wrapped her legs around his hips. Their lips caught and
he carried her to bed. There was no hesitation, no sadness this
morning. Jill was hot, relaxed, and ready for him. He pulled off
her T-shirt and panties at the same time she dragged down his boxer
briefs. They joined with fast, rising heat. Jacob kept a slow, easy
rhythm, but Jill pulled for him. They rose in fast union. In one
blinding flash, Jill stopped moving.
“ Oh,” Jill
said.
Jacob pulled back to see
if she was all right. He smiled. She began to release in waves of
pleasure. Patient but insistent, he continued the pace until she
began to rise again. Caught in her rising heat, he gave in to his
passion. Together, they slipped over the cliff. They held each
other tight through the rise and fall of blissful
sensation.
“ Stay right
there.”
He kissed her lips, her
nose, and then rose to attend to the condom. When he returned, she
held her arms out to him. He dropped into her arms.
“ How are you?” he
said.
“ Really, really good.
Thanks. You?”
“ I feel amazing. You don’t
feel funny or sad or embarrassed . . .” He stopped
talking when Jill laughed.
“ Oddly, no,” she said. “If
you do that again, I’m your slave.”
He laughed. “I hate
leaving you, but I need to take Sarah out for a bit before I get
ready to go. Would you like to come with us?”
“ I think I’d like some
time to myself,” Jill said. “Is that all right?”
“ Of course. I washed your
clothes from yesterday but they aren’t quite dry. I have sweats
that might fit you.”
“ Sweats are
great.”
Getting up from the bed,
he began to dress in running gear. He gave Jill a pair of sweats.
She rolled down the top to make them work. In the T-shirt and
sweats, she had a charming sexiness that almost dragged them back
to bed. She smiled at the look he gave her.
He scooped her up in a
hug. His lips found her mouth. With effort, he broke from the
kiss.
“ This is so not how I
wanted to do this,” he whispered.
“ Regrets?”
“ Only that I have to keep
moving,” he said.
Jill stepped back from him
to help him gain some control. He smiled his thanks.
“ Delphie would love to see
you. When you’re ready for company, just open the door to the
house. I’ll be back soon.”
He brushed her lips with
his mouth. He picked up Sarah’s leash and Sarah waited at the door
to the stairs. Opening the door to the stairs, he turned to look at
her one last time.
“ I love you, Jill. I
always have.”
He closed the door before
she could respond. Jill went to the windows to watch Jacob and
Sarah, but the iron-fenced perimeter of the Castle front yard was
surrounded by paparazzi photographers. She saw Jacob whistle for
Sarah and then head around the back. Unsure of what to do, and not
wanting her picture taken, she plopped down in the sagging
armchair.
Yesterday, her mind was
consumed by her Trevor-screwed-up life. Today, she
was . . . She smiled. Happy.
In a burst of emotion, her
fear and guilt returned.
What would Trevor
think?
She heard Trevor’s
screaming voice telling her that she was a worthless whore. Jill
pressed her hands against her ears. But the voice in her head
continued its rampage. She was almost in tears when she heard a
knock on the door to the apartment. Without thinking, Jill walked
across the apartment to open the door.
“ Don’t let that man steal
your happiness, sweetie,” Delphie said.
Jill dropped into her
arms.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The business of life
“ Are we ready?” Jacob
asked. “We can get past the paparazzi through the
tunnels.”
Standing by a locked door
in the main Castle kitchen, he looked from Valerie to Mike. Even
after years of preparation, he had no idea if they could get away
from the photographers that stalked his sister. Today would be the
first time they tried the tunnels.
Jill slipped her arm
around him. He smiled at her.
Today was a first for a
lot of things.
“ Mike and I have cleaned
the tunnels,
Sarah J. Maas
Lynn Ray Lewis
Devon Monk
Bonnie Bryant
K.B. Kofoed
Margaret Frazer
Robert J. Begiebing
Justus R. Stone
Alexis Noelle
Ann Shorey