by K. Anderson
“Are you okay?” Jackson breathed out. He was shaking on top of her, and she could tell that she was desperate to move within her, but also being careful not to hurt her.
“Yes,” Nicole nodded. Her inner walls were twitching around him, and she was aching to feel him move. While she was tight around him, she was not in pain.
Jackson kept his eye contact with her as he slowly pulled out, and Nicole moaned from the pleasurable friction. Just his tip remained inside of her when he pressed back in. Jackson maintained that slow, torturous rhythm, until Nicole thought that she might lose her mind. Jackson’s jaw was clenched, and his brow furrowed, so she imagined that he felt much the same way.
“Jackson,” she breathed out, barely able to articulate her words. “More…”
Jackson seemed to sigh in relief at her words, and he picked up his rhythm. At first the change was minor, but soon, Jackson had increased his pace to an almost punishing speed. Nicole bit her lip as her body was racked with incredible sensations. She felt herself approach the edge of her climax, and she knew that it would only take one minor change to send her over the edge.
Jackson seemed to be able to read her mind. He looked into her eyes and slid his hand down her stomach. It only took a soft flick of his finger over her clit to send her over the edge. Nicole cried out as her muscles tensed and her inner muscles crashed down over his hardness. It was an entirely new and more intense sensation to orgasm with something so big inside of her, and she heard Jackson moan as she milked him.
Nicole was awed that she had been able to orgasm twice in such a short span of time. Jackson, though, had yet to achieve his first, and he continued to pump into her, only serving to prolong her own orgasm. Soon, though, he too reached his pinnacle, and he released a loud, long moan as his hot seed shot into her.
Jackson finished, and then slowly lowered himself onto the bed and turned onto his back, releasing a long sigh. They both breathed heavily for a long moment, and then were quiet once they had caught their breath. Nicole looked over at Jackson, and felt a deep longing to be closer to him. She tentatively turned onto her side, and slowly moved into his side, which had become slick with sweat. She inhaled his deep musk, and released a contented sigh.
Jackson tentatively put his arm around her, and ran his fingers through her hair with his free hand.
“How are you…” he started, and Nicole could clearly hear the tension in his voice. “Are you okay?”
Nicole laughed and blushed.
“Absolutely,” she nodded. “You’re unbelievable. It’s no wonder that I married you.”
Jackson laughed wryly, and gently kissed her forehead.
“I’m surprised that you wanted this,” Jackson said genuinely.
“Oh,” Nicole said. “I mean, maybe it was the accident… you know, maybe it made me more… needy…”
Jackson laughed.
“No, you have been… needy since I’ve known you,” he said with a sweet smile. “I just thought you might want to rest a little more.”
“Well I’m pretty tired now,” Nicole admitted, and Jackson chuckled.
“Go ahead and try to get some sleep,” he said gently. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right here if you need anything.”
“Okay,” Nicole said softly, and smiled up at him. She watched as he closed his eyes, and she settled in as well. He seemed to fall off to sleep fairly easily, and his chest rose and fell as he breathed. Nicole could hear his heart beating in his chest, and she allowed the sound to lull her into a restful sleep.
Chapter Seven
Nicole slept much more peacefully this time around, and when she woke up, she felt refreshed and very much revitalized. She woke to Jackson looking down at her with a peaceful expression, gently stroking her hair. She blinked up at him and gave him a small smile before she yawned.
“Hey,” he said softly. “How did you sleep?”
“Very well,” Nicole answered. She raised her arms up over her head to stretch, and she winced slightly.
“Careful,” Jackson said, his hands immediately hovering over her, and his brows furrowed in concern.
“I’m okay,” Nicole sighed. “Just not used to being… damaged.”
“You’re not damaged,” Jackson said, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. “Come on, let’s go get you some food. I’m sure the saline solution wasn’t so thrilling on the palate.”
Jackson swung his legs over the other side of the bed and got up, then moved over to her side to help her up. Nicole took his hand and allowed him to help her sit up on the edge of the bed. She winced slightly as she engaged her sore core muscles, and Jackson held her steady with a hand on her back.
“You’ll feel better soon,” he said softly. “The doctor sent us home with some pain meds if you want any.”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Nicole said. Jackson reached into her nightstand and withdrew a bottle from the top drawer and put it on the top of the small furniture.
“I’ll get you some water,” Jackson said, and she watched as he moved into the adjoined bathroom, and then shortly returned with a glass tumbler of water.
Nicole took it gratefully, and took two of the pills, finishing off the water. Jackson took back the tumbler and set it down on the nightstand. She watched Jackson move around the room and gather the clothes they had discarded. She felt a surge of desire as she looked at his naked body, and watched the sinew of his muscle as he dressed.
“Here,” Jackson handed Nicole her bra, and she smiled, embarrassed as he helped her dress. When they were both finally clothed once more, Jackson helped her to get up out of the bed and slowly move across the room.
Nicole allowed him to support her as she moved to stand, and allowed him to lead her out of the bedroom and down the stairs. He left her leaning on a wall to bring a chair in from the dining room, and Nicole settled into it.
“Um,” Nicole spoke up tentatively. “Am I still…”
“Vegetarian?” Jackson asked with a raised brow and a smile. “Yes, and I am too.”
Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that a lot had changed in five years, but her diet would have been something that she insisted upon maintaining.
She was glad that Jackson was being so accommodating about her memory loss. He seemed to be in a brighter mood than he was at the hospital, and she could barely take her eyes off of him as he moved about the kitchen. He moved over to her and presented her with a bowl of oatmeal with apples and cinnamon. Her mouth watered at the smell, and she eagerly took her first bite.
“Careful, don’t overload your system,” he said. “No pressure to eat it all.”
Nicole nodded and turned her attention back to her delicious breakfast. It was absolutely delicious, but after about half the bowl she found that she could eat no more. She guessed that her stomach had shrunk from being on an intravenous diet for the past week. She handed her bowl back to Jackson, and he promptly finished off the rest by himself.
Nicole once again looked around their beautiful home. She frowned as she wondered how they were able to afford this. She wondered how they would pay for her lengthy stay at the hospital, and how she would be able to go back to work when she had no memory of ever doing her job.
“Hey,” Jackson interrupted her thoughts. “What are you thinking about?”
Nicole sighed and shook her head.
“Just money,” Nicole shrugged. “I know my hospital stay is going to be expensive, and I know that all this was expensive, and I’m just worried about having to go back to a job that I can’t remember ever doing.”
Jackson blinked and looked at her blankly.
“Nicole,” he said patiently. “I am an architect. A highly sought after architect at that. If you don’t want to, you never have to go back to work in your life. And you never, ever need to worry about money.”
Nicole blinked to hear the news. It seemed that the two of them had a practically perfect life. She couldn’t help but think that she was the luckiest woman in the
world.
“Oh, by the way,” Jackson said, and pulled out his phone. “I got a text from your dad. He’s off work, and he wants you to give him a call.”
Jackson handed over his phone, and Nicole remembered the process he had gone through to get it to work. She shuffled down to her father’s name in the contacts, and pressed the call button.
The phone rang a couple of timed before he answered, and when he did his voice was cool and clipped.
“Hello?” he said simply.
“Hey dad, it’s me,” Nicole said.
“Oh, Nicole,” he said, his tone much warmer. “I’m glad you called. I’m so glad you’re up and about. I heard you have a little head trauma.”
“Yeah, I can’t remember anything from the last five years,” Nicole explained, her eyes following Jackson as he moved to clean up the dishes from breakfast.
“Well,” her father sighed. “I’m sure this is all pretty disorienting for you then.”
“You could say that,” Nicole laughed.
“Well, let me remind you then,” he said spiritedly. “We have a dinner scheduled with you on Wednesday, as a celebration for your adoption.”
“Oh, great,” Nicole said, feeling a rush of nausea at the thought of having a baby in her life so soon. “We’ll be there, I’m sure Jackson has it marked somewhere in a calendar.”
Her father was quiet for a long moment.
“Well, just in case,” her father spoke up. “It’s at our house at seven.”
“Do you still live… where I remember?” Nicole asked tentatively. Her father laughed.
“Yeah, we didn’t go anywhere,” he said easily.
“Okay,” Nicole laughed lightly. “We’ll be there then.”
Again, her father was silent.
“Okay,” he finally said in a long sigh. “We’ll see you both.”
“See you,” Nicole said. “Love you dad.”
“Love you too,” he said gently. “Take care.”
With that, Nicole hung up the phone. She stared at it as she held it in her lap, and she handed it back to him when he moved toward her from the sink.
“Everything okay?” he asked, putting the phone back in the pocket of his jeans.
“Yeah,” Nicole said vaguely. “Just my dad seemed… weird.”
Jackson grunted and frowned.
“Did you know that we had a dinner with them?” she asked softly.
“We don’t actually,” Jackson said softly. “You do.”
“Oh,” Nicole blinked, suddenly feeling very sheepish.
“It was just a way that you could reconnect with them,” Jackson shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
Nicole nodded, and she felt somewhat distressed that he would not be there with her.
“I can come if you want, of course,” Jackson said.
“I think I’d like that,” Nicole smiled up at him, and he smiled back, moving to gently cup her cheek in the palm of his hand. She was grateful that he was being so understanding.
“I was thinking we could watch a movie?” he suggested, and Nicole was more than open to the idea.
“That sounds great,” Nicole said, and Jackson smiled.
Chapter Eight
Nicole took Jackson’s arm and allowed him to lead her into the living room, where she settled into the soft leather couch. Jackson moved over to the television and entertainment center and opened one of the doors of the cabinet. He fished around a large collection of DVD’s until he finally settled on one and put it into the player. He moved back to the couch and picked up the remote from one of the stands by the couch.
Nicole leaned against him as he flipped on the TV and set the input to the DVD player. Immediately the screen was filled with the opening menu of one of her favorite romances.
“This is my favorite,” Nicole said softly, giving him a small smile.
“I remember,” he smiled, and Nicole blushed.
Nicole nuzzled closer to him as the film began to play, and she felt somewhat normal. Jackson put his hand gently on her knee, and she rested her face along his muscular upper arm. The movie passed, and Nicole was wrapped in her attention for a while, but soon her thoughts drifted to the man that was sitting beside her.
His natural scent was filling her nose, and she reveled in his warmth and closeness. Though her mind could not quite make connections yet, it was abundantly clear that her body had not forgotten him. She weaved both her arms around his and gathered up her legs underneath her on the couch.
She felt extremely safe and comfortable with him. She teared up at some of the more emotional parts of the movie, and Jackson was ready for it. He had a box of tissues already on hand, and he reached for a small wastebasket and put it down in front of her. She sniffled her thanks, and blushed that he had thought of something like that. He gave her a soft smile and a kiss on the cheek.
Nicole marveled at the kind sweetness of the man that she was curled up to. He was thoughtful, and it seemed that he was focused on making sure that she was absolutely comfortable. She was also beginning to see more of his humor, which she couldn’t help but find charming. She bitterly regretted the fact that she had no memory of their courtship and the time they had dated, as well as the time that they had been married.
The movie came to an end, and Nicole moved to let Jackson rise and put up the DVD. He executed his task rapidly, and was soon back beside her on the couch.
“Well, is there anything you want to do now?” Jackson asked her, looking down at her with his considerate dark eyes.
Nicole took stock of her outfit, and she vaguely acknowledged that she must not have had a decent shower in days.
“Do you think I could go take a shower?” she asked.
“Of course,” he smiled down at her. “Or you could take a bath. That might be easier so you don’t have to stay on your feet for so long.”
“Oh, okay,” Nicole blinked. She had never had a place with a tub, so she had never really had a proper bath that she could remember. It was no wonder she had wanted one in her adult home.
Jackson held her off the couch and guided her up the stairs and to the master bedroom. Nicole finally saw the master bath, and she nearly gasped at the splendor of it. It was incredibly large- with a Jacuzzi tub complete with jets- that could easily fit multiple people. There was an equally large shower along the other wall, with stone tile along the floor and wall, and there were multiple shower heads, and a large enough area that she could easily step out of the stream. There was also a stone bench built into the wall. There were two sinks and a large counter complete with all manner of hand soaps and lotions. Two toothbrushes were placed in the holder between the two sinks.
Nicole marveled at the room, and Jackson smiled.
“This is incredible,” Nicole murmured.
“Wait till you get in the tub,” Jackson flicked his eyebrows. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
Jackson made to leave, but Nicole quickly latched onto his arm.
“Um…” Nicole stammered. “Could you teach me how to work the tub?”
Jackson smiled and moved over to the faucets. He flipped a switch, and Nicole saw the hole in the drain close. He then turned on the hot water and kept his hand in to test the temperature.
“Here,” he said, and took hold of Nicole’s hand, and placed it in the water as well. “Just tell me hotter or cooler.”
Together they worked to get the water at the right temperature, quite hot, but not overly so. Finally, the tub was full, and Nicole was eager to get into it.
“There you go,” Jackson said. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
“Actually,” Nicole spoke up and stopped him before he could actually leave. “Do you think you help me get in?”
Jackson’s eyes flashed with a heated emotion, and he nodded.
“How about I just stay in here until you get in?” he said. “I’ll give you some privacy.”
Jackson turned so his back was to her, a
nd Nicole began to remove her clothes. She felt her heart begin to breathe more heavily in her chest as she dropped her clothes onto the floor item by item. When she was finally bare to him, she took a deep breath.
“I’m ready,” she said softly. Jackson turned to face her, and she saw his throat bob as he swallowed.
Jackson moved over to her and took her hand. Nicole gripped it tightly as she moved each of her shaky legs up the small steps, and then over the edge of the tub. She held tight to Jackson’s hand as he slowly lowered her into the water. He did not try to hide the fact that he was soaking up the sight of her in the tub through the clear water.
“Here,” Jackson said, reaching for a package on the side of the tub. “This is a bath bomb.”
He opened up the package and revealed a ball that was light green in color.
“It’s lemongrass with avocado,” he said. “It’s supposed to be good for your skin.”
Nicole watched as he dropped the ball into the water, and she gasped as it immediately began to fizz and turn all the water in the tub the same shade of light green. The water did feel luxurious, and she gently moved her arms through the water.
“There are soaps and waters just there,” he said, gesturing to the other edge of the tub. “I won’t be far if you need me, but shout when you need to get out.”
“Okay,” Nicole said softly. Jackson gave her a single nod and moved out of the room. She bit back the urge to ask him to stay.
“I’ll leave the door cracked,” he said, and then stepped out, leaving the door a quarter of the way open.
Nicole felt slightly anxious at being left alone, but she tried to relax into the soothing water of the bath. She sighed as she let the ingredients of the bath bomb work into her skin, and she closed her eyes, stretching her body out in the tub and resting her head against the edge of the tub.
After she had relaxed a while, she gingerly stood up and began to wash herself with a soft loofah that hung from a hook in the wall. She used a bath wash that was scented with mint and eucalyptus, and the smell made the inside of her nostrils tingle.
