Pieces (Riverdale #1)

by Janine Infante Bosco

  Her heart was beating erratically and she was sure that she had never been so thoroughly kissed before in her life. He didn’t take his eyes off of her as he paid the driver, which only caused the heat in her to rise.

  He closed his eyes and blew out a breath before opening the door. She heard him laugh, and was taken back. There was nothing funny about what just happened, and she was insulted.

  “Are you seriously laughing right now?” She asked as she shooed his hand away and climbed out of the taxi on her own.

  “Yes, I am.” He said and grabbed her hand regardless. “You’re giving me the come fuck me eyes, and if I didn’t laugh, I’d do exactly what your eyes pleaded for.” He smiled at her, confident and sexy. “But I have other plans that I know you’ll regret missing out on.”

  Just hearing him say that he’d fuck her made her wet. Frazzled by her body’s reaction to his words she forced herself to take in her surroundings. She went from hot and horny to completely blown away as she stared up at the Matinee sign. Her eyes filled instantly, at the two words that lit the sign. Mary Poppins. It was her favorite childhood movie. She probably could recite the entire movie if she tried, and she had made Jake watch it at least a dozen times throughout the course of their friendship. She blinked, and made sure she wasn’t imagining it.

  When she had heard it was going to be a musical on Broadway, she had promised herself to see it. She never bought the tickets, and put it out of her mind. There were better things she could spend her money on, and besides whom would she convince to sit through a musical with her. She turned and stared up at Jake, he was smiling at her, as he brushed the tears that fell from her eyes when she blinked.

  “I heard they even sell Rum Punch at the concession stand.” He winked and she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. She felt like a kid on Christmas morning, believing in the magic of Santa Clause.

  “I can’t believe you remembered.” She pulled back and shook her head. “Of course you remembered.” She sighed and grabbed his face and pressed her lips against his quickly. “You’re the best.”

  Beyond excited, she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the theatre. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out their tickets, handing them to the usher. Cara had never been to a Broadway show, and she was pretty sure Jake hadn’t either. They both glanced around the lobby of the theatre, taking in the crowd of people and all the booths set up to sell souvenirs. Jake insisted they buy a program, and his and her t-shirts to remember their night. She didn’t need a t-shirt to remember this night. Jake’s birthday celebration for her had left an indelible impression on her, one she’d never forget as long as she lived.

  Jake carried their Rum Punches, and she their bag of souvenirs, and they made their way to their Orchestra seats. Any closer and they would be on the stage. She was amazed by all the thought and effort he had put into this night. They settled into their seats, sipping their drinks and anticipated the opening act.

  When the lights dimmed and the music sounded. Jake leaned into her ear and whispered against her skin. “Happy Birthday.”

  She smiled and took his hand in hers, their fingers interlocked and her heart swelled. She was completely, hopelessly, in love with her best friend.

  Once the curtain closed on the show, they hailed a taxi to China Town. They sat in a little corner table at Ho- Wop and ate authentic Chinese food. The both of them were disappointed that the menu wasn’t like the ones back home, they couldn’t find General Tso’s chicken on the menu anywhere. The only thing either of them recognized on the menu was Peking duck, so they ordered that. Once their meal was finished, they walked around Mott Street for a little while. Taking in all that was Little Italy, they made a pit stop at Ferraro’s for an espresso, and shared one of their famous cannoli.

  Jake hadn’t remembered a night when he was happier, and so at ease. Seeing the smile on Cara’s face the entire night, was enough to ruin him for any other girl. He didn’t want the night to end and was pretty sure she didn’t either. He knew her feet were killing her in those shoes, but she wouldn’t dare admit to it. In the taxi, on the way back to the hotel, she became quiet, and he knew that she was battling her conscience. He wasn’t about to put his two cents into that war, instead he decided to let her figure it out on her own. He had made peace with the war that he had been struggling with, and now it was her turn to realize what had developed between them wasn’t a friendship anymore. Maybe neither intended to fall in love with the other, but they had, he knew and so did she. The difference was he had accepted his fate and wanted to begin this next chapter of their life together, that’s what it had become to him, their life. It had been since she crawled into his bed all those years ago. That night she became his to protect and to love unconditionally.

  When they had arrived back at the hotel they went straight to their room. Neither of them said much the way back, and now as they stood in their hotel room, he could see she was still on the fence about them. He made a promise to himself before they left for the show that he wasn’t going to push her. One look at her, and being engulfed by the sexual tension that radiated through the room, had him struggling with his promise.

  He watched her slip out of her shoes and shrink back to her original height. He placed his hands delicately on her shoulders. “Want a beer?” He asked and helped her unclasp her necklace. He told himself he was helping her out, but it was just an excuse to touch her. She had an exquisite neck, long and slender, that spread into her sculpted collar bone. He wanted so badly to taste it, to run his tongue along the base, feeling her pulse against his mouth.

  “Sure.” She said and took the necklace from his hands.

  He nodded and went over to the mini bar and grabbed two beers from inside. He reached into his pocket for a lighter and used it to pop off the tops of the beers. When he turned to hand it back to her, she was smiling at him, watching him amused.

  “It still gets me every time you do that. Do you know how many times I’ve tried to do that?”

  He laughed, the tension relieving itself. “Do you know how many lighters of mine, you’ve broken tried doing that?” She took the bottle from his hands and tipped its neck against the neck of his.

  “Cheers.” She said and they both took a long sip each. She placed her bottle down on the dresser. “I’m going to go change.”

  She grabbed one of her Macy’s bags and headed towards the bathroom. Jake sighed heavily, wondering if she made a decision. Maybe she didn’t want to see where this could go. He began to undress, when he was down to his boxers, he threw the covers off of one of the beds and climbed in. He didn’t give a shit that he was in his underwear; it’s all he ever slept in, if that at all. And she had crawled into his bed a thousand times when he had been sleeping just like that, so it wasn’t like he was propositioning her. Ah fuck, he thought, he sounded like a horny teenager.

  He took another sip of his beer and turned on the television. At least she enjoyed her birthday. He had accomplished that. As long as he could remember he hadn’t ever seen her that happy on her birthday. He was flicking through the channels, not really paying attention when she came out of the bathroom. She had taken all her make up off, and was dressed in skimpy shorts and a camisole, she never wore pajamas. Jake wasn’t sure if he would call these pajamas, they were sexiest ones he had ever seen though. They barely covered her ass, and when she bent down to pick up the shoes she had left on the floor before, he thought he had gone straight to heaven. He must’ve groaned because she looked at him briefly before climbing into her bed.

  “What’re you watching?”

  Hell, if he knew, she wasn’t wearing a bra, because he could see the pink of her nipples through the white camisole. He forced his eyes to look up at her face, and how her waves framed her face. She lifted her hair and began to twist it on top of her head clipping it up, exposing that delicious neck of hers.

  “I have no fucking idea.” He croaked, and grabbed his beer, chugging it like it was
his salvation. She sat back on a mountain of pillows and stared at the television. So did he, and pretended to be interested in whatever nonsense was on. He couldn’t make out what the actors were saying and then he realized they were watching Telemundo. Great, Jake. He peered over at her, she was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. He threw the remote on her bed.

  “Put whatever you want on.”

  “Why, I thought you were brushing up on your Spanish.” She said teasingly.

  He rolled his eyes and leaned forward, pulling one of the pillows from behind him out and chucking it at her. It bounced off her messy bun and he leaned back satisfied.

  “Hey!” She said, raising an eyebrow at him. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

  Oh, he’d finish, leaving them both smiling. “Is that a dare?”

  “I’m pretty mean in pillow fights. You should know that.”

  He watched her kneel on the bed collecting her pillows. He laughed and stretched his arms out above his head, and leaned back against them. “Take your best shot, in fact, I’m feeling nice. I’ll give you a free pass.”

  “You already threw one, how is that a free pass?” She said as she shoved a stack of pillows under one of her arms and grabbed another one from the corner of it. She swung it around as if it was a lasso.

  “That didn’t count.” He said and watched her from the corner of his eye.

  “Bullshit.” She said, grinning and let the towel fly through the air and smack him in the face.

  He waited a moment before shoving the pillow off his face and sat up staring at her. She was swinging two pillows, one in each hand.

  “Nice shot.” His eyes traveled down to her breasts that were spilling out of the camisole as she maneuvered the pillows. “Did you buy that today?”

  Her brows furrowed and then she looked down at her pajamas. She dropped one of the pillows and fixed the strap that had fallen, and tucked her breast back to its rightful position.

  “Why?”

  He licked his lips. “I was just wondering if this torture was premeditated.”

  She laughed at him and jumped off the bed, standing right next to his. “Am I torturing you?”

  “Do you really have to ask?” He cocked a brow, questioning her and then to emphasize the question he pulled the covers down so she could see his erection straining and filling his boxers.

  Her eyes widened and she grabbed the pillow from the floor and dropped it onto his lap, shielding him. “Jake!”

  “Cara!” He mocked.

  She took another step, hesitated, and then pressed her knee onto the bed. She bit her lip, still contemplating, until he wrapped his arms around her waist and made the decision easier. She was kneeling on his bed, staring at him. “My pajamas did that to you?” She asked softly, still not confident.

  Jake stared at her and shook his head. “You did this to me.” He moved the pillow from his lap and chucked it across the room.

  “I’m sorry.” She slowly moved to straddle him, the whole time she maneuvered herself, and he could see how unsteady, how nervous she was. Once she straddled him she held her back straight, so she wouldn’t lean into him and his erection wouldn’t touch her. Her eyes roamed from his down his chest, to the bulge she was fighting. “I should probably do something to fix that.” She whispered and Jake hissed. He couldn’t form one word that would make sense at the moment, so he opted to keep his mouth shut and just watch her. She was a bundle of nerves and sexy as hell at the same time. She ran her fingers down his chest, letting her them trail over the tattoos that ran along the right side of his chest, his left side bare, an open canvas. “How come you never got anything tattooed on this side?” She asked and let her fingertips trail over the unmarked skin.

  “That’s sacred territory.” He said as he watched her kiss, her fingertips before pressing them to his left peck.

  “Why?”

  He reached up and cupped her face, her eyes were changing color as he stared into them. “It’s over my heart.”

  “Oh.’ Is all she said, and then she blew out a breath that she seemed to be holding in forever. “We’re going to do this?”

  “If you want to, if you’re a hundred percent sure.” He said slowly, evenly. Hoping she knew he was leaving this completely in her hands.

  “I want to.” She admitted as she reached up and held his wrists as he cradled her face in his hands. “And I’ll be sure, as long as you tell me that it won’t change anything.”

  He wasn’t quick to answer. He simply looked at her. He was done kidding himself and her, if they were going to do this, then he was laying all his cards out on the table. His eyes had been open and now it he was about to open hers. No more pussyfooting around anything.

  “I can’t do that.” He watched the hope in her eyes falter. “Because, it changes everything. We take the plunge, and see this through, that’s it. No one else for you and no one else for me. You’re mine and I’m yours, it’s as simple as that. I want you, Cara and I’m selfish enough to admit it. Not just tonight, but for as long as you’ll have me.”

  Silence is a bitch of a thing, and that’s all he was granted. He let out a breath he hadn’t been realizing he was holding. She smiled at him, that soft, beautiful eyes wide, smile and leaned her body into his and brushed her lips over his.

  “I’m one hundred percent sure, that I want this.” She murmured against his lips. His heart felt like it would burst from her words and he wrapped his arms tightly around her. A laugh escaped her lips as he rolled her onto her back and stared down at her. He grinned at her crookedly and her eyes shined with all the possibilities and all the love that had been buried sprang to life.

  Chapter Ten

  Cara’s head swam with a million scattered thoughts. She was far from a virgin, yet she felt like one. With nervous hands, she reached out and pulled Jake down to her. This was really happening, something she had been pushing out of her head, was something she was now accepting. She closed her eyes, Goosebumps trailing along her body, as Jake treated his tongue to the first lick of her long neck. She wondered if he too was aching to taste her like she was aching to taste him.

  She heard her moan escape as his teeth delicately grazed the sleek flesh of her neck. His fingertips brushed her hair behind her shoulders and his mouth clamped down on the side of her neck, right below her ear. She was certain that was the moment all her inhibitions flew out the window, as she tilted her head to the side offering him better access.

  Jake couldn’t pinpoint how long he had actually waited to have her in his arms like this, but he knew it was a damn long time. Heaven, best word he could muster up to describe the feeling of her delicate skin between his teeth. He let his tongue travel down to her shoulder. His teeth pulled at the strap of her camisole and let them work the thing strip of fabric down her shoulder. Her hips arched into him and she grabbed his shoulders for leverage. He lifted his mouth and glanced at her face. Her eyes were closed and a smile played upon her lips. Cara had always been beautiful to him, but sex crazed Cara broke the barriers of beautiful and took the word to a whole new level. She was sexy, voluptuous, and damn it, she was desirable.

  Feeling the loss of his mouth, her eyes snapped open. Please God, don’t let him be the one to come to his senses. When her eyes found his, the blue irises were a dark gray and full of lust. She pushed his chest fully aware that her fingers were trembling. He leaned back so that she could sit up. She lifted the hem of her camisole, and went to slide it up her torso, but he took her hands and placed them firmly on either side of her. She swallowed her nerves and let him control her hands, securing them in his fists at her sides. Slowly he began to slide his body down hers, carefully pressing her back into the softness of the mattress. Those lustful gray eyes peered up at her as his mouth began to brush across her stomach. She gasped, feeling her body respond to his heated touch.

  His mouth was a torture chamber, and her skin was his victim. His teeth gripped the hem of her camisole and he began to
tug it higher. He released his hold on her hands and let his fingertips help his teeth and he managed to slide the flimsy fabric up her body. Her fingers dug into the sheets that covered the mattress as she arched her torso. The top moved over the swell of her perky breasts. Her nipples stood at attention, begging his mouth to capture them as his next target. His chin nuzzled the path between her breasts, his hands still working the material over her full breasts. She tried to remain patient but the pool of lust between her legs sang a different tune. She wanted desperately to savor the first time she gave herself to him. But her hormones had a mind of their own. Patience was overrated her womanhood seemed to cry. Finally, he managed to pull the shirt over her head before bowing his head to her chest again.

  Jake rubbed his cheek over one of her breasts, and then repeated the gesture to its partner. He mused at her; they probed his skin, begging for attention. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing his head further into the valley between her breasts. He smirked against her skin, before sending his tongue on a journey between the twin peaks. He glanced up at her, his mouth still latched onto one of her perky nipples. He saw the look in her eyes, letting him know she was at his mercy; he took her breasts in his hands. He blew out a strangled breath as they filled his palms, and squeezed them, rolling them between his thumb and his forefinger. Her nipples caught between his fingers and he pressed his fingers tighter. He bent his head and took one of them between his teeth. She threw her head back against the fluff of the pillows and bit her lip. He held back the smile that threatened and lapped his tongue around the perky point instead. When he heard her whimper he went to lift his mouth, but she grabbed the back of his head and arched her chest into his face. He pressed open mouth kisses down the valley between the two milky white mounds and found her other breast, he nestled himself between her legs and ravaged her other breast just as thoroughly.