25. Cherry
“Lex, I really don’t have time to go galivanting to get a dress or go to some stupid gala.”
My best friend looked at me with a disapproving tilt of her head, she had this mom look down already.
“Please, Cher, do this for me. It’s a great cause. I know you don’t like Jake, but he’s a good guy.”
I still haven’t told her about the history Jake and I share and, at this point, I’m not sure why. Tucking the pencils I’d used to sketch a few designs this morning away, I suppress a sigh. “It’s not that I don’t like him, Lex.”
“Then what is it?” Lexi grips my hand tight and a lump forms in my throat. I should tell her, but what’s the point in going over it again? It will only make her feel conflicted between her loyalty to me and her loyalty to Hunter, who’s Jake’s best friend. I can’t do that to her.
“It’s nothing. I’m just tired.”
I see a fleeting look of disappointment flit over her face before she hides it with a smile and my gut twists that I’ve inadvertently hurt her .
“Even more reason, to cut loose and have some fun. Get drunk, flirt with some hot guys, and maybe fix that dry spell.”
“Now that sounds like fun.”
“What sounds like fun?”
My spine stiffens as his voice caresses my skin like warm caramel. What is it about this man that he can just ignite my body without trying? I’m still an aching mess after the stunt he pulled on Saturday night. It will serve him right if I go and find some guy to take home right under his nose.
“Hey, Jake.”
Jake kisses Lexi’s cheek and I can’t help the rush of jealousy at his lips on another woman, even if that woman is my best friend and it’s completely platonic.
“Hey, Lex.” Jake looks at me with a raised brow and I give him what I hope is a bored look and glance back at my freshly painted nails, dismissing him.
“So what sounds like fun?”
“I was telling Cherry she should look for some hot guy to take home at the gala on Saturday.”
The satisfaction I get from watching Jake’s jaw tic in annoyance at my friend’s statement is unreal. I’m doing a mental happy dance that his dark stare only gets harder when I grin.
“You know, Lex, you’re right. I definitely need to get laid. I can’t remember the last time a man left me satisfied. Maybe I can find someone who actually knows where to find the clit without me having to draw him a map.”
Jake narrows his eyes at me in warning, but I don’t heed it and keep going. “What do you say, Jake? You know anyone who might be able to help a girl out?”
“No.” His curt, short, reply is filled with anger and I almost laugh but hold myself back. I do have a small dose of self-preservation left in my brain.
“Ah, well, I’ll find someone.”
Jake, seemingly having enough of this conversation, grips my upper arm and steers me towards the exit. “Time to go. We don’t want to be late for your fitting.”
Jake drags me past a smirking Lexi, who shoves my bag at me and waves me out the door.
“Take your hands off me.”
“No.”
My brain is clearly malfunctioning because it sounds like he said no. “What the hell, Jake?”
Opening the back door to the town car before his driver can, he gently pushes me inside and climbs in after me.
With a huff, I slide to the far side of the car and glare a hole in his head. “This is kidnapping.”
“Don’t test me, Blossom. I know exactly what you’re doing and it won’t work.”
“Oh, and pray tell, what it is I’m doing?”
Jake pins me with a laser-like stare that feels like it’s stripping the clothes from my skin. “You’re trying to find another reason to hate me and I’m not going to give you one. I get that I hurt you, Cherry, but I’m trying to put things right.”
The air leaves me in a whoosh as the fight he’d pinpointed so accurately leaves me.
“Good girl.”
I glare at his sexy smirk, wanting to pick a fight and knowing he isn’t going to bite. Jake has always been particularly good at seeing through my hard shell to the tender spot inside that bleeds.
Ignoring my outrage, he instructs the driver to take us to Bella Allure, the boutique where every socialite worthy of the name got their gowns, but that isn’t me. I’m not in that league and never will be.
“I don’t belong there, Jake. Just take me to the mall and I can grab something off the rack.”
His scorching gaze slides over me as he closes the partition between us and his driver. My pulse jumps to my throat as the tension inside the confines of the car rises to almost impossible levels. My breath freezes in my lungs as he leans forward and grips my chin gently but firmly between his thumb and forefinger.
“You belong anywhere you damn well choose, Blossom. If you want it, it’s yours, you got that? Because queens don’t ask permission and you’re a fucking queen and don’t ever forget it.”
With that, he drops a chaste kiss on my lips and releases me. My heart beats a frantic tap dance against my ribs as I watch him in silence. His belief in me had always given me confidence when I was wavering on whether I could do something, so it had been a double blow when he’d been the one to destroy it.
With his elbow leaning against the window as he looks out broodingly, I would give everything I own to know what he’s thinking about or what he’d meant by calling me a queen. I know once upon a time he’d said I was his princess, but that was all a lie, wasn’t it?
Is it possible that what Jake had felt for me back then had been real? Am I cutting off my nose to spite my face by not giving him a real chance? It’s so terrifying to think of ever feeling that kind of pain again, but the temptation to let myself sink into everything that is how Jake makes me feel is too much. Luckily, I’m saved from any decision as we pull to a stop outside a lavish-looking building.
Bella Allure is located on the outskirts of the city and is appointment only. I look up, feeling my bravado waver, but snap out of it as Jake exits the car, and comes around to open my door. Prickles of memory tingle across my skin as he smiles at me and takes my hand, tucking it into the crook of his arm and walking us inside, where we are met by the owner of the store.
“Mr. Marshall, what a pleasure it is to have you visit us.”
Jake nods and turns to me as the woman practically drools over him, without a single glance my way.
“This is Cherry Baker. Isn’t she the most exquisite beauty you’ve ever seen?”
Summarily put in her place, the owner glances at me with an assessing eye. I’m not a docile wallflower, far from it. In fact, most people would call me an extrovert, but under this woman’s scrutiny, I feel every insecurity ti mes a thousand. Shrewd blue eyes travel over me like I’m a prime piece of rib and I want to pass this imaginary test more than I should, especially with Jake watching.
“She’s like the flower she was named for, delicate and yet powerful.”
Jake nods his agreement. “Agreed. Do you have the dresses I requested?”
“I do, and I can’t wait to see them on her.”
Jake keeps his hand on my back as we are led through to the back, past white and gold accented walls with racks of designer garments. We pass through a black door where a dressing room is set up with Champagne and fruit in the shape of a flower, and long comfy couches and floor-to-ceiling mirrors along three walls. At the back is a velvet-curtained area, which I’m guessing is where I can change. It is opulent and classy and, as a designer, I can recognize what they are trying to achieve here; understated elegance, and it works.
“If you’d like to go in and slip off your clothes, I’ll bring the first dress in for you to try.”
“Okay.”
This passive woman is so not me, but I want to get my bearings and I’m still reeling from what Jake said in the car. Our past is so complicated, and it intrudes on every interaction we have, but if I were to examine who he is now, would I find a person I liked, admired, wanted? Probably, but letting go of the past means taking a risk and I’m not sure if I’m brave enough.
“Are you ready?” Bella calls.
“Yes.”
Slipping between the small gap, she enters the space and I stand in my underwear, thankfully having regained a little of my body confidence after her perusal.
“I have four options Mr. Marshall has picked out for you to try on. I thought we could try this one first and see how we go.”
The first one is black with a high neckline, but the back is open in a large keyhole shape with cap sleeves that clasp at the top. Nude fabric underlay is accen ted with contrasting black lace detailing that covers the shoulders, and bodice, and accentuates the hemline of the trumpet skirt.
It is stunning.
The fabric molds over my body, as I’m zipped into it, and makes me feel invincible, powerful like I can take on anything and win. I slide my feet into black satin four-inch-high pumps and let Bella clip the hooks at the neckline. It is snug, but I guess that’s the idea, and the length is perfect which makes me wonder if Jake had sent some of my measurements through because gowns like this are not made for women of five feet.
“Ravishing. Let’s go in the other room and allow Mr. Marshall a glimpse.”
I’m not the type of woman to allow a man to dress me or tell me what to wear, but Jake has hit this out of the park and I want to see his reaction to me in this dress. A bubble of excitement fizzes in my veins as I anticipate his reaction.
As the curtain swishes back, Jake looks up from his phone and my breath catches in my throat at the naked hunger I see in his gaze. He stands and comes towards me, hands tucked firmly in his pockets as if he doesn’t trust himself not to touch me. He doesn’t speak as he walks around me, his gaze like a whisper-soft caress over my fevered skin.
“She looks stunning, don’t you think, Mr. Marshall?”
Jake gives a slow nod as he appraises me. “You look breathtaking, Blossom, but do you like it? I know that whatever you wear you’ll bewitch every man and woman that lays eyes on you, but I want you to feel it.”
“I love it, but I want to try the others to make sure.” And also because I’m intrigued to see what else he’d chosen for me. Light dances in his eyes and I so want to feel his lips on mine. I want to revel in the way he makes me feel like I can conquer the world. Jake has always had that ability.
“Go, I’ll wait with bated breath to see which one you try next.”
While I was talking with Jake, Bella had hung the other three dresses in the room. One is a cornflower blue taffeta with a ruffle skirt. The next is a pale pink tulle A-line dress with a beaded bodice, spaghetti straps, and the last one is a blush pink sheath with a boned bodice, and beads covering the entire dress.
Deciding on the blue one, I put it on and again find myself holding my head higher, but not in the same way the black dress did. This one is lighter, I feel freer, and more myself in this one. Stepping out, I see Jake watching me, his features spreading into a smile that makes my toes curl.
“There she is.”
I return his grin, as he reaches for my hand, and lifts my arm, twirling me beneath it like I’m a princess. “What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful, fun, and sexy.”
Bending, he kisses my collarbone. “You’d look sexy in a burlap sack, Blossom. Sexiness is from the inside. It’s not worn, it’s exuded.”
“You been reading Cosmo again, Jake?”
His bark of laughter is like the soft stroke of a finger down my spine. He looks handsome and carefree and shows me the boy I’d adored is still there, inside the man who ties me in knots.
“My guilty secret is out.”
“News flash, Jake, it was never a secret from me.”
He looks at me then, a thousand feelings moving across his face and I want to know every one of them.
“Go try on the last two, Blossom, and then I’ll take you to lunch.”
“I have to get back to work.”
His hand grazed my cheek. “Please?”
If he’d argued, I could’ve held my ground but that one little word is enough to shred any argument I have to dust. “Okay, but I’m choosing where we eat.”
“You got it.” His lips graze mine as if they belong there before he pulls back and gives me a slight push toward the dressing room. “Go.”
“Bossy.”
“Yeah, and you still love it. ”
I give him a flirty look over my shoulder. “Lies.” But we both know I’m the one lying.
I try the last two dresses on but they don’t speak to me like the first two did, and although Jake looks like a rabid beast every time I walk out, it’s the first dress he asks me to try on again.
Standing in front of the mirror, Jake steps up behind me, his height dwarfing me even in these ridiculously high heels. His hands cup my upper arms, sending tingles down my skin as he rubs almost absentmindedly, but I feel every neuron respond to him.
“You look like Cleopatra in this dress, Blossom.”
“I’m pretty sure Cleopatra wasn’t a petite shop owner with pink hair.”
His gaze catches mine in the mirror and what I see makes my pulse pound in my throat.
“No, she was a warrior, a leader, a ruler of men.”
“That doesn’t sound like me.”
“Doesn’t it? I’ll follow you anywhere, Blossom. I’ll destroy the world for you if you asked. I need you to see that power, to own that power, and then decide if you can forgive my sins.”
I’m not sure if I understand his words or at least the meaning behind them, but they hold so much potency it’s hard to ignore. He wants my forgiveness, but he won’t give me the truth or the reason why he’d imploded the love we’d shared, the love that had been so real, so pivotal to who I am now. “I’ll try.”
It’s all I can give him now. His eyes drop to my lips and the air crackles around us, all the sexual tension I’d been living with since Saturday slams into me.
“Jake.” It’s neither a question nor a statement, just a plea for something I don’t know how to voice.
“What do you need, Blossom? I can’t think, I can’t focus on anything but the memory of how you feel and taste. I need to slate this hunger inside of me.”
This is the moment, the one where I get to decide how our story evolves. I can keep running away from him or I can run towards whatever this will be an d take ownership. I can be the woman he sees when he looks at me. I can control this or I can let it control me.
“I want to see you on your knees for me, Mr. Marshall.”
A glint shines in his eyes before he goes down on his knees for me. Jake is a man who relishes control, and who needs it. Even back when we were younger, he’d dominated me, and I loved every second, I still do. I want his hands in my hair, his fingers at my throat but, for this single moment, I need him to show me that I hold the power, even if it isn’t real.
Even now on his knees for me, he looks powerful, strong, indestructible. I reach out to skim my fingers over his cheek and his head turns, his lips finding my palm as he lays a kiss there. My skin flares with bright, hot desire as he looks up at me with all the adoration I’ve fought so hard to dismiss as his guilt.
His eyes remain on my face as I slide my foot up his chest, planting the stiletto heel over his heart. Strong fingers grip my bare ankle, before smoothing over the skin of my calf.
“Make me come, Jake.”
My chest feels tight as he smirks up at me with all the confidence of a god. His free hand finds my hands. “Hold this pretty dress up, Blossom.”
A small smile touches his lips as I do what he asks and then I feel his fingers skim over my panties before they are wrenched from me, the action causing the fabric to bite into my skin in the most delicious way.
Then there’s nothing but pleasure as his mouth finds me. His lips close over my clit and pull every sensation from me. He doesn’t stop as he takes, and takes, stealing every sensation from me until all I can do is hold on for the ride. My fingers thread through his hair, dropping the hem of the dress, so I can hold on. He moves his hands to grip my ass as he licks and sucks until my knees feel like they might give out.
My breathing is stuttered and my entire body shakes with little jolts of electricity. Ja ke pulls his mouth away and I want to scream as I hang on the precipice of the most powerful climax I’ve ever had.
“No.”
His lips and chin are covered with evidence of my arousal, and I’d never seen anything more erotic. Even now on his knees, covered in my juices, he holds me captive.
“Say you’re mine.”
My breath chokes in my chest. Fear of him, of us, holding me hostage. “No.”
A knowing smirk slips over his face. “There’s my girl.”
Then he buries his head against my pussy and bites down on my clit, forcing all the air from my lungs, as my body shakes, and pulses with the climax I’d known would change me and it does.
As I come down from my orgasm, Jake stands and holds me steady until my legs can do the job, then he wipes his chin with his fingers and holds my gaze while he licks them clean.
“I think I better buy this dress for you, Blossom. I want to do that again, and soon.”
A dry laugh falls from my lips and as I give him my back. “We’ll see.”
I say it but we both know the lid is off whatever this is between us and for as long as it lasts, I won’t let the past interfere. Or at least I’ll try.