Page 31 of And They Had a Great Fall

She turned the dial hotter, and steam began to rise around her.Damn him, she thought. This was complicated enough without him destroying the boundary she had so skillfully put in place.

She heard the door to the shower open. She turned and saw Jake standing there, naked. Without saying a word, he stepped into the shower and his lips crashed into hers. His kiss was not gentle.

“Are you thinking of him? Do you want him? Why?” he asked, his voice gravelly and tinged with anger. Their eyes locked and she was unable to look away. She could see right into him. His desire. His confusion. How much she’d hurt him.

All of his emotions coursed through her entire body—his combination of anger and longing. It was over. Her invisible boundary crumbled around her, and she wanted him to barge right in.

“No,” she breathed, pressing herself to him. Her heart finally took over, and her rational defenses became useless. She broke his gaze by pressing her lips just below his ear. She drew away and whispered, “You have to know … I came all this way foryou.” The water cascaded over both of them as they pressed their foreheads together. Jake moved his head side to side, his eyes closed, and Kat could see the anguish on his face.

He spun her around, pressed into her back, and devoured herneck. “I don’t know why … You won’t.…” His voice trailed off into a pained whisper. “Can’t you feel what’s happening between us? I can. It’s real, Kat. This is real.”

She felt her legs would buckle, not just from desire, but from the weight of his emotions and the vulnerability that he was laying at her feet.

“Jake, I can’t … it’s … I can’t.…” She almost couldn’t speak as his touch cleared her of all rational thought. “It’s all too much,” she panted, reaching back and running her hands over his wet hair.

He grabbed her wrists and pushed them above her head and onto the wall. His boldness and aggression were new to her, and it turned her on to have him take full control.

“Too much? I’m too much?” He pushed himself into her, making her gasp. “Is this all you want from me?” His voice was a growl in her ear. “We … we are more than this.”

Kat might have crumbled if Jake was not holding on so tightly. He began to move, slamming into her with a dangerous blend of passion and anger. Kat pulled her hands free and put them against the wall to keep her balance. She couldn’t help herself from moaning as she was taken by his physical possession of her. She wanted to let him take all of her, which scared and excited her more than she could admit.

Jake slowed down and became gentle in his movements, running his hands over her body. He murmured, “Dammit, Kat, stop pushing me away.”

Kat let out a sob and cried out as they came together. She reached back to put her hand on his body, and he pushed away from her.

Before she could turn around, she heard the door slam closed. He’d left the shower without saying another word. She slammed her hand into the dial to shut off the water. She felt a cold void surrounding her. She wanted his arms around her; she wanted to feel any part of his body close to hers. Her tears came, and theycame fast. She cried at her inability to give him what he really desired. He wanted it all and she didn’t trust herself to give herself over to anyone. Not even him. She curbed her tears and got dressed in the bathroom, unable to face him.

When she walked out, he was already dressed. Before she could speak, he walked over and wrapped his arms around her. She didn’t know if he could see her red eyes or if he noticed the remnants of her tears, but she needed to be held. By him. The roller coaster of emotions she was on was giving her mental whiplash. She rested her head on his chest, allowing the rhythm of his heartbeat to calm her.

“Kat … I’m sorry … that was—” he started. She held on tighter and cut him off before he could say any more. “For the record, I do feel.…” she said in a whisper, her voice breaking. She couldn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t reply, but simply tightened his hold on her. She felt him sigh. He loosened his grip and said, “Stop being scared of this … of us … Kat, I’ve got you,” he whispered.

Their phones pinged at the same time, unwelcome intruders in the quiet of his trailer. Kat’s was giving her a thirty-minute notification before her meeting at the PathMobile offices, and Jake was due in hair and makeup. They were out of time.

As they walked out of the trailer, Jake drew Kat to him, and she looked around to see if anyone was watching. Seeing her concern, he whispered, “This is a closed set.” She rested her head on his shoulder, her face buried in his neck. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.

Kat turned to him and nodded. She brought her lips to his, as if they could, in fact, linger there. It was her way of showing him that she felt it too.

“Please keep kissing me like that,” he murmured. “I just want to be like this, with you,” he sighed. “I can’t believe you have to leave.”

Kat didn’t know if he meant right then or in a few days, but regardless, it reminded her that she would be leaving and couldn’t give Jake the one thing he wanted—more time.

They heard a throat clear. A young woman—Kat guessed a production assistant—was standing a few feet away. “So sorry Jake, but they’re waiting for you.”

Kat walked into the PathMobile offices a few minutes before her meeting started. It was the first day the DK website would go live and allow consumers to pre-order the PVA. The office was buzzing with energy.

She passed Poul on the way to the conference room. “T-minus one hour until we go live,” he said, passing her. “See you in there, five minutes.”

She walked into the conference room, and nearly the entire Danish team had crammed inside. They greeted her as if she was one of the team. After yesterday’s long work session and resolution, she felt like they had worked together for years. Before Poul came in to talk to the team about the pre-orders, the marketing team gave her a quick update on the stickers. Everything was going as planned, which allowed Kat to take a breath and just focus on the excitement of the day.

When Poul arrived, they took him through the logistics of the day and the forecasted number of pre-orders they would receive in the next week. Kat admired the efficiency and cohesion of the team.

It was go time for launch, and Poul pulled up the website on the large screen and announced the pre-orders were live. Clapping filled the air, and Kat could feel the pride emanating from everyone in the room.

“Kat, you ready?” Poul asked, gesturing to a large box on the opposite side of the room. She smiled and nodded. “Please do thehonors, Poul,” she said. She’d had some early devices sent to the Copenhagen office as a gift to the team. Poul handed them out to a very happy crew.

After the excitement died down, everyone dispersed to their workstations. Kat settled herself in an empty office so she could join calls in the US for the remainder of the day. She thanked Poul for including her in the excitement of the day, and he replied with a smile, “Mit sted er dit sted.” He translated for her: “My place is your place. Kat, we are very happy you are here.” He closed the door and left her alone.

Kat snuck in a FaceTime call to Becca, to show her the view outside the window, which faced the Børsen, Copenhagen’s historic stock exchange. She knew Becca wouldn’t care about a stock exchange but would love the “dragon spire” on top of the imposing red brick building. She pointed her phone at the spire and zoomed in.

---