After We Fall

“Jack,” she drawled. “Are you holding back on me?”


I looked down at her and saw those blue eyes gazing up accusingly as she rubbed the tip of my dick playfully against her lips. Her skin was wet, and her nipples were hard. Fuck, she was gorgeous. And sweet. What the fuck was the matter with me that I wanted to choke her with my dick? Was I an animal? “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know what I want to do to you right now.”

“Tell me.”

I groaned, knowing I was unable to say no to her.

“Teach me, Jack.” Her cheeks colored as she placed her hands on my thighs. “I don’t have much experience with this. But I want to learn. I want to make you feel good. Tell me what to do. Tell me what you want.”

I swallowed hard. Tightened my fists in her hair. “Open your mouth.” She widened her lips, and I pushed inside, as deep as I could go. “I want your mouth so full of my cock you can’t breathe.”

She jumped when I hit the back of her throat, and I thought she’d try to back away.

But she didn’t.

She wrapped her fingers around my shaft again and looked up at me expectantly.

“Good girl. Now listen to me. I want you to stop being so fucking polite. Use your hands. Get messy. Make noise. Forget about being queen of the prom and suck me off like the greedy little slut under the bleachers. Got it?”

She got it. Oh my fucking God, she got it. She went at me like a porn star.

Five minutes later, I came so hard I saw galaxies born on her bathroom ceiling and thought my body might rocket into space, and she eagerly swallowed every last drop.

“So,” she said, breathing hard. “Was that greedy enough for you?”

I reached under her arms and pulled her up to sit on the edge of the tub, then I dropped to my knees and pushed her legs apart. “Fuck yes, it was.” Lowering my head between her thighs, I stroked her clit with my tongue. “But I’m about to get greedier.”





Twenty-Six





Jack



“Tell me about these.” Margot’s hands brushed over the ink on my side, sending a shiver down my spine. We’d probably been in this tub for an hour, the bubbles were gone, and the water wasn’t even that hot anymore. But I was reluctant to get out. It’s not raining tonight. I have no reason to stay.

“They’re swallows,” I said.

“Can I look at them?”

I turned around and sat so my back was to her.

“You have two of them.” She traced them with her fingers.

“Two tours of duty.”

“Ah. Did they bring you good luck?”

I closed my eyes. Heard shots fired. Saw bodies in the front seat. Smelled blood.

Swallowing hard, I clenched my gut and forced the ugly memory from my head. Here and now. Here and now. Here and now. “I didn’t get them until I came back.”

“So they’re more of a symbol of a journey completed than a good luck charm?”

“Something like that.”

“Are you glad that you did it? Joined the Army, I mean?”

“I’ve asked myself that question a lot. And I guess the answer is yes. I mean, if I had it to do over again, I know I’d still join up when I did.”

“You know, you’re the first person my age I’ve ever met in the military.”

I looked at her over my shoulder. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I think someone in my graduating class went to the Naval Academy, but I’ve never personally known a real soldier unless you count Veterans of World War II or something.”

“Wow.” Her life had been so different from mine. So different.

She kissed my shoulder blade. “I’ve never met anyone as brave as you.”

I snorted, but I liked the compliment. “Thanks.”

“Or someone who works as hard or knows so much about things I don’t.”

“Or someone whose hands get as dirty as mine do every day. I bet most people you know wear suits to work. Have their shoes shined. Get regular haircuts.” Own boats, golf clubs, and stock portfolios. It was hard not to compare myself to those guys.

“Hey.” She poked me in the back. “I like that you get your hands dirty every day.”

I didn’t quite believe her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. It makes you different from other guys I know. Same with your tattoos.” Sighing, she looped her arms around my neck and leaned back against the tub, taking me with her. “I don’t have any tattoos.”

My back rested against her chest, my head in the crook of her neck. The tension drained from my muscles. If only I never had to leave this bathtub. “I didn’t think you would.”

“Why not?”

“You just didn’t strike me as the kind of girl who’d have them is all.”

“I’m not,” she said after a moment. “You’re right. The truth is, I think they can be beautiful, but they seem very exotic and forbidden to me. Something for people who are braver than I am.”

“Why? Are you scared it will hurt?”

“No, not exactly. More like I’d be scared of what people would think about me.”

“Fuck people.”

She sighed again. “Muffy would die.”