BacktoLife (8 page)

She’d been valiantly trying to walk at
least a mile a day. It didn’t compare to what Jared did, but it was better than
nothing. She just ached everywhere now, and oh my God, she was getting really
tired of the constant pain.

Every time she moved, even if it was just
to sit down at her desk, her muscles twinged. Between her stumbling hikes and
Jared’s lovemaking, her body was starting to make her feel as if she was far
older than her thirty-six years.

Mind you, she secretly loved how he still
acted as if they were rabbits, cornering her in every room of the house
whenever he felt like it…and he felt like it very often. Smiling at the thought,
she pushed her chair back and stood up, gathering the dirty dishes before
putting them in the dishwasher.

“Let me.” Jared pushed her to the side and
pointed to the door. “Why don’t you go relax? You look tired.”

She left the room, frowning as his words
echoed inside her mind. She looked that bad?
Damn it!
Can’t I get a
break here?
Plopping down on the sofa, she grabbed the remote and turned
the TV on. She began flicking through channels, too wired to find anything that
suited her.

She only realized she was tapping her knee
with her fingers when Jared sat down beside her and stilled her hand. “You’re
jittery tonight. Something wrong at work?”

She sighed. “No, just…stress, I guess.”

“Want me to give you a massage?”

She looked up at him. “Would you? Really?”
Mike had hated giving her massages, claiming it bored him to tears. She didn’t
have enough money to go to the spa, nor did she really want to get naked in
front of someone else, so that meant she hadn’t had one in, well, years. A
decade even, maybe.

“Sure. Lie down on your stomach.”

He took the remote from her and chose a
station that played video hits from the nineties. She was humming under her
breath as she switched positions, resting her forehead on her crossed arms.

He tsked. “Take your shirt off. Your bra
too.”

Sara twisted around, the better to stare at
him. “What?”

“You heard me, honey. I can’t give you a
massage with your clothes on. Come on.”

He’d seen her naked so many times it
shouldn’t bother her any longer, and yet weirdly, tonight it did. She slipped
her top over her head and turned around, giving him a view of her back as she
unsnapped her bra. She dropped the clothes on the coffee table and moved into
her earlier position, her breasts squashed underneath her.

She wiggled a little, trying to be
comfortable. Her hair fell over her face and she blew out a breath, dislodging
a strand that was tickling her nose.

“Let me help,” Jared murmured behind her as
he brushed her hair off her shoulders, baring her skin to his warm hands.
“Better?” His voice sounded much closer than before. She guessed he’d knelt
down on the floor beside the sofa.

She nodded and closed her eyes, forcing her
mind to empty as he started smoothing his palms up and down her back. She
twitched a bit when he grazed her sides, the skin sensitive there, ticklish
too. He chuckled and moved his hands back up to her nape.

Fingers began kneading right where it hurt,
the pressure so perfect she nearly swooned. God, he was good at this. “That
feels great,” she commented, arching her back.

“Your skin is so smooth,” he replied, never
stopping his caresses.

By the time his lips joined in, she was
floating. Now she understood why people paid so much to have massages at spas.
This felt like heaven. Her head felt heavy and she knew she was only moments
away from falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

She ought to turn around and offer to
reciprocate, and yet she didn’t seem to be able to move. She let out a soft
sigh and didn’t comment when his hands drifted down her sides, barely touching
her breasts before sliding back up.

The next thing she knew she was being moved
off the couch. Mumbling, she clung to the arm hooked around her waist. “What?”

“You’re half-asleep, baby. Let’s get you to
bed before you end up sleeping on the sofa.”

“Oh.” Her eyes still closed, she let Jared
lead her to the bedroom, barely registering when she was finally lying down.

“Better?” he asked. She was pretty sure she
nodded in response, but she was already moving to her side, her left hand
sliding under her pillow. She exhaled and snuggled under the covers, waiting to
feel the bed dip announcing he was joining her.

Nothing happened.

Adrenaline spiked, waking her enough to
open her eyes. Where was he? Wasn’t he going to bed with her? Was he mad she’d
fallen asleep on him when he’d been giving her a massage, probably expecting
something more would follow? Anxiety rose inside her. She turned around and
pushed the duvet down so she could see.

Jared was standing half bent over with one
hand against the wall, the other around his cock. Sara stilled at the
unexpected sight. He was jerking off! But why?

Oh
. She
scrunched up her nose. He’d been aroused and probably hadn’t wanted to wake her
up to take care of the problem. That was very nice of him… Not as nice as
watching his fingers squeeze his cock, however. His movements were rough, the
muscles in his forearm tensing as if he was giving it all he had.

She slid in the bed, wanting to get as
close as possible to the action. She must have been too noisy, because his head
jerked around a second later.

His gaze met hers. “Sara?” He stopped
moving, seemingly frozen into place.

Suddenly wide awake, Sara smiled. “Come
closer. I wanna see.”

He blinked. Licked his lips. “What?”

“It’s my turn to watch you, right?”

“Ri-right.” He moved away from the wall and
faced her, but he still didn’t step closer.

“You should have woken me up,” she
commented, wanting to urge him to her, but unsure of his reaction.

“You looked so tired, honey.”

“But you’re…aroused.”

“I always am around you,” he replied with a
smile. “And touching you got to me, what can I say?”

“Come closer,” she repeated. God, she
wanted to take him into her mouth, she thought as she eyed his cock. He looked
so ready with that drop of pre-cum on its crest. “Can I have a taste?”

He groaned. “Sara! And no, you’re supposed
to watch, not give me head.”

“That’s not fair! You sucked my fingers
right after I came last time.”

“You’re impossible. Here,” he grunted,
stretching his right hand so it was right in front of her face.

She pushed herself up on one elbow and
clasped his fingers, bringing them closer to her mouth. Her tongue peeked out
for a quick lick. He tasted of male skin and salty come. Yum. She opened her
lips wide and sucked in one, then two fingers.

He stayed immobile for a moment, his eyes
hot on her, then his left hand rose and wrapped around his cock. He thrust his
fingers in her mouth in the same rhythm that he jerked himself off. It was so
decadent she could feel herself lose control, her pussy creaming inside the
shorts she was still wearing, her breasts budding in the cool night air.

It got even worse when he started talking,
his voice low and husky, “You want my cock, don’t you?” She moaned her assent
around his fingers. “But you won’t get it. Not now. You want to watch how I
make myself come, right?” She nodded. “You know how many times I’ve done this
over the past months? Every time I spent an evening with you, I came home and
jerked off. I wanted to fuck you so damn badly.”

Her eyes widened at his admission.
Wow
.
Wanting to reply, she pulled back to let his fingers slip out of her mouth. He
would have none of it. He let go of his cock and forced her closer instead.
“Grab your tits. I want to see you play with them. When they’re all red and
achy, I’m going to spurt all over them. You’ll be covered in my come.”

It was as if he’d been transformed. Her
lover had suddenly morphed into one of those porn actors she used to watch when
she was on her own. It was crazy, and yet she didn’t want it to end. She bit on
one fingertip, earning herself a growl. Then she realized she still hadn’t
obeyed him and slid her hands up her torso. She cupped her own breasts, almost
as if she was offering them up to his inspection.

“Nice. Pinch your nipples. I want them to
be red and hard. Like berries.”

She did as ordered. Her pussy clenched
around an imaginary cock as pain hit her breasts. She only stopped squeezing
her own nipples when it got too much.

“Look at them now. You really like it
rough, don’t you, Sara? You’ve got a naughty side no one knows about but me,
and I love that.”

She nodded, biting on another one of his
fingers. He growled.

“Are you getting wet? You are, aren’t you?
I’m nearly there, baby. Touch yourself for me. Slip your fingers between your
thighs and make yourself come.” He pulled his fingers from her mouth. “Scream
with me, Sara.”

“God,” she moaned. She pushed her shorts
down her thighs. They bunched awkwardly, but she left them like that, already
sliding her right hand past the brown curls hiding her pussy. She was drenched,
her clit already hard and achy even on the first touch.

“Yes, just like that,” Jared murmured, his
eyes never leaving her. “You’re so fucking hot, baby. You’re perfect in every
way, you know that?”

That made her frown. “I’m not perfect.”

“Yes, you are. You’re perfect for me,” he
countered, his face nearly a grimace as he rubbed his cock like a piston. Up
and down his hand went, his fingers squeezed as tight as they could go.

He was so damn nice, she thought as she
touched herself and watched him do the same. She loved him so much it felt as
if her heart would burst any moment now. Instead her orgasm hit, bringing a
startled cry out of her.

He saw the juices coating her fingers and
swore out loud. Seconds later he was coming and she looked on as he aimed his
cock toward her. Semen hit her chest in cloudy white spurts. It slid down her
body, coating her, marking her.

She really was his.

Inside and out.

* * * * *

I should do it now,
Sara thought as she snuggled against Jared, his shoulder rock-hard
under her cheek. They’d spent a perfect day, from their breakfast in bed to the
rom-com they were now watching, cuddled together under a soft fleece blanket.

Easy familiarity had permeated every
moment, reminding her of all those times they’d laughed together over the past
months, when he’d been her brother-in-law and had tried his very best to get
her to live again after Mike’s death.

And now here they were, in the same room,
doing the same things…but this time, she could feel his body close to hers, the
scent of his shower gel clinging to his skin. She forced herself not to rub her
nose into the curve of his neck, knowing it’d look weird, and yet he smelled so
good. She could just eat him up.

She looked back at the TV screen, only to
be stopped by a hand under her chin. “You’re thinking again.”

“That’s what human beings do,” she replied
with a smile.

“Very funny,” Jared chided gently. He
traced her lips with his thumb. “What were you thinking of?”

“You. Us.”

“And?”

“And…” She dug her elbow into his side,
trying to gain purchase so she could sit upright.

“Ouch!” Jared made a grimace.

She rolled her eyes. “Big baby.”

“Hey, I’m an athlete! Look at these,” he
added, curling a biceps and making his muscles stand out.

She chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, you strong
he-man.”

“Yeah, baby, that’s me.” He looped his arm
around her shoulders and pulled her back toward him. “So you were saying?”

“Oh.” She blinked. Here we go… This was the
moment she’d been dreading for the past year, but she knew it was time. She
could feel it deep inside her chest.

“Are you all right? Sara?”

She ignored the tinge of worry in his voice
and looked down at her hands in her lap. “Yes. Sure.” She took a deep breath.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” Once again, he forced
her head up.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she replied. “Really.
I…I just wanted to do this.” Their gazes locked, she slid her wedding ring from
her left hand and dropped it into his open palm.

“Sara?” He looked completely astonished.
His eyes kept going from her face to the ring in his hand, back and forth, back
and forth until she realized his arm was shaking.

“I just…” She licked her lips. “I just
thought it was time, you know?”

“Are you sure about this? I mean, you’d
know better than me, but… Honey, this is huge. I don’t want you to feel
pressured or anything. I don’t—”

“It was my decision, Jared. It’s been more
than a year and…it’s just time, okay?”

“Okay.” He exhaled, loudly, and repeated,
“Okay.” Two seconds later his lips were on hers.