Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ilean against the tiled wall in the shower while the blazing water hits me. I feel light as a feather. Jack and I have grown close over the last month. Being forced to live together the last few weeks has accelerated that. Leaving was hard enough last time. I can only imagine how exponentially worse it will be now. How can I say goodbye to him?
I leave in two days, and despite knowing I’m going home, it doesn’t feel like my actual home anymore. I don’t necessarily feel like Dupara is either, but I’m starting to figure out that when people say that home isn’t really a place, it’s a person, I now understand what they’re referring to.
But that airy feeling of lust quickly dissipates when I remember that this is all for show. Love beyond the illusion of what we’ve created has become more real than I could have imagined.
The hot water cascades down my body as my eyes follow in the direction the droplets fall. I bend down, grab the shampoo, and lather my hair. Jack and I haven’t discussed what will happen next, and neither has mentioned another trip. I wonder if he’s assuming that everything is falling into place with Bradley Wines—he won’t need me anymore. Confusion rages in my heart like a hurricane. My anxiety is growing now that the hours trickle down to when I’ll have to walk away from Jack and everything that’s developing between us.
With the buyout, it makes sense that he wouldn’t need me anymore. I know that, but neither one of us has said it. The thought makes my stomach turn.
A delicious and savory smell floats over the top of the glass shower and right into my nose. He’s cooking. My stomach grumbles with hunger, so I vigorously rinse out the rest of the shampoo from my hair.
I walk out of the shower with a wide grin and the anticipation of doing something normal and mundane with him. I throw on a pair of matching plaid pajamas and head out.
I round the corner from the shallow hallway and into the kitchen to find Jack standing at the stove with his back to me. He’s completely naked. My eyes scan the landscape of his body from behind, enjoying the sight of his bare ass, which I’ve had my mouth and hands all over.
Jack doesn’t notice me right away, but as I creep closer, I can faintly hear him singing the words to “I Miss You” from Blink 182 that plays in the background. I fight the urge to bite those tight cheeks and instead wrap my arms around him. “It smells good here,” I say into the skin on the back of his shoulder.
Jack raises his free arm and places it on top of mine, firmly hooked around his hard ab muscles. “I hope it doesn’t taste like shit. I’m not much of a cook.”
Circling his body, I leave a trail of soft kisses along the warm skin of his shoulder, making my way around to his chest. At the same time, Jack steps away from the stove and twists until my body is flush with the front of him. “From the looks of that pasta sauce, I’m sure you’re much better than you’re letting on.”
His arms come around and link behind my back. “Thanks. I really hope you like it. If not, there’s always takeout.”
“I’m sure it tastes fine,” I tell him before moving to the side to check out the ingredients and produce on the counter. “I can make the salad.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” He chuckles sarcastically. “Oh, and I poured you another glass of champagne.” He gestures to the glass flute on the table.
“Thanks.” I lift it to my lips and take a sip. Then, I set it next to the cutting board and the salad bowl. “Tell me about the look on Steve and Preston’s faces when you and your mom countered their offer with your own buyout.”
Jack shoots me a side-eye. “They were surprised, to say the least. But it got better when they got their greedy eyes on the amount we were prepared to offer. Such a little prick Preston is. He wanted to turn it down right away, I know it. He wouldn’t even make eye contact during the meeting.”
My forehead creases. “What? Why do you think he’d want to turn it down?” I ask Jack, but I can only think of a couple of reasons why. One is that this whole thing is based on jealousy. The other is that he’d want to decline out of spite. Either way, it speaks to the type of person Preston is, and with what I’ve seen during our few encounters, I can say he isn’t a good one.
“I have my theories, but truthfully, it wouldn’t matter anyway. He’s always been a shady guy. His dad—also a piece of shit—jumped at the chance to take the money. He was foaming at the mouth when he saw those dollar signs.” He picks a cherry tomato from the bowl and pops it into his mouth.
I chop the celery and carrots, then add them to the salad. “What’s the next step for you and your mom?” I ask. As much as I have been a part of this with him, I won’t be able to experience all the excitement that comes after the buyout and as Jack settles into his role. I won’t be spending endless days on his beautiful family property. I won”t have Gemma, or Heidi, or this community as anchors.
And I’m never going to experience what having a family is like. I always wanted it, but it never stung until now. Being so close to what I want, but being reminded that it is not mine. A few tears slip from under my eyelid. I dip my head, wiping it on my shoulder before Jack can notice. I swallow my sadness like I always do and force a smile.
Jack plucks another tomato from the bowl and brings it to my mouth. I part my lips and suck it in, making sure to take one of his fingers with it. “The lawyers will finish drawing up the paperwork, but by the end of the month, everything should be ready to sign,” he explains in an uneven voice. I wrap my tongue around Jack’s index finger, then lick down the sides. His eyes flare, and he gulps in a breath. Sucking harder and drawing my head back, I release him from my lips, causing a popping sound to echo between the walls of the kitchen.
“That’s good. I’m sure you’re ready to put all this behind you and start your new life,” I choke out.
Jack blinks a few times, his eyes staring directly into mine. “Yeah.” He sighs. “I guess that’s true.” A heavy silence enters the room for a beat before Jack speaks, “I’m going to put some clothes on. Standing this close to the oven, I’m afraid my dick might catch on fire.”
I remove two plates and bowls from the cupboard. “Probably a good idea. However, I am enjoying the show.”
A few minutes later, Jack emerges from the bedroom dressed in a plain white tee and pants that always seem to ride below his waist. I wipe the drool from the side of my mouth. I wonder if people who’ve been married for years still fawn over their partners. Jack and I are married, and he will still be my husband for a little while longer.
Skimming my tongue over my teeth, my mind drifts from one dirty idea to another. I think of everything we can do together until I leave on Sunday. “Not as sexy.” I flip my hair around. “But I’ll take it.”
“I’m sure these clothes won’t last long—and neither will yours.” He raises an eyebrow.
“So sure of yourself, Mr. Bradley.”
“You’re my wife.” He steps into me, biting his bottom lip. “I’m looking forward to experiencing, once again, how hard you can suck.”
I have to look away because my cheeks redden. Jack’s eyes flicker in apparent satisfaction with witnessing his ability to command my body, which only serves to enhance them. “I love the way you taste.”
Suddenly, we both startle at the sound of the noodles boiling behind us. Jack quickly turns off the flame and removes the pasta from the stove.
“I know you do. And I plan on giving you whatever you want, whenever you want,” he continues, picking up our conversation.
I playfully roll my eyes in his direction, then finish the salad before bringing it over to the table, trying to hide the beaming grin inching across my face.
After we bring everything to the table, Jack and I take our seats.
“I have to say, I think we did an excellent job on this meal.” He smiles.
Staring at all the items on the table, the salad bowl, pasta, meat sauce, and our two glasses of wine, I’m overcome with emotion again. I blink a few times to relieve the sting from the back of my eyelids. A lump forms in my throat.
Jack stills with the salad tongs in his hands. “What’s wrong?”
I can’t breathe. Tears pour down my face.
“Piper. What’s wrong?” Jack repeats, a slight panic in his voice.
I want to answer him, but I can’t. My muscles are stiff. The surreal moment of us cooking dinner together, setting the table, and enjoying a meal like a family. Something that I’ve never done before.
My eyes blur before they once again spill. Each drop represents the things I’ve never experienced as a child I desperately wanted and the life I desire to create as an adult. I suck in gulps of air, my stomach spasming with every breath as I try to form the words to tell him.
When Jack saw my hysterical state, he jumped out of his chair and hurried around to the table. He twists me around to face him as his knees hit the floor in front of me. “Tell me what’s going on,” he demands, moving a loose hair away from my eyes.
My hands tremble. I try to gather myself to form a coherent sentence, but I’m not having much luck. Shoving my hands under my thighs, I angle my gaze toward the floor, partly ashamed of what I’m about to say. “I’m so sorry.” I sniff. “I’ve never cooked dinner and sat down to eat at a table like this with anyone.”
Jack’s forehead creases. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I never ate dinner together with my mom or her boyfriends while growing up.”
“Where did you guys eat if not at the table together?” He slides his palm up my temple and runs it through my hair before leaving it there.
“I ate alone.”
“Even when you were a young kid?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “Yes.”
Jack’s shoulders straighten, and I feel his grip tighten on the back of my head, nudging my forehead down to meet his. “You’re not alone right now.”
I sniff. This is ridiculous. I’ve spent plenty of dinners with friends and guys I’ve dated—so why does this time feel unlike any other before it? “I’m sorry, this is embarrassing. It’s not a big deal,” I say, wiping the wetness from my skin.
With his eyebrows still furrowed, he uses the corner of a napkin to dry the moisture on both sides of my face. “It is a big deal. It’s something that you needed as a child and didn’t get. I wish that I could give you everything you needed—need.”
“Thank you. I’ll be okay.” I give him a weak smile, but behind it is the sadness and loss of a typical childhood.
Jack nods, then rises to his feet, but not before stopping to rest his soft lips on my forehead. Giving me a kiss filled with safety and—love. My eyelids fall closed, knowing I’ll never forget the emotion behind this connection.
We spent dinner discussing his ideas for the winery and what he’d like to change. He even brings out his laptop to share all the marketing plans he intends to execute. He asks me for my opinion, and I happily provide it. Like everything else that happens between Jack and me, it’s natural and easy.
There were many points during the conversation where we could both tell that we were avoiding talking about our future and how to move forward. We haven’t talked about the divorce either, which has been on my mind for some time. How can we say goodbye to each other? How is none of this real?
I’m not naive enough to believe that we could have a fulfilling long-distance relationship or that, somehow, two strangers who got married in Vegas the first day they met would magically fall in love. I wish we had more time.
Later in the evening, I’m in bed, texting away in the group message with Avery, Lina, and Bailey, when Jack walks into the bedroom with only his boxers on and carries my bright pink vibrator in one hand.
I flush. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to make you feel good,” he states with excitement in his voice while opening the dresser drawer and grabbing a pair of handcuffs and a blindfold.
My insides flood with butterflies. “You always make me feel good.”
“I can’t get enough of it.” I barely see his mischievous smile through the dim lighting of the bedroom.
“What did you have in mind?” I cautiously ask, pulling my mouth to the side.
Jack stalks toward me, his hard length peeking out from the slit in his boxers as he crawls onto the bed. “You’ll see.”
Helplessly, I watch him tower over me, binding my wrists above my head and securing the blindfold over my eyes. We’ve done this many times, but the quick surge of panic at first still hits me. “You’re not going to tell me?”
“No,” he says. Then I hear the buzzing sound of my vibrator.
Oh fuck, he’s going to use it on me.And from the quick pulsing, I can tell he has it on the highest mode. My breath becomes labored while my pussy throbs.
“Now relax and enjoy.” Jack’s hands grip the inside of my thighs, spreading them apart. My legs start shaking.
“Relax,” he tells me before his wet tongue shoots right into my core.
“Oh god,” I groan.
“Of course, you’re already ready for me. You always are, my love,” he whispers. I feel a slight movement around the foot of the bed. I can’t tell what he’s doing, but I don’t care. I trust him completely.
Like being struck by a powerful lightning rod, Jack slides his hard cock into my waiting heat while simultaneously pressing the aggressive pulse of my vibrator on top of my swollen clit. The moment he enters me is as good as my climax, because right then, Jack is owning me. He’s taking me, and I’m utterly powerless to stop it.
My back arches, and my head lifts. “Oh god!”
As he thrusts in and out, holding the vibration in place, the intense sensation pulls the muscles from my stomach downward, a freefall from a roller coaster. My entire body trembles. I can’t see him, but I can tell he’s raised to his knees because I need to buck my hips into the air, lifting the bottom half of my body off the bed, desperately trying to get him deeper.
“Yes, come and get it,” his voice is almost unrecognizable, and I fucking love it.
I hear Jack grunt on top of me, causing me to chase his hardness frantically. It’s been mere minutes, and my body is ready to explode. A tingling sensation that begins at the top of my head rolls down to my shoulders, pings my nipples, clenches my stomach, and unleashes at my core.
“Fuck, Jack!” I yell, starting to shiver.
“That’s right, it’s me who’s fucking you right now.” His voice is sultry and spicy, moving through me like an aged whiskey. “It’s me who makes your pussy throb. And it’s me that makes you come harder than you’ve ever come before.”
I completely black out, falling below the endless darkness from behind my eyelids, but then a slight burn of smooth silk blindfold whips across my face and jerks me back into reality. My eyes are blurry, my heart pounds, and I have to rapidly blink a few times to adjust to the low light of the bedside lamp.
Jack is hovering over me, his broad shoulders caging me in.
“Goddammit, that was the most intense orgasm I’ve ever felt!” I pant. My body is buzzing with desire. Staring into his eyes, I notice that they’re a deep ocean blue. “Are you alright?”
“We’re going to keep this off.” Jack’s words come out sharp. He starts thrusting back into me once again.
I stop breathing momentarily, searching his eyes for clarity and reason for this sudden change. “You sure?” I moan, my head dipping back into the pillow.
“Yes.” From the corner of my eye, I see Jack’s arm reach above my head. “These can go too,” he growls, furiously unlocking the handcuffs. He tosses them across the room.
My heavy arms fall to the bed. I have not bonded with the unforgiving metal as much as the blindfold, and I’m happy to see them go.
Jack bends to kiss the hollow of my collarbone, then reaches for one of my sore hands and brings it to his warm lips, kissing the red ring that circles my wrist. “My wife,” he mumbles, setting fire to my heart. “You are so unequivocally perfect.”
I am entirely his. I let out a pleased hum, existing only in a world between his sounds and my sensations.
Jack Bradley is like a dream in motion, and I am undeniably in love with him.