Seducing Mr. Right

by Rebecca Rose

  “If you didn’t have that awful music so high you would have heard me ringing the bell and pounding on the door.”

  “I’m so sorry.” He buried his face in her sweet-scented hair and held tight to her understanding.

  “It’s okay, Jake. I’m okay,” Sophie told him as she stroked his head and back.

  Jake wasn’t sure how okay he was. In such a short time she had become someone he wanted to talk and joke with. He looked forward to seeing her smile every day. The night before they shared a movie along with popcorn and kisses on his couch, Jake was able to see himself as a normal person. And when the temptation to go further presented itself, Sophie had popped off the sofa with a smile and said good night. Now he might have ruined that peaceful place they began building together.

  Yet she held him close with no fear and blame. Jake thought about all the women who had come and gone in his life. None had ever made him feel so safe and loved. Even now, after scaring her, she talked to him in that sweet voice:

  “You know, your brother warned me not to come here. But I never listened to my parents, so why the hell would I listen to him?”

  He chuckled a little and pulled away to see her face. “Sophie, you’re crazy.”

  “I know, and more than a little about you.” She gave him a pensive smile then asked, “Are you okay? I was worried when Dave said you weren’t coming in. What happened?”

  He heard that right, didn’t he? She was crazy about him? The realization only made his losing control that much more serious. Why did he always have to let down the ones he cared about? “Am I all right? Are you all right? I must have hurt you. Please, let me look,” he pleaded, with self-loathing coating each word.

  “Don’t change the subject. I asked what happened.”

  “I’ll confess my sins if you first let me see if I hurt you.” When Sophie’s mouth twitched in contemplation, Jake laughed, “I’ll even let you stay for dinner. Okay?”

  She stood before him and offered a hand to help him off the floor. “Fine. But don’t think you’re going to get out of this. I don’t care what kind of military man you were. I want an explanation and I’ll get it.”

  Jake took her hand and pulled her back down to him. When she fell on top of his chest, he rolled so she lay under him. “I want to see.” He unbuttoned her blouse and began to kiss the delicate skin beneath it.

  “Jake—”

  “You hit the floor so hard.” He rubbed his face against her chest. “I’m a monster,” he mumbled against her breast, then kissed it.

  “No, you’re not.”

  With his index finger, Jake circled a small area on her collarbone. “I did hurt you.” He heard his voice crack, and he assumed Sophie must have heard it, too, because she cupped his face and brought it to hers.

  “I’m okay. And, I promise to stomp and grumble loudly whenever I think you don’t know I’m there.” She kissed him.

  “I need to see.” He rolled her onto her stomach then slid her shirt off. The deep red mark at the base of her neck almost did him in. The thought of standing in front of a firing squad was more appealing then facing this—the fact that he bruised her delicate, beautiful skin. Jake pressed his lips together as shame overcame him. Never had he laid violent hands on a woman before. Nor had he ever found someone to be as forgiving as this woman lying in front of him. “Why are you still talking to me? Sophie, I’m so sorry. I’ll never touch you again.” He rose to his feet and busied himself by pulling out lettuce from the fridge to chop with a vengeance. “I’ll quit the bar, and you won’t have to see me again.”

  “You self-absorbed ass! You think that’s going to make things better?” she huffed, while yanking on her shirt.

  “I think it’s for the best,” he mumbled. “What I did was inexcusable and—” He felt something hard hit his head. “Ouch! What the hell?” Turning in time to catch the wooden spoon that clocked him, Jake pulled it from her hands.

  “I will not be dismissed,” she yelled in fury while buttoning her blouse.

  “What are you talking about?” he shouted.

  “You think quitting the bar is going to stop what’s happening between us? That that’s the answer?”

  “Yes, I do.” Jake’s body began to vibrate with frustration. How could he explain to her what she couldn’t possibly understand? She would never stay with him, anyway; he was a lunatic.

  “Why?”

  “Because I obviously can’t control myself. For Lord’s sake, look at what I did to you!” He grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall. His emotions were jumbled in a mess of madness, and the urge to learn to control himself became a nagging bitch on his shoulder.

  “Jake, I will not be manhandled this way.”

  Fury had his blood roaring in his ears, pinpointed his sight on his directive. He lead her, none too nicely, into his bedroom where the sheets were torn and the blankets hurled to the ground. The night table lamps, smashed on the floor, were mixed with the feathers from his pillow. It all resembled debris from a battle. Glaring at it, Jake couldn’t help but think of the room as a war zone—his own personal one. Yet, when he turned to face Sophie, the understanding in her eyes sent his rage into retreat.

  “This is why I didn’t come in today.” His quiet voice reflected the defeat he felt inside. “I live with this every day, Sophie. I can’t ask you to share it.”

  “You haven’t, and I’m starting to think I’m just a nuisance that you’re passing time with. Why won’t you open up to me, Jake?” She faced him, a tear rolling down her cheek.

  “Please don’t do that,” he pleaded.

  “I can’t help it. I know I’m not the easiest person to be around, but I truly care about you.”

  He pulled her into his compassionate arms and she went willingly, her turmoil finding a place of solace to settle and rest. “This has nothing to do with you being…” He pulled back and looked at her with a crooked grin. “You’re not a difficult person at all. Sometimes you’re too understanding and it gets me mad. Like right now.”

  “It wasn’t your fault, Jake.” Another tear escaped and Jake wiped it away.

  “I care for you, Sophie. And just can’t stand the thought of hurting you like I did in the kitchen or how I might in the future. I’m so tired.”

  “If you think you’re tired now, wait until we’re done cleaning up this mess.” She kissed him softy and walked out of the room. “You making me dinner, or what?” she called out. “We’re gonna need energy.”

  “Woman! You’re a puzzle, a challenge, and a bossy little thing!”

  “Well, it’s not going to make itself.”

  * * *

  She sat on his marble counter and wondered what she’d gotten herself into. She tried to be nonchalant, make a little joke, but her insides were shaking. No man had ever put his hands on her before. It might not have been in anger, but Jake scared her enough to rethink the relationship they were building and consider the ramifications of being involved with a man who suffered from PTSD. Sophie had told the truth when she said she understood what happened on the kitchen floor. It hadn’t been his fault. If she’d listened to Dave in the first place, she might have saved Jake from the additional pain of what her surprise presence had caused him.

  But here he was, staring at her intensely, longing swirling in his eyes. Sophie shifted on the countertop as a realization struck her: he was worth any struggle. It wasn’t just his body she wanted, or his wicked sense of humor. No, this feeling went deeper than that. He filled the emotional emptiness she felt with a strong mental connection.

  He cupped her face between his massive hands. Slowly their lips met, and the world evaporated. If she could feel this loved, this needed, for the rest of her life, she’d be happy forever. Behind her closed eyelids Sophie saw sparks of light burst into color. Beneath her skin, warmth spread throughout her body. When desire exploded, Sophie drove her hands into his hair and let the frenzy take them over. He responded immediately by wrapping her legs around
his waist and pulling their bodies as close as two people could be. His hands raced over her while his lips became impatient and demanding.

  She couldn’t catch her breath. His passion overpowered her, and his need was so apparent Sophie could feel her own body fervently responding. He grasped her ass and crushed them even closer together. Without warning, Sophie pulled her mouth from his and cried out Jake’s name. Taking a fistful of her hair, Jake brought her mouth back to his for one more long, hungry kiss before stepping away. Vibrating with pleasure, Sophie stared at him. “Jesus, Jake.” She could feel herself panting as he did the same. The sheen of sweat on his skin gave Sophie the urge to lick and taste a bit more. Instead, she licked her own lips and tasted him there.

  “I… don’t know what to say. I’m not sure what came over me.” Jake’s eyes were round with disbelief toward his actions. “First, I have you on the kitchen floor. Then I drag you to my bedroom, now I’m assaulting you in my kitchen, again.” He pulled his hands through his messy hair and grinned, “I liked this better than the first two.”

  “Me, too. Come here.” Sophie reached out. When Jake took her hand, she brought his body between her legs. “I think we’re just running on wild emotions.”

  “Sophie, you’re my guardian angel.”

  “Yeah, well, your protector needs food.”

  He placed his hands on her knees and squeezed. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I remember a time when you told me I apologize too much.” She placed a hand on his bristled cheek. “We’ll figure this out, Jake. I promise.”

  Jake nodded his head in agreement. “Do you like Chinese?”

  “I love it.”

  “Okay. But you need to help me clean up the lettuce I started chopping first.”

  Sophie huffed, “Men. There’s always a catch with everything.”

  Chapter Nine

  “I want to know what happened.” Dave leaned over and pushed the barbell down on Jake’s chest.

  “This isn’t funny,” Jake complained. “You’re hurting me.”

  “No, I’m not. Now, what happened?”

  Jake pushed the bar up with all his might and his brother with it. “I can bench-press you, Dave.”

  “So.” Not giving up, Dave shifted his weight and pressed down more. “You’re the little brother, now start acting like it.” He sounded strained, but he kept trying to pin Jake.

  “I haven’t been little since I was ten.” The barbell slowly sank back down toward Jake’s chest, despite his best effort. “What do you want?”

  “Sophie.”

  With that one word, Jake pushed Dave up and off of him. “What do you mean you want Sophie?” He dropped the bar in its rack as if it were a toothpick in a trash can.

  Dave’s hands flew up in defense. “That’s not what I meant. Don’t beat me! I only want to know what’s happening between the two of you. Honest.”

  Jake laughed hard and loud. He held his side as his body convulsed. “You should see your face. It’s white as a sheet.”

  “What? You’re screwin’ with me? Fuck you!” Dave shoved his brother in the chest with both hands.

  “Couldn’t help it.” His laughter continued to bubble up. Dave abruptly left the room, and Jake followed him. “Dave, it was a joke!”

  “Well, I didn’t think it was funny. I thought you were going to go ape on me. Jesus, Jake.”

  Jake pressed his lips together as he watched Dave pace the locker room. His every step echoed off the blue-tiled walls. “It was a harmless joke, and you’re just too wound tight to see it. What do you want to know?”

  Dave turned and looked at him. Jake couldn’t be sure what mix of emotions he saw in his brother’s eyes, but he knew love and understanding were among them.

  “Are you sleeping with her?”

  “No. And I can guarantee you’ll be the first to know when it happens. I’ll call right away.”

  Dave shook his head. “I’m serious. You in love with her?”

  “Not sure. Again, you’ll be the first to know.”

  “Have you told her about the flashbacks?”

  Jake sat down hard on the worn wooden bench and began peeling his shoes and socks off. “She showed up after the last one a few days ago.”

  “What do you mean, Jake? What happened? How come you haven’t told me about this?”

  “Because I knew this is how you’d be. All protective and shit.”

  “I have a right to be that way. What happened?”

  “She came up behind me and I reacted.”

  “Oh, no.”

  Jake pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off some of the tension. “Yeah. Then we went out for Chinese.”

  “Is that how she hurt her shoulder?”

  Jake stopped in the middle of stripping his shirt off. “What are you talking about?”

  “Her shoulder, Jake. She has a hell of a bruise and she’s been babying it.” Dave looked pensive for a minute then said, “Maybe you should go back to counseling. There’s no shame in it.”

  Anger coursed through Jake’s veins. He didn’t want to go back, he wanted to move forward. “I’m working on it, Dave. And she said she was okay, damn it.” He dropped his head in his hands. “Why can’t I just be normal?”

  Dave plopped on the bench beside his brother. “Because you never were. As a kid you always caught on faster and were better at everything. There were never boundaries for you. You excelled at school, sports, girls, and the military. Damn, bro. You were the youngest man to ever earn your rank. That says something. But there’re boundaries now, and you need to learn them.”

  “If I was so great at everything, then why are you always right?”

  “ ’Cause I’m the big brother.”

  “Dave, I think she might be the one.” Jake shook his head in disbelief. “She didn’t get angry with me, she didn’t push to find out why I’m this way. She just understood it’s who I am.”

  “It takes a special woman to put up with a military man. Especially one with baggage.”

  Jake huffed, “I have a lot of that, and it doesn’t feel right to share it with her.”

  Dave put a brotherly hand on Jake’s back. “She doesn’t seem the type to give you a choice. By the way, Mom and Dad are coming in next week. They didn’t want me to tell you, but seeing you’re not very good with surprises…” Dave gave him a weak smile.

  “No, I guess I’m not. I’m really starting to care about her, Dave.”

  “I know. I think she’ll be good for you. I’m worried, though. She doesn’t know how to deal with your ‘needs,’ ” Dave said with air quotes. “Maybe, and only if you’re serious about her, she can come to some support meetings with me.”

  “My temper isn’t the problem anymore, Dave.”

  “I know that.”

  “It’s my gut reaction, and I’m workin’ on it. I feel more normal now than I have in a long time. I’m actually feeling things, not just looking for signs from others to know how I’m supposed to react.” He knew what his brother was trying to say, ever so delicately. Hell, the guy had a right to be worried. Jake hadn’t been home and out of the hospital for two months when Dave came up behind him. He’d broken Dave’s nose and fractured his left arm before he’d gotten control of himself.

  Back then Jake’s brain had skipped and jumped. He would react at the wrong times and with too much force. After a year of therapy, he was more controlled than he’d ever imagined. Nevertheless, he wanted more. Jake sought to feel normal, and he was starting to realize it might be possible.

  “No one says that you’re not gettin’ better. Hell, you worked the bar during that Halloween party with all those people. I wasn’t sure how you were going to react to that, but you made it through. I’m proud of you.” Dave took a deep breath and seemed to choose his next words carefully, “But are you ready for this relationship? There’s still a lot you don’t remember. It’s a big step of trust, Jake.”

  Jake watched his brother pull a shirt over his head.
The man didn’t have a scratch on his tattooed body—unlike Jake’s, which looked defaced in some areas. Silent disfigurements to remind him of another life he once believed in so strongly that he never questioned his own mortality. “Sophie showed up at the wrong time, on the wrong day,” he finally said. “I don’t want to hurt her. And knowing that I did… I don’t know, Dave. Should I just forget about her?”

  Dave snorted, “Yeah right, like she’s going to let that happen.”

  “She’s a hell of a woman.”

  “Yup. You were damn lucky she didn’t strike back.”

  Jake snickered and pulled a fresh shirt over his head. “She hit me over the head with a wooden spoon.”

  Dave laughed, “You know, I like her. If it doesn’t work out between the two of you, can I have a shot?”

  “You lookin’ for a death wish?”

  “Actually, I’m looking for a beer. What do you say? Celebrate?”

  “Celebrate what?”

  Dave gave his little brother a small push. “You might be losing your virginity soon.”

  “You’re an asshole.”

  * * *

  “I don’t know, Kathy. You really think I should?”

  With cool eyes, Kathy scanned Sophie’s downstairs ballet studio. “Sophie, you have a lot of talent, that’s not the question. Why not share it?”

  “Because then my mother is going to try and get involved.”

  “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but why is your mother so…”

  Sophie added in the words which Kathy didn’t want to say. “Bossy, overbearing, mentally absent?”

  “Umm, yeah. Was she an abused child, or something?”

  Sophie let out a long breath before answering, “I don’t know. I’ve never heard anything like that. You’d think with how she is there’d be something. Aside from the women in my family playing the weak-and-meek card, there’s nothing.”

  “Well, she’s not weak or meek.”

  “No, my mother isn’t.” Sophie did a quick pirouette for the hell of it. “Maybe if we understood each other better, we could have a real relationship. I don’t ever see that happening, though.”