Jenson (Wild Men Book 4)

by Melissa Belle

  I put my mouth on his and close my eyes. When he pulls me closer, I take my hand and run it up and down his chest, causing him to let out a groan. Then I break out of his arms and duck into the water to retrieve my bikini bottoms. I glance around the lake and don’t see a soul, so I carry the suit in my hand and walk half-naked to shore.

  I wrap my towel around my waist and hide behind one of the large chestnut trees as I pull on my jean shorts. When Jenson meets me there, he’s still naked. He’s also soaking wet, and his hair’s slicked back in that way I’ve always loved. I crave to touch him, to inhale him, but I don’t. I stay where I am, a few feet away from him, and we eye each other cautiously.

  “Glad you swam?” I ask him.

  “Yeah.” He stands across from me. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing.” I dig my big toe into the dirt. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because you ran away just now. Do you think I’m going to hurt you?” He reaches for his towel on the ground and wraps it around his waist.

  “No.” I cross my arms over my bikini top and look past him at the cloud line. The moon’s up, but it’s not fully dark yet. You can still see the sun coming off the sky.

  “What?” He frowns in confusion. “What’s going on, Olive?”

  I don’t know why I’m pushing him away. Maybe because he asked me to go with him to Pittsburgh. I don’t know. Part of me thinks I need to go there, to let go of all the ghosts I had in my head for years, and part of me is terrified.

  “I have a big account Vivian put me in charge of at work, and it requires me to go to Manhattan the Friday after the fair,” I say slowly. “Maybe we could do that and Pittsburgh in one trip.”

  “That works perfectly. Meghan takes the boys that weekend. We’ll leave Friday night and be back by Sunday.”

  I take a breath and finally stop analyzing every single thing that’s going on between us. As I stare into his green eyes that are so alive and lasered in on me, I relax.

  The man I fell for is right here across from me. I’m pushing him away, and he’s still here. That feels like a moment. That feels like something important.

  Jenson comes closer to me and puts his lips to mine as the light fully disappears from the sky. He backs me up against the tree, his kiss growing harder. As our tongues find each other’s, Jenson unbuttons my shorts. He puts his hand inside them, finding me slick and ready for him. Two fingers slide inside me and I moan. My head falls back against the bark and I writhe against Jenson’s hand. He groans and kneels down in front of me.

  “Let me worship you, Olivia.” His voice comes out rough.

  My shorts fall to my ankles, and Jenson’s breath tickles my skin as his lips touch me between my legs for the first time. I squirm at the sensation, desperate to be as close to him as possible.

  “Olive.” His voice comes out uneven, barely audible. “You’re gorgeous.”

  I rock into his touch, and he kisses me harder, using his mouth to give me what I need, what I’ve always needed from him but could never ask for. My hands go above my head, and I angle my hips closer to him, my body language begging him to keep going.

  He licks and nibbles and sucks at my hot center, driving me into a frenzy of bucking hips and breathy moans.

  “Oh, God.” I claw at the bark over my head while Jenson absolutely rocks my world down below. “J. Oh, God.”

  My climax crashes over me like I’m sky diving through space, and I don’t ever want to land. So good. Jenson holds me against his mouth, not letting up even as I come.

  Eventually, I feel him shift. I open my eyes, and I’m staring directly into Jenson’s green ones reflected in the moonlight. The depth of his emotions for me shines in his gaze. Out here by the lake, stripped raw of any covers, our feelings for each other are impossible to deny.

  “Olive.” His voice is barely a whisper.

  I put my hand on his cheek. “I’m here. You’re pretty good at that.”

  “You’re pretty amazing.” He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close. “I know you’re scared. I know our pasts are painful and hard to let go of. And I know we’re risking a lot, Olive, but I don’t want to sit around for the rest of my life, thinking of you as the one that got away.”

  I swallow down the emotion clogging my throat. “I don’t like to think of us that way. You’ve always been my best friend.”

  “Your best friend you’ve hardly been able to be around since you were seventeen because it hurts too much.” He takes my face in his hands. “Remember my wedding?”

  “I remember the first half of it,” I say truthfully. “Then I kind of skipped out.”

  “So do you remember me walking down the aisle at the end?”

  “No. Like I told you, I wasn’t there.”

  “Exactly,” he says. “Why not?”

  I shift my gaze to the dropping sun. “I left and went out with some guy from school,” I say, telling him the truth for the first time. “I tried to hook up with someone else to drown out the pain.”

  Jenson takes my hand in his and turns so he’s looking out at the last remnants of the sun with me. “Did you get what you wanted?”

  “Not any more than you did,” I say. “I know you married Meghan out of obligation and guilt. You thought it was your fault she got pregnant even though you used protection. Things happen, Jenson. It’s called life. Don’t blame yourself for everything.”

  “I’m working on that,” he says quietly. “Just like I want you to forgive yourself too.”

  “I’m trying.”

  “I have a lot of regrets, you know?”

  “We were both young and scared. Maybe we still are.” The warmth of his hand hits the small of my back. “I’m always scared. It’s kind of a personality trait. I act fearless and independent, like I run the bank. Really, I’m just scared of losing the bank. Or breaking it, whichever way you want to put it.”

  Jenson laughs. “You’ll never break the bank, Olive.”

  I lean my head on his shoulder, and we watch the sun disappear from the sky.

  Chapter Eleven

  The day of the fair comes quickly, and before I know it, I’m hustling along the sidewalk to make sure I get to the town square in time. Every year for the past five, Hayley and I have met at the liberty bell in the town square the day of the fair. She’ll cheer loudly as my dad rings the bell, and then we’ll take off and have fun, doing our best to ignore the cameramen who always try their best to get a few shots of “Mayor Graham’s family.”

  But this morning, Hayley texted that she’s running late, and Jenson mentioned offhandedly that Meghan’s dropping off the kids today, so she may stop by the fair.

  I like Meghan; she’s a nice person and a great mom to Kyle and Connor. But she’s always made me feel awkward, maybe because she’s gorgeous and always perfectly put-together. I chide myself for feeling insecure as I make my way to the square.

  I had wanted to wear an outfit that would activate my self-confidence, and I ended up pairing a fitted purple tank top and cut-off jean shorts with three-inch high wedge sandals, the sexiest and most uncomfortable shoes I own. I left my hair down the way I know Jenson likes, fixed myself up with a bit of lipstick and eye makeup, and I was ready to go.

  As I walk through town, I take in the aromas of fried dough and hamburgers from a block away. I weave around the bouncy moonwalk and the portable bungee jump machine and head for the massive, bronze bell next to the gazebo.

  My gaze lands on Jenson immediately. He’s on a picnic blanket underneath a nearby tree, and Kyle and Connor are playing with some toys while Cindy and Dee sit with them. Meghan must have already come and gone as Jenson’s in the middle of trying to break up a fight between his sons over a toy, and he doesn’t see me yet. I smile and head toward him.

  But then Matilda calls my name. She’s with Auntie Sue, so I go over to them first and give Auntie Sue a kiss. I get choked up for a moment when she tries to smile, but her mouth freezes partway. I hate seeing her suffer.
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  “I’m going to tell you a secret later,” I whisper in her ear. “I would tell you now, but your daughter’s staring at me.”

  I glance up and smile casually at Matilda, who leans in like she wants to hear every word I’m saying to her mother.

  I fall into Mom’s habit of rambling about the beautiful day we’re having until my father steps into our circle.

  “Hi, sweetheart.” Dad pulls me aside. “Listen, Olivia, I’m sorry about the other night…”

  I put up a hand to stop him. “Dad, I know it was an accident.”

  He lowers his voice. “Your mother and I want to help. She has a surprise for you today…”

  “What?!” I say in horror. “You don’t mean…”

  “Olivia!” Mom calls out from somewhere behind me.

  I whip around and come face to face with my mother. She’s wearing a bright orange sundress, and she gives me a huge smile. I freeze. Only one thing could possibly make my mother that happy, and it’s got to be…

  Mom takes my arm and turns me to face a man about my age.

  “This is Will, Olivia. Will, meet my beautiful daughter.”

  Yep. It’s got to be a man. Because only a man my mother is hoping will partner with me to give her more grandchildren could put that joyous look on her face.

  Will gives me a crooked grin as we shake hands.

  So this is the guy who’s supposed to take my breath away. He’s cute in an arrogant sort of way, and he kisses my cheek like we’ve met before, which immediately turns me off. As I make small talk with him, I glance in Jenson’s direction. His eyes are on me, his expression unreadable. But I feel like I can see the smoke coming out of his ears from here.

  “So you work at a bank?” Will says. “Union?”

  I force my gaze back to him. “Yes, I have since college. I hear you just came from Manhattan.”

  “I did,” he says. “Love the Big Apple. Hate this town. Too small.”

  I want to say that what I hate are shortened sentences that don’t begin with a subject, but I keep smiling instead. “Why are you back then?”

  “The offer coming out of Philly was just too sweet to pass up.” Will throws his arms out wide. “The perks, the signing bonus, all of it. They wanted me bad.” He winks at me then like that last sentence means something.

  “That’s exciting.” I glance over at Jenson again. He’s still watching me, but Kyle tugs on his arm and says something to him, and he gets distracted momentarily, just long enough for me to excuse myself from Will and head over to the man I actually want to talk to.

  “Hi, J,” I say as I reach the blanket.

  Jenson looks up in surprise, and Kyle and Connor grab my hand and ask me to sit with them. I take a seat on the blanket and say hello to Cindy and Dee. They greet me warmly, and Cindy asks me who the handsome man is I was just talking to. Before I have to answer her, Kyle spills Jenson’s bottled water all over the blanket. I grab some paper towels to clean up the mess.

  Cindy tells Dee he was supposed to watch Kyle better, and Dee tells her not to blame him for everything. Jenson intercedes and says it was his water, so neither of them should be blaming each other. But Dee keeps complaining about Cindy and her “attitude.” I raise my eyebrows at Jenson, who shakes his head as he takes the paper towels out of my hand.

  “Thanks for grabbing these,” he says in my ear. “You’re a lifesaver.”

  I pat his arm. “I’ll help you clean up the spill.”

  “It’s okay. I got it.” He lowers his voice. “Super fun family picnic, huh? And who the hell is that guy hitting on you?”

  “No one important,” I murmur. “Just another of my mother’s delusional ploys.”

  “I think my mom’s got one of those ploys lined up too.”

  “Seriously?” I say.

  “I’ll explain later,” he assures me.

  “Dee, why can’t you let it go?” Cindy says in a loud voice. “Goodness, I didn’t mean to start anything. I just thought you could have been watching him better!”

  Dee storms off to the drink table. Cindy exhales loudly as she mutters that apparently not everybody is in a sunny, picnicky mood today.

  At that moment, Dad rings the liberty bell.

  “Welcome to the Liberty Falls fair, everyone!” he calls out into the microphone. “As you all know, today is the birthday of our town, and we like to celebrate in style every year with our annual fair. The dog show is about to start!”

  “Livia, are you coming on the carousel?” Connor asks me. “Daddy promised he’d take us now.”

  “Sure,” I say, taking his hand. “Let’s go.”

  After riding around on the carousel three times, Jenson convinces the boys he needs to stop spinning in a circle for a while.

  I laugh. “Why don’t we go see how Sheldon’s doing with the dog show?"

  The fair’s crowded as usual, and it takes us a few minutes to weave our way through the throngs of people and variety of tents scattered across the lawn.

  “This is my year, Olive,” Sheldon says when we reach him at the dog park. “I can feel it.” He rubs his hands together while Cara tries to corral Corkscrew, their hyper dachshund who’s dressed up in a tuxedo-type coat.

  I wave to Hayley as she heads toward us through the craziness of barking dogs, sniffing each other and romping through the man-made pond built just for them. This is the one park in town Mom and I avoid on our weekly walks—Mom says if you’re not stepping in dog poop, you’re trying to avoid a wet, furry animal running toward you at top speed. The leash law in Liberty Falls is not enforced here.

  “So what prize are you aiming for?” Jenson asks.

  “Whatever I can get,” Sheldon says as he takes Corkscrew’s leash from Cara. “They give out so many freaking awards. I’ll take anything.”

  “I see you’ve gotten desperate enough to even try for best dressed, Sheldon,” Hayley says as she reaches us.

  I smile. “Cara, was the little outfit Sheldon’s idea?”

  “Of course it was,” Cara says. “I don’t give a crap about these contests, but Sheldon had me practicing bocce ball with him for weeks, along with searching for a tuxedo for Corkscrew. He’s promised he won’t enter any contest next year if he wins something today.”

  “I’ve got my fingers crossed for you then, Cara,” Hayley says. She raises her eyebrows at me. “And you’re looking hot today, Ms. Graham.”

  I cross my arms over my low-cut top, but not fast enough. Sheldon notices. “No, that’s a good idea, Olive,” he says. “The fair could be a great place to meet a nice guy. It’s safe, unlike a bar, and it’s family-friendly. Maybe you should hang out with me here at the dog park. I’ll even let you hold Corkscrew’s leash—some couples have been formed through their common love of dogs.”

  Jenson’s hot hand on my back is the only sign of his reaction.

  “Do you ever let up?” I say to Sheldon. “Mom is bad enough.”

  “I’m just saying,” he says, “I know the single life is fun, but we can’t do it forever, you know.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Cara snaps as she hits him in the arm. “I thought you wanted to get married!”

  “I do!” Sheldon leans away from her. “I’m just saying there’s a positive to being unattached, and maybe after her dumb-ass marriage, Olivia’s enjoying the single life a bit too much. You know, nobody to answer to, no one to have to placate when they’re pissed at you for this or that…”

  Cara starts to yell at him, but Hayley quickly interrupts. “Look, the show is starting.”

  Jenson’s breath brushes against my ear as he leans close to me and murmurs, “Your brother’s driving me nuts. I’m this close to kissing you right now.”

  I step away from his close proximity and turn to face him. Fixing a smile on my face, I whisper, “Later. Don’t let his baiting bother you.”

  For the next hour, my world is filled with dogs, barking, and slobbering. Kyle and Connor get bored, and Jenson leaves t
o get them ice cream.

  “I thought Corkscrew did very well,” I tell Sheldon as we wait for the results.

  “Thanks, Olive.” Sheldon clenches his jaw. He doesn’t look sure of himself, a rarity, and my heart goes out to him.

  “He really did do a good job,” Hayley pipes in. “I mean come on. They’ve got to give him something.”

  The head judge walks to the center of the park and calls for attention over the microphone. Even the dogs go quiet as all of Liberty Falls Fair waits breathlessly for the panel’s decision.

  “The award to the winner of Best Dressed goes to…” The judge pauses. “Blossom the Chihuahua!”

  I can practically see Sheldon deflate.

  “It’s okay.” Cara pats his arm. “That’s just one of the awards.”

  But by the time it’s down to Best in Show and Best Bark, Sheldon’s lost most of his confidence. “There’s no way,” he says. “I know he won’t win Best in Show, and his bark even annoys me.”

  “But it’s a distinct bark,” Hayley says.

  The judge calls for attention just as my cell phone rings. I answer it, but before I hear who’s on the other end, the judge announces, “The winner of Best Bark is Corkscrew the Dachshund!”

  We start screaming and shouting like lunatics, and Corkscrew barks and barks and runs as fast as his little legs will take him while Sheldon, leash still in hand, chases him toward the judge to accept his ribbon and get their picture taken for the Liberty Falls Gazette. Cara claps and stays where she is, saying this is Sheldon’s moment.

  “You just don’t want your picture in the paper, do you?” Hayley says to her.

  “Not even a little bit,” Cara says as Sheldon holds up the ribbon in our direction, and we all clap and wave at him.

  Shit. I forgot about my phone. “Hello?” I say, finally bringing it up to my ear.

  “What the heck is going on?” Jenson says. “Did Sheldon win?”

  “Corkscrew just got Best Bark. I got distracted with all the celebrating.”

  I start walking away from Hayley, who’s watching me with a smile.