The Back-Up Plan (14 page)

When the last vestiges faded away, she came at him like a woman possessed, sitting up with an expression that said she wouldn’t be denied what she really wanted.

“More.” She dragged him closer, gripping his cock firmly. “I want you inside me.”

“Wait, Kris.” He ran his fingers along her slit to the base of the plug, but she shook her head.

“Leave it in.”

He blinked rapidly. Holy fuck. Dream girl. He smiled at her request, then couldn’t resist teasing her. She was too much. Fun, fantasy, fucking fantastic. The whole package. “You’re a freak.”

She laughed, but didn’t release her grip on his dick. “You’re the only person in the world who thinks so.” Then she paused and looked at him. “I think I like that.”

He moved closer, placing the head of his cock at her opening. He added pressure, pushing until just the head was inside. She was tight, her breathing coming fast, but her determined, hungry face told him she was with him in this. She wanted it as much as he did.

Jason moved torturously slow, not wanting to hurt her. Then, at last, he was buried to the hilt and he realized something. This wasn’t going to take long. Dammit.

She’d held him at bay too long. Given him a taste of her sweetness, then denied him the rest of the dessert.

He picked a rhythm, starting easy, then as her body responded, drenching him in her aroused juices, he moved quicker. Harder.

She came again and Jason had to grit his teeth, do algebra in his head to stop from joining her. He slowed his pace briefly, but as soon as Kristen’s trembling subsided, she was back again, lifting her hips to meet him, urging him to take it all.

He was so fucking close when he felt her freeze.

“Wait,” she said.

It took all the strength in his body to stop moving, then even more not to drag her back when she pulled away.

“What—”

“This way.” She rolled over, placing herself facedown over his desk. “Take me this way.”

“Christ.” He stroked her bare ass as he accepted her beautiful offer, thrusting into her from behind with one, firm stroke. He bent lower over her, using the new position to fuck her not only with his dick, but to use his hips to push the plug deeper as well.

He could only imagine how it felt for her—to be doubly penetrated, doubly fucked. Then he realized he didn’t have to guess. She was telling him exactly how much she loved it. With her words, her moans, the way her body slammed back to meet his.

He reached out, gripping a handful of her long soft hair in his hands, using it as leverage to twist her face to his. He kissed her hard. Kristen returned it, then bit his lower lip until he groaned.

The same word kept popping into his mind.

Wild.

His practical, no-nonsense partner was completely untamed. Amazing. A feral animal he longed to capture and keep forever.

Then all rational thought deserted him as his balls drew tight. “I can’t hold off, Kris.”

She didn’t respond. Didn’t need to. She was already there.

She came hard, releasing a loud, keening cry as Jason let go. His climax was a combination of exquisite pleasure and agony, wrapped together so tightly, he knew he’d give up everything he’d ever owned to feel it again and again. Kristen had become his drug—more addictive than crack.

Neither of them moved as they let the intensity of the moment pass, working overtime to calm their racing hearts, to still their harsh breathing.

Kristen was the first to break the silence. “What time does the cleaning crew come in?”

He laughed. God only knew, but leave it to Kristen to always be three steps ahead. Meanwhile, he was struggling to remember his own name. “Damn. No idea, but wouldn’t this be an eyeful?”

He forced himself to stand on shaky legs, then gently pulled the plug out of Kristen as she lay still. If she really was worried about being caught, she certainly wasn’t showing it. She was in no hurry to move, to reclaim her clothing.

Jason placed a quick slap on her ass, unable to resist. It spurred her to lift her head and look at him over her shoulder.

“You did it again.”

He winked, recognizing the tone of sensibility in her voice. The real Kristen was reemerging. “Sorry.”

She shook her head. “No. You’re not. And I’m running out of ways to explain to you what a really bad idea this is.”

“Then stop trying.”

Her shoulders slumped as she held herself on elbows against his desk. Then her attention was drawn to something there. She picked up a piece of paper and stood slowly. “What’s this?”

“Fuck,” he muttered when she handed him the note. Of course she would see the one thing he really didn’t want her to. “It’s just a small issue, Kris. I’ve handled it.”

“Is that right? Because it looks to me like our new intern has just propositioned you, invited you out for dinner and drinks.”

He balled up the paper, tossing it in the trashcan. “I pulled her in today and explained that would be unprofessional. I let her down easy, but I made it clear just the same. You don’t have to worry about this.”

She shook her head, bending down to pick up her clothes. She was irritated, he could tell, but he wasn’t sure what else to say to calm her down. He’d told her the truth. The intern was a non-issue. They dressed in silence.

Once they were both fully clothed, she faced him once more. Her expression was calmer, less annoyed, but he couldn’t miss the sadness in her eyes. “I can’t do this. You asked me if it had to do with the past and yeah, it does. I’ve watched you for years bounce from one bed to the next. I won’t be another notch in your bedpost.”

Jason’s temper flared at her accusation. “Is that what you think I do? Keep count?”

“No.” She raised her hands to calm him down, but it was too late. He’d been riding on the razor’s edge all week, waiting for her to come back. Now she was here and still trying to push him away.

She pushed a stray hair away from her face. “I’m not saying this right. I understand you think you want a relationship, but past history tends to prove that—”

“I don’t
think
, Kris. I
do
want to settle down. I’m not a child. I’m not stupid and I’m not so driven by my whims that I can’t make adult decisions.”

She looked at him as if he’d hit her, but he couldn’t stand here and listen to her terrible opinions of him anymore. “I never said—”

Jason pointed his finger at her. “That’s exactly what you say. On a daily basis.”

She shook her head. “But I don’t mean—”

“You want to know why you know so much about me, Kris? Because I’ve never lied to you. Never held back anything more than telling you the honest-to-God truth. You know me because I’ve opened myself up to you and shown you every fucking thing—good, bad, ugly, stupid and smart. All of it.”

The color had drained from her face. He didn’t lose his temper often, but damn, when he did, watch out. Even as he began pacing the room in a blaze of fury, he knew he needed to calm down, to take it easy. But he couldn’t. She was rejecting him. Again. And her reasons were wrong.

“Jason. Please. I’m sorry. I never meant—”

“You know what? Forget it, Kris. Forget everything.” He couldn’t listen to another rejection from her. He wouldn’t. His heart simply couldn’t take it.

Jason grabbed his car keys and stormed out before either of them had a chance to say anything too horrible, anything they wouldn’t be able to take back later. He heard her calling his name, but he kept walking. Not stopping until he got to his car.

Then he drove home and hit the bottle. He’d fucked that up. Led with his emotions and then with his right hook.

Damn woman was tearing him up inside. Stirring things he’d never felt, then driving him crazy with her talk of being reasonable. Nothing about this was rational.

But goddamn if it wasn’t right. It was the only thing in his life that had ever felt truly perfect.
Figures
. Jason had fallen head over ass in love with the world’s most stubborn woman. And after tonight’s blowup, he’d probably pushed her away for good.

He poured another drink, throwing it back in one long gulp.

Fuck.

Kristen made it as far as the front stoop of her house before her legs simply couldn’t carry her another step. So, she sat down and watched the world go by as her life crumbled around her.

She’d hurt Jason. And from the sound of pain in his voice, it seemed like she’d been doing so for a long time. Guilt ate at her. She didn’t think he was a bad man. Not even a little bit. He was fun and funny and when she thought about it, she knew her life had been a hell of a lot better for having him in it.

But in her typical cold, opinionated way, she’d failed to show him how she really felt. Instead, she’d made him feel—what did he say—stupid? The thought killed her.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat in numb silence before Shelly walked by.

“Kristen?”

Kristen glanced up. “Hey.” As far as greetings went, hers was probably the saddest in history.

Shelly frowned, coming over to sit next to her. “You okay?”

Kristen nodded once, then shrugged.

“You look like you just lost your best friend.”

The casual cliché was so true it struck Kristen as funny. She snorted, laughing loudly, but the gasping humor quickly turned to sobs.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry.” Shelly embraced her as Kristen turned to her friend and attempted to cry out every ounce of pain in her broken heart.

“I’ve been so stupid and cruel.”

Shelly stroked her back and whispered softly, lovingly, sweet nothings in her attempt to calm her down. “Shh. You’re not cruel at all. I’m sure we can fix whatever’s happened. It’ll all be okay.”

Kristen didn’t bother to stem the tears. Instead, she just let go. Jason had been after her to do that for years.
Go with the flow.
Figured she’d master it now.

Finally after several minutes, Kristen managed to pull herself together.

“Does this have something to do with Matthew?” Shelly asked.

Kristen nodded. “Yeah. I think it does.” She’d stubbornly clung to the belief that she could be happy with the wrong man. And in doing so, she’d let the right one slip through her fingers.

“Tell me what you need, Kristen. I hate seeing you so sad.”

Kristen wiped her eyes with her fingers, then smiled gratefully when Shelly pulled a tissue from her purse. She swiped at her runny nose and tried to take a few deep breaths. She’d never been much of a crier, but she couldn’t deny it had helped to release some of the emotions she’d allowed to build up over the past few weeks—months.

“Can we just do something really mindless? That doesn’t require any thinking?”

Shelly grinned. “You’ve come to the right place. I’m the queen of disappearing. We’ll go to my place, order a thin crust veggie pizza, pig out and watch a couple old romantic comedies. I’ve got
When Harry Met Sally
and
Sleepless in Seattle
. What do you say?”

“Sounds great.” While she knew the escape would be temporary, her emotions were too overwrought to allow her to find answers. She’d retreat tonight. Regroup tomorrow. Then, hopefully, she’d find some way to fix the mess she’d made.

Chapter Eight

In North Carolina, having sex other than missionary position and without the shades pulled down is considered a crime.

Jason scowled as he watched Kristen and Matthew quietly talking by the lake. Her birthday was coming up on Thursday. The wine girls had decided to hold a double party, celebrating Kristen’s big day early, while commemorating Zoey’s clean bill of health as well. The cancer was gone, the chemo over. And honestly, if Zoey’s happy news weren’t part of the reason for the event, Jason would have stayed away.

The wine girls had chosen to hold the festivities at a local swimming hole. It was a beautiful July day, but Jason wasn’t enjoying the sunshine or the relaxing atmosphere.

Watching as Kristen chatted with Matthew, it became clear she’d made her choice, but he sure as shit didn’t take any joy in watching her revel in it. Unfortunately, Zoey had called and specifically asked Jason to come today. He hadn’t been able to refuse her.

Two weeks of not speaking to Kristen had left him irritable and in no mood to watch her playing nice with the fucking doctor. Goddamn Mustache Man.

“Damn. Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning?” Nick asked.

“Nobody.”

He saw Rob and Nick exchange confused glances, but he couldn’t find a way to explain why he’d spent the past fourteen days stewing in a pot of red-hot anger. He’d gone to the gym every day, thinking he could beat his aggressions out on the punching bag, but that hadn’t helped. He’d eviscerated witnesses on the stand, ripped a couple of neighborhood teenagers a new one for playing their music too loud, and he’d broken his alarm clock last night, tossing it against the wall around three a.m. when sleep failed him again.

For forty fucking years, he’d been Mr. Easygoing. The roll-with-the-punches guy who was always up for a party and a good time. All of that had evaporated, dried up in the face of Kristen’s rejection.