This Game Called Life (Kingdom Book 4) (26 page)

Chapter 34

In the early hours
of the morning, with his wife curled up at his side, Jason smiled into the
still darkened room.

“What are you
feeling?” Her lovely voice floated around him.

If anyone else had
asked the question, he would have lied without compunction. “I feel numb
inside, Angel. Even at the end, I think there was still a little part of me
that hoped she would say or do something to confirm she had even a scrap of
humanity.

I guess that
feeling was just the residual longing of a kid who didn’t understand why he had
been born to go through so much hurt.”

“I’m so sorry,
baby,” Aviva said, switching on the light beside their bed. “You don’t have any
regrets do you?”

“Not even one, it
was the right thing to do. Why are we still talking about that woman?”

“We’re not talking
about her. We’re talking about you.”

“Meaning?”

Aviva smiled. “I
mean that no matter how old we get, that small child we once were will always
reside within us. You missed out on so many of the basic requirements every
child needs.”

“Such as?”

“Yay! I got two
words this time,” Aviva teased. When he raised an eyebrow at her, she continued
with what she had to say, all signs of playfulness gone. “Such as feeling safe
and loved.”

“I know I’m loved
by you and the rest of my family. As for feeling safe, I know I’ve had some
colossal fails, but that part of our lives is over.” Jason assured, concerned
that she was speaking about the way she felt. “Do you feel safe, Angel?”

Aviva grimaced.
“Well, one out of two is pretty good going I suppose,” she mumbled under her
breath. Then she caught and held his gaze. “I wasn’t referring to me, but in
answer to your question, yes I feel safe.”

“Good, I always
want you to feel that way. I have everything I need and so much more. I’m
thirty-five years old, Angel. The way I speak, how much I smile, and all those
other things I know concern you; you need to forget them. This is pretty much it;
I’m the finished product,” Jason told her. “Was that enough talking for you?”

“I love you
exactly as you are, Jason. I wouldn’t change a thing,” she assured him.

“Glad to hear that
you agree there’s no point in attempting to change perfection.” The sharp nudge
in his side had Jason expelling air through his mouth as though he had just
taken a hard body blow.

“On second
thoughts, I’d like to do something about the size of your ego.”

“Maybe you can
massage it, I’ve been told that helps.”

“I’ll give you bloody
massage–”

Jason cut her off
before her insult picked up steam. “Thanks, Angel, I was beginning to wonder
when you were going to stop talking and start doing something inventive with
those talented hands of yours.”

“How about this?”
Aviva asked as she grabbed hold of his backside and squeezed.

“That’s good, but
I can’t lie. That wasn’t what I had in mind.”

“No, how about
this,” she asked as she began to knead his hard flesh, raking her nails along
his thigh, moving towards his already hardening body.

“Heading in the
right direction,” Jason sighed. “Just a little further... bingo!”

**********

Everyone else had
retired for the night, and Jake and MacKenzie were the only ones left
downstairs. He had been watching her closely and could tell she had something
on her mind.

Before he could
ask about her concerns, the sounds of a fussing baby could be heard on the
monitor. MacKenzie spared him only a brief glance before she picked it up and
left to tend to her daughter’s needs. With a sigh, Jake turned out all the
lights and followed her up the stairs.

Passing by her
door, he could hear the sounds of Noelle continuing to fuss. Pushing open the
door, he invited himself in. “Is she okay?”

“I think so,”
MacKenzie replied, patting her daughter on the back as she walked around the
room to soothe her.

“May I,” Jake
asked as he held out his hands to take the fretting baby.

Without
hesitation, MacKenzie handed her over. That she trusted him with her child
pleased him more than he could say. He wanted them to share a life together,
and the nurturing of the baby was just another aspect of that.

Opening the
balcony door, Jake stepped outside. It was a warm night, and the feel of the
gentle breeze that flowed across his skin was refreshing. It also seemed to
have the same effect on Noelle as she almost immediately settled down.

The feel of the
baby nuzzling into his chest filled Jake with a feeling he didn’t immediately
recognize. The more he analyzed the feeling, the more it solidified. Love, he
loved the little girl he held in his arms. That she was content being held by
him filled him with a form of pleasure, he had never encountered. This was the
feeling a father experienced when he held his child in his arms.

With one arm
holding her securely, his other hand rubbed her back. Resting his cheek against
her soft hair, Jake pulled in a deep breath. Noelle smelled wonderful. It was
the smell he now associated with innocent trust.

Completely lost in
the moment, Jake whispered a promise to the small child. “The way you feel at
this moment is the way you will feel every day for the rest of your life. No
one will ever harm you while I draw breath. Every night when you go to sleep,
you will do so knowing that you are surrounded only by people who love you.”

Turning around,
Jake saw that MacKenzie was watching them with a curious look on her face.

“What was all that
about?” She asked.

“Just something I
wanted Noelle to know,” Jake told her, handing back a now quiet and restful
baby. Bending down, he placed a gentle kiss on the sleeping child’s forehead.
When he raised his head, MacKenzie was still watching him. Jake held her gaze
for a few more moments before he again looked down at the baby. “I think she
was just too hot. Why don’t you go and put her down.”

MacKenzie turned
away to carry out his suggestion, and Jake leaned back against the balcony
railings. As he watched them through the open doors, he couldn’t help but wish
he were somehow more a part of the scene he observed. When Noelle was settled,
MacKenzie made her way back outside.

“Do you want to
sit down,” she asked, gesturing towards the small table and chairs that sat in
a corner.

With a nod, Jake
indicated that she go first. Once she was seated, he too sat down, and waited.
Aware of the uncertainty in her eyes, he remained perfectly still. That she had
something on her mind was obvious, yet she seemed reluctant to express it.

“If you don’t tell
me what’s bothering you, I can’t help you, MacKenzie.”

When she still
said nothing, Jake found countless thoughts picked that moment to invade his
mind, most of them negative. Recalling that she had been the one to ask him to
stay, he relaxed. He decided to be patient and give her the time she needed to
collect her thoughts and tell him what was bothering her.

“You have a nice
family, Jake...” MacKenzie broke off and looked at him with a frown. “Well,
apart from Diana that is.”

Her eyes seemed to
flicker around for a few seconds before they landed back on him. “Now I think
about it, you guys are cool, but you are also kinda out of control.”

“Specifically?”
Jake wanted to know, unsure of what she was trying to say.

“Specifically,
what happened to Aviva in London, she told me all about it. Then there’s that
night at that rich man’s house. Actually, Jason’s a bit odd as well, but Aviva
loves him, so he’s got to be okay. Oh, and let’s not forget about Diana!”
MacKenzie reeled off repeating Diana’s name.

“Is there a
question in there somewhere?” Jake asked, feigning unconcern.

“Being around you
people is dangerous, Jacob! Have you forgotten what happened to Aviva just a
few days ago?”

“I forget nothing,
MacKenzie, and we are all thankful that she wasn’t hurt more than she was.
Diana was the problem, and we took care of the problem. We always take care of
anything that threatens our family.”

“I admire that,
Jake, honestly I do, but it’s frightening. The way you guys handle anyone who
opposes you scares me, especially because of Noelle.”

“I love that
little girl. To keep her safe, I would give up my life without a second
thought. I know this is also true for all the men in this family.

Believe me, if I
could, I would promise you right now that the things that have happened in the
past will never happen again. I can’t do that, MacKenzie. There is no doubt
that unpredictable things happen around this family. It always has, and it will
probably always be that way. The only thing I can do is to promise you my love
and protection. Is that enough for you, MacKenzie?”

She sat in silence
for such a long time; Jake became troubled, yet at the same time he understood
her concerns. To be a member of their family meant she would have to accept the
things she already knew about them, even though there was so much more that had
been left untold.

“I don’t know
Jake. I’ve managed to mess up every relationship I’ve ever had, that still
bothers me. Now that I have a daughter, I need to make sure all my choices take
her into consideration. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Reaching over,
Jake pulled MacKenzie from her seat onto his lap. Lifting her hands, he placed
a kiss against them. “I understand, and I admire you for that. Just remember
that I love you and that the only thing I want to do is to make you and Noelle
happy.” Jake imbued his eyes with love and tenderness before he continued
speaking. “I know what I want and I’m prepared to wait for you. The question
is, can you accept me exactly as I am?”

Pushing to his
feet, Jake placed her on the floor before him. Taking her face between his
hands, he gave her a tender kiss and hoped she wouldn’t take too long to
realize that she loved him as much as he loved her.

“Good night,
Lovely,” were Jake’s parting words.

Chapter 35

Jake heard his
bedroom door open and close. Then came the sound of soft footsteps that
hesitated just outside the light from his open curtains.

He knew MacKenzie
stood just out of his reach, and the sound of her drawing a deep breath stilled
his own. Would she stay? Jake was uncertain. He was also unprepared to leave
the decision entirely up to her. That she was standing in his room meant that
she had reached a decision. All he needed was to find out what that was.

“Whatever you have
in mind, I’m game. If you just want me to hold you, that’s what I’ll do. If you
want to talk, I’ll do that too, but if you want to make love with me, that will
make me, a happy man,” Jake said as his deep, sleep filled voice flowed into
the semi-darkened room.

“So... this is a
good idea?” MacKenzie asked hesitantly.

Deciding to allow
his actions to give her the answer she needed, he threw back the sheet and
invited her to join him and find out.

Jake didn’t give
his nudity a moment’s thought. He always slept this way. Since she would be
spending the rest of her life with him, she needed to get used to it. She had
been on his mind since he’d kissed her and Noelle goodnight. Leaving her alone
with her indecision had been one of the hardest things he had ever done.

“Oh, my,”
MacKenzie licked her lips. “Is that for me?”

Amused, Jake was
sure she had no idea she spoke her thoughts aloud.

Choosing his words
with deliberation, he flung his arms out to his sides. “I’m ready whenever you
are, your choice, start wherever you like.” His comment could be interpreted as
a jest, but he was deadly serious.

MacKenzie moved to
the edge of the bed, pulled off her robe and threw it onto the comforter. Jake
watched her every move, his eyes running over every inch of her body in
appreciation. He loved her curves and the fullness of her body. During a period
of time that he was hard pressed to remember, his preference had been for tall
slim women. While the woman standing before him had one of those attributes,
she missed the mark on the other, and Jake couldn’t wait to get his hands on
her curves.

She hesitated, and
Jake decided to help her along by keeping his tone light. “Why don’t you get in
here and show me what’s on your mind. You never know, I might even be able to
help you out.”

When MacKenzie
still remained motionless, Jake reacted. With rapid movements, he lifted her off
her feet and flat onto her back beneath him. Her stunned wide-eyed look caused
a show of his dimples.

“How can you do
that so easily?” MacKenzie asked in shock.

Jake knew that if
he gave her the opportunity she would probably continue to stall. That she was
here told its own story. Their intimacy was still very new, but to his mind,
the sooner she got used to him, all of him, the better.

“Let’s be
completely honest with each other.” Jake didn’t wait for a response as he
kissed her at the corner of her mouth. “Tell me what you want MacKenzie.”

MacKenzie bit down
on her lip. Placing a hand on either side of his face, she brushed her fingers
across his hard jaw.

“I shaved,” he cut
in before she could go off at a tangent.

“Do you always
shave before you go to bed?”

“No, but I was
hoping I’d have company, and I didn’t want you to have to answer too many
questions come morning about why you have beard burn,” Jake teased, but he
hoped he had made his intentions clear.

“Oh, I see, well
you have very soft skin, Jake.”

“Thank you, but I
have to tell you, this is the dumbest conversation you and I have ever had.”

“I know, right!”
MacKenzie laughed nervously.

Jake continued to
look down at her, and knew he had to put her mind at ease before their night
together went to hell.

Placing her arms
around his neck, he stared deeply into her eyes. Gone were all traces of
amusement as his gaze darkened. Remaining motionless, he gave her one last
chance to tell him what she wanted. When she pulled his head down, Jake had his
answer, and relief washed over him.

Before long Jake
took over as he began to place butterfly soft kisses against her skin. “You are
mine tonight, all mine,” he whispered. “Close your eyes, it’s so much better
when you don’t know where you’re going to be kissed next.” Jake waited until
her eyelids fluttered closed. His next kiss was on the side of her neck, and
MacKenzie gasped.

Jake smiled as he
considered where to place the next kiss. Her breasts had been drawing his
attention since the moment she had removed her robe, but that was too obvious.
Slanting his head, he ran his tongue across her shoulder towards her collarbone
and gave it a small nip. She jumped; pleased at her reaction; he moved on. He
continued in this way alternating between soft nips, kisses and sweeps of his
tongue. Each time moving closer and closer to her jutting breasts, but never
touching them.

With her eyes,
still closed, MacKenzie arched her back in a blatant invitation for his touch.
Jakes hungry lips fastened around a nipple and sucked. MacKenzie gasped, and he
found that he loved the sound, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted her to beg him
for more. He wanted her to know that when she was in his arms, and he was
making love to her, all her doubts were groundless. They were meant to be
together.

Cupping one
breast, he sucked the hard peak.
Without
warning he deepened the pull, his mouth in constant motion. He reveled in the
feel of her. He transferred his mouth to her other breast and repeated his
actions until she cried out.
She felt wonderful, even
better than he remembered on the day by the pool. He had a suspicion that each
moment with this woman would be better than the one that preceded it.

“Jake,” MacKenzie
said on a gasp.

“Yes, Lovely.”

“Jake, I need to
tell you something before we go any further. I mean, I don’t want you to think
that I said it just because you laid it on me like I fully expect you to.”
MacKenzie smiled, her eyes now open, and they carried an undeniable
seriousness.

Jake chose to
ignore her words. He wasn’t prepared to allow her ploy of jest to break the
connection between them. “Where should I begin? Should I start by telling you
how much you turn me on,” Jake spoke into her ear. Not waiting for a response,
he took a nip at her lobe, which was maybe a little harder than he had first
intended.

“Jacob!” She
gasped

His hand skimmed
her body on an endless exploration to trace her every contour. He needed to
remind himself of the scent of her arousal, the sounds she made when he gave
her pleasure; all of which were confined to his memory.

Fastening his
mouth against the top of her breast, Jake pulled the soft skin into his mouth
not stopping until he had marked her. The sight of the dark discoloration
against her breast turned him on even more.

Jake groaned as he
pulled her legs open and settled his big body between them. With a sigh, he
closed his eyes and relished the sensation as his cock rubbed against the
smoothness of her belly.

“Tell me that you
want me,” Jake murmured. “Tell me, and make me believe you. I need to know what
you think, what you feel!”

“I want you. Just
you, only you. You feel so good, every part of you feels good,” MacKenzie
gasped as her nails bit into the hardness of his muscular body. “I’ve never
felt this way before. I want to feel you inside me. Make me feel like I’m the
only woman you want, that you have ever wanted.”

As she lay there,
she was open to him, and Jake gritted his teeth. He wasn’t even inside her, yet
all his nerve endings ran rampant. The feel of her nails scoring his skin was
more of a turn on then he could have ever imagined.

“I want you,
MacKenzie, never doubt that. This is how every man should feel at least once in
his life. He needs to feel that his woman wants him and that if he isn’t buried
deep inside her, he isn’t alive.” His words were the truth; he wanted to feel
her wrapped around him.

With slow, deliberate
movements, Jake inserted a knee between her thighs and rubbed against her wet
opening and felt a gush of moisture from her body as it flowed over him.

She might not be
ready to express her real feelings to him, but the wetness of her body told its
own story. Everything within him shouted for him to take her, to claim her, to
bury himself deep inside her, but he resisted. First, he wanted her to stop
thinking and only feel. The only sounds he wanted to pass her lips were the sighs
and sound of her pleasure, or the words she had yet to voice without him having
said them first...
I love you
.

Sitting back on
his heels, his lids lowered to bare slits, Jake took hold of his hard throbbing
cock. When he was sure she watched him, he began to run his fist up and down
his shaft. Her eyes on him as he gave himself pleasure, was a mixture of the
erotic, and a wish that it was she who pleasured him. That he felt the softness
of her palm as it enclosed his hardness as she pumped him. Jake groaned and bit
down on his bottom lip as his hand continued to move against his shaft. Then he
looked down at his cock, and gathered the drop of moisture and rubbed it over
himself. He could feel that she still watched him, and his gaze roamed slowly
up her body to capture her gaze through half-lidded eyes.

MacKenzie brushed
his hands aside. His nostrils flared, and his eyes narrowed even more as her
palm circled him. This was what he had been waiting for. With a sharp intake of
breath at her first touch, Jake leaned back with his palms behind him on the
bed for support and watched her every move.

“I’ve been
dreaming about this, about how you would feel as I took you in my mouth. How
you would react as my lips closed around this gorgeous cock,” MacKenzie paused
as she swirled her tongue around the tip of his cock.

“Do it, take me in
your mouth. I want to feel you take all of me.”

As soon as his
words floated into the air, he was deep inside her mouth. Her tongue a never
ending crusade of sucks and pulls. Jake arched his back and pushed forward,
careful not to disturbed the rhythm she set. The feel of her hand against his
balls as she cupped and rotated him was nearly his undoing.

“No more,
Mackenzie,” he said through gritted teeth.

She didn’t let up,
and Jake didn’t know how much more he could take. Just as he was about to pull
her away, she gave him two more lavish sucks and released him with a pop.

Sitting up, Jake
swept his arm under her legs and laid her out before him. Now it was his turn
to taste her. Pulling her legs apart, he took in the sight of her. Bending forward,
he placed a kiss against her stomach and circled her navel with the tip of his
tongue.

Then he moved on.
Jake rested his hand at the top of the strip of hair that covered her and
pulled upwards. The sight of pink clit covered in her wetness caused his body
to tighten even more.

Knowing he
couldn’t go another moment without tasting her, Jake dipped his head and
breathed in her scent. Then he was loving her. Tasting her. Giving them both
what they wanted.

“Do you like this,
MacKenzie? Does this make you feel good? Tell me if you want more... tell me
and it’s yours.” Jake chanted between ceaseless swipes of his tongue.

“Yes, I want more.
I want everything. I want you, Jake!”

That was all it
took for Jake to settle in on his task of making her come. He was relentless,
he was driven. This was his woman and he wouldn’t stop until he felt her come
against mouth. Jake didn’t use his hands, he didn’t need to, his talented
tongue was enough. When she came, he held her steady as her body arched off the
bed.

Jake opened a draw
beside the bed and removed protection. Then he waited for her to open her eyes
before he handed it to her. He wanted her to sheath him, for no other reason
than he loved the feel of her hands on him and it turned him on.

When she was done,
he pushed her onto her back and opened her legs wide. He wanted to see all of
her and suddenly the light of the moon wasn’t enough. Switching on the bedside
lamp, Jake’s eyes feasted on his woman. She was beautiful. The evidence of her
pregnancy was apparent on her body, and to him it made her even more beautiful.

Starting at her throat,
he ran his fingertips down her body in a sensual sweep. For a lingering moment,
he stopped at her jutting nipples and brushed his palms across their sensitive
tips. They hardened even more, and she gasped; satisfied, Jake moved on.

Down her belly,
past her indented navel, his eyes and hand travelled until his gaze reached its
final destination. The strip of hair glistened with the evidence of her arousal,
and it was all for him.

Jake pulled her
legs even further apart. Then he lifted her bent knee and placed them over his
forearms. “This is how we fit, MacKenzie,” Jake said as he put the tip of his
cock inside her.

She was wet for
him and Jake pushed forward and retreated until he was completely buried inside
her. She felt good. His intention had been to go slow, but the feel of her body
accepting his was more than he could stand. He wanted more, so he withdrew only
to bury himself even more deeply within her, repeating the action without pause.
He wanted to take her in a way that the only man she remembered was him and how
he made her feel.