Just Fall (The Fall Series) (9 page)

I
sat still holding him deep inside of me then leaned my head back and braced my
hands against his chest. As I closed my eyes he reminded me that he was going
to win this challenge.

“Mmm.
Not so fast. You dared me to hurt you, remember?” He thrust slowly into me. “If
you changed your mind you better tell me now, because I fully intend to.”

My
eyes snapped open to meet his. The look on his face told me he wasn’t done with
me yet, and my pulse quickened as my body began to respond to his once again.
He lifted me gently and got behind me clasping both wrists in his hand and
grabbing my chin firmly with the other before whispering in my ear.

The
scruff of his jaw scratched my neck as he spoke. “I’m going to hurt you now, Lo.
Is that what you want?” he growled, his hard length pressing roughly against my
back.

A
mixture of fear and adrenaline coursed through me as the opening of my sex
clenched in anticipation. I nodded slowly, and he pushed my face down into the
blanket forcing my thighs apart with his. I braced myself for him, and his
first thrust sent me reeling. Pain seared into me, and I screamed as he slammed
into me relentlessly. My nipples, already sensitive from his mouth, throbbed
from the friction of the blanket beneath me. I bit my lip, and my mind went
blank as the pain began to subside and somewhere outside myself I heard my own
voice screaming out.

“Yes!
Fuck yes! Fuck me harder!” I slammed against him thrust for thrust as the
orgasm rocked my body and squeezed around his cock until I felt him spasm,
filling me completely with spurts of his warm soothing fluid.

His
heart was pounding in his chest when he lifted me back against him. His arms
circled my stomach, and he rubbed his face in my hair. When I tried to move he
held me tight.

“Tell
me now that we weren’t meant to be together.”

My
voice was barely a whisper. “Parker, I...” I couldn’t deny it. The emotions,
the pleasure that he gave me…it was overwhelming. Every part of me wanted him,
wanted everything about him. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I had to squeeze
them shut tightly before they spilled over and opened the flood gates that I
fought so hard to keep closed.

“Shh,
you don’t have to say anything. I already know the answer. I’m the right man
for you, Lo. I always have been. I know you don’t see it now, but you will soon
enough.”

REVELATIONS

“Lo,
what in the hell are you doing out here?” The sound of Jake’s voice jarred me
awake, and I peeled my face from the patio chair to blink up at him and absorb
my surroundings. It was sunrise.

“I
don’t know. I must have fell asleep,” I stuttered looking around, “I had some
wine and…”

He
ran his hand through his hair then gripped the railing of the balcony as he
looked out at the beach with his lips pressed together in a thin white line.
What
the hell was HE doing out here?

I
scrambled to gather my thoughts.
Damn it, Lo! How could you fall asleep with
the scent of Parker all over you?
Panic set in as I began to recall what
happened just a few hours before. Parker walked me to my suite. I remembered
feeling emotionally and physically exhausted and sitting in the chair on the
balcony for a minute listening to the sound of the waves and…

I
breathed a sigh of relief when Jake turned and walked into my suite closing the
door behind him. Grateful to have a moment to gather my thoughts, I closed my
eyes as I sank back into the chair. Jake was never one for conflict, and right
now I was thankful, but lately when I needed him most he would just shut down.
At times his silence hurt worse than any words he could possibly say.

A
confusing mixture of guilt and anger swept over me as I thought about how we’d
grown apart. I tried to justify things in my mind—financial stress, our
demanding jobs, but things between us had been tense for almost a year now. The
more I focused on The Grand, the more distant Jake became. He spent more time
at work, even taking jobs out-of-town. I’d grown bitter over his lack of
support, and sometimes my moods switched between loving him and hating him in a
matter of days. There were times I wondered why we were even considering
marriage anymore, and after last night I was questioning it more than ever.

The
thought made me panic. Jake and The Grand were the only two things I could
count on in my life, besides Nina. Jake was there for me when my father
remarried, and the day I got the shattering news that he had a heart attack at
work. He was by my side through the funeral and all the days after when I could
barely manage to drag myself out of bed. We loved each other, and back then I
was sure he was the man I wanted to marry someday. So why did it suddenly feel
like everything was changing?

Maybe
we were just going through a rough spell. All couples go through them at one
point or another. And what happened with Parker…as much as I wanted to call it
a mistake I couldn’t. It was closure. Nothing more nothing less. I needed to
close the door on his chapter in my life in order to move on, and in a few
short hours Parker would be hundreds of miles away, and everything would be
back to normal.

I
tried to convince myself, but deep inside I had a nagging feeling that somehow
things would never be the same. Our relationship had been unraveling slowly,
long before seeing Parker again, so why was it so hard to admit? Could my fear
of being alone be keeping me from facing the truth? Maybe Jake and I no longer
wanted the same things.

I
blinked back tears as the red warmth of the sun shined through my eyelids. The
thought of facing Jake made my head pound harder, and my entire body throbbed
like I had been run over by a truck. It would take every bit of energy to peel
myself from the chair.
And then what? Should I confess and beg for
forgiveness?
My heart pounded until adrenaline finally forced me to my
feet. I didn’t know what to say, but there was one thing I was sure of. I
wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

I
froze the moment I slid the door open, and my breath hitched at the sight of
him leaned over the counter with his head in his hands, waiting.

“Lo,
what the hell is wrong with you? You’ve been drinking too much, hardly
sleeping. I don’t even remember the last time we had sex…” his voice trailed
off.
Sex! Ugh! Why did he have to bring that up?

Thankful
he didn’t push for details about last night, I quickly followed his lead. “I
know,” I replied, trying to keep my voice from betraying my anxiety level, “I’m
working on it, Jake. I’m trying some new ideas, and things are starting to turn
around. Once I get The Grandview back on track we can focus on us again. You’ll
see.”

He
gave me a look as if to say ‘I don’t believe you’ then hesitated like he was
struggling to hold back the rest of his thoughts.  I stood crossing my arms in a
silent shield that willed him to keep his distance, then breathed a sigh of
relief when he turned toward the door without looking back.

“I
came home to grab some clean clothes. Looks like I’ll be staying on the job
until sometime next week.” Holding the door halfway open his back still to me
he paused. “But whatever is going on between us can’t wait that long. We need
to talk tonight, Lauren. I’ll call you around nine.”

Did
he just call me ‘Lauren’? Oh, he must be really mad.

I
wanted to say something, anything to relieve the tension between us, but I
hesitated too long, and the door was closed behind him before I could find the
words.

I
shuffled to the bathroom of the little suite I called home since Evelyn came
along. Thankful it was Sunday morning and most of the guests would be checking
out by the time I was ready to go downstairs, I took my time knowing I could
get to my office relatively unnoticed.

I
was completely exhausted as I stepped into the shower and felt the tension instantly
begin to melt. Some of my best thinking was done in the shower, and I needed a
game plan now more than ever. I wasn’t about to let The Grand lose her newly
found momentum, and as much as I wanted to avoid it, I needed to resolve things
with Jake.

I
lost my head this weekend. No, I completely lost my fucking mind. With The
Grand hanging in the balance and my relationship with Jake already strained,
seeing Parker again was enough to send me over the edge. But that was over now,
and I had to leave it in the past with all the other memories of him. Whatever
happened, whatever I felt, couldn’t be real. The chemistry was undeniable,
explosive, but I didn’t know if I could ever fully trust Parker.
Auras.
Nina
was right. Jake was my real, but I shut him out. I shut him out then betrayed
him. Why? Because while I was trying to hold on to the only life I’d ever known,
I neglected the only person I imagined sharing it with. My life was here at The
Grandview, and living it without Jake was... my stomach clenched at the
thought.

Jake
was right, too. I had become distant, drinking more than usual, working late.
The breakdown in our relationship was mostly on me.
Why did I let it get
this far?
  I had to make things right. Starting with the phone call
tonight.

My
head throbbed with dread, but I had to change things, and I would. Cutting down
on the drinking would be easy, but using my time more productively so my nights
could be free to spend with him might be a problem. I’d thought about hiring an
assistant for some time, but with money so tight it wasn’t an option right now.
Maybe I could check with the local college about the possibility of offering an
unpaid internship.

As
long as Jake never found out about this weekend we still had a chance. How
could I be so stupid? I needed him. I needed him to love me, and to be invested
in the future of The Grandview again. I desperately needed the loving
compassionate man he used to be. The one who held me when I cried, picked me
flowers on the side of the road and serenaded me with every song on the radio
when we took our long Sunday drives up the coast. Did he still love me, or had
things between us changed that much? An unnerving thought entered my mind.
If
I loved him then how could I have shared myself with Parker without a second
thought?

I
couldn’t let myself go down that road. Not now. I had to stay focused on the
present and the things that were real. Parker was unfinished business until
last night. Now it was time to move on. Besides, I was sure he’d have no
trouble doing just that. He probably had a list of woman who’d be more than
happy to keep his bed warm every night. A wave of nausea swept over me.
I’m
not jealous!
I screamed at myself. Parker Blackwell could do whatever he
damn well pleased. I was just thankful he’d be doing it far away in Las Vegas.

My
throbbing head reminded me I needed coffee and a plan. I knew how I would deal
with Jake, now I had to put some plans in motion for The Grand. I would ask
Nina to call a staff meeting for tomorrow morning. We had to keep every penny
from rolling out the door, and I would need help to determine where we could
make some cuts.

Now
where was my cell phone?
Looking around I spotted it
blinking on the nightstand. It was a missed call from Barry Stanton, dad’s
attorney and old family friend. My knees felt weak as I sat on the bed to
listen. Hearing from Barry on a Sunday couldn’t be good.

“Lauren,
this is Barry. I know it’s Sunday, but could you come down to my office this
afternoon to discuss the situation with The Grandview? Evelyn’s attorney called
to give me a heads up...” he paused, “She wants to sell her shares, and you’ll
have 90 days to come up with the money. The clock starts ticking tomorrow. I
hope to see you around 2:00.”

I
was reeling. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut, and everything inside me
was being abruptly ejected. Dropping the phone on the bed I ran to the bathroom
and barely made it in the door when the liquid contents of my stomach
discharged, splattering explosively across the tile. Dropping to my knees, I
braced myself against the toilet until the violent contractions stopped, and tears
stung my eyes as I slumped there unable to move. One thought kept going through
my mind.
That greedy fucking bitch!

Things
were never the same since the day she slithered into our lives. I hated her,
and I never forgave my dad for marrying her. She closed in on him like a
wounded animal, while half of him wanted to run away, the other half was in
desperate need of care, and he fell prey to her devious tactics. Until then I
had everything, an amazing family, The Grandview, Jake. Now my parents were
gone, my relationship with Jake was rocky, and the family business that I loved
my entire life could be ripped away. I didn’t have time to feel sorry for
myself. I had to think fast. I had to see Nina right away.