Chapter Forty-Six
Ria
I lean my head back and take a deep breath as the hot water from the showerhead beats down on my face, my body instantly relaxing. I run my hands through my hair, rinsing off the shampoo. It’s the first time I’ve been able to wash my hair on my own since the incident. I broke not only my collarbone but injured my shoulder and elbow and after months of physical therapy, wearing a sling and Jack helping me wash my hair or treating me to visits at the salon, I finally can use my arm fully again.
It took a few weeks, but as the doctors predicted, my memory came back, and I remembered everything that happened that night. Alex was arrested and after a lengthy court case, not only did the judge sign off our divorce but sent Alex to jail for fifteen years for multiple charges, DUI, assault, attempted sexual assault, to name a few. It turns out Alex’s issues were far deeper than I had realized. No punishment will be good enough in my eyes after what he did to us, but sadly that is our broken system. It’s made me even more determined to fulfill my dream as a support worker, to work with women and children like us. I must believe that I have survived what I have in order to help others, to help make a change.
Even though my only goal as a mom was to give my children a childhood they didn’t have to heal from, I know the bravest thing I ever did was run. We can’t control what happens in life, only how we deal with what’s thrown at us.
We got Lexi into an amazing therapy group, and it’s really helping her understand her emotions and help her process what happened. It’s the furthest thing I wanted for her, for both my girls to come from what society deems as a broken home. But it will only be broken if we let it.
We moved into Jack’s apartment after I was discharged from the hospital. I couldn”t face going back to that house, knowing what happened there, and Jack didn”t want us out of his sight.
I haven’t worked at the club since. I’ve instead spent my days focusing on getting better, but I hope to get back to normal soon, back to work, back to taking Lexi to her ballet classes, although I think Jack has secretly enjoyed that part of my recovery. He was born to be a girl dad. It comes so naturally to him, he’s even learned to do braids, loose ones, but he’s trying and that’s more than I could wish for.
Elle is running rings round him and no matter how many times I tell him that she can give herself her bedtime bottle, he insists on rocking her to sleep and feeding her. Despite the trauma we have been working through, the past four months have also been the happiest.
I hear the bathroom door open and sense Jack”s presence before I see him. I continue to face the tiled wall, the hot water beating down on me and suddenly a hard body presses against my back, arms wrapping round my waist and a kiss pressed to my shoulder.
“Hey, you.” I smile. “Did the girls go down okay?”
Peppering kisses across my shoulder, he answers, “Elle did, but Lexi had fifty-four things on her to do list before she let me leave the room.”
I let out a laugh. “Sounds like a standard bedtime”.
“I”ve got the monitor, but I’ve locked the door,” he breathes. A bolt of pleasure shoots through my body. We haven’t been having sex due to my recovery. He’s been so supportive throughout, but finally, I’m feeling more myself, and now I need him more than ever. I push my hips back, grinding into his erection and moan.
“Need something, sweetheart?”
I wrap my arms around his neck behind me.
”You.”
“Hands on the wall and part those legs, sweetheart.”
I do as I’m told at an embarrassing speed. He laughs, deep and gravelly. “So eager.” His hand strokes down my ass cheek and reaches between my legs, brushing through my folds, and I know I’m wet. “… and so ready for me, baby.”
I bite down on my lower lip, closing my eyes, the water still beating down my back. I circle my hips, encouraging him to push his fingers inside me, and when he does, I gasp.
“Yesss.” I lean my head back against his hard chest.
He takes his free hand and kneads my breasts, tugging and twisting my nipples, his fingers thrusting into me and a delicious pace, hitting my front wall and my legs quiver.
“Jack, oh God.”
“You feel so good. Tell me what you want, Ri.”
“You inside me.” He removes his fingers and I wince at the release and the emptiness I feel.
He grabs hold of my hips in that bruising way and I can’t help the grin that takes over my face. This, this is what I want, what I need, what we need.
“Arch that sweet ass for me, Ri.” I do as I’m told and feel the tip of his cock press against my entrance.
I groan in anticipation, waiting for him to push into me, but he doesn”t. “Come on,” I complain.
“So needy, sweetheart,” he laughs, running his finger down my spine and stopping at my entrance. I shudder with excitement. It’s almost painful how badly I need him.
“Jack please, fuck me…hard” I beg. I don’t care that I’m begging. I promised I‘d never beg a man for anything but in this instance I”ll make an exception. I’ll beg Jack to take me all night long.
Slamming into me with such force, taking me by surprise, I have to steady myself with my hands on the wall and dig my heels into the tiled floor and fuck me hard, he does.
One hand grips my good shoulder, the other on my hip as he bucks into me with such force I’m sure I see stars. The room fills with the sounds of our desperate moans and our wet bodies slapping together; the sound only spurs him on. The more I moan, the harder he thrusts.
Hitting that sweet spot, my legs start to shake in that telling way and I brace my hands further up the shower wall, readying myself for the waves of pleasure that are about to hit.
“That”s it, good girl. Fuck, Ri. You feel so good.”
“Jack.” His name comes out on a scream as a powerful orgasm hits me, my body spasms. His hand finds its way to my clit, and he rubs circles as my body is flooded with pleasure. I feel the telling jerk of his cock inside me as finds his own release.
Gripping my hip harder and pulling me against his chest, our chests heaving, our breathing erratic. He eases out of me, turns my body and pins my body to the shower wall, and crashes his lips to mine.
Waves of pleasure still rock my body as our tongues intertwine and my hands find their way into his hair. His stubble feels rough against my chin, but I welcome it. I break our kiss and take a deep breath. Him; this is exactly what I needed.
I change into yoga pants and one of Jack”s t-shirts. He throws on some gray joggers, leaving his broad chest and abs of steel on show and I mentally have to have a word with myself to not jump his bones again.
This is my favorite version of Jack. Whilst he looks utterly fuckable in his work pants and button ups, but casual Jack is something else. I”ve never been a flashy girl. Yes, fancy dinners, extravagant date nights at high-end restaurants, wearing a dress and heels is fun, but sitting here on the floor of our apartment, looking out over New York, playing Scrabble, eating takeout with a bottle of wine whilst the girls sleep soundly in bed is my favorite kind of date night.
“You are clearly cheating somehow,” I say, throwing down my remaining Scrabble squares. I’ve got the worst letters ever.
“Aww, is my baby a sore loser?” he mocks and like the mature mother of two I am, I stick out my tongue. He laughs in that beautiful way that makes the laughter lines around his eyes show and his face glow.
“I”ve got something that will make you feel better,” he says, standing and heading for the kitchen.
“Ooh, tell me more.” My interest is peaked. He disappears and returns holding a tray with two shot glasses, a saltshaker, a bowl of limes, and a bottle of tequila.
“Tequila Are you joking?” My eyes are bugging out. “Me and tequila have a love-hate relationship,” I remind him before pressing lips together.
He winks in that cheeky, yet insanely hot way “Oh I remember, but I also remembered it’s a year today since you used me as a human shot glass and licked this stuff right off my body, so I thought we could take a trip down memory lane.”
I stop in my tracks. Has it been a year? I go through my memory bank and realize he’s right. One whole year ago, Jack unexpectedly showed up and walked back into my life, changing it and me as a person in a way I could never have predicted, and I have Nancy and a bottle of tequila to thank.
He passes me a glass full and takes my free hand, licking the back of it and sprinkling the salt on. He takes his own shot glass and raises it in the air. “To a year of us and all the years we have ahead.”
I want to say something, but I lose all ability to speak. He’s so incredibly thoughtful, he always remembers the little things, the moments most would forget about, but not Jack. They are the moments he absorbs and uses when I least expect, making me fall further in love with him. We clink our glasses, lick the salt from the back of our hands and suck in the lime slices.
“Fuck, that’s strong.” He winces. I just nod, unable to utter a response as I suppress the urge to gag.
“Okay Mr. Lawson, your turn,” I say, clapping my hands together, turning our attention back to our game, mentally preparing to be beaten again. I reach for my glass of red wine, desperate to get the burning taste of tequila from my mouth.
Jack places his last Scrabble square down and spins the board round so the words are the right way up.
It takes me a second to notice he’s removed some of the words I know I placed down. I search the board trying to find the new word and there, in the center, are the words MARRY ME.
“Jack, is this...” I can’t finish my sentence, I”m being silly, it’s a game, It’s just words.
“Sweetheart, a year ago today you quite literally stumbled back into my life when I least expected it and bringing with you two little girls who have stolen my heart. I’ve fallen in love with them as if they were my own. I have spent too many years wishing I had told you sooner how much you meant to me. Wishing I had been the one to have all your firsts with, but I’m hoping there are still many firsts we can share together.”
I exhale and wipe the tear falling down my cheek. This man and his words are my undoing. He takes my hands and pulls me towards him ever so slightly. His hands frame my face, and he strokes the tears that fall down my cheeks.
“I want to be your family, Ri. Let me be your safe space. You don”t need to do this on your own anymore. I want it all with you. I want the lake house and the white picket fence, the Sunday morning pancakes topped with whipped cream and MM’s. I want a house full of pink tutus and Barbie Dream Houses, the ballet classes and I’ll get better at diaper changes because I want all the babies you are willing to give me. I am so in love with you, and everything that comes with you.”
He gets on one knee and my hands fly to cover my mouth.
Pulling a black velvet box from his pocket, he opens it up to reveal the most stunning platinum band ring with three large diamonds.
“These three diamonds represent us and our relationship. You are part of my past, you are my present, and I want you to be the biggest part of my future. Maria Kennedy. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” It comes out on a choked sob and a laugh.
He slides the ring on my finger and the diamonds sparkle under the light from the windows.
He rises to his feet, reaching for my hands, pulling me up and into his hard chest. I reach up on my tiptoes and crash my lips to his.
“I love you,” I pant in between kisses to his soft lips.
“I love you too, Mrs. Maria Lawson-to-be.”
“That has a nice ring to it,” I hum.
“It sure does. Now, I’d like to explore my wife-to-be’s body and show her just how much I love her.”
And explore he did. We spent all night getting lost in one another and discovering new levels of pleasure we had not yet experienced. I don”t ever want to come down from this high, knowing this man wants me, despite my chaos, despite all the crazy I bring to his life, he wants me. He came into our lives so unexpectedly, picking up all our broken pieces and put us back together in a way that made us unbreakable. He loved me even when I still tasted of heartbreak and fear and showed me what it’s like to have someone walk into your life and never leave.