Lust (The Stripped Bare Series Book 1) (22 page)

Jasmine

Gavin has been amazing. I never thought I’d hear myself think those four little words. He brought me some dinner back from the shops, along with some paracetamol and a bottle of wine. I feel like crap, I haven’t slept for over thirty-five hours now; it’s not without trying, though. I keep lying down and closing my eyes, but all I see is pure evil, evil coming to hurt me. I see Max, too. I see him getting hurt and it’s entirely my fault. I can’t put him in that situation. I can’t hurt him. But whatever I do, I’m going to hurt him. He’s been ringing my phone all day, but each time I dismiss it. I can’t talk to him right now. I wouldn’t know what to say to him. I don’t want to push him away, but I have no other choice.

We eat our dinner in silence, neither of us saying a word. We don’t know what to say to each other. I listened as Gavin talked to his wife on the phone. They seem to have a good relationship; it’s nice to hear him so happy. We may not have been good for each other when we were together but he has been amazing the last few hours. I guess I let my anger get in the way before, I didn’t give him a chance to be a nice person.

“Someone is walking up the drive,” Gavin announces, standing up to look through the curtains. Panic rises in my stomach and I feel physically sick. Standing up on shaky legs, I move to peer out, trying to get a look at who it is but I can only make out the black jacket. Gavin moves towards the door, taking the latch off and unlocking it. I stand back, afraid of who it might be. Surely no one would be stupid enough to just come and attack me in my own home, especially not walking straight up to the door? The police will be providing me with an officer to watch the house, but they haven’t yet assigned someone. I’m now starting to wish they’d hurry up.

Then, I hear his voice and my whole body comes alive. I realise how much I’ve missed him and how much I need him here with me. I feel safe when he’s around me, but I can’t risk his life for my selfish needs. When he barges past Gavin and I see the pain etched in his face, I crumble. My emotions are torn and I know that I can’t keep him away, even if I want to. I have to tell him the truth.

“Say something.” He’s been pacing the room for a good five minutes, he hasn’t said a word and I don’t know what to think. I need to tell him exactly what happened.

“I don’t know what to say.” He moves back over and crouches down in front of me. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He looks sympathetic. I don’t want his sympathy.

“I didn’t think anyone had seen me. I thought I was safe here. That’s why I moved here. I wasn’t expecting to meet you when I came. I wasn’t expecting any of this. I don’t want to put you in danger.” The words tumble out, as he leans his head in my lap.

“Jasmine, I’d protect you with my life. I’d do anything for you, you should’ve told me.” He pauses, looking deep into my eyes. “Jasmine, I love you.” He’s stolen my breath away. It feels like all the air has been sucked from my insides, I can’t breathe.

“I love you, too.” He smiles like he’s never heard those words before. Kneeling up, he places a hand on either side of my face and leans in, touching my lips with his gently. His hand moves around to the back of my head and he carefully pulls me into him, deeper. His kiss is full of passion and love and my heart beats faster with every movement.

“Thank you,” he breathes, pulling back. “I promise, I’ll protect you. Nothing will happen to you as long as you’re with me.” He sits back down on the sofa and I tell him everything, every single detail of that night. He listens intently to every word, he doesn’t speak until I’ve finished, he just holds my hand, squeezing gently every now and then. My tears have gone, replaced by a sense of calm. He takes everything away, all of my fear, all of my helplessness. He makes me feel like I can do anything.

Gavin, clearing his throat as he enters the room, finally breaks our moment.

“Sorry to bother your moment, but the police called to say that they’re on their way with information.
”
Looking at the clock, I notice that it’s almost 10 p.m. Why would they be coming so late? Max stands, straightening his shoulders.

“Thanks for helping here, but I think I can handle things from now on.”

“I think that’s something Jasmine should decide for herself. I was the one she turned to for help, not you.” My head turns back and forth, watching them argue.

“Stop, will you please just stop. Now is not the time for a fucking dick-measuring contest. I’m stressed enough as it is without you two bickering.” I take a deep breath, stand up, and head towards the stairs. “I’m going to go and take a shower before they arrive. Please don’t kill each other while I’m gone.” Max has the decency to nod and lower his head, ashamed. Gavin just glares at him, never taking his eyes away. I don’t need this shit!

The droplets of water pulsate across my skin. Washing away everything that’s happened over the past few hours. I feel lighter now that Max is here, but anxious about his involvement in all of this. Tipping my head back, I let the water drip down my face. I close my eyes tightly but open them again when I feel a cool draft on my back. Calloused hands wrap around my stomach, brushing my skin with his fingers. I don’t turn around to look at him, Instead, I listen to his breath humming against my shoulder and I feel his heartbeat pressed against my back. It’s calming, knowing that he’s here with me, protecting me. I stroke the tattoo on his wrist, the one that says ‘Trust’ and I do, I trust him with my life. I’ve never inspected his tattoos before. They’ve always been just another part of him that I love.

Turning around, I look up at the face I love. He has a few days worth of stubble, which actually looks really sexy on him, and it feels amazing in-between my legs. I remember the sensation of him going down on me and it makes my insides clench. Reaching up, I run my hand along his jaw line, he moves his head to kiss my hand. Running his fingers through my wet hair, he grips it tightly to pull my head back, revealing my neck so that he can put his lips there. A shiver runs through my body as soon he touches my skin and my legs buckle underneath my slight weight. He grips hold of me by my hip to steady me, letting go of my hair to move his hands downwards towards my pulsating pussy.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers into my ear, sending another shudder through my body. I grab hold of the back of his neck to steady myself, as he lifts my leg to rest against his thigh. My heart thrums in my chest as his fingers enter me. I throw my head back, getting a mouthful of water in the process. “Look at me, I want to see those beautiful eyes when you come.” He removes his fingers, lining his cock up at my entrance. “Are you on the pill?”

“Yes,” I nod. But he enters me before I can even finish the word. I gasp at the fullness, as he stretches and fills me, moving slowly in and out. It feels so much better with nothing between us, flesh inside flesh with no barrier. We find a rhythm and I never look away from his eyes. The pain that was evident earlier has been replaced with love and want. There’s a sparkle to them that I never noticed before. He looks alive.

“I love you, my mermaid.” He pushes into me further as he says the words, and I grip the back of his neck tighter. He lifts me off my feet and I wrap my legs around his back. He pushes me against the cool tiles and the cold porcelain makes me flinch.

“I love you too, Max,” my voice is husky as I say those words. He speeds up his assault and my insides start to clench. That familiar build up of pressure inside me becomes unbearable and I need to release it.

“Come for me, baby.” His words make me shiver, as he moves faster, the friction of the closeness rubbing against my clit. Everything becomes blurry. I dig my nails into his back and he bucks making me explode. The release I was so desperate for rips through my entire body. I feel him swell inside me as my orgasm rides on and he lets out a guttural roar.

Leaning his forehead against mine, he tries to control his breathing. I’m still wrapped around him. I don’t want to let go, because if I let go we have to go back to reality. The reality where my life’s in danger. The reality where nothing is perfect. The reality where my nightmares are real. I don’t want to go back to that reality, I want to stay here in Max’s arms forever.

He slips out of me and lowers me down to the floor. Grabbing the soap, he rubs it all over my body, washing me, taking care of me. He doesn’t say a word the whole time. He takes the shampoo and he washes my hair, carefully massaging it into my scalp then leaning my head back so that the water washes it away.

I wish the water could wash everything away.

When he’s finished washing me, he washes himself. I watch him as he runs his hands over his taut muscles, taking my time to really look at his tattoos. He has one on his left thigh, it’s a bird. I don’t know what kind of bird it is, but its blue and in its mouth is a ribbon. On the ribbon is the word Ma. It’s stunning, the detail is incredible, the eyes look lifelike, like it is watching me.

He finishes up and opens the door, stepping out to grab a towel. He hands it to me and I wrap it around my body. He doesn’t say anything and I’m dying to know what he’s thinking. I’m too afraid to ask. Is he wondering if I’m worth all this pain? Is he trying to find an escape? So many things run through my mind but they’re disturbed by Gavin’s voice shouting for us to come downstairs.

Max

As we walk down the stairs, Gavin glares at me knowingly. I love having one over on the pompous turdwaffle. From what I hear, he was an arsehole of a husband and didn’t deserve her. Well,
mate!
She’s mine now, you can toddle off back to cockney land and don’t come back.

There are two police officers sat on the sofas. Gavin has cleared away all the duvets and glasses that were lying around like a good little housemaid, and made them both a cup of coffee. Jasmine sits down on the chair and I position myself on the arm of it, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. The woman officer looks at me then back at Jasmine.

“Hi, Jasmine. Are we alright to talk?” She looks at me again.

“Yeah, sure. Sorry, this is Max. He’s my boyfriend.” I stand up to shake hands with them; the male officer grips it a bit harder than expected. I’m not sure what his problem is.

“So, we have contacted the Met Police,” the woman, I think her name was Dawn, starts
.
“They’ve advised us that they’re already monitoring Mr Dunn. They’ve been after him for some time. The man that was murdered was Mike Hart, he’s a known associate.”

“A drug runner,” the other officer who didn’t tell me his name, pipes up.

“Yes, anyway.” She glances at him and I get the feeling she’s the one in charge and he doesn’t like it. “They are about to move in to make an arrest, they’ve enough evidence against him to link him to the murder and other charges which should put him away for a very long time.” I notice Jasmine take a deep breath; she physically relaxes at the thought of this being all over soon.

“What about the man that came to my office?” Gavin says from behind us. I turn to see him leaning against the kitchen door. I take hold of Jasmine’s hand, stroking the top. She looks up and I give her a small smile.

“Mr O’Reilly is also known to them and a person of interest, however, they’ve been unable to locate him lately and we believe he may very well be in Chester.” She grips my hand tighter, almost to the point of pain, what’s left of her nails dig into my skin. I move closer, holding her tightly, trying to soothe her. I hate the fear that is etched on her face, I want to take it away and replace it with joy.

“It’s okay, baby. No one is going to get to you. I promise. I’m never leaving your side, they’ll have to go through me.” This doesn’t relax her, though. The panic on her face increases and I don’t understand what I’ve said to make her panic worse.

“I don’t want them to go through you. I don’t want you to stand in their way. What’s the point in me being here if you’re dead?” her voice gets more and more high pitched as she speaks. I can’t believe she’s worried about me more than herself. God, I love this woman so much.

“Jasmine, you have Austen to live for, you have to let me protect you.” I kneel down in front of her, gripping her hands tightly. She nods, knowing that I’m not going to change my mind.

“We’ll post a car outside the house,” Dawn says. “If you need to go out anywhere just tell the officer and they’ll follow you. Hopefully, this will only be for a few days. We have officers actively searching the area looking for him.”

“She’s going to come and stay at mine for a few days.” I stand up, but her eyes follow me.

“What about Dexter?”

“I’ll tell him everything, he isn’t important right now, you’re my main priority.” She smiles weakly. I look at Gavin. “You can go home now, you’re not needed. But thanks for your help ‘n all.” He doesn’t answer me back; he knows that I’m not backing down. The police officers stand up, heading towards the door.

“If you need anything at all, give me a call. You have my number, Jasmine?”

“Yes. Thank you for everything.” She nods. As soon as they leave she turns to me and walks into my chest. I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly for as long as she needs me to.

“Everything’s going to be okay, baby.” I say quietly.

Gavin clears his throat behind us. “I’ll get my stuff together then.” Jasmine leaves my arms and walks over to him. I feel like grabbing hold of her to stop her, but I let her go to him. She hugs him and I want to throat punch him. I know I’m being irrational but I can’t help my possessiveness.

“Thank you for everything, Gavin. You’ve been amazing. Please stay safe.”

“I’ll be fine, Jazz, you just concentrate on yourself. Austen is safely in Scotland and you have
Max
here.” My name is dripped in sarcasm. Well, it’s clear neither of us likes each other and I’m fine with that. He walks up the stairs to collect his stuff. He doesn’t have much so it doesn’t take him long.

“Stay till morning, Gavin. It’s a long drive and it’s late. You don’t need to go now.” Yes he does. He can find a hotel or something.

“It’s fine, you two need your privacy and I can always get a Travelodge on my way home if I need to rest. Jodie and the girls will be missing me, anyway.” He smiles at her. She walks over to him and gives him a hug once more. Again, I get a pang of jealousy at their closeness. I know they have a history and I know that she would never get back with him, but I still don’t like him touching my woman. Picking up his laptop, he heads out the door.

“Thank you for everything.” She moves out of the way and looks at me. I hesitate for a moment before shaking his hand and thanking him. Man, that hurt my pride. Closing the door and locking it, she leans against it, taking in a deep breath. “Can we stay here tonight and sort everything in the morning. I’m exhausted, I haven’t slept in so long and I just want to go to bed and lay in your arms all night.” How can I say no to that? Taking her hand, I silently walk her up the stairs. Walking into the bedroom, I turn her to face me.

“Lift,” I tell her. She lifts her arms and I pull her t-shirt over her head. Bending down, I pull down her leggings, taking her knickers with them. Next, I remove her bra. Grabbing her nightgown from the bed, I pull it over her head. She doesn’t say a word as I dress her. I remove my clothes, leaving just my boxers on and then pull the covers back, she climbs in and I move myself behind her, spooning her body. I listen to her heart beating and wait until it is calm and steady before allowing myself to drift off to sleep.

“What are you gonna tell him?” Jasmine says, as we eat breakfast. We didn’t sleep very well. Every few hours, she would wake up screaming. It took me a while to calm her back down. The terror in her eyes was unbearable, it almost broke me.

“I don’t know yet, I’ve not got a speech planned so I’ll just roll with it. He’s at work this afternoon so I think we should just get it out of the way this morning, yeah?”

“Yeah, I think that’s for the best.” She lowers her head to eat her cereal. She even looks cute when she’s eating. “Stop watching me.” She smiles.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it. You’re just too beautiful to not watch.” The phone rings and she heads over to answer it. I hear her talking, I assume it’s Austen so I head upstairs to get dressed and pack her a few things to take to my place. I’m nervous about telling Dex. He’ll probably be fine with it and I’ve made a big deal out of nothing, but there’s still something in the back of my mind that doubts it. I’d hate for him to fall out with me over this.

Opening her drawers, I pick out the hottest underwear I can find and shove it into her overnight bag. If I could get away with it that would be all I’d pack for her. Begrudgingly, I pick out some clothes from her wardrobe. I choose some nice outfits that I’ve seen her wear previously, and also some joggers and t-shirts for comfort. I grab her dressing gown and slippers from next to the bed and then head into the bathroom, grabbing as many girly smelling things as I can find. I think I’ve done a good job so I head back down and put it into her car. When I return back to the house, she’s finished on the phone. Tears fill her eyes and she looks so dejected. Walking towards her, she wraps her arms around my waist, holding me tightly.

“What’s wrong, baby?
”

“I just miss him so much. I’m so afraid. What if I never see him again?” It pisses me off that she thinks something is going to happen to her. No one is getting to her; I swear that on my life.

“You’ll see him soon, please stop worrying. You’re safe. You have me.” I pull her back to look in her eyes. “Now, go get dressed, I’ve packed your things and left you clothes on the bed.” She turns to leave and I give her a slap on the bum. She lets out a small yelp and I watch her sexy little arse sway up the staircase. As soon as she’s out of sight, I head outside to let the police officers know where we’re going. I know Jasmine’s grateful that they’re there, as she seems so much calmer. As I turn around, she walks out of the house with yet another bag. “I already packed your stuff!” I’ll never understand women.

“Thank you, I just needed a few other things, that’s all.” She shrugs. Rolling my eyes, I get in the car as she locks the doors. I’ll come back for my bike another time. I have pushed it around the back of the house out of view. I love that bike, but I have more precious cargo right now. I never thought I’d see the day that I loved someone more than my bike. Shocking!

“Maybe I should wait in the car until you’ve spoken to him?” She looks as nervous as I feel.

“No, you’re not staying out here alone.”

“I wo
n’
t be alone.” She turns to look behind us. “There are two coppers in that car there, nothing’s gonna happen to me.” I’m glad she’s so confident. I have been calm so far, trying to keep my shit together, but to be honest I’m petrified of something happening to her. Until they find this O’Reilly fucker, she isn’t being let out of my sight.

“Come in and go straight to my room. Dex will probably still be in bed. I’ll get him up and talk to him while you get some rest.”

“Okay.” She leans over and kisses my cheek. “Thank you for doing this.”

“Jasmine, don’t ever thank me for looking after you. I love you, that’s what I’m meant to do.” I love the way she smiles, her face lights up and it’s the most beautiful sight in the world. I wish I could make her smile more. Maybe when this is all over I’ll be able to see it every day.

The flat is silent; I knew Dex would be asleep. Jasmine tip toes quietly into my bedroom. I told her she didn’t have to be quiet. Dex could sleep through a tornado. I throw her bags into the corner and she looks at me like she wants to slap me. Get used to it, love, I’ll never change.