Too Good Girl

by Eleanor Lloyd-Jones

  I felt like the floodgates had been released and suddenly wanted to talk all day, particularly about Jack. “He says I am too good for the life I’ve paved for myself, and if he sees that in me and loves me the way he says, then there must be something worth looking after, right?” I felt tears prickle at the backs of my eyes and blinked them away.

  “I’d say you were onto something there.” She tapped her pen against her lips, contemplating her next question. “And how are you feeling about yourself now?”

  I shrugged, placing the mug down and standing, and walked over to the window looking over the ocean that held so much significance for me. Today the sun was glistening off the surface, boats were bobbing up and down on the gentle waves and tourists were strolling along the edge of the water. I watched the gulls fight for their food in the air before following the path of one with my finger along the glass. It seemed carefree, like nothing on earth could bring it down. It rode the wind like a kite, dropping and climbing, gliding and swooping before doubling back on itself to join the colony, squawking and arguing with its friends on the sand where a bag of discarded chips lay for the taking.. There was so much rivalry amongst them, every man for themselves, until a large eagle began circling above them. I watched on as a united white air force suddenly took wing, diving, screeching as one body, protecting one another from the predator.

  I smiled. “I think that maybe with the help of people who care about me, I might finally be able to find some peace.” I turned my head to look at her. “I feel like the despair might not always be there.”

  I heard the scribble of the pencil across paper, and turned to look at her, catching the corner of her lips twitching into a smile as she wrote down what I believed to be my first breakthrough.

  ***

  Stepping out of Christine’s office an hour later, Jack was no longer sitting in the chair in the waiting room, and I frowned, pulling my phone from my pocket and checking for messages. There were none. I jogged down the steps, pushing through the glass doors into the sunny afternoon. On the other side of the road, looking sexy as hell in his leather jacket, hair loose and tousled around his face and a Harley between his legs, was the man I believed I would die for.

  Was he really mine?

  That twitching and pulsing feeling I had craved for so long came over me the second he lifted his perfect lips into a swoon-worthy smile.

  Goddamnit.

  I inwardly groaned at how fucking handsome he was and how I wanted nothing more than to strip him naked and devour him. I crossed the road and stood in front of him, staring up into those sea green eyes I was so in love with.

  He snaked his arm around my waist and yanked me to him, pressing my core against his thigh and his mouth against mine. I reached up and clutched the lapels of his jacket to steady my jittery legs. His hand moved from the small of my back, sliding down to grab my arse and I moaned into his mouth.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  I kissed him fiercely, my tongue caressing his in needy strokes as the feel of him pressed against me sent me soaring.

  “Fancy a ride?”

  I smiled, tilting my head back to look up at him. “I could ride you all day.”

  Hauling me tighter against him, he claimed my mouth again and whispered against it. “How did you get to be so sexy, huh?”

  I grinned and kissed him harder before dropping down from my tiptoes and grabbing the helmet he had hanging over the handlebars, shoving it over my head and climbing up onto the bike behind him. He rolled the bike to the end of the small street, kick started the engine and sped off down the main street of Faymere with me screeching behind him. “Take me to the moon!”

  It was more exhilarating than the first time, because this time I knew I was in love, and as my arms held on tightly around his toned torso, my hands caressed him and told him how much he meant to me. I whispered into his back words he would never hear over the roar of the motorbike—words that spoke of gratitude and love, of promises and plans for the future. I told him I would be the good girl he’d been searching for, and that I would never let go.

  We sped along the cliff tops, the sun warming our backs before it began to drop in the sky, and then found ourselves on the beach at sunset.

  Jack killed the engine and took off his helmet, shaking his hair from his face before reaching around and lifting me to straddle him on his seat. He, stood and shimmied to the edge, laying me back against the seats of the bike, pushing my T-shirt up from my body. He placed a delicate trail of kisses from my throat to my stomach, stopping to unpop the button on my jean shorts.

  I was breathless and out of control. My whole body shivered in the cool evening breeze, but hummed and buzzed at his touch. The warmth of his breath on my skin was a delicious contrast and my hips bucked involuntarily as his fingertips skimmed the sides of my body and over my ribs.

  His name drifted from my lips on a whisper as he pulled my shorts over my hips and down my legs, and when his fingers caressed me, circling and teasing, I fell apart under the setting sun. I cried as my body rippled with pleasure, and when I thought I was finished, he took me to the edge again, watching as I unravelled at his mercy, his eyes feasting on me.

  “You’re so beautiful.” His mouth was on me, his tongue flicking and licking, taking everything from me and leaving me shuddering a third and fourth time. He lay me on the sand and gave me all of him as the sky turned dark and the moon shone its light on him. He moved inside of me, loving me each time our hips met, and I knew I’d be safe in his arms for as long as I wanted to be.

  We remained tangled in each other, watching the sky and listening to the waves until I began to get cold.

  “Let’s get you home.” Jack helped me into his jacket and I wrapped it around me, inhaling the leather and unique scent of him.

  “You smell so fucking good.”

  He grinned and swung his leg over the bike, inviting me to climb up behind him, and we sped off down the beach and back through the town.

  We lay in his bed that night, making love to each others bodies, dozing on and off until one of us would wake with a fire in our bellies and lust pulsing between our legs. Our hands and mouths did the talking and when the sunlight streamed through the curtains the next morning, I felt content. Life was giving me a second chance, and I was damn sure I was going to grab it with both hands if this beautiful man was going to be by my side as I took it.

  He rolled me onto my back and slid inside of me again, kissing every inch of my face, his hands touching my skin as if it were the first time he’d found it, drinking me in with his eyes as they crashed like the ocean.

  He made me breakfast and washed my body in our tiny bathroom under the trickling shower, his fingers and hands continuing to set me on fire as I came against them.

  It was everything I’d ever wondered about—everything I’d sought but never found: that feeling of utter euphoria from the touch of another. I’d discovered it in Jack, because he was the one—the only one. He didn’t take like the others had. He gave and gave because he loved me.

  I sat in the middle of his bed, wrapped in a towel, watching him get ready to go to work. “Do you have to go?”

  He lifted his head from tying his boot laces and smiled. “You’re insatiable.”

  I shrugged, twisting my mouth to the side. “Maybe.”

  “I’ll only be an hour. I have some loose ends to tie up before the shit hits the fan with Doug. I’m going to be unemployed soon, and I just need to make sure I have some money to at least tide us over for the next few weeks.” He stood, his naked torso taunting me—the muscles twisting and pulling as he moved around, collecting his keys and wallet and then shoving himself into a T-shirt. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled me into his lap, smoothing his hands up my naked thigh and up inside the towel.

  God this man could light me up just with one look, but when his hands were on me, I was completely helpless. He leaned in and kissed me tenderly as hi
s hand explored my naked skin one more time, leaving me panting and begging him to take the morning off.

  “I’ll come back and finish what I started, so you make sure you stay exactly where you are and don’t you dare get dressed. Okay?”

  I giggled and looped my arms around his neck, kissing him deeply.

  He wrapped me back up in the towel, the look in his eye changing from playful to serious. “You’ll—”

  “I’ll be fine. Okay? And you know why?”

  He shook his head, tucking my hair behind my ears.

  “Because I know you’re coming home to me. I know I have everything I never knew I needed in you, Jack. You’ve saved me—from life and from myself—and I know I don’t need to run anymore. It’s going to be a long journey, but I’m prepared for it because I will have you holding my hand the whole way. I love you.”

  He kissed me and wrapped me up in his arms. “Don’t do that.”

  I frowned, confused. “Don’t do what?”

  “Make me cry.”

  I smiled into the crook of his shoulder. “Makes a change it being you. Now go to work if you have to before I ravage you again.

  ***

  I woke a little later, still wrapped in my towel, the sound of the key in the front door alerting me to Jack’s return. My stomach flipped at the prospect of setting eyes on him again, of spending the rest of the day showing him just how much I loved him. I contemplated lying there, waiting, but my impatience got the better of me. I listened for the sound of the door closing and then slipped out of the bedroom to find him.

  At the top of the stairs, I stopped in my tracks, dropping to sit on the top step as I heard the sound of a voice. It was muffled and coming from the kitchen. I couldn’t make out what was being said, but I swallowed the nerves that were crawling their way up my throat and assumed Jack was on the phone.

  That was until I heard another voice.

  This one was louder and unmistakable.

  I froze on the spot, not daring to move, pulling my towel tighter around me.

  He was angry.

  His words were still unclear, but the tone he was using sent shivers up my spine.

  Was it Jack he was talking to?

  The sound of the kitchen door creaking open and the voices now clear and loud had me jumping to my feet and scurrying backwards along the landing, slipping into Jack’s room, closing the door behind me and sliding to the floor, with my back against it, my throat dry.

  It wasn’t Jack.

  Doug was with someone else and Jack wasn’t there at all.

  I sat there for a few minutes, the sound of my heart thumping in my ears making it difficult to concentrate on what they were saying.

  Please leave. Please leave.

  Doug’s brogues clacked against the tiles in the hallway, and I listened harder.

  “Go find him, and I’ll wait here.”

  No sooner had the words left Doug’s mouth than the front door opened I heard Jack’s voice. “Syr—”

  Smack.

  “No!” I jumped to my feet, yanking the door open and racing down the stairs to see Jack stumbling around with his hand to his face. “Jack!”

  Doug spun around and tipped his head back to see me flinging my body down the stairs, a beaming smile slapped across his smug face. “Hey, princess. Didn’t realise you were home. Sorry. Let myself in to talk to our boy here about loyalty and betrayal.”

  I stood on the bottom step and shoved my face into his. “Fuck you, Doug.”

  Smack.

  My hand flew up to my cheek, my eyes prickling with tears I was determined to keep hidden from him, and within seconds, Jack was at my side, shoving Doug into the wall behind him.

  “You lay one more finger on her, so help me God, Patterson. I don’t care who you are—”

  Smack.

  Jack’s head whipped to the side as Doug’s minion flung his fist through the air. I let out another high pitched scream, throwing myself at him and pummeling him with my fists. He flung me to the ground, my towel untucking and falling open as I hit the floor.

  Someone started to chuckle, and I turned my head to see Doug leaning against the doorjamb of the living room, one hand tucked under his arm and the other stroking his chin. “What a mess. Look at you.”

  I shuffled backwards against the wall, grabbing my towel to cover myself up.

  “Just pathetic. Exactly like your mother; exactly like your father.”

  Jack was held in place by the other guy, struggling to break free but unable to match his brute strength.

  Doug took a few steps forwards, hitched the material of his suit trousers up his thighs and squatted in front of me, his eyes roaming over my face as he contemplated his words. “You mean nothing to me, Syra Johnson. Bear that in mind when you go snitching to the police and telling tales. You mean nothing.”

  “Leave her the fuck alone. If you want a fight, fight with me. She doesn’t deserve any of this shit.”

  “Shut your mouth, Jack.” Doug’s eyes never left mine. “She needs to learn to keep her pretty little mouth shut when playing with the big boys. You came looking and I provided. You can’t go crying when it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped.” He stood and walked to where Jack was straining to break free from his captor. “After everything I’ve done for you… I expected more from you.”

  “Well maybe you shouldn’t have.” Jack struggled some more. “After all, I’m my father’s son too, aren’t I. Maybe the Palmers will always let you down.”

  Doug’s eyes narrowed. “You took the words out of my mouth.”

  I stood carefully, securing the towel around me, a fear running through me as I stepped towards the three men. I had no idea what to do or say; I just knew I needed them to get the hell away from Jack and out of the house.

  “Stay back, Sy. Please. Just go upstairs and get some clothes on.”

  “She stays here.” Doug’s arm shot out and grabbed mine, holding me still, his fingers digging into my flesh, bruising it. “You must think I was born yesterday.”

  I struggled, squirming to release myself from his grip. “Get off me.”

  “Yes, Doug. Get off her. I swear to God, if you hurt her.”

  “What?” He sneered. “What will you do, huh? If I hurt your whore of a girlfriend, what will you actually do, Palmer? Because do you know what I think? I think you’ll do nothing because you don’t have it in you.”

  Jack’s jaw ticked with anger and my lip trembled at having to watch him so helpless.

  “What do you think, princess? Do you think our boy has any fight in him? Shall we test the theory?” He grabbed both of my arms and hauled my back against his chest so I was facing Jack. “Front row seats to the spectacle of the year. Let’s see how tough he really is.” In one swift movement, he had banded me to him with his arm across my chest and grabbed my throat with his free hand, squeezing, choking me as I tried to prise his fingers away.

  Jack immediately lunged forwards in a bid to pull me free, but before he got anywhere, Doug jutted his chin towards his henchman, who nodded in understanding, a split second before pulling his head back and smashing it against Jack’s—forehead to forehead, blood splattering across the wall.

  “No!” My strangled screams bounced down the hallway, my tears streaming down my cheeks as I watched Jack’s head flop around. I fought to pull away, to look away, but Doug held me tight, forcing my chin forwards to watch as it happened again, whispering in my ear. “I told you to sleep with one eye open. This isn’t a game, Miss Johnson.”

  A punch to Jack’s gut and a knee to his groin had sobs tearing from the back of my throat, just as a thud at the door had all of us turning our heads towards it.

  Doug’s hand was straight over my mouth and he dragged me backwards into the kitchen, pointing at Jack and indicating that he shouldn’t say a fucking word. My eyes were wide, another scream stuck in my throat as I pleaded with him to do something, to end th
is nightmare.

  Doug’s colleague kept his arm pushed against Jack’s chest, a threat of sorts, warning him to heed what Doug had implied, but after the second thudding on the door, Jack heaved his whole body forwards, pushing against the guy and knocking him off balance before shouting towards the door.

  “In here!” His words escaped him just as he fell to the floor and the door was forced open, armed policemen bursting through it.

  ***

  My leg bounced and my whole body shook as I sipped on the sweet tea the policewoman had made for me. She’d wrapped me in blankets and was rubbing my arms as I tried to steady my breathing.

  The crackle of police radios and hushed conversations spun around my head and I tried hard to make sense of what was going on. Doug had been cuffed and escorted off the property. They’d been tracking his movements for the last two weeks and after obtaining a warrant, had entered The Release. After a thorough search, they’d found enough cocaine to charge him with intent to sell and were keeping him in custody pending further investigation.

  I watched on as strangers milled around my living room and a sudden rush of emotion swept up my spine.

  I broke down.

  The adrenaline had subsided and relief was rushing in.

  “Hey.” Jack took my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. “It’s done. Okay? It’s over now.”

  I swept my gaze over his bloodied face, the cuts and bruises angry and inflamed and nodded, sobbing and hiccuping almost maniacal bursts of laughter. I clutched his T-shirt and let him hold me. It was finished. I was free of my past and was being given a real shot at a better future with the man I’d always wished I could love.