Cosmic Trifecta

by Anna Lewis

  “Well, around the twelfth. I came on the fourteenth. Today is the twenty-first.”

  “You’ve been here all week?” Jack was incredulous. “Why?” The words left his mouth before he could take them back. It sounded rude, but he hadn’t intended for them to be that way.

  He saw her open her mouth to speak but she closed it again. “I...I had to be by your side,” she said finally.

  She looked vulnerable standing there. He reached out his hand to her and she came quickly to hold it. “I’m glad you came,” he whispered.

  Sam smiled, relief on her face.

  “What happened with the court case,” he asked suddenly. Fear gripped him when it dawned on him how he’d come to be in his current state. He recalled shifting and the few witnesses on the field. It was all coming back to him now. By now, news must have gotten into the public sphere. He was screwed even if the court ruled in his favor.

  “It was dismissed,” she said smugly. “It never went to court.”

  “What? How did that happen?” he asked, perplexed.

  “Let’s just say we dug into the reason the files weren’t all being released to us and found out that the officer in charge was the one releasing them, deliberately to taunt us. But also, he had a file or two of his own that he wasn’t going to name. He’s going through his own trial now. One of Papa’s friends has taken over his position. He should have been promoted in the first place, if you ask me.” Sam said smoothly.

  “I’m impressed,” he said. “But I knew I was in good hands. You remind me of your dad in that regard.”

  Sam’s eyes misted at his words and she gave him a watery smile. “Thank you. You remind me of him too,” she said with a short laugh.

  “Must be why he said we belong together,” Jack speculated. “We remind him of himself. The ego that guy had,” he joked.

  Sam looked at him and they both began laughing.

  ***

  As soon as Sam and Jack reached the house, they realized neither of them was in a position to carry the luggage up the stairs. Jack asked the driver to do so and Sam reached into her wallet to tip him extra for the trouble. They settled inside, each trying to take care of the other.

  “I’m fine,” Sam insisted. “I’ve been doing this myself since before you came. I’m just bulky right now. You need to be cautious.”

  Jack frowned. “If you had told me, I wouldn’t have left at all.”

  Sam frowned back at him. “I didn’t know that, and besides, you seemed eager to leave. Even left after we slept together. You never even called or bothered to talk to me that day. What was I supposed to think?”

  Jack sat up straighter and then winced, returning to his hunched position. “I left you a note!”

  “Where?” Sam demanded. She wanted to clear the air, and part of her was delighting in their first real fight.

  “On your nightstand,” Jack insisted. “I left it there because I saw that you were sleeping. I remember I came home late that night and from then we were back to not talking. You just didn’t want anything to do with me.”

  “Wait just a second,” Sam huffed. “We slept together? What do you mean I didn’t want anything to do with you? What do you think that means, anyway?”

  Jack scowled at her. “I’m telling you, I left you a note. And was I imagining things when you ran away from me and locked the door?”

  Sam didn’t say anything. He had a point there. She did run. “That was really just the first time. You scared me,” she said, crossing her arms. When she did, he belly jutted out further, and Jack’s eyes focused in on it.

  He rubbed it gently with both hands. They stared at her stomach as the baby woke from her slumber before beginning another round of kicks and turns. Their eyes met and they smiled at each other. Sam felt so full now and she hoped the feeling would last.

  “Wait,” Sam said interrupting their moment. “We need to finish this fight.”

  “Is that what this is?” Jack’s hand stilled, looking at her seriously.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Owww,” he said immediately.

  “You can’t do that!” Sam exclaimed. She checked the wound around his ribs first and then the one by his shoulder.

  “I’m healing fine,” Jack insisted. “It’s just painful still.”

  “You show me where the note was,” Sam said tugging him to the bedroom.

  They got to the bedroom, and Sam noticed Jack was walking slowly. “Are you okay?”

  “Just need to lie down soon,” he said. His voice was strained. “I’m not in that much pain anymore, but I do feel drained.” Still, he looked around the table, and behind the table. “If you didn’t see it, it must still be here somewhere.” After a minute, he came up triumphant. “Here!”

  Sam was surprised. “I can’t believe it.” She scanned the small note and she felt her eyes grow wet. “I was just so used to assuming the worst. I thought you were like Papa back in the day. He loved me, but I always felt like he prioritized everything with the SEALs more than he did me.”

  “It wasn’t because he didn’t love you. It was because he loved you that he tried to give you the best, that he didn’t think he could give you. Your mom left because she had her own issues, and he didn’t think he would be able to provide you a good stable childhood if you were with him. He was right, Sam. It wasn’t easy.”

  Sam nodded. “I know that now. But it doesn’t make it less painful.”

  Jack pulled her into his arms. “I know.” He bent to place a kiss on her belly. His hands reached behind her to rub her back, and then they trailed lower to cup her bottom. He alternated squeezing and stroking them, building a pressure inside her that she’d needed release from since the last time they were together.

  “I want you,” Sam breathed. “All of you.”

  Jack looked at her in surprise. “Now?” He licked his lips. “Are you sure...you can?”

  “Trust me,” she said huskily. She pulled back the covers and helped him lie down in a reclining position. Straddling his lap, she gently pulled off his shirt and opened her top to reveal her full breasts. “I’ve had this scenario in my head for a long time.”

  “This specific one,” he teased, rubbing her stomach. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Well, there are a few changes,” Sam said rubbing the pad of her thumb over the injury on his shoulder. She leaned down to plant a light kiss on it. Moving lower, she left a trail of kisses down to his chest and began to nip at the tips. She smiled to herself when she heard the sharp intake of his breath.

  He began to grow thicker under her and she rubbed herself slowly against him. He groaned. “Sam,” a low growl rumbled in his chest and she grew more excited. “You can’t go too far or I’ll go too far,” he warned her.

  “What do you mean by that?” Sam paused in her assault of his ears and neck to ask.

  Jack’s hands dug into her rounded hips and he ground himself upward into her. She felt herself wanting to open for him and was glad she was wearing shorts that were easy to remove. Reaching between their bodies, Sam continued to undress him. She unsnapped his jeans, the rasp of the zipper filled the room. She scooted back and encircled his thickness with her hand. Before she could start stroking him, Jack stilled her hand.

  “I want you to be in control, really,” he said breathlessly. “But I’m not that strong right now.”

  The throbbing piece in her hand said otherwise, but she released him reluctantly anyway. “What do you propose we do,” she asked him.

  “I don’t want to frighten you,” Jack said with his eyes squeezed shut. “You have to understand that if something happens, and I shift, I’m still never going to hurt you. It’s usually something I have control over, but occasionally, I transform without will. I don’t want you to leave me if that happens.”

  Sam felt a wave of tenderness wash over her. Was that why he was hesitating right now? “Jack,” she said sweeping her hand across his forehead, c
learing the hair away. “I’m sorry that I made you feel like I was that frightened of you. I was a little, but I’m over it now.”

  Jack was quiet for a minute. Sam looked at him questioningly. He exhaled. “I didn’t tell you that I was in and out of foster care when I was younger.”

  Sam felt her heart break at his words. He didn’t have to say anything more, she understood immediately why he had been distancing himself from her before he left. He was trying to protect himself from the pain of rejection. Her eyes welled with tears and they began to spill down her cheeks.

  “Hey, hey, hey,” Jack said in alarm. “What’s going on here? I’m fine, see?”

  “I should have just talked to you. Told you how I feel about you,” Sam was blubbering but she didn’t care.

  “How you feel about me?” Jack echoed. “And what do you feel?”

  “I love you, Jack,” Sam said trying to control her sobs. “Papa was right about you, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you how I really felt. If I did, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

  “Sam,” Jack rose up as much as he could on his elbows and pulled her down to him the rest of the way to hold her close. “I love you too. I could have told you how I felt too. If you’re at fault, so am I. But you came and took care of me. You carried our child alone. You worked so many long hours on my behalf. You’re not at fault. I was just too dumb to realize what was in front of me.”

  After Sam’s cries had subsided, Jack helped her wipe her face, kissing her gently on her eyelids and then her mouth. “You still up for this?” he asked half-teasingly.

  “Yes,” she said, adamant. “I need you.”

  Jack reached into her open blouse and cupped her breasts. Sam let out a high moan, trying to maintain her control. One touch of his calloused hand over her nipple and she had to bite her lip to maintain her control. The nerves led straight to her core and electrified her in an instant.

  “How much do you love me,” Jack growled. He began tugging her shorts down. After a little adjustment, he slipped them off and tossed them aside with her underwear. He started to remove her top, but she stopped him.

  “No, leave that,” she said. Sam was embarrassed by the big stomach that rested in front of them.

  “No, I want to see all of you,” Jack said. “You’re so, so beautiful right now.”

  Blushing, Sam allowed him to remove her shirt and tried to cover up the parts that had swelled to their capacity.

  Jack drew her arms down to his shoulders. “You hang on here and do what you want to do with me.”

  Feeling emboldened by his encouragement, Sam did just that. She came to her knees while he lifted his hips to shuck off his pants. She reached between them again and rubbed his tip against her sensitive nub. Closing her eyes, she continued to rub it until she felt herself taking him deeper and deeper until she eventually, she had sheathed him inside of her. Holding him in there for a few seconds, she squeezed her muscles around him before rising over him before plunging back down.

  “I love you, Sam,” Jack growled.

  Sam’s eyes had closed to find her rhythm but she peeped at him with one eye to see him admiring her body with wonder in his eyes. “You’re so beautiful right now, you have no idea what you’re doing to me,” he ground out.

  “I think I have somewhat of an idea,” she said breathlessly. She was feeling the pressure build already, and his words were carrying her over the edge.

  “Jack, I love feeling you inside me,” she said honestly. “I want you to let go. I want all of you.”

  Jack groaned, “Sam, you’re killing me. I can’t last much longer if you keep talking like this.”

  “Good,” Sam breathed. Her pace quickened and her breasts began to bounce with her.

  Jack captured them in his hands, “Oh, Sam,” his composure was slipping. Sweat poured from his temples as he fought to hold back. His hands slipped helplessly to her hips and they squeezed before sliding up and down her thighs.

  “Now,” Sam cried out just before she let go.

  Jack lifted his hips up off the bed and held her hips tight against his pelvis, pumping her full of his seed as he finished. They stayed like that together for a long time until Jack slipped out of her. He helped Sam lay on her side and pulled her up against him, kissing her temple.

  With no words left to speak, they fell asleep, content at last.

  THE END

  = Bonus Book 14 of 20 =

  Tempted by a Single Dad

  What the hell am I going to do now? I thought morosely to myself as I slumped on the floor of my apartment. I felt like I was deflating, that the last few days of drama were finally catching up with me, and now I had no idea what to do with myself.

  I couldn’t believe all that I’d been through, it was like a total nightmare. It was too much for just one person to deal with, never mind all in one go. How had I even managed to survive it? I guess the one thing that could come out of this was that I was much stronger than I thought I was.

  The first kick in the teeth was losing my job, completely unexpectedly. Okay, so it wasn’t Jenny’s fault that she had to fire me, she was losing more than I was what with her nursery closing down, but some warning that the place was running out of funding wouldn’t have gone amiss. Just some time to prepare. The fact that there wasn’t even any notice, that it was just a final pay check and a quick shift end made it even more shocking.

  I walked all the way back to the apartment that I shared with Max, safe in the knowledge that at least I could have a bubble bath and some time alone to get myself together before getting some much needed comfort from my boyfriend of two and a half years. At least he would be there to make me feel better, and he’d probably help me get another job too. One of the best things about Max was his ability to be proactive even when things seemed utterly terrible.

  Except, when I walked into the apartment, he wasn’t at work. He was still at home, with a screaming, naked girl underneath him. I was so shocked by the sight of the love of my life cheating on me that it actually took me a while to realize that the girl being fucked was my best friend and confidant ever since high school. The one person I thought that I could trust.

  “Taylor!” I yelled out as sobs racked through my body. “How could you do this to me?”

  She wasn’t even bothered, she didn’t even care that she’d totally rocked the foundation that my world was built on, she simply gave me an awful look, shrugged, and told me, “It isn’t my fault that you’re boring and that your relationship has gone stale, Ali. You should’ve spotted it ages ago. This has been going on for months.”

  Okay, so now looking back, maybe she was right. Me and Max were much more like friends that lovers these days, things had fallen apart, but that didn’t give her any right to take him. She should never have done that to me. No one should ever do that to another person, especially not one that they’d been friends with for years. It just wasn’t right. I would never have done that to her.

  And now, I was here at the scene of their crime alone, and they were shacked up at her home, probably very happy. I was hurt, betrayed, angry, a whole rush of emotions that I didn’t even understand. What I needed was to get away, to run from this nightmare, but unfortunately what I needed even more was a job. I would have to start paying for this place by myself now, I needed at least some kind of income. I wasn’t in the mood to start the dreaded job hunt, but I didn’t have any choice in the matter.

  I sighed deeply before grabbing hold of the newspaper, trying to force myself to be productive. Without Max here to push me, and with the sense that my entire life was in tatters, it was difficult, but I had to start somewhere. I needed to start living eventually.

  Waitress… no, I didn’t have people skills with adults. My career had always centered around children and I wasn’t sure that I was ready for that to end. I didn’t think I could force happiness right now. Waitresses had a hard enough time with rude and suggestive customers as it was, I just didn’t think that I could handle i
t right now.

  Exotic dancer… I glanced down at my body, imagining shaking it on a pole for a buck load of money, the sort of cash that I needed to pay for this home by myself, but there wasn’t any chance in hell. I just wasn’t the sexy type. Cute, maybe, with my cropped dark hair surrounding my heart shaped face, and my big blue eyes, but I wasn’t sure I could ever be classed as sexy. No, I didn’t have it in me to be a dancer, even if I really wanted to which I didn’t.

  Nanny… ooh okay, now this could be right up my alley. I delved right into the job description, liking where it was going. Two kids, single father, needs help while he runs the business… oh, but it was only for a month. A month in Hawaii nonetheless, but I needed something more permanent.

  Then my eyes fell on the payment and everything within me shifted. This was a decent amount of money, the sort that could keep me afloat for about four months. I could use that cash to help tide me over until I found something else, plus it would be a month in Hawaii. If I’d ever needed a time on the beach with no problems distracting me, it was now. God, it would feel good to get the hell away from this town, from them. The fear of bumping into them killed me every single minute of every single day. At this rate, I was going to become a hermit. At least if I was in Hawaii, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about.

  Surely it wouldn’t hurt just to apply?

  I clicked on my email and fired off my resume with a decent cover letter attached, a small bit of positivity filling my heart. Okay, so it wasn’t going to be a life changing experience, it wouldn’t solve all of my problems, but it was a start. Sitting here among all the memories of the betrayal wasn’t going to get me anywhere. If I left for a while then I could come back with a fresh new attitude. I could start all over again.

  Now I just had to hope that I actually got the job.

  ***

  Oh my God, it was actually happening. I couldn’t believe it! Excitement coursed through my body as I wheeled my suitcase across the airfield, ready to take the trip to Hawaii, ready to get away from here. I’d been brave, and now it was paying off. I was getting my escape and my job all in one go. It was absolutely perfect for me.