Chapter 2

"Ashley," a male voice said softly, shaking her gently to wake her. "Ashley, wake up."

"Hmm," she said, slowly rolling over and rubbing her puffy red eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. H—how did you get in here?"

"The door was open. It looked like it was broken. Is everything okay?" he asked with a soothing voice.

"No. Everything is not okay." Ashley pulled herself out of bed and pushed past Jack. The last place she wanted to be alone with him was her bedroom.

He grabbed her arm before she could get out of reach and turned her to face him. "Tell me what happened."

"Nothing." She sniffed, pulled away from him and reached for a tissue on her vanity. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose then headed out to the living room. "Don't you have a computer to fix or something?"

"It can wait. Why don't I make us some coffee and you can tell me about it." Jack followed her out to the kitchen and pulled out two mugs then found the coffee and filters.

"There's nothing to tell." Ashley allowed Jack to make the coffee while she headed to the living room and sat down on the couch, one leg beneath her. She grabbed for the remote and turned on the TV, flipping blankly through the channels until she came upon an old black & white movie.

Jack's cologne lingered in the air and she inhaled deeply. The man drove her completely crazy with want, but she wasn't about to tell him that. She hid the fact the mere touch of his hand to her skin sent her pulse racing.

She could hear him milling about in the kitchen and tried to get a look at him, but from where she was sitting her view of the kitchen was blocked by a wall. Jack called out from the kitchen asking if she still took two sugars in her coffee. She told him she did then wondered how he knew that about her as a smile graced her lips.

She thought back to last night and what had happened between her and Paula. She couldn't believe she'd allowed something like that to happen, but now, thinking about it, her body tingled and she felt wetness between her thighs at the thought of how Paula made her feel and thoughts of how she felt about Jack. She couldn't possibly ever tell anyone what had happened and she wondered why Paula seemed so non-chalant about the whole thing.

"No," she whispered, shaking off the memories of last night. "I like men." She turned her attention back to the TV. She wasn't really watching what was on; she just needed something to get her mind off of the things Mark said to her and the fact that Jack was in her kitchen. She was available now and she didn't trust herself alone with him.

"Here we go," Jack said, bringing two mugs of coffee out and handing one to Ashley before he sat down beside her.

"Thanks." She took the mug from him but still refused to make eye contact with him.

Jack took a sip of his coffee then set it on the table in front of him. He crossed his right foot over the top of his left leg, leaned back on the couch and smiled softly at Ashley.

"Now, tell me what's bugging you."

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me Ashley. I know something's going on. Your doorframe is busted and you look like you've been crying. What gives?"

"Mark and I broke up. He said some horrible things to me and I threw him out. I still can't believe after all that, he had the nerve to propose!" Bringing the mug of coffee to her lips, she noticed her hands were trembling. She didn't know if it was from the effect Jack had on her or from still being so upset. Tears filled her eyes and she turned her head and wiped them away.

"He's a fool for treating you the way he did and I'm sorry he hurt you this way, but on the other hand I'm glad he's out of your life."

The elation Jack felt when Ashley said she'd broken up with Mark nearly overwhelmed him, but he kept it in check. He placed both feet on the floor and scooted in closer to Ashley. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a comforting hug. He was overjoyed when she didn't pull away from him but rather wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. She began to sob quietly again.

"It's okay, Ash. Just let it out," he said soothingly, kissing the top of her head and rocking her gently.

As he held her, his thoughts drifted to having her in his bed. He could feel her warm body against him, feel the aftermath of the climax she'd given him; taste her sweetness on his lips. Those thoughts had his heart racing and his cock twitching to life in his pants. He told himself to get a grip on his emotions, he didn't want to scare her off.

Jack held Ashley and let her cry for another half an hour before she calmed and drifted off to sleep. He picked her up with ease and carried her into her room, laying her gently on the bed then leaning in and kissing her cheek softly. He pulled the quilt up over her, closed her door and headed back into the living room to fix the computer.

"Jack?" Ashley said as she came out of her room.

The apartment was dark except for the light over the stove in the kitchen. It looked as though Jack had left. As she approached the bathroom, she didn't hear the water running in the shower. She opened the door of the bathroom only to pull it closed quickly when she realized someone was in there.

"Sorry," she said, as she felt the heat of embarrassment rise in her cheeks. It definitely wasn't Paula in the shower. Thoughts of Jack being naked in her bathroom caused her heart to race. No, she wasn't ready to go there yet.

Ashley sat in the dark kitchen recalling the events of the day. Mark's final words to her still stung and she felt tears welling up in her eyes again. Then Jack held her and let her cry on his shoulder. She was still confused about everything and silently vowed to herself to swear off men.

"I was wondering when you were gonna wake up," Jack said, walking into the kitchen wearing just a towel around his waist.

"Jack!" She blushed and looked away when she saw what he was wearing. His hair was wet and mussed from his shower and even though he'd just showered, Ashley could still smell his cologne. It had her head spinning.

"Paula called a little while ago and said she and Eric were heading up to Bay City for the weekend." He turned on a light in the kitchen and pulled two frozen dinners out of the freezer. "I didn't want to leave you alone the way you were and with that broken door, so I fixed your computer then just hung around. I hope you don't mind I used your shower, I felt kinda grubby."

"N—no. That's fine," she stammered, trying desperately not to look at him.

Jack placed the dinners in the microwave and then headed back to the bathroom to get dressed. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief when he left, she didn't know how much longer she could stand having him in the same room wearing nothing but a towel.

He came out dressed in his t-shirt and jeans a few minutes later. Ashley eyed him hungrily as he crossed the kitchen to pull the dinners out of the microwave. Jack saw her watching him out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself. He brought the dinners to the table, then found silverware and grabbed two cans of Pepsi out of the refrigerator, placing one in front of Ashley and one at his place.

"I hope this is okay for dinner. I didn't really know what you wanted and I didn't feel much like cooking."

Ashley eyed him curiously at his last statement. "Yeah, I can cook." He smiled "Mom told me a long time ago I needed to learn how to cook for myself."

"Do you do laundry too?" Ashley quipped.

"Only when I absolutely have to."

They ate in silence then Jack cleared the table and sat back down next to Ashley. He took her hand and brought it up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her palm before lacing his fingers with hers.

Ashley surprised herself when she didn't pull her hand away. The warmth of his hand in hers felt right and she felt her heart racing again. "Th—thanks for fixing our computer, Jack, and thanks for sticking around. I'm gonna have to call the landlord in the morning and see if he can fix the door."

"No problem, Ash."

"You don't have to stay if you don't want. I can figure out a way to keep the door closed. I can prop a chair under the knob or something."

"I'm staying." He raised his hand when she began to protest. "I'll sleep on the couch. I just want to make sure you're safe. This isn't the best neighborhood, you know."

Ashley smiled softly. Inwardly, she was thrilled he was staying. She didn't want to be alone and since Paula would be gone for the weekend, she felt better knowing that someone would be here. But then her smile turned to a frown. Could she be alone all night in the same house with Jack? Would Mark be stupid enough to come back?

As if reading her thoughts, Jack asked, "You don't think Mark would try anything, do you?"

"I don't know. He was pretty upset when he left. I just hope he lets things stand as they are and accepts the fact that we're no longer together."

"Well, if he does try anything, he's gonna have to go through me first." Jack rose to his feet and headed into the living room.

"Thank you." Ashley followed him and took a seat on the sofa.

Jack thumbed through their movies looking for something to watch. "Whatcha wanna watch?"

"Anything is fine." She folded one leg underneath her and reached over to turn on the lamp on the table next to her.

"How about Sleepless In Seattle?" He pulled the DVD out of the stack and smiled at her.

"You sure you wanna watch a chick movie?"

"Oh yeah. It's one of my favorites."

"I find that hard to believe." Did he know it was one of her favorites too?

"No, really. I love this movie." He put the disc in the DVD player and crossed the room to sit beside her on the couch.

They sat apart through the movie. Ashley wanted to scoot closer to him and rest her head on his shoulder, but she fought the urge. Jack wanted to hold her close and feel her soft curves against him, but he too fought the urge.

During the movie, Ashley had gotten up to fix them some popcorn. When it was over, she took the bowl to the kitchen. Jack had gotten a blanket from the closet in the hallway and laid it out across the couch while Ashley cleaned up the bowl from the popcorn. He'd pulled off his t-shirt and folded it neatly, placing it on the chair next to the sofa.

When she came back out to the living room, Jack approached her and took her in his arms. She didn't struggle or pull away like he thought she would and he brought his lips down to hers for a soft, tender kiss.

"Good night, Ashley," he said as he broke the kiss and released her.

She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled his face down to hers, finding his lips and kissing him with all the passion he made her feel. He broke the kiss once more and cradled her face in his hands.

"It's not a big secret that I want you, Ashley."

"I want you too, Jack. Please don't sleep on the couch tonight."

"Are you sure? You just broke up with Mark."

"Yes, I'm sure, Jack. I want you in my bed." She pulled him in for another heated kiss.

Ashley groaned her frustration when Jack pulled away from her again. "This is more than just sex to me, Ashley. I don't want to be your rebound guy."

"It's more than just sex to me too, Jack. I can't deny how I feel about you any longer. Besides, you just broke up with Tanya. Wouldn't I be your rebound girl?"

"I never slept with Tanya."

"You didn't?"

"No. I couldn't when I knew I wanted you."

Jack pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately, plunging his tongue into her mouth and feeling her hands run up his chest to his shoulders, then tangling in his hair and pulling him in for a deeper kiss, merging her tongue with his.

She broke the kiss this time, took his hand and led him to her bedroom. As they entered her room, he pulled on her hand, unsure if this was how he wanted to do things. She stopped and turned to face him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I just want to make absolutely sure you want this, Ash. I don't want you to have any regrets."

"The only regret I have is not doing this sooner, Jack. I wasted two years of my life with Mark when I could have been with you."

"And I've wasted countless years of mine, pining for you, not knowing how you felt."

Jack claimed her lips with his once more, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off her feet. His passion for her was driving him now, all common sense vanished. He took the few steps toward the bed, falling to the mattress with her. He broke the kiss and rolled onto his back, pulling Ashley on top of him.

She ran her hands over his chest, flicking each nipple with her fingernail before her hands found the waistband of his jeans and began unfastening the snap. She rubbed his hard cock through the material before she pulled down the zipper, eventually scooting off the bed to pull his jeans completely off. Ashley caressed Jack's legs as she made her way back up his body. She stopped before she removed his briefs, looked into his eyes and smiled softly.

"I always figured you for a boxers man," she quipped before she hooked her fingers under the waistband and pulled them down, exposing his throbbing erection to her hungry eyes.

Jack's chuckle turned to a moan when she wrapped her hand around his cock and began stroking him softly. "You keep that up, this'll finish before it starts."

Ashley didn't respond, instead she continued to stroke his cock slowly, feeling the clear drops of his arousal ooze from the engorged head and coat her hand. She leaned in and kissed the tip softly, hearing another moan rip from Jack's lips.

He reached for her and she pulled away, closing her mouth around his shaft and running her tongue up and down its length. Jack closed his eyes and threw his head deeper into the pillow.

"God, Ashley!—that feels—-aah—-" he moaned, unable to gather a further coherent thought.

She increased the pace, while trying to take his cock deeper. She felt his hips rise off the mattress, pushing himself further into her mouth, causing her to gag slightly. Ashley held his hips down as if giving him a signal to let her control the pace. He groaned his frustration but understood and fought desperately to keep himself from thrusting deeper into her mouth again.

She swirled her tongue around the tumescent head, hearing Jack moan her name a second time. This encouraged her to go further and suck harder, bobbing her head up and down on his shaft at a frenzied pace, increasing the depth each time.

Ashley reached down and softly caressed Jack's balls, feeling them tighten just seconds before he released his hot, creamy seed into her waiting mouth. She wasn't able to take all of it in and brought her mouth away with a pop.

One long stream of semen shot into the air then landed on his bare chest as she watched. She hungrily lapped up the remnants of his spending before stretching out beside him on the bed. Jack remained still, the sheets beneath him twisted tightly in his hands as his body slowly recovered.

She rested her head on his shoulder, listening to his ragged breathing. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her closer, keeping his eyes closed and floating down from the high of his release.

"Thank you," he breathed, caressing her back.

"You're welcome," she replied quietly, tracing the muscles of his chest with her finger. They both lay quietly for a moment; the only sound in the room was his ragged breathing.

"Jack?" she asked after quite a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"I need to tell you something before we go any further."

"Will it ruin the moment?"

"Probably."

"Can it wait?"

"It can, but I'd feel better telling you now."

Jack sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. He pulled Ashley into his arms and told her she had too many clothes on.

"You may feel differently after what I tell you." She pulled away from him and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Then don't tell me." He leaned over and ran his hands under her shirt.

He caressed her back and made his way around the front, cupping a breast in his palm and running his thumb over the erect nipple, hearing her moan softly and feeling her arch into his hand in response.

"You're not gonna make this easy for me, are you?" she asked, her breath catching in her throat when she felt his lips on her neck.

"No." He continued his assault on her neck, then found her ear and nibbled softly at the lobe. He gathered up the material of her shirt, pulled it over her head and tossed it to the side before she could stop him. He pulled her back onto the bed, leaning against the headboard and cradling her in his lap.

"What do you need to tell me that can't wait?" His lips found the nape of her neck once more.

"God—Jack—I—can't think straight when you—do that," she stammered, trying to collect her thoughts, but failing miserably.

"Good." He laid her back on the mattress next to him and positioned himself over her. "You're still wearing too many clothes." His lips found a nipple, then licked and teased it, before taking the taut bud between his teeth and nibbling softly.

She tried to push him away knowing she needed to tell him about his sister before this continued. All rational thought was quickly disappearing while his lips left a trail of fire across her breasts then continued down her body.

He planted feather light kisses along her stomach, stopping when he reached the waistband of her sweats. He nipped at the waistband, taking it gently in his teeth and pulling them down her body.

As he reached her knees, he resumed removing her sweats with his hands while he kissed down one leg to her toes. Pulling the sweats off and tossing them aside, he found the other foot and began his trail of kisses back up her leg until he reached her inner thighs.

Ashley didn't have the guts to tell Jack that Mark had never given her oral sex and she anticipated her first experience with him. She felt his breath lightly caressing her glistening slit and opened her legs wider for him. She let out a gasp when she felt him push two fingers inside her and briefly thought back to when Paula did this to her. Guilt washed over her and she struggled to pull away from him.

"Jack. I really need to tell you this." She pulled away from him and swung her legs over the edge of the bed again.

Jack sighed heavily, realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere until she told him what she needed to tell him. "Okay, I'm listening." He positioned himself behind her, his legs stretched out in front of him and propping himself up on his elbow.

Ashley took a deep breath and closed her eyes before she spoke. She just hoped what she was about to tell Jack wouldn't drive him away for good. "Last night after everyone left, something happened I'm not proud of. I did something, or rather I allowed something to be done to me that never should have—" she tried to continue but Jack interrupted.