Forever's Embrace (Forever In Luck Series Book 2)

by J. Darling

  Hopping up on all fours, he moved over her and kissed her in earnest, as he tugged down her bottoms. Then pulling back, he looked into her eyes, and said, “I promise, bra and cheekies on, and lots, and lots of touching. Come here, Precious, let me love you. I want to love you.” Then he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up and onto his lap, as he kneeled behind her, resting on his heels.

  One of his hands went to her breast and teased, while the other went down, stopping to pull her hips in tight on a thrust, before continuing on down, slipping her beyond total sanity. He was hard, and she could feel the length of him tucked safely along the seam of her cheekini’s.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he said, as he stroked and teased.

  She moaned, her head having fallen back on his shoulder, as she straddled him. Taking a deep cleansing breath as she absorbed the sensual feelings and sensations, she responded to him, “You can’t see me, you’re behind me.” Reaching up a hand, she grabbed the bulk of her hair, pulling it out from between them, then tossed it over his shoulder as she lie her head back on him.

  Now he moaned, then whispered in her ear as he kissed her neck, “Yes I can, and you’re beautiful. Open your eyes, sweetheart, and see.”

  Doing what he’d told her to do, she saw the two of them mutedly reflected in the large dresser mirror. She was held tight within the strength of his powerful arms, and he was kissing her neck as he teased. Then, while she watched, he slid his fingers into a cup of her bra and took her in hand.

  “Ohhh, Jake,” she murmured, turning her face into his neck, as she fell back into him completely on contact, her muscles having lost all resistance. She writhed in pleasure, her pliant, nubile body shaping and conforming to his expert hands.

  Feeling her tension rising, the pitch and tempo of her need increasing, she asked him for more. Like a répétiteur, he played her, stroking, teasing, tweaking, and when his hand went lower, and his fingers farther, he tantalized her with a lover’s serenade as he held her high. Captivated, she encouraged him with the sounds he brought forth from within her, and the fingers she wove through his hair. Taking heed, his style a sliding, gliding glissando, he moved the two of them along with finesse, ascending the scale and score with orchestrated allegretto.

  “Jake,” she crooned with urgency, as she panted and plied, moving in concert with him. “Jake…”

  Mouth to her ear, his tone a commanding sotto voce, he grabbed her attention with alacrity. “Come for me, come now as I hold you in my hand.”

  She snapped, hitting the highest note imaginable, a veritable symphonic epiphany vibrating and rolling through her, as the clashing crescendo of feeling and thought took her over the top. He joined her in paired harmony. Wave after beautiful wave flowed through her, carrying her along a blissful journey of mercurial delight as she relaxed and wafted within the safety of his strong embrace.

  “Jake?” she gulped breathlessly.

  “Hmmm?” he answered, breathing heavy, as he placed teeny kisses along her neck and shoulder.

  “I…I…want to do that again.”

  He burst out laughing, then squeezed her tight. “Def-ly, ma sherry, that’d be parfett.”

  *****

  The next day, Jules became nervous when presented with a release and risk assumption form to sign before being allowed to go tubing. “Ah guys, this sounds dangerous. Are you sure we should go tubing?” she asked, looking over at Nate, Linnie, and Jake.

  “We’ve gone tubing lots of times with no problems.” Nate answered.

  Jake nodded and added, “Yeah, we’ll start on the easier hills, check out the snow and go from there.”

  “I don’t know,” she answered, feeling skeptical. “Linnie, what do you think?”

  Linnie responded, “I’m going. It should be fun.”

  Reading over the form again, Jules ignored the queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach and signed on the dotted line. “Alright,” she said. “I guess I’m ready.”

  Straightening her hat and giving her a kiss on the lips, Jake took her hand and pulled her along. “Come on, I’ll help you. It’ll be fun.”

  After several runs down the kiddie hills, they all decided they’d graduate to the bigger, steeper runs and headed that way.

  “You’re smiling, I think you’re having fun,” Jake said, as he put his arm around her and held her while they walked.

  “I am,” she answered, giving him a smile. “I’m glad I tried it. How much faster will these bigger runs be?”

  Jake thought a moment. “You can get going pretty fast. Usually a bigger drop to start that gets you going, than a long gradual run to mellow the ride to the end. We’ll hold our tubes together and go as a group.”

  Jules wasn’t so sure that was such a good idea. “But isn’t it the more tubes, the faster you’ll go? As the momentum and kinetic energy combined, will outdo the drag and resistance from friction and the gravitational pull? Gosh, I haven’t done physics in a while, but that seems right. It means we’ll go even faster.”

  Jake looked at her and blinked a few times, clearly at a loss for what to say, then simply took a deep breath and replied, “Ahhh, yeah, sure, we’ll go fast, like I said.”

  Jules laughed, knowing better. “Maybe we should go down one or two at a time, until we know how fast things are moving, given the wind speed and snow conditions, and all. That should help us accommodate for potential energy as we accelerate as a group.”

  Jake reached up and rubbed his bearded stubble. “Ahhh, yeah, or we could just go and have fun,” he answered, while giving her an encouraging nod, trying to hold a straight face.

  “Quit laughing at me,” she demanded with a growl.

  Jake smiled from ear to ear, his eyes bright with humor. “Me, I’m not laughing. I’m smiling, that’s what I’m doing.”

  “You’re laughing at me, and this is what got you into trouble yesterday,” Jules said, as she gave him a little shove. “I can’t help it. My brain just works like that.”

  Now Jake did laugh as he pulled her in tighter. “I know, I love your mind, remember?” Leaning over, he put a kiss on her head.

  Jules scowled. “Now you’re just trying to be charming.”

  “Is it working? I think its working. You’re fond of me, remember?”

  Thinking back on the moment, she turned, and looked into his eyes. “Yeah, I remember.”

  Grabbing two tubes, Jake turned back to her. “Kiss me before we go down. That sexy mind of yours has started my engine, and I want a kiss.”

  Moving in close, she looked up at him. “Isn’t that like throwing an accelerant on an already raging fire?”

  “Yep, but if I can survive yesterday, I can handle today. Come here.”

  Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him with all the love she had in her heart, then stepped back. “How’s that?”

  “I want more,” he growled. “Let’s skip this and go back to the ice house.”

  Jules laughed. “I knew it. Yesterday and last night should’ve been enough for a while.”

  “News flash, bebis, it’ll never be enough, not until you’re mine, and even then, I’ll want you all the time.”

  Jules stopped short and stared up at Jake, taking it all in, processing what she’d heard. “Jake—”

  “Come on you guys,” Linnie hollered, as she ran over and grabbed Jules by the hand, pulling her along. “We’ve been waiting forever, let’s go.”

  Putting their tubes together, they all got on and were on their way. Racing down the hill at breakneck speed, they flew, screaming and hollering as they bumped and spun their way to the bottom. Two thirds of the way down, they bounced off the snow wall with such force, that Jules lost her grip and flipped out of her tube, rolling and sliding part of the way down. Standing, she saw Jake running towards her.

  “Are you okay?” he hollered, as he ran her way.

  Moving around, she answered loud, “Yeah, I think so. At least I don’t think anything’s broken, probably have some b
ruises though.”

  Reaching her, he took her in his arms. “You scared the hell out of me when I saw you hit the ground and tumble down the hill.” Keeping an arm around her, he helped her walk to the end of the chute.”

  “Sorry, I lost my grip when we smacked into the wall.”

  Linnie ran over, “You okay, Jules?”

  “Yeah, I’m good, just bruises. Let’s go again. I’ll hang on tighter this time.”

  *****

  Jake, willed his heart to slow down. Losing his grip on Jules and seeing her ripped from him, then her flopping down the hill, nearly sent him over the edge. Waiting for a group of screaming girls to finish their run before making their way across the lanes, they headed towards the moving sidewalk quickly, dodging fellow tubers along the way.

  “Wait,” Jules said. “I dropped my glove.”

  Stopping, he saw that she’d run back a lane, and had just picked up her glove, when she’d turned back without noticing the mass of tubers headed her way. Hearing the screams of the oncoming group, she tried moving out of their path, but slipped on the icy lane. When the group struck her, their mass and speed sent her flying into the safety fence, Her head slammed against the fence wall, and her back against a supporting post, before her body fell limp to the ground.

  Jake’s knees went weak, and he stumbled trying to get to her. “Linnie,” he bellowed, as he ran to Jules.

  Linnie was there in a flash. “Don’t move her, Jake,” she ordered. “Nate, call nine one one!”

  “She’s not moving, and, and she’s bleeding!” Jake said in a panic.

  “I know, she’s breathing though,” Linnie responded, as she lifted Jules’s eyelids, “and her pupils are equal, round, and reactive. Jules? Jules, come on honey, open your eyes. We don’t know how bad her back and neck were hurt.”

  Just then, Jules jerked and rolled to her back, lifting an arm to her head.

  “Don’t move, Jules,” Linnie said. “You’re hurt, and we’ve called for an ambulance. Open your eyes for me.”

  “My head,” she said weakly, as her eyes fluttered open.

  Blood was spreading out in a pool under her head, and Jake could see a decent sized laceration near the back. Taking off his jacket, he removed his shirt and gently put it to her head, then threw his jacket back on. Her eyes closed and he panicked. “Open your eyes, Jules, keep them open, Precious, come on.”

  “Jake?” she whispered, as she lifted her hand to her head again.

  “Right here, Precious, I’m right here. I love you, Jules. Stay with me, don’t close your eyes, don’t go.”

  “Jules,” Linnie called, trying to get her attention. “Jules, can you feel your legs? Jules?”

  She didn’t answer. Jake watched as she slowly pulled back her hand and stared at the blood all over it. Just then emergency personnel arrived, and all manner of craziness took hold. Jake struggled to keep his grip on her. “Jules, open your eyes. Jules?” he began to panic. “Jules? Jules? Jules, open your eyes, babe.” Her eyelids fluttered open for a brief moment, and he grabbed it. “I love you, Jules. You need to know I love you.” Then she left him in mind and spirit, as the emergency workers carried her away in a rush.

  “Jake, we need to go,” Linnie said urgently, as she stood and tugged on his jacket. “Come on.”

  Dazed, he looked up at her. “I never told her I loved her, I should have told her I loved her.”

  Grabbing his hand and pulling on his arm, she answered him, “You did, I heard you. Jake, we need to get to the hospital, now.”

  He sat there, not moving. “I don’t think she heard me,” he responded, thinking out loud.

  “Nate,” Linnie yelled.

  Nate appeared at his side. “Hey buddy, let’s get you up and off the ground,” he said, as he reached and put an arm around Jake, lifting him up and onto his feet.

  “Nate, I never told her I loved her. She needs to know.”

  Nate shook him by the shoulder, trying to get his attention. “Jake, she knows. Now we need to leave. She needs us. Let’s go.”

  Jumping at the words, Jake started moving quickly towards the parking lot. “How? How can you be sure?” he asked, needing convincing. “I don’t think she heard me when I said it.”

  Nate answered, “Look at your chest. She knows.”

  Jake looked down and pulled his jacket open. There, on his chest and over his left pectoral, was a heart, painted in her blood, by her hand. Everything became blurry, and he began to blink rapidly. Stumbling over a snowbank, he ran with Linnie and Nate to the truck. Hopping in the back, he grabbed Linnie’s shoulder as Nate sped off. “I need to keep this, forever.” Pulling out his phone, he handed it to her, then removed his jacket. “Take pictures, take lots of them. Fill up my phone with them.”

  As Linnie snapped away, Jake asked, “They take her to St. Croix hospital?”

  “Yes.”

  “How bad is it?”

  “Hard to say. We know she moved her arms, and turned herself from her side to her back, so she has some movement. We just don’t know about her legs. Then the question is, does she simply have a concussion, or worse, a brain bleed? Her pupils were working fine though, and there wasn’t any blood coming from her ears or nose. So, that’s good.”

  Jake fell back against the seat and started smacking his head against the window.

  “Jake, stop!” Linnie yelled. “We don’t need two of you with a head injury.”

  “Why didn’t I listen to her?” he yelled back. “Why? I should have listened!” He ran his fingers into his hair, grabbed and pulled on it, as he kicked the seat. “She was worried about tubing that fucking hill, went on about physics and the energy potential of groups tubing together, and I blew her off. Laughed at her. Did you see how many of them came at her? Did you?” he asked, as he sat forward, putting his face in his hands. “God, the blood. Did you see all the blood?”

  Linnie reached back and took one of his hands. “Look at me,” she said softly. “I know you’re upset, I am too, but we need to be calm for Jules’s sake. Accidents happen, and head lacerations always bleed a ton, that part’s very normal.”

  Walking into the hospital’s emergency entrance, they were quickly escorted to a waiting area in the back. Nate and Linnie sat, as Jake paced back and forth, round and around, all the while feeling like he was a volcano about to erupt.

  “Hello, my name’s Sara, and I’m one of the nurses working in the ER today. I’m stopping to let you know that the doctor’s with Juliet over in radiology as we speak. They’re working on getting various scans and images, and the doctor’s been in contact with specialists in the cities.”

  Jake rushed over to her. “Is she awake? Did she wake up?”

  “Yes, but she has some confusion, and is slow to respond. The doctor will be with you as soon as he can. Who’s next of kin?”

  Linnie sat up. “I am. I mean, we are. We’re her family.”

  “Where are her parents?”

  “Jules is an only child. Her parents died when she was an infant. She was raised by her grandmother who has since passed. We’re her only family,” Linnie answered.

  “Might you have her identification, insurance information, or anything of the kind?”

  “Yes, I brought in her purse.” Opening it, Linnie found what was needed and handed it to the nurse. “Can you tell us if she’s able to move her legs?”

  “I’m uncertain of the answer to that, when I was with her our primary concern at the time was the extent of her brain injury. The doctor will be with you as soon as he can,” she assured them before leaving.

  Minutes seemed to turn to hours as they waited, but soon the doctor arrived. “Hi, I’m Dr. Benton. Juliet is awake. She doesn’t remember what happened, or the time leading up to the accident. The scans we’ve done do not show a brain bleed, or skull fracture, and there’s no swelling or abnormalities to indicate anything more severe than a concussion.

  Overall the scans of her body look good, with the exception
of her spine. There appears to be a fractured vertebra in the first lumbar region. It’s hard to tell the extent of the injury at this time. The scans we’ve done here have been transmitted electronically to a specialist in spinal conditions in the cities to best determine the next course of action.”

  “Can she move her legs, wiggle her toes?” Linnie asked.

  He shook his head. “At this point, she has not demonstrated she can.”

  Jake turned and walked to the window, listening as they spoke.

  “So, she’s a paraplegic then?” Linnie sought out.

  “Her reflexes are definitely diminished, but it would be presumptuous to make that assumption without more information, and some time.”

  “Excuse me,” the nurse from earlier interrupted. “Dr. Benton, Dr. Reiter’s on the line.”

  Looking at the three of them, he said, “This is our call.” Picking up the phone, the two doctors spoke. Hanging up, Dr. Benton stood. “Due to the neurological compromise and results of her scans, Dr. Reiter is concerned about an unstable fracture that appears to be impinging on the spinal cord. He feels it necessary to do emergency surgery to stabilize the area and hopefully preserve her neurological function. Lifelink’s been called, and she’ll be helicoptered to the cities immediately. I’m sorry I can’t stay longer to answer your questions, but I must go speak with her now, and I’m sure you’d like a few minutes with her before she goes. Give us a few minutes and we’ll come get you.”

  Soon they were ushered down a hall and into a large open bay of the ER. Jules was center stage, and Jake went to her immediately. Feeling unsure, and afraid he’d startle her, he gently took her hand and kissed it before speaking. “Precious?”

  She turned her head to him. “Jake?”

  His eyes closed at the sound of her voice. The relief that she remembered him and responded to his special name for her was overwhelming. “Yeah, sweetheart, it’s me. I’m here.” He bent down and put a gentle kiss to her lips. “How you doing?”

  She looked around, paused, looked like she was thinking hard, then answered. “My head hurts.”