Undeniably Enemies: Chapter 29

Jack grabs his stuff, but he doesn’t change. I think he’s afraid I’m going to bolt on him, and I thought about it. I did. But that look in his eyes when he told me he can’t let me go will haunt me till I’m a hundred and fifty, and with it, I stay rooted in place.

“Hey!” comes a voice over my shoulder, and I turn to find Layla. She rushes over to me, concern all over her pretty face. “I was looking for you.” Her arms wrap around me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. It just caught me off guard.”

“How could it not? I’m so sorry. Can I do anything? Call someone? Take you home?”

“Actually, that’s what I’m doing,” Jack says from behind me with such authority, there can be no argument. Jesus, Jack, so much for not broadcasting shit.

“You are?” Layla looks shocked, and her gaze flickers back and forth between us. Likely because our hatred has been no secret. Not like our history or that we spent a weekend fucking a couple of weeks back or have been friends more or less since.

“Yes, she’s my neighbor now. Or didn’t you know?”

Layla snorts out a laugh, clearly thinking what everyone else thinks about this. “No, I didn’t know, and the fact that you not only haven’t killed each other yet, but you’re taking her home, makes me not only believe unicorns could be real, but that there can be peace for all in this world.”

Jack rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. “You guys all set? I didn’t exactly get a chance to sign out my patients.”

She waves him off. “I’ll take care of it. You get her home for us.” Layla gives me another hug, and Jack drops his hand to my lower back, and that’s how we walk out of the ER. With his hand on my lower back.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?” he asks as he opens the passenger door of my car for me. He’s been running to work despite how freaking cold it’s been, but evidently, he won’t let me drive, and I’m still a little too worked up to argue with that. He climbs in and starts the car but doesn’t pull out as if he’s waiting for me to follow that up.

“Okay, what are we doing?”

“I’m taking you home, and I’m going to make you come until you see stars, and after that, I’ll make you dinner so we can talk.”

My eyebrows take a nosedive. “And what if I don’t want any of that?”

“You do, so let’s not waste six hours with the back and forth, pretending you don’t want something you do bullshit. You can fight me all you want, but this is happening, Wren, and I know you know that.”

He pulls out of the garage and onto the busy street, cars passing, people walking. I fall quiet for once because I don’t exactly know what he means. Is it just going to be this once like it was that weekend, or is he talking about more? And what is more to Jack? Just sex or… more.

I don’t know what Jack has up his sleeve, but the idea of getting lost in some really great sex, even with him, is too good to pass up. Plus, he knows now, and he’s still saying that he wants me. He didn’t use some cringy term like make love to me—not that that’s what we’d ever do with each other—but I think I could use some of his particular brand of rough right now.

We drive in silence, and he parks my car in a spot a few doors down from our building. Before I can get the door open, he’s there, taking my hand and holding it, refusing to let it go.

“You’re a walking contradiction and a total mind fuck.”

He laughs but doesn’t comment as he walks us to my door. I unlock it, and the moment we step inside and he flips the latch, I’m in his arms, his mouth is on mine, and he’s walking us back toward my bedroom. Except he doesn’t stop there. He goes straight for my bathroom, where he finally sets me down.

“We both need a shower,” he explains when I give him a funny look. Opening the glass door, he starts the water and begins to undress. My heart pounds like a drum as he removes his scrub top and pants. He’s impossibly hard, and I lick my lips. I haven’t tasted him, and I want to. First, I go for my toothbrush and mouthwash.

I catch his grin in the reflection of the mirror when he moves in behind me. Much the way he did before, he undoes the elastic from my hair, letting my long tresses tumble only for his hands to catch them. He massages my scalp, and my eyes close, and my body falls back into his.

“Do you trust me, Wren?” he asks, his warm breath tickling my ear. “Do you trust that I care about you so fucking much and that I’d never ever hurt you?”

My eyes snap open, and I stare straight into his. His expression is stoic, giving nothing away. It makes my heart thump painfully.

“Jack.”

“You need to trust me, Wren. Because I want to do something with you. Something I think will scare and likely upset you. We’ll do it together. And if we do it right, I believe it will help.”

With that, he undresses me quickly until I’m naked, and he lifts me and brings me straight into the shower. The water is hot and feels good, but before I can enjoy it, even for a second, his lips are back on mine, but he’s not kissing me. Instead he holds me close and forces my graze straight into his.

“I’m going to push your limits, baby. But it’s just us and it’s me and you know, you fucking know, I’d never hurt you in a million years. Not intentionally and never physically. You know this, right?”

I gulp but manage a shaky nod.

His mouth is by my ear again. “You have a safe word, Wren. What is it?”

“Chocolate.” My heart starts to pound so loud blood thrums through my ears.

“Perfect. Use it if you need it but I’m right here with you, not against you.”

With that, he takes my wrists in his hand and raises them above my head as he pushes me back against the marble wall. His weight doesn’t come down on me, but it doesn’t matter.

“Jack!” My voice comes out strained. Startled. Scared.

“I’m here, Wren. I’m just holding your wrists. You feel it? It’s just my hand, and you know I won’t hurt you. Look in my eyes, sweetheart. You can do this with me. We can fight this together. Remember you have a safe word.”

What? My safe word? The fuck?

On my next breath, he pushes against me, pressing his chest flat against mine.

“What are you doing? No. Stop it!” I shout, my voice reverberating off the wall. Panic hits me like a car crash, and I can hardly brace myself against the impact as he flattens me into the wall with my hands locked above my head. “Oh my god! What the fuck are you doing? Stop!”

“Listen to my voice, sweetheart. Think through what I’m doing. I’m not hurting you. I’m not trying to take from you. I’m simply giving you my weight and holding your wrists. That’s all. You have nothing to be afraid of with me. You know this. Calm yourself down and find me under the panic. Don’t let it take over.”

His hard cock presses into my thigh, but… he’s not rutting or rubbing or trying to fuck me. He’s holding me here, and I can’t… I can’t… “Oh, god. Please, no. You have to stop.”

“Breathe and look at me, Wren.”

I do. It takes me I don’t even know how long, but the command in his voice jerks me into action and I blink and find his blue eyes. There is no heat. No violence. No malice. There’s determination and devotion and admiration and nothing else.

He smiles. “There you are. Your breathing is slowing. I’m so fucking proud of you, Wren. You’re incredible.” He squeezes my wrist tighter “You feel that? It’s my hand on you. No one else’s. It’s just us like this. I’ve got you. Don’t let it win.”

I bite into my lip and force myself to breathe. To feel. Slowly, muscle by muscle, I relax.

“Yes. I feel that.”

His forehead falls to mine, and he blows out a heavy, ragged breath. “Good girl. You’re such a good girl, Wren. So strong and brave. Unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I’m going to flip you around now.”

“No.”

“Try it and if you can’t handle it, you have a word that will stop me. You’ll be just as safe as you are now. I promise. On my life, I promise you’re safe with me. I’d rather die than hurt you.”

Before I formulate another word, he spins me around until my face is against the wall and I’m pinned, harder than I was before.

“Fuck! Stop!” I buck against him, fear and adrenaline clouding my vision. A sob strangles past my lips, and I can’t breathe. The steam is too thick, his body too heavy. I try to remember my self-defense. I try to remember what I’ve been trained to do, but it’s useless. I can’t move my legs because he has them locked against the wall. I can’t move my arms or hands because he’s big and strong.

“Wren.” His mouth is right by my ear, his voice strong but soothing. “It’s still just me and I won’t hurt you. Remember why I’m here. Remember what I said. Think about what I’m trying to do.”

Except I can’t. His words get jumbled with my racing thoughts. I fight and twist and thrash.

“Chocolate!” The word flies from my mouth before I even realize it was in my head or that I set it free. But the moment I do, that very second, it’s all over. My hands are free, his weight is gone, and I can move.

I spin around, my arms wrapped around my chest, and I stare at him, ready to fucking kill him with my bare hands when the sight of him stops my murderous rage dead. Jack is on the opposite side of the shower, his arms behind his back, and a calm expression on his face. There’s no hint of aggression. No anger. He’s hard, but it’s as if he doesn’t register it.

I blink at him as I feel the first of my tears burn my eyes and slip down my cheeks. “What just happened?”

“You used your safe word, and I stopped just as I told you I would.”

“But…” I shake my head, unable to make sense of that. “You just tried…”

“You’ve been through an unspeakable trauma, and you fought. You’re still fighting, and I see that. I think you’re incredible for it, and I’m in awe of you. But no and stop didn’t work for you before, did they?”

I shake my head slowly, my knees feeling weak as my adrenaline burns off.

“You needed to know that you have all the power with me. All the control. We might play and say and do things that cross each other’s comfort zones, but nothing I do will ever hurt you or be done from a place of violence or aggression. You say your word, and I stop. That’s how it goes.” He sighs and runs his hands up and over his face, brushing back his wet hair. “I’ve done a million things wrong with you, but I need you to have full faith and trust in me. I needed to pull out your demons but change the ending for you.”

I start to shake, trembling worse than I was only moments ago. “I made you stop.”

“You did, and you always can. I want you to be able to enjoy me from behind. I want to be able to hold your wrists because I think if you allowed yourself to, you’d enjoy me tying you up and driving you crazy. But if you don’t, if we never get to that point, that’s okay too. I won’t be upset or mad and the way I care about you will never change. I don’t want any fear living in your heart or mind. I want to abolish it once and for all, and the way to do that is to face it head-on. I want you to have your life back and I don’t want you to panic when we’re together. I don’t want anything other than pleasure and desire and trust between us. You needed to see and experience that, not just for us, but for yourself. You are so strong, Wren. There isn’t anything you can’t conquer. We changed your narrative and gave you back your control. It’s something we’ll keep working on together if you’ll let me because we both know it’s not a one-and-done fix.”

I sniffle and wipe my nose with the back of my hand before I wrap my arms back around my body. “You need to leave.”

That takes him by surprise. His wet lashes flutter, and his lips part. He takes a small step forward as if he’s going to try to plead his case, and I hold my hands out to stop him.

“Wren—”

I shake my head and bite down my sob. “Please, Jack. You need to leave because if you don’t, I’m going to fall in love with you. I’ve been fighting it, but I’m not sure how much more I can take. And it won’t be the kind of love I felt before. It won’t be the adolescent kind. It will be the full-grown woman kind of love, and I… I won’t come back from that. Not again. It was nearly impossible the first time. So please, before that happens, you have to go.”

He crosses the shower and has me in his arms with my back against the wall. He forces my legs around his waist, and he holds me up so we’re face-to-face. “It’s already too late for me. Wren, I love you. I do. I’ve loved you for…” He trails off with a half-chuckle. “Fuck, I think I’ve loved you since that night at the party. I loved you even when I shouldn’t have. Even when I swore I hated you. It’s a love I haven’t come back from, and I know I never will. It’s a love that no longer gives a fuck about anything but you.”

With that, he slides inside of me and holds himself still.

“It’s you, Wren. All this time, it’s been you. Lord knows I’ve failed you time and time again, but you’re safe with me.” His lips trickle along mine as he pulls out and presses back in, making us both gasp. “You own me. I want this. I want you. And I told you before, I’m tired of fighting it. I can’t fight it anymore.”

“You love me?”

“More than anything.” He smirks. “Why else would I agree to be friends?”

My arms encircle his neck, and my hands rake up into his hair. I pull him to me and kiss him, finally surrendering, allowing myself to fall completely. Part of me feels like I should be furious for what he did even as he talked me through it. But he didn’t do it for himself.

He did it for me.

I don’t know how I’ll react next time he takes my wrists like that or puts his weight on me from behind. I could have the same reaction as I just did, but with any hope, it’ll be easier. Now that I know I can stop him. Now that I know how he truly feels and that I am safe with him, hopefully this panic becomes part of my past and no longer a part of my present. In its place will be strength, conviction, and love.

A love I still don’t know how it will work, but I have to trust him. Just as he said.

And I do. How wild is that?

Our tongues dance and twist, our lips moving as our motions become more frantic. He pumps into me, one hand squeezing my ass to hold me up, the other around my neck and up my jaw. It’s possessive. It’s demanding. He controls the way our kiss goes, how I tilt my head, and how deep he fucks me because he’s not giving me any room to move. Our bodies are flush, my tits crushed to his chest.

He doesn’t stop kissing me. Not for a moment. Not even as it becomes harder and harder for us to catch our breath. My orgasm starts to build, a slow-burning flame that grows and grows into an unstoppable fire.

I feel him inside of me, my body clenching around him, and his eyes close. He grips my ass tighter and moves his hand from my neck and jaw down to my hip. He steadies himself and thrusts harder, pulling my body deeper against his. A lightheaded, euphoric swell rises within me. Something white-hot and delicious that curls low in my belly and promises something explosive.

He kisses over my pulse and hums in satisfaction. “Mine,” he whispers against my skin. “This neck, Cinderella. I’ve been obsessed with this neck for five years.” His hand plants over my chest, over my heart, and his eyes seek mine. “You. I’ve been obsessed with you for five years. Only a total masochist would fall for a woman who hates him so entirely.”

I smirk only to gasp into a moan when he does some kind of move with his hips that hits me just right from the inside and the outside.

“All this time, I kept trying to figure out how to make you as tangled with need as I felt anytime I was near you.”

“What did I tell you about clingy guys?” I cry out as I grind myself deeper and harder onto his dick. The way this man fucks just absolutely slays me. As if sensing that, he shifts my weight into both hands, cupping the globes of my ass.

“You want to see clingy, baby? I’ll make you fucking desperate.”

And he does. He pounds into me, our wet skin slapping like one of his toe-curling punishments. This one I’d gladly take over and over. I’d let him do fucking anything, and he knows it. He just proved it. But this is different, and I know that too.

I do my best to bounce. It’s not easy. Let’s be real about it. But I try, and I rock into him and use the wall to help me along.

“Rub your clit, baby. I want your lips on mine and your moans down my throat when you come.”

I don’t hesitate. My hand slips between our joined bodies, and I rub my clit in tight, fast circles. He growls, feeling my hand move so close to his dick.

“Fuck, I have to see this.”

Pulling back slightly, his gaze travels down and snags on my hand moving like a tornado. His teeth sink into his bottom lip, and he starts to match the pace of my fingers with his thrusts. The look of determination and concentration on his pinched brow might be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, and all too soon, waves of euphoric bliss come over me, and I’m coming, bearing down on his cock while grinding and rubbing my way to an orgasm that has me gasping for air I can hardly catch.

His face meets the crook of my neck, and he sucks on me there as he comes in me, his body jerking and gripping me tighter, holding me closer. I feel his hand on my side before it slowly winds its way to my front and then lower where it meets up with my thin, white scar. My breath catches as his fingers move over it as if he knows exactly what that jagged thing is. He must. Without me telling him, he must know.

“I’ve got you.”

I nod. It’s all I’ve got left.

“Do you hate me for what I just did? Did I go too far? Did I not walk you through it enough?”

“No. It’s what I needed and never would have been able to ask for. Thank you for talking to me while you did it. That helped me I think.”

“Love you, my beautiful Wren. My perfect Cinderella. The prize I never thought I’d win.” His eyes find mine. “Not in a million years did I think you’d be mine.”

I tilt my head and throw him a saucy look. “Who said I am?”

A smile spreads across his lips, and he swats my ass. “Fucking brat.” He lands a hard kiss on my lips. “Who said I was giving you a choice?”