#Jerk (30 page)

He laughs at himself, like it’s a sick and twisted joke, shaking his head as his shoulders slump. “Who would have thought I would beat that record? Three hours. I mean, who the fuck separates after three hours?”

My voice cracks, and with a nervous stutter I ask,
“Haden…what are you trying to say?”

His eyes move slowly up my body, causing every part of me to ache in his presence. When his eyes eventually meet mine, his stare is so deep that I’m terrified he has climbed into my soul and has buried himself even further. He looks dejected, tired, and worn out. There’s no life in his eyes anymore…even when he stares back at me. And why would there be?
He doesn’t love me.

“You see, all along I was waiting for a sign. Just like in the movies. You know, when the priest asks if anyone objects and the girl of your dreams runs into the church professing her undying love and then the couple run down the aisle and into a fancy car.”

“It was a guy stopping the wedding, and I think you mean bus,” I chastise, with a weak smile.

“In my fantasy it’s an Aston Martin.”

“That’s some fantasy you got.”

His eyes dance playfully. Behind the dark circles, the corners of his eyes wrinkle as a smile escapes him. “So I’m sitting at the head table as everyone toasts the newlywed couple and I think, wait. I’m the
Jerk
here. How could I expect that fantasy to come true when the girl I love avoids drama at all cost? She would never do anything like that. And if I had opened my eyes, I would have seen that she gave me an opportunity. An opportunity that I selfishly ignored and placed my own insecurities in front of.”

Another announcement interrupts, but I ignore it, eager for him to finish his story.

“Then, it’s time to dance with my wife, and like a giant wrecking ball that knocks the life out of me, I realize I’ve made the
biggest
mistake of my life. I married the wrong person because I didn’t think I was good enough for the girl that has consumed me.

“All along my girl said she wanted more. She wanted my heart to beat for only her. She wanted to be the only one I ever thought about. And she is. My heart beat for her the moment I first met her and purposely spilled that tea over her desk. It beat so fucking hard that I had no idea what to do. I have never experienced anything in my life like this. I just refused to believe she could ever feel the same way about me. So I married the wrong person hoping that the Band-Aid would fix the giant hole in my heart.”

“Haden…” I whisper, tears falling down my cheeks.

“It’s always been you, Presley Malone. Even before you even noticed I existed. I just couldn’t handle how intense my feelings were for you. I was going insane.” His voice cracks with pain.

I drop to my knees until we are face to face. Caressing his cheek, I don’t wait for any more signs. I lean in and kiss his beautiful lips. The second our lips touch, a warm electric current electrifies every inch of my body, and I know in this moment that I can never let him go again. I want to fight for him, for us, for our family.

I pull back momentarily, still in close proximity to him. “You said the girl you loved…”

“
I love you.”
He runs his fingers along the side of my cheek, moving them towards my hair. His grin takes my breath away, and with a gentle whisper, he says,
“I love you so much I don’t know how to exist without you. I’m sorry I had to put you through all that to get to this point.”
             

“I love you, Haden Cooper. I’m sorry I didn’t have the guts to admit that earlier. I was terrified. I’ve never felt so in love with someone as I am with you.”

There, in front on the entire crowd, he pulls me in and kisses me deeply as if no one is watching. His tongue desperately searches for mine and the moment we connect, both of us moan. I don’t care who’s watching us. I never want to stop. This belongs in my catalogue of memories. A moment I want to hold onto forever, because this time, I’m not going to let go of him, and I trust he will never hurt me that way again.

The crowd around us breaks into a cheer and applauds as we pull away from each other, shocked that everyone is watching us; a few are even filming us with their phones.

“I wanted more. But I’m not sure if I’m ready to be a YouTube sensation,” I whisper in his ear, laughing.

“I don’t care if the whole world sees this moment.” He lifts me up into his arms easily like I’m a feather and screams, “I fucking love you, Presley!”

The whistles and cheers don’t stop and I’m waiting for airport security to break up the chaos. Instead they are standing on the sidelines with amused looks on their faces.

Suddenly, it dawns on me that we still have a major problem.

“There’s just one thing,” I remind him. “You’re still technically married.”

He moves his lips onto mine, not answering. He pulls back and the corners of his lips rise slowly in a half smile, partly showing his teeth. There’s a gleam in his eyes and I know he is holding something back. A secret that I’m not in on…
yet.
Slowly, he moves his hands inside his jacket and like a magician, pulls out two tickets.

“First class tickets to the Dominican Republic. Flight leaves in two hours.”

Huh? The Dominican Republic? How would that solve this problem? My silly, lovesick brain needs a couple of moments to catch up as he waits ever so patiently for the ball to drop.

“OH!” I exclaim. “But my bags and Masen’s stuff are going to L.A. The car is picking us up and—”

Gently, he places his index finger on my mouth. “Sometimes, Presley, life doesn’t go according to plan.”

“You’re telling me. I can’t believe I’m going to get on a plane to fly to the Dominican Republic with a man who got married three hours ago. You’re still a jerk, you know.”

“You still love me for being one.”

Unable to control my joy, I smile back at him. “I wouldn’t change it for the entire world.”

And there, in front of the crowd of strangers, my jerk has followed his heart and mine skips along right beside him.

The trip to the Dominican Republic opened my eyes to a whole new world and a new life I would embark on.

Haden’s mission was to get that divorce. In fact, he made sure it was the first thing on the agenda the moment we landed.
Okay, maybe not the very first thing, and I’m sorry Kitty for dismissing you like that.
Haden surprised me by flying Gemma and Melissa over. Seeing them at the airport was a huge shock but it didn’t take me long to figure this puzzle out. Masen needed a sitter because apparently we weren’t leaving the room unless absolutely necessary.

I could go on and on about that, but Kitty is delirious and hasn’t been about to talk…or walk. In fact, for the first time in my life, she’s blissfully enjoying life on cloud nine. I mean, how did I not know about all the positions one could have sex in? The former Presley was such a prude, and holy fuck, Haden had a nice way of bringing the kink out of me. I could go on about his piercing and how every orgasm tore through me like a tornado, but what happens in the Dominican Republic, stays in the Dominican Republic.

Of course I knew Haden was far from perfect. Mr. Stubborn and Annoying turned into some jealous alpha during our divorce getaway. He was adamant that every busboy was trying to hit on me and he speculated  that maybe I didn’t look ‘freshly fucked’ enough by my man (his crass words, not mine). We scrapped the idea of having lunch by the pool because he needed his fix. Let’s face it, I didn’t complain…
ever.

But I learned a valuable lesson. Life isn’t about everyone or everything being perfect. It’s about the misadventures, the unplanned madness of losing your luggage and being forced to spend travel insurance money and going on the best shopping spree ever.

It’s about sitting at the fanciest restaurant and seeing a rat run past the table, only to end up at the closest McDonald’s in your formal wear.

It’s called
life.

Perfection is open for interpretation. Society makes us believe that when you find the perfect man, it’s love at first sight and you say “I do” and buy that dream house. Then you have your two or three kids and live happily ever after.

And guess what? We did the opposite.

Screw a stranger in the alley of a club, fall pregnant, run away with a newly-divorced man to live in a rundown bungalow out of wedlock. This is our
perfect
.

And from the moment Haden promised to give me more, I finally understood the meaning of living life to the fullest. I understood what it’s like to have no plan and just live for the moment. I didn’t have to become an adrenaline junkie like Haden. I just let fate do its thing. I savored every experience, good and bad, with the man who gave me more.

The man, Haden Cooper, otherwise known as my #Jerk.

H
e’s got that stare.

Those dirty eyes.

Licking his lips in anticipation.

And he’s watching my girl.

She’s oblivious. She always is. Standing across the room, my gaze is steadily on her while she’s talking animatedly with some friends. That dress isn’t helping, and I’m so fucking torn between wanting to see her beautiful body showcased and wanting to belt every fucker who’s looking at her. It’s that fucking slit, the one that rides so far up her thigh, it doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

And I know what every single fucker in here is thinking. I can read their minds. They are thinking the exact same thing as me. They are imagining how perfect her legs would be wrapped around their face. How her huge tits would bounce around as she rode them fast till they blew their load.

But she’s mine. My head starts to throb, slowly forming into a migraine as I struggle to ignore the sadistic thoughts running through my mind. Blame the dress. This ridiculous dress that caused a massive argument between us earlier. Stubborn woman wouldn’t back down, calling me a caveman or some bullshit like that. I just knew what every jerk would be thinking. After all, that used to be me.

The room is dark and slowly morphing into a lions’ den. The beasts are hungry, waiting for their prey to make a move, a wink, even a sly smile. A gesture that will have the beasts moving in leaps and bounds, thirsty for some meat. My eyes dart back and forth. One on the prey, the other watching the beasts. The one on my left…I’m certain it’ll be him. He’s covering his mouth with a bottle but his eyes have never left her. Then, he does the unthinkable. He moves his hand to his crotch and adjusts his cock.

Muthafucker has a hard-on already!

“You alright?”

Lex Edwards is beside me, having just stopped the waiter for a drink. I lose my focus, but only for a second. If it wasn’t for him buying a share in Lantern Publishing, this stupid party wouldn’t be happening.

“Yeah...it’s just….. Never mind.”

He chuckles as if he’s in on some joke. “You’ve got to let it go. Otherwise you’ll drive yourself insane. Trust me, I know. And you should know since you so eagerly tried the same move on my wife last year.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, man,” I apologize.

“So the tables have turned and you’re about to smash every guy in this room for looking at your woman.”

“I can take them out easily. Especially that fucker on the left,” I grit.

“You’ll spend a lifetime fighting it off. You need to find a way to control the jealousy. It’s a balancing act. Let her think you’re cool but never—and I repeat never—take your eyes off the prize.”

I don’t know how Lex is so calm about all of this. His wife is standing next to my girl. The beasts are probably thinking of how to bag the both of them in one go. The waiter returns but not quickly enough. I grab the scotch and down it in almost one gulp. It burns my throat and follows up with a numbing sensation. It doesn’t stop me from seeing red.

“If that’s what I gotta do, then I’ll spend my life fighting every fucker that thinks they can go near her.”

She doesn’t realize what she does to me. To every man in this room. Except for Lex. He’s fighting his own battles, despite being in denial.

It’s been over a year since I made it my mission to crawl under her skin. The woman who drove me to the brink of insanity. And she had no clue either. Because beneath her mass of curls was a hardheaded, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, feisty woman that rubbed me the wrong way. Boy, did that backfire. I thought fucking her in the alley and leaving her pussy wet with no happy ending would teach her a fucking lesson. It taught me a lesson. You play with fire, you get burned. The amount of shit I did to forget her was all a waste a time.

But I wouldn’t change it.

My son is my fucking life.

And running through his veins is the blood of this woman that consumes me. It’s not just her wild hair that cascades down her back and covers her body like a Greek goddess’. It’s everything about her. The way her big brown eyes stare back at me, drawing me in enough that I could climb into her soul and bury myself there. How her body begs me to take her, whenever and wherever.

Whenever…wherever…

I’ve got it. Why didn’t I think of this earlier?

You did, moron. You’re always thinking about it. This is what happens when you’re in love with a beautiful woman.

I finish the drink in my hand and place it on a table, abandoning Lex without another word. Walking straight to her, I don’t break my gaze until she stops mid-sentence as my body presses against her back. My hands move around her hips and I pull her closer till my cock is nestled in her ass.

Yeah, I’m hard. What’s fucking new?

“Look who’s here. What, aren’t we allowed to talk to your girlfriend?” Kate teases, laughing along with Lex’s wife, Charlie.

“Stop teasing him, Kate. It’s this man thing they all have to do,” Charlie chastises.

Kate rolls her eyes at Charlie. “Yeah, you should know. Your man is over there practically eye-fucking you.”

Charlie scans the room and spots Lex. “Oh…the joys of being eye-fucked. I’ll see you ladies later.”

I don’t give Presley an opportunity to say anything as I excuse us from Kate.

“Haden, what’s wrong? Where are we going?”

Pulling her along, I weave my way in and out of the crowd until we are outside in the lobby. I look to my left, then to my right. There it is. My savior for tonight.

“Come with me.”

Puzzled, she follows me until we are at the lobby desk. There is a bench located in front and I tell her to take a seat.

“Wait here,” I instruct.

At the counter, I pull the young busboy aside and whisper in his ear, “Key to the cloak room.”

I’m hoping he is smart enough to read between the lines since I’m holding out a hundred-dollar bill. At first he watches the people behind me, then takes the cash. “Alright. But you’ve got fifteen minutes, then my boss is back.”

Fifteen minutes. I’ll be done in five.

I make my way back to where she is sitting and grab her hand forcefully.

“Haden, for the love of God what are you doing?” She scowls, trying to release her grip from mine.

With the key in my hand, we make our way to the cloak room. I open the door and switch on the light, pushing her inside. Closing the door behind us, I don’t give her time to ask any more ridiculous questions. I slam my mouth onto hers as I push her against the wall. She clutches onto my shirt and manages to pull away for just a split second.

“We can’t do it in here. What about all the coats?” She panics.

“Fuck the coats. You gonna tease me all night in this white dress?”

“I wasn’t teasing you, I—”

I want my mouth back on hers. Our tongues are in a battle, feverishly fighting until she lets out a deep moan, the one that makes me rock hard, wanting to explode. I don’t have much time so I quickly flip her around, pushing her against the wall again, this time with her back to me until all I can see is that sweet ass of hers. I lift the corner of her dress, exposing one cheek. She’s wearing those French laced panties that made me blow in my pants last time. Fuck. With her skin in full view, I grab my palm and slap her ass hard enough for her to let out a squeal.

“Guess you can’t be quiet, huh?” I mock.

There are fancy coats hanging beside me. Designer labels, probably. I grab the white one closest to me and pull the belt off the coat. It’s soft and will do the job. I take the belt and place it over her head, then cover her mouth. Pulling it back around her head, I tie a knot so it’s firm but not too tight.

Moving her hair away from her ear, I lean in to whisper, “I’m going to fuck you now. It’s going to be hard, and you’re going to scream.”

Her body is waiting, the goose bumps forming along her precious skin. I don’t want to waste any more time and I unzip my pants till my cock is free. I slide my fingers into her panties and feel how soaking wet she is. Fuck me. My girl is ready for me. No more waiting. Just fuck her hard and make her come.

I grab my cock and just the slight touch causes me to moan. Pushing her panties aside, I slide myself in nice and hard, watching her arch her back as her knees begin to shake. I fucking love when her knees shake.

The tightness of her pussy feels like heaven. This is fucking torture…c’mon, your cock should be able to hold out for a couple more minutes.

Placing my hands on her shoulder, I push her against the wall, gripping tight as I continue to thrust into her. Sweat is dripping off my forehead, and unable to control my thirst, I slam harder while I lower my hand against her clit. Such a beautiful clit. It’s perfect…just the way I like it. Pink and swollen. I want it in my mouth. I want everything right now.

But time is running out.

I can’t be a complete jerk.

I loosen the belt enough for her to talk and let her dictate our happy ending by asking her how she wants me to make her come.

“My ass.”

When your girl tells you to make her come by fucking her in the ass, you better pull your cock out of her pussy fast before she changes her mind. My cock is dripping with her juices. I rub the tip and shaft against her hole. Her moans escape and I swiftly tighten the knot on the belt.

I always worried how she would cope with my piercing, but I soon found out that it gave her mind-blowing orgasms. So anal, yeah…that was my favorite fucking style.

I slide my cock into her ass slowly. As soon as I’m fully in, her body gives me the green light. Her skin against mine is making this delicious sound and as I lean in to rub her swollen clit again, my cock goes in deeper and her body shakes instantly. Her wild screams are muffled, but hey, I’m not  Superman. I ain’t got no superpower to stop what’s about to happen…

I’m fucking seeing stars, exploding inside her as the sensations ravage every part of me. I let out a deep, grumbling groan, tightening my grip on her shoulders. I didn’t want to hurt her but the marks I’ve left…they are red.

Our heavy pants echo through the confined room, and with a gentle kiss on her shoulder I ease my way out, slowly causing her to flinch. Untying the belt around her mouth, I throw it somewhere into the pile of coats as she turns around and adjusts her dress.

“You okay?” I ask while helping her with her dress.

With a wicked smile she fixes my shirt and straightens my tie. “If that’s the reaction I get out of you for wearing this dress, then I picked the right one for tonight.”

I stare into her eyes with a stern face. “No, that’s what happens when other men are trying to take what’s mine.”

“We talked about this. You’ve got to control your jealousy,” she reminds me gently.

“No, you talked and I refused to listen.”

“And I told you there’s nothing I can do to stop that from happening.”

Oh, there was something she could do. I just needed to get her home.

“Let’s go home,” I tell her, shutting down our disagreement.

On the cab ride home, she quietly leans her head against my shoulder, trying to stay awake. Her eyes begin to droop; I’ve learned that when you make Presley orgasm, she gets knocked out quick. It was cute, and many times I just have to go for round two with her half asleep.

The lights are off as we walk up the garden path and onto the porch. I fumble for my keys, nervously taking longer than usual.

“You want my keys?” She yawns.

I shake my head, finally getting the door open. She kicks off her shoes at the front door and bends to pick them up. God forbid you leave a pair of shoes at the front door. Miss OCD would have a heart attack.

“Come with me outside.”

“Now?” She yawns again. “I love you babe, but you took it out of me in the cloak room. How about you wake me up in a couple of hours and we’ll go again?”

“I don’t want you outside for that. I want to show you something,” I answer, slightly anxious. “And I’ll take you up on that offer of waking you up.”

She lets out a tired laugh and follows me to the back porch. I flick the back switch that lights up the entire garden. I’m proud of this fucking garden. Who would have thought that Haden Cooper had a green thumb? This backyard was a complete dump when we moved in and I turned it into something amazing. It wasn’t huge. Enough to have a small grass area for Masen and our dogs to run around in. The trees have been trimmed, and because California has warm nights, I decorated with fairy lights so we could enjoy being outside longer.