Reclaim Me (The Jaded Series Book 2) (28 page)

“Come swim with me,” he says quietly.

I look over and see Chris lounging on her stomach. Bailey is with Jaxon with her arms wrapped around him from behind while he mans the grill. Andrew is nowhere to be seen.

“Okay.” Mac helps me up from the blanket, and I slip off my shorts. I hear Mac groan behind me once my shorts are lowered, and I glance over at him. What I see in his eyes brings moisture between my legs. His eyes are running up and down my body with such intense sexual desire.

I clear my throat to get his attention. When he looks at me, there is no regret for being caught ogling me. He sends me a cocky smile.

Men.

He turns his back to me and says over his shoulder, “Hop on.
”

I walk up behind him, wrap my arms around his neck, and give myself a little jump to bring my legs around his waist. He puts his hands underneath my upper thighs to help keep me on his back and starts walking forward.

An evil little grin forms on my face. I lean forward and bring my lips to the back of his neck and start licking and kissing. His skin is salty from sweating, but I’ve never tasted anything so good.

I feel his hands tighten on my thighs before he says in a warning voice, “Mia…”

“What?” I murmur innocently after sucking and leaving a very impressive hickey on his shoulder.

“You know paybacks a bitch right?” he asks as he continues to walk.

“Suck it up, baby.” I use my tongue and leave a wet trail from the crook of his neck up to his ear, where I whisper to him, “That’s what this is. Payback from earlier.” I take his ear lobe and suck it into my mouth.

“Fuck,” he hisses and falters a step. “You don’t stop and we’ll be arrested for indecent exposure, because I sure as shit will take you right here,”

I chuckle in his ear and reach down with one hand to start running my hand up and down his chest and flicking his nipple with my nail.

“Arrest me, Mac. I’d love for you to use your handcuffs on me,” I whisper in his ear.

“Shit, Pix,” he groans. “You’ve got to stop, or we’re never going to make it to where we’re going.”

“Where are we going?” I ask against his neck.

“You’ll see,” he says evasively.

Intrigued by his answer, I glance up to see we’re just beyond the clearing and have entered the woods. I know exactly where he’s going when he takes an immediate right, heading back towards the lake. I give off a squeal and bounce on his back when he stops us at a short cliff that drops off to the water.

I kiss the back of his neck before jumping down and walking to the edge. The water is deeper here. I turn to Mac, who is watching me with a smile on his face. He’s leaning against the tree that has the swing attached to it. We used to come here all the time and swing from that rope and free fall into the water. I would get on his back and he would swing us out as far as he could, and we’d plunge into the warm water.

“Can we?” I ask excitedly. I feel like a kid again. The feeling is unusual for me, but I love it. I haven’t felt this carefree in years. Mac always has a way to bring out the silly and goofy in me.

“You know it.” He sends me a wink and unwraps the board that’s attached to the long rope and turns his back to me once again.

“Climb aboard, my lady.”

I walk up to him, and for the second time that day, hop onto his back. I’m surprised my face hasn’t split in two from the huge grin on my face. This is so exciting. I’ve always loved jumping with Mac.

“You ready?” He asks, looking over his shoulder at me.

I give him a hard peck on his lips, pull back, and nod my head. Mac walks us back a couple of steps and lifts one foot to put it on the board. He steps up on the board with his other foot, which releases our hold on the ground, and off we go. I squeal and yell as we glide over the water. The wind whips my hair and my grip on Mac tightens. Right as we reach the highest point over the lake, I let go of Mac and scream as I fly through the air and land feet first in the water.

I bob to the surface, just as Mac hits the water. I sputter and laugh, having the time of my life. When Mac makes it to my side, I yell, “Let’s do it again!”

We get out and jump three more times before I finally get my fill. When Mac reaches me this time, he pulls me into his arms for a kiss. It’s hard to stay steady and upright in the water since neither of us can touch the bottom. We both kick our feet to keep afloat as we kiss.

After a few minutes, we break apart and make our way over to the little hidden alcove directly below the swing. It recedes into the cliff, giving us plenty of privacy. It’s more shallow so we’re both able to touch the bottom. I bring my body flush against Mac’s and bring my lips to his.

“Thank you,” I tell him against his lips.

“Anything to make my Pix happy.”

I feel his warm chest against mine, and my nipples harden. His hard cock is against my stomach when I desperately need it against my pussy. With my arms wrapped around his neck, I lift up and wrap my legs around his waist, the water making me weightless. I let out a low moan when his hardness meets my soft and achy core.

I pull my lips from his and rest my forehead in the crook of his neck. Mac has his hands on my ass grinding my pussy against him. I know I need to be quiet because the others could hear us, but damn, he makes it hard.

“Mac,” I whimper against his neck.

“I know, Pix.”

Mac reaches behind my neck and pulls the string that holds my bikini up. My breasts fall free, and he lifts me slightly so he can pull a beaded nipple into his mouth. I lean back and laze in the water to give him better access. His mouth is warm against my cool skin, and I suck in a sharp breath at the sensations coursing through me. He switches to my other breast and applies the same treatment.

I bring my hand down between us and untie the string on his shorts. I reach inside and pull out his cock and start sliding it up and down. He’s hard as fucking steel. When I rub my thumb against the tip of him, he releases a hiss.

“Goddamn, Mia, I need to be in you, baby.”

His lips leave my nipples, and I bring my body back up so it’s plastered to his chest. The little bit of hair on his chest scratches against me, and the feeling has me bucking my hips. I let go of his cock just long enough for me to move my bikini bottoms aside. I bring the tip of him to my clit and rub it back and forth.

Fuck! That feels good.

But it’s not enough. After a few swipes, I fit him to my entrance and push down at the same time Mac pulls me to him. Mac slams his mouth down on mine to absorb my cries of pleasure. We seriously need to find better places to have sex. Having to always muffle my cries is killing me.

The water around us laps at our bodies as we move against each other. Our lips move apart, but our foreheads rest together. We watch each other with heated eyes as we both move towards the climax of our lovemaking. This isn’t the normal fast and impatient sex we’ve been having. Nothing is rushed about it. We move slowly, enjoying the feeling of the other, never taking our eyes off the other.

When we finally reach our peak together, our lips meet on a soft and sweet kiss. I lay my head against his shoulder as we catch our breaths; Mac’s cock still nestled in my body.

After a few minutes, I unwrap my legs from around Mac’s waist and fix my bottoms, while Mac tucks himself back inside. I turn to him so he can retie my top. Once done, I turn back to him.

He pulls me back into his arms and looks deeply in my eyes, when he says, “I love you, Pix.”

My heart stutters at his words. Not because I don’t return the feelings or don’t want him to love me. I’m just surprised and so happy to hear them. I never thought I would hear him say those words to me again. I’ve known for a while that I never stopped loving him. How could I when he’s been everything I’ve ever wanted?

I give him a smile and tell him, “I love you too, Mac.”

He crushes me to his chest at my words. When he pulls back, there is a whole slew of emotions on his face. Relief, elation, and a hint of surprise are just a few.

“I never thought I would hear you say those words to me again,” he says, mirroring my own thoughts.

“I never stopped loving you, Mac. I’m still scared that something is going to come along and mess it all up, but I refuse to let that stop our happiness. I need you in my life, Mac. I never realized how alone I felt until you forced your way back into my life.”

“You’ll never have that feeling again. Nothing, and no one, will separate us again. You’re mine, and I plan to keep you.”

His face is serious, but I still chuckle at his barbaric words.
God, I really do love this man.

“We better get back before they send out a search party,” Mac mutters.

We find the ledge on the side of the cliff, and Mac helps me climb up, him easily following behind me. We hold hands and walk in silence back to the others.

When we make it back, Ethan and Karyn are here. Nick is here as well. He looks to be moody, if the expression on his face is any indication. It seems like he has a permanent scowl on his face lately. He’s off to the side talking to Jaxon and Ethan.

Karyn comes running up to me with a loud squeal.

“Guess what, Mia?” She says, while jumping up and down.

I take a wild off the wall guess just to mess with her. “You’re pregnant.”

The excitement on her face disappears and disappointment replaces it.

“How did you know? You totally ruined my surprise,” she pouts.

Oh shit! I didn’t see that coming.

“Um…I guessed,” I tell her honestly, feeling bad for taking away the good news she was so happy to give. “Shit, Karyn, I didn’t know. But congratulations!”

Mac leans down and kisses my temple, telling me he’s going to go talk with the guys. Bailey and Chris come to join our party of burst bubbles.

I reach over and give Karyn a hug. When I pull back, her big grin is back in place.

“Guess what else?” She asks, and then doesn’t let me answer. “Never mind, I’ll tell you. Don’t want you to ruin this one as well. Ethan asked me to marry him, and I said yes!” She jumps up and down laughing. Bailey, Chris, and I watch her with happy grins on our faces. Obviously, Karyn has already told Bailey and Chris while Mac and I were occupied.

“I’m so happy for you both, Karyn! Ethan’s a good man and would make a wonderful father and husband. And you’re just as special, if not more so.” I say the last with a wink at her.

“I know,” she says and looks over to Ethan, who is trying his best to avoid Andrew. We all laugh at him and his useless attempts. “I’m so glad I moved here and met him, met all of you.”

“We are, too,” Bailey says with a hug to Karyn.

Chris steps up, offers her own hug, and says, “I’m so happy for you. You deserve this.”

Our happy moment is shattered when we all hear Andrew across the way yell, “Hey, Mia Pia, how was it having sex with Mac in the hidden alcove?”

“Jesus, fuck, Andrew,” Mac says.

“What?” Andrew asks, as if he didn’t just inform everyone what Mac and I were doing a few minutes ago.

I roll my eyes at Andrew and yell back, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Actually, yes I would.” Andrew answers. “So, tell me, is he as big as I’ve imagined?”

Chris, Bailey, and Karyn burst out a laughing. Jaxon has his back turned, but I see his shoulders are shaking. Nick’s lips are twitching. When I look to Mac, he has his head thrown back looking up at the sky, as if trying to control his temper.

I decide to play the game a bit longer and give as good as I get. “Oh, Andrew, he’s so much bigger than you could have ever thought.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Mac says, sending a glare in Andrew’s direction.

“Thank fuck,” Jaxon mutters. “The last thing I want to hear is about how big Mac is and what he does with my sister.

“What?” Andrew whines in his deep voice, which totally contrasts with the whine itself. “We were just getting to the good part. Mia, come see me later and you can give me all the good details.”

“Not happening,” Mac says, coming to stand beside me and putting his arm around my waist.

“You suck, Mac.”

“No, that would be you, Andrew,” Mac deadpans. We all laugh at the two of them.

A little while later, we all sit down on the blankets to eat the hamburgers and hotdogs the guys grilled and have easy conversations. I’ve missed this so much, and I vow to myself that I’ll make sure we all have get togethers like this more often. Just us adults, and our silly antics.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Mia

Her neck…

Wednesday evening the following week, just three days before Mac’s parents are set to arrive, has Mac, Trent, and me sitting in the living room watching
Once Upon A Time
while eating dinner. Mac and I are on the couch, while Trent has his back to us sitting in front of the coffee table. I bribed them into watching the show with me by promising to make them their favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs.

I’ve finished my plate and have been waiting patiently for the past five minutes for a commercial so I can go grab some more. Did I mention spaghetti is one of my favorites as well?

When a commercial finally comes on, I turn to the guys. “I’m going to get some more. Do either of you need anything while I’m up?”

Trent jumps up off the floor like it just burned him, but I think it’s probably because he’s trying to get out of watching the show, and announces, “I’ll get it for you. I’m done and was going to the kitchen anyway.”

Thinking that it’s incredibly sweet of him to offer to make me another plate, I smile at him and hold my plate out. “Thank you, Trent. Not too much, please.”

He walks to me and grabs my plate, all the while avoiding my eyes. He’s once again been acting strange today. Trent’s been fidgety and even more withdrawn than usual. I tried getting him to loosen up earlier and play a video game with me, but nothing’s worked. He comes up with excuse after excuse to stay away from both Mac and me. The only reason he is out in the living room with us now is because Mac forced him to.

When he walks away with my plate, I look over to Mac, who is watching him walk away. Trent rounds the corner out of sight and Mac turns his worried eyes to me. I wish I knew the words to make him feel better, but I know there’s nothing I can say. Only Trent can do that. He needs to learn that he can come to his dad.

A few minutes later, Trent comes out with a plate of food and hands it to me.

“Thank you, Trent.”

He mumbles a ‘thank you’ and turns to his dad, “Can I go get in the shower?”

We both watch Trent shift from one foot to another before Mac says, “Sure kid.” But, before he can walk away, Mac calls his name. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah,” he mutters before walking off.

Mac sighs and scrapes his hair with his fingers. I set my plate down on the coffee table and scoot over to him. I curl up to his side with my feet tucked in and wrap my arms around his waist.

“I know you’re worried, Mac, but he needs to come to you in his own time. I know it’s hard not to force him to talk to you, but by doing that it could make it worse. Give him a bit more time, and if he doesn’t, then worry about what to do.”

He leans down and places a kiss on my lips before pulling back. “I just hope it’s the right thing to do to not sit down with him and make him talk to me. I hate seeing him so down. He’s acting the complete opposite to what he normally acts. I want my son back.”

“I know, baby.”

We sit in silence for a while, before Mac reaches over, grabs my plate, and hands it to me. “Eat, Pix.”

No longer having much of an appetite, I mix the noodles and sauce together and twirl some on my fork. I only take a few bites before I can’t eat anymore. It just doesn’t taste as good as it did before and is turning my stomach slightly. The stress of the situation with Trent is getting to me.

I gesture for Mac to hand me his empty plate, and I get up off the couch to take them into the kitchen and grab another beer for the both of us. When I make it to the kitchen, I barely have enough time to set the plates down on the counter before a wave of dizziness hits me. I grab onto the counter to keep myself up right, my legs going all wonky and not holding me up anymore.

What the fuck?

As I stand there trying to get my bearings, my head begins to pound harder than I’ve ever felt before, and another bout of dizziness hits me. My stomach starts rolling, and I’m worried I’ll lose all my supper. My legs turn to jelly and can’t hold my weight anymore. I try to grab onto something, but my arms feel heavy as well. On my way down, my hand hits the pitcher of tea on the counter, and it comes crashing down onto the floor with me.

My heart is beating rapidly to the pounding in my head. My head is fuzzy, and I swear I feel vibrations underneath my body. I briefly register the taste of almonds in my mouth.

Strange.

I can’t see that well because of all the blackness that’s starting to creep in. I know that I’m about to pass out. Right before my mind goes blank, a thought occurs to me. One that has my chest aching and desperately wondering why.

Trent.

Mac

The loud crash coming from the kitchen has me jumping up from the couch and racing that way. When I round the corner into the kitchen, I skid to a halt for a split second as panic tries to make its way into my body. Mia is sprawled out on the floor with the glass tea pitcher shattered all around her.

“Oh, fuck, Mia!” I yell and barrel my way towards her. Just as I drop down to her side, her body starts convulsing and foam starts leaking out of her mouth. My heart freezes in my chest at the sight.

I immediately roll her to her side so she doesn’t choke on the shit that’s coming from her mouth. Her body continues to shake and seize for a few seconds before stopping, scaring the living shit out of me. I reach down for the pulse in her neck and barely feel it against my fingertips. I lower my head to her mouth and barely feel the warm air coming out between her lips. I smell a faint hint of almonds, and I know exactly what this is. My jaw clenches, and I have to force my breathing to stay calm.

“T,” I yell with a tortured voice.

Fuck! This can’t be happening.

I gather Mia in my arms just as T comes running into the kitchen. His eyes go wide when he sees Mia and the mess on the floor. The guilt in his eyes is plain to see, but it’s something I will have to deal with later. Mia needs me right this minute.

“Grab my keys on the table and open the door for me,” I tell him, rushing towards the front door. T’s there before me, opening it. With Mia in my arms, I rush to my truck and wait a second for T to open that door as well. After gently depositing her in the front seat on her side, I rush around to the other side and get behind the wheel. T’s already in the back seat.

I look down at Mia and check for a pulse again, relief hitting me hard when I feel the faint thumping. The beat is there, but it’s so weak and I know I don’t have much time to get her to the emergency room. I pull my phone out of my pocket and peel out of the driveway.

I call the emergency room to let them know we’re heading their way. I give a brief, discreet description on my suspicions so they’ll have everything ready by the time we get there.

I grip the steering wheel and squeeze my eyes closed for a second. Why in the fuck would Trent do this? Is this why he’s been acting even more strange today? I thought he was getting better. I thought his feelings for Mia were changing. I just don’t understand. T is not a violent or hurtful child. There has to be a very good reason for this. Once I know Mia is okay, I’m getting to the bottom of this shit. No more avoiding it. No more putting it off. This shit ends tonight.

Twenty minutes later, we’re skidding to a stop in front of the emergency room doors. I fling open my door and rush around to Mia’s side. I tell T to run inside to let them know we’re coming in. A nurse pushing a gurney meets us halfway to the counter.

“Mia Walker, right?” The nurse asks.

I lay Mia down on the gurney, and the nurse starts wheeling it towards a set of double doors.

“Yes. She stopped breathing about five minutes ago,” I tell her, the words coming out raw. When I reached down in the truck and couldn’t find her breath anymore, I nearly drove us off the road. The only thing that kept me sane was the slight flutter I found in her wrist. Her heartbeat was getting weaker but, thank God, it was still there.

“Okay, we’ve been informed of the situation and have everything prepped and ready, Sheriff Weston. I need you to stay out here. As soon as the results are in and she’s been treated, someone will come speak with you.”

I nod my head, unable to form any more words because of the lump in my throat. I look down at Mia and see her face is red. I quickly give her forehead a kiss before the nurse wheels her away.

I turn from the double doors and scrape my fingers through my hair. I see T hunched over in a chair in the waiting room, his eyes red rimmed and tears leaking down his cheeks. I turn my head away from him, not able to deal yet with the fact that my own eleven-year-old son poisoned the woman that I love. Tears prick the back of my eyes with that knowledge.

I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Jaxon’s number. I half explain what’s going on. We hang up with him yelling for Bailey to get ready to leave. I have no idea how I’m going to tell him that T is the reason Mia’s in the hospital.

Not looking forward to this conversation, but knowing I need to have it, I walk over to Trent and take a seat beside him. How in the fuck do you ask your eleven-year-old why he poisoned someone? How in the hell did he even know how to do it in the first place?

I lean forward in my chair and rest my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. I sit there in silence for a few minutes, trying to gather my thoughts.

“Dad?” Trent asks with a tremor in his voice.

“What, T?” I turn my head to him, wanting him to see the torment in my eyes.

More tears gather in his eyes and spill down his cheeks. “I-is she going t-to be okay?”

I take a deep breath before answering. “I don’t know, son. It all depends if they can get it out of her system fast enough.”

I watch as his face crumples. I want to gather him in my arms to reassure him, but I can’t. Why is he acting this way when he put Mia in the hospital in the first place?

“Why, T?” I ask him quietly.

“Why what, Dad?” he asks in return. Fuck if we’re going to play this game. He knows damn well what.

Forcing myself to stay calm, I look him right in the eye and say, “I know what you did. I know you put something in Mia’s food.”

The anguish and fear I see in his eyes almost breaks me, and I have to fortify my resolve. I need to get to the truth.

“Because I was scared,” he whispers so low I barely hear him. “They said they would hurt you and me.”

What the fuck?

“Who, Trent?” I ask him calmly, when I’m nothing but calm. I want to rave, rant, and punch something. Who in the fuck has the balls to threaten my son? Somewhere in the back of my mind tells me I already know who. It’s the only explanation. I would have never thought that Tessa would threaten our son, and it makes me sick to my stomach to think I never knew how sick and twisted she is and that T’s been living with her for years. How can a father not know that his son has been in danger?

Trent doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. His expression says he scared to. I reach over and grab his shoulder. “Trent, Son, I need you to tell me who threatened you. I promise nothing will happened to either of us.”

Relief floods through me when I see T come to his decision to trust me and says the one word that has me boiling with rage.

“Mom,” he says quietly, and then shocking me with the next name. “And Shady.”