#everbyte fanfiction

[paigenoelchas-blog]

Disappear...

Jake has returned to MC but he is in trouble. Is this trouble exclusive to only him?

TW: blood and discussion of physical injuries.

He shows up at my door in rags. He is leaning heavily against the door trying to keep himself up. Filthy and covered in mud, I can see that his shirt is bloodstained and one of his eyes is swollen shut. He would've been unrecognizable to most people, but not to me. I can feel the electricity as soon as I touch his hand to help him up.

He is barely able to stand and as I pull him into the hotel room, I put his arm over my shoulder so I can help bear his weight. Walking across the room, I attempt to set him on the bed, but he falls onto it and sinks in. All of his strength has gone in this moment.

"MC," he said, his voice soft and husky. I wasn't sure if this is how his voice always sounds but hearing him say my name makes me weak in the knees. I have waited for this moment. I don't want it this way and I shift my focus back to his injuries. His voice is so weak that it is barely audible. "Am I dreaming?" he asks as her looks at me, his shoulder shifts from my shoulder to my waist.

While I could stay all day in his arms, I had to check his wounds. I smile, amidst whatever has transpired over the last couple of days, he was still charming. I move slowly away from him and spun around to look at him.

"No, Jake, you are with me, and I too feel like it is a dream but I think this must be more like a nightmare for you. What has happened?" I say and begin to inspect his injuries.

His eye was swollen completely shut. It was almost impossible to look at him without tears forming in my eyes. I turn his head toward the light and he winces.

"Sorry," I say and move my hand away from his cheek.

"Don't stop doing that," he says slightly out of breath.

"What?" I ask.

"Don't pull away from me. It has been a long wait to be next to you. I am reluctant to allow you to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere, but you are injured and I have to assess the situation," I say firmly.

"All right, doctor," he says with the biggest smile he could muster. "Fix me up." Our eyes linger for a moment, then his close in pain.

Bringing him some pain relievers and a glass of water, I kiss his forehead, and he leans into it. I leave for a moment to get my kit and clean him up.

"...and for the record," I add as I walk into the bathroom, "...once you have healed, you won't be able to make me leave your side." He smiles with an odd expression that I can't follow.

With his face now satisfactorily attended to, I had to see where all of this blood was coming from. "Can you sit up?' He nods and struggles as I put my arms around him to help him lean up. I raise his shirt above his head catching my breath as I do. He is gorgeous, with a rippling back of muscles, but I am not here for that now. I notice a large gash on his side with some shoddy stitches.

"How are they looking?" He asks.

"The stitches? Did you do these yourself?" I question.

"I couldn't exactly go to the hospital. Health care coverage for a hacker on the run is seriously lacking." He is cheekier than I expected, I am impressed.

"Well, they are holding, but that scar isn't going to be pretty." I touch his back, trying to get a better look. He shivers.

"I am not the one that has to look at it." He responds and straightened.

I grab some antibiotics that I have stashed over the years and make him take them, then I grab a washcloth and begin to clean the dried blood off of his skin. When I touch him, I feel the warmth run through me. I want desperately to study his face, his body, to explore the feeling of his lips on mine. I can feel his eyes on me and I blush.

"You are incredible, in every possible way." He says quietly.

I shake my head. " I am not. but I do have to clean you up and there is no time for that.

He must be feeling a little better because he runs his finger along my cheek and then pulls me in close for a kiss. It is hard and fast. I expect him to be tentative, but that is not the case.

His lips explore mine briefly and I can feel the tingle all the way to my toes. I feel him grimace and I pull away quickly, "You have to heal, then we can do whatever you want. I am at your mercy." He grins at the reference and then returns to a serious face.

'Well, that is part of the problem," Jake says and hangs his head low, his hand reaches for mine and our fingers intertwine. "I have to leave once you fix me up and I rest for a bit, and when that happens, you have to go with me. You will have to be at my mercy for a while. I can not allow you to leave my side. It has become unsafe for you to be without my protection. After I rest for a bit, we have to leave and we will never be back."

"Call your family and friends to say goodbye, but don't let them know that it is goodbye. I am so sorry that it has to be this way and that we can't have the life that you have dreamed of, but we have to disappear."

I lay his head on my lap and run my fingers through his hair. It doesn't take too long before he has fallen asleep. Phone in hand, I have a lot of goodbyes to make, goodbyes I thought that I would never have to type. I know that when he wakes I will have to destroy the phone and anything that is left that can trace anyone to me. I pack my bag, including the first aid kit, and am ready to leave at the first sign of trouble. I am sad, yes, but something in me is excited about disappearing. I don't want to leave the ones that I love behind, but I can't leave him. If he has to disappear, I will too.

[elsafromcabinsix]

that kind of love never dies | chapter two

summary: the one where jake realizes the complexity of a supposedly simple plan.

pairing: jake x mc

word count: 1.4K

warnings: tkolnd takes place after the events of episode 10; cover images found on pinterest; english is not my first language.

author’s note: i love this chapter. it was so much fun to write jake's first meeting with mc. the game left many unresolved questions and i will try to answer them based on the information we already have and a little imagination.

masterlist

Without any hesitation, he nodded. There was no point in lying now, not after everything they had done to get Hannah back. And, even if it bothered him a little, Barbara had won his trust.

“A penny for your thoughts.” The hacker asked, seeing the confusion in her eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“It's a long story.”

“I have time.” She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting.

Jake took a deep breath to calm himself. They definitely didn't have time. However, he knew he would need to do his best to make her trust him again.

“Long story short, an old alert from Nym-0s showed results yesterday saying that you bought a plane ticket to Switzerland. Since the airport was close to Duskwood, I thought I'd better investigate.”

“Have you been following me since New York?”

“Not exactly, I bought a nonstop flight from Tokyo to Zurich.”

“Why didn't you tell me who you were when we bumped into each other at the airport?”

He hated the fact that his tone was more hurt than angry. Jake opened his mouth to apologize, then closed it. Looking over her shoulder, he noticed the presence of a hooded figure standing in front of the open door of the chinese restaurant, hunching his shoulders against the pouring rain.

Barbara's cell phone immediately started ringing with a call. Frowning, she reached for the device inside her bag, and Jake didn't need to understand portuguese to know what was written on the screen.

“Unknown number?”

“Yes.” She lifted her head, meeting Jake's eyes.

“Great.” He said ironically, taking the cell phone from her hand and sliding his finger to the left to reject the call. “Come on, I'll explain everything to you on the road.”

“All right.” Barbara answered, allowing Jake to lead the way. “But if you're lying about who you are, I'll break your nose.”

“It's fair.”

The hacker kept walking , and she ran to keep up with him, dodging a puddle of water. Two minutes later, they stopped in front of a gray Mercedes-Benz crowned with a red convertible roof parked behind the Gates Hotel.

“Please tell me it’s not stolen.”

“It's not stolen!” Jake looked at her offended, opening the passenger door.

“Sorry! It's just that in my mind you were poor. Which, when you think about it, doesn't make sense, right? How would you do everything you do without money?”

“You are impossible, Barbara.” He shook his head in disbelief.

“I can't be impossible, Jake, I exist.” She replied, rolling her eyes theatrically. “I think you meant that I'm unbelievable.”

“Get in the car straight away.” He ordered, but he was smiling, his eyes filled with something like pleasure.

“I have some questions.” Barbara announced when they stopped at a red light.

“Of course you have.” Jake smiled amusedly, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Earlier, at the airport, was our meeting on purpose?”

“Yes. I couldn't risk my position by tracking you via cell phone so I had to be creative.”

“Something tells me you're the type to put trackers in people's favorite coat pockets.” She was surprised when he didn't deny it. “Seriously?” Barbara scoffed, rubbing her hands down her arms.

“That worked, didn't it?” He said, undoing his seat belt. “Here, you must be cold.”

Before Barbara could object, Jake took off the leather jacket he was wearing and handed it towards her.

“Thank you, Jake.” She accepted the offer, her cheeks blushing beautifully as she quickly looked away from the defined muscles that were marked by the white t-shirt.

“You're welcome.” He looked straight ahead again, covering his mouth with the back of his left hand to hide a smile of pure satisfaction.

He looked straight ahead again, covering his mouth with the back of his left hand to hide a smile of pure satisfaction.

“Were you in Tokyo this whole time?” Barbara questioned, placing the jacket over her shoulders.

“Tokyo, New Delhi, Manila... I needed to keep myself busy so I didn't think about you too much.”

“I'm unforgettable, aren't I?”

“Too unforgettable for your own good.” He agreed, replacing his belt and accelerating the car to get them moving again.

She sighed loudly.

“Yeah, I guess that explains why the FBI won't leave me alone.”

“What?”

“You have no idea why I'm here, do you?”

“Considering who I saw at the chinese restaurant, I think I might have an idea.”

“They sent some messages yesterday, inviting me to that same restaurant we talked about last time. The writing was very similar to yours, but it wasn't the same.”

“You knew it wasn't me and you came anyway?”

“We had an agreement, and as a future lawyer, I couldn't let them get away with this so easily.”

“What was your plan?” He waited for an answer, but Barbara just shrugged. “What? Didn't you have one?”

“We brazilians work better under pressure.”

Jake had to stop himself from giving her an irritated look.

“Well, at least this time the FBI is innocent.”

“What do you mean?”

“Old habits never die, right? I figured something was wrong when you didn't go directly to Duskwood, so I accessed the security cameras around the hotel and watched the footage from the past two days.”

“Did you find anything?”

“Nothing too out of the ordinary, but there was one guy who caught my attention. I think I've seen him before. Anyway, I've run his face through facial recognition software and will have confirmation by the end of the night.” He met her eyes, his expression becoming serious. “Barbara, do you understand how…”

“Stupid to come here alone without knowing what I would face? Yes, the reality is starting to knock. In my defense, I would never imagine that someone from the outside could have access to our conversations.”

“Breaking into the FBI database is complicated, but not impossible. This guy was supposed to be looking for information about me and ended up finding you along the way. I'm sorry for bringing you into this.”

She made a nonchalant gesture, dismissing his apologies.

“You're only here because I was impulsive and played my role as a decoy very well, so I think we can say we're even.”

“I will always be in your debt.” Jake declared softly, weaving through traffic with ease.

The rest of the trip flew by, and the next thing he knew, he was parking near the Aurora's curb.

“What are we doing here?” Barbara looked at him uneasily, her voice sounding louder.

“I need to drop you off somewhere safe before I go back to get my gear from the hotel I'm staying at.”

“A bar is the last place I would think of, I have to admit.”

Jake snorted.

“As much as you approve, we only came here to get Jessica's address.”

“I thought you gathered information on all of us when Hannah was kidnapped.”

“I did, but Jessica moved out a few months after Richy got arrested. And since the FBI is monitoring activity around your friends' digital data, I'm forced to do this the hard way.”

“You mean... Talking?”

“Talking to Phil.”

She stifled a laugh.

“You can wait in the car if you want.”

“I'm not leaving you alone with this guy.” He rolled his eyes, stepping out into the drizzle that was decreasing with each second.

“In that case, why not go to Lilly or Dan?” Barbara commented, carefully slamming the car door. “I'm sure it would be less unpleasant for you.”

“I don't want others to know I'm in town.” Jake said, stopping beside her under the bar's canopy. “Not yet.”

“You're avoiding your sisters, aren't you?”

“It is complicated.”

“I know it's none of my business, but they'd be happy to hear from you. Especially Lilly.”

“Since when have you been Lilly's defender?”

“Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are.” Barbara laughed, brushing an invisible speck of dust off her dress. “How do I look?”

Jake analyzed her from head to toe for a few moments, seeing the way Barbara's hair fell over her arm in messy locks, how her smudged mascara highlighted the beauty of her light brown eyes, and how her dress, almost completely dry, outlined each centimeter of her body.

“Beautiful.”

“I'm serious, Jake!”

“Me too.” He smiled adoringly, intertwining his fingers with hers. “Come on, I don't want to prolong this any longer than necessary.”

taglist: @daniiiworlds; @labemquarts; @deinily

[zmayadw]

|| I WILL FIND YOU ||

Duskwood (meets) Moonvale Oneshot

WARNINGS : contains Moonvale episode 1 spoilers

CHARACTERS: mostly Alan Bloomgate and Jake, with mentions of Richy and Mc ofc 😊

A/N: Hello, hello! 😊 Uhm, well, I kinda wrote something that got inspired with the (very) end of Moonvale 🤭 So here, have my first Duskwood meets Moonvale oneshot! Hope you'll find it likeable! 💚 Oh, and please, don't mind any mistakes you might stumble upon, it's 2am here, and I'm barely keeping my eyes open 😅

The hell with the FBI!

Alan curse inside for the umpteenth time already, as he slowly and carefuly searched through the Duskwood forest. He was the bloody Chief of Duskwood's police, and the moment the FBI showed, they treated him as some kind of rookie?? Outrageous!

He was actually grateful to be alone right now, because if that arogant FBI's agent in charge once more addressed him with such undermining tone, he would punch him right in the face with all he got!

He stops for a short moment and takes a deep breath to calm his raging nerves. Continuing on, his thoughts began to wander back to all that happened ever since he managed to finally get in touch with Mc.

Could the outcome of this all be any different if he only listened to her, like REALLY listened, from the start?

Would he be able to stop the explosion that happened in the mine, and not wander around feeling guilty and responsible for the most probable demise of young Mr. Rogers? If only he trusted that little voice at the back of his mind just a bit more...

His train of thoughts suddenly gets interrupted by a rustling coming from a close vicinity.

"Who's there?" his voice comes out firm as he turns toward the source of the sound, his flashlight and gun pointed steadily in the same direction.

He waited for a moment, and when there was no response he tries again.

"My name is Alan Bloomgate, Duskwood's Chief of Police. I'm armed, so I suggest you come out, slowly, and show yourself."

"Don't shoot, I'm unarmed."

A short heartbeat later he grips his gun tighter as rustling comes once again from behind a tree a few feet away from him.

Alan watch as a young dark haired man slowly appears from behind the tree, and from the way the man moved, he immediately knew he wasn't alone either.

"Please, he needs help."

Alan stood still in his spot, closely paying attention to every move the dark haired man did. But when he finally looked at the other person, his eyes open wide.

"My god, Richy Rogers!"

Unable to keep both of them on their feet, the dark haired man collaps to the ground, Alan instantly movig towards them, putting his gun away.

"Is he all right?" he drops to his knees next to Richy, quickly putting his fingers on his neck to feel his pulse.

"I- I don't know." dark haired man replies, Alan detecting discomfort in his voice.

He turns his gaze to him, his expert eyes noticing right away some bloody stains all over his hoodie, which looked pretty torn on some places, too.

'And you? Are you all right?"

The black haired just nods before Alan speaks again "Mind telling me how you got out of the mine?

The young man tried to hide the surprise from his face at his question, Alan smirking in response "No need to act so surprised. After all, I have a pretty good guess who you are."

He could notice the young man tensing so he quickly speaks "Also, you do not have to worry - your seizing isn't at the top of my list right now." He turns his attention back to Richy "But helping him is - his pulse is very weak"

He starts to get back up, lifting Richy along in his arms. "So, if I were you, I would start moving in that direction."

"Wait!" the dark haired man calls confused afer Alan, who already started to walk from him in the opposite way "Why are you doing this? Letting me go - the FBI won't go easy on you for it."

"Screw the FBI!" Alan yells over his shoulder, but then stops and turns back "But if you must know, I owe it to someone - and that someone happens to be very fond of you."

The young man breaths in astonishing making Alan chuckle. But his face turns back serious again "But also, firstly and mostly, I am a police officer. So go now, use this leverage as best as you can. Because our next encounter won't be this pleasant."

The young man stare silently as Chief Alan turns and continue on his way. And even though he was tired and in a lot of pain, a smile crawled on his face as he watched Alan vanish among the dark of a forest "There won't be next encounter."

4 WEEKS LATER

Jake's eyes jumped all around the screen in front of him. His fingers were flying hastily over the numbers and letters on his keyboard. He wanted to do this as fast as possible. It already passed too much time before he managed to recover and acquire new equipment. And he also did not want to spend another second with the thought how Mc must be worried about him, not knowing if he's even alive.

And that thought pained him intolerably.

So he begin to type even faster, and not a minute later he leans back in his chair, waiting eagerly for confirmation tha she accepts the message he just sent her.

He didn't have to wait long for the sound alerting him of her acceptance, his hand lifting and hitting the enter key on his keyboard ao fast and hard, it was a miracle it didn't break.

With longing, he imagined her surprised face as she watched how Alan found his things in the forest, wishing that he could tell her in person that he is alive and well.

But just like that, that longing dispersed, and his face beamed with a smile, just like the one he knew for sure she has on her beautiful face right now, as his message came to its end and the image appeared on the screen:

A/N: I'm sorry, but I just had to use this picture! 🥺🥺😭😭💚💚

[hacked-by-jake]

[MC (they-them) × Jake × fluff]

MC stepped out of the police station, relieved to have finally finished the last report on the Hannah case, feeling the warmth of the sun on their face and the crisp spring air filling their lungs. They glanced at their watch, already mentally mapping out their route to the next town where their expertise was needed. But before they could take another step, a mysterious figure clad in black approached them, sunglasses hiding his eyes, a hood obscuring his features.

"Are you MC?" he asked, his voice low and gravelly.

They nodded cautiously as he handed them a sealed envelope without another word. Without waiting for a response, the enigmatic figure vanished into the bustling street. Intrigued and slightly unnerved, MC tore open the letter, their curiosity piqued by the unexpected delivery, despite already having a premonition about the sender of this letter..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

𝘔𝘺 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘔𝘊,

I'm sending this letter to assure you of my safety.

As I sit here, penning these words to you, my heart races with both excitement and trepidation. The events that unfolded during our recent mission have left me both exhilarated and wounded, both physically and emotionally. But above all else, they've left me longing for your reassuring presence.

I write to you now, not from a place of despair, but from a place of hope and determination. Despite the close call and the injuries sustained, I want you to know that I am safe and on the path to recovery. The mine left me with several, light injuries. The burns may sting, but they are nothing compared to the ache in my heart from being away from you.

MC, our partnership has been nothing short of extraordinary. Together, we've faced challenges that most would shy away from, and emerged victorious against all odds. The way you fearlessly tackled every obstacle, with unwavering resolve, fills me with an indescribable pride. You are the true hero in this story.

Yet, amidst the chaos and danger, I can't shake the feeling of guilt for putting you in harm's way. Please know that it was never my intention to cause you worry or pain. If anything, I am in awe of your strength and resilience, and I am eternally grateful for your unwavering support.

As we embark on this temporary separation, I find solace in the knowledge that it is only a matter of time before we reunite. I've been informed about the City near Duskwood, where they requested your assistance. Moonvale awaits us with its mysteries and challenges, and I have no doubt that together, we will conquer whatever obstacles lie ahead.

Until then, my love, take comfort in the knowledge that I carry you with me always, in every beat of my heart and every thought that crosses my mind. Stay strong, stay safe, and know that I am counting down the moments until we can be together again.

I, too, will personally ensure your safety. Nymos and I are committed to clearing your path and doing whatever it takes to protect you. I've shared my vulnerability with you before, and in light of the recent events at Grim Rock, I find myself even more dependent and at your mercy.

I'm incredibly proud of you for cracking the case and saving my sister. The challenges you confronted, the horrors you endured, and the loss of Richy... I can only begin to fathom the emotional anguish you're experiencing, but I vow to be your unwavering support, concealed in the shadows, yet ever-present by your side, even if you cannot perceive me. I will never leave you alone.

MC, my love, I promise you, we will see each other again when the time comes.

With all my heart,

Jake

A/n: A little thing after the release of the date, just a little idea. Actually, I just wanted to post the letter, but decided to add the first part, just as an introduction. Letters from Jake are just great, aren’t they? :) I was a bit proud for the wording here. Even if the first part is pretty short and not so detailed. But well, writing Jake is a stress-lovely something. I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading and I hope you will have a fantastic day/evening/night! 💚

[miss-celestia13]

The Ending You Deserve

Jake x MC - Duskwood One Shot

I wanted to practice angst and creating suspense. This happened. It has a touch of humor, a hint of fluff, and other things! Sassy MC. No smut for a change. It feels weird 🤭

Can Jake run from death and make it to MC?

Or will his demons win the race?

MC isn't named or described as it was more for the emotions. It's all from Jake’s POV.

Pain. 

Aching. Cold. Hot. Burning, burning, burning. It rolled through him in waves.

He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t see.

Dread wove through his internal organs and strangled him from the inside like an invasive vine had taken root in the core of himself.

Smoke and ash choked his airways as he stumbled and tripped through the mine.

His heart rattled savagely against his ribs.

It felt like a creature in its death throes, trying to break out of his chest.

His foot collided with a jagged, jutting rock and he went down like a house of cards. Crumpled and folded as he rolled and rolled.

Hissing as tiny sharp stones cut into his face and hands.

Ash ridden sweat trickled down his face and stung the many small slices leaking blood as he lay on his back panting and cursing himself as the ominous orange glow of raging flame inched along the underground tunnel.

The air grew thinner and thinner.

The smoke grew thicker and thicker. 

The gasoline fueled fire was a monster bearing down on him and he scrambled to his trembling feet. Taking off at a staggering jog, one hand braced on the rough, dirty wall.

A pinprick of light opened up far ahead and a jolt of adrenaline surged through his bloodstream. He hurried, panting and terrified, breathing too shallowly as the rising heat nipped at his neck.

He knew he had a choice to make.

It was death by fire or FBI.

Neither option appealed to him, but as he looked back and saw the swirling, furious flames licking nearer and nearer. He knew he had to decide.

It wasn’t fair.

He wasn’t innocent or free from any wrongdoing. But he didn’t deserve to die like an animal, run over and left bleeding out and twitching on the side of the road until he grew cold and stiff. 

No one would miss him.

No one would look for him.

He was all alone. It was a surety. He was always, always alone.

That’s not true though, is it, Jake?

It hasn’t been for a while now.

The voice in his head made his breath catch, and his heart pounded painfully in his throat.

It felt as though someone had reached inside his chest, broken through his flesh, muscle and grasped his bones to pry them apart, an invisible fist that gripped his pulsing heart and shoved it in his mouth. Forcing him to swallow it.

It beat there like a Wardrum. Marching him to his death. 

It throbbed and choked and filled his mouth with copper. He couldn’t stand it. The pain was corrosive as it ate through his nerves and left them exposed to the heat and acrid taint of smoke.

She is waiting for you. Don’t let her down.

You PROMISED.

A soul deep sigh huffed through his nose as his feet sped up, pebbles and broken glass crunched under his boots as he raced toward the gradually growing dot of light.

The roaring fire and echo of his escape bounced off the stone and haunted him as he ran for his life.

Four years of running.

Four years of searching and shame and seclusion. Running had been his gift. His lifeline. 

Yet he felt wholly unprepared for this last sprint.

He was tiring.

Steps shortening faster than his scalding breath as black smoke slithered overhead and wrapped its insidious tentacles around his body.

He would not make it.

He would not see her after all.

The thought felt like a poisoned blade sinking into his chest. He could feel the barbs of it twisting and cutting through sinew.

He would soon bleed out without a sound.

The fight left him as the intangible knife punctured his hope and foolish dream of having a love he didn’t deserve.

They’d been writing their own story, filling the pages with dreams and fragile, flourishing love.

He felt like coming here was akin to him tearing out those pages and ripping them up.

It broke him so completely he almost stopped and let the flames embrace him.

He could already smell the sickly sweet and pungent scent of his blistering flesh. Like tanning leather over a flame.

He was going to burn.

It would hurt more than he already did.

It would roast through his flesh, flay it from his bones and incinerate muscle and blood to dust.

He could already feel it.

Creeping closer, singing the hair on his nape, and filling his nose with the cloying scent of dangerous smoke.

No one would know it was him.

Nothing would remain for her except blackened bones and the memory that he had gone to the mine instead of her.

She would blame herself for this.

It would destroy her.

And it was all his doing.

No.

Never.

He wouldn’t be a cause of her pain anymore than he already had.

A burst of fresh speed and determination glittered through him as the fire drew so near he could feel the flames whispering in his ear.

Too slow, Jake. It’s too late.

You can’t run away from this.

Your luck has faded.

He forced it aside and sobbed through his clenched teeth as the dot of light swelled and came toward him.

His legs were heavy. Growing weightier with every leap over fallen support beams and shattered rock.

His rabbit heart raced faster and faster. It deafened him to the groaning, popping wood as the fire devoured it.

Tears streaked through the soot and blood on his face. Leaving pale tracks through the grime and coating his chapped lips with brine.

His vision blurred as his emotions broke free of the locked and coded vault he’d stuffed in the back of his hive mind to come here.

He attempted to shove them back in.

It didn’t work.

They spilled out and utterly overwhelmed him.

He’d spent years locking them down. Beating them into submission, so they listened to him and not him to them. The steel and stone fortress he erected around himself had already crumbled for her and there was nowhere left to hide.

He’d given her everything he had, and it wouldn’t be enough.

You always knew you weren’t enough. Let’s not think too highly of ourselves.

She deserves better than this.

Better than you.

That is a truth you will never escape.

His heart fractured as his mind fought against him and his flagging spirit frayed further.

She deserved better than this.

He was failing her. Had failed her since he let her in.

He’d always known he’d cause her future hurt.

He just hadn’t expected it would come so soon. That he wouldn’t get to watch from afar as she healed from his vanishing.

They had always lived on borrowed time.

And now, the fire was so close sweat slid like rivers down his back and legs, eating away at his nerves as they flared wildly under his soaking skin.

Jake knew it was futile. The ball of light in his vision seemed to run away from him as his eyes blurred and cleared repeatedly. His hands curled into two tight fists and he fought the urge to punch the wall in fury.

He bit down on the inside of his cheek instead. Biting down hard until the skin gave and blood welled over the tattered edge, glazing his tongue with the buttery, metallic taste of it.

It acted like a stimulant.

His eyes focused and his heart pounded fiercely as he ran and ran and ran.

Feet pounded stone as fire blazed through the mine. He had to outrun it.

He would outrun in it.

There was no other option as his blood pressure skyrocketed and his breath became harsh, shallow.

The fire sucked away the air before it could go in as he tried to gulp it down.

There was no oxygen.

His insides kept writhing and twisting.

They knotted up and up so tightly he swore felt something tear. Something that made him cry out as the air was crushed from him.

He could see shadows in his periphery. Specks of darkness and sparks of light as his lungs ached and screamed for oxygen. For rest.

Resting meant dying.

Dying meant failing her.

Failing her was never an option before.

It couldn’t be one now.

He put his head down and ran.

He jumped over another wooden beam as the light ahead broadened and he landed atop aged wooden boards.

He only had time to scream as they broke under his weight and their age.

Jake fell. And fell and fell.

He screwed his eyes shut before he hit the ground.

The impact was so brutal, he almost wished it had killed him.

He hit the ground with a resounding whack.

His head cracked off the stone. Pain, blinding and bleeding, radiated through his skull and brain, frying his rationality completely and leaving room for fear to consume him wholly.

Warmth seeped across his scalp and his hand came away, stained in crimson when he reached to feel the damage. 

Head wounds bled worse than they were and the gash didn’t feel too bad once the stinging pain subsided a little. He internally surveyed the rest of himself. Finding nothing broken despite his ribs feeling as though a giant had stomped him flat.

Dirt and blood coated his teeth as he wheezed and coughed. Choking and spluttering as he tried to get a handle on himself.

He’d bitten through his lip, and it bled like a bitch.

Something was stabbing into his shoulder. 

As he stared up at the hole he fell through, a sensation like a thousand razor blades slicing down his skin moved down his spine, coiling in his lower back. It swirled there, a ball of cutting, primal fright that soon bled through the rest of him.

A rickety ladder leading up and out offered a small ray of hope.

He clung to it and calculated how long it would take to climb in his current condition. 

Fire scoured over the opening and left no place for him to escape.

His hope died with a breathless whimper.

He barely even heard it as agony rippled through his bones and he rolled onto his knees, panting.

“Fuck!” He spat. The word was more like a vicious curse as it rebounded off the mine walls and into his ears.

Mocking him as he squinted into the darkness and tried to figure out what to do next.

The fire would keep the police and FBI away from the mine until it burnt out. They wouldn’t rush in until it was safe enough. He knew that.

He could use that.

Jake kneeled on the filthy ground and schemed.

The temperature rose and rose as he shuffled through his thoughts.

He neatly ordered and arranged everything, thinking of his brain like a filing cabinet.

He could slide one drawer open and find a treasure trove of data and memories.

Some would get stuck as he tugged at them. Rusty and dusty, hardly ever opened for fear it would cut off his ability to feel nothing.

He pulled at one that had eroded so much he had to kick it and smash it to smithereens to pull the files out.

It was like opening Pandora’s box and expecting sunshine to pour forth. 

A veritable flood of emotion, memory, and agony spilled free of the mental drawer and absolutely annihilated his hold on himself.

He’d forgotten what it was like to feel everything so fully.

Everything of the last few years had felt like he was competing against time itself. And time was humanity’s greatest enemy. There was never enough of it and it actively fought back when you tried to beat it.

It was a losing game and in order to keep playing, he’d become a ghost.

He muted everything that made him human in order to survive.

Calculated.

Clinical.

Cold.

Jake was all of that.

Now, he felt everything.

He wanted to survive. He wanted to live.

Lingering as a phantom on the periphery of reality no longer appealed to him. He wanted to feel and touch and be. He wanted everything life had to give.

The bitter and the sweet. The hurt and the relief. All of it.

Jake just wanted.

And when Jake wanted something, he got it.

He pushed up on his hands. Curling his fingers into the gravelly dirt and ignoring the bark of pain as his nails cracked and split.

His blood mingled with the muck, and he clambered to his feet.

Everything ached and bled and felt so heavy he could barely put one foot in front of the other as he carefully headed down the tunnel he’d dropped into.

His throat was raw. Torn to shreds from smoke and screaming. His hands quaked and his mouth was so dry his tongue curdled in his mouth as he smacked his lips together and tried to create some lubrication.

It was useless. He needed water.

He needed to rest soon, or he would pass out in sheer fright and exhaustion.

It’s too late, Jake.

Give up.

Only fools persist in fighting when the odds are stacked.

Jake’s head throbbed as he thrashed it, as if to dispel the sinister crooning, and muttered, “The odds are always stacked. It’s how you play the system.”

The voice went quiet again, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he tripped over rock and wood, hands scrabbling at the walls to ensure he wouldn’t get himself lost.

He risked taking his phone out of his pocket, scowling at the shattered screen as message after message came through.

MC: Jake. You can’t just tell a woman you love her and then ignore her!

Answer me.

Please.

Just give me a sign. A smoke signal. Send a damn carrier pigeon if you have to! They’re saying there’s no way in or out. But I know better. You’ll find a way. 

Keep going. Please don’t give up. You’re not alone in this. I won’t allow it.

If you die, I will hunt you down, drag you back and kill you again. You must live, Jake. Not for me, not for Hannah or Lilly, but for you. You will make it back to me.

He swiped them away. Deleting them. They made his heart shiver and fracture more. The rubious fissures would leave silver scars behind. He groaned as another came through and he immediately memorized the coordinates she gave him. Deleting the message once he had. He put all his remaining energy and will into planning his escape.

His mind wheeled with memories from before.  Prior to being forced into hiding, he had experienced a life of color and fluctuating joy. It wasn’t a perfect life, but it was his. The day he had to leave it all behind, he’d severed all strands of his old life and assumed the identity of many and none. 

He’d learned a lot about humanity and its cruelty in that time. He knew how it worked.

Life was a battle against human cruelty. It always was and always would be. Wisdom, strategy, and hope were the only factors that could hope to gain over cruelty.

And his hope lived on. 

Hope, he understood it lived with her now. He’d given her it and she had offered him her own. He would not waste it.

He flicked through his brain and memories, shelving what didn’t matter and keeping what did. Everything that made him ache, he kept. Everything that made him feel safe, he lost.

If safety meant being alone, lost in a mine until he either burned or starved to death, he didn’t want it.

He reached into the mental vault containing their chats. 

Their conversation about her coming here was the most potent file he had, and it would fuel him to make it out.

She had complimented his research on the mine and he’d told her about some entrances/exits.

He informed her of the ones he thought were most likely to get him caught. It was a manipulative decision, so she wouldn’t get the stupid idea of following him.

He kept one exit loaded like a bullet in the back of his mind.

It was risky.

It was idiotic. 

Still, Jake took off running for it. 

The tunnel was narrowing as he traveled along it. He had to duck before long.

His heart still frothed behind his sternum. Relentless and out of time, with his sawing breath as the walls closed in on him.

He had to crouch now. His head scuffed off the rugged ceiling and he bit back a shout as the pain merged with that of the wound still leaking blood on the back of his skull.

He felt drained. His body became so weighty, he was grateful when the tightening passage forced him to his hands and knees.

Jake crawled and crawled. Palms scraped and searing as sweat irritated all his grazes. His eyes prickled with fresh tears as a draught of fresh air snaked into his nose.

Dread rose to swallow him, but he kept going. He didn’t know what awaited him on the other side, but it was better than dying alone, never to be mourned or found.

The fear of being arrested was so strong it almost halted him as he squeezed through the ever shrinking tunnel and felt like he was caught in a vice.

If he got stuck—No, he couldn’t think it.

He had to turn his fear into a weapon. Run from this place and reclaim his name. The sweat on his brow, the blood running through his veins; it was that of a survivor.

This was just another glitch.

He told himself that over and over as he army crawled through the crushing mine.

He was blind.

The darkness entrenched him.

It would entomb him if he allowed it.

His coat snagged on the rough wall and dragged him back. He shook his sore body as much as the tight space would allow and panted through his clenched teeth.

It kept sticking. He had stretched his hands ahead of him.

There was no room or way for him to tug the fabric free.

His heart stopped dead in his chest.

Helplessness stole his flagging fight, and he slumped into the dirt, hiding his filthy face in it.

Abruptly, Jake started sobbing like a child. Great, gasping cries tore from him and his entire body shuddered with it. So violent and soul destroying he couldn’t temper it.

No matter what he did, it went against him. He’d never worked with such horrendous odds. His brain was a mess of emotion and regret.

He wished he’d written everything he felt and hoped for them down and mailed the letter to her before he entered the mine, but he’d been cocky then. Too confident in his ability to escape any trap or cage.

Jake gave up and accepted his fate.

If he died, if that was his due, there was no stopping it. He’d been living off begged and borrowed and stolen time for years.

It had finally caught up to him.

He was so lost in defeat. Consumed by it. His throat contracted, and he felt like he might be sick.

He hoped he choked on it.

Make it quick.

“I don’t want to die,” He whispered without meaning to and his mouth kept moving, the words kept falling from his bloodstained lips, “Not like this, anything but this.”

His heart shriveled and went cold as he struggled and tried to shuffle forward. He couldn’t breathe properly. All his weight was on his front. His ribs felt bruised and cracked, every tiny inhale felt like a sledgehammer blow.

It is over, Jake. Feel that? The cold creeping in? Soon, it’s all you’ll know. This darkness? It’s all there is. All there ever will be. It’s what you –

“-- I don’t deserve this.” Jake growled with a certainty he’d never known.

Adrenaline coursed through him, lighting up his veins and filling him with new trembling energy as if someone had injected him with a drug.

He rocked and shook his body until his bones jolted and his skin felt too tight. He forced what little breath he had out through gritted teeth and felt the tendons in his neck straining as he dug his fingers into the dirt and put all his strength into pulling himself free.

The sound of fabric ripping caused his heart to start beating again.

He gave a laugh like shattering glass.

Unhinged and desperate as the momentum of his coat coming free shoved him forward a few feet.

From there, it wasn’t easy. He felt like a clumsy serpent as he slithered through the mine.

He kept laughing. His heart kept pounding.

The voice in his head was silent as his hands connected with something that fell away as he shoved at it.

Glorious, clean night air hit his sweaty face, and he gulped it down as he pulled himself out of the horrible tunnel.

It seemed to cling to him. Like invisible hands tugged on his ankles to keep him trapped. He refused to allow it.

Damp earth, long green grass, and dried leaves crunched under his hands as he lay on his back on the forest floor and stared at the starry sky.

He considered the spectacle of stars as the greatest gift he could have received. He analyzed it, finding the North star and thinking of the co-ordinates MC had given him. He quickly checked them on his phone before he threw it away, and was relieved when he discovered it wasn’t too far to make it there on foot.

If he headed in a North- Easterly direction, he could make it there at sunrise.

He didn’t bother looking toward Duskwood, didn’t need to know how close his pursuers might be or he’d lose his nerve.

He shakily got to his feet and started walking.

Time meant nothing to him as he traipsed through forest and open fields. He stayed away from the roads he knew were always busy.

In his current condition, some good samaritan would call for help thinking they were aiding him when in fact they’d be signing his death.

He was so tired. It clung to him like a shroud of smothering fog he would never break out of.

He kept moving. 

Through shadow and moonlight, he kept walking and ignored the pain in his body as best he could. 

There was no end to his exhaustion as pink tinged sunlight shimmered through the pines.

The sun was rising.

How strange, he thought, that his world could burn down around him and yet the sun still rose.

He eyed it and felt strange, like it was an abstract painting absolutely out of place in this world of cruelty, death, and flame.

No matter how deeply or irrevocably the world burned. No matter how thick the shadows grew and the amount the freezing darkness consumed, the sun would always rise.

It filled the world with light, warmth, and color and precious hope.

He felt the soft warmth kiss his hurting face, and it energized him as he broke out of the cover of trees and came to a halt in a motel parking lot.

Jake frowned, glancing around in suspicion and doubt as he failed to understand. Why would she send him here? He hadn’t stayed here. It was too out of the way.

And just how did she know of it?

He stood straight and fear thickened in his throat as his attention snagged on a window. The curtains had moved. He was sure of it.

He moved as though to sink back amongst the trees, but the creak of a door opening made his head snap toward it.

A small, slender hand poked through the gap in the door, beckoning him. He was moving toward it before he could give his feet the command.

His heart picked up speed again. His pulse and distress ratcheting up and infusing him with tension like someone was turning a screw too tightly.

He was only a few steps away from the door now. His skin felt too sensitive and everything hurt in some way. His throat felt like he’d been eating sandpaper and gravel.

The shake in his hands intensified, flight or fight. His nervous system couldn’t decide.

As he hesitated, a female voice trailed through the open door and it was like a salve on his exposed nerves. He had heard that voice, he could recognize it anywhere.

His heart raced for an entirely different reason as he listened to it.

“It’s safe. Come in and I’ll explain.”

Jake didn’t care about her explanation as the adrenaline left him so suddenly he drooped and nearly dropped to his knees.

He tripped through the door instead.

She didn’t give him time to rake his gaze over her the way he wanted to. She gripped him and forcefully dragged him into an embrace, causing him to groan in pain as it aggravated his many minor injuries.

She instantly pulled back, grimacing and apologetic.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. Here, I have supplies. I figured one of us would get shot or stabbed or maimed. It felt important to be prepared. Thankfully, the worst injury I’ve had is paper cuts. You don’t look like you’ve been so lucky. Are you bleeding anywhere? What do I do first? Are you burnt? You smell like someone roasted you over a spit! Are yo-”

Jake chuckled roughly at her babbling. Touched and amused by her care and thoughtfulness.

It was the first genuine laugh he’d had in years, and it turned into a cackle before long. It just slipped out of him and sounded more like crying by the end.

His gritty eyes closed as emotion swallowed him and he welcomed the darkness they offered.

It was familiar.

It was safe.

He woke hours later very confused and so stiff it felt like he was breaking his bones to sit up. His grunt of pain escaped his teeth as a lilting voice cut through the static in his mind.

“Oh, good. I was worrying. That’s nothing new, but you look like someone just dug you out of your grave. I cleaned and patched you up as best I could without stripping you. I thought I’d let you buy me dinner before we got to that stage!”

Her tone was light and filled with humor, but there was an edge of despair and anxiety in it that told him she’d fussed over him the entire time he slept.

His sluggish heart resided in his empty stomach as she approached him slowly like she thought he was an injured animal and she was afraid to spook him.

“Where are we? Why are you here? You promised to stay away.” He managed as he accepted the glass of water she offered him.

His fingers left dirty streaks on the glass as the dirt mingled with the condensation. The water was cold and crystal clear and he gulped it down to clear the sour taste out of his mouth.

She huffed at his words and waited for him to sink the water before she responded, “Typical. I come and help you and you scold me. Well, shove it.  If it weren’t for me and Alan, you would be dead or rotting in a cell. And I did stay away! I didn't go to the mine, did I?” 

His gaze flew to her indignant face, lovely and open despite the fury razing hell in her narrowed eyes.

He felt shocked that he could speak because his tongue felt so thick in his mouth. “My apologies. I’m still—I’m sorry... Alan? I thought he would be more interested in helping them catch me?”

She smirked, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she sat down beside him.

“That was until I ripped him a new one. The fire helped most, but Alan is currently playing down your involvement to give us time. He’ll make contact with us once we find a safe place to stay.”

He opened his mouth to demand she go back home, and he’d message once he was safe, but she flung up a hand to silence him.

“None of that. I’ll explain better once we know the scope of the fallout in Duskwood. But I am coming with you. No, if ands or buts about it, Jake. I make my decisions, not you. The last time someone tried to decide for me, I bit them. Don’t make me bite you too. Are you in?”

Her eyes were hard and unwavering, not a sliver of doubt to be found.

Everything inside him protested against dragging her into his mess, but he was tired.

He was tired of being alone.

He was so tired of losing everything.

Four years of fatigue and depression sank through him like a millstone and he hung his head in defeat. He was in no condition to run alone, anyway.

And he didn't want to. It was selfish. It was daft. But he didn't care.

He hadn't expected to survive this long. Plus, she had been his reason to make it out. He sighed and let his shoulders curl inward. Having someone else to protect would keep him sharp and ready for anything. She must've sensed his resolve weakening. 

She reached out and threaded her clean fingers through his muddy ones, dark and light; he thought stupidly as his skin tingled at the contact.

It had been so long since he’d been touched gently. With obvious affection and because someone wanted to, not because they had to. 

He was used to bruises and hurt. This was — this was what he'd survived for. 

He’d forgotten what it felt like as he met her gaze and felt his stomach fluttering with something that felt like excitement.

It felt like hundreds of tiny birds had taken flight in his abdomen and a frisson of tentative anticipation filtered through him. 

Her eyes glittered and his mouth twitched with the want to smile as he gave his response.

“I’m in.”

—————————

Thank you for reading. I hope it was worth your time despite this being done so many times before me. Oh, and if you leave a comment or reblog, thank you. It is appreciated ❤️

[mwonie]

I want this time's back 😫

[jake-s-azaleea]

Jake (coming out of the bathroom)

MC: Thank God, I can finally brush my teeth

Jake: Did you know that brushing your teeth is the only time you're washing your skeleton?

MC: Thanks for the weird out of the blue fun fact...

[twxddle]

*Mc outside waiting for their appointment*

Mc: This is taking forever, let me check the time *gets their phone out of pocket*

*A text appears on the phone that says "Come back now" with a black background*

Mc: Jake, no.

*The text changes to "Ok I'm sorry"*

[char-lotta]

After the End (part three/final part)

Pairing: Jake x MC

Warnings: smut 🔥🔥, light dom/subtones

Author notes: See at the end

(Part one, part two)

She woke up hearing quiet murmurs on her hair. She was up in the softest clouds, warm and content and felt her floating out of the dream. The arms around her tugged her nearly on top of the strong and muscular body. Familiar smell was present, and she just knew that she was in a safe place, and where she belonged. She felt the sun warming her skin from the window and she could hear the birds sing in the forest.

It took a while to understand the words that were told her by a quiet and calm tone.

“I don’t know how I am going to forgive myself for wanting to see you like this every day.”

Her hair was gently brushed asides from front of her eyes, she felt his breath in her scalp. She breathed evenly and kept them closed.

“How can I even want to condemn you to the life of mine, where there isn’t a safe place for us”, the voice whispered. “How could I even dare to ask you to give up everything and everyone you have for someone like me. You don’t deserve to be shackled into me like that.”

She felt coldness creeping up in her back and felt the urge to swallow. She knew that she was supposed to make him aware of that she was being awake, but Jake was so rarely vulnerable and open with her that she needed to hear more. Even though every word that he said made her afraid, so afraid that he would leave her.

“It would never be safe enough for you”, Jake hushed and touched her hair again. “And still, I don’t want to give you up, when I have finally had you.”

She wouldn’t give up on him. Never, the voice echoed in her head from her thought so loud and demanding, that she wouldn’t be surprised if Jake could hear it. They have done so much, gone through hell and back and they finally had succeeded on the task that had originally brought them together and she would not give up on the final reward.

She knew that Jake was protective of her, and her safety was his first prioritize. He had showed it to her via so many actions on her behalf and that would probably never change. His fears were reasonable and when she still didn’t know what made his pursuers go after him and what they could actually do, she knew that together they were stronger. Even the thought of separating hurt so much, that she instinctively squeezed her eyes tighter shut. The hand stroking her head stopped.

He knew that she was awake, and they both lied still and quiet for a while. Her heart pounded on her chest, reminding her that it was a fragile thing and if everything went awry, it would break, and the consequences would be catastrophic. She let the air escape from her mouth and told her heart that she would do anything on her power to prevent it happening.

She allowed her eyes to open and found Jake looking at her back with so bright green eyes, that she thought for a second that she could see her own reflection from them. Her lips curled up to a small smile which seemed to catch on the man staring on her.

“I should have known that nothing escapes you”, he said and caressed her cheek. His eyes follower his fingers that were slowly moving on her face. He looked thoughtful.  

“Well, I did tell you that my dad was a famous detective, you know”, she responded with careful small laugh. She didn’t know what to say, the atmosphere suddenly felt quite heavy and loaded.

“Yes, you did”, he said, and his eyes reverted back to her gaze. His hand moved to behind to her head, making circles with his fingers around the nape of her neck.

“I didn’t like what I heard”, she confessed with a small voice. “Except the part where you want to see me every day. I would very much like it to happen. See, I am also looking forward to seeing you every day.”

He didn’t reply, but his gaze got more intense, but there also appeared a hint of sadness. He sighed deeply, and the by the face that he had, she knew that he had plans that she would have to fight for to be part of.

“I told you yesterday” she reminded sternly, “don’t you dare to leave me.”

“You don’t know how it is”, he said with a muffled voice. “How it is when you have to constantly be on the run and have to watch behind your shoulder all the time. How you cannot give your name to anybody or have a normal life.” His voice was starting to get more anxious, and words came out more rapidly.

“You don’t get to decide for me!” she said furiously and got up in the bed. She was sitting there, eyes with a fire on them, mouth slightly ajar and the morning sun shined its light behind her making her look like she was made of gold. She didn’t know that, but she was the most beautiful thing the man in her bed had ever seen. He just looked at her, stunned, mouth left open for the words that he couldn’t form.

“I am capable of doing my own decisions!” she pointed a finger at him. “And I do get to decide if I want to give up my life as I know it now!”

His eyes darkened and his lips formed a thin line, getting out of the daze before. His whole posture changed, and he was tense, getting ready for one of their almost-famous battles now. There were no winners in those, but this conversation needed to be done with. They had circled the topic the day before, but so much had been going on then, so they had avoided it consciously.

“You sure seem to think like it”, he spat. “I told you not to come for Duskwood, I asked you to stay safe! But you didn’t listen, and you even committed a crime when trying to get me”, he growled and shook his head viciously as he said it. “Yes, love, interfering FBI investigations is a federal crime”, she was told when surprise crept on her face, betraying her by making a visible the fact that she had not thought about it.

“Well – “, she started and tried to come up with something that would make the situation look like less severe. “That was one of my independently made decision then!”

Oh, that went poorly, and she did see by Jake’s face that it didn’t succeed on his end either.

“Congratulations”, he said grimly, almost mockingly way, “that was the shittiest decision in your life then, since it could land you to the jail”.

Oh, that hurt a lot. She bit her lip and felt anger rise in her, begging to be spilled out with venomous words. “Shittiest decision?” she asked so calmly, that they could practically hear the upcoming thunderstorm arriving. She spotted a tiny sight of worry in his face. “Shittiest decision? Are you fucking serious? Was it shittiest decision in my life to fuck you last night then? Would you call us finally being together as ‘shittiest decision’ then? Fuck you!” She erupted and jumped out of bed.

“You don’t get to say that”, she trembled with her whole body shaking with anger. “You don’t get to say it after all the things I had to do to find you! After all the thing I’ve been through!”

She pushed her long hair from her front and shot daggers with her eyes towards the man, who’s emotions mirrored her own. She stood there without clothes but didn’t bother to cover herself up with her hands or the sheet.

“You know I didn’t mean that like that!” Jake shouted and was now standing too. “The last night was everything to me! I finally got to touch you in person. All I ever have wanted for months came true – “, his words trembled, and he lowered his voice, “when I saw you, got to kiss you and be inside of you. To see in my own eyes when you came was better than any fantasy I’ve had about you. To hear in my own ears, you gasping my name when I pushed in you. It was so, so much better than I had even dared to imagine.” The last part was said very softly, and her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t bare his intensive gaze and looked away.

“Then why, why would you give me away then?” she asked in small voice and felt like crying. Maybe she did cry, she didn’t know. He looked like she had slapped him.

“I’m never giving you away”, he told her overwhelmed when he finally found the words. “I said that I am never going to let them capture me, because it would separate me from you. That still stands.”

“I don’t understand. You say this, and you say that, and I am still here arguing with you to take me with you when you go.”

“It simply isn’t safe enough. I will never forgive myself if something happens to you because of me”, he confessed and approached her in the room cautiously. She didn’t move but didn’t stop him either.

“Well, I don’t give a fuck about that!” she felt familiar fury again. “What do you suggest then? Texting and sexting and you can’t even a call me because you fear that they’re monitoring my phone?”

“We could see each other’s every now and then”, he suggested but even he knew that he didn’t sound convincing. “They know who you are, and they know that you’re important to me. So, they will be watching you, especially now when they didn’t capture me in the mines. They’re probably looking for you right now, too, maybe in couple of months… -”.

“I will not agree with these terms and conditions, sorry, love”, she said sarcastically, interrupting his sentence. “You’ve said it yourself; they’re already looking for me, so I am already in need to hide. But fine, I won’t beg. If you don’t want me, then I will not beg. I’ll hide from them on my own.”

“MC…”, he rasped, and she lifted up her gaze from the floor. He was standing right in front of her. The evergreen eyes met hers and she was sure, that no one, ever, had looked her with a such a passion and intensity. She saw how he looked at her, really looked at her. His gaze left her eyes and wandered lower her body, memorizing everything. He looked at her collarbones, noted the small mole in the left side of her neck. Saw her breasts, where the right one was slightly bigger than the left one and he smiled a wickedly. Gaze scanned her abdomen, thighs and landed the area between them. She shivered, but not from the cold. She felt his eyes burning through her skin and became first time aware that she was naked. Something clenched in her abdomen, reminding her about the last night. The air tickled her nipples, making them hard. Or maybe it was the memory of Jake’s mouth around them.

“There will be no time or place, where I do not want you”, he said, voice so low and… dangerous?

“I told you that you don’t get to decide. Don’t you realize that I have already decided – “, she didn’t recognize her voice, it was so husky and low. “Because I chose you. I chose you and will choose you every time the option comes.”

The atmosphere in the room which was just minutes ago filled with tenseness and exasperation, had shifted for something hot, moist and anticipating. She could see the erection Jake had and knew, that the actual battle was only starting. She gulped and stared him daringly.

“But you don’t want me to come? Alright then”, she said with a menace. “I supposed that I have to get used to do this by myself then.”

As she spoke, she lifted her right hand to her breast and flickered her nipple gently. She used her other hand to caress her neck, drawing strokes from her ear to the collarbone. “I would have to imagine your lips here, sucking and biting”, she continued. “Biting so hard, that it would leave marks on the skin.” She could saw in Jake's eyes averting to the certain area in her neck.  She smiled. “That is indeed my favorite spot.”

She pinched and tugged her nipple and small sigh escaped from her lips. “I would miss terribly your mouth on here too, you know. I really did love the thing you did with your tongue; I could feel it in my cunt too”, she said, and they both saw the flash from last night showing his lips latched on her breast. Even the memory did enough for her, and she sighed with a tremble again. Jake didn’t say anything but watched her every movement with preciseness, pupils dark and dilated. She brought both hands to her breasts and caressed the swell below the nipples. “But darling, you didn’t find out yet, how sensitive this can be. But I am fair and telling you that now.”

She started to feel moistness between her legs and her cunt ached painfully, waiting to be touched. But she didn’t want to give in just yet, she did want to show Jake what he was going to miss. Determined, she pushed Jake to the bed. He just sat there and still didn’t say a word, but in his gaze, everything was said. Feeling victorious, she straddled his legs and gently pushed him down to the bed.

“Remember, this was your idea”, she said triumphantly, “so you’re not allowed to participate, only look.”

She saw him open his mouth to object, but then changed his mind. He smirked and nodded and gestured her to continue. She didn’t like the look on his face which promised retribution, but she started this and was surely going to finish it.

“We never talked about this before, but I do read a lot. That has given me the ability to imagine things very… vividly”, she told him. “If I close my eyes, I can practically see you touching me here”, she said and moved her hand to her thigh and her fingers danced in her skin. “And here”, she brushed her lower back. “And here”, she said and finally touched her cunt. The touch caused her to moan involuntary and they both looked surprised how quickly she was so aroused. She felt her dripping to his legs and by the looks in his face, he felt it too. Jake grabbed the sheet below them but never let his gaze escape. His breathing seemed heavier and troubled and that made her smirk in turn.

“I usually need to work out myself a bit more to get it this good, but with you in my mind, it seems to be more… effective”. She circled her clit slowly and didn’t bother to try suppressing her moans. She wanted him to hear them all. Her other hand was kneading her breasts and her legs started quivering a bit.

“I think I’d use the memory of last night in first weeks”, she said dreamily, still touching her clit, “but then I would probably start thinking about all the times we would miss. How good would it be to be fucked by you from the behind?”

She brought her hand from the breast down and very slowly brought one finger to her entrance. Jake’s eyes were glued to the sight and when she inserted it very slowly and moaned loudly, he let out breath with such a force that she felt it on her cleavage. She tutted at him.

“Since I am in such a mood for confessions, I’d like to reveal you that I do like rough sex quite a lot. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes slow love making is the greatest thing ever, but what really gets me wet is when I’m tied up and my hair is pulled when I’m getting pounded, she emphasized the last part with meaningful wink to Jake.

“MC…” Jake said with a struggle and his breathing was uneven. The fists grabbing the sheet were white as the color of it. “This is extortion.”

“All is fair in love and war, my dear”, she said slyly and inserted a second finger in her. The effect was magnificent, and she gasped. “I would have to think my fingers for yours to come though. Maybe if I say your name during this, it might be helpful.”

She added the third finger and felt so filled. She pumped her fingers inside for couple of times, rubbed her clit faster and her moans echoed in the room. “Oh, Jake”, she whispered and looked at his eyes. He looked like in pain, the emotions in his face were raw but she didn’t have time to inspect them more thoroughly, when he grabbed her hands and pulled him closer. The grind with their sexes made them both moan simultaneously.

“You are going to be the death of me”, he repeated his sentence from night before with his teeth clenching together. “But you were wrong in at least one thing today”, he said with warning in his tone. “You are going to beg me.”

She didn’t have time to register his words properly when he grabbed her hips and pushed her off him. She was laying on her backside and had barely a moment to see his face, which promised that he was up for revenge. Almost fear splashed through her, but then he spread her legs, and his mouth was on her. She buckled so hard that it almost hurt, but he held her still, when his ravenous mouth explored her clit.

“Jake!” she gasped, this time without aid of imagination and she could feel his hot breath on her cunt.

“Be a good girl and I will reward you”, he instructed her, “but when you’re bad... Well let’s just say that you’re going to find out.” The sentence was filled with a promise that she was going to pay for what she did. She gulped.

His mouth was relentless and unforgivable. He lapped his clit with her mouth, sucked it and his teeth grazed it slightly. She felt orgasm building in her, starting to rise to the surface. Her legs started trembling and her moans filled the room.

“Liked to imagine my fingers then? Well, here they are”, he pushed without warning three fingers in her and she buckled again, his fingers were much longer and bigger than hers. “I will use them on you when ever you need them. Or simply, I want to.”

She couldn’t hear him anymore, the only thing she was aware of was the orgasm arriving with every intent of releasing her. She squirmed and buckled and gasped, and when she was about to arrive on her destination, she felt his fingers and mouth withdrawing her suddenly. She pulled up in her elbows and glared at him.

“What the fuck was that for?”

He laughed and squeezed her breast. “I told you”, he simply said and climbed on top of her. “You are going to beg.”

“Never”, she replied with annoyance. She had won when Jake couldn’t resist on touching her, she would win this round too. Her clit was painfully throbbing now, trying to negotiate with her for a release, but she ignored it.

“You are the most stubborn woman that I have ever encountered”, he said, still laughing. She felt his erection pressing on her thighs and wriggled herself lower. Jake rubbed himself on her and her breath forgot how to inhale and exhale. He grabbed her thigh to make a room and got himself between her legs. She felt his tip on her entrance and expected him to slowly sink in, but he thrusted inside so hard that she winced with surprise. The noise of hers seemed to slightly slow him down and he looked at her a bit concerned.

“Fuck me”, she released him from his concerns with commanding tone.

“As you wish”, he replied with two finger salute and slammed in her again. She let out small whimper of pleasure and with that as an affirmation, Jake thrusted her again and again and her whimpers got louder with each push. He brought his hand to her clit simultaneously and gave it a proper rub. She touched her breasts when Jake abruptly took her hands and brought them up below her head, keeping them on their place by holding her wrists.

“Unfortunately, this is forbidden”, he told her sternly, “roles are reversed, and you’re not allowed to touch yourself either.” He brought his lips to her breast and circled his tongue on her nipple and sucked it quite forcefully. He shifted his mouth on her neck, punishing the spot of her neck with nipping the area with his teeth. His thrusts in her were forceful and deep. Just when she thought it couldn’t be any better, he inside of her, wrists bounded, fingers on her clit and his mouth on her neck, he bit the spot hard and sucked. Something guttural and primal noise erupted from her voice chords and her breathing got faster and she was so close -.

And it all stopped, except his mouth on her neck. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her first time today. The kiss was surprisingly gentle, soothing and calming and her breathing slowed down. Still, the painful ache between her legs was stronger than ever and she cried to between his lips. The noise of hers made the kiss deeper and more demanding, requiring her to give in. She tried to move her hips when he was still inside of hers, but he pulled out before she could have it.

“Get on your knees and elbows”, he whispered to her ear, and she swallowed. She did not know how much more she could take it, but at this point she wanted to see this through. She could beg, it wasn’t about the battle anymore, but something told her that it was better this way. They were sweaty, tangled mess and both were shivering with need, but they both had the desire to continue their exploration on each other’s bodies.

She got into the position asked and realized that this was exactly the situation she had imagined to Jake. He knew it too but took his time to watch her. The blush crept on her face when she realized what he was doing, but he quickly shot the embarrassment she had down with “I don’t think I have ever been this aroused before” and “you’re so fucking hot”. Then he inserted his finger in her, pumped couple of times and when she moaned, he replaced his finger with himself and slided in. The position was allowing him to go deeper, and she felt so, so full. Jake seemed to have trouble of composing himself too and he groaned deeply when she moved herself onto him.

They found a rhythm which was arduous, forceful and just perfect. The room was filled with noises of their skin making contact within each other’s. His hands gripped her hips and gained more force to the pushes and she felt like exploding apart any minute now. All coherent things were lost and all she could do was mewl and cry for pleasure. Jake didn’t seem to be any more immune to this, and was muttering “so, so good”, “perfect for me” and “I’m never letting you go”.

He brought his hand to her clit once again and swirled her fingers around it and she cried out so loud that it was probably heard by all away to the Duskwood.

“Jake… - “She managed to say with panting breath and her voice was raspy and spent, desperate. She was going to beg, she was going to bend his will, but it didn’t matter, since she was going to die if she wasn’t allowed to come.

“No, love”, he abruptly ended his pounding, and she was ready to cry for disappointment and hurt and need. He turned her to her backside and pulled her towards the side of the bed, sliding inside of her immediately. He kissed her with such a passion and cradled her face with his hands. “Don’t beg. You don’t have to ever beg me for anything. I am always going to let you have what you need. I am sorry.” Her eyes watered and her poor, poor heart which had been really through a limbo for a couple of days was once again, exploding. But it was love, pure love what put her most important organ to the proper test, and they would survive it. He was slowly pushing his way in again and his thumb swirled on her nub. The long-awaited release was sparkling like a firework in her body, just seconds away.

“I love you”, she breathed the words out. “Please.”

“Come with me”, he replied within the same desperation in his voice that she had on her own, and she nodded. Their bodies were shaking, their eyes had the same gaze which was so full of adornment, lust, love and admiration, their breaths were spent, and nothing existed outside of this moment.

Jake lifted his thigh, and she adjusted her heel behind his back, allowing him to slide in deeper. The lust haze was ignited more by fastening the pace of the thrusts and they started to get more erratic, the hand on her clit more pressured and faster on its pace. She grabbed his neck and brought his face closer to hers and kissed him.

The world crashed, everything went white and all she could feel was pleasure, pleasure, pleasure. She didn’t hear her scream for him, she didn’t feel her cunt clinching on tight around him or felt her nails gripping deep in his shoulder blades, or him praising her during his orgasm. She had never in her life came so hard and everything stopped when she ascended and ascended and ascended. She was up in the milky way and at the same time she was riding at the highest wave with full speed.

When she finally came down, Jake was on top of him, out of breath and holding her tightly. They looked in each other and she snaked her hand in his hair. No words were needed now, they just smiled with satisfaction. The exhaustion sucked her in to the black hole and she didn’t realize that she had closed her eyes. She did not wake up, when Jake pulled her in top of his chest and covered her with the sheet.

***

When she woke up couple hours later, she knew instantly what had woken her up. She could hear him whispering again somewhere above her ear, while curling her hair on his finger.

“Most infuriating and insufferable with her stubbornness, that’s what you are.”

She smiled and responded; “Still, you love me.”

“Most reckless and almost suicidal wildcat.” He sounded annoyed now. She opened her eyes and found him looking at her again.

“Still, you love me.”

“I suspect that this is not going to be the last disagreement about this.”

“I am alright with that, if every argument ends like the last one.” He hummed an agreement to that and patted her butt.

“I still don’t know why you chose me”, he confessed. “I have nothing but uncertainty to offer.”

“That, my love, is because I love you.” She lifted her head from the pillow and leaned in her arm.

“So, this comes after the end”, he said thoughtfully.

“What comes?”

“I get to spend every day with you.”

“Yes.”

He kissed her.

**********

A/N: Phew! I did it! I hope that this was the satisfactory ending to this story. It has been two years since I published anything and I am a bit rusty with my writings. I still hope that you enjoyed my writing as much I loved to write it!

I'd love to hear what did you think about this!

Ps. Where's my different sized boobs-gang? 🤝

[galaxy-stardust]

Jake:

Me:

[paigenoelchas-blog]

Feels Like Home,

Part 30: Holding Tight

See the Author's Note at the end of the chapter...

Mahri's POV:

The roads had been cleared and I had, regretfully, returned home. Work was busy since we had missed so many days due to the storm. All the overtime was worth the five days we had in absolute bliss. All of the torture that has come from going back to normal life is worth it for those memories.

I pour coffee into my half of the "his" and "hers" mugs that Jake had bought me and drink it fast. I have to admit, I am not the coffee snob that Jake is. You see, I can, and often do, drink coffee from the gas station, from the pot at work that has been sitting there unattended since morning, and from my old coffee maker that I can program the night before. I save the robot, which I call Al and greet with a hello every morning, for when Jake is over because that machine is intimidating. He says I can reprogram it, but it feels weird to do so now that I have named it. So, I drank a cup of coffee that Jake would have thrown down the sink as he shook his head.

It is early to head into the office, but I hope to leave early as well. I have to pick up Jake's Christmas present, which I am so excited about, and put some last-minute touches on his gift. As much as I desire to be with him, I am glad I have a few more days to get everything ready.

I remember that I needed to text Dan. He would be the one to help me get Jake's gift.

MC: Dan, are you ready for the delivery tonight?

Dan: Not even a good morning for your old pal?

MC: Hey there, Danny Boy. How are you?

Dan: Much better now that I know you aren't just using me.

MC: Never, that is Jessy's job. ;)

Dan: Cute. Yes. I am ready. See you tonight?

MC: 5:30?

Dan: See you then.

MC: Hey, tell Jessy Good Morning for me. Thank you for bing who you are.

I put away my phone, more than a little jealous that Jessy and Dan get to wake up together. I miss Jake, even though I only came back to my apartment two days ago. Sleep has not been easy for me without him. I smile knowing that I will see him for a few hours tonight.

I hope that it won't be too long before I can wake up to him every morning, not too long before that cabin belongs to both of us. I am lost in my own thoughts when I hear that a message came through on my phone.

Jake: Open the door...

Without a thought, I fly across the room to open the door. Jake rushes through the door and places the coffee he brought me on the table. Then wraps his arm around me tightly, one on my back, the other in my hair and proceeds to kiss me soundly. My back is against the wall, he is flush against me. This kiss is fast and deep, a mix of desire and hunger for each other.

He pulls back, smiling and sighing deeply, "That is much better. I missed you."

I smile back, "Jake, it was only two days." I protest, but he knows I feel the same.

"Two long, lonely days," he pouts and lowers his voice as he meets my eyes. They are cerulean and calm. He is wearing a casual shirt and some dark jeans, his usual attire for work and casual for most, but to me, he is the finest-dressed man on the planet. I am stunned by all of him, his kiss, his appearance, his love.

His grip is loosening on my hips and I already hate it.

"What are you doing here? Not that it isn't a pleasant surprise..." I ask trying to keep him close for a bit longer.

"Two reasons. I missed not waking up to you this morning and I had to see you for a few minutes before work." He picks up the coffee cup off of the table hands it to me, and walks into the kitchen, eying my "hers" mug. Without a word, he takes it and dumps it down the drain. "I also had to save you from that horrible coffee that you are so fond of. I bought you a new machine so you wouldn't have to settle for such garbage." I break his words with a kiss. I knew he would react poorly to my choice of beverage.

Jake holds my face in his hands as a big smile creeps across his face. "Baby, you are so cute. You know that it is a machine and has no feelings, right?" He teases and kisses me on the forehead to let me know he means no offense.

"Yes, but it feels weird. I can't do it." I mock defiance. I know it is odd, but I am not going to admit that. Not now.

With one hand still on my cheek and a smirk gracing his lips, he mockingly responds, "We are going to have to process this more thoroughly tonight. I have some concerns about you and your relationship with the Rocket."

He should.

"Al," I corrrected.

"But," he continues, "Right now, I have to go to work and so do you." He places another firm kiss on my lips, one that promises more to come. "Have a good day, Love. See you at six." His voice is deep and low.

My eyes are glossed over and I am dazed. Man, he can kiss.

"Love you," I nod as he walks away. I can still hear him chuckling under his breath though I don't know if the chuckle was for my dazed appearance or for my relationship with Al.

I sip the coffee that he brought. I have to admit it is much better than what I made. I hope that he will always make the coffee. That man, that wonderful man has made me late. It may mean that I have to miss lunch, but seeing him was worth any amount of sacrifice. I grab my bag and slip on my yellow Rothys as I rush out the door.

Once there, I greet my colleagues, pour a terrible cup of coffee, and enter my office, shutting the door behind me. I have a deadline. The magazine has to go out despite the weather. Fortunately, I had worked some in the cabin and my article was almost done. I have been researching another local murder. I am a true crime reporter. It is my job to breathe new life into real stories of murder, or betrayal. Any crime will do, as long as it is harrowing and can create a good narrative. Someday, I will write my own tale, the story of a missing woman, a reporter who falls in love with a man in hiding, and the man who deceived all of his friends in a misguided effort to assuage his own guilt. I get lost in the thought of my own story and how unlikely it was that the two of us actually came together. We have and whether I can give credit to fate or to God or simply circumstance, I know that I will forever be grateful.

I put down my coffee and start to type when my phone shows another message...

Jake: What do you and AI want for dinner? Is he picky? Does he have any dietary restrictions?

I shake my head and respond. Another smile appears on my face.

MC: We are quite close, so if you want to be with me, you have to accept our relationship. I told Al the same thing.

Jake: I don't like the idea of sharing you, but I suppose arrangements can be made in this instance. ;).

Smiling, I silence my phone and buckle down. He doesn't know it, but I have plans across town and I don't want to miss the time that we have together.

--------------------

Jake's POV:

I can't help but tease her. She is too cute. Her brain works like no one I have ever met. She is a genius but can suspend reality to the point where she can find the compassion that extends to an espresso machine. I can't help but love her all the more for it.

I am having a hard time focusing at work because I have been holding on to a surprise for over a week now, one that Dan and I had been working on. I decided to wait until Christmas for the Dan surprise because of the storm, but now I had even more reason to be excited, I have a couple of more plans, big ones. If things go the way that I hope, this will be the best Christmas of her life and the best memory that I have. I used to think that I would never feel at home again after the loss of my mother and the loss of Nana. I thought that the last Christmas spent with my mother would surpass all of the rest, but Mahri has renewed my faith in tradition and love and the hope of future Christmases filled with family and laughter.

It is hard to focus when I can think only of her, but I must.

I shake my head and clear my mind trying to focus on the computer screen in front of me, hopefully, the 0s and the 1s will distract me for a bit...

----------------------

Mahri's POV:

I manage to finish my article and get Jake's present over to Dan's with just enough time to pick some dessert on the way.

Jake: Are you almost here?

MC: Yes, just pulling up the drive.

I see Jake walk out to greet me. He picks me up in his arms and spins me around. He cradles his nose in my hair, taking in a deep breath. "I couldn't seem to get you off of my mind today. I had to skip lunch because I was being so unproductive." He pouts.

"I am sorry, but I brought dessert," I answer, trying to lighten the mood.

He nibbles on my ear and in a husky voice, he whispers, "you are all the dessert that I need, well, unless you brought chocolate..." He smirks.

I feel my skin warm up as my arms wrap around his neck and his mouth meets mine. His hands make their journey down to my hips and land there as we continue to relish in the touch and taste of each other. People watching us would think that we had been separated for months.

His hands move to my hair. Without moving away from me, he leans back and meets my eyes. "Should we eat? Everything is ready." I nod and he takes my hand in his, grabs dessert in the other, which just so happens to be a chocolate cream pie, and leads me into the cabin.

Every time I enter the cabin, I am calmer and more grounded. I don't know the reasons. Maybe it is because Jake is here, maybe the fact that it is in the woods, surrounded by trees, maybe it has to do with the professions of love and the memories it holds. It is a wonderful respite from the world. I hope with all of my heart that soon, this will be the place that I return to every night and it will be here that I can live my life with my love.

There is soft music playing in the background. It is slow and sweet. I hope we get to dance later. It has been a while since he held me in his arms like that. The fireplace is roaring as usual, casting an orange glow to the room. In addition, candles are lit and placed around the entirety of the cottage. The smell of oregano and garlic fills the air, making my mouth water.

He walks hand in hand to the table and pulls out my chair for me, laying the napkin in my lap before pushing me in and giving me a quick kiss on the back of my hand. The middle of the table is filled with fresh bread, pasta, and salad. He pours us each a glass of lovely red wine. I am blown away by his ability to sweep me off of my feet. "Jake, this all looks incredible. But I would have been happy with some of your world-famous grilled cheese. I just want to be in this cabin with you."

"I wanted to make tonight special and I know that you had a long day," he responds, reaching for my plate to serve up the pasta. Our seats are next to each other so we can maintain contact. Once the food is ready to go, he picks up his glass for a toast. "To AI, my girlfriend's boyfriend. May they live long, happy lives." He smirks and I punch him in the arm. He places his hand on my thigh and leaves it there.

"Ok, Ok," He raises his glass again, "To Mahri, my love, for all that she is and for all of the love that we share."

"And to Jake and all of the things he has taught my heart." I say as our glasses clink. The silence surrounds us in the best possible way. It allows us to decompress from the day and be enveloped in the comfort of each other.

Dinner is almost finished when he breaks the silence. "How was your day, Baby?" His hand moves behind my back on the chair and he turns his body to face mine.

"It was long. That kiss from this morning did not help my focus. I had to skip lunch too, but I finished my article." I am a little proud.

"Love," He leaned in toward my ear and whispered, "You are amazing," Jake said, finishing his sentence with some kisses that landed on my collarbone.

Pretending to be unaffected, I followed up his question with my own, "How was your day?"

"Once I figured out how to get you off of my mind, it went fast. That was no easy task. You are quite enchanting and very difficult to forget." He responds.

"Enchanting?" I ask and grab the collar of his shirt, bringing his face close to mine and giving him a sweet kiss. The kiss begins to deepen, but I pull away. We are still at the table and these activities usually call for a more comfortable location, or at the very least they require a table devoid of food.

"We have dessert to eat," I sing-song as I quickly kiss him on the cheek. I begin to pick up the plates. He quickly stops me. "I don't want our time together to be spent on such mundane things as dishes. I will do them later." He insists and leads me to the kitchen. "I will, however, " he adds, "take some of that pie.

He heads to the espresso machine and begins our drinks while I serve us each a piece of pie, then put the rest in the refrigerator. I know that pie will not be wasted, not in this house.

He has something he wants to say. I am trying to wait for him to spill, but I can't wait any longer. "What is going on, Jake?" I look softly at him and wait for a response.

" was wondering, since you have been so accommodating tonight, I thought I might ask you something. Would you like to spend Christmas Eve here? Overnight? I would love to wake up with you in my arms on Christmas. I can't think of a better present." his voice sounds unsure, but the words carry confidence. He already knows the answer.

" I don't think that I could think of a better way to start any day, especially Christmas. I have a hard time sleeping without you after the storm." I hope he hears the depth of what I was trying to say. I want him to know that he is who I want to be with and that I am ready to be with him for all of the good and all of the bad. I believe we could fight anything as long as we are together.

-------------------

Jake's POV:

I understand what she is trying to say, that her heart matches mine, that it is the right time for us to be together, that we have a future and we don't want to wait for it anymore.

I am even more excited to give her the presents that I have for her.

Our coffee cups are empty and the pie is gone. Offering her my hand I ask, " May I have this dance?" She nods and moves to my side. I wrap my arm around her.

The music had been playing all night, but I hadn't paid much attention until now. I don't care what song is playing as long as she is the one that I am dancing with, but this song is romantic and swooping in both musically and lyrically.

There in the middle of the living room, with the fire blazing and the candles dancing, I wrap my arms around her waist, she returns the gesture and lays her head on my chest. My chin rests so perfectly on top of her head. I am reminded of how perfectly she fits in my arms, reminded of how many things had to work out for us to make it to this moment, reminded of the moment that we met, the first night we shared in this now sacred space.

Our bodies sway and move to the music and I am overwhelmed that this can be my life, our life. We stay in this moment lost in our own thoughts, breaking occasionally to meet each other's eyes or lean in for a few kisses.

I don't know what to do with this feeling that I have. I don't even know how to describe it. I only know that in the shadow of our love, I seem small. Nothing seems as powerful as what the two of us share.

Sometimes love is loud and bold, you want to scream from the tallest building of the love you share. It forces you to run and jump and make changes. In those moments, the world seems brighter and more alive. You feel electric and invincible. Mahri has made me feel that over and over again.

But sometimes love is soft and quiet, sweet and honest, like tonight has been. It is in these moments that I feel our souls intertwine like our fingers when we hold hands. It is those moments where we are so close that I can't find her end and my beginning because we are one. With her in my arms, I feel all of our love and all of our forevers.

----------------------------------

Later, after the candles have burned out and the coffee mugs have been emptied, I walk her to the car and give her a soft and loving kiss goodbye. I speak to her of my love and hope for the days when we won't have to leave each other, the nights when I don't have to watch her drive away. I can't help but think of her and of the future that we will share. I can not wait to ask her to share this cabin and our life together. As I watch as her taillights disappear and turn to return inside pondering all of the ways our lives are going to change, I can't help but smile. I miss her already and quickly reach for my phone and text her.

Jake: "I love you because I know no other way than this: So close that your hand on my chest is my hand -- so close that when you close your eyes, I fall asleep." **

Her response is quick.

Mahri: I love you for all of who you are and all that you show me to be. I will love you until my soul fades because you own it in every way.

I place the phone in my pocket awed that someone like her can love me. I am still amazed at her beauty, the incredible person that she is, of the fact that she is in my world. Months ago, she ran to me in the rain and bore her soul to me in the storm. She trusted me with her heart when logically, it made no sense. She made my heart grow in love for her with every moment we spent together and made it impossible to imagine a life without her in it. That day, she took the greatest risk anyone could take and I will be forever grateful to her, to the fates, to God, or to whoever I owe my happiness to.

I close the door behind me and hear it latch. It is the door to the place that has brought me the greatest joys and the greatest pain. It was here that I entered this world and had the best of all childhoods. It was in this cabin that I first learned what love was and where I learned the pain of heartbreak. In this place, I determined that my heart would never be able to handle that pain again and in this same home, I decided to lock myself off from any form of love.

But it is also in this cabin that I returned to love and remembered what it felt like to be treasured, protected, and cared for. Mahri has delivered me hope and given me the dream of a future that I had long given up on. She has shown me unconditional love, one that shares tears of joy and pain, one that will fight for me and with me. Our is a love that cats about our souls and not about our pasts. That is a true gift.

It is in this wonderful little cabin nestled safely in the background of a rather busy town that I intend to ask my love for a forever. It is in the cabin that I plan to share all of my future heartaches and joys. It is here, where I am determined to make her feel loved and treasured for the rest of her days, that I intend to call her my bride, dance in the rain, make love by the fire, raise my children, and grow old by her side.

With light steps, I head to the bedroom, and though I am alone and want her here, yet I am filled with a calm that I have been robbed of for so many years. I see the path before me and it is full of love, so much more love than I could have dreamt up, so much more love than I could ever deserve.

For once I am going to be confident in the depth and breadth of our love. I am going to capture it, hold on tight, and never let her or it go.

**Quote from Steve Oedekirk

Authors note: I have chosen to remove a few chapters of this story and end here. I will have epilogues so we can find out what their Christmas is like, and maybe see some times when they live out their lives together, but for the most part, this is it. I didn't want to leave this story incomplete and I wanted to give this the attention that it deserves, but I need the freedom to write other things without forsaking this story. Thank you to the few of you who kept reading and for the encouragement that you gave me through this process.

[elsafromcabinsix]

that kind of love never dies | chapter one

summary: the one where barbara thinks about an act of rebellion.

pairing: jake x mc

word count: 1.3K

warnings: tkolnd takes place after the events of episode 10; cover images found on pinterest; english is not my first language.

author’s note: even though she lives in the usa, my main character, barbara, is brazilian. i added terms and expressions that we use in our country, as well as cultural elements, to this fanfic. the words that appear in portuguese are highlighted and you can contact me if you have any questions.

masterlist

Barbara was sprawled out on the dorm carpet, reading a Lucy Maud Montgomery novel she found by chance in the university library, when her cell phone began vibrating on the nightstand. Without wasting time, she closed the book and got up, waiting to hear from her roommate, Meera, but, when Barbara swiped her finger across the lock screen, she found some text messages from an unknown number.

i would like to invite you again to eat something at that chinese restaurant

if you want to meet me, just show up there tomorrow

i'll be waiting for you :)

Her head started to throb just at the possibility of it being who she was imagining, but she quickly pushed the thought away.

Jake wouldn't put himself in danger like that.

After everything that happened in Grimrock, Duskwood's chief of police, Alan Bloomgate, personally went after her to conduct the interrogation, and, more than once, made it very clear that it was best for her to stay away from her new friends for a while. He didn't go into detail when he told her about what happened at the Ironsplinter Mine, but he confirmed that Richy was alive — despite having some serious injuries — and that Jake had fled from the FBI agents during the confusion caused by the explosion.

All the messages she sent and received during that time became evidence. Barbara had what it took to close Hannah Donfort's case literally in the palm of her hand, including the kidnapper's confession.

Consequently, she also had the means that could lead the people who were after Jake straight to him.

She was interrogated by the FBI countless times for months, until Alan decided to intervene and convinced her to hand over her cell phone to them in exchange for her old life. Since then, Barbara has not been part of the joint investigation. Or at least that's what they say — she's too smart to really believe that.

For a few seconds, she considered the chance that it was someone trying to play a trick on her. The video Lilly Donfort posted accusing her of kidnapping had gone viral across the Columbia University campus. Even her grandmother, who lived in the interior of Brazil, found out about her involvement with a hacker wanted by the North American government. However, no one else knew about the brief conversation they had about the chinese restaurant.

Except, of course, the FBI.

Without a doubt, it was a trap. Barbara felt her face turn red. It seemed that solving an old international murder case, giving up her privacy, being forced to abandon her group of friends and possibly cheating on the guy she was in love with was not enough. She also needed to act as bait when it was convenient.

Barbara huffed, irritated. Little did they know that Jake had no contact. Their partnership in crime had ended almost a year ago.

Still, there was no reason to decline the invitation. She could very well take advantage of the opportunity to tell some truths to those nosy agents, and as a bonus she would have an excuse to go to Germany without Alan being able to question her too openly.

Her lips lifted into a smile as the plan emerged in her mind.

After going through customs at Zurich Airport, picking up luggage and going to an exchange office to exchange some notes, only an hour and fifteen minutes by car separated Barbara from Duskwood. Luckily, there were several yellow taxis forming a line next to the sidewalk, because it would be a nightmare to have to deal with someone trying to compete for the same vehicle as her.

She walked out of the lounge, pulling her hot pink rolling suitcase, and turned on her smartphone to announce on the family's group chat that she had arrived safely. But before she could check her contact list to see if her parents were online, she collided with a young man's broad chest.

She jumped away from him, apologizing — or at least trying to — in german. He laughed softly, grabbing her arm to stop her from tripping over herself, and for a moment, Barbara forgot to even breathe. The young man seemed to be a few years older than her, he was tall, had dark hair and prominent round eyes that resembled the curve of a teardrop, he was wearing a white sweatshirt with a hood and black jeans.

“I'm sorry, I didn't see you.” He spoke in english, with a slight accent.

“No problem, it was my fault.” Barbara quickly straightened up, realizing that she had somehow stared too long.

The young man analyzed her from head to toe with amusement before bending down and picking up the cell phone that had flown out of her hand during the impact.

“I believe this is yours.” He joked, handing the device to her.

“Thank you.”

He nodded curtly and turned, making his way through the travelers entering and exiting the airport, as silent as a wraith.

She was inexplicably disappointed to see him leave, however she had more important things to deal with. Then, she handed the luggage to the driver to put in the trunk and got into the taxi, giving the address of the Gates Hotel, on the outskirts of Duskwood.

Barbara ran across the room, feeling the cold floor beneath her feet. She was considerably late, but as far as she remembered, she had never arrived on time to participate in the interrogations, so whoever was waiting for her at the restaurant wouldn't mind too much. She put on a black strapless dress, put on her highest heels and curled her wet hair with her fingers, leaving a small trail of water on the floor.

Through an opening in the peach curtains, she noticed that the rain had picked up outside, beating violently against the window pane. She cursed under her breath, hoping someone at the front desk could lend her an umbrella, and before Barbara could procrastinate her meeting with the FBI Special Agent any further, she took one last look at the floor mirror near the entrance hall, realizing that she was dressed for revenge.

“Someone would definitely approve of that.”

Smiling to herself, she went down a small flight of stairs to the ground floor, where the girl at the reception was reading a magazine with Nicholas Galitzine's photo on the cover.

“How can I help you?” She asked in english, without taking her eyes off the celebrity gossip.

“Hey, how you doin'? Could you lend me an umbrella, please?”

“Of course.” She said, reaching for the object under the counter and handing it to her. “A fee of two euros will be added to your room bill.” Barbara sighed, surprised, as she mentally converted the currency. “What?” The receptionist looked up, frowning. “Did you think it would be free?”

“No, obviously not.” Barbara lied, smiling politely.

“Return it by midnight or I will have to charge the full value of the item.” The girl announced, turning her attention to the magazine. Then she added: “Nice dress.”

“Okay, I'll pay when I check out.” She assured, walking towards the glass doors while opening her rented umbrella. “And thank you.”

“Have fun, Cinderella!”

Barbara regretted walking out the door as soon as she set foot on the sidewalk. Not just because of the rain, but because of the wind blowing your hair back. In any case, she had come too far to give up, and despite the storm, she could see the lights of the chinese restaurant through the blue haze a few meters ahead, on the other side of the street.

Before she could take another step, someone grabbed her arm and turned her around.

“What?” She blinked in amazement at the handsome young man she had met at the airport.

“Come with me.” He said, pulling her away from the hotel entrance.

“You are crazy? I do not know you!” Barbara shouted, dropping the umbrella near her feet. The rain completely drenched them both in moments. “Me solta!”

“Barbara, please.” He asked, breathing short.

The sadness in his voice stopped her struggling.

“How do you…?” She gasped, eyes wide. “Jake?”

taglist: @daniiiworlds; @labemquarts; @deinily

[duskwood-mc-art]

I have this one twisted idea that the MC will be so traumatized after the events of Duskwood and Moonvale that they turn into the antagonist in the third game.

Imagine that we are the ones who have to hide a crime, and depending on our choices, we will either be successful or not.

And if the MC was dating Jake or Jess, this is going to be very dramatic. And I love it....

[hacked-by-jake]

MC: *visiting Jake's new apartment for the first time*

MC: Oh, that's cute. You're having a Guy Fawkes mask as decoration?

Jake: Well, what can I say? Sometimes I’m sentimental.

MC: Never wore one... Can I try it on?

Jake: S-sure

MC: *puts one the mask* And? How do I look?

Jake: *faints*

[miss-celestia13]

Mask On

Jake x MC - Smut One-Shot

The lovely @hacked-by-jake asked if I could write a smut scene inspired by this meme. I said yes, it’s been a while, and it was a lot of fun; I missed writing smut 🤭 all credit to HBJ; I wrote it, but it was her meme that inspired me enough to do so!

It's sex against a window! So they can watch themselves. And Jake can enjoy the visual of MC coming apart for him while wearing his mask.

It’s also available on Ao3.

With that out the way, I hope you enjoy it 🥰

The MC here is my Manon from Marked Me Like a Bloodstain and other stories. But you don’t have to read those to be able to read this. This is more of an “in another life, we might’ve done this instead” type of thing. It doesn’t fit their current timeline and can be read as its own story.

It is a dual POV. The names are in bold when they change.

———————-

The elevator ascended in slow motion. Or felt that way to Manon. She was a ball of frenetic energy as she stole glimpses of Jake from her periphery and edged ever closer. He was remarkably tight-lipped despite the filth that spilled from his lips a mere 24 hours before they arrived.

They were rising to the top floor of a swanky apartment complex he’d brought her to from the airport. She’d known he had a base home hidden in the city and was aware he had money stashed in secret accounts and cash buried in multiple places in Duskwoods forest. However, upon seeing this fancy building, she realized he was wealthy as she caught sight of the formally dressed doorman who required ID on entry and observed the expensive marble floors, polished to a dazzling shine, as they walked over them.

A thousand questions swirled in her overactive mind, but she kept it all inside as the elevator came to a sharp stop. Jake turned to her, a bashful smile curling the corners of his full mouth.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here. It might be a bit of a mess.” He said, sounding uncertain.

She sidled closer, slipping her hand into his to squeeze, and smirked as she replied, “After all we’ve been through, do you really think a little dust will frighten me?”

He chuckled, lovely and deep, and she fought off a shiver as he led the way out the open doors and into a red-carpeted hallway. The beat of her heart went out of time as they approached a black door, and Jake took out his keys. She let go of his hand and stepped back, pretending she didn’t notice how his hand shook as he turned the key.

An eardrum piercing, loud, robotic screech sliced through the peaceful quiet between them, and Jake hurried inside, beckoning her with a hand as he punched in the code to shut off the alarms.

“Well, that would wake the dead, never mind frighten off an intruder.” She joked to lighten the tension, settling on Jake’s shoulders as he loosed a sigh once the alarm silenced.

As he said, “I couldn’t let myself get caught unawares,” he reached up and scratched the back of his neck, continuing, “It had to be loud enough that I’d hear it through my headphones.”

She nodded as they kicked off their shoes, surveying the expansive apartment as Jake locked the door. Her eyes skipped the other closed doors she assumed led to his bedroom and the room she’d seen in their first video call. The sparsely furnished space held little personality; the most dominant feature was a massive dark couch by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

She suspected the stretched around the whole building.

“I’m guessing they treat those windows in a way that allows only you to see out and prevents anyone from looking in?” She asked when Jake seemed anxious about her thoughts on how he once lived.

He gave her a sly smirk and slid a hand around her waist to guide her into the living area before he spoke. She watched him in the window reflection.

“You guess right. I can’t have a drone appearing outside and catching sight of me.”

She wanted to cry for him, but knew he wouldn’t want her pity. Manon did what she did best—distracted him.

“And where do exhausted hackers sleep when they finally run out of caffeine?”

With a suggestive brow waggle, she turned to face him and grinned so extensively that she wouldn’t have been surprised if he could see her wisdom teeth.

Jake laughed, stepping closer and staring at her as he said, “We sleep wherever we fall. But I assume you’re looking to rummage through my bedroom. Unfortunately, you’ll be disappointed. There’s just a bed and a gun safe in there.”

“You really know how to get my blood going. Guns and a bed? What more could a girl want? Come on, show me!” She teased, grabbed his hand, and tugged until he allowed her to drag him behind her.

He laughed as she flung open the door and came to a stuttering halt.

“I warned you. I rarely used this room,” he said.

She cast her gaze around the ample space and shook her head. He hadn’t been lying. There was only a double bed and a safe cunningly disguised as a nightstand decorating the room. Or so she thought. Her feet were moving toward the black and white object hanging on a hook beside the bed. It was in her hands before she could recall giving her body the command to move.

Jake had worn the scuffed and cracked Guy Fawkes mask during his video calls. Without thinking, she turned it over and pulled the elastic attached to the back and shoved the mask over her head. It severely limited her peripheral vision, the hard plastic cut into her jaw, and it smelled slightly sweet and sour. A blend of chemicals and sweat, she thought.

She was so engrossed in her own thoughts she didn’t notice Jake had gone wholly still as though petrified.

“Don’t tell me you actually wore this on a regular basis? It’s terribly uncomfortable. I thought it was just for me, so I wouldn’t be able to describe you if Bloomgate ever got off his ass and did some work!”

There was a long pause, and Jake seemed to take a steadying breath as she cut her eyes to him. He practically trembled as she frowned at him.

“What’s wrong? Is there some strange rule that only you can wear this mask?” She enquired when he only fisted his hands and groaned softly.

He shook his head. His pupils had blown wide, black swamping the blue, and his fingers spasmed at his sides as though he wanted to reach for her. It hit her like a slap, and she grinned behind the mask, adopting a nonchalant stance as her muscles went loose and she sauntered closer to him.

“Are you going to answer me? Or has an invisible cat caught your tongue?”

It was as if she electrocuted him. He shuddered, blinked heavily, and said in a sheepish tone, “What were the questions?”

She choked down a gleeful laugh and swished her hips as she approached him. Her dress swirled around her knees as she moved and she lay a hand on his chest to feel the rapid fluttering under his skin.

“I asked if you really wore this mask while working, Jake. Keep up, love.” She taunted, tilting her head and tapping her fingers over his pounding heart.

Jake reached up and rested his hand over hers as he shook his head, grinning freely, saying, “It’s an annoying accompaniment to my lifestyle. I have faith in my ability to prevent people from getting through my intensive security measures. Still, if someone manages to view me through the webcam, they won’t see anything they can identify.”

“Clever. Handsome, intelligent, and you have a filthy mouth on you? Are you real, or am I dead and in heaven?” She said in a sing-song voice, edging into his personal space until her senses were filled with him. She reached up and shoved the mask up so it rested atop her head.

He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around her and replied, “I don’t know about that, but I’m real. It’s you I’m wondering about.”

She smirked, winding her arms around his neck as she said, “And what are you wondering about me?”

Jake drew a deep breath, pulling her closer, eyes flicking to the mask on her head and back to her again.

“You’re wicked, infuriating, and so beautiful. I’m terrified I’ll mess you up.”

With a purr in her voice, she said, “If you don’t mess me up, I’ll be sorely disappointed.”

It wasn’t what he meant; she knew his fears of dragging her down with him, but she was prepared to fight for him. The air between them was electric. A thrumming current seeped under her skin and made her restless; her eyes dipped to his mouth. His gaze did the same to her, neither wanting to break the spell as the delicious tension threaded through them.

She felt like a moth at a candlelight vigil whenever she was around him—overwhelmed, unable to keep still, and desperate to share his light.

He pressed his forehead to hers. They were sharing breath, and her lips tingled as familiar impatience itched at her and demanded she push up on her toes and close the distance.

Time seemed to halt as she waited for him to make a move; her voice was little more than an airy breath as she said, “Do you want to kiss me now or later? Or both?”

His response was instantaneous. “Both.”

She chuckled, low and throaty, and said, “Good answer,” before taking the lead and digging her fingers into his hair to pull him down to her.

The first brush of his lips on hers was the sweetest. His deep groan as she plastered herself to his front and silently encouraged him to kiss her forcefully sent a wave of lovely heat rolling out from her center. He listened to her unspoken demand, much to her delight.

His hands splayed wide on her back. One slid up to cup the back of her neck, the other settled on the base of her spine and tugged her flush against his rapidly hardening cock. She almost whined as his bristled mouth bruised hers, coaxing her open, and his tongue slipped inside to slide along hers as she sighed in relief.

Glittering, scalding heat surged through her, turning her liquid between her thighs and making her hands shake as she lightly pulled his hair as though to drag him inside her. She forgot about seeing his hacker hideout as his sharp teeth nipped and his plush mouth ruled hers.

She wasn’t a religious woman, but when he kissed and touched her like this, she felt like she was holy. The silly, dramatic thought made her smile into his addictive lips as their breathing grew labored and their hands wandered.

She didn’t know where to touch first. All of him. Preferably draped all over her.

Her fingers roamed along his broad shoulders and back again, climbing up his neck to cup his bearded jaw as his tongue flicked in her mouth and his hands gripped her hips mean.

Chemistry sizzled between them like a pot of rich, thick molten chocolate begging to be indulged and she was nothing if not a greedy woman. His knee parted her thighs, and she whimpered as it pressed against where she burned for him.

The skimpy underwear she wore was already soaked as she wriggled against the hard length trapped between them and gave into the urge to grind down on his muscled thigh. Sparks shot through her like tiny lightning strikes. Their kissing turned wet, sloppy, and utterly filthy.

A thrill shimmered down her spine, setting her entire nervous system alight and making breathing difficult. What little air she could suck in. Jake stole it right from her mouth. Heat built to a blaze inside her and her empty cunt clenched in complaint as his hands moved to grasp her ass and began kneading her until she was in a frenzy of sensation and painful anticipation.

She nipped at his plump bottom lip, teeth sinking in and pulling, a whine leaving her as she felt him smirking into it. Her pulse flickered in her neck. The shake in her hands turned to a quake, and she needed him to touch her. She needed him to fuck her before she came out of her sweat and gooseflesh adorned skin.

He tasted wild and sweet and felt like home. A place she’d long given up finding until he appeared in her path. She was desperate to have him inside her.

Jake felt Manon’s distress as her body shivered and tautened under his hands. He hadn’t expected that her wearing the mask would have such a profound effect on him. His painfully hard cock twitched as he teased her tongue with his and bent at the knee, sliding his hands down the back of her parted thighs to grab hold of her and hoist her up.

Her legs wreathed around his waist and locked in place. Captivated by the little sounds she made and the way she fit perfectly into all his hollow spaces.

Her enveloping body was a warm embrace of sunshine, wrapping around him like a cocoon and melting the night’s chill from his bones. The heat emanating from her scalded him as he blindly walked over to the wall of windows and pinned her against it.

Freeing a hand, he flattened it on the window beside her head as his other hand tapped her thigh. She hesitated all of a second before catching on and unwound her legs from his waist as he reluctantly parted from her mouth to help her stand on weak knees. His heart trembled in his panting chest as she looked at him with eyes full of trust and smoky lust. Their emerald color had darkened to evergreen as she licked at her swollen lips and waited for his next move.

He eyed the mask perched precariously on her head and decided. She liked it when he bossed her around.

“Turn around, step back, and face the window.”

He moved away to give her space and smiled when she immediately did as he bid. The flimsy dress she wore had buttons from the neckline to the hem, all down her front, and his fingers itched to tug it open, but he held it back as she met his eye in the window reflection.

“Good. Now, put the mask on, Sweetheart,” he ordered in an undertone he barely recognized.

He watched her as she swallowed thickly and shifted on her bare feet. Time slowed to a crawl as he observed her hands lifting and grabbing the mask, slipping it down to cover her face as he nodded in approval.

A sparkling, fizzing sensation trickled down his spine and swirled in his lower back, sweeping through all of him and he was hard enough to hammer nails as he swept her long hair up in hand. He let the pale strands rest over her shoulder and dropped his head to the side of her throat he’d bared for his teeth.

He ran his nose down the elegant column of her neck and inhaled her warm, spicy scent and let it feed the desire racing through his bloodstream. She trembled as he brushed his lips over her rattling pulse and bit down. He banded an arm around her to keep her upright as she gave a muffled moan and her knees failed her.

The scent of her arousal, heavy with musk, was a humid warmth cloaking them both as he sucked and bit her skin, a swipe of his tongue over the small hurt so she murmured his name. His cock jumped at the sound of it. There were so many emotions packed into that four-letter name of his. He wasn’t entirely sure he deserved them yet, but he wouldn’t tell her that.

He glanced at the window as his hands moved to her full breasts and cupped them, enjoying the weight of them in his palms as he watched them in the night dark window.

Manon stopped seeing the incredible view of the city as Jake teased her sensitive flesh, nipples stiffening to hard peaks, and the wetness between her legs turned to a drenching flood.

If he didn’t have that devouring look in his eyes, she would feel foolish wearing the mask, but his feverish touch and harsh breathing conveyed his desire was at a level she had never seen from him. Excitement turned her legs to water as he grasped the neckline of her dress. She gasped in shock and giddy pleasure as he tore it wide open. The fragile buttons were no challenge for him. They popped free and clattered off the window as he hurriedly dragged it down her arms and exposed her nearly naked body to his starving eyes.

Sweat trailed down her face as she ignored the ache eating away at her fast failing patience. Her mouth went dry as she saw his reflection take off his t-shirt and jeans, hands fisting at her sides as she waited for his move. His boxers and socks soon joined the rest of clothes on the floor and his fiery body melted into hers from behind.

She ground her ass against his hard cock. Wetness dripped down her inner thighs as her mind skipped ahead and she needed him inside her before she exploded from the ardour burning through her. She luckily didn’t have to wait long before his large hands were on her again.

He latched his fingers into the elastic back of her mask and firmly pulled her head back. His other hand slid around her hip and traveled to her weeping cunt, teasing her soaked folds through her underwear. His fingertips traced the shape of her like a rhapsody, each taunting stroke composing a symphony of desire that echoed through her entire being.

Her head lolled against his chest as he shoved the lace covering her aside and met no resistance as he plunged two fingers into her tight cunt. The strangled moan that left her seemed to bounce off the walls as she felt herself clenching to keep him from leaving her body. Slick and so hot, he groaned. She couldn’t think as he played with her like he’d always known her body.

Her pounding heart and rushing blood muted all sounds as those fingers moved within her taut heat and she ground herself into his hand at his whispered urging. Her cunt clasped and unclasped as he grazed her clit and sent a trail of wheeling stars scattering across her bare skin.

The hand holding her mask slipped to wrap around her throat and the gentle squeeze he gave her was a warning of what was to come. She couldn’t wait for it. The simple action sent her heart thrumming, and she panted into the plastic covering her face. Any discomfort it might’ve caused blasted away by Jake’s obvious delight in it.

His touch unraveled her like a tightly bound scroll, releasing a cascade of longing and urgency that surged through her veins like liquid flame.

Suddenly, he removed his hands from her and stepped away, leaving her swaying as her head spun and she blinked stupidly as he whirled her to face him and ripped the mask off her. He dropped to his knees in front of her and did the same with her underwear, lifting her ankles one by one to help her step out of them. He tossed them both aside without a care as he crowded her until her overheated skin met the cold window. She hissed in shock as her head thudded back to meet his ravenous gaze.

“I want to taste my name on your tongue as I fuck you,” he said in a voice like a growl.

She squeezed her legs together to counter the ache as her empty cunt clamped around nothing and her essence glazed her inner thighs.

She formed three words, but they were enough. “Fuck me then.”

His smirk was salacious. They pounced on each other, and he quickly caught her. She extinguished his midnight chuckle with a dirty kiss and he trapped her between him and the window. He reached under her to palm his cock.

Her hips tilted as he ran the fat head of him through her saturated folds and sank inside her so fast she had no time to prepare as he stretched and filled her so completely she didn’t have room for the air in her lungs. Her nails clawed at his shoulders, mouth agape and gasping as his hand smoothed loose strands of damp hair away from her sweaty face.

The maddening pressure built and built as he remained unmoving to let her acclimate to his sudden invasion. Her hips rolled, and she used his shoulders for purchase to lift and drop back down, taking him to the hilt, both groaning as she slowly softened for him.

He muttered her name as he let her breathe and studied her face as she shook in his arms. Part of her worried the treatment on the windows only went so far and someone in the building across from them might get the show of a lifetime. But most of her didn’t care if that was true. Let them watch.

Jake had gone still, muscles jumping and quivering as she made soft little noises of frustration as that intense pressure demanded a release. Her skin stuck to the glass and there was an audible sound as he peeled her off it and he at last moved. Shallow darts of his cock inside her to open her up and rile her further.

His strength thrilled her, no strain as he hefted her up and finally, finally slammed her down on his rigid cock. Her rapturous cry of pleasure sliced through their heavy breaths and the vulgar smack of flesh meeting flesh. Fingers dug into her ass as he fucked her, planting violets and giving him more leverage to ruin her.

Every deep caress of his cock inside her dripping cunt set her ablaze, a wildfire of untamed passion consuming her as she surrendered to the exhilarating storm of sensation. When he kissed her, she clung to his hair, fingers weaving through the black strands until she could use it to hold him captive against her whining mouth.

He tasted like sin, felt like heaven and looked like hers all at once, and she could only hold on. It was as though someone had flain the first layer of her skin to expose her nerves. Even the whisper of air pressing against her skin as his hand braced on the window sent a bolt of fire down her torso.

His lips branding hers, his thumping heart that matched the beat of her own, and the heady, clean scent of his skin. She wanted to never forget a single detail. They had earned this. Through blood and sweat and fire, they had earned this and she would be damned if she didn’t take all he offered her. Tension coiled in her core as his thrusts fell out of rhythm and each one shunted her up the window.

As his tongue teased hers, she yanked on his hair, feeling owned by him and getting swept away. Drowning in the blistering sea of their shared desire. The heat in her abdomen grew out of control, but it was nothing compared to the fire she had kindled in Jake. All the awkwardness in him had vanished, and he fucked her like he’d never get the chance to do so again.

He stole moan after moan from her. The sanity eroding tension coiled and coiled until it drove her to the brink of insanity and made it impossible for her to breathe. Her stuttering hips, his thick cock, and her clenching cunt were all she knew, her throaty cries smothered against his stubbled lips as they rubbed her mouth raw.

Hovering on the brink of shattering, Manon sobbed and rocked her hips, freeing a hand from his hair. She worked it between them. The tense skin of her stomach flickered as her fingers ghosted over it and she kept going until she swirled them around her swollen clit.

“Fuck, Manon,” Jake cursed as her inner walls clamped down hard on his cock, making her smile.

A little helpless sound spilled from her as she toyed with herself and the tension in her drew so taut she arched. Jake pounded into her mercilessly, giving her no room to calm down. The sensations and lust were so intense her mind fractured with jagged white light and she struggled to withstand the tremendous pleasure ricocheting through her.

Her body convulsed as she circled her clit and pushed herself to the precipice. Jake sobbed into her mouth as he felt her clench around his cock, burying his face in her neck as his forceful thrusts slowed a little. Bursts of darkness speckled the edges of her vision as her orgasm sparked its warning.

Relief glimmered at the back of her mind as her back arched again and Jake lifted his head to see her face. His voice was a sinful melody she’d been searching for from the beginning of time.

“Come for me, Sweetheart. Take me with you.”

Any thoughts she had left disintegrated at his words. Her fingers swiped that bundle of nerves deliberately again and again. The rough glide of his heavy cock inside her threw her over the edge and she splintered into a million glistering pieces. His kiss smothered her warbling moan of his name as her cunt spasmed around his cock and sucked him in deeper, dragging him down with her as he slammed home one last time and they soon sank to the floor as his legs failed him.

Her twitching, useless body slumped and practically merged into his as he lazily drank from her mouth and ran soothing hands down her slick back. She felt every jump of his cock as he spilled into her, and her inner walls fluttered as the scalding waves of her release rippled out from her core.

How long they sat there in a complete knot of disheveled limbs, kissing and touching. She didn’t keep count. Just reveled in it and in him, as he silently told her he loved her. She shivered from the chill settling in the room at some point and he instantly broke away from her lips, concern in his cobalt eyes that she rushed to comfort.

“I’m just a little cold. Take me to bed and warm me up again.” She winked and smiled softly as the worry in his gaze cleared and he gave her a proud smirk as he eyed the bite mark he’d left on her neck.

“Your wish is my command,” he chuckled, but made no move to get up. She caught sight of the Guy Fawkes mask, and an enticing idea popped into her mind.

“After we sleep a bit and you’re able to go again, it’s your turn to wear the mask.”

A startled laugh burst from him as she nodded seriously and fixed her features into a haughty expression as he said, “Is that an order or a punishment for making you wear it?”

She gave an indolent shrug, committing his smile to memory and hoping to make good on her promise to christen every room in his apartment before they left for Duskwood. There was only one thing left to say.

“It can be both if you’re into it. Pain and pleasure, Jake,” she said in an imperious tone that made him shake his head and she patted his shoulder, jerking her head toward the bedroom door as she finished, “Come on, let’s get food and some sleep. You’ll need your strength later.”

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Thank you for reading. I hope it was worth your time. If you comment or reblog, thank you so much for that as well❤️

If I have time, I might write another part where Jake wears the mask. But I am busy with many other stories, and it won’t happen anytime soon.

I hope Sunday treats you well!

[mwonie]

When Jake asks, are we single.

My honest reaction: