16. Jack
16
JACK
I hung up and poured myself another drink. I didn’t really think she'd come. By now, Sam had probably gone running to her to tell her all about how the big, scary doctor punched him. I felt foolish and angry with myself for that, but I couldn’t undo it. The thoughts that flashed through my mind at the time weren't even rooted in the present. They sprang up from a place deep in my past when my world was shattered. When Barbra confessed to the affair I had suspected for months.
All that anger had been festering for years, bubbling and ready to boil over. It was the reason I kept to myself and never let anyone in. Letting them in meant risking that pain over again, which I wasn't willing to do. Until Ashley.
She snuck her way into my world without my consent, and though I loved her and everything about her, she was as wickedly dangerous to my soul as Barbra had been. Except Ashley hadn't done anything wrong, to my knowledge. It was all just suspicion. Still, I'd acted like a buffoon and probably ruined anything I even had with her. If she did show up, I swore I was going to figure out how to change.
Downing the drink in two swallows, I set the glass on the kitchen counter and slogged into the dark living room. I hadn’t bothered turning on the lights when I got home. I got a drink immediately and sat in the darkness alone, ruminating about Sam Gooding. I had yet to hear about the lawsuit, but that wasn’t my concern now. All I could think about was how angry and hurt I would be if I found out Ashley was really interested in him or sneaking around behind my back.
I should never have gone along with her fake relationship idea in the first place. It was stupid and risky and made me look like a fool. I was letting her use me as an excuse to make another man jealous. She said it was because she wanted him to stay away from her and that she wanted nothing to do with him. But I didn't know what to think now that she was spending time with him, eating lunch and apparently sneaking off into the parking lot.
The yo-yo of thoughts was dizzying, so much so that when I heard the doorbell ring, I walked to the kitchen thinking it was the microwave chime. I stared at the dark box hanging beneath the cupboards next to the stove and felt confused. I was very drunk and very hurt, and all I wanted was for the pain of my past to stop haunting me so I could be okay in my present and learn to trust again.
The bell rang again, and this time I recognized it as the doorbell. I staggered toward it, knowing it was Ashley, and flipped on the porch light. When I pulled the door open, she looked concerned.
"Jack, I came right away. Are you okay?" She hovered on the threshold, and just her nearness set me off. I'd been needing to touch her and hold her since the second I saw her standing there with Sam by her car. My possessiveness stemmed from an unhealed part of my heart that knew if I could just demonstrate her worth in my eyes, she would see what she meant to me and be exclusively mine.
I reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, and with one swift move, pulled her inside and slammed the door behind her.
"Jack, what's wrong?" She took a step back but was caged between me and the locked door. There was hesitancy in her eyes as I leaned in and planted a hand on either side of her shoulders. I saw the recognition in her eyes as she realized what was happening.
"I can't take it anymore, Ashley," I said, my voice low and menacing. "I won’t share you.”
“Is this about Sam?” she asked, her bottom lip trembling. It was about Sam and Barbra—and me. Mostly me.
“It’s about us, and this moment right now.” I claimed her lips in a scorching kiss that had her whimpering and holding my face. Something had to stop this pain I was in. I couldn’t function anymore. I bit her lower lip, and my hands found her hips and pulled her against my body.
“Jack,” she whispered, but I didn’t let her catch her breath. She was mine, only mine, and I had to show her that because I couldn't say it. Saying it out loud would only mean it was real, and if it was real, it meant my heart being vulnerable to the pain of her inevitably choosing someone else over me. So I stayed in this moment with her, groping and kissing her, and poured all of my strength into lavishing my affection on her.
“I need you,” I growled, and she whimpered.
“Yes, I’m here. Anything you need, Jack.” Her soft purrs drove me nuts. I pinned her against the door and lifted her by the backs of her thighs as she clung to me. Then I carried her through the house and down the dark hallway to my bedroom where I kicked the unlatched door open. I need to feel her against me, under me, with me as much as possible. I needed to erase the memory of her with him. I threw her on the bed and was on top of her in seconds, her pants traveling south as my own jeans hit the floor.
“Jack, please,” she panted, and I knew she’d come to terms with my dominance in the bedroom and I could stop being so careful. I could give her what she needed and what I craved. Total control.
“God, I’m gonna mess you up,” I grunted as I peeled her shirt and bra off, followed by mine. She was desperate and clingy, her hands tasting every inch of my skin until they rested on my hard dick. She started stroking, bending low to suck me, and I reached over her for the nightstand drawer where I kept the condoms.
With one in hand, I straightened and she looked up at me. “Mmm,” she moaned and continued sucking and stroking while I ripped the condom open with my teeth. I sheathed myself quickly, then grabbed her by the waist and flipped her over onto all fours. I bent her forward at the waist, pulling her hair back so she could look at me over her shoulder. Then I reached between her legs. My dick rubbed against the back of her thighs as I smothered her with my body.
"Tell me you're mine, Ashley," I growled into her ear, my hand massaging her release point as she cried out.
"Yours," she whimpered. "Only yours, Jack." Her words were a balm to my aching heart, but I needed more. I needed to cement my ownership of her body and soul tonight. I guided my throbbing length to her entrance and with one swift push, I claimed what was mine. Her high-pitched squeal bounced off the walls of my small bedroom, and I breathed against her ear.
“God, you feel amazing.” My head was heavy, my chest tight from alcohol, but I soaked up every second of this. She was incredible and she was mine, at least in this moment. So I reached around and grabbed her breast, bruising her nipple as I pumped into her hard and fast. All my weight was on her back, both arms wrapped around her. Her moans of pleasure sent a surge through my body and I felt her pussy tensing around my length.
"Oh, God, Jack.” She cried out with every thrust, and when she came, clenching around me like a vise grip, I bit down on her shoulder and growled. She whimpered and nearly collapsed, and I let go of her tit to brace myself. I was nowhere near ready to blow. The alcohol had deadened my senses, giving me more stamina than normal.
She moaned something I didn’t understand and she lay sprawled on her belly, and I kissed my way down her back, pulling out so I could bite the back of one thigh, then the other. I spread her and dived in for the feast.
“Jack,” she moaned, and I covered her pussy with my mouth, working my tongue, two fingers, and my thumb until she came all over again. Her nails dug into the sheets and she screamed my name as she convulsed against my relentless assault.
"Mmm," she groaned as I came up for air, panting and hard as ever. "I don't know if I can handle any more."
"I'm not done with you yet," I grunted, flipping her over onto her back. She mewled in protest but a wicked smile spread across her face, anticipating what was next as she lazily situated her legs on either side of my knees.
"You like it rough, don't you?" she teased as I again entered her, this time missionary style. Her hands reached for my sides, and my first thrust drew a gasp from her lips that held her mouth agape as I started pumping.
"I like you," I growled against her neck as I continued pounding into her wet channel. I was so drunk now from that last shot, and the room spun a little, but I managed to keep going. I reached down, grabbing a breast and squeezing, kneading as she arched into every thrust. The bed creaked under our combined weight and my name tumbled from her lips in whispered pants.
“Jack… oh, God.”
Her convulsions betrayed another orgasm, and this time I couldn’t hold back. I felt my balls draw up, my body burning in such intense pressure only the release of orgasm could save me. And it did. I came hard, my juice spilling inside the condom, my body collapsing forward onto hers.
I held her as we both panted through our releases, and when I could speak again, I kissed her sweaty forehead. When I pulled out and rolled to the side, she grunted and covered her belly with a hand. My head was still spinning and my vision slightly blurred, but I felt better, closer to her. I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off the used condom and tied it shut.
"I'll be right back," I said and stood. I needed water, and she probably wanted a drink after that.
The lights were still off, but I made my way to the kitchen where I tossed the condom and washed my hands. Then I poured her a drink and got myself some water. As I climbed back into bed and set the drinks on the nightstand, I could've sworn I heard her throwing up. When she rejoined me in bed, she smelled minty fresh, like my toothpaste.
"Are you alright?" I asked, reaching to get her the glass of bourbon I'd poured for her. She took it and sniffed it, then set it on her side of the bed on the stand.
"I'm okay. I think I'm coming down with something, not sure." Ashley snuggled next to me, slipping beneath the covers and tangling our legs together. Having her naked body pressed along the length of mine was satisfying. She had never slept over before, but there was a first time for everything. I was taking things painfully slowly too, in the interest of not jumping into something that was nothing and being hurt in the process.
"You don't have to worry about Sam, Jack. He is barely a blip on the radar. Okay? I told you he can help us figure out what's going on at the hospital."
Just his name on her lips made me tense again. I pulled her against me more tightly and fiercely kissed her forehead as I clutched a handful of hair in my fist. "We can just let that all go now. Let the cops handle it."
"But Farah said this weird thing, Jack. And then I found out she was actively treating your patient before the surgery. Did you know that? She was on both cases." Ashley gently uncurled my fist and let her hair go. "I think something is going on."
My hand still itched to grip her, so I rested it on her hip and strummed her hipbone with my thumb. "I don't want Sam looking into things. If you feel the need, then I won't stop you."
"Jack, you're not listening to me." She touched my face lightly. "I really think there is something bigger going on. I think Farah might have gotten messed up in something she is too afraid to admit is happening." Her eyes searched mine, and I knew she was right. I didn't understand what was going on.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, there were three other deaths where the patient died of heart attack. All three of those cases were ruled either accidental or natural causes, and all three involved potassium chloride which was prescribed to the patient." Her voice was shallow, her tone steady.
"And Sam helped you find this?" I growled, still hung up on the man's involvement and interaction with Ashley. Speaking about this while I was drunk was a bad idea.
Ashley sighed. "Maybe we should talk about it in the morning when you're sober."
'You're staying?" I asked, and she rested her head on my shoulder and draped her arm across my side.
"Someone has to watch you and make sure you're okay while you're drinking." Her lips kissed my neck softly.
"Is that why you're not drinking?" I asked, resting my head on her head and snuggling even closer to her so her tits squeezed between our chests.
"Something like that," she said, and then she yawned and I knew I’d be sleeping before she was. There was something so comforting about her in my arms. I needed her to stay like this forever.