Page 14 of Claiming Jane

Reaching between us, I rub my finger along her clit. She vibrates under my touch, and I know she’s close again. “Come for me,” I demand of her.

She comes, and I follow right after. Buried inside her, my cock twitches, painting her insides with my seed. We didn’t talk about birth control or rights and wrongs. None of it matters now, though, because she’s mine.

I’m holding my weight on my legs and forearms, trying not to collapse onto her. Her hands are at my waist as her fingers brush against my sweat-cooled skin. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I love her, but I don’t. I’m not sure she’ll believe me, especially after what I’m about to do.

I pull out of her, and she winces. It kills me to know that I’ve caused her any pain, but I promise myself I’ll make it up to her. I go and grab a washcloth and turn on the warm water. As I wait for it to heat up, I look back at myself in the mirror over the sink. For the first time in a long time, there’s a light in my eyes. I feel like I’ve been so emotionally detached from the world around me that I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to feel again. I wet the washcloth and make my way back to Jane. She’s covered up, head to toe, and looking at me with wide eyes.

As I walk into the room, she pulls off the blanket and climbs out of the bed. She’s naked, and already my soft cock starts to harden again. She disappears into the bathroom, and I sit down on the edge of the bed.

When she comes out, she avoids my gaze and climbs onto the bed, pulling the covers up over herself again.

I would give anything to climb in next to her, but I don’t trust myself. “I’m going to go back downstairs.”

“But—” she starts.

I stand up and pull my shorts on. “We can’t sleep together, Jane. It’s not a good idea.”

She bites onto her lip but says nothing.

I walk to the door and stop. She’s still watching me. “Are you okay?” I ask her.

She opens her mouth, closes it again, and then nods her head.

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

She lies down, hiding her face from me.

Walking out of this room is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Now that I’ve felt what it was like to be in her arms, how can I just walk away?

With determination, I put one foot in front of the other and walk out of her room and down the stairs. This doesn’t feel right at all, but it’s the best thing for her. I can’t sleep in the same room as Jane, let alone the same bed. Not until I know for sure she’ll be safe. So I go to the bedroom downstairs and force myself to lie down. I lie here for hours, forcing myself to stay where I’m at even though it’s the last thing I want. One day, I’ll be able to sleep with Jane in my arms. Hopefully.

CHAPTER 8

GRANT

“Are you sure about this?” she asks me.

After a sleepless few nights, I feel like a walking zombie, but there was no way I was going to let her down.

It’s Saturday, and I’m driving us across town to the park where the welcome home party is being held. I would love to skip this, but there’s no way I’m going to let myself. The last few days, Jane and I have tried to get into a routine. She works during the day doing medical coding from her laptop at home, so she’s been around the house. I’ve been doing odd jobs like patching up the porch, fixing some cabinets in the kitchen, and the like. Jane has done an awesome job with the house and maintained the upkeep, so there’s not a lot to do.

I yawn and shake my head. “I’m sure.”

“You’re not sleeping,” she accuses me.

We haven’t talked about the other night, and we should. She’s been really guarded since then, and it’s obvious she’s worrying about me. I told myself that I was going to be the man she needs, and right now I feel like I’m about to fall apart.

I’ve barely slept, and when I did, I’ve woken myself up from the night terrors. The longer it continues, the more ill at ease I feel about being in the same house as Jane. “I’m fine,” I lie to her.

I park in the parking lot and see all the flags and people standing around. I’m completely on edge but force a smile to my face. “Let’s go.”

I get out of the truck, and before I can get around to open Jane’s door, she’s out and meeting me at the front of the vehicle. “It’s not too late. We can turn right around.”

I grit my teeth. “I’m fine.”

We walk toward the party, and as we get closer, the applause starts. I want to turn around and leave, but I stay because I know that Jane would be mortified. I wait until the clapping stops before I start to talk. “Thank you so much for this party. It really means a lot to me that you did this. I also want to take this time to thank each and every one of you for looking after Jane while I was gone. She’s mentioned how much her friends mean to her and we both—” I reach for Jane, engulfing her hand with mine. “Well, we both really appreciate your friendship.”

There's more clapping, and then people surround us, hugging Jane and shaking my hand. Right when I think I’m about to lose it, I get to the end of the line and then walk away, hoping I can get a few seconds’ reprieve and go unnoticed.

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