Free Pass (Free Will Book 1) (8 page)

Chapter Twenty
 

Silence filled the Jeep as we drove back to my parents' house. Peaceful, not at all awkward, silence. He let me unlock the door and followed me inside. He stayed quiet until I put my purse down.

"I messed up this morning, Laney." His arms wrapped around me from behind. With his chin resting on my shoulder, he held me close.

"What? How?" What the heck was he talking about? I couldn't think of a single thing he'd done wrong, but the heat of his warm breath on the sensitive skin of my neck almost made me forget my own name.

"I didn't tell you how gorgeous you were," he murmured.

Lord, that voice melted my bones. I sank against him, his lips hot on my neck. Waves of desire spiked through me as he nipped and suckled my throat. A wanton moan escaped my lips when he slid his hand down to cup me through my jeans.

His hands dropped away and I cried out from the loss. He turned me toward him and stepped up against me. His kiss was hard. Needy, passionate. Hands on my ass gripped tight and held me against him.

"Upstairs. Now." His voice raw with need, he pulled me toward the stairs.

Oh, hell yes
.

In my eagerness, I tripped over my own feet on the stairs. Jake saved me from face-planting. His steadying hands at my waist kept me upright.

The door clicked shut behind us and he flicked the knob to lock it. He fished a box of condoms from his suitcase and set it on the nightstand. His eyes sought mine and the lust in his eyes overwhelmed me. I fell back onto the bed, nervous all of a sudden. What if I disappointed him? If I'd been enough to satisfy Austin, I wouldn't be here with Jake today, after all.

The bed shifted with his weight. He settled next to me, his lips on mine once again. My heart raced. The roughness of his hands on my sides was a sweet torment that pushed all thoughts of Austin and insecurity from my mind. His weight pushed me down on the comforter. I needed to touch him. He growled his approval when I slipped my hands under his shirt and shoved it up to gain access to the smooth skin of his back. He raised up to pull the T-shirt over his head and brought his lips right back to mine.

The buttons on my shirt gave little resistance to Jake's determined hands. He parted it open and gazed down at me. Desire darkened his eyes and he licked his lips. "Damn, you are beautiful," he whispered. I shrugged out of the shirt and arched up against him. He fumbled with the hook on my bra and grunted in satisfaction when it sprang free.

His beard scratched my jaw and I ignored the sting. Hell, I savored the sting. My hand tangled in his dark hair to urge him closer. His palm curled around my breast, his thumb brushing my nipple. Desire shot clear to my core when he nipped my throat. My moans encouraged him and his nips and suckles became rougher.

I gasped, his name a plea on my lips. I begged for more. He obliged. His hand glided between us and unbuttoned my jeans. The rasp of the zipper was loud in the quiet house. An eager hand slid into my panties. He groaned against my throat when he touched my wetness. Wetness he caused. I squirmed below him, my motion intended to guide his touch where I wanted it most. He took the hint. His fingers moved in and out, his thumb's motion a contrast against my sensitive nub.

Oh, yes.

I was almost there. My exhale held in anticipation. He pulled his hand from my panties and sat up. I glared at him in frustration, tears filling my eyes. I was right there, why had he stopped?

He yanked my jeans off and flung them across the room. His own joined them, his boxers only seconds behind. I was back in his arms before I could blink.

He released a ragged breath when our naked bodies touched. His hard length pressed against my thigh. Lifting my hips, I ground myself into him. He gasped out my name and squeezed my ass. His mouth covered mine, his tongue thrusting into my mouth. He shifted and I wrapped one leg around his hip. I moved beneath him and the feel of his hard body caused me to call out in ecstasy. His lips still on mine, he reached over to grab a condom from the nightstand.

We cried out in unison when he slid inside me. Oh my god, he felt better than I'd imagined. My fingers wound in his dark hair and drew him closer. My legs locked like a vise around his hips. He thrust into me and I rose to meet his every movement. I tilted to get the angle just right. Each thrust sent a wave of pleasure rushing over me, the friction carrying me toward my goal. If he stopped again, I'd kill him and would not be responsible for my actions.

My nails scraped down his back and urged him on. Urged him to move faster, thrust harder. My heart pounded against my ribs. I clutched him tight as my orgasm crashed over me. Jake's thrusts became erratic as he neared his own. Hard fingers dug deep into the flesh of my hips. I licked just beneath his ear and enjoyed the saltiness of his skin. When his moment hit, Jake groaned, his face buried in my throat. A giggle made its way out of me when one of his legs twitched against mine.

"You think it's funny—" he inhaled deeply, trying to regain his breath "—that I've lost control of my limbs because of you?"

"Yeah." I giggled again.

He rolled away from me, his breathing still ragged. I snuggled in next to him and rested my head on his chest.

"Next time, I will take more time."

"Did you hear me complain?" My fingers tangled in the thatch of dark hair on his chest. I sighed in complete and utter contentment. How could I complain? That was hot as hell.

He grunted and held me closer, his lips feather-light on my forehead.

This afternoon had been amazing. If I could spend the rest of my days snuggled up in bed with Jake, life would be perfect.

The jingle of my cell phone came from my jeans on the floor. He scooped my jeans up for me. Checking my phone, I read:

Sheila: Heading home. Don't be naked.

Jake read the message when I did and pulled me close for one last, long kiss before we got dressed. Our walk down the stairs was much less rushed than when we went up, and I didn't trip. Always a good thing...

I sprawled on the floor with some homework and he got his laptop out and worked on something. I didn't ask what and he didn't say. Something graphic, so I assumed it was work-related. I knocked out the rest of a rough draft for a Lit essay before my family came in.

I should probably thank Sheila for the heads up. It almost made up for her drooling over my man.
Almost.

My mom gave me a strange look, and I ran my hand over my hair to smooth it. She shook her head, but stayed quiet. Dad just flipped the TV on. My aunt and uncle came in right behind them, chattering to Sheila.

"So, since Laney is here with her boyfriend and Matt is coming later and will have the couch, where will I be sleeping tonight?" Sheila asked.

Legitimate question. She usually slept in my bed with me. But with Jake here, and her brother coming, then the couch would even be taken. I should protest Jake wasn't my boyfriend, but I didn't know what label to put on him. Lover? Sex-god? Eh, better stick with boyfriend for now.

"We could stay at Mom's," Jake suggested. No one had any other ideas, so after we spent some time with my family, we packed up and headed over to Scott and Martha's. Just what I had in mind for the night.

Sigh.

Jake carried our bags in and dumped them in the entry way. He called out for his mom and headed toward the kitchen. As usual, Martha was in her kitchen. She sat at the table with a crossword puzzle before her.

"I thought you were too busy to hang out with your old mother today?" she asked with a laugh.

He kissed the top of her head before sliding in to the chair next to her. He loved his mama, that's for sure.

I sat down across from them and Martha gave me a mean glare for a second. Damn, that hurt. I teared up, knowing I'd ruined my relationship with her.

Her expression changed quickly. She flashed me a weak smile and reached across the table to pat my hand. "Why don't you and Austin go out to dinner tonight? He's upstairs. It would be good for the two of you to have a little time together. You two"—she wagged a finger at me and Jake—"need a few minutes apart to clear your heads."

Jake looked at me and smiled. The smile didn't reach his eyes, but he agreed with his mom. That Austin and I should go out for a while...

Really?
I thought he would want me as far from Austin as he could get me. Especially after this afternoon.

I sighed. There's nothing for it, but for me to go hang out with Austin tonight. I pushed myself away from the table and gave Jake a quick squeeze before I headed upstairs. To Austin... The single flight of stairs seemed like fifty. I trudged up them and stopped outside his door where I was met with the sounds of gunfire.
Xbox, of course.

Perfect. Just perfect.

Though hesitant, I rapped my knuckles against Austin's open door. Sprawled across his bed, controller in hand, his eyes stayed glued to the video game. He didn't even glance my way as he mumbled a greeting.

"Austin..." What did I even say? How did I talk to him after spending the most amazing afternoon wrapped in his brother's arms?

He paused the game and looked at me as he sat up. "Laney, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your family? I, uh... I'm heading back to school tomorrow. I didn't grab my bag and have a couple assignments due on Tuesday."

"My extended family invaded our house. Granny said she needed to rest and kicked everyone out. So, Jake suggested we stay here." I laughed nervously.

He raised his eyebrows in question and waited for me to continue.

"Uh, your mom and Jake think that we need to hang out. Like have a date night or something," I told him while sinking down next to him on the bed. He looked skeptical. Maybe he felt the same as me—he and I were a thousand percent over and
so
not meant to be.

"Look, if you don't want to go, then you tell your mom. She insisted."

"No, I wanna go. I just... this is your time with Jake."

I rolled my eyes at him. Did he not just hear me say Jake agreed we needed to hang out? So, I had to repeat myself. Shit, we didn't even make it five minutes before he annoyed me. The fact that we lasted three years was a damn miracle.

"But... I kinda already had plans for tonight."

Well, of course he did. There's no way Austin would spend a Saturday night alone. I got up to go back downstairs. To explain to Jake and Martha that Austin rejected me once more...

"How about we go out for breakfast instead? Let me change and I'll talk to Mom on my way out. She's been weird. Like every half hour, she keeps asking me if I've talked to you yet."

Austin stripped his shirt off and Jake walked in at that very moment. Hurt flashed in Jake's eyes, but he shut it down.

Shit.

Chapter Twenty-one
 

"Dude, it's not what it looks like. I'm just getting ready to go out. We weren't...ya know, doing anything." Austin stumbled over his words as he tried to explain things.

What was there to explain? I'd just had the most amazing experience of my life with the woman I wanted more than anything and only a few hours later she was back in Austin's arms. Fucking asshole couldn't even give me a fair shot before he restaked his claim. I glared at my brother. And despite the tension in my jaw and every ounce of willpower I put into it, my voice was tense with betrayal. "Mom wants to talk to you before y'all leave. That's all I wanted. Didn't mean to interrupt."

"You didn't. Seriously, man." Austin jumped up and grabbed my arm when I turned to leave.

"Remove. Your. Hand." My voice came out in a low, dangerous growl.              

His eyes glittered with anger. He stared hard at me.

Laney stepped between us and put a hand on my chest. "I've been upstairs five minutes. What do you think happened? Honestly. We didn't even kiss. I wouldn't do that to you. I committed to two weeks with you."

I turned my glare to her and she smiled softly up at me.

"I will be faithful to you, and only you, during that time. Relax."

A deep sigh tore its way from my throat. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. With my face buried in her hair, I murmured, "You're killing me, Laney. You really are."

Austin nudged me, and I snapped my head up to glare at him more.

Fucking jerk just laughed. "Bro, don't take this the wrong way. But you need to get laid. Bad."

Laney blushed bright red and tucked her face up against my chest. She may as well have just said it outright...

"Oh wow, you already have, haven't you?" Austin's laughter grew. He full-on belly laughed. "No wonder you're so possessive of her now. Don't worry. I didn't touch her. Go on. Take her. But I'm having breakfast with her in the morning, okay?" He threw a shirt on and walked out. His footsteps receded.

I tipped her face up toward me. She tried to avoid eye contact, but I wasn't having it. "I'm sorry. I had no call to get jealous like that. You don't deserve that."

She didn't. She'd done nothing wrong. There was no call for me to be all pissed off.

Laney accepted my apology and didn't make me grovel too much. I led her to my room. We snuggled in on my bed and watched a movie. When the movie ended, I whispered, "Does that count as our first fight? You know the best way to make up, right?"