Bittersweet (8 page)

She leaned back on his low dresser and tried to angle herself so she could see everything from the mirror at the other end of the room.

“Ye’r so lovely,” he whispered, admiring his view. She glanced between his expression and the mirror, probably to see how she looked. He followed her gaze with a lazy smile. “Now watch how much I love ye. How much I can’t get enough of ye,” he murmured.

He dropped to his knees and teased her with his tongue, savoring the moment before he treated himself to her unique and addicting taste.

“Yesss,” she hissed and arched her hips forward.

He finished kissing and licking each side of her labia. With a long lick down her center, he swirled his tongue and applied pressure when he reached her clit. He repeated the motion over and over again until she shivered with desperate need. Jenna guided him to the right spot with a grunt and held him there, only shouting his name as she came. Her pussy pulsed around his tongue, and he worked her until every last one of her shudders subsided and she was left limp.

“I think I saw stars,” she said, and tugged on his arm to make him stand from the floor and up closer to her. “Please, Brady, I need to feel you.”

He smiled before kissing her belly and carrying her to the bed. “If ye insist,” he teased while laying her down. Her smile lit up as he moved on top of her, and he wanted to look into her eyes as they made love. He wanted to see every expression, hear every noise, and touch and taste every part of her body over and over again. He placed one of her legs over his hip while he held on to the other so he could thrust deep.

“Ye’r so beautiful,” he whispered and leaned in for a kiss. “I can’t get enough.”

She clutched him closer as she broke the kiss. “I love this, Brady. Everything about you. I can’t wait to learn more, but right now I want to come again, to pulse around you until your climax hits and you scream my name. I love you, and I want to continue to show you how much every day.”

She rolled over to straddle him, taking control. He admired her directness and confidence, and loved that she was a woman who wasn’t ashamed to fulfill her needs. Her take-charge attitude was one of the things he loved most about their lovemaking. He watched as she slid her hand down to where they were joined and worked her fingers in slow circles around her nub. Her pace quickened, and she quickly worked herself into her second climax.

He was close, and watching her pleasure herself heightened his own excitement. “I love when ye do that for me, Jenna. Christ, ye’r so sexy.”

She was breathless and looked too close to the edge to reply. Her breath hitched, her pace quickened above him, and she bit into her lip as her own climax hit hard.

Her fingers still lingered between them, wet with her juices, and she shocked him further as she flicked her tongue out to taste them. That did it for him. He flexed his hips to match her, making his movements more frantic and primal.

“That’s right, love.” He thrust harder and was so turned on he could barely contain himself.
Fuck it.
He let go, and his cock jerked inside her. His release mixed with hers, made her soaking wet around him. He smiled with satisfaction.

Yep, he was one lucky guy all right.

Chapter Nine

Jenna

“Are you ready for this?” Jenna asked on the night before they left. She was curious if the thought of meeting Jayden and her parents made him nervous at all. She was looking forward to it.

“I think I am, actually.” He seemed so confident when he answered and smiled down at her. “I can’t wait to meet Jayden. I just hope he likes me. But I’m mostly lookin’ forward to bringin’ ye both back here forever.” His brow creased for just the slightest second with uncertainty.

“Forever. I like the sound of that, and try not to worry about Jayden. I’m sure he’ll come to love you as much as I do.”

Forever with Brady. Someone needed to pinch her to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Speaking of which, she hadn’t had a nightmare since her last bloody Tyler dream. It was such a relief.

She yawned and snuggled closer to him. “I think you’ve worn me out.” They’d been so busy the last couple of days. Between spending time with his family, making arrangements with his job, and seeing Sam and Caleb off the day before, she was exhausted. Not to mention all of the packing, planning, and lovemaking in between. Okay, the lovemaking didn’t count as a chore. That was a huge bonus.

“Bet ye saw stars. I tell ye, love, ye do wonders for my ego.” He grinned proudly.

“I’m sure I do.” She gave him a sleepy smile. She drifted off in his arms and was still there when she woke up the next morning. She’d set the alarm to go off early, hating the idea of not having enough time to do some last minute errands. Sighing heavily, she slammed the Snooze button to turn off the annoying sound. Didn’t people wake up to the radio going off anymore instead of that incessant beeping?

“Brady.” She nudged him awake. “It’s time to get up, honey, come on.” His gorgeous muscular ass was within reach, and she couldn’t help herself. She gave it a light tap before getting out of bed. “Very nice.”

He groaned and stuck the pillow over his head. “I’m comin’, I just need a minute.”

She hurried downstairs and was putting the coffee on when a sudden burst of nausea hit. She felt stiff and really sore and couldn’t understand why her joints ached so much. Maybe she’d just slept weird or something, but the pain was starting to go beyond her comfort level.

She tried moving her head around to relieve some of the pressure and stretched to loosen up her muscles, and that’s how Brady found her.

“Good mornin’.”

“Hey,” she said, trying to hide her extreme discomfort. “Coffee?”

“Not only a woman who has my heart, but she’s one that can read my mind,” he teased and placed a hand to his heart. “Coffee sounds wonderful, love.” He kissed her forehead and went to sit at the table with yesterday’s morning paper. “Mind tellin’ me what happened to yer leg?”

“My leg?” Jenna looked at him as though he was crazy, then gasped when she saw that her entire calf down to her ankle was bruised and swollen. “What happened?” She began to panic. “I mean, I don’t know.” She’d been fine when she’d fallen asleep last night.

“And yer arm. Are ye gonna tell me ye don’t know where the scratches came from either? Come on, love, I need ye takin’ care of yerself. I’m sure ye left to come here in top shape, and now we’re goin’ back and ye’r bruised and scratched up. What will yer parents think?”

She gave herself a once-over and couldn’t believe her eyes. Injuries were coming out of thin air. One minute she was fine, and the next she was stiff, bruised, scratched, swollen, and so very sore. “Oh my God, I don’t know.”

The mugs of coffee crashed to the floor as flashes of images blinded her. It looked like her car accident again, but everything was passing by so quickly as it surrounded her.

“Jenna?” A concerned Brady said in the background, and the sound of his voice pulled her away from whatever it was. “Talk to me, love.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

“I’m fine.” She wanted to believe the words, but she didn’t know how to explain what was happening. She bit her lip hard to keep from moaning from her discomfort.
What the hell was happening here?

“Here, let me help ye, ye’r bleedin’.” The salty tang of blood hit her lips, and he grabbed a rag to clean her up. She’d obviously been preoccupied in thought this morning, but something weird was happening, and he was trying to fix it.

“I’m sorry about the coffee.” She flinched and cried out in pain. Bright light, the light was so bright. She fell to the ground and was blinded by more images. Only this time she felt as though she was actually living them.

The flashlight shone on her face as a strange voice called out to her. “Jenna, Jenna can you hear me?” Her vision was blurry. She could feel herself blink to try to focus and hear herself as she wondered where she was. Her body was warm and felt heavy as she lay there, unable to move. It became dark again, and the voices reappeared.

“We have a woman here, age twenty-seven. She looks awake but is not responding. We’ll have to be very careful pulling her out. There is a lot of blood, and I can’t tell the extent of her injuries from here.” The bright light shone in her face again. “It’s gonna be okay, Jenna. We’re gonna get you out of here, and I need you to remain as still as possible. Blink if you can hear me.”

The image faded and was replaced with Brady’s panicked expression.

“What’s happenin’, Jenna? Ye’r fadin’ in and out of consciousness, and ye have a head wound that appeared out of nowhere. I need ye, love, and ye’r scarin’ me. Please don’t leave me.”

She heard sirens, and strange people barged into the kitchen with a gurney.
Wait, when did he call an ambulance?

Pain, there was so much pain. A sharp, stabbing sensation like hot knives piercing her entire body over and over. “I love you, Brady. Please don’t let me go.” She reached for him.

She heard sirens, her breath was heavy, and she could barely open her eyes. “I’m slipping. Maybe if I just sleep a little.” She was in an ambulance strapped down to a very uncomfortable gurney, but she couldn’t fight anymore. Her eyes opened and closed before everything went black as night.

“Jenna, try to stay with us, honey. We’re almost there.” A soft pressure touched the side of her face. It was cool compared to the fire burning the rest of her. A man close to the same age as she was hovered over where she lay. She tried to laugh, and would’ve expressed that it was easier said than done, but her mouth just twitched and she became frustrated.

“That a girl,” he teased. “This one’s a fighter.”

The doors of the ambulance flew open, and an entourage of medical personnel waited to wheel her away.

Still holding her hand, the paramedic gave them the rundown as they ran. She was watching the lights on the ceiling rush past when she finally heard a familiar voice. A voice she thought she’d never hear again, and it made her panic inside.

“Jenna, Jenna, I’m here.” He tried to push his way through, and her eyes moved in his direction. She felt the wetness of her tears.

“Tyler?” She could see his face clearly above her. What the hell? “Are you really here?”

Her heart began to race, and she felt really weak as the images faded once more and she was in Brady’s arms again. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “Stay with me, Brady, I don’t want to go. Please, just don’t leave me.”

She was slipping away, and she knew it. But to where? And why?

“Oh, Jenna,” he whispered in grief. “Ye’r scarin’ me, love. I love ye and I can’t lose ye now.”

She could feel his lips press against hers and more wetness on her cheeks. Was he crying or was she? “I love you too,” she breathed before everything just disappeared and she was back in that blank, peaceful place where she felt light and carefree again.

Chapter Ten

Jenna felt as if she’d turned back time and had become lost. She couldn’t feel Tyler near her anymore, she hadn’t for a while now, but more importantly, where was Brady? And where was she?

She was floating. The heaviness faded, and she wasn’t with her body anymore. There was nothing left but her own thoughts.

So was she dead? She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, and couldn’t feel anything or anyone around her. She was in an empty place, but she still had this strange feeling of being safe, and she kind of liked it. Content with no emotion, it was amazing and stress-free. There were no worries or sadness wherever she was, but then Jayden came to mind, her parents, Tyler, or at least the memory of him, and Brady. She remembered her love for them all and had to fight. She let go of the tranquility and fought to go toward the light again to see what would happen. Suddenly she could hear again; it was her mother’s voice, pleading.

“Jenna, wake up. Please, baby, just wake up. Come back to me.”

The closer she drifted toward the sound, the more painful it was. Her body was so stiff and in agony. She could barely move. Her finger twitched, and she could feel someone clutch her hand. She opened her eyes quickly only to close them again.

“Jenna?” Her mother gasped. “Open your eyes, sweetheart.”

“Too bright,” she managed to whisper and heard a chair beside her squeak.

The lights dimmed. “The hospital. Déjà vu.” It felt like she was reliving the beginning when she’d woken up to find out that Tyler had died. “What put me in here this time?”

“There was an accident.”

Jenna looked around the room, examining the machinery and tubes sticking out of her. Her mother was crying and trying to speak. Looking up, Jenna tried to smile, but that hurt too much and she grimaced.

“What—what’s wrong?” Her mother looked panicked. “Do I need to get someone?”

“It’s okay, Mom. Everything is fine. I just need to remember that it hurts to smile. In fact, everything pretty much hurts right now.”

“Oh, Jenna, you had me so worried. For a while there it was touch and go, and we weren’t sure if you were going to make it.”

“And Tyler didn’t make it, right?”

She’d already lived through this chapter in her life, and the words had just slipped out. Her mother was silent and stared at her in disbelief.

“Where’s Brady? Mom, please, tell me he wasn’t with me when whatever happened. Brady’s okay, right? I can’t lose him too.”

This could not be happening a second time. She hadn’t done anything bad enough for life to be this cruel to her. But the more Jenna spoke, the more confused her mother looked. She panicked further. “And Jayden?” Her hospital monitor was going crazy.

“You need to relax, honey. Jayden is fine. He’s with Dad.” Her mother smiled and wiped her face dry. “We’ll bring him by shortly to see you, all right?”

“Mrs. Baker, it’s nice to see you awake.” Her nurse smiled as she entered the room. She checked Jenna’s chart and jotted something down before checking the machines. “Hmm,” she hummed, looking at Jenna with disapproval. “Mrs. Baker, I understand that in these circumstances emotions can run high, but you have to keep yourself calm.” The nurse looked at her mother. “And I’ll expect your family to abide by making things as stress-free as possible for you in the meantime.” Jenna and her mother nodded in unison. “Okay then, I’ll just let the others know you’re awake.”

Once she was gone, Jenna had to know. “Where’s Brady, Mom?”

“Brady?” she repeated. “Jenna, I don’t think I know who you’re talking about.”

“Brady, Mom. The one I met in Ireland, the one who helped me move on. The last thing I remember was just before we were going to come back here.” It was all so fuzzy for her now, but she had to jog her memory.

They were both silent, and Jenna patiently waited for answers while her mother opened and closed her mouth a few times as if she didn’t know where to start.

The door opened and her dad entered, distracting them. “Jenna,” he cried in relief.

This had to have been the first time she could remember ever seeing her father shed tears for anything.

“Hi, Dad,” she gasped, and then cried out in discomfort when he hugged her.

“Sorry.” He winced and pulled himself away. “It’s just so good to see you awake. You’re going to be okay.” He turned to his wife. “Our little girl’s okay,” he whispered as if he was finally able to breathe again.

“Aw, Daddy, don’t cry,” Jenna pleaded. “You’re making me cry and everything hurts, including that.” She laughed and then groaned loudly in pain just as the door opened again. She smiled then, not caring how much it hurt. “Jayden,” she squealed, as much as she could under the circumstances. She’d missed him so much, and it felt like forever since she’d last seen him or had him in her arms.

Her joy turned into a stunned silence when she saw who was with him. It was a living ghost.

Jayden rushed to her side, and out of instinct she extended her arms to hold him close.

“Tyler?” She looked at her mother with wide eyes and then back to Tyler again. “I-I don’t understand.”

Her husband smiled at her and looked just as relieved as her father had. He closed the distance between them. “Oh God, Jenna, I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered and kissed the top of her head.

“This can’t be happening,” she cried and began to shake in panic. “Oh my God, I’m dead, right? I mean we all are. We got into the accident together.”

The machines in the room blared. Her father rushed out to get help, and by the time he got back she’d become hysterical. Everyone in the room stood there wide-eyed, stunned, and looking at her as though they weren’t sure what to do next while poor Jayden cried and looked terrified at the scene in front of him.

“Tyler?” She couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Jenna, please,” he begged. “I just got you back.”

She closed her eyes and could feel his lips on her forehead. “But you were dead,” she whispered. “You died, and I was forced to move on without you.”

“Jenna, please?”

She nodded and tried her best to calm down, but she just couldn’t. “Just tell me one thing,” she pleaded. “We’re dead, right? We all died that day?”

Her eyes became heavy before she could get her answer, and she couldn’t fight it. She heard Tyler yell, “No, please, just give her a minute.” But it was too late, and the darkness took her again.

***

She was standing in a beautiful field of wildflowers, a completely open space. The sun was shining in the beautiful blue sky, and it reminded her of Ireland. She could see somebody approaching in the distance and smiled with excitement as soon as she recognized his amazing face.

Filled with joy, she laughed and ran toward him. When they were face-to-face, she smiled and traced her hand down his chest to those beautifully sculptured abs. “Where have you been?”

“I’ll always be with ye as long as you let me. I love ye, Jenna.”

She smiled blissfully. “And I love you, Brady.”

Someone cleared their throat behind her and interrupted their moment. Brady looked up with an annoyed expression before she turned around.

“Tyler!” What was he doing there?

He looked at her quickly, then back toward Brady. “Jenna, what’s going on?” he asked without taking his eyes off Brady and directed the next question toward him. “And why are your hands on my wife?”

She was so confused, standing between the two of them, looking back and forth between their two faces. “I don’t understand. How can you both be here?”

Tyler smiled and answered with a question of his own. “Is it true
,
what you said? Do you love him?”

She couldn’t look Tyler in the eye when she answered, so she concentrated on Brady and spoke the truth. “I do.”

Brady smiled and she turned to Tyler. “But I love you too.”

Looking between them again, she could see the anger in their expressions as she confessed her love for both of them.

“Jenna,” Tyler said and reached for her.

“Jenna.” Brady held his hand out as well.

She didn’t move and wished she could split in two. She hated hurting the people she loved the most in this world, but she didn’t know what to do.

“She’s my wife, She’s coming with me.”

Brady narrowed his eyes. “Things change, Tyler. We have a connection that just can’t be broken.”

Both angry men charged at each other and pushed Jenna out of their way.

She woke up with a start and whimpered in agony. It was night, but she could see Tyler sleeping in a chair beside her bed.

“A dream,” she whispered in relief. “It was just a dream.”

But nothing felt like reality anymore, and she couldn’t sleep. She lay there watching Tyler sleep instead. He looked so peaceful. She stretched her hand out as far as it would go. She had to touch him to make sure she wasn’t dreaming again. He felt so real. Could he actually be alive? She wanted him to be. Her husband was actually there with her, physically beside her, and not just ashes in a container. He was warm and soft, with drool coming out the side of his mouth as he slept, and she was in complete awe.

“You’re awake,” a woman whispered as she entered. “And relatively calmer. That’s good.”

“I’m quite sore, though.” Jenna tried giving her a friendly smile but grimaced instead.

Her nurse laughed. “I can give you a little something for the pain. It should make you feel better.” She left and came back with a syringe a minute later.

“Please, I don’t want to be knocked out again,” Jenna told her. She’d just woken up and hoped to be alert for a while.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Baker. It’s not quite as strong as that, just something for your discomfort, that’s all,” the nurse assured her and administered something to one of Jenna’s many connecting tubes.

“Thank you.”

“Well, my name is Eleanor. If you need anything, just press that button beside you, okay?”

Jenna nodded as Eleanor left and focused on Tyler again. The next time she smiled, it didn’t hurt as much.

***

“I don’t understand why she was so worked up, and why is she convinced that she’s dead?”

“I’m not sure…I think it may be because she thinks that you’re dead.”

“What?” It went silent for a second. “Who convinced her of that? That’s ridiculous…I mean, I was never—although I probably should be after saving myself and not her.”

“Oh, Tyler.”

Jenna didn’t like where the harshly whispered conversation was heading and wondered if she was dreaming again. She opened her eyes to see Tyler and her mother across the room. “Mom?”

They both jumped and exchanged worried looks. “Hi, honey, have you been awake long?” Her mother approached the bed. “We didn’t want to disturb you.”

She shook her head, not wanting to give away her eavesdropping. “You guys could never disturb me.”

Tyler stood on the other side of the room, looking uncomfortable and not sure if he should approach, but who could blame the guy? His wife thought he was a ghost, and the last thing he would want to do would be to upset her.

“Tyler.” Jenna extended her hand, wanting him to come closer. “Come here.” She needed some alone time with him. “Mom, would you mind giving us a few minutes?”

“Sure, honey.”

Jenna waited until the door clicked behind her. “So we’re not dead?” she asked with a smile and tried to apologize for her initial behavior. “I’m so sorry, Tyler.”

He shook his head and finally approached her. He reached for her hand but pulled back before making contact. It hurt her to see him be so hesitant. “What’s the matter?” she asked, because what she’d heard of his conversation with her mother didn’t make any sense to her. He blamed himself for her being there, and she couldn’t shake his expression of remorse.

“Everything’s fine, Jenna.” His eyes were glossy, but he forced a smile, and she could tell he was struggling with his emotions.

Jenna narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, catching him in a lie. “Come here,” she urged. He stood directly in front of her but still wasn’t within her reach.

“I am here, Jenna.”

Sighing in frustration, she pressed her hands down on the mattress to wiggle over, giving him enough room to sit on the bed with her. She winced at how much the movement hurt but was determined to have him closer.

“What are you doing?” he snapped, and it just made her roll her eyes and repeat herself.

“Come here.” Tapping the space beside her, she continued, “I’ve missed you, and so help me God, Tyler, if you don’t come here, I’m going to endure a lot of pain when I come and get you.”

“You wouldn’t,” he said but sat beside her just in case.

“Not close enough.”