Uncovering You 10: The Finale (27 page)

It guides my movements, guides my speed. Jeremy holds onto me. My hands fall to his chest. I grip him tight.

I start to moan, unabashed, unable to stop or hold back. The pleasure consumes me. It rolls through me like a fiery inferno. I’m lost in it. As Jeremy’s lustful groans fill the air and mix with my own sighs, I transcend the very moment. I drop my head back and moan as Jeremy’s hands explore my body and I keep riding him. He grabs my breasts, then my hips, pulls me to him even more, guiding me how he wants it even when I’m in control.

And then the climax washes over me. No. It
rages
through me. It
rips
through me. It overpowers me with the full force of a tsunami and offers no remorse. It surges through every cell in my body, through every single nerve synapse.

There is no build up. No slow burn. This is raw, powerful, and all-consuming. No part of the landscape is left untouched.

And then I hear Jeremy give a guttural, powerful roar beneath me. His hot cum shoots into me. My core clenches around him. My whole body trembles…and then I collapse onto him.

He catches me and holds me close. Our fevered bodies are drenched with sweat. My heart pounds so hard that I feel every beat through my entire body. For a long time, lying there against Jeremy’s chest, our upper bodies bare, I feel
his
heartbeat, too.

Its rhythm matches mine.

Chapter Thirty-Five

That is more or less the way we live for the remaining weeks of the summer.

I feel like I’m in paradise. Time spent with Jeremy is like time spent in heaven. He’s loving and caring when he needs to be. He’s fiery and passionate the rest of the time.

Not once do we have an argument. Given the prevalence of such occurrences in our past, that’s unbelievable.

Then again, almost everything about our lives now is beyond belief. The simple fact that I’m still alive, seemingly safe, being looked after by my lover and his brother, given where I was just months ago, is astounding.

The fact that I haven’t suffered a single relapse, and have been making tangible progress in my recovery almost every day? It’s ludicrous.

There are no outside pressures or demands on our time. Jeremy has divorced himself completely from his company. There is no more uncertainty, no more worries, no
questions
looming in the background. Sometimes, when I think of that, all I can do is laugh. Laugh with joy; laugh with disbelief. Laugh with some intoxicating mixture of the two.

If this is the way I’m going to spend the rest of my life, I couldn’t be happier.

Of course, there are Dr. Telfair’s warnings to think about. But those things will concern me only so very far into the future. For now, I’m willing to turn a blind eye.

Besides, Jeremy gives me more than my fill of things to be concerned about.

We fuck like animals. I think we must be setting some sort of world record for the number of times we have sex. Jeremy’s appetite is voracious. It’s insatiable.

Luckily for him, mine matches it.

It could only be that way with him. I am sure that had we never met, there would never have been a man in my life who could evoke the same passions. Not even close. It’s the combination of everything about Jeremy: who he is. What he’s done. Who he continues to be. It’s the development of a relationship. The path we took to get here. The struggle and challenges we faced along the way. It’s the culmination of all those things plus the knowledge of how close we came to never having
this
that make our life together so special.

Once-in-a-lifetime? Not even. What I have with Jeremy is once-in-a-thousand lifetimes. Once in a million. I’m so impressed, so absolutely certain, that we are the only ones on planet earth to share something like this. Just thinking about it makes me feel high, drunk, giddy, and absolutely love-struck all at the same time.

About two months into my stay, I finally feel ready to visit the nearby village. Jeremy and I make a dream date of it. He looks dashing, in his fine white linen suit. While I still can’t spend much time under the midday sun, Jeremy’s skin has taken on a dark tan reminiscent of the weeks we spend on our Caribbean getaway.

This is better. I did not think anything could top our time there. But this is so, so, so much better. This is, quite literally, heaven on earth.

But if there’s one thing I should have learned in all the time I’ve spent around Jeremy since being taken out of Yale, it’s that good things are never meant to last.

My first inkling that something is about to go wrong comes the night Jeremy and I return from our first foray into town.

Dr. Telfair greets us when we get back. The sun is red on the horizon. It casts a particularly zealous glow on his face.

He is vibrating with excitement. The moment he sees us top the hill, he leaps from the veranda and runs to meet us halfway up the slope.

“A breakthrough!” he exclaims, as soon as he reaches us. “Lilly, Jeremy. This is miraculous!”

“What?” I ask. I can’t help but be energized by his excitement. “What? What happened? What is it?”

“While you were gone,” he says, “I ran more tests on your blood. And I found something so amazing, so spectacular. It’s been staring me in the face this whole time. I’ve just been too preoccupied with
traditional
ways of thinking that I’ve been blinded to it.”

“Good news, at last?” I ask, only half in jest.

“The best!” he exclaims. “The very best, Lilly. Jeremy, you’re going to be thrilled.”

“So are you going to continue blabbering,” Jeremy asks with a bit of a brotherly tease, “or are you going to tell us this great news?”

“No,” he shakes his head. “No. I’ll do you one better. I’ll show you!” He grabs my hand. “Come, quick, to my lab!”

I yelp as he pulls me after him, and then laugh with Jeremy as soon as he catches up. I’ve never seen Dr. Telfair this excited, this
passionate
about something. It really must be great news.

We reach the entrance stairs to the basement. That area has been sequestered to house all of Dr. Telfair’s equipment. I’ve only been down there once. Being underground, it induced memories of my captivity. I almost had a panic attack.

Luckily, Dr. Telfair realized what was happening and quickly ushered me out of there. That was pretty much the only near miss that I’ve suffered in my entire time here.

He stops and looks at me and Jeremy. “Wait here,” he says with an eye toward me. “I’ll bring my computer and…”

“It’s fine,” I interrupt. “We’ll go with you.”

He blinks. “Excuse me?”

I look at Jeremy and tighten my grip on his hand. He gives me a reassuring squeeze back. “We’ll come down there with you. I’ll be okay.”

Dr. Telfair’s about to speak. But, then shuts his mouth and nods. “Okay.”

He goes down first. I start to follow, and then I am tugged back by Jeremy. He looks at me in earnest. “Remember,” he says, “I’m right here with you. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“Thank you,” I give him a tight smile. Dammit! Now that I’m actually faced with the prospect of having to make good on my word, all my nerves are on edge.

I focus on the warmth of Jeremy’s grip, on the strength emanating from him, and take my first step down.

It’s a long, dark, narrow flight of stairs. I try to ignore the suffocating, claustrophobic feeling that the walls evoke.

“Did you know that I fell into a pit underground when I was twelve?” I say to Jeremy. I struggle to keep my mind occupied with words and not focus on where I’m going. “I almost died in there. I thought I would.”

“You never told me that,” Jeremy says. “Watch your step.” He points out a divot in the old stone stairs. “What happened?”

“I was out exploring the woods,” I babble. “By myself. Actually, you know what? Memories of that time helped me get through the first weeks you kept me in the dark.”

“Lilly…” Jeremy growls a warning. “This might not be the best time to talk about such things. Particularly given where we are?”

“No, it’s all right,” I tell him. “I’ve moved past that. I can speak of it with no emotions attached,”

“So what happened when you were twelve?” he asks, steering the subject toward safer waters.

“I found an old, abandoned cabin. I scaled the wall and dropped inside. I looked around, then stumbled, and fell…” I trail off and shudder, suddenly recalling that grating, incessant, irritating bird. “…down rotted steps into the basement. I broke them all on the way down. And then, when I came to, I couldn’t reach…”

“But you got out, obviously.” Jeremy smiles. “How’d you do it?”

“See, the thing is: Even though I tried to build up some sort of platform to reach, in the end, it wasn’t me. It was…”

I stop, realizing that the ending of the story is perhaps not the best thing to tell Jeremy.

“It was what?” he asks.

“It was… somebody else.” I mumble, under my breath. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. It was so long ago. Hey, look.” I glance around the space before us. It’s filled with hooked up machines and medical equipment. “We made it!”

“Who saved you, Lilly?” Jeremy prompts.

“Somebody,” I say. He gives me an inscrutable stare. “A man,” I hedge.

Before us, Dr. Telfair is booting up his computer and flipping the switches to turn on certain machinery.

“Tell me,” Jeremy says. His voice carries that deep-seated command that I cannot say not to.

I look at my feet, suddenly ashamed for hiding, then ashamed for being ashamed. “Paul,” I say. I shake my head. The auburn hairs of my wig fall around my face. “Paul saved me.”

Jeremy’s eyes hone into me. “Paul?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say.

I can see the calculations going on his head. He’s considering that timeline. If I was twelve, it happened eleven years ago. That means that his mother and Paul were…

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Jeremy asks. For the first time in our whole getaway, he sounds angry.

“I—didn’t think it was important,” I say quickly. I desperately want to change the subject. I look to Dr. Telfair for help. But his full attention is on the computer screen.

“Important? Lilly, this is
vital
information. If you owe your life to Paul, and you didn’t tell me before…?” He trails off, looking seriously pissed now. He releases my hand and steps away.

“So what?” I ask. “Would knowing that have changed how you’ve treated him? What does it matter? You know he’s my father. Obviously. You know his importance to me. He and I are linked by blood. So what if he saved me once? I owe my life to him just by virtue of being his daughter! It shouldn’t—doesn’t—change how you view him.”

“No.” Jeremy says gravely. He places two fists against a brick wall. “But it changes how I view
you
.”

“What
are
you talking about, Jeremy?” Irritation is slipping into my voice. Dr. Telfair says something in the background. I ignore him.

Jeremy shakes his head. “If I had known…” he mutters.

I stalk up to him, grab him by the shoulder, and spin him around. “Tell me!” I demand.

Jeremy’s eyes narrow. They’ve become dark. It’s a dangerous look.

It’s a look I know very well from when he was just Stonehart.

But he wouldn’t hurt me now, so I’m unafraid.

Jeremy glances over my shoulder at his brother. “Give us five minutes,” he says.

Dr. Telfair starts to protest. But Jeremy cuts him off. “I said, five minutes. Now!”

I start at the exclamation, and turn my head quickly. Dr. Telfair looks just as shocked. Then determination flows over his features.

I placate him before he can speak. “It’s okay,” I say. “I need to talk to Jeremy. Preferably…” I glance at my future husband, the mirror image of his twin. “…alone. But only if you can condone it.”

“If that’s what you want, Lilly,” he agrees reluctantly.

“Yes,” I say. ‘It is.”

Dr. Telfair gives a curt nod. He looks at his brother. “Five minutes, exactly,” he says. “And then I’ll be back.”

“I’m counting on it.” Jeremy almost sneers.