Hunter
No matter how many times I make love to this woman, it will never be enough. Sex with Jenna has always been mind-blowing, but it was to a different level this time. I could practically feel the yearning and desire radiating off her body and I just ate it up like a starving man. I look down at this angel, resting her head on my chest, admiring her strength, her patience and her unwavering loyalty. I push her sweat-soaked hair off her forehead and thank God that He brought her back to me. I will never, ever let her go again.
"What are you thinking about?" she asks, her voice so sweet and her face so heavenly.
I run my hand through her hair as I take in her natural, God-given beauty. "I want to take a bath with you. There are so many things that I need to tell you and I thought we could do it over one of your beloved candlelight baths."
She smiles up at me and tells me that she would love nothing more. She slowly lifts herself off my chest, giving me free reign to stare at her gorgeous body as she moves. The way her hips sway as she walks is enough to kill any man. She is stunning and doesn't even have to try. I lift off the bed and tell her to give me her phone. She gives me a pointed look, but eventually puts it in my hand.
"Before we go any further, I am putting my number in your phone. I can't handle another year without you. This one almost killed me."
I call my phone from hers, making damn sure I get her number. She grabs the candle and matches and meets me in the bathroom where I have already started filling the tub. The way she glows in the soft candlelight makes her look like an angel, the angel that holds all my happiness in her tiny hands. She shuts off the lights before joining me in the warm, soothing water. As she lays her back against my chest and reclines her neck against my shoulder, I am overwhelmed with a relief that runs over my body like the water around us. I haven't felt this relaxed since the last time I felt her soft body against mine in this very same tub. I choke back my tears, tears of joy and liberation.
Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her snug to me when I hear her sigh, causing my stomach to become painfully unsettled. She needs answers and I know I need to tell her all about the past year, but I've craved this connection for far too long and I am worried that she may not understand or think I did enough. I kiss her hair and remind her how much I love her.
"Hunter, I need to know what happened."
There it is. She's holding nothing back, just like I knew she wouldn't.
I can't see her face, but the hurt in her voice is all-consuming. The distress I caused her wasn't intentional, but it breaks my heart nonetheless because I promised to love her, keep her safe and guard her heart. I couldn't do that. I need to show her how dedicated I was to reuniting with her, how much I love her and how I would never give up on what we have. I nuzzle my face into her hair, inhaling her sweet smell and surrendering my very heart and soul to this woman.
"We are," I whisper. "There's so much to be said so I guess I will start from the last time we were together."
I take a long, deep breath and pray I can make her understand. I feel like a failure for not getting her phone number in the first place and then a fool for misspelling her last name on top of it all. I don't even see how it's possible that my Google searches didn't suggest alternative spellings or similarities to the name. Lord knows it autocorrects everything else. At no point in time in my life did I ever mean to say that I am so "ducking" mad.
"I was devastated when I got back to the lodge and discovered that you had left. I had convinced myself that you had changed your mind on us. I thought I pushed you away with the engagement or scared you to the point that you felt your only option was to run. The doubts and my own insecurities overtook my rational thinking and the part of me deep down that knew you loved me, that you felt the same way I did. Jenna, it crushed everything in me."
She shakes her head side to side, biting her bottom lip that is starting to quiver with raw and timely emotion. I run my finger along the pink flesh as she blinks back tears. Seeing her like this stirs so many emotions inside me and I find it increasingly difficult to get my words out. I remember watching the Twilight movies with some chic I dated and out of all the abilities I wish I had right now, Bella and Edward's daughter's power stands out the most. With one caress of her hand, she could project memories and flashbacks and feelings onto the person she touched. She transferred past images into their minds so they could understand without an explanation. I'm a man, a broken man and not even a well-articulated one so making her comprehend my last year of insufferable hell is like trying to put square pegs into a round hole. She deserves a lot of things, but broken promises and stories that contain more holes than Swiss cheese are not on that list.
"I completely broke down when the lodge said you had left. I went back to my room and lost it." Her beautiful face is covered with a frown as she cups my cheeks with her soft hands. I lean into her while I choose my words wisely. "'Then I saw your letter lying on the floor and when I finally read it, the vise gripping my chest loosened because I was wrong about the reason behind your departure. When I looked to the bottom of the page, there was your number, but the last three numbers were smeared, like it got wet somehow. I couldn't decipher them and I didn't know how I was going to find you, but I knew I wouldn't stop until I did. I dwelled on it, to the point I made myself physically ill, because I knew how upset you were about your dad and that smudging was from your tears. It broke me down and I hated myself for not being there when you needed me the most. I should have been there, J. I should have been the one holding you and telling you everything was going to be ok so I called the airline to get an earlier flight because I just had to be there for you."
"That's why you weren't there," she responds, biting her lip and nodding. A light bulb goes off in her head, but I am still in the dark.
"Yes, baby. I wasn't there because I couldn't read the numbers."
"No, at the airport. You weren't at the airport," she clarifies, looking at me like a worm has invaded my brain and consumed my logical thinking.
"What do you mean?"
"I came to the airport that day. I left the hospital after my dad's surgery to surprise you when you got off the plane. I sat there waiting for you, but you never showed. I thought maybe you changed your mind and that you didn't want-"
"Baby, no!" I yell, louder than I had intended to, but she is off her rocker if she thinks my proposal wasn't genuine. "I don't want you to ever think that I didn't want you. You are the most important person in my entire life and I fucking mean that. I would never abandon you...well, not intentionally."
I lean forward and kiss her forehead, telling her how sorry I am. She gives me an understanding nod, but I know I still have so much work to do to regain her trust and her confidence in me again. I can't believe she would ever think that I didn't want her. I proposed to her for God's sake.
"Jenna, when I say that I exhausted all options to find you, I fucking mean it. I called every hospital looking for you or your dad, I googled your name a million times...or at least what I thought your last name was. I took your letter to a restoration specialist. I would go to restaurants in southern Indiana every night just hoping that you may be there by chance. I did everything apart from hiring a private investigator."
She cuts her eyes at me. "What do you mean what you thought my last name was?"
I blow my hair off my forehead and sigh loudly. Here's the part where she finds out that the man in front of her isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. "It's so ridiculous. I obviously misunderstood you when you told all of us your last name last Christmas. It thought you said 'James' not 'Janes'. It's no wonder I couldn't find you with all my searches. I didn't know until I got back here today and the lodge employee corrected me."
"Have you ever had your hearing checked?" she asks, trying to suppress a smile. I roll my eyes and wait for it because I know she's not done yet. "Jesus, Beethoven, a whole year of misery because you don't know how a Q-tip works."
The love of my life has jokes today, but damn if I don't get the greatest relief from hearing her laugh.
"I can hear, smartass," I counter. "I just misunderstood what you said."
"My cousin just bought her toddler these alphabet flash cards. Do you want me to see if I can borrow them? The letter n has one hump, while the letter m has two humps. Don't worry, Cowboy, by next week, maybe we will make it all the way to the letter w."
"Are you done?" I ask, secretly enjoying watching her laugh at her own stupid jokes. She's out of breath from laughter and I'm out of breath from watching her tits bounce with each chuckle.
She presses her plump lips against mine. I have dreamt about them for so many lonely nights and feeling them against mine sends a rush of blood right to my cock, which is now laying firmly on her freshly shaven leg. She recovers from her laughter, but her mood returns to somber. I can handle her clowning me but seeing her upset crushes my soul. She drops her eyes and chews on the side of her cheek. We've been apart for some time, but I know my girl and I know when the wheels are turning in that pretty blonde head of hers. I lift her chin to look at me and ask her what is wrong when those glistening jade eyes pierce into mine. Her lips begin to quiver again and it makes my heart physically ache.
"I have been so lost without you," she pleads, her voice cracking. "My dad told me he was going to take me to the courthouse and have my name officially changed to Debbie Downer if that is any indication of how miserable I've been without you."
I can't help but laugh. I am almost too embarrassed to tell her about my four day, no shower, no shave, barely eating, and drink-myself-to-sleep benders. I tell her anyway because she needs to know how empty my life has been without her. I expect her to be disgusted or full of pity, but her eyes say something different.
Understanding.
"Speaking of your dad, how is he?"
"He's good, but he scared the ever living hell out of me. As it turns out, he did have a heart attack. By the time I got to the hospital, they had already taken him to the cath lab, but the blockages were too severe and they couldn't put stents in. He ended up having open heart surgery, a triple bypass. He rocked his recovery though and is back to antagonizing my mom on the daily."
Although I am thankful that her dad is on the mend, I feel incredibly guilty that she suffered alone. I know she had her mom, but I should have been there. Here Jenna was devastated about potentially losing her dad while I'm contemplating ways to make my own disappear permanently. Our worlds couldn't be any further apart, but somehow, they managed to collide together. As we discuss her dad, my heart delivers a swift punch to the gut.
"Your parents probably hate me, don't they? They probably think I just used you for some holiday fling and then ghosted you."
I drop my head in shame and go into self-destruction mode. Any chance I had of getting her dad's blessing to marry her is now further away than fucking Jupiter, which is the only one of us with rings now. I'm not a father, but I sure as hell wouldn't approve of a man that disappeared and left his only daughter heartbroken. He's probably plotting my demise as we speak because I know I would be. The thought of facing her dad one day makes me want to start dry heaving in this bathtub.
"Actually, quite the opposite."
"What?" I ask, raising my gaze to stare at those intense green eyes that have haunted my dreams for a year. I know I didn't hear her correctly. Maybe I really do need to get my ears checked.
"Yeah, you apparently made quite the impression on them. They were ecstatic to meet you, the man who made me so happy. Even in my darkest hour, when I was questioning if I would ever see you again, they restored that faith in me. I created all these scenarios in my head as to why you never called, but they always kept me grounded and reassured me that there had to be some reason. They told me that true love would always bring me back to you. Now I'm going to have to tell them that they were right. My dad is going to be gloating for months."
She rolls her eyes and giggles. It is like music to my ears. If I could make her laugh for the rest of our lives, I have fulfilled my purpose on this Earth. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest, knowing that her parents don't see me as some playboy who hit it and quit it with their only daughter.
"I can't wait to meet them. They sound like the most incredible people in the world," I tell her.
"They really are. I am truly blessed. Aaaaaand about that..."
I patiently wait for what she intends to say next, but she sits there picking at her fingers, drawing this out and withholding some bomb she is getting ready to drop on me.
"Well, tell me, woman!"
She giggles again. "They will actually be here on Christmas Eve. They are going to stay a couple days. They really wanted to meet you and wanted to spend Christmas with me...and you...and the guys. They were completely confident that you would show up. This is the one time that it doesn't bother me when they are right. I was going to wait and surprise you, but I'm terrible at keeping secrets."
I know my face alone gives away my excitement. This couldn't be any more perfect. The sooner I meet her parents and get her dad's blessing, the closer I get to proposing to this girl and making her my wife. I pull her into my arms and tell her how happy I am about this. If my over-the-top enthusiasm threw her off, she didn't show it. I lean up as she wraps her legs around me. She kisses me so passionately that I nearly melt in the bathtub and swirl down the drain. Being in this moment with her makes all the pain of this past year worth it.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you," she says, a big smile covering her face. "I got a promotion. My manager took another job and recommended me for her position. There were ten other applicants and the interviews were excruciating, but I got the job."
"Baby!" I respond enthusiastically. "I am so proud of you. That is incredible. They are so lucky to have you." She thanks me and goes back to kissing me in her delicious Jenna way. I grab those luscious hips, pushing her down on me.
We make love in the bathtub.
And then on the sink.
And again in the bed.
I simply can't get enough of her.
When our bodies are depleted of all energy, we sink into the bed and tangle ourselves into each other. I turn on the TV and lay on my back, her head on my chest and my arm secured tightly around her waist. We watch TV until we both drift off to sleep in each other's arms. I make a vow that I will never sleep another night without her by my side and I will make damn certain that I keep that promise.
~
I roll on my side and look over to see a mess of blonde hair sprawled across the pillow, one of my favorite views in the entire world. The sun shines in the room and the clock reads nine in the morning. I gently run my hand over Jenna's back, careful not to wake her, but I need to touch her to make sure that she's actually here and this isn't a dream. Over the past year, I would reach for her in my sleep and swear I could feel her soft body next to mine, only to be disappointed that it was a figment of my imagination. I blink a few times and to my relief, she is still here. Her skin is soft on my rough fingers and her face holds a smile as she sleeps. I slowly withdraw my hand and stare at her long eyelashes, like half-moons under her eyes. She's angelic when she sleeps and I savor every second watching her dream, small breaths that cause the rise and fall of her chest and sweet little sounds purring from her lips. I memorize every line and every freckle on her perfect face.
I manage to climb out of the bed without waking her. I didn't want to move, but I really must take a piss. I close the bathroom door as quietly as I can manage and use the restroom. Looking around the room, I smile at the mess we made in here last night. There are towels thrown everywhere. Her lotion bottles and hair products pushed off the counter where I ravaged her tight little body. She wrapped her legs around me as I pushed into her repeatedly, reconnecting in the most intense way possible. I couldn't get enough of her and the way she moaned my name persistently told me that she felt the same. I pick up her stuff, set it back on the sink, hang up the towels and wipe off the counter.
When I open the bathroom door, Jenna is awake and sitting up in bed. Her voluptuous breasts are on full display, causing the blood to rush right back to my dick. Seeing her like this is exactly how I want to start my day. Her hair is mussed and she wears a sleepy smile. To me, she is the most stunning this way, natural and unapologetically herself. She tilts her head and smiles at me, curling her finger to motion me closer. Like a sexy kitten, she crawls down the bed and sits on the edge.
Fuck, she is beautiful.
Her legs open and she grabs my hips, pulling me in between her thighs, never breaking eye contact with me. She takes me in her soft, wet, warm mouth, her tongue gliding around my cock, running up and down my hard shaft. I push myself farther in as I drink in those full lips wrapped around me, so plump and sexy. She pulls back, sucking gently on the tip of my painfully engorged erection, her hand making slow, tedious strokes on my long shaft. Her perfect rhythm mixed with the moisture from her mouth makes my legs weak.
As fucking incredible as this feels, I need to feel the moisture elsewhere. I know that tight little pussy is dripping wet, it always is for me. I grab her hands and take a step back. A devilish smile pulls at her lips as she lays back, bringing her knees up and parting her legs like the greatest invitation I have ever received. I run my fingers over her glistening sex before grabbing ahold of her ass and pushing her to the top of the bed. Hovering over her, I lean down to kiss her neck, running my tongue over the soft skin and making goosebumps rise to the surface. She tastes like vanilla, sex and Jenna, so delicious I want to devour all of her. She palms me, wrapping her small fingers around my cock and pulls me to her, guiding me into her slick opening until I am balls deep in my own little piece of heaven. Her bare pussy is glistening from her sweet nectar and as much as I want to suck up every last drop of it, I am otherwise erotically devoted to the grip she has on my dick.
Fuck, it feels so good inside of her.
She gasps as I push into her powerfully. I devour her moans, her cries, her screams while I give it to her, possessing her as mine. Her fingernails claw my arms as I thrust into her. She could break the skin and make me bleed, but I would welcome it. She can't control herself when I'm owning her body, watching her tits bounce with each thrust. Her eyes roll back, she is panting and I know she is close so I pick up the pace, pounding rhythmically into her even though I know she must be sore. I should feel bad about it, but she shows no resistance to my force. Her mouth forms a perfect "O" as her pussy contracts around me, squeezing me so tightly that my vision blurs, going dark a second later. I dig my fingers into her hips and find my release immediately after she does. I fill her with all of me before collapsing on her chest, laying my head on her succulent breasts like the juicy pillows they are.
I listen to her breathing as it begins to normalize and close my eyes, aware of nothing but her soft body cradling my own.
"Are you hungry?" Jenna asks as she strokes her fingers through my hair. I had forgotten how much I missed this sweet little gesture of hers.
"Baby, are you ready to go again?"
She laughs and smacks the back of my head. "I meant hungry for breakfast, you wild animal."
"Mmmmmhmmmm," I mumble as I plant kisses all around her breasts, stopping to gently suck on those perfectly peaked nipples. I have missed her body and how it instantly reacts to me. I don't want to stop, but I know I better feed her. She's going to need all the fuel she can get as I plan on having her again multiple times today.
"I really need a shower, but I am starving," she tells me at the same time her stomach growls.
"I tell you what. Get some clothes on and we will eat a quick breakfast. Then we will come back in here and take a shower together. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect."
She floats around the room, grabbing clothes and pushing her hair out of her face each time she bends over. I can barely get myself dressed because I don't want to miss one second of the show she's putting on.
We walk out to the bar and the guys have already claimed their spot in front of the TV. Jenna drops my hand and runs over to meet my brothers, squeals coming from her petite little body. They jump up and pull her into a warm hug, ecstatic to reconnect with their long-lost sister. I don't like the idea of any man putting their hands on her, even my brothers, but I take a couple deep breaths and remind myself that she loves me and no other man. When they finally let go of her, I breathe a sigh of relief that I won't have to go full Chuck Norris on my buddies.
"Damn, girl, you look like you are walking a little funny this morning," teases Patrick, eyeing her up and down as if he's taking inventory. "I guess our boy showed you how much he has been missing you."
Her pretty face blushes and just as I am about to come to her rescue, she smacks the back of his head tells him to shut it. I sit back and observe how my girl has all these grown men wrapped around her little, pink-polished finger. I shouldn't be surprised, that's who she is. She can make you fall in love with her without you ever knowing she's doing it. She orders an omelet and tea and tells the bartender that I would like pancakes and a coffee, remembering my breakfast favorites.
Justin, Bryson and Kevin are deep in conversation about who knows what, leaving Jenna's attention to Patrick and myself. She is back in her element with all the guys and she is glowing like sunshine is leaking from every pore of her body. Her face is covered with an enormous smile as she lays her head on Patrick's shoulder. It doesn't bother me like it would if she had her head on, I don't know...say...Bryson's shoulder. Apart from Jenna, I trust Patrick the most. He plants a kiss on her forehead and catches up on her life this past year. She tells him about her promotion, her dad's heart attack and other odd and end items that I am thrilled to learn about.
"Little girl," Patrick says as he takes her hand, "you are not an easy woman to track down. You would not believe the measures we took trying to find you."
"Maybe just listen to the pronunciation of my name next time," she grins. Patrick drops his head, shaking it side to side and it's nice to not be the only one catching shit from her these days.
"Do you not have social media?" he asks.
"I only have a Facebook account, but it's set to private, there's a generic profile pic and I'm rarely on there. I don't friend people I work with, especially not since I've become a manager, because no matter how 'friendly' people seem to be," she makes air quotes with the word, "all it takes is one person to get you into a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, we live in a world full of entitled assholes who are offended by everything."
"Ain't that the damn truth," I agree, pouring syrup on my pancakes.
Sadly, it's true. The days of minding your own business and respecting that people may have a different opinion than yours are long gone. Social media and the internet are full of keyboard warriors and internet gangsters. In my opinion, it all results from bullying. A bully is a bully, whether it's on the school playground or behind a keyboard in their parents' basement. In addition, cyberbullying is also on the person who had been bullied in the past, out there looking for redemption and revenge. It's an ugly cycle and something I'm not interested in getting involved with.
"Plus, people are crazy and social media is dangerous," she says as she forks a piece of her omelet.
Patrick and I chance a look at each other and I know my face is as pale as his is. Jenna has no idea how much truth there is to her statement and I never want her to find out why. I've gone to great links to remain in the shadows, changing my name and making myself essentially disappear. I couldn't take the chance of being exposed to the homicidal psychopath that stole everything from me, physically and emotionally. I sip my coffee to moisten my now-parched throat and attempt to hide my clenching jaw muscles. I want this conversation to drop, but if I know Jenna (and I do), she will pick up on my change in mood and press until shit gets real uncomfortable. I look to Patrick for help, but he's just as tongue-tied as I am.
Jenna goes about drinking her tea, but if I thought I was lucky enough to slide past this one, I was sadly mistaken.
"Hey baby, how come I couldn't find you on social media?" she asks, regarding me so thoroughly that I swear she already knows the answer, but there's no way she could. I've kept myself hidden for so long and for good reason.
"I don't have social media," I spit out, my delivery quick and undoubtedly suspicious.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't see the point in posting everything about your life to a bunch of people you really don't care about. The kids I went to school with aren't that concerned with where I ate breakfast," I laugh, hoping to mask the bullshit I'm spewing. "I keep in close contact with the only people I care to share my life with."
She considers me and nods her head up and down, listening to what I'm saying, but it's evident she's not satisfied with my answer.
"The night we went to do karaoke, when you made the crazier than cat shit reference, you said you heard it on social media. I clearly remember you saying that."
Damn it. My inquisitive and observant girl. Think, Hunter, think.
"Just because I saw it on social media, doesn't mean I have an account," I counter, hoping she lets this drop. Then again, this is Jenna we are talking about. Letting it go is not in her wheelhouse. This is not Frozen and she is not Elsa.
"I used to have a Facebook account," Patrick comes to my rescue, all spandex pants and multicolored capes. I'll have to thank him later for his quick thinking. "We used to sit around at Hunter's house and scroll through it, laughing at memes and making fun of people we went to school with."
"Oh," is all she says and turns her attention back to her food.
Christ on a cracker.
I don't like lying to Jenna, but if it's what I must do to keep her safe, that's what I will do. I can't take the chance when it comes to her well-being. Thankfully, the other guys decide to join the conversation and create an imperative distraction. As we finish our breakfast, the guys fill Jenna in on what a miserable asshole I have been all year. Occasionally, I try to defend myself, but I can't deny that they are telling the truth. Jenna looks over at me several times and runs her hand along my stubble-covered cheek.
None of it matters now.
I have her back and I will never let her go again.