Love Realized (The Real Love Series)

chapter SEVENTEEN

Gillian couldn’t contain her yawn as she made her way back to the nurse’s station. She was tired and hungry and ready for her lunch break. The chaos of last night took forever to end, and she was disappointed that her time with Jake had to be cancelled … again. She had sent him a message when she got home late last night, after eleven o’clock, not sure if he was still awake or not. It took all of ten seconds for him to respond.

Gillian: I'm home now. You can call me if you want. Otherwise, sleep tight.

Jake: I'm sorry, Mr. Police Officer, but I'm just not interested in you right now … I kinda like this girl. Her name is Gillian, and she is super-hot!

She was laughing at his text when her phone began to ring in her hands. Skipping a hello, she said, “What if it was a Ms. Police Officer?”

“I’d have to say that my response would be the same. Besides, I try to avoid women who sleep with guns and can totally kick my ass. In my book, that would be all female police officers, and of course, Allie.”

“Oh yes, it’s a good idea to include Allie on that list.” She sighed then asked, “Why are you still up?”

“There was no way I could try and sleep ‘til I knew you were home, safe and sound.” Warmth filled her at that comment. Giddy schoolgirl was becoming a good description of her lately; it was a bit embarrassing if she thought about it.

“Well, I'm home, so you can get some sleep now.”

“Yeah, right, like that’s going to happen anytime soon. How did everything go with the police? Do they have any suspects?”

“Well, first they asked me if it was possible that I had some disgruntled lover who had a problem with Logan.” She snorted at her own comment before adding, “I made sure to set that detective straight by pointing at Logan and saying that I didn’t, but he might.”

“What about that number in your phone? That would be a dead giveaway as to who it was.”

She responded, “You would think so, but apparently it’s one of those throw-away phones.” Yawning loudly in Jake’s ear, she continued, “It’s all very Law & Order, if you ask me.”

“I don’t like the thought that someone has your number and knows Logan’s truck … I told Jonathan to double check all the window locks and doors when he got home tonight. And I want you to make sure you set the alarm.”

“Thanks for that. I did when I came in. Was Jonathan okay? He didn’t seem too worried or anything?”

It was Jake’s turn to sigh as he said, “You have one smart kid there, Gillian; he isn’t an idiot. He knows that something is going on. Plus, you’re not going to be happy to hear that he knows why you and Logan are getting divorced.” Her sharp intake of air had Jake quickly trying to appease her. “Calm down, Gillian. It’s fine. He’s very angry with Logan, but I set him straight on a few things. Apparently, he was outside your bedroom the day of the party and heard the details. He’s seems to be upset with you because you are being too nice to Logan. And Jonathon feels you aren’t allowing him to be angry.

Gillian hadn’t thought of it that way. Unaware that Jonathan knew, had only led her to believe he was just moody about the divorce, not the actual actions leading to it. She knew she was going to have to talk with him about it.

“I'm sure if you talk to him, things will be better, but Gillian … from a male perspective, you have to let him be angry. Don’t force his father on him if you don’t have to.”

She knew that Jake was probably right, and she wished that her son had come to her with this. Now even more drained, she and Jake said their goodnights, and she promptly crawled into bed before passing out.

Recalling last night’s events, and the worry she had with her son, Gillian found herself yawning again as she sat at her station. A cup of coffee magically appeared before her, and she couldn’t contain her smile when she saw the hand that was placing it there. Jake had brought her coffee.

“And how did you know that I was desperately in need of caffeine?” she asked as she accepted the cup and swiveled her chair around to face him. Since her seat was at bar height, she had a perfect view as he crossed his impressive arms across that equally impressive chest of his and leaned against the counter top.

“That’s because I was up as late as you were last night, so call it a good assumption. Not to mention that yawn had you resembling a snake—unhinged jaw and all,” he said while giving a little laugh under his breath.

Feeling a little guilty knowing he had stayed up for her last night, she quickly said, “I'm sorry about that. You didn’t have to wait up for me, you know.”

He shook his head at her, “I didn’t have to, but I wanted to, Gillian. I was worried about you—still am. I really don’t like the idea that this crazy person—whoever it is—has your number. You think maybe you should get a new one?”

“That’s what my brother said last night, but I don’t know. I like my number.” She knew she was pouting a little, but it was true. It pissed her off to think that she had to change her number because of some crazy person. The truth was Gillian was pretty convinced that it was Jody Spencer. She always had this underlying concern about the woman making her presence known, and while it may not have been a rational concern before, it now seemed completely legit.

“Okay, I’ll go to the wireless store as soon as I can. But I'm working twelve-hour shifts for the next four days, so I don’t see it happening until after that.” When it seemed like he was going to have something to say about that, she gave him a look that told him she wasn’t going to argue about it. He put his hands up in surrender, and she changed the subject.

“Thank you for talking with Jonathan last night. I appreciate it.”

Jake shrugged his shoulders and said, “It wasn’t planned. He just sort of threw it all out there. He looked better once he got it all out, though. But you should be prepared—I told him that Allie also shares some of the animosity toward Logan that he does, so he’ll be teaming up with her now.”

“Oh great! Just what we need; Allie, the ring leader, with an angry following.” She laughed at the mental picture that provided her with.

Jake stood up from his position against her station and placed his hands on both her shoulders, commanding her attention. The serious look on his face made her focus on only him as he said, “I want you to promise me that you’ll pay attention to things around you, Gillian. Clearly somebody is angry, and we can assume that it’s directed toward Logan, but the truth of the matter is that you are the one who got the messages. So I wouldn’t like it if you disregarded your safety by ignoring it.” He paused as he ran his hands down her arms ‘til he could hold both of her hands in his, pulling them in his direction, forcing her to stand up.

It certainly was no hardship to stare at this beautiful man in front of her, but the fact that he could place her under this spell with just a look was mind-boggling. The only way she could answer him was to nod like a fool as she felt her body sway toward his. His swift smile as he lifted their hands up to kiss, had her stopping mid sway and remembering she was at work. She was at work and was trying to make out with Jake. She could feel the heat fill her cheeks when the embarrassment at her behavior set in. His knowing smile only escalated her embarrassment as she ducked her head a little to avoid his gaze.

His fingers at her chin forced her to tilt her head back up at him, and he tapped a finger to her nose playfully. “Promise me you’ll be careful? Promise me you will not walk out of here alone tonight? If nobody can walk with you, I expect you to call any one of us—your brother, my brother … me.”

“I promise,” she whispered.

Jake responded, “Good. Now I’ve gotta go. Eddie is down in the rig waiting for me.”

She smiled at him. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Anytime, beautiful.” He winked, and then he was gone. What the hell was it about Jake winking that made her swoon? She shook her head in an attempt to focus and snap out of her daze. Somewhat successfully, she managed to finish her patient charting in a timely manner, that is, once her caffeine kicked in. Before she headed down to the cafeteria for lunch, she quickly texted Jake to thank him again for the caffeine fix.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

The next three days were filled with busy work shifts, text conversations, missed phone calls, quick hellos at her work station when he had a patient to drop off, and enough pent up longing to choke an elephant. Jake was getting tired of missing Gillian and was determined to make sure he got to spend some time with her tonight. It was Thursday and the last of her four shifts in a row, so he knew she would be tired. He thought it would be a great idea to pick up some pizzas, his son, and head over to her place. Of course, he sent her a message first to make sure she was on board.

Jake: Hey beautiful! Pizza for dinner, your place, my treat?

Gillian: Yes please! I want pepperoni and mushroom on mine =)

Jake: You got it … what time you off?

Gillian: I get off early at five today, but have to run by the police station to sign my statement about the other night. Shouldn’t take more than an hour.

Jake: Okay, I’ll try to time it for them.

Gillian: Perfect!

Glad they had set those plans in stone, he was able to push through the rest of his day.

After picking up both Dylan and Ryan from his parents’ house, they all went and picked up the pizzas from Gillian’s favorite place, Bronx Pizza. It was a little out of the way to go there, but the establishment was known around San Diego and was well worth the drive—especially if it put a smile on her face. Jake arrived at her house shortly after she said she would be home, and he smiled when he saw that her SUV was already there. He and the boys climbed out, carrying their assigned item:, a pizza for each boy while Jake had the drinks and ice cream. The first clue that his evening wasn’t going to turn out as he had hoped was the sounds of feminine laughter coming from inside. Dylan opened the door for Ryan and Jake heard his excited son yell, “Aunt Allie!” before both boys took off in the direction of the laughter.

What the hell was Allie doing here … and where the hell was her car? Jake looked behind him to see if he had somehow missed it, but no, it wasn’t there. He decided that Allie was officially having her superhero name changed to Cockblocker, for her epic ability to show up and completely derail his plans with Gillian. Making his way into the house, he saw that Allie and Gillian were sitting on the couch together with a bottle of wine and two glasses on the table in front of them. When Gillian looked up at him, she smiled, and he almost forgot about his irritation with Allie.

“Hey you,” she said, as she got up to help them with the pizza. She leaned up on her tip-toes to place a kiss on his cheek, but he wasn’t having that anymore. He snaked his arm around her waist and held her against him, as he closed the space between them and kissed her on the lips. That was where her kisses belonged now—on his lips—not his cheek. Knowing they had an audience, he was mindful not to slip her tongue, but he sure thought about it. He could taste the wine she was drinking on her lips, and it made it even harder not to taste more of her.

Pulling back just a little, but still holding her against him, he smiled down at her and said, “Hey yourself. I’ve missed you.”

She blushed at his comment and shyly whispered back, “I’ve missed you, too.” Jake turned to see Allie watching them from the couch, completely awestruck.

“Allie, to what do we owe the honor of your presence today? Don’t you have clients to take care of?”

A huge smile spread across her face as she said, “Well, I’ll be damned. That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.” Gillian was still pressed against him, so when she giggled and buried her face in his neck, Jake couldn’t help his reaction. His body hardened, and he knew he needed a moment alone with her.

Looking to Allie, he extended the bag in his hand toward her and asked, “Could you take this into the kitchen and give us a minute, please?”

Allie jumped right up, took the bag and said, “Absolutely.” With shit-eating grin, she went to the kitchen where Jake could hear the boys.

Now that his other arm was free, he wrapped it around Gillian and just held her against him. He pressed his face into her hair and smiled as her scent filled his nose, livening his senses. His body was on edge with need, especially since her hands were idly stroking a small area above his waistband. He just needed one more kiss—a real kiss. Sliding his hand up her back and burying it in her hair, he tilted her head back so she had no choice but to look at him. Her eyes met his gaze as he slowly leaned into her, and said softly, “I'm sorry, but I just can’t wait any longer to do this.” Pressing his lips against hers, he felt them soften and mold to his, before he let his tongue glide along the seam. Feeling her softness, tasting her, wanting more, he used his hand in her hair to position her for the perfect angle as he pressed his tongue through the barrier of her lips.

Jake felt her tongue slide out to meet his, and he couldn’t control the rumble of satisfaction that escaped him as his body responded to hers. The hands that had been at his low back were now digging into his skin through his shirt, spurring him on further even as he felt her tongue slip into his mouth. He wanted to devour her, take all of her inside him and keep her all to himself. It was like he couldn’t get her close enough as the two of them stood in her living room, making out, with their sons in the next room. Jake wanted to care, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. This kiss had been a long time coming, and he wasn’t going to apologize for this inherent need to have her. Her lips on his, her tongue stroking his, her nails digging into his back, his body tightened further, and he pressed his hips forward so she knew exactly what she was doing to him. She moaned in response and pressed her hips back into his … Oh yeah, he was a goner for sure.

Not wanting to stop, but knowing he had to, Jake slowed down the kiss. He let his lips linger against hers for a moment before he gently sucked her lower lip into his mouth one more time before pulling back. When he looked down at her, he could actually see the lust hazing her eyes as she opened them, and a slow smile spread across her face. He rubbed a finger across her now swollen bottom lip, reveling in the softness and the fact that he could touch them—that they were his now. He sighed in contentment and said, “Sorry, but I couldn’t wait another minute to do that. I hope I didn’t embarrass you in front of Allie, but I really missed you.”

Gillian let out one of those adorable snorts of hers before saying, “To feel embarrassed, I would have to be aware of people around me. I can only see you right now, Jake.”

“Now isn’t that the coolest f*cking thing I’ve ever heard,” he growled before pressing his lips against hers again for a quick, yet firm, kiss.

When he pulled back, she smiled at him again and said, “I seem to recall the promise of pizza. Are you going to feed me or what?”

Thinking of all sorts of crude comments to say in response to being fed, Jake amazingly held it all in and groaned at the thought of them. Giving her one more squeeze and getting one more smile from her, he reluctantly let her go. Well, let her go enough so she could walk to the kitchen with his arm still planted firmly on her waist.

When they got to the kitchen, Jake saw that Allie and the boys were elbow deep in pizza and talking about the whole who-could-stay-underwater-longer topic that they had talked about on Sunday. Gillian prepared a plate with a couple slices of pizza on it and handed it to him with a smile. He made his way to the table as Gillian went out to the living room for the wine that the girls had left out there. Taking the seat next to Allie, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before saying quietly, “Just so you know, I have revoked your superhero name. You are no longer Superbitch. You are now officially known as Cockblocker.” Allie almost choked on her food as she laughed out loud.

The boys looked to see what was going on, and Jake just shrugged at them and said, “All I said was fart, butt-crack, and booger.” Both boys started to giggle, which was exactly why he said it.

He huffed a laugh at them as he turned back to Allie, who was just recovering from her outburst, but managed to say between deep breaths, “Oh, I am so getting a shirt made with that on it!” Jake laughed before shoving a slice of pizza in his mouth.

Gillian had just made her way back into the kitchen and sat down next to him when she asked, “What’s so funny in here?”

Ryan chimed in quickly with, “My dad said fart, butt-crack, and booger!” And then both boys were laughing like fools again. The adults were laughing at the fools who were laughing at stupid words, and Jake had finally gotten a taste of Gillian. Damn, it was going to be a good night—at least he thought it was. That is, until he heard the sound of Logan and Jason yelling hellos from the front of the house. Great, now the whole gang was there.

As irritation began to set in again, and the cloud of contentment he was residing in lifted, Allie leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Better make that Little Cockblocker because Super Cockblocker just got here.”

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

Gillian always knew her house was like Grand Central Station, but give a girl a break. Once again, the family had hosed her plans of a quiet evening with Jake. She always loved a surprise visit from Allie, but today, she was more than a little bummed, and she felt like complete shit for it, too. Her disappointment at seeing Allie at the door must have been evident on her face because her best friend said, “That sure isn’t the look I usually get when I surprise you.”

As she made her way into the house, Gillian composed her features and told her the truth, “I thought you were Jake.”

Allie spun around and gave her a considering look, nodding her head when she seemed to be done with her assessment and said, “In that case, I understand. It’s easier to tolerate disappointment when it’s about me not being a certain person rather than just my presence in general.” Setting her bag on the floor in front of the couch, she bent over and picked up a bottle of their favorite wine and said, “Do we have time for girl talk before Jake gets here?”

Of course Gillian wasn’t going to say no, but she was still a little bummed over the detour her evening had once again taken. That was until Allie dropped the best news Gillian had heard in a long time when she said, “So, I have decided to move back down here to San Diego.” The wine in Gillian’s mouth almost made the journey out her nose, but thankfully rerouted back into her wine glass.

“Jesus, Al, warn a girl before you throw that grenade,” Gillian said as she wiped the wine dripping from her chin with the hem of her shirt. Looking at her friend, and the look of resolution on her face was comforting to Gillian. It had been a while since Allie had looked so peaceful. Allie had moved away after her husband Marc died in a car accident. She felt all sorts of guilty over it and had punished herself by moving away from her family. So her moving back was a very good thing.

Sliding across the couch, she pulled her best friend into a hug and said, “That’s the best news I could’ve gotten. Especially after the week I’ve had.” Allie hugged her back, and when Gillian leaned back, she could see that Allie was struggling with the attention to the matter. Knowing it was time to change focus, Gillian said, “I could really use some advice, or some ass-kicking lessons. After what happened Sunday, I'm hesitant to open the front door for fear Slutty McWhore will pull an Amy Fisher and Long Island Lolita my ass.”

It was Allie’s turn to spit out her wine. They were laughing over how they both successfully avoided shooting it out their noses when Dylan and Ryan arrived yelling, “Aunt Allie!” before they promptly lunged at her. Always one to enjoy the sight of them with Allie, Gillian was taking it in when she looked up to see Jake enter the room. She could see that he, too, was a little disappointed at the arrival of their friend, but also knew that he would be thrilled to hear that she was moving back down here since it was a source of worry for all them.

Smiling at him, she said, “Hey, you.”

She got up to welcome him with a kiss to his cheek, like she always had, but Jake insistently pulled her body up against his hard body and kissed her perfectly on the lips. She was caught in a fog of surprise and arousal as she felt her body start to tingle with anticipation for more of his touch. When he pulled his lips away, she blinked up at him as he smiled and said, “Hey yourself. I’ve missed you.”

As was becoming customary with Jake and his attention, she felt the warmth in her cheeks as she said, “I’ve missed you, too.” When Jake turned to talk to Allie, Gillian noticed that he didn’t relax his hold on her, so she stayed there. She enjoyed the feeling of being held against a warm, hard, male body. It was comforting, and exciting, and she couldn’t help but notice that she fit perfectly against him.

Gillian was lost in the enjoyment that was Jake’s body when she heard Allie say, “Well, I’ll be damned. That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”

Yeah, it was kinda cool, she thought as she giggled a little and buried her face in his chest, once again a little embarrassed at the attention, but not ready to pull away from Jake yet. His arms tightened around her, and she heard him ask Allie to give us a minute. Once Allie had retreated to the kitchen, Jake wrapped his now free arm around her and pulled her closer to him. She couldn’t help but relax in his embrace. It was comfortable, like a place she belonged, made just for her to fit against. Her hands wanted to roam, to move his shirt out of the way and feel his skin spread over the expanse of his back. But she managed to control herself and settled for gently touching a small area … over his shirt … like a good girl. No, there would be no stripping Jake in the front room, she chastised herself and was about to laugh at it when she felt Jake’s hand make its way up her back and into her hair.

When he buried his hand in her hair, she knew there was no resisting him. Her body lit up with need as she felt his hand tilt her head back, and her gaze met his. It was like everything was in slow motion as he leaned forward, but stopped just short of contact. His warm breath against her lips, his hard arms holding her against his firm body, she could barely take in all the sensations that were assaulting her as he said, “I'm sorry, but I just can’t wait any longer to do this.” And then his lips were on hers. A quick moment of surprise had her not responding to him instantly, but then she felt it—she felt his soft, full lips against hers—and melted into the kiss. His tongue swept across her lips, tasting her, and she was too overwhelmed to move, so she let him lead.

Positioning her head where he wanted her, she felt his tongue push through her lips and meet hers. Without thought, her tongue came out to greet his. When Jake’s chest rumbled against hers and his body tightened, her desire for him jumped, and her hands curled into his back. She wanted to pull him closer, hold him there, and let him devour her, because that is exactly what he was doing to her. Jake was devouring her, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. But to clarify, there was nothing she wanted to do about it. Except enjoy every single second. Longing wound its way through her body like a wildfire. He was everywhere without actually being everywhere; but she knew she wanted him more literally everywhere, and she wanted to give him everything. It was calming to come this conclusion, because until then, she hadn’t understood how she was going to move on to have an intimate relationship with another man after her divorce. She understood now, and she knew without a doubt that she could give herself to Jake.

As if he heard her thoughts, Jake pressed his hips into hers, and she could feel his arousal for her. It was hard, and real, and very desirable since she had to fight her body’s instinct to reach down and get better acquainted with him. Her body answered his by pressing her hips into his hardness. She moaned at the spark of awareness that came from that contact. It was an exquisite sensation that she wanted to repeat, but knew this wasn’t the place for it. As Jake slowed the kiss down, because he was in complete control, he gently sucked her lip into his mouth. She wanted to follow it, as far as she could go, and as she felt his teeth graze the surface of her lip, her knees threaten to give out from the huge surge of heat that whipped through her body.

Jake had set her body on fire, brought it to life with need, and then slowly pulled away from her. She was in a cloud of drunken lust, and she couldn’t contain the smile that crawled across her face. She was so drunk from that kiss, she barely registered that his finger was now touching the very lip he had just sucked into his mouth. Thankfully, he pulled it away before she thought to do something crazy, like nibble on it, or suck it into her mouth. She tried to focus on him as he sighed and said, “Sorry, but I couldn’t wait another minute to do that. I hope I didn’t embarrass you in front of Allie, but I really missed you.”

Embarrass her … in front of Allie … who’s Allie? She huffed out, “To feel embarrassed, I would have to be aware of people around me. I can only see you right now, Jake.”

His growling words and quick hard kiss to her lips told her he loved what she said, but she knew that they shouldn’t hide out in the living room all night. Even though she really wanted to do just that, she smiled at him and asked, “I seem to recall the promise of pizza. Are you going to feed me or what?”

Jake led her into the kitchen where Allie was hanging out with the boys. She quickly dished up a couple slices for Jake and herself and made a quick retreat to the living room to collect the wine she and Allie had started. She rejoined the group to the sounds of laughter. It was an infectious laugh, and she had no idea why. “What’s so funny in here?”

She should have known that the stupid words, fart, butt-crack, and booger were responsible for the random bouts of laughter from the boys. Those usually did the trick. All of them were surrounded by laughter when she heard Logan and Jason calling out from the other room. “Seriously?” she groaned under her breath as the amount of people in her house—Grand Central Station—grew yet again.