She bit his lip, pulling it gently into her mouth. The sucking noise she made sent him right over the edge, and he pressed up and into her with one firm stroke, careful not to go too far too fast. She’d need a second to adjust, that much he knew.
She rocked her hips, easing down more fully onto him. She grimaced with the pain, and Jake froze, watching her face for any further signs he should stop. Maybe he was too much for her. She pressed further onto him, her eyes rolling back into her head. A smiled curled her lips and she tilted her head back, arching her body against him to fully take his length and size within her. Raw, animal sounds purred in her throat as she rocked and moved against him, her body the perfect size, tightly gripping him and dripping wetness all over the tops of his thighs as her body prepared her for more. More rocking, more thrusting, more of him.
Her movements grew faster, small breasts bouncing as she took control, guiding herself toward orgasm, her clit rubbing deliciously at the base of his dick.
He pounded deeper, harder, then tugged the apron down and closed his mouth over her breast as they rocked wildly together. He sucked as he thrust, teasing her nipple with his teeth, moaning against the soft flesh—
She froze.
Jake pulled back, searching her face for signs of pain. “What’s wrong?”
She tilted her head forward to look at him, her eyes afire, lips parted on heavy breaths. “I’m going to come again.”
Jake grinned. “Good.”
“You didn’t put on a condom.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I just…I didn’t think.” All he could think about was being inside her.
Something dark flashed across TB’s eyes, too fast for Jake to pinpoint. He squinted, but she leaned forward, tightening her arms around his neck as she brought her mouth to his once more and pressed down onto his dick.
End of conversation.
Words flew from his mind as he pushed deeper into her, harder, faster, throbbing as he thrust, gripping her small frame as she gripped him between her legs. She clawed at his hair, his shoulders, then tightened her fingers into his skin as she shook around him, clenching his cock with vicious strength as she came. He sucked one nipple hard into his mouth, teasing the tip with his tongue and teeth, then splayed his hands across her back to hold her to him, allowing her to milk every last ounce of her orgasm before he dared move even an inch.
Melting around him, her body relaxed as the final pulses of orgasm quaked through her.
Jake stood, holding her legs tightly around his waist as he walked to the wall and pressed her against it. With the added support of the wall, he thrust into her hard, rocking her head back with the motion as he held her hips, positioning her tightly to him as he flooded her with his release.
He pressed one hand against the wall as his body shook, pulsing and throbbing as every last drop left him. Weakened, he leaned his head against the wall, his mouth positioned in the crook of her neck as he caught his breath. He kissed her bare shoulder, then licked his lips, the salty tang of her sweat sending his heart pounding.
She tasted too damn good. He opened his mouth again to caress her shoulder with his lips and tongue, wanting to taste more of that salty sweetness, when his eyes focused on the tiny arrangement of freckles that shaped an abstract heart on her shoulder.
He froze.
Colby used to tease her about wearing her heart on her sleeve.
Colby. Her older brother.
Colby. His best friend.
What the fuck was he doing? He drew in a deep breath. Jake had sworn to take care of TB. How was fucking her against the wall supposed to keep her safe, protect her, look after her?
And he hadn’t even put on a damn condom. What if he’d knocked her up?
Holy fucking hell, Jake was a world-class piece of shit.
Seconds, maybe moments passed by while Jake’s mind spun, until his thighs burned enough to shake him from his thoughts.
He stood straighter, gently releasing TB’s legs from his waist and helping her stand.
God, she was beautiful.
But off limits. So damn off limits that agony tore through his chest.
Jake grabbed his jeans and his t-shirt, staring at the ground by her feet as he quickly dressed, realization setting in like ice across his heart. Reed was right; Jake loved this girl. He’d loved her long before she’d walked out of his life, long before Colby’s tour of duty, long before…
“Ah, hell.” Jake bent to grab TB’s dress. He’d loved her as long as he could remember, but none of that mattered. He’d promised Colby to look after her, not fuck her silly, and fucking her would lead to one sure thing: a broken heart. Hers or his or both, he wasn’t sure, but someone would break if he let this go any further than what they’d just done. He’d fucked up, but he didn’t have to fuck her up. He’d never had a real relationship in his life, and TB didn’t deserve to be the Guinea pig in that experiment. He’d lose her and betray Colby in one swift motion, and that couldn’t happen.
Holding her dress out to her, gaze still on the floor, he said, “You should get dressed. The guys will be here any minute.”
“Jake?” Her voice wavered on the single syllable and his heart cracked clear down the middle. She knew. “Don’t do this.”
“I have to hit the shower.” He walked away, avoiding her devastated eyes, his chest squeezing the life out of his heart. He couldn’t make this mistake again, couldn’t betray Colby. He clenched his fists against the pain, tightened his jaw against the finality of it all.
TB wasn’t his to claim, wasn’t his to love. She was his to protect, and that was all.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Ice. It’s what Tamryn saw in his eyes, what splashed through her veins, coursing streams throughout her heated, sated body, freezing her from the inside out, morphing the lava that flowed through her veins just moments ago into jagged shards of glass.
At the epicenter, her heart, a broken, shattered mess of rejection.
From burning hot to freezing cold, he’d flipped the switch as soon as he came, as if they hadn’t just shared the best sex of their lives.
Stupid girl. This obviously wasn’t the best sex of his life.
She gripped her dress to her stomach and watched as Jake disappeared into his room, shutting the door behind him without so much as a glance over his shoulder after just being inside her.
Tamryn’s chest bloomed with ache, her knees weakening from the agony, but she stood taller, rose to her full height as regret slammed a vise around her destroyed heart.
She shook her head; shock kept the tears from falling.
He’d fucked her and left her. She was no better than some chick he’d picked up at The Bar. A quick lay he’d never have to deal with again.
A good old fashioned Jake Johnson fuck ‘n chuck.
Her sharp bark of a laugh broke the silence, but Tamryn slammed her mouth shut and grabbed her bag from the entryway. She headed for her old bathroom and slammed the door as hard as she could. Childish? Maybe. But she couldn’t think of anything else to do or say, and he needed to know she was good and pissed.
She opened the door again, then slammed it shut a second time. A crack split the wood down one side of the door and Tamryn grinned triumphantly.
She turned on the shower faucet and stepped inside, gasping as the water cascaded onto her skin, freezing cold and still warmer than she felt, frozen to the core by the man she loved and now loathed.
Showered and dressed, jaw clenched tight, Tamryn placed the pies into the oven and arranged the pull-apart bread onto a platter, pausing to consider…Could she sabotage Jake’s portion of bread, but not the others?
Working quickly around a kitchen she knew better than she knew its asshole owner, she eyed the clock, watching her time so she could slip out before anyone arrived. She prayed she’d catch Luce before leaving, but if not, she’d call her on her way back to Charlie’s. The two of them sit beside the pond and drink their Thanksgiving dinner
.
The front door pushed open and Tamryn froze. Shit. Please be Luce.
“Yo, anyone home? It’s eatin’ time! Soo wee!” Randy’s voice preceded him, his boisterous laughter echoing through the old house.
Tamryn threw the plastic wrap away, mind spinning for a way to get out of this.
“Hey, good lookin’!” Randy entered the kitchen, buttoned-up dress shirt untucked on one side and a thirty-pack of beer in hand, one bottle already open and at his lips.
“Hey, Randy. Happy Thanksgiving.” Tamryn smiled, and hoped he wouldn’t notice it was forced.
He raised his beer in the air. “To you as well, Miss Baker. Glad to see your face around these parts again.” He surveyed the kitchen, then inhaled deeply, a smile curving his lips as he brought his gaze back to Tamryn. “You made your famous stuffing.”
“She sure did,” Jake said, entering the kitchen, looking like he stepped out of some magazine article about how to avoid the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Tamryn’s heart fell to the floor as her stomach tightened with want and rage, an odd feeling that made her wonder if she’d vomit from the pressure cooking inside her.
“You know, for someone so tiny,” Randy said as he glanced at her, “she sure can cook a mean Thanksgiving.”
“I’m not tiny.” Tamryn crossed her arms, glaring at Randy.
“Nah, she’s the perfect size to ride on my shoulders, huh, TB?” Jake winked and she nearly fell over from shock.
Tamryn’s face heated to about three-hundred degrees and her mouth fell open. The very vivid vision of straddling Jake’s face just a short while earlier flooded her mind. She scoffed, nearly choking on air, eyes wide and mouth agape. What the hell? Was he seriously going to act like nothing had happened since then?
Jake turned to Randy, reaching for a beer. “Let’s get these babies in the icebox out back. I think we should eat on that old picnic table. It’s unseasonably warm today; we should take advantage of that.”
He’d taken advantage of something today, hadn’t he?
With barely a glance in her direction, he headed out the back door with Randy, all smiles, like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t just made love to her and left her, then mentioned it all casually in front of his friend like nothing was wrong.
Everything was wrong! She couldn’t stay here, couldn’t subject herself to his hot and cold.
Tamryn groaned and slammed her hand onto the butcher block, sending pins and needles through her palm. “Mother fu—”
“Careful, now, that’s no way for a lady to speak.” Reed entered the kitchen, eyes sparkling for his favorite holiday. “And, heck, Tam, you look too nice for cussin’.”
Tamryn’s cheeks warmed as she embraced Reed. “Thank you. I’m glad you’re here.” She debated telling him, quickly running through the whole story, but before she could find the nerve, the front door opened again and the distinct click of stiletto heels echoed through the house.
“Jake, honey, I’m home!” Gennie giggled.
Tamryn’s eyes widened and her mouth tightened into a tight line. She met Reed’s gaze and raised her eyebrows.
Reed leaned forward. “He swears they aren’t sleeping together anymore.”
“Does she know that?” Tamryn snapped.
“Hey guys! Happy Thanksgiving!” Gennie entered the room, all gorgeous and confident, her vibrant red hair cascading around her shoulders, perfectly pale skin crowning a corset that not only shrunk her waist but pushed her breasts up to near chin level.
Tamryn sighed, forcing a smile for Gennie. How was she supposed to compete with someone so…luscious?
“I just love Thanksgiving, don’t you?” She kissed Tamryn’s cheek. “Glad you’re back, hon.” Not back. Gennie moved on to plant a kiss on Reed’s cheek as well. “You can eat and eat and it’s totally acceptable.” She placed a foil-covered dish on the counter, then turned to face them. “I hope you don’t mind, but I brought my mama’s famous sweet potato pie. It’s to die for, believe you me.”
Reed frowned, glancing quickly at Gennie. “Tamryn usually brings the pies.”
“No, Reed, it’s okay. Who doesn’t want more pie?”
“Oh, honey, I didn’t know. Jake didn’t tell me…you know how he is.” She winked, dismissing the thought with a flick of her wrist as she stepped onto the back porch.
Tamryn smiled as she gave a curt nod, her teeth clenched. Oh, she knew exactly how he was. What she didn’t know was how the hell she’d last through this festive day with the knot she had in her chest and the pit still growing in her stomach.
“I need a drink.”
“I’m one step ahead of you, buddy.” Reed stepped past Tamryn to the bar in the living room. “One step ahead.”
Luce stepped into the living room, sneaking up behind Reed, and Tamryn grinned as relief filled her chest. “What have I missed, old man?”
Reed jumped, then turned to face her. “Why if it isn’t little Lucy Hammersley.” He looked her up and down, then focused on dark brown eyes, raising an eyebrow at her newest hairstyle in an ever-changing line of choices: a jet black A-line bob. “Only, not so little anymore, are ya?”
She embraced him, then stepped toward Tamryn. “You have no idea, Reed.” She placed her hands on each of Tamryn’s shoulders, then her smile fell. “Oh God, what’s wrong?”
Tamryn shook her head, eyes welling up. “Not right now, okay?”
Luce’s dark eyes flicked back and forth between Tamryn’s, then she narrowed her gaze. “I’ll kill him.”
Reed stepped up beside her, a cocktail in each hand. “I have a feeling we’re going to need these today.”
Chapter
Twenty-Five
If Gennie knew she wasn’t still with Jake, she hid it well. Sitting beside him at the giant wood picnic table outside, she hung on his every word, as per usual, staring at him with those giant doe eyes…and who knows, she probably gave him a handy under the table while they ate. It was worse now that Gennie knew how Tamryn felt about Jake, even though she couldn’t have known they’d had sex just a couple hours earlier. Every giggle or exaggerated bat of an eyelash cut Tamryn deeper than before.
Jake didn’t seem to be feeding off of Gennie’s attention, for whatever that was worth. He sure wouldn’t say no to another round, though, not Mr. Can’t Keep His Dick In His Pants. Tamryn glared at him across the table, still pissed that everyone sat down before her leaving only one available spot, smack dab across from Jake.
She’d barely eaten for the last forty minutes they’d been at the table.
But the martinis Reed made continued to flow and she was on her second. No, third. No…
She leaned over to Reed and placed her hand on his shoulder to steady herself, then brought her mouth close to his ear. “How many of these have I had?” She didn’t think her words were slurred, but she ran her tongue over her teeth again and swallowed. “How many—”
“Reed,” Jake barked. “How’s your dad’s old Chevy coming along, bro? Ready for a joyride yet?” His seemingly harmless question contradicted the hard glint in his eyes.
Reed tilted his head, leaned over to whisper to Tamryn, “Three,” then wiped his mouth and set his napkin on the table. “You think Pop will let you near his Chevy after what you did to Bertha?”
“Shit, that old thing? We did that car a favor sending it off that way. Burials at sea are a big deal.”
“My folks sure didn’t think so.” Reed’s jaw clenched as he held Jake’s gaze.
Gennie giggled beside Jake. “Now, this sounds like a story I need to hear! We don’t live anywhere near the ocean.” She sipped her glass of wine and side-eyed him over the rim.
Luce laughed sweetly—too sweetly and fake as hell to anyone who knew her well. “That is a hilarious story, but one for another day. I’m more interested in what you’ve been up to lately, Jake.” She spat his name.
Tamryn’s stomach curdled and she swallowed the lump of now-un-chewable meat. “Excuse me,” she mumbled as
she pushed out of her seat and fought to slowly walk to the kitchen without stumbling. Face burning and tears welling in her eyes, she paused just inside the doorway, unsure of her next move. Should she go to the bathroom, have a good cry, then return to the festivities?
Or bolt?
“I think she’s had enough, Samuels.”
Definitely bolt. Tamryn stepped further into the kitchen, searching for her keys. The screen door to the patio swung shut behind her.
“She’s definitely had enough of something, Johnson,” Reed snapped. “What exactly did you do to her today?”
“Yeah, Johnson. I haven’t seen her this upset since…” Luce’s words trailed off.
Tamryn’s heart pinched; Luce had loved Colby like a brother.
“What’s goin’ on, y’all?” Gennie asked, finally cluing in to the tension that took up more of the Thanksgiving table than the actual meal.
The porch screen swung open as someone stepped inside behind her, and Tamryn turned around.
“What’s wrong?” Reed asked. “What did he do to you?”
Tamryn wiped at her cheeks, shaking her head. “Nothing. Just checking on the pies.”
He stepped toward her, frowning. “Now, Tamryn Baker, you’re one of my oldest friends. And you’re a terrible liar.”
Tamryn laughed, her voice catching on the sound. “It’s a Baker thing.” She shrugged. “I’m okay, Reed, really. I just…I shouldn’t have come here.”
“Still lying. Try again.”
“I need to go. Can you help me find my keys?” She turned her head and stumbled, righting herself against the butcher block island. Who stumbles while standing still? She grinned through the tears. She didn’t even have a car, thus…no keys to be found. She laughed on a sob. “Maybe I’ll call a cab.”
“I’ll take you home.”
“Will you now?” Jake filled the doorway, muscles tight as he stared down his friend. “I brought her here. I’ll be the one to drive her home.” He glanced quickly at Tamryn then back at Reed. “I thought you said this wasn’t a thing.” He waved his hand between Reed and Tamryn, eyes narrowed.
Whiskey Burned (Flawed Heroes Book 2) Page 14
