Twenty-Four Hours (Shattered Boundaries Book 1)

by Anthony, Carolyn

  Eve laid her head on his chest. “Babe, it’s too bright in here.”

  “And?”

  “And—I don’t want you to see me in this much light.”

  She said it softly, but there was an underlying hint of self-doubt to her tone that didn’t sit right.

  “Honey, I’ve seen every part of you. What’s the problem?”

  “It’s just too bright. Can’t you shut off the light?”

  “What are you worried about?” Dipping his head, Jake raised her chin with his finger to meet her gaze. She’d gotten over being self-conscious with him a while ago. Sure, she had moments when modesty got the best of her, but usually not when he was touching her or she was this aroused.

  “Tell me.”

  “No. I just—it’s too bright.”

  “Nope. Try again. Tell me why.”

  “Because knowing you, you’re going to want the dress off. My underwear are somewhere on Pacific Coast Highway and you know I’m scarred. I don’t like you seeing it in this much light, okay? It’s not attractive.”

  He exhaled while tracing the pale, but still angry, dark pink line that extended from the outside of her left thigh, across her quad and ended at the top of her knee.

  “I’ve seen every single inch of your body. You’re beautiful to me. I don’t give a shit about the scar.”

  She stared at him with wet eyes. “I do.”

  Moving his hands to her face, Jake forced her to look at him. “Do my scars bother you?”

  She jerked her head back as if it was the stupidest question she’d ever heard. “Not at all.”

  “Neither does yours. Not your fault fuckers can’t drive. All right? I’ll shut this one off, but the entryway light stays on. I want to see you and I want you to see me.”

  “Fine...okay.”

  He switched off the kitchen light and came back to stand in front of her. “Get down.”

  Eve slid off the countertop to stand in front of him.

  Moving against the opposite counter, he crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Take it off.”

  She stared at him for a long time. Her hands clenched the sides of the dress, her shoulders visibly tightening.

  “Baby. Did you hear me?”

  Shaky hands parted the dress slowly, giving him a nice long view of her body from her throat to her platform-heeled feet.

  Eve shrugged her shoulders out of the dress and dragged the sleeves down along her arms. Leaning away from the counter, she completely removed the dress. Bringing it around in front of her, she used it to shield her lower body.

  Jake stretched his hand out.

  “Really?” she asked.

  “Yup.”

  Eve slowly handed it over to him.

  “The bra,” he urged, as he took the dress from her.

  She inhaled deeply, then arched her back slightly. Her hand disappeared behind her back and she unhooked that binding ass contraption.

  Underwear...unnecessary waste of good money.

  Pulling the straps down, she held the cups to her.

  When her eyes lifted to his, he nodded for her to continue. He wanted it all off.

  Eve let the straps fall down her arms and gripped the material tightly in front of her. If that thing had underwire, it was done. She’d just mangled the shit out of it.

  Jake approached her, forcing her back against the counter, his clothed body up tight against her naked one.

  “The shoes are hot, but kick ‘em off.”

  Keeping her head down, she did as he asked.

  He spread the dress across the countertop behind her. “Back up, hon.” He tapped her right hip.

  Eve anchored her hands and pushed herself up, so she was sitting on top of her dress. Her chest rose and fell in sync with her rapid breathing.

  Moving in front of her, he took her hands in his. “Do you trust me?”

  Her eyes dropped. “That’s not a fair question to ask.”

  “Sure, it is. Answer it.” Jake laced his fingers with hers and pulled her hands up to his mouth, kissing each of her knuckles.

  “Yes, I trust you. You know I trust you. But you’re asking for more than my trust.” Eve squirmed distractedly as his cock lay pressed up against her closed knees. Every hard inch of him wedged perfectly between her shins.

  Jake almost laughed as her eyebrows furrowed, trying to ignore it. He nodded, holding her gaze. “Tonight, I am.”

  “And that isn’t fair.” Her hands trembled in his.

  “It isn’t. I’m asking anyway.”

  She exhaled and shook her head. “What? What do you want me to do?”

  “Just look at me for a second.” He brought her hands to his mouth, kissed the center of each palm and then placed them along either side of her knees. “Put your hands behind you and rest your weight on them, I want you to have a clear view down your body.”

  Eve did as he asked and he pried her legs apart. Her arousal hit him like the fresh ocean air. Jake closed his eyes for a second, trying to fight the overwhelming urge to feel her tight channel squeezing him. But he also wanted to see this. Tonight, he needed her to give this much of herself to him, even though she was right. It wasn’t fair. He couldn’t give her what she needed most of all in order to be this open with him. He couldn’t give her a “them” right now. Unable to help himself, Jake took her face between his hands and pulled her mouth to his, stopping just before their lips touched.

  “Kiss me.”

  Running his lips over her closed mouth, he gently sucked one lip between his, then the other, drawing her into a deeper kiss.

  She tilted her and teasingly touched her tongue to his.

  “I could kiss you forever,” he groaned against her mouth. “You take my breath away.”

  Gently pushing his thumb between their mouths for a second, he traced it along her wet bottom lip. When he pressed down, her lips relaxed. He pushed his thumb into her warm and inviting mouth. He loved her full lips, the taste, the feel, the scent of them.

  “Open your eyes.” Dropping his opposite hand on top of her mound, he spread her apart with his thumb and index finger. Pulling his thumb from her mouth, he laid the wet digit on the top of her and rubbed her softly, popping her needy clit out from under its hood.

  Eve quickly inhaled. Her calves squeezed his thighs.

  “Watch me touch you.” Jake ran his thumb around her in slow circles.

  Her eyes fluttered and her upper body stretched a little.

  Good. Her body flowed to a different rhythm when he pushed her outside her comfort zone. It was a rhythm he set and she surrendered to. Almost. She was almost there.

  Her chest rose and fell at a quicker pace as her breathing labored. Anchoring her elbows back on the little bar behind her, she stretched her body out longer for him. Giving him more access.

  “So beautiful.”

  The muscles in Eve’s calves relaxed against the outside of his thigh and she slid her right leg open more, surrendering further.

  Getting a better grip on her slick lips, he pulled them back farther and began to alternate between circling her clit and running his thumb down to her entrance. Dropping to one knee, Jake put his mouth even with her pussy. He closed the distance and licked her. He glanced up her body.

  “Tell me what you want.”

  “You know,” she moaned.

  “Say the words.” He held his thumb over her throbbing clit, pushing on her hard, making the pulsing worse and leaving her pushing against him.

  Eve breathed and stretched her body toward him.

  “Fuck it. Show me. Touch where you want my mouth.” Jake brought her hand to his mouth, licked her finger and moved it down onto her clit.

  “Show me,” he urged, knowing she was too far gone to argue with him.

  She
swirled her finger over her swollen cleft and let her head drop back.

  “Don’t stop.” He teased the warm spot under her finger, licked her opening and savored the distinct flavor of her. Flicking his tongue over her lips, he sucked one into his mouth, then the other.

  Jake stopped touching her all together, stood up and leaned against the opposite counter.

  She was divinity up there in the moonlit shadows under the faint light from the other room. With every pass of her finger, she glistened. This would be round three for her. The best fucking part, no matter how wet he got her, she’d still feel tight as hell when he entered her.

  He couldn’t wait to slide into her snug, welcoming heat.

  The pace of her breathing intensified. His name came out, a sweet plea on her lips, and her eyes opened, begging him, pleading with him.

  “Tell me.”

  “I want your mouth.”

  “Move your hand.” Jake approached her slowly as he undid his belt.

  Her hand stopped and she tried to steady her breathing.

  Going to his knees once again, he spread her thighs out to the side and tongued her clit until his name became a mantra on her lips.

  Her exhale came long and hard and her hands tunneled through his hair.

  “Babe,” she whimpered and moved with him. “No more teasing—please.”

  He sucked her clit hard, running his tongue over her swollen bud quickly, giving her both the suction and friction he knew she needed.

  Her hips spasmed on the counter.

  Jake grabbed her thighs, holding her in place, sucking until the spasms stopped. He licked at her softly, coaxing her back down. But there was no coming down for her this time.

  Eve moved both hands to his face—signaling that she needed him. Every single time he ate her out, she became putty afterwards, needing the connection to him to the point her entire body quivered until he drove inside her. Yeah, he got off on the fact that he made her that desperate for him, knowing he alone could give her what she needed.

  He stood up, her juices coating his lips.

  She scooted up to him, wrapping her legs around his waist and rubbing her pussy against his pulsating cock.

  “I missed you so much.” Her voice shook. Her hands framed his face, her breathing still ragged. Moving against him, she licked into his mouth.

  Letting her take control of the kiss, he returned to her just what she gave him. He loved when she tasted herself on him—tasted the control he had over her and her body. A distinct sense of possession that he was neither entitled to, nor could he seem to get enough of.

  * * *

  Never breaking the contact of Jake’s kiss, Eve removed her legs from his waist and slid against him to the floor. She pulled back for a second, still holding his face in her hands, trying like hell not to tremble at the thought of what she was about to ask.

  “I want to try something.” Unable to keep her body from shaking—and shaking hard—she took a deep breath. Jake had been so giving with her. She wanted to give back to him. Give a part of her she’d held back, afraid to share with him and have him leave. She was taking a chance. A chance she knew deep down would end in heartbreak. But she loved him enough to try. Taking his hand in hers, she led him out of the kitchen and into the little bedroom, but a pull on her hand stopped her.

  Jake tugged her back in front of the counter and she glanced up to him.

  “You can try anything with me. But tell me what you want.” He moved the hair out of her face behind her ear.

  Eve dropped her trembling hands to the top of his pants, but didn’t look down. His thick erection pressed up against the palm of her hand through his unzipped pants. She licked her lips. Her mouth felt dry. Jake had never asked or pushed her to go down on him. Ever. The last time she’d done this with her ex-husband had ended in a traumatic emotional catastrophe for her. Something she’d never gotten over and she’d never tried again. But everything had been different with Jake, beautiful. Maybe this would be too.

  “Hey.” He squeezed her hands. “Tell me. If you’re willing to go through with something, baby, you can say it out loud.”

  Eve quickly shook her head, not wanting to voice it. She pushed his pants down along his legs to bunch on the floor. When she reached for the waistline of his boxers, she peeked up at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. Shaking her head, she wracked her brain for something to say. Pressure built behind her eyes and she searched his face, trying to explain her strange reaction.

  Jake nodded his head once. “Shhh, baby. You’re good. That little request though… It’s gonna have to wait. We’ve got unfinished business. I need you. Now.”

  Eve exhaled, stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Hugging him to her, she pressed her face to his neck, breathing in his scent. She loved the smell of him. He never wore cologne. The natural scent of his skin brought her a sense of comfort and a primal need to have him lodged deep inside her.

  Slipping his hands under her ass, he lifted her back up on the countertop.

  She instantly opened her legs and pressed against him. Something about experiencing how much he wanted her, how hard he got for her, brought her a strange sense of peace. He never emotionally checked out on her when they were together. It was one of the reasons she’d fallen so desperately in love with him. He was acutely aware of her physically and of what she needed from him emotionally in these moments.

  Afterwards...it was a day-by-day scenario. Some days she would get Jake, others he would be removed. Distant. That Jake broke her heart, every second of every day. She would answer the phone, anxious for the man she’d fallen in love with. She rarely got that man these days. Where he used to tell her everything, he’d been distracted the past few months.

  His deep chuckle pulled her out of her sad musings.

  “Don’t get too lost in those deep thoughts, sweetheart. I’m gonna need your undivided attention in about two seconds,” he said slipping his cock out of his boxers.

  Eve sighed as he rubbed his soft head up and down the length of her core, coating himself with her arousal. His smooth tip moved against her over-sensitized clit, which brought about a paradoxical and heightened desire—she wanted him to stop, yet didn’t. On a down stroke, she jerked forward and gripped his shoulders, catching him at an angle that allowed her to take him inside of her.

  “Fuck, baby!” Jake groaned as he yanked her to him with a grunt. “Sneaky little shit,” he growled before thrusting all the way in.

  Eve cringed at his smooth but painful entry. He pushed so deep that she held her breath as her body acclimated to his size. The first few thrusts were always the worst for her, no matter how wet he got her. The pain of his hard shaft stretching her tight channel was always a welcomed sense of discomfort. Wrapping her arms completely around his shoulders now, Eve clung to him.

  “Breathe.” Jake’s warm breath blew on her ear making her shiver. “Breathe, hon.”

  She closed her eyes as his goatee teased at her neck, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Complete. Jake inside her body was an awakening to what complete felt like. He took her to a place of life-altering pleasure that she never wanted to return from...and that was the problem. Other than tonight, she may never know what it was like to go to bed with the man she loved night after night. Wake up to him, make love to him in the mornings. What if he found someone else while she was gone?

  “Mmm,” Jake groaned. Pulling almost all the way out of her body, he filled her up again quickly. “If you’re thinking that hard, I’m losing my touch.”

  Eve winced at the pain of his reentrance, but wrapped her legs around his waist locking her ankles at his lower back.

  He rocked in and out of her slowly at first, letting her get used to the feel of him. He kissed her over and over, his tongue thrusting in time with the rhythmic slide of his cock inside
of her.

  “I love you,” Eve whispered against his lips, knowing she shouldn’t have. At this point, she didn’t care. She did love him and she needed him to know it. Digging her fingernails into his biceps, she held onto him as he picked up the pace of his strokes.

  Moving a hand from around her back, he held her chin still as his eyes burned into hers. “You’re my light, Eve. Never forget that,” he said.

  She searched his face, wondering where the tinge of heartbreak she heard in his voice was coming from.

  “Give me your legs.” His palms skimmed along the outside of her thighs.

  Eve brought her legs down from around his waist, keeping him seated deep within her.

  Hooking underneath her knees with both hands, Jake pulled her against him, forcing her to balance on her hands behind her. He pushed her legs out to the sides, giving her a clear view of where their bodies connected.

  Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back.

  “No, dammit. Watch.”

  “Jake....” Tears threatened and she fought to keep them back. She didn’t want to see, didn’t want to watch, didn’t want to have to remember.

  He pulled out and slammed back into her, as if demanding she stay in the present moment with him.

  Taking a deep breath, Eve looked down at their joined bodies. The soft light played on his wet cock as he drove in and out of her body. She moved her hips in time to his thrusts. Their connected bodies were an erotic and exquisite sight. She moaned as he slowly increased his speed. Now, she saw what he’d been talking about all this time and she couldn’t look away.

  This was what love looked like.

  Wrapping his hands around her thighs, he pushed her legs wider apart.

  “Do you want me to come inside you?” Jake growled, releasing the hold on her legs and pulling them back around his waist. “Tell me now.”

  “No! Stay here,” she cried and instantly locked her ankles together behind him.

  He gripped her ass and yanked her in tight. His hips pistoned against her. “I’m here, baby. Right. Fucking. Here.”

  Peace. A strange sense of peace washed over her any time he was buried deep within her. The fullness of his presence inside her brought about a feeling of contentment, despite the sharp lick of pain when he hit too deep.