The Will(103)

Ethan’s mom, Sloane had been the best he’d ever had.

Until Josie.

He’d never, not once, not even knowing how good Sloane could give it to him, lost his control like he had in the locker room last night.

And she’d delivered, along for the ride, clutching tight, pressing close, giving in and taking it.

In her bed later wasn’t better, but it was slower, sweeter and he liked the way she took him after he gave it to her.

Clutching tight.

Pressing close.

Holding on.

On this thought, he dipped his head and ran the side of his nose along hers. He felt her body soften further beneath him when he did and he knew in feeling it that he needed to get her ass out of bed, feed her, get her in clothes and get her to his house. If he didn’t, they’d be having the conversation he didn’t want to have yet.

She seemed good but he knew he had to slow shit down. Go gentle. Give her steady. This was a massive shift for her, seeing as she’d missed him going gently but taking them where they were now.

She wanted it, that was obvious. And they were there.

But that didn’t mean he still didn’t have to take it slow.

When he lifted his head, her hands started moving, gliding lightly up his sides then in over his chest, up his neck and at the feel of her touch he knew he seriously needed to get her out of that bed.

Then they slid up his neck and both cupped his jaw but one moved and she ran her thumb gently across the scar on his cheekbone.

“How did you get this?” she asked quietly.

“Bar fight,” he answered also quietly.

She blinked. “Not a fight fight?”

He shook his head.

“You were in a bar fight?” she asked.

He didn’t want to get into this with her, not now. Shit like this was for when she was eating an omelet with him or her ass was in his truck and he was taking her to dinner.

But he’d kept enough from her, the rest he had to give her honestly.

“Donna liked attention,” he told her. “When we started, we’d go out, she had me but she still went for it. A guy gave it to her. I didn’t like that. I made that clear. He was an *. Shit degenerated, both of us spent the night in the tank and I got that scar.”

She didn’t look surprised anymore.

She looked pissed.

It was cute.

And sweet.

“She sought male attention even in your company?” she asked, her melodic voice going hard.

“Yep,” he answered.

Her eyes grew unfocused as she murmured, “I’m beginning to understand Donna.”

“You get to that understanding, babe, you tell me. She’s been confusing my ass for years.”

Her head tipped on the pillow and her hands slid down to his neck, but her face changed and he didn’t like the way it did it.

He understood why when she asked softly, “You still care?”

“Nope, not for me,” he replied. “But two of my kids are her kids and if I get her, I might be able to help them do it. And Ethan isn’t hers but she freaks him out. He knows he’s missin’ somethin’, he just doesn’t know what he’s missin’. He’ll clue in eventually that he doesn’t have a mother and that he doesn’t like the mother his brother and sister have. He’s tight with them and to him, Donna is a wildcard. He might not get it in any real way but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get that she has the power to hurt them and if she suddenly pushed gettin’ the custody she’s supposed to have, he’d lose them every other week. So in a way, I got three kids that are mired in her shit. And because of that, I care.”

“This is why he sidled close to you and me at the game,” she noted.

“That’s why.”

“I believe you and Conner are correct,” she declared. “Donna needs to get her finger out of her ass.”

At those words coming from Josie’s lips, Jake’s body started shaking with the laughter he was fighting against making vocal but he didn’t win the fight against stopping his words from vibrating with it when he agreed, “Yep. Con and me are correct.”

Her face went unfocused again, her eyes drifting over his shoulder and he had a feeling, since she was Lydie’s granddaughter and had demonstrated repeatedly she had no problems wading into a variety of shit, she was thinking about how to force Donna to pull her finger out.

So he stated, “Baby, it’s up to her to do it. It’s up to me to cover my kids as she does it or if she doesn’t.”

She focused on him and murmured a noncommittal, “Indeed.”

Jake stared at her and wondered how a Josie vs. Donna would go.

What he knew in his gut was that Josie would rather bleed herself dry than hurt Amber or Conner so he figured if she found her time to get up in Donna’s face, it would be Donna’s problem and not blow back on his kids.

Still, he said, “Let her work it out.”

“Hmm,” she replied.

His body started shaking again.

She felt it and her eyes narrowed on him. “What’s amusing?”

“You’re cute when you go momma bear.”

Her face arrested but there was a light in her eyes he liked a f*ckuva lot and a tone in her voice he liked even more when she asked breathily, “Momma bear?”