Page 46 of Jacob

The first step in Sparrow’s life started tomorrow.

However, the headache from yesterday’s poor life choices lingered. The dull ache across her forehead made it hard to concentrate on the vocabulary words she needed to memorize for the word association portion. Every now and then the throbbing reminded her of how she could have jeopardized everything.

Sitting back, she pressed her fingers into her temples, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, trying to massage it away. Flashes of his eyes, his mouth, and his face appeared in her mind. Ghostly wisps of his touch teased her hips and her lips as her mind wandered to the parking lot and their tryst.

Fuck.

She snapped her eyes open and leaned over her books. She needed to forget it. She needed to put it out of her mind.

Focus.

That was the past.

It needed to stay there.

This was her now. If she wanted to be anything more than a piece of fucking ass to a biker, she needed to concentrate. This would be her future.

Uncapping her water, she chugged half of it, trying to rehydrate and hoping that would somehow ease the elephants trampling her brain. When she glanced at the vocabulary sheet, she slumped in the kitchen chair and put the water bottle off to the side.

She couldn’t let a series of letters typed on a page intimidate her. She brought her hands to her face and scrubbed.

Concentrate. No more distractions.

“Time for another practice test,” she murmured to herself as she set up her phone’s timer. With a few taps on the screen, everything was set. Pencil in hand, test sheet ready, she hit the button and started reading.

That one was easy. The next one too. She used that word the other day, in conversation. Sure, they looked at her funny, but still. She used it, and correctly. The pride in herself had her smiling.

Working through the pain of her headache meant she’d been so fixated on her practice test she didn’t hear him coming up the stairs. She didn’t hear the jingle of the keys through the paper-thin walls. She didn’t hear the jiggle of the doorknob.

“Honey! I’m home!” Was hard to miss.

“Jesus,” she hissed as she flew back in her chair. “Pipes.”

He charged toward her, wild-eyed with pin-point pupils looking greasy in his leathers. Before she had a chance to fully process him, he wrapped her in a hug and pulled her from the chair against his chest.

The stench of sweat, stale cigarettes, punky weed, and burnt plastic assaulted her nose as he squeezed her against him. “Baby, I missed you. I hate being away from you.” A shower of short pecks rained down along her features as he loosened his grip.

“Thanks.” She pushed against him, trying to wriggle from his hold. “I’m in the middle—”

His hands slid down to her hips, pulling her back against him, and his thick erection ground against her hip. “Mmmm. I don’t think you understand.” He grinned meeting her eye. “Imissedyou.”

He couldn’t be serious. “Don’t you want to take a shower first?”

Throwing his head back, his Adam’s apple bobbed while he let out a deep roaring laugh, but kept his grip on her. “You’re right, it’s been a long ride,” he agreed and bent down, covering her mouth with his. He tasted as though he hadn’t brushed his teeth since he’d left nearly a week ago and her already weak stomach rolled.

When he broke the kiss his hand clapped down on her ass. “Ahh!” She yelped as she jumped, inadvertently pressing herself against him again. Without a doubt, his smell would be on her now.

“All right, I’ll wash up, you get sexy, and then we’ll head to the clubhouse,” he said as he headed past her through the apartment.

Wait, what? “I’m studying,” she reminded him.

“Have to make an appearance,” he called from their bedroom. “I’m tired, anyway. Long ride. I just want my woman and my bed, but I gotta go.”

Running her fingers through her hair, she stared at her incomplete practice test and the timer on her phone counting down beside it. Should she even bother trying to finish it at this point? He was a prospect, had to go, and he wanted her there. Which meant she had to go. He couldn’t show up without her—especially after the lollipops showed up.

Letting out a cry of frustration, she snatched her phone off the table and stopped the timer. The test was tomorrow and tonight was her last chance to study. Checking the time on her phone, she tried to come up with some sort of schedule in her head that would allow for just enough time for them to hang out at the clubhouse together where she would also be able to cut out and spend the rest of the night cramming. She’d drive herself. That way, she could bail on him when he got too wrapped up in the party.

He always got too wrapped up in the party. Sure, he said he was tired and that he just wanted her and the bed, but when he got to the clubhouse, all bets were off. He’d be singing a different tune.

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