by Ali Parker
“Now you,” she whispered, her breathing coming in ragged pants.
Pushing me back, Marie rolled us over, lifting a leg to straddle me. Leaning forward to kiss my neck and suck my earlobe into her hot mouth, she said, “I hope you can take as good as you give.”
Mirroring my movements from earlier, she proceeded to drive me wild by exploring every inch of me with her lips, teeth and tongue. She fucking tortured me.
I thought I could take it.
At first.
But by the time she finally freed me from my boxers, my whole body was stiff and all I could think about was being inside of her. My breath came in heaves, every inch of me coiled tight with need. My cock throbbed.
“Jeremy…” she murmured.
Dragging my eyes open, I found her gaze waiting for me. With a wicked grin, she tucked her hair behind her ears and leaned forward, swirling her tongue around the tip of my cock.
“Fuuuuuuck.” My hips nearly came off the bed, the urge to fuck her mouth hard and fast almost overwhelming. Still going slowly, she sank her mouth further down my shaft, wrapping a hand around my base while the other caressed my balls.
Moving rhythmically as she stroked up and down, her tongue teased me to the edge. It became my turn to writhe and grind my teeth to keep from losing control. When I was sure one more minute was going to send me past the point of no return, I ground out, “Enough.”
She drew back slowly with a last swipe of her tongue on the tip and another sly grin. Despite her teasing, her breathing was just about as heavy as mine and her lids were heavy. She wanted this, maybe even needed it, as much as I did.
Marie reached into my bedside drawer and produced a condom. She held it up, tilting her head in question. “May I?”
“Do you even need to ask?”
She smiled again, but quickly started to roll it on. Her hands were trembling a little and it took her a beat, but she got it done before straddling me.
My hands went to her hips, guiding her over me. Marie lowered herself slowly, sheathing me in her slick, tight channel. A loud groan fell from my lips. “God, you feel so fucking good.”
She bit her lip, her eyes fluttering closed until she settled against me, bringing me fully inside of her. She paused for a moment and I didn’t move, letting her adjust. Then I couldn’t hold back anymore.
I was too worked up, too close to the edge. At the sight of her—her dark hair tousled, her skin flushed, her lips swollen, and her eyes opening to meet mine, dark with desire—the last of my control snapped. Letting my instincts take over, I thrust into her hard. She gasped, but then braced herself with a hand against my wooden headboard and met me stroke for stroke.
She was so snug, so wet, I lost it completely. She stayed with me though, her walls starting to spasm around me right when I felt my own release cresting. Marie flew over the edge first, coming so hard that she took me right along with her.
My release was a full body experience. My back stiffened, my hips locked, my toes curled. All the while, her name came out in a chant. As if everything was exactly the way it should be.
Chapter Ten
Marie
I collapsed against Jeremy, sated and spent. Curling and pulling me close to him, he rolled us to the side, draping an arm across my belly and propped himself up onto an elbow. “Good thing we left the salon?”
My lips curved into a soft smile as I sifted my fingers through his hair, sighing as I took in the satisfied, lazy expression in his eyes. “Definitely.”
“You feeling okay?” he asked, concern in the tiny creases around his eyes.
I wanted to be honest with him, as honest as we’d been with each other since he’d walked into the salon earlier, but the truth was that I didn’t know if I was okay. The jumble of my messy life and the intensity of how I felt with him were almost overwhelming. “I think so.”
His eyes darkened, making me aware that might’ve been confusing. Before he could say a word, I pressed a kiss to his shoulder and clarified. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant I’m still not sure how we’re going to face everything that’s coming our way. I’m glad you know all about Wesley now, but telling you was hard.”
Kissing my forehead, he tightened his arm around my belly and tugged me so close to him, I wasn’t sure where I ended and he began.
“Thank you for telling me, I know it wasn’t easy for you.”
My heart clenched when I met his gaze—direct and sincere. I relaxed against his broad chest, feeling emotionally raw after telling him everything about Wesley. Exhaustion crept through my bones as I replayed the day in my mind, from waking up terrified about Wesley and missing Jeremy, to running into my old friend at the park and coming to terms with Austin being old enough to play a team sport and stay over at a friend’s house, to Jeremy coming into the salon and everything that happened between us.
It had been quite the day.
I yawned, feeling Jeremy smile against my forehead. His voice was low as he murmured, “Sleep tight, Marie. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
I nodded, mumbling, “Sweet dreams.”
Burrowing into his chest with my legs tangled with his, my lids grew heavy and I drifted off to sleep, feeling warm and safe in his embrace. Waking up slowly sometime later, I cracked open my eyes to find his room still completely dark.
We’d shifted while sleeping, and he was now spooned behind me, one of his arms curled under my head while the other was loosely draped over my hips. I snuggled back into him, feeling safer and more secure than I had since Wesley had made his reappearance in my life.
In fact, since the day I’d found that note tucked under my wiper blade threatening Jeremy, I hadn’t gotten much sleep. The anxiety was just too much. Knowing I had support now was obviously a greater relief than I’d realized, judging by how quickly I’d fallen asleep and how soundly I’d slept.
Now, in the dark of night and in that unique silence that came only with early mornings when the world had gone quiet, I was starting to wonder if I’d been foolish letting Jeremy back in. Wesley was a serious threat, and he meant business.
Jeremy was confident that he could handle him, as he was confident in seemingly all aspects of his life despite all the curveballs he’d been thrown, but if something happened to him… I would never forgive myself.
I tried calming myself by concentrating on Jeremy’s heartbeat, steady against my shoulder, but I couldn’t relax. My fears about Wesley and what he might do snuck unbidden into my mind, like a bad omen, or an ominous premonition.
I tensed. Almost instantly Jeremy stirred behind me and pressed his hand to my racing heart. His voice was coarse and thick with sleep when he sat up, alarmed. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing happened,” I said quietly, hoping he’d go back to sleep. I hadn’t meant to disturb him. In the darkness, I could feel his gaze on me, feel the questions in his eyes. “Really Jeremy, I’m fine. I just woke up and I couldn’t help feeling, I don’t know… Guilty or stupid for letting you in when it puts you in so much danger.”
“I’m not in danger. Neither are you, not anymore,” he said, as confident as he’d been earlier. He didn’t know Wesley though, he didn’t know what he was capable of.
Except he does, my subconscious whispered to me. He’s seen the files the police have on him.
That thought settled me a little, but not as much as Jeremy pulling me close again. Tipping my head up so I faced him in the darkness, his lips brushed mine as he whispered, “I can take care of you, Marie. And me. I know it’s been hard living with this all on your own, but you’re not alone anymore. You’ve got me, we’re in this together now.”
“But what if...” I trailed off, unable to finish that sentence. I couldn’t even think it without cringing.
What if he hurts you? Or worse.
Jeremy didn’t need my words, he already knew what I wanted to say. Leaning forward, he kissed me tenderly. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. Trust me.”
<
br /> I did trust him, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was Wesley and how he might retaliate against Jeremy if he thought I wasn’t playing by his rules and staying away from him.
“Hey,” Jeremy said gently, sliding his hands over my arms. “Look at me.”
I did as he asked, meeting his gaze in the darkness, seeing the hint of a smile on his lips.
“There’s my girl,” he murmured.
I registered what he was saying, but I didn’t have the energy to read into him calling me his girl. Taking my hand, he placed it on his chest right over his heart. “Feel that? I’m fine, I’m here. Not hurt, and not going anywhere either, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“Good,” he said, sending tingles over my skin when he started trailing his hands up and down my sides. I bent my head toward him, kissing him as if that alone would make him concrete, make him real, more than just a dream.
His heart thundered along with my own as I crawled onto his lap, keeping my mouth fused to his. His voice took on a different quality, huskier, as his eyes roamed my naked chest when our kiss finally broke. “You sure about this?”
I nodded. I needed him again, more than I would’ve thought possible after how satisfied I’d been when I fell asleep. The need wasn’t purely physical though, it went deeper than that. So many levels deeper.
It was only once he was inside me again that I relaxed, that I truly believed he was here and that he wasn’t going to get hurt. That he was too strong for Wesley.
The sun was peeking out over the horizon by the time I fell against him, boneless with pleasure ricocheting through my body. I was reluctant to leave his bed, but I also had to pick up Austin from Belle’s in a little while. Jeremy stretched out on his back, completely unabashed by his nakedness. Tucking his arms under his head, he looked so handsome, it made me shake my head. Really, it wasn’t fair. Even just after waking up, he was so damn sexy, it was ridiculous.
He smirked when he caught me looking. “Like what you see? Give me a minute and I’ll be ready to go again.”
I swatted his rock hard thigh, blushing at being caught staring, but loving this bit of playfulness and brevity between us. “I do like what I see, a lot. But I’m going to have to take a rain check.”
He sighed, but swung his legs over the bed and sat up. “Shower or coffee first?”
“Shower,” I answered without hesitating. Not that I protested how we’d spent the night building up a sweat, but getting clean was definitely a priority over coffee.
“Gotcha,” Jeremy said, walking his naked ass to his bathroom. He paused in the door, turning to catch me staring at him yet again. The man might as well have been sculpted by the gods. I wasn’t about to apologize for not being able to tear my eyes away from him.
“Keep looking at me like that and we may not get round to showering or coffee,” he joked, or at least, I thought he was joking. Then he gave me a look that told me he meant business and started stalking back toward the bed.
I yelped and jumped up, sidestepping him when he tried to catch me on the way to the bathroom. We showered quickly, only kissing and necking a little bit. He put a stop to things this time, reminding me that we’d skipped dinner last night, and he really didn’t want me to have to skip breakfast too.
As if on cue, my stomach rumbled. Jeremy chuckled, shut the shower down and handed me a towel. Dressing in shorts and a t-shirt, he ambled over to me to drop a kiss on my forehead. “I’m going to go make some coffee. They’ll be huge on you, but my shirts are in the dresser and there’s a comb in the bathroom.”
“I’ll be right out,” I promised. To my relief, he also had an airplane toothbrush in his bathroom cabinet, still sealed in its packaging. I used it, thinking I could always get him a new spare toothbrush.
It was ridiculous how comfortable I already was with him, moving around his bathroom like I belonged there, rummaging through his dresser for a shirt and finally going to meet him in the kitchen. There, I wrapped my arms around him from behind as he made coffee.
“I used your extra toothbrush,” I confessed almost immediately. “I hope you don’t mind.”
He turned, lifting his arms to rest them on my shoulders. “I didn’t even know I had one. Have at it though, make yourself at home. I like having you here.”
“I like being here.”
With his lips curling into a satisfied smile, he started our coffee and headed to his fridge. “I don’t have much in the way of breakfast food.”
“Let’s have a look at what you’re packing. I’m sure I can whip something up.”
Jeremy smirked. “You’ve already seen what I’m packing.”
Giggling as I rolled my eyes, I located all the ingredients I needed for pancakes. “Touché, Mr. One-track-mind. And now I’ve seen what you have in your fridge too, soon you’ll have no secrets from me.”
“Good thing I’m not trying to hide any from you then,” he said, all hints of humor dropping suddenly from his handsome features. It was refreshing being with a man like him. With Wesley, I always felt like there was a hidden agenda and undercurrents I didn’t understand.
Even though I knew there was a lot I didn’t know about Jeremy, I didn’t feel like he was hiding anything from me. When I was with him, everything felt easy and right. For the first time, I was hopeful that there might be an end to the mess with Wesley and that maybe, just maybe, I’d have a future with Jeremy.
“I know you’re not,” I said simply, and honestly. “Let’s forget about all that and just have breakfast together, okay?”
He saluted me. “You got it. What do you need me to do?”
“Stand there and look handsome.” I flashed a smile. “I’ve got this.”
Jeremy laughed, but he didn’t interfere as I cooked him breakfast. I liked that he was giving me free rein of his kitchen. I’d never had that in someone else’s house before.
We spent the morning together just like that, joking around, having breakfast and coffee. I laughed more than I had in a while and enjoyed my time with him so much that before I knew it, it was time to pick up Austin from Belle’s.
When the time came that I absolutely had to leave, he kissed me goodbye. His lips lingered inches away from mine as he pulled me closer. “Remember, no more shutting me out. Promise?”
“Promise,” I murmured, sealing it with another searing kiss.
Chapter Eleven
Jeremy
Letting Marie go on Sunday, knowing how scared she was of her ex wasn’t easy. I’d nearly broken down and begged her to move her and Austin in with me so I could be sure they were safe, but I didn’t think she’d appreciate that particular gesture from me so soon.
Especially not under the circumstances.
I’d never lived with a woman, and it felt like too soon to even be thinking about it. As I drifted off to sleep that night, it crossed my mind more than once that we’d probably both sleep better if she were under my roof. Even if she was in her own room.
We’d texted back and forth for the rest of Sunday, and we’d been doing the same thing since. As far as I knew, Wesley hadn’t shown up again since she thought she’d seen him at the park on Saturday. I had to keep reminding myself she was safe.
It didn’t stop me from itching to get back to the salon project so I could be there with her during the day. We were still waiting on a few things to be finalized on the bank’s side with the loan, so I couldn’t jump back into that project just yet.
Instead, I’d spent Monday working at another one of our project sites and doing my best not to spend every moment thinking of Marie. Manual labor at the site in the blistering sun had helped with that, but she was never far from my mind.
We were getting ready to leave, loading up the trucks in the parking lot when I saw a car on the lot that didn’t belong there. It happened to be the same one that I’d noticed following me last week and that had been parked outside my house that one dark morning.
I was fed up with the damn
thing showing up here and there and I was more than ready to confront the driver. Not that doing so had gone well for me in the past, but I walked over to the car anyway. Surprisingly the driver, who I believed to be Wesley, didn’t race away again as I approached.
The driver’s window was open, and as soon I got close enough, my suspicions were confirmed. Sitting behind the driver’s seat, looking cool as cucumber as he smirked, was none other than the asshole ex Wesley Poole.
Wearing a black shirt that made his skin look more pale than it had been in that picture Sonny had shown me back at the station, Wesley’s hair was unkempt and the smug expression on his face made me want to punch him.
I half expected him to avoid me, coward that he was. He didn’t though. He got out of the car just as I was nearing it, squaring his narrow shoulders as if he had any fucking hope of intimidating me. The guy was shorter than I would’ve thought. Standing up straight, he only reached just past my shoulder.
His eyes were so dark it was hard to make out his pupils, but he still didn’t scare me. The smugness on his features faded when he realized how much bigger I was than him, but it didn’t falter for long.
“You should stay the fuck away from Marie Nix, buddy,” he said, his voice thready but more confident that I’d been expecting. “She’s spoken for.”
I snorted. Clearly the guy was delusional. “Yeah, she is. By me. And I’m not your buddy.”
We hadn’t necessarily spoken about it in so many words, but I was confident what I was saying was true. Marie was my girl, and I wasn’t about to let him think otherwise. Wesley took a step closer to me, but seemed to rethink his decision and fell back against his car.
“Keep telling yourself that. She’ll never belong to anyone but me. She knows it too, she just needs a little reminder.”
“Is that what you call threatening innocent women? A little reminder? That’s not what it’s called out here in the real world, buddy. It’s called intimidation and stalking,” I bit out, bile rising at the back of my throat. This guy was responsible for so much hurt in so many lives, yet here he was acting like Captain Reasonable.