Broken Bear (10 page)

“You son of a bitch!” S
he said. “How dare you lay a hand on my daughter!”

“Mom!”
Daniella screamed. “Stop!”

Jett never looked back. He walked straight to the front door and opened it.

“Jett, where are you going?!” Daniella shouted.

He smiled at her and said, “Thank you,
Daniella. I will never forget what you’ve done for me.”

“No!” she screamed. “Wait!”

But the door closed and in a panic Daniella tried to run towards it. As she did, her mother grabbed her by the right arm and said, “No, Daniella, let him go!”

“Mom!” she said as struggled. “Leave me alone! I
don’t want him to go anywhere. Stop it!”

For several seconds, the two women struggled with one another until at last
Daniella broke free from her grasp and ran to the front door. She pulled it open and sprinted out onto the sidewalk.

“Jett!” she called out as she looked in every direction.
“Jett!”

But
he’d vanished; he was nowhere in sight. For several minutes, Daniella stood there until a wave of despair overcame her. She could feel tears start to build when from behind, she felt her mother’s hands reach up and touch her on the shoulder.

Daniella
spun around and said, “No! Don’t touch me, Mom. Just please go home, I don’t want you here right now.”

Her mother’s eyes
moistened.

“
Daniella,” she said. “I only did this for your own good and…”

“Mom!” she said as she interrupted her. “
Go
, now!”

***

Almost as soon as her mom left, Daniellaran in the house to get her car keys
.
For the next several hours, she drove the side streets and all of downtown in search of him. Even though she’d given him a bit of money, she knew it wouldn’t have gotten him far. But everywhere she searched, she came up empty. Defeated, she pulled back into her driveway when it hit her…

Slim Chance Pass.

Daniella backed her car out of the driveway and drove as fast as she could. Twenty minutes later, her car came around the bend where Jett’s accident occurred. The tire marks from where he lost control remained. She pulled up, parked the car and got out.

“Jett?” she yelled. “Are you here?”

The only sound Daniella heard was the roar of the Dark Horse River that ran nearby. She walked a bit further down towards the area where she’d discovered him.

“Jett!” she called out.

It was dark and difficult to see. Daniella craned her neck in every direction and then on a nearby outcropping, she thought she saw the outline of a person. She started to walk in the direction of it and about halfway there, he said, “Don’t come any closer, Daniella. Please…”

“Jett, why?” she said.

“Because you are better off without me in your life,” Jett replied. “I’ve brought nothing but turmoil and drama to it and it’s not fair to you.”

“That’s not true, Jett.”
Daniella replied. “Not at all, you have brought nothing but laughter and happiness to my life. It’s everyone else that’s bringing the drama. Can I please come over and sit with you?”

Jett shrugged but did not turn around to face her.

Daniella took that as his permission. She walked over and sat down next to him.

“Hey…” she said.

“Hey.” He replied.

“Look, Jett,” she said. “About my mother…”

Jett interrupted her.

“Is this about Benjamin?” he said.

Daniella swiveled her head in Jett’s direction.

“What?” she said. “Where did you hear that name?”

“In the hospital on the first night and tonight at your house,” Jett replied.

“At the hospital?” she said.
“How?”

“I was in and out of consciousness.”

“Yes well,” Daniella said. “None of that matters any longer. He was someone from my past.”

Jett nodded in silence and looked out over the river.

“Was he an old flame?” he asked.

Daniella
sighed.

“Yes, you could say that.”

“Oh,” Jett said. “He died here, didn’t he?”

The question caught her completely off guard.
Daniella swallowed hard.

“Yes, he did.” She said. “But, I promise you that it doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago.”

She reached over and touched him on the arm.

“Don’t you believe me?” She asked.

“Ordinarily I would.” Jett said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked.

“Well, nothing except that Tricia accused you of wanting to help me because of what happened to Benjamin.” Jett replied. “And then, your mother, well we both know what happened with her.”

“Yes, God, I am so sorry,”
Daniella said as she hung her head. “Unfortunately, people are entitled to their opinions whether they are right or wrong.”

“Well, which is it?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Are
people right or wrong in their opinions about why you are helping me?” he asked. “Because let me tell you, it feels like they are right.”

“Why does it even matter?” She asked.

“Daniella, it matters to me,” he replied. “I don’t even know how to begin to express my gratitude towards you for all you’ve done for me. You have a wonderful heart and a tender spirit. And, if me being in your life is causing you pain with the people closest to you, well, then I shouldn’t be here.”

“Don’t say that, Jett.”
Daniella replied. “I don’t want you to go anywhere.”

“Then help me understand,
Daniella.”

She exhaled and stared straight ahead, expressionless. Maybe they were right.
Daniella wasn’t even sure any longer. Her eyes teared up. Grief and sadness overwhelmed her and she began to sob uncontrollably.

“Oh, shit,
” Jett said as he hugged her close. “Hey, I’m sorry Daniella. I didn’t mean to pry.”

But
she couldn’t speak. This place, his words and the memories of that terrible night hit her all at once. The tears flowed as she hugged him close.

“
Shh…” he said as he stroked her hair. “I’m sorry, Daniella. I’m so sorry…”

For several more minutes, they embraced one another until at last much of the darkest emotion had passed.

Through glassy eyes, she looked up at him and said, “Benjamin was my fiance. He died on this very same stretch of road not two years ago, weeks before our wedding.”

Jett nodded and looked into her eyes as she continued.

“You never get over it all the way.” Daniella said. “I don’t care what anyone says, you don’t. But, I was better. I had managed to get on with my life until…”

Jett looked at her with an expectant expression on his face.

“What?” he said. “Until what?”

Daniella
sniffled and replied, “Until I saw you lying there. It all came rushing back. I just wanted to save you. I can’t say why for sure. All I know is that I did.”

“Shit,
Daniella,” he said. “I’m sorry. If I’d known…”

“It’s okay,” she replied. “There’s no way you could have known. I never mentioned it because I didn’t think it was true.”

“Didn’t?” he said. “Do you think so now?”

“I don’t know.” She replied. “I don’t care anymore.
I’m just glad you are with me. That’s all.”

***

A soft smile came to his face.

“
Daniella,” he said. “You’ve been so amazing to me.”

She looked at him and smiled back. The tears on her cheek dried and her skin felt cool in the night air.

Jett turned and reached towards her face. As the flesh of his palm touched her, she closed her eyes and leaned her head into his hand. His touch felt so good to her. If there was something she missed, it was a man’s tender caress. Her eyes opened to see him look at her with a different expression in his eyes.

“Is something wrong, Jett?” She asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “Something is very, very wrong.”

Daniella
was sick. She had enough bad news for one day. Her heart sank at the notion of anymore of it.

“What?” she said. “What is it?”

“You are talking to me.” He replied. “When you should be kissing me…”

He smiled and looked at her for a moment.

Then in a blur, he crashed into her mouth. The rush of lust caught her by surprise. Instinct took over and before she realized it, she threw her arms around him. She kissed him as if her life depended on it. Since Daniella first laid eyes on him in this place, she wanted him and now it was clear he felt the same way.

For several minutes, they ravished one another. Jett was an incredible kisser. For someone so rugged, he possessed an innate ability, different from any man
Daniella had ever been with before. Long, slow kisses intermingled with tender nibbles on her lip, neck and ears made her body come to life.

He broke free of her for a moment and
said, “You are an amazing woman. I’m so glad you didn’t shut me down.”

Daniella
could not believe her ears.

“Why would I shut you down, Jett?” She said. “You are amazing. I don’t know why you want me…”

Jett turned serious.

“I may have lost my memory, but not my mind.” He said. “Why wouldn’t I want you? You are incredible.”

“Jett…” she said.

“
Daniella, if I’ve learned one thing since my accident, it’s that life can be taken from you at any time.” He replied. “I’m not going to wait any longer.”

“Wait any longer for what?” She asked.

“For you, Daniella.” he said. “I want you and I am going to
fuck you
. Right here, right now.”

“Jett, I…” she whispered.

Until this moment, Daniella suppressed her feminine urges where he was concerned. That is the sort of self-control almost two years of celibacy gives a person. But the truth was that deep down she hoped and prayed a man would come along and rescue her from it.

Daniella
thought back to the first time she saw him here. He was vulnerable and unknown to her but her primal instincts drove her that night. She wanted to touch him, taste him and fondle him. In the weeks since, she cursed herself over and again for her cowardice. She rationalized that it wasn’t right, that she shouldn’t take advantage of someone in that situation.

While she lingered in her thoughts, Jett leapt into action. In a sudden motion, he swept her into his arms and pressed her into the granite.
Daniella seemed almost weightless to him like driftwood carried aloft on the river below. His thick core leaned into her curves and they began to kiss with a renewed passion.

Under the light of the moon, Jett’s scent mixed with the smell of fresh pine drew her to him like a feral beast. So much of her sexual past, including Benjamin, was a one-sided affair. No one meant to neglect her needs; they never bothered to consider them in the first place. It
seemed that even in their earliest intimate moments together, Jett wanted to make it clear that she
mattered
.

Things started to escalate. Jett intended to make good on his promise. That much was clear as he started to lift her shirt.
Daniella’s mind told her that she ought to resist, that it wasn’t time yet, but her body communicated a different message. For a reason she could neither explain nor understand, Jett owned her flesh and he knew it. Never had she been near a man so in tune with his primal nature. And his prurient lust brought out that animal in her, the thing society had said was wrong to set free. With him, she felt liberated from that belief and at one with her true nature as a woman.

Each kiss on her lips and caress of her curves was uninhibited, raw and pure.

Jett knew how she should feel and what her body craved. There was no awkwardness or hesitation in him. He moved with purpose and abandon at the same time and she knew that in his hands, she would get what she deserved.

Love.

Worship.

Ravishment.

As her inner dialog continued, somehow Jett had managed to strip away all of her clothing. She hadn’t even realized it happened but by the time she did, he hoisted her onto a nearby boulder. As Daniella’s naked ass pressed into the cool stone, she shivered a bit.

“Chilly?” he said as he smiled at her.

“Only a little,” she replied.

“I’ll fix that.” He said.

He nodded and dropped to his knees before her.

For several minutes, Jett kissed and licked at
Daniella’s thick thighs. She jiggled with frenzied excitement as he ran his tongue along the length of each. He transitioned from one to the other while cruel pauses at her center amplified her need. As part of her raged to have his lips against her pussy, another counseled her to have patience and enjoy the pleasure of a new lover.