by Jessa York
For all intents and purposes, he could have just sat down and relaxed and let me deal with the mess. I told him to leave it for me since he did all the cooking. But of course, Jack being Jack, he just scoffed and kept cleaning.
The boys somehow found pajamas, and then we started reading books. I let them take turns picking their favorite stories, and they decided that was “cool”. Gosh, they were cute when they got along.
Eventually, Jack joined us, and we shared reading duties. Again, my heart exploded watching him read animatedly to those boys. The twins were enraptured with the man and the book. I had to admit, so was I.
We read until both boys could no longer keep their eyes open. That was my favorite feeling in the world—reading a good book until my eyes closed unwillingly.
As silently as possible, we walked out and shut their door. Yay, we did it. I moved my hand up in the air for a high-five, and Jack grinned widely and smacked my hand, but then gripped it and yanked me in for a kiss. We kissed on the top of the landing for a while, holding each other. My hands examined the ridges and planes on his back and chest, his hands doing the same to me. He finally stopped and led us down the stairs to the comfy living room couch where he sat and pulled me down onto his lap.
“Thanks for cleaning up, and for showing up to save the day. I couldn’t have done it without you and without Wi-Fi.” I smiled at him, rubbing his shoulders and down his arms. The heat of his body warmed my hands. God, he was always hot, like some kind of self-sustaining furnace.
“Well, it’s actually my fault there was no Wi-Fi, baby,” he said sheepishly. His brown eyes looked guilty. Then he proceeded to tell me about his little impromptu meeting with Murray.
“You told him to do what?” I poked him in the chest, pissed at him.
“I asked him to—”
“I freaking heard you. I just don’t understand why.” I pushed him in the chest again, harder this time.
“Because I wanted to spend time with you and the boys. I wanted to show you that I meant it when I said I liked kids, and that it wasn’t just something I take lightly.” Good grief. Not this again. Why was he always pushing the idea of children?
“Jack, I still don’t want kids. Did you think that babysitting once with you would change my—” Gah. The man mentioned children more than a man in a new relationship should. It was definitely a bone of contention in our relationship. Most women I knew—it was the other way around. The woman was always trying to push kids on the man.
I thought it was odd behavior, but each and every time, I made sure to let Jack know that kids just weren’t in the cards for me. What the hell did I know about raising kids? All I’d managed to do was have a failed marriage. What if we’d had a surprise? I’d be the one looking after the kid while Gabe continued to gamble, drink, and stalk women. Or maybe he just saved the stalking part for me.
It was true that I paid off my half of Gabe’s debt, but still. Money was tight. How could I afford to pay for another person when I struggled enough with bills as it was? That’s no life for a kid—a deadbeat dad and a mother who had to work two jobs just to pay for daycare.
He cut me off. “Baby, chill. I’m not bringing that subject up again. Not for a very long time. We take this thing between us slow and steady and see where it goes. No need to make any life-changing decisions now.” He gathered my hair and pulled it to the back of my head. “Although I find it very interesting that someone who doesn’t want kids offers to babysit two, uh, extremely challenging boys,” he said and raised his eyebrows. “And she does so while wearing a Wonder Woman T-shirt.” Taking a long, slow gander at said Wonder Woman T-shirt, he ran his knuckles down the sides of my shirt, along the outer edge of my breasts. My nipples immediately responded to his touch by pebbling. Damn that man. “A very hot, tight-fitting Wonder Woman shirt,” he said in a low, rumbly voice, tracing the Ws.
Lucky for me, the Ws were extremely well-placed.
25
Jack
“I have to do you from behind, baby,” Jack said to me as we attacked each other on the bed after we got home. This caused my already drenched pussy to contract so violently, I swore I nearly orgasmed just from hearing him say that.
I turned around on all fours, my back to his front, more turned on than I’d ever been in my life. My legs were on the outside of his, and quite honestly, I wasn’t too sure exactly what to do. Gabe wasn’t the adventurous type, even when he was in the mood, which was virtually never. He was more of a practical sort. Get in, get done, so he could go out or finish watching his shows. We’d tried this position a couple of times, but all I remembered was him getting frustrated at all the slippage.
Nerves filled me, but I knew Jack would show me what he wanted. Hands fondled my behind and I shivered. “Hottest ass I’ve ever seen,” he said, then I felt lips and a very hot, very wet tongue where his hands were.
“Mmm,” was all I could manage as I arched my back, loving how he made me feel.
He gently, but firmly, pushed my upper back down toward the bed and lifted my hips. “Ass up. Spread a bit more for me,” he ordered and, man, that made me convulse, and he wasn’t even inside me yet. His legs pressed up against mine, and I could feel him at my entrance. “You okay?” he asked, like he always did before entering me.
As soon as my head nodded, he guided his hot, ribbed cock inside. We both emitted loud groans as we finally joined. It felt so much more intense this way. I loved the fullness of him. When his hands found my breasts, I sighed loudly. His fingertips played and tweaked my nipples while he thrust into me. Perfection.
Slow kisses covered my back, making it so much more than an act of passion. Like there was nowhere else in the world he wanted to be except right here with me. Every kiss, every touch, every movement was designed for my enjoyment.
Soon, his grunts got deeper and his thrusts harder. His magical fingers found my hidden bundle of nerves, and he started rubbing with more purpose. Once again, I wouldn’t get left behind. He was taking me with him.
“Fuck, you’re so tight. I can feel you getting ready to come.” Just hearing those words made my eyes roll back in my head. He quickened his pace, and there was no choice but to jump off with him.
“Ohhhh,” I moaned as I let the spasms wash over me. Behind me, I heard Jack gasp and then give one last hard drive inside me.
“Yeah, baby. Fuck,” he muttered against my shoulder as his sweat-covered body leaned over mine. “Go clean up and get that hot ass back here for round two.”
He never had to ask twice.
The next morning was Sunday, and we slept in. Well, I slept in and Jack brought me breakfast in bed. It was just French toast, but the way he made it was superb.
We were sitting in bed drinking our coffee when my phone went off. I panicked, thinking it was Super Dick again, ruining our long lazy morning, but I was wrong.
Charlie: Mom and Dad’s for supper tonight. Lasagna. **runs barfing to the bathroom**
Poor Charlie. I smiled, not because of her all-day sickness, but because I remembered that soon there would be a whole new tiny person at Sunday supper.
“Who is it?” Jack asked, an odd, suspicious look on his face. I sighed, knowing who he thought it was.
“Just Charlie. I guess Mom’s making lasagna tonight,” I said and quickly answered Charlie back.
Me: I’ll be there. Maybe you can eat outside? LOL
Charlie: Very funny, jerk. You are coming, or we are coming? Hmm? Bringing your hot new man? Time for the big unveiling?
Dammit, I did not do this relationship thing very well. The man was lying right beside me like some sex god, and inviting him to supper didn’t even occur to me. Maybe it was more me trying to save the poor man from my family.
“Jack.” I turned to him, and it looked like he was posing, back against the headboard, one knee cocked up while his arm rested on it. If I were a bigger perv, I’d take a picture. He glared at me, face blank, almost looking pissed off. Was he mad that I ha
dn’t invited him? I got up on my knees and gazed directly into his magnetic brown eyes. “You wanna go to my parents’ house for supper tonight and get harassed, teased, and embarrassed?” I should have gone into sales.
He smiled at me, relief evident on his face. “Very much so, baby,” he said, then put his hand behind my head and dragged me in for a gentle kiss on the lips. It’s too bad he was freaking crazy, but his good looks made up for it. “Do we need to bring anything?”
I frowned at him like he’d just said the Earth was flat. “We don’t bring anything. Mom cooks enough for a hundred people. Give or take.”
“Well, ask her. We need to go grocery shopping anyway. I can whip up something.”
What?
“We need to go grocery shopping?” I asked, confused because I had food and I reminded him of that fact.
“Ramen noodles and Pop Tarts don’t constitute food. I can eat that stuff occasionally, but not every day.” Hmm. Whatever. I’d think about that later.
“I need to call my mom and tell her you’re coming.” I crawled over the covers and walked out the door. “This should only take about three hours,” I yelled to him over my shoulder and heard him laughing as I marched down the hall.
Poor sap thought I was joking.
“You have a Jack in your life?” my mom yelled into the phone, almost bursting my eardrum. “And you want to bring him tonight? Oh my God! How tall is he? What does he do? Is he in used car sales, too?” she asked that last part in a whisper. Yes, because I’m only attracted to used car salesmen, Mom. It was starting already. I thought I felt a flu coming on.
“He’s just over six foot and he’s a chef, Mom, and—” I tried to finish, but she cut me off. Maybe I needed to lie down for this.
“Oh, like at Gerry’s or something?” Gerry’s was a family diner chain that served everything from pancakes to stir-fry twenty-four seven. It was good, and hit the spot, but it was far from the elegance of Jack’s place.
“No, Mom. He owns Vine, and he’s in the process of opening another one soon-ish,” I told her and braced as I counted down to the next scream.
“The one on Vista Street? He owns his own restaurant?” she whispered, sounding choked up. What the heck?
“Yeah, he’s cooked for me lots of times. The man is talented. And, Mom? He’s so nice and sweet to me, always making sure I have what I need and looking out for me. You won’t believe how gorgeous he is,” I carried on, but I realized there was no noise on the other end of the phone. Our call must have been dropped. “Hello? Hello? Mom, are you there?” I sat up and took my phone away from my ear and shook it, like that would help.
Then I heard my dad’s voice. “What’s wrong? Is somebody dead? Hello?”
“Hi, Dad. It’s just me. Nobody’s dead.” I exhaled and rolled my eyes.
“Well, why is your mother sitting here crying? What did you say to her?” he yelled irately through the phone.
“I’m bringing my new boyfriend to supper tonight,” I managed to get out even though I was choked up now, too. “I guess she’s excited?” I tried to explain, blinking back the tears.
“A boyfriend? Well, let’s pray he’s better than the last one.” Yes. Indeed. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
In the background, I heard my mom blowing her nose and yelling, “Get off the phone. We need to go to the grocery store. Harper’s bringing home a chef.”
“Why is she bringing a chef when she has a boyfriend?” Dad yelled back at her. Good grief. This could go on all day.
“Dad, I need to go. Mom can fill you in, okay?” I sighed, wanting to be done with this conversation.
“One thing, honey,” he said gently into the phone.
“Yeah, Daddy?”
“Does this one treat you nice?” Tears sprang to my eyes and rolled down my face. That felt like a sock to the gut.
I sniffed and composed myself as best as I could. “Yeah, Daddy. He treats me like gold.” And I teared up all over again, thinking of the hell I put not only myself through, but my family as well. They were all there with me, watching how Gabe treated me, watching how I let him treat me.
“Good, you deserve it after that last asshole. Hell, we all deserve it. See you two tonight.”
He hung up before I could say goodbye.
“Is it safe to come out now?” Jack asked and threw himself onto the couch next to me, making me bounce. “How’d it go with the big news?” He looked down at me with expectant eyes. Sheesh, he still seemed excited to go tonight. Fool.
“Oh, you’re big news?” I asked teasingly and poked him in the chest.
He laughed and grabbed my hand. “Some people would say I’m very big news. Depends who you ask, I suppose.” He pulled me over so I was straddling him. “How about you? Do you think I’m big news?” he asked and lifted my shirt over my head so I was sitting on his lap, naked and vulnerable.
I moaned loudly and told him the truth as he slowly kissed his way down my neck. “Yeah, you are extremely big news.”
We showered again and finally made it out to Pat’s Grocery Store. I was wearing cute khaki shorts—extra on the short—and a flouncy blue and white striped sleeveless top. The mild breeze blew the bottom hem up, and I had to be careful about not flashing some poor unsuspecting soul. Jack was wearing his jeans and T-shirt from last night. Was I supposed to ask him if he wanted to keep clothes at my place?
Anyway.
Jack picked out what we needed in the overcrowded store. I had no idea what his meal plans were, but I bet they were a heck of a lot better than mine. We got to the checkout, and he pulled out his card and paid. What? No. Not wanting to make a scene in the store, I waited until we were outside to jump on him. “Jack, you didn’t have to do that. I could have paid, you know,” I told him, pissed.
“Harper, I eat more than you. I’m not going to let you pay for my food,” he replied shortly, as he maneuvered the shopping cart through the uneven parking lot. It was a Sunday, but the parking lot was full, and the crazies were pulling in and backing out everywhere.
I got increasingly pissed as I sat in his car and fumed, arms folded belligerently over my chest. Jack finally got in after stowing the bags. He turned to me and sweetly rubbed my shoulder with the back of his hand as the car purred to life. “Honey, if it means that much, you can buy next time, okay? I didn’t mean to be an ass. I’m sorry.”
Fine. I supposed there were worse things in life than having a gorgeous man buy you groceries. Sheesh. Embarrassed about acting like a super bitch, I sighed loudly and put my head in my hands. “Oh God, no, I’m sorry.”
Jack stroked my back and asked, “Harper, what’s going on? This isn’t about the groceries, is it?” Damn, he was perceptive. The more I thought about it, I realized this must have been more baggage left over from Gabe.
I sat up and stared at him. “You know what? You’re right. It’s just that you telling me what to do pissed me off and brought back some bad memories. Gabe always did that—ordered me around and shit. I hated it, never having a say.”
“Now I understand. We need to talk about this stuff. Don’t go silent on me.” He grabbed my hand and kissed it. “Look, we’ll work something out for groceries. I promise.” Now he was sitting there, holding my hand and smiling like a loon. What the heck?
“Uh, why are you smiling when we’re fighting?”
His smile grew bigger, and he chuckled. “Harper, this isn’t a fight. It’s two people having a discussion, working shit out. And I’m smiling because nobody has ever offered to pay for my groceries before.” I just glared back at him, not understanding. “You get that I have money, right?” I nodded. Any idiot could see that. “Well, let’s just say that’s been an issue for me. Sometimes that’s the first and only thing people see.”
Hmm, so he’d had some gold diggers after him. Interesting, but far from surprising. Instead of drawing out this conversation any longer, I put my hand on his cheek and kissed him.
“Let’s get out of here,
baby,” he said against my lips.
“Okay. And, Jack?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry some people are assholes,” I said as my eyes started to water. He was such a good guy, I felt bad that women could be jerks.
He put the car in gear and started laughing while he placed his arm around the back of my seat and turned to pull out of the parking spot. “You know what? Suddenly I don’t care anymore, because if they weren’t assholes, I never would have found you.”
On our way back to my place, we stopped by Jack’s so he could grab “a few things,” which meant his toiletries and some clothes. My mind decided not to think about Jack having things at my place. I’d think about it later.
We got home and barely through the door when Roza and Riley showed up for a visit. Which led to Jack making lunch for everyone. Which led to both of them ogling my boyfriend as he moved around the kitchen. I knew it was difficult not to stare at the man, but it still made me feel weird watching them watching him.
“That man is seriously hot. I would make it a house rule that he’d have to cook naked. Just an idea,” Riley said with a gleam in her eye I’d never seen before. She was sitting there in a denim skirt and blue tank, looking very un-Riley-like. Normally she was very coiffed, but today she was very comfortable? I liked it.
'Naked? Riley, there are rooms to be naked in. The kitchen is never one of those rooms,” Roza said too loudly, and I blushed because I was sure Jack could hear us.
“Roza, especially the kitchen. Come on, use your imagination.” She cackled, and it made me laugh, too.
“You are horrible. Now be quiet. He can hear you,” I warned Riley, and she smiled, not giving a rat’s ass what I said.
26
Harper