by Hannah Ford
Raven reached out and touched Jake’s bare chest, caressing it with her fingertips. “I could talk to you about what happened to me in high school, but I’d rather focus on you.” Her hand slid down to his stomach, and then he was grabbing her wrist.
“What if I want to focus on you?” he said.
“There’s a lot of different ways to do that,” she said, smiling a little in the darkness.
“I want to know what happened between you and those guys.”
“Why, you believe what Andre told you about me?”
“I didn’t say that,” Jake replied. “The point is, he didn’t tell me anything concrete. But he insinuated some stuff. I’m just curious what actually happened.”
“Maybe you’ll have to guess,” Raven said, knowing that she was starting to infuriate him.
Suddenly, Jake had pulled her close to his body, and she could feel his breath on her cheek. “I don’t play guessing games,” he said, his voice gravelly.
She arched her body into him, feeling her t-shirt ride up on her legs as she pressed against him and realized he was completely nude, not even wearing boxers. And he was hard as a rock. His cock slid against her upper thigh.
“You don’t have to play any games with me, Jake,” she whispered.
“I’m not so sure about that,” he said. “Because you won’t tell me what I want to know.”
“That was a long time ago—this is now,” she said.
“What’s his name, your ex?” he demanded.
“Caleb,” she said, starting to feel annoyed. “But I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Caleb,” Jake said, his tone dismissive. “Did you love him?”
“I thought I did.” She tried to pull free from Jake’s grasp but he wouldn’t let her.
“Do you still have feelings for that guy?” he said, becoming insistent.
She laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Don’t call me ridiculous, Raven,” he said, and she could hear from his voice that he was charged up.
“Are you jealous or something?” she laughed again.
And then he was using her wrist, twisting it until she turned away, and then he grabbed her other wrist and pushed her onto her stomach on the bed. He had her arms pinned to the mattress and he was straddling her legs.
Her t-shirt had pulled up to her hips, exposing her lower half completely.
Jake flattened his body down on top of her and his lips were against her ear. “I don’t like that guy, Caleb,” he said. “I don’t like that you were even in the same room as him tonight.”
“During the fight?” she said. “All he did was pull me away when I was trying to get involved.”
“How nice of him,” Jake said sarcastically. “He must have been really concerned about you, after his sidekick talked all that shit.”
“I don’t care about Caleb,” she said. “I don’t care about him at all.”
Jake let go of her wrists and sat up. And then he was grabbing her butt cheeks with both hands. “You won’t tell me what I want to know, Raven. You won’t fucking tell me what I want to hear.”
And then he spanked her ass.
The sound was loud, like a gunshot in the tiny room.
“Jake,” she whispered. “Someone’s going to hear.”
“I don’t care.” His breathing was heavy.
Slap.
Slap.
Slap.
He spanked her bare ass hard. She moaned, as the beautiful sexy pain made her shiver with the intensity of it. She grit her teeth.
“Jake,” she moaned.
“You shouldn’t keep things from me,” Jake said. Slap. His hand crashed into her bare buttock and then he held her ass, squeezing it tightly. “It makes me crazy.”
She couldn’t believe what he was able to do to her. “I don’t want to think about my past,” she moaned softly to him.
And then he was grabbing her hair with one hand as his other hand spanked her ass cheeks, and he pulled her hair. “Then let’s focus on you,” he said. “Let’s focus only…on…you.”
Her pussy was wet, soaking wet, as he pulled her hair and spanked her bare bottom.
Suddenly he pushed further up on her, and his cock was sliding up, almost touching her pussy. His stomach pressed against her lower back, and then he was lying flat against her, and his lips were on hers, greedy, his tongue entering her mouth.
His cock felt incredible, warm and hard, like a hot iron rod, and his hand slid beneath her hips, circling around until his fingers were gripping her bare pussy.
His chest was flat against her back, his tongue in her mouth, and his other hand was pulling her hair.
Jake began carefully finger fucking her pussy, working his two fingers inside, one rubbing her clit while the other dove deeper into her wet hole.
This was what she’d wanted, exactly what she wanted.
Jake was holding her tightly, wrapped around her like a blanket, his muscular strong body plastered to her, glued together so closely that it was like he’d become part of her.
He slid his cock ever closer to her wetness, and she could even feel the slickness of his excitement.
His tongue dove into her mouth, exploring her, tasting her, and she could taste him too. He was minty and fresh from brushing his teeth, but he was still completely him. She could taste Jake, the manliness of him, the strength of him.
She wanted to taste his cock, too. She wanted to taste every part of him, lick his entire body, taste the salt of his sweat.
Meanwhile, he fucked her pussy with his two fingers, and she tried not to make so much noise, but it was getting almost impossible.
He stopped kissing her long enough to whisper in her ear while he fucked her pussy with his fingers.
“You’re so goddamn tight,” he said. “And wet.”
“I want to come,” she told him.
“Not yet. Don’t you dare come yet.”
“Please,” she begged.
He pulled her hair until her head came off the bed and then he was sucking on her neck as his cock slid over her mound from behind. He stopped just before entering, though.
She would have let him do that. She would have let him do anything.
His hand massaged her pussy, now. He was rubbing her folds so fast, so fast, so fast, and she was churning, every nerve was ready to fire, and he pulled her hair.
Then his mouth was on hers again and his fingers went inside, three fingers this time, deep into her.
And she came, a gushing geyser, came hard, her body stiffening.
It was incredible. It was sweat and heat and perfection. It was release.
“Oh my God,” she gasped, when it was over.
“Turn onto your back,” he commanded.
She did as he told her, and then he slid between her legs, his cock stroking her bare pussy, but not entering.
“Inside me,” she gasped.
“No,” he told her. He grabbed her wrists again and pressed her hands flat to the bed.
Raven’s legs were spread wide and she opened herself as fully to him as she could.
She wanted him to plunge inside, but he stayed out, stroking his huge shaft along the folds of the outside of her.
She was wet, and her juices were still flowing.
He pushed his hard cock against her. “Damn you feel amazing,” he said, throwing his head back.
And then the top of his cock was starting to push her folds aside.
“Fuck me, Jake. Please. Please.”
But he didn’t go in. At the last possible second, he slid up and over her mound and then he was shooting his come all over her stomach. Some of it sprayed her breasts, hot and warm and dripping.
There was a lot of it.
She came again too, just from the excitement of it, of being so close, of feeling Jake Novak’s cock up against her, pushing over her slit.
Jake let out a shaky breath and rolled off of her, lying on his back.
The two of them la
y side by side, catching their breath.
“Do you think we were quiet enough?” he asked her.
“Not even close,” she whispered, and then they both started laughing.
“Yeah, I don’t think so either,” he agreed.
* * *
They slept naked together the rest of the night.
Raven had run to the bathroom and cleaned herself off, and then she’d come back to bed and Jake had been waiting for her, opening his arms and inviting her in.
He’d held her close all night, and despite being home, despite seeing that her father was ill, her brother sort of hated her, and the bullies had yet again lied about her and tried to ruin her life—despite all of that, she slept like a baby.
She was safe.
The next morning, she opened her eyes and found Jake staring at her.
“Hey,” she said, smiling, a little self-conscious.
“Hey,” he said. “I was watching you sleep. You’re beautiful, you know. Like, exquisitely beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she said, unable to believe he’d said it. Especially in the morning, when she so clearly did not look all that great.
“I used to wake up sometimes and look at Peyton, my fiancé,” he said thoughtfully. “And I never felt the way about her that I feel when I look at you.”
Raven was shocked to hear him say that, on so many levels. “You loved her, though.”
He was quiet for a long time. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “I thought I did at the time. But we were young, and things weren’t as great as they paint it in the media. Nothing’s the way the media tries to make it out to be, but then, I guess I don’t have to explain that to you anymore.”
Raven couldn’t comprehend what she was hearing right then. Jake had suddenly, out of the blue, just opened up to her about his life. And she didn’t know quite what to say.
“What happened?” she said. “I mean, what went wrong between you two? Did you argue?”
“Yeah, sometimes. But it went a lot deeper than that.” He didn’t say anything for so long that Raven thought he was done talking about it. But then, finally, he said, “Trust was broken.”
“Oh.” She wanted to ask who broke the trust, and how, but she sensed it was very delicate. He was staring at the ceiling and his body was rigid, like he’d been carved out of stone.
She reached out to touch his shoulder and he flinched as if she’d burned him, and then he was sitting up in bed. “I should get up,” he said, suddenly. And then, just like that, he was putting on his jeans and a shirt. “I’m going to go have some coffee. Sounds like your folks are already awake down there.”
“Are you all right?” she asked him, feeling unsure now about how he was acting.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, but didn’t look at her. And then he was leaving the room, closing the door as he went out.
Raven just sat there, not knowing what had happened. He’d never really mentioned his fiancé before. Why did he bring her up at this time?
Maybe because he’s falling in love with you and now he knows it.
Wishful thinking, as usual, Raven.
But nothing else could quite make sense of how emotional he’d become just then.
Raven got out of bed and put on her clothes too. She figured she might as well join him downstairs, she certainly wasn’t tired anymore. Not after that bombshell.
Trust was broken.
What did that even mean?
Just as she was about to leave the room, Raven had a thought and stopped before opening the door. Although Raven had heard about Peyton and how she’d passed away, Raven had never actually seen what Jake’s deceased fiancé looked like.
Now, after hearing him talk about her, Raven was suddenly curious.
She took her cell phone and went online and searched for images.
You’re seriously looking at images of his dead fiancé now? You’ve really lost the plot, Raven. Get a hold of yourself, girl.
But she couldn’t help it. She wanted to see what Peyton looked like, she wanted to get a sense of who this woman had been.
Does it matter? She’s gone and Jake says that he feels more for you than he did for her.
And then the images came up. At first, Raven thought she must have made a mistake, it couldn’t be. But then she found articles that talked about Jake and Peyton’s doomed relationship, and her picture was there in unmistakable color, and in some pictures Jake and Peyton were even together.
There could be no mistake, but there had to be a mistake. She refused to believe what she was seeing—it was just too disturbing to be true.
Raven stared at the dead woman’s pictures in total shock and mounting confusion and fear.
Peyton could have passed for Raven’s twin sister, that’s how much alike they were. Everything, from the hair color, to the shape of her body, even her smile.
Oh my God, Raven thought, as the pieces started to fall into place.
All the reasons why Jake had acted the way he’d acted, all the confusing things about his behavior were starting to make sense—and not in a good way, either.
Raven felt her legs almost buckle as she stared at the dead woman in the pictures on her phone.
Oh my God, I know why he chose me.
End Of Book Four
THE DEBT 5
Raven told herself to stop looking at the pictures on her cell phone, but she couldn’t resist.
There were pictures of a woman—a dead woman, to be precise—who looked almost exactly like Raven. The dark hair, the curves in just the same places and almost exact proportions, the eyes just the same.
If we’d gone out in public together, people would have said we were sisters.
Jake’s deceased fiancé, Peyton, was a dead ringer for Raven. And the knowledge of it was absolutely shaking Raven to her very foundations.
Out of all those beautiful models at the party that night, you kept wondering why he took an interest in you. And now you finally know why he chose you and not anybody else. It’s not because you’re so amazing, it’s not because he likes your personality or thinks you’re special. It’s only because you look almost exactly like her.
Raven put the phone away, closed her eyes, tried to breathe slowly and calm herself, but it wasn’t working, because this felt like the biggest betrayal of all.
She felt dizzy with fear, anxious, like the world had just tilted on its axis. This was the nightmare turn that she’d been dreading, the collapse of her little fairytale she’d created, where Jake Novak swept her off her feet and took her away from everything.
Now she was seeing clearly that Jake had picked her because of her striking resemblance to his fiancé, and then he’d proceeded to punish Raven in order to somehow get revenge on a dead woman.
He’d been angry with Peyton, so angry that even her death hadn’t healed the wounds.
Trust was broken.
It was a gruesome and thoroughly defeating revelation.
As Raven prepared to go downstairs, her thoughts were still racing, but one thing was clear.
I’m going to confront him. I want answers. I want him to explain, to tell me the truth about all of it.
Tears of frustration and disappointment were close to the surface now. She opened the door and slowly began to walk to the end of the hallway and down the stairs, to what felt like a date with the electric chair.
Everything was a lie.
It flashed before her eyes, like a film played in reverse. All the times Jake had told her he couldn’t be her boyfriend, couldn’t give her more than what he was giving.
And what had he given Raven? Nothing but a few random encounters where he took out his anger on a woman that no longer existed, pretending that Raven was her so that he could more fully live out his fantasy.
Well Jake Novak wasn’t the only one who could get angry. Her anger was building now, like a slow, simmering fire that was growing exponentially as she tread down each step.
Raven
could hear Jake talking with her mother and father downstairs. Even Danny piped in.
Ironically, they all sounded like they were enjoying one another’s company. Just a few minutes ago, such a scene would’ve given Raven infinite happiness. Hearing Jake crack some joke and then listening to her brother Danny laugh in response—that was a minor miracle.
Raven hated the fact that hearing Jake and her family spending time together gave her no pleasure. For Jake, this was just another group of strangers to win over, like he’d done so many times in his life.
Well, charming people is what he does best, she thought. But then her mind made a correction.
No, using people is what he does best.
She’d been used by Jake Novak. Completely and utterly played, and looking back now, it was almost ridiculous how she’d been so blind to his manipulations.
Finally, Raven entered the kitchen, and Jake was crossing the room with his mug of coffee. He glanced over at her and smiled, seeming not to notice that anything was wrong. “Hey,” he said. “You having coffee?”
She shook her head no, unable to speak.
“I’ll make pour you a cup,” he said.
“I’m fine.” That was a lie.
He looked at her curiously.
“Jake!” her father called from the living room where he was sitting on the couch with the remote in hand. “They’re talking about you on TV.”
“Oh, great,” Jake sighed.
“I’m sure Jake doesn’t want to watch those silly stories about him,” Raven’s mother said from her place near the oven, where she was readying eggs and bacon for the pan.
Jake shrugged. “I’m used to it,” he replied, walking into the living room. “Let’s see what new crap they’re shoveling today.”
Danny was sitting at the table reading the paper. He glanced up at Raven and suddenly his brow creased. “Hey, are you okay?”
She looked at him and then looked away. “Yeah. Just tired, I guess.”
From the television in the living room, she could hear pieces of the story. “Jake Novak has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately,” a female reporter’s voice was saying, “but for the first time in a long time, the news isn’t about him, but a mysterious female companion that he’s been romantically linked to in the last week.”