BacktoLife (5 page)

Now that his mother was here, he would have
to leave. They’d want to talk about his brother and grieve together and he
wouldn’t be comfortable, so he’d leave. And the next time he and Sara would
meet up, she’d act as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn’t fucked her to
heaven and back, as if she hadn’t felt it, that spark between them that told
him there could be more.

There
was
more.

He wanted her, damn it. He wanted to wake
up beside her every morning. He wanted to come back from work in the evenings
and be greeted by her smiling face and welcoming arms.

He was in love with her and she didn’t even
know it.

Sighing, he rubbed his palm over his face
and forced his feet toward the kitchen. Before he could cross the threshold,
however, his mother’s voice stopped him.

“He’s been in love with you for months, you
know. I’ve seen it happen. He was watching you with different eyes, not like a
brother-in-law should.”

Sara spoke up. “He’s not my brother-in-law
anymore.”

“I know, darling.” His mom again. “I guess
that’s that then. I’m happy he’s finally told you his feelings. I know it won’t
be easy, that people won’t probably understand at first. But I’m very happy and
you should know that. I’ve always thought of you as the daughter I never had.”

Sniffles. Shit, who was crying? His mother?
Sara? Both? Fear crawled inside him at the thought.

“This… This isn’t what it looks like,
Shirley. We’ve just, hmm, spent time together. In bed, I mean. Jared doesn’t do
relationships, you know that.”

“He hasn’t before, true, but you’re
different. This is different.”

How could he not have seen that his mother
had noticed? What if other people had too? He’d thought he was clever, watching
Sara from the corner of his eye, admiring her curves from afar even if he was
salivating inside. He’d gone on with his life, going to clubs and partying like
usual.

Only one thing had differed; he hadn’t
brought anyone home ever since it’d hit him. From the day he’d realized he was
in love with his former sister-in-law, he hadn’t had sex with anyone else. No
one else could have compared anyway, so what was the point?

Sara’s voice rang sharp. “You’re mistaken.
I know Jared. He doesn’t do love. He just… He was doing me a
favor
.”

His eyebrows shot up. A
favor
? A fucking
favor
? Affronted, he stormed
into the room and was rewarded by two sets of eyes focusing on him, one
regretful, one hopeful. “Mom’s right,” he said without thinking.

Sara gasped, her hand trembling around the
handle of the coffee pot she was holding. “What?”

“I love you.” He closed his eyes for a
second. He hadn’t meant to tell her like this!

“What?” she repeated. She let go of the
pot, but miraculously, it didn’t shatter as it clanged onto the counter. Coffee
splashed everywhere but she didn’t move. No, instead she was staring at him as
if he’d grown a second head. “Jared?” Her voice was weak, disbelieving.

“I’ve been in love with you for months,
maybe even years. I didn’t want to acknowledge it, not when Mike was still with
us. But I always thought how lucky he was to have found you. You were perfect.
You still are.”

“I’m not perfect!” A reaction, but not the
one he’d expected.

“You are. You might not realize it, but you
are.”

“No!” She crossed her arms over her chest
and shook her head.

“Baby.” He took a step toward her and
breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t pull back. “You’re the one for me. I
know it’ll come as a shock, but I love you. I… I was going to tell you, I
swear, but I wanted us to spend some time together first. Not as friends like
before, but as lovers, as…something more.”

“Oh.”

He watched as she began to chew on her
lower lip. “Do you want me to leave?” he finally asked, not sure of what to do
next. The ball was in her court, but she appeared too fazed, too distraught to
discuss this now.

“I’m going now,” his mom called out as she
moved toward the front door. “Call me whenever. I love you both very much. And
I’m proud of you, son.”

He felt tears prick his eyes and blinked,
forcing them away. It was amazing to have his mother’s acceptance. He’d thought
this part would be the hardest, that once he’d managed to convince Sara, he’d
have to convince everyone else. His family, hers, their friends, everyone in
town. But no, it appeared the hardest bit would be to convince the one he
wanted most. “Sara?”

“Yes?” She looked up, her eyes dark.

“Do you want me to leave?” he repeated.

He loved her. Jared loved her. The words
whirled inside her mind, echoing over and over again until she could hear
nothing else. And she had been worried he wouldn’t acknowledge they had sex
together! But no, apparently he’d wanted more from the start, had lied to her
because…because what?

She suddenly remembered their conversation
from only yesterday morning. She’d told him she didn’t want a relationship,
hadn’t she? No wonder he’d agreed. God, she was stupid sometimes. If what
Shirley had said was true, he’d been in love with her for months and she’d
never realized.

Sure, they’d spent a lot of time together,
catching movies, watching TV, having pizza night just because they had fun
together, and why not. She closed her eyes, recalling the numerous times she’d
caught him staring at her.
Stupid, stupid Sara
, she thought.

“I’ll go now then.”

Jared’s soft words cut through her rambling
thoughts and she opened her eyes again to see his back disappear toward the
front door. “Don’t!” she called out, but he didn’t stop. She skidded on bare
feet and nearly rammed into him in the hallway. He was standing there,
unmoving, as if he wasn’t sure what to do next. “Jared?” Her voice was soft,
hesitant.

“What do you want, Sara?” He didn’t turn
around, but she could see how his shoulders were hunched. He thought she didn’t
want him as more than a friend, it was clear to see.

But was that true? Could she imagine
herself with him? Living with him, loving him, being his girlfriend, then maybe
even his wife? She gulped. Images swamped her mind of what her life could be
with him. She’d always loved Jared, but she’d also never thought of him as
someone more than family.

Who am I kidding?
She shook her head. He’d just spent the weekend giving her
pleasure. Of course she could imagine him as something more now. The only
question was, should she take the jump? She took a deep breath and blurted out,
“I don’t want you to leave.”

He turned to face her, his broad shoulders
blocking the light coming from the front door. His face in shadows, he asked,
“What do you want?”

Go for it! Go for it!
Her mind chanted. “You.”

His palm cupped her cheek. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “I… I want to give us a try.”

“And?”

Damn him for knowing her so well. “I’ve
always loved you, you know that.”

“But?”

“No buts, just…” She realized she was too
flustered when no other word came out.

“I’m not Mike.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want his memory to stand between
us. I want a fresh start. I want… I love you and I don’t want to hurt you.
Don’t tell me something you don’t mean, please, Sara.”

“I’m not lying to you. I do love you. It’s
just… It’s going to take a little while to get used to this.”

“So we’ll take it slow.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Says the man
who’s been moving my body in every position known to man for the past
twenty-four hours.”

He smirked and grabbed her hips, pulling
her close. “True, but now you know I want more than sex from you. I want it
all.”

“All?” she repeated as she leaned up on her
toes and brushed his mouth with hers.

“Everything. I want everything from you.
Your body, your mind, your heart. And once I’ve got them all, baby, I intend on
keeping them for a very long time.”

“Oh.”

His lips crushed hers, his tongue tangling
around hers a second later. She moaned into his kiss and looped her arms around
his neck, hanging on for dear life. She’d told herself days ago that whenever
she found someone else to share her life with, someone she could love as much
as Mike, she’d be okay. Never had she thought it would be his brother, however.
But now that she was faced with this new configuration, it made perfect sense.

This was Jared. This was the start of a new
life, for her, for them.

He pressed her against the wall, his body
crushing hers, her breasts flattened by his hard chest. She reveled in it, her
nipples budding beneath her thin cotton shirt. She hitched her thigh high on
his leg and grinned inwardly when she heard his answering growl.

Yes, this felt just right.

Chapter Three

It all went very quickly. One minute she
was still getting acquainted with Jared’s kisses, the next he’d moved in and
she had to get used to sleeping with someone else in the bed again. He hogged
the covers and snored, but he also loved it when she snuggled in close to him,
using him as her own personal heater.

He also woke up every morning with an erection,
his cock twitching against her ass as if it had a mind of its own. Half-awake,
her eyes still closed, Sara smiled. They’d somehow decided to sleep in the
nude, meaning she could feel every single inch of him plastered against her
back. His fingers chose that moment to squeeze her breast, making her wiggle.

“If you keep doing this, babe, it will be
over before it even starts,” Jared whispered huskily, the bristles covering his
face harsh against the sensitive skin of her nape.

“I’m not the one who woke up hard,” she
teased back, wiggling some more just because she could.

“Sara!” he growled.

She giggled and moved her hand back,
clasping his cock before he could tell her no. Pre-cum soon covered her fingers
as she jerked his length up and down, loving the groan that escaped him. “Like
that?”

“You know I do.” He nudged her face to the
side so he could kiss her, the position not too comfortable, but Sara wasn’t
about to complain. Not when he was already pushing her onto her back, her
fingers slipping off his cock as he slid down under the covers and pushed her
legs wider.

“Jared?” she called out. “Are you sure we
have time for this?” He mumbled something in response, obviously too busy to
care about how late it already was. “Hon, I have to get ready soon and don’t
you have that hike today? I thought you were supposed to leave at eight this
morning.”

He ignored her words and soon she forgot
all about the time, lured by his amazingly skilled tongue and the way it
flicked against her clit. He used the slow licks she preferred, the ones that
always brought her to a quick climax.

As soon as she came, he settled on top of
her and gave her a wicked grin. She hooked her arms around his neck and pulled
his head down for a kiss, moaning inside his mouth when he thrust into her a
moment later.

Maybe he’d realized he was going to be late
or maybe he was losing control, but he fucked her fast and furious, completely
opposite from how they’d made sweet love the night before. Watching his face
redden, his corded biceps, the pulse beating a wild tattoo in his neck, it just
spurred her on.

She loved it so much she simply hung on for
the ride and focused on the way he felt inside her, so hard and so damn rough.
“Ohhh,” she moaned as another orgasm neared. “Yes, yes, yes. Keep going!”

He swore under his breath, his eyes dark as
he stared down at her. “Hold on to me,” he finally said as he let himself fall
on her, no longer holding himself up.

He felt heavy like this, but as soon as she
straightened her legs, the sensations intensified.
Oh yes!
She squeezed
her inner walls around his cock and heard him grunt in reaction. She didn’t let
go, however, not until she started coming and him too. He pulsed inside her,
come soon dribbling onto the sheet beneath her.

I should move off the wet spot
, she thought tiredly as he pressed a kiss on her forehead and slid
off her. The sound of the shower spray was the next thing she heard, but it
still took her a few minutes to remember she was supposed to move.

Sitting up against the headboard, she stared
at the bedroom she loved. There were dirty khaki clothes on every piece of
furniture, reminding her she still had laundry to do. She sighed and scrunched
up her nose. She hadn’t missed this particular chore…

“Awake now?”

Sara looked up to find a naked Jared on the
threshold. He was rubbing a pale blue towel over his hair, looking so damn
gorgeous she forgot to breathe for a second. His job as a hiking guide kept him
fit, fitter than most men. Okay, so probably fitter than ninety percent of the
men in their little town, and that included all the high school students. She
couldn’t quite believe he was hers…