by C. J. Lake
“I’m sorry, Sky. Obviously you know I’d never do anything evil like that. But of course who would, besides a complete sociopath?”
“I know you wouldn’t,” she said, searching his eyes with such affection, it stole his breath.
“Let’s go to the movies,” Jamie announced suddenly, rising from the couch and tugging Sky’s hand.
“Um, sure.” Hopping up, Sky blinked at him, obviously caught off-guard by the abrupt subject change. “What movie do you want to see?”
“C’mon, we’ll find something.” He was determined to shift the focus in this moment. He wasn’t going to plead his case, highlighting all the ways he was better than some degenerate asshole Sky had met in college. That would amount to pressuring her; it would be like trying to change her mind about sex. Jamie needed Sky to do that naturally, on her own.
Grabbing his keys, he said, “Plus, there’s this jumbo cinnamon roll place right by the theater that I need you to open your mind to…”
“Jumbo cinnamon roll?” Sky echoed incredulously. “Do you know me at all?”
“Better than you think,” Jamie quipped, opening the door for her. “In your secret heart, you crave a sugary carb fiasco the size of a softball.”
“Gee, how did you know?” she said dryly, leading the way.
With all seriousness, Jamie answered, “Because…who doesn’t?”
Chapter 25
The next two weeks seemed to sail by and, except for work, Sky and Jamie kind of tuned out the world.
Now they were entwined underneath his covers, naked and breathing hard. They shared a kiss in the kitchen—innocent enough, except that Sky had a way of getting him rock hard in seconds—so they inevitably ended up making out against the counter. She was just so damn responsive. Every little murmur and whimper drove him insane. Thankfully she hadn’t balked when, with his hand between her legs, he’d blurted, “I wanna sixty-nine with you.” He’d almost groaned the words, that’s how raw the feeling was.
And he couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect response than when Sky pulled his head toward hers and practically hissed in his ear, “Yes…I want to suck you right now.”
Jesus.
Abruptly, he’d lifted her up and carried her to the bed. He needed her to be extra comfortable for this. Their first 69 experience had to be spot-on, Jamie decided, so Sky would keep coming back for more. The hardest part was keeping himself in check until Sky had at least one orgasm, because the girl could make him come practically on contact.
Now he sighed happily. Success.
“Oh, my gosh,” Sky whispered, dropping her head against Jamie’s chest. “You really are the master of oral.”
“What…?”
“Just, you know, that article,” Sky explained, leaning up to kiss him softly on the jaw.
“What article?” Jamie asked, confused for a second before it registered. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that! Shit, I never got a chance to read that,” he mumbled.
Sky pulled back and studied his face for a moment. “You didn’t?”
“Nope. I meant to,” he told her honestly, “but then I got sick and I forgot about it.” When Sky’s forehead pinched—getting this adorable crease in the center—Jamie promised, “Don’t worry, we can try whatever’s in there. In fact…we can try anything you want,” he offered with a smile.
“Wait…” Sky muttered, sliding off of him and climbing out of bed. As she crossed to the desk, Jamie’s eyes were drawn straight to the sight of her naked body. She flipped open the magazine, gave the article a quick peruse, then looked at him with bright, wide eyes. “Oh, my God, it’s true! I hadn’t remembered exactly what was in here, but…it’s true!”
“What is?” Jamie said, sitting up in bed, still not sure what she was talking about.
Sky explained, “You didn’t use the ‘techniques’ mentioned in that article.”
“Like I said, we can try whatever’s in there—”
“No, no, that’s not it,” Sky cut him off, shaking her head. With a laugh, she tossed the magazine aside and walked back to the bed. Standing beside it, she said, “I wasn’t making a request. I was making an observation. Basically, I’m wrapping my mind around the fact that the insanely hot things you’ve been doing to me…they’re all you.”
“Well, yeah,” Jamie admitted with a humble laugh. She’d come twice and he’d felt it, so he knew she wasn’t complaining. Still, it didn’t pay to be overconfident. “But hey, I’m always willing to learn something new,” he added.
“Oh, my God,” Sky said with a sigh. “You’re so hot.”
“C’mere,” he urged, reaching over to pull her back up on the bed. When she was sitting, facing him, Jamie ran his hands up her bare back. Then he sucked in a breath, caught up for a second in the feel of her. The scent of her…the sight of her…shit, he was getting hard again… Their gaze held for a long moment. Then Sky’s hands coasted over his shoulders and down his biceps.
“Your arms are so sexy,” she said, her voice silky and stirring, almost a thick whisper. Eying him coyly from beneath her lashes, she added, “I think I love that weight bench.”
He gave a crooked grin. “And yet, I seem to recall you saying something negative at one point…”
“Okay, yes,” Sky qualified. “It’s hideous in the middle of your living room. I still stand by that.” Jamie’s grin widened as she continued, “You know, the first time you opened the door with no shirt on…”
“Yes?”
“I totally wanted you,” she confessed.
“Ha! No way,” Jamie argued, brushing Sky’s hair away from her shoulder then kissing her there. “Wanted to hit me, maybe.”
“What?” she said with a giggle.
“You hated me,” Jamie reminded her.
“No, you misinterpreted.”
“Oh, did I?” he said dryly.
“Yes. I actually found you annoyingly likable,” she informed him. He barked a laugh at that, just as his phone chimed. “Do you want me to grab it for you?” Sky said.
“Yes, grab it…” he coaxed. “Oh, wait, you meant the phone. Nah, forget it,” Jamie said huskily, placing soft, suctioning kisses in the curve of Sky’s neck.
Next his phone started buzzing. “Someone’s calling you now,” she commented, pushing back a little. “You can answer; I don’t mind.”
“I don’t have my glasses on,” Jamie remarked, as Sky reached up and took his cell off the shelf above the headboard. “Who is it?”
“Pellican,” she replied, reading the screen.
“I’ll call him later,” Jamie said dismissively.
Looking at Jamie’s phone, Sky added, “You’ve got some unopened text messages here, too.”
“I do?”
She nodded. “A few of them go back a couple of days. Do you want me to read them to you—or do you want to put on your glasses?”
“You can just read them, if you don’t mind.”
“Okay, let’s see… You have one from Tragan,” she said, reading aloud: “WTF, u forgot poker night. Game was lame. Thanks, prick. Going to BG later?” She looked up, questioning. “What’s BG?”
“Billiard Grill. I love the place, but I haven’t been there in weeks.” Too distracted by you, Jamie thought happily.
“Okay, next. A text from Pellican. Where r u? Trivia?? The hell?” she read.
With a curse, Jamie hit his forehead with his palm. “Shit, I completely forgot to tell them I wasn’t coming.”
“Then there’s one from Matt,” Sky continued, scrolling. “Can’t go to BG--are you up for DD? What’s DD? Oh, wait, designated driver?”
“Yep.”
“Another one from Pellican,” Sky continued. “It says: Almost ran into Janine on Comm. Ave. SO done with redheads.” Curiously, she raised her eyebrows.
“Janine is a girl Pellican was hanging out with a couple months ago. I think she blew him off, but he has too much pride to say that, so I’m not sure,” Jamie admitted.
“And one more text fr
om Pellican,” Sky noted. “All it says is: “Bardo--what’s up???”
Thoughtfully, Jamie leaned back against his pillow. “You know, I didn’t realize I’d been blowing off my friends so much lately.”
“They obviously miss you,” Sky agreed, and gave him a sweet smile. “I don’t blame them.” Jamie reached out to stroke her jaw line, as she mentioned, “You know, I haven’t been a great friend, either. Remember Elle’s manuscript? About herbs and leaves?” Jamie nodded. “Well, she has about eighty pages so far and I still haven’t gotten back to her with my feedback. Obviously I know it’s important to her,” Sky finished and began guiltily biting her lower lip.
“Maybe we should take a night apart,” Jamie suggested, regretting the words as soon as they escaped.
“All right,” Sky agreed. “Good idea.” Shit—he missed her already. “You can hang out with your friends, and I’ll spend some quality time with Elle.”
“Deal,” Jamie said, reluctantly endorsing the plan (even though it was his idea), and then shared a moment of eye contact with Sky.
In that second, he was overwhelmed by a feeling—an urge—Goddamn, it was strong. Like a force of its own. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He felt it, he knew it, and yet somehow…he froze. It was probably too soon. And when she looked at him like that, she was so beautiful, so perfect it was hard to breathe.
Now, as Sky gazed at him, it was almost like she knew. Then, thankfully she leaned over and brought her mouth to his—silencing the silence with a kiss.
Chapter 26
“Oh, man,” Pellican whined as they entered The Blue Clover on Tremont Street. Giving a disapproving glance around, he said, “What’s with the sausage fest? Bardo, you said there would be girls here!”
Jamie held up a calming hand. “I said there might be.”
“No,” Pellican insisted, already in combat mode, “I’m pretty sure you said would. Back me up here, Tray,” he said to Tragan, who gave a casual shrug as he pulled out a bar stool.
“Pellican, lighten up. There are girls here.”
“Yeah, sure—and they’re all sitting with dudes.”
“Oh…” Tragan said after a pause as he surveyed the bar more carefully. “Yeah, I see your point.”
Jamie reasoned, “Okay, so now we’ve established that there are girls here. I never promised they’d all be single and available, too.” Clapping Pellican on the shoulder, he added, “I’m not the Wizard of Oz, bro.” Tragan laughed at that, while Pellican responded with a glare. “On the upside,” Jamie threw in, “look at that massive TV.”
Pellican whipped his head around. His posture and mood visibly improved when he spotted it along the wall, broadcasting the Red Sox game. “Nice…” he admitted begrudgingly. “Good, it’s only the second inning.”
“By the way, man,” Jamie said, remembering, “I got your text about Janine. Seeing her on Comm. Ave.? So what happened?”
Pellican’s jaw tightened for a second; he hesitated before grumbling, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay…”
“But, uh, thanks for asking,” he added gruffly, turning toward the bar. “I’m gonna get a drink.”
“Good idea, bro.”
“Hey, this is great. Andy’s getting out of class now,” Tragan said, perking up as he read a text on his phone. “She’s coming to meet us.”
“Cool,” Jamie said. “Too bad Winter couldn’t come,” he added, referring to Matt, who had bailed in order to catch up on paperwork for the construction company he ran with his dad.
Before Jamie had a chance to approach the bartender and grab a drink, a friendly waitress came up to him directly and asked to take his order. He’d asked her what she recommended and once he’d settled on that—a cod sandwich and homemade potato chips—he ambled closer to the television, where his friends had relocated. Now they were standing, partially leaning on a tall circular table where they’d set down their beers.
Suddenly the Red Sox game cut out. Several people booed and Pellican said, “What the hell,” as a Special News Bulletin flashed on the screen. “It’s a warning about the hurricane coming,” Tray remarked with a nod. “Yeah, I heard it might get pretty bad.”
“What hurricane?” Jamie said cluelessly.
“Dude, where have you been?” Tray said with a brusque laugh. “A hurricane is supposed to hit this weekend. Matt was storm-proofing Emma’s house earlier today, in case.”
“Huh. I guess I’ve been in my own world,” Jamie admitted, which was an obvious understatement. Still, even now, his thoughts returned to Sky. Keeping her warm and safe during the storm…keeping her wrapped up in his bed all weekend…
As Jamie idly glanced around the bar, he was abruptly startled. Sky’s roommate, Elle, was sitting at a back table. His heart jumped for a second, because he realized that Sky must be here, too. Although…she had told him earlier that if she and Elle decided to go out tonight, they would probably go to Grendel’s.
Even though he and Sky were supposed to be taking the night off, Jamie couldn’t help himself—he searched The Blue Clover eagerly with his eyes, looking for her.
When he saw Brett, Elle’s boyfriend, come up to the table and hand Elle a drink, Jamie felt a pang of confusion. According to Sky, she and Elle were going to have “quality time,” so didn’t that mean “no boyfriends”? Otherwise, why wouldn’t Jamie be there, too? No, he reminded himself, you’re supposed to be hanging out with your friends, and she’s hanging out with hers. Except…was she?
Where was Sky? He still hadn’t seen her. And then—
Just like that, she appeared. Clearing through a cluster of people blocking the rest rooms, she was emerging, her dark hair flowing, her face smiling. His heart squeezed tight in his chest. God, he couldn’t believe she was his.
And then the moment was ruined.
Jamie’s pulse went from joyful-adrenaline-racing to pissed-as-all-hell-pounding. Approaching the table just as Sky took her seat was that douchebag she had gone out with a couple of weeks ago—the one who’d somehow gotten Sky to invite him up to her apartment. What the hell? Jamie thought, confused and swallowing down a hard lump of anger. That didn’t work. It just rose back up. Fucking Remy, Jamie seethed, recalling his name. Remy—with that cocky swagger, the showy ski lift tags—and now with Jamie’s girl.
“There you are.”
Distractedly, Jamie turned and saw his waitress bringing his food. “Oh, thanks,” he said, forcing a pleasant smile.
“You moved,” she observed, setting his plate on the table.
“Yeah, I…” he began, distractedly, trying to formulate an appropriate, nonchalant response when his mind was going crazy. “I just followed the light,” Jamie said dryly, motioning to the TV screen.
The waitress gave a laugh, probably to humor him. Jamie thought she might have said something else, too, but honestly, he was too preoccupied to absorb it. He was pretty sure she also asked if needed anything else, but he couldn’t swear to it. It was all a blur—and when his eyes sharpened into focus again, that was when he saw Sky watching him.
At some point she’d spotted him across the room. When Jamie’s eyes met hers, she lifted her brows, as though acknowledging the surprise, and then smiled—brightly.
What the…? Instead of looking panicked, she was unabashedly happy to see him. It made no sense. Didn’t she know how upset he’d be to see her hanging out with fucking Remy instead of him? Still staring at Sky, Jamie muttered, “I’ll be right back,” to his friends, and started walking toward her.
Chapter 27
At the same moment that Sky spotted Jamie, she heard Remy challenge Brett to a game of darts. She was only vaguely aware of them pulling out their chairs and leaving—going wherever the dartboard was (guys always seemed to find the dartboard instantly in every bar). Even though Jamie was all the way across the room, he dominated her focus.
Yes, they’d agreed to a night off, but the truth was, Sky had been missing him the whole tim
e. After Elle got tired of talking about the herbs-and-leaves work-in-progress, she suggested The Blue Clover. Then she’d called Brett and asked him to meet them out. Sky wanted to call Jamie, too, but she was trying to respect the “one night off” agreement they’d made earlier. After all, it had been Jamie’s idea, so he must have wanted to have a night to himself and just to see his friends. The last thing she wanted to do was be all clingy and over-smothering with her new boyfriend. Inwardly she smiled, thinking about that. Jamie was her boyfriend now—he was hers.
And now here he was. She couldn’t believe her luck. “There’s Jamie,” she told Elle, pushing out of her chair. “I’ll be right back.”
Busy checking movie times on her phone, Elle gave a cursory glance up. “Oh, Jamie’s here? Sure, girl, no worries—by the way, do you care if we go to a movie that’s already started?”
“Yes. I do,” Sky said flatly, so Elle kept scrolling.
With her pulse speeding up, Sky reached Jamie at the same time he was approaching her. As they met in the middle of The Blue Clover, Sky couldn’t resist wrapping her arms around him. “Hey…” she said, resting her cheek against his arm. Though Jamie hugged her back automatically, Sky felt tension in his shoulders and in his whole posture. She pulled back and eyed him carefully. “I thought you were going to the Billiard Grill tonight.”
“And I thought you were staying in,” he said a bit sharply. Before she could intuit what he was pissed about, he said straight out: “Are you here with that guy, Remy?”
“What? No! Of course not.” She suddenly had the feeling this could get awkward, so she took Jamie by the arm and said, “Come over here…” Then she tugged him into the tiny corridor that led to the kitchen. It was a narrow, dimly lit space that provided limited privacy—given that any moment, a Blue Clover employee might shuffle through. Still, it was away from onlookers.
“Well,” Jamie demanded.
Maybe it was the shadowy murk of this alcove, but Jamie looked dark and intense right now. His eyes were hooded in anger and his powerful body was planted firmly in place. In fact, he was radiating the same anger that he had the other time she’d hung out with Remy. It was totally inappropriate, of course, but Sky suddenly felt a flush of heat and excitement, recalling how that night had ended…