by Anne Rainey
Jason grabbed a condom from the bedside table and sheathed himself, then lowered to the soft bed beside her. He wrapped his hands around Emma, easily spanning her waist, and raised her up and over him, impaling her in one smooth stroke. He had wanted to be gentle, but each time she looked at him, he went a little insane, lost another piece of his control.
Emma took him inside her body with an eagerness that surprised them both. He watched as she rode him, slowly at first, getting used to the feel of him deep inside her body. Jason could and would get rough, this he knew, but for now, he would let her play. They fit together as if God himself had fashioned them that way. One for the other.
Riding on a sea of emotions he didn’t understand, he let his thoughts drift and just feel. For the first time, he gave himself up to another. He wondered if she was even aware of how powerful she had become.
Moving her hands to his chest for support, she began wiggling her hips in little circles, drawling out their pleasure measure by measure. Aware of each stroke of skin, each time her body clutched around him. Jason stroked his hands over her like a blind man committing each piece of her to memory. When he found the tiny nub of her desire, it was her turn to moan. Her need mounted. Her movements became more and more frantic as she drove his cock deeper into her dripping pussy. Soon there was no separating them. Without warning, Emma came apart. Her body convulsed. Her fingernails bit into his pectoral muscles as she held on to him for dear life. When her thighs clenched tight and she spurted her juice all around his cock, Jason lost it.
He thrust upward, grasping her hips and pumping faster, harder. Her eyes flew open, and he saw the wonder and excitement. The wild desire and need that only he could fulfill. He felt it too.
“Jason.” His name was a plea on her lips. But he wanted to push her beyond pleasure, beyond contentment. He wished to show her true rapture.
Wrapping his arms around her bottom, Jason anchored them together as he stood up and got off the bed. He kept himself deep inside her and continued to thrust into her, harder and harder. He slammed his hips into her, holding her perfect ass in his palms as he fucked her.
He was a breath away from coming. His body flexed, leg muscles steady as he moved her bottom up and down on his thick shaft, showing her without words how to get the greatest amount of pleasure.
He recognized the instant she began climbing that intoxicating peak again. Soon they were both burning like an out-of-control brush fire. Emma clutched him, digging her nails into his shoulders in a kind of pleasure-pain. He groaned and lowered his head to her neck and bit down hard, marking her. She slammed her hips into his, then moaned as yet another delicious climax gushed forth. Her smooth vaginal walls contracted, and he joined her this time, her body milking him dry.
It was as natural as breathing. It was euphoria. He knew in that moment that beauty had a name. Emma Lane.
Jason vowed she would know him as intimately as he was so eager to know her. If he was moving too fast, too fucking bad. It wasn’t his way to tiptoe, especially not when he saw something he wanted.
Watching the dark fires in her eyes burn bright was as addicting as any drug. When her little pink tongue darted out, licking at his chest, swirling over the dark patch of chest hair, Jason knew a kind of tenderness he had never known with any other woman.
Emma closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. Her exotic scent swirled around him, tempting him. He would know her scent anywhere now.
It wasn’t until Jason felt her body go limp against his, trusting him to hold them both up, that he shoved back the covers on her bed and lowered her to the cool sheets. He made quick work of disposing the condom and slipped in beside her. When he pulled her atop him, blanketing his body with her silky curves, she sighed, content and replete. Jason kissed her pretty brunette head before pulling the covers up and over them both.
His last thought before succumbing to the lethargy of his sated and exhausted body, was that she would not walk away from him come morning. If he had to kidnap her to keep her by his side, Jason wasn’t above doing so. He would happily use everything he had at his disposal. A woman like Emma came along once in a lifetime—well, twice, if he counted high school—and he wasn’t so stupid as to let her slip through his fingers this time.
Abruptly his father’s words came back to him. He’d once said that when he met the woman of his heart, he would know in an instant. A Kershaw loved but once, and it was for life.
Chapter Eight
Jason had taken her to the movies and dinner. The movie had had been a number-one hit at the box office, but Emma hadn’t watched more than a few minutes of it. She’d been too consumed with Jason. He was in her head twenty-four-seven, and she knew why. She was falling for him.
When they reached her shop, Jason turned off the engine of his motorcycle and shoved down the kickstand. He stood and helped her to her feet, then grinned. “You look cute as hell in that helmet, baby.”
“Thanks, but I never thought I’d find myself riding on the back of a Harley.” It’s now or never, girlfriend. If you don’t tell him how you feel this instant, you may never work up the courage. The pep talk wasn’t really working, though. Her nerves were frazzled and her heart beat out of control from all the emotions flitting through it.
“Just so long as the Harley you ride is mine, I’ll be a happy man,” he murmured as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
It’d been one month since Emma had discovered a new passion she just couldn’t live without. Jason Kershaw. She was in love with him. Slightly terrifying. But, the man had a right to know. Didn’t he? Maybe he’d say the words back and she’d be able to breathe again.
Emma slipped the key into the lock and turned the knob. Once inside, she glanced over her shoulder and asked, “Want a beer?”
“Sure,” he replied as he followed her over to the counter. She put her purse down and started to head toward the backroom, when she heard the chimes over the door jangle. Too late she realized she hadn’t locked up behind them. They both looked over to see a tall, thin man wearing a heavy blue hoodie striding through. His hands were in his pockets, his eyes on the floor.
“I’m sorry, but we’re closed.” Emma had only left the door unlocked for Jason.
The man pulled his hand out of his pocket as his eyes lifted. Emma paled. There was no mistaking the gun in his hand or the crazed expression on his face. “I’m not here for your stupid trinkets.” He pointed the gun at the cash register. “I want your fucking money, bitch!”
Jason started forward, but the movement caught the robber’s attention. He swung his arm around until the gun was mere inches from Jason’s face. “Move and I blow your head off!”
Fear for Jason galvanized Emma into action. “Look, you can have my money. Please, just don’t hurt us.”
“Then get it. I don’t have all fucking night!”
“The register has been emptied already. It’s in the back, in my office.”
“If you’re messing with me, I’ll kill you.”
“I’m not, I swear.”
“Fine. Let’s all three take a little trip to the back.”
Jason took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as he led the way around the counter.
“Faster, damn it!”
Together, they moved through the doorway, the gunman at their back. Emma could feel the barrel pressed into her spine. Her legs were shaking by the time she reached her office. Releasing Jason’s hand, Emma walked around the side of the desk. She looked up, her gaze connecting with the robber’s dark and sinister eyes. “The money bag is in my drawer. I’m just going to reach into my pocket to retrieve the key.”
“Fine, just fucking hurry!”
She reached into the pocket of her slacks and pulled out her keys. Her fingers shook so bad it took three tries to get the drawer unlocked. When she pulled out the large envelope and held it
out, the robber snatched it out of her hand and shoved it into the pocket of his hoodie. He started to back out of the room. “If you call the cops, I’ll come back here and kill you both.”
Jason began to slowly move, and Emma’s fear ratcheted up several notches. He winked as if in a bid for her silence and cooperation. Emma froze in place. As the robber reached the doorway, Jason sprang forward and grabbed the hand holding the gun. The stranger cursed and struggled, but his thin frame couldn’t match Jason’s muscular build. Within seconds Jason had wrestled the gun away, and the man was pinned beneath him on the floor.
“Call 911, baby,” Jason said in a controlled voice. Emma was anything but in control. Her nerves were shot as she reached across the desk for the phone. As she started to dial, Jason glanced over at her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded as she spoke to the dispatcher on the phone.
All the while, the man kicked and writhed, cursing a blue streak. Jason pulled on his arms a little harder. “Shut the hell up, damn it,” Jason bit out.
“Fuck you!” the guy shouted back. God, did the man have a death wish? Jason had about fifty pounds of muscle on the guy, not to mention he was in possession of the gun.
“The police are on their way,” she said, her voice quivering as fear raced through her bloodstream.
“Baby, why don’t you go out front and wait for the cops? This guy’s not going anywhere.”
Emma didn’t want to leave him there alone with the guy, subdued or not. When she heard sirens off in the distance, relief poured through her. “Go,” he urged. “I’ve got this, I promise.”
Emma sent up a silent prayer before carefully stepping around their flailing assailant. But when she was within a few feet of the man, he flung out his leg and knocked her off her feet. She hit her head on the corner of the desk, and everything went black.
Emma felt like she was making her way through a dense fog. She tried opening her eyes but flinched at the pain. The light was too bright, and it made her head hurt worse than it did already. She was lying down, and when she tried to sit up, a hand came to her shoulder, gently pushing her back down again. With more effort, she slowly blinked her eyes open. The light hurt, but it was bearable. She was staring at Jason, who sat in a chair at her bedside, and he looked so troubled. But why?
“Jason, what happened?”
“Just relax, baby,” he soothed “Everything is going to be okay.”
He took her hand in his and kissed it tenderly, stroking his thumb over her palm. Her confusion must have come through, because he asked, “Do you remember anything?”
“Uh, not really.” She tried to think, but her head was just so jumbled.
“Last night, your shop was robbed.” He quickly quieted her fears by adding, “But the asshole’s in jail. You’re safe.”
“Where he’ll stay for a good long time,” another male voice chimed in.
They both turned toward the door, Emma a little too quickly. She gasped at the pain the movement brought on. Jason got up out of his chair and bent over Emma as if to shield her physically from the pain. In three long strides, Jensen was at the other side of the bed, asking if she was okay.
She closed her eyes briefly, allowing the darkness to wash away the pain. Without opening her eyes again, she said, “I’d be better if someone would tell me what happened, where I am, and why my head hurts like someone took a sledgehammer to it.”
Jensen and Jason both spoke at once. They stopped, and finally, Jason continued. “You’re in the hospital, Emma. You’ve got a concussion. That’s why your head hurts. Last night, after we got back from the movies, a man came into your shop and tried to rob you. The guy was strung out on drugs and looking for money for a fix. I restrained him, but somehow he got a leg free and managed to knock you down. Something I will forever regret.”
She opened her eyes to see Jason’s apology shining in his beautiful eyes. It was starting to come back to her, little fragmented pieces at a time. She remembered Jason kissing her, as well as her decision to tell him how she truly felt about him. “Oh God, Jason. He had a gun.” She looked now, really looked, and saw that he was unharmed.
“Shh, it’s okay. I’m okay. He didn’t get a chance to use it.”
Jensen spoke up. “Yeah, Jason’s got a tough hide anyway. A bullet would probably bounce right off him.”
Jason saw the pain behind his brother’s eyes. He wasn’t fooling anyone with the sarcastic remark. “It all turned out fine, brother,” Jason reassured him. He turned his attention back to Emma and frowned when he saw the bruise on her cheek. “We’ve been so worried about you. When you cracked your head, you were knocked out cold. You’ve been unconscious for almost twenty-four hours straight.”
“There was some swelling around the brain that the doctor was a little concerned about,” Jensen added. “But you waking up and even remembering some things is a good sign, I’d say.”
Jensen reached over the railing of the bed and buzzed for a nurse. When she spoke, he told her that Emma was awake and to inform the doctor immediately.
She took Jason’s hand in her own and squeezed. “I’m okay. Stop looking so worried. It’s freaking me out.”
He closed his eyes with the emotional strain of it all, thinking how close he’d come to losing her. When he opened them again, he leaned down and whispered, “You scared the shit out of me, woman.”
The doctor came into the room with a nurse in tow, disrupting the moment. As he ordered tests and scans to be scheduled, he also informed her of the dangers of concussions, brain damage, coma, and so on. Lastly, he took her blood pressure and ordered a prescription for the throbbing pain behind her eyes. He asked everyone to please leave so that his patient could get some recuperative rest.
Jason stood, arms crossed, all but daring the doctor to attempt removing him from Emma’s bedside. The doctor only heaved a sigh, accepting the inevitable, and left the room.
Jensen complied with the doctor’s wishes, saying he needed to let Marquetta know of Emma’s progress. “She’s been worried sick about you.”
“Thank you for coming.” She choked back a sob. “And…everything.”
“No problem,” he replied as he bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek. He left, promising to come back in the morning with Marquetta.
When Emma was finally alone with Jason, an overwhelming need to be held surfaced. She reached out to him, and he took her into his arms. He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over her, needing to feel her heartbeat against his chest, assuring him that she was safe. He felt her body convulse with tears, aftershocks of trauma, he knew, but still it made him want to kill the bastard for putting her through it. He did the only thing he could do; he held her in his arms and let her tears flow. When she quieted, he leaned back and stared into her red-rimmed eyes. He wiped the remaining tears away himself.
“I just can’t believe all this. When I think of all the times I’ve been alone at the shop—anything could have happened, for God’s sake.” Her mind raced as she thought of the various times she’d been there after dark with the door unlocked. “God, I was a sitting duck.”
Jason’s gaze turned angry. “Don’t think for a minute you are at fault in any way, Emma. He’s a druggie, period.”
She stared at Jason, knowing the truth of his words, and her mind shifted gears. Seeing him rush to her protection, knowing how much he must care for her, prompted her to tell him what was foremost in her mind. Her eyelids drooped. The painkillers the doctor had given her threatened to pull her into dreamland, but before they did, she whispered, “I love you, Jason.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him. “You don’t have to say anything. I know we both started this relationship out of…out of mutual desire, so I don’t expect more than that from you.” She lowered her head and quietly finished, “I just don’t want to go another second without telling you how I feel, that’s all
.” Then she lay back in the bed and closed her eyes. Within seconds, she was asleep.
Jason’s heart nearly stopped when he heard Emma hoarsely declare her love. He just sat, watching her sleep, thinking over her words. He hadn’t realized, until she’d spoken them, how badly he needed to hear them. After a short time, he got up and left the room. He had a few things to do.
Sometime later, Emma awoke. She knew without looking that Jason was gone. She was alone in the cold hospital room, and she had no idea if he’d ever be back, if she’d ever see him again, or if her words meant anything to him at all. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was eleven in the morning; she’d slept the night away. Her head felt better. She wasn’t as groggy either. She used the button on the bed to put herself in a sitting position. That was when she saw them. Flowers, balloons, get-well wishes—they were everywhere. She smiled and knew that Marquetta and AJ must have been somehow behind the gesture of love. Emma moved her neck from side to side, and when there was no pain, she started thinking maybe she could try getting to her feet. She felt silly being in the hospital just because she’d hit her head. How wimpy was that?
She moved her IV out of the way and lowered the bedrail. Tossing the covers aside, Emma gently turned her body and touched her feet to the cold hospital floor. When she tried standing, a shaft of pain shot through her head. “Ouch,” she groaned and closed her eyes.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Her gaze shot wide at the annoyed tone. Jason scowled down at her. She thought of the words she’d given him, the three little words that meant more to her than anything, and she snapped, “I’m getting up, what does it look like I’m doing?”
“Get your butt back in that bed,” he bit out.
