Innocent Sins Ch. 10

"No!" she quickly corrected, quickly wiping away her tears so she could see his beloved face clearly again. "I...there's no one but you, Jake."

He nodded, glancing at the floor as he said, "I treated you badly. I'm sorry for that. But we can talk, you can tell me what you want or need to. I rented a place across town, but I'll probably have to leave occassionally for business. I just have to be honest with you, Heather. I still have a lot of hurt and anger towards you trapped inside me. Please remember that when I get angry and have a hard time listening. I may not be the best listener at times, but I promise to try - harder than I tried before, back when you really needed it."

Heather considered him for several seconds without saying a word. All those months ago, he'd thought he was the one who should forgive her, but now, the tables had turned. She had to forgive him for all the awful things he'd done to her too.

"Yes," she said a bit shyly, then leaned over to sign her name.

"Yes what?"

Finally she smiled at him, a timid, sheepish smile. "Just in case you ever do decide to propose again, I'll probably say yes. For the record, you're right, we do have a lot to work out, but my answer will still probably be yes. I'm only half a person without you, Jake. But..."

"But what?" he asked with concern, seeing the sudden worry on her face.

"I won't let you treat me the way you did when we were in Las Vegas, Jake. If that's your intention, then I'm sorry but we should both just walk away now."

"That's not my intention," he assured her carefully. "I promise I won't deliberately hurt you again."

"Also I want you to know," she began and hesitated, as if trying to form the proper words, "we can't just go back to the way things were before all of this happened. I'm still angry and hurt with you, too, Jake."

"I understand that," he said. "I didn't expect us to just jump back into marriage, Heather. I thought we could start out with a few dates...you know, so I can try and win you over again."

"Oh, Jake," she smiled, again with tears in her eyes. She looked as though she were going to hug him, but he wasn't ready for that yet.

"I'm not the same Jake you fell in love with," he warned uncomfortably. "I don't know if I can ever be again. I guess I could lie and say I've tried to redeem myself by spending the last year working with orphans or saving little old ladies from fires, but I haven't. That only works in the movies, or in those cheesey books you read. I'm just a guy who made a lot of mistakes...A guy who has been trying to figure out a way to make up for all of the awful things he's done to the only woman he's ever loved."

"Well I'm not the same woman you married," she countered. "We'll just have to spend a lot of time getting to know each other again."

He frowned and shifted his gaze toward the stage, and Heather wondered if her anxiousness to accept had spooked him off. But then he looked at her, smiled wryly and held out his hand, "In that case, I'm Jake Devlin. Nice to meet you."

She swallowed, took his hand and replied with her own greeting, "Heather Ross-Devlin." She refused to give up her married name, even now. "I'm very pleased to meet you too."

"Well, you've paid your money and signed the papers. Guess that means I'm all yours now. Would you care to leave this place and go have dinner somewhere so we can...I don't know...plan our Valentine's date and talk?"

"I'd love that. Oh!" She suddenly remembered to hand him his remaining money back, then remembered that she'd come here with her sister. "Cassie...?"

Jake smiled, grasping the money, and said, "Just a second."

When they got to her, Jake leaned down, squeezed Cassie's shoulder and said, "Thank you for your help tonight. Would you mind if I took Heather to dinner now?"

"Of course not," she said. "I'm having a ball watching these hunks. It was worth it."

"Can I ask one more favor?" He handed Cassie the envelope of remaining money and said, "I've got a buddy - Kevin Cooper - who's scared to death no one is going to bid on him. Truth is, he's as ugly as sin, but he's a nice guy. And I was going to donate the rest of this money anyway. Would you--?"

"Say no more," Cassie said, taking the money. She didn't want the poor sucker to go without bids, and hey, it would be fun to give him a lift. Too bad he wasn't a hunk though. She'd been sitting here all night wishing she had the kind of money that would allow her freedom to bid on one these guys. "I need a date for Valentine's anyway."

Heather sent Jake a puzzled look and exchanged goodbyes with her sister. She'd overheard his comment and, as they walked to his car, she pointed out, "Kevin's a hunk. I can't imagine he would be worried no one is going to bid on him."

Jake just laughed. "Just trust me."

That night, they had dinner together. The next night, and the next, they had dinner again, until it became a familiar routine. They always followed their meals by returning to his apartment to talk some more, or by catching a movie down at the new cineplex. Eventually Jake had to confess to Heather that he'd hit rock bottom after she left him in Vegas.

"By that point, I didn't even want to live anymore," he told her and explained how he'd come close to using the gun on himself until he'd somehow picked himself up and decided to live again. "I checked myself into rehab. When I got out a month later, I went home to make things right with my family. And I spent the rest of the year backpacking across Europe with Kevin - it gave me plenty of time to think about my life and decide what I wanted to do with it. To be honest, I had myself half convinced we'd both be better off starting over without each other. But I couldn't get you out of my head - or my heart. Everytime I passed something beautiful in France, I would tell myself, 'Heather would love this,' or 'I wish Heather were here to see this.' By the way, I sold my business in Vegas. From now on, this is my home - this town, these people. No matter what happens between us, I'm staying right here."

Heather was both horrified and humbled to realize that Jake had almost taken his life - because of what she'd done. Truth was, she'd entertained such a thought once or twice herself. Her affair with Ty had had a Domino effect, affecting every aspect of both her life and Jake's until neither of them had been left standing. Even so, she knew that if they could get past this, it would only make them stronger, as individuals and as partners. Other couples suffered through affairs everyday and survived it, better and stronger than before. Perhaps hers and Jake's love had always been so intense that they had to work harder than most to get past that betrayal. But she knew they could do it too.

In fact, she finally suggested to Jake one evening, "I really think we need to go to counseling."

So far they hadn't gone to bed since his return to town, but it was getting harder and harder for Heather not to express her feelings for him at the end of each evening. She felt like a horny schoolgirl most of the time, but she dared not act on the feelings out of fear of reminding Jake of what a slut he thought she could be. It was like a road block for both of them that needed to be addressed.

The sessions were harder than either of them had imagined they'd be, with each of them having to make uncomfortable confessions for open discussion. A couple of times, Heather would admit, she'd left the therapist's office feeling defeated and hopeless. It had taken a lot of love and commitment on both their parts to work through the pain and the guilt on both sides.

But seeing the therapist had also reminded them of the good times, of the feelings worth fighting for, and the older woman had somehow managed to convince Heather that Jake had, for the most part, forgiven her for her affair and wouldn't try to punish her for it anymore. She had also helped convince Jake that Heather had no intentions of ever being unfaithful again.

On Heather's birthday, Jake had the rustic-looking, but very modern lakehouse he'd been renting decked out like a dream, with lit candles and a roaring fire in the fireplace casting a romantic glow over everything. Heather had often wondered what it would be like to wake up with Jake in the morning, take their coffee and snuggle on the sofa downstairs in front of the wall-length window overlooking the water. Would that morning ever come? Yes, she finally, truly believed it would, she'd thought with a smile.

After serving her dinner and slow dancing with her to her favorite singer's collection of love songs, he'd taken her hand without a word and she saw that he'd left a trail of rose petals leading upstairs to his bedroom. Once she'd realized what he was silently asking, seeing the bed also covered in rose petals, she'd turned to him, happiness in her eyes, and said simply, "I love you, Jake."

They kissed. Slow and gentle at first. And then more and more passionately, until Heather could barely stand on her own legs.

Heather felt more alive than she had since Ty had re-entered her life and messed up her happiness with Jake. As always with Jake, she could feel her sensitive nipples rubbing against the lace of her bra, feel the moisture gathering between her legs in anticipation. She'd give her entire life's savings just to have Jake touch her there, right now, she thought. She wondered if he was even half as aroused as she was. Probably so. His erection pressed against her leg and his face was just as flushed, his breathing just as rapid as hers. "Happy birthday," he whispered, pulling away to pick Heather up and place her gently on the bed.

He continued to kiss her, his lips trailing down her throat as he lowered the zip on her dress, exposing her sexy black bra. She'd dressed as sexy tonight as possible, hoping something like this would happen. She'd been hoping he'd ask her all night what she'd wanted most for her birthday so she could say, "I just want you to make love to me again."

Reaching between her full, pale breasts, he unhooked the front closure of her bra. Gazing down at her, he said, "You're so beautiful. Every inch of you." Then he began to kiss them, using his tongue to lave her sensitive nipples.

Meanwhile, Heather worked on the buttons of his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders, rubbing her hands across his solid chest. He'd always been in great shape, thanks to great DNA, but he'd obviously been working out more than usual. Smiling at the thought that she was glad he'd found a release for his own sexual frustration, she slid her hands lower to work the button of his pants undone so she could unzip his fly.

Pulling back, Jake was smiling too. He helped her toss his shirt to the side, and then he took his time as he finished undressing her, inch by agonizing inch. She shimmied out of her dress as he tugged it out from under her. He removed her small black thong, but left her black garter belt and matching stockings on. He had a very naughty, appreciative gleam in his eyes as he pulled back to finish removing his own clothes.

When he was as naked as she was, he lay beside her on the bed, quietly studying her body like a work of art. Jake couldn't help but think of all the time they'd lost together, and how very beautiful Heather had always been to him. Even now, however, he felt a twinge of inadequacy and uncertainty. He wanted to take it slow, be gentle and loving, but in Vegas, she'd seemed to love it every time he took her rough, hard, in various and exciting positions. The only thing - she'd never liked swallowing his load or giving him blowjobs after they'd had sex, but he would never demand that again. He only wanted to please her. This was her special day, and this was his gift to her.

"Sweetheart, I want to make it good for you," he began. "Do you want me to go slow, or do you want me to--"

Pressing her lips against his, Heather stopped his words, practically reading his thoughts. Pulling away, Heather looked into eyes, seeing the need, seeing the want in them. "Do what you want, Jake. As long as it's you loving me, I don't mind anything you do. This is for both of us. Just...go slow at first. I haven't had sex in a long time...not since you."

Lowering his head, he told her, "I haven't had sex with anyone else either," and he saw the sudden tears in her eyes, even as she smiled and admitted uncertainly, "I had wondered...I mean, you were in Europe. You must have met some beautiful women there. Beautiful women with seductive accents who saw how handsome you were and wanted--."

"Sure," he agreed, interrupting her nervous, rambling speech. "But none of them were you."

Pressing a kiss to one of the tears on her cheek, he then lovingly used his skilled tongue to arouse her entire body, licking and kissing his way down between her legs. Lowering his head he gently sucked her clit then pushed his tongue inside her. Heather let out a wild cry and gripped his hair, pressing him into her. He tongued her for several minutes, until she was literally begging him to stop because the pleasure was so intense. Jake rose to his elbows and positioned his body over hers. Slowly he entered her. She was very tight. Almost as tight as the first time, when he took her virginity on their wedding night. If he'd doubted that she was telling the truth about not sleeping with anyone else, he didn't now.

He pushed more and more inside her until his balls rested against her pussy. He began a slow steady rhythm. Pulling part of the way out then pushing back in. Heather's arms wound around his shoulders, pulling him onto her so their chests touched and his mouth was within easy aim of hers. For a long time they lay entwined that way, him still inside her as they simply kissed, a sexy yet loving open-mouthed kiss. Finally, Heather's hips began to move, and as she loosened up, Jake sped up his rhythm too. Faster and faster. All the way out, all the way in.

After about ten minutes of furious stroking, he felt himself reaching the end. Before, he'd had so much control, but now...god. It had been so long, and heaven help him, he loved Heather so much.

"Oh baby, I'm going to cum," he warned her on a groan. He'd lost count of the times Heather had spasmed around his cock, so he knew he wasn't leaving her high and dry.

She gripped him tighter and whispered into his ear, "I love you, Jake. Come inside me. Please."

He could feel the hot cum traveling up his pounding cock and knew he couldn't hold back any more. And as she felt the stream of his seed entering her, she came also. She felt the waves of satisfaction overwhelming her senses and almost passed out from the rush.

Jake, resting on top of her, finally caught his breath and rolled to her side. Sweat was pouring off him like he had run a marathon. He looked at the woman beside him, now watching him with a shy smile. Love poured from her eyes, her pupils still dilated from passion. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

Pulling her close to him, he wrapped his arms around her sweat-dampened body. Reaching down, he pulled the sheet over them. She lay her head on his chest and looked up at him. "This is the best birthday present I've ever received. I love you, Jake. I know I keep saying that, probably too much, but I can't help it."

He answered, "I love you too, Heather. I've missed you."

This time it was Heather who shifted over him, leaning down to kiss him before moving down his body, licking at his own nipples, dipping her tongue in his belly button. Getting between his legs, she took the head of his throbbing member into her mouth. Running her tongue around and around it, she tasted their combined fluids and looked as if she loved it. Sucking gently for a few moments, she began to run her tongue and lips up and down his now rock hard cock.

The more she worked, the louder the moans Jake made were. He knew he was close to coming again and tried to reach down and pull her up to his chest. Heather just pushed his hands away and refused to stop the blowjob she was giving him.

With a loud groan, Jake felt himself start to cum in her mouth. He expected Heather to finally pull away, but she didn't. She swallowed it all, and when he was finished, she pulled away and licked her lips as she crawled back into the shelter of his arms.

"As long as you love me, Jake, there's nothing I won't do for you," she told him.

With smiles on their faces, they each fell into a contented sleep.

EPILOGUE

"This view is beautiful," Heather told Jake as they snuggled, coffees in hand, and watched the early morning activity on the lake from the downstairs sofa. Jake leaned down and kissed the side of her face, commenting, "So are you."

Just then, the sound of something crashing in another room interrupted the wicked thoughts they'd each been entertaining. With a sigh, Heather told her husband, "I knew it was too good to be true. She's awake. I'll go see what the little terror has gotten herself into now."

But Jake held her back, insisting that she stay and enjoy the view and her coffee. "You're too soft with her. I'll handle it this time."

Heather watched him go with a smile, silently thinking that Jake would crumble like a cookie when their daughter batted her pretty little four-year-old eyes at him and denied any wrongdoing.

Thinking back, Heather thanked God for her blessings. She knew she must have gotten pregnant on her birthday, when she and Jake had first made love again. To be honest, she'd taken herself off the pill when Jake had moved back to town, hoping they'd end up in bed together. It probably wasn't the most honest thing she'd ever done, but she'd hoped Jake was giving her a baby that night, especially since he hadn't mentioned the possibility of marriage again. And it had worked. Jake hadn't even hesitated to propose - actually to demand that she marry him - when she told him she was expecting.

Looking back over the past five years, there had been the usual ups and downs every marriage went through. If anything, she and Jake had had more ups than downs, each being careful of stirring up old ghosts and being extra sensitive to how precious their relationship now was. They had had to work hard to rebuild that lost trust, to put past heartaches behind them. Finding out she was pregnant with their first child had helped, and they'd named their daughter Faith because of the hope she'd brought them and because of their renewed committment to a shared future.

Their love had nearly destroyed them both, but in the end, it had also been their salvation. They had made it.

With a quiet smile, Heather listened as something else crashed, her little girl giggled helplessly and Jake's stern voice commanded, "Faith, put that down, right now!"

She couldn't wait to tell him another one was on the way...