What He Bargains (What He Wants, Book Nineteen) (72 page)

“I’m calming down,” she lied, trying to control her breathing as Jake helped her sit at the kitchen table.

“Let me grab you a cup of water,” Jake told her, and returned moments later with a cold glass filled with ice and pure cold liquid.

She guzzled for a long moment, letting it hit her throat, and then she sighed and put it down on the table. Raven closed her eyes and then opened them again. “I think I’m doing better now.”

“Good,” Jake said. He left the room and came back a minute later with his laptop and placed it in front of her. “Mack’s going to be releasing my single on iTunes later today,” he said. “Things are about to get even crazier. You know that, right?”

“I thought you were trying to help me calm down, not make me faint,” she said, keeping her voice steady.

It’s just a car. Okay, an expensive car. But nothing’s changed. I don’t even need to drive it if I don’t want to.

“I want you to log into your bank account,” Jake said softly, but his voice was firm. His eyes were watching her intently.

“Why?” she demanded.

“Because, you need to check your account, Raven.”

“Jake, you better not have done anything crazy. That car is enough.”

“Log in, babe.” He pushed the laptop towards her insistently.

She did as he told her, and now her hands were really shaking. She knew that something big was coming, but as her account popped up, nothing could have prepared her for how big it was going to be.

Raven sat and stared at the screen, dumbfounded. “That’s a mistake,” she said, her voice sounding distant to her own ears.

“That’s your commission on my advance,” Jake said. “It’s standard.”

“It can’t be. I—I can’t accept this, Jake.”

“You don’t really have a choice,” he chuckled. “That’s the manager’s cut. It wouldn’t be right for me to keep that money.”

“But…but…”

“But nothing. You earned that money fair and square. You were the one who kicked that imbecile Hec out of the session and helped me get my head screwed on straight, convinced me to record my songs the right way. You sat there and acted as my ears in the studio, talked me through my own bullshit and got me to let loose and really commit to the work. And you’re the one who made sure that song found the light of day, and that’s the only reason Mack Zee ever contacted me in the first place.”

Even though Raven knew everything Jake said was the truth, she still couldn’t fathom what she was seeing on the laptop screen.

The most recent deposit into her checking account was for the tidy sum of four million dollars.

FOUR MILLION DOLLARS.

It boggled the mind, literally. “I don’t know what to say.” Tears sprang to her eyes as she realized what this meant for her and her family. Not only would she be able to provide for herself into the distant future, but she’d be able to help her mother and father and Danny too.

“You don’t need to say anything,” Jake said, rubbing her back. “I’m the one who needs to say that I love you, and I owe you my life. You helped me to get out from under all of that old baggage—all that crap that was hanging around my neck like a damned albatross. But I put the bags down and I’m free, thanks to you.”

She realized she was crying, and began laughing at her own hysterics. “I don’t even know why I’m crying,” she said.

“Maybe it’s because you’re happy.”

She nodded over and over again, and then they leaned into one another and Jake’s lips were on hers and she could feel his love and his respect and everything that she’d ever dreamed of, and it was as if he was pouring it into her soul, filling her to the brim with nothing but love and acceptance and joy.

It wasn’t the money at all, she realized.

It was him.

Jake was what had happened to her—she’d found the man of her dreams, and he loved her back, every bit as much as she loved him.

T
he rest
of the day was a celebration.

They took her new car and drove it around the island. Mostly Jake drove it, because Raven was too intimidated, but she did take a turn at the wheel for a few minutes towards dusk.

Driving past the white sandy beaches, feeling the wind on her face and in her hair, Jake Novak beside her, and she thought she was going to burst with the emotions that were running through her.

Later, a private chef came to Jake’s house and made them a four-course meal that consisted of an amazing Waldorf salad, a creamy mushroom soup, and then absolutely perfect sirloin steaks and buttery mashed potatoes.

For desert, a moist lava cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

When the chef took his leave, Jake and Raven grabbed a bottle of wine, stripped down to nothing, and got into the pool. Jake had put on the lights and turned the heat up to a sweltering ninety degrees, making it more like a hot tub.

The lights shimmered in the pool, creating a green glow that made everything feel surreal, dreamlike, which was how most of Raven’s life was feeling lately.

Jake took a long swig from the wine bottle as Raven hung on the side of the pool and checked her phone.

“What are you doing on that damned thing?” he said, splashing over to where she was and grabbing her bare waist.

Her nipples stiffened instantly, but she hung on to the railing. “Hey!” she cried. “I need to check how the single’s doing.”

“Bullshit. That can wait. Tonight, no business.” He grabbed her again, and this time, as he pushed his bare torso and hips into her from behind, Raven could feel his hardness pressing into her buttocks.

“Just give me one second.” She checked the popularity list and saw that the single had debuted at number three. It was already ahead of Miley Cyrus’s new track. “Oh my Gosh!” Raven cried. “We’re at three already! We only just came out within the last few hours and we’re at three!”

Jake’s lips caressed her ear and then he was nibbling at her wet neck. “I don’t care about fucking iTunes,” he growled, and finally he pulled her off the side and carried her away, creating ripples in concentric circles around them. Water lapped the sides as she turned to face him.

He was completely nude, wet, and wanting her.

What the hell had she been thinking? Why had iTunes seemed so important again? She couldn’t for the life of her remember.

Jake’s cock was pushing itself between her legs as if it had a mind of its own, and she opened herself to it.

“Oh God,” she moaned, as Jake’s hands roamed her body, lifting her onto him, splitting her down the middle as he entered her, fucking her in the middle of the pool, taking her the way she wanted him to.

When she climaxed just minutes later, Jake came too, and his mouth was on her breasts, licking her nipples, and she continued to come and come until her entire body was vibrating.

Eventually, he slipped out and then continued to hold her as they floated around the pool together, almost like they were attached. She supposed, in a way, they were.

Finally, they parted ways, but continued swimming and relaxing in the amazing water, blissfully lounging, and Raven found herself staring up out of the porch and into the night sky filled with a million stars.

Some time later she checked the charts again and discovered they were at number one and she’d gotten texts from a lot of people, including Mack Zee.

This team is unstoppable!
Mack had written.

She smiled at that. She liked and appreciated that he was trying to show her that he took her seriously as Jake’s manager, and didn’t just consider her some girlfriend who was tagging along and served no real purpose.

Of course, there was still a chance that Mack was playing a larger and more devious game on behalf of Club Alpha, but Raven refused to let that fearful and negative thinking dominate her mind.

It was only when she got a text from Skylar that the smile faded from her face.

I am so proud of you!! And I already downloaded the song—I cant stop listening to it. NUMBER ONE ON ITUNES????!!!! I always knew you were the best. Miss you! XOXO Sky

Jake swam over to her. “What’s up?”

“Well, your song’s at number one already. I know you don’t care…”

“Let me see that,” he said, taking her cell phone and checking it. “I’ll be damned,” he drawled. “We are at number one. That’s insane.”

But when he turned to share the joy with Raven, he saw the look on her face.

“Jake,” she said softly.

“No,” he replied instantly.

“It’s time for me to go back to Boston.”

He shook his head. “I need you here with me, Raven. I’m scheduled to get back into the studio to work on the final songs for the album.”

“You’ll be fine. Rory’s coming back and he knows what you need now. Besides, you can always send me the rough cuts if I’m away.”

Jake stared at her, his eyes wounded. “Why do you have to go now?”

“Because Skylar needs me there.”

For the first time, he seemed to understand that it was really happening. “And you can’t even tell me how long you’re going for?”

“I think a week should do it,” she said. “I want to tie up loose ends with my family. They’ve been homeless for too long and I want to help them sort things out.”

“Raven, I can help them. I’ll go down as soon as this studio work is done and—“

She shook her head. “It’s not your responsibility, though. It’s mine. They’re my family.”

Jake put his hand up to her cheek. “I know four million seems like a ton of cash, babe, but it’ll go fast if you start buying everyone you know a brand new house.”

She laughed. “And what about my cut from the single sales, and the album sales when it comes out? I co-produced those songs. We both know that I’m going to have a lot more than four million in my account soon.”

Jake fell silent.

Raven wrapped her arms around his shoulders, clasping her hands on the back of his neck. Her body pressed into his and her eyes stared deeply into his eyes.

“It’s just for a week so I can tie up loose ends and be there for Sky. I can’t just run away from everyone and everything in my life forever.”

“I know,” he said, and a ghost of a smile formed on his lips. “I never thought I’d say this to anyone in my life after everything I’ve been through.” He swallowed and his eyes filled. “But I love you and I need you, Raven. I can’t lose you now.”

“You’re not losing me. It’s just for a little while, and we’re strong enough to handle some time apart.”

But as they got out of the pool and then, later, as she lay awake in bed and heard the sound of Jake’s deep breathing, Raven wondered if she’d just unintentionally pulled on the thread that would unravel everything they’d created together.

S
he flew
commercial back to Boston, making sure to put on a cap and wear sunglasses for a large portion of the time she was in public. The strange fact was that she’d become part of Jake Novak’s life, and her picture and image was appearing all over the place on the web and even TV sometimes.

But for the most part, nobody seemed to recognize her except perhaps the TSA lady that checked her ID and gave a knowing smile, and the younger man who sat next to her on the flight and kept giving her sidelong glances, seeming to want to start a conversation, but losing his confidence every time.

The funny thing was, not very long ago, she’d have been intimidated by him. He was young and good-looking, but in this instance she had less than zero interest in striking up a conversation with any man.

She already missed Jake and it had only been a few hours.

In her mind, as the plane came in for a landing at Logan airport, Raven kept replaying their last moments together before she’d gotten out of Jake’s jeep and gone into the airport in Miami. Raven had told Jake not to go into the airport to see her off because it would draw too much unnecessary attention.

He’d grumbled about it but given in, finally. And then they’d looked at one another, both of them emotional and choked up.

“Text me when you land,” he’d said.

“I will.”

“And don’t be a stranger, okay?” He’d caressed her cheek softly and she’d nearly burst into tears, told him that she wanted to stay and call off her entire trip.

But somehow she’d held on to her will, given him a kiss, a hurried
I love you
, and then grabbed her bag and scuttled out of the jeep.

Looking back over her shoulder as she’d entered the airport, she’d seen him watching her from the car and it felt as though her heart would break.

Now, as the plane hit the runway in Boston, Raven was jolted back to reality. She put on her sunglasses and lowered her cap.

“Incognito,” the man next to her smiled, having finally gotten the courage to speak, apparently. “I like it.” He grinned.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Are you in town for long?”

Raven shook her head as she got up, pulled her bag from the overhead compartment and then sat down, waiting for the plane to make its way to the gate.

The man was gaining confidence. “It’s so weird that I sat next to you on this flight,” he said, his fingers tapping his knee. “I was just reading an article about you last night in Music Maker. That guy who played keyboard and piano on Jake’s new album said that you’re some sort of genius, and that without you, the new songs wouldn’t even exist.”

Raven now wanted desperately to get away from him. She didn’t want to talk about Jake or her life, or to be hit on, even if he was being nice. “Thanks so much for the compliment,” Raven smiled. She craned her head to look out at the isle. People were beginning to stand up to leave.

“I’d love to maybe grab a coffee and pick your brain,” her suitor said. “I’m kind of an aspiring singer songwriter myself.”

Raven got up and gave him another quick smile. “I’m so sorry, but I just don’t have time on this trip. Good luck with everything.”

The man nodded, suddenly looking younger than he had before, and dejected too. Raven hated how she felt, blowing him off, but there was no way around it. She didn’t want to give him the wrong impression.