Parking my car behind the diner next to Janet's truck, I rush inside. The place is busy with our usual morning rush. Slipping my apron over my head, I tie the sash and step behind the counter where Janet has her hands full. "I'm so sorry I'm late," I express.
"That’s okay, hon. It happens to us all. Could you take these orders to table 6 and 8 for me?" She asks while balancing a few plates in her hands, "Oh and table 2 needs a coffee," she shouts over her shoulder walking off.
I grab the plates and take them to the hungry waiting customers. After making sure their orders are to their liking, I leave them to enjoy their meals. As I'm walking pass tables to grab a fresh pot of coffee to take to table two, I hear his deep voice.
"Good morning, Little Bird."
My steps falter, and I have to catch myself by grabbing the edge of the table beside me and close my eyes. My heartbeat thuds against my ribcage. My body reacts the same as it did before. Warmth engulfs my hand and lighting bolts dance across my skin when a hand takes hold of mine. His hand. I prepare myself to see anger for leaving the way I did. He deserves so much more than me. So much more than the lies and secrets I've had to hide. Lifting my head my eyes connect with his. His piercing blue eyes don’t show any sign of hate or anger. They show worry, longing, and dare I say, love. "Jake," I whisper his name.
His eyes close. Like he's soaking me in. His thumb starts to stroke the fast beating pulse on my wrist. "I always knew you were waiting to fly away, but I have to admit I wasn’t ready. My heart wasn’t ready, Grace."
His words cause a major crack in my already crumbling exterior.
"How long are you working today, beautiful?" Jake asks with his eyes still fixed on me and his hand still covering mine.
I lick my lips, "My shift ends at two," I offer.
Jake stands, taking his wallet from his back pocket and slips a ten underneath his empty cup of coffee. His body fills the space between us. I breathe him in. He always smells like cedar, mixed with the leather of his cut.
Brushing my hair aside he bends and whispers in his husky gravely tone, "I'll be waiting for you outside at two o'clock, Little Bird," he promises. My skin comes alive with goosebumps from his warm breath against my neck.
"Okay." I answer him timidly.
I don’t turn to watch him walk out the door. I only listen for the sound of the bell jingling and then the rumble of his Harley as he fires it up and leaves. I stay frozen in my spot, tuning the noise out, until I feel a light touch on my shoulder.
"Honey, you okay?" Janet questions and I shake off the remaining effect Jake had on me.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine," I try to convince her, but the look on her face says otherwise.
"Mmhmm. Honey, the moment that man touched you the temperature in this building went up eighty degrees. Oh, what I'd give to have a man look at me like that again," Janet remarks as she fans herself with one of the menus.
"He's just an old friend passing through. That's all," I tell her walking behind the counter to finish my previous task and grab the pot of coffee from the hot plate.
"You keep on telling yourself that, dear," Janet adds before taking her notebook from her apron pocket and writes down another customer's order.
The rest of my day flies by faster than I wanted it too, and my nervous jitters have only gotten worse with every hour that passes. "I'll see you in the morning, Janet," I give my goodbye for the day and clock out. On the phone, she gives me a small wave. Stepping out the back door of the diner, waiting next to my car on his bike is Jake.
"Lead the way," he tells me.
No point in arguing I get in my car. He's going to want answers. So, I need to make up my mind on the short fifteen-minute drive if I'm going to tell him the truth or feed him more lies.
Jake pulls in behind me as I put my car in park and turn off the engine. I'm out of the car and unlocking the front door just as he's walking up the drive. I open the door and walk straight to the kitchen needing a glass of water. I've yet to say a word to him even once he closes the door. Sipping my water, I try to calm my nerves.
I hear Jake sigh, "Grace."
"Give me a minute, Jake. I know you want answers. Give me a minute to gather the strength to give them to you," I plead. Setting my water down on the counter, I spin around but stay in the kitchen and face him. Jake starts striding my way, but I lift my hand, "I need you to stay right there. Please, Jake, because what I have to say is hard for me to reveal and harder for me to admit to you."
Noticing how visibly shaken I am he stops and places his hands inside his front pockets. A move which instantly puts me at ease.
"I'm listening, babe," he remarks.
Pulling in a deep breath, I lay my secrets out in front of us. "My name isn’t Grace Cohan," I bite my lip and rub my hands together nervously, and briefly look away.
"Eyes, Grace. Give me your eyes," Jake pleads in a calm demanding tone.
My eyes meet his again.
"Keep going," he encourages me.
"I was born Anna O'Shea. I've been on the run, or I should say hiding for the past two years."
"Babe, what have you been running from?" Jake asks with worry etched across his handsome face.
"Not what. Who." His eyes that were soft change to rage with my admission, but still he stays quiet. I close my eyes. This last part is the hardest to say to him. I'm not afraid of Jake. He would never hurt me physically. This I believe with every fiber in me. I'm afraid the last part I reveal will be me hurting him. I gather my strength and keep my eyes on his, "My married name is Anna De Burca, and I've been running from the man who almost killed me. I'm hiding from my husband." As hard as I try I can't hold back my tears. I stand there letting them fall down my face, and I wait.
5
Jake
"I'm hiding from my husband."
It's those five words that have all the air leaving my lungs and my vision seeing red. Hearing Grace's voice shake when she makes her confession has my fist clenching at my side. Shit Jake, calm your ass down. It's not the married part that's fuckin' with my head, because a quick bullet to the motherfucker's head will solve that problem. No, it's the fear in my Little Bird's eyes right now that has my anger soaring. I note the tremble in her body, and that alone is telling me she is afraid. She's scared of this bastard, she's afraid of opening up to me, and my gut is telling me I am not going to like what I am about to hear.
Keeping my emotions in check, I go against Grace's orders, and I take one, two and three strides towards her until we are toe to toe. Reaching up, I cup her cheeks with my palms while relishing the feel of her silky skin on my rough, callused hands. I watch as her eyes close and she takes a shuttered breath before releasing it. "Tell me, Little Bird." I urge. Opening her eyes, she meets my stare.
"I'm scared." She confesses.
"I know you are, but you don't have anything to fear with me."
Digging her nails into my forearm while I keep my hold on her face, "The last time I allowed myself to get close to a man, it nearly killed me…literally," she chokes out.
"I would rather die than harm one hair on your gorgeous head, and I'd kill any motherfucker who dared to try," I say with conviction. Using the pad of my thumb, I swipe away the tears streaming down her face.
"I know you won't hurt me, Jake. I left because I was afraid," Grace whispers.
"I suspected as much, but make no mistake, Little Bird, you will be coming home with me. Consider your wings clipped." I feel her body tense at my words.
"You can't just show up and make demands, Jake. It doesn't work that way, not anymore. I refuse to have another man control me."
"I don't want to control you, Grace. I want to keep you safe, and the safest place for you is with me. Don't put me in the same category as that bastard because unlike him, everything I do will be for you. To make you safe and make you happy. You will always be my top priority." Hearing the truth in my statement Grace closes her eyes tightly and nods. "First things first though is we are
going to go sit down, and you are going to tell me as little or as much about what's happened to you. I won't force you to give me everything, at least not right now, but I need something from ya Grace."
Taking a deep breath, she agrees and leads me over to sit with her on the sofa. I sit down first and Grace goes to sit at the other end, but I'm not having any of that so, not letting go of her hand I pull her down to sit on my lap. "It's been six months since I've had my hands-on you babe, I need you close." At my confession Grace's body melts into mine.
Chemistry is something we never had a problem with. We both have felt the pull towards each other from the moment we met; her hesitation is what had me treading carefully.
It takes Grace a few moments to collect herself before she begins to speak.
"Two years, ten months, and five days. That is how long I have been running from my husband. It was also the last time he beat me so bad I landed in the emergency room. It was not my first hospital visit, but it was the one where I met Finn and he convinced me enough was enough. Detective Finn O'Rourke is the officer who took my statement at the hospital."
Grace must have felt me tense underneath her and she pauses to look at me. I run my hand up the length of her back encouraging her to continue.
"Anyway, my husband told Detective O'Rourke I had been mugged, but I could tell by the expression on Finn's face he wasn't buying it, and when my husband stepped out of the hospital room to take a phone call, Finn called me out on it. I didn't say a word to confirm nor deny his suspicions. I was too scared. Why would I have reason to trust another man, especially one I didn't know. That and my husband and his family are very powerful. Escaping was nearly impossible. I was watched twenty-four seven. I did escape though, I took a chance that night and trusted Finn. He helped me escape my husband, and he's been helping me hide ever since. He found Polson for me. He rented the space for me. The bakery, that was all him. A complete stranger. After time I got to know Finn and his reasoning for helping me and the way he makes complete sense now." Grace says the last statement with a somber tone. I'm also curious to what she means by her husband being powerful, but decide not to press. Not when she's finally opening up to me.
"I married Ronan when I was twenty-one, and in the time we have been married I have had two broken arms, a broken ankle, many fractured ribs and more black eyes and busted lips than I can count along with several concussions. All the while receiving pitied looks, people looking the other way. But what pissed me off the most where those who constantly asked; why do I stay, why don't I leave him."
Lightly gripping her hips to interrupt her Grace looks at me. "You stayed because he would have killed you had you tried to leave."
With tears streaming down her face she nods her head and then buries her face in the crook of my neck and sobs. I want Grace to know I would never judge her for staying in the situation she was in. Women who are in abusive relationships work strictly on fear and survival mode. I know in my heart that is what Grace was doing all those years she was with that soon-to-be a dead man. She was surviving. A little while later her tears stop, and she looks up at me. Even with swollen red eyes and a tear-streaked face, she's still the most beautiful fuckin' woman. "No more storytellin' today, babe. You did good, and I'm proud of ya. Thank you for trusting me enough to give a part of yourself."
I pull her face towards mine, and my mouth comes crashing down on hers. It's been too long since I've had her taste on my lips. When I run my tongue over the seam of her lips it is all the encouragement she needs to open up for me, and when she does, she lets me know she is just as starved for my taste as I am hers.
We kiss for what feels like forever, only forever is not long enough when it comes to this woman. In one swift movement, I grab Grace by the waist and shift her on my lap so that she is now straddling me. Her work uniform bunches up around her waist, and I can now feel the heat of her pussy against my dick which is straining against the zipper of my jeans, demanding to be released from its confines.
Grabbing a handful of Grace's red locks, I gently pull her away and when I do the look on her face robs me of my words. Her swollen lips and lust-filled eyes are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. "Tell me you want this baby. Tell me you're finally ready to become mine completely."
With a dazed look, she nods. "Words, Grace. Answer me with words," I demand.
"Yes, Jake, I want this. I'm ready."
Hearing all I need to hear, I swiftly stand from the couch with Grace still in my arms. With our bodies moving in sync, she bends her legs around my waist and wraps her arms around my neck. Striding towards the bedroom not once do our eyes break their connection. Clearing the doorway of the bedroom, I kick it shut with my booted foot before making my way to the bed. Releasing Grace, her body slides down mine, and I don't miss the hitch in her voice when she feels my erection through my jeans. "Arms up, babe," I tell her gripping the hem of her uniform. Complying, she raises her arms above her head allowing me to slip it off exposing her lace covered breasts. Tossing her clothes to the floor, I then run my palms up the sides of her tits which are slightly more than a handful and hook my fingers into the cups of her white lace bra pulling them down.
My mouth waters at the sight of her dusty pink nipples, and it leaves me no choice but to go in for a taste. "Fuckin' perfect." I say just before my mouth is on her, taking her. Grace lets out a moan as I swirl my tongue around her nipple.
Fisting my hair, she arches her body into mine, and when she does, I award her other breast with the same attention. When my mouth leaves her body, she whimpers out my name.
"Jake."
Trailing soft kisses up her neck and behind her ear, to the place I know drives her wild, and she shivers. "Shh, baby. I'm going to take care of you." I say unclasping her bra and letting it fall to the floor behind her. "Lay down on the bed."
Without a flicker of doubt, my brave woman does as I ask. The push and pull of the past two years have lead us to this moment. Once Grace is laid out for me in nothing but a pair of white lace panties, I take a moment to ingrain this vision to memory. For a moment I see a look of uncertainty cross her face. My pause has caused Grace to feel self-conscious, and she raises her arms to hide her body from me. "Don't ever hide your body from me, Grace. I only stopped because I want to take you in. I want to burn the vision of your gorgeous body into my brain." With a wicked grin, I drop down to the floor in front of the bed and lean back on my haunches.
Gripping Grace around her knees, I pull her to the edge of the bed making my intention known. "It's time I get a taste of this sweet pussy you've been keeping from me. You don't know how many times I've jerked off to the thought of you ridin' my face." When I go to hook my thumbs into the waistband of her panties, Grace blurts out my name and covers her face. "What is it, babe? You want me to stop?" I ask.
"No," she answers quickly. "It's…nobody has ever done that to me, and my husband is the only man I've been with."
Taking a deep breath to tamp down my anger because the last thing I want to do right now is talk about him, but I realize she's feeling nervous and I need to calm her down. "Well, then I'm a lucky bastard because I'll be the first and last man ever to know what your pussy tastes like." At my declaration, our eyes lock in a heated gaze, and her body relaxes.
Moving forward, I continue with sliding her panties over her hips exposing her small thatch of neatly trimmed hair. Once I have removed the last strip of clothing, I run my hands up the inside of her thighs pushing them open. One look at Grace's beautiful pussy wet with her desire and I can no longer hold back. Without another second, I lean forward and swipe my tongue through her folds stealing my first taste, the sensation causes Grace to cry out and her sweet sound fuels my need to make this experience the best. "Come for me, Grace." I growl just before I suck her clit.
"Oh god, Jake!" She screams fisting my hair and filling my mouth with her essence.
Emerging from between Grace's legs, I stand and reach behind me pulling my
shirt off over my head and use it to wipe my face and beard before adding it to the pile of clothes already on the floor. Peering down at my woman's sated body I smile, "You taste like somethin' I've been missing for years, babe."
"What's that?" She asks.
"Forever. You taste like forever, Grace," I tell her honestly.
Shedding the rest of my clothes, I bring my body over the top of hers, and I don't miss the shocked look on her face when she looks down between us and gets her first look at my cock. I give her a knowing smirk when she visibly gulps. Laying my body flush against hers, I grind my heavy erection back and forth through her slick folds, and the feel of her heat has me almost coming. Leaning down further to where we are now chest to chest I rest my forehead on hers. "I don't have a condom. This was not my intention when coming here. Please tell me I can take you bare, babe," I say, my control hangin' by a thread. "I'm clean, Grace. There hasn't been anyone since the moment I laid eyes on you." Seeing a flash of doubt cross her face, I continue. "I mean it, baby; it's only been you for over two years. No way was I going to stick my cock into anyone but you. And I knew it was going to be worth the wait." At my confession, Grace thrusts her hips upward causing her wet pussy to rub against my cock, and a deep growl to rumble in my chest.
"I'm clean too, and it's also been awhile for me, but I'm not on anything, Jake," she says thrusting once more.
"I'll pull out. You good with that?" As soon as the word yes leaves her mouth, I place one of her legs over my shoulder and wrap the other one around my waist. I then place the head of my cock at her entrance and in one swift move I bury myself balls deep as the room fills with the sounds of Grace's cries of pleasure mixed with the roar of mine.
UNBREAKABLE: The Kings of Retribution MC Page 4
