Jake

Perhaps, I had finally found the cure for my aching heart and a leash for my brazen mind.

I woke up in the middle of the night due to an excruciating ache in my gut. Making love with double-digit stitches on your stomach wasn't such a great idea. But boy, if it wasn't a euphoric feeling at the same time. I stared at Amy, snuggled up in my arms. She was sleeping peacefully, while I couldn't stop re-living our lovemaking. Her warm breath tickled my neck from how close we were. My one hand was draped around her bareback while her fingers entwined with my other hand.

Her presence beside me had a soothing effect in my heart, and I couldn't stop admiring how beautiful she looked in her sleep. Her long eyelashes touching her cheeks lightly, and for some stupid reason, it once again heightened my sense. Remembrance of the previous night flooded my mind, and I couldn't help the smile that followed. I had a lot of things to regret but not the moment we created.

I cupped her face carefully not to stir her up and brushed my thumb on her cheeks. Her chestnut hair looked darker against her glowing skin, something I couldn't resist smelling. The faint scent of coconut, they smelled of coconut, and I had never been a fan of them until now.

My wounds didn't sting anymore. Even if they did, I had found my drug. As my eyes drifted to the faint marks on her neck and collar bones, I frowned. Maybe, I went too far with her. Not that I wanted to, but with her mere touch, all the walls of my control kept crumbling down.

Before she fell asleep fully satiated, she had said I was the only one. She had said I was hers' and I would be lying if it didn't want me to go for round two. But I knew it was her first time, and I didn't want our first time to be anything other than beautiful. Later I changed into a fresh pair of boxers, took care of her, and tucked her in bed beside me. She hummed in content, pulling me closer, and buried her head in my chest. All the while, she was careful enough not to put any pressure on my wound.

Amy was beautiful, caring, and so very loving by nature. She was gentle but wild too. I wanted her in my life, from my head to my heart and my bed. I wouldn't settle for anything less. Maybe, she was my savior, my healer, and I had already started healing a little each second.

"We'll get through everything, poco a poco," I whispered against her forehead and nudged her cheek with my nose, inhaling her scent as much as possible.

As I looked at the ceiling, my mind drifted to the box inside the basement of my house. All my childhood memories, my mother's pictures, her gifts, and the knitted garments she made for me were gathering dust in there. It was a cruel thing to do but also the only thing to keep her memories away.

Amy squirmed a little in her sleep. Her hand moved over my heart, up to my neck. She tugged my hair gently and placed a kiss on my neck. And just like that, she ignited me with a fresh rush of passion. There was only one other way to act on that feeling, to bind that insatiable emotion, and sleep seemed too far-fetched anyway. I untangled myself from her limbs, careful enough not to wake her, and slipped out of bed.

"I'll be back before you wake up, love," I mumbled, collecting some of her hair and twirled it around my fingers. Soft as silk, not just her hair but she as an entirety.

I pulled the covers over her before leaving the room with a promise to be there when she woke up.

~~~

Amy

"That fucking doesn't make any sense. Why would my father do that?"

My eyes fluttered open with Jake's voice talking on his phone. He was pacing around the room in just his sweatpants, brushing his hair aggressively as he gritted out a curse. I blinked my eyes, adjusting to the streaks of sunlight peeking through the curtains. Before I could focus on anything else, Jake rushed back to my side. He threw his cellphone on the nightstand and settled on the bed, pulling me back to his chest.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips with mine, "Good morning, love. I'm sorry for waking you up."

"Don't be," I said, trailing my fingers on his forehead, smoothing the frown lines there, running them down to his cheek, and caressing his light stubbles. The memories of how amazingly they grazed on my smooth skin the previous night as he explored every dip and contours of my body had me blushing furiously.

He grinned at me, running his nose on my cheek and pulling me closer to his body. As the duvet slipped past my shoulder, I realized he had dressed me in one of his shirts which were missing when I slept. "How do you feel, Amy?" He searched my eyes while running lazy circles on my back.

My cheeks heated up, and I had to bite back my sheepish smile. "A little sore, if we're precise but otherwise very different."

A low laugh rumbled through his chest, which made me glare at him. His face suddenly became serious as he looked down at my face. "You don't regret it, do you?"

"Why would I regret it? I don't regret even one second of it." I let my eyes find his, noticing the vulnerability in them. I turned to my side, leaning on my elbow as I stared down at him. "Do you?"

He huffed out a laugh. "I don't." He paused to lace his finger around a strand of my hair and lifting it to smell it. "Not anything that relates to you."

"Why were you cursing on the phone?"

"It was from the Retirement house." He said, falling back on the white silk pillow, hands moving behind his head. "The lease has been renewed."

Confusion clouded my mind. That's what Jake risked his life for, but the way he said it didn't feel convincing. My eyes fell on the bandages on his wounds. My stomach constricted due to a squeezing sensation. "It's a good thing, right. That's the whole point of you getting stabbed in your gut."

He rubbed the scruff on his cheek with his hand, exhaling a deep sigh. "Only that it was for nothing. I didn't do it. It was my father. He did it."

"I don't understand." I frowned.

His jaw tightened, eyes staring hard at the ceiling. I took that chance to gawk at his bare upper body. His black sweatpants dipped low enough to show a glimpse of the waistband of his briefs. My cheeks heated up, and my stomach fluttered at the sight of his tribal tattoo over his ribs. I had seen him shirtless many times, but something had changed. I wanted no one else to look at him this close or touch him. I should be the only one.

"Fuck Amy," he said. "Are you trying to make me hard? Because it damn worked."

I tore my eyes away from him, coughing out a nervous chuckle. I trained my gaze at his face, trying to hide the blood that rose to my cheeks. "Why do you think your dad restored the lease?" I tried to pull up the previous discussion.

When he didn't respond for a solid five seconds, I decided to straighten up and step off the bed. But before I could scurry away, he rolled over me, his hand gliding to my waist and his nose touching mine. "I don't know, and I don't care. Can we stay in bed for some time?"

I blinked at him dazedly as his hands molded around my waist underneath his shirt. His black eyes holding me in place, asking for a response, "Can we, Amy?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Can you call me yours once again?"

My gaze shuttered as heat settled deep in my stomach. "Will you be mine forever?"

He nipped my lips gingerly, eyes darkened to a crescendo, and his hand sliding higher on my stomach, pausing just above my ribs. "Only if you ask nicely." His other hand traced one of the veins on my neck, tilting it enough to place a kiss on my throat. "Only if you want me to."

"You're mine, Jacob," I breathed out.

A deep rumble erupted back of his throat as he leaned in closer, his nose brushing my chin, the musky scent of him lingering around. "Just so, you know, you're mine too."

He closed the gap between our lips, his mouth molding to mine. Our bodies pressed together, and his finger dancing on my skin. Our kiss turned from gentle to deep as he ran his tongue at the underside of my lips. "Mine," he groaned out, tasting every inch as our lips parted to seek more of each other.

"Good morning to you too," I mumbled against his lips as we pulled away.

He dived in for a quick peck and grinned at me before throwing himself off the bed and held his hand out for me. "Let's go out for breakfast, shall we?"

I smiled, taking his hand and getting out of the bed. While I took his hand, I noticed the dried paint on the underside of his palm and fingertips.

Was he painting again?

~~~

"You said we're going out for breakfast," I narrowed my eyes at the mammoth size house in front of me. The neighborhood spoke for itself, rich and classy.

"We're here for breakfast." He said, pressing a button on a key. The sliding door to his mansion opened, allowing us into the white driveway. It took us up to the front entry with flat grass sections on both sides. The shutter to the garage opened up with another click on the remote control in Jake's hand. He parked the car, shut the ignition, and turned towards me. "What? I need a little talk with my father and collect a few things. Do you mind?"

I gaped at him, still trying to gather around the world he had brought me in. "I think I'll wait in the car."

"And why would you do that?" He cocked his eyebrow at me, studying my discomfort. "Don't you want to see the world I grew up in?"

"Of course I want to but-," I paused. "My introduction with your father wasn't particularly friendly. So, I think I'll pass."

He smiled, reaching out to hold my hands in his callous ones. "You're part of my life, and he'll have to accept that. Besides, you will love the food. "

Even though I didn't feel very welcome, his assuring words and his firm hold on my hands was enough to settle my uneasiness.

As we walked through the glass pivot front door, biometric, of course, it led us to a foyer with the most stunning artwork I had ever seen in a house. The white marble sculpture almost made me motionless. My legs were ready to give up if Jake hadn't walked behind me, looping his arms around me. "It's Unity made by Michael Phelps. My father has a thing for sculptures, you know." Jake said, resting his chin on my shoulder.

His presence made my nerves relax a little, although the sight of his impressive mansion had my palms sweating. I turned my head to find him looking at me with a calm expression, but his tense shoulder told otherwise. He smiled at me, trying to show how normal everything was. As if he had not just brought me into another world. I realized how different we were at that moment.

He tugged at my hand, leading me through a set of Fleetwood doors, and as we continued the walkway, it took us to the side of the house surrounded by lush green patches to the outdoor sitting area with a fire pit in the middle. We walked through the large garden with a stunning gazebo in the middle. It almost sounded like a river running in your backyard with a massive retaining wall turned into a water feature. And as if all of them weren't enough, he led us to the far end where the infinity-edge pool sat alongside a pool house.

I started hyperventilating with how overwhelming everything was around me. Then Jake's hands were on my cheek, and he forced me to look into his dark eyes. I swallowed back my anxiety, taking in his features. He looked charming as always in his white button-up and dark denim jeans. We were twining, and I wore the same set of clothing, a white t-shirt paired with black jeans. But somehow, he seemed to belong there while I found myself out of place.

"Come, I want to show you something," he whispered in my ears, nipped on it lightly, and just like that, all my insecurities vanished in thin air. I belonged where he belonged, even if it would take some time to fill the gaps between our worlds.

He pulled me towards the garden, filling my senses with so many different scents at a time. Once we passed the breathtaking sight of beautiful flowers that spattered around us, he led me into the Gazebo. My eyes were so busy gathering all the details that my heart leaped into my throat when Jake swirled me around in his arm, pulling me to his chest. The smell of his cologne, along with the scent of the flowers scattered around us, almost made me dizzy.

He tucked a purple cornflower behind my ear, then let my chestnut hair slide back and placed a light kiss on my forehead. "I love you, Amelia Swan Henderson. You're my muse, my savior, my cure. All these riches shouldn't make you feel small. Because you are precious, my love." His words sounded like music to my ears. I couldn't believe he was the same guy who used to be so cocky with his words a few months ago. Did I finally find the real Jacob in him?

I hugged him tightly, burying my face in his chest as I listened to the calm rhythm of his heartbeats.

We belonged together. I was sure of that.