13. Jake
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
jake
A mber stomps back over to her store, but that won’t do; she can have her attitude, but not with me.
I’m not the bad guy she thinks I am, at least not completely.
She doesn’t get to dismiss me like I’m nothing.
As much as I hate to admit it, that strikes a little too close to a painful wound for me.
I’m worth more than brush-offs and people not taking a second look.
I close up, turning off all the lights and locking down everything before slipping out the back door.
There’s still things to do, like inputting orders and going over sales, but it can wait.
I have a bottle of champagne in my cabin fridge waiting for me, but dealing with Amber takes precedence.
That and the fact that drinking champagne alone is depressing as fuck.
The sun is slowly sinking behind the mountain peak, the brisk spring air cooling my overheated skin.
There’s no way Amber will stay in her store with her anger, so I kick up one leg and lean against the brick, waiting.
Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, the back door to her store slams open and she storms out.
Her steps falter when she catches sight of me, but she plays it off.
“What do you want, Jake?” she huffs out.
Without waiting for a reply, she moves to the glass door that leads to her apartment and unlocks it.
My train of thought derails at her opening the door without checking her surroundings, having no regard to her safety.
Looking around, I notice there are no cameras back here, nor a light.
I didn’t even consider that when I locked up my shop every night last week.
Of their own volition, my feet move until I’m crowding over her soft body.
Her flowery scent invades my senses as I put one hand to the door above her head, holding it closed.
“You’re being reckless. Anyone could have been back here waiting for you to open this door, and you didn’t even look around.”
She huffs again, not bothering to turn and look at me. “You were right there. Doubt anyone dangerous would be willing to cross you.”
With my free hand, I twirl a piece of her hair around my finger before tugging it hard, forcing her to look up at me.
“What if I’m the dangerous one?” The hitch in her breath sends a thrill running through me.
“We need to chat about your attitude. I’m tired of you stomping off like a child every time you’re mad.
When I move my hand, you’re going to invite me upstairs to talk about this like grown adults. Understood?”
Her grumbled “Sure thing” grates my nerves, but I let it go and move so she can open the door.
“Thank you,” I mock, and step around her to ascend the stairs.
At least she has the sense to lock the door behind her, so I don’t have to punish her for that too.
I leave little space so she has to brush against me to unlock her apartment.
Tiny meows greet us as she carefully opens the door, ensuring she doesn’t run over the fluffy kitten.
To my horror, he latches onto my jeans and climbs them as I step in.
“Ow,” I mutter, grabbing his small body and prying him from my pants where his claws are digging into my skin.
Putting him back on the ground, I give his butt a pat to encourage him to run away.
Standing, I take in her studio. It’s a little cramped, but it’s clean and bright.
Amber moves to the small kitchen and pours a glass of water.
She doesn’t offer me one, simply eyes me over her cup as she takes a long sip.
Her shoulders are tight, her posture rigid.
Lily’s words from earlier come back to me, so I know I need to get her talking.
Making myself at home on her couch, I kick off my boots and stretch my legs out in front of me.
“Before you walked out, I was asking about your aunt. Want to talk about it?”
She blanches but tries playing it off by rolling her eyes. “That’s not exactly how the conversation went.”
“A conversation implies you actually responded to me. Have you talked to anyone about her?”
I catch the bristle of anger before she changes the subject to me. “What happened to your dad?”
If this is what she needs to talk, I’ll give it to her.
It’s not like it’s a secret, just not something I talk about frequently.
Tragedies happen every day, my dad’s accident isn’t special, and it could have ended much worse than it did.
I’m still mad at her, but those feelings can be pushed to the side for this.
“He had an accident at work about nine years ago. His harness broke on a jobsite, and he fell two and a half stories onto cement. It’s a miracle that he lived, but the recovery has been a long and expensive one.
There’s good days and bad days for him now, but he has a daily struggle with pain and his body not doing what he wants it to. ”
Amber crosses the room to take a spot on the other side of the couch. The pitying look in her eyes is the same one I get every time someone hears the story. She doesn’t offer empty words though; she nods and focuses her gaze on the kitten batting a toy mouse on the floor .
“Jana took me in when my mom died. She was the only family I had left.”
“What about your dad?”
“Never knew him. Not sure my mom even knew who he was.”
That gives me a little insight as to who raised her. I shouldn’t push further, but I can’t help myself. “How’d your mom die?”
The pained look in her eyes is raw and guts me. Her lower lip wobbles as she tries to keep it together. “It doesn’t matter, she’s dead now. I don’t want to talk about this.”
If that’s the only bit of information she’s willing to give me tonight, I’ll take it.
I won’t give her the same pitying look she gave me, or the “Sorry for your loss” everyone else says.
They do nothing to ease the ache, and I have nothing to be sorry for.
The pain is still written all over her face though, with nowhere to go.
If she goes to the gym to work out the hurt, it’s not doing a good enough job.
Luckily, I know something that works just as well.
“Okay. Then we’re going to talk about you. Your little truce was bullshit because I’m still fucking mad. You used me like a means to an end, you spit your little venomous words at me, then go sulking off when I throw them back, and I’m tired of it. Own up to your shit.”
Before she can fight me, I cross the couch and bring her into my lap.
Her strength as she struggles against my hold shouldn’t surprise me, but it does.
It’s still no match for me, though. I bring her back flush to my chest, wrap my legs over hers, with one arm around her waist pinning her arms, and the other gripping the hair at the back of her neck.
“This what you wanted? What was the goal? To fuck me and forget me? To get a piece of me to mark it off your bucket list? Or are you constantly pissing me off, hoping I’ll snap and fuck you into submission again? ”
The whimper that leaves her mouth is indecent, but she plays it off, spitting out, “Fuck. You.”
I’m pushing boundaries again. I know she’s still inexperienced, and this could look really bad, but there isn’t an ounce of fear in her eyes.
In fact, when I use my grip in her hair to turn her head to the side, the lust in her blown pupils is obvious.
Still, even though this position—her plump ass grinding into my growing erection and her restrained and at my mercy—is exactly what I like, I don’t want to push too far.
There’s still a knot in my chest from how aggressively I took her the last time. I never want to be that guy.
“Since neither of us seem particularly good at apologizing, I’ll give you two choices as punishment.
Afterward, we can wipe the slate clean and start fresh tomorrow.
Unless you get bratty again, then I will happily keep doling out punishments.
Option one, ten bare-ass spankings, and no, I won’t be going easy.
Option two, you get down on your knees and wrap those pretty lips around my cock. ”
Her reply is breathy as she wiggles in my hold, only making my cock harder for her. “Fuck you, Jake.”
“That won’t be happening this time, Whiskey.
” The heavy rise and fall of her chest causes her tits to rub against my arm, and my breathing quickly matches hers.
I can’t deny that I want her. I want her so damn bad it hurts, and I know she feels it too.
A few months ago, I confessed to Thoren that I’m tired of the empty fucks.
I’m not a loner, but my friend circle is small, and with Thoren married now, my time alone has increased.
It’s not only on him, but I try to give them time together, especially now that Lily is expecting.
A hollow part of me longs for someone to spend my time with.
Before Amber, I hadn’t had sex in over six months.
My person is out there, and I’ve been trying to look for her, but with my crazy hours, it’s been rough.
It doesn’t help that no one seems to take me seriously when I say I want to settle down.
When I asked a woman at the bar on a date two months ago, she gave me a crazed look and stated I wasn’t the “dating kind.” Fuck if that didn’t sting and may have been part of the reason I was ready to take out my anger on Amber at the wedding.
What I hadn’t expected was to feel something with her.
“I have all night. I’m not leaving until you decide.” I loosen my grip on her hair as she relaxes against me. When it’s clear the fight is leaving her body, I let her go completely, and she steps out of my hold.
“If you put your dick anywhere near my face, I will bite it off.” She accentuates her statement by snapping her teeth, but that only riles me up more.