all
of that old baggage—all that crap that was hanging around my neck like a
damned albatross. But I put the
bags down and I’m free, thanks to you.”
She realized she was crying, and began
laughing at her own hysterics. “I
don’t even know why I’m crying,” she said.
“Maybe it’s because you’re happy.”
She nodded over and over again, and then
they leaned into one another and Jake’s lips were on hers and she could feel
his love and his respect and everything that she’d ever dreamed of, and it was
as if he was pouring it into her soul, filling her to the brim with nothing but
love and acceptance and joy.
It wasn’t the money at all, she realized.
It was him .
Jake was what had happened to
her—she’d found the man of her dreams, and he loved her back, every bit
as much as she loved him.
***
The rest of the day was a celebration.
They took her new car and drove it around
the island. Mostly Jake drove it,
because Raven was too intimidated, but she did take a turn at the wheel for a
few minutes towards dusk.
Driving past the white sandy beaches, feeling
the wind on her face and in her hair, Jake Novak beside her, and she thought
she was going to burst with the emotions that were running through her.
Later, a private chef came to Jake’s
house and made them a four-course meal that consisted of an amazing Waldorf
salad, a creamy mushroom soup, and then absolutely perfect sirloin steaks and
buttery mashed potatoes.
For desert, a moist lava cake with a
scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
When the chef took his leave, Jake and
Raven grabbed a bottle of wine, stripped down to nothing, and got into the
pool. Jake had put on the lights
and turned the heat up to a sweltering ninety degrees, making it more like a
hot tub.
The lights shimmered in the pool,
creating a green glow that made everything feel surreal, dreamlike, which was
how most of Raven’s life was feeling lately.
Jake took a long swig from the wine
bottle as Raven hung on the side of the pool and checked her phone.
“What are you doing on that damned
thing?” he said, splashing over to where she was and grabbing her bare waist.
Her nipples stiffened instantly, but she
hung on to the railing. “Hey!” she
cried. “I need to check how the
single’s doing.”
“Bullshit. That can wait. Tonight, no business.” He grabbed her again, and this time, as he
pushed his bare torso and hips into her from behind, Raven could feel his
hardness pressing into her buttocks.
“Just give me one second.” She checked the popularity list and saw
that the single had debuted at number three. It was already ahead of Miley Cyrus’s
new track. “Oh my Gosh!” Raven
cried. “We’re at three
already! We only just came out
within the last few hours and we’re at three!”
Jake’s lips caressed her ear and then he
was nibbling at her wet neck. “I
don’t care about fucking iTunes,” he growled, and finally he pulled her off the
side and carried her away, creating ripples in concentric circles around
them. Water lapped the sides as she
turned to face him.
He was completely nude, wet, and wanting
her.
What the hell had she been thinking? Why had iTunes seemed so important
again? She couldn’t for the life of
her remember.
Jake’s cock was pushing itself between
her legs as if it had a mind of its own, and she opened herself to it.
“Oh God,” she moaned, as Jake’s hands
roamed her body, lifting her onto him, splitting her down the middle as he
entered her, fucking her in the middle of the pool, taking her the way she
wanted him to.
When she climaxed just minutes later,
Jake came too, and his mouth was on her breasts, licking her nipples, and she
continued to come and come until her entire body was vibrating.
Eventually, he slipped out and then
continued to hold her as they floated around the pool together, almost like
they were attached. She supposed,
in a
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