Whisper Through The Pain (A Novella) (13 page)

“I’m not available.”

“Damn, the lines of women will be around the corners once you’re single again.” She sneered.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m a married man and I will remain so. You are it for me, woman, only you.”

Her beautiful brown eyes glistened with tears.

With a harsh expletive, he crossed the room and yanked her into his arms. “It’s been a long time for me. I want you so badly, I’m trembling with need.”

He stepped back. His hand shook as he held it out to her.

“No divorce...please.” His voice was a low throaty grunt as he powered her against the wall again and trapped her there with the strength and heat of his body. “Since the first time I kissed you almost two years ago, you’re the only woman I’ve made love to. I have been patient but I’m at the end of it.”

“We can’t settle anything like this, Jake.” 

Overwhelmed by his masculine scent, the fire in his eyes, she pushed at his hard chest, struggling with a temptation so powerful and potentially dangerous that her movements became frantic. “Let me go—”

“Never again.”

She wiggled in an attempt to free herself and then gave a soft moan as she felt the hard ridge of his arousal and the warmth of his breath as his mouth captured hers.

“You are the most infuriating woman, but you’re all
mine
.”

“Are you sure?” she asked cheekily.

He leaned back and glared at her. “Definitely.”

“That’s a chauvinistic answer.”

“Damn straight.”

His mouth came down on hers with punishing force, his kiss ravenous and desperate, trapping her moans of need.  She wrapped her arms around his powerful shoulders, her back pressed hard against the wall by the power of his body and the force of his passion.

She forgot her anger.

She forgot that this man had hurt her.

She forgot that she’d run from him.

She forgot everything except her need for him.

His kiss was a savage assault on her senses that destroyed all thought and willpower. She felt his hand slide up to cup her breast and she arched in a desperate plea for more. 

He pulled the shirt over her head and threw it on the floor.

“I’ve missed you, Melissa…so damn much.”

Her fingers burrowed into his hair.

“I need you,” Jake groaned, his hands swift and determined as he stripped off her jeans leaving on her silk panties and she did nothing but urged him to continue.

She grabbed his shirt and jerked it opened in a rough, guttural gesture that sent buttons flying across the room. She opened the snap to his jeans, licking her lips in the process, and slid down the zipper, caressing his erection pressing against the front of his black boxers.

Then she planted the palms of her hands flat, pressing them against the muscles of his chest and dragged them down, over his rib cage to the top of his boxers where the shadowed line of groin began. She ached to free him, to hold his satin hard length in her hand, to stroke him, feel him, and then guide him into the part of her that throbbed for his possession. When she couldn’t stand it any longer, she removed the constricting fabric, freeing him.

“Jake…the door isn’t locked.”

“No one is here.”

“But—”

“Shh. No one will dare enter this room.”

He lifted her to the high tabletop, their movement drawing her gaze to the mirror—their image sent a thrill of raw pleasure through her. There she was perched on the edge of pearl white marble, her hair in disarray, and her body humming with desire.

Jake sensed the thrill of desire that ripped through Melissa as she watched their reflection in the mirror.

He shifted her slightly and eased her panties from around her hips, discarding the scrap of lace before he settled between her legs again. He was immensely hard and he needed to be inside her. He loved this woman with every fiber of his being. She was as necessary to him as every breath he took.

He pulled Melissa forward. She gasped as her backside slid along the cold marble.

Nestling his hips between her thighs, his erection probed at the hot moisture at the entrance of her vagina.

“I can’t wait, Jake…” Her voice was strangled. “Please—”

He slowed down. “I want it to be good.”

“Damn you.”

She was holding onto his arms, breathing erratically, her breasts beckoning him. Her deep mocha areolas were tight buds, and he drew first one and then the other into his mouth.  Her shuddering sigh of pleasure was almost his undoing as he wrapped her in his arms.

“It’s been too long…I’m sorry. It’s going to be a rough ride, sweetheart.”

“Now. Jake.”

“I won’t be able to stop.”

Her legs locked around his waist. “Do. It.”

He entered her with a hard, possessive thrust that almost made him ejaculate. He held still and took deep breaths to calm his fast beating heart and the urge to pound relentlessly into her.

He watched her expression, and her eyes glazed. She’d wedged her hands on either side of his hips to keep her balance, using what leverage she had to flex against him, driving him in deeper. She moaned in response, and now helpless in his movements, he gave in to the rhythm his body demanded, his hips pumping hard and fast until her cries filled the room and her inner muscles contracted around him. He continued to thrust deep until everything in him snapped. He lost it when she arched her back and her juices flowed around his penis. He felt the onslaught of a hard release but continued to pump deep and fast, bringing her to another shattering climax.

Finally, the pleasure was too much and it surged through him, shooting his semen into her body. All of it flowed into her womb and the overflow oozed down her thighs. They remained connected. He buried his face in her neck, muffling the aftershocks of such a powerful release that left him trembling against her.

“I love you, Melissa,” he uttered against her skin.

She caressed his face.

He pressed a kiss into her palm and wrapped his arms around her.

Chapter Seventeen

After lunch, which also became their dinner, they called her parents to let them know she wouldn’t be coming back that night. Jake thought the conversation had gone well. Although, there were a lot questions, some were answered, and others left for another time.

He and Melissa spent the rest of the day curled up in a lounge chair on the patio. Conversation had been cautious but flowed. Later, in bed, they made love several more times before falling into a deep sleep.

Jake woke to find his wife wrapped in his arms, their heartbeats beating in sync with each other. He didn’t know what caused him to wake but he felt unsettled. What was the matter with him? Everything should be good. The woman he loved was in his arms. Fear edged the corners of his heart.  How many times had he told Melissa he loved her during the day and night? Five? Ten? It felt good to him to finally speak what was in his heart.

The problem was Melissa never, not once, said she loved him. When he waited for a response, she remained silent or pretended she didn’t hear him. It hurt—deeply. But he would give her time to learn to love him. Could he live with her never loving him? He had no choice. He needed her to breath. But the divorce still hung between them like a hundred tons of lava rock, with a red-hot boil beneath the surface.

“Go to sleep, Jake,” she murmured against his naked chest.

He kissed her hair. “You’re supposed to be asleep.”

“I was until you woke me.”  She yawned, found a comfortable spot and returned her head on his chest.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s your brain that woke me.” She lifted her head; her eyes drowsy with sleep. “Something troubling you?”

“Us,” he said without hesitation. 

She shifted and lay beside him, not touching. Although only a few inches separated, he immediately felt the distance as if she was a million miles from him. He hated it, but he wouldn’t ignore it.

He rolled to his side and propped his head in his hand. “What happened just then?” 

“Nothing.”

“Something did. Talk to me.”

“Where do we go from here?” She paused. “Can we forget everything that has happened? I don’t know if I can.”

“I must be losing my touch.” He tried to laugh but couldn’t. The ache in his chest was increasing to unbearable pain.

“I’m serious, Jake.”

“I’m not a sweet talker, Melissa. You know me better than that but I don’t talk out the side of my mouth either. I told you I loved you and you didn’t respond.”

“I didn’t come into the marriage with blinders on my eyes. I see you clearly.”

“I told you I loved you.”

“I know.”

“And you didn’t say anything.”

“You’re pushing, Jake.”

“Damn, right I’m pushing. I’m fighting to win.”

She sat up and glared at him. “You’re infuriating, stubborn, arrogant, impatient, and—”

“Those aren’t my only good qualities,” he tried to joke.

He tried to tug her back into his arms but she evaded him and got up from the bed. She sat on the edge, reached for his discarded shirt and put it on. 

“You’re also ruthless.” She threw the words over her shoulders.

“Ouch. That hurt.”

“I didn’t say it to hurt you.”

He pulled on the jeans he’d dropped to the floor when they entered the bedroom. He walked to her side of the bed and took her hands. They moved to the loveseat in the corner of the room.  She put up token resistance, but he allowed her to grudgingly maneuver into a spot beside him. He wanted her on his lap but thought better of it.  She wasn’t in the mood for it.

“How do you know you love me, Jake?” Melissa stared at him, holding his gaze. “You don’t even trust me.”

The question threw him but he paused before he spoke. His answers would need to come from the heart. He couldn’t mess this up. 

“I’m not sentimental, Melissa. I don’t know how to be but being with you made me feel things I’ve never felt before. It’s uncomfortable.” He gave a short laugh. “To be honest, it scares the hell out of me. Trust comes hard for me. People always wanted something from me, whether it be my knowledge, money or my time. But you…hell, you didn’t give a shit about any of it.

“You ignored me when I slyly tried to get you to go on a date with me after that first kiss.” He paused for a long moment. “I do trust you, Melissa...with everything. For a time I let my foolish ego take charge and almost ruin the best thing in my life—you. I don’t know the proper etiquette when it comes to love, nor am I a philosophical man. I never pretended to be. All I know is that I do love you.” He stared at her. “I love your smile. The way you tilt your head especially, when you’re thinking hard about something. Your laugh at the silliest things. Most of all, I like the way you plant your hands on your hips when you’re getting ready to give me shit. I know we belong together.”

He placed his hand over his heart. “I know it here.”

“I believe that’s the longest personal speech you’ve ever made.”

“I meant every word of it.”

Her voice low and soft when she uttered, “I know.”

He was afraid to ask but he needed to know. There would be no more misunderstandings.

“You hold all the power, Melissa. Your decision…Your choice.”

She didn’t say anything immediately.

“Would you let me go, Jake? Give me a divorce?”

The questions echoed in his heart like a dark, cold and empty cave. He swallowed the thump in his throat. Raw pain scaled his insides. With a fear so strong, he wanted to snatch her and lock her away with a violence that alarmed him. He wanted to pull her bodily and mentally into his world for her to see what he was feeling right now. His brain screamed no but his heart betrayed him.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I love you, Melissa. I want us to have a life together but I want you to have the life you want more. If that means without me, then I’ll sign the divorce papers.”

She searched his eyes for several minutes and then got up from the sofa. With her back to him, she looked through the window out onto the darkened lawn. This man, whom she loved with all her heart, had just bared his soul to her.

An intensely private person, he wasn’t accustomed to letting anyone see anything other than his hardness. Jake shied away from the word relationship. Their marriage had been a shell, smooth on the surface, but empty inside. Now he wanted to change the terminology.

She walked to him and held out her hand. He took it and stood. She allowed her fingers to trail down his bare arm and enclosed his hand with hers.

“Come back to bed.” She tugged him forward. Then she released his hand and walked ahead of him. She stopped to make sure he was following, throwing a smile over her shoulder.

She tore off her shirt and scooted on the bed. He dropped the jeans he was wearing and followed her. He reached for her. Every touch of his hand, each look, drew her to him. She was almost delirious with need.

He licked his fingers, hesitated, and placed them at her entrance, working them slowly through the channel. She swallowed hard, moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue. She was almost there. At that moment, he removed his fingers, licking her essence from the tips.

He kissed her, entangling his hands through the dark locks of her hair, drawing her nearer. His every movement propelled her to entwine her body with his.

              He latched on to a breast, worshipping it with his tongue and then the other one. Sexual electricity cruised through her, as powerful as any outside storm.

He lifted his head, staring deeply into her eyes. “I want you, Melissa. Just not for tonight but always. If it’s not what you want, please tell me. We’ll end it right here and now.”

She pulled his face. “I love you Jake Sorensen. With everything in me, I do love—”

Before she could finish, his mouth captured hers in a deep kiss. Their tongues mated with each other.

Releasing her lips, his voice husky with emotion, he said, “I love you, Melissa Delaney-Sorensen. So damn much.”

“Not Delaney-Sorensen.” She smiled. “Just Sorensen.”

“Whatever you want.” His tone serious, he said, “There won’t be a day that I won’t tell you how I feel about you.” The words were low and rough, as though he was not used to whispering. “Tell me again.”

Melissa lifted a hand to his face and then hair. Savoring the feel of him beneath her fingers. “I love you.”

He took her mouth, once again, with an urgent kiss of possession. Engulfing her in his arms, he pulled her into a savage embrace. She knew he was out of control and she absorbed it with a frisson of fear infused with excitement. She was powerless to resist.

“I must slow down…I want to make it good for you.”

“It’s already good. I want you.”

“I have always been yours. Never doubt it.”

“Jake…”

He pulled her to the head board and flipped her to her stomach. Automatically, she grabbed the headboard.

“On your knees,” he uttered roughly. “I want to fuck you from behind.”

She settled herself on her knees, trembling from anticipation. He buried his fingers into her and pulled her back to him, running his hand down her hip. She felt his penis at her entrance. She arched her back, pushing back against him.

“I don’t want—”

“Now! Jake!”

He plunged into her.

A hard breath caught in her throat. He held his taut body still against hers. His breath escaped in a low hiss. Then he moved, plunging deeply, pushing her quickly to the edge. Her climax hit her hard, devouring her energy. He kept pumping.

“Melissa,” he grunted and finally released his semen into the deep caverns of her

womb.