Exposed: An Anthology

by Brooke Cumberland

  “I can really get use to waking up next to you every morning,” he says in a sleepy voice.

  “Good morning to you too baby,” I say as I turn on my side towards him propping myself up on my elbow. “Well, I think it’s still morning.” Remembering snippets of my call with Holden last night I sit up to search for my phone.

  “I have to find my phone. I need to make sure Holden isn’t going to be showing up here any minute.” Grabbing what looks like Derek’s shirt off of the floor, I slip it on and get up to look for my purse.

  “So, do I need to go before he shows up?” he asks.

  “What? Why would you need to leave?” I watch him as he sits up.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know who he is because you had never talked about him. Just making sure you don’t need any privacy I guess.”

  Finding my phone and seeing I have ten missed calls I make my way back to Derek. “I want you to stay here with me forever and never leave. Besides Jaxon, you are my life. I have nothing to hide from you.” That admission seems to satisfy the moment of jealousy he had.

  “Shit, Mallory has called me seven freaking times this morning and Seth three times. Has he called your phone?” I ask.

  “Who knows…I broke my phone a few weeks ago and haven’t gotten a new one yet.” He answers while shrugging his shoulders. I know I’m giving him a weird look because he takes it upon himself to elaborate. “Well, I was going to call you one night. Had the phone in my hand, your number on the screen and my finger right above the call button. Then fucking Victoria showed up. We got into it, and I ended up throwing my phone before it was all said and done.” Sounds legit.

  “Hmm, well knowing your brother and Mal, I’m really surprised that they haven’t beaten my door down yet.”

  “I am too. If they did drive by, I’m sure seeing my truck here was a good sign and they just kept going.”

  Bending down to kiss him I say, “I bet you’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right,” he says while slapping my ass as I head for the kitchen.

  “Hey baby! Are you hungry?” I ask as I look in the cabinet for something to make.

  “Not for food,” he says as he presses himself against me, showing me what he’s hungry for. This man isn’t hungry; he’s starving and I’m going to feed him. I eagerly lean over the counter and spread my legs giving him enough room to enter me from behind.

  As he fills me up, he searches my body with his hands and finally takes hold of my breasts. He pulls us away from the counter so that I have just enough space to place my hands against the edge for support. I feel my climax building and it’s not going to take much more to send me over. I’m never going to get tired of the way this man makes me feel. You would think that after all the sex we had just engaged ourselves in last night that he’d go the distance this morning, but instead he was just like me and all it took for him was a quick sprint to find what he was searching for. The light, subtle noises he makes as his body pulsates into mine is what I can imagine to be the highest of highs. Now that I’ve had a taste of Derek, I’m addicted. I’m addicted to everything about him, but mainly the way he makes me feel again. I feel life and love. Those are feelings I never thought I’d experience again and I will always be grateful to him for showing me that I’m still fully capable…capable of feeling.

  ********************

  Knowing that Holden is going to show up soon, I reheat us some left over pizza for lunch. I tell him I need to take a shower and he asks if he can join me. Of course, I tell him he can. So, I grab some clean towels and we make our way to the bathroom in my room. The doorbell rings as we make it to my doorway.

  “Shit. I bet that’s Holden.” Handing him the towels, I give him a quick kiss before turning towards the door. “Will you go ahead and get it ready for us? This won’t take long.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you.” Then he turns to go get the shower ready.

  Holden is holding a box that’s the size of those shoe boxes that men’s heavy duty boots come in. Doesn’t look like it could really hold much of importance, but I know Holden wouldn’t make sure to hand deliver it if it was just full of crap.

  “Hey Holden,” I say as I push open the screen door and make my way outside.

  Giving me a faint smile, he says, “I see you have company,” nodding his head towards Derek’s truck. “So, I won’t keep you long.”

  I grab the box he is handing me. “It was really good seeing you again Holden. I really have missed you and I hope we can keep in touch.”

  He gives me a quick hug and then takes a step back. “You have my number now Jes, feel free to get a hold of me whenever you want.”

  I nod okay and tell him bye before heading back in my house. This box is relatively light making me even more curious as to what contents it holds. Holden had told me it has been stuff that his mom has held onto over the years and she felt that I was ready for it now. Not sure what the hell that even means.

  Walking in my room I hear the shower going, and Derek singing. He has a really sexy voice. I always wondered why he chose the drums over singing. I sit the box on the bed and trace the brand name Wolverine that’s printed in big yellow letters on the top. You have Derek now Jesika. You can handle anything you find in this box…anything. I stand up and pace in front of my bed a few times before swinging the top of the box off.

  Just by glancing at the contents without touching anything, it seems perfectly harmless. Looks like pictures of when Jake and Holden were kids. Pictures of what I assume were famous MMA fighters. Seeing that the boxes contents seemed to be mainly pictures I grabbed the notebook size photo album lying on the very bottom. It starts out with Jake’s baby pictures and working their way up in age with each page I turn.

  As soon as I see the first picture of me and him I slam the photo album shut. I’m not ready, nor do I want to go down that road. Ever. As I go to shove it back to the bottom of the box I notice what looks to be a newspaper clipping fall from the back of it. I place the lid back on top of the box before bending over to pick it off the ground.

  The picture that is staring back at me as I unfold it doesn’t make sense to me, until I look up at the corner and notice the date. That date being a year and a half ago. That date being the day I lost Jake in a car accident and I was lucky to have survived. The picture is filled with what looks to be chaos, which I’m sure that night was. I try really hard to scan over each image hoping maybe it will spark a memory from that night. Staring at the crushed cars does nothing though.

  I’m starting to get frustrated that I can’t remember shit until I notice a really familiar pair of blue eyes, the same pair that belong to the gorgeous man waiting for me in my shower. He’s carrying something, but with the aged creases it’s really hard to make it out.

  Suddenly a mini flashback to that night hits me. I know I was in and out of consciousness. When I was in the hospital recovering, I had actually thought that I had dreamt him up.

  I thought I had fantasized about the man who pulled me from our tangled car before it could explode. Looking back down at the picture, I now know what he’s carrying…ME.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Derek

  Wondering what the hell is taking Jes so long, I reach to turn off the shower until I hear the bathroom door close. She doesn’t say a word and within seconds she is naked and standing behind me in the shower. I hear the lid of the body wash click open. Her and I both know that I’ve been in here long enough that I’ve already washed myself but I don’t dare stop her as her soapy hands make their way to my body. I’ve never had a woman wash me off. It feels fucking amazing. Enjoying the extra scrubbing my body is receiving she breaks the silence.

  “You know, most people don’t know the real reason why I never talk about the night Jake died,” she says while stopping to get more soap.

  “Jesika, when I said we had a lot to talk about today, I was meaning I had a lot to talk about and you had a lot you needed to know. I don’t need
for you to tell me the details of that night.”

  Her hands are still on my arms as she replies, “I know that. You already know all the details.”

  She doesn’t wait for me to respond before she continues on washing and talking. “I don’t ever talk about that night with people because I can’t remember anything. It’s so damn frustrating not knowing what happened the night my husband died.” She’s tracing the tattoo I have on my back with her fingers. Breaking her contact I turn around to face her.

  “The only thing I’ve ever been able to remember from that night was that I had fallen asleep on our way home from the game and woke up in the hospital.”

  She looks away from me shaking her head, almost as if she makes out a new memory from that night. I mean, why else would she even bring up that night if we‘ve never talked about it before?

  “Did you remember something, Jes?” I ask while silently searching her face for answers. She turns her head towards me and holds my stare. My hands are on her arms attempting to rub away the goose bumps.

  “You…I remember you,” she says.

  Panic begins to sit in. Praying this isn’t the final straw, that this isn’t what comes between us. That nothing I have to tell her today is able to come between us. Running my hand through my wet hair I search for the words to right this situation. The fact that once again, I kept something from her that she deserved to know.

  “Jesika…I…” Shaking my head, I’m not able to form a single thought as she places her finger against my mouth.

  “Shhh.” Taking that same finger she guides my chin so we are making eye contact again. I want to look anywhere but her eyes. Right now I’m so fucking scared that I might have screwed this up. Saving her that night changed something in me.

  The feelings that I couldn’t control drew me to her that night. And just in time. Pulling up to that wreck I instantly recognized her car from seeing her at the school. Without a second thought I ran to it. I barely got us out of harm’s way before the car exploded. I even tried consoling her as she screamed out her dead husband’s name. That was before she lost consciousness.

  “Derek,” she says drawing my mind back to her. “Kiss me.”

  Not sure I heard her right she repeats herself. “Kiss me, Derek,” she pleads at me. I grasp her face in my hands as she wraps her hands around my back. I swipe the tears away that are trailing down her cheeks with my thumbs.

  “Jesika, I love you. So fucking bad.” She tells me how much she loves me as I press my lips to hers pulling her back under the flowing water. The way she is kissing me is like she is personally thanking my soul for saving her and not just that night.

  Pulling away from me just far enough that we can make eye contact she says, “Everything makes sense now.”

  I’m slightly confused. “What do you mean, Jes?”

  She grabs my hands and brings them up between us holding them together. “From the moment you sat next to me on those steps, I had this instant connection with you. Felt like I was drawn to you. You knew what had upset me that day and you had to make sure I was okay. Everything I was feeling before you sat down disappeared once you spoke. I didn’t get it…but I had to know why you seemed to care about me without even knowing me. I couldn’t control that everything inside me was pulling me to you. I’ve never felt this drawn to someone before. It was intense.” She says with a shy smile peeking out.

  She places my hands on her shoulders as she starts rubbing my chest. “You saved my life Derek. God, you saved me. I thought…I thought I dreamt of you. I thought I was crazy, but I didn’t, you were there, talking to me, comforting me.” I sweep more tears away from her face as she continues, “You were saving me. That’s not the only time you’ve saved me. You saved me from myself that day you sat down beside me. I will never be able to thank you enough for what you’ve done for me Derek. You are my hero.”

  I can’t hold myself back any longer, my lips crash against hers and she’s kissing me back with just as much intensity.

  Breaking away from her sweet, hungry lips I grab her face in my hands. “Marry me Jesika. I can’t live my life without you…and I don’t want to fucking have to try either. I want you to be mine. Always. Forever. The first time I ever saw you, I knew you were the one. Now that I finally have you, I can’t risk losing you. Marry me?”

  She searches my face. “Derek, are you sure this is what you want?”

  “Do you have any clue what you do to me woman? The lengths I would go to make you the happiest woman alive because you just being you makes me the luckiest damn man alive. You, you Jesika are my life and I want start living our lives together. We both saved each other Jesika. My soul was just as lost as yours.”

  With that being said, she starts nodding her head. “Yes Derek! Yes, I will marry you!”

  I wrap her in my arms and don’t want to let go. I can’t believe this woman is finally mine. I can’t believe that after all the fucking bull shit Victoria has dragged me through and the shit Jake had done to Jesika while they were married, that we are finally getting our chance; our chance at our own happy ending. I turn around and turn the now cold water off. I wrap Jes up in my arms and carry her to bed where I plan on breaking out my multi-tasting skills all over her body.

  I slowly lay her sexy naked body in the middle of her bed. She’s staring at me with such adoration in her eyes as I mentally take snapshots of her body. “You are so damn sexy baby.” I can feel my need for her rising to attention.

  “Show me how sexy you think I am Derek.” She licks her lips. “Because seeing your want for me grow before my very eyes is making me so wet for you.”

  I can’t control the growl that escapes my mouth as I make my way to lie down beside her. I’m going to take my time with her this time. No matter how bad she wants me. Or how fucking bad I want her.

  I lay on my side propped up on my elbow and facing her while she’s on her back. I let my free hand dance up and down her body lightly tracing its way from her neck, around and under the swell of her breasts, side to side across her stomach and finally making my way further down.

  Once I reach the spot that makes her suck in a breath of anticipation, I slowly follow my invisible maze back up to where I started. Each time I repeat this, I make sure to show her breasts a little more attention. I trace around her nipples that are now fully erect, just like my dick, and begging for my mouth to take them captive. Every time my hand makes its way down to her waist, it dips a little further down. Knowing I’ve done enough teasing and the fact that I cannot keep my hands and mouth off her body for one more damn second, I bend down and claim her sweet mouth with mine. She moans as my hand furthers its decent down to her warm and very wet spot between her legs. She is so wound up that I’ll have her coming for me instantly. It’s fine by me because I plan on making her climax continuously.

  As I suspected it took me no time to get her off. I remove my fingers from her as the last ripple leaves her body. Her eyes have reopened and are focused on mine. She’s so fucking sexy. Especially now with that very pleased look she has plastered on her face. I place my still wet fingers in my mouth showing her how badly I want to taste her, causing her to moan. “Baby you taste so fucking good. I have to taste more.” I slowly start kissing my way down her body; licking between kisses. Her whole damn body tastes so good. My multi-tasting skills are on high alert with her.

  I feel like I’m playing a game of hot and cold with her body and right now every inch is screaming warmer as I make my way down. I’m now positioned between her legs. Face to pussy. I restrain myself from just going at it to look up at her one last time. She’s propped up on her elbows watching me.

  Her eyes are shouting, HOT HOT HOT.

  “You’re so fucking gorgeous, Jes. I’m going to make you come again, okay baby? I want to taste you…I’ve been dying to taste you.” She can’t hide that anticipation that’s all over her face. She wants it just as bad as I do.

  “But I want to touch you, Derek,” she
squeaks out.

  “Nope, right now this is all about you and how bad I want to please you, and as soon as I get you off I’m burying myself in you. You can touch me all you want then because I’m pretty sure I plan on staying inside you the rest of the day.” She nods in confirmation. I slowly start letting my tongue slide back and forth between her clit and where my dick is aching to be. I push my arms underneath her legs placing them on my shoulders so I can tend to every single sweet spot. The light noises she’s making and the way her hips keep arching, is almost too much. As much as I want to prolong this and savor every bit of her, I have to be in her; but I crave getting her off this way first.

  As a drummer, I can’t help but let my tongue dance around her bundle of nerves as it plays to its own imaginary beat. I guess strumming a guitar would be more logical, but either way my tongue is moving to its own tempo and it’s heading for an encore performance. As soon as I slide my two fingers into her, increasing the melody that’s playing in my head, that part of the show is over as she tightens around them. I slowly kiss my way up her trembling body, stopping once I reach her breast. I show them extra attention as I suck each nipple and lightly bite them causing Jesika to gasp as she rocks herself into me. My dick is literally twitching to get inside of her. I continue my kissing journey. Wrapping her legs around me, she lifts herself just right that the head of my dick is right inside her. She feels so fucking good and I can’t help but to slowly ease my way in. The way she feels is indescribable and I will never be able to get enough. “You feel so good baby,” I whisper in her ear while lightly kissing her neck as I slowly work my way in and out of her.

  “Derek, don’t get me wrong, I love feeling you in me when you go nice and slow, but right now I want all of you baby. Don’t hold back.” She pulls me in tighter claiming my mouth and showing me with her tongue how much she wants me. I pull up off of her sitting between her legs on my knees. I can’t help but take in her body for a brief minute. I still can’t believe this woman who is staring back at me with such love and desire in her eyes is mine. As if she’s reading my mind, she pulls her legs up so they’re bent at the knees instead of lying flat. I hook my hands under each knee pulling her towards me. She’s positioned perfectly against me. Just one thrust, and I’m in. “I love you Jesika. I hope you like it hard.” I don’t give her a chance to reply before pushing into her as quickly as I can. Holy fuck does she feel good. I pull her by her legs into me as I push into her intensifying the sensation. That damn music is back to playing in my head again, and I can’t help but speed this damn grand finale up. The way she plays with her tits is so fucking hot. She lets her left hand slide down her body until it reaches its destination; which is my dick. She uses her hand to slide up and down me as it’s going in and out of her. Talk about double the pleasure; this shit feels incredible. I let my head fall back as I fully take in the sensation. There’s no more controlling it, I’m about to come. I let go of her legs and lay back over her. I want to be flush with her body when I let go in her. It’s not that I needed permission, but the extra little encouragement from her telling me to come, was all it took for me to find my release.