by C. Lymari
Even in this awkward moment with my now ex-nemesis, I felt… happy.
“Juliet,” Freya called out before I could leave the kitchen, and I turned to look at her. “Don’t hurt him.”
I gave her a terse nod, because I was going to hurt him.
“Everything okay with you and Freya? Things seemed a little tense,” Jake commented as he drove us to his place.
He’d reminded me that I didn’t have food at my house, and after talking to Clark, who informed us that Jess’s dad was still at the jail since Jess’s mom didn’t post bail, I agreed to go to his house. I prayed that they kept it that way.
Jake’s house was closer to the entrance of town near the pine woods. It was a small cottage house made out of wood, and I instantly fell in love with it. The snow was still pristine in his front yard, since he had no one to mess it up for him.
“It’s not much, but it’s home,” he said.
“I think it’s lovely,” I answered.
The cab in his truck crackling with sexual tension. I knew I wasn’t the only one who felt it. Jake’s darkened eyes told me as much.
“Come on, I’ll make us some food.”
My stomach definitely liked that idea. We hadn’t had food since breakfast, and between Emma and Dex moving in together and Freya and I’s conversation, I was hungry.
I didn’t wait for Jake to open my door. I’d had enough of that, and I could cater to my damn self. I jumped down, landing on the black asphalt. Leaning down to the yard, I grabbed a ball of snow and threw it at Jake’s head.
“The fuck, babe?” he growled, and when I saw him stalking his way to me, I shrieked and started to run away.
“No, Jake!” I yelled, trying hard not to laugh at the snow that was on his forehead.
There was nowhere to run. The snow was high, but I still tried. I fell into the snow, grateful that it was high enough to soften the blow.
“It’s cold!” I protested.
“No shit,” Jake muttered, falling on top of me.
My heart started to beat wildly. I was lying on a pile of snow; my ass and back were beginning to get soaking wet. I was cold, but I didn’t think I’d ever felt happier.
“Come on, let’s go in. I’m freezing.” Jake started to pull up, but I stopped him. I leaned in to kiss him but stopped at the last second and pushed him back into the snow.
“Oh no you don’t.” He grinned.
We were kissing and turning in the snow until our clothes were soaking wet and the cold air was stabbing our skin. This time when Jake pulled me up, I followed him to his house.
It wasn’t very big, but it was warm and cozy. Large windows by the living room with an inviting fireplace. A small kitchen with enough space for a dining table. Jake led me to his room. The moment I walked through the threshold, his smell almost doubled me over. It smelled like pine and mint. In the center of the room there was a king-size bed with gray comforters, a sleek flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, and a dresser with no mirror.
“Clothes off before we get sick.” Jake was already taking off his jacket and going for his thermal. The material was so soaked that it looked like a second skin.
“Juliet,” Jake snapped. “Clothes off.”
There was something intimate in taking off your clothes alongside someone else when it wasn’t in a sexual rush. Not saying that watching Jake get naked wasn’t sexy—I was pretty sure I could watch him brush his teeth and I would still think he was hot. But this was comfortable. There was a certain amount of trust letting someone else watch you as you bared yourself to them for something other than sexual gratification. It was terrifying. Chad always had negative things to say whenever he saw me robed after a hot bath. We never showered together.
“Babe, you’re going to get a cold,” Jake huffed. “Arms up.”
He slid my shirt off, leaving me in my bra, and his eyes went liquid dark. There wasn’t a disgusted look on his face nor a comment on the fact that I was wearing a bra for comfort instead of something lacy and sexy.
“Pants,” he barked, his voice a low rumble that had my knees weak.
He slid the wet material down my legs agonizingly slowly, his eyes on me the whole time, his fingers rubbing circles against my skin.
My first time having sex, I wasn’t as nervous as I was yesterday or even now. Every touch was heightened by years of want, fantasies finally coming to life. Jake was on his knees before me, helping me take off my leggings.
Don’t moan. Don’t moan. Don’t—
Yeah, pretty much impossible when Jake’s fingers landed on my apex. I bit my lip, wondering what he would do next. I knew what I wanted him to do. As if he read my mind, he grabbed my foot, running the pad of his thumb across my heel, making my legs buckle with the sensations. Our eyes met, him on the floor looking up at me. Jake bit his lips and gave me a wicked grin before throwing my leg over his shoulder.
I wish I could say it was sexy time, but sadly, no.
“Oh God, you’re cold.” I yelped, trying to take my leg off his muscle shirt.
Jake started laughing, his head between my thighs making the trembles of his laughter send mixed messages to my more-than-ready vagina.
“Come on, shirt off.” I bent over him, grabbing the hem of his shirt and taking it off his body. “You’re freezing.”
“I’ll be fine.” He got up and started taking off his pants.
“You yelled at me for keeping my clothes on.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“You could get sick.” He shrugged, throwing his pants to the pile of wet clothes. He was in his black boxer briefs—the bulge between his legs tempted me to get on my knees.
“And you won’t?”
He was smirking at me, aware of where I had been looking. “My job, babe, is to make sure nothing happens to you.”
I melted. Those words, the conviction in his tone… it was everything I longed to hear even if I didn’t know it until now.
Licking my lips, I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “That’s my job too, you know.”
The words were soft, and I knew I shouldn’t have said them, not when I was selfish and I knew my time with Jake was borrowed and he would tire of me. But the way he looked at me, the heat in his stare, made it worth it. Even when it all came crashing down, it would be worth it.
“Let’s shower before we catch a cold,” I said.
In reality, I just wanted to get him naked, but my mind was still flying a thousand miles a minute. Jake let go of my hand as he set the water. Taking advantage of opportunity, I took a relaxing breath and removed the rest of my clothes. I went in through the other side of the curtain, giving myself as much time to get my shit together.
I watched through the curtain as Jake removed his boxers. The outline of his cock had me rubbing my thighs together. Jeez, you’d think I hadn’t gotten laid in forever. I was never this… thirsty.
Jake opened the curtain and used that to get under the hot spray. It wasn’t weird, but it wasn’t not weird either. As I said, I’d never taken a shower with any of my boyfriends and not my husband. My sex life was pretty bland.
“You’re shivering.” Jake’s husky voice carried over the splashing of the water.
It was slightly embarrassing that I was already shaking with anticipation and Jake had yet to touch me. His hand wrapped around my waist, his arms flattening against my stomach. Jake pushed up against me, the water hitting us both. Yep, he was definitely hard as a rock.
“Do you want me as bad as I want you?”
Boy, did I ever. But apparently I didn’t answer fast enough for Jake’s liking.
“Answer me,” he demanded.
“Yes.”
“Yes what, Juliet?”
“I want you as bad as you want me.”
If I thought Jake was going to bend me over and take me savagely, I was sadly mistaken. Instead he kissed my cheek and turned me around. Wordlessly he grabbed the shampoo, and I didn’t give a fuc
k that it was a men’s all-in-one as he poured it over my head and started to massage it from my scalp down to my tips. His hands moved delicately and slowly. Once he was content with the cleanliness of my hair, he poured some body wash in his hands and started rubbing it over my body. His calloused hands roamed over my shoulders, massaging between my shoulder blades as he went. This was so going to end with me getting laid. Naked shower massage? That sounded like a for sure sexing to me.
Jake’s hands made their way to my breasts, his fingers pinching my pert nipples. My mouth opened in a silent moan as Jake’s hands moved slowly down my navel. When he cupped my mound, our eyes met.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of touching you.”
I was sure I was never going to get enough of him either, but I didn’t say that.
Instead, I went with, “Your turn.”
He bowed his head, allowing me to work on his scalp. Running my hands through his hair and washing him was something I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams. I still remembered all the times I’d stopped myself from touching him. Jake started to kiss my neck, his arms wrapping around my waist as my hands glided down his back.
“Out now,” he growled, switching sides with me so he could rinse.
As soon as we were out of the bathroom, he picked me up. We made a mess of the floor, but he didn’t care if we were acting childish. Jake threw me on the bed, the cold air chilling my skin.
“You cold, Dunnett?” he asked before pulling one of my nipples into his mouth.
Jake did things because he wanted to and not just as a step to get me there. He genuinely liked pleasing me; it was in the way he took his time, the way his hands roamed all over my skin, leaving a path of fire.
“Not anymore.”
It was a moan or a plea, but he chuckled and kept going. His hands glided down my stomach to my hips and gripped me tight before he entered.
“You feel… perfect,” he rasped against the beating vein in my neck before he sucked.
Jake fucked me as I’d never been fucked before, but even with all his grunts and the forceful way he took me, I didn’t feel defiled. He took me higher than I had ever been, the pleasure causing my neck to arch and my eyes to close.
“Please don’t stop,” I begged.
I was so close; I wasn’t going to be denied. Jake’s thrusts came harder, but the way he kissed me was featherlight. A complete discrepancy. It had never felt like this, and when I arrived I did it hard, lights flaring behind my eyelids, my body going liquid.
“It’s never been like that,” I said a while later after we both caught our breath.
Jake looked into my eyes before he answered, “I know.”
It had been a long time since I’d attended Sunny Pines’ tree lighting. I was getting ready in warm clothes, prepared to spend the day partaking in activities I had been denied for so long. I was also excited to take Rosie with me. Jess and Rosie’s mom was hanging in there, but she wasn’t ready to jump into town festivities. I didn’t blame her; it wasn’t easy getting back into the fold of life after being isolated for a long time.
After locking my apartment, I rushed to knock on their apartment door so I could pick Rosie up, since Jess was already at the bakery helping Emma.
“Juliet’s here, Mama.” She beamed when she opened the door for me, then ran back to give her mom a hug and a kiss.
I couldn’t help but smile. Rosie might not have known what was happening, but she felt it, and now that her dad was away (“working”), she smiled more and laughed louder.
I loved that she had that now, but I hated her father even more for depriving her of it. Who I couldn’t blame was her mother. Love warped you, it blinded you, and when it was over, you didn’t want to accept it. You held on to little shards of hope, wishing to get back what once was yours.
“Hey, Mrs. Morrison,” I said.
She smiled at me, but couldn’t meet my eyes. I had seen her at her weakest, and she hated that. I didn’t linger long; I knew the feeling all too well.
Rosie and I made our way to Main Street pretty quickly.
“Can Jake lift me so I can put my star all the way up?” Rosie asked once we parked.
“I can lift you.”
“But you’re short.”
“So are you, missy.” I tickled her before setting her down.
Handing Rosie a bag with our decorations, I held her hand as we made our way through the crowd.
“Sorry.” I grabbed the hand of the person I bumped with my decorations.
I found it hard to breathe when I looked at the person I had hit. She turned around, looking flawless as always in a thick wool coat with a fur-covered hat and gloves with fur lining.
“Juliet.” Rachel looked from Rosie to me and back to Rosie.
“Rachel.” I gave her what I hoped was a smile, but I knew it looked more like a grimace.
“You look good,” she said softly.
There was longing in her eyes, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Thank you. How are you?”
“I’m good—we’re good. Anyways, I’ll let you go. We have to mingle… you know how it is.”
I watched her walked away, not surprised that she didn’t bring up my brother, but surprised she was kind to me. Then again, Rachel was awesome when my brother wasn’t around. She loved him, or she thought she did; I would have said it was obsessive. Prescott didn’t love her, and it ate away at her until it broke her.
That isn’t you anymore.
Rosie and I made it to Emma’s booth. Jess was already there with Quincy, the other boy who helped Emma.
“Jessa!” Rosie shouted.
“I don’t get a hello?” Quincy put his hand to his chest in mock hurt.
“Hi, Q… can I have a cookie?”
Both Jess and I gave Rosie a disbelieving look. We told her no cookies until after lunch, and here she was going above our wishes.
“Sorry, Glooms. I can never say no to a pretty face.” He winked at Rosie and handed her a cookie.
The weather was beautiful today, near fifty degrees and sunny. The snow was melting slowly, which sucked because there were puddles, but it was perfect weather for town festivities.
“Do you guys need help?” I asked, since Jake told me Emma kept things simple for these types of events. Three types of coffees with muffins, cookies, and brownies.
“Nah, we just started to cover. Go ahead and take my girl to look around.” Quincy jumped up. “Shit, Glooms, why you pinch me for?”
Jake arrived before I could hear Jess’s reply. God, he was so handsome. He stopped and said hello to everyone on his way. He shook hands and grabbed shoulders, ruffled kids’ hair. Blake was with him, but stepped away as Jake talked to someone.
“Blakie,” I greeted him, and he grinned.
“You say that near any girl, I will throw you in the snow,” he whispered when he hugged me. He picked up Rosie and threw her over his shoulder. “Rosie Posie.”
“Jess—”
“Shut up.” Jess glared and handed Blake a hot chocolate.
I turned back, impatient. I wanted Jake by my side now. Last night, I didn’t sleep with him, and I missed him. If you’d asked me a year ago, I would have said I wasn’t a cuddler. Chad gave me my space, and I was okay with it. I needed it—we didn’t need to be together all the time—but with Jake, the same rules didn’t apply. Everything I thought I knew about relationships was wrong.
I was beginning to think that if you were with the wrong person, at the end you were going to stop trying because even though you wouldn’t admit it aloud, you wouldn’t dare think about it, you knew that you were just wasting your time. A part of you wouldn’t care enough to make things work.
I knew I didn’t.
I told Chad I would change, as if there was something wrong with me. But I never bothered because we didn’t fit, and no matter how much changing I did, he was never going to fit with me.
35
Jake
>
“Hey,” I greeted Juliet when I finally made my way to where she was standing.
I loved this town, and I loved that I knew mostly everyone. I didn’t usually mind stopping to greet everyone except now, when I was trying to spend some one-on-one time with my girl.
“Hey.” She smiled shyly at me, and I fucking dug that.
I loved the way her eyes glossed over and her cheeks became pink. I liked that even standing alone she looked like an unattainable vision.
“I missed you last night,” I said once she was in my arms.
“I missed you too.”
“Now was that too hard to say?” I grabbed her cheek, and I loved the way she leaned into my warmth like she couldn’t get enough of me; it felt incredible. “Come on, let’s look around.”
Blake followed us, holding his hot chocolate in one hand and Rosie’s hand in the other. I knew the moment she pointed at the paint table, she was going to want to decorate her own wooden elf.
“I want one!” Rosie shouted, dragging my brother with her.
Juliet paid for Rosie’s ornament and was getting ready to paint with her.
“Dunnett, she’s better off without your help,” I teased.
Juliet made a huffing sound when I pulled her back by her hips before she could reach Rosie.
“You keep hating on my awesome painting skills.”
I felt it then: the intense feeling of someone’s gaze on me. I looked around, but I couldn’t find anyone. My body must have given me away, because Blake asked me if I was okay. That was when I noticed a petite blonde looking at us from the other side of the table.
“Babe…” I looked down at Juliet, resting my chin on the top of her head.
She leaned into me, and I wrapped my arms around her hips. It wasn’t obvious, but I felt the moment she became statue-still beneath my touch.
“Is everything okay?”
Juliet gave a quick head shake. “Yeah… I thought I… Never mind. I’m acting crazy.”
She shook her head and looked up to me and gave me a cheeky grin.
Looking at my brother and Rosie, I cringed when I saw the colors Rosie had selected. I was all for kids drawing, but there was no way I was letting Rosie not have the best-painted elf in town. I let go of Juliet so I could help Rosie.
