by Ana Sparks
“I hope you brought lots of food because I’m starving. It’s hard work being a house husband around here,” Dan joked.
He’d obviously woken up in a good mood, and it made Jen smile.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, so I think I bought everything in the store. I’m not the best cook, though, so you might have to help me in the kitchen. A man’s work is never done, huh?”
She turned around to go back into the hallway to collect the shopping and Dan was right there behind her.
“Did you just carry all of this in from the car? If you weren’t carrying my baby, I’d bend you over my knee and spank you.”
“How else did you think the groceries got in here? My levitation skills are quite limited right now.”
They both laughed as Dan picked up the bags and led the way into the kitchen.
The duo unpacked everything together with Jen pointing him in the right direction every time he couldn’t figure out where to put something.
“Are you hungry?”
“Is that a leading question?” he asked, poking his tongue out in response to the mock scowl she threw in his direction.
“Okay, I get your point.” Jen nodded impishly and went back to work putting the last of the groceries away.
“How about you cook breakfast and I’ll cook lunch, and then maybe we can cook dinner together. That seems like a fair trade to me,” Dan suggested.
Their lighthearted banter set the tone for the rest of the day, and they both found themselves relaxing as they slowly got to know each other a little better.
Dan was a better cook than she had expected him to be, and he showed her how to make Eggs Benedict that was as good as any she had had in a restaurant. In turn, she told him how to make Spanish frittatas that melted in the mouth.
They talked about anything and everything, the good, bad and ugly, and as the day wore on they fell into a comfortable companionship that seemed both natural and genuine.
They kept the fire burning all day, and other than their forays into the kitchen, they spent most of the time in the living room, playing cards and scrabble with a friendly rivalry that had them both giggling as they competed against each other.
They were heading back into the kitchen to start cooking dinner when Jen’s cell phone rang again. She looked at the caller ID and ignored it, putting her phone down on the counter and turning to the refrigerator to collect the ingredients for their evening meal.
“I wish they’d get the hint that I don’t want to talk to them.”
“Who was it?” Dan asked, understandably curious.
Jen sighed.
“Just my parents again. They called earlier on while I was in town, but I’m really not in the mood to talk to them right now. It will just be another call telling me what I should or shouldn’t be doing with my life, and I'm just not in the mood to listen to it.”
Dan took the food she’d collected from the fridge out of her hands and placed it on the counter.
“You can’t just ignore them, Jen. I know it annoys you when they try to tell you what to do, but wouldn’t it be worse if they didn’t care? At least you've got parents who love you, even if you don’t always agree with what they say or do.”
Jen thought about it for a minute, his words making her feel small as they sank in. Dan had had a traumatic childhood being raised by people who hadn’t loved him or cared for him. Hearing her talk disdainfully about her own parents must have seemed like a kick in the teeth to him.
“I’m sorry, Dan. You’re right, and I know you are. It seems like all my parents and I do is argue these days, and I’m tired of it, but it's probably time for me to show them that I know what I’m doing, isn't it?”
“You’re going to be a parent yourself soon, so yes, that would probably be a good idea.” He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a reassuring hug, giving her a strength she hadn’t realized she lacked.
“I know we were going to cook dinner, but I’m not really all that hungry now.” She looked up at him coquettishly. “Not for food, anyway.”
Dan’s gaze became heated as her meaning sank in and he quickly let go of her and turned to put the food back in the fridge. She leaned against the kitchen counter, smiling as she watched him. As soon as the fridge door closed, he turned back to her and lifted her up in his arms, making her laugh out loud.
“If it’s loving you want, you’ve come to the right place.”
He carried her back into the living room and placed her back down on her feet, before slowly and deliberately removing her clothing one item at a time.
“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” His voice had deepened into the husky drawl she’d grown to love. “You are without a doubt the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. And the way you've stood by me and helped me has showed that you’re beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.”
His words almost brought Jen to tears, but she fought against them, not wanting to spoil the moment. “You’re wearing too many clothes again,” she said quickly.
Dan soon rectified that by pulling off his clothes in record time, standing naked before her and showing her, without words, just how much he wanted her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, their naked bodies touching as the heat built between them.
He dipped his head and claimed her mouth in a kiss that left her breathless, and Jen’s arms wound around his neck as their tongues met and danced together.
Once again Dan picked her up in his arms, turning around so that his back was to the couch and lowering himself down with her in his lap. Jen could feel the heat and hardness of his body beneath her, and her pulse raced in response.
She adjusted her position, swinging a leg over him so that she was straddling him, before sliding down onto his length with a blissful sigh. He fit her so perfectly, despite his size, and she paused as her body adjusted to accommodate him.
“You set the pace, baby.” His voice was deep and husky and filled with the passion they were both feeling.
Jen bent her head towards him and their mouths met as she raised her body up, the moistness of her pussy making the motion slick, fluid, and blissful.
Painstakingly slowly, she lowered herself back down, taking him inside her once more as he gasped into her mouth. Her hands tangled in his hair as they kissed while she rode him, his arms snaking around to her hips as he helped guide her movements.
“You’re so perfect, Jen. It feels like our bodies were made for each other.” His voice was a whisper against her lips and she moaned in response as his fingers grabbed her tighter and he thrust up into her.
Without conscious thought, the tempo increased until neither of them knew who was in control anymore.
Draped over his naked body, Jen could feel every inch and ridge of his manhood as he slid in and out of her, and it was a feeling she never wanted to end.
Dan dragged his lips away from hers and his hands came up to cup her breasts, holding them up to his eager mouth. As his teeth clamped down gently over her hard nipple, Jen felt her insides quicken in response and she gasped out loud.
She moved her hips backwards and forwards, riding his length as though it was the last thing she was ever going to do. Dan responded by pushing up into her harder and faster, meeting her thrust for thrust until their orgasms crashed down over them simultaneously. They were both gasping for breath as waves of pleasure ran over and through them, leaving them drained, fulfilled, and utterly exhausted.
Jen’s upper body collapsed down onto Dan as she tried to catch her breath. He wrapped his arms around her once again, this time in a sensual hug, as he held her close to him.
“I could stay like this with you forever. You are amazing, Jen.” She moaned against his neck, not even attempting to voice anything. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Raising her head, Jen looked into his eyes, making sure he was paying attention before she spoke. “Dan, I don’t think you could hurt me even if you tried. What we ju
st shared was almost surreal, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it or you.”
She was amazed to see tears well in his eyes, just before he lowered his head to her neck and placed a gentle kiss there.
“Thank you. I don’t think anyone’s ever said anything so nice to me before.” He laughed in an attempt to hide his emotions. “I’m not quite sure I deserve it, but I’m glad you feel that way.”
She knew he wasn’t ready to have a heart-to-heart talk right now, and in all honesty, she was way too tired herself.
“Can we sleep on the couch again tonight?”
Jen didn’t think she had the energy to make it upstairs, and she really didn’t want them to sleep in separate bedrooms either.
Dan just smiled in answer and then shifted his position on the couch, moving them both so that they were lying side-by-side before reaching for the blanket that was draped over the back of the piece of furniture and pulling it down over their naked bodies.
“Close your eyes, baby. It’s time to get some rest.”
In no time at all the room was filled with the sound of their deep, steady breathing as they both fell into another night of peaceful slumber.
Chapter Fourteen
They were making breakfast in the kitchen the following morning when Dan dared to bring up the subject of her parents again.
“So, are you going to call your mom and dad today?”
“I wasn’t planning on it. Why?” She was curious as to why it was so important to him that she maintain contact with her parents.
Dan shot her a look of mock sternness.
“Because they might be worried about you, that’s why. Besides, they’re not going to keep trying to call you if you just get it out of the way, are they?”
She gave a dramatic sigh and shrugged. “Okay, I give up. I’ll call them after breakfast. Will that make you feel better?”
He placed a plate of food in front of her and smiled. “It will make me feel much better.”
True to her word, as soon as she finished eating, Jen reached for her cell phone, only to find that she had no service.
“Dammit,” she grumbled.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t have any coverage and we don’t have a landline here. It looks like I’m going to have to go out and use a payphone. There's one at a gas station about ten minutes away from here, so I shouldn’t be too long”.
Dan smiled at her reassuringly.
“I think I’ll be able to survive somehow. Just try not to be too long or I might wither away. Unless you want me to come with you, of course?”
Jen threw the dishtowel at him as she picked up her car keys.
“I’ve seen you in action, remember? Besides, with the police looking for you I think it would be safer for you to stay here. I think you'll just about be able to manage without me for a few minutes.”
They were both laughing as she left the house and got into the car, driving the short distance to the gas station to make the much-dreaded phone call to her mother.
The gas station was quiet, much to Jen’s relief, and she put the money in the phone and dialed her mother’s number, trying not to cringe with nerves as she waited.
“Hello? Who is this?”
She took a deep breath. “It’s me, Mom. It’s Jen.”
“Jennifer! Where on earth have you been? Your father and I have been trying to reach you.” Her mother sounded irritated, which was nothing unusual.
She took a deep breath before she said anything, trying her hardest not to sound petty or childish as she answered.
“I’m absolutely fine, Mom. I just had a few things that needed to be done and I didn’t need any distractions, so I had my phone switched off.”
Her mother gave a sigh that sounded more relieved than annoyed.
“Well, so long as you’re okay. I just wish you’d told us beforehand so that we wouldn’t have worried.”
“I do have something that I need to talk to you and Dad about, Mom. I don’t want to do it over the phone, but I’ll come and see you both soon so that we can talk about it face-to-face.”
“That sounds interesting. We look forward to seeing you, honey. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long.”
They talked about nothing in particular for a few more minutes before Jen made her excuses and ended the call, grabbing a couple of bags of potato chips before she got in the car to make her way back home to Dan.
As she rounded the corner into her street, however, she was horrified to see the red and blue flashing lights of police cars outside the house. She felt instantly sick to her stomach and she parked the car and got out as quickly as possible to find out what was going on.
She was running up the pathway to the front door when somebody calling her name behind her made her stop and look around. She was horrified to see Dan in handcuffs being manhandled into the back of a police car, and she changed direction and ran towards the policemen who had obviously arrested him.
“What are you doing? Stop that! He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
She frantically tried to get the attention of the officer who was putting Dan in the back of the car, but nothing she said seemed to get through to him.
She looked around her helplessly and spotted her neighbor, Mrs. Andrews, watching with a look of dismay on her face. Jen quickly put two and two together and realized that Mrs. Andrews must have seen Dan in the house and thought he was a burglar.
“Please! You have to stop this. He isn’t here to rob the place, he’s my boyfriend. This is my parents’ house; we are allowed to be here!”
One of the offices finally turned around to face her and Jen breathed a brief sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry, miss, but your boyfriend here is under arrest. He told us the same story but we ran his credentials and it turns out there's a warrant out for him. I’m sure this is upsetting for you, but we need to take him with us now.”
The police officer was being polite with her, but still Jen could have quite happily hit him over the head with her bag.
She was about to try to push past him to get to the car, but Dan saw what she going to do and shouted to her.
“Jen! Don't worry! I’ll be okay, I promise. I don’t want you getting upset. You have to think about the baby.”
He was as reassuring as he could be under the circumstances, and Jen could have cried at how thoughtful he was being when he was the one being carted away in the back of a police car.
Nodding her head to show him that she understood, Jen took a step back, and the next minute the car pulled away. That’s when she lost control. Right there at the side of the road, she broke down and bawled like a baby.
What was she going to do now? Was the father of her unborn child going to be locked up for murder?
“I’m so sorry, dear. I saw you go out earlier, and then while I was walking the dog I saw somebody walking around inside the house. I thought you had an intruder! I would never have called the police if I’d known that it was just your boyfriend.”
Mrs. Andrews sounded close to tears herself, and Jen couldn’t find it in her heart to be angry at her.
“It’s not your fault, Mrs. Andrews. I should have told you that I had company when I saw you. I just didn’t think of it at the time.”
Jen’s tears slowly subsided and she hiccuped a deep breath in, making an effort to calm herself down. Dan was right. She didn’t need to be getting this upset right now. It wasn’t good for her or the baby. She gave Mrs. Andrews a reassuring hug, then turned and went into the house, closing the door firmly behind her.
Jen quickly realized there was no point her staying at the house on her own, and after packing everything she needed, she got back in her car and made her way back home to Austin.
She was relieved to be in her own place and she hoped that now she could figure out a plan of attack and do something to help Dan. Thankfully, Karen wasn’t home. Jen wasn’t sure she was up to answering a million and one questions about where s
he'd been and who with, and right then she needed to be on her own until she could find out what was going on.
She dug out her seldom used telephone directory and turned to the page that listed all of the police stations in the area. She hadn’t thought to ask the officer where they were taking Dan, so the only thing she could do was call around the different stations until somebody could tell her where he was.
It took her over an hour of being passed from person to person before someone told her that Dan was being detained at the county lockup, but nobody would tell her exactly what was going on.
After a quick shower and a change of clothing, Jen got back in her car to drive out there, determined to get some answers from somebody even if it meant her camping out outside their door. The lockup wasn’t too far away from where she lived, but it felt as though the drive took forever, and Jen got more and more nervous with every passing mile.
She had been expecting to have to argue with whoever was in charge when she got there. What she hadn’t been expecting was to see Dan sitting on the steps outside of the building.
She quickly parked her car and sat there staring at him as he coolly smoked a cigarette, hoping her eyes weren't deceiving her. She was so relieved that she could have cried all over again, but she held the tears back as she got out of her car and ran over to him.
“Dan! My God, it’s good to see you.”
Dan stood up from the steps and threw his cigarette to the ground, opening his arms wide as she ran into them.
“I thought you were going to be in prison for life!” She knew she was being dramatic, but right then, she really didn’t care.
Dan wrapped his arms tightly around her and buried his face in her hair as he hugged her.
“That’s what I thought as well. It turns out that Tywin wasn’t dead after all. He was in a coma for a few days, but it turns out that he woke up this morning. Apart from a concussion he’s absolutely fine, and besides, Tywin is a career criminal. If he talked to the cops, he'd be going against his own fucked-up principles, and implicating himself for having been at the fight.”
