Blackmailed Into Bed (8 page)

Her mom chuckled softly. "Yes, that's how it
usually starts with a man. So what's the problem that has you so
concerned? Does he kick animals or is he mean to old people?"

Amy listened to her mom's gentle teasing.
"He's a cop, Mom." Amy's voice was flat.

Her mother understood instantly. "Oh, baby.
I'm so sorry. Oh, Amy, sweetie, bless your little heart."

Amy inhaled a ragged breath. This is what she
needed. Someone that would understand. "I don't know what to do.
Kayla doesn't even know about him."

"How long have you been seeing him?"

"A little over a month. It's intense. We've
been seeing each other on the down low and now he's pushing me for
a real relationship. He doesn't want to sneak around anymore and I
really can't blame him. I feel like I have to make a decision. And
I don't want to bury my head in the sand about the future. I don't
think that marriage would be out of the question sometime in the
future. I'm afraid he will want that. He takes things very
seriously. I don't think this is a game for him. I don't know what
to do."

"There's only one thing you can do, baby. You
have to decide if you want him in your life enough to conquer your
fears."

****

Monday she got a text from him. 'can't come.
Drug bust this a.m. loose ends to tie up. No worries. Bad guys in
jail already.'

Amy had twin feelings of loneliness for him,
and tenderness that he would try to ease her fears in a text
message. He was taking care not to upset her again.

Tuesday, she received another text. 'In court
all day. Tomorrow. Be ready.' She felt a profound sense of
disappointment and excitement for the day to come.

By Wednesday, Amy was wondering if it all the
subterfuge was worth it. She was already more than halfway in love
with him. She was also missing him so badly, she felt almost
light-headed with it.

His truck wasn't there when she pulled up.
Disappointment engulfed her. She went in the house and dropped her
books. With the hope that he would make it over today, she hurried
into her bedroom and had a quick wash. She changed out of her
clothes and into a tiny little blue babydoll dress. She slipped on
blue lace panties. She looked down at her newly painted hot pink
toes. It was warm in the house and she didn't need shoes.

At four-forty five, he pulled in front of her
house. She was opening her front door as she was finishing a
conversation with Kayla on the cell phone. She opened the door wide
and smiled at him. He stepped through and took her in his arms. She
stared up at him. God, she had missed him. She tried to concentrate
on her daughter. "Yes, that's fine, Kayla. Just don't forget to
bring the permission slip home tonight. I'll write you a check and
you can turn it in tomorrow. You'll still get to go to region." She
listened for a second. "Okay. Love you, baby. Bye."

She ended the call and wrapped her arms
around his neck and squeezed. "Hi." She smiled up at him.

He smiled back. Anticipation clenched her
nerves.

"Hi, yourself." He squeezed her back. Her
phone immediately rang again. She rolled her eyes and answered it
without looking at the display. She couldn't tear her eyes from his
face. "What'd you forget, baby?"

Jake watched as Amy's face lost animation.
She turned away from him and lowered her voice.

He blatantly followed her into the living
room and listened to her side of the conversation. He stood with
his booted feet apart and his hands at his sides.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were my daughter."
A pause. "Oh, uh-huh. That's great. Yes, she's a smart girl." A
hesitation. "I'm proud of her. Thanks for telling me." She turned
and stood watching him, watching her. "N-no. I can't. Thank you,
though." She listened. "I d-don't know. I'm so busy with the
semester closing." She lowered her eyes from Jake's. "Maybe some
other time."

Amy ended the call and looked back at Jake.
Fierce emotion was instantly covered behind hooded eyes. His hands
were fisted at his sides. They were clenched so hard, his knuckles
were white.

Amy felt a slither of nausea roll through her
stomach. "Was that the coach?" The words were so controlled and
softly spoken that they upset her more than his usual bark.

"Yes. He wanted to tell me that Kayla made a
perfect score on her six week research project." She tried to keep
the explanation simple and close to the whole truth.

"You think that's normal? For a high school
teacher to call a mom just to tell her a grade?" He was holding
himself so tightly he was afraid he would snap.

"N-no. Probably not." She softly shook her
head.

"Answer one question for me, sweetheart." Amy
had never seen him act like this before. It was not his usual
method of operation. "Did I just hear you tell a man that you might
go out with him?

Jake crossed his arms and waited for her
answer. It was slow in coming. "It was just to get him off the
phone. I didn't mean it. I don't want to go out with him." His
expression turned glacial.

He turned on his heel and strode to the
door.

"Jake, wait. I'm not going to go out with
him. You have to know that. Please don't go."

With his hand on the door, he turned toward
her and studied her a moment. "It's late, Amy. Kayla will be home
soon. I'll see you later."

He turned and left.

Amy let out a small sob. The worst part was
his control. He should have been out of control. He should have
been pushing her against the wall and ripping her panties off and
demanding her submission.

It terrified her that he didn't.

By Friday evening, Amy was getting desperate.
Her nerves were shot and her emotions were in a tangle. It didn't
help that Kayla was spending the night with a friend. She didn't
have anything to take her mind off of Jake.

She wanted to see him. Touch him. Hold him.
She wanted to be with him so badly she could taste it. Was he
waiting for her to make the first move? Maybe to apologize again?
She would.

She picked up her phone before she could
change her mind. What good did pride do a person at a time like
this anyway?

She keyed in, 'I'm sorry,' and pressed
send.

Five minutes later, he answered. 'Don't worry
about it' Don't worry about it! What did that mean? Did he even
care anymore? Had he ever cared?

'Do you forgive me?' Well, now her pride was
non-existent. But they said pride was a sin, and she certainly
didn't want to sin.

'Nothing to forgive.'

Amy's frustration level grew. 'Can I come
over?'

His answer was swift. 'For a booty call?'

Asshole. Men were such dicks. Why women ever
bothered, she sometimes didn't know. 'Would you say yes to
that?'

'I wouldn't turn it down.'

****

Amy pulled into his driveway twenty minutes
later. She had put her nightgown and toothbrush in her bag, just in
case. He was waiting for her by the back door.

"Where's Kayla?" He just stood there,
nonchalant, and didn't make a move for her.

"She's spending the night with a friend." Amy
walked in and he closed the door.

"Well, that makes it kind of convenient,
doesn't it?" His tone was sarcastic.

She took a deep breath. She had her work cut
out for her. "Listen, Jake--"

"No. You listen, Amy. I don't want to hear
anymore of your bullshit excuses. This is a booty call. We're fuck
buddies. Got it?" His arms crossed in front of him. The barriers
were firmly in place.

Amy swallowed. "Are we, Jake? Still fuck
buddies? Still just you and me, right?" She had to make sure that
stipulation was still in place.

"Yes, goddammit. Nobody else." Antagonism
radiated from him.

Amy hesitated a second and then dropped her
bag and started walking toward him. "Okay, then."

Jake watched her glide toward him. He tried
to stamp out the emotion that he shouldn't be feeling. Why the hell
did he have to feel shit all of a sudden? Almost forty fucking
years and nothing like this had ever happened to him before. But
the five days without her were taking a toll on him. He had gotten
used to having the sexual outlet so quickly. Damn. He really was
spoiled. But no matter how fucked up his emotions were, the sight
and scent of her had hardened him instantaneously.

He reached out, lifted her up and carried her
to the couch. He toppled them over until they were laying side by
side, facing each other. He wasted no time and fastened his mouth
to hers.

Amy felt her head swim as his tongue dove
deep into her mouth. She immediately adjusted her leg and lifted it
over his. She reached down to rub his erection through his jeans.
He groaned and moved his hand under her skirt, to the silk triangle
covering her.

They lay together and petted and kissed each
other. She unfastened his jeans and put her hand around him. His
hand slid her panties aside and sunk a finger deep into her. She
began rocking on his finger and jacking his penis at the same time.
Slowly. She let go of his mouth for a second and reached her hand
up to her tongue. She opened her eyes and stared into his as her
tongue swiped the palm of her hand.

She closed her eyes and put her mouth back on
his. Her hand moved back down to him.

Jake felt the small, wet hand enfold him and
thought he was going to die and go to heaven right then and there.
His breathing was ragged and the sound of her moans was addictive.
Her hips pumped faster. Jake tore his mouth free. "Shit. I'm about
to come, babe."

"Yes, yes, me, too. Come in my hand, Jake.
Come in my hand." It was all he heard as he jerked against her and
spilled his seed.

Amy felt him harden even more as the wet
stickiness rushed into her palm. It was all she needed to push her
over the edge. Her internal muscles grasped his finger and she
pushed against him as she held him tightly and screamed in
release.

They lay entwined until their breathing
became normal again. Both were lost in their own thoughts.

Jake couldn't believe he didn't have the
upper hand in this situation. It was ridiculous. He wanted all of
her, but seemed willing to settle for whatever small amount she
would give him. It pissed him off no small degree.

Amy was stunned at the passion they shared.
She had had sex for so many years with her husband, and it was
never like this. Never had they lost control from petting. She
never experienced the level of release that Jake gave her.

Jake released her from his hold and stood up
and walked to the kitchen. He returned in a moment with a wet
cloth.

He dropped it in her hand. Amy caught it and
looked up at him. The shutters were down again. What had she done?
What had she done with one unthinking sentence?

"Okay, hon. That was fun. I'll see you
Monday."

Hon? Since when did he call her 'hon?' He
called her babe, sweetheart, and Amy, and all with a level of
tenderness. Or raunchiness. The 'hon' was quite sarcastic. A
flyaway endearment. Something he might call a whore. Amy saw
red.

She stood up, wiped her hands off and
adjusted her clothing. She was through with begging him for
forgiveness. She tossed the rag back at him and almost lost it when
she saw the comical look on his face when faced with his own
mess.

"Whatever." She brushed passed him.

He grabbed her arm. "What the hell do you
mean by that?"

"What the hell do you mean by treating me
like a whore?"

"A whore?" He roared. "When did I do
that?"

"I quote. That was fun. I'll see you Monday."
She pulled on her arm. "How was that supposed to make me feel? Like
you respect and care for me?"

He dropped her arm and stepped away from her.
"Fuck. I do respect and care for you. Too goddamn much. What do you
expect from me Amy? How exactly do you want me to treat you? You
give me so much as a nod in the right direction, and I'll lay it
all out for you, sweetheart." He began to shout. "You already
know." He grabbed his hair with his hands. "Fuck it. You already
know. I love you. Goddamn it. I love you.

She stared at him as her heart melted around
her.

He continued his rant. "I fell for you. Bad.
I've got it bad for you, Amy. You've got to decide. This is going
to kill me. I can let you go. Probably. If I have to. But I can't
keep doing this. I can't keep sleeping with you. Having you, but
not having you. I'm not going to quit being a cop. Not anytime
soon, anyway. I love it. It's my life. You've got to make a
decision. You can either handle it, or you can't. You either want
in, or you want out. You either love me, or you don't."

He stopped talking and looked at her. Amy
stared back, her eyes swimming in tears. She walked toward him. She
put her hands on his chest and whispered, "I'm in."

Jake felt his heart slam against his ribcage.
"Don't mess with me, Amy. Just rip the goddamn bandage off with one
sharp pull."

Her hand moved up to his cheek. "I love you,
Jake. I'm crazy about you. I can handle it, I promise. I don't want
to lose you." She smiled weakly at him.

"You love me? Did you just say you love me?"
His voice was hoarse.

"Yes, I love you. I've probably loved you
from the beginning. I've been in denial a long time. God knows it
started out as lust, but I knew right away you were going to be
trouble. You've been right all along, I was running from you from
the very beginning." Her voice was soft, her eyes softer.

"Come here, babe." He took her by the hand
and pulled her down on the couch. He placed her on his lap, and her
head fell against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her so she
couldn't run.

"There's something you've got to understand.
Something you've got to agree to. I don't care where we live. My
house, your house, or a new house altogether. But we're going to
have to get married. I don't want short term. This is it.
Commitment time. Real commitment. I want to live with you. Every
day. I want you to sleep in my bed, every night. We can live
wherever you think we will have enough room for me, you, and Kayla.
Okay?"