Page 106 of Reclaiming Adelaide

“You’ll never know. You focus on your family while I take care of everything else.”

I stopped just outside his bedroom door. “And how am I supposed to ignore the elephant in the room?”

He glanced up the stairs, grabbed my arm, and pulled me through the door.

Jake’s conversational skills outside closed doors dipped into the non-existent stage since Charity and Max came home with us.

“They need us, and taking you out in front of a hundred witnesses isn’t exactly advantageous.”

My sinuses burned as the tears formed in the corners of my eyes. “Really? You think they cared about that when they killed kids?” I yelled, pressing the side of my fists into his chest with grinding teeth.

He took hold of my wrists with his thumb and forefinger and squeezed the divot below my thumb and wrist bone, making me flinch.

“Why didn’t you just kill them right there when you had the chance?”

He pulled me to him, and I buried my face against his hard chest, letting the tears soak into his graphic t-shirt.

“Because if I killed them, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. They’re smart, but we’re smarter. We’ll find the leader, the real one, not the face of it all, and destroy him. Only then will we be safe.”

“And what if we can’t?”

He ran his hand down my hair, soothing me. “Failure isn’t an option.”

“But it’s always a possibility.”

“Hmm,” he grunted, a low rumble beating my eardrums. “I bought you something for today.”

He released me before disappearing inside the closet and came out holding a long black garment bag. He tossed it onto the bed and unzipped it.

Jake held up the modest, short-sleeved maxi dress with a rounded neck, and I nearly choked on the surreality of it all. The material hung down to the floor with inclined silver buttons running up the slit in the front to the hip with a nude-colored fabric beneath, hiding any skin the slit might’ve shown.

“This is for me?”

He nodded and gave me a warm smile that had my toes tingling and my aggravation melting off of me like ice on a hot summer’s day. “I thought you’d want something to wear instead of one of my t-shirts.”

“Jake, you didn’t have to do that. It’s beautiful.” I fingered the wool dress with detailed stitch work. “But you know I’ll never look at it or touch it again after today, right?”

“I figured as much.” He laid it out on the bed and walked back into the closet, returning with a pair of short nude heels to match the peeking fabric beneath. “Do you want me to have Becca do your hair?”

Jake plopped the shoes down by the bed as I shook my head. “I think I’ll put it in a bun. That’s simple enough.”

“Okay, just let me know if you need anything.”

He turned towards the door. “Jake?” I wrapped my arms around him, trapping his arms beneath my hug. “Thank you. You have no idea how much you mean to me.”

Jake turned in my arms, and with a delicate touch, he palmed my face and brushed his lips against mine, his tongue licking the seam of my lips. “And you have no idea what lengths I’d go to to keep you by my side.”

I smiled and stood on my tiptoes, pressing my lips back to his for one more kiss before dressing for the most depressing day of my life.

His hand slid down my back and palmed my ass, pulling me against his hard length. My arms wrapped around his neck, needing that sexual therapy where he fucked me out of my mind and left me dazed and confused. It was better than any prescription on the market.

Jake pulled away from me, wiping his lip with his thumb. “Nice try.” He adjusted himself and stalked out of the bedroom door, leaving me sexually frustrated and fucked in the head.

I exhaled through my nose and snatched the dress off the bed, taking it into the bathroom with me. Hanging the modest gown on a hook, I stripped down and stepped into the shower, turning the water on cold.

Deep down inside of me, there was a need for the numbness to consume me. If it weren’t for this little bean growing in my belly, I’d pound back drink after drink until it did the job.

My parents would understand.

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