Page 47 of Feral
He sighs, leans in to plant a soft kiss on my shoulder and his messy hair gets sprayed by the powerful jet. “You’re the last person I expected to connect with, Gemma. I’d understand if you eventually get bored and want to be with a man closer to your age.”
I don’t remember him using this tone of voice to talk to me before and I hate the sound of defeat in his husky voice so I reach out and take his hand, dragging him under the running water with me, clothes and all.
He seems startled by my reaction to his confession and I want him to feel at ease.
I want him to feel safe.
“Bored? Weren’t you with me back in the bedroom just a few minutes ago? We fucking made history in there, baby. You’re all the man this girl right here needs and more.”
Next thing I know, his hands are moving, ridding himself of the clothes he’s wearing.
Baring himself to me.
Right there, in the shower, under the warm spray of running water.
I barely have a second to look at his exposed chest before his free hand is all over me, the other grabbing the safety bar he’s had installed to keep from falling.
He leans over and crushes his mouth on me, tasting me slowly, as his hand pulls me even closer. I feel his erection rubbing against my stomach and it makes my heart swell.
“You’re truly a gem, you know that, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, right. Save that for when we fuck, old man,” I tease and kiss him back, running my hand down his unruly beard.
We’re face to face now, the warm spray of water running down our bodies when I take a step back, letting my gaze fall to his exposed torso. Soft, dark hair covers his wide chest, but the scarring is still visible underneath, starting from the side of his neck and moving down to his shoulder, and then down to his abdomen and upper thigh.
I swallow hard as I take in the discoloration along his ribs, the raised and abraded skin on his flat abs, hiding beneath a line of dark hair trailing down to his groin and then blossoming into a wild bush.
“It’s bad,” he says, and I look up to meet his eyes. “Turns out skin grafting surgery wasn't as painless as I thought it would be. My chest was so severely burnt, doctors said they had to remove skin from my hips and buttocks to cover the damage. But do you know what the worst part of it was?”
I shrug, wondering what kind of living hell this man had to go through in his life. I look into his eyes, dark, mystery-filled eyes that shake me to my very core, and wait for him to open his heart to me as my hand gently caresses his heated skin.
“They told me I should give up smoking several weeks before the surgery otherwise I might not make it. Try telling that to a heavy smoker, huh?”
I don’t speak, not for a long time because I don’t even know how to respond to what he’s just told me. So I hug him instead, and he wraps his arms around me, pulling me close to him, so close that I can hear his heart beating.
Fast and steady and right there at that very moment I know he’s the one beyond the shadow of a doubt.
He’s the man who ruined me for all others.
When I finally pull back from his warm embrace, my next words simply flow out.
“I’m glad you don’t have a phone, or a pirogue, or a way to get in touch with the world outside, Jacob. You know why?”
He smiles, tilts my chin up so he can look into my eyes. “I have a feeling you’re about to tell me, sweetheart.”
“I’d never have gotten to know you better if you weren’t such a dirty old recluse.”
“Better watch that mouth, princess. I am the one doing the dirty talking here.”
“Yes, Daddy,” I sass, gently pushing him out and closing the shower door behind him so I can finish up. It’s like he’s always, always hard for me and as much as I’d like nothing more for him to make love to me again, my poor pussy just can’t take any more at this point.
Chapter 29
Jacob
“Ithought I’d find you here.” My son’s voice brings me back to reality the following morning. “Why do you still keep this piece of junk? I thought you had gotten rid of it long ago.”
I walk over to the mangled mess of the once imposing McLaren MP4-25, my mind running back to that dreadful day that changed my life forever.
