End of Day
by Jewel E. Ann
Self-Published
Book 1 in the Jack & Jill Series
It’s never too soon to take your next breath.
Behind tinted windows a few yards from mourning family and friends, Jessica and Jude Day witness their parents’ funeral—and their own. Stripped of the only life they’ve ever known, the Days say goodbye to San Francisco forever.
Six months and two new identities later, the thirty-year-old misfits with elite self-defense skills and penchants for alcohol, sex, and trouble arrive like an earthquake to Peaceful Woods, a retirement community in Omaha, Nebraska, that thrives on rules and gossip. Welcome home, Jackson and Jillian Knight.
Jackson celebrates his new beginning by embracing his job and wiping his cavalier past clean with a temporary oath of celibacy. But Jillian’s past is branded into her soul—the deaths, the insanity, Dr. Luke Jones, and the need to make her lovers bleed. Her chance for redemption comes in the form of a next-door neighbor, one Senior Master Sergeant Monaghan. He’s sexy, dangerously alluring, and riddled with emotional issues from years of service. He’s also … So. Damn. Grumpy.
Their mission is simple: Let go, start over, don't kill anyone, and pray that nobody resurrects their past.
Genre
Triggers
Violence, Murder, PTSD from war, Trauma from kidnapping and torture, witnessing best friends murder.
This book is a trip.
Seriously.
This whole series has been on my TBR since I first read Jewel E. Ann's work. My best friend had started reading it, and loved it so much, I jumped in myself.
I really enjoyed this book. I didn't love it as much as my friend. And I know why I didn't love this book. Because Jill was obviously very much in love with Luke, her fiancé from her past life. I liked AJ, and I liked Jill and him together. Their inner demons just seemed to mesh together really well, and sexually, they were very compatible. But I couldn't get fully behind them. Because the whole time I was thinking "What about Luke?".
Despite the fact that is she not allowed to ever see him again, their love story dominated.
Besides that, I loved this book. It was funny. Heartbreaking. Deliciously dark. Sexy.
Jack and Jill have the weirdest sibling relationship ever. I mean, I would never talk to my brother about some of the things they discuss. Usually, that would bother me enough to decrease my star rating, but the weirdness worked in this story, and the characters. The circumstances Jack and Jill find themselves is so out there, it just somehow makes sense that they would be as close as they are in the book.
The best thing about this book was it's unpredictably. There are some things I figured out right away (which isn't revealed for another book or two), but most of everything in this book (and the rest) - I couldn't have predicted. Especially the end of this book. Blew my mind, and I immediately had to start the second book.
While I don't think the first book of this series is the strongest of the series, it's still such a good read. It's entertaining, and emotional, and definitely will have you trying to figure out where Jewel E. Ann is taking it - but I promise you, it's so worth it.
by purchasing through Amazon, I will get a small commission
AJ: “She was …?”
Sarge looked up at him while loading the dishwasher.
Cage: “Getting the mail … in a white tank top…”
Cage cleared his throat
Cage: “…no bra, lace panties, and red rain boots.”
Sarge straightened with a stiff air of readiness.
AJ: “I see. Was anyone else outside witnessing it?”
Cage grinned.
Cage: “Oh yes. It was like the second coming of Christ. The women gasped, nearly fainting, and the men…”
Cage winked with an easy nod
Cage: “…well, a part of them was most likely resurrected.”
Jack: “A guy in a uniform. Sounds like trouble … as in a mindfuck of trouble.”
Jackson frowned as he turned and walked inside the house. Jillian followed.
Jill: “Maybe, but don’t worry, he’s not my type. I’m trying to rehabilitate my uniform ‘fetish’ to strictly FedEx and UPS—bigger packages.”
Jill: “Do you think it’s my blond hair?”
Jackson nudged her shoulder as they sipped their beers and watched the slow motion of life in Peaceful Woods from their front door step.
Jack: “No, it’s your tits.”
Jill: “I should start wearing a bra.”
Jack: “I doubt it would matter. It’s still lingerie. From what I’ve seen, I think once women hit sixty they start buying their bras from the Army Surplus Store. You know what I’m talking about, the ones with seven rows of fastening hooks, six-inch wide shoulder straps, and such thick material and complete coverage it could double as a bulletproof vest. These men around here … they’ve been looking at vests for years.”
Jillian laughed, almost to the point of tears.
Jill: “You’re so mean.”
Jack: “Astute.”
Jill: “Shrewd.”
Why did that bother him? Simple. His dick had lost all self-respect.
AJ: “How stupid do you really think I am?”
Jillian narrowed her eyes, lips twisted to the side.
Jill: “Well, given your high military ranking I would have said average to normal intelligence, but since you decided to incessantly ring my doorbell like a five-year-old doped up on sugar, I’m now inclined to say somewhere between borderline deficiency in intelligence and feeble-mindedness.”
AJ: “I have an IQ of one-twenty-two. Where’s your husband?”
He stepped into the house, forcing Jillian to retreat. She loved watching his whole body tense as his strong chest heaved with each wrathful breath.
Jill: “You tell me, Sherlock. Where is my husband?”
Jillian rooted herself in place. She vowed that no man was going to intimidate her, not ever again. AJ barged past her to the living room, then the bedrooms. Yet, somehow she knew he wasn’t looking for Jackson. A few minutes after he stomped down the stairs. She decided to follow him.
Jill: “Find what you’re looking for?”
she asked, stopped at the bottom step.
AJ stood with his back to her, thick muscled arms crossed over his chest. He stared at the patched wall.
AJ: “You broke into my place.”
Jill: “No … more like broke through. We were exercising, sparring actually. It was Heineken’s fault.”
He turned.
AJ: “I’m not talking about the wall! I’m talking about the cheap-ass fish tank full of fucking Betta fish that have killed each other and the piss-poor paint matching.”
Jillian waved him off.
Jill: “I didn’t break in for that. I went through the front door, without breaking it. Someone wasn’t using their one-twenty-two IQ when they decided to hide their house key in the most original place ever—under a planter.”
Jack: “Sorry about that. I think we’re ready to call it a night.”
He turned.
Jack: “Right, Sis?”
Jillian’s wry grin was meant for Jackson, but AJ’s eyes narrowed into slits of displeasure as if they were making him the butt of their joke—and maybe they were. But even in her foggy, relaxed state, she couldn’t stop thinking about the heat from his lips, the taste of his tongue, and how his hands sliding up her bare legs took her halfway to her bathtub orgasm.
Jill: “Yes, we’re going to bed, but not together. We only do that on April 10, National Sibling Day. Oh and Twins Day, which is coming up sometime in August … I think. But it’s an unofficial day so we don’t always celebrate it.”
Jackson snorted out a laugh.
Jack: “She’s full of shit.”
Jillian found her intoxicated eyes lingering on AJ’s bare feet and large defined calves. The right one had a serpent tattoo wrapped around it. She imagined tracing it with her tongue.
AJ: “I’m aware of that. Just try to be more respectful of the noise level.”
AJ cleared his throat. Jillian’s eyes flicked up to his, but his quickly cut to Jackson’s.
Jack: “Will do. Good night, AJ.”
Jackson shut the door before AJ even turned away.
Jack: “Fuck, Jill! You have to stop that shit.”
Jill: "I have to go. If my Lascivio stuff arrives, stay out.”
Jackson laughed.
Jack: “I’m not into sex toys.”
Jill:“Too intimidating?”
She winked, slipping on her shoes.
Jill: “Vibrator envy?”
Jackson looked down at his fingers as they danced over the keys with effortless grace.
Jack: “Nah, it just makes me sad for all the women that will stick anything in their pussies.”
Jillian paused before closing the front door.
Jill: “Huh … interesting. Those are the same words I used to say about all the one-night stands you had over the years.”
Jessica: “Is this about my ‘control’ issue? As in I probably feel the need to control my own destiny, including the way I die?”
He jotted down a few more notes.
Luke: “No, this is about your suggestion that I have a ground-floor office. I want to be sure you have no intention of throwing yourself out my window.”
She looked back out the tall glass panels.
Jessica: “That might be bad for business.”
Luke: “I was referring to the window. I don’t own this space, I just rent it. I imagine replacing that window would be expensive and might prevent the owner from renewing my lease.”
Jessica grinned until she felt it tugging the corners of her eyes. Dr. Jones had a sense of humor, even if dry, which proved his approach to treatment was in fact unconventional. And that made Jessica happy … very happy.
Jessica: “Maybe you should include a damage deposit at the beginning of treatment.”
She spun back around to face him. His head was still bowed, left hand frantically working the gel-inked pen over the paper.
Luke: “I just made a note to have my receptionist revise the New Patient Agreement later this afternoon.”
He kept writing but looked up at Jessica and for the first time he gave her a smile.
Jessica: “What the hell was that? What happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?”
Luke grabbed the plates from behind the glass-doored cabinet then turned toward her.
Luke: “I didn’t disclose anything about my patient, Jessica Day. I simply shared the incident that happened in my closet five minutes ago with my blind date, Hannibal Lecter.”
Jessica: “I was just proving a point.”
Jessica leaned over the island, teeth clenched. Luke leaned in from the opposite side until there were only a few inches between their faces.
Luke: “So. Was. I.”
Luke sighed and waited for her amber eyes to find his through her long wet lashes.
Luke: “When I’m the most overeducated barista at Starbucks you’d better come in every day to remind me why I trashed my career. And since you’ll be the most psychologically stable actuary in the history of the profession, you’d better leave me one helluva tip.”
Jessica: “I’m sorry I bit you. It won’t happen again.”
Luke: “No, it won’t.”
Luke framed her petite face in his strong hands.
Luke: “Because if it does I’ll have you muzzled, put in a straitjacket, and committed to a mental institute. Are we clear?”
AJ: “Better not be burning my steak,”
AJ called from the kitchen with his back to Jillian as he sliced vegetables and slid them off the cutting board into a large salad bowl.
Jill: “I love how protective you are of your meat,”
she whispered, sliding her hands under his shirt and around front to his chest. AJ stiffened.
AJ: “What are you doing?”
Jill: “Trying to un-grump you.”
He turned.
AJ: “That’s not a word.”
Jill: “Hey, young buck. What are your plans tonight?”
Cage retrieved the steaks from the grill, setting them onto a plate.
Cage: “Not sure yet. Why?”
Jill: “I think you should take me around town and show me the nightlife in Omaha. What do you say?”
She continued walking to her house.
Cage: “Like a date?”
Jillian grinned to herself.
Jill: “If your dad asks, then yes—definitely a date.”
Cage: “Will I be getting lucky tonight?”
A giggle bubbled from her chest.
Jill: “Sorry.”
Cage: “But I don’t have to tell my dad that, right?”
Jill: “I’d be disappointed if you did.”
Carin: “Are you married?”
Jill: “Yes, to my brother.”
AJ shot Jillian a raised brow that she opted to ignore.
Carin: “Oh … um … I didn’t realize that was legal.”
Jillian slipped off her heeled sandals, relishing the feel of the cool grass as she curled her toes into its soft blades.
Jill: “It’s not, but we’ve been together since … well, birth so we consider it a common law marriage. Neither one of us had to change our name, and I don’t know if it was a sharing the womb thing or what, but the sex is … incredible.”
AJ rolled his eyes and it was the closest thing to showing a side of humor that Jillian had ever seen from him.
AJ turned.
AJ: “You don’t know me.”
Jill: “I don’t. But I feel you.”
Jill: “What do you need, AJ?”
She threw his words back at him.
Jill: “Do you want to go downstairs and duke it out? Do you want to fuck me doggie style until I howl at the moon? Do you need me to suck you off to help relieve a bit of that pent-up anger you carry around all day?”
His jaw twitched as he stared at her with such intensity it nearly cracked her own façade.
AJ: “Yes.”
Just one word. Jillian paused mid-chew, waiting for more, but he offered nothing.
Jessica: “Are you high? There’s no such thing as right and left socks.”
She held up two matching socks as if to prove her point. Luke glanced up from the crossword puzzle he was working on.
Luke: “Those are both left.”
Jessica: “Oh my gosh! I knew it! I knew you were a whacked-out OCDer. I can’t believe they gave you a license to practice psychiatry.”
He stood and took the socks from her.
Luke: “See how this area in both of these is worn thinner than the rest, both on the right side under the big toe? That’s how you know they are two left socks.”
He handed them back before resuming his position by the window. She plugged in the iron.
Jessica: “You need to get laid. Normal people don’t think like you. When was the last time you had sex?”
Luke ignored her. It was his usual MO when she tried to pry into his life.
Jessica: “I bet you’re a missionary man. By the book: seven-point-five minutes of foreplay, thirty seconds of clitoral stimulation to get her lubed up, and exactly thirty five thrusts until climax, followed by ten minutes of spooning, a kiss on the cheek, and maybe even a gentlemanly ‘thank you’ before insisting she leave so you can get your necessary eight-point-five hours of sleep.”
Luke didn’t flinch.
Jessica: “Do you suppose there’s a high demand for argyle socks at Goodwill? Do they even accept socks there? It’s like donating underwear. Really, who wants to risk athlete’s foot or toenail fungus? I don’t know … it freaks me out a little, like bowling allies. You ever get a pair of rental shoes that are still warm inside? How about hotel rooms, talk about crazy. I know the sheets and towels are washed, but at what temperature? When you dry your face with one do you ever wonder how many butt cracks that cotton has slid through?”
Luke submitted a quick glance.
Jessica: “Of course you do. After all, I’m ironing your right and left socks for Pete’s sake.”
Jessica: “What are the chances of us having sex? I’ve never done it missionary, but you could possibly counsel me through it.”
He refocused on his crossword puzzle, filling in a word in pen.
Luke: “Less than zero percent.”
Jessica: “So, not in my favor, eh?
Luke: “And exactly how much am I charging you now?”
Jessica: “Thirty pairs of ironed socks, which let’s be honest … who owns thirty pairs of socks? Do you do laundry once a month? And then there was a complete kitchen cleaning. I’m just saying, incest would probably have me on my knees in front of your toilet scrubbing it with a toothbrush.”
He folded his hands in his lap.
Luke: “That was the longest answer ever for what could have been a simple ‘You’re not charging me anything and I’ve never been in love.’”
Jessica: “Wow! Are you counting my words now?”
Jill: “Thought you were too tired, or are you just saluting me goodbye.”
She fastened her jeans. AJ was fully erect again. Just the thought of her played havoc on his control.
AJ: “I might need an extra leg to help drag my tired ass into bed.”
Jack: “It’s not my fault. I honestly had no intention of sleeping with her anytime soon. I was serious when I said this Jackson guy is going to take it slow. But on our second date when I leaned over the front seat to kiss her good night she attacked me. The next thing I knew she was straddling my lap and dry humping the hell out of me like a bitch in heat. I actually came in my jeans! What thirty-year-old guy gets dry humped in his car?”
Jillian’s legs couldn’t keep up. Her laughter zapped all her energy, so she bent over resting her hands on her knees.
Jill: “I can’t … b-breathe.”
She hackled out of control. Jackson rested his hands on his hips and walked in circles around her.
Jack: “That’s not the worst part.”
She shook her head.
Jill: “No more … my sides hurt.”
Jack: “I have to say it. I mean … I don’t think this girl’s normal, but maybe they’re just bred different here in the Midwest because last night’s date could never be outdone. Apparently she’s a big Sesame Street fan so she wore this tight-fitting Big Bird shirt to the bar. She only had one glass of wine but by the time we got to her apartment she was seriously horny.”
Jillian glanced up, wiping tears from her eyes.
Jill: “Big Bird makes her horny?”
Jackson grimaced.
Jack: “Not exactly.”
He dug his teeth into his bottom lip and looked around for unsuspecting ears.
Jack: “Mr. Snuffleupagus makes her horny.”
Jillian’s brows knitted and then it hit her.
Jill: “Oh my god. Your…”
she motioned toward his shorts
Jill: “…is Mr. Snuffleupagus?”
Jackson nodded.
She fell to her knees in the grass—laughing, crying, and hugging her stomach.
Jack: “There’s more.”
She shook her head.
Jill: “No … no way.”
Jack: “You know my glasses that you love so much? Well, she wanted to give me, or Mr. Snuffleupagus, head while he wore those glasses.”
Jillian collapsed onto her side and not a single word made it past her laughter that was nearly silent because she couldn’t catch her breath.
Jack: “The chick’s messed up, right?”
Jill: “Y-you … l-l-let her?”
Jack: “She had on the tightest damn shirt I’d ever seen! And she wanted to suck my dick and it’s been a long time since I’ve had a woman’s mouth on me like that, so … yeah, I let her. I was so fucking hard by the time she asked, I think I would have let her add a wig, lipstick, and clip-on earrings to Mr. Snuffleupagus.”
Jill: “Stop! Pee … I’m going to pee my pants …”
Jack: “The worst part … I’m seeing her again tonight.”
Jack: “Dahlia wants to ‘go all the way’ tonight,”
Jackson announced as Jillian shoved some snacks in her bag to take to Dodge’s house.
Jill: “Dahlia?”
Jack: “Yes, the girl I’ve been seeing.”
Jillian looked up from her bag and squinted.
Jill: “Sesame Street girl?”
Jack: “Yes.”
She smiled.
Jill: “Well, my dear brother, my words of wisdom are to go and play, everything will be A-OK.”
Jill: “I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’m not the sappy lovesick heroine that says a man ‘completes’ her, but I was the best possible version of myself with Luke. Everything I feared before him just … vanished. I felt like a leaf falling from a tree and he was the wind whispering, I’ve got you. I’m here for my brother. I would have stayed … I would have died. It’s like the thrill seeker who goes full throttle all the time, never fearing death because eight seconds of that rush is worth more than eighty years of boring monotony. Luke was my eight seconds.”
Jessica: “After you, Jones. I want to look at your fine ass. It’s the best part of your personality.
Jill: “I’m his mistake,”
Jillian teased her fingers below his navel, keeping her eyes locked to his.
AJ: “An epic mistake,”
AJ whispered.
Ellie: “I dated her brother, Jude, for a while.”
Ellie flipped her blond hair over her shoulder as if dating Jude was worthy of a spot on her dating resumé.
Jessica: “I think he said he screwed you in the alley behind a night club and couldn’t remember your name so he referred to you as ‘the girl who would lick anything.’ So if you call that dating, then sure … you dated my brother.”
Jessica: “I’ll help you find a nice girl.”
Luke: “You will?”
He could feel her heart pounding in her chest over and over as her breaths chased one another. Her proximity smothered his ability to think with any sort of clarity. He felt like a masochist in her presence.
Jessica: “Yeah … I have one in mind.”
She trapped her lower lip between her teeth, looking vulnerable without any resemblance to the Jessica Day he’d come to know.
Luke: “You do?”
Luke’s gaze shifted from her face to her chest, then the rest of her body. She looked like hell, the way she did at the hospital, and maybe it was her vulnerability, but in Luke’s eyes all he could see was her beauty.
Jessica: “I do. But she’s very particular and I can’t guarantee she’ll like you.”
Luke met her gaze again.
Luke: “I can’t guarantee I’ll like her.”
Jessica: “Oh, you’ll like her.”
Luke: “How can you be so sure?”
Jessica: “Because she’s brilliant, and sexy, and athletic, and just … a real catch.”
Jessica nodded with resolution.
Luke: “Well then I can’t wait to meet her.”
Luke: “We’re taking a field trip.”
Jessica: “Excuse me?”
He nodded.
Luke: “This weekend we’re going on a field trip. We’ll leave Friday after we’re both done with work and come back Sunday night. But you can’t tell anyone.”
Jessica: “If this is a lock-in at the Y—”
He walked past her to the door, stopping for a quick second to press his finger to her lips.
Luke: “Shh, no more questions.”
She jokingly nipped at his finger.
Jessica: “Just one more.”
Luke sighed before opening the door.
Luke: “One.”
Jessica: “Is the chance of us having sex still less than zero percent?”
Luke: “Yes.”
AJ: “You look like—”
Jill: “A whore?”
Jillian shut the back hatch and turned.
Jill: “You’re such a romantic. Any other woman would be offended by your crass assessment. Lucky for you I know you like it rough and this is just your way of flirting.”
AJ: “I didn’t call you a whore and it’s not my way of flirting. I want you to go change your clothes or put on some clothes.”
She laughed.
Jill: “Cute … Me Tarzan you Jane. Yeah, nice try, big guy, but despite the rumors, I’m not really into roleplaying."
Jill: “If you don’t let me in I’m stripping right here on your stoop.”
AJ gave her an annoyed looking smirk.
AJ: “I know you’re crazy, but I don’t really think you’re certifiably insane. Good night.”
AJ closed the door. Clearly they each had their own definition of certifiably insane.
Jill: “If I get chewed up by bugs it’s going to be your fault,”
she yelled.
*
AJ lumbered back to bed thinking about Jillian and how her evil temptress personality was twice as big as her little body. As he stared at the collage of shadows on his ceiling, he wondered what his chances were of getting back to sleep without jerking off first. That made two nearly naked women in one week that he’d turned away at his door. Eventually he drifted back to sleep with his dignity intact, only to be awakened by Cage.
Cage: “Dad?”
AJ: “What?”
AJ pulled the covers over his head to block the hall light.
Cage: “I just got home and …”
AJ: “Good to know. Good night, Son.”
Cage: “Uh … I think there’s a package for you at the front door … and she’s naked.”
AJ: “What the fuuu-dge are you talking about?”
AJ threw off his covers and jumped out of bed at fire alarm speed, nearly tackling Cage to get past him and to the front door.
Cage: “Oh and, Dad?”
AJ turned before opening the door.
Cage: “I’m an adult now, so what the fuck I’m talking about is Jillian. She’s waiting for you naked and I’m not a genius but I think it’s like a one hundred percent chance of you getting laid. And yes, it grosses me out a little and I swear to God if I hear you doing it with her I’ll jab two sharp pencils into my ear drums, but I think you should invite her in for … whatever.”
Cage grinned.
Cage: “You have my permission.”
He stepped outside wearing only his shorts and looked to the heavens for an answer.
AJ: “I’m sorry. Whatever I did to deserve her, I’m sorry. Just … take her back. She’s not the way I want to die.”
Jack: “What’d she do now?”
Jackson opened the door, covering his junk with a T-shirt. AJ grimaced.
AJ: “What is it with you two? This isn’t a fucking nudist colony.”
Jack: “Dude, I was in bed and you knocked on my door at midnight. You’re lucky I even grabbed this T-shirt.”
AJ: “What is this?”
Jill: “Orange juice.”
AJ: “It’s barely orange.”
Jillian took a sip of hers. It tasted like shit, but she swallowed and smiled.
Jill: “I thought Cage would be here too and I only had a third of a jug left so I just filled it to the top with water.”
AJ set it back down without taking a sip. Then he took a bite of the blueberry muffin after inspecting it for a few moments with apprehension in his eyes. His face wrinkled. When he took a swig of the orange juice to swallow it down, she knew he wasn’t impressed.
AJ: “What did you put in these?”
She pinched off a piece of hers and dropped it in her mouth. It was shit too.
Jill: “Multigrain raisin bread, almond milk, eggs, sugar, olive oil.”
AJ: “Bread? Why did you use bread to make blueberry muffins and where are the blueberries?”
She shrugged.
Jill: “I didn’t have any flour so I used bread, which is made from flour, and I didn’t have any blueberries so that’s why I used the raisin bread.”
AJ: “They taste like crap.”
Jillian popped another piece in her mouth and gagged it down just to prove that they didn’t taste like crap, which of course they did.
Jill: “Whatever you do don’t sugar coat it.”
AJ: “I won’t.”
AJ poked his fork at the frittata.
AJ: “Are there eggs in here?”
Jillian rolled her eyes.
Jill: “Yes.”
He took a small bite.
AJ: “What the …”
He spit out the bite into his napkin.
AJ: “It’s gritty and crunchy and what the hell is the brown stuff?”
Jill: “Fake bacon. And the gritty stuff might be egg shells. A few of them got away from me.”
He grabbed both of their plates and scraped everything into the garbage.
Jill: “Tell me what AJ stands for,”
she whispered, brushing her lips across his T-shirt over his pecs.
AJ: “No.”
She moved her hand down and stroked him over his jeans. AJ closed his eyes and sucked in a tight breath as his hands lingered on the middle button of her blouse.
Jill: “Tell me your name and I’ll scream it when you’re fucking me against the wall.”
Cage: “It’s Aric James, and please wait until I’m gone to scream it.”
Jillian bit her lips together and closed her eyes as AJ jumped back like she burned him.
AJ: “Cage—”
It was the first time Jillian had ever seen AJ that flustered. Cage grinned at Jillian as she peeked open one eye.
Cage: “Told ya he likes you.”
She nodded with a bit of a grimace as her fingers made nimble moves to finish buttoning her shirt.
Cage looked around the corner at his father.
Cage: “Jeez, what the hell happened to your nose.”
Jill: “My foot slipped out of my hanging giddy-up stirrups and broke his nose.”
AJ: “Jesus, Jillian!”
AJ rested one hand on his hip and scratched his head as he bowed it in embarrassment.
Cage: “Forget I asked.”
Cage pointed toward the stairs.
Cage: “I’m going to go shower.”
He headed up the stairs.
Cage: “By the way, if he won’t let you scream his name, I’m good with you screaming mine.”
Cage shot her a cocky smirk over his shoulder.
Jessica: “You look edible.”
She winked at him then slid on her sunglasses as he put it in gear. Luke flipped down his visor to block the setting sun then pulled away from the curb.
Luke: “Thanks. It’s a bit of a disturbing compliment from you, but you’re still not driving.”
Jessica: “Are you secretly whisking me away for a weekend of sexual healing with your magical penis?”
Luke didn’t even crack a smile, which was unfair because her comment was not only flattering but funny. He made a quick sidelong glance.
Luke: “How did you find out about my magical penis?”
Jessica grinned. That’s all she could do. Luke had a way of making her talk, but he also had a way of rendering her speechless. Those speechless moments … they were the ones Jessica mentally logged into her Reasons I’m Falling in Love with Dr. Luke Jones journal that she kept in her head, and every time she added to it she moved it down a shelf closer to her heart.
Jessica: “I think it was your Tumblr page … Cockfessions of an Argyle Sock Addict. It was just by accident that I came across your page. I’ve never seen so many animated GIFs of girls having sex with argyle socks pulled up to their knees. That’s some serious kink, Jones.”
He was a fucking unicorn. A unicorn with argyle socks, but no less a unicorn. It was a fantasy at best, but if she could catch him, Jessica knew her dreams would come true.
Jessica smiled.
Jessica: “Bye, Tom.”
Tom: “Show him how it’s done, young lady.”
Jessica nudged Luke as they walked up the hill.
Jessica: “Oh, I will.”
Luke: “You do realize I’m not Kelly and you’re going to have to make two strides for every one of mine.”
Jessica: “God, I love it when you talk my language. You know numbers are my foreplay.”
Luke: “Just get going.”
Luke shook his head and started jogging down the road. Jessica followed a few steps behind.
Jessica: “Don’t worry, Jones, I won’t pass you until the last mile. The view is too good from back here.”
Luke: “I feel violated.”
Everything inside Jessica came to life. The playful side of Luke was like a shooting star—there and gone in a blink but leaving a lingering feeling of hope.
Jessica: “I can take the lead and let you violate me if you’d like.”
Jessica: “First one to the beach gets to dive into the water naked.”
Luke: “No.”
Jessica pushed past him.
Jessica: “Yes.”
Luke: “Jess—no!”
Luke grunted the words through quick labored breaths. Jessica finished with an all-out sprint.
Jessica: “Deep down … I want you to beat me, Jones!”
Luke: “You’re so beautiful,”
he whispered.
Jessica: “Fuck you. Don’t you dare say that now.”
Jessica swiped away her tears as she stood. Luke clasped her wrist and gave it a gentle tug like he was asking, not demanding.
Luke: “Jessica?”
His paralyzing touch bled along her skin and seeped into her chest leaving a permanent mark. She lowered to her knees in front of him.
Luke: “I want to tell you that I prefer long dark hair, heavenly amber eyes, and a petite body: seductive, sexy, torturous. I want to tell you that a few minutes ago I would have rather gone blind than not looked at your naked figure. I want to tell you that I hate wine, yet I can’t go to sleep until I’ve had one sip because that’s what your lips tasted like that night we kissed. But I can’t tell you any of that because what I want more than anything is to help you, and I can’t do that from the bedroom.”
Luke rested his hands on her cheeks and his forehead on hers.
Luke: “Because, Jessica, I know if I had you in my bed I would never … ever … want to leave,”
he whispered.
Jessica: “I’ll never be normal. Will I?”
Luke moved to his feet, dusting the sand off his legs then offering his hand to her.
Luke: “Normal is subjective and boring.”
She wanted to smile but it didn’t quite make it to her lips.
Jessica: “Then I must be the most fascinating person in the world.”
Luke: “You are. Let’s go."
AJ: “God, you’re twisted.”
Jillian interlaced her fingers with his.
Jill: “And yet, here we are … together. Why is that?”
He released a heavy sigh.
AJ: “I ask myself that question every damn day.”
AJ: “You’re a sadist.”
Jillian rolled her eyes as she stood in her bra and panties, flipping through the TV channels.
Jill: “Why does everyone say that?”
AJ: “I can only speculate why everyone says that, but I say it because you have me tied naked to the desk chair in a hotel room.”
Jill: “Fair point.”
Luke: “Jessica?”
He knocked on the door.
Jessica: “Go away … or come on in.”
She sighed as he opened the door.
Luke: “Do you really have a phone call to make?”
Jessica: “Yes. But God’s busy right now. His mother/secretary, Mary, took a message. I’m sure he’ll call back later.”
Jessica: “Why did you want me to believe you had a lunch date when in fact it was your sister?”
Luke: “To see how you would react.”
She closed her eyes.
Jessica: “It was a test?”
Luke: “Jessica—”
Jessica: “Did I pass?”
Her words were slow and sharp. Luke leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. In casual clothes and his hair sporting a slightly-ruffled look, he had the appearance of a normal man capable of speaking uncensored words that hadn’t gone through some politically correct filter. He looked at her and she waited and waited.
Jessica: “Sorry, Jones, I can’t understand you, probably because I don’t speak mute. So I’ll just go while you make sure all your words are lined up in perfect order. I don’t really give a damn if I let a few escape that haven’t been given much actual thought. Sometimes emotions matter more than the right words, and if you overthink every goddamn word it’s like suffocating it until all the emotion is gone.”
Jessica: “Does the thought of you on a date with someone make me jealous? Yes. Do I know that some completely put-together girl is going to steal your heart someday? Yes. Does it crush mine? Absolutely.”
She bit her lips together until her eyes blinked back the impending tears.
Jessica: “Am I aware that no matter how brilliant and talented you are I will never be completely right … normal?”
She nodded as the words broke from her throat. Luke would never give her normalcy. At best, he’d give her acceptance.
Luke: “It’s a kiss, Jessica. Not sex.”
Her head jerked back.
Jessica: “Whoa … clearly you don’t understand. A kiss is a save the date, an RSVP to my vagina that says: You. Will. Be. There.”
Jill: “I’m sorry. I …”
She closed her eyes. AJ rolled over with her still straddling his waist.
AJ: “You?”
A sad smile was the best she could manage.
Jill: “I don’t like that person. This sounds ridiculous, I know, but when I look at the scars that bear my name…”
she feathered her fingertips over one of the bite marks on his shoulder
Jill: “…I don’t recognize them. I don’t recognize the person who made them. I’m not her … yet she’s me.”
Jillian scooted down, resting her cheek against his chest.
Jill: “But I wish she weren’t.”
Felicity: “She’s in love with you,”
his mom said, sitting on the bottom step in her grey terrycloth robe and slippers.
Luke blinked, staring at the floor.
Luke: “She’s troubled. I’m not sure she knows how to love like that.”
Felicity stood, walking to her son. She rested her palms on his cheeks until he looked at her.
Felicity: “I love seeing you through her eyes. Not Dr. Jones, but my beautiful, troubled boy.”
She smiled
Felicity: “Good night, love.”
Felicity walked up a few steps and turned.
Felicity: “Loving you, Luke … it might be the only thing she knows how to do.”
Luke crossed his arms, grabbing the hem of his shirt.
Jessica: “No,”
she murmured against his lips.
He pulled back, eyes narrowed.
Jessica: “I’ll have to make you bleed first.”
She held up her hand, tipping her chin down in shame. It was spelled out in front of him—in blood. All or nothing.
Luke: “Are you on birth control?”
Jessica lifted her gaze, searching for his intention. She nodded once. Luke shrugged his shirt off and unfastened his pants, shoving them down his legs. His lips craved her … all of her.
Luke: “Then make me bleed.”
Jessica: “We didn’t have sex.”
Luke moved closer with the calculated moves of a predator.
Luke: “But we kissed,”
his gaze locked on hers holding it hostage.
Jessica: “So,”
she whispered.
He ducked to her neck and teased his lips along her skin, landing on her ear.
Luke: “So, a kiss is an RSVP to your vagina that says: I. Will. Be. There.”
AJ: “I think my ball hair is going gray.”
She laughed.
Jill: “About that … I think you should just wax that whole area. I’d be happy to do that for you when we get home.”
AJ released her, buckling over like she just kicked his junk.
AJ: “Guys don’t do that shit.”
Jill: “They do.”
She tossed her purse on the bed.
Jill: “I suppose you could shave it instead. I think Jackson has a straight edge we could borrow.”
AJ: “I’m messed-up, but not completely insane. I think I’d gnaw off my own hand before I’d let you near my dick with a straight blade.”
He quirked a brow.
AJ: “So you want me for my body?”
A provocative smirk stole her lips as she pushed up his shirt and teased her teeth over his skin.
Jill: “I think we both know it’s not for your stellar personality.”
AJ: “You’re such a bitch,”
he growled, grabbing her ass and lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and laughed.
Jill: “But an honest bitch.”
Jones: Hi.
Jessica: Hi.
She rolled her eyes to the side, but his face remained stoic as if he were messaging someone a million miles away.
Jones: I’ve missed you.
Her heart galloped.
Jessica: Missed you too.
Jones: Did you lose my number?
She stared at the screen.
Jessica: Just my nerve.
Jones: Because of the bag?
Jessica: Yes.
Jones: I miss your lips.
She shifted again in her seat. How he sat there like a statue was beyond comprehension.
Jessica: They miss you.
Jones: Why no bra today?
She dipped her chin. Her hard nipples were molded in twin peaks against her grey tank top. Tossing any sort of discreetness out the window, she turned and stared at him, silently demanding him to look at her. But he didn’t. He showed absolutely no outward signs that they were having any sort of interaction.
Jessica: I’m against suppression.
Jones: It’s distracting.
Jessica: So are your socks. How did you end up wearing two right ones today?
Jones: They’re crew socks. There is no right and left. They’re ambidextrous.
Jessica: If I wouldn’t have cried in the shower, how many times would we have had sex by now?
She stared at her bold words, letting her finger hover over the send button. She had to know, so she let her thumb tap the screen. Then she waited, but within seconds there was a return message.
Jones: More than you can count.
Gulp.
Jessica: Fuck me …
Somehow her fingers typed what her brain was thinking, not what she really meant to say.
Jones: When and where?
Jessica: "So you don’t trust me?”
Luke: “I trust you implicitly.”
She drew in a slow breath.
Jessica: “How can you say that?”
she whispered.
Luke: “Because I believe you.”
Jessica: “What do you believe?”
Luke pushed off the wall and bent over, resting his hands on the arms of her chair—his face inches from hers.
Luke: “I believe you love me.”
Luke: “Do you realize I think about you all the time? When we first met I couldn’t wait to get away from you and the moment you were gone I couldn’t wait to see you again. You already control my thoughts … does it really matter if I let you control my body at this point?”
Jessica opened the door and glanced back over her shoulder.
Jessica: “So you’re obsessed with me?”
Luke smirked.
Luke: “Yes.”
She shrugged.
Jessica: “I can live with that.”
Jill: “Where are you, dick face?”
she yelled as the door slammed shut.
And so it began. Her love for him was so touching. He pumped through pull-ups in the doorway to his bedroom. There was no need to answer. She’d smell his sweat and pain like a bloodhound.
Jill: “Mother fucker!”
He fell from the bar, landing on his side in fetal position, gasping for his next breath through the intense pain radiating in his stomach and groin.
Jack: “Below the belt…”
he gritted through his teeth
Jack: “… not … cool.”
Jill: “Yeah, well lucky for you, once you stop gagging on your testicles you’ll be fine. AJ’s ribs are going to be sore for weeks. What is wrong with you?”
Every nerve in a guy’s body connects to his balls. It was both a blessing and a curse. Once the nausea and lightheadedness faded, all that was left was the dull ache. Jackson fought his way into a sitting position against the wall.
Jack: “For reasons that have somehow slipped my mind at the moment…”
he continued to grimace
Jack: “…I feel responsible for the evil demon that is my sister.”
Jill: “I brought you breakfast in bed as a peace offering for Jackson’s irrational behavior. So if you wouldn’t mind getting naked and under the sheets, I’ll set this on a plate and surprise you with it in about two minutes.”
AJ folded the paper and tossed it aside. Taking a sip of his coffee he made a quick assessment of her attire—black lace panties, a grey and white polka dot tank top, and her favorite red rain boots.
AJ: “I’m fairly certain whatever you managed to throw together for my breakfast is the opposite of a peace offering.”
Jill: “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
AJ: “You’re welcome.”
He took the washcloth from her and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the inside of her wrist.
Luke: “I’m so … very … one-hundred percent … madly in love with you.”
Relief flooded from her eyes in uncontrolled tears. He pulled her into his arms and held her like his life depended on it.
Jessica: “What if—”
Luke: “Shh.”
He kissed her just below her ear then whispered,
Luke: “No what-ifs. I’ve got this. I’ve got you—I’ll always have you.”
AJ: “Move back,”
he repeated.
Jill: “So I’m supposed to ride bitch?”
AJ: “Yes.”
Jill: “Why?”
AJ: “Because you are my bitch.”
Jillian laughed, a lot.
Jill: “I love when you sweet talk me. It makes me very wet for you.”
It wasn’t a lie. Pathetic? Maybe. She relinquished her spot by scooting back.
AJ: “You going to win me a new car too?”
He gestured to her Mercedes.
Jill: “Will it earn a more favorable opinion of my job from you?”
She pulled off her helmet.
AJ: “Not likely.”
Jill: “Then I think my next bonus will go to Jackson. He supports my profession.”
AJ: “I doubt it.”
Jill: “Don’t. He chose it.”
The pained please-tell-me-you’re-bullshitting-me look was worth revealing that minor detail that wasn’t intended to ever be shared.
AJ: “You both need to be committed.”
Jessica: “What are you doing?”
She laughed.
He opened the entry closet and grabbed the bag.
Jessica: “Jones, answer me!”
Luke: “Quiet!”
He smacked her ass, continuing to her bedroom.
Jessica: “Dammit, Jones! You did not just spank me.”
Luke: “I did and if you don’t shut up I’m going to do it again.”
He tossed her on her bed.
Luke: “No more questions. Take off your clothes.”
Jessica: “The kiss. Were you talking about me. Is my kiss the only one that matters?”
He worked the buttons to his shirt while bending over and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
Luke: “Yes,”
he whispered.
Jessica: “What does that say about your ex-fiancée we’ve never talked about?”
Luke continued unbuttoning his shirt, his brows pulled close in thought.
Luke: “If it mattered enough she wouldn’t be my ex-fiancée, she’d be my wife.”
Jessica: “But you loved her?”
Luke: “Of course.”
He draped his shirt over the chair next to her night table.
Jessica: “But you love me more?”
His gaze brought a flood of chills to the surface of her skin, like a stadium crowd doing the wave.
Luke: “Unequivocally.”
Her next breath caught in her chest.
Jessica: “You can’t mean that.”
There was such a sadness in his eyes.
Luke: “I loved her which is why the word suddenly feels monumentally inadequate for you. I gave her my love, but you … you took it. You took everything. I never had a choice. You tore into my life … into my heart, wrecking all sense of the man I was before you. Being with you is the best part of my day … every day. You think you’re broken, but you’re not. And if you were … it wouldn’t matter. I love every. Single. Piece of you.”
Jill: “Well, I’m going to dinner with AJ tonight. I think you should come with us. You need to get out and shut your brain down for a few hours.”
Jack: “No thanks. I’m too on edge. He’ll look at you the wrong way and piss me off. It’s better if I don’t witness your fucked-up relationship any more than I have to.”
Jill: “Real nice, Jack. Speaking of fucked-up relationships … how is Sesame Street girl?”
Jill: “What do you think?”
Jillian twirled around in her short black racer-back dress and heels. Jackson dropped from his pull-up bar.
Jack: “For dinner or work tonight?”
Jill: “Both.”
He nodded.
Jack: “Yeah, you won’t make it to work if you wear that to dinner. AJ’s an old guy, but I’ve gathered from your incessant ‘Aric James’ cries that his dick still works.”
Jill: “So you’re saying I look hot?”
Jackson’s face morphed into a sour look.
Jack: “No. God no!”
Jill: “But if I weren’t your sister you’d totally do me, right?”
Jack: “Jesus, Jill!”
Jill: “I’ve decided to love AJ.”
Jack: “Decided?”
Jillian rolled onto her side facing Jackson with her cheek rested on her folded hands.
Jill: “Yes. Why not? Right? He’s mature, and good in bed, and he gets me, and he’s good in bed, he’s strong and grumpy, which I find oddly sexy. Oh … did I mention he’s good in bed?”
Jackson stared at the ceiling.
Jack: “Yes, you mentioned that.”
He chuckled.
Jack: “Sex doesn’t mean love.”
Jill: “I never said that. God … all you guys think about is sex,”
she slurred each word.
Jill: “I’m serious. He’s my chance. You’re going to find that happily ever after and she’s not going to want me living with you forever. AJ will take me.”
Jack: “God, you’re so drunk right now. That’s it, huh? You can just decide to love him like love’s a choice? And you’re basing this deep emotion on the possibility that he ‘gets’ you, or even more pathetic … that he’ll ‘take’ you. You’re making yourself sound like a stray dog. You need to get off the booze. It’s beginning to rob your self-esteem.”
#agegap #alpha #armedforces #badass #forbiddenlove #grieving #grumpy #lovetriangle #neighbors #new #oppositesattract #wild #secretidentity #smalltown #trauma #whodidit
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