“Where’d you go just now?” Jacks asks from his side of the couch.
I shake my head. “Sorry. Just remembering a conversation I’d had with Ma. Today’s been a beast of a day. Do you mind if we head to the inn?” I ask.
“Not at all.” He smiles as he removes his suit jacket and lays it over my shoulders. “Let’s say our goodbyes and get out of here.”
We ride in silence the ten minutes that it takes to get to the inn. Once we’re inside, I’m dragging my feet. Emotionally drained, we change out of our formal clothes and slip into bed. Jacks spoons me and kisses the top of my shoulder.
“Thank you, Jacks,” I say.
“For what, love?” His chin props on my shoulder.
“For being here today.”
“There’s no place I would rather be.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“You deserve more than me,” he says, tightening his hold around my waist.
Morning is here sooner than I would have preferred. The light creeps in through the gap between the curtain panels. Jacks is lying on his back behind me, breathing lightly, so I turn over to observe him. He looks so peaceful. His head rests on his arm and his other arm is reaching out for me.
He came to Sydney after I told him I was staying here and not going back to Las Vegas. I basically broke up with him over the phone and still, here he is.
Do I want to stay here? No, I don’t. But if I go, who will watch over Pop like Ma had done for so many years? If I leave, will my conscience be satisfied knowing I abandoned my only remaining parent, for a guy?
It’s not like I have a job to go home to, so what’s the difference?
If I stay here, what will I miss out on with Jacks?
Will I miss seeing my brother and building my new friendship with Beck?
Can Jacks and I go back to being friends, to being just Mal’s best mate and Mal’s little sister, or will there be awkwardness when we see each other?
One thing is for sure. As I watch Jacks sleep, I think to myself that I love him and I don't want to miss out on the experience in learning the answers to any of those pending questions.
Chapter Nineteen
Jacks
Our room at the inn has a small balcony with a quaint two-seater table and not much space for anything else. That’s where I find Cam, sipping on tea as she gazes out onto the street. The balcony door is open, so I can hear some of the morning traffic noise from commuters on their way to the city to start their days.
I clear my throat as I approach Cam, to not scare her. She turns her head, the frown on her face lifting into a soft smile. It barely reaches her eyes, but she’s trying. I kiss the top of her head before I sit down and reach my arm to sit on the balcony railing.
“Been up long?” I ask.
“No. Just a little bit. Sleep good?” she asks before taking a sip of her tea.
“I did. You?” This small talk is killing me.
Is she coming home? Is she staying? Does she love me?
These are all questions I can’t ask her right now, but they’re running through my mind on repeat.
I want her to. I hope not. God, I’m so in love with her.
“You all right? You’re looking at me funny,” she says.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Fucking Liar. You’re panicking because the first woman you’ve ever fallen for may not return your love and may ask you go home alone. I shake my head.
“Do you mind driving me to my Pop’s this afternoon? I want to see if he’ll talk to me,” she asks hesitantly.
“Of course. Whatever you need.” I nod knowing why she wants to talk to him. I’m hoping for the best.
“I need to see what he needs. I am torn. I want to be here for him, but I also don’t want to lose who I am in taking care of him.”
“Love, I support whatever decision you make. I just don’t want you to make up your mind without thinking about it.”
“Just for a bit, I don’t want to think at all,” she says, looking at me with a heat in her eyes.
I know that look. I stand, offer her my hand and lead her back inside.
“Tell me what you want, tell me what you need,” I urge her.
“I just want you. I’ll take you however you want to give, I just know that it’s you that I want. And I… I want it a little rough.”
Fuck.
I wrap my arm around her waist and bring her close to me. My hand cradles her jaw as I close the space between us and take her lips with mine. Her hands brush along my lower back. I press myself into her so she can feel how hard I am for her. She whimpers against my mouth as she begins to steer us backward toward the bed. I rotate us so I can sit down and she straddles me. When she seats herself on my lap, I can feel the heat of her pussy over my waiting cock. My gray sweats and her panties are the only thing between us. She rubs herself against me and with each rub, her arousal increases and I can smell her intoxicating scent. It drives me wild.
I lift the shirt she’s wearing, then bunch her long hair in my fist and slightly tug back on it. Her neck is exposed to me and I trail kisses from below her left ear, across her collarbone to her right breast. I lick her skin and lay open mouthed kisses on my way back up her neck. She’s breathing heavily as I reach her mouth and use my grip on her hair to direct her lips to mine.
She grinds on my lap, breaks our kiss, places her hands on my shoulders and throws her head back. A flush covers her body as she rolls her hips on top of me.
“Strides, off. Now,” she instructs as she lifts her hips.
In no time, my pants are removed and she grabs my cock. She strokes from crown to base with a look of determination on her face and then she climbs off my thighs and kneels down in between my legs. My cock still in her hand, she makes eye contact and then she takes my length fully into her mouth in one swift movement. I release a breath I wasn’t aware that I was holding and my hand instinctively goes to the back of her head. I grab up her hair in my fist again so I can watch her face, her lips around my cock as she takes me.
She pulls her head up and strokes me a few beats with her hand, then replaces her hand with her mouth, swallowing my cock. She pulls up and sucks lightly on the crown, swirls her tongue over my over-sensitive flesh, and then puts me entirely in her mouth again, her tongue moving against the underside of my cock. She pulls off me with a pop and smiles.
I maintain eye contact while pointing behind me to the bed. “Now.”
Laughing, she jumps onto the bed and removes her knickers. She throws them at my chest and I catch them, make sure she’s watching as I put them up to my nose and take in her smell.
I have the raw need to consume her entirely as I climb onto the bed and in between her legs. My cock is solid and ready to be buried deep into her. I line myself up with her entrance and plunge deep. I lace my fingers with hers and pull both hands over her head. Holding them together with one hand, my other hand goes to her hip to hold her down as I pull and push with fever into her. I look down and see my cock disappearing into her velvety pussy.
She moans loudly and hisses a ‘Yes’ as my cock hits her in the spot that makes her moan. My thoughts become incoherent. Delirium sets in when she unlatches her arms from my grasp, wraps her arms around my back to pull me closer, and rakes her nails across my back as she kisses me with more emotion than could ever be conveyed with words.
Chapter Twenty
Cam
Sex is an amazing thing. It can bring two people together, it can make them closer, it can bond them.
I know I’m not experienced by any means, but I do think that waiting as long as I did and drunkenly losing my virginity to Jacks was perfect.
Granted, I should have told him that I was a virgin, but we were drunk and I didn’t know what would become of us. It could have been just a one night thing, but I knew from the moment I woke up the next morning that there was something special between us.
And now, now there is definitely something.
I love him.
I need to speak to Pop and make sure that he is going to be okay if I don’t stay here.
I rap my knuckles on Pop’s door and open it.
Pop is sitting in the chair overlooking the backyard. The sliding glass door is open and he’s sitting in silence watching the wind tease through the tree outside the window. There is a faint melody playing from the other side of the room where my mother’s iPod is in the dock on the bedside table. He doesn’t turn when I enter, but I know he knows I’m here.
“Hey, Pop,” I say, taking a seat beside him in what I know was Ma’s chair. Once I’m seated, he looks at me and gives me a weak smile and a nod.
I fidget with my shirt as I shift so I’m facing him. He reaches his hand out to me and when I place my palm in his he squeezes.
We sit in silence for what feels like an eternity.
“I’m a weak man, Cameron, but I will be all right.” His gravelly voice tries to reassure me. “Your mother did a fine job of taking care of this family. I am heartbroken, but that will mend.”
“Oh, Pop.” Tears stream down my face.
“When do you kids head on home?” He turns to look at me. His weathered face is solemn.
“Well, I was thinking—” I start.
“No.” He releases my hand and holds his up. “None of that ‘taking care of me’ thinking. I’ve heard your brother mumble some crap about it, and I’m not having it. I’m a grown man, Cameron. You’re my daughter and you do not need to take care of me. I can manage fine myself. What you need to do is to make your own path. That fella – Mal’s friend, Jacks – seems mighty keen on ya and I don’t want you to lose whatever is happening there.”
I offer him a smile. “I was going to ask if you maybe wanted to come and visit Mal and me in the States sometime, get a change of scenery. I am planning on going back. I need to; I know that now. But I'm still worried about you, Pop.”
He doesn’t answer me right away. He looks over at the bed longingly and then returns his gaze out the window.
“Your mother wouldn’t have wanted me to sit and wallow forever, but I need my time to come to terms with everything. She was the love of my life, she was my everything. She was talking about taking a holiday out your way sometime this year, so I will check and I will let you know.”
“If you want, I can stay a few weeks before I go back.”
“No, you won’t put your life on hold for me. Go home, Cameron. I love you, and I greatly appreciate the fact that you want to be here, but I need to get used to the new way of things and having you waiting on me hand and foot, would just distract me from that. I truly appreciate the sentiment though.”
“I love you, Pop.” I reach out my hand to him and we hold the contact in silence.
“Jacks treating you kindly?” Pop asks.
“Very much.”
“I’ve never known of you to be so taken by anyone before.”
“I was waiting for him, I guess.” I shrug my shoulders.
“You love him?”
“I think I do.”
“You think?”
“I do, Pop. I love him.” I look at him and smile as I admit my feelings out loud.
Pop returns my smile.
“That’s what’s important. Cherish that. Your mother was my first love. I want you to find happiness like I did. When do you kids head home?”
“I’m not sure. Mal made all the arrangements. Jacks leaves tomorrow night, I’m not in a rush to get back since I’m currently unemployed.”
“You lost your job? Do you need money?”
“I’m fine, Pop. I’ll get something else when I head back.
“I love your brother and all, but please don’t go into stripping.”
“Dancing.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s dancing. And don’t worry, I’m not coordinated enough to perform on a stage.”
My finger finds the play button on the media player on my cell phone. I turn up the volume and place it next to the bed. I walk back to the front of the bed and turn around, giving Jacks a view of my arse. When the beat comes on, I smile. This is definitely not the song that I had chosen, but it would have to do.
“Um, Cam?” Jacks starts. “This song?”
I giggle.
“Just go with it,” I call over my shoulder.
Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” has me shaking my ass and my head at the same time. I work with it, turning to him then dropping to the ground and crawling toward him. Placing a hand on each of his knees, I spread his legs and fit myself into the space. I slowly pull myself to stand and then straddle his lap. I rotate my hips as his hands wrap around me. He leans in and I push him back.
“Hey.”
“No touching.” I wag my finger at him. “I’m in control tonight.”
He blows out a shaky breath and I smile.
I place my hands on his shoulders to gain my balance as I straddle his lap while languidly gyrating my hips and then I remove my shirt. My breasts are mouth level to him and he leans in as I lean back.
“Hey now,” I protest.
“You’re driving me wild, woman.”
I remove my bra and as I toss it behind me, Jacks palms my breast and sucks on my nipple. He grips me by the hip and the breast and takes his time lavishing me. It feels so good that I forget that I’m in charge and I let him go to the other breast as my back arches. When he pulls back, his hands still fondling me, the passion in his gaze is burning.
It’s clear from the tension in his body that he’s holding back and it’s costing him. “I’m going to need you to speed this up. If I don’t bury my cock in you soon, I’m going to need a change of clothes,” he growls.
I place my hands on his shoulders and gyrate my pelvis over his, lightly brushing against the impressive erection straining in his shorts. My fingers dive into the short hairs at the nape of his neck, I turn his head and lean in. I trail my tongue from the base of his neck to his ear and latch onto his earlobe with my teeth and tug. I moan lightly in his ear and next thing I know I’m hauled up in the air and flipped onto my back.
Jacks reaches under my skirt and grabs my knickers.
He looks at me and smiles. “How much do you like these?” he asks.
“I’m not sure.”
“I’ll buy you a new pair.” He says as he rips them from my body. The slight sting from the fabric pulling at my hip sears my skin, but the sensation is suddenly replaced by his hand as he rubs my hip. His other hand unbuckles his pants and shoves them down. He fists his cock as his other hand moves between my legs to feel how ready I am for him. He groans as his fingertips sink into me briefly. He moves closer and then hovers over my body as his cock sinks into me slowly. The strain in his neck and tension in his jaw show his restraint.
His hips move in small bursts as my pussy gets used to him and relaxes.
“Fuck. Every time. Every. Time. You’re so fucking tight, my cock is being squeezed perfectly,” he hisses.
His hips push, mine pull.
We match each other’s rhythm and our bodies seem to be in sync as we move together. My breath catches as he drags his cock against the top of my pussy, triggering my clit. I must have made a noise as Jacks continues to do the same motion repeatedly.
“You’re so fucking beautiful. You’re even more beautiful when you come. I’m a lucky motherfucker ‘cause I’m the only bloke who gets to see that. Forever, Cam. That’s mine,” he says, leaning up to look down to where we’re joined and smiles.
“My cock buried in you, I fucking love it.” He catches my eye and stops. He leans down and kisses me. “And I fucking love you, Cam.” He steals my gasp in a kiss and then pulls back. “I know how corny that is to say while I’m balls deep in you, but—”
“I love you too,” I rush out.
He groans as I do a few Kegels. “Now move, you bastard.” I squeeze him again and he laughs.
We languidly make love for the rest of the night, taking breaks for nourishment and sleep.
; I switched my flight home to coincide with Jacks’s, so we’ll both be leaving Sydney this afternoon. Mal and Beck are leaving Sydney tomorrow so Mal can do some last minute things around the house. Pop came out of his room this morning and joined us for breakfast on the back patio, and it was nice to spend that time with him before leaving. He gave Jacks the ‘I’m watching you’ speech and told Mal that he is the eyes and ears in case Jacks broke my heart.
I laughed as Pop took my hand and squeezed it.
As we say our goodbyes at the airport, I feel better than I had before Jacks came to Sydney. I know I’ve stayed busy lately to avoid dealing with my feelings, to escape the realization that my mother has passed away. I had gone through the emotions privately until I saw him and, just seeing him made me realize it’s going to be okay.
And it will.
Epilogue
Jacks
1 YEAR LATER
“I’m going to lose my mind if you take another one of those crab cakes. Those are for the guests, not for you!” Cam says sternly, her hands on her hips as she glares at me.
“Who the hell is going to eat crab cakes at a baby shower?”
“It’s not a freaking baby shower you idjit; it’s an adoption party. And people like crab cakes. Besides, that’s what was requested. Now keep your paws off or I’ll forbid sex for a week.”
“You wouldn’t. You like it just as much as I do.”
“I have a vibrator,” she retorts.
“And I have my hand. What’s your point, love?” I tease her. “One more?” I ask teasingly.
She penetrates me with just one look and I laugh and back away with my hands raised in surrender just as the front door opens.
Half the staff from the club, a few of their significant others, and several of Beck’s friends and family crowd into the room carrying an assortment of gifts, balloons and booze. Trailing behind the group, Mal and Beck stroll in hand-in-hand, laughing at something while gazing adoringly into one another eyes.
They struggled with the news that they couldn’t have a baby the old-fashioned way. Eventually they looked into other options and applied for adoption. While they went through the process, they endured the emotional ups-and-downs, but overcame everything once they were matched to a child. Their child, a two-year-old girl, would begin life in her new home tomorrow. Tonight is a celebration and not just for that reason. Tonight, I am officially going to make Cam mine.
The Night Manager Page 13