Secrets

by Terry Towers

  Anastasia

  I placed my hand on Ura’s hot forehead as I counted down the seconds before I could remove the thermometer from his mouth, giving me the verdict. He’d been feeling ill since the previous morning, complaining of a sore throat and general aches and pains. His complaints got worse as the day wore on, his temperature gradually creeping upward, his coughing becoming rougher and more frequent.

  “Open,” I instructed and Ura immediately opened his mouth. Pulling the thermometer from between his lips, I frowned: 101.5 degrees. He needed to see a doctor.

  Shit, shit, shit. No identification and a doctor’s visit would seriously strain our financial situation. How in the hell was I going to swing this? I looked down at Ura as he coughed and hacked until a yellowish mucus came up that he spit into a tissue I handed him.

  “Я себе погано почуваю, мамо,” he groaned, closing his eyes and sinking back into the pillows.

  “I know, baby.” I stroked his blonde hair as I considered. Over-the-counter medicines weren’t working. “I’ll be right back.”

  His eyes slowly opened and he stared at me with glassy eyes, grabbing one of my hands in his little one. Even his little hands were burning up. “Don’t leave.”

  Bringing his hand to my lips I gave it a quick kiss before placing it onto his chest. “I’m just going across the hall to see Jaxson. Maybe he can help.”

  He stared at me for a moment and finally nodded, closing his eyes again. “Okay.”

  Rushing from Ura’s room, I left my apartment, leaving the door to mine open and knocked on Jaxson’s. No answer. I knocked a second time, a little louder and waited. Again, no answer. He was home, I knew it ’cause I heard him come in after closing up the bar.

  Trying the knob, it turned in my hand and I opened the door, letting myself in. Hell, he let himself into my place enough, I might as well do the same.

  “Jaxson,” I called out, rushing from room to room. When I reached his open bedroom door I halted in my tracks, my jaw dropping open. I wanted to cover my eyes and turn away, but couldn’t. All I could do was stand and stare like some teenager.

  Hearing my gasp, a naked Jaxson, fresh out of the shower with droplets of water slithering down his finely-toned body spun around, tossing the towel he’d been using to dry off his hair onto the bed. “What are you doing here?” He didn’t make an attempt to cover himself, despite his sizable cock beginning to thicken at the sight of me. I swore the man had no shame!

  “I… Um…” I still couldn’t look away. He was so damned beautiful, his body a work of art. Just when I thought I had my physical feelings for him in check something like this would happen, setting me ablaze, reminding me why my body wanted his so badly.

  He raised his brows at me and smiled that cocky, arrogant smile I both hated and loved so much. “You… what? Came over for the full view? Wanted to join me in the shower, because if you did –” he jerked his thumb toward the bathroom and gave me a wink “– that would be super!” When I didn’t answer right away he continued, his wicked grin widening. “Help me out here. What’s up?”

  Aside from your… Oh God! My eyes took one more quick glance at his groin area before darting up to his. Finally getting hold of my senses and shaken from my temporary paralysis, I spun around and closed my eyes, hoping he hadn’t seen the flush I knew would be colouring my cheeks. Damn that man, how he loved to embarrass me.

  “Ura’s fever is up to 101.5 and he’s getting worse.”

  “You want me to drive you guys to the hospital?” I could hear him opening his dresser drawers and proceed to get dressed, but still refused to turn around.

  “We don’t have ID.”

  All movement behind me stopped and the room became so silent I could have heard a pin drop onto the carpeted floor. After a moment, I heard a low hissing sound followed by a murmured curse coming from him. Movement resumed behind me.

  “I don’t know what to do,” I added.

  “You can turn around now, I’m dressed.”

  “I didn’t think this through.” Raking a hand through my hair, I exhaled an unsteady breath and then spun around to meet his gaze, my eyes welling up with tears. “I have no idea what to do, Jax.”

  “I know someone. A friend I used to go to high school with. He owns a family practice, let me make a call and see what I can do. Hopefully he’s still up and willing to see Ura this time of night.”

  “Why would he do that for us?”

  “’Cause he’s an old friend who owes me a favour and a doctor who has a responsibility that he won’t ignore.” Walking across the room to me, he gathered me gently into his arms and kissed the top of my head, before I could voice any more of my concerns. “Don’t worry, we’ll think of something. It’ll be okay. You have my word.”

  For that moment I felt maybe he would be right.

  ~*~*~*~*~

  Jaxson

  “I’ll just wait –” I motioned toward the chairs sitting in the waiting room.

  “No, I want you to come in,” Anastasia cut in, surprising me by grabbing my hand and leading me into the doctor’s office where Dr. Waylon had begun his examination of Ura, asking the little boy to take several deep breaths in and out as he listened to his lungs.

  With all the secrets she had about her past, I certainly didn’t expect her to allow me to be with her when there was a chance she’d have to reveal some of her past to the doctor – although considering the questions she was going to need to answer, perhaps she felt the support was more important than the information she kept so well guarded.

  “When did he begin with the symptoms?” Dr. Waylon asked, feeling the sides of Ura’s neck with his gloved fingertips.

  “Yesterday and has been getting worse,” Anastasia answered, lifting her fingertips to her lips and nibbling nervously at her nails.

  “Has he had a history of strep throat?”

  “No. None.”

  “Allergies? Or is he on any medications?” The doctor grabbed a tongue depressor and pressed it on top of Ura’s tongue, shining a light into his mouth. “I really should have his medical records. My office can contact his previous care provider for them on your behalf.”

  “I know. But, I don’t have access to them – or I can’t. I can tell you everything on them.”

  “They’re your right as this child’s mother to have access to them.” The doctor removed the tongue depressor from Ura’s mouth and tossed it into the garbage, replacing the light. He paused a moment to shoot a suspicious stare Anastasia’s way.

  Anastasia trembled, her frown deepening.

  “It’s a very complicated situation she’s in, Ivan. I wouldn’t ask you to treat Ura if it weren’t,” I offered on her behalf. “I understand your concerns. If there were any other way.”

  Ivan glanced over his shoulder again and our stares locked. I knew that look. He knew something fishy was going on and he didn’t appreciate being pulled into it… whatever IT was. Once Ivan was satisfied I’d received his message, he turned back to Ura and continued to ask general medical questions.

  The anxiety over Ura, combined with her attempt to fend off Dr. Waylon’s questions was becoming too much for her. I could see it in her expression and the way her body had become as stiff as a board in front of me, aside from her fidgeting. Grasping her upper arms into my hands, I gently rubbed her arms. My touch quieted her fidgeting and she threw a grateful smile over her shoulder at me.

  “Open your mouth once more Ura so I can get a little sample.” Ura complied and Dr. Waylon took a quick sample. “Good job.” The doctor mussed Ura’s hair, making the little boy giggle and beam up at the doctor. “Give me ten minutes and we will see if it’s strep or not.”

  The doctor exited into the other room, leaving the three of us to wait.

  Anastasia spun in my arms and gave me a grateful smile. “You have no –”

  “How many times do I have to tell you no thanks is required.”

  She shrugged, a hint of a sm
ile touching her lips. “A few more times at least.”

  Chapter 7

  Anastasia

  “He’s finally sound to sleep, snoring even.” Closing Ura’s bedroom door, I leaned against the door jamb and shot Jaxson a smile from across the living room. He was seated on the sofa, mindlessly flipping through the television channels, refusing to leave until Ura was asleep and he was sure everything was okay.

  Flicking off the television, Jaxson stood and crossed the room to stand in front of me, his hand on the door handle, preparing to leave. “Then I guess my job here is done and you should get some sleep, just in case he wakes up. At least it was just strep throat and with the antibiotics he’ll be as good as new in a few days.”

  “If we didn’t have you…” I shook my head, not even sure how I could convey in words how grateful I was to him. No one since my parents’ death had ever treated me as well as Jaxson did. Anyone who did treat me well had a motive to do so. Aside from the connection there seemed to be between us, Jaxson didn’t seem to have a motive.

  He groaned loudly and rolled his eyes at me. “I told you. No thank you’s. No thanks required.”

  He flashed me that grin again. That sexy smile that turned my knees to jelly and I was too damned exhausted to fight it any longer, even if I wanted to. Pushing off the door jamb I stepped up to him and pressed my palms against his chest, and then slipped my hands up until my fingers laced around the back of his neck.

  “I owe you a lot. And not just for what you did for Ura tonight.” I stepped a little closer until my breasts, which were only covered in a thin cream-coloured camisole, were crushed tight against his broad, powerful chest. He inhaled sharply, his body tensing against mine. Looking up into his eyes, the desire that flared up in them left me momentarily breathless.

  I was quickly beginning to forget why I was attempting to keep our relationship in the friend zone. There were days I lived in fear of Alexander showing up on our doorstep and killing us all, but nights like tonight, when it was just Jaxson and me and when all was quiet except for the sound of our breathing and the thump of my heart in my ears, Alexander was the furthest thing from my mind.

  I waited for him to wrap me into his arms, but he didn’t. He simply stared down at me, the indecision and fight in his eyes over whether to take me how I knew he wanted me. It was a look I was becoming accustomed to seeing. I stretched up and grazed my lips across his. “Thank you.” The deep, spicy scent of his cologne drifted to my nose, surrounding my senses and pulling me in.

  “Anna…” His low growl-like sound came from him as his hands clenched to fists at his sides.

  “Jax.” I captured his lower lip between my teeth and gently tugged, smiling softly. He hesitated a moment longer before responding, his lips claiming mine with restrained passion. Moaning softly, I pressed my hips against him, teasing his rapidly thickening cock and urging him to kiss me harder.

  His hands slipped to my waist and then lower to my bottom, covered in my pink satin pajama bottoms, before quickly twirling me around so my back was braced against the wooden door. A flash of being grabbed by Alexander and thrown against our bedroom wall came to mind and I froze from fear of the image for a split second.

  He isn’t Alexander. I’m not in Miami. This is Jaxson. I’m in Bangor. Sweet, strong, protective Jaxson, I reminded myself. Jaxson would never hurt me.

  His scent invaded my thoughts, pulling me back to the present and him. Our kiss deepened, his tongue seeking mine. He paused a moment, pulling from the kiss until our lips merely brushed, no doubt feeling my tension and waiting for me to freak out like before. When the anticipated reaction didn’t come his lips left mine and they began to travel across my jaw and to my neck.

  “Are you okay?” he murmured, so softly I barely heard him.

  “Yessssss,” I managed to sigh as I waited in anxious anticipation for what he planned next.

  The moment his lips touched the tender side of my neck I moaned softly, falling completely against the door, as my fingers grasped at his shoulders. His lips moved slowly, so slowly down the side of my neck, his teeth gently nipping as his tongue flicked and teased. While his lips and tongue teased his hands slipped to my hips and then up. As his hands moved up my torso they took the hem of the camisole with them until the top was bunched up above my small breasts.

  “Fuck, you have incredible breasts.”

  Heat coloured my cheeks at his words. My breasts had become an insecurity of mine. Alexander complained about how they were too small, just barely a B cup, although I could comfortably wear an A. He felt that I should get a boob job; it was one of the things I’d dug my heels in and refused to submit to. He’d done everything he could to make me into his personal Barbie doll; a part of me had taken satisfaction in the fact that there was one thing he couldn’t force onto me. If I hadn’t gotten us away when I had, I’m sure he would have eventually gotten his way with that as well.

  As his hands cupped my breasts, his fingertips turning them into tiny, hard pink peaks, his lips reached my collarbone and worked their way to the center. Opening my eyes I looked down and watched him, my cheeks flushing a deeper shade of crimson as a tremor of pleasure raced through my body from the tips of my nipples to fuel the beginning pulse between my legs.

  His hand on my breast was replaced with his lips, his tongue swirling around the hardened bud and teeth gently nipping. Another moan escaped my lips as I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the door, savouring the pleasure he was invoking in me. His mouth moved from one nipple to the other as his hands slid down my torso to my hips. Hooking his thumbs into the waistband of my pajama bottoms, he slowly slid them down my hips, leaving me in only my pink lace panties, covering my shaven mound.

  I yelped and moaned loudly as he nipped at my nipple one last time with enough force to skirt that fine line between pleasure and pain, before falling to his knees before me and beginning to slowly kiss his way down my torso and to my stomach. The pulsing between my legs intensified, the moisture between my pussy lips increasing as I realized what he intended to do.

  His lips paused as they reached my stomach and his body froze. I knew what he was looking at and I felt shame in what he was seeing, so I turned my head so he couldn’t see my face. Across my stomach and all the way down my back and to my ass were scars of varying lengths: some from the whips, some from the caning and some from whatever sadistic thing that would pop into Alexander’s head at the moment.

  I waited for the questions, but the questions never came. His lips continued their quest downward and with every inch his lips grew closer to my pussy, the greater my anticipation became until my body vibrated with need and the thin strip of fabric between my legs became saturated with the evidence of my desire.

  Looking down at him, I watched intently as he pulled my panties to the side and slipped a finger deep into me. The intrusion of his finger sent a surge of desire through me. My fingernails dug into his shoulders and I bucked against his hand. The pressure between my legs increased, demanding release.

  “Please.”

  He stopped his torturous kisses and looked up to meet my gaze, his eyes filled with desire, desire to rival what I was feeling inside. “Please what?”

  Catching my lower lip between my legs I considered his question as our gazes continued to meet. “Fuck me.”

  “No.” Removing his fingers from me, he grabbed the band of my panties and tugged them down so they accompanied my bottoms in a puddle at my feet. The cool air from the room tickled my moist pussy and I moaned again.

  “But…”

  He stood and lowered his lips to mine, kissing me softly, as he wedged his knee between my legs, forcing them wider apart. The rough denim covering his knee rubbed against my clit, sending another surge of desire through me and I began to rock against his leg, seeking the release my body was demanding.

  “I’ll never fuck you, Anastasia.”

  “I don’t… I…” I didn’t understand. He had me practi
cally naked and aching for him. I was practically begging for his cock and here he was telling me he wouldn’t fuck me. Then what was this all about? What was the point?

  He cupped my cheek in his hand, his thumb stroking my lower lip. “You deserve more than to be just fucked, Anna. When the time is right I’ll make love to you the way you deserve.”

  Before I had a chance to respond he was back down on his knees, placing butterfly kisses across my mound, as his fingers spread my pussy lips. “Damn, so smooth. I love it.” As his tongue flicked at my sensitive clit I cried out and my knees threatened to buckle under me; had it not been for my tight grasp on his shoulders surely I would have slid down the wall and to the floor.

  Grasping my left thigh, he slipped my leg over his shoulder, opening me wider to him. His breath against my wet folds as his tongue taunted and teased my clit gave a sweet mix of pleasure and anticipation of more. Wave upon wave of pleasure raced through me as his fingers joined his tongue in its taunting, plunging deep into my core and stroking my inner wall. My hands slipped from his shoulders to his head as I pressed my pussy tighter to his mouth, urging his tongue to continue its exploration.

  I watched him indulging in me, giving me pleasure I hadn’t felt in a very long time, pleasure I wasn’t sure I deserved, but greedily indulged in anyhow. I was always the one on the giving end; my pleasure was never of consequence to anyone I’d been with. This was a surreal feeling, but my God, oh so good.

  “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to taste you.” His lips left my clit to lick and suck my juices from my pussy lips, drawing first one side and then the other between his lips. “Damn, you taste good.”

  “Incredible, Jax,” I moaned as his tongue continued its journey and replaced his fingers within my core, probing deep. With my hands returning to his shoulders, I bucked wildly against his tongue and fingers, which had begun their work teasing my throbbing clit, fucking his mouth. “My God, so good.”