Rising from the Ashes

by Jessica Prince

  She looked up at me with surprise and confusion in her eyes. “Jeremy? What are you doing here?”

  The innocence in her voice just made me want to wring her neck. I’d been busting my ass at the sake of my poor neglected dick for weeks, and she was sitting there with another guy, looking like they were on a damn date?

  I don’t think so.

  “Well, sugar, I thought I’d stop in for a bite to eat. Didn’t know I’d be interrupting something here.”

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake,” she muttered under her breath. “Jeremy, stop being an ass. You aren’t interrupting anything. We’re just having lunch.”

  Bull-fuckin’-shit. I decided I needed to cut this off at the source. Turning to Ben, I responded, “You’re sittin’ a little too close to my girl, buddy.”

  That caught his attention. “Your girl?”

  I pulled a chair over and forced it between the two of them. “Yeah, my girl. You didn’t know we got back together?”

  His eyes bounced back and forth between me and Savannah. It was obvious his discomfort with our little trio had just grown. “Uh…no, I didn’t know. We’re really just having lunch, man. Nothing’s going on here.”

  I put my elbows on the table and leaned in, so he had no doubt how serious I was. “Damn straight, nothing’s goin’ on here because you’d have two broken arms if there was.”

  The sound of a chair scooting back broke the lock I had on Ben. I turned to see Savannah standing up and grabbing her purse.

  “This is fucking ridiculous,” she said between clenched teeth as she grabbed my arm and tried to jerk me up. “I’m so sorry for this, Ben.”

  “Why the hell are you apologizing to this asshat?” I cut in.

  Her gaze shot to mine, and her eyes narrowed. I was instantly afraid for the safety of my balls.

  “Shut the hell up, Jeremy, before I break both of your arms.” She turned back to look at the douche she’d been having lunch with. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow. I’ve got to take care of this little problem.”

  Ben stood, still obviously uncomfortable. A quick glance around the deli showed that we’d garnered quite a bit of attention.

  “Yeah, I’ll see you later. You two have a good day.”

  “Oh, we will, Benjamin,” I replied even though I knew nothing good was about to come from the conversation Savannah and I were about to have.

  She jerked me toward the door, no doubt to my imminent castration. She walked at a fast clip to the door, her shoes clicking on the tile floor the whole way. I might have been in fear of what was to come, but I was still a guy. That meant I was walking a few paces behind and admiring just how perfect her ass looked in that tight skirt and fuck-me heels. The burn-in-hell look she shot at me over her shoulder had me going from semi to fully hard instantly.

  She finally made it to the sidewalk outside the deli and turned to face me. “Be at my house in fifteen minutes, or I swear to God, I will hunt you down and beat the ever living shit outta you.”

  Oh, I’d be there. This shit between us was going to end today. Seeing her with another man was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She was going to admit what was going on between us today, or I was going to tie her ass to the bed—preferably naked—until she did.

  He was dead—so freaking dead that it wasn’t even funny!

  I’d already wanted to kill him for the past two weeks, but that little show back in the deli was just the icing on the cake. I pulled my little Lexus into my driveway and shut it off just as Jeremy pulled in behind me. I slammed the door and headed into the house without even looking back. I’d just thrown my purse onto the loveseat in the living room when I heard the front door bang shut behind me. Completely prepared for a fight, I spun around to see he was just as geared up as I was.

  “I can’t believe you just did that. Ben is an attorney at my firm. Do you not get that? You could have just cost me my job!”

  I could actually see him losing some of his steam at that statement. He’d been so consumed by jealousy that he hadn’t even taken into account that Ben was technically one of my bosses.

  “What the fuck was that about, Jer?”

  He roughly ran his hands through his hair and collapsed on my couch. “Why do you insist on making this so damn difficult, Savannah?”

  The desperation in his voice and the fact that he’d called me Savannah instead of sugar didn’t sit well with me. It hurt me to see him in distress. And I hated that I’d caused him to feel that way.

  I took a seat on the other end of the couch and let out a heavy sigh. “Why are you pushing this so hard? It’s been seven years, Jeremy.”

  He turned to me with a look of anger. “That’s bullshit. Yeah, we might have broken up seven years ago, but we fucked a couple months ago. Stop acting like there hasn’t been something between us this whole time!”

  I felt a lump forming in my throat. “Jeremy, please…”

  He stood and pulled me to him, wrapping his fingers in the long strands of my hair to force my face to his. “You belong with me and you know it. There’s no one else out there for you. Just like there’s no one else for me. I’m not letting you go.”

  I cocked my head back, shocked at how sure he sounded. “Excuse me?”

  Jeremy ran his fingers through my hair and rested them on the nape of my neck, all the while looking unflinchingly into my eyes. “Seven years ago, I was stupid enough to let you walk away from me, and I’ve been letting you do it every day since. I’m tired of trying to convince myself that the little bit I have of you is enough. It’s not. I want all of you. I need all of you. And I know you need me too.”

  I swallowed audibly past the tears clogging my throat. Everything he said was one hundred percent true. I did need him. But I couldn’t have him.

  “Jeremy, you know this won’t work. Our past—”

  He cut me off with a gentle kiss before pulling back again. “Our past doesn’t matter. I don’t care what happened seven years ago. I’m talking about right now, sugar. I don’t want to look back. I want to move forward, and I can’t do that if I’m not with you. I tried to move on, and I failed miserably. I’ll say it again—there’s no one else for me.”

  Every wall I’d worked so hard to build over the past seven years started to crumble, and I was having a hell of a difficult time holding the pieces together. “You know it’s not that easy,” I pressed.

  “Do you love me?”

  If only it were that simple…

  Standing so close to him—the only man who could ever piss me off and turn me on all at the same time—was torture. I loved everything about him—his milk chocolate eyes, his burnished hair, those rippling muscles, each one earned from the years of back-breaking work he’d put in at his garage. Everything about him was rugged and sexy as hell.

  “It’s not that easy, Jer. You know that.”

  He dipped his head and ran his lips from my collarbone up to my ear before whispering, “But it is that easy, sugar.”

  His breath on my skin sent a shiver through my entire body, and I knew he could feel it. He was too close not to.

  “Do you love me? Because I’ve loved you since I was fourteen. I’ve loved you every single day that’s passed since the day I met you.”

  I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. When he told me he’d never stopped loving me, all my instincts to fight him flew out the window. I lunged, wrapping my arms and legs around him as tightly as I could, effectively ripping my pencil skirt in the process.

  “I love you too,” I said between the kisses I was planting all over his face. “God, Jeremy, I love you so much.”

  Holding on to Jeremy was the only thing I could think about. Tears ran down my cheeks unchecked as I put my heart and soul into showing how much I had missed him.

  He wrapped both arms under my bottom, tearing the fabric even more, and held on to me as tightly as I was holding him. “I’ve missed you so much, Savvy,” he said against my lips as he walked us away from the cou
ch and over to the wall that separated my living room from the kitchen. “You mean everything to me.”

  A low moan escaped my throat when he pressed his denim-clad hips into me, hitting just the right spot. I could feel how hard he was through the layers of clothes between us, and I desperately wanted to tear everything away. I needed to feel him, skin against skin. My nipples tightened to almost painful points under my shirt. I was sure that Jeremy could feel them.

  Using his body to pin my weight to the wall, Jeremy released one hand to trail it down my side, brushing against my breast with a whisper-light touch, and traveling down to where my now ruined skirt was bunched around my waist.

  “Sugar, I need you so bad,” he said as he dragged wet kisses down my neck to the swell of my breasts.

  I couldn’t contain the whimper of need that bubbled up. “I need you too, Jer. God, I need you.”

  “Say it,” he demanded.

  I couldn’t think clearly when he was touching me. “Say what?”

  His breath felt hot on my skin.

  “You know what I need to hear, sugar.”

  I couldn’t deny it anymore. He’d won, hands down.

  “We’re a couple,” I whispered against his lips.

  “Thank God!” he exclaimed with as much desperation as I was feeling.

  I let out a sound of distress when he pulled his hips away, but he quickly slid his hand between my legs, pushing my lace panties to the side and plunged a finger deep inside me.

  “Christ, baby, you’re so perfect.”

  He brought his lips back to mine as he kept up a quick pace, turning me inside out with just his hand.

  “Jeremy, I’m so close.” I craved the release that was building up quicker than I could have anticipated. I needed Jeremy to take me there so badly.

  He inserted a second finger, pushing as deep as he could, and curled them in a come-hither motion while pressing his palm harder against my clit. “Give it to me, Savvy. I want to hear you.”

  “Oh God!” I cried, throwing my head back against the wall and squeezing my eyes closed. I was so close to falling over the edge.

  “Eyes on me, sugar. I want you to see who’s in control of your pleasure.”

  I lowered my head and looked at Jeremy through hooded eyes. He was still so beautiful. Everything about him was perfect to me.

  “Tell me you’re mine,” he demanded.

  “I’m yours, Jeremy.”

  “Only mine,” he said, his voice a growl.

  “Only yours. Only ever yours.”

  “Fuck,” he ground out. “I love you so much, Savannah.”

  And with that, I flew right over the edge, crying out Jeremy’s name, as he continued to thrust those talented fingers in and out, over and over, coaxing every drop of climax from my body until I wasn’t capable of holding my own head up.

  It took me several seconds to catch my breath, but once I did, I was finally able to respond. “I love you too, Jeremy. Only ever you.”

  When he flashed me that brilliant dimpled smile that made me fall in love with him all those years ago, he captured my heart completely, all over again.

  Somehow, as the night had progressed, we’d finally made our way into the bedroom. After having some of the best sex of my life, Jeremy and I had both passed out.

  Unfortunately, I woke up a few hours later, giving myself plenty of time to think about why us getting back together was such an epic mistake. I replayed the reason over and over again until I was filled with so much anxiety that I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

  The only light in the room was drifting in from the hallway, illuminating Jeremy’s naked back. He had the best back. I hadn’t even known it was possible for a man to have a sexy back until Jeremy.

  I lay there, watching the toned golden skin rise and fall with each breath he took. He seemed so peaceful while sleeping, and the thought of not being able to keep what we’d started just hours before caused my eyes to sting with tears. I rolled to my back and stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out what I was going to do next.

  “I can hear those wheels turnin’ in that head of yours from here,” Jeremy mumbled in a sleep-filled voice. Even if I hadn’t been able to see his gorgeous body, the gravelly tenor of his voice was enough to turn me on.

  “Hey,” I responded softly, “I didn’t know you were awake.”

  He rolled to his side and propped his head in his hand, making the muscles in his bicep and chest stand out even more. I was pretty sure I was starting to drool.

  Keep your head in the game, Morgan!

  “I know you didn’t,” he responded with a sly smile. “If you had, you’d probably be tryin’ to kick me out the door right about now.”

  I shot up into a sitting position, holding the sheet to my naked chest. “No, I wouldn’t!” I replied incredulously.

  He might have been totally correct, but that didn’t mean I liked him assuming the worst of me.

  He threw his head back in laughter, enhancing his abs. It took everything I had not to jump him.

  “Sugar, you’ve never been any good at bullshitting me. I know you better than you think.”

  I threw myself back onto the pillows in a huff of defeat. He knew me better than anyone, sometimes better than I knew myself. But that didn’t mean I liked it. It made keeping secrets from him damn near impossible.

  “Come here, sugar,” he whispered softly, opening his arms for me to scoot into him.

  I buried my face in his chest and breathed deep, inhaling the scent that was inherently Jeremy.

  He held me tight and started rubbing a hand over my hair. “I told you that you weren’t getting away again and I meant it. You can try all you want, but it’s me and you from here on out.”

  I bit his pec playfully before looking up into those chocolate eyes of his. “What if that’s not what I want?”

  He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled it back, just hard enough to make me gasp, before his head shot down and he sealed his lips to mine in a forceful kiss. It was as if he was taking ownership of me with that kiss.

  “You want it, baby. You’re just scared, but that’s okay. I’m not going anywhere, and you’ll eventually get over your fears.”

  God, I loved him something fierce.

  He nipped my bottom lip with his teeth, causing a pleasurable sting to form, before soothing it with his tongue. He pulled back slightly, and I instinctively followed after him, not ready to stop kissing him yet. The desire I felt for him was consuming me. I couldn’t touch or taste him enough.

  Jeremy gently rolled me to my back and pushed himself between my legs. I could feel him growing harder against my lower stomach, and desire pooled deep in my core.

  “Mmm, I love how you taste,” he murmured as he ran his tongue along my collarbone. “You smell fuckin’ good too, sugar.”

  I’d forgotten Jeremy’s gift of turning me on with just a few words. He could always light me up just by talking.

  “Jeremy, I need you,” I pleaded breathlessly.

  “I’ll never get enough of hearing you say that, Savvy.”

  Jeremy rolled, taking me with him, so that I was straddling his trim waist. I ran my tongue across his lips before kissing my way past his chin and down his neck. I could spend hours licking and kissing every inch of his amazing body.

  As I wandered farther and farther down, I couldn’t help but feel invincible when I looked up through my lashes and saw an expression of complete satisfaction and adoration on his face. It was a heady feeling, knowing I could make a man as strong as Jeremy crazy with want.

  By the time I made it all the way down, positioned with my chest between his legs, his breath was coming out in rapid pants. I took him in my hand and squeezed slightly, loving the silky yet hard feel of him. When I licked my lips in anticipation, a low growl rumbled from deep within his chest. I ran my tongue from the base, all the way up the underside of his cock, and to the tip where I licked a drop of pre-cum before sealing my lips around the he
ad completely.

  “Fuuuuck, baby,” he ground out between clenched teeth.

  His reaction spurred me on, and I started moving up and down his rigid length, over and over, taking him as deep as I could. I hollowed out my cheeks and sucked harder on my way back up then flicked the tip of my tongue over the sensitive underside.

  “Savvy, I’m gonna come if you don’t stop,” he breathed.

  The thought of him losing control like that made me moan around his dick, which sent a shiver through him. Grabbing his sac in one hand, I began to massage as I used the other hand at the base, working him faster and faster. I knew Jeremy’s control was slipping when he grabbed a hold of my hair tightly and started thrusting his hips, making me take him even deeper. I wanted him to let go. I thrived on the idea of taking him over the edge, like he had done for me.

  I glanced up at his face and saw his eyes squeezed shut and the muscle in his jaw twitching. After releasing him with a pop, I mumbled, “Eyes on me, baby,” repeating his words from earlier. “I want you to see who’s in control of your pleasure.”

  “You’re all I’ve ever seen, sugar, even when my eyes are closed.”

  The intensity reflected in his look as he spoke caused the breath to rush from my lungs. I didn’t know if I’d ever loved him more than I did right at that moment.

  Before I had the opportunity to get back to my task, Jeremy bent at the waist, reached under my arms, and hauled me back up his body, shifting so that I was lying underneath him once again.

  “Do you have any clue what you do to me?” he asked.

  The sincerity in his voice made me tear up. It took me a few seconds to be able to speak past the lump in my throat. “Yes,” I whispered. “Because you do the same to me.”

  Jeremy leaned back down and kissed me with so much passion that the tears I’d been fighting back had no choice but to escape. I was so consumed by it that my brain almost didn’t register when he shifted his hips and started to slide into me.

  “Baby…condom,” I said against his lips.