QUIVER (QUAKE Book 2) (9 page)

      “I understand your reasoning, but after everything I’ve given you and all that I forgave you for, how could you think I wouldn’t want to shoulder that burden with you?” I lift my hand to push her hair back from her face. She’s exquisite and I can’t imagine my life without her in it.

      “Janny, I don’t want to be without you anymore. I love you and I need you in my life. Please say you forgive me and want to give us another shot.” My eyes implore her while I hold my breath waiting for her answer.

      “I love you, Kyle, and I do forgive you. I’ll give us another chance if you promise to stop making decisions for me.” She cups my cheek and the softness of her hand against my face gives me hope. “I’m an adult and don’t need you to protect me. I think I have a pretty good grasp on how quickly things can change. I’ve dealt with plenty of life’s hardships already.” Her chin lifts and her voice is stern. “I’m strong – strong enough to make it if we don’t work out. Don’t screw up again.”

***

     
Motherfucker. What’s he doing here? He’s supposed to be in Boston now.

      Rage consumes me.

      I can’t believe she forgave him.

      This is not how I planned on things going. My fingers tap the outside of my thigh, an old nervous tic of mine. Fuck. I have to do something to get him out of the picture. She’s never going to be mine if he’s around.

      I pick up the military-style Bowie knife on the counter admiring the way the overhead kitchen lights glint off the metal. I picture myself stabbing Kyle in the gut, putting all my body weight behind the blow. I can hear the slick sound of the blade going in and the sound of suction when I pull it out of him. He’d grunt and fall over, but I’d be waiting for it. I’d be waiting to stand over him and plunge the knife down into his stomach over and over and over. He’d lie there, bleeding to death in front of me – bleeding to death like the pig he is. I’d watch him grow weaker and weaker and just when he’s about to breathe his last breath, I’d tell him my name.

      Soon there will be no secrets between us.

Janny

     
I wake up with a groan when the alarm goes off the next morning. I can still see the indent on the pillow from Kyle’s head and I wonder where he is now. My heart pounds at a faster pace when I think about the angry sex we had last night. I smile, what is it about us and tables?

      I catch the scent of something delicious cooking. Is that bacon? I jump out of bed and throw on some shorts and a t-shirt and hurry out to the kitchen. Kyle’s standing in front of the stove in his black boxer briefs making me scrambled eggs. His legs are thick with muscles and his shoulders are broad. He looks even bigger than he did before his surgery and I’m sure it’s from all the working out he’s been doing to speed along his recovery. I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist, resting my hands on his stomach and my cheek on his muscular back.

      “Good morning, baby,” he says.

      His skin is warm under my fingers and when I inhale, I can smell the masculine scent of his soap. I move my fingers, exploring the ridges of his stomach and scrape my fingernail along the edge of his boxers.

      He inhales sharply. “Watch out or you’ll be having something other than eggs for breakfast.” I giggle, stretching the elastic waistband out and then release it to snap back against his skin. He drops the rubber spatula in the pan of eggs, turns around and smothers my gasp of surprise with a quick kiss.

      “I love you.” He leans his forehead against mine.

      “I love you too.” I smile.

      “Ok, just making sure it wasn’t a dream.” He kisses the tip of my nose and moves back to study my face. I do the same, staring into the depth of his eyes. I could get lost in all the varying shades of gold and brown surrounded by thick, dark lashes. His nose is straight with a slight bump in the bridge, the result of a fight he had in college. He leans in, brushing his full, soft lips against mine. Those lips can do magical things. I shiver. Just thinking about what they do to my body makes my knees weak.

      Over breakfast we iron out the details of how we’re going to see each other while I’m still obligated to be in New York. He’ll be here until tomorrow and then he needs to return back to Boston to take care of a job he can’t do remotely.

      “You better get ready for work before I decide to make you late.” He lecherously wiggles his eyebrows at me and I giggle, rising from my chair. I reach for my plate and he puts his hand on mine. “I’ve got this, go take your shower.” I blow him a kiss and head to the bathroom. Once I’m inside I catch a glimpse of my face in the mirror. My cheeks are flushed a warm pink and my eyes are sparkling. It’s amazing what love can do for you.

     I keep my eyes closed while the hot spray from the shower streams down over my face. I smile when muscular forearms wrap around my waist.
This shower is about to get a lot more enjoyable.

      I can feel the heat of his body all along my back, his thick cock resting between the cheeks of my ass while his lips trail hot kisses along my jaw. He bites my neck and I gasp from the pain. My skin is sensitive from where his teeth left marks last night. He spins me around in his arms and fiercely claims my mouth. His tongue is rough when it strokes mine, his fingers twist in my hair, holding me still; I like being under his control. His dominance makes me feel desired, like he can’t get enough of me.

      His hands hook under my ass, lifting me up to wrap my legs around his hips. The shower tiles are cold when my back makes contact with them, but the heat his kiss infuses me with has me forgetting about it. I gasp into his mouth when he thrusts his cock inside me and then again when he lifts me up and slams me down even harder. My fingernails claw at the skin along his spine making furrows while our mouths never lose contact. He keeps the pace consistent raising and lowering me on his long, thick cock, my clit rubbing against him with each motion. Our mouths part, he draws air in his lungs before he whispers huskily. “Your pussy feels so good. I wish you didn’t have to go to work.” He trails kisses along my collarbone and growls in my ear. “I want to stay buried inside you forever.” His cock filling my pussy, his hands gripping my ass and his voice in my ear all combine, sending me careening into an explosive orgasm. He immediately follows groaning my name as he comes.  

***

     It’s difficult for me to concentrate at work today. I can’t keep my thoughts from Kyle and the delicious things he did to my body last night and this morning. Just thinking about it has my cheeks flushing and my chin tucking down into my chest. I can’t believe we’re back together. I wasn’t sure this day would ever come; I’m so relieved it did. How did I live without him for the past six weeks? It felt more like six months, but it’s over now. There’s no more bullet fragment to worry about. There’s nothing standing in our way. I smile and think about how we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together and nothing’s going to keep us apart.

      “Janny, I’d like to see what you’ve done so far on the Green Life infomercial,” Zack says, walking into the office where I’m working. I quickly save the work I’m doing and pull everything to do with the infomercial up on my laptop. He looks it over in silence and leans over me. I can feel the heat of his breath on the side of my face. I want to move away, but he’s got me caged in with one arm along the back of my chair and one bracing his weight on the desk.

      “You need to cut out some of the technical details. No one wants to know exactly how this product is made; just that it’s ecofriendly.”

      I nod my head and wait for him to continue.

      “You should add one more demonstration of the product and make it something original. It needs to be something we haven’t seen in every other infomercial about cleaning products.”

      “I can do that,” I reply. I have to admit I’m a little disappointed by his lackluster reaction. I’ve put in so much time working on this. I expected him to praise me for it and I’m feeling let down now that he didn’t.

      Kyle is waiting to take me to lunch when the elevator doors open to the lobby. My smile beams at him when I catch a glimpse of him standing there. He’s so tall and broad shouldered; he stands out in a crowd. I notice all the ladies looking him over and it makes me smile. Look all you want, ladies.
He’s all mine
. He brushes a kiss on my lips and pulls me into his arms.

      “Hi. How was your morning?” he asks.

      “Long, without you.” I squeeze him back, savoring the feel of being in his arms. I want to spend every minute I can with him.

      We decide on a coffee shop across the street from my work. They serve great sandwiches and iced coffee. We’re seated at a small table in the back of the shop and Kyle has pulled his chair over to sit next to me. His hand is wrapped around my thigh in a possessive manner and it makes my stomach tingle. I put my hand on his leg and rub his thigh through his jeans. I can feel his unwavering gaze on me while I eat my sandwich. When I turn and look at him he flashes a big smile at me.

      “What are you smiling about?” I pop a Frito into my mouth, noisily chewing it while I wait for him to answer.

      “I’m just so fucking happy to be sitting here with you. It hasn’t sunk in yet that you’re mine again.” He squeezes my inner thigh and his expression turns serious. “I hope you know, I’m never letting you go now. You’re stuck with me forever, baby.”

      “Is that a promise?” I ask him.

      “It’s not a promise, baby, it’s the truth.”

      “How are we going to manage our relationship with me being here for another five months?” I had to ask him. It’s been on my mind.

      “I don’t see it being much of a problem. I’ll come visit on the weekends and even some weekdays when I can. Don’t worry, nothing’s ever going to come between us again.” 

***

     
Watching them sit together at the coffee shop makes my stomach turn. The way his hand clenches her leg makes me want to stab him in his eye with my fork. I hate that they’re back together; there has to be a way to pull them apart again; to drive an irreparable wedge between them. I didn’t anticipate her forgiving him and it’s definitely thrown a wrench in my plans. The Robert Burn’s poem comes to my mind.

      The best laid schemes of mice and men

      Often go awry

      And leave us nothing but grief and pain

      for promised joy.

      I won’t let this new development affect the outcome of what needs to happen. The plan has been set in motion; the die is cast. There is only one possible outcome I’ll allow myself to think about and it involves ridding this world of Kyle McKenzie. Janny doesn’t realize she’ll be better off without him. I’m going to make sure she knows what a piece of shit he really is. By the time I kill him she’ll be thanking me.

      Soon there will be no secrets between us.

***

      Kyle had to work on Sunday so he left on Saturday afternoon. Our goodbye was tearful – well mine was. It was hard watching him leave when we just got back together. I know that his job isn’t a Monday through Friday, nine to five situation and sometimes he has to work weekends or even overnights.

      Mondays are never easy, but at least being at work all day has kept my mind off missing him. I worked through my lunch break, eating a sandwich I brought from home. I wanted to dedicate as much time as possible to the infomercial I’ve been working on. Now that I’m about to walk out of work, the full force of my hunger hits me. My stomach growls loud enough for me to hear it.

      The sound of a masculine laugh behind me has me looking over my shoulder. Zack is right behind me.

      “Damn, doesn’t that boss of yours let you eat?” He winks at me while we exit the building together. We stand side by side on the sidewalk to the right of the doors.

      “No, he’s a tyrant. He’s always breathing down my neck. Who has time to eat?” I joke back.

      “He sounds like an asshole. How about I buy you some dinner to make up for his lack of manners?”

      I’m exhausted emotionally from everything that happened this weekend, and physically too. Kyle and I didn’t get much sleep with all the making up we were doing and I couldn’t sleep last night without him next to me. The bed seemed so big and lonely without him.

      I’m not sure how Kyle would feel about me spending time with Zack. We didn’t talk about it at all. I glance over and he smiles at me. I can feel my resistance losing ground. I guess if Kyle had a problem with it, he would have said so.

      “Can we grab a pizza and eat it at my place?” I’d like some company tonight to distract me from missing Kyle.

      “Sure, whatever you want.”

      Zack carries the two large pizzas inside my apartment when I open the door. “Put them on the table,” I say, while I kick my shoes off. “I’m going to change quickly; I’ll be right back.”

      My room still smells like Kyle’s cologne and thinking about what we did on my bed last night has me feeling flushed.

     
“You feel that, baby?” He pushes his cock slowly inside me. “Do you feel how perfect we are together?” He grips my hands with his, holding them over my head and lowers his chest until my nipples are pressed against him. “I love you so much,” he whispers. His voice is ragged from the fast pace of his breathing. He takes his time, slowly thrusting his cock, moving deeper each time until he’s buried all the way inside me. He swallows my gasp with his mouth when our lips connect – every possible inch of our bodies touching.

      I love Kyle so much, I’m not sure how I’ll be able to handle being away from him for the remainder of my internship. I’m not going to think about it now. Zack’s here and he’ll be a good distraction for the night.

      “Okay, let me at it,” I say, walking over to the table. I changed into my black yoga pants and my favorite Boston University t-shirt. I think I’ll need the elastic waistband tonight. I’m planning on eating record-breaking amounts of pizza.

      Zack has his tie off, the top buttons of his shirt open and his sleeves rolled up.

      “Do you hate wearing a tie?” I ask, placing a couple of large slices on my plate.

      “Is it that obvious?” he asks with a laugh. “I swear the damn things make me feel like I’m choking.”

      I giggle and nod my head. “Yeah, the way you strip your tie off most days, before you’ve even left the building is a pretty good indication. Oh shit, I forgot drinks. Beer or wine?”

      “Beer, thanks.”

      I grab a beer out of the fridge for him and pour myself a glass of wine. I still have half a bottle left. I have a feeling I’ll be polishing it off tonight.

      We choose to sit on the couch while we eat and put the pizza on the coffee table. We don’t speak for the first few minutes, both of us focusing on satisfying our hunger.

      “So, how have things been with you and your ex?” he asks.

      I take another bite and chew it up before I answer. “We’re actually back together now. I’m really happy.”