Her eyes rolled back in her head as she nodded.
As I knelt on the bed, I held her leg and dropped a kiss on the pad of her big toe, her shin, her knee, her thigh and her hipbone before I released her leg. As I blew air over the tight skin on her abdomen, a quiver rippled out over her skin. Her firm breasts were responsive, and with another puff of air, her nipples stood at attention. I salivated instantly. When my tongue swirled around her nipple, she writhed beneath me, arching her back to meet my mouth. Then I sucked her nipple and she moaned out loud, squeezing my shoulders. Jesus…
Fuck. I couldn’t get inside her fast enough. Once I nestled myself between her legs, my cock may as well have been on a Cape Canaveral launch pad ready for take off…because the count down was on. When her hips arched up in search of me, it was lift off. With an agonizingly slow and deliberate thrust—I entered her. Internally, I smiled. Talk about a stairway to heaven.
I didn’t pound her. Nail her. Fuck her. I simply held her head snuggly to my chest as I moved in and out of her. Our moans became groans intermingled with kisses. The smell of sex lingered in the air. I’d never been one for missionary position, but the look of pleasure on her face was all I ever wanted to see. I wanted to be the only man to ever put that look on her face.
There were times I was so close to coming I forced myself to think of anything else but her. Her hands clawed at my back…at my ass… at me. At times she pulled my hair. A feeling so powerful—so overwhelming filled my chest. A rush I’d never experienced… I fought hard to keep the words inside. As I gazed down at her brown orbits hazily staring back, I pecked her nose and her forehead and her cheeks. And when she whispered my name, come shot to the top of my cock again.
“I’m gonna come, Mela. Where do you want my come?” I asked.
Without reservation she held my gaze as she said, “as deep inside me as you can.”
For a moment, my eyes continued to search hers, looking for affirmation. When her hips arched up providing the finishing stroke that threw me over the edge…I groaned out loud as I slowly pumped only two more times. As I exploded inside of her, my balls pressed against her ass I was so deep.
“Ah!” she cried out, taking every last inch of me.
My body twitched with each pulse of my cock as I completely emptied myself inside her. There was no feeling in the world like that—add that to my night of firsts. Neither of us spoke. For the first time, we were able to drift off to sleep without fear of someone catching us.
The sun barreling through the window was suffocating. I threw off the covers, freeing my legs, then realized Mela wasn’t in bed. I dragged my hands the length of my face, smelling her on my hands. I grinned into my palms as I sat upright.
I was shocked to see Mela sitting with her knees drawn to her chest in a chair in the corner of the room. Her eyes were puffy and red. Beck?
“Mela?” I hurried out of bed, but before I could get upright, I heard the cock of the gun.
Startled, I plopped right back down on the mattress, holding my hands out.
“What are you doing, baby?” I asked slowly holding my hands in front of me.
“How do you know Ian?” she whispered, the gun still aimed at me.
“What do you mean?”
“During the night, it hit me that you said his name. How did you find out his name?”
My brows pulled together in thought. I didn’t recall saying his name, but FUCK! Tears were fresh on her cheeks again, and that killed me. Once again, I got up to tend to her.
“Don’t!” she hissed raising the gun.
“Stop, Mela,” I gritted. “You know damn good and well you aren’t going to use that.”
BAM! The gun fired off into the corner of the room. My eyes shot wide as I covered my ears instinctively and eyeballed where the bullet had gone—straight through the wall.
“Jesus Christ, Mela! Are you fucking insane?”
“Tell me, Jackson. How do you know his name?”
“Beck told me!” I lied. “Mela, I’m not going to hurt you.”
She shook her head, trying to catch her breath—the gun trembled in her hands.
“Bullshit!” Her arms jetted back out aiming the weapon at me.
“Baby, please,” I whispered holding my hands out in surrender.
“Why? Why would Beck tell you his father’s name?”
I swallowed dryly trying to come up with a lie to cover a lie. That was the awful thing about lies. Tell one and you have to tell another.
“I don’t remember. I asked him, I think. I don’t even know why.” I paused mid lie. “Mela. This is crazy. You have no reason not to trust me.”
Just the fact that I was lying about lying would be reason.
I stood next to the bed and lifted my cock, staring down at myself.
“What are you doing?” she sniveled.
“I’m looking for my balls.” I kept looking down between my legs. “Unless you put that gun away, I’m guessing they are gonna stay shriveled up.” I offered her a smile.
She released a breath but no smile. “Did you know Ian?” she asked, setting the gun on the end table next to the chair.
“I did not.” That was truth. I slid on my boxer briefs and my jeans and then bent down in front of her.
“Look at me. All I want to do is take care of you. And Beck. I’d take on anyone wanting to hurt you. You have my word.”
Her eyes frantically ran the gamut of my face, looking for any hesitation.
Desperately, she threw her arms around my shoulders and clung to my neck.
“Listen, Annie Oakley. We seriously have to do something about these guns.”
I pushed her back, studying her face. The biggest, plumpest tears broke free, ripping me apart. Her scars ran deeper than I ever imagined. I was angry with myself for not finding her sooner. I would have been there for her. I would have helped.
“I’m sorry. Never again,” she wept, and I held her. I held her like my life depended on it. No…I held her like her life depended on it.
“You put a hole in the damn wall, baby,” I sarcastically joked but had never been more serious. “I’m gonna make you mad some days but trust me, it’s never to hurt you, it’s because I’m stupid sometimes. OK?”
She nodded, but her body quaked from the onset of tears. I held her tighter, pulling her body upright.
“Mela, it’s ok. Shh.” I stroked her hair, attempting to console her.
“Jackson. I’ve been so scared for so long. Standing vigil every second of every day. For four years. Getting stronger.” She gasped for a breath and kept going. “I’m so sorry.” She paused, swallowing and wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “My story is…very complicated. And I just can’t afford to have it dissected in any way by anyone. I need you to accept that. I can’t just come back with you and it’s hard for me to trust anyone.”
“Can’t you tell me about it and let me help you sort it out?” I knew I could help. It was time to tell her.
“I don’t know. I don’t know.”
When her head rested on my shoulder, I decided I wouldn’t ask again. I had to hope she’d tell me when she was ready. For what seemed like an hour, I held her, comforted her, and soothed her as her tears managed to dry. Small hiccups rocked her body.
“Mela…”
She reared back and her eyes clung to mine.
I kissed the tip of her nose. “Have you ever heard the saying every storm runs out of rain?”
She nodded, her hair falling beautifully around her face.
“Maybe your storm is over. Maybe it’s run out of rain. Maybe it’s time to trust.”
“I want to trust you,” she whispered.
“Then do.”
Chapter 19
MELA
You can run but you can’t hide…
Sitting behind Jackson on the snowmobile and holding tightly to his waist reminded me of the time I rode behind Rock on the motorcycle. I was a completely different woman now than that wo
man four years ago.
Once we topped the mountain, I directed him over to the camouflaged garage.
“I didn’t realize you had a car.”
I shivered. Even though the sun was out and the majority of the snow on this side of the mountain was nearly gone, it was colder than I expected.
“Yes. I keep it here. We hike to here. Drive into town. Use it if necessary.”
“What’s necessary mean, Mela?”
God, I wanted to spew everything. Every detail as to what happened. Every piece of my life to him. He was everything I wanted and needed. It was time.
“If we ever needed to get away, it would be here.”
“You mean run away?” His eyes slammed into me. “When will you stop running, Mela?”
I walked past him, ignoring the question, unlocked the garage and started the Tahoe. He got in the passenger door.
“Are we just leaving the snowmobile here?” he asked as I backed up.
“Yes.”
“Mela. Tell me something. Will you ever trust me enough? I think I need to know that.”
I stopped the car and stared straight ahead.
“I’m hiding from Ian’s family. They want Beck. They’ll take him from me. They’ve made it clear. I’ll hide until his safety can be guaranteed. Right now, it can’t.”
“I’m an attorney, Mela. Legally they couldn’t take him from you. That would be unheard of.”
I shook my head. “You don’t understand. Ian’s mother…she’s… powerful...cruel. She has connections. She was out to prove me guilty of a crime.” My voice cracked.
When his hand traced beneath my hair on the back of my neck goose bumps fanned out over my skin. He wouldn’t look at me though. He seemed lost in thought.
“I’ll protect you. I’ll protect Beck,” he said, glancing out the window before looking back at me.
The electrical current that swam between us was more powerful now than ever. “Jackson. I’m…falling for you so I hope we have a future. I’m just not sure what I have to give.”
He released a pent up breath and closed his eyes. “I’ll catch you. I promise. And I’ll take whatever you can give. But I do need one promise…”
Promises. I hated the word. A promise is a promise until it’s broken.
“What?”
“Promise you won’t run from me. I don’t ever want to be lost again.” He dropped a kiss on the back of my hand.
I couldn’t imagine running from him. My heart was heavy with hesitation, but it was all I had to give him. “I promise I will try…”
***
When we got to Layne’s, they were outside in the sunshine sitting at the picnic table. I smiled when I saw them playing jacks. Beck’s hand could only hold a few of the jacks and he usually got frustrated. But I loved that Layne had taught him.
“Hey guys!” I said, waving.
“Hey, Mommy.”
Beck concentrated on bouncing the ball and picking up jacks, but the second he messed up, he stood jumping up into Jackson’s arms.
“Hey, buddy.”
My heart skipped a beat as Jackson tossed Beck high and then embraced him on the catch. Layne picked up the jacks, ignoring the exchange. I refused to feel guilty about liking Jackson. Especially as I watched his interactions with Beck.
“I’d like to show Jackson the gym if that’s ok.”
Layne nodded with little emotion. “Do you need my key or did you bring yours?”
“You could come with us,” I suggested.
Layne looked at me then Jackson then Beck. His dreads were pulled back away from his face. “Sure.”
I smiled at Jackson, who gave me a what- the- hell look. I winked at him, praying that he would understand. Layne was a part of our lives. That would always be.
The air was chilly and the sand ground beneath our shoes as we walked through the wet streets. Piles of snow sat like mountains on each corner where the plows had heaped it, but for the most part, the streets were clear. It always amazed me how one side of the mountain could be so different.
“Where’s your car?” I asked Jackson.
He pointed over to the grocery store parking lot. A gray Rover with tinted windows sat parked at the back of the lot.
Once we were at the gym, Beck showed Jackson around, jumping on the boxes, having him lift Beck up to the racks so he could do a strict pull up. Then Beck jumped down and pushed himself up on the rings.
“Impressive, lil man!” Jackson cheered.
“Mela. What do you know about this guy?” Layne asked in a low whisper.
“I know that he’s an attorney from Denver.”
“For nearly four years, I’ve watched you look over your shoulder. You’ve never let anyone close enough to touch Beck, and yet in this short amount of time, this man has engrained himself in your lives. How do you know he isn’t a part of whoever you’ve run from?”
Layne meant well. He was the most protectively loyal man I’d ever met.
“I just know. People came to the cabin looking for him and he told them he was there alone. He protected us.”
Layne popped his neck side to side.
“Mommy, Jackson and I are hungry,” Beck said, sprinting over to me.
“So this is crossfit, huh?” Jackson asked Layne.
“It is. You should give it a try.”
Layne’s words caught me off guard. I smiled at him.
Jackson chuckled. “You guys would kick my ass.” He covered his mouth, quickly looking at Beck. Jackson’s eyes were wide and he quickly glanced at me and mouthed, sorry.
“Mmmm!” he hummed like Jackson was in trouble.
“Yeah. Let’s take potty mouth to go eat,” I laughed.
The café across the square was Beck’s favorite so we headed that way. Layne stayed back and I knew he still had his reservations about Jackson. With efforts by both of them, I hoped things would eventually get better. They had to.
Beck ran ahead to the slide in the middle of the square, splashing through a mud puddle on his way.
“Oh my God, did you see that? Mud splashed everywhere.”
“Yep. He’s a boy.”
“He’s gonna be messy,” Jackson chuckled.
I wondered if our messiness would fit into Jackson’s world.
Surprising me, he took my hand and a wave of excitement fluttered out over my skin. Anybody who had seen me walk this square so many times in the past—would hardly believe it when they saw me today with my hand in this handsome man’s hand, the smile on my face and the overwhelming feeling of love on my face. He made me feel so incredibly special. I hadn’t held someone’s hand in so long. For good measure, I gave his hand a squeeze and he squeezed back.
When I first heard the roar, I cast a glance up at the sky to check for thunderclouds, but the sky was clear. Both Jackson and I glanced at each other and around the square. The rumble of whatever it was resonated in my chest. The roar became louder and louder. Then it was suddenly familiar.
Harley’s pulled into town from every direction, making everyone around stop and stare. The minute one of the bikers passed me and I could see the back of his jacket, I began searching faces. I could never forget that symbol on the back of the leather.
I spotted Rock about the same time that he spotted me.
“Beck!” Jackson shouted and took off in a dead run.
Rock rode up next to the curb. “Mela, get on!”
My heart raced. Confusion shot through me. It had been four years since I’d seen this man. “What?”
My eyes shot toward Beck. Jackson was almost to Beck when one of the guys on a motorcycle snatched my boy. He sat him on the motorcycle seat in front of him.
“Mela!” Rock shouted. “You’ve been found. We have to get you out of here!” He shouted over the roar of the bike. “Now!”
Panic rocked me to my core as I ran toward Rock and the bike that I’d escaped on almost four years ago. Beck, with a helmet already on, rode past us. I frantically waved at Be
ck to let him know he was ok. Dano…it was Dano who had one hand on his handlebars and the other around Beck. My son was on a freaking motorcycle!
Tears stung my eyes at my reality once again. As Rock navigated the bike around to go in the same direction as Beck and Dano, I threw a hesitant and distraught look toward Jackson, who was sprinting our way. Rock wouldn’t hurt me. There was no way. Jackson needed to know that. What the hell was happening? I kept my eyes on Jackson for as long as possible…until I was forced to turn away. And when I last saw the man I’d fallen in love with, he had fallen to his knees in the middle of the square.
Chapter 20
Death isn’t a choice, leaving is.
“What the hell is going on?” I shouted from behind Rock. I’m not sure if he could hear me or just wasn’t answering. “Rock!”
He kept driving, steering his way around the curvy, mountainous road. With my fist, I pounded his back, but he didn’t even flinch. Clearly, the man was on a mission.
Jackson…my heart wreaked havoc in my chest as I thought about him falling to his knees. Desperation clung to his eyes as he ran first for Beck then for me. When my tears broke free, they dried as quickly as they fell from the cold air. And as the daylight faded into dusk, I rested my head against the leather on Rock’s back.
When I saw the lights of a small town, I sat upright and waited—hoping he was stopping. That’s when I saw Beck, standing with Ari, waving at us. Though my heart was broken at the thought of leaving my life behind once again, I cried happy tears upon seeing the two of them together—hoping Beck wasn’t confused by our resemblance.
Rock pulled up alongside of them and killed his engine. It took me a minute to get off because my ass and thighs were on fire after the long ride. I grabbed Beck and yanked him into a hug. As quickly as I pulled him in, I pushed him back to look him over.
“Are you ok?” I panted.
He nodded. “Mommy, it’s Aunt Ari.”
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