by Jamie Hill
“Really?” Mark made a face. “Gross.”
Jack laughed and stood up. “Give it a few years, boy. You’ll figure out the attraction.”
The attraction to the Playstation was obvious and instantaneous. They let the boys play until nine-thirty since they wouldn’t be going anywhere the next day, then dragged them away from the game, into showers and bed. Zeus made no pretense about sleeping on the floor. He hopped right up between the boys.
Crystal passed out hugs and kisses, and both boys reached out to Jack for hugs as well. She thought he looked a little shaken as he pulled their door mostly shut and turned in the hallway to face her.
“They’re getting attached to you,” she told him quietly.
“And you,” he agreed. “Whenever you’re not in plain sight, they’re looking for you and asking where you are.”
“Time’s not going to make it any easier…” she trailed off. If they have to say goodbye to me. At that point, she thought it might break her heart, too.
“I know. I just don’t know what else to do.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes.
She smiled hopefully. “I can think of a couple things.”
He returned the smile and nudged her up against the wall. “Oh, so we’re going there, are we? Well, I know what to do if we’re going there.”
Crystal groaned as his thigh pressed up between her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her forehead into his chest. “Take me with you… wherever you want to go.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Jack took her face in his hands gently, and covered her mouth with his.
Chapter Eight
Crystal opened her mouth to him and Jack took what she offered willingly. Their tongues darted back and forth until they were forced to pull apart, breathless. He looked at her hungrily. She almost shivered with desire. She ran her hands through his hair and yanked him toward her for another kiss. Jack obliged, then let his mouth trail downward from her cheek to the tender spot beneath her jaw line and still lower.
“Jack,” she whispered as he assaulted her neck. “I know I promised that thing about kissing you from your earlobes to your toes, and I want to do that. I really do. But as wonderful as that sounds, I think this first time should be fast. I need you, Jack. I need you to take control...to take me.”
“I understand,” he answered as he scooped her into his arms and walked into his bedroom. “And I’ll do whatever you want.” He kicked the door shut and laid her gently on the bed. He maintained eye contact with her as he undressed.
Crystal watched, fascinated, then remembered to remove her own clothes. They gazed at each other, she kneeling naked on the bed, him nude above her. “Do you have any condoms?” she asked hesitantly. “Although I’m not sure that’s a deal breaker at this point.”
He chuckled and reached into his nightstand to pull one out. “Looks like I have a few.”
“We’ll have to get more.” Crystal breathed heavily as she watched him sheathe his bulk in latex. “Lots more.”
His breathing sounded labored as he leaned in to her. “I think we’ll manage for tonight. When I called myself ‘Super Jack’ I was joking. I wasn’t exactly referring to—”
She leaned forward and pressed her mouth against his, effectively shutting him up. “Make love to me,” she murmured. “I want to feel you inside of me.”
He pressed her back into the bed and knelt above her. “You are so beautiful.” His eyes skimmed over her body as his hands ran up her sides.
“I was thinking the same thing about you.” She looked at his solid, muscular body and arousal soared within her.
He smiled at her seductively and raised her hands over her head. He held both of them with one of his own, and reached between their bodies to spread her legs. She gasped as his hand cupped her, and moaned as his fingers slipped through her folds and inside her. “You ready for this, sugar?”
“You don’t know how ready.” She writhed at his touch.
He let his mouth drift down to her breasts, and teased one nipple with his tongue. “God, you’re beautiful,” he moaned as her pink nipple became a deep crimson bud.
“Jack…” She wriggled her hips impatiently.
He smiled and moved his mouth to the other breast. “Give me one minute, here. Equal time, you know.”
“You’re driving me crazy!” She bucked against his hand, and his thumb began forming circles over her clit. “Oh sweet Jesus…” she complained, her voice thick and tight.
He chuckled and brought himself on top of her, stopping as his erection nudged her opening. “Is this what you want?” he murmured.
“Oh please, yes!” She heard herself beg, and couldn’t believe how wanton she had become. But he was nudging her, barely touching her, and she couldn’t help herself. “Now, Jack!” she urged, and he plunged into her. He filled her with one smooth motion. She gasped, then whimpered as he pulled back slowly and did it again. “Oh God!” she moaned, on the verge of ecstasy. She’d never felt this way before. She was on the brink of an incredible orgasm, and was desperate to let it wash over her. “Harder,” she begged again, aching for release.
He leaned back and pressed her knees forward. Crystal gasped at the change in position, feeling him sink deeper into her than she ever thought possible. “Oh God, yes…” she panted. Waves of pleasure washed over her as he rode her with a force and power she'd never known possible.
Jack watched her face intently as her climax overtook her. She felt her eyes roll back and her throaty moan was low, almost a growl. She clung to him as she shuddered. He gritted his teeth, seeming to hold out as long as he could. Before long he was drawn over the edge with her, groaning at his own release. Their shuddering subsided and he leaned against her legs, letting his breathing return to normal. Then he gently lowered her legs. He clutched her hips and held on tightly as he rolled over, bringing her on top.
Crystal sprawled over him and buried her face in his soft chest hair. “God, Jack. I’m going to have a t-shirt made that says you’re my hero. Or maybe a plaque, to hang above the bed.”
He chuckled and rubbed his hands over her back. “That was incredible, Crys. More than incredible. Sufficient adjectives fail me.” He kissed the top of her head and ran a hand through her hair. “Did I remember to tell you how beautiful you are?”
“I think so,” she murmured softly. “But it’s okay to tell me again.”
Getting another burst of energy, he flipped her back over, pulling out of her this time. He stripped off the condom and tossed it in the trash can next to his bed. “All right.” He nuzzled her neck and worked his way down to her breasts. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He examined her breasts and blew on her nipples to pebble them. “And these are definitely the most beautiful boobs I’ve ever laid eyes…or anything else on.” He circled one nipple with his finger and then sucked it into his mouth until it was the rose-colored nub he already knew intimately. Jack sighed and murmured again, “Jesus, Crys, you’re just beautiful.”
She smiled and arched her back in approval. He glanced up. “And the look on your face when you came! Christ, I’d like to keep you in bed all day long, giving you one orgasm after another, just to see that look.”
“Sounds like pure torture.” She smiled lazily at him, and he grinned and went to work on her other breast. She shimmied under him. “Oh yeah, torture me some more.”
His lips trailed to her navel, leaving wet kisses and tender bite marks along the way—on the insides of her thighs, the backs of her knees, her calves, and finally her feet. Her toes were ticklish, and giggled as he ravaged them. He eventually found a spot halfway in between her earlobes and toes and settled his mouth there.
Crystal moaned loudly as he held her legs apart and flicked his tongue over her clit. “Oh sweet Jesus, yes,” she murmured, and he dove tongue-first into her slick wetness. She ran one hand through his hair, guiding and encouraging him. Jack sucked and licked her eagerly. After two more exquisi
te orgasms, he made his way back up to her mouth and pressed his body against hers, his erection firm and ready to go again.
“Oh Jack,” she murmured. “You make me feel so good.”
“Happy to be of service.” He grinned and they kissed.
She pressed him back on the bed gently and crawled up over him. “My turn to service.” She slid between his legs and rubbed his full erection with her hands before she pulled him into her mouth. They groaned together and Crystal was secretly pleased that Jack was enjoying it. Despite her outwardly cocky attitude, she didn’t have a lot of sexual experience. Before Dave there had been just a couple other lovers, both less than memorable. Dave had taught her some things, but he was almost always loaded and their encounters had been brief and results-oriented for him. He hadn’t spent a lot of time on her.
Now this…this was something different. She had known it would be. Maybe that’s why I practically threw myself at him. Somehow Crystal knew he would be as interested in pleasuring her as he was in receiving pleasure himself, if not more so. She refocused her attention on his throbbing erection, and her enthusiasm paid off as he climaxed intensely.
“Sweet Jesus,” he muttered as he dragged her back up and into his arms. “You’re killing me, woman.”
“But what a way to die.” She ran a finger over his rough chin and they grinned at each other. “This is so fabulous. I think I could just stay here forever.” She saw his face cloud over for a brief moment, and instantly regretted saying it. “I didn’t mean…” She trailed off. Yeah, I did mean it.
He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be right back. You want to get in between these covers, instead of on top?”
“Sure.” She smiled and watched him go into the bathroom. She got up, pulled the covers back, and climbed in. The pillow smelled like him, and she snuggled her face into it. She reconsidered and sat up, reaching for her jeans and her pack of cigarettes. She lit one up as Jack returned and said, “Light one for me, too.”
She handed him her cigarette and lit another. She looked at him warily. “Don’t start smoking again on my account. You quit ages ago.”
“I know.” He sat up in bed and leaned back against the headboard. “But I always enjoyed a smoke after mind-blowing sex. Does that tell you how long it’s been since I’ve had mind-blowing sex?”
She giggled and smiled at him shyly.
He laughed out loud and leaned in to her. “Don’t give me that shy, lotus-blossom look. You’re a hot little vixen, and you know it.”
She looked at him with wide eyes and replied, “I don’t think so. Maybe you bring out the best in me.” She traced a finger along the fine line of hair that ran from his navel downward. “Can’t say that I’m sorry. It was a hell of a lot of fun.”
He inhaled one last drag on the cigarette and then dropped it in a half-filled cup of stale coffee on his nightstand. “Crys, I think we need to talk.”
She continued to puff on her smoke and nodded quickly. The room was dark, but their eyes were acclimated and they could see each other. She could tell he wore a more serious look than he had earlier. “Go ahead,” she said.
“I feel like I need to tell you a couple things about myself, so you’ll understand why I can’t…Oh, hell,” he muttered. “My life’s a damn mess. I’m not sure where to begin.”
“Tell me anything.” She dropped her cigarette in the coffee next to his, and then snuggled next to him as they scooted down under the covers. Jack stared at the ceiling as he talked, with Crystal wrapped around him.
“I always knew I wanted to be a cop, and I’ve been one since I got out of school. This year makes eighteen years on the force for me. Things were pretty good at first. My first wife, Diane…Well, Diane and I got married young. I’d been on the force about five years, working my way up, you know? We wanted to start a family but she had three miscarriages, which brought a lot of stress into the relationship. I didn’t blame her. I was happy, with or without children, but she couldn’t get past it. Then when I got shot, she decided we just weren’t meant to be. She left, three days short of our eighth anniversary.”
Crystal ran one finger over his bicep and murmured, “I’m sorry.”
He nodded. “I wasn’t really looking for anyone else. It was several years before I met Rita. She and I fell into this lust sort of thing. We got married after knowing each other two weeks, if you can believe that, in Vegas. We were really drunk, which didn’t bode well for the marriage. Not much boded well for the marriage, I guess. She and I had different expectations. She thought being a detective’s wife was going to be a lot more prestigious than it really was. She was a social butterfly, and I guess I’m more of a homebody.”
“And then there was Zeus.”
He chuckled. “She hated Zeus. She wanted her house to be all clean and fancy, with no animals or children to fuss it up. That’s not me, either.”
“You two didn’t talk about much before you got married, did you?” Crystal smiled at him.
He grinned. “No, we definitely should have talked more, and well, you know, less.”
She laughed at the embarrassed look on his face. “God, you’re cute.”
He gave her another quick grin, and then got serious again. “Things have slowly gone downhill since she left a couple years ago. Not that it had anything to do with her, you understand. She was just one more screw up for my book. Then eight months ago my partner was shot and killed while we were on an investigation. We were arguing about some personal stuff. We got ambushed and I didn’t draw fast enough. It was one thing on top of another, just a hell of a mess. I was officially cleared of any wrongdoing, but my friends,” he said with thick sarcasm, “down at the department all thought it was my fault. They continue to remind me whenever possible. The lieutenant hasn’t even assigned me a new partner. I get newbies who rotate through in training or work alone. And the cases I get are top notch, Law and Order quality stuff.”
She smiled. “Like Manny, the dead homeless guy found sprawled across the door of my dee-luxe apartment complex?”
He smiled over at her. “Worst day of Manny’s life. Possibly the best day of mine.” He touched her cheek. “But I wanted to be straight with you about how things are with me. I’m a once-good, now-decent cop on the edge of a burn-out. A guy who drinks too much and doesn’t give a damn about anything enough to make me want to stop.”
She cocked her head. “Is that how you see yourself? Because I see someone totally different. I don’t see that guy at all.”
Jack started to interrupt but Crystal wouldn’t let him. “I see a cop who cared enough about two little boys to bring them really cool toys after they witnessed something no child should ever have to see. And when he found out how those two little boys lived, he went out and got them food and warm coats and enough clothes to get through the winter.”
He started to interrupt again and she put her hand to his lips. “I don’t know if you even have a sister, and I don’t really care. You saved us, Jack, and I can’t imagine where we’d be without you. I understand why you’re telling me all this. You can’t make us any promises because you don’t know what’s happening with your own life. I understand that—shoot, it’s the same situation I’m in with Mark and Devon. But I know what we have right here and now is good. Let’s hang on to each other for a little while longer and see what happens. Maybe when you’re done saving us, we can save you back.”
He looked at her, then slipped his arms around her and held her close. They stayed that way for a few minutes, and he finally said, “You make me out to be such a hero. What if I did all that stuff so I could get into your pants?”
Crystal laughed. “Then I’d say: success! Looks like we’re both winners.”
Jack chuckled and kissed the side of her head. After a few minutes he told her, “I want to check the house one more time before I turn in. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded as he got out of bed, pulled a robe from his closet and slipped it on before leaving the
room. She yawned and snuggled into his pillow, then closed her eyes.
* * * *
Jack awoke wrapped around Crystal the next morning, and realized that neither of them had shifted during the night. They'd both been exhausted, physically and mentally. He studied the flowing red hair and the sexy neck of the beautiful specimen next to him, and felt himself growing harder by the second. He glanced at the clock. It was still early. Maybe they had enough time. He kissed her sexy neck and Crystal stirred.
“Um, nice way to wake up,” she murmured.
“I’ve been lying here thinking of a nicer way. Would you like to hear about it?”
“Oh, yeah.”
He whispered in her ear, and she repeated with a sultry inflection, “Oh, yeah!”
* * * *
Jack stomped his feet at the front door of the city office building which housed the WPD homicide bureau. He wanted to finish up a few things in his office before he went to the loading dock and talked to Dave’s coworkers again. He really needed a break in this case. It’d been over a week and the trail was as cold as the snow he traipsed through to get from the parking lot into the building. He wiped his feet on the floor mat and stepped into the elevator, all the while wondering why the city couldn’t do a better job of snow removal on the sidewalks. Of course, why the powers-that-be did anything was beyond him. He hated politics and the groveling that went with the bureaucratic part of his job. He wanted to help people and catch bad guys. He often thought he should have been a cowboy.
He got a cup of coffee and sank into his chair, speaking to no one as thoughts continued to roll around in his head. The boys were getting too attached to him. He knew in his mind that wasn’t a good thing. His heart told him something different, but he tried to tamp that down. He needed to solve this case so the boys and Crystal could get on with their lives. He wondered for a minute where she would live when this was all over. The type of residence would depend on whether the boys lived with her or not, of course, which would be up to her. He couldn’t get a read on how she was leaning.
