by Jewel E. Ann
She gripped his thick, dark hair and screamed into his neck, muffling her string of curse words. He paused, but only until she silenced long enough to draw in a quick breath. Then he reared back and plunged in again.
Another cry.
Again and again, he repeated the slow rhythm until her cries morphed into moans. Then he picked up the pace—really picked up the pace. Her back threatened to break against the refrigerator door as glass on the inside rattled along with the ceramic jars on top.
After a few minutes the most unexpected thing happened. That abandoned orgasm? It came back to life, building to a mind-numbing intensity with each thrust.
“Harder!” That came from the woman who possessed Ryn’s body because she had never said that during sex, even when that’s what she wanted.
Jackson’s mouth found hers again, and every inch of his body brought unexpected pleasure to hers. The pain in her back vanished as all feeling gathered in one single spot. The spot he’d angled his pelvis to hit every. Single. Time.
“Yes … yes, there … there … there!” she yelled through a never-ending orgasm, the first with a man inside her.
The drain of energy made it hard not to collapse until he finished. They raced in tandem and she just wanted to stop peddling. Instead she held him tight, contracting all her muscles until he groaned on a final thrust, stilling for a few seconds before his body completely relaxed against hers, keeping her pinned to the refrigerator.
His sultry breaths blanketed the skin along her neck in ragged succession. If he’d wanted to stay inside her forever, that would have been fine by her. Once he completely shattered her vagina, which happened in the first three thrusts, they fit together quite nicely.
Jackson lifted his head just enough to move it from her shoulder to her forehead. Rolling it slightly side to side against hers, he grinned. “I’m out of practice.”
That made front page news because if what just happened was a result of him being out of practice, then she was in trouble. Epically huge trouble.
“Can you stand?” He kept his forehead against hers.
She nodded as he kissed her softly on the lips and eased her to her feet. Being fucked against the refrigerator left no room for modesty, but she still crossed her legs and rested her hands over her exposed area as he removed the condom and pulled up his pants.
He grinned, nodding behind him. “I’m going to run to the restroom while you see if your panties have cooled down. Okay, hot pants?”
Rolling her lips between her teeth and closing her eyes, she nodded. When the door to the bathroom clicked shut, she whipped around and retrieved her panties from the refrigerator. She stepped into them and yanked on her yoga pants at lightning speed. The sex and panty retrieval warranted a hand washing before she proceeded to prepare the salad. Gunner sat by the back door looking at her.
“What?” She shrugged, daring him to make her feel guilty. The dog possessed an eerily accurate perception.
“Can I do anything to help?”
“You could open that bottle of wine.” Playing he-didn’t-just-fuck-her-brains-out-against-the-refrigerator cool required effort, but she did her best.
He poured them each a glass. “You’re quirky … I like you.”
She laughed, keeping her head bowed, eyes trained to the cutting board. “Really? I think the fact that you asked to ‘swim in my pond’ and then your response after what just happened is to tell me that I’m ‘quirky’ makes you the quirky one.”
“You could be right. I think introverted people can be quirky.”
“You are not introverted.” She slid on the oven mitts and pulled the lasagna out of the oven.
“I am, actually.”
“Both you and Jillian have made reference to your habits with women before you moved here.”
He carried their wine glasses to the table. “I’ve always spent a lot of time on the computer or playing the piano, only recently did I start teaching lessons. Most of my social interaction over the years has been via the internet or quick lays.”
“Quick lays? Wow … that’s …”
“Honest. I told you I’m not good at sugarcoating.” He smirked. “Well, actually I’m pretty good with the women in my neighborhood.”
Ryn dished out lasagna and salad for both of them then sat across from him. “The quirkiness you’re referring to is just my nerves around you. I’m not really an introvert. At least, not by nature. I was very outgoing in my day.”
Shaking his head, he blotted his mouth with a napkin. “Don’t say ‘in my day.’ It makes you sound eighty.”
“Fine, pre-Preston I was outgoing. So basically as a teenager. I was in the drama club and got the role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. I worked at a daycare part-time after school and on the weekends, and I was an ambassador for Students Against Drunk Driving.”
“SADD, huh? For personal reasons or just because it’s a good cause?”
Ryn stared at her plate for a minute before shifting her eyes to him. “My older brother was killed by a seventeen-year-old girl who chose to get behind the wheel.”
“Ryn, I’m—”
She shook her head. “I don’t talk about it much. The driver was my best friend’s sister. We were thirteen when it happened, my brother was fifteen. He rode his bike home from a Friday night baseball game. We lived just two miles from the school. I was at their house that night. Her parents got a call from the hospital. She wasn’t injured it was more of a panic attack. Just as they were getting ready to pull out of the driveway to head to the hospital, my parents pulled in to get me because the sheriff had already delivered the news of my brother. In a matter of seconds everyone made the connection.”
“Jesus …”
“Yeah. I haven’t spoken to Heather since that night. We saw each other at school and she wrote me a few letters, but it was just too much.” She gave him a sad smile. “I’ve never gone to my class reunions in fear that she’d be there. Isn’t that ridiculous? I know … I’ve always known it wasn’t her fault, her sister’s the one who killed him, but it just hurts to be around her.”
Jackson moved his leg so it touched hers—intimate and kind.
“I’m sure she knows you don’t blame her.”
She nodded. “Anyway …” taking a deep breath then releasing it, she tried to smile “…sorry for the detour from my point, which is I’m not a born introvert so you cannot label me as quirky. Especially since I’m not the one who wears taped glasses. Which by the way I notice you don’t wear them all the time. Are you farsighted?”
Jackson looked down at his plate as he stabbed his fork into the lettuce. “Something like that.”
“I never asked. When you called, what did you want to show me?”
*
The self-professed introvert who occasionally wore glamour glasses, stared at the woman trying to hide her desolate expression. The subtleties in her appearance drew his attention: the way her hair looked messy and sexy at the same time and the way her brows peaked when she gave him a wide-eyed look every time she asked him a question. The tragic story still suffocated the air. Her question evaporated what little oxygen remained in the room. Was she not paying attention to the event that took place against her refrigerator?
That voice in his head, the one that guarded his testicles, yelled, “Man-up or maybe give her a little reminder of what you came to show her.” Sometimes it felt impossible to rehabilitate from the man he used to be. Perhaps a man who never entertained the company of a woman beyond sex could not be rehabilitated or domesticated.
“I washed Woody.” But he tried anyway.
“Oh …”
“Woody is my car.” Jillian would have been laughing her ass off.
Ryn nodded. “Well, I’ll have to take a look at Woody.”
Planting his elbows on the table, he dropped his head into his hands. “Jesus … why is this so hard?” He lifted his head. “I didn’t wash my car. That…” he gestured to the refrigerator “…that’s
what I came over to show you.”
The unfamiliarity of giving a damn about what a woman thought, left him blind to the truth. Falling for her didn’t happen all at once. It took him without warning—an unsuspecting culmination of a hundred tiny things. In that moment it was the way her smile grew in minuscule increments until her whole face beamed with sheer happiness.
“I liked that. A lot.” She blushed but never took her eyes from his. “In fact, I’m okay with you coming over anytime to show me that.”
The same woman twice. That would be a first—a good first.
“Oh, here I have something for you.” Leaning to one side, he grabbed the black envelope from his back pocket and handed it to her.
“Black huh? This must be my belated birthday card.” She opened it.
“Shit. Your birthday. Well … no that’s not it. I brought flowers, remember? And then dinner—”
With a slight head shake, she tracked the words on the invitation. “You want me to buy sex toys?”
“What? No.”
Tilting her head, she pursed her lips. “That’s fine. You’re right. I probably could use some practice.”
“God … no, that’s … it’s … my neighbor invited you because she wants to meet you. Lascivio is the company Jillian works for.”
“Oh, okay.”
“So you’ll go?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You don’t have to buy anything.”
“I’m not going to show up and then not buy anything. I’ll get something.”
“Like what?”
Ryn smirked. “I don’t know. Do you have any suggestions?”
He raised a single brow. “Maybe a candle?”
Gathering their plates, she took them to the sink. “I’m not going to just buy a candle at a Lascivo party.”
Jackson carried the rest of the dishes over to her. The fact that she gave careful consideration to purchasing sex toys confirmed he’d been off his game earlier.
A do-over. That’s what he needed to prove that nothing Lascivo sold would compare to him.
“Tell me what you think you want and I’ll prove you don’t need it.”
She closed the dishwasher and leaned against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. “And how exactly are you going to prove it?”
Holding up both hands, he spread his fingers wide. “Sharp teeth, one tongue, two lips, ten fingers, and a very large cock. Take your pick.”
A blush crawled up her neck, slack jaw, lips parted.
Jackson smirked. Yeah … he still had it.
Chapter Seventeen
Day
Samovar defined tea at its best. Jessica loved stealing the occasional evening with her dad working in his garage, but she also cherished Saturday morning tea with her mom.
“How’s my girl?”
A smile overtook her face as she poured her favorite Golden Phoenix Oolong tea. “In love, Mom. But you already know that.”
Sunny winked. “Yes. I do. Have you been making any other progress?”
The other progress always referred to her past.
“I think so. He still devotes several hours three times a week to listening to me. Sometimes it’s just going over what we’ve already talked about and other times he asks me the harder questions.”
“Like what?” Sunny bit into her scone.
“Like things that involve G.A.I.L.”
“If you two get married—”
“I know.” Blowing on her tea, she took a cautious sip. “And we will someday because he is … everything. With each passing day he becomes my new past, and I feel like eventually he’ll be the only past I need. It’s ridiculous, I’m sure, but I wonder if our life together can erase those memories. You know what I mean?”
“I think so. I hope so because I love who you’ve become with Luke. Each week, more and more, the woman before me resembles the girl I used to know: that innocent smile, the renewed sparkle in your eyes—amber like the desert sun.”
“It’s my boys. It’s all my boys.”
Sunny grinned. “How does Luke feel about being referred to in the same company as the dog?”
“The dog? You know Jones is our baby. In fact, my boys are meeting me here in a little while for a jog.”
“Jude said you wouldn’t take him to obedience school.”
“I see Luke’s been running his mouth.” Jessica rolled her eyes. “I did take him. He just didn’t fit in.”
“I heard it’s because you gave him a treat even when he didn’t do what he was supposed to be doing.”
“Mom, the other dogs were being rewarded and he saw it. I didn’t want him to feel like he was being punished.”
“Well, if he wasn’t following directions like the other dogs then maybe he really didn’t deserve a treat. If you don’t make him work for the reward, then the reward system won’t work.”
“Now you sound like the instructor. It doesn’t matter. We didn’t return after the first day because all the other dogs were giving Jones a complex.”
Sunny held her tea cup, letting the steam rise near her face while she studied Jessica. “How’s the sleeping going?”
“You mean have I put him in the hospital?” It felt impossible to look her mom in the eye.
“I’ve never blamed you for what happened to me.”
“What happened? Are you serious? I happened to you, that’s what happened. Don’t make it sound like you fell down the stairs.”
“It was an accident.”
Pain gripped Jessica’s heart as her mom’s hand rested on hers.
“Luke’s fine. We’ve sort of figured it out.”
“I’m glad.”
She nodded.
“Your father will be flying out to D.C. for the week so I’m going to visit Cathy while he’s gone.”
“I can’t believe you’re still friends with her.”
“We’re still friends because she has been my friend since first grade. It’s not fair to judge her.”
Jessica guffawed. “She cheated on Daniel with. His. Brother.”
Sunny stared at her tea. “Yes, but it’s not that black and white. You don’t know all the details.”
“You’re right. It probably isn’t, but I don’t want to know the details. Cheating is cheating, period.”
“Love is reckless because true emotions are immune to logic. The most beautiful love stories are often the most tragic.”
“God, I hope not. I want my love story with Luke to be beautiful, but not tragic.”
Sunny’s lips pressed into a smile that failed to disguise her concern.
“What is it?” Jessica asked.
Her mom shook her head. “Nothing, dear.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.” She looked out the window. “There they are.”
Jessica waved at Luke then stood. “Safe travels. Call me when you get to Cathy’s.” She bent down and kissed her mom on the cheek.
“I will. Love you, Jess … and hey…” she grabbed her hand “…I hope you know, I guess I hope you’ve always known. What happened after you came home from the hospital … I forgave you the moment it happened. I’ve always forgiven you. Okay?”
Tears stung her eyes as she looked to the ceiling, blinking them away. “Thank you. I love you too.”
*
“Hey, boys!” Jessica beamed as she began to squat down.
“If you kiss the mutt first, you can forget about kissing me.”
Wetting her lips, she stood back up and wrapped her arms around Luke’s neck, holding on tight as he lifted her up. Luke kissed her whenever, however, and wherever he wanted—except his office. They’d had more than one argument about that.
“How’s our girl?” He nipped at her neck before sliding her back down his body.
“I’m good. You could say I threw another shovel of dirt onto my past.”
They held hands and walked toward Yerba Buena Gardens. “How so?”
“My mom forgave me
for the attack that put her in the hospital.”
Luke squeezed her hand. “She hadn’t before now?”
“She did right after it happened and many times since.”
“Today you forgave yourself.” His words stopped her. Jones tugged at the leash while Luke bent down, level with her face.
“How did you know?” she whispered.
Cupping the back of her head, he pressed his lips to her ear. “I have a degree in psychiatry.”
“That makes sense.” She smirked.
“Luke? Is that you?”
He turned toward the woman’s voice as Jessica stepped to the side to see past him.
“Jones!” Jessica chased her disobedient dog after Luke dropped his leash. He just … let go of it. “Dammit, Jones, come back.” Thankfully, another dog captured his attention allowing her to grab the leash. After giving the other dog’s owner an apologetic smile, she tugged Jones toward Luke and the tall blonde in a black, short-skirt business suit, with a good mile of legs and stupidly high heels, who happened to be embracing him.
“Excuse me, sir, I think you lost your dog.” Jessica grinned with bared teeth as the blonde pulled away and adjusted her messy bun of hair while giving Jessica a coy smile.
Luke grimaced, taking the leash in one hand and Jessica’s hand in his other. “My apologies. Jessica this is Dr. Eva Lorenzo. Eva this is my girlfriend, Jessica Day.”
His girlfriend. With a quick look up at him and the hint of a smile, she forgave him for the dog-chasing incident.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Eva extended her hand and Jessica released Luke’s to accept it.
“You too. Are you in town for the medical conference at the Moscone Center?”
“How did you know about that?” Luke asked.
“While I waited for my mom at Samovar, the waiter said they’d been pretty busy because of it.”
“Yes, I am in town for it.” Eva said to Jessica while looking at Luke.
An awkward silence followed.