Page 64 of Everything We Left Unsaid

“Oh, come on bub, don’t be like that.” I move in closer, spreading my arms wide, and he places his palm against my face to keep me at bay, just like he used to do when we were kids. Back then, he was dodging punches instead of hugs. Jacob laughs and Chloe giggles from his arms.

Ethan’s gaze shoots to Jacob. “Don’t even think about it, man.”

Jacob holds one hand up in mock surrender. “Hey, don’t worry about it,” he offers with a chuckle. “I’ve got my hands full.” He nods toward Chloe and pulls me into his side.

Once we get my grandmother settled in, Ethan runs out to grab her prescriptions and a few groceries. I hate sending him for the task, but I don’t want to leave her. I’m still shaken up from the last time I left her, and my mind keeps going back to that phone call from the hospital.

Jacob and I prepare dinner together while Ethan entertains Chloe and my grandmother looks on from her recliner. When we settle in around the table to eat, I’m not prepared to hear my grandmother say grace. She begins her prayer with her normal words of thanks – for the food, for her family, for His everlasting love. But this time, instead of thanking Him for her health, she thanks him for bringing her back from the brink of death. Her voice catches when she thanks him for Jacob’s presence and for sending him back to us. Tears stream down my face at her heartfelt praises. By the time she whispers “Amen,” I feel wrung out, my emotions battered and bruised. Ethan sniffles next to me, and I glance up in time to see him press his shirt sleeve to his eyes, blotting away the evidence of his tears. Jacob’s expression is somber, his jaw clenched tight. It’s apparent to anyone who knows him that he’s barely keeping it together, barely keeping the tears suppressed. Her words touched him just as deeply as they did Ethan and me.

“How much longer will you be staying, Jacob?” My grandmother inquires after several moments of silence as we partake of our meal.

Jacob’s brows lower into a distressed scowl. “I head out in the morning.”

My grandmother’s expression is stunned, her dark brows nearly meeting her hairline. “So soon?” she laments.

“Unfortunately,” Jacob responds, setting his fork down and swiping a napkin over his mouth. “I have some pressing issues at work that need my attention. I’ve stayed as long as I can,” he offers. “For this trip,” he adds, his gaze shifting to me, a promise of his eventual return.

“We’ll miss you greatly when you go.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon,” he assures her with a crooked grin.

“I’m glad to hear that. I know Chloe will miss you while you’re gone.”

“I’ll miss her, too.” His eyes soften when they land on our daughter. She halts in her attempt to cover the entirety of her tray with mashed potatoes when she hears her name. Her faces scrunches with an ornery grin when she notices us watching her.

“Chloe Bug, eat your green beans.” She shakes her head vigorously and clamps her lips together, her expression playfully defiant. After coaxing her to take three more bites of food, Ethan rescues her from the confines of her highchair and follows her to the living room to play.

After dinner, we all settle in for a movie in the living room. The tiny space is cramped with all of us gathered around the TV, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have the people I love the most within arm’s reach, and for the first time in over two years, I feel true contentment.

“I wish you didn’t have to leave tomorrow,” I confess into Jacob’s chest as we stand in front of the door saying our goodbyes. Everyone else has long since retired to bed, and Ethan left earlier to stay with friends. We’ve spent the last hour talking and watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory.

“Me, too.” He presses a sweet kiss to my forehead and tightens his hold on me. “I’m going to miss you. I’m gonna miss this.” He swallows thickly, his voice tinged with distress when he speaks again. “I’m going to miss Chloe. I just started getting to know her, and now I have to leave. What if she doesn’t remember me?”

My chest tightens, the genuine worry in his voice breaking my heart. I pull back so I can look into his eyes, the same eyes that look back at me from our daughter’s sweet face every day. “That’s not going to happen,” I assure him. “She could never forget you. She loves you.” His face relaxes, a look of relief softening his features. “I’ll show her your picture and we’ll talk every day,” I assert.

I won’t let him get away with not speaking to me on the phone at least daily this time. Maybe last time if I’d been more insistent, more aggressive, we never would have lost touch and ended up in the mess we were in only a week ago. I squash that line of thinking before it goes any further. That’s in the past and it needs to stay there. Jacob and I agreed we have to let go of all that and move on, so we can finally be a family and be happy.

“Thank you,” he says before pulling me in for a kiss, his hands cupping my upper arms. His lips meet mine, the connection gentle, loving. My palms find his chest as I lean up on my toes, trying to reach him better. When I settle back onto my heels and open my eyes, Jacob’s icy blues bore into me. They flick to my lips and my tongue darts out to lick them, the motion automatic and subconscious. He sucks in a quick breath and his gaze heats.

Before I know what’s happening, his hands are in my hair and my back is against the door, his mouth devouring mine. His kiss is urgent and demanding, a desperate campaign for my affection. A soft moan escapes my lips when his arousal presses into my belly. He breaks our kiss, moving his hot mouth to my neck, and presses me harder into our front door. I instinctively arch my back and extend my neck, giving him better access to my throat.

“I need you,” he growls against my skin.

“Jacob,” I breathe my acquiescence, needing him just as fiercely.

“Where?” he demands.

It takes my muddled brain a moment to register his question. Where can we go that won’t wake anyone else in the house? Hell if I know. My mind races, searching for viable options. We can’t do it in the house. We’ll wake Chloe, or even worse, my grandmother. I should stop this now, before it goes any farther. That would be the responsible thing to do. But I need him. I don’t know when I’ll see him again and I need to feel his love, his hands on my body, his fingers tangled in my hair and his scorching hot kisses on my skin.

“Outside,” I whisper-shout, the offer sounding more like a demand. My back leaves the wood and Jacob reaches past me to fling open the door. We stumble onto the porch, Jacob’s mouth attacking mine. “Put me down,” I command gently. He sets me on my feet and I grab his hand, leading him off the porch. I halt in my tracks when I see his Range Rover in the driveway. My plan was to take him around to the back of the house and find a soft spot in the grass to lay our bodies, but I hadn’t even considered using his SUV. In my lusty haze, I forgot it was here.

“Is your car unlocked?” The words come out on a pant. He reaches into his pocket and I hear a button click.

“It is now.” He grabs my hand and pulls me toward it, having guessed my intentions. Opening the rear passenger door, he waits for me to get in before slipping in behind me. As soon as the door shuts, his mouth is on mine again, our tongues tangling and hands pulling at each other’s clothes. He hastily removes my top and shorts and I manage to rid him of his t-shirt. His gaze heats as he drinks me in, wearing nothing but my bra and panties to cover my most delicate parts. I straddle his legs, my eyes raking over his bare chest and taut abs, the top of his shorts undone enough that I can peek at the waistband of his Calvin Klein underwear beneath.

He looks incredibly sexy with his top half bare and his pants undone, lounging against the seat with his hands resting atop my thighs. He’s completely irresistible, his hooded eyes taking me in, his chest rising and falling rapidly. I slide forward on his lap until our bodies are flush, the tops of my breasts brushing against his chest. His hands slip further up my legs until they grip my behind, his fingers digging into the flesh as he squeezes, the action pressing his hardened length into my center. His lips find mine, his tongue exploring my mouth as his hands explore my body. I grind against him, unable to control the movement as his fingers glide up my back and over my shoulders, divesting them of my bra straps. His lips move to my collarbone and he cups my breasts, kneading them gently. Hooking his thumb inside the cup, he pulls it down, exposing my nipple and pushing it up. It bulges over the top of his hand, full and peaked, ready for his awaiting mouth. He takes the tender bud between his lips and sucks. My head falls back on a moan and my hips jump.

He worships my breasts, drawing out my pleasure and my agony. I need him. I want him inside me, our bodies connected as closely as two people can get.

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