Haze (25 page)

"I want you to spread your legs wide for me, Effie," Jack said. "I want to watch
everything
. Will you do that?"

"Yes," I whispered. I spoke before really realizing what he had asked.

He seemed to catch himself, worried that he may have crossed a line. "If it's too much, you don't have to. I'm... sorry." It was that reassurance that seemed to make me even more willing to go the distance.

"No, I want to. Really." While I wasn't lying, I also wasn't sure just
how much
of the truth I was actually telling. Something beyond rational thought was controlling my body. Raging lust, I guess.

I did what he requested, spreading my legs until I knew he could see
everything
. After briefly opening my eyes and peeking at him, I started to get nervous again. He was in front of me, and I stared at his cock throbbing between his legs. I had never seen a hungrier look on his face. It was killing me.

I closed my eyes again and circled my fingers against my clit, trying my damndest to bring something out of myself for Jack. Everything seemed to be so intuitive and raw, yet I seemed to be struggling.

"Relax, Effie. I don't think you realize how fucking beautiful you are. And how lucky I am."

God, his words were like beautiful music. I felt sexy, exposed, feminine, beautiful,
owned
. I was on display for him, totally compromised and trusting. I kept touching, feeling, exploring my tender flesh, trying to give him what he wanted. I was willingly cooperating but struggling to put out my own internal fires of indecision.

"Have you used a vibrator?" Jack asked suddenly.

"No," I said, temporarily distracted from my efforts. My opened eyes brought me back to the room.

"Close your eyes," he said. He slid his body next to mine on the couch.

I heard a quiet buzzing sound, and then his arm reached across my belly. When it touched my clit, my whole body tingled at once, the pleasurable surprise nearly knocking the wind out of me. He was holding it there against me, sending me into a pleasurable frenzy.

"You take it now. It's all yours."

I brought my hand over his and gratefully took the vibrator, keeping it in place the best I could. I felt his body move away from mine, presumably so he could get a better view from the front.

The feeling was really something else. That bundle of nerves was twitching so quickly, the sensation so rapid and direct. In that moment, it made total sense why women used these damn things.

"Oh, God," I moaned, unable to contain myself. This was so raw. The directness of it stripped away my insecurities since my mind was excessively distracted by stimuli.

"Fuck, Effie," I heard Jack moan. "You are so fucking hot."

I was feeling and imagining so much, my body contorting as pleasure swept through me. I was battling to keep my legs spread as my back arched and flexed. Lush gasps escaped freely from my lips, the most vocal I had ever been whilst doing something like this. Suddenly, I wasn't afraid to hold anything back, wasn't afraid to give everything to Jack.

I slid a finger into my tightness, probing and pressing to complement what was already going on. My hips rocked back and forth as I imagined Jack's thrusts, the most sensible thing I could imagine given what was going on. Even though he wasn't physically involved at this point, I was still totally content.

I was so close to coming, so quickly manipulated by this newfound device. Jack was groaning loudly as well; I opened my eyes to see his hand rapidly sliding up and down on his shaft, watching me like a hawk.

Our eyes met and he saw as deeply into me as I saw into him. Unsatisfied with his position, he climbed back onto the couch and wrapped his arm around me, still maintaining a steady stroking motion. His support intact, my body went limp against his warm skin.

He was watching
me
while he did that, watching my pleasure and translating it into his own. "Jack, I'm gonna come," I gasped.

"Watch me as you do it."

Lying hard against the couch, I turned my head and stared into his eyes, our faces only a foot or so apart. He was pumping frenetically down below, the carnal image something I only caught in my peripheral vision.

"Oh, Jack!" I cried out, pleasure spilling through me like a dam breaking. I shivered and twitched against him, my heart almost popping right out of my chest. I kept watching his eyes, and it was torment, sweet, sweet torment. They were possessed with something not unlike predatory resolve.

He started groaning too, a primal, uninhibited sound that I wasn't entirely familiar with. This was different, even though it was indeed purely sexual. When we were fucking, his sounds were like something else, something in another language compared to this.

I felt a spurt of his seed as it struck my belly, his arm flexed and tight as he kept going. His expression said nothing but
you're all mine
. I was so wrapped up in my own climax that I didn't feel the rest of his finale.

My clit suddenly overwhelmed, I pressed the button on the vibrator and tossed it aside. I felt something like physical desperation—and Jack felt it too.

He took me in his arms and hugged me tightly, our bodies contorting together. We were both breathing deeply and his breaths were only interrupted as he peppered my cheeks with light kisses.

"Effie, that was so hot, so perfect. You're so fucking perfect. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." The words came out as one long stream.

Hearing him say that made me feel more than elated. I felt like I was on cloud nine, like I had won a lifetime achievement award and thousands of people were applauding me. He had pushed my boundaries and ensured that I felt good about it no matter what. It felt like
progress
.

"
Dammit, Jack." I was starting to feel choked up. I had never been assaulted with so many compliments in my life, especially not when my guard was so lowered. He had free reign to do anything he liked with me, and I couldn't do a thing about it. "I missed you so much," I said, sadness in my voice.

What else could I do when he was making me feel so good about myself, so good about
us
?

Nothing felt wrong about saying it. There were no tinges of feeling vulnerable or clingy or too attached. I knew it was the right thing to say and both my body and mind lauded my choice.

"I missed you too." He kissed me again and lightly stroked my hair from my scalp all the way to my shoulder, taking me in yet again

The sunbeams were flooding through the windows and settling on our fully exposed bodies. Even though I had been tense only a short while before, I was more relaxed than I had ever been in my life. I had to fight the urge to cry, to wail like a baby because I felt like somehow I had made a mistake.

"Why did I—" I swallowed the lump in my throat and fought to maintain my composure.

"
Shh," Jack said. "Just let it go for now."

It was tough, but with him there, I did let it go.

Chapter 14

We stayed cuddled on the couch for probably another hour, the flight halfway through by the time we were appropriately dressed again. Prior to our shared moment, I wanted him to make love to me worse than anything. Now, I was satiated in a way that seemed to transcend my normal urges and compulsions.

It wasn't that I was overly sexual—it was that Jack brought something like that out of me, like he planted a seed in the most fertile ground possible.

I felt satisfied and safe, like I belonged to him as much as he belonged to me. Fact of the matter was, prior to boarding that plane, the biggest thing on my mind was how to deal with the Sam situation, to restructure the muddled pieces of my life. Right now, there was no debate whatsoever, no considerations taking place.

It wasn't that I didn't think about it—
it
just had no place here.

This was a protected, sacred place, at least for now.

Jack had gotten up and was rummaging in the refrigerator. "Do you want another drink? A snack?"

"What is there?" I asked. "And yes, another gin and tonic, please."

He opened the door wide and showed me—a couple of bottles of beer, and a container of hummus. "That's it, I guess."

"Are you calling beer a snack? That's a first, isn't it?"

"Well, it's got carbs and calories. Why can't it be a snack?" He lifted a bottle and slowly eyed the label. "They don't put any info on there so you won't feel guilty and stop drinking 'em."

"Nobody wants to feel guilty when they're getting drunk. Is there something to
dip
in the hummus?"

Jack opened a small cupboard, revealing another empty space, except for one thing: "Pita bread. It matches." He gave me a thumbs up.

Success.

My stomach grumbled, but obviously not loudly enough that he could hear it from his position. I'd have to use words to communicate. "Okay, I'm sold. Bring me food, please."

"Right away!"

He tossed the pitas and the hummus onto the couch beside me. "What the hell?" I yelled. "I'm not going to catch food."

"It's not even opened. You're safe. Plus, it's
my
furniture, and if I want to dump hummus all over it, I
will
dump hummus all over it."

I fiddled with the twist-tie on the pita bread. "I can't argue with that."

We sipped and ate, laughing constantly during the final moments of the flight. I felt so relaxed, so renewed. Our time together—and this vacation as a whole—was proving to be incredibly useful to my emotional state. I wasn't worrying, wasn't panicking about a damn thing.

"So what are doing here?" I asked. I was mid-bite on an abnormally large piece of pita, chomping until it became something I could actually swallow.

"Some business bullshit. I can take you along for almost everything, though. Maybe a cool party or something too." He had a look on his face that seemed to scream
I have a secret
. His subsequent quick grab for more pita to occupy his mouth seemed to suggest he was trying to hide a smile.

"Is there something else?" I asked curiously. I swallowed my gargantuan bite and then paused before grabbing more.

"It's a secret," he said promptly. "That means I can't tell you."

"Jack! Why'd you have to tell me at all then?" Knowing that something was coming would only make it worse since I didn't know what
it
was.

"My lips are sealed. You'll just have to wait."

I shook my head and laughed. Why the hell did I care so much, anyway? "Fine. I guess it'll be more fun that way, huh?"

"Last time I checked, that's how surprises work." He scooted toward me and gave me a hug, entirely impeding my ability to eat. "You'll really like it, I promise."

I rested my head against his chest. I thought of things I wanted to say but realized I probably shouldn't say them. Infatuation was back with a vengeance only like a bee sting this time—and my hand was still deep inside the nest.

***

Not long after that, we were strapped in and landing, pulling into a smaller runway for private planes at LAX. I couldn't believe how incredible the huge, sprawling city looked from the sky. It was breathtaking, especially with slowly setting sun.

We also managed to do the whole time-travel thing due to the time difference. This time, we won, but on the flight back, we'd lose.

"We're going to go to the hotel before dinner, okay?" Jack sat up and reached toward his suitcase. He missed, but his phone buzzed after re-gaining a signal and so he didn't try again immediately.

I nodded. I was thrilled to be here and willing to do almost anything. "Where are we staying?"

'The Hollywood Roosevelt," he said casually, his fingers tapping a text into his phone.

"Are you kidding? Seriously?" The hotel had such a huge history when it came to pop culture and celebrities.

He laughed at me. "I get a discount when I stay there. That's the primary reason why I do. They feature it all the time on those bullshit celebrity news sites as if a celebrity sighting is newsworthy." Jack put his phone into his pocket. "
Any
famous or successful person is good enough for them."

"If that's all you write about, then I guess it is newsworthy. Does that make me famous by association then?" I asked, my eyes gleaming.

Jack kissed my cheek."Prepare to sign autographs."

"I've been practicing my signature, so I'll be just fine, thanks." I gave Jack a cocky grin and then let him finish.

"Teddy's nightclub downstairs is a hot spot too. We can check it out. You'll probably see some famous people there."

My heart was racing almost as fast as the plane had been flying. I don't think I had ever been more giddy in my life. "Is that the surprise?" I asked again. "Staying somewhere like that?"

"No. It's something I planned just for you. Let's go." Jack stood up and successfully grabbed his suitcase this time. He took my hand and helped me to my feet.