“That night? I went to school. I waited in the parking lot until the janitor came in the morning and he let me in. I showered in the gym locker room and got ready for lessons and tried to act normal. I just had to check all the boxes on the ‘to do’ list for my day, you know? Stay in control, give nothing away. But I told my friend Tammy, and she brought me home that night. Her parents let me stay with them. And I never left.”
“You just – you just left home? Your Mom never came looking for you?”
Julie looked up at him now, and for the first time her eyes were brimming with tears. “No. She never did.”
“Julie,” Jake said. “Don’t cry. Please, don’t.”
She wiped her eyes. “I always do when I think about that part. She – she didn’t want me, Jake. The same way that my Dad didn’t want me. Sometimes, it’s just too much to know that I’ve never been wanted.”
She shook her head and drank again. He watched her visibly collect herself and regain a firm hold on that careful control that had kept her alive and fed and warm and sane for all those years. He understood her so much better now.
“So. That was that, really. I stayed in school and Tammy’s parents took me in. They had nothing to spare, but they never made me feel bad for being there. I got a job when I was fifteen, and I started giving them money every week. I know that helped. And years later – after I’d gotten through school on scholarships and working nights, and I had a good job – I sent them a huge check. They didn’t want it, of course, but I insisted. I lived with them for eight years, all the way through college. That’s a lot of food and showers they paid for. Christmas and birthday presents, too.”
“You’ve done amazing things in your life, Julie. You got away.”
“No, I didn’t. I did everything I could to create a perfect world for me to exist in: I had the job, and the apartment, and the fiancé. And then – bam! One Monday in September, I find out about inheriting this place from my father, and I get fired, and I go home to catch my fiancé screwing another woman in my bed. Four days later, I was here. And it scared me to death, Jake. It really did. All those years of working to protect myself and stay in control. And for what? To have it all taken away from me in a few hours?”
“But it wasn’t taken away, was it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re still here. Right?”
“I guess.”
He took her hand, and she let him. He stroked her palm with his thumb, small circles around and around. “But you are. You have to start all over again and OK, I get that it’s scary and hard as hell. But you’re doing it, right? You’re running this place and after a bit of a rough start, you’ve got all of us on your side. We care about you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, we do.” He touched her cheek. “I do.”
Julie closed her eyes, leaned in to his touch. Her head was spinning a bit from the whiskey and the lack of sleep, but she wasn’t even remotely drunk. She just felt light and loose and airy. Free.
Jake felt his breath coming more deeply now, faster. She looked so sexy curled up on the floor, her hair all undone and her eyes closed. He ached to hold her. Would she let him?
He put down his glass and slowly moved closer. She didn’t move away, so he sat right next to her and leaned against the sofa. He gently put his arm around her, pulled her head down to his chest. He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering on her soft skin. She opened her eyes and raised her chin. She was just inches away from that gorgeous face, from those lips. From those eyes, flickering in the firelight.
He stared down at her, fighting to stay exactly where he was. He didn’t want to feel like he was taking advantage of her in a vulnerable state again. She’d have to make the move; he wanted her to take the lead.
Julie felt heat rising inside her body: her whole body was tingling. She felt like fingers were gently running up and down her body, and she shivered at the sensation. Jake smiled, and brushed her hair away from her forehead. At his touch, she felt herself get wet, instantly: she felt like a large hand had been laid between her legs. She imagined the hand pressing down on her mound, massaging and stroking her. She bit her lip. She felt her pussy open up, like a flower. It was opening for him; it wanted him.
“Jake,” she said. She carefully put down her glass. And she kissed him.
His reaction was instantaneous: he moved his hands to either side of her face and pulled her head to his roughly. He ran his tongue along her upper lip, and she moaned, feeling an answering burst of fire in her chest. His hands ran over her body now: removing the blanket from her shoulders, running down her back and down to her waist, then lower.
With one strong movement, he lifted her, turned her. She gave a little cry of surprise.
He whispered against her mouth. “Relax, baby. I got you.”
He straightened his legs, and set her down in his lap, facing him. Her legs were bare, and spread on either side of his muscular thighs, her sex separated from the rough material of his jeans by a tiny sliver of delicate silk. She rubbed herself on him, felt herself open wider.
He gripped her ass, and pressed her down against his swelling hardness. She responded by gripping his shoulders hard enough that he felt her fingernails pierce through his t-shirt.
Jake’s hands were moving up the curve of her hips now, across her taut belly, up to her breasts. He pulled back for a second, checking that she was OK. She stared at him, her eyes smoky with lust. Without breaking eye contact, he gently rubbed her breasts, felt their weight in his hands, stroked her hardening nipples. His touch burned right through her silk pyjama top; she felt naked against him.
She gasped, threw her head back. Dear God, that feels good.
His thumbs circled the nipples lazily, felt their sharp points. His hands moved to the buttons on her top, hovered.
“Is this OK?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes.”
He undid two buttons, four buttons. He looked down and saw that her breasts were pushing up and spilling out of the delicate material. They were as generous as he’d imagined, as full, as round. He pulled the top away from her body, ran his hands over her naked lower back, trying to control himself from throwing her down on the sofa, ripping those sexy little pyjama bottoms off, and plunging himself in to her. Slowly now, Jake. Slowly.
His touch on her skin was fire. Julie could barely catch her breath. Her head was spinning again, but from pleasure this time. She clung to him, feeling unbalanced, looking at his stunning face as he went back to undoing the buttons on her top. His fingers were shaking, she was amused to notice, and this small sign of his nervousness made her smile.
Jake slowly undid the buttons, fighting to stay calm. He peeled the pyjama top off her shoulders gently, pulled the sleeves down her arms, stopped at her wrists. With one hand he held the top, bunching up the silk, trapping her arms behind her back. The movement curved her spine in, pushing her breasts up and forward. She moaned again and stretched her neck back.
With his free hand he ran his fingers over one breast. Perfect. He lowered his head to her nipple, took it between his teeth gently. Julie shuddered, forced herself to sit still. All she wanted was those lips on her breast.
Jake’s tongue snaked out, stroked her nipple, darted back in.
“Ah,” Julie said softly. She strained against his hands, against the silk pinning her arms behind her.
He raised his eyes to hers. “Do you want to touch me?”
She nodded. “Very much.”
“Not yet.” His head lowered again. He took the whole nipple in to his mouth this time, sucking on it, teasing it with his tongue. He pulled on it hard, then softly, then hard again.
Jake’s hand moved to her other breast, stroking, teasing. His mouth moved now, from one nipple to the other, tasting them. They shone in the firelight as his wet mouth moved back and forth, back and forth. He felt her breath coming faster and harder against his mouth and he grinned. She wanted this as badly as he did.<
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“Please, Jake. Please let my hands go.”
He looked at her again: her breasts were rising and falling with every breath. He ran his hand over them again, watched her face as he did so. She flushed and bit her lip. OK, maybe that’s enough torture for now.
With his large hand he yanked the top off and threw it on the floor. She sobbed in relief, raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. He kissed her now, sucking her tongue deep in to his mouth.
Julie couldn’t get close enough to him. In one movement, she pulled his t-shirt up and over his head. Up close, his chest was more muscled than she’d expected and she couldn’t stop herself from running her fingers along his collarbone, down his chest, across his stomach to the waist of his jeans.
She glanced at him. His eyes were glazed, watching her fingers move lower. She felt the massive bulge against her fingertips and turned her hand suddenly. Her palm pressed hard, her fingers curled up and around. He gasped.
OK, fuck it. Fuck control and going slowly with her. I can’t wait.
Almost like she heard his thought, she pushed him away and got to her feet clumsily. She started to take off her bottoms, but Jake stood up too and stopped her.
“Let me,” he said. He slid his fingers under the waistband, pulled the green silk down her hips, down over her thighs. He paused.
“What’s wrong?” Julie asked, suddenly terrified that he had changed his mind.
“I don’t have any condoms,” he said. “But I want to make you feel good. Will you let me?”
She almost cried at the look on his face: tender and sweet and soft. Nobody had ever looked at her like that in her entire life. Not even Steve.
“Yes,” she said.
In one movement, he lowered her silk shorts, knelt down in front of her to take them off. He stayed down there, his gleaming eyes level with her pussy. With no grace or teasing, he gripped her hips, pulled her to his mouth. She gave a little shriek of pleasure as his tongue stroked her lips, then pushed inside. He licked and lapped at her, sucking on her tiny pearl between the folds. Her hands were in his hair, pulling his head closer to her, pushing his tongue deeper inside her hot center. His teeth nipped her clit, his thick forefinger pushed inside her.
Her legs started to shake, and she knew that she couldn’t stand up any longer. She opened her mouth to tell him that, and her knees buckled.
Jake caught her as she fell but he didn’t remove his finger. He laid her down on the carpet and stretched above her. He covered her trembling body with his and kissed her deeply, staking his claim. Her hips were twisting as his thumb stroked her clit, spreading her sticky sweetness around in tiny circles. She moaned in to his mouth and opened her eyes.
Jake was above her, his shoulders massive above her. His one hand was between their bodies, the other was tangled in her hair. He was looking down at her, his hair falling across his forehead. His face was bright with desire.
“I can’t wait,” she said. “Please.”
He grinned at her. “No problem, baby.”
He took a pillow off the sofa and put it gently under her head. Then he moved back down her body and she opened her legs as wide as she could, inviting him to put his mouth on her, begging him to drive her wild.
He didn’t waste one second: his tongue plunged deep inside her pussy. She wrapped her legs around his shoulders and raised her hips to meet his mouth. Dear God, she was so wet. She arched her back as the sensations went on and on, as they rose and built. She wouldn’t be able to take much more, she knew.
Jake gently parted her lips, pressed his tongue against Julie’s tiny nub. He circled it then sucked it gently, feeling it expand against his mouth. Her whole body jerked and he did it again, and again. She was vibrating now, her thigh muscles jumping and convulsing as she fought the urge to close her legs. He heard her cries and knew that she was close. He put two fingers inside her, pushing hard, lashing her clit without mercy, licking and sucking and tonguing her sex. She tensed and he thrust both fingers and tongue as deep as he could, reaching for the very heart of her.
Julie shattered in to a million pieces. Her fingers gripped his head, pushing his hot mouth against her pussy and she screamed once, twice, three times. He held her thighs open as her orgasm went on and on, her glorious body twisting beneath his tongue and hands. He sucked her dry, the pure woman essence of her covering his lips, and he loved every second of it.
He felt her body relax now. Her fingers released their grip on his head, her hips lowered, her thighs fell apart and rested on the floor. He raised his head and looked at her gorgeous face. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks glowing.
He wiped his face on his t-shirt, and rose up on his elbows to hold her. She didn’t stir.
“I think I’m dead.” Her voice was muffled against his chest and he grinned. He felt her heart pounding and racing, and he gently stroked her cheek. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Her eyes were warm and lovely, full of joy and sparks of desire. “That was amazing.”
“For me too.” He kissed her and she tasted herself on his tongue. “I loved watching you come.”
“I wish I could watch you come, too,” she said, reaching for him through his jeans.
“No,” Jake said. “This wasn’t about me. This was about you. I wanted to make you feel good, and safe. I can wait.” He grinned. “Next time.”
“Deal,” she said and kissed him again.
He reached over and grabbed the blanket that he’d taken off her shoulders, and another pillow from the sofa. He lay down next to her and covered them both. She put her head on his chest, running her fingers over the groove of muscle on his stomach. She looked in to the fire, luxuriating in the heat of Jake’s body and the flames. Her eyes felt incredibly heavy suddenly, and she blinked to keep awake.
Jake looked down at Julie, curled up in his arms. Her fiery curls were damp around her face, wild and tousled, her full lips were swollen and softened. She looked like a woman who had let herself go and come hard enough to make her head spin. He loved seeing her like this – all limp and sweaty and undone.
He saw her eyelids close, open, close again. She burrowed deeper in to him, curved her body against his, and took a deep breath. Her eyes didn’t open again, and he didn’t move, watching her face.
She was asleep. He smiled, pleased. He lay on his back, his arms around Julie, and let her rest. Maybe she’d be able to sleep tonight after all. He’d wait a little while and then move her to her bed.
**
Julie was floating on a soft cloud. Her whole body was warm and relaxed. She turned over and stretched. She opened her eyes.
She was in her bedroom, and it was broad daylight outside. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table and started: 10:42 a.m. She sat up, panicked. What the hell? I never sleep this late!
The sheet fell to her waist and she realized that she was naked. And that was when it all came back to her: Jake, and the fireplace, and the whiskey. And…and…oh, God. And what he had done to her. The way that she had responded to him. The way he’d looked at her, and touched her. His hands, his mouth. His tongue.
She shivered and then heard a noise. She looked up and there was Jake standing in her bedroom doorway. He was wearing boxer shorts and his broad chest was bare. Her mouth went dry at the sight of him.
He grinned at her, his eyes crinkling in a way that she found deeply sexy. “Good morning, Julie.”
“Good morning, Jake,” she managed.
“I thought I heard you moving around in here. You want some coffee?”
“Uh, yes please.”
“Milk and sugar, right?”
“Right.”
“OK. Stay there. I’ll bring it to you.”
“OK, thanks.”
She looked around for her pyjamas but they were nowhere to be seen.
Jake reappeared in the doorway. “By the way…your pj’s are still on the living room floor. If you want ‘em, you’ll have to come out butt naked and get ‘em.” He
ducked out again.
Julie took advantage of him having to go back downstairs to get the coffee and snuck in to her bathroom. She quickly went to the toilet, and then looked at herself in the mirror. Maybe she should put some powder on her nose, slick on some lipstick, put on a touch of blush?
But she looked – well, there was only on word for it – great. Fresh and glowing and well-rested. Her eyes were bright, her hair was wild and sexily dishevelled. She looked like a woman who had had a mind-blowing orgasm and then spent the night sleeping in the arms of a devastatingly sexy man. Which is exactly what she was, actually. No need for makeup, as it turned out.
She got back in to bed, the sheet pulled up to her chin. Oooh. Maybe this is a bit embarrassing. But she wasn’t as embarrassed as she thought she might be after letting her horse trainer go down on her and watch her shatter beneath his mouth. After all, he had seemed to enjoy it, too.
Jake came back to the bedroom with a cup of coffee. “I made the Vanilla Hazelnut. Is that OK?”
“Perfect.”
He brought it to her and she took a big sip.
“Thanks, Jake.”
“My pleasure.”
“How did I get up here, anyway? I don’t remember coming upstairs.”
“You were sleeping. I carried you up.”
An image of her – helpless and unaware in his arms, cradled against that chest – flashed through her mind. She felt a twitch between her legs at the thought.
He sat down next to her and stared at her. “OK. Tell me the truth.”
“About what?”
“Are you sorry?”
Jake held his breath and studied her face in the morning sunlight. She was hands-down the sexiest woman he’d ever known: strong and smart and strangely vulnerable. He’d lain awake for an hour the night before, holding her sleeping body in his arms, and thought about her childhood. He was amazed by her, by all of her.
Julie looked up at him. “No. No, I’m not. Are you?”
His face relaxed. “Not one bit. In fact, I’m hoping to do it to you again.”
Her breath stopped.
Open Skies Page 15