Forgiving Patience

by Jennifer Simpkins

  Making her wait for her pleasure was his first thought, but he decided against it. Call him selfish, but he needed this just as badly as she.

  He pulled aside the fabric and found what he’d been seeking.

  Heat…moisture…Aah…She moved against his fingers and cried out, “Awww…Jake…please don’t stop touching me. Not ever.”

  “Not a chance in hell, baby,” he groaned.

  Her hands left his chest and reached down to his jeans. After she unbuttoned them, his erection sprung free into her hands. She stared…waited a moment, and then started to massage him in the same motions he was using between her thighs. God, yes. He started to position her the way he wanted her, but she took control and put a hand on his chest, as if to signal for him not to move. She kept stroking up until his hips started to rise from the mattress.

  “Anna, you’d better stop or this is going to be over way too quickly,” he rasped.

  “We can’t have that, now can we?” She removed her hand and locked her gaze on him.

  With only the light from the moon and from the side lamp on the table near the door, he could study every perfect line on her face. When she was in deep thought, she got one line that ran across her forehead, but at that moment no line appeared. Through heavy lashes, he could see passion deep in her eyes. She was the pure example of love.

  “Anna, I want to taste you. I want to bury my face between your sexy thighs and feast on you. I wanted to last night, but things seemed to move too fast.”

  Every part of her body went tense. When she only stared at him in response, he became confused. Had she ever had a man pleasure her that way? He didn’t want to think about any man being there, but knew it was a possibility. But then again the way her body reacted at the mention of it, he doubted she’d ever allowed another man the privilege.

  “I want you inside me,” she answered.

  “I want that too. But I also want to do other things to you.”

  “Please, Jake.

  He wanted her ‘please, Jake’ to mean she wanted him to have her in every way possible. But that wasn’t what she meant. He could tell there was more, but he couldn’t go into it right then. He needed her any way he could have her at the moment. His burying himself between her legs would come later.

  He helped draw her panties down and positioned her on top of his cock, pressing her hips firmly downward. Even though he knew it might not be smart, he didn’t bother with using a condom this time. And judging by her soft expression, she wasn’t too worried about it either. It was pure pleasure to be sheathed by her warm moisture. This is where he wanted to be. He wanted to be this way with her forever…or for as long as she allowed him to be.

  And he prayed it would be forever.

  It wasn’t that long ago since he had been with her. But it seemed a hell of a lot longer.

  He pounded his hips upward until he filled her completely. Slowly at first, but when she met his every thrust, he knew she was okay. He relished the fact that she was so very ready for him. She kissed him deeper, causing him to press his tongue into her mouth.

  She rose up to peer into his eyes, and he couldn’t think of a more beautiful sight. They moved together as if they’d been doing this for years. Both seemed to know each other’s bodies well. He admired her perfect, round breasts and molded his hands to them, teasing one taut nipple until she cried out.

  “God, Jake. I need this…I need you.”

  “I need you too.”

  Rolling them over, with no objection from Anna, he lay on top of her—still buried deep into her warmth. He pulled back just enough, their pelvises still connected. But he wanted to see her. All of her. He wanted to take pleasure in the way she closed her eyes and took each one of his thrusts.

  There was so much that needed to be said and cleared up. He needed to tell her how everything had gone down eleven years ago. He needed to say that he loved her and had always loved her. When he’d said those words back when they were stupid teenagers—he’d meant them. He was reckless, sometimes a jackass, and a man who had been lost for the past two years, but he loved her. That he was sure of. He just hoped she felt the same way, and that she would take him the way he was, and with the mistakes he had made.

  He was no prize catch, probably never was, but he liked to think his mom had raised him to be a stand-up guy.

  “Oh God…,” she whimpered. “Ahhh…Jake.”

  And he was right there with her. “Fuck. I’m about to come, sweetness.”

  Another stream of curses escaped his lips as he was on the edge of pure bliss. He pounded as slowly as he could will himself to until he exploded. Then he plunged deep inside her slickness and took pride in the fact that he left a part of himself with her. He became a little lightheaded and spent.

  Wrapping both arms around his neck, Anna held him close.

  The only sounds were the heavy breaths of the two lovers.

  * * * *

  “Georgia, I’m so glad I ran into you. We still on for tomorrow?”

  The bubbly woman was situated behind her secretary desk typing on her computer. Today she wore a pink sundress paired with—what Anna only guessed, because she couldn’t see them—Keds. Her sleek blond hair hung just above her shoulders.

  “Of course. Unless you have another date?”

  “No. Why do you ask?”

  “Don’t be silly. Everyone knows how you and Jake Lawrence have been seeing a lot of each other. Not to mention I see his truck parked there every morning when I get to work. I can only guess it was left there from the night before.”

  Crap. She hadn’t even thought about Georgia and Garrett being able to see Jake’s truck. What was the entire town saying about them? She guessed it fell into the juicy column. Before too long they would be on the cover of the Patience Gazette. The headline would read, Two Lovers Reunited.

  “Oh. I guess you noticed that?”

  “Girl, everyone has noticed. Personally, I think it’s romantic. Obviously, I wasn’t around back when you two were in love, but it makes for a good story. Two lovers who have found their way back to each other.”

  Speaking a little too quickly, Anna said, “We’re not back together.”

  “So it’s just sex?”

  “No.”

  She didn’t exactly know what it was.

  “I apologize. I guess I’m being just a lot nosy. Sometimes you just have to tell me to shut up.”

  Anna liked Georgia. She was sweet and had an unbiased look at the world. She saw things as they were and didn’t try to hide what she was feeling. It was refreshing.

  “You’re fine. I just don’t know what’s going on right now. Men are confusing, if you know what I mean.”

  Anna wondered if Georgia had a man. She had seen her bid on and win Garrett, but didn’t know, or was too busy to know, if anything had come of it. She wasn’t sure whether she should ask, so she decided against it. While Georgia didn’t mind asking the hard questions, Anna didn’t want to be nosy. But she didn’t mind listening to Georgia if the time ever came that she needed someone to talk to.

  “Yes, I do. If you ask me, I think they like toying with us women.”

  Speaking the truth, Anna said, “I’ve thought the same thing. So, about the wedding…if you want, you can meet me here around four. The wedding isn’t until six, but as maid-of-honor I need to get there a little early.”

  “That sounds good. Besides, I’ve been looking forward to riding in your car.”

  Not sure why, Anna offered, “You can drive it, if you want.”

  Completely stunned, Georgia’s already cheerful spirit turned up several notches. Anna wished she had the same innocence, so that the simplest things brought such joy into her life. “Are you sure?”

  “I wouldn’t say you could if I wasn’t.”

  “Why have you been so nice to me? You don’t even know me.”

  “I like you, and you’re refreshing to be around. I might not know much about you, but I would love to know more
. Everyone needs a Georgia in their lives. Maybe before I go back to Linden, we could go have a drink at Ollie’s.”

  Anna could see Georgia’s eyes go a little glossy. But the woman held back a tear and smiled sweetly. “You go there?”

  “Yep. I’ve gotten to know the owner pretty well. Why don’t we make that our second date? We’ll have the whole town in an uproar before I leave.”

  After receiving a hug, Anna left Georgia to her work and headed back to the apartment. The rehearsal dinner would be in a few hours, and she wanted to have plenty of time to get ready. And that had nothing to do with the fact that she was going with Jake.

  Noticing Garret next door to her apartment at an empty house, she walked over. She hadn’t noticed anyone coming or going from the place, which probably explained why Garrett was putting up a for sale sign.

  “Hey, stranger,” she hollered.

  He turned from his task of pushing the sign into the soft ground to pivot in her direction. He had on black dress slacks and a white polo shirt. How could he work with a woman like Georgia, and still not have any color in his wardrobe? There was no way the two of them were dating. But she still couldn’t figure out why Georgia would bid on him at the auction. That would hopefully be a topic discussed at Ollie’s.

  “Hi, Anna,” he replied.

  “I’ve been meaning to stop in and talk to you.”

  “You’ve been busy.” It wasn’t a question, and she guessed Garrett had noticed how often Jake was at her place.

  “I guess you could say that. So what’s up with this place?”

  “The owners left town a couple months back. It used to be a children’s consignment shop, but the couple decided to move back to their hometown before their young son started school.”

  “Well, that’s more business for you. But what a shame for the house. It’s lovely.”

  And it was. The two-story house was a deep blue with white trim and white shutters. There were two porches, one on the upper story and the other on the bottom that ran the length of the house. The paved driveway was lined with colorful flowers, and the grass had just recently been mown.

  “So, what about your house? Has Jake given it back yet?” When he asked, he let his gaze drop to the ground. Anna could tell he’d been beating himself up over the whole deal and the part he’d played in it.

  “I’m working on it. I think I have one date left.”

  “Look, Anna, I’m really sorry about that. I shouldn’t have listened to Jake. I should’ve asked you first.”

  “It’s fine, Garrett…really. I won’t lie, I was pretty ticked at first, but now I realize that you were just trying to help in your own way. Besides, it wasn’t only on you. Jake played a big part in it too.”

  “You’ve been really great about it. You are a kind person.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. But I guess I can be forgiving when I want to be. So, don’t worry about it anymore. You’ve given me a nice place to stay to make up for it. Now, if we can just sell my house, all will be forgiven.”

  “I’m working on it. I went out the other day and replaced the sign Jake took down. With all the repairs he’s done, I think we shouldn’t have that hard of a time finding a buyer.”

  Funny how she didn’t mind that she hadn’t even spent more than one night there. It didn’t bother her that one of her reasons for coming back to Patience hadn’t even happened. She didn’t know what to feel about that. Or what exactly it meant.

  “Thank you for everything you’ve done, as far as trying to sell it,” she praised.

  “That’s my job.”

  “Well, that might be the case, but I just wanted to thank you for doing everything possible to sell it. I really do appreciate it.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  A few hours later Anna stood in front of the hotel-size mirror admiring her look for the night. She wore high-waisted, wide-legged black pants. They showed off her assets. She was beginning to like her hips and butt. They gave her shape, and with the recent looseness of her pants, she thought maybe she had lost a few pounds. All that walking and occasional running might have been paying off. She paired the pants with a white blouse tucked into them, its sleeves rolled a quarter up her arm. Instead of putting her hair in a ponytail, she curled it and left it hanging past her shoulders. Her skin was starting to show some color so her makeup looked amazing on her semi-bronze skin. Overall, she was happy with her appearance for the evening. If she said so herself, she looked hot.

  While giving her hair a final fluff, a knock sounded at the door. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. She forced herself to take a calming breath, letting it in and slowly out. She wiped the palms of her hands on her pants and opened the door.

  “Wow, sweetness, you look stunning. What did you do to your hair?” Jake’s gaze, emphasized by his sparkling sapphire eyes, started at her feet and ended at her hair.

  “Do you like it?” she nervously asked.

  “Yes, I do. I want to run my fingers through those big, bouncing curls.”

  “Don’t you dare, mister.” She pointed a stern finger at him and added, “It took me an hour to get it like this. I will not have you messing it up already.”

  “The night is still young.”

  Her thighs ached at the invitation. She had awakened in his arms for the past two mornings, and she couldn’t think of a better way to welcome the day. Never had she felt so rested and ready to fight what was ahead of her. Except, it didn’t feel like a struggle. Things seemed easy with Jake around. They talked about the easy stuff, leaving the complicated things for later. They had made love several times last night…and early this morning, and he held her afterwards—keeping the dreams that plagued her mind lately at bay for the most part. She felt safe with him.

  Last night he’d saved her. When she’d needed him, he was there, taking care of her. He did it in a way that made her feel in control of her life, but offered himself. He’d given everything he had to her when he came to her rescue out-of-the-blue.

  Last night with him had been a pivotal point in her life. It was important that Jake had let her have the control in their lovemaking. And for the first time in her life, she was taking charge when it came to her body and the way she felt sexually. Jake had done more for her than he could’ve imagined. Not once did she flinch at his touch. Nor did she shy away from taking what she wanted from him. This was a major step for her.

  “We’d better go.” She grabbed her small red handbag and indicated that he should walk out of the door he had just barely entered.

  “You not going to lock up?”

  “No, I never lock the door.”

  “I can see that. Last night I just walked in, which I was thankful for at the time, but it’s not safe.”

  “In all the time I lived in Patience, my mother never feared someone coming in while we slept.”

  “Well, y’all had Larry there to protect you for some of those years, and after that your mom should have locked the door,” he commented, not knowing his words were far from the truth.

  And there it was. She was wondering when Larry would be brought up. Thus far she hadn’t been confronted by that bastard’s name. But she’d known that someone would bring him up sooner or later. Little did Jake know that Larry wasn’t the protecting type…he was just the opposite.

  All of her previous emotions of feeling in control of her body seemed to be taken away the minute Larry’s name was mentioned. She gripped the doorknob to steady her uneasy legs. Why did Jake have to bring up that name right now? Jake and she weren’t even together when her mom’s boyfriend had lived with them.

  Concerned, Jake asked, “You okay, babe?”

  “Yeah. Just haven’t heard anyone talk about Larry in years.”

  “I didn’t know him personally. Did I miss something? Was I not supposed to bring him up?”

  “You ready? If we’re late, Em will kill us both.

  “Then let’s not get killed. After you.” He extended his arm out in front
of him to let her walk ahead. But there was no hiding the fact from her that before he closed the door, he reached around the knob to lock it.

  You couldn’t say there was a chill in the air, but it was definitely cooler than it had been. The temperature during the day had to have been close to ninety-five with high humidity. Now, a slight breeze blew in from the west, hopefully bringing a day with lower temperatures tomorrow.

  “You care if we drive my truck tonight?”

  “You expect me to ride in Fenway again?” She hadn’t given the first time that much thought because the only thing she was concerned about then was getting to her place so she could finally be with Jake.

  “Fenway?” he asked, clearly confused by the name she’d given his truck.

  “I named it Fenway the day you tried to run me off the road. It reminded me of the Green Monster in Fenway Park.”

  “I thought we’d already covered this. I didn’t try to run you off the road. And you just drive too damn slow. I don’t know what I think about you giving my truck a name that represents everything you hate. Since your precious Yankees hate the Green Monster.”

  “Well, maybe you shouldn’t have a green truck jacked up off the ground. Not to mention you drive recklessly.”

  “I can’t help that the color of my truck is not blue like your little sports car. And I’m not reckless. I wish everyone would quit saying that. I love to drive fast on long country roads. Running up on you was pure coincidence. A good surprise, if I say so myself.”

  His wink at her left her in a puddle at his feet. He should come with a warning label: Attention, ladies. He might have bad taste in baseball teams, but God, he sure can charm his way into your bed.

  * * * *

  After putting up a half-assed fight, Anna agreed to ride in his truck. Of course, Jake demanded that she not call his truck Fenway when he was around, and her reply was “Fenway.” He let out an aggravated sigh, but dropped the subject. His brooding response made her smile.