Inseparable: A New Adult Erotic Romance Page 6

  "Can’t sleep?" she whispered as he took her hand and led her back to bed.

  "Yeah, but not in a bad way. I was just lying there thinking about what comes next when I remembered the mural. Once I get the girls on the weekends and things settle down, I’m curious about what we’ll decide to do. We haven’t really talked about things that far out yet."

  "I’m not in a hurry to, honestly. I’d prefer to stay out of the girls’ lives for the most part, at least until we figure things out. It’s only been a month, Jack. We have plenty of time." She grabbed Jack's hand and pulled, leading him back down the hall and toward the bed.

  "You’re right, of course. I suppose you still think I’m just on the rebound?" he asked as they both crawled back into bed. He had a smile when he asked it and looked at her when she answered.

  "Technically, yes. But I’ve had more fun with you the last month than I ever dreamed. My best friend Polly keeps teasing me that I’ve been kidnapped. She keeps texting me bizarre offers for my ransom. The last offer was a pound of dark chocolate and a dozen dried shrimp."

  "Sea bob!"

  "What's a sea bob?" she asked.

  "It's French for shrimp. Man, I haven’t had Cajun Peanuts in years."

  "You’ve eaten dried shrimp? I thought she was being funny."

  Jack turned on his side to face her. "Oh, yeah, down home in Louisiana you can get'em right next to the patate chips in any convenience store. I used to eat them all the time for a snack."

  "Seriously? Like dried up crunchy shrimp?"

  "Sure! They are salted and dehydrated until they are about halfway between chewy and crunchy. They rock!"

  Julie laughed at his enthusiasm. "Well then I guess I’ll have to try them."

  "We can pick some up when we go visit my parents this summer." He leaned over and kissed her shoulder.

  "Uh..."

  "What, you don’t want to meet the infamous Claire and Garson Brousard? You’ll love my Mom, seriously. You both hate Sophie, so you’ll have plenty to talk about."

  Julie chuckled, rolled over, and put her face next to his. "Why are we talking about this? I told you I wanted to wait to have these kinds of discussions."

  "Well, you haven’t kissed me yet, so I figure you wanted to talk some more."

  "I can fix that," she said as she scooted up to nibble on his lower lip. He sighed as she cupped his balls and began to slowly move her hand up his shaft. Jack began to kiss her back and then pushed her over on her back so he could kiss down her neck. Julie relaxed and let him do what he wanted.

  Jack kissed her breasts gently, feeling along the edges of her nipples with his fingertips and tongue. When they responded, he touched them carefully and kissed each one softly, almost like he was exploring instead of trying to excite her. Even in the dim light in the room she could tell his eyes were open as he squeezed and moved her breasts.

  "What are you doing?" she asked with a laugh in her voice.

  "Sometimes I just like to look. I don’t know, I’m fascinated with your body. I don’t have boobs after all."

  "Well, just be careful with them. My period will be starting soon and they’re a little tender right now."

  "Yes, ma’am. Have I told you how much I love the little blond hairs you have trailing down your stomach? And I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this to you before, but your belly button is certifiably perfect, seriously." He kissed each area he admired very softly and sweetly.

  Julie laughed, "You’re a nut."

  "I admire your attention to personal grooming as well." He kissed lower. "This lovely mound looks good enough to eat." He kissed her right at the top of her slit and just barely slipped his tongue in. "You have a lovely flavor as well." He licked a little deeper making her shut her eyes and whisper air in response. "Not quite ready yet."

  Jack continued down, kissing along her thighs without tickling her too much. "You have very shapely legs, you know. Your knees are perfectly proportioned. Your calves are firm and I especially like when you stand on your toes to reach for something when you’re barefoot." He kissed downward until he got to her ankle, then sat up and took one foot in his hands. He massaged her arch and kissed her instep, then kissed the tip of each toe.

  "Jack, this tour of my body is having an interesting effect on me." She reached down and slipped her fingers past her mons and between her lips. "I believe this spot might be ready for review now."

  Jack put her foot down and bent down to kiss her fingers as they played. "Yes, I think you're right." She tried to move her fingers out of the way as he lay down, but Jack pulled them back. "No, I want to see you this time, but I reserve the right to help."

  Julie was a little self-conscious about how her nether regions looked, but was too hot to be bothered that much. She slid her fingers around to make the whole area slippery as Jack’s warm breath tickled. She began to rub circles as she felt his fingers touch and explore slowly. His attention was definitely a turn on as the sensations made by both their fingers warmed her up.

  Jack’s tongue touched her busy fingers and she moved enough to allow him to participate without breaking her rhythm. The combination of fingers, tongue, and breath was forcing her to move her hips slowly and keep her eyes shut. Jack stayed at the edges wanting to taste and see, but as things got closer she had the overwhelming urge to just close her legs and rub it out.

  Jack finally leaned in and slid his hands under her thighs, putting his whole mouth over her opening while she continued to focus on her nub. He slid his tongue inside her and swirled it around and down. Julie was gasping and pushing hard against his face as her hand began to move up and down directly on her nub. When she began to cry out, Jack held her tight so she couldn’t push him away, keeping his tongue on her as if he wanted to taste her release.

  When it passed, he pulled back enough to lightly kiss her mons, his face glistening in the dim light. "Did you get to see?" Julie whispered as her body tingled in the afterglow.

  "No, but I did taste. Piquant, with a savory body and a nice clean finish. If I had to guess I’d say it was a vintage Julie bottled this year." He kissed her again on her mons before moving to lie next to her.

  "You smell like me now." Julie kissed him on the tip of his nose. "That was wonderful, by the way. I don’t know that anyone has ever complimented me so specifically before."

  He lay on his side and wrapped her in his arms. "Anytime," he said, and in minutes they were both asleep.

  ***

  They had to work quickly the following morning to put the twin beds together before Sophie came by with the girls. They removed the plastic sheeting that had protected the furniture in the room, and then moved the dresser, beds, and night stands back into the locations the girls had chosen. The room was charming and light, exactly as she had imagined it, and ready for their first weekend visit.

  Julie put on her Bigger Bounce uniform and grabbed everything of hers before leaving. She knew there were already enough of her touches around the apartment to annoy Sophie, but didn’t want an extra toothbrush or feminine product to create more problems for Jack. When they kissed goodbye at the door, he had a funny look on his face, almost like he wanted to cry.

  "What, Babe?" She touched his face as she smiled at him.

  "Nothing. Just sometimes I feel like I’m on a ship heading out to the rigs in the gulf again. The heavy swells made me wish I was on back on solid ground. Lots of heavy swells right now, just feeling a little overwhelmed. I’m looking forward to some quiet, boring times soon."

  "I understand. I’ve got your back. Stand firm on that if nothing else. Besides, you’re going to have fun over the weekend with the girls."

  Jack smiled. "What have I done to deserve you?"

  "Nothing, and you don’t need to do anything. Just you, remember?"

  "I know. I’ll call you after we get out of court today. Hopefully, we’re down to the last details and this will all be over soon."

  They kissed goodbye one last time and Julie
went to her car. When she started it, the smell of burning oil made her stomach rumble, so she rolled down the window and drove fast to keep the smell away. She arrived just on time and was able to get through the morning checklist before her staff got in.

  She worried all day, privately certain that Sophie was going to pull one of her tricks at court. It was like a premonition, a sick sense of inevitability that she had no influence or control over.

  She was scared of missing his call, so she picked up some tacos from the sketchy food truck that sat out in the parking lot. She was just finishing the last bite when the call came. She could tell instantly that it was worse than they had feared.

  The words spilled out of the phone quickly. "She fucked me. She filed some extra paperwork and didn’t deliver it to my attorney until this morning. Instead of what we agreed to, she went for full custody, child support, the works. The judge didn’t want to hear anything my lawyer was saying and ordered it done. My wages will be garnished; I’m going to barely have enough..."

  "Wait, wait, slow down, Jack. One thing at a time. What did she do?"

  He took a deep breath. "We had worked out a shared custody schedule, just like I told you. She would keep the girls during the week, I’d have them over the weekends and we’d split the holidays. Today she filed for sole custody with monthly visitations for me. She claimed I was unfit and had statements from people I thought were my friends." He choked up crying and cleared his throat to get himself under control again.

  "I was in pretty bad shape before I met you. We’d been split up for a few weeks and our friends had seen me slide into a bad place. I was drinking every day, missing work. Some of them wrote detailed accounts of my behavior. Very detailed."

  She remembered that first night, how he might have been thinking about doing something foolish. That was why she had stayed at first. "I see."

  "You and I have kept to ourselves. None of my friends have seen me in a few weeks. Now I see why Sophie was encouraging me to spend more time with you, saying she had been concerned and liked your influence on me. This morning she even complimented your work in the girls’ room, and let the girls get all excited about staying there this weekend. That fucking bitch, she knew the whole time! I won’t get to see my girls again until next month!" His throat closed as he choked on his pain.

  "I was afraid of this. I’ve been sick all morning worrying about you. What were you saying about your wages? I thought she got most of the money from the sale of the house?"

  "That was just the asset split, but I basically gave her everything she asked for assuming I was going to get dual custody. Now she has the largest part of our assets and will get over half my paycheck until the girls are eighteen. Julie, I’m so fucked, I'll barely have enough for rent and food at this point."

  "Hang on, Jack. Let’s talk tonight. I’ll bring over something and cook for you for a change. Just get through the day at work and we’ll figure something out."

  "Thank you so much for standing by me during this. I don’t know what I’d do without you."

  "It’s no problem, I’m happy to help you. Just promise me you’ll be careful, Jack. I don’t think she’s done yet; I still have a bad feeling."

  Julie arrived after picking up some groceries to find him sitting on the steps outside the front door of his apartment. He looked as bad as that first night, with a bottle of whiskey on the ground between his feet, swirling a low glass of the amber liquid in his hand. He didn't even smile as she greeted him.

  "What’s wrong?"

  "I lost my job." The numb way he said it pointed to the depth of his pain.

  "Oh, shit," she said, kneeling down in front of him. "What happened?"

  "I was accused of inappropriate use of corporate funds. You know I sell oilfield equipment, right?" he started to explain. "Pumps, valves, all kinds of industrial supplies. When we take buyers out, we always pick up the tab, even places like bars and strip clubs. It’s expected. It’s how you have to sell into this market, no matter what our corporate policy says. It’s an open secret that the sales guys put the charges on their corporate cards and turn in the expense reports with vague descriptions of what we spent the money on. Well, someone provided the itemized receipts to accounting for my last few sales trips."

  "Someone?" Julie already knew the answer.

  "Yeah, no one will tell me exactly how the receipts from my old home office made it to the accounting department. While it’s technically true, if they fired all the salesmen who did the same thing, there’d be no one left. And if they ever enforced the policy, the buyers would all go somewhere else." He held his head in his hands, exasperated. "I moved millions of dollars of product for them last year, but I hit the skids for a few weeks and now I’m gone. No one would even look at me as I was walked out today. At least I got my entire last paycheck, they hadn’t had time to process the court order yet."

  Julie was speechless. Sophie had taken the game to the next level. Gutting him in family court and then somehow setting him up to lose his job on the same day was a special kind of evil.

  "So, how was your day?" He had tears rolling down his face.

  "Let’s go inside, Babe. Come on," she said, helping him to stand.

  He walked like an old man, completely broken by the day’s events. She guided him to the bedroom, taking the bottle and glass from his hand and leaving them on the dining room table. She stopped briefly in the kitchen to put away the groceries, and then she led him to his bed. She quickly undressed him and pulled back the sheets, putting him under the covers. She took off her clothes, folded them on the dresser, and then climbed under the covers with him.

  She held him from behind, wrapping her arms around him as he finally gave in and sobbed, letting out his pain as she gently touched his back. She had tears in her eyes as well, hurting with him, frustrated that she couldn’t do more than hold him. When he finally stilled, she kissed his back, inviting him to turn over and find comfort in her arms.

  When he turned to kiss her, she could taste his tears. She held him, gave him all the time he needed, and let him lead her where he wanted to go. Eventually, the kisses warmed them both and he reached for a condom, letting her help him put it on. She pulled at him to lie on top of her, settling him between her thighs as she continued to kiss his face and stroke his hair.

  They came together slowly. She kept her arms around him, running her hands along his back, soothing him with her kisses. He began to thrust, but she was solely focused on him, whispering his name, giving him permission to just let go, encouraging him with soft gasps and sighs. His breath caught as he tipped over the edge, his fingers running into her soft hair, his quiet cry coming as he pushed his face next to hers. She felt him pulsing as he emptied himself, holding him tightly while he trembled, then waited longer as he began to cry again, his hot tears falling along her cheek.

  He eventually calmed and then got up to use the bathroom. Julie got up to get a drink of water, her stomach grumbling loudly about the tacos she had eaten for lunch. She made it as far as the dining room before she had to sprint to the girls’ bathroom, barely arriving in time to empty her stomach into the toilet.

  She heard his worried voice from the other side of the apartment, "Julie, are you OK?"

  She spat again and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I’m fine, but I’m not eating out of that fucking taco truck anymore. They taste even worse the second time." She washed her mouth out with water and borrowed some of the candy-flavored toothpaste she had bought for the girls to get rid of the taste.

  They met in front of the kitchen, both of them naked and hungry despite the day’s drama and bad food. They brainstormed about what to do next as Julie cooked the chicken breasts in a skillet and boiled the noodles for the mac and cheese she had brought. Jack’s cell phone rang and he showed her his parent’s name on the display. He took a deep breath and took the call, stepping into the living room to let his mother know what had happened that day.

  Listenin
g to it all over again made Julie grit her teeth in anger. She had rarely hated anyone, but Sophie was already in her top two, just behind Bill, one of her mother’s old boyfriends. Thinking of him again made the memory of what happened come to the surface. She quickly buried it before it made her sick again.

  Julie finished cooking and set the table, then left the room to give him privacy to finish his call. While she sat on the toilet in his bathroom, her hands shaking as she fought another wave of nausea, she thought about what she was going to do next. She knew that the world only looked civilized on the surface. Underneath the veneer, people were the same animals they had always been. They always fought hardest to protect their own.

  She knew it was crazy, but Julie felt closer and more connected to Jack than anyone else she’d ever known. He was hers in every way that mattered to her. And she was going to make certain Sophie knew it before Julie made her pay the price for hurting him.

  Chapter 7: Julie

  Julie got up from the bed quietly. Her feet whispered on the carpet as she walked to the girls’ bathroom and shut the door. She kept swallowing hard, trying not to be sick, but knelt next to the toilet just in case, pressing her hand against her stomach as if to will the nausea to go away. The damn tacos, she insisted to herself, it’s just the damn tacos.

  She sighed as the wave of nausea passed, then got up to sit on the toilet putting her head in her hands. Jack opened the door slowly to peek in.

  "Are you still sick?" He brought in a glass of cold water and sat it on the counter next to her.

  "Yes. I hope you can live without Mexican food, because I’m swearing off the whole menu now." She took a long drink of the icy water and shivered.

  "Can I get you a robe? Are you cold?"

  "No, I’m OK now, it passed. Have any big ideas while you slept?"

  "I wish." He sat down on the floor in front of her and pulled her foot into his lap, rubbing along her arch and heel. "Unless I can figure out how to magically reduce my child support, I’m going to have to take my Uncle’s job offer while I look for other work. If I get behind, I’m sure Sophie will go after me with everything she’s got."