Page 105 of Off Limits
‘Not Kale McCoy?’
‘I mean, he saw you at the club, Friday. He asked who you were to me, but I didn’t tell him.’
‘Does Kale know about Brody’s request?’
I swallow. ‘No. At the club, we have a strict no-touching policy. But Kale is the one who sent me to his apartment. Kale seems to let Brody have whatever he wants, so I don’t know what kind of hold Brody has over him.’
‘When?’ Jake asks. ‘Did Brody give some kind of a time limit on his sick offer?’
‘He keeps sending me messages.Think about it, he says, but it’s clear he wants it to happen. Eventually, I’m gonna run out of time.’
In the dim light, I can see a muscle pulsate in Jake’s jaw.
‘Jake, if I quit the CMC, then the only thing for him to expose is my job at the club. Sure, it might damage the reputation of the Mutineers, temporarily, but I’ll already be gone. They couldn’t fire me. And you and I—’
I don’t get to finish my sentence. Jake comes back over to me. His mouth crashes into mine and he kisses me with an intensity I’ve never experienced before. His hands slide roughly into my hair as he pulls me back to him.
‘I need you to promise me one thing,’ he grinds out as he pulls away, our foreheads touching as we lean into one another. ‘I need you to promise me you won’t ever quit the CMC.’
‘But I have to—’
‘No. You don’t. Brody Conway doesn’t get to win. Over my dead body. Right now, the only clause you’ve broken in your contract is getting involved with me. Only nobody knows that, and we’ll keep it that way for the time being. Until we can fix all of this.’
‘But how do I fix this? How do I fix any of it?’
‘With my help. You’re not alone. I’m gonna be with you. I swear, Serenity, we’re gonna figure all this out.’
I wrap my arms around him and hold on tight.
Dad has fallen asleep on the couch. I switch off the TV and holding Jake’s hand, I lead him up the stairs. My belly’s fluttering by the time I open the door to my room.
I let him go in first. There’s only one light on, a cylindrical ceramic table lamp with little cutout stars, bathing the interior in a celestial glow. It’s a small room, with only a single bed, a rundown wooden closet, a green velvet covered armchair, and a low dressing table backed by a long, horizontal mirror. The Venetian blinds are closed. I had little notice Jake was coming here, so I didn’t have time to clean up, and there are piles of clothes strewn about the place.
‘This is me,’ I say nervously, because it’s hardly the palatial suite.
He goes over to the wall, where there are framed photographs of me in my younger years, some with my mom, or my dad, and some taken with old friends.
‘That’s me in high school,’ I tell him.
He turns around and smirks, pointing at the photo. ‘You were a high school cheerleader?’
‘Yup. It was the only thing I was ever any good at.’
‘I know that’s not true,’ he says. ‘Do you keep in touch with your high school friends?’
I look to the floor. ‘Not really. I never had any time to hang out with them. I never told them about my job at Surly’s. Some went to college. Eventually, they all just drifted away.’
Jake comes back over to me. He lifts my chin with his fingers. ‘None of this is your fault. You know that, right? All you ever tried to do was to help your dad.’
He rests his hands on my hips. In response, I snake my arms around his shoulders, my skin already craving his touch. An ache blossoms between my thighs. He lowers his head a little, and I don’t hesitate. Jake Walsh, standing in my bedroom, is not something I expected to happen any time soon. I’ve never had a guy in here, at least not in that way.
Our kiss is slow at first. A tingling sensation fizzes up my spine and I savour it. Jake’s hands go to my waist, lifting the hem of my tee and he slides his fingers underneath. I help him out by removing my tee altogether, so that he can openly admire the shape of my breasts swelling out over the top of my cami. He does more than that by lowering his lips to each one in turn, trailing kisses across the curves of my skin.
‘Won’t your dad hear us?’ he whispers into my neck.
I smile. ‘Not if we’re quiet.’
‘Deal,’ he says, and he’s still smiling when his lips collide with mine.
