“Oh my god, don’t kill him!” I shrieked at Jake.
Not because I gave a shit about Carlos at that moment. Not beyond the fact that he was a human being. But because I thought Jake really was going to do it, or try to do it, and everything between us would be ruined in blood forever.
“No?” Jake asked, with a snarl. “Someone needs to put him down before he hurts any other women. And if he survives this, he just might be stupid enough to break into someone’s house again and risk being shot in self-defense.”
Oh, shit. Mr. Law & Order was already thinking about the rules and what he could get away with in terms of murder. I thought bad boys were bad. Turns out good guys were much badder.
“Please, Jake!” I cried, flipping on a light, hoping that might calm things down. But it only showed the wreckage of the bedroom, with glass and splinters of wood everywhere.
“Do you hear her begging for your life?” Jake asked Carlos, who obviously couldn’t reply over the chokehold my stepbrother had on him. “You beat her. You called her a whore. And yet she’s pleading for your life.”
“Only because you don’t want to do this, Jake.”
“Oh, but I do,” he replied, cocking the pistol.
Fuck!
Carlos nearly pissed himself at the sound of it.
I reached for Jake’s phone, which I could now see on the bedside table. Holding it up I said, “I’m going to call the police, okay?”
Jake gave a bark of bitter laughter. “Now she wants to call the police. She didn’t want to call them before, to protect herself from you, but now she’s ready to save your worthless life.”
“And send him to jail!” I cried, because I thought I heard some real pain and doubt in Jake’s voice, and I couldn’t bear it.
He’d saved me. He’d saved me from Carlos. He’d saved me from myself. In the space of a single weekend, he’d saved me from a past I didn’t even know I was running from. And I was falling in love with him. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to tell him, but I worried what could happen if I didn’t. “I’m not trying to protect him, Jake. I’m trying to protect you. To protect us. I want there to be an us. And I’m ready and willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. I love you, okay? Please. I know you love me too. So I want you to prove it. The right way.”
Jake’s arm tightened on my abuser’s neck, but he didn’t pull the trigger. Instead, he met my eyes and gave a single nod.
And I dialed 911.
~~~
I awaken to the scent of bacon, coffee, and Jake.
The three best scents in the world.
We’re up early on a Sunday afternoon so that he can take a run before hitting the gym. Afterwards, we’re doing dinner with our parents. Mom and Larry weren’t thrilled to learn about our relationship, but they’re slowly coming around. Especially now that the court case is over, the window is repaired, Carlos is serving time, and Jake and I are still going strong.
Mom has to admit that we’re good together.
Really good together.
Larry thinks so too, but still worries that his son is taking advantage of me.
If only he knew.
Anyway, dinner gets a little easier each time, and it’s likely to go even better tonight because I’m cooking, and because our parents are worried they’re going to miss us when we move to the city.
I start school at the state university on a work-study program this autumn and Jake is moving with me. The future looks bright, but the present is pretty fucking great too.
Stumbling out into the kitchen, I find Jake flipping some sizzling bacon in the pan. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“Mmm,” I say, wrapping my arms around his waist, kissing between his shoulder blades. “And coffee’s already on. You’re my savior. I’m so hungry.”
“For me or bacon?”
I grin. “Both. Maybe at the same time?”
“Kinky,” Jake says, with a bit of a leer.
“Yeah, well. I’m in love with my stepbrother. You don’t get kinkier than that.”
Jake turns around with the spatula and waggles his brows. “That sounds like a challenge.”
“Bring it on,” I say, kissing him full on the mouth, loving that down deep, he’s a little bit dangerous, but never to me.
“Mmm,” he says, kissing me. “Jesus Christ, Nicky. How do you do that to me?”
“Do what?”
“Let’s just say that knowing you’re mine…well, I’m not feeling the slightest bit numb.”
He’s aroused is what he is, and we’re going to have sex, right here, right now, on the kitchen countertop. Again.
It’s practically tradition now and I’m always ready and willing.
I guess it might be because whenever I think about that night Carlos broke into the house, I remember how ready and willing Jake was to protect me. And I’m pretty sure that’s going to turn me on until the day that I die. So, maybe I’m not as fucked up as I used to be, but there’s still a little bit left. And for now, I might as well enjoy it.