Free Pass (Free Will Book 1) (3 page)

Chapter Seven

"Jake, how 'bout we take a little walk."

I loosened my tie and followed my dad out of the house. This couldn't be good. Taking a walk with Dad never
really
meant just a walk. I waited for him to bring up what I'd done.

"So, Susie told me you were at their house talking to Laney before nine o'clock this morning. Wanna explain to me what you'd have to talk to your brother's girlfriend about that early on a Sunday morning?"

"Nope." Already getting a lecture. Pretty sure it would be worse if I told him why I was there.

Although from the glare on his face, Dad seemed to have a pretty good idea.

"Now, Jacob. Do I need to remind you that she is spoken for?"

"No, sir."

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" He slowed to a stop.

"Nope." I stuffed my hands in my pockets and kept walking.

Dad grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. "Damn it, boy. Your mama and I love that girl. We fully expect her to become a part of this family in a few years. You mess that up and your mama may not speak to you again."

I didn't reply. His words made their opinion clear. They'd never accept me and Laney as a couple. They'd never understand why I couldn't pass up this chance with Laney.

Even if it ruined everything...

Chapter Eight

I was sitting on the porch waiting when Jake pulled up that afternoon. He hopped out of the Jeep and walked over to me. He sank down next to me and stared at his hands.

"Dad expects you to be his daughter in law. He said if I mess that up, he won't have a son. So, no pressure, right?"

I burst into laughter and Jake looked so confused. I slipped an arm around his waist and he pulled me close.

"I never saw me and Austin married. But it's good to know that your dad likes me," I finally whispered once I could control myself.

"You really don't want to marry Austin," he said into my hair. His voice sounded all funny, like after you swallow something wrong and cough forever.

I pulled away, just enough to look at him. "No, I like Austin and we've had some fun. While I hoped things would get better, I've always suspected it wouldn't last forever."

"Like? Not love?"

I shook my head no, and he yanked me close. His lips crashed down on mine. Heaven had to feel like Jake's kiss. His lips soft, the pressure firm, just the right amount of tongue. Not a faint brush of lips, but a real kiss. The kind that made you glad you're sitting down because your knees went weak because of it.

The kind I never had with Austin.

I mean, yeah, Austin and I kissed and fooled around, but not once did a single kiss make me feel like this one. One kiss, and I knew what I'd been missing.
Yowzer!

When he finally broke the kiss and lay his forehead against mine, we were both breathless. He cupped my cheek and whispered, "Wow."

"Yeah." That was all I could come up with to say.

He grinned at me before covering my lips with his own once more. Oh my goodness, could this man kiss! He slid his hand from my cheek to tangle in my hair, while he used his other arm to keep me held tight to his chest. His tongue was caressing mine when someone cleared their throat.

Crap.

With great reluctance, I pulled away to see his dad standing on the sidewalk with mine next to him.

Double crap.

Our dads looked pissed. Sigh.

Jake relaxed his arm around me some, but still held me against him. I hid my face against his throat and didn't look at my dad.

"Jacob, I believe that we had a discussion earlier about the inappropriate nature of your interest in Laney. Did we not? Yet here I find you kissing her, not even four hours later. Explain yourself, boy."

Tension poured off Jake in waves as Scott spoke. It was in the rigidity of his arms, the set of his jaw. "Dad, I didn't plan this. But, I'm not a little boy you can boss around anymore. I'm a grown man, and I can kiss or date who I want to."

"Not your brother's girlfriend!" Scott hissed at him. I braved a peek at Scott, the anger on his face scared me. My breath caught and I tried to force back a sob. I didn't want them fighting because of me.

Jake noticed the change in my breathing and hugged me closer. His dad still glared. I finally dared to look at my dad. He didn't look quite as angry as he had at first glance. Well, that was good... I hoped.

"Have you given Austin a lecture about how to behave when you have a girlfriend?" Jake shot back at his dad. "She'd have never let me near her if he'd treated her like he should, would she? Maybe you should go lecture him."

Scott opened his mouth to speak, then shook his head and stomped off. Some of the tension left Jake. His arms loosened around me. He looked at my dad and waited for that shoe to drop.

My dad just nodded at Jake and then looked at me. "You be sure this is what you want before you go messing with this boy. He's putting a lot on the line for you with his family. You reflect on that." He didn't wait for me to answer. Dad stepped around me and went inside.

Jake's exhale sounded loud and harsh in my ear. He tipped my face up until I looked at him. He brushed a soft kiss against my lips. "Don't you worry about anything I'm risking. Okay? I can handle my family. You just think about us."

I nodded, but I was worried. We had so much to lose.

Jake nuzzled my cheek. "We'll do this fling idea of Austin's. At the end of the two weeks, if you want him, I'll back off. But you won't want him back when I'm through."

"I don't want to cause trouble with you and your family," I said with hesitation. His confidence was damn sexy though. Not a single shred of doubt colored his voice when he said I wouldn't want Austin back.

"Laney, I know what I want. And my family can get on board or not. So unless you tell me you aren't interested, I'm here to stay. Tell Austin you pick me. Give me two weeks. That's all I need. Two weeks to show you how a woman is supposed to be treated." His body moved toward me and he brought his lips to mine once more.

"And if I don't want Austin, then what?" Biting my lower lip, I peered up at him through my hair. I had to ask, because after I'd known the feeling of Jake's lips on mine, I couldn't go back to the sloppy wet mess of Austin's kisses.

He smiled at me then. A big, broad smile, the kind that crinkled a person's eyes up. He tucked my hair back behind my ear. He tugged my lip free of my teeth with his thumb. My heart started pounding anew. I couldn't comprehend what Jake did to me.

"That's what I'm counting on."

God, he was so intense. He practically devoured me with his eyes. Austin had never looked at me like that once in all the time we had been together.

"So, will you give me a chance then? Whatever this is between us, this doesn't come around often."

I nodded and leaned my head onto his shoulder. "We have to talk to Austin, huh?"

"Yeah. He mentioned going to hang out with some of his friends. You wanna go see if we can find him?"

Jake drove us into town. We found Austin hanging out in the snack bar at the arcade with the redhead from yesterday and some of his friends.

The redhead sat behind him and rubbed his shoulders. Jake glared at the guy lounged across from them until he moved. He nudged me toward the newly vacated seat. When I sat, he sat next to me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

Austin looked over at us and snapped, "Didn't I say anyone but him?"

"Did you let her pick for you?" Jake growled back at Austin. This was so awkward. The last thing I wanted was to come between them. Squeezing Jake's hand tight, I tried to get him to back down.

The brothers glared at each other for a time and the group around us got quiet. My breathing became shallow as I watched them. The hammer of my pulse in my ears rang so loud I had trouble hearing. Finally, Austin backed down. Austin
never
backed down. But he did today. To Jake. His angry tone came out as a hiss when he spoke. "Fine. Laney, step over there so I can speak to you in private."

Austin stomped over to an empty corner. I did
not
want to go over there, but knew I had to. When I walked up to him, Austin's glare softened as he looked down at me. "I guess this is it then? The fact that you're actually picking someone means you are done with me, doesn't it?"

I nodded. I couldn't speak around the giant lump in my throat. He knew me well enough after three years together to know that this was it.

With a deep sigh, Austin pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Laney. We probably should have just called it quits a while ago, huh? Just... Could you not tell Jake we are done yet? Make him work for it if he wants you."

I chuckled and he pushed me back toward Jake.

He strode over to Jake, the glare back on his face, and snarled, "Easter Sunday is the end of it. That's two weeks. And when it is over, you better not even look at her again. And you hurt her, I hurt you."

Jake nodded at him. Turning to me, Jake flashed this big brilliant smile at me and asked if I was ready to head back to the city. It's not like I could say no after all that.

We stopped by the boutique where I whispered a teary goodbye and somehow managed to avoid another lecture from my mom. Jake helped me into his Jeep. He drove toward the interstate without saying a word. I didn't speak. What could I have said? I didn't want to leave home. Things were so... weird now. All kinds of weird. I wanted to stay in Free Will, curl up in my bed, and hide. Of course being home would just make me think about Jake.

Kinda like being in his car did.

I sighed. He shot me a quick glance and smiled before turning his attention back to the road. Taking my hand, he just held it. He didn't say anything, didn't try to tell me that it would be okay. Or any nonsense like that.

Like it or not, my life would change in less than two weeks. Even if I ended up alone, I would know the beauty of Jake's lips on mine, the feel of his body against me.

Lord, it got hot in that car. I had to stop thinking about his kisses. When I turned the air vent to blow straight in my face, he gave me one of those intense
'I want to kiss you'
looks.

'Cause yeah, that's gonna cool me off.

When we got to my apartment, Jake walked me up, my pink bag thrown over his shoulder again. Could I get him in a pink shirt? He would look fan-friggin-tastic in pink. He's man enough to pull it off.

I invited him in, of course. The moment the door shut behind us, he pinned me against it. His lips were hard and wet, his tongue gentle in contrast as he wrapped it around mine. My arms surrounded his neck and I melted into his kiss. Hot hands groped my ass, pulling me tight to his body.

"Laney, is that—Oh my goodness!" Kelsey had to come out of her room at that exact moment. She and my parents must have some sort of sensor that went off, buzzing them to interrupt whenever Jake moved to kiss me.

Slapping one hand on the door next to my head, Jake groaned in frustration. He stepped away from me and turned toward the devil, I mean, Kelsey.

"Wow, I mean, I didn't... I'm sorry. I didn't know you were bringing someone home." Kelsey stuttered out an apology and covered her face with her hands. I was pretty damned embarrassed myself at getting caught making out with a guy she knew was not my boyfriend.

He introduced himself and didn't look at all embarrassed. Not even the slightest bit. God, I would kill to have that kind of confidence

"It's nice to meet you, Jake. I'm gonna go make myself scarce now." She winked at me and rushed back into her room. A moment later, the radio came on, loud. She
clearly
wanted to make sure she didn't hear anything if we continued what she'd interrupted.

Jake wasted no time getting me back in his arms. He backed up to the couch and flopped down on it, pulling me on top of him. His hands tangled in my hair, guiding me down for another kiss. Slowly ending the kiss, I snuggled in next to him.

"I don't want to leave," he whispered to me. "Ask me to stay."

I didn't give a verbal response, but got up and led him down the hall to my room. He pulled his shirt over his head, kicked off his sneakers, and emptied his pockets before sitting down.

Damn, he looked good on my bed.

I sat next to him, and he kissed me. Soft and slow, not with the heated rush from earlier. I lay back and he followed. Lying beside me, his lips moved from my lips, down my throat.

Groaning, he sat up and ran his hands through his hair. "You don't happen to have any condoms here, do you?"

Shaking my head, I told him no. Kelsey probably had some. But I wasn't sure I was ready for that. We were so explosive together that it would be best to think ahead though. I planned to pick some up the next day.

Yanking the comforter up over us, Jake snuggled in next to me. I could feel him, hard against my thigh. He didn't complain though. Austin would have complained and expected a blow job or something.

"Quit comparing me to Austin. The more you wriggle, the longer I'm gonna stay hard. Go to sleep already," Jake mumbled at me.

How he knew what I was thinking, I didn't know. But I settled in and dozed off with his warm arms around me thinking about how nice it was to just be held with no expectations.