Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Waverly
Blinking awake, I lay motionless on my side for a moment, enjoying the amazing sensation of Jake Conroy spooning me in his sleep.
Arms I know are strong enough to lift me—not an easy feat—snug around my waist, tucking me into the curve of his body.
My butt nestles against his groin, and a rather impressive morning erection presses to my sex.
If I wriggle my hips a little, would he penetrate me again?
Do it.
I carefully extract myself from his hold, slip off the bed, and tiptoe to the bathroom. I need to have a conversation with myself, and I can’t do that with Jake’s warmth kissing my body.
Closing the bathroom door, I meet my stare in the mirror.
“Okay,” I whisper, trying to tame my bed hair with my fingers. “You don’t do one-night stands. So what was last night?”
Amazing. Incredible. Life-changing.
Yes, that’s exactly what it was. But…
I frown at myself. “Did Jake say he thinks he loves me?”
I think I fucking love you. His whisper last night slips through my mind, a breath of a memory. Was I meant to hear it? Did I hear it correctly? I swallow, my heart thumping hard in my throat. Am I imagining that’s what he said because I…
“Think I love him as well?” I murmur, staring at myself.
The second the words leave me, I know they’re true. It’s a foolish idea to fall in love in…what? Less than twelve hours? But it’s true. I’ve never felt so comfortable with someone, so alive and…and…positive.
What do I do now? Love wasn’t on my bingo card when I left Sydney to come up here.
Photographing the wallaby was my purpose.
Graduating first in my class was my purpose.
Landing a job at one of Australia’s best zoos or wildlife conservation and rehabilitation institutes was my purpose.
I can’t do any of those things if I’m in love. Right?
Sure you can. People commute. People do long-distance relationships. People make the tricky things work. For love.
Scrunching up my face, I let out a shaky laugh. I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. I honestly have no idea what Jake said. All I really know is he’s utterly in my heart now, and that’s a confusing whoa.
I frown at my reflection. “Well, you can’t stay in here all morning. Go kiss him awake and see what happens.”
Cleaning my teeth as best as I can with my finger and some of Jake’s toothpaste, I study myself one last time in the mirror and then make my way back to the bedroom.
He’s still asleep, the top sheet draped over him doing nothing to hide the sculpted strength of his relaxed muscles. Heat pools in my core, and I let out a soft breath. God, he’s magnificent.
“What the hell are you doing out of bed?” he asks with a smile, opening his eyes. “I can’t make love to you when you’re over there, can I?”
A happy little flutter takes up residence in my stomach. Curling my lips in a grin, I lift an eyebrow. “I don’t know. How fast can you move?”
He lunges from the bed in a blur, and I let out a squealing giggle and turn to flee.
He catches me before I’ve even taken a step, throwing me over his shoulder and spanking my butt. “You need to understand,” he says as he deposits me on the bed and stands between my knees, “my woman doesn’t get out of bed in the morning until I’ve made her come at least once.”
My sex throbs. My nipples bead. “Your woman?”
With a growl, he covers my body with his, his rigid cock finding my entry with fluid ease.
His nostrils flare as he studies me, his lips close to mine. “My woman,” he states before sinking into me in one slow thrust.
He makes me come twice, playing my body like a maestro. I claw at his back and cry out his name, and when he empties his seed into me, I know I’m lost to him forever. Regardless of what he feels for me, regardless of what this is, I’ve fallen in love with him.
We shower together—two more orgasms, thank you very much—and then, when Jake gets a call from someone called Gibbo, I strut into the kitchen to make us coffee. Naked! Since when do I ever strut? Naked?
Popping a pod into the machine, I lean my hip against the counter and gaze out the window at the beauty of the mountains beyond. It’s so peaceful, calm, and serene, so different from the madness of Sydney city life. Could I live like this? Forever?
With Jake? Hell yeah.
Solid footsteps draw my attention from the window, and I frown as he strides into the kitchen. He’s dressed in no-nonsense utility pants, a button-up shirt with Hartley Ridge Fire Brigade printed on the left, and work boots.
“Coffee’s almost ready,” I say, even as a knot twists in my stomach. There’s a tension to him now, like an animal wary of a stranger. “Everything okay?”
He stops on the other side of the kitchen counter and places a large chambray shirt on it. “For the one I ripped,” he says, his voice low.
I blink. “Is something… What’s going on?”
He shakes his head, jaw bunching under the stubble that only a few moments ago tickled the inside of my thighs. “I just remembered I’ve got stuff to do.”
The knot in my stomach tightens and sends threads of icy confusion up into my chest. “Um, okay. I’ll...just go then?”
He flicks me a look, and for a moment—one aching heartbeat—a softness falls over his face, and then his jaw bunches again, and he nods. “Sure. I can run you into the Ridge if you want.”
Snatching up the shirt from the counter, I shake my head. “No. I can walk.”
He opens his mouth, but I hurry out of the kitchen and to the bedroom, shoving my arms into the shirt as I go.
I want to throw up. I want to scream into a pillow. I want to cry. I don’t know what’s going on, but I should have known better. This is what men do. Get what they want and then fuck off. Just like Dad did.
After yanking on my panties, shorts, and bra, I look around for my hiking boots and phone. My phone was in my pocket when I was chasing the dragonfly. I hope it didn’t fall out in the bush. The sooner I’m away from Jake, the–
“Are you looking for this?”
I spin around at his low voice behind me.
He’s at the door, my phone in his hand.
Scowling, I walk over and take it from him. “What the hell is going on?”
His stare locks with mine. “Your phone was constantly pinging while you were making coffee. Incoming messages. One after the other. I thought someone might be worried about you, given you—” he clears his throat “—stayed here last night without telling anyone. But instead, I saw a shit ton of Instagram notifications.”
I frown. “And?”
He snorts. “I looked up your profile when I saw them. You’re an influencer. With thousands of followers.”
“So?”
His lip curls. “So what was the plan? Get me in a compromised position? Post about it on your story? Look at this! Hero firefighter Jake Conroy is nothing but a sleazy creep eager to jump the bones of a poor young woman needing help? Drive up your clicks? Your engagement?”
An invisible fist squeezes my heart. “What? Why would you think… Do you really think I’m that kind of person?”
His Adam’s apple jerks up and down his throat. He holds my stare, an unreadable light burning in his eyes. Anger? Disgust? Disbelief? Grief?
I shake my head and shove my phone in my back pocket, glaring at him.
“If you weren’t so busy thinking about yourself, you would have noticed there’s one defining theme to my Instagram account.
Animals. I post about animals, Conroy. Only animals.
Usually endangered ones. Not people. And definitely not egomaniacs who think they’re the only reason anyone takes photos.
But I tell you what, seeing as you’re behaving like a horse’s ass, maybe I should post about you as well? ”
He stares at me, expression even more indecipherable.
“Don’t worry.” I spin away, snatch up my boots and socks, and point at him with a cold smile. “I’d hate to lose any followers putting you on my feed.”
I storm past him and march down the hallway into the living room. His following footsteps punch at my heart like a hammer.
Picking up my camera from the lamp table, I sling it around my neck and head for the front door.
Well, if this hasn’t taught me a lesson. There’s only one thing worth focusing on, and it’s me. My studies. My degree. And animals. They don’t judge or leap to conclusions.
I reach the door and yank it open.
“Waverly,” Jake growls behind me.
I fling him a look over my shoulder. “And here I was thinking I’d fallen in love with you.”
Without waiting for a response, I step outside and pull the door close behind me.