Twenty-Four Hours (Shattered Boundaries Book 1)

by Anthony, Carolyn

  Jake knelt on the bed still lodged inside of her and hauled her legs up to his shoulders.

  Eve inhaled sharply, the sudden movement forcing him even deeper. She felt her body clasping at his as he grew harder.

  “So tight, baby. Hang on.” Wrapping his arms around her thighs, he forced her legs straight up in the air on either side of his head and hugged them together.

  “Jake...” The uncompromising position made her feel every rock-hard inch of him. So raw and tender now, she could feel the roped veins in his shaft. She clenched the sheets in her hands—as much as it hurt, it kept her with him, wanting more despite the pain.

  “Relax, sweetheart. Take all of me.” He moved his head to the side squeezing her legs together alongside his cheek. He closed his eyes for the briefest of seconds almost as if he were treasuring the feel of her skin. Keeping with the same frustrating rhythm, his thrusts became harder, deeper, but he kept the tempo slow.

  Eve panted and reached for his hands, but he wouldn’t let go of her legs. He studied her face and if she didn’t know better, she’d say his eyes were watery. Tensing for a second, Eve thought he must feel it too—the desperation. There was an aggressive gentleness to his touch, which was a disconcerting paradox. Jake was dominant in bed, always careful with her, yes, but demanding. He seemed to be touching her to remember.

  “Babe?” Eve asked, not understanding the emotions within his expressive eyes, but at least making sense of the push-pull behind his actions. He knew it too...

  They were out of time.

  “Just feel. Can you for once, please just do that for me...” Pulling back, Jake split her legs just enough to glance down at where their bodies connected. “So perfect. Watching my cock disappear into your drenched, greedy pussy—knowing only I make you this way. Fuck, you were made for me. How the fuck do I let you go?”

  Let me go? Right when Eve was about to try and sit up, Jake pushed her legs wide and anchored his hands on either side of her head. He swung his hips faster, inching her up the bed with each desperate thrust, taking them both higher to the place where they moved in perfect sync. She locked her legs around his waist, clutched his shoulders and mimicked his rhythm. If this was the last time, she’d take everything he gave her.

  “Don’t you leave me, Eve,” he growled down at her. “Stay out of your head.”

  Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she kissed him, so hungry for him she couldn’t stop from moaning into his mouth.

  “I’m right here, babe. With you.”

  Suddenly, Jake broke the kiss, balanced with one hand and took her wrist in the other. He pulled it above her head, then repeated the process with the other. Threading their fingers together high above her, he rendered her immobile.

  She tried to pull out of his hold, but might as well try to break steel—she couldn’t move, couldn’t touch him. Discomfort turned to panic and she began to struggle.

  Slowly, Jake trailed his lips down her cheek to settle in the hollow behind her ear. His breath warmed her skin, settling her down a bit. He repositioned his hips and lifted up, so he could see her face.

  “Easy,” he said, easily holding both wrists in one of his hands, while trailing the fingers on his free hand over her face. “Let go, baby.”

  Eve stopped fighting and kept her gazed locked to his, wondering if he was even aware of the double meaning behind those three words. The rugged angles of his face strained and she got lost somewhere in the depths of his eyes. The length of his thick cock, slick with her arousal, dragged across her clit every time he withdrew and hit that sweet spot inside when he thrust back in. Eager to touch him, she moaned his name and attempted to free her hands again, but he held tight, forcing her to feel every hard, methodical, penetration.

  “So good….” he hissed. “Come, Sunshine. One more time.”

  With a final thrust, his pelvis hit her over-sensitized bud in just the right place. The use of the nickname he’d given her when they’d first met felt like a knife across her chest, leaving her to bleed out. And yet, its use was the very thing that threw her into a full body orgasm, ripping apart everything inside her from each strand of hair on her head to the little nail on her pinky toe—the kind of orgasm that recoded your goddamn DNA. A slow, yet beautiful death.

  Finally letting go of her hands, he shoved his arms under her, hugging her so tight she could barely breathe. He lay there for a few minutes, kissing her, touching her, calming her, until her trembling stopped, until her breathing returned to normal and then he lifted up. Resting his weight on his elbows, he passed his thumbs under her eyes, over her lips, lingering at the side of her mouth.

  “I love kissing you. Everything you feel, I feel when you kiss me.”

  “I love you, Jake,” she whispered up to him.

  “I know, hon.”

  “I missed you so much.”

  “I missed you more.” He kissed her forehead and secured her hair behind her ear. On a long exhale, he slowly pulled out of her.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, he rested his elbows on his knees and his head dropped for a second. Finally, he half turned to her.

  “Give me a minute here. Then we need to talk.”

  Every muscle in her body tightened, but she stayed put. “Talk about what?”

  Jake never moved after making love to her. He would flip her around like a rag doll, spoon around her tight with his hand on her breast and his face in her neck. He rarely got up before she did...ever.

  The shift in his behavior kicked her anxiety in hard.

  “It’s all good.” He winked at her, got up and walked to the bathroom.

  The passionate intimacy there a few seconds ago was gone—evaporating in an instant. Eve bit her lip to keep from falling apart.

  “Okay,” she whispered, as her eyes skirted around the empty room. Scooting off the bed, she picked up the towel that had been there since last night and wrapped it around her. Her hands trembled as she secured the ends. She couldn’t stop her head from spinning. Breathe, damn it!

  When Jake reemerged, he kissed her forehead and nodded to the bathroom without a word.

  Eve hurried across the room and shut the bathroom door. She showered and dressed in record time. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she cringed at the sight of her pale skin flamed red from scrubbing so hard and so fast. Every single part of her body ached. Anchoring her hair behind her ears, she wiped her eyes and got her emotions under control before walking out of the bathroom and into the main room.

  Jake sat on the couch fully dressed, staring out the screen door. “That was fast,” he commented without looking at her.

  Ignoring him, Eve walked around the room collecting her things, attempting not to think about this possibly being the last time she saw him before she left. They enhanced each other’s lives and were genuinely comfortable around the other. It was as if they’d never been apart. The reality of New York destroyed her. She didn’t want to leave him. She wanted the chance they never had, but she’d worked too hard for this opportunity. She had to go.

  She dropped her overnight bag on the bed. Skittering about, she collected her clothes, her mangled dress, her heels, and shoved them into the satchel before pulling the zipper with shaky fingers. Damn thing wouldn’t close. She slammed her fists into it and forced the sides together. Droplets fell on her hand and she realized she was crying. Again, she tugged on the zipper—still wouldn’t budge. Turning the entire thing upside down, she shook all the contents out on the bed, and began to reorganize.

  Jake’s body heat behind her stopped her. Reaching around, he took her pajamas from her, laid them on the bed and took her hand in his.

  “Leave that, baby. Come over here.” He led her to the couch and sat her on the table she’d been splayed out on the night before. Grabbing both hands now, he held them in front of him while she sat between his legs.

&nb
sp; When she met his gaze, she noticed trepidation behind his eyes. A rarity, since Jake was a master at keeping his emotions locked down. All at once, she time-warped back to his going-away party when he’d enlisted. He’d held her hands then too—right before he’d told her that while he cared about her, she was too young for him and she couldn’t stop her life and wait for him. Here she was once again. The situation felt frighteningly familiar even almost two decades later. She waited for him to speak with the same rotting feeling in her stomach.

  Stroking his fingers over hers, he gazed down at their intertwined hands.

  “Have I ever told you what an amazing mother you would’ve been?”

  Eve jolted at the unexpected statement as bile rose in her esophagus. Swallowing hard, she glanced at the clock above his head.

  “Jake, it’s almost ten. We have to check out around eleven.”

  “I got a late check out. Answer me, have I ever told you that?”

  Eve cocked her head. “Several times. Why?”

  Shrugging his shoulders, he met her eyes. “We would have had beautiful kids. I’d have loved every second of watching you with our children.”

  It never got easier hearing him say those words. She wondered if he realized how much it meant to her and hurt her. She took his hand. “That time has passed for both of us. Besides, you already have beautiful children.”

  An expression that could only be described as tortured crossed his handsome face.

  “That I do...” The half-hearted smile he gave her in no way reached his eyes.

  “Jake, look at me.” Pulling one hand out of his, she lifted his chin with a finger until his eyes met hers. “What is going on?” Something was off. The mention of his girls put that expression on his face.

  “Hon—shit...” He dropped his head.

  A disconcerting chill shot from the top of her head to the toes she couldn’t feel.

  “Oh Jake,” she whispered as her world stopped. All sound, even the roar of the crashing waves directly below their balcony, muted. Her thoughts fragmented and scattered in a million different directions. The reality she’d been dreading was about to backhand her and she knew what waited on the other side—darkness, isolation.

  “Baby...” His fingers caressed over the top of her hands.

  The tension in his voice made her lungs stop working for a second, but she nodded for him to continue.

  “Why haven’t you asked me about the divorce?”

  Heat burned her cheeks and she dropped her chin. Her greatest shame. She blinked quickly. “I thought it impolite to ask—”

  “Impolite? Kelly and I started the proceedings before you and I ever reconnected.” Jake leaned forward to catch her line of sight.

  Exhaling, she shrugged her shoulders. “Not my place. You could have changed your mind, stopped the divorce. I didn’t want to influence that and I would have understood. You have kids. Others who are dependent on you—”

  “Hold up. Do you think I’d have started anything with you, given our history, if I wasn’t positive my marriage was over? You think I’d do that to you?” When she opened her mouth to respond, he nodded his head and smirked. “Know what, don’t answer that. Besides, you wouldn’t even talk about seeing me until the court dates were over and the papers were officially filed. Since then, you haven’t been curious?”

  Curious wasn’t the right word—more like frightened. She’d always thought he might go back, which was why she wouldn’t see him well until after the papers were filed. The first six months of reconnecting after a sixteen-year absence had been on a phone.

  “Of course I was, but then we—this—happened.” She frantically motioned between them with a hand. “I told myself I could see you and just be friends, wait until your divorce was final and then, if we felt something maybe...but deep down, I knew better. You were my first love—seeing you was dangerous. It’s why I wanted to wait.”

  “I got that. You were being ridiculous. Yeah, we’ve always been friends, but we both felt more than that and we’re divorced. We’re adults.”

  The pounding in her head wouldn’t let up and she didn’t even try to fight the wave of emotion at this point. He would never see their relationship the way she did.

  “I’m divorced, Jake. You’re still married according to the courts, but I did agree to see you once my divorce was final and your papers were officially filed...however, I was wrong.”

  He shook his head. “You weren’t wrong and I hate when you say that shit. Don’t say we’re wrong.”

  “We—us—we are not wrong. I don’t regret us. I regret the timing, not waiting.”

  He tightened his grip on her hands until she met his gaze. “Eve, it was a waiting game…that’s it. I was waiting for a piece of fucking paper. I wouldn’t expect Kelly to wait if she met someone. What? We were supposed to stop our lives, because we got divorced?”

  His image became blurry and she blinked, clearing her vision. “We don’t see this the same way, Jake. To answer your question, though, you have children, you and Kelly have property. I knew your proceedings would be more involved and take longer than mine. I told you when I received my final divorce papers. I just figured you’d do the same if you wanted me to know.”

  He nodded slowly, as if struggling for the correct words.

  Jake didn’t usually censor—this was a recent development with him. Censoring was her territory. He was straight up, always had been. This had been one of the things she valued most about him, but the past few months he’d been distant.

  “You leave for New York in a little over a month,” he said, tapping into her worst fear.

  “I know. You hate New York. But it’s only two years. Is that what all this is about?”

  “I do hate New York, but time isn’t the problem.” He squeezed the bridge of his nose.

  Watching him closely, Eve’s hands trembled harder. “Then what is the problem? You’re confusing me.”

  He scooted closer to her and reached into the backpack next to him. He brought out an envelope and handed it to her.

  Unable to stop trembling, Eve took out the paper and read. She skimmed the document and her eyes immediately jumped to his.

  “This is the finalization of your divorce.”

  “That’s it,” he said.

  Slowly exhaling, Eve concentrated on stopping the blood racing through her veins. This didn’t change things. She was still leaving. With quivering hands, she refolded the paper, returned it to the envelope, and handed it back to him.

  “When did you get that?”

  “About a month ago. I was overseas. It was waiting or me when I came home.” He still hadn’t looked at her.

  “A month ago—and you’re just telling me now?” Her mouth dropped open. “I—I don’t understand. You didn’t tell me just because I didn’t ask you about it?”

  Jake let her hands go and leaned back into the cushions, looking just above her head. “It’s more complicated than that. I want a chance for us.”

  Eve waved her hand in front of him getting his attention. “I hear a distinct ‘but’ there,” she said softly.

  “I didn’t want you to get your hopes up. This can’t change anything.” Grunting, he locked both her hands to his once again. “I can’t go to New York.”

  Leaning back, Eve studied his expression, wondering where this was going. “That’s not news to me. Maddelyn and Kelsie are here. Your home base is here. I never expected you to go to New York with me. You know that.”

  He leaned closer to her. “What exactly did you expect?”

  “That we’d try? Jesus, Jake! I’ve loved you since I was thirteen. I’ll always love you. I’ll always want you no matter how far away you are or how inaccessible you are to me—that won’t go away because I’m on the other side of the U.S. Just tell me what you want, so I can understand why it sounds
like you’re saying goodbye without saying it.”

  At least last time he’d actually said the words—goodbye, don’t wait for me. He was struggling with this, she just wasn’t quite sure why. No sense—it made no sense.

  Jake put his hands to his head and yanked them through his hair. “I have responsibilities that come with me, hon. At the top of that list is my children. Their state of mind, their health. Maddie and Kelsie come before anything and anyone. They always will. Nothing will ever affect my relationship with my girls or come before them.”

  Now Eve slowly stood up. Confused by his statement, she couldn’t fathom where this was coming from.

  “Of course not. You leave spouses, Jake—you don’t leave children.” She looked out across the ocean before turning back to him. “With all you’ve shared with me about Kelsie and Maddelyn, do you think I wouldn’t want the best for them? You being here is what’s best for your girls. Jesus, babe, did you genuinely believe I’d expect your relationship with your daughters to change after your divorce? That I wouldn’t want you in California to take care of your girls? Do you even know me at all?”

  When Jake’s eyes met hers, Eve’s blood froze as confusion turned to brutal reality. Memories of a time best forgotten flooded her. Her heart thundered against her chest. She instantly flashed back to the blinding white lights of a hospital bed and her parents crying when she came to.

  Yes—she knew that look intimately. She’d put the pain in Jake’s eyes—in her own parents eyes—twice now. The car accident wasn’t her fault, but she still hadn’t forgiven herself for the first time. There was a particular look to suffering when something was wrong with one’s child and it was etched all over Jake’s face.

  Eve sat back down, but didn’t touch him. His body hummed with an uneasy sort of energy.

  “Please, tell me what’s happening.”

  “My kids aren’t doing well with the divorce now that it’s final.” His eyes met hers. “Especially Maddie.”

  “What do you mean? What’s wrong with Maddelyn?”

  Sighing, Jake sat back hard. “Maddie’s a straight A student—always has been. She’s failing three classes. Cries every time I leave the house. She’s detached from everyone. They’re kids, hon. Even though we were separated a year before filing, up until a month ago, they’d hoped we’d work it out. Kelly tried to talk to Maddie about it and Maddie stonewalled her. Kelly called me and we sat them down again. Fuck.” He rubbed his head with both hands. “Hardest hour of my life.”