Sweet Ride (28 page)

I start lifting myself
up and down his hot, hard shaft, feeling my climax start to build
once again. He then starts slamming his hips upward in urgent
thrusts.

“I can’t wait,
Payton, you close?” he chokes out.

“Yeah, baby,” I
moan, and then I’m convulsing around him in another Jack-induced
orgasm. We remain on the floor with me lying on top of him, our
breathing heavy, his arms stroking my back and our legs tangled
together. After a few minutes and the side effects of our climaxes
subsiding, he stands and then picks me up in his strong tattooed
arms. He carries me to the bedroom, lays me down on the bed and joins
me.

Lying on my side facing
him, I ask, “You’re not really good with giving me time and
space, are you?” He grips my waist and twists my body around so
that his sculpted chest is pressed against my back. His arm snakes
around my waist pulling me tight against his body.

“Nope. Thought we’d
already established that we wasted enough time apart,” he says
softly against the back of my neck. God, I love that answer.

“Night, baby,” he
says, kissing my neck.

“Good night, Jack,”
I return, closing my eyes in contentment.

I have another peaceful
night’s sleep, except this one’s ten times better because Jack’s
here with me.

Waking up the next
morning, I feel an arm pull me back against a rock hard body. I turn
my head to see an exhausted looking Jack wearing a frown on his face.
What’s wrong with him? I just experienced one of the most amazing
nights in a long time, and for once nothing screwed it up, thank God.

“Morning,” I
mutter.

“Morning,” he
returns. “How’d you sleep?”

“Amazing. How about
you?”

“Couldn’t sleep,”
he answers.

“Why? What’s
wrong?” I ask. Worry strikes me that it’s because of what he
found out about my past. We had what I thought was really hot sex
last night. Maybe he’s finally realized that it’s a mistake, and
he doesn’t want me anymore—that he never wants to touch me again.

“I did something that
I shouldn’t have last night,” he whispers, pulling me tighter
against his body.

I try to pull away from
him, knowing that I’m right in what I’m thinking. His arm
tightens as I struggle to escape. I don’t get it. If he doesn’t
want me, why’s he doing this? Why won’t he let me go so I can
leave already?

“That’s not what I
meant, Payton,” he says sternly.

“Please tell me what
you mean then, Jack. ‘Cause you’re making it kind of obvious that
you shouldn’t have touched me last night because of what happened,”
I start yelling at him. Panic sets in, pulling tight at my belly. I
think I might actually get sick.
This is it. He’s going to leave
me. What am I going to do? You’re strong, Payton. You’ll pull
through this shit, just like you do with everything else. You’ll
move on and concentrate on your friends and family.
I try giving
myself a mental pep talk, but it’s not helping. Despair is crushing
on my chest.

“I shouldn’t have
touched you last night like I did. Jesus, Payton, I acted like a
fucking animal. I’ll never forgive myself for that. I should’ve
been gentle and made love to you, but instead I was rough and fucked
you. I’m so sorry, baby. I hope you can forgive me,” he pleads.

Say what? That’s
definitely not what I expected.

“Jack, what we did
last night is something that I needed. I’m glad that you did it.
You showed me that I still have the same effect on you that I always
have. After everything that’s come out about me, I’ve been afraid
that you wouldn’t ever want to touch me again. Right now, I need to
know how much you still enjoy being with me and last night was
perfect,” I explain to him, trying to ease his guilt.

“How could you not
know how much I want you? I already told you that the day after the
party, but I really do think you need to talk to someone, Payton.
You’ve managed to physically survive the initial trauma of the
rape, but your brain’s effectively shut down any efforts to heal
because you never told anyone and kept it to yourself. In your head,
you blame yourself, but you’ve got to realize that what they did
was on them. Not you. Rape isn’t an act of sex. It’s an act of
power and dominance. And what better way to show that power and
dominance over you than to threaten your sister and friend. With that
one threat, they silenced you for them to continue their depravity. I
know what happened to you was horrible, and they planted a load of
bullshit in your head about you being a whore and not being good
enough for anyone. They couldn’t be more fucking wrong. You are the
strongest and bravest person I know, and I have complete faith in
you. You’ve got this.”

“Thank you, Jack. I’m
beginning to realize that it wasn’t my fault, but after so many
years of being what they told me I was, it really fucks with your
mind, and you start believing what they said was right. I’m
planning on going to a rape crisis center when I get back to Del Mar.
Would you help me with that?” I ask.

I roll over to look at
him, and I can see nothing but pride in his facial expression, which
spreads a warm happy feeling through me. I cup his face with my hand
and place a tender kiss on his lips. I never thought I would have
anything like this, but look at me now. I’m in bed with a sexy as
fuck man who cares for me so much. He looks past all the damage to
find the real me. I know I’m in love with him, but I’m not sure
if I’m ready to tell him yet. What if it’s too much for him to
hear?

“I looked into it
already. That’s what I did yesterday before I started searching for
you. I checked with a few colleagues and they all recommended a Dr.
Lansin. Said she’s the best you can get. I called her office and
spoke with her briefly, explaining your situation. I didn’t tell
her exactly what happened—that’s your story, not mine. I also
told her that money’s no object. I don’t care how much it costs
for you to get the help that you need. I want you to get better and
realize that you are … amazing, and you can be so much more,
Payton. Will you go see Dr. Lansin?”

How the hell can I say
no after that?

“Of course I will,
but there’s no way in hell you’re paying for it. I can take care
of it. I don’t want to owe you anything,” I try to explain. I can
tell by the scowl currently forming on his gorgeous face that he
doesn’t get it. So I try again. “What if we don’t work out,
Jack? I don’t want to be with anyone else, but if something hap—”

He cuts me off by
pressing a finger to my lips.

“Payton, if we don’t
work out, then we don’t work out. Right now, though, we’re
together, and I want nothing more than for you to get better and be
able to focus on your future. The way it should’ve been. So I’m
taking care of it. If we don’t last for some unexpected reason then
fine, but I want to spend the rest of my fucking life knowing that I
took care of you through all this shit. You will never owe me
anything.”

His fingers lightly
trace the tattoo on my hip. With a tender look he whispers, “They
broke you, but I’m going to try my hardest to fix you.”

I bury my face into the
crook of his neck, sobbing quietly. He pulls me away from him and
looks at me. “I told you what’s going to happen, so now let’s
focus on the future. Take it one day at a time. Speaking of days,
what would you like to do today?”

“I’ve never been
fishing before, and I know Ryder has a boat here. Will you take me?”
I ask.

“Well, I think I have
just died and gone to heaven—my sexy girl wants to go fishin.’
Fuckin’ A. Now I know you’re the perfect woman.”

When he looks down at
me, I see appreciation glowing behind his expression.

“I was a tomboy when
I was a kid. I always wanted to go fishing, but my dad passed away
before we ever got the chance and Daddy-O isn’t really the
outdoorsy type. So I never got to go.”

“Lucky for you, my
dad taught me well before he died,” he says.

“I’m sorry. If it’s
too hard for you to do, we don’t have to,” I whisper, feeling bad
about making him remembering things he misses about his father. I
know the feeling all too well.

“Baby, my dad and I
spent a lot of time fishing, and I have nothing but wonderful
memories, but I want to create new ones with you. Go get ready, and
I’ll get the boat and shit ready,” he says, rolling out of bed.

We spend the whole day
fishing on the lake. Well, we do more talking than actual fishing. We
don’t catch any fish, but we definitely catch up on each other’s
lives—especially about stuff that’s happened to us over the two
years since we’ve met.

We dock the boat,
unload our supplies, and head back to the cabin. Once inside, we look
around the kitchen and realize that we have nothing to prepare for
dinner. We were hoping we’d catch dinner tonight. I suggest we go
into town to eat at one of the cozy restaurants that I noticed
yesterday.

Not one to waste water,
I hop in the shower with Jack. Who knew showering could be so much
fun? I explore every inch of his ripped body with my hands and mouth,
to which he returns the favor. When our skin starts getting wrinkled
like raisins, we reluctantly get out of the shower. I’m wearing the
new purple sundress and silver sandals I purchased in one of the
local shops, and Jack looks hot as ever in his casual t-shirt, jeans,
and boots. No one pulls off casual like Jack. We get into my car and
drive into town.

I asked around the
other day where the best place to eat was and everyone recommended
‘Jen’s Place.’ The restaurant looks cozy and romantic, and the
smells coming from the kitchen are to die for. I order the stuffed
chicken breast with rice on the side while Jack orders the steak and
baked potato. When our food’s brought out, I’m completely
shocked. Everything looks delicious, but the proportions are
unbelievably large. I groan after taking my first mouthful. Oh. My.
God. So yummy! I think we’ll definitely be coming here again. Of
course, I can’t finish my food because of how much there is, but
Jack has no problem cleaning off his plate and then finishing mine.
How the hell does he keep the body he has with all of the food he can
put away? All I have to do is look at it, and I’ll gain ten pounds.

After we finish, we
head back to the cabin where Jack decides to build a fire outside.
What a way to end a perfect day, snuggled up to my man beside a
roaring fire. I go inside to change, pulling on a pair of comfy jeans
and a sweater. Then I grab a cooler and fill it with beer and a
bottle of wine. I also grab a wine glass.

Heading back outside, I
see Jack already has the fire going and is sitting on a tree stump.
What surprises me is that he’s holding a guitar and strumming a
tune, quietly singing. The song sounds vaguely familiar, but I’m
not sure what song it is.

“What are you
playing?” I ask as I approach. It sounded really nice.

“Something new that I
learned,” he replies.

“I didn’t know you
played guitar,” I say.

“Been playing since I
was in high school.”

“You’re really
good. Is there anything you can’t do?” I ask him, enviously. I
always wanted to learn how to play an instrument, but never took the
time.

“Not sure. I’m sure
there’s
something
I can’t do,” he teases.

I lay the cooler down
on the ground and take a beer out for him and pour myself a glass of
wine.

“Can you play me
something?” I ask, sitting down by his feet and sipping from my
glass.

“Sure.”

He sets his beer down
on the ground and started strumming the guitar strings. This song
sounds familiar, too. It’s right at the tip of my tongue, but I
can’t name it. Then he starts singing the lyrics, and that’s when
I recognize what he’s playing. Oh no, he didn’t.

“Why the fuck are you
playing ‘Boyfriend’ by Justin Bieber?” I ask, smirking.

“What? Look at all
the pussy that little fucker gets. A guy can only try,” he returns
with that panty-dropping grin. I lean over and slap him on the back
of the head.

“How the hell do you
even know a Justin Bieber song?”

“I do have two small
nieces,” he reminds me, rubbing the spot where I smacked him.
“Okay, being serious now. I have a song that I just learned
recently. I heard it on the radio one day, and it made me think of
you,” he tells me.

He starts playing the
same familiar tune that he was playing when I first walked outside.
As he gets a little further I recognize it as “Believe” by
Staind. Listening to the lyrics of the song, I wonder if he’s
asking me to believe in him, or if he’s just playing the song.
Regardless, I do believe in him, and I want him to know how much.

When the song is over,
I stand up, take his guitar out of his hand, and place it on the
ground leaning against the tree stump. I extend my hand out to him.
When he grasps my fingers I give his hand a tug for him to stand and
follow me to the cabin. I intend to show him everything that I have
to offer.

The second I step foot
inside the cabin, I release Payton’s hand and sweep her up into my
arms. She lets out a soft squeal, and buries her face between my neck
and shoulder. I carry her to the master bedroom and quickly, but
gently, set her down on the edge of the bed.

“I’m going to draw
you a bath,” I tell her, kissing the top of her head before heading
toward the bathroom.

Once the water’s at a
comfortable temperature, I pour some of her bubble bath in and walk
back into the bedroom where Payton’s waiting. She looks up at me
with her gorgeous brown eyes and that just about does me in, but I
stop myself because this time I’m going to do it right by her.
Tonight’s going to be slow and gentle. Tonight’s all about the
love. Fuck, I told myself I’d never fall in love with a woman
again, and what did I go and do? But I never really stood a chance
with Payton. I can’t explain it, but the moment I saw her, I knew
there was something about her. And I can’t wait to see where it
leads.