Page 44 of Like An Animal

THE GHOST

I tease him in a way only I can. Jeremy watches me from the end of the bed, gripping the edge of the mattress, as I spread my legs open for his eyes to feast on me.

My fingers glide through my wetness as his eyes narrow, his breath catching in his chest. I don’t think there’s a single thing he enjoys in bed more than watching me touch myself for him.

His fingers dig into the mattress as I moan, running my finger through my slit.

“Is this what you want, Jer?” I press my finger inside and his jaw tenses.

He runs his tongue over his bottom lip before biting the flesh. A soft flush rises in his cheeks as he grabs my ankle and moves onto the bed.

“Give it to me,” he demands.

I press my foot against his chest and slowly shake my head. “Tsk. You didn’t say the magic word.” I run my thumb over my clit before moaning.

His jaw drops as he takes in ragged breaths. “Please, let me have a taste of my cunt, my perfect goddess.” He presses a kiss against my ankle as I thrust my fingers inside again.

“Did you forget that I like you begging, emo boy? Beg for it. You said you would grovel. Show me how desperate you are.”

He smirks as if I gave him exactly what he wanted before trailing tongue-filled kisses up my leg until he reaches my thigh. He digs his teeth in as I arch into it. His bite leaves marks that he soothes with the tip of his tongue.

“Please, baby. Let me make you come with my tongue,” he whimpers as he nudges at my hand with his nose, silently begging for what he wants.

My brain fogs from the sound he made.

Fuuuck.

He knows I go nuts over it when he whimpers.

“What if I don’t want to give it to you?” I taunt him but instead of begging some more, he rips my hand away from my cunt, replacing it with his tongue. He whimpers again and again, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Oh my god.

This is a much better alternative. The look on his face would be enough to get me off to if I tried hard enough but I want him to work for it.

I dig my fingers through his hair as I grind my pussy against his tongue. He thrusts it in again and my eyes roll into the back of my head. I practically purr from the things he’s doing with his tongue and only his tongue.

“Such a…” Gasp. “…good…” Moan. “…fucking…” Cry. “…boy.” Every second a different noise comes out of me as he watches my face from his place between my thighs. His mouth flexes with every movement of his tongue.

Then, my walls start to constrict around him and I scream. “Fuck, Jer!” I swear if he stops, I will kill him. It's bad enough that he got me all hot and bothered earlier and then didn’t follow through. I can’t handle him stopping. I might lose it if he does that.

He takes his hand and uses his thumb to circle my clit as I teeter on the edge. Then, I explode, bucking my hips against his face as I ride out the high.

Jeremy kisses his way up my body, stopping for a minute to lick and bite my nipples until he’s content. Then, he continues up to my face before stealing a passionate kiss.

I could get used to this.

He presses his forehead to mine as he works at his pants. “Stay with me, baby. I’ll keep you and Charlotte safe. I will destroy every fucker who dared to hurt you. I just need you to stay with me.”

My instincts demand for me to refuse. All I’ve done for four years is run to avoid The Fathers finding me and my sweet baby girl.

However, Jeremy has always kept me safe. When he knew there was a danger, he destroyed it until I was finally safe again.

It’s different now only because he has more people behind him to help him reach any goal he has. Maybe it's enough to protect us.

My instinct may be telling me to run, but my heart is demanding me to stay. Plus, it would destroy Charlotte for us to leave now. She loves it here and she’s attached to Jeremy. It might be small, but every day it grows even more.

I’ll always live wondering if he could keep us safe, living with regret, if I don’t see this through.

Somehow, he knew I planned to make a run for it. Maybe it's because he knows me that well.

“Okay. I’ll stay, but if it gets too dangerous, you have to let me and Charlotte run until it's safe again.”

His eyes narrow but I know he has no argument. He knows what I accepted when I first looked into Charlotte’s eyes.

She’s more important than anything else.

“I won’t let it come to that,” he denies.

“What if it does? Can you promise me that, Jer?”

His jaw tightens before he nods. “I swear to you. I’ll always do whatever it takes to keep you safe, even if the only choice left is to send you away.”

I let out a breath full of relief as I run my fingers through his hair. “Thank you.”

Then he pushes himself inside as if he thinks it's the last chance he’ll have to do it.

I wake up with my head on Jeremy’s chest, his fingers mindlessly running up and down my spine. My insides buzz as he looks down at me, a rare smile on his face.

“Morning,” he whispers before he leans down and gives me a sweet kiss.

I smirk as he pulls away. “Good morning. What time is it?”

“It’s nine.”

I nearly jump out of bed. Charlotte would’ve woken up two hours ago and is probably hungry. She’s four years old. She can’t be left to herself.

However, Jeremy grabs my arms and drags me back into bed with a surprised squeal from me.

“Not so fast.”

“Jer!” I glare at him, but the cheeky bastard boops my nose as if this is a joke.

“Charlotte is taken care of. She ate breakfast and is spending the morning at the pool. She has ten guards in the pool room with her and Silva is watching her.”

Who the fuck is that?

“Silva?” That’s the first I've heard that name.

“She’s the housekeeper of the compound. She loves kids so she volunteered to spend the day with Charlotte. That way she is safe and happy while I take care of you.”

My heart twists painfully. “I don’t need to be taken care of, Jer.”

His eyes narrow with stern determination.

“Yes, you do. You’ve been taking care of yourself and Charlotte for four years.

You’ve been on high alert for all that time as well.

It was my job to take care of you and I’ve failed.

I plan to make up for that now. I’ve got everything under control, little ghost. You can rest in bed all day if you want. ”

My eyes widen. I don’t have to do anything?

That just seems…odd. I always have to do something, like watching Charlotte and cooking. How can he expect me to just lay here and do nothing?

“And if I don’t want to?”

He shrugs. “You don’t have to. There are only two things you have to do this morning.”

I tilt my head to the left. “And what is that?”

Jeremy climbs out of bed, naked in all his glory, and walks over to the dresser where I now see a lap tray with plates of food and steaming mugs set up on it. He grabs the lap tray and turns to me with a smirk.

“The first thing is you have to eat breakfast.”

Did this psychopathic man really bring me breakfast in bed? What kind of alternate dimension did I step into? Are Barney and Friends about to dance through the door singing I Love You ?

Jeremy never wanted me to eat in his bed, even just a granola bar. He was worried it would leave crumbs all over the place. Granted that would make sleeping uncomfortable, but that's not the point. This is still his bed and he’s offering to feed me here .

Jeremy walks over carrying the tray and places it over my legs as I sit up. I tilt my head to the side. “Are you feeling okay? You don’t have a fever, do you?”

He rolls his eyes before placing a soft kiss on my temple. “Brat.” He stands up and walks to the bathroom before closing the door. A minute later, I hear the water turn on, figuring he’s going to take a shower.

I take a moment and inspect the contents on the tray.

There’s a plate of eggs, bacon, toast and hashbrowns.

The potatoes are shredded and lightly brown while the bacon doesn’t have a speck of charring.

The eggs are done over medium yet cut up and mixed together like they are prepared to be eaten immediately.

The bread is perfectly brown with peanut butter on half of the slice and hazelnut spread on the other half.

I can’t forget the dollop of ketchup on top of the hashbrowns either.

This food was cooked and prepared the exact way I always took my breakfast. It’s as if Jeremy didn’t want there to be a single thing for me to complain about.

I never liked pancakes or waffles so there’s a small tea plate with a coffee cake muffin and next to it a cup of coffee. The smell coming from the mug tells me everything I need to know. It’s not a regular coffee. It’s a salted caramel latte, my favorite.

Then, there’s the tall glass next to the steaming mug filled to the brim with orange juice.

I grab the frosted glass and lift it to my lips, taking a small sip.

I wonder…

Yup. With the pulp, just how I like it.

I almost start sobbing from how perfectly everything was done. It’s so beautiful and sweet.

Jeremy Borza doesn’t do sweet and yet he did.

I slowly eat the food, savoring every bite and sip, until the tray is full of empty plates and cups.

Then, I hear the sound of the water turning off. I quickly grab a napkin off the plate and wipe my face just in case there’s anything left before placing it on the tray. The bathroom door opens and Jeremy steps out, still naked and not a drop of water on him.

Why was the water running for so long if he wasn’t taking a shower?

“Did you enjoy it?” he asks as he grabs the tray and places it back on the dresser.

“It was perfect. Thank you.” Jeremy walks back over to me and takes my hand, pulling me out of bed. He guides me to the bathroom and pushes the door open before guiding me toward the bathtub behind the door.

I didn’t notice it before, but when we took a shower yesterday, I was sleep deprived and only took notice of how much this bathroom looks like the one from his room at the old house. I didn’t notice the differences.

He closes the door and takes a step into the tub before helping me in. The tub is as big as a small hot tub. When we sit down, Jeremy pulls me into his chest, his arms locking across the swell of my breasts. The water is so hot it stings my skin, just how I like it.

I sigh as I run my fingers over his arms, tracing every tattoo from his wrist to his shoulders.

“Are you trying to make me emotional?” I tease as tears prick my eyes. Everything is just so perfect.

“No. I’m trying to make you happy.” He presses a soft kiss to my cheek and I melt against him. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” I admit. “It’s perfect, a little too perfect. Like something really bad is about to happen.”

His arms tighten slightly before whispering in my ear, “Nothing bad is going to happen, okay? I’m going to be right here with you and Charlotte.

There is nowhere on this planet safer or more heavily protected than this compound.

The only ones allowed to come here uninvited are on a very short list. There are always at least ten guards watching each entrance.

As long as you are here, The Fathers can’t touch either of you.

I don’t have anything that requires my attention for the next two weeks so I’ll be right here. I need you to trust me, little ghost.”

I do trust him. I know there is no one else in this world that will fight as hard as Jeremy would to protect me and Charlotte. He would die for us and that’s what I’m scared of. I don’t want him to die.

Could I survive it? Sure, but I don’t want to have to figure out what my world would be like without him existing. It’s an ugly, rancid thought.

“I believe you.” I have to because anything else is not an option.