Chapter 8: Jake

The day had certainly been eventful. I was glad we were finally relaxing down by the river. It was going on two in the afternoon, but I felt like it should be eleven at night. I was exhausted. After getting up at the crack of dawn because I couldn't sleep anymore, I had stumbled down the stairs to find Melissa in her office.

That had been a long overdue talk and it made me feel like more of an asshole for expecting her to start shit with Stephanie. I didn't know what I was thinking, bringing the bitch to Melissa's house. Yeah it was my house too, I lived there, but it was Melissa's dream house. She had had the plans drawn up for that house since we were sixteen years old. It was her money that built the house, and her long hours put into managing the contractors and builders.

I shouldn't have brought Stephanie home, and that was it. I had done wrong and though Melissa had forgiven me for it, I knew she wouldn't forget. She never did. Now all I had to do was not do something else stupid for her to need to bring that shit to the surface again.

After our talk this morning we got bored and started poking around to see what kind of trouble we could get ourselves into that morning while everyone was sleeping. That's when Melissa had informed me of her plans on tearing down the barn that weekend. Considering it was Sunday already, and the rickety old barn was still standing, we decided to take matters into our own hands. That's when she showed me the box of C4 she had in the garage.

It was like Christmas morning and I couldn't have been happier. And of course Melissa had a backup plan when the Sherriff came. She always had a backup plan.

"Yo Jake!" I was startled out of my musings when something hit me in the head.

I looked around to see Scott laughing at me. I rolled my eyes at him. The eight of us were sitting around the clearing where the river met the cliff and hurtled over in a waterfall. Melissa's property really was breathtaking and the lake down below was no different.

Everyone was lounging and eating lunch. The ATV's were parked near the tree line behind us and Scott apparently wanted my attention. "What?" I asked him, sitting up and collecting my garbage.

"You gonna jump the cliff?" Scott asked me with a grin on his face.

"Hell yeah, you coming?" I asked him. I looked up at him to see him trying to figure out what to say to that response.

He looked shocked that I agreed. "I was kidding, but hell yeah, you first!"

"Oh no dude, you're the guest. You first." I nodded over at the cliff that was at least thirty feet above the lake below.

"I don't know dude," he said standing up. "That's a fuckin long way down."

Josh laughed and walked over to us. I knew he had already jumped the cliff with Melissa and me before. It was something we took him to do on his first visit. "Dude, it's not that far down." He said. I stood up and the three of us walked to the edge with Scott.

Scott didn't look convinced. He stood awkwardly at the edge, carefully peering over the side. Melissa laughed at us from her spot next to our Dad. "Just jump you baby!" she called over to him.

John and Andy grinned while EJ and Jeff stood up. They joined us standing at the edge of the cliff. "You shouldn't die," Jeff said with a shrug.

Scott looked over at him like he was crazy. "Yeah, just don't belly flop and you should be alright," EJ grinned cheekily.


Melissa:

I sat between John and Andy, watching the boys stand at the edge of the cliff. It was sort of a tradition, like a rite of passage, for the new person to jump down to the lake below. Scott didn't look like he was gonna do it though.

"Josh, why don't you show chicken boy how it's done?" I smirked, drawing their attention to me.

Josh looked over his shoulder at me with a grin on his face. "You just want to watch me strip." His eyes twinkled with mirth.

"Something like that," I nodded. Jake turned to look at me, his eyebrows furrowed together. I knew as soon as we got another minute alone he'd be confronting me about flirting with his best friend. I didn't care though. Josh looked too good to pass it up.

Before we had rode out here on the ATV's everyone had changed into their swim suits; the boys donning trunks and t-shirts, while I had on a pair of black board shorts and white wife beater over my black bikini. My bikini was really cute too. It was covered in little white skull-and-cross-bones.

Josh pulled off his shirt and tossed it at me. I caught it with my right hand, still holding my sandwich in the left. I tried to keep the stupid grin off my face, but somehow I didn't think I managed. Josh kicked off his shoes and socks as the other guys started stripping as well. I grinned as I watched the eye candy before me.

"You know, this wasn't what I had in mind," John joked a few feet to my right.

"Yeah, maybe we should head back to the house and let you kids play," Andy grinned.

I blushed and shook my head at him. "No, don't leave. I'll behave."

Andy laughed. "Somehow I doubt you've ever behaved."

I just grinned and shrugged. When I looked back at the five men standing at the cliff side they were naked from the waist up and barefoot, ready to jump. Okay three of them looked ready, Scott still looked apprehensive. And Jake still had his shirt on.

"Come on already! Someone jump!" I shouted at them.

"Dude, aren't you jumping? Take your damn shirt off!" Scott said with a shove at Jake.

Jake grinned at him and shrugged. He glanced back at me and that's when I knew. Jake hadn't told anyone about the scars. My eyes locked with his and it was like time stood still. If Jake hadn't told John about the scars, then John didn't know about my own matching scars on my back. And if John didn't know about the scars, then he definitely didn't know how bad things had really been growing up with Katherine.

I shrugged at Jake. I didn't know what to tell him. If he took his shirt off then, it would definitely draw attention to it, but if he left it on he'd seem like a pansy in front of his family of guys.

Jake's eyes narrowed slightly at my shrug. He didn't know what to do and he didn't like the answer I gave him. "You guys are all a bunch a babies!" I announced with a grin. I stood up quickly and tossed my sandwich to the ground.

I ripped off my pants, tossed off my shirt, and was running and leaping over the side of the cliff before the boys even knew what happened. I plummeted the thirty-five feet to the lake below. I maneuvered my body into a perfect dive and sliced through the water like a torpedo.

When I surfaced John and Andy were standing at the edge with huge grins on their faces. Jeff and EJ cheered before they jumped off the ledge and dived in the water. "Come on! The water's great!" I wiped my hair out of my face as I treaded in the 40 foot deep water.

The lake was the deepest near the waterfall but got shallower as it fanned out. The lake was actually really large, spanning out for a couple of miles. I owned all the land surrounding the lake, which made the lake mine and private. At the opposite end of the water fall, around the bend in the land, the lake emptied out over a natural spillway. It was basically a dam with a waterfall- if the water levels reached too high to handle.

Jeff and EJ surfaced the water just feet from me, both grinning maniacally. I started swimming away, but they had been too quick. I closed my eyes and shrieked as hands gripped my shoulders and waist, pulling me under the water.

When I surfaced again, they were both laughing as were the men still standing on the top of the cliff. I looked up in time to see Josh jump straight down into the water. Jake was talking to John and Andy, pointing to his left, my right, to the path that winded down and around the cliff side, coming to the level ground down at the lake.

"Aww don't chicken out! Come on, jump!" I yelled up at them. They grinned and waved at me, but started walking down the path anyways. "Psh."

Josh resurfaced about twenty feet from us while EJ laughed and pointed up at Scott and Jake. I returned my gaze to see Jake trying to push Scott over the edge. Jake still had his shirt on and Scott was using it to his full advantage. Both hands held fistfuls of cloth and Jake was trying his damnedest to twist out of Scott's grasp.

Suddenly Jake stopped moving and stared down at the shorter, yet older man. His grin turned wicked and before Scott could do a damn thing, Jake had pulled him over the edge of the cliff with him, both hitting the water with a loud smack!

We were dying laughing. I could barely tread the deep water, I was laughing so hard. John and Andy had made it to the bottom of the cliff in time to see the duo smack in. Both men laughed as they made their way to the water's edge. When Jake resurfaced he was laughing hysterically. Scott was close behind him, sputtering and coughing.

"You're not supposed to drink the water!" I yelled at Scott as I swam closer to him.

I flipped me the bird and I grinned. I really liked Scott, me and him were already getting along perfectly. I liked that he didn't seem to care that he just met me. He already treated me like a sister he'd known all his life. So to return my love for him, I quickly pushed on his shoulders, dunking him under water again.

When he resurfaced this time, he was grinning evilly at me. Before I could swim away he reached out and a hand encircled my ankle. I was yanked under water with a shriek of protest. And so he started the water war. Somewhere along the line, the foam water balls immerged out of the storage locker at the dock. It was all out war, every man - or in my case woman, for himself.

The afternoon faded away down by the water. I was lying on the dock drying off in hot summer sun. The boys were floating in the lake, drinking beer and talking about whatever crossed their minds. I was happy and content. I had my family around me and I felt on top of the world.

That was until Jake was standing above me, dripping cool water over my sun dried body. "What the fuck!" I yelled, standing quickly.

Jake had taken his shirt off some time after he had fallen down to the lake. When I stood I was staring straight into a pearly white chiseled chest. I glared up at him just as he squeezed out one of the foam water balls above my head. I was quickly drenched and yelling at him. "Mother fucker!" I yelled, shoving him hard in the chest.

Even though he had been expecting my retaliation, he stumbled back slightly with a smirk on his face. "Wow, such language for a little girl," he smirked down at me.

I growled, teeth clenched, and lunged at him. He anticipated it though and side stepped me, wrapped his hands around my biceps and swung me around, using my momentum from the lunge. The end result was us spinning around like a bunch of kids, and Jake laughing at me.

I glared at him and suddenly his hands slipped down my arms to my wrists. I quickly grabbed his hands before he let go, so I didn't stumbled and hurt myself on the dock. We still spun in a circle, eyes on each other. "Ready?" he suddenly asked me.

"NO!"

"Too late," he smirked at me.

Before I could stop it from happening, my feet were leaving the wooden dock and I was flying ten feet through the air. "Fuck!" I shrieked before I landed in the water inches in front of John and Scotty. Both men were laughing hysterically at me when I resurfaced and I couldn't help but join them. That was really fun flying through the air.

I wiped the hair out of my eyes and turned my back on them, turning to face the grinning Jake. He was standing smugly with his hands on his hips as he stared down at me. "Oh you think you're so cool huh? King of the Mountain?" I asked him.

"Damn straight!"

I rolled my eyes and was about to say something else when I felt fingers brushing my hair to the side and started tracing the scars on my back. "What the hell Melissa?" John's rough deep voice asked.

"Shit," I sighed, my eyes locked on Jake.

He wasn't smiling anymore. His eyes grew hard and his face emotionless. The carefree summer afternoon had come to a halting end. I turned my back away, treading slightly out of reach as I turned to look at John's concerned face. "Where'd you get those?" he asked. "What the hell are they from?"

I glanced at Jake, wondering if he was going to say anything. Even from where I was in the water I could him clenching and popping his jaw, working his molars into a grind. "Liss they look like you got hit by a whip." The silence that followed after Scott's statement was deafening.

"Yeah, something like that," I muttered, still staring at Jake on the dock. Ignoring them, I started swimming toward the dock.


Johnathan:

"Where the hell you going?" John yelled after Melissa. "I'm talking to you!"

Melissa ignored his protests and was quickly pulled up on the dock by Jake who had reached down and grabbed her by her biceps. John was already swimming toward the dock, ready to follow the twins when Jake turned his back on John. That's when he saw them. Jake's back was covered completely in the angry red and white lined scars that only a whip could make. His were worse than Melissa's. Though now that she was out of the water, John couldn't be too sure whose were actually worse.

John pulled himself out of the water faster than he thought possible and yelled out at the twins again. They were already halfway down the dock, heading toward land. Jake had a hand around Melissa's upper arm, half pulling/half dragging her down the dock and away from him. "Jacob Michael Parker, get your ass back here and talk to me!" John bellowed out, showing his anger for the first time since arriving.

Melissa suddenly halted on the dock, yanking her arm out of Jake's grasp. "The fuck you didn't tell him?" She glared up at Jake, facing him fully and squaring her shoulders. She widened her stance and John knew that if he didn't handle the situation carefully, someone was going to throw punches.

"What the fuck was I supposed to say? We got the fuckin' shit kicked out us growing up? Shit never came up!" Jake shouted at her, even though they were standing feet from each other.

John was beyond livid. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. Whoever fucking laid a hand on his kids were going to pay for the scars and torment they put the twins through. "What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On?" John ground out through a clenched jaw. Behind him he heard Andy and Scott climbing up the dock ladder further back behind him. It would only be a few moments before they joined him.

"Nothing," Melissa sighed, turning away from.

She started to walk away from him when John reached out and grabbed her elbow, pulling her back around to talk to him. It all happened so fast after that. Melissa swung around, right arm swinging, landing a perfectly aim right hook straight to his eye. John stumbled back as suddenly Jake was shoving him in the chest and standing in between John and Melissa. "You get your fucking hands off her!" he growled, pointing a finger at him.

John held up his hands in surrender and suddenly Melissa was standing in front of John, her back to Jake and her hands on John's chest. Before John could get in Jake's face he looked down at Melissa and everything seemed to stop. "Please stop." Her voice was soft and delicate, a slight quiver at the end. She stared up at him with wide eyes. John thought she looked like an angel. He stopped moving, breathing heavy as he stared down at her.

"I'm sorry." She ran a hand down his chest before she glanced over her shoulder at Jake. He was still glaring at John, but he rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Melissa glanced around at Andy and Scott who were now standing behind John. "How about we all take a breather and we'll regroup in an hour in the kitchen. We'll tell you everything. Okay?" Though she posed it as a question, it was really statement.

She was staring intently into John's eyes, waiting for his approval. When he finally nodded Melissa did the same and turned quickly on her heal. She walked quickly away, heading toward the path that led back up the cliff where the ATV's were parked.

Jake stayed behind a minute, staring at John. Neither man moved an inch. John wasn't sure what Jake was about to do, but he had a feeling him and Jake would be having some words when Melissa wasn't around.

"Jacob!" She shouted to him. She was already halfway up the path.

"Don't ever fucking lay your hands on her again. You got that?" Jake glared at his father, eyes almost black with hate.

John suddenly felt like shit. He hadn't meant for shit to hit the fan. And shit had hit the fan quick after he grabbed Melissa. "Yeah," John nodded to Jake. With a final glare at John, Jake turned and stalked off after Melissa not daring to glance back at the crowd of confused men on the dock.

John stood shocked in place as he heard the ATV's up the cliff start up and drive away. It wasn't until Andy laid a hand on his shoulder that he snapped out of it. He glanced around to see that Jeff and EJ and cleaned up the water toys and secured the locker already. Josh was standing awkwardly behind Andy and Scott, looking unsure of what to do.

Andy's face was unreadable, but Scott definitely looked as shocked as John felt. "What the hell just happened?" he asked.

"Don't take it personally," EJ said as he walked over to the group. "Jake's insanely protective of her. The minute anyone touches her, he sees red and snaps. He can't control it, most of the time he doesn't even know what's going on. Instinct takes over and that's it."

"Instinct?" Andy asked. John was still too shocked at how quickly his son had turned on him.

EJ shrugged but offered no more. Andy turned to Jeff for answers. Jeff's eyes were hard and his face an emotionless mask. Jeff stared Andy down, not caring what the other man thought of him.

Andy looked away, angry.

Scott shook his head. "This is ridiculous. I want answers." He suddenly walked away, heading toward the path and leaving everyone behind.

John nodded and followed his son. He was going after the twins. He wanted some damn answers too.


Jake:

"We were having such a good day," Melissa sighed. After she parked her ATV in the garage, she still sat on it, removing her helmet and resting it on her lap. She had raced to get back to the garage in such a hurry, you would have thought it was burning down. But now that we were back, she didn't seem to want to go anywhere.

"What the fuck you freak out for?" I asked her, leaning forward on my own ATV, resting my elbows on the handle bars.

"I didn't think. I reacted." She was looking down at her hands, fidgeting with the helmet strap. She didn't say anything else, just sat and fidgeted. "I thought you would have told him already."

"It's not exactly a conversation you have out in the middle of the Bering Sea. You start thinking shit like that, getting distracted, it's not good out there. Someone can get killed that way. So no I never mentioned it. There was a lot I didn't tell him." My voice was steady and calm as I stared at her.

"So now we have to explain to these total strangers every little inch of hell we lived growing up? The pain, the beatings, the hospitals visits, the warrants, the arrests?" Her voice was surprisingly strong considering how badly she was fidgeting.

I sighed and hung my head. I brought a hand to my face and rubbed, trying to overcome the frustration I felt before I tried to have this conversation with her. I dropped my hand, pick up my head and stared hard at her. She wouldn't meet my eyes, but I knew she felt my gaze.

What I was about to admit to her, I'd never tell anyone else; only my twin sister, only Melissa. After all the shit we'd been through growing up, she was the only one that would understand any of it. Half the shit was too fucked up for even me to think about sometimes.

We grew up in a nightmare, but we survived to live the fairy tale.

So when I finally opened my mouth to tell her, I had to clear my throat. "I tried to tell him. There wasn't much I could tell him. There was a lot I couldn't tell him alone." I admitted, and holy shit was that a hard one to admit. Melissa had always looked to me to have her back and protect her if need be. I hated knowing that in the three years that I had known my father, I still had hardly told him half of what our life was like growing up with Katherine.

Her eyes flashed to mine, searching back and forth as if searching for the truth in my eyes. After a moment she looked down and nodded. Her hands were smoothing over the chin strap of her helmet, looping it closed before untying it again. Her eyes followed her hands, not daring to meet mine. I watched her fidget for another minute before I sighed and stood up. She didn't look up as I got off the four-wheeler, nor did she look my way when I rounded the bike and stood in front of her. She still didn't look up at me when I stood in front of her and rested my hand on her fidgeting fingers.

I grabbed both her hands in one of mine and tilted her chin up with a finger. When she finally looked at me, the tears that had been pooling in her eyes slowly cascaded down her face like a summer rain. It broke my heart to see her crying. I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her and holding her head to my chest. She didn't move though, didn't grab my hand, and she didn't wrap her arms around me. She stayed perfectly still, letting the tears run down her face onto my bare chest. Only a few sniffles could be heard.

"I'm sorry," I murmured and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head and tried to pull away, but I held her tighter. She didn't like to be weak or show weakness in front of anyone, but she was my sister and if there was anyone she was allowed to be weak around it was going to be me. She struggled at first, but finally gave in and wrapped her arms around me tightly, choking on a sob.

"I don't think I can do this. I don't think I can relive that past." Her voice broke, the sobs starting uncontrollably.

"Shh, it's okay. I'll take care of it. I promise." I held her and rubbed her back. I rocked her and whispered that it'd be okay. She continued to sob, her breathing getting shorter and harder. If she didn't calm down she was going to hyperventilate. But I didn't try to stop her. It was pointless. She needed to get it all out now. It was better to be emotionally drained than to keep it all bottled up inside.

After what felt like ages later, she had calmed down enough to control her breathing. She mumbled an apology against my chest, but didn't move away. "I probably should have told him anyway," I offered with a shrug of my shoulder.

She shook her head and pulled back. She let me go, so reluctantly I did the same. She started to wipe her eyes so I handed her my discarded t-shirt. She grabbed it and dried her face. I took a step back to give her space when I heard it: the distinct sound of the ATV's growing closer. Melissa heard it too, because she quickly hopped off the ATV and grabbed her things.

Instead of heading out the open garage door and heading toward the house, Melissa walked to the back of the garage where there was a set of concrete stairs leading to a basement. I followed her, knowing full well she didn't want anyone to see that she'd been crying. Melissa went through the door at the bottom of the stairs, and I heard the sounds of the ATV's entering the garage as I followed behind her, shutting the door.

I followed Melissa through the basement workshop over to another door at the far wall. We were in the underground tunnel. When Melissa and I designed the layout for the house and garage we had to compromise on the garage. I wanted something attached to the house so in the winter I wouldn't have to go out in the cold to get to my car. Melissa had not wanted the garage attached because she thought it would take away from the design look of her Victorian Mansion. So the compromise had been an underground tunnel connecting the basement of the house to the basement of the garage. It was a perfect compromise and in the end, was a very useful idea.

By the time I walked through the door to the tunnel, Melissa was already halfway down the well lit corridor. That was fine though. I knew she wanted to be alone for a while and there was nothing more I could do for her. She was going to have to psych herself up for this as much as I was.


Melissa:

I tried to keep my mind as blank as possible while I quickly ran through my routine in the shower. The warm water did wonders to my sore body as it cascaded down my curves, tickling and caressing my skin in a loving embrace. Thinking about the water and the effect the heat and steam were having on calming my nerves was more calming than thinking about the impending conversation I was about to have with a man I had just met two days ago.

I had known the conversation was probably coming, I hadn't been completely naïve to think that Jake had saved me from all the heartache and torment of explaining our past to a man who considered himself our father. I had hoped, that I would've had a better relationship with John before we were about to go spilling this deep dark secret to him. Jake might have known him for three years, but he hadn't started spending all his time with the man until six months ago. How much could have Jake really told him in those three months?

When I finished showering I debated over hiding in my room until they need me in the kitchen. But it wasn't in my nature to hide. I was a fighter. I fought tooth and nail to get to the top and I wasn't about to back down because my emotions were getting the best of me. It wasn't my nature and I wasn't going to hide from anyone, ever again.

I dressed quickly in a black ACDC tank top and tossed on a pair of short denim shorts. I left my hair down and curly and walked barefoot out of my room. I still had half an hour before I was needed in the kitchen and I wasn't about to sit around waiting for the time to come. I needed to do something, anything before confronting John and whoever else wanted to know the truth.

I was walking down the main staircase to the second floor when Josh opened the door to his room. He looked freshly showered with his damp hair sticking up in a spiky bed head fashion. He wore a pair of black basket ball shorts and a black F/V Cornelia Marie shirt.

He smiled when he saw me and I couldn't help but grin in return. "Hey," I murmured.

"Hey yourself," he grinned, walking closer to me. "You haven't properly said hello to me yet," he smirked mischievously.

"Oh really?" I drawled, raising an eyebrow at him.

He nodded as his eyes darkened as he looked down at me. He placed his hands on my hips and pulled me against his rock hard body. His touch was fire on my skin, warming my body and sending tingles shooting down to my very core.

I looped my hands around his neck and looked up into his eyes waiting for his next move. He didn't disappoint and soon a hand was trailing up my side, his thumb grazing a breast before he cupped the side of my face. In one motion he leaned down and pulled my face toward his, kissing me hard and passionately. Our mouths opened and our tongues danced and intertwined in battle of wills neither was willing to break.

We broke apart minutes later, breathing hard. He rested his forehead against mine while I struggled to get my breathing under control. I opened my eyes to find him gazing down at me. When my eyes found his again it was all over. I grabbed his faced and kissed him hard. He wrapped his hands around my thighs, grabbing my ass and pulled me up his body. I wrapped my legs around his waist, moaning as his hard cock pressed against my soaking core.

We were in his room with the door closed a moment later. Clothes were ripped from our bodies as we fought for dominance. Josh won when he had my hands pinned above my head with one hand, the other hand on my hip guiding me towards him.

He sheathed himself in one fluid thrust. I cried out in pleasure and pain as I tried to release my hands from his grasp. He grinned wickedly as he pounded relentlessly into me, holding me down in a show of dominance he knew I loved. "Josh," I moaned, needing to touch him, feel his skin under my fingers, show him how good he was making me feel.

He silenced my moan with a searing kiss that froze me in my place. He tugged on my hair, wrapping his fingers through it. When he had a fist full of my hair, he tugged hard causing me to yell out a moan. "Jossshhh!" I moaned as I came hard. My body seized and shook around his cock, squeezing and milking him for more.

"You're so fucking tight," he growled in my ear, his breathing coming out in short pants. His thrusts were coming deep and fast, ravaging and pounding into my core.

I moaned loudly as he bit down on my shoulder. "Don't stop," I murmured to him. I loved the feeling of giving up control to this man, letting him tie me down and have his way with me. I trusted him to keep me safe and give me what I needed.

And at that moment was another mind blowing orgasm.

He released my wrists and I quickly flipped us over so I was straddling him and in control of just how hard he was pounding into me. I braced my hands on his shoulders and quickly pulled myself off of him before I fell back down, sliding down his pole. I increased his pace as both his hands grabbed my hips tightly and helped guide me.

"Meliisssaaaa," he moaned out when he came hard. His hands pulled my hips down on him, bones crushing to get skin closer together.

The second I felt his searing seed deep inside me I shuddered out an incoherent moan. My body shook and seized for the third time, my nails digging deep into his skin. After I caught my breath I climbed off of him and collapsed on the bed next to him.

Josh grabbed my hand and intertwined his fingers in mine. My eyes were closed and a silly grin was on my face. "Feel better?" he asked. His voice was a low rumble in his throat.

I nodded turning my head and grinning at him. I had needed that. Badly. It made my heart flutter that he knew exactly what I needed and how to give it to me.

"You're gonna be fine." His statement startled me.

"What are you-" I started to say, but he quickly turned and silenced me with a kiss, balancing his weight on an elbow. He grabbed my face with his left hand and held my mouth to his in a domineering kiss. I moaned into his mouth. My body turned to putty in his hands. His power over me was something I was slowly learning to love.

"Shh," he murmured when he broke the kiss. My eyes searched his, back and forth, wondering what he was trying to tell me. "You're gonna be fine," he repeated, this time placing a short chase kiss on my lips. "You can handle this." He kissed me again. "You're Melissa Annabel Parker," he kissed me longer this time; "you can do anything." He kissed me again, slowly tracing the edge of my mouth with his tongue.

"Josh," I breathed, my voice catching with my arousal. He was driving me crazy with his teasing.

"Shh," he kissed me chastely. "You're gonna go down there and you're gonna tell your father the truth about those scars." His eyes stared hard into mine, daring me to disobey him.

He didn't kiss me again though. He hovered above me, his face inches from mine and waited. He didn't make a move until I finally nodded. "Okay," I answered him. I had already been planning on telling John the truth, but hearing the order from Josh had my insides all turned on the outside. He was messing with my head and my body, and if he kept it up he'd be messing with my heart as well.

A small smile tugged at his lips as he continued to watch me. I studied his face, memorizing his every detail, trying to draw strength from him. After everything he'd gone through in the last year, this new confident Josh Harris was playing Russian roulette with my heart strings and he didn't even have a clue.

"Josh," I breathed his name again, reaching a hand up to caress his cheek.

"Shh." His eyes closed and leaned his head into my touch. He opened his eyes, sliding his hand across my cheek and brushed a piece of hair behind my ear. "You're beautiful," he whispered.

Our mouths met again in a fiery embrace and I couldn't help but feel giddy for the budding romance between Josh and I. Sure in the last year we'd agree to stay friends, but every time I saw him, it quickly turned into more. From last summer to Christmas and now again, it was getting harder and harder to deny that something was growing between us. And now he was going to stay for the summer, returning to Seattle only if necessary.

I couldn't wait to see how the summer went.


I leave for the Key's Wednesday, and I'll be gone a week. So I wanted to get this out before I left. I'm really loving writing Josh and Liss. They get pretty steamy at times. Please review and let me know what you think so far! I would love to hear your input!