Jake leaned down and scooped her up in his arms. It was as if she were home when she was in his arms, giving her a peace she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Emma leaned into his chest with her arms around his neck and relaxed into his embrace, letting him carry her up the stairs. The door was open to her room. He strolled in without hesitation and walked to the bed and gently laid her down. His knees at her sides, he leaned over and kissed her deeply, then he settled down on the side of her body. His hand stayed on her waist as his tongue tangled with hers, giving her time to back out and protest. None came. She untucked her shirt and pulled it over her head, taking all the guesswork out of her answer.
He placed a light kiss on her cheek and pulled back, searching her face. Looking for signs this was what she truly wanted. “Are you sure?” he asked, giving her another chance to back out.
The moment was tender. Emma had been intimate before with past boyfriends, but no other had ever felt so right.
“Yes,” she said in a whispered breath. She knew her answer was for much more than just sex. More than what he wanted. She was giving him her heart for the taking, trusting that he wouldn’t break it. She wasn’t naïve. She knew Jake only wanted her body right now, but she hoped for so much more.
Jake’s tender caresses caused Emma to tremble as a slight mewl escaped her parted lips. She’d longed for this moment since she’d met him. All her wildest fantasies were about to come to pass. Her heart beat a steady rhythm in her chest as she watched his muscular body flex above her. Jake slowly finished undressing her and stripped out of his clothes. His eyes appeared to darken under his intense stare, and a shiver ran down her naked body.
Resuming his place on the bed, he cupped her face as he gazed into her eyes and smiled. “You’re beautiful.”
They had been through so much together already. It was a wonder she was still alive. Too many close calls had made her realize how short life truly was, and she wanted this more than her next breath. She reached up to cup the side of his cheek.
“You have no clue what you have come to mean to me in such a short amount of time. No man has ever made me feel the things you do.”
A smile curved his lips as he lowered his mouth to hers; his soft tongue traced the crease of her parted lips. She opened wider for him, and he deepened the kiss, their tongues lost in a sensual battle. The caress of his hand as his fingers ran from her thigh to her breast sent little sparks of electricity down her spine. She arched into his touch. She ran her hand over the satin sheet beneath her naked body. The coolness of the fabric helped to cool her heated flesh. The need to be closer pushed at her willpower. He kneaded the creamy white breast he held cupped in his hand. A moan escaped her lips.
His lips brushed a trail of wet, hot kisses down her neck on her exposed flesh as he descended to taste her delicate breast.
“Yes,” she rasped.
“So beautiful, baby,” Jake whispered. He swirled her dusty pink nipple with his tongue as his hand inched farther down the smooth length of her body. He stroked his finger through her wet folds.
“You’re so wet for me, angel.”
Emma grabbed his shoulders to pull him closer as his fingers played her like a fine-tuned instrument. Emma’s eyes fluttered shut as the exquisite pleasure sizzled throughout her body. Every stroke increased the desire thrumming through her body. He stroked her sensitive walls in search of the spot that would send her over the edge.
“I need more, Jake, please,” she begged as her breath hitched. Emma wanted this man. She wanted to give all of herself to him, secrets and all. After this, there would be no more running. They were in this together.
“Is this what you want, baby?” He pressed and swirled the tiny bundle of nerves, and his mouth moved to suckle her other breast. He pressed three fingers into her entrance, stroking faster. Her breath quickened as she bucked her body against his stroking hand, seeking release.
“Oh yes.” Tiny pinpricks of light exploded behind her eyelids as the crashing waves of climax racked her body. She struggled to catch her breath as he continued stroking through her quivering walls until her body relaxed and she opened her eyes. The evidence of her pleasure coated his fingers and brought a smile to his lips.
He lifted his fingers to his mouth, his eyes closed as he sucked them clean. “You taste like heaven, baby.”
Jake rose above her and settled between her open thighs. Her heart raced as she gazed into his deep blue eyes. He slid into her wet heat, each steady rocking motion seating him deeper. His jaw clenched as he thrust farther into her, seating himself to the hilt.
“Baby, you feel better than I could have ever imagined. So wet and hot.”
Her heart swelled. Emma just wanted to wrap her arms around him and keep him there. Safe and close. She was his, and she’d decided to play for keeps. Her walls acclimated to his large size, and her breath caught as he pulled out to the tip and slid back home. Emma thought she’d died and gone to heaven. Her fingers stroked up his chest, and latching on to his silky brown curls, she drew his lips down to hers, needing to taste more.
“So good, baby.”
“Take me, Jake.” She wrapped her legs around his waist and dug her heels in. If he didn’t start moving, she might just die. She tilted her pelvis, meeting him stroke for stroke.
“Harder…Faster, baby. Make me come.” She would take everything he gave her. She wanted more than his hard body; she ached for his heart. Their slick bodies moved in tandem until she left his mouth and latched onto his nipple.
“That’s it, baby.” The sensation threw him over the top, snapping his willpower as she had planned. The raw need to possess her was etched on his face. She was writhing beneath him with each thrust. Her walls squeezed around him, as he felt the tremors start.
“Oh god, oh yes, Jake.” Her body tensed beneath his, and her back arched as she screamed her release. His thrust became frenzied when she clenched under him, and his orgasm washed over him like a raging storm, soaking her with his seed.
His body collapsed, and he rolled to the side, taking her with him. She lay on his chest as their breathing slowed. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
“I love you, Emma.”
She raised her head and planted a kiss on his mouth.
“I love you too… Oh shit.” Her hand flew to her mouth.
“Now, angel, please don’t tell me you regret it already.” Jake drew her tighter in his arms and rested her cheek on his chest.
She leaned up and looked in his eyes. “We didn’t use protection.”
She searched his face and waited for a flinch or any sign of regret, but it never came. He stroked her back, and she rested her head again on his chest.
“It’s okay, Emma. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together. I want this to work between us.”
They lay there thinking, for how long she wasn’t sure. Jake’s breathing had evened, and his heartbeat against her ear had slowed. Emma couldn’t sleep. She prayed he felt the same way after she told him her secret. The damn thing felt like a boulder on her chest trying to suffocate her. She wanted to kick herself for not telling him before things went further.
What’s done is done. I just hope he genuinely meant he wanted to give us a chance
.
“Jake.” Emma heard her voice crack.
His eyes were closed as he answered. “Yeah, angel.”
She lifted her head and saw the peaceful expression on his face; he was sated. “We need to talk.”
“We are talking, Emma.” He lifted his head, placed a gentle kiss on her lips, and again rested his head on the pillow.
“No, I mean seriously. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“It’s going to have to wait, Emma. The guys are going to be here soon with your sisters. I don’t mind them finding us like this, but I don’t want your sisters to give you a hard time. So, let’s get you up and in the shower.” He rose from the bed and held out his hand. She placed hers in his and let him pull her up. The muscles in her body were protesting. Her legs felt like wet noodles. He put his arms around her and pulled her flush with his body. His arousal poked her belly. Emma knew if she started up again, he would finish, whoever showed up be damned. She tried to pull away.
He didn’t give an inch. “I promise we’ll talk tonight after they leave,” he said as he kissed the top of her head. Jake retreated into the bathroom and drained the now cooling water while turning on the shower.
“Your bath is going to have to wait until they leave. How about later I’ll take a bath with you, and we can talk?”
Emma chewed her bottom lip. Maybe having Jake naked again when they finally talked would keep him from running.
“Okay.”
Jake picked up his boxers and jeans laying where he had kicked them off at the end of the bed and pulled them on. He ran a hand through his mussed hair before he placed a quick peck on her cheek. He left her standing naked in the room. She waited for the regret and shame to hit her. It never came. She felt loved and cared for with him. She felt home. She wanted this feeling to last forever, and hoped that after the hard part, he would still be around. Emma sighed as she climbed into the shower to get ready for their guests.
After she cleaned up and got dressed, Emma heard voices on the way to the kitchen. Before she pushed through the door, she heard her cell ring.
Damn, I left my purse in the kitchen
. All the voices stopped.
“Hello.” Jake had answered her phone. She didn’t mind. She wasn’t hiding anything from him. Well, at least nothing that could make a phone call, so she eavesdropped before entering.
“She’s in the shower. Listen, Ben, she isn’t with you anymore; she’s with me, and I’d appreciate it if you quit calling her.”
Emma’s mouth dropped open. She shook her head and plowed through the kitchen doors.
“Give me that!” she said as she pulled the phone from his hands. “What do you want, Ben?” She would take care of this once and for all.
“We need to talk,” he begged, not the same man who’d threatened everyone in his way in the hospital room. His whiney voice agitated her eardrums.
“There’s nothing to talk about, Ben. We’re over.”
“So it is true; you’re with that man.”
“Yes, Jake and I are together.” Collective gasps filled the air. She glanced in her sisters’ direction. They both froze, their hands holding containers of oriental takeout stopping in mid-air over the bag. They were staring at her with their mouths hung open. The men shook Jake’s hand, patting him on the back. He ignored them. His huge smile reached his eyes, which he hadn’t taken off of her watching her reaction. Emma rolled her eyes at the display of testosterone. “But I never cheated on you. I didn’t even meet him until after I broke up with you.”
The smell of Sesame chicken reminded her that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Her stomach growled as she placed her hand over it, embarrassed by the sound. Jake walked to her sisters, took the containers out of their hands, and started making two plates.
“I see. It didn’t take you long to get over me.”
“Let’s face it, Ben. It was only a matter of time. I don’t think either one of us was happy, or you wouldn’t have been cheating on me.” Every word she said was true. Her feelings for Jake were genuine, filled with emotions she had never genuinely felt for Ben or anyone else for that matter.
“Well, I was calling about Vivian. I heard what happened. She came to see me earlier this month and wanted me to process a restraining order for her.”
Emma turned from her pacing and made eye contact with Jake. He walked to her and rubbed her back. Gone were the dimples she loved so much; only concern showed in his eyes.
“Did you get it for her?” The whole room stopped to look. Uncomfortable from their gazes, she grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled him from the room with the phone still attached to her ear.
“What’s he saying?” Jake whispered.
Emma covered the phone with her hand to shush him.
“Well, I heard she was in the hospital. That ex of hers sure is a mean cuss, isn’t he? He came to see me last week after she tried to kick him out, threatened to kill me if I filed the papers.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Nope, I didn’t have any proof.”
“I’ll mention it to Mike when I see him…Ben, be careful. I don’t think he’s playing with a full deck.” Just because she wasn’t dating the man didn’t mean she wanted him to come to any harm. She didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of her.
“Don’t worry about me, Emma. Apparently you never did.” Disdain dripped from his voice. It felt as though, if he could come through the line and choke her, he would have right then.
“Ben, I don’t want to see you get hurt. Please call me if you see him again,” she begged. “The entire station is looking for him.”
“I’ve got to go. I have a client coming in. I’ll talk to you soon.” He hung up on her.
Emma replayed the whole conversation for Jake. To his credit, he didn’t appear to be mad or jealous.
“Angel, I’m going to need to get some information from Mike. Why don’t you come back with me in the kitchen and I’ll finish making your plate? We need to get some food in you to replace the energy we burned earlier.” He gave her a sheepish grin. He tugged her in the kitchen and pulled out a chair while he went about fixing the food. Abby was sitting at the head of the table, and Claire directly across from her. Emma just prayed they would wait with their questions until his friends were at least out of earshot.
She let out a breath she was holding when they started talking about their days’ events. They glared at her as they relived Mike’s announcements about their new babysitters. She looked over at the men. None of them seemed to be sporting any new bruises. Everything must have been fine. She replayed the last part of her conversation with Ben, only giving information pertaining to Vivian. She was saving the gory details of their breakup for when she could talk to her sisters privately.