Inked on Paper (29 page)

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Presley

I had no idea what had come over me, but I’d been craving Jake all day long. Like chocolate. No, like triple chocolate mousse—my personal favorite, though my version was slightly different than most people’s since I was vegan.

Not that it mattered. Right now, Jake was the most decadent, delicious triple chocolate mousse ever made.

Whatever it was about him, I couldn’t seem to get enough. I’d spent the last couple of hours lying there, reading on my phone and sneaking peeks of him while he continued to write. There was something infinitely sexy about watching his brain work. The man had a body that made women drool, and yes, he was definitely hot, but watching him tap a pen against his lip while he was deep in thought … sinful.

I had no idea why.

Since I knew our time at the cabin was coming to an end, I’d suddenly had the urge to give him a memory of this place—and me—that he’d never be able to forget.

I wanted Jacob Wild to remember me forever.

I had no idea how things would go once we got back home. We’d had a couple of days to ourselves, a vacation of sorts, but I had to get back to the real world, and so did he. I really needed to focus, which meant I needed to put some distance between us. As it was, I was starting to fall for this guy and I knew that was stupid. He didn’t seem like the settling down type, and I didn’t know whether I was, either.

But this … this moment… It belonged to us and I was going to enjoy the hell out of it.

“Come here, Pres,” Jake groaned, his eyes locked on me as I continued to slide my lips over his hard length.

I shook my head, trying to discourage him, but he reached down and easily lifted me up from the floor, making me laugh.

“I wasn’t finished,” I pouted.

“Baby, much more of that and I’ll be finished.”

“Well, we can’t have that.”

“Stand up,” Jake instructed.

I tried to get down from the couch, but he held me there.

He smiled when he said, “On the couch.”

Momentarily confused, I got to my feet and instantly realized why he’d had me stand up.

Jake’s thick arms wrapped around my hips, his hands kneading my ass as he pulled me toward him, my knees pressed against his shoulders, his warm breath fanning my panty-covered pussy.

I watched, transfixed as his finger slid the thin silk to the side, his tongue gliding down my slit. My legs trembled, but Jake’s arms tightened around me, holding me there as he stared up at me. He was by far the most attentive lover I’d ever had, and I knew without a doubt, he had officially ruined me for other men.

A rough groan escaped me when his lips wrapped around my clit, the tip of his tongue caressing me, making my skin tingle and my nipples pebble. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand for long because my legs didn’t want to hold me up any longer.

But Jake didn’t stop; he yanked my panties down my legs, then relentlessly licked and sucked me, his tongue doing wicked things, driving me wild until I was crying out his name, begging him to continue. He did, and seconds later, I exploded, an orgasm ripping through me and throwing me off balance.

Jake eased me down onto his lap, his arms banding around me as he held me close. I could feel his breath against my temple.

“That was so damn beautiful,” he whispered softly. “I love watching you come.”

I eased my hand down between our bodies and guided him against my entrance, needing to feel him inside me. I didn’t want to wait a second longer, either.

“Aww, fuck,” he groaned as I lifted up, then settled down on him, taking him deep inside my body.

Once he was fully seated within me, I stilled, realizing what we’d just done.

“Condom,” I whispered, watching his face.

“I’m clean,” he said, the words reassuring me.

“Me, too. And I’m on the pill.”

Jake nodded, obviously understanding that I wanted this as much as he did.

His hands gripped my hips, and he shifted beneath me, his cock withdrawing, then sliding back inside, filling me. The glorious friction ignited the fire in my veins once again. Skin to skin felt so different. I’d never been with a man without a condom, and I was grateful for that. Because with Jake, it felt … like he was meant to be the first.

I helped him along, riding him right there on the couch. I twined my fingers in the hair at his nape and stared back at him, our eyes locked. It was far more intense than I’d expected, but I couldn’t look away.

Right then and there, I allowed myself to get carried away, living in the moment, giving my heart to this man. I wouldn’t tell him that, though. That was far too risky, but I did allow myself a few minutes to pretend, wishing this single, perfect moment could’ve lasted forever.

“What’re you thinking about?” Jake asked, leaning forward, his mouth sliding over my cheek.

“You,” I told him. “Me. This.”

“Ah, Presley.” He sounded so sweet when he said my name.

Not wanting to let him see the emotion swamping me, I pulled myself together and let the sensations overwhelm me. I lifted my hips, lowered them. Riding him, taking him deep into my body while I clung to him, my breasts crushed to his chest.

“You feel so good. Too good, Pres. God, baby.”

I wanted to make him come, to send him as high as he was sending me. I let go of him, arching my back and planting my hands on his knees, giving him an unobstructed view of where our bodies joined. And while he watched us, I watched him until I couldn’t take any more.

He held my hips still, thrusting up into me while I balanced over him, taking him deep, my body gripping him.

“Jake,” I said, a tremor racing through me. “Gonna … come.”

And I did. My orgasm slammed into me, making me cry out his name. Jake’s fingers tightened on my hips, holding me in place as he continued to fuck me, my inner muscles still locked around him.

A dull roar sounded when he came, his body shuddering as he yanked me close and held me tightly. For another moment, I closed my eyes and blocked everything else out.

Everything except this truly perfect moment.

The moment I knew, no matter how much I wanted it, wouldn’t last forever.

Because nothing this perfect ever could.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Jake

One more chapter.

I wanted to get in one more before we set out for home. Kora and Donovan were hanging there, and I needed to get them to a stopping point until I could pick it up again. Since I didn’t know how things would play out once I got back home—
would the inspiration disappear like it had before we got here?
—I knew I had to keep pushing while I still could.

After taking a quick detour to clean up, I grabbed my notebook and pen, made my way back to the couch while Presley went upstairs to take a shower, and I reread the last chapter before I started writing once more.

Kora wasn’t sure what to think about Donovan.

His arrogance pissed her off but also turned her on.

The way he seemed to know what she was thinking made her want to smack him, but it also made her feel safe. Even though that made absolutely no sense.

But he was right about one thing. She wouldn’t have given him her address or even opened the door for him if she didn’t want him there. Maybe she was using him as a distraction, or maybe she was crazy. Either way, he was there and she’d already set the dominos in motion.

The best outcome for her would be to give in, because that seemed like the fastest route to getting him out of her house. Since she definitely couldn’t complain about another orgasm, she didn’t figure it could hurt.

Not unless she fell for him. I couldn’t help but think of Presley. Was she thinking the same thing Kora was? Was she ready to move on, or was there a chance that things between them could continue? I knew what I wanted, but I couldn’t read her mind.

“Not happening, Kora,” Donovan whispered, his hands stilling on her shoulders. “I can see your mind’s working, and I know what you’re thinking.”

“You don’t know shit,” she retorted, jerking away from him.

She did not need Donovan Brashwood reading her thoughts.

Donovan caught her before she could leave the kitchen, his arm banding around her waist, pulling her against him once again. She planted her hands on the wall when he did, refusing to turn around and look at him.

“I’m all for giving you what you need,” he said, his words a rough whisper against her ear. “All night long if that’s what’s required, but in return, you’re going to give me something.”

“What?” she asked, trying to pull free from his embrace.

He wasn’t hurting her, but his touch was crumbling the walls of her resolve, and that was the last thing she needed.

“All of you.”

Those were the exact words I wanted to say to Presley. This was supposed to be Kora and Donovan’s story, but I felt more and more of myself being inserted in there.

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“It means, you can use me all you want, but you’ll be right there in the moment with me, Kora. I won’t have it any other way.”

“That didn’t stop you in the closet,” she snapped, her anger fueling her.

“Sweetheart, you were right there with me then, too. Don’t deny it. We both know better.”

Fine. She had been. But she damn sure wasn’t going to tell him that. She also wasn’t going to tell him that casual sex wasn’t her thing. She didn’t know how to deal with it. No matter what her brain wanted, she couldn’t shut her emotions down, and she feared she had already latched on to Donovan.

Which was stupid.

She’d already given her heart to one man; she definitely didn’t intend to give it to another. Sam had taken it and shattered it, leaving her in a million tiny pieces.

Donovan needed to make a stand, prove to this woman that living in the past wasn’t her only option. I flexed my fingers momentarily, staring at the page. Then it hit me.

“Stop thinking about him,” Donovan growled. “He’s not here with us.”

How the hell did he know what she was thinking? It made no sense.

Donovan’s arms fell from around her and she suddenly felt cold.

“Turn around.”

Hating that she was so quick to do as he instructed, Kora let her anger register on her face as she turned to face him, her back against the wall.

“I told you before, once I was inside your body, I wouldn’t be able to stop.”

“Sex? Is that what this is about?” Okay, so she knew it wasn’t, but she needed it to be. Donovan was trying to tell her different, but Kora didn’t want anything more. She couldn’t handle anything more. Especially not with a man she hadn’t even known for one day.

The next thing she knew, Donovan had taken her hand and was pulling her into the living room. He sat on the couch and tugged her arm until she fell down on top of him.

“Don’t move,” he ordered when she started to get up.

Her traitorous body relaxed.

But her anger reignited and this time … this time the tears followed.

All right. So, I hadn’t exactly expected that to happen, but I could work with it.

Crying women always made me nervous, but Donovan wasn’t like me. Not in that regard, anyway. He didn’t scare easily and he was used to being put in tough spots. A crying woman was probably the hardest spot to be in.

Donovan had known from the second he’d set eyes on this woman that she had a shitload of emotions bottled up inside. That was evident in the way she walked, the way she held herself. She didn’t take shit from anyone, but she hadn’t yet figured out how to let it all go.

And he’d also known when she’d propositioned him that she had intended to use him. Only Kora wasn’t the type. When they’d been in that storage closet, she’d given in to him completely and not just for the pleasure he could bring her.

Now, as she wept in his arms, her face buried in his neck, he sensed those walls she’d erected around her heart were beginning to crumble. She had no excuses anymore. She’d made it through the hard part, and it was time she took control once again, without all the animosity. Without the lies.

For a while, Donovan just held her, his arms around her, his hand gliding up and down her back. He didn’t move, didn’t try to get her to talk until she’d cried herself out.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

“For what?”

“For crying on your shoulder. Literally.”

Donovan smiled. “When’s the last time you cried?”

Kora shrugged and he knew that was the truth.

“Why did you let Sam off the hook?”

That was one of the questions I’d wanted to ask Gavin when he’d told me the story about his friend. I was pretty damn sure that the friend Gavin had been talking about was Presley. After she’d told me about Gavin sending her to Adrian’s and her finding him with other women … it made perfect sense. But I still didn’t understand completely. Why had Presley let Adrian off the hook? Why hadn’t she put him in his place? I don’t know that I could’ve willingly accepted fault for something like that. It was a strength I didn’t possess, but still, I didn’t understand it.

I stared at the page for a moment, sinking into Kora’s head, trying to rationalize it.

She sat up, and he noticed the spark of anger was back.

“What makes you think that I did?”

“Because he cheated on you, not the other way around.”

“How do you know that?”

It was obvious she didn’t think anyone knew the truth.

“Because he told me.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”

He couldn’t keep from smiling. “Fine. Because I know my brother. He’s an idiot.”

“He is that,” she said, relaxing once again.

“You let everyone believe that you were the one who cheated. Why?”

“What difference does it make?”

“Because Sam needs to be held accountable for his actions,” he told her, a thread of anger weaving its way through him.

“And that would help the situation how?”

She had a point. He didn’t like it, but she had one.

Kora shifted, her ass grinding against his cock, making him come to life. He didn’t want her to think this was about sex, but there was nothing he could do to hide it, so he pretended it didn’t matter.

“Sam cheated,” Kora explained. “Trina cheated. Neither of them are innocent in all of this. But as far as I’m concerned, they both are going to pay the ultimate price. If they don’t love each other—and I suspect they don’t—life isn’t going to be roses and rainbows. They’ll have a child to raise, yes. And I know Sam; he’ll stay with Trina until he’s old and gray and hating himself for what he did. That, for me, is punishment enough.”

“What about the others? The ones who think you’re to blame?”

“I don’t give a fuck what they think.” Her forehead knitted. “Sure, it hurts that they’d immediately blame me, but that’s on them. Not me. I was given a reputation a long time ago of being the rebel, not conforming. I argued with my parents more than most kids, defied them every chance that I got. But I never cheated, never did something that would intentionally hurt another person. That doesn’t mean I can change the way they see me. Nor does it mean that I want to.”

Okay, so that hadn’t played out quite the way I’d anticipated, but I definitely liked it. Kora was much stronger than I’d initially given her credit for, and I’d known all along that she was strong.

Donovan continued to stare at her. He realized that she had been bottling up her emotions, but she hadn’t simply brushed it all under the rug. Kora Madison was confident and smart, and above all else, she knew who she was.

And that was a fucking trait that most people didn’t have.

“You’re stronger than they realize,” he told her.

“Yes, I am. And I’m not broken, no matter what you might think.”

“Oh, love, I definitely don’t think you’re broken,” he told her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. “I think you’re smart and sexy as fuck. I think you know what you want and you go after it. Same as I do.”

Kora moved and Donovan let her go, but she didn’t go far.

No, Kora surprised him when she turned to face him, straddling his legs, grinding against his aching dick.

“And what do you want, Mr. Brashwood?”

He didn’t even have to think on that one. “You.”

“What if I don’t want you?”

Donovan smiled. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t.”

He knew she couldn’t do it.

Cupping her face, he brushed his thumb over her cheek. “One night won’t be enough for me, Kora.”

“What if that’s all I’m willing to give?”

He did have to consider that for a moment, but he wasn’t going to tell her what she wanted to hear, he was sure of that.

“I’m not looking for more,” Kora said, her eyes searching his.

“Then we’ll just have to figure out a way to compromise, now won’t we?”

Hmm. Compromise. Interesting.