Five lives lost because of one stupid, reckless decision.
I don’t know what to say, but it doesn’t matter because Jake doesn’t dwell on it.
“I’ve been alone since then. I have no other family. And friends… well, most of my friends are more like acquaintances than anything else. There’s no one waiting for me to go home, no one who would miss me if I don’t go back. I don’t have to leave, Lexi. I don’t want to.”
My eyes begin to burn, so I close them and just breathe.
I can’t picture my life without anyone in it.
I may have been unwanted, abandoned by my birth mother, but I made my own family. The girls have always been there, always had my back. I can’t imagine what it would have been like without our tight-knit bond, without having someone to share life’s ups and downs.
My heart hurts for Jake.
How hard must it have been to lose his parents at such a crucial time in his life? And to be alone ever since?
I hate how life is so unfair.
Everyone needs someone.
And I think…
I think I can be that someone for Jake.
I’ve never had a real relationship, never wanted to because I’ve never felt this way about anyone until now. Until Jake.
“Stay,” I rasp. His gaze meets mine and the hope I see shining back at me steals my breath. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I want you to stay with me.”
“Thank fuck,” he murmurs as he pulls me to his chest, tucking my head under his chin.
He holds onto me tightly, like he’s afraid if he lets go, I’ll disappear.
I’m not going anywhere.
I’m done hiding from my feelings, done trying to hold him at a distance.
Knowing that Jake wants to stay means there’s nothing keeping us apart, nothing standing in our way. There’s no reason for me to keep trying to build walls between us when I know we can have a future together, whatever that future may look like.
“Are you staying here tonight?” Jake murmurs a little while later.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I say, smiling against his chest.
“Mmm. I like the sound of that. Maybe I’ll keep you here forever,” he teases, squeezing me a little tighter.
“Tempting,” I admit, “but you only get me until tomorrow morning. I’ve got plans with the girls.”
“Damn. Guess I better make tonight count then,” he says, lowering his hand to squeeze my ass.
Laughing, I push away from him. “Nuh-uh. None of that. You gotta feed me first.”
Crawling out of bed, I gather my clothes from the floor and start to re-dress, feeling Jake’s eyes on every move I make.
“I’m suddenly ravenous,” he says as I bend to pull up my jeans, and I turn in time to see him stand. He moves around the side of the bed slowly, watching me with hunger burning in his gaze.
He’s stalking me, like prey.
“No, Jake,” I tell him, but he only grins.
Spotting his boxer briefs on the floor near my feet, I reach down and scoop them up, throwing them at his face before I turn to run.
I don’t make it far.
I don’t even make it out of the bedroom.
Jake’s hot on my tail, and his reach is longer than mine. He manages to slam the door closed in front of me, and I laugh, squealing as he spins me around and pins me against it with my arms above my head.
“Jake,” I say, panting as he leans down and kisses my throat. “We skipped dinner, and I need food. You don’t wanna see me turn feral, do you?”
“You know… I kinda think I do,” he says.
The low rumble in his voice sends a shiver down my spine.
I drop my head back against the door with a sigh.
He makes it so goddamn hard to resist him.
“I’m starving, Jake,” I complain halfheartedly.
“Me too,” he murmurs, releasing my hands as he drops to his knees. His deft fingers make quick work of the button and zipper on my jeans, and he peels them down to my ankles. Lifting one foot at a time, he pulls them off and discards them on the floor, leaving me naked from the waist down.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you didn’t put your panties back on,” he tells me, looking up at me as he leans in close to my body. I watch his eyes darken as he traces a circle around my navel with the tip of his tongue. “You make it too easy for me.”
Wanting to tease me, he kisses one hip bone and licks a line across my body before kissing the other.
His lips on me always feel amazing, but I don’t have the patience for this shit. Right now, there are better uses for his talented mouth.
“Make me come, Jake.”
A wicked grin spreads across his face before he lifts my leg, throws it over his shoulder, and drops his head between my thighs.
Jake licks an agonizingly slow line straight up my center, closing his mouth over my clit. I suck in a breath when I feel the graze of his teeth, surprised at how much I enjoy the bite of pain. He applies gentle pressure before swirling his tongue around the bundle of nerves.
Without any warning, he speeds up and I cry out, desperate noises slipping from between my lips. Jake isn’t fucking playing around. Gripping my thigh, he dives in, sliding his tongue in and out of me as my hips grind against his face.
Hands fisted at my sides, I close my eyes as my head falls back against the door.
“No!” Jake growls, making my eyes snap open. “Eyes on me, Lexi. I want to see your face when you come.”
Oh, fuck.
I force my gaze to stay locked on his as he licks me hard, sucking me into his mouth.
My wetness coats his face as he laps me up, and seconds later, I topple over the edge.
Jake doesn’t slow down, he doesn’t give me a minute to recover. He keeps up his merciless pace, eating me out like I’m the best thing he’s ever tasted.
I’m a mess of moans and unintelligible words, and I’m so fucking hypersensitive, I don’t know how much more I can take.
It’s too much.
“You’re gonna give me another one,” Jake growls against my pussy, making me wonder if I said it out loud.
That growling thing he does is the best kind of torture, it’s sexy as hell, and the vibrations alone are almost enough to send me over the edge again.
I’m close. So fucking close.