22. Jake
I don’t know how a penthouse worth millions can feel like a jail cell, but that’s exactly how it feels as I pace the halls of my home. I can’t stop thinking about Cherry in that fucker’s arms. How she looked at him with such adoration and love.
For some reason, it had never occurred to me that she might be dating someone. Probably because, for me, the second I saw her again, she was all I could think about. Maybe that’s why I’m so uptight, I haven’t gotten laid in months. No other woman holds any interest for me. No other woman even begins to compare with my Cherry Blossom.
I check my watch for what feels like the thousandth time and wonder what she’s doing. Is she writhing beneath him, is she screaming his name? Bile rushes up my throat at the thought, a pain so savage in my gut that I can hardly breathe.
I stride to my home gym and try to work off some of the anger and pain. I run until my legs feel like Jello. I lift weights until my arms shake and still this leashed energy inside me fills my brain with images that make me want to put my head in the blender. I shower and make myself a protei n smoothy, not really caring for the taste but knowing my body needs the fuel.
Checking the time again, I see it’s past ten. I wonder if she’s home or if her stunning, pliant body is laid out on his sheets like a gift. Despite my fury, my dick hardens at the thought of her like that. Cherry is a goddess and was always meant to be worshipped, not by other men, but by me and I have to find some way to convince her that what we had was real and that it’s still real.
Grabbing my keys, I head out on the bike, not really sure where I’m going, but needing to be out where I feel free. Ever since the night my sister died, I’ve had this almost uncontrollable urge for fresh air on my face. It’s why I hate to fly long haul, too much time without access to fresh air.
My therapist says it’s because of the fire that killed my baby sister and she’s probably right. It’s also why I never attend bonfire celebrations. The smell of smoke turns my stomach and makes me want to run.
Rounding the corner, I realize I’ve driven to Cherry’s place. Glancing up, I see her bedroom light on and wonder if he’s there. If Eddie Crowe has stolen her away, and my chance of anything with her is gone for good.
No!
My brain rejects that idea, instantly. I didn’t get where I am today by backing down when things get hard and giving up when I want something, and I’ve never wanted anything more than I want Blossom.
Swinging my leg off my bike, I stride toward her door. I wrap my knuckles hard and wait, praying he doesn’t answer the door. I don’t want to fight the biggest star in the music industry right now, but if he’s laid a finger on my girl, I’m gonna break every bone in his hand.
A shadow passes the glass and disappears. I knock again, taking out my frustration on the door. “Blossom, open the damn door before I kick it in.”
“Go away, Jake, I’m busy. ”
Gritting my teeth, I suck in breath through my nose. “You better not have that fucker in your bed. I warned you what would happen.” I know for a fact one of two things will happen next. She’ll either call the cops on me, or she’ll answer the door and give me a taste of her anger. I’m banking on the second, but my girl is just wild enough to get me locked up.
Leaning my arm against the top frame, I smile when I hear the lock disengage. I’m smiling when she pulls the door open and gives me a glare that would freeze the flames in hell. I let my gaze travel over her hungrily. Short pink pajamas with red lips and teddy bears all over them. Cute but not what you wear to bed when you have someone with you. At least not unless it’s an established relationship, and she and Eddie didn’t have that vibe.
“Cute pj’s.”
“What do you want, Jake?”
She’s standing in the doorway like some bouncer ready to throw down with me. It’s hot as fuck, but I still need to get inside and see if she took my warning seriously. Pushing past her, I walk into her home for the first time and take it in.
“Hey, asshole, I didn’t invite you into my home.”
I turn to give her a smirk. “Lucky I’m not a vampire then.”
“No, just a jerk.”
I feel her at my back as I walk through the hallway that leads to an open-plan kitchen diner at the back. It’s all whites and greys, with touches of her signature pink in the details. Double doors lead out onto a small garden that has a deck, with pots of flowers and cute string lights hung over the pergola above.
“Nice place, Blossom. It suits you.”
“Gee, I can die happy now I’ve had the seal of approval from the design police.”
I give her a smirk. “You didn’t sleep with him, did you?”
Hands on her hips, she doesn’t realize how enticing she looks. All fire and fury, but her nipples are peaked and her skin is flushed a delicious pink that wasn’t there when I arrived .
“That is none of your business.”
I ignore that because it doesn’t warrant a response. She’ll always be my business. “You don’t have to answer, I already know.”
She steps closer and angles her chin up to me, and all I want to do is take those pouty lips in mine.
“How could you possibly know that?”
“Two reasons. The first is that if he was here, he wouldn’t let you talk to the man who wants to fuck you with his come still inside you. The second is you’re still snarky, and I distinctly remember that when I fucked you, Blossom, you never had the energy to move afterward.”
“Arrogant prick.”
I shrug but I know I’m right. “Truth.”
“So is that why you’re here? You want to stamp your authority on me or do you just like annoying me?”
I snatch her around her waist and haul her forward so fast her hands fall on my chest to brace herself. Her touch sears my skin like a brand and I want to wear it all over my body. Being touched by her is addictive.
“I’m here because no matter how much you deny it, or hate it, there’s still something between us.”
“That’s just chemistry, Jake.”
I was expecting her to fight me and deny it, but she isn’t, and it gives me a tiny bit of hope. “So you admit you want me?”
“It doesn’t matter. How can we come back from what you did? You betrayed me. You stole my dream.”
I hang my head as shame washes over me. I did do that, and she has every right to feel the way she does. I’m not sure I’d forgive someone for doing that to me, even knowing the circumstances but I have to try.
“I know. Give me some time, and I’ll explain all of that. I’ll tell you everything but in the meantime, what will it take for you to spend some time getting to know me now?”
“Jake, we didn’t break up because what we had wasn’t good for me. You were perfect. I just didn’t know it was all an act.” Her head drops as she says the words.
I grip her chin, forcing her eyes back up to mine, letting my fingertips stroke her throat. “None of what I felt for you, or the way I was with you, was a lie. Let me show you, please?”
“To what end, Jake? I won’t let you hurt me again.”
“Closure? Friendship? Whatever reason you need. Just name your price.”
Her lips twitch as she shakes her head and pulls out of my arms. I let her go, hating how empty my arms feel without her in them.
“Jake, if you gave me a thousand dollars for every beat of my heart to spend time with you, I’d get on a treadmill and run until I dropped.”
God, I love this woman. “Deal.” Bending, I drop a hard, swift kiss on her upturned lips, and head for the door.
“Wait, what?” Cherry trails me to the door, confusion on her pretty face.
“We made a deal. I’ll be back tomorrow to show you that thing I told you about earlier. We can take the bike.”
Cherry waves her hands no. “Stop, that wasn’t real.”
“A thousand dollars for every one of your heartbeats is a bargain, Blossom. I would’ve paid ten times that amount.”
“You’re insane.”
“Nah, just willing to do whatever it takes to make you forgive me.”
“You have a time machine?”
I cup her face and wish like hell I did. So many things I’d change, so many bad choices I’d fix. But then, maybe changing the past would mean I never met her. “If I did, hurting you would be the only thing I changed, baby.” Leaning in, I press a kiss to her temple and close my eyes, inhaling her sweetness.
“See you in the morning, Blossom.”
With that, I wait for her to close and lock up and then head home, feeling the tension in my chest ease for the first time in weeks .
Step one in winning back my Cherry Blossom is happening. Now, onto step two, make her fall in love with me again. That I can do. I did it before, and I can do it again. Getting her to forgive me though might be harder, and for that, I might need to open some old wounds of my own and let them bleed.