“I want you to tell me everything you know about Audra.”
Jake closed his eyes. “Lara. It’s not my place to tell you this. It’s up to Jack – ”
“It’s been four years and he hasn’t said a word. I deserve to know so please, Jake, tell me what happened between you two.”
He squinted. “Between me and Audra?”
“Jackson said you two had a bad relationship from the start and he always implied that something happened between you two that was the last straw.”
Jake’s expression turned to stone. “It was the last straw but it happened between Audra and Jackson. Not Audra and myself.”
Why was I even surprised? Playing tough, I braced myself. “Tell me, Jake.”
“Lara, you need to know that this was complicated and there were a thousand incidents that led up to this but – ”
“Tell me what happened, Jake.”
“He slept with her.”
My heart slammed itself against my ribs. I closed my eyes, only just realizing that I’d suspected this the second I’d laid eyes on them upstairs.
“But that was almost ten years ago and she moved to LA shortly after, so it couldn’t have gone on for long. He was twenty-five, she was twenty-three.”
“How long at that point had she been a part of your family?” I barely wanted to ask. I’d still be disturbed if they’d slept together the night of their parents’ wedding. Jake turned his gaze to the side as he answered.
“Three years.”
My stomach turned. “How often did Jackson see her after that? She had to have visited New York.”
“I don’t know. I moved to Australia a year after college and I only came back to New York five years ago, when my mom got heart surgery. I left again shortly after and Jackson never brought her up when he visited me.”
“Yeah, well, from what I’ve learned, Jackson doesn’t bring up a lot of his extracurricular activities.” Crossing my arms tighter, I stared at the wall beside Jake, trying to talk myself down. Audra wasn’t related to Jackson and they’d already been living separate lives when their fling began nearly a decade ago. I couldn’t hold that against him. Unless he was still sleeping with her. No. He couldn’t possibly be that stupid. But he was certainly stupid enough to let her drape herself all over his body and wrap her arms around him in a way that only I should. I chewed my lip, feeling my cheeks get hot again. Peering up from under my lashes, I cast Jake a look. “Thank you for answering.”
He paused, as if suddenly remembering that we’d struck a deal. “Lara… I would’ve told you regardless. You’re right. You should get to know a lot of what Jackson doesn’t tell you. You deserve that much for being so good to him.”
Too good to him, my lip curled. I smirked at Jake. “Are you trying to back out of my end of the deal now?”
The way he bit his lip was irresistible. “I’m trying to talk myself out of something I know I won’t feel right about later. But it’s not going great.”
“Good.” I nodded at the powder room door. “Then let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-One
With the door behind us, I turned around, hot anticipation bursting through me as I presented Jake with the back of my dress. The second I felt his touch, my breath went jagged, my breasts heaving under the confines of my skintight bodice. My dress felt too tight and I thanked God for Jake as I studied him in the mirror, his sleeve tightening around his strong bicep as he unzipped me all the way down.
The smallest moan escaped my lips when I felt the cold air hit my skin. Jake groaned at the sound, falling into me, burying his face into the side of my neck and kissing down its curve. I reveled for a minute in the sensation of his tongue on my hot skin. But then I ripped my body away.
I let go of the front of my dress as I walked away from him, listening to his audible arousal as I tugged it down. I licked my lips, making out the sound of Jake rubbing his cock over his pants as I let the dress fall in a puddle around my heeled feet. Stepping out, I turned around, facing Jake in just a black thong and thigh high boots.
“Fuck,” he hissed, grabbing the edge of the marble vanity. I bit my swelling lower lip, my naked chest rising and falling as I restrained myself. All I wanted was for Jake to touch me. But at the same time, I wanted to see how long he could wait before his hands could no longer resist. So I simply stood before him, watching his green eyes flash with an unbridled awe that made me feel the sexiest I’d ever felt in my life. “You’re fucking perfect,” he breathed out, looking pained as he feasted his eyes on my naked breasts, my stomach. Between my thighs. “I’d give fucking anything for this to be what I woke up to every morning,” he murmured as I turned toward my reflection, gathering my wild hair around my shoulder. He watched with content for a minute before coming up behind me. My breath hitched in my throat when he hooked his fingers into my thong. He tugged the slightest bit, so that the lace rubbed against my clit. And suddenly, my control was gone.
Spinning around, I gripped his tie and pulled his lips to mine. His kiss was instantly hard and hungry.
“Jake,” I moaned, my pussy throbbing as his hands gripped my ass and squeezed. Taking his wrist, I slid his hand down the flimsy front of my thong. To my delight, his fingers immediately pleasured me, his jaw dropping as he felt the incredible slickness between my lips.
“Fuck, I want you so bad. You have no idea how fucking bad I wish you were mine.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and exhaled. “Then fuck me now.”