by Cole, Fiona
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dog Days are Over - Florence and the Machine
We truly did let it go after that night. I realized how precious time was and I didn’t want to waste it holding a grudge. That didn’t mean I would allow it to happen again, I just decided to move on and enjoy my time with him. And Jack made time. He still had to work odd hours and there were times I didn’t see him, but he never not called or messaged me goodnight since my breakdown. I appreciated it because the rest of the week I saw it wear on him. I saw the exhaustion in his glazed-over, bloodshot eyes, even though he tried to hide it. But the nights we did spend together were relaxed and not filled with our normal passion. I didn’t care; I was happy we were together and I didn’t have to worry about if he had been hurt or something worse.
Saturday morning we woke up to the sound of his phone going off. I heard him pick up but kept my face buried in the blankets, not ready to face the morning so early.
“MacCabe.” He paused as the other person spoke. I mostly tried to ignore it until I felt him tense and pull himself to a sitting position, instantly alert. “You found what?”
“Are you sure?”
“How long for the results?”
“Shit, Shane. I don’t know what say. I’m scared to hope.” Another pause. His tension bled to the other side of the bed onto me and I pulled myself up. “Alright, man. Keep me in the loop. Hey, before you go, when does Bennet get back from his vacation? No reason. I’m just curious what he knows.”
Jack ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what to think, Shane. I just know he rubs me the wrong way and I don’t trust him. He seems too invested in an excited way. You know I wouldn’t do anything. Anyways, I was just checking. Take care of yourself and let me know anything when you figure it out.”
He hung up the phone, turned to me and, with both hands on my cheeks, kissed me hard and heavy. I didn’t respond immediately as I sat there in shock of his enthusiasm after talking to Detective Daniels. Usually those phone calls ended in more stress. As my shock wore off I enjoyed the feeling of his soft lips pressing into mine and opened my lips to taste his tongue. My curiosity forced me pull away from the kiss. My eyebrows scrunched in confusion at seeing the wide smile on his face. “Not that I’m not happy to see you so happy, but what was that all about?”
“It’s a little premature to get excited, but the autopsy report of the victim from Saturday night came back and they found skin under her nails. It’s not one hundred percent that it will match anyone in the system, but it’s pretty conclusive that it is our killer’s DNA.”
I tried to focus as nausea swarmed my stomach again at hearing more details from Whitney’s murder. After a few deep breaths, what he said finally kicked in and hope for this finally being over began to fill my chest as a smile stretched my cheeks. I just wanted this to be over. I wanted to spend nights with my boyfriend while he didn’t look physically and emotionally exhausted from all the murders he saw. And no matter how much evil in the world continued, I wanted this one to be put to an end.
I leaned in and kissed him this time. We broke apart with a laugh because we were both so happy at the slim possibility. I didn’t care how unrealistic it was, I wanted to hold this close for a little while. Jack pulled back after peppering my face with a few more quick kisses.
“Let’s celebrate. Let me take you to dinner. Let me surprise you with something special tonight.”
I nodded my head as I let his excitement fuel mine. I would have agreed to anything at that point to keep him this happy.
“Alright. I have a few things I need to tie up at the office, but tonight, you are mine. I’m going to come up with something memorable for my girl.”
I loved when he called me that. It was possessive and warmed my chest. He quickly got dressed and grabbed his things before leaning on the bed and pushing my hair back behind my ear and lifted my chin. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He gave me a quick peck and told me to be ready by six-thirty. I heard the front door close and fell back on the bed with a happy squeal. I loved surprises and couldn’t wait to see what tonight would bring.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Way You Look Tonight - Tony Bennett
I searched my closet and found a high-waisted cream skirt that looked like a wrapped sarong. It hung longer in the back, just below my calves as it rose in the front forming a point high on my shins. I topped it off with a fitted, long-sleeved black cropped top, leaving a small strip of my stomach bare, and matching black heeled booties. I added a slight wave to my hair and let it hang down my back. I felt good about myself tonight and I liked the way I looked.
Jack arrived on time and took me to the Precinct, named because the building used to be an old precinct but was converted to one of the best steakhouses in the country. I had eaten there a few times and each time, I got the filet mignon. I swear I didn’t even need a knife to cut my steak it was so tender. The atmosphere was romantic and rustic with the brick walls, stained glass windows, and dimmed lighting. We finished our meal off by splitting a piece of cheesecake with strawberry topping. I thought I had died and gone to food heaven.
“Jack, thank you. I love this place and I love the food.” I’m pretty sure I was bordering on giddy with my excitement over food. Jack just shook his head and laughed at my happiness.
“Hell, if I knew this would have made you this happy, I would have brought you here every day. I’d be poor as shit, but at least I would see your eyes dance with joy.”
“I am happy. This food is just good enough to get giddy over. And I don’t need to be here every day to be this happy. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be.” I reached my hand across the table and squeezed his. “Thank you for tonight, Jack. It’s been the best date.”
He lifted my hand to his lips placing a soft kiss to my knuckles. “Oh my sweet, Lu. It’s not over yet. I still have one more surprise.” His eyes flashed with hesitance, but it left before I could think anything else of it. Jack paid the bill and led me to the car.
“Where are we going now?”
“It’s a surprise.” He paused and reached across the console in his truck for my hand. His slightly sweaty one held mine tightly. “One I hope you will be happy with.”
A silence settled on the car and his thumb beat a nervous tempo on the top of my hand. His anxiousness started to make me nervous but I didn’t know if it was excited or scared nervous. I decided to let it go and play out however. We stayed along the river and made our way closer the stadium before pulling into a parking garage under a high-end apartment building.
Once we finally parked I couldn’t hold back my questions anymore. I had a million things racing through my mind and not one of them made sense. “Where are we? What are we doing?”
Jack gripped the wheel tight as though warring with a decision. Eventually he turned to look at me. His eyebrows lowered with hesitance but his eyes held confidence in what he decided. “You know I want to make all your fantasies come true. Even if it’s just once, I want you to have everything.”
Hearing him want so much for me caused a grin to stretch across my face. “Thank you. I want you to have everything you dreamed of too.”
His lips tilted up in the smirk I’ve grown to love. “ I love you.”
“I love you, too. But I’m not sure I understand all this seriousness.” My smile faltered a little when he continued fidgeting.
“I’m going to take you upstairs and I want you to know, if we only have drinks then that is fine. We have some drinks and laugh and go home. We don’t do anything you don’t want to do. And I know we have talked about this in the heat of the moment and I might be taking it too far.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “But I don’t think it’s only said because of us being in the moment. I think it’s something you want … at least once and I want to give it to you. But it’s up to you. You say no then that means no. If you want to slow down or keep goi
ng, it’s all up to you.”
Biting my lip, I contemplated his words as they settled heavy in my stomach. Apprehension mixed with excitement and confusion causing me to feel nauseous. We’ve said a lot in the heat of the moment, but one stuck out the most to me. In a whisper, I finally asked, “Jack, whose place is this?”
“Grayson’s.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Good For You - Selena Gomez
Jack opened my car door and we rode the elevator to Grayson’s floor in silence. Not quite the penthouse but one of the top floors. Only the sounds of our shoes on the carpeted floor accompanied us to his door. Before he knocked he turned to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
“There is one more thing you should know before we go in. Grayson is...” I angled my head in question at his pause. I didn’t know if he was weighing his words or reluctant to explain. “Grayson leans toward being dominant in sex. He plays around with BDSM.” My eyes widened involuntarily and felt like they might pop out. What the hell was I getting into? “Stop. It’s okay.” He read my mind knowing it leapt to the extremes of me being tied up and whipped. “Like I said, nothing you don’t want to do. You have all the power here. I would never push you to do something you didn’t want to do.”
I took a deep breath and nodded my head.
“Okay? Are you ready? We can just have drinks and leave if you want. Or do you want to turn around and leave now?”
“No. No. You’re right. I want this. I want to experience this with you. I couldn’t imagine anyone I trust more than you. Thank you.” I raised up on my tip toes and placed a lingering kiss on his lips.
Jack lifted his hand to knock and while we waited for Grayson to answer the door my heart rate kicked up. I felt like it might beat out of my chest. Like a thousand horses were running inside my rib cage. I tried to control my breathing by taking deep breaths in through my nose and slow exhales out of my mouth. I heard the click of the locks and I was pretty sure my vision blurred as I imagined face-planting inside of Grayson’s apartment as soon as he opened the door. However, once he opened the door Jack squeezed my hand, bringing me back to reality.
“Hey guys. Come on in. Jack, I swear we see each other too much. You’re lucky you’re my best friend and you have luscious ass girlfriend you bring around with you.” After a manly handshake with Jack he turned to me and leaned in for a hug. “Lu, you’re are looking gorgeous as ever.” He pulled back and dragged his finger along the bared skin of my stomach. With a wink he muttered, “Tease,” before walking inside. “Welcome to my home , Lu! I hope you find your time here … pleasurable.”
The small foyer opened up to the dining room area straight ahead and a short hallway to the left that led to, what I assumed, the bedroom and bathroom. Next to the dining room area was the living room and once you turned the corner on the right you entered the kitchen. It was all open concept and what made the place really outstanding was the wall of glass windows straight ahead that showed the skyline of Cincinnati, the river, and Covington on the other side in Kentucky. It was beautiful and I couldn’t help but walk closer to get a better view.
Jack came up behind me and placed his hands on my hips before lowering his lips to my ear and asking, “Like what you see?”
“It’s beautiful.”
He ran his hand up my ribs and placed a kiss behind my ear. “You’re beautiful.”
“Okay, lovebirds. What can I get you to drink?”
We both turned and made our way to see Grayson getting glasses from dark cabinets in the modern kitchen. “I’ll take a white wine if you have it.”
Jack and Grayson both had a glass of whiskey. Before I could drink my wine, Grayson lifted his glass and toasted, “To a fun night.” We all clinked glasses and I took a long swallow of my drink.
Grayson sat his glass down on the counter and leveled a stare at me. He licked his lips and asked, “We good with tonight?” He looked at me, but I felt like the question was directed at Jack. We both agreed. “You don’t need a safe word or anything like that. Just tell me yes or no or slow down and we do what you say. Just use your words wisely. Understood?”
I could feel my breath increasing faster through my parted lips. This was real. Really fucking real. Holy shit, what was I doing? What was Evie going to say? Who cares. This was fucking happening. Grayson raised his eyebrow at me waiting for a response. I nodded with a quiet “okay.”
“Good. Finish your wine and get naked.” My eyes widened and I turned to look at Jack. He just stared at me and raised his eyebrows as though asking me what I was waiting for. In that moment I recognized I needed to make a decision. I could spend the rest of the night being shocked by every little thing that took place and was said or I could be brave and confident and be the strong sexual woman I wanted to be tonight. I wanted to enjoy this and not be scared. I wanted to be sexy and desirable. I wanted to be the woman who had sex with two men and owned it and enjoyed it.
With my decision made I lifted my glass to my lips and downed the rest of my wine in one drink, all while staring at these men who would be mine for tonight. I set it on the counter and backed up until I stood in the open. And I began to strip.
I kicked off my shoes and pulled my shirt over my head. Then I tucked my thumbs at the waistband of my skirt and tugged it down. I had a moment of hesitation because my cream lace panties didn’t match my black lacy bra. I knew it was a trivial thought that I used to distract myself from being naked in front of these two magnificent men. It wasn’t like I would have my underwear on in front of them long. I pushed it all aside and decided to focus on how their looks made me feel sexy and in control. My skin warmed under their eyes and my heartbeat increased with excitement. Jack always made me feel sexy when he watched me, but having Grayson there too, added to the adrenaline coursing out through my limbs, making them tingle. I knew I would find heat in Jack’s bright blue eyes. I could only hope to find the same in Grayson’s
I had always been told to face my fears, so I looked Grayson in the eye as I reached behind me to unclasp my bra. I took a deep breath and let my shoulders slouch forward, allowing the bra to fall to the ground. His jaw ticked as he clenched it tight. I could hear his intake of breath and see his nostrils flare. My heart hammered in my chest while I absorbed him checking out my breasts. My eyes skittered to Jack and felt pride that I was his and he wanted me so much. I felt sensual, like a strong and desired woman.
I began to tug my underwear down my legs until Grayson said, “Stop.” My eyes flicked back to his in question. “Let me.” He stepped from around the counter and began walking toward me.
For a moment my chest tightened and a dizziness consumed me as I processed the reality that he would actually touch me. Of course he would touch me. I looked to Jack to ground myself and I knew he saw the fear in my eyes. But he also knew me and knew that I wanted this and that if I really wanted to stop, then I would. He gave me a small nod of reassurance that settled the dizziness and brought me back to the present.
Grayson stood in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders, looking in my eyes. His gray-blue eyes seemed to be searching mine for an answer. They weren’t a brilliant blue like Jack’s, but more cold and distant. A chill rippled through me causing goose bumps to break out across my skin. Without warning his hand dragged down my chest and his thumb and forefinger pinched my nipple roughly, pulling a quick exhale from me. His eyes lit on fire then and the right side of his mouth kicked up on a smile. He continued to move his hands down the sides of my waist and rested on my hips before he lowered to his knees and kissed a line from between my collarbones and breasts and settled at my belly button. He wrapped his fingers around the edge of my underwear and stuck his tongue into my belly button, imitating what I would rather have done to my clit. He gave a sharp tug, ripping the delicate lace from my body.
I placed my hand on his head to balance myself from the momentum the tug pulled me in. I wanted to tug his hair and make him face me, but the light blonde
locks were cut too close to his head. I settled for a small slap. “You owe me another pair of panties.”
He looked up with an unapologetic smirk and nodded his head toward Jack. “I’m just doing my buddy a favor. The fewer panties you have to wear, the happier he will be.”
I looked up to Jack and he responded with an unapologetic shrug.
Grayson’s lips landing on my mound drew me back to the fact that I stood there naked. After only a moment of torturous, open-mouthed kisses just above my pussy, he pulled away and stood up, grabbing my hand. “Let’s take this to the bedroom where I keep all my toys.” He tugged me along past Jack while my eyes widened at the word “toys.” Jack just slapped my ass as we walked by and followed behind.
We walked into a simply decorated master bedroom. The dark wooden dresser top only held a picture of a family and of two men in uniform in a desert. I could only assume it was his family and the other was Grayson and Jack. Other than that, there was a TV mounted to the wall, a king size bed with black sheets and comforter, a matching nightstand, and a lounge chair in the corner.
I turned to look at Jack and tried not to let any hesitation show. I wanted this and I wanted this with him. I needed to take what I wanted and not let second guessing hold me back. “You guys seem a little overdressed for this to continue. I’m going to need some incentive to keep playing along in this game.”
Jack looked over at Grayson and they had some manly conversation without even saying anything. Then they both reached behind them to pull their shirts off. Both men impressed me with their physique. While Jack had a more defined chest and a good number of abs, Grayson had an eight pack. Holy hell, he was lean and ripped.