by Clare James
“Really?” I couldn’t believe what he was saying, or that he did it all for me.
“Really.” He reached over and took my hand. The zing was back ten-fold. “So are we good?”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Do you know how miserable I’ve been?” I squeezed his hand a little too tight.
“I needed to be sure I had all the information,” he said, all cop-like. The man and his rules. “Plus, you were right, I should’ve told you from the beginning, but I was too chickenshit.”
“I thought I didn’t scare you, Mr. Law and Order,” I teased.
“You scare me, plenty.” He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. “You know, we do have a lot to talk about.”
Talk? Who could think about talking?
Michael turned me to him, realizing that plan had gone to shit. His eyes were dark, his lids hooded. Oh, he wanted the same thing that I did. Everything else could wait.
“Later.” I told him.
He nodded and dragged me up the stairs to his apartment like a ragdoll.
“Your place?” I questioned.
“Yeah, I don’t think Oscar would be very happy with what I plan on doing to you.”
Michael’s bed was huge and so soft. And it smelled like manly heaven—soap, mint, and something woodsy. I wanted to roll around in it. But before we’d even made it to his room, he stripped me all my clothes.
I asked if he’d keep his speckled pants on—at least around his knees—and he just laughed and threw me on the bed.
Now, he was ready to pounce, pacing around the edge of the mattress like a mountain lion.
From the center of the bed, I pulled up to my knees, bracing for an attack.
He crawled in after me and my skin buzzed in anticipation of what he was going to do to me, or what he’d let me do to him. My fingertips were itchy. I wanted to touch and be touched. I’d never wanted anything more.
Michael captured my wrists, and I was about to try out the move he taught me, but the thing was, I wanted to be captured. He moved closer, his thighs positioned on the outside of mine. He tucked our hands behind my back. “Now tell me what you want.”
The words caught in my throat, so I had to focus on each one and say it slowly.
Kiss. Me.
He slanted his lips down over mine, coaxing them open with his tongue, before exploring leisurely. He claimed every part of my mouth, rubbing his tongue against mine and making dirty promises for later. He was thorough, and absolutely relentless.
Then he freed my hands, and I let them dive right into his thick hair, tangling and tugging. He moaned in my mouth and I felt it through my entire body. I wanted him.
We were hands, and lips, legs and scorching skin, and there were so many sensations that it took the rip of a foil packet to ground me.
Michael, lowered me onto a pile of pillows, and as much as I enjoyed our romp on the mats, this was better.
He nestled between my legs and they shamelessly fell open for him. He used the tip of his cock to see if I was ready for him. “Christ, you are so wet,” he growled, and before I could respond, he buried himself inside with one long, punishing thrust. The sensation was mind-blowing.
And that was before he started to move.
I’d never had this feeling before, and I knew it was because of my feelings wrapped up in this man. I was flying. I was wanted. I was being so gloriously fucked. I never wanted it to end. This was where everything made sense for us. Since the beginning, this was where we could give and take exactly how we wanted to. We connected with every touch, every movement, we never had to talk.
But then in an unexpected switcheroo, Michael flipped us over.
“I want you to take control now, babe,” he said, his voice ragged. “Ride me.”
My head went light, so I placed my hands on his chest for balance. He didn’t have to ask me twice. I rose up, and instinctively, he gripped my hips.
I froze.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” I waved my finger at him. “I’m in control, remember?”
“Fuck,” he hissed. “Sorry.”
I tried again. This time, the movements were mine. All mine.
“That’s it baby, you take what you need.”
That was a plan I could definitely get behind.
I tested him, moving slowly at first, and then fast, working the beautiful friction between us. I found the perfect pace and bounced on his cock so hard, my teeth hurt. It felt so good, I couldn’t stop.
He leaned up and captured my nipple in his teeth. The bite sent shockwaves straight to my clit, as if the two parts were tethered together.
“Christ, you are so hot.” He said before lavishing my other nipple with the same teasing bites.
When my inner muscles started clenching, Michael took over, driving into my tight channel over and over again until we let the orgasm pull us under.
“Jenna,” he said softly from our little blissed out cocoon.
“Mmm.” I rolled toward him, craving his lips again.
“I can already tell you that this isn’t going to be enough,” he said, between kisses. “I’m going to need more.”
“How much more?”
“Five days, minimum,” he said. “Then, we talk.”
Chapter Eighteen
Michael
Jenna Peterson was hands-down, the most incredible woman I’d ever met. Strong, kind, smart as fuck and so fun to be around. She made me happy. Spending the evening in bed with her, shot her right into freaking celebrity status in my opinion.
After we were finally able to tear ourselves away from my bed, we headed over to Jenna’s to take care of the dogs.
“What’s this?” I asked, picking up an envelope from the hallway in front of her door.
“I don’t know,” she said, pulling out a photo and I was about to admire it, until I noticed what was scrawled across it.
What the fuck?
It was a recent picture with Jen and Oscar, with the question—Who is the bigger bitch?—scrawled across it.
She rolled her eyes and blew it off. “What a dumb ass, Oscar’s a boy, not a bitch.”
I stared at her, mouth ajar. “What the fuck, Jen? This is not funny. Who would send you something like this?”
“Don’t know, don’t care. I learned to ignore things like this a long time ago.” We walked inside and Jen let the dogs out of their crates.
“Do not say that.” I said, seriously freaked out. “Do you have any idea who would do something like this? You do know it’s against the law, right?”
“With my reputation, things like this have been happening for ages.” She rubbed Oscar’s belly, while petting Ruby and Molly with her other hand. “It could be an enemy or frenemy, is this what you want to hear?”
“Actually, yes. I want to get to the bottom of this.”
“That’s what I’m telling you, I don’t think we will get to the bottom of it. I’ve made enemies, Michael, and I deserve some pushback—not all, but some.”
“Wait up, there.” Her view was pretty damn disturbing. “You do not deserve to be stalked or harassed or fucking threatened.”
“Can we just drop it?” Her eyes were shiny. “It’s pretty embarrassing having to explain why people hate you.”
I pulled her in for a hug and did as she asked. It was clear we weren’t going to get anywhere on this topic right now.
Jenna’s past, my present, and our future was getting all tangled up. But I realized I didn’t need five days to decide whether this was something I wanted. I knew it was exactly what I wanted.
I wouldn’t risk it for anything. So while Jen was distracted with the dogs, I found the paperwork for both the office building worker that was supposedly fixing her AC, and the guy trying to adopt Ruby. I used my phone to snap a picture of their names and signatures, and sent them to Jones at the station. I’d already made a call about Sullivan.
Yeah, I was a little paranoid.
Hey, if it turned out to be nothing, great. It w
as still good practice. But I wasn’t going to take any chances.
And though I’d take care with Tabby when I told her about Jenna, I didn’t care who knew about us, which was a good thing because we were about to have our coming out party.
***
“I’m craving tacos,” I told her later that night. The surprise package that was left on her doorstep really put a damper on the rest of the evening. Plus, we were both starving and exhausted. A thought a quick run for takeout would do the trick.
But when Jules and Foster showed up at Loco Tacos at the same time we arrived, I came to the realization that this night was just going to suck balls all the way around.
Once Jenna made eye contact with them, she tried to pull away from me.
“Oh no you fucking don’t.” I gripped her hand tighter.
“Well, look who’s here,” Jules walked up to me, shaking her head like wait until your sister hears about this one.
“Hey, Jules,” I smiled. “Foster.”
Foster’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head, but he remained uncharacteristically quiet.
“Wow, I knew it wouldn’t take long before she got her claws into you,” Jules said, not even addressing Jenna directly.
It pissed me right the fuck off, and though I probably should’ve left it alone, I was done with all of that.
“Jules,” I said. “You have no fucking idea.” And then I pulled Jenna in close—one arm wrapped around her back, my hand resting on her hip and fingertips dipping into her front pocket—before I planted the longest, dirtiest kiss on the woman I loved. I kissed her as if my life depended on it…because, well, it was starting to feel like it did.
Jenna had shock, and maybe a little horror, all over her face, but she didn’t say a word until they cleared out.
“What about waiting for our five days to make sure this is working, before we go public?” Jenna finally asked when I was mid-burrito.
“I’ve already made my decision.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“So what does that mean?” Her face crinkled in the most adorable way.
“It means I’m waiting on you for yours.”
Chapter Nineteen
Jenna
Shit was getting real. Foster and Jules knew about us now, which meant Tabby and Noah would know today when they got back from Mexico. There was no question about that.
Thanks to Michael’s planning, he had us all sitting together at the upcoming Senior Dinner, which was like graduation but with booze and no parents.
Normally, this would all be a good thing. But Michael planned to tell Tabby about us before the event. I couldn’t even image what she was going to say, or Noah for that matter.
I had to keep reminding myself that this is what I wanted. I wanted Michael to claim me as his, no matter who was watching and that’s exactly what he was doing.
But the dinner was tomorrow!
Turned out I didn’t need my five days either. I had already fallen for him so hard, probably long before he did, and that brought on another wave of panic.
Michael knew the stress was eating at me, but he had plans to take my mind off things.
“Get in here,” he all but growled, looking at me in that way of his.
“Be right back,” I told him, quickly taking care of the dogs.
“Jenna, now.”
“Just a minute,” I called out.
My heartrate was now clear off of charts.
He didn’t wait.
Instead, he came into the kitchen and he bent down in front of me, before burying his face in the apex of my thighs.
I stopped breathing.
He gripped my hands, and looked up at me. “Don’t. Make. Me. Beg.” And then he pulled my pants down and flipped one of my legs over his shoulder.
It was quite an elaborate plan.
“I hope you’re ready,” he said, gripping my thighs and bringing his mouth to the part of my body that so desperately wanted it.
I swore I heard a sizzle when he made contact.
He licked and nipped and parted me with his tongue, while pleasure rocketed through my body. His technique worked, because I no longer cared about the dinner, or Tabby, or anything else for that matter…
Chapter Twenty
Michael
“I’m surprised is all,” Tabby told me after my confession about Jenna as we arrived at the dinner. “I guess I don’t see what you see.”
“I know you don’t want to hear this, Tab, but she’s a lot like you, and she’s had to put up with her share of shit.” I told her everything, including the bits about me and my survivor’s guilt and the self-defense classes.
I don’t think she had any idea what I’d been carrying around, not that she should’ve. It was so not her problem to deal with. But it did help me explain why I’ve stayed away from relationships.
“And you really have the space in your life now?” she asked.
“I didn’t think so,” I said, honestly. “But here’s the thing about love, when it happens there’s always room.”
She reached over to me and squeezed my hand.
“So you’re okay with it?”
Tabby bit her lip and nodded. “I’m glad you told me, but is it okay if I’m not thrilled? At least for now?”
“Are you going to give Jenna a hard time?” I asked.
“Of course not.”
“Then I’m okay.”
As expected, our conversation went way over what I told Jenna. So she said she’d meet us here. I checked the time and felt uneasy. She was late.
Really late.
My phone rang and I assumed it was Jenna, but as soon as I saw the caller ID, the bottom of my stomach dropped out.
It was Jones.
Panic sliced through me as he talked and told me what he found; my body burned.
I was going to be sick. And then I was going to kill someone.
Chapter Twenty One
Jenna
I just needed to get to Michael—it was the last thought in my head when everything went black. He was right, why hadn’t I learned that by now? The creepy picture, the visit to my apartment, it wasn’t some coincidence or harmless prank.
“You’re back,” the menacing voice cut through the fog in my brain. “I didn’t want to hit you, Jenna, but I didn’t expect you to be such a fighter. I had to protect myself.”
I opened my eyes to Christian sitting in front of me. He was waiting for me when I got home, and when Michael didn’t show up to take me to the Senior Dinner, he took full advantage.
I tried to fight as soon as I realized what was happening, but he knocked me out.
Instinctively, I wound up to strike again, but this time my hands were bound.
Christian started rambling about the date I missed, and how I didn’t respect him. He talked about a class we had together two years ago. I wasn’t listening. Instead, I flipped through the files in my brain for the information that I knew could help.
Michael taught me what to do in this situation, he prepared me for everything. Even the knife that was in Christian’s right hand.
The dogs were barking, but this wasn’t out of the ordinary. It wasn’t enough to get someone to come to my apartment. I knew what I had to do.
Michael’s words going through my head, lean into it.
“So I hear you blathering on about the past,” I channeled the voice of the old Jenna. She was desperately needed right now. “What does that have to do with the here and now?”
He looked stunned.
“I’m not sure you’re seeing me, Jenna,” he said, his voice shaky, his eyes flittering around the room. “You’re still ignoring me. You stood me up the other night. I gave you another chance and you stood me up.”
“I was sick,” I told him leaning forward, my eyes never straying from the blade. “What did you expect me to do?”
“I know that was a lie. I saw you with him,” Christian spit. “I know yo
u’re with him.”
In my head, I prepared with a long deep breath, and then I counted to three.
Chapter Twenty Two
Michael
Jones told me to stay put, but there was no way in hell I would. I was close and I knew he’d be right behind, so I didn’t even hesitate. Once again, I went for her with guns blazing, sans the guns.
I busted through Jenna’s door, but I was too late.
She was already struggling with that Christian fuck on the floor. Shit, it looked like she might’ve had the upper hand.
I didn’t have time to really process any of that, I only needed to take out the threat. I dove on top of him, my right hand going for the knife, so it was nowhere near Jenna.
He struggled and I flipped him on his stomach, grinding my knee into his back. If Jones didn’t get her fast, I would destroy this motherfucker.
I didn’t get the chance. No more than three seconds after my knee made contact, the cavalry arrived.
It was chaos and Jenna and I were both swept away by different officers for medical attention and questioning.
We reached out to each other though, and the same shockwaves that I’d come to depend on shot up my arm when our fingertips touched. It was the best feeling in the world.
“Is that what you meant by lean into it?” Jenna asked me, pointing to the sick fuck on the ground.
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s what I meant, baby.”
Then I laughed, because if I didn’t the wet hot tears building behind my eyes would fall. And I didn’t want her in pain over me. I never wanted her in pain again.
Epilogue
Jenna
The Ten Top Reasons Why Michael is as Good as Any Dog
1. He doesn’t judge me, even when I do something really, really stupid.