In the Market for Love

chapter fifteen



Ten o’clock. Rachel wanted to go to bed and fall into a deep sleep, forget that Jake had phoned to say he was on the way, pretend it wasn’t happening. Pretend they weren’t going to be finished tonight.

But it’d be more painful to allow it to linger. To allow herself to get involved more deeply, if that were possible. Best to get it over with quickly.

Jake was a powerful hurricane passing through her life as she waited briefly in the eye of the storm for its final impending devastation.

Although things would never be the same, she’d survive. One way or the other.

Hearing a gentle rapping at the door, she rose silently like an automaton to answer it. Jake kissed her lightly on the cheek as he walked inside but she didn’t feel anything. There was no tingle shooting up her spine with the gentle pressure of his lips on her skin.

“How’s Connor?” she asked.

He rubbed Rachel’s upper arm. “He’s okay now but he was very upset this afternoon.”

“This is very late for him, isn’t it?”

“He’s been in bed for a couple of hours already.”

She waited for Jake to tell her where he’d been for those last two hours but he didn’t speak. She could see it in the furrow in his brow, in the tension in his jaw. He’d spent the evening with Bianca, talking about Connor, working out what was best for his family.

Jake didn’t need to tell her but that didn’t make this any easier for her. It was all too darned hard.

Wordlessly, he slipped his arm around her and led her past the kitchen into the sitting room. He sat on the sofa, his long muscular thighs taking up the full depth of the seat as she sat delicately beside him.

“I’m sorry, Rachel,” he said. “This isn’t at all how I planned for this to be. It’s been one hell of a night.”

Leaning forward on the sofa, she looked down at her hands clasped between her knees. “It’s not how I thought it would be either.”

“I don’t know where to start,” he said. “So much has happened. Connor’s at home with the nanny right now. And Bianca. She’s unbelievable.”

Rachel kept her eyes lowered. Edging closer to her, he slipped one hand under her chin and lifted her face, waiting until she met his gaze with her own.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She looked away. “Like you said, it’s been one hell of a night.” Despite her words, she still felt she was in the calm centre of the storm and now that Jake was here, the tempest was about to tear through.

“I don’t know what’s come over Bianca. She never used to be like this.”

It didn’t escape her notice that although he wasn’t sure where to begin, he chose to start with Bianca.

Rachel sucked in a deep breath. “Jake, it’s okay. I’m not going to make this hard for you. I can see the hold she has on you. I can’t compete with her and I’m not going to try. She’s always going to have one up on me.”

“You don’t understand. I’ve spent the last two hours arguing with that woman. She’d been drinking in the afternoon and forgot to collect Connor. That’s why I had to get him. I can’t tell you how angry I was. Ready to punch something.”

“She’s Connor’s mother and that’s never going to change.”

Jake shook his head. “No. When she did that to Connor, it changed everything. The gloves were off. I was playing by her rules. I was ruthless.”

“So what happened between you two?”

“Let’s be clear about this. There is no ‘us two’. There’s nothing left between me and Bianca. I told her I wasn’t going to back down from the divorce. That’s why we were arguing. She threatened to take Connor away. Told me there’s no way I’d get custody. So I called her bluff. I told her she couldn’t afford the lawyer’s fees, that they’d eat away at her share of the money and she’d have nothing left. And, you know, she’d rather have the money than Connor so that’s how it’s going to be.”

He paused. “I don’t think she’s even going to stay in the country for long. She’s been talking about a long holiday in Italy. She’s sunk as low as she can go and good riddance to her.”

It was too much for Rachel to comprehend. Bianca was leaving. Jake didn’t want any part of her.

If he was finished with her, he might be free but free for what? For a bit of fun? Or a commitment?

“I thought long and hard about it,” he said. “I’d worked so hard to try and give Connor a family. But I decided there was something more important than that. You’ve been through so much. I know you might not want me. But either way, Connor will learn to cope.”

She didn’t dare look up. “I-I thought you were coming here to finish it between us.”

He slipped his fingers down her arms so they once again covered her trembling hands and enveloped her hands in his. He locked her eyes into his powerful, intense gaze and slowly slipped off the sofa.

Down on one knee.

It could only mean one thing but she was too scared even to think it. She took in the length of his kneeling form and tried to take it all in. He was on his knees before her, holding both her hands in his.

Maybe it wasn’t the end. Maybe it was the beginning.

* * *

Jake looked at Rachel’s delicate figure before him. How amazing that she could be so petite, so fragile, yet so strong at the same time. He couldn’t believe she thought he was planning to break it off with her. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

He should just come out with it. After all, how many permutations could a wedding proposal take? He didn’t want to leave her waiting any longer.

“Rachel, will you marry me?”

Her mouth fell open but no sound came out. Her eyes were wide, her cheeks pale. Time to put some colour back in them.

He clasped both her hands firmly in one of his as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, faded green velvet box.

He opened it deftly with one hand. “This is my grandmother’s engagement ring. She and Pop were married for 50 years.”

Decorated with two small sparkling diamonds and a slightly larger oval shaped ruby, the ring could have been considered old fashioned. But when he looked at it, he saw his grandmother and her integrity and as he looked up at Rachel, he saw his future.

There was only one person in the world who could ever wear this ring.

Suddenly he realised the words Rachel hadn’t heard and he almost stumbled over them in his rush to get them out.

“I love you. I can’t bear to think what life would be like without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Tears flowed down her cheeks and she shook with excitement. “Yes, yes.”

The words he’d been aching to hear. He slipped the ring onto her finger. Nothing had ever felt so right.

He slid his fingers across her cheeks and brushed away the tears. Still on his knees, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight, his head nestling against the soft fullness of her breasts.

“I love you too.” Her hoarse whisper was weak but the words were clear and the emotion even clearer. Then he felt her chest constricting as she flinched slightly.

“What about Connor?” she asked.

“He’ll love you as much as I do. I know it. And if he doesn’t, we’ll find a way. That is, as long as you’ll be willing to accept us both into your life.”

“He’s such a beautiful boy. Of course I want you both.”

Jake paused. “There’s something I want you to know. I’ve always wanted Connor to have a family and now he’ll have a new one. But you’re not just a caretaker for my son. I want you. I’ve wanted you since the first day I saw you. You deserve the best and I might not be perfect but I’ll always love you and take care of you. You deserve to be happy more than anyone else in the world.”

* * *

For the first time, Rachel truly believed she deserved such happiness. Only a few months ago she wouldn’t have imagined a man like Jake could enter her life and sweep her into such a state. It was beyond her wildest dreams.

Finally, she believed it possible to soar to great heights. She could feel herself rising above the Earth, above the constraints of her modest upbringing and her proper life, preparing to let herself go and sail into the heights of passion.

Lifting himself from his knees, Jake rose until his masculine form loomed above her, hovering over her. She leaned back into the sofa, his body moving in unison with hers. His gaze wandered along her curves and he drank her in with his eyes. At least that was how if felt from her end.

Her eyelids lowered, her lips already parted, she enjoyed the tense sultry moments as he slowly skimmed his body against hers. She felt the fine cotton of his shirt graze her chest as he leaned over her. Then he slid his chest against hers, still keeping his full weight on his muscular arms.

And as she felt his erection pressing against her she knew he wanted her completely.

He wound one arm around her waist and she responded, twisting her arms behind his neck. She curled her fingers through the thick dark hair at the base of his neck and tried to pull him closer but Jake he seemed to be taking his time, savouring every delicious moment.

With his free hand, he pushed the stray tendrils of hair from her face, his lips curling into an admiring smile as he took in her features.

“I love you,” he whispered. He teased her waiting mouth as he hovered over it. “And I want you.”

His lips brushed hers in a kiss so gentle it almost wasn’t there. She let out a muffled murmur of anxious excitement at this exquisite promise.

He caressed her arched neck, slipping his fingertips under the bateau neckline of her silk jersey top. Then as his hand slid over the curve of her bosom and down across the small of her back, she was completely enveloped in his arms.

“All of you,” he said, his voice no longer a whisper.

He pressed his mouth against hers. Their tongues slid and rolled, searching for the silken softness of the other and they were blown deeper into the storm of their passion.

Immersed in the subterranean depths of desire, Jake was pitiless, refusing to allow her breath or respite despite her moans as she gasped for air.

Finally he abandoned her mouth and trailed soft kisses along her throat. She arched her neck, exposing the bare skin she longed for him to ravish. His breath hot and moist on her neck, he ravished the soft flesh.

Her whole body was alive, surging with sensation. She let out a muffled cry of excitement as she felt a current of electricity twisting down to her hidden centre.

She was all woman and her yearning, her need, was every bit as powerful as his.

“All of you,” he repeated, his lips tickling her ear lobe.

Jake’s strong hand with its lithe fingers slid along the curve of her bottom. His hand travelled down her leg and back up along the sensitive skin of her trembling inner thigh.

Her skirt had ridden up to rest at the top of her legs. He lifted it higher. Now there was only the sheer black fabric of her panties between his hand and her most intimate secret.

He ran his fingers across the lace top of her underwear. His touch was so light and her yearning so strong that a deep guttural sound escaped her mouth. His hand slipped further down between her legs, her thighs parting instinctively. With almost painful slowness, he slid his fingers inside her panties.

She let out a moan of unrestrained intoxicated pleasure, then pushed him away.

“The bedroom,” she said.

He let her escape his hold. She stood by the sofa, reached for his hand and beckoned him towards her.

“This way,” she said.

She led him down the short corridor to her bedroom. As she flicked on the switch inside the door, two bedside lamps let out a soft diffuse light.

She turned to face him, her lips parted in readiness. He swept her into his arms and lifted her off the floor with ease. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he carried her to the edge of the bed. He let her feet drop onto the floorboards, her body still glued to his.

Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted her chin upwards and brought her lips to his for yet another kiss.

Her hands flurried across his body as her hunger for him exploded into a physical search. She travelled the expanse of his broad shoulders, then across the terrain of his masculine chest down the hard ridges of his stomach and over his hips. She cupped his buttocks in her hands as he pressed himself against her.

Abandoning his mouth, she trailed her lips along his throat. She slid the first button on his shirt undone, all the while devouring his neck with her mouth. Lifting her head back up, she held his gaze.

She tore his shirt open and slid it off his shoulders, then dropped onto the bed into a sitting position, her knees apart. She reached up, undid the button on his jeans and slid the zip down.

He kicked off his shoes, shucked off the rest of his clothing and stood before her, wonderfully, magnificently naked. The he took her hands and lifted her up to face him.

His lips curled to a sly smile. “Not so fast.”

With one swift movement he slid the soft jersey of her top over her head. He kissed her neck and the tips of her shoulders. She didn’t even feel the zipper of her skirt slide undone, only the fine fabric of her skirt as it brushed her legs and fell into a pool on the floor.

Unwilling to wait for him, she pushed him away slightly. In a slow strip tease, she slid the fine strap of her bra off one shoulder, then the other. Gliding her hands behind her back, she undid the hooks of her bra and the black lace dropped silently onto the carpet.

Her eyes were glued to his as she skimmed her fingers over the curves of her breasts, taunting him.

His gaze dropped. His mouth fell open.

She savoured the blatant yearning in his eyes and the hunger in his parted lips. She felt her breasts swelling, her nipples reaching out to him, beckoning him.

He wrapped one powerful arm around her, lifted her up and slid her on top of the bed so she reclined beside him. His hands tore across her body, over her breasts, her aching nipples, her waist, and lower.

She, too, explored the planes of his naked torso as they savaged their bodies relentlessly.

He cupped one of her breasts and tugged at her other nipple with his mouth. An electric current surged within her. His other hand slipped over the top of her panties and he hooked a thumb inside. She lifted her bottom as he slid her knickers off and tossed them aside.

“I want all of you,” he mumbled.

He trailed hot kisses down her stomach, past her belly button.

Then lower.

Yet another current of electricity shot through her. He nuzzled his mouth between her legs. Electricity turned to fire.

She was burning up, from the inside out. There was nothing else. Only the fire burning within her. She gasped for air, unsure if this was pleasure or pain until a frenzied wave of molten relief radiated through her body.

She lay in a spent heap on the bed but that didn’t last long.

Her eyes followed the contours of his powerful shoulders and chest, the ridges of his abdominals and his slender, manly hips. And, of course, he was completely exposed.

She ran her fingers along his masculine length. Hearing him moan with delight, she kissed his chest and nipples but Jake pushed her back on the bed.

“I want to be inside you,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be inside you.”

She was still caressing him as she guided him gently into her hot interior. It had been a long time for Rachel.

He went very quickly from slow and gentle to hard and fast. And she was ready. She’d never been more ready in her life. It wasn’t long until her body was flooded with waves of ecstatic pleasure.

His breath quickened. He groaned. Let out something resembling a roar.

They lay side by side for a while not saying anything. Her eyelids heavy, Rachel felt them closing.

He caressed her cheeks. “You’re tired.”

She gazed at him through lowered lashes. “You’ve worn me out.”

“I’ll let you have a little rest,” he said. “Then I plan to wear you out some more. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, you know.”