Studfinder (The Busy Bean)
Page 18
“Sweet.” Sounding strained and off, I’m almost surprised I heard his voice through the glass. Quickly, I set the bat to the side of the door and release the locks. Once the door is opened, the man on my front porch hardly looks like Jake. He sways. His shirt is wrinkled. His tie disheveled. An overwhelming hint of cinnamon wafts between us. Gum is the first attempt to hide alcohol on someone’s breath.
“Are you drunk?” I snap. Jake does not confess to having a problem. He’s told me all the ways he’s been accused of having an issue but remains adamant he does not. I know all about closet drinking, thinking you’re fooling others when you aren’t. I’m also not convinced Jake really does suffer from alcohol addiction as I had.
“I’ll admit I’ve been drinking.” His voice remains controlled, but his hands reach for the doorframe as if he’ll pitch forward if he doesn’t hold on to something. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
The low tenor of his tone has me reaching for his tie and tugging him forward. He stumbles into the entryway, and I close the door behind him.
“Sweet,” he whispers, but it isn’t a drunken slur or even a seductive taunt. The sound is a broken man.
“What happened?” Before I’ve even finished my question, his arms are around me, dragging me to him and pressing my body against his. His arms wrap around my back, and he holds me like he doesn’t ever want to let go. Hesitantly, my hands come to his lower back. His weight falls against me, and I can hardly hold him up.
“Let’s sit down,” I state, but Jake twists his head which lays in the crook of my neck. Gently pushing at him, I separate us enough to lead him into the front room while holding his hand. As we near the couch, Jake reaches for my waist, slipping his arms around me again. We lower as one before he tips back. My hands rest on his biceps, pressing at him to release me, but he isn’t letting go. As we flatten to the couch, my legs twist awkwardly beside his hip, dangling off the furniture while his upper body holds mine down. He scoots so his ear lands near my heart. With his arms still snug around my back, and my spine arching over them under me, I feel Jake shudder. A strange vibe rolls off him.
Slowly, I relax from the temporary fear of him and give in to the presence of his body blanketing mine. My hands slide up his arm, and my fingers massage the back of his head.
“What happened, handsome?” I ask, keeping my voice low. Skittish of his reaction, I remain still other than my racing heart and stroking fingers. Jake only shakes his head against my chest, and then I feel the tremble of his body. The definitive sound of a sob and the utter collapse of this man. His arms tighten as his face presses into my skin, and he cries.
“Oh my, honey,” I say, staying quiet and tender as I rub the back of his head and stroke my other hand over his upper back. Without additional words, I let him cry out whatever has upset him. My heart rips in half and half again, knowing whatever has broken such a strong man had to be something bad. Something very bad.
Time slows as Jake cries against me until his body relaxes. His weight turns heavy, and I assume he’s fallen asleep. Still stroking his head and rubbing up his back, I lean forward and press a kiss to the top of his head.
“I’m sorry.” His hoarse voice startles me.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” I don’t speak louder than a whisper as if I’d disturb the remainder of the empty house.
“At the graduation. I overreacted.”
Ah, the moment where he was calling me out for thinking he wasn’t good enough. I didn’t wish to get into the altercation I’d already had with his brother, who accused me of being friends with the enemy as he called Parker. I can’t say I’d call Parker the enemy as she was only doing her job, which involved proving Jake’s guilt. However, I had to agree with Nolan a little bit. If Parker believed Jake was innocent, she should have requested an audience with the judge to discuss her suspicions.
Still, I had my own suspicions now.
“What happened tonight?” Something must have occurred after Jake left for dinner. Shifting slightly on me, I sense the dampness on my skin and the scoop neck of my nightshirt. Hardly lifting his head, Jake uses his tie to wipe at both.
“Nolan.” His voice cracks on his brother’s name, and he shivers all over again. My arms tighten around him.
“Tell me,” I quietly encourage.
“Nolan did it, Rita. He set the fires. In the warehouses. In the school.” My heart drops to my stomach. I feel sick and press at Jake’s shoulders to get a better look at him, but Jake returns his vise grip hold on my waist, keeping himself tethered to me.
“What?” My own throat clogs at the revelation. “How?”
“He didn’t want me to lose my job. He wanted a fire chief promotion. It’s exactly as the judge thought, only it wasn’t me. It was him.” There isn’t bitterness in Jake’s tone as much as shock like I’ve never heard—incomprehensible shock.
“How do you know?” I question, allowing my hands to flatten on his shoulders as if I’m tugging him to me, keeping him against me. As if I need his strength to support me.
“He told me. He was drunk, and we were fighting about my ex-wife—”
“Lisa,” I interject.
“Yes. She was there tonight.”
“I met her, remember? She’s very pretty.” The surprise at finding his ex-wife present did nothing to quell the nerves I’d already felt after the altercation with Nolan. Lisa was a raven-haired beauty, and I was a mouse compared to her. We looked nothing alike, and I’m certain our temperaments didn’t compare either. Judging a book by its cover, she was all beauty and makeup, while I was hiking boots and knitting nerd. I recall the slow release of Jake’s hand from my back once she uttered those words: I’m also Jake’s ex-wife.
“Don’t,” Jake says, finally lifting his head and twisting his neck so he can look me in the face despite the dark room. “Don’t even think of her.”
I nod but still wonder what he means by she was there tonight. Had she joined them for dinner in my place, or was she always intended to be present? There wasn’t time for the sudden pang of jealousy I felt. Jake had larger issues with his brother unless those issues further included Lisa. Jake told me his suspicion that his wife came onto his brother after Jake was incarcerated.
“Tell me more about Nolan.” I swallow back the bile at simply stating his name. Jake shifts his feet as if kicking off his shoes before he lowers his head once more, returning his cheek to my chest. He speaks to the quiet, dark room.
“He admitted to it all. Setting the fires at the warehouses, hoping to gain attention from the State.”
“Warehouse fires?” I interject, and Jake quickly refreshes my memory of the initial investigation he was under regarding the vacant warehouses.
“Nolan hoped to make a statement that fire departments were necessary as is. When that didn’t gain the attention he’d wanted, he went for the school. He swears he thought it was empty. A vacant building so no one would get hurt.”
“But someone did get hurt,” I interject, clenching my teeth with the statement. Not only had Ian died but Nolan was permanently disabled as well. I wouldn’t even admit to the irony of the situation.
A sense of sad relief comes over me as I wasn’t certain how I’d tell Jake of my new suspicions. After my conversation with Parker and then Nolan’s dismissal of me, I was confident—but without evidence—that Nolan could have set fire to the school. Accusing him, though, would have been similar to what happened to Jake. I didn’t have any proof Nolan committed a crime. It was all circumstantial.
“I know,” Jake whispers, squeezing me tighter. At this point, I was an uncomfortable human body pillow to Jake, but I didn’t complain. I needed to know more.
“So, what happened next?”
“I couldn’t believe what he said. It seemed impossible. Like what was he thinking? What did he hope to accomplish? How could he do such a thing?” Jake pauses for air as his voice rises. “I have so many questions. Nothing feels like it makes sense r
ight now. I want to believe I imagined it.”
My hand swipes down his back. “But you didn’t, did you?”
Sensing his eyes close, he rolls his head against my chest once more. “My own brother,” Jake mutters. Defeat fills his voice. Heartbreak and irreparable hurt linger.
“What will you do?” My mind races as there aren’t many options. Jake already served the time for the crime he didn’t commit. A crime he’d been adamant all along that he never did. To know his brother went along with Jake’s arrest, allowed him to go to prison . . .
“Why didn’t Nolan come forward?” I ask before Jake has a chance to answer my first question.
“He was in a medically induced coma when I was arrested. He says by the time he came around, I was already in jail. He didn’t speak up for fear that Rory would be found out with those damn fireworks. He also didn’t want to lose his son. He thought I’d get off.”
Jake lifts his head once more. “I understand his thought process around Rory. As sick as it sounds, I might have done the same thing if Rory had been mine.” But Jake doesn’t have a son. It’s something we’ve discussed. His wife hadn’t gotten pregnant in the time of their marriage. Jake believes it was partially responsible for their issues. Lisa’s infidelity had been another part of their problems.
I shake my thoughts of her, returning to options for Jake.
“You can go to the authorities. Tell them the truth.”
Jake perches up on an elbow, wedged between my body and the back of the couch. “I don’t know what to do.” He shakes his head. “I just . . . can’t think about this anymore.”
I understand. There’s so much to consider, but the pile-up from Nolan’s confession alone is weighing Jake down. He’s gone to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, while his brother had known the truth all along.
“Why didn’t he ever tell you? Admit his part in the fires before.”
Jake shakes his head again. “I don’t know, and I don’t have space to think. I’m just . . . spent tonight.” He lowers his head once more, and I’m reminded of his cinnamon scent when I opened the door.
“Are you drunk?” I ask again, worried that his own state of mind is clouded by more than this revelation.
“Stone sober, sweet. The gum was not to disguise anything but just take away the stench. I didn’t want to upset you.”
My arms tighten around him again, holding him in place against my body. Jake slips one arm out from under me and slides his hand along my outer leg, lifting them both to lay across the couch cushions. He shifts himself, so my legs spread, and he settles between them, keeping his upper body over mine. His head remains near my racing heart, and we hold one another for a while longer in this position.
Time passes although I’m uncertain how much before Jake shifts, rubbing his nose against my skin above the scoop neck collar of my nightshirt. Slowly, he begins kissing me along the ridge of material.
“Jake?” I whisper.
“Don’t talk,” he quietly states, opening his lips to suck at the path he’s made. He shifts a bit, and his mouth moves to my neck before his tongue comes forward. He licks down the column of my throat to the edge of my low-cut nightdress. As his tongue moves down my skin, his hand slips upward, covering my breast over the material.
“Jake,” I groan as he squeezes me hard through the soft covering, bringing my nipple to a sharp peak.
“I need you, sweet,” he mutters into my skin. It’s wrong, I want to say to him. It shouldn’t be like this—when he’s so broken, so desperate—yet I can’t deny him the comfort he seeks, reminding myself of that fateful night for me. How badly I wanted to recapture the sensation of another body over mine. How strongly I wanted to join with another. I had hoped to get lost in someone else. Of course, the circumstances were different. I was drunk out of my head, unfocused, and uncertain of what I was doing.
This is Jake.
“I stopped drinking hours ago,” he states, looking up at me once more to assure me of his mental state. As our eyes meet, he leans upward, joining our lips. At first, the kiss is slow and sad. His mouth is swollen. His cinnamon flavor invades my tongue. Quickly, the kiss grows more desperate. Jake fists his fingers in my hair and deftly moves us until he’s sitting upward and I’m straddling him.
“What is it with you and couches, Kaplan?” he teases before nipping at my lower lip and forcing my mouth open to continue kissing. My hands cup the side of his head as we continue to explore with eager tongues and unquenchable lips. Jake breaks first, pressing me back only enough to work a few buttons on his skewed dress shirt. The tie is already loose at the neck. He tugs everything over his head from the back collar, giving me his firm shoulders and flat chest to explore. My hands wander down his pecs while fingers comb through the fine hairs on his chest.
His hands fist in the material of my nightdress and gently tug it upward, revealing my body in a slow tease of exposure until I lift my arms and he removes it completely. His face is eye level with my naked breasts, and he cups one, leaning forward to suck hard at the swell. Instantly, my back arches, forcing myself deeper into the warmth of his mouth. My fingertips dig into his shoulders to balance myself against his hungry suction. Popping free of one, he moves to the other, swirling his tongue around the nipple before dragging his teeth to the nub. The contrast of lapping tongue and sharp bite causes me to squeak. Jake returns to my mouth.
With our lips still joined, his hands slip into the sides of my underwear, and he presses at my hips to momentarily stand. When we can’t remain joined by lips, I break free, and Jake lowers my panties. He keeps me upright a moment, skimming his hands over my naked thighs, along my hips, and over the small swell of my stomach.
“You’re so beautiful, sweet,” he whispers, choking on the compliment before leaning forward and sucking at my belly. One hand slips lower, cupping between my thighs as his mouth sucks at my loose abdomen. My fingers fall into his hair once more, combing through the locks while his fingers stroke over slick skin. Without warning, two fingers slide into me, causing my head to loll and a moan to escape. Jake takes his time to drag them to the edge before filling me once more. He works me back and forth, and the motion is like a slow-release drug, taking its time to sedate me, relax me. I make sounds I’ve never made before as one arm wraps around my backside to keep me balanced. He licks and sucks over my stomach while his fingers work their magic.
Quickly, my legs tremble, and my knees break. I warn Jake with only his name.
“That’s it, sweet. Come alive for me,” he says. My body is hyperaware of being alive at this moment, being treasured by this sad man before me. Tonight should be about him and his loss, what he’s learned, but I sense taking from me, doing what he’s doing brings him the distraction he needs. Once I break, he rushes forward, forcing his face between my thighs and lapping at the release. I’m still standing, and I’m not certain my legs can support me as his tongue is wicked torture. He works hard to bring me to the edge once more. My hips rock. My pelvis thrusts. I’m right there when he stops.
I hiss, but Jake softly chuckles. Leaning back against the couch, he unbuckles his belt and removes his pants, shoving boxer briefs and all over his knees. As they fall to his ankles, he guides me by my hips to climb over him. Holding his stiff shaft upright, I position myself on the tip, and we both groan at the sensation of his hard skin against my damp folds. Slowly, I lower over him, bringing him into me. Once seated to the hilt, I pause, and our eyes meet.
“Thank you,” he whispers up to me, tipping his head back for my mouth once more. We return to kissing, keeping this still position for only so long before Jake moves my hips up and down his hard length. With hands on his shoulder, I aid myself in the movement, rocking with greater speed, quickly rebuilding the lost orgasm from his mouth on my clit moments ago. In this position, I feel both wild and sensual, taking what I want from this man but also giving to him what he needs. He needs me, and I marvel at how I’m in a position I never thought I’d
be in again.
I’m in love with him.
The emotion overwhelms me as I rock where we are joined, keeping him deep within the warmth of my body. Moving faster, rubbing my clit against him in a manner that quickly ignites the tension, I break apart once more. When I lower my face, my hair curtains our heads, and Jake captures the silent scream of my orgasm ripping through me. I struggle to kiss him in return, unable to catch my breath. As my body slowly melts into his, his arms wrap around my back.
He shifts, keeping us attached, and I laugh at the unexpected movement as well as his strength. I’m flipped to my back with him over me, our position similar to that first night on a dusty covered couch. This couch is certainly more comfortable and more functional. Jake grabs each of my hands, lifting one and then the other over my head. Sliding his fingers between mine, he balances over me, moving his hips in that manner he has, reminding me again of how he can dance. He thrusts, and he sways. He surges, and he teases.
“God, Rita,” he hums like I’m a prayer of gratitude. Then he stills, pumping into me. His forehead comes to mine as he squeezes my fingers until I lose circulation. We remain joined as he rides out his own release. His body stays tense, keeping some of his weight off me until he can’t balance any longer. He collapses briefly over me, breathing into my neck, inhaling my sleep and sex scent. A soft kiss comes to my lips, and tears fill my eyes. A sudden sense of ending slips down my body like a silk cloth falling to expose my raw skin.
“Let’s go to bed,” Jake mutters, pressing up over me like he isn’t exhausted or distraught. He slips out of me quickly and stands, lowering a hand for mine to pull me upward. Silently, I follow him to my room, walking naked through the house until we reach my bed and fall into one another once more.
24
Rita
After our second round, we lay as we did on the couch, only with a little more room in my bed. Jake sprawls over me. Head above my breast. Arm over my waist. One leg trapped between mine. He dozes, as do I, but I can’t quite sleep. My mind races with options for Jake and his brother. Will Nolan turn himself in? Can Jake be set free from his sentence? Most of all, can he ever forgive his brother?