number. That was alright because at least he
knew where she lived now. He sat back and the memories of her
sleeping soundly in his bed swamped him. Yeah he never let women
sleep there, or in his apartment for that matter, so what was
different about her? He chalked it up to her just being a friend
and that was all. He knew her; she needed help and that was it.
Right?

She looked amazing curled up
between his sheets though. Her head lay on his pillow, her gold
hair surrounding her like a beaming halo. That one silky leg of
hers that found its way out of the covers and lay beautifully on
top of the sheet, made him shudder. God she looked like an angel
there. If he wasn't a decent man, he would have found himself on
top of her, sucking her perky breasts into his warm mouth. Or
sliding his tongue between the wet flesh at the juncture of her
thighs. The thoughts were making his dick so hard that he thought
he might come without physical stimulation. That just wouldn't
do.

Jake unzipped his
pants, reached into his boxers and pulled his throbbing member
free. He leaned back in his chair, and began to stroke himself
freely. He pictured himself throwing back the sheets which entwined
Emily, and pressing his lips to her swollen clit. Imagining her
writhing beneath him while he tickled the bud with the tip of his
tongue, and sliding two fingers inside her made him shake. She
would no doubt tense, when he found the spot inside her that made
her warm all over. God he was so close to coming, he could feel it
in his balls. He continued to stroke himself until his sac
tightened, and he could feel his cum move up his cock like hot
lava. His release began to spurt onto his hand, and then streams of
it hit his pants. As his orgasm subsided he sat there bewildered
that he had even thought of Emily like that. She was just a friend,
a hot, sexy,
amazing
friend.