Jack (The Family Simon Book 2) (20 page)

They were real.

Slowly she opened her legs.

He swore.

She smiled, her fingers dipping into her slick folds.

“You’re killing me,” he said, voice rough like sandpaper.

“Am I?” she teased.

“Donnie,” he growled.

She slid over him and he swore again as her heat enveloped his cock. She let him settle inside. He filled her. Every inch of him hard and straining.

Donovan reached for him. She cupped his face and kissed him urgently as she began to ride him. Slow and steady. His hands were on her hips and their eyes connected as she sat back and let their bodies take over.

All she heard was her fast beating heart. The squeak of the bedsprings as their tempo increased. All she saw was Jack. His broad shoulders. Straining biceps. The way his eyes darkened. They smoldered like black coal and—her heart skipped a beat—and they shone with love.

She knew that look. She’d dreamt of that look.

Donovan’s heart swelled and, goddammit, were those tears poking the corner of her eyes again? How the hell could she be crying when she felt to incredibly fulfilled?

“I love you Jack,” she said fiercely. “So much.”

She felt the pull inside, that coil unfurling hot and sweet and sharp as they raced toward orgasm. Jack strained beneath her, sweat glistening on his forehead, his curls damp once more.

They were one. Connected in a way meant only for the two of them.

When she came, she came hard, her muscles contracting tightly, her body awash in fire and pleasure. Jack came seconds later, and as she continued to ride him, to take whatever he had left, she collapsed against his chest and bit her lip because it was that beautiful.

For a long time, the two of them strained against each other. It was as if they were afraid to lose their connection. To lose something that they’d just found.

“Hey,” Jack said quietly. “Are you okay?”

Donovan nodded. She couldn’t speak. There was no way to articulate what was going on inside her.

“I need to see your face.”

She exhaled shakily and tilted her head, but it wasn’t enough for Jack. He sank one hand into her hair while the other wiped away her tears. He was silent for a few moments, and God help her, but she was going to cry again.

What the hell was wrong with her?

“I’ve never stopped loving you, Donnie. Even when I’d convinced myself that it was over I knew. Deep down I knew there was only you. Some things in life are absolute. Living. Dying. Breathing. My love for you is absolute. My need to be with you is absolute.”

He kissed her nose and rested his forehead against hers.

“Yesterday when you were missing, I lost it.”

“Jack,” she whispered.

“I fucking lost it,” he continued. “If anything had happened to you, I’m not sure what I would have done. All I could think about was my life without you, and it was pretty fucking dark. I’m telling you right now that there is no more Jack or Donovan. There’s only us.”

That was it. She was done for. Donovan gasped and began to cry like a baby. Jack must have thought she was crazy, but he said nothing. He did what he’d always done. He gave her what she needed. He held her. Stroked her hair and murmured words of love and desire and need.

The sun continued to rise and under the warmth of that ethereal light, they both fell asleep again.

Jack woke up feeling way too damn good. Maybe he should be nervous about that fact. It had been a long time since he’d woken feeling so content. But hell, he decided he was gonna roll with it. No reason to stress. He stretched and laid in the tangle of bed sheets, savoring the feeling for as long as he could.

He could still smell Donovan and wondered where she was. Shower maybe?

Someone had drawn the blinds, had to be Donovan, and he had no idea what time it was. Did it matter? Did anything matter other than the fact that he and Donovan had somehow managed to get something right? After all this time, it seemed they were finally on the right track.

Coco jumped onto the bed, and Jack stroked his head absently for a few seconds before rolling over. He slid out of bed and grabbed his boxers, slipping them on before heading out to find Donovan.

He was halfway across his bedroom when he heard a guitar, and with a grin, he made his way downstairs.

Where was she?

On bare feet he padded across the great room and followed the sound of music to the sun room out back, Coco on his heels. Jack scooped up the little guy and leaned against the doorframe, listening to her as her fingers flew over the fret board, pulling out a melody as pretty as the sunrise.

When she started to sing, he froze. Jesus. He’d forgotten how good she was. Her voice was like smoke and whiskey, full bodied and fluid. Her range was impressive, her pitch spot on, and the edge that made her stand out from the crowd, that little bit of rasp that was all hers, was better than ever.

She could soar to the eagles and fall in an instant, her voice incredibly intimate, raw and real.

And then there was her guitar picking. The girl wasn’t just good, she could play with the best of them. He’d seen her perform at the Opry several times with the greats, and she’d left the stage with a bunch of dropped jaws in her wake and a crowd gone crazy.

She was the real deal, and damn, but Jack’s heart swelled as he watched her. When she glanced up, her fingers froze and silence fell between them. Her hair was a tumbled mess. Her eyes fresh and bright. That mouth of hers was bruised from their night of loving, and that body was barely covered by an old T-shirt of his.

“That’s a good look on you,” he said slowly, eyes sweeping over her in appreciation. “I like you in my clothes.”

She set the guitar aside. “It’s all I could find.”

“I have no problem with that.”

“Good,” she said softly.

For a moment, silence slid between them. But it wasn’t an awkward sort of thing. It was an easy silence. And like an old friend, it was one he welcomed.

“I fed him,” Donovan said.

“Fed?” Jack started forward.

“The dog.”

“Ah.” He let Coco down and watched the little thing run over to Donovan. Coco was trembling and he licked her toes before hopping up beside her.

Somewhere in the house, a cellphone rang out.

“You gonna answer that?” she asked, eyes on him.

“No.” Jack walked toward her. “I’m not going to answer that.”

“Any particular reason?” A smile played around the corner of her mouth.

“I’ve got a few.” He slid onto the sofa beside her and didn’t blink when Coco barked in disgust. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her good and hard.

“Wanna share?” she asked breathlessly.

Jack pulled them back into the soft cushions. “I’m not inclined to let the real world in yet. I just got you back, and call me a greedy bastard, but I sure as hell don’t want to share you with anyone.”

She had nothing for him but that was fine. Jack was content to hold her, to listen to her breathe. To feel the warmth of her and inhale the scent of her. He was content to let things be for now, because he had a feeling they were in for a bumpy ride.

Things weren’t going to be easy. Aside from the media circus that would descend, there were still issues between them that had to be worked out. But there was time for all of that.

“I called my mom today.”

Jack’s eyes opened. “And?”

She sighed. “She gave me an earful for running off to Canada without telling her, and then she hung up.”

Jack’s mouth tightened. He could never pretend to understand their relationship, because from what he’d seen, it wasn’t exactly healthy. Jayleigh loved her daughter, but loving and knowing how to show love were two entirely different things. Jayleigh wasn’t going to win any mother of the year awards, and it was probably a smart thing for Donovan to distance her mother from Donovan’s business dealings.

“I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“I’m not.” But she was. He could feel it. Her shoulders were tense.

“Hey,” he whispered near her ear. “How do you feel about French toast?”

“I think that might hit the spot.”

Jack got to his feet and pulled her up, but when she winced, he froze.

“My foot,” she mumbled.

Jack glanced down at her ankle which was purple and still swollen, though not as bad as the night before. Shit. He’d forgotten all about it.

“I think you need to see a doctor.”

“No,” Donovan said, shaking her head. “I don’t…I’m fine.”

Something in her voice made him uneasy. “A trip to the doctor isn’t going to hurt you.”

“No, but that would be the best way for the media to find out I’m up here, and that’s the last thing that I want.”

She glanced up at him. “You just said you don’t want the outside world finding its way into ours. At least not yet. Can’t we just have a little more time to deal with everything before that happens?”

Everything. Like that damn pregnancy test. And all the other shit. Thing was? It was the other shit that he was concerned about.

“At least let me ask Sabrina for a quick look. She used to be a nurse before the kids came along.”

Donovan nodded. “Okay.”

The two of them were in the kitchen—Donovan propped on the counter as Jack busied himself making French toast—when the door banged open and two bundles of energy ran inside.

“Hey,” Harry shouted. “You’re alive! You’re alive!”

Jack tossed him a strawberry and the little guy caught it.

“Of course I’m alive, silly,” Donovan said.

“But Harry tolded me that you might have got eaten by a big bear,” Morgan said, her eyes huge as she stared up at Donovan.

“Nope,” Donovan replied. “I’m all good.”

“Yay!” Morgan shouted. “Uncle Jack said a lot of bad words when you were gone.”

“He did,” Harry piped in. “He said that one that starts with an F so many times that Mommy says we might be able to fly to Mexico once he pays the swear jar.”

“Did he now?” Donovan asked.

Jack shot the kids a look. The little traitors.

“I told you guys to wait for me.” Sabrina walked into the house and didn’t stop until she had Donovan in a fierce hug. “You scared crap out of me.”

“Is crap a bad word?” Morgan asked, twirling a long lock of hair between her fingers as she looked at her brother.

“I don’t think so,” Harry replied. “It means poo.”

Morgan giggled and Jack grinned at the two of them. “Just don’t say the S-word,” Jack said.

“What’s the S word?” Morgan asked.

“It starts with sh—”

“Harrison Campbell. That’s enough.” Sabrina shot them a stern look before settling onto Jack. “You might want to put some clothes on while I take a look at Donovan’s ankle.”

Jack glanced down at his boxers. Not exactly appropriate for company.

He turned the heat low, pressed a kiss to Donovan’s cheek (to another round of giggles from Morgan and a big fat ‘eeewww’ from Harry) before heading up the stairs to his room.

He’d just pulled on a T-shirt when his cell went off again. Jack almost ignored it, but when another text came through, he strode over to the chair where he’d dumped his cargoes the day before and rifled through his front pocket to retrieve the damn phone.

One glance down told him all hell had broken loose, and just like that, the ease and peace of his morning vanished.

There were several from Maverick, but he ignored those. His cousin was probably just giving him the gears again, and while Jack knew he deserved it, he didn’t need to be reminded over and over again.

He scrolled through a few missed calls from his mother. Okay those he’d have to return, but again, it could wait. He saw that Tucker had called and so had his sister Grace. Hell, there was even two texts from his brother Teague, and Teague was somewhere in South America.

What the hell? He didn’t read any of them, he just scrolled through until he got to the last one. It set his teeth on edge, and he frowned. From Derek, it was simple and to the point. The guy had never been one for subtlety.

Are you fucking crazy? Donovan James? We need to talk.

Jack’s finger scrolled over Derek’s text, and the anger that settled in his gut was something fierce. It was time he and Derek had a meeting.

He tossed his cell back onto the bed and exhaled, running a hand over the several days worth of growth on his chin. How the hell did Derek know about Donovan?

“Whatever,” he muttered. He was going to have these few days with his woman, and then he’d face whatever shit storm was coming his way.

Jack took two steps out of his bedroom before he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Coco was barking crazily. It was the kind of crazy that signaled company. He wasn’t exactly sure if the shit storm had already found its way inside his house, but something sure as hell was happening.

He glanced over the railing and swore.

Maverick was looking up at him, and if he was reading his cousin right, the guy wanted to kill Jack. Whatever. Maverick he could handle. It was the other two who concerned him more. Especially the small, petite thing.

His mother.

She was like a barracuda when it came to her kids and when Donovan and Jack’s relationship had busted wide open, she’d been in his corner 100%. Jack was pretty sure that his mother would have gone toe to toe with Donovan if given the chance.

He sure as hell didn’t need her poking around in his business, because right now, he wasn’t exactly sure what his business was all about.

“Jack, do you want to explain what’s going on?” his mother said, eyebrow raised in that way that told him her hackles were up. She was preparing to fight, and Jesus, he was too damned tired to do it right now. Eden DuRocher-Simon had never had a problem voicing her opinion. And she would get into Donovan’s face without a thought.

Thing was? Donovan was always up for a fight. She’d give as good as she got, but Jack wasn’t having any of it.

This right here was no one’s business but his and Donnie’s.

“Not now, Mom,” Jack said taking the stairs two at a time and not stopping until he stood at the counter beside Donovan. Sabrina was quiet. Donovan was quiet. Hell, the goddamn dog was quiet.