Chapter 72

“Okay, mate, calm down and breathe,” Jake’s eyes soften, and once again, he lets me go. This time I’m quick to slide down for my sash and tie up my robe. I love being accessible, but being nakedly on show while he walks around the kitchen talking to Daniel isn’t my idea of comfortable.

The expression on his face is making me more concerned than horny right now. He no longer looks chilled. Jake sighs and rolls his eyes at me, making me break into a smile. ~Whatever it is can’t be that bad if Jake is implying that Daniel is a drama queen.~

“Look, if you’re reacting like this, then maybe you should hold off for now. Get your head around it first?” Jake pauses to listen, then moves the phone away for a second. “Daniel wants to ask Leila to move in with him when they get home, but he’s having a panic attack in their hotel bathroom over it.” He lifts his eyebrows in complete deadpan seriousness, not even bothering to cover the mouthpiece when passing on the details.

“Poor, Daniel,” I sympathize and watch Jake’s face intently.

“It’s not a heart attack. It’s a panic attack. Stop being a fucking girl.” Jake has his bossy unamused face on and his male ‘no sympathy, no-nonsense tone’ laced in his voice.

I shake my head at him and walk forward, stealing the phone from his ear gently. Sometimes bull in a china shop comes to mind with Jake and his sensitivity toward Hunter’s romantic problems. “You’re unbelievably hostile for a guy who is usually all love hearts and roses with me.” I slide the phone to my ear with a raised brow and a schoolmistress look.

“Daniel, it’s Emma.” I at least sound friendly and hope a lot more sympathetic to the poor guy’s current situation. Jake grabs my ass hard and breathes into my neck as he steals a kiss. I quell the urge to yelp.

“Men don’t do ‘roses and hearts’ chats with each other, baby.” He moves off smoothly, and I throw another indulgent look his way.

He finally walks to the coffee machine and takes a sip of the coffee he left there.

“Emma. I … can’t … fucking … breathe.” Daniel is panting and gasping. He sounds like he’s in serious distress. My heart immediately goes out to him. He sounds nothing like the playboy master of control he normally is.

“You don’t need to do this right now, you know? It’s early days, and she won’t expect it, so stop pressuring yourself,” I suggest, hoping to at least get his breathing back to normal.

“I … love … her.” He pants, and I cringe at his efforts to gain control of his breathless fear.

I know what that crushing panic feels like. I’ve had many panic attacks in the past. “She loves you too, but it doesn’t mean you need to follow Jake’s example and push her at a hundred and fifty miles per hour.” I raise an eyebrow at Jake, and he narrows his eyes right back with a scowl.

When I jokingly remark about the speed at which he maneuvered our relationship, it always ignites a bristling face from him; he hates being criticized, but it makes me giggle at him.

“Hey!” He pouts at me, and I blow him a kiss.

“I … I … can’t … lose … her.” Daniel seems to get a little hold on himself for a moment.

“I … need … her. She … needs me to show her … I’m serious about us. I can’t think of how else to do it ….” As though a little self-clarity has distracted him from his crippling tight chest as he seems to regain some verbal control.

“You can only do what feels right,” I soothe, wandering away from Jake toward the fridge, turning my back on him, my eternal hunger pushing my feet to scope out the munchies.

“What if she says no?” He gasps, his breathing still shallow and his voice hoarse, but he seems to be normalizing. He’s talking more freely now.

“Then it means neither of you is ready, and that’s all; it doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you to death or want a future with you.”

I can’t help but turn and look at Jake over my shoulder with a sarcastic smile, but he frowns back at me knowingly.

“Yeah, yeah. Point made.” Jake shakes his head at me and jumps off the counter back to the coffee machine to fiddle with the knobs, obviously unimpressed with the coffee it produced the first time.

I shake my head at him and sigh at his beautiful body.

“Are you mooning over Jake right now?” Daniel asks rather pointedly, with a haughty tone, despite distracting Hunter to an almost even breath, and I reply guiltily.

“No … Well, maybe.” I blush at being caught, and Daniel lets out a long, slow exhale.

“I want this. I’m just terrified.” He sounds so young and vulnerable. It reminds me of the lost-looking boy who sat on our couch when Leila broke up with him, the boy who is slowly becoming a friend to me … of some sort. ~Who ever thought that would happen?~

“Then tell yourself that she loves you. Remind yourself of why you’re asking her.” I croon softly, aware Jake’s messing with the damn coffee machine, making it look complicated to work, with a frowning and confused look glazing over his face. I think it’s more impatience than anything.

“I want her … every day, every night … I want to be able to call her and be like, ~hey, babe, I’ll see you at home~.” Daniel sighs heavily. “Fuck, I sound as soft as Jake right now.” At least he’s calmed down now and hasn’t noticed that his attack is over; talking about Leila calms him without him even realizing it.

“Yep, you kinda do. He’s a sucker for love too.” I smile at Jake’s wide strong back and flutter my lashes as he glances over at me, all manly attempts at nonchalance disappearing.

“Should I be concerned about you two on the phone?” Jake glares at me with his ~I’m starting to get jealous~ tone. I stick my tongue out at him.

“Tell Jake he’s an asshole for turning me into this fucking mess with all his talks of ~the one~ and ~happy ever afters~,” Daniel growls down the phone at the same time as Jake growls at the phone in my hand. ~Men don’t talk soppy to one another? Right then, Jake.~

I sigh with exasperation at being caught between two pig-headed males. “Jake, you’ve ruined Daniel’s life by pointing out he loves Leila,” I say drolly, rolling my eyes again. Daniel is a drama queen.

“Stop dicking about, man the fuck-up, and just propose, Danny. It’s obviously heading that way,” Jake says loudly for Daniel’s benefit, and there’s a sharp inhale of breath and sudden silence on the other end of the cell.

“I think you just caused him to have a cardiac arrest, Jake.” I look at him deadpan, hearing the smallest whimpering of hesitation from Daniel.

“Oh, never mind. I hear signs of life.” I smile wickedly, and Jake continues to glower my way. He’s still not in control of that little green-eyed monster growing inside of him, but he’s trying to rationalize his stupidity.

“You think that’s what she expects so soon?” The fear in Hunter’s voice is back with a vengeance, and my heart melts.

“Honestly … No. Leila knows you better than anyone, and I think she won’t expect that for a very long time. Stop overthinking this.” I smirk at my reflection in the steel refrigerator door at the irony of my sentence. ~When did I stop doing that?~

I glance back at Jake and catch the same smirk aimed at me as he thinks the same thing. ~Yeah, okay, smart ass.~

“No, no … You’re right. Leila’s fucking amazing and supportive and … Fuck. Fuck. She won’t want that yet; I don’t want that. Emma, I want that. Why wouldn’t she want that with me?”

The confused turn around in Daniel’s tone has me almost giggling. ~Daniel is either having some mental breakdown, or he’s truly head over heels for that girl and has no control over his emotions.~ I catch his heavy breathing coming back.

“Daniel, breathe and stop. You’re driving yourself a little crazy. It’s too soon, and Leila probably does want that in time. Right now, you’re just trying to show the girl she can trust you and have a future with you.” I remind him. “She doesn’t need anything like this yet, just you to keep proving you love her, and she can trust you.” I sound like Sylvana, imparting soft wisdom in hushed tones.

“Trust her. She knows what she’s talking about,” Jake cuts in. He’s had enough of his best friend monopolizing me and swipes the cell from me, propping it on his ear with his shoulder. He manhandles me onto the countertop in a very dominant way, walking me backward toward it with a slight thud.

“Hunter, man up and stop being a pussy. Ask Leila to move in and get off the fucking phone.” Jake’s tone isn’t exactly friendly, but there’s a hint of warmth in there somewhere. He yanks open my robe and runs a hand down my abdomen, clearly giving up on trying to be patient.

“Go find your girlfriend and fuck her, trust me. I’m sure even you can handle asking her while having sex to take your mind off the fact that you’re an emotional cripple.” I grimace at Jake’s treatment of Hunter, but I can’t be mad. His hand is expertly moving in places that have me writhing. I have a weakness for him that he knows all too well, and I’m instantly submissive putty in his hands—no arguments from me.

~Oh, God.~

I squirm against his delicious hand between my thighs and watch his transparent green eyes change, glazing over to dark and hazy, his pupils dilating. Excitement rushes over my body at his lack of patience and control.

“…currently trying to seduce my fiancée and get you off the goddamn phone … Good plan, let me know how you get on … Just not anytime soon,” Jake retorts in a lust-filled, angry tone and hangs up. He goes to continue his advances up my thighs but stops, realizing something. He tosses his phone into the hall with a crashing thud as it breaks into pieces, echoing around the house.

~I guess phone shopping will be on the list tomorrow.~

“Jake?!” I giggle, but my breath is halted with a sharp tug of my body to his, and my robe falls open fully. I go limp with desire and can’t do anything except gape at his mouth as it moves closer.

“Any other asshole interrupts this, and I’ll rip heads off,” he growls and moves in with the look of a killer animal devouring its prey.