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Jacob gave me a brilliant smile, the kind that lit up the room. “I’m not,” he said. “In fact, I’m so happy to be here with you after so long. You have blossomed into a beautiful woman, Ronnie.”
I felt the heat on my face at his compliment. “You look really good too, Jacob.” Saying his name out loud felt foreign on my tongue and maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed to hang between us like ripe fruit waiting to be plucked. He shifted on the chair, searing me with a look of hunger that took my breath away.
“Thank you, darlin. Tell me about yourself. What have you been doing since I saw you last?”
Doing? Was he crazy? Didn’t Harmony tell him about my agoraphobia?
“Nothing much,” I replied, dropping my gaze, and hugging Bananas even tighter than before.
Jacob shifted forward in his seat and leaned his elbows on his knees. He gazed at me over his steepled fingers. “We’re friends. It’s okay to let it out, little girl. I’m a safe zone, remember?”
Unbidden, tears tracked down my face. Jacob patted his lap. “Come,” he called me over and for the first time in forever, I didn’t second guess myself. Holding Bananas to my chest with my face mostly buried in his soft fur, I closed the distance between us.
Taking my hand in his, he guided me onto his lap, wrapping his muscular arms around me and Bananas. Oh, he felt so good, and I couldn’t help snuggling into his chest, with my nose pressed into the softness of his neck.
“Mmm,” a soft, involuntary moan escaped from between my lips. Oops! I froze like a deer in a headlight. But if he’d heard, he gave no indication as nothing changed in his demeanor.
“Can you tell me now, little one, what happened to have you holed up in your tower like a princess in need of rescuing?”
I giggled at the image my mind created of me in a princess dress with one of those cone hats with flowing silk. Life had locked me in a tower, but there was no dragon flying around to scare off a brave knight. This tower I was locked in was one of my own making and had nothing to do at all with the building itself.
“Remember the night you held me in your arms while we watched my world go up in flames?”
I felt him nod to continue.
“I decided right then and there that only bad things happened when I was away from home. And if I never left again, my world would remain intact. You know, like no fires, and other things.”
Jacob was silent for a moment, as if digesting my words. I knew it sounded crazy, but it made sense to me. And I’d been defending my position until the shrinks and my parents had finally given up and labeled me an agoraphobe.
“The penthouse burned because of an electrical fire from faulty wiring. If you had been inside when it occurred, there is a pretty good chance you would be dead right now and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I understand your feelings, I really do, but the reality is there is nothing you could have done to prevent what happened.”
Well, that was something, at least. I was used to people rolling their eyes and telling me I was stupid for thinking the way I did.
“You were young when the first fire happened, and the second one silenced you. However, you may not be agoraphobic, sweetheart. You may be suffering from PTSD and working with someone who can offer a kind ear and coping strategies in dealing with the long term may help. I know an amazing therapist who I’m sure could help you.”
I was flabbergasted. How come Jacob, of all people, could see me so clearly while I’d been an enigma to everyone else and by that, I meant all the so-called professionals?
“My parents hired many shrinks those first few years. No one helped me.”
Jacob pressed me back until our faces were only inches apart. His eyes held that stern Daddy look that said,now listen to me, little girl,that made my insides melt like butter.
“I’m not anyone, little girl, and neither is the help I know you could get at Rawhide.”
“Rawhide? What do you mean?”
A smile tugged the left side of his lips into what I referred to as the Jakey smile. It was indulgent and threw me off every time I was the recipient because it was sexy as hell… Sooo sexy!
“What I mean is, if you agree to go to Rawhide with me, there are people there who can help you identify and deal with whatever is going on inside that pretty head of yours.”
All the nice warm gooey feelings went up in smoke, just like my home had years ago. I pulled away from Jacob, dropping Bananas on his lap. I missed the sudden warmth, but from which one of them I couldn’t exactly say.
“So that was your plan all along. Get inside my home and then manipulate me into getting what you want from me. You people are all the same. I hate you, Jacob!” I ran for my room but wasn’t fast enough to escape his iron band of an arm he suddenly wrapped around my middle, before swinging me into the air where I landed with a thud over his shoulder. A whoomph of air rushed out of me with the impact momentarily stunning me. A quick recovery and I was beating my fists against his hard back, doing more damage to my hands than his body.
“Put me down this instance. Put me down!” I screamed so loud that if the apartment hadn’t been soundproofed, I was sure the entire building would have heard me.
Jacob lifted me off his shoulder and across his lap as he sat down on the stately wing-backed chair he’d just vacated. I found myself facing the ornate area rug and tried to get up, but he quickly trapped both my legs with one of his. Squirming against a body that felt was made of iron proved futile and being as out of shape as I was, I gave up the fight pretty quick and lay panting.
I was two parts excited, and one part embarrassed for what I knew was about to happen. I soaked the gusset of my white cotton panties, evidence of those two parts I mentioned. And the one-part embarrassment. Why would I have worn a plaid miniskirt that did absolutely nothing to hide my arousal? My skirt had already slid up and half my panty-clad ass was now exposed to him.
