by Hannah Ford
But she could feel him, feel what he was doing to her, and she wanted more.
He sucked her nipples, switching from one breast to the other, his hands encircling them, rubbing, massaging, and then squeezing. His fingers toyed with her nipples.
And then he was reaching down, pulling her bikini bottom off with one quick flick of his wrist. She was completely naked now, here on this beach, the waves crashing, the darkness complete, the night wrapping them like a blanket.
Jake wasn’t speaking, but she could feel him, almost as if he was talking to her through ESP. And what he was whispering was love, over and over again.
His mouth was on hers again, hot and greedy, his tongue thrusting, just as his cock pressed into her slit, pushing through, opening her up all at once.
She moaned, moaned louder, not knowing or caring how loud she was, because the ocean was much louder.
Jake began fucking her, his hips crashing into her hips, as his hands pushed her hands up and to each side, pressing her arms into the sand as he made her wet.
“Make me come, Jake,” she moaned.
He sped up, and his hips were wilder, his cock so wet from her juices, so slick, and soon her legs were wide open and she was bucking her hips in a ferocious orgasm.
He came along with her, and then he lay atop her body, breathing into her mouth, whispering “I love you,” in her ear, just like she’d known he would say.
* * *
That night, Jake held her close, his body melding into hers so tightly that she could feel his heartbeat mixing together with her heartbeat in the stillness.
Faintly, she could also still hear the waves washing on shore at the beach.
Raven drifted in and out of sleep, so peaceful that she forced herself to stay awake and savor it as long as possible.
I never want this to end.
His arms were so strong, not just because they were muscular, but because Jake was strong inside as well.
He loved her completely and she finally was able to accept it.
She eventually drifted to sleep and didn’t wake up again until the next morning. Jake woke up first, getting out of bed, humming to himself. Raven watched him as he grabbed his clothes and headed into the bathroom.
She smiled, thinking about how much his attitude had changed since he’d gotten back in the studio.
This is where he should be, she thought. This is what he needs to do.
Raven got up soon after, and then they had a breakfast of coffee, bacon and eggs—that Jake made efficiently and quickly—eating fast, because Rory and Phil were due any minute.
It was during breakfast that Raven saw the story about her and Jake on her cell phone while she was browsing the web.
“Fuck,” she said, knowing she shouldn’t have been googling her own name. She’d done it out of habit, and then she turned up something awful.
Jake looked up from his plate of eggs. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his brow creasing.
Raven shook her head in disbelief. “Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse.”
Her eyes read the headline over and over again.
JAKE’S GIRL A REGULAR ‘YOKO ONO,’ CLAIMS PRODUCER
But the headline didn’t just call her Yoko Ono, the notorious wife of John Lennon who many blamed for breaking up The Beatles at the height of their fame.
The article was actually a series of quotes from Hec, the producer that they’d kicked out of the studio. Apparently, he hadn’t wasted any time in slamming them to the press.
Raven handed her phone to Jake. “I’m just warning you,” she said. “It’s bad.”
Jake took the phone and his eyes narrowed as he saw the headline. “Babe, I’m so sorry,” he told her.
“It’s not just taking shots at me,” she told him. “Keep going.”
He grimaced as he read further. “Raven has Jake under her spell,” Jake read aloud. “She’s got the poor guy convinced that he’s the next Ed Sheeran, when in reality his new songs are more like something out of The Wiggles. Only, like, if the Wiggles sucked.”
Raven put a hand up to her forehead. “This is not good. And it’s been picked up by all the major media outlets, people are passing it around. It’s basically gone viral already.”
Jake was still focused on her phone. He continued reading the article aloud, quoting Hec’s comments. “Novak’s clearly having a nervous breakdown,” Jake said, smiling bitterly. He took a breath and kept going. “Jake had a good thing going, but now he’s fired all the people who got him to where he is, and he’s just listening to this chick who has him wrapped around her little finger. Mark my words, Jake Novak will never have another hit song for the rest of his life.” Jake stopped reading, put the phone down and slid it across the table to Raven.
She sighed. “Do you think he’s right?” she asked.
Jake sat back. “Do I think he’s right? Are you serious?”
“Well, you did fire everyone and now it’s just us. I don’t know anything about music or the industry—“
“Raven, don’t let his poison get into your head,” Jake told her.
“I know, it’s just hard,” she said, playing with her cell phone.
“Screw that guy,” Jake said.
“Totally,” she agreed, but inside she wasn’t so sure. Hec was a big producer, he’d worked with plenty of talented people and had tremendous success. Who was she to think that she knew better than him?
Seconds later, the doorbell rang and Jake threw his napkin on his plate and stood up. “That’s the boys,” he told her. “Time to make music.”
* * *
At the end of the day, Rory did a rough mix of the songs they’d recorded thus far. The four of them sat in the control room and listened as the music poured out of the speakers.
Everyone was quiet, listening to what had been accomplished, and Raven wasn’t sure what everyone thought of the end result.
She only knew what she was feeling as she sat on the couch and heard Jake singing and playing from his heart, from his very soul.
The final song that Rory played for them was a soft ballad Jake had written called Too Far From Home. It was haunting, melodic, and Jake’s voice was so pained and yet beautiful and pure, that she was having trouble keeping her emotions bottled up.
She fought hard to keep the shaking tears inside, to pretend to be simply listening objectively.
And then, the strangest thing happened.
She glanced over at Phil, the keyboardist, normally so happy and mellow—almost to the point of absurdity—and he was staring straight ahead, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Raven couldn’t believe her own eyes. Phil was crying because of the beauty of Jake’s song.
Then she looked at Rory, and even though he was focused on the mixing board, slightly adjusting levels, she saw his hands tremble and then his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed back his own emotion.
Finally, the song ended on a haunting last note from Jake’s voice, sang to perfection, exquisite in its sadness.
The room fell silent.
“Holy shit,” Phil said, wiping his hand down the front of his face. “Holy motherfucking shit.” He leaned forward and stroked his chin. “That’s the best work I’ve ever been part of,” he whispered.
Raven looked to Jake, who smiled tentatively. “It’s not too shabby,” Jake said, his voice betraying cautious optimism.
Rory looked at him. “Not too shabby? Are you crazy?” He sat back. “What we just did these last couple of days is going to go down in music history.”
Raven breathed a sigh of relief, happy that she now had confirmation of her own feelings about what she’d just heard. “I think it’s amazing, especially Too Far From Home,” she said. “I’m so proud to have been involved. Even just to listen to it.”
“So what now?” Rory asked. “I mean, I can do a final mix. You’ve got six songs here—not quite an album, but a pretty damn good start on one.”
Jake folde
d his arms. “I don’t know what I want to do next. I need to take some time and think about it.”
“Well, if you ever want to work with me again, I’d be here—I’d come wherever you wanted, whenever. Making music with someone that’s got your kind of talent is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Rory said.
Phil nodded. “Most definitely. I’ve been doing this for twenty years and never had a session like that, man.”
They all stood up, including Raven, and exchanged hugs and congratulations, and then Phil and Rory left.
When they were gone, Jake turned to Raven. “It was nice,” he said softly.
“Are you kidding? That was incredible,” she said, still high from everything that had happened, and the realization of just how good Jake’s new songs were.
Jake looked at her, his expression devoid of emotion. “You don’t understand,” he said. “It might have been fun, and those songs might be good—“
“They’re better than good,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jake told her.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, my career in music is over, Raven. I’m a laughingstock. I’m being sued by my label and I’m basically radioactive as far as the other major record companies are concerned. No one’s ever going to work with me. No one.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. “Why did we even bother making the demo if you knew it wasn’t going to go anywhere?”
“Because,” he said, “I needed to express that stuff. I had it inside of me, and I knew you were right when you said I had to get off my ass and do the work. But it’s over now.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it, realizing that Jake knew the reality of his situation better than she did.
“I love you,” was all she could say.
“I love you too,” he told her, and then he walked away, and she let him go be by himself, understanding that there was nothing she could do to help make it better.
* * *
They’d been apart for a few hours.
Jake had gone for a long walk on the beach by himself, and Raven had stayed back at the house, playing video recordings of pieces of the recording session that she’d made on her phone while they were working.
There were a bunch of clips, and they were all amazing, in her opinion.
But as she played one of the last videos, she realized that she’d actually captured the full video recording of Too Far From Home, Jake’s ballad.
Surprisingly, the video and audio quality were actually quite decent, considering she’d made it on her phone and hadn’t been trying to do a particularly good job. She’d simply wanted to capture memories so that she could refer back to it in the future.
Only now, a new thought occurred to her.
It was a dangerous idea, and one that she knew Jake wouldn’t approve of.
Raven replayed the video of Jake on his guitar, plaintively singing his ballad, and she continuously was amazed—blown away—by the power of it, the simple haunting beauty of the performance.
Jake was still away on his walk, and Raven knew that she was going to do this next step, and that he might be very angry with her for it.
But if I ask him, he’ll say no. And I need to do this because it’s the right move, the only chance we have to turn things around.
Before she could talk herself out of it, Raven uploaded the video to YouTube. She then got on her email and forwarded the video to all of the major bloggers and social media personalities that she’d become aware of since starting to spend time with Jake.
As she sent the very last email out, Jake came back into the house.
He looked at her. “What’s up?” he asked, almost suspiciously.
She put the phone away, as if it was going to start talking on its own and telling him what she’d done. “Nothing,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Just relaxing.”
“You have a weird look on your face,” Jake said, walking to the refrigerator and taking out a small bottle of fruit juice, opening it and taking a swig.
“I’m probably just tired,” Raven said, her voice quivering, as the enormity of what she’d just done hit her full force.
If this backfired, it might end their relationship.
Oh God, Raven. What is wrong with you?
Jake continued drinking his juice, sighing contentedly and wiping his chin with the back of his hand when he was done. “I’m wiped out myself,” he told her. “I just feel exhausted, but in a good way. Like I can finally close that chapter of my life and move on.”
She nodded, not responding out of fear she might give something away. If he truly wanted to just move on from being a musician, she’d certainly put an end to that when she’d uploaded his new song to YouTube.
Whether everyone loved it or hated it, he was going to have his new song heard by millions of people.
It began dawning on her that what she’d done just might be unforgiveable. She’d put out his music, his most personal song, without so much as asking him. Just minutes ago it had seemed like such a good idea, a way to renew his career without going through the traditional channels.
But now she saw her impulsive meddling for what it early was. It was a betrayal.
Jake was walking toward her, smiling. “You’re amazing,” he said, his eyes so bright and happy and joyful that she didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth.
I’m not amazing, she thought. And soon, you’re going to hate me for what I’ve done.
End Of Book Seven
THE DEBT 8
“Did you hear me?” Jake Novak asked, as he stood in front of Raven, his eyes shining with warmth. “I said you’re amazing, Raven.”
She couldn’t breathe—she could hardly stand to meet his loving gaze.
This was everything she’d ever wanted. This moment, and Jake Novak telling her he thought she was amazing, looking at her with adoration, having proven himself to be the trustworthy, incredible man that she’d hoped he might be.
And yet she’d just betrayed him. She’d uploaded a video of him playing his most confessional, personal song, to YouTube, where millions upon millions of people would have access to it. She’d done that without asking Jake, because she knew he would’ve told her no.
And now it was hitting her just how badly she’d messed up.
“I—I need to fix something,” she told him, getting on her cell phone and pulling up her YouTube account. She’d only just put the video up, so if she could pull it down now, almost nobody would have a chance to even watch it.
Of course, she’d also emailed it to those bloggers…
Jake was watching her closely. “What do you need to fix?”
She put her hands up to her forehead and closed her eyes. “I did something stupid. I did something really, really bad.”
“Okay. Calm down,” Jake said, lowering his voice. “I’m sure whatever it is can’t be that bad.”
“No, you’re going to be really mad at me, Jake.”
“Raven, you need to stop and take a breath.”
She stopped and looked up at him, her heart pounding fiercely in her chest. “I’m scared.” Her eyes were already filling with tears, as she imagined the anger Jake would unleash on her in a moment, when she told him the truth.
Why had she been so impulsive, so thoughtless? Did she feel the need to sabotage everything good that happened to her?
“Just tell me what’s going on,” Jake said. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s up.”
Raven took a deep breath and let it out, and the air whistled past her constricted throat. “I did something really, really stupid. I made a big mistake.”
“Okay, I hear you loud and clear, baby. Now just tell me already what you did.”
She looked up at him again. “I posted a video of you playing Too Far From Home on YouTube.”
Jake blinked. “What video?”
“I took video of you playing during your recording sessions,” she said, going
to the camera application on her phone and showing Jake the various clips. “I wanted to have memories of it, just little video clips to look back on.”
Jake’s eyes scanned what she was showing him. “And you uploaded one of those clips to YouTube?”
She nodded. “I knew you wouldn’t want me to, but I just thought it was wrong to not even give your beautiful songs a chance.”
Jake folded his arms and sighed. “Take it down. Now.”
“Well, I was just about to—“
“Do it, Raven,” he growled. “It can’t have been up long. If you pull the video now, only a handful of people will have even seen it. You obviously didn’t use my account, so how many people even know the thing exists?”
“I didn’t just upload it to YouTube. I also sent the video to a bunch of bloggers and media personalities,” she admitted. “I knew it wouldn’t get noticed for a long time otherwise.”
Jake stared at her blankly. “You sent that video out wide? Without even mentioning it to me?”
She started to cry then, her shoulders shaking, her eyes welling up. The look of total hatred on his face was tearing her apart inside. “I’m…I’m so…I don’t know why I did it. I wanted to help. I think your song’s beautiful and I wanted people to see you play it.” Most of her words were unintelligible through her tears and sobs.
But then, shockingly, Jake’s arms were around her and he was kissing her cheek. “Hey, hey, hey,” he whispered into her ear. “Don’t cry, babe.”
“You hate me,” she wailed.
“I do not hate you,” he laughed. “I might need to revoke your phone privileges, though.”
Raven couldn’t laugh with him. “Here.” She tried to give him her cell. “Take it, Jake. I’m serious—I can’t be trusted.”
Jake held up his hands. “I’m not taking your phone, Raven.”
“But you just said—“
“I was making a joke,” he told her softly. “I don’t really plan on taking your phone away from you or micromanaging everything you do.”