“We decided it was best not to for a very good reason. What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her. Do you really want to risk hurting her?” Roy said gently.
“I suppose not,” Anne said with another sigh.
“I’m just trying to protect her. And you too, honey. I know this bothers you sometimes, but I do think it’s for the best. Sometimes it’s better for people to not know the whole truth.”
“I know.”
I coughed to announce my presence nearby. Then I stepped into the kitchen. “Sorry, just need to grab a drink.”
“Oh, of course, Jacob,” Anne said, scurrying over to a cupboard to get me a glass. “We weren’t being too loud, were we?”
She looked anxious, and I knew what she was really asking in polite code. She and Roy wanted to see how much I’d overheard.
I smiled. “No, I didn’t even know you two were still in here until I walked in,” I said. Their faces fell with relief.
Yup, they’d definitely been talking about Nora. If it was anyone else, they wouldn’t have cared so much if I overheard. But seeing as they thought I was her boyfriend, they didn’t want me knowing anything about their subject of discussion in case I passed it on to her, as boyfriends tended to do.
“Thanks for the drink,” I said once I’d downed the water. “I’ll just put this in the dishwasher.”
“Thanks, Jacob. Hope you sleep well,” Roy said, patting me on the shoulder.
I bade him and Anne goodnight and headed back upstairs, intent on telling Nora about the odd exchange I’d inadvertently overheard. I never got the chance to do so, however, due to the sight which greeted me as I swung her bedroom door open.
Nora was standing in the middle of the room… and she was buck naked.
15
Nora
It was now or never.
I stood in the center of my old bedroom, my skin tingling and prickling with goosebumps as Jacob stared at me from the doorway with wide eyes. I was stark naked.
He was probably used to being the one who made all the first moves with women, but I’d decided to shake things up. I wanted him, and part of me suspected he still wanted me too.
So what better way to find out?
“Shit. Sorry, I didn’t realize you were getting changed,” Jacob said.
“I wasn’t. I was waiting for you,” I said, taking a step toward him.
His eyebrows shot up. I smiled, enjoying seeing him in shock for once. This wasn’t like me at all, and he knew it, but being around him made me feel like I could be someone else. I could be brave and larger than life. Just like him. After all, he pulled it off, so why couldn’t I?
I began to second-guess myself exactly two seconds later.
Shit, what if I couldn’t pull this off? Jacob was a smoking hot guy with a stellar acting career, so of course he could make risky moves and stand around naked without fear of rejection. I was just an average person. He probably thought I was a total idiot for doing this, and he was probably trying to think of a nice way to turn me down.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I shouldn’t…”
Before I could say anything else, Jacob’s lips were on mine. Hard. His kiss was ravenous, holding a promise of more to come. I melted against him. His palms cradled my cheeks as our mouths parted, and then his tongue was entwining with mine, exploring my mouth, sending a rush of excitement through my system as I waited for more, craving it and begging for it with every moan that escaped between kisses.
He paused to pull his T-shirt off. Then he ran his hands over my breasts and up along my collarbone before holding my face again and pressing his lips back to mine. God, if his kisses felt like this, I could only imagine what his cock felt like deep inside of me.
I panted for breath as he left a trail of kisses from my face to my chest. He filled his mouth with my left nipple, rolling his tongue around the stiff nub, and in mere seconds, I was wet and tingling, full of desire. My hands wrapped around his waist, squeezing his ass and fumbling at his boxers. Then I pulled them down.
My eyes closed as my hands wrapped around his hard cock. I squeezed him ever so slightly, and he groaned against me, his mouth crashing back against mine as I stroked him. His fingers crept down and found my pussy, teasing my lips apart to see how wet I was. Then he grabbed my ass cheeks, rolling them in his palms, his fingers running down my slit from behind, all the way back to my pussy. His fingers fluttered over my clit, and he murmured something in my ear about how wet I was for him. It only made me wetter.
I drew back and stared at Jacob’s body, almost unable to believe this was really happening. His chest was chiseled like a marble statue and lined in black tattoos. Perfect.
My eyes ran over him and quickly moved to his cock, which was still standing at attention, long and hard. He smirked at the hungry look in my eyes as I stared, and he pushed me back to the bed until I fell with a gasp. Then he was between my legs, pressing his hands to my inner thighs, spreading me wide as he leaned down. I let out a whimper as his lips brushed along the line where my legs met my most sensitive parts.
Gripping my thighs, he raised my knees until I was totally flat on my back, and then he pressed his mouth to my mound. I moaned. He found my folds with his tongue, and I gripped the bedsheets, needing to hold on for control. My stomach fluttered like mad as he traced his tongue up and down my lips, tasting every inch of me, and I gasped as he pressed his nose to the hood of my mound before nudging my clit to the sound of the moans and whimpers spilling from my lips.
He began to lick every little part of me, his tongue hot and wet. Over and over, long and slow, he stroked from the bottom to the top, soft and gentle. Pleasure flickered through my core, sending waves tingling outwards, and before long he had me squirming and unashamedly begging for more. His swirling tongue was teasing, relentless. I moved ever closer to the edge. My breaths began to come out more like gasps. As my thighs trembled and my back tried to arch off the bed, Jacob’s fingers tightened their grip on my legs, keeping them separated.
My hips rolled as I began to grind against his face, and soon his fingers wanted a piece of the action. He placed a finger at my opening and eased it inside me until I was riding his mouth and hand. I moaned again, louder this time, and my fingers dug harder into the sheets on either side of me. I swallowed hard, trying to stop myself from screaming. I wanted to touch him, needed to touch him. The sensations were too much, and I could barely breathe. I was close. So close. Every swipe of his tongue against my clit had my entire body on fire, creating such powerful reactions that I worried I might scream the house down and wake the entire neighborhood if I didn’t keep some semblance of control.
Gasping for much-needed air as he continued to play with me, I knew I was finally right on the verge, tipping over the edge of the proverbial cliff. My toes curled in expectation, and I bucked my hips, still grinding against Jacob’s face as he commanded my body to come without words.
My legs quivered like jelly as the waves of my orgasm washed across my skin, and Jacob didn’t stop. Instead he spread me wider as his tongue lapped up my juices. I was even more desperate for him now, and I wanted to beg him to take me with his cock. But my lips were only letting out moans and gasps, and I couldn’t even make out the words.
He’d left me senseless already.
He came back up and took my mouth in another kiss, and I moaned, wrapping my hand around his neck and holding on as my body continued to quake and shudder. His hands snaked up and down my bare skin, pulling me against him. My pulse raced in anticipation as I waited for him to give me more.
“Gotta find a condom,” he finally whispered. He pulled away and left the bed for a moment to hunt for the jeans he’d worn today so he could grab some protection.
I sighed with satisfaction as I waited. This was exactly what I needed right now. Over the last few weeks I’d been so down in the dumps, so hung up on being treated badly by James, but no more. I chose to ignore that drama now. I chose happiness. I chose pleasure.
I chose Jacob.
I lifted my hips, readying myself to take him as he climbed above me again, and when I felt the head of his hard cock bumping up against my entrance, I groaned loudly. “Please, Jacob!”
With one hard thrust, he was inside me. I gasped and bit my lower lip as he slowly moved all the way inside, inch by massive inch. Breathing deeply, I closed my eyes as my body quickly grew accustomed to his girth, the occasional loud moan spilling out. His groin bumped up against my clit as he withdrew and thrust back in, over and over. Harder and faster. I could hear him grunting above me, but my own cries of bliss drowned most of the sound out as I lost myself in the sensations.
I was already close to the edge again. So very close.
I loved having Jacob’s hard body sliding over mine, his broad chest rubbing against my breasts. I reached my hands around him and gripped his ass cheeks as he pumped into me. His body tensed as he grunted, and just as I felt the first stirrings of my second orgasm, he pulled out and rolled onto his back, lusty eyes taking in every soft inch of my curves. “I want to see you ride my cock,” he said. There was no question. It was a command.
I did as he said and straddled him. With a low moan, I lowered myself back onto his hardness, my eyes closing as he filled me so wonderfully. His big hands reached for my waist, holding me up as I rode him hard, moving up and down and grinding myself against his body. He met my moves with his own thrusts from below. One of his hands soon moved down, cupping my mound and giving my clit the extra stimulation I needed to grind to an earth-shattering climax.
My whimpers and gasps filled the room. Jacob groaned as my muscles contracted and tightened around him, milking his cock in wild spasms. I was so lost in my pleasure that I could barely breathe, and he rolled me onto my back again, sliding in and out of me even harder and deeper. I gasped and whimpered as he slammed into me, his breaths turning harsher as he drew closer to his own orgasm.
With a grunt, he finally came, and we lay still for a long time afterwards, wrapped up in each other’s arms.
“I hope your parents didn’t hear all that,” Jacob finally murmured.
I giggled. “Oh, god. If they say anything tomorrow, I’ll die of shame.”
“It’s their fault. They’re the ones who insisted we share a room.”
“True. My childhood bedroom, no less.”
“Yeah. How could we not be aroused with all these football posters and teddy bears everywhere?” he asked with a grin.
“Exactly,” I said, giggling again.
“So is this a ‘what happens in Santa Barbara stays in Santa Barbara’ kinda thing?” he asked. “Or is it gonna happen again?”
I smiled and snuggled closer to him. “We’ll see,” I replied. “We’ll see…”
16
Nora
After an early breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast, Jacob and I finally got on the road back to LA. Before we left, my parents made us promise to go and visit them again soon. Another pang of guilt bit at me over that, although this time it was mixed with confusion. Jacob and I had actually hooked up last night. That wasn’t part of the fake boyfriend deal.
So what did that mean?
Did it mean we were together for real, and he might actually come and see my family again?He certainly sounded interested last night when he asked me if it was going to happen again, although to be fair he was probably only referring to the sex.
I knew it sounded incredibly middle-schoolish to ask stupid questions like ‘are you my boyfriend now?’ so I refrained and played it cool instead, not daring to utter a single one of my thoughts.
I decided a moment later that yes, I was definitely being stupid and childish. Just because I had sex with a guy one time didn’t mean we were bound together for all eternity, and when he asked if it was going to happen again, it didn’t necessarily mean he wanted a relationship. Perhaps he simply wanted to add me to his harem—all the women I was sure he kept on some sort of rotating ‘friends with benefits’ schedule.
I wondered which day I would be. Monday? Friday? Every second Tuesday?
“You’re pretty quiet this morning,” Jacob said, glancing over at me as we stopped at a red light. “Everything okay?”
I nodded. “Just tired.”
He grinned. “I guess we didn’t exactly get much sleep last night.”
Okay, I lied. I didn’t have sex with Jacob just once last night. We did it another two times in the early hours of the morning, although if sex occurred multiple times in a twenty-four hour period with the same partner, I was sure that technically counted as only one time.
That’s how it worked, right?
“Your parents seem cool,” Jacob went on as the light turned green. “I mean, they made me that awesome breakfast, and you know what they say about the way to a man’s heart.”
“Through the ribcage with a sharp knife?”
He chuckled. “I was referring to the other saying. But that works too.”
“Well, thanks for coming and pretending to be my boyfriend,” I said. “I suppose I’ll call them with the sad news of our breakup in a few weeks.”
I was speaking in the most casual voice I could muster up, but really I was tense as hell. A lot was riding on what Jacob’s reply to my previous statement was. I inspected a split end in my hair, pretending I didn’t care endlessly about his response.
“Maybe you don’t have to do that,” he said.
“What do you mean?” I asked, mentally kicking myself as I realized my casual tone had already evolved into more of a shrill squeak.
“I mean maybe we just see what happens. Like you said last night.”
“Oh.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’re not okay with that, of course.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m okay with it. I mean yes. Yes, we can do that.”
Jesus, I was behaving like a twelve-year-old with her first crush on a boy at school.
Jacob’s hand moved to my left thigh. He squeezed it, claiming me as his with his fingertips. “Good.”
And then the awkwardness was suddenly gone again, just like that. Magic. I still didn’t know if we were in any sort of proper relationship, but there was definitely something happening between us, and we were going to explore what it was and where it took us.
When we arrived back at my place, I couldn’t hear Oscar barking at the front door, desperate for my attention like I assumed he would be after spending a night without me.
“I’m sorry, boy,” I called out as I unlocked the door. “I know you’re mad at me. But Angie came round and gave you some love for a few hours yesterday, right?”
Silence.
“Everything okay?” Jacob asked from behind me.
“I can’t hear Oscar,” I said as I finally pushed the door open. “Usually he bounds up to the door and barks his head off when I get home.”
“He’s probably asleep.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
As soon as we stepped inside, we knew that wasn’t true. Not only was Oscar seemingly not in my house, the entire place was trashed. My possessions were strewn all over the floor, my curtains were slashed to ribbons, and several words were spray-painted in crimson letters on the light grey living room wall.
Bitch.
Cunt.
Slut.
Die.
“Oh my god,” I said, my left hand flying to my mouth as my knees turned to jelly.
“Go back to my car and lock yourself in,” Jacob said, passing me his keys. “I’ll check the place out and make sure there’s no one here.”
I nodded weakly and did as he said. Five minutes later, he returned and tapped on the passenger side window, his jaw set in a hard line. I opened the door, gazing up at him with fearful wide eyes.
“The place is empty, so you can go in,” he said. “I’ve called the police and they’re on their way.”
“Empty? Even….”
I couldn’t say it, but Jacob knew what I meant. H
e nodded grimly. “Oscar is gone.”
“This had to be James. That bastard!”
“Of course it was. I want to fucking kill him,” Jacob replied, hands curling into fists.
We stepped inside so I could properly survey all the damage to my place. Tears gathered in my eyes as I saw that some of my china plates had been pulled out of the cupboards and smashed on the kitchen floor. The intricately-patterned dinnerware once belonged to my grandmother. My parents gave it to me when I got my own place because they knew I’d always loved the set and would take good care of it.
That wasn’t the only thing. Many of my possessions were either broken or tossed carelessly on the floor, and worst of all, my poor Oscar was out there somewhere without me. Probably locked in James’ garage with no food.
“I shouldn’t have left him,” I said, my voice almost cracking. “I should’ve taken him up to Santa Barbara with us.”
Jacob put his hand on my shoulder. “We didn’t know we were going to stay up there for the night, and you had Angie come round and make sure he had food and plenty of attention. You can’t always be here. Anyone would understand that. It’s not like you could’ve predicted that someone would do this.”
He made a sweeping gesture around the place. I burst into tears, still wholly blaming myself. “Don’t cry,” Jacob said, pulling me into a hug. “This isn’t your fault. It’s my fault. I’m a fucking idiot.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. Before he could respond, I was disrupted by my phone ringing in my pocket.
It was Angie.
“Hey, when do you want me to bring Oscar home?” she said.
“What?”
“When do you want me to bring the dog back?” she repeated.
“You have him?” I asked, my mind flooding with relief.
“Yeah, you asked me to come round and take care of him for the night, remember?” she said. “I came and got him and brought him back to my place.”
“Oh, thank god,” I managed to choke out. Then the tears started all over again as I slumped onto my sofa.
Mr. Wrong Page 10
