by Clare James
Jenna had shock, and maybe a little horror, all over her face, but she didn’t say a word until they cleared out.
“What about waiting for our five days to make sure this is working, before we go public?” Jenna finally asked when I was mid-burrito.
“I’ve already made my decision.” I wiped my mouth on a napkin.
“Really?” She hardly touched any of her food.
“Yep.” I pushed my plate to the side and leaned back in my chair.
“So what does that mean?” Her face crinkled in the most adorable way.
“It means I’m waiting on you for your decision, so let me know when you’re ready, okay?”
21
Jenna
Shit was getting real. Foster and Jules knew about us now, which meant Tabby and Noah would know today when they got back from Mexico. There was no question about that. I knew Jules well, and she wouldn’t be able to hold this bit of information inside, it was too juicy.
Thanks to Michael’s planning, he had us all sitting together at the upcoming Senior Dinner, which was like graduation ceremony but with booze and no parents. There’d be large tables scattered throughout the hall, so we’d have other classmates at our table as well. There was opportunity for plenty of diversions to keep me entertained.
Normally, this would all be a good thing, even fun to spar with Jules and Tabby. Plus, Noah would be fine to me.
The problem was that Michael planned to tell Tabby about us before the event. Not the greatest timing.
He said he didn’t want to wait anymore. I couldn’t even image what she was going to say, or Noah for that matter. But I had to keep reminding myself that this is what I wanted. I wanted Michael to claim me as his, no matter who was watching and that’s exactly what he was doing.
But the dinner was tomorrow!
Turned out I didn’t need my five days either. I had already fallen for him so hard, probably long before he did, there was no need to prolong the inevitable. That brought on another wave of panic.
Michael knew the stress was eating at me, but he had his own plan to take my mind off things.
“Get in here,” he all but growled, looking at me in that way of his.
“Be right back,” I told him before leaving the room to take care of the dogs, though the chore was really an excuse to find my breathing and settle the thumping in my chest.
“Jenna, now.”
Every inch of my skin broke out in goosebumps.
“Just a minute,” I called out.
My heartrate was now clear off of charts.
He didn’t wait.
Instead, he came into the kitchen to get me.
I was washing my hands in the sink to look busy. He reached around me, his woodsy scent flooding my senses, and turned off the water before turning me towards him. Then bent down in front of me, and buried his face in the apex of my thighs.
I stopped breathing.
He gripped my hands, and looked up at me. “Don’t. Make. Me. Beg.” And then he pulled my pants down and flipped my right leg over his shoulder.
It was a brilliant plan.
“I hope you’re ready,” he said, gripping my thighs and bringing his mouth to the part of my body that so desperately wanted it.
I swore I heard a sizzle when he made contact, and I gripped the counter for balance.
He licked and nipped and parted me with his tongue, while pure hot pleasure slashed through my body. He was devouring me in every possible way, and when he pulled my clit into his mouth I shot off like a rocket. That was a new record.
His technique definitely worked, because I no longer cared about the dinner, or Tabby, or anything else for that matter…
22
Michael
“I’m surprised is all,” Tabby told me when we arrived at the dinner. “I guess I don’t see what you see.”
The calm in her voice and hurt in her eyes after my confession about Jenna was far worse than if she screamed at me. I hated hurting her and that’s what this was doing.
From her point of view, I’m sure it felt like I was choosing Jenna over her, just like I’d chosen my friends over her when we were in Illinois.
I had to find a way to convince her it wasn’t like that.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, Tab, but she’s a lot like you, and she’s had to put up with her share of shit.” I told her everything, including the bits about me and my survivor’s guilt and the self-defense classes.
I don’t think she had any idea what I’d been carrying around, not that she should’ve. It was so not her problem to deal with. But it did help me explain why I’ve stayed away from relationships.
“And you really have the space in your life for someone now?” she asked.
“I didn’t think so,” I said, honestly. “But here’s the thing about love, when it happens there’s always room.”
“But Jenna,” she sighed, “of all people.”
I tried to tell her about Jenna’s stalker and her parents, and the way she cared for her pets. Tabby was only hearing half of it.
She reached over to me and squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry, Michael, but I just can’t forgive her. Not yet.”
“Are you mad at me?”
Tabby bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m glad you told me, but is it okay if I don’t jump on board? At least for now?”
“Are you going to give Jenna a hard time?” I asked.
“Of course not.”
“Then I’m okay.”
It wasn’t the open-arm reception that I was hoping for, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker for us, either. Though it did take us a long time to get here.
As expected, our conversation went way over the time that I told Jenna. She said she’d meet us here, but I wasn’t sure she’d come on her own. I checked the time and felt uneasy. She was late.
Really late.
My phone rang and I assumed it was Jenna, but as soon as I saw the caller ID, the bottom of my stomach dropped out.
It was Jones.
Panic sliced through me as he talked and told me what he found; my body burned.
I was going to be sick. And then I was going to kill someone.
23
Jenna
I just needed to get to Michael—it was the last thought in my head when everything went black. He was right, why hadn’t I learned that by now? The creepy picture, the visit to my apartment, it wasn’t some coincidence or harmless prank.
“You’re back,” the menacing voice cut through the fog in my brain. “I didn’t want to hit you, Jenna, but I didn’t expect you to be such a fighter. I had to protect myself.”
I opened my eyes to Christian sitting in front of me. He was waiting for me when I got home, and when Michael didn’t show up to take me to the Senior Dinner, he took full advantage.
I tried to fight as soon as I realized what was happening, but he knocked me out.
Instinctively, I wound up to strike again, but this time my hands were bound.
Christian started rambling about the date I missed, and how I didn’t respect him. He talked about a class we had together two years ago. I wasn’t listening. Instead, I flipped through the files in my brain for the information that I knew could help.
Michael taught me what to do in this situation, he prepared me for everything. Even the knife that was in Christian’s right hand.
The dogs were barking from their rooms, but this wasn’t out of the ordinary. It wasn’t enough to get someone to come to my apartment. I knew what I had to do.
Michael’s words going through my head, lean into it.
“So I hear you blathering on about the past,” I channeled the voice of the old Jenna. She was desperately needed right now. “What does that have to do with the here and now?”
He looked stunned.
“I’m not sure you’re hearing me, Jenna,” he said, his voice shaky, his eyes flittering around the room. “You’re still ignoring me. You stood me up the other night. I gave y
ou another chance, and you stood me up.”
“I was sick,” I told him leaning forward, my eyes never straying from the blade. “What did you expect me to do?”
“I know that was a lie. I saw you with him,” Christian spit. “I know you’re with him.”
“It’s not what you think,” I said, pushing the bile threatening to come up, back down my throat.
“I think you have too many distractions,” Christian said, as another round of barking rang out in the apartment. He clenched his teeth, which made him look even more like a psychopath. How could I ever have thought he was cute?
“Yeah, maybe things would’ve worked if you didn’t have so many distractions,” he continued. “Like those stupid dogs, and the neighbor—who I’m pretty sure you’re fucking, by the way. Maybe we need to do something about that.”
I was going to be sick. He just threatened the love of my life. He threatened my dogs. Rage coursed through my veins. Oh, hell no. This was not going to happen. Not after what we’d all been through. They were my forever home, and I wouldn’t stand by and watch anyone take it from me. And no matter how much it hurt knowing that I could lose, I could lose them all at any time, it was so much better than the alternative—to have a life without love, and without everything that truly matters.
I was ready to fight.
In my head, I prepared with a long deep breath, and then I counted to three.
24
Michael
Jones told me to stay put, but there was no way in hell I would. He threatened my job and a bunch of other shit—I wasn’t listening.
I was close to our place and I knew he’d be right behind, so I didn’t even hesitate. Once again, I went for her with guns blazing, sans the guns.
I’d be there to help whenever Jenna needed me, it was the deal I’d made once I got to know her—the complicated girl with the two different sides that made me absolutely crazy half the time, drunk on love and lust the other half.
I pushed Tabby to the side. “Go back to Noah, you guys stay out here.”
We drove together. Once I told them what was going on, they didn’t give me a choice. I know Tabby would do anything for me, but I was hoping that, at least with Jules, Foster, and Noah, they came for Jenna too.
Once I got upstairs, I didn’t hesitate. I busted through her door.
But I was too late.
She was already struggling with that Christian fuck on the floor when I ran inside. I’d never experienced such blind fury before.
I didn’t have time to really process any of it, I only needed to take out the threat. I dove on top of him, my right hand going for the knife, so it was nowhere near Jenna.
He struggled and I flipped him on his stomach, grinding my knee into his back. If Jones didn’t get here fast, I would destroy this motherfucker.
I didn’t get the chance. No more than three seconds after my knee made contact, the cavalry arrived.
It was chaos and Jenna and I were both swept away by different officers for medical attention and questioning.
We reached out to each other though, and the same shockwaves that I’d come to depend on shot up my arm when our fingertips touched. It was the best feeling in the world.
“Is that what you meant by lean into it?” Jenna asked me, pointing to what we did to the sick asshole on the ground.
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s what I meant, baby.”
Then I laughed, because if I didn’t, the wet hot tears building behind my eyes would fall. And I didn’t want her in pain over me. I never wanted her in pain again.
Epilogue
Jenna
The Ten Top Reasons Why Michael is as Good as Any Dog
He doesn’t judge me, even when I do something really, really stupid.
He never comes home drunk or cranky.
He actually feels guilty when he’s been bad.
He always likes how I look, and what I wear, and how much I weigh.
He’s always excited to see me, and misses me when I’m gone.
He loves to cuddle, and doesn’t make me sleep in the wet spot.
He lets me control the remote…sometimes.
He wouldn’t dare brag about the women he’s slept with.
He’s a loyal, good listener who loves me unconditionally.
He’s been trained and tamed—more than I can say for myself!
* * *
If you would’ve told me last year, that I’d be madly in love with my ex-boyfriend’s, girlfriend’s brother, who was sworn to stay away from me, I never would’ve believed it. But here he was in my bed, while I studied my new and improved bookmark—which was currently marking my page in an annual report. Going through the reports and selecting worthy organizations was one of my main responsibilities at the foundation.
After Tris saw how great we were doing at Top Dog, he offered me the position, which was a good thing because Michael had been so busy on the job, especially now that he was training Ruby for the K-9 division, I needed something to keep my mind off missing him.
This is why we both loved Saturday so much—it was Michael and Jenna for 24 uninterrupted hours.
Michael sighed in his sleep as he usually did, his warm breath washing over my sensitive skin. I’d never grow tired of watching him sleep, or the way he ravaged me before we drifted off to dreamland. He was still bossy and protective as hell, but even more swoony and sweet than I ever expected. Yes, just as I knew all along, Michael was a supreme catch—he was all man, and he was all mine. Forever.
Oscar looked up at me from his spot at the end of the bed, and rolled his eyes. Oh yeah, he put a stop to sleeping on the floor once Michael moved in. Ruby and Molly also found their way into the bed by morning.
Yep, I was living my real-life fantasy—one covered in dog hair, but I didn’t mind.
The fight for alpha in the house wasn’t pleasant at first. But it seems the two guys in my life worked it all out, and after what happened with Christian, both of them were reluctant to leave my side very often.
These days, for the important things—like companionship, entertainment, and love—my heart belonged to the hunk sleeping next to me. Of course, Oscar was sure I was talking about him.
And I’d let him believe it for the moment because soon enough, things were going to get even crazier around here. My thoughts drifted back to last night.
Michael had just taken me up against the wall in the closet—two, no, three glorious times. The man was a marvel. We spent a lot of time in there because it was the only place we could go where the dogs wouldn’t bother us.
And after I’d shattered into a million pieces, he kissed me so deeply with such reverence that I nearly lost it all over again. Then he reached above us, sliding something off the shelf.
Everything in the apartment went still. It was as if even the dogs knew something big was happening.
Michael held out his fist and uncurled his fingers, to present me with a little black box, before dropping to his knee.
I think I screamed yes before the words were even out of his mouth.
I had to admit, I was still a little scared, because having so much also meant there was so much to lose. And I knew there would be hard times to come, but it didn’t matter, because trusted him with everything inside of me.
Michael already bared his teeth and claimed me as his own. And I was wearing the proof on my left hand…
* * *
To find out more about Tristan and Aria’s hate-to-love story, continue reading!
Take Me
A Hate-to-Love Duet
Previously Titled: Two-Hour Truce
By Clare James
A Temporary Truce…
ARIA
That is his request. One day each week. Four days each month. Twelve days over the summer… if the arrangement would even last that long.
He looks at me and the disdain in his eyes has disappeared. Now they warm for me. No. Burn. They burn for me and through me.
Coul
d I do this?
Should I?
“Well, Aria,” he purrs in a voice I don’t recognize. “What do you think? Forget it all and become mine for one day?”
My brain tries to make sense of the sinful offer, but my body is already in motion – moving closer to the man I once knew.
His eyes delight with each step I take toward him. His stance somehow opens for me. When I stop and meet his scorching gaze, however, a wave of confusion washes over his face and gives him away. He’s not as confident as he lets on.
But when I answer his offer with my lips, it’s the last time I see any kind of trepidation. No, at that point I know – he will be in control from here on out.
And in a place very deep inside, I am relieved.
TRISTAN
It’s a crazy, exciting, brilliant – though maybe a bit sleazy – idea. But it makes perfect sense. We’re both stuck here in this town for who knows how long, so why not make the most of it?
Tonight’s the deadline for her decision. Seven o’clock, only twenty minutes from now. Aria said she’d consider my offer, but I’m not sure I can trust her. Still, I light the candles, straighten the bed, and hope.
It’s excruciating. Whoever said anticipation is half the fun is a moron.
If I could just have the chance to show her what she missed when she left with him all those years ago, it would sure make it easier to face her now that she’s back. It wouldn’t fix everything that’s happened, but it sure as hell would give me back some pride.
Though I do know it was my fault. I waited too long, and when I finally got the balls to do something about our situation, I was too late.
