Page 73 of Long Story Short

‘I love making you moan like that,’ Jake cried, shuddering on top of me, crying out my name this time, over and over like it was mantra. He then leaned down to give me the softest kiss before he rolled off me and onto his back.

Jake lifted his arm, so I collapsed onto his chest and he held me tightly against him. We had laid like this back in my hotel room and I had really missed it, his chest heaving with ragged breaths and my heart racing in time with his. His arms felt strong and safe, and my body lay contently against his, exhausted and sated.

After a couple of seconds of silence, I let out an involuntary giggle.

Jake wriggled to see my face. I looked up at him. ‘You okay, cutie?’

‘Just can’t quite believe what happened,’ I confessed.

Jake chuckled along with me. ‘I know what you mean. I thought I’d ruined any chance of us being together, to be honest. Having you here in my bed does feel a little bit like a dream.’ He brushed his lips against mine. ‘I love having you here.’

‘I love being here,’ I replied, snuggling in closer. ‘I still can’t believe you dedicated your book to me.’

‘It’s only going to be published because of you,’ Jake said as he stroked my hair. ‘You’re the perfect person to dedicate it to.’ He moved then, rolling onto his side. I did the same so we faced each other.

Jake wrapped his arms around me and I melted into him. He was not only good at sex but this man could snuggle really well. A perfect combination. I felt a little bit nervous about that, though. I knew already that it would be easy to fall for him and that was more than a little bit scary.

‘Are you okay?’ Jake seemed to notice I had gone a bit quiet.

‘My mind is just trying to catch up with my body, I think,’ I said as we looked at one another side by side.

Jake leaned in and kissed me gently then he cupped my face in his hands. ‘Will it help if I tell you that I’m serious about us, Freya? I want to be with you. I want us to be a couple. I want everyone to know about us. I want you to be my girlfriend. But…’ He hesitated then. ‘I don’t know if that’s what you want.’

I smiled. ‘It is,’ I reassured him. ‘I know that you might find it hard to trust me and us, and the same goes for me. But we can find our way together, can’t we?’

Jake, I knew, was haunted by what had happened with his parents. And I had almost given up on finding love. But I also knew that we had a really strong connection and I didn’t want to let that go.

‘We can do anything together,’ Jake promised me.

I leaned in to give him a long, lingering kiss. When I pulled back, I raised an eyebrow. ‘Have you started reading Davis’s book?’

‘I’ll try not to be upset you’re talking to me about another man while in bed with me,’ he joked. I gave him a playful nudge and he grinned. ‘Actually, yeah, I did, and I’m kind of hooked. It pains me to say…’

‘It’s really good. I’ve been missing out by not reading outside of romance sometimes. Thank you for reading it. I know that things between you two have been tricky for a long time. And how he was in New York…’ I shook my head at the trouble that man had caused.

‘Yeah, he’ll never be my favourite person but I appreciated him apologising and trying to make amends. And saying I’m an inspiration to him. That must have caused a big dent to his ego.’

‘Definitely,’ I agreed with a laugh. ‘You’re okay with me working with him, aren’t you?’

‘I know I wasn’t thinking rationally when I saw you two at the conference,’ Jake said softly. ‘But I trusted my dad and all the secrets he kept…’ He shook his head. I hated to see the sadness in his eyes. ‘I know you’re not like him. And nor am I. You believe that, don’t you?’

‘I know that,’ I confirmed. ‘Davis did get in my head a bit about you and relationships…’

‘I want to be with you,’ Jake said.

‘I want to be with you too,’ I told him. Our lips met again and Jake rolled me onto my back and started to kiss down my neck, making me shiver. ‘Not done making up?’ I teased as his lips trailed down to my breast.

‘Nowhere near done,’ Jake replied, giving me a naughty grin before he pulled my nipple into his mouth. I let out a happy sigh, worries fading as he touched me. Once again, it felt like we were the only two people together in the world. Our hotel bubble had gone but we were in another one in Jake’s flat, and I hoped we could keep that bubble around us for a long time.

51

The next three weeks were a whirlwind. I threw myself into working with Simon Langley, focusing mostly on Davis Mulberry as his publishers confirmed they would still bring out his book as planned, and the buzz around it kept on building. Everyone reacted well to him including romance in the thriller, and Jake endorsed it with a quote, along with a few other high-profile authors too. It got great press reviews and from book bloggers, and people on social media kept talking about it. His publishers threw themselves into publicity and retailers started to order even more copies than they had originally.

Davis found it hard to keep his arrogance in check as the buzz built but Simon and I tried to keep his feet on the ground and remind him how close he had come to losing everything. He kept to his word by going sober and I saw a different side to him, one that made me understand why Simon and his girlfriend had stayed in his life.

My relationship with Jake was easier than I could have expected. Now we had told each other how we felt, we were able to be open with one another and enjoy ourselves without being insecure. I loved going to his flat after work to cook dinner together or we’d have a takeaway or go out for a drink then tumble into his bed. We had amazing sex, yes, but we also talked and held each other for hours sometimes. His encouragement of me being honest made me feel like I could tell him everything. And Jake was more vulnerable than any man had been with me before. I knew so much about him already and he didn’t hold back now we were together. So, we seemed to grow closer every day.

Publication day forHe’s Behind Youcame around so quickly, and we were all a mixture of excitement and nerves for it. Davis threw a lavish launch party then did a couple of bookshop events. After that, we had a few days to wait to find out where it had placed on the bestseller lists.

---