Bound (Forbidden Series - Book 1)

by Anne, Melody

  “If I may ask, how did she die?”

  “In her sleep, so there was no pain. I think it was just time for her to go home. I was real angry about it for a while, but I finally accepted that someone up there knows more than I do, and I realized that being angry all the time doesn’t do any good.”

  “You are a wise man, Bill. I’m glad I’ve gotten to meet you.” Jewell reached out her hand and took his, smoothing his wrinkly skin with her small thumb.

  “I am glad I’ve gotten to meet you too, darling. You remind me of my sweet Vivian. She was always so calm and just loved everyone, but if you fired her up, she would have no problem taking the hide right off you,” he said with a chuckle.

  “I don’t normally lose my temper, but…” She didn’t know how to complete that sentence.

  “Don’t give up on Blake. He’s been through some dark times in his life. His mama wasn’t fit to be a mother, and it was her fault that she and the boys’ daddy died. To top that off, the three boys watched it happen,” Bill said with a sigh.

  “Wait! They watched their parents die? Was it a car wreck?”

  “No. If only it were that easy. Blake may one day open up to you about it. If he does, then you take the time to listen. I just want you to know that he has to deal with the hard times he’s known however he has to deal with them. Sometimes his bark is pretty bad, but that boy has a heart of gold. He’s just managed to bury it really deep.”

  “He’s lucky to have you in his life,” Jewell told him.

  “Of course he is, little missy. I’m a great man.” Bill smiled at her and she knew that all talk of sadness was over.

  After the two of them visited a while longer, Bill fell asleep in his recliner without giving Jewell any tasks to do. So she went outside and saw the three brothers on the roof. They were working quickly, and shingles came flying over the side of the house.

  A huge dumpster sat in the driveway, one that hadn’t been there when Jewell had gone inside with Bill an hour earlier. She walked over to the work truck — Knight Construction was stenciled on the door — and, finding a pair of gloves in the back, put them on.

  Over the next couple of hours, she picked up roofing from the ground and threw it into the dumpster. By the time the sun was getting low in the sky, she was completely exhausted, but the yard was mostly cleared of debris and she felt pretty dang good about herself.

  “You don’t listen too well, do you?”

  Jewell turned to find Blake behind her. He wiped his forehead with a rag before looking her in the eyes.

  “No,” she told him. “It’s always been a fault of mine.”

  “We’ll see if I can help you change your ways,” he said with more than a hint of anticipation in his smile.

  “You don’t have time.”

  “I invent time. Especially for those who need punishing.” He threw down the rag and tossed his shirt back on. “Let’s run back to my apartment and shower. But we’d better get a move on. I want to do something tonight.”

  He took her hand, led her to his work truck, and practically thrust her up inside.

  “Where’s your car?” She just couldn’t picture Blake as a truck sort of a guy.

  “I had my employee take it back when he delivered the truck. We needed tools.”

  “Oh, makes sense,” she said, at a loss of what to say next. Everyone kept throwing her new curves, it seemed, and it was taking her overwhelmed brain time to catch up.

  He didn’t even say goodbye to his brothers; he just started the truck and drove out into traffic. After a few minutes, Jewell’s curiosity overrode her need to be quiet.

  “Where are we going?”

  “That’s a surprise,” he replied. The eager gleam that shone in his eyes made his face look so much more handsome — not that he was a slouch in that department even in his worst of moods.

  Jewell wasn’t sure if she’d be nearly as excited as he was about what was coming next, but she’d already argued with him far more than she should have today, so she decided to bite her tongue — if she had to — the remainder of the night.

  An hour later, she would seriously regret her choice not to argue.

  Chapter Twenty

  Jewell’s heartbeat thrashed in her ears as she looked at the tiny plane. She rocketed immediately into fight-or-flight mode — except that flight was the last thing she wanted right now. She wanted to know which way to run.

  “Do you honestly think I’m going to get into that thing?”

  “Yes. Why wouldn’t you?”

  “Because it’s a death trap on small wheels!” Her face ashen with fear, she began to pace, trying to think of some way out. This wasn’t something she could do. There was no possible way. What good would she be to her brother if she died either of a terror-induced heart attack or from landing in a fiery heap on the runway of Blake’s private airstrip?

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve been flying for years without even minor mishaps. My mechanics certify this plane, and it’s inspected before and after each flight. If the smallest thing is wrong, the problem is fixed right away.”

  “I’m not going.” It wasn’t the first time she’d refused him outright, but it was the first time she was certain she wouldn’t change her mind. She didn’t know if she was more panicked at the thought of flying or at the thought of what his reaction would be. But he couldn’t make her go up in that thing. Her brother wouldn’t want her to.

  “You can do this, Jewell. There’s really nothing to fear.”

  “Please don’t make me. I can do anything else you ask — just not this.”

  He was silent for a full minute before his expression changed. It wasn’t anger or frustration on his face; it was patience, something she hadn’t seen from him before.

  “Come sit inside,” he told her, holding out his hand.

  “No, please,” she said in a tear-choked voice.

  “We won’t go anywhere. I just want you to sit in the plane, feel it, see that it’s not so frightening.”

  She eyed him with suspicion. Was this a trick? He hadn’t lied to her so far, hadn’t told her anything and then taken it back. Could she trust him?

  Though she could barely manage even to give him her hand, she found herself being propelled forward, and then she was climbing onto the small front seat. It was at least thirty seconds before she let out her breath, and that was only because he’d left the door beside her wide open. He went around the front of the plane and climbed in beside her, his thigh touching hers as he got situated.

  “See? It’s not so bad,” he said, his voice soothing.

  “It’s not bad because we aren’t going anywhere,” she choked out.

  “Why don’t you ask me some questions? I’ll tell you whatever you’d like to know.”

  How could she ask any questions when her throat was completely closed off? Since he had fallen silent, she began looking around the plane, gazing at all the dials and knobs and screens and not knowing what any of them meant.

  “There are so many buttons, so many different functions for you to perform. What if something fails? Or the screens go out? Or the wheels fall off? Heck, what if a wing pops off?” She didn’t give him time to answer anything before she blurted out the next question.

  He waited until she stopped, and then he sent a blinding smile her way.

  “I can almost guarantee you that the wings and wheels won’t pop off. They’re on there pretty damn tight.”

  “Almost? You said almost.” Of course she latched on to the one worrisome word.

  “I wouldn’t risk my life just for a cheap thrill. I know this plane better than I know my car. I guarantee you that I will take you up in the sky and then safely land you back on solid ground. I also guarantee that you will be in pure heaven while we’re up there.”

  “You can’t guarantee that.”

  “Yes, I can, Jewell. I’m confident in my ability to control this plane, just like I control my entire life — and, for that matter, your orgasms
. Even if the engine stalled, I could land us safely.”

  Her breathing grew quicker because she now knew that she was going to go up in this plane. The door was going to close and they were going to speed down the runway and then lift off into the sky. There would be no more talking.

  Blake climbed from the plane and walked over to her side. “Trust me,” he said before leaning in and coming within inches of her lips — not that she really noticed.

  She felt her seat belt locking and the door closing. She should say no again, should jump from the plane, should give up on the entire thing that was happening between them, but she couldn’t even breathe, let alone speak.

  He was soon back in the pilot seat and saying words which she couldn’t comprehend.

  “…clear prop…”

  “…pressure good…”

  “….cleared for takeoff…”

  And then they were moving. The small Cirrus emerged from Blake’s personal hangar and sat at the end of his runway while the engine revved, gaining power. Jewell’s eyes were wet with worry, her vision blurred. And then they started forward; the small plane quickly picked up speed.

  As the plane lifted off and rapidly rose up, up, up in the sky, she held her breath, and she was sure her face was turning blue. She had no doubt that they were going to come down in a fiery blaze of glory. Where would that leave Justin?

  As they climbed higher, a gust of wind shook the plane, and her hand shot out and gripped Blake’s thigh. Her throat closed again and she was unable even to think any longer. A cry for help? Not possible. Who could help her anyway? They had no 911 number for the sky. Maybe he could try a mayday call over the radio, but what good would that do them?

  Then the most amazing thing happened. After making a large arc, Blake leveled the plane off and faced it toward the setting sun. The sky was filled with color, and his softly spoken words registered in her brain.

  “Look at that. Just take a deep breath, and look.”

  She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the view. She knew they were barreling through the evening air, but it felt like they were barely moving. The only sound she heard was his whispered words through her headset, and the only thing she could see was the brilliant reds and oranges lighting up the horizon.

  “It’s spectacular,” she said, jumping slightly when she heard her own words echo back into her ears.

  They were both too awed to say anything else as they zoomed along and watched the sun set, and then they were in the pitch-black sky, flying over fields and small cities. Blake reached down and adjusted the lights on the dashboard, and Jewell turned to see the glow outlining his handsome face.

  His eyes were shining as he looked intently forward, his lips turned up in an almost secret smile, a smile that told her he was happy, he was where he belonged. He loved this — it was obvious. And her fear evaporated because she realized she was safe. She realized that she trusted his word, trusted him to protect her.

  And that filled her with an entirely new fear.

  “I’ve always loved to fly,” he said, “from the very first moment I sat left seat and took the controls of the airplane for the first time — that was when I was twenty-one and taking lessons. But my favorite time of all is at night. Everything after the sun sets feels different. It’s like the rest of the world has disappeared and I’m free. Free from the chaos, the noise, the work, the anger — free from it all. I’m up here and my worries disappear for the hour or two — or five — that I decide to stay in the sky.”

  “I wouldn’t think a guy like you, a guy who holds the world in the palm of his hand, would have a single worry you needed to forget about,” she replied, her own voice quiet, not wanting to shatter this moment. Right after saying it, her conversation with Bill popped into her head, making her regret her words, especially when he snapped at her.

  “I don’t,” he said almost harshly, but then she could hear his clear sigh through the headset. “Sorry, Jewell. I…it’s just that I have to be perfect. I have to do everything right. That’s what’s expected, and that’s who I am.”

  She turned and looked out the window, fighting tears. “I don’t expect anything from you, Blake. I know that when our time is up, you will be gone and I will move on to whatever comes next. But thank you for helping me beat my fears, and thank you for sharing this with me.”

  He turned toward her, his eyes gleaming as their gazes connected. “You are a dangerous woman, Jewell. You make me think things, feel things, do things, that I can’t and don’t want.”

  His words seeped in and a deep sadness overtook her. This man was holding in a past full of what had to be indescribable pain. But she was nothing to him, and she didn’t need to know his secrets. They had only a few more days together. That was all. And in that time, she couldn’t fall for him. It was an impossible situation.

  When shutters went over his eyes, she almost felt relief. She couldn’t afford to become acquainted with Blake’s vulnerable side or to start to care about him. She had to remember that. If she forgot, she risked being burned so badly, she’d never be able to heal.

  So when he spoke next, she shut off her heart, and let her body take over.

  “Take off your clothes, Jewell.”

  “Of course, Blake. I was wondering when you would go back to being yourself.” She unlatched her seat belt and stared him straight in the eyes while unbuttoning her blouse. What was about to happen had nothing to do with caring.

  He flinched at her words, but the expression was gone so quickly, she thought she’d imagined it. He programmed something on the screen in front of him, and Jewell lost one more small piece of herself as her shirt fell from her shoulders.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Blake’s breathing stuttered. He was watching Jewel out of the corner of his eye as she took her sweet time stripping off her clothes. Her body was a thing of beauty. Would he ever want any other woman again?

  He suspected the answer would be a flat no.

  “Lean your seat all the way back,” he said, his voice strained.

  Jewell searched for the controller in the side of the seat and then slowly, surely, her seat moved back, and her body was stretched out there for his eyes to feast upon. Setting the plane on autopilot as they drifted high in the sky over empty fields, he turned and took his fill of her beauty.

  He ran his hands down her smooth skin, pausing to feel the peak of her nipples jut against his palm. His groin throbbed instantly. Trailing down the slight indent of her stomach, he slid his fingers slowly along the slick folds of her core, and nearly lost control when he felt how hot, wet and ready for him she already was.

  When he slipped two fingers inside her, the echo of her groan filled the small cabin. Her scent was driving him mad. He needed her now, but the last thing he wanted was for this to go quickly. Hell, if they crashed, at least he would die one very happy man. Screw his earlier guarantees.

  Reluctantly withdrawing his hand, he yanked his shirt off, tossing it somewhere onto the backseat, then unbuckled his seat belt and began undoing his jeans. He looked over and took pride in the knowledge that Jewell was watching him take off his clothing as avidly as he had watched her. But there was a difference between them, and her innocence and curiosity acted as a complete and utter turn-on.

  Sliding his seat back as far as it would go, he took a moment to catch his breath. “Take me in your mouth.” His voice didn’t come out nearly as strong as he wanted it to, but he was past the point of caring.

  Sex with this woman was an experience he’d have difficulty finding again. Though untutored, she seemed to know instinctively what to do. He had to grip himself and squeeze to tame the pulsing when she sat up, her hair drifting over her shoulders and playing hide and seek with her breasts.

  Jewell leaned over the seat between them, and her ass rose in the air as her head descended. He threw his head back when her hot mouth circled around the tip of his arousal and she sucked hard, making him lurch upward on his seat.

>   He gripped her ass with one hand while holding the back of her neck with the other as she slowly moved up and down his arousal. He cried out in pleasure. But things grew too intense for him — he came close to ending this moment much too soon.

  “Enough,” he said after she licked his entire length, then sucked his tip again, groaning in pleasure at the task.

  She let him go slowly, turning her head, her cheeks flushed as she looked up at him, her eyes shining, her nipples brushing against his thighs. She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen in his life.

  He grasped her hips, pulled her over to him, and he sat her on his lap with her back to him.

  “We can’t do this — the plane will crash,” she gasped, though her stomach shook beneath his hand and her head fell back, passion in her tone.

  “It’s on autopilot, and there’s not another plane around for miles,” he assured her, not that he’d let anything stop him right now. If he had to do an emergency landing in a cornfield to finish this, he’d damn well do it, but he’d never before made love while flying, and that’s all he could think of doing right then.

  Unable to wait even a minute more, he lifted her up, and then pushed her inch by delicious inch down onto his ready erection, completely filling her. When he didn’t move for several long moments, she began to grind her hips seductively against him, her body obviously quivering with the need for release.

  “Wait!” he ordered her. He needed just a moment to regain control.

  She fell still as he slid his hands up her stomach and then clasped her breasts, kneading her sweet flesh before pinching the nipples and making her cry out again.

  When she began once more to move up and down on him, he couldn’t even think about stopping her any longer. Her slick heat coated him, so he held her tight as he felt pressure build low in his stomach and his hardness pulse inside her.

  Leaning forward, he sucked the smooth skin of her neck, then ran his tongue along her shoulder, delighting in her taste, in the way her skin felt against his lips and tongue. “You make me lose my mind,” he whispered in her ear, and a shudder rushed through her as he grasped her hips and set the pace for their movements, guiding her now instead of following her lead.