A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Seventy Three
Jeffrey goes back upstairs. Stripping the bed, he finds sheets for the bed in the closet and quickly changes them. After he's finished with the bed, he looks around the room. He finds clothes on the dresser from this morning. He finds the towel he used this morning to dry his hair, laying on the chair by the window. He takes all of this and puts it in the closet. Coming out, he looks around the room. He goes over to the night stand by his bed and straightens up the books and papers he left there. He looks around again as Sam comes to the bottom of the stairs. "Jeffrey, what are you doing?" She calls, her foot on the bottom step.
"I'm coming." He calls back. It wasn't perfect but it would have to do. He walks around the bed and to the doorway. He walks out onto the landing and sees her foot on the stairs. "Wait." He says, coming down to her.
"What are you doing? Why did you want me…?"
He leans over to kiss her softly. "I told you this is about you and me." He says, taking her hand and leading her upstairs.
"You told me that, but what is about you and me?" Sam asks, following him.
"I had my appointment with Dr. Stephens this afternoon after lunch."
"I know."
"He said I'm healing really fast. In fact, he said that I won't have the wear the bandage at night anymore." Jeffrey says, walking into the room before he turns to her and wraps his arms around her.
"What does that…?"
"I asked him something else when I was there."
"You asked him if we can resume marital relations."
"Yes, and he said we could, as long as…." Sam pulls away from him.
"J, I'm not sleeping with you without…."
"He gave it." Jeffrey says, looking at her. He can tell she doesn't believe him. "I'm not lying."
"You've wanted me to ignore his orders since we got home. I'm not going to endanger…."
"I'm not in danger, I promise. I asked him if we could make love and he said that we could. I promise." He says. She still doesn't believe him and he can tell it. "If you don't believe me, call him and ask." Jeffrey says, pulling out his phone.
"He said we could make love, why?"
"Like I said, he said that I was healing really fast and he wants to see me in a couple weeks and if things stay the way they are he'll probably release me."
Sam stands there for a moment and then she says. "I'm sorry. I thought you were trying… I'm sorry." She says, reaching for and hugging him tightly.
"It's okay, but if you keep hugging me that tightly he's not going to release me in a couple weeks."
"I'm sorry." She says, instantly releasing him.
He can tell she's upset when she steps back. "Its okay, Sam, it doesn't matter…."
"Yes it does, I accused you of…."
"You didn't accuse me of anything. You were looking out for me. And if I was smart I might have tried to use that to get you to sleep with me." He says, tucking her hair behind her ear. "To be honest, I was almost to the point of trying to trick you into forgetting the doctor's orders." He says, smiling at her as she looks up
She smiles at him tentatively. "You're not mad?"
"No, I seem to remember that I tried to trick you the last time I was injured and you were taking care of me. You were quite angry when you figured out what I was doing. Maybe that's why I didn't try to trick you this time. I didn't want the wrath of God on my head." He says, as she slaps him and he laughs.
"What did he say, all of it?"
"I told you everything he said. I'm healing really fast. If I continue he'll probably release me when he sees me again in a couple weeks."
"He checked everything out."
"Yes, he did everything that you did when you check me out after Josh punched me."
"I'm sorry, I…."
"Shhh, it's okay." He says, leaning in to kiss her. "You know me too well." He says. "And I seem to remember that you promised me something."
"I did." She asks, pulling away from him.
"Yes, I seem to recall that you promised you would spend the whole night with me after Dr. Stephens released me."
"Umm, I believe I did. But before we do anything was there anything else he said."
"I forgot. He did say that we can be too strenuous. So, I guess you get to be in control, for right now." Jeffrey says softly, leaning over to kiss her neck.
"I believe I'm always in control." Sam says, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck as he pulls her to him.
"You want to pretend that you're in control." He says, nibbling on her lower lip.
"I want to pretend that I'm in control." She says, pulling away.
"Sam, let's not argue. Not tonight, please." He says, pulling her back to him, kissing the side of her neck. Sparks of electricity crackle between them, smoldering hot as she reaches up and wraps her arms around his neck, the need to feel her smooth skin beneath his hand rushes over him and he slips his hands under her shirt, pressing against her lower back and he feels her jump. "That's what I want to feel tonight." He whispers against her mouth.
She looks up and smiles. Reaching for his waist, she pulls on his shirt, pulling it free. "I think you want to feel more than that." She says, moving her hands over his stomach, lightly scratching him and feeling his muscles clinch beneath her hands. Heat rushes through them, concentrating the blood pounding through their bodies.
He starts to lift her and she pulls away. Reaching for the buttons on his shirt, she unbuttons them. Pushing it open, she kneels before him, nibbling on his stomach while he sucks in a deep breath. She pauses for a moment, slipping her tongue in to his navel, licking him. He felt his body harden even more, pressing against his pants with each lick of her tongue. "Sam." He whispers, closing his eyes, letting his head fall forward as he reaches for her, wanting to bury his hand in her hair and finding it held tightly by a clip. He reaches for it as she pulls away.
Moving up, she softly nibbles on his chest until she's standing and can reach his nipples. She leans towards him, kissing him. Slowly moving her tongue over his nipple, playing with him, she moves against him. He feels the restlessness burning inside her. Reaching for her neck, he lays his palm against it, feeling her pulse beating against his thumb and imagining the blood rushing through her body from her heart. Pulling his hand away, he reaches for her shirt, pulling it up in the back.
After a moment, she pulls back. Reaching for her shirt, she pulls it over her head. It feels heavy and constricting against her skin. She tosses it to the floor before she reaches for his hand. Unbuttoning the buttons at his wrists, she looks up at him. "Do you know what I want?" She whispers, moving her eyes up his chest.
"Yes." He whispers, reaching for her. Pulling her back to him, he presses his mouth against the hollow of his neck. Again he can feel her pulse beating against his lips. He feels the need pressing in on her, like the insistent rhythm of a drum in a song. He feels himself respond to that rhythm, his erection growing heavy, reaching for her. "Beca, I need you baby." He whispers.
She reaches up, pulling his shirt down his arms, letting it drop to the floor as she kisses the side of his neck, pressing her tongue against his pulse and finding the answering rhythm to the one beating through her. She pauses for a moment savoring him. Letting her hands fall to his waist, she finds his belt and pulls it free. Unfastening his pants and pulling the zipper down, doing nothing to keep her hand from brushing against him. She feels each throbbing surge of heat that flashes through his body. She pulls back. Looking up, she says softly. "Sit down."
He knows that look, knows what she will do to him, what she will make him feel before she's finished. He feels his stomach clinch again as he sits down at the foot of their bed. His heart skips a few beats and begins to pound against his body, deepening and answering the rhythm beating between them. He looks up. She kneels before him again, lifting his leg. She pulls his shoes and socks off before she sits back for a moment, moving her eyes over him. He's leaning on his hand, his eyes half closed while he watches her. He moves to sit up and she holds up her hand to stop him. "Sam." He whispers.
"Lie back." She says, moving closer to the bed.
He moves to the head of the bed. Grabbing a couple pillows and piling them up before he lies down. She moves to stand up. Reaching up, she pulls the clip free and shakes her hair free. Running her fingers through it until it's loose and free. He's laying spread eagle on the bed, watching her. Imagining her hair against his skin, soft like silk, tinkling him as she moves over him. She hears his breath catch and looks up. She knows what he's thinking as she moves onto the bed. He lifts his head, wanting to kiss her but she moves away. He lifts his hips. She reaches for him, tugging on his pants slowly, pulling them down along with his boxers until he's free.
He sucks in a deep breath. The rasp of the material moving over his erection, lightly scratching him nearly drives him insane. He reaches for the comforter, clinching his fist. He clinches his jaw, fighting his bodies demand for release. Sam seems to sense he needs a moment to regain control. She pulls his pants off, letting them fall to the floor before she moves off the bed. Slowly he opens his eyes again and his jaw relaxes. He lifts his head and when he does, she reaches around unfastening her bra. She shrugs out of it. That forces him up. He moves to kneel on the bed, holding out his hand to her.
She wants to feel him holding her but she wants it when they are free of all restrictions. Slipping her sandals off as she reaches for the button on her jeans, she pulls it free, pulling her zipper down, she slips her hands inside, pushing the jeans and panties down until they are at her feet. She stands up and steps out of them before she looks at him. He's still kneeling there with his hand out.
She moves into his arms. He wraps them around her, holding her to him tightly. He kisses her. Their mouths melding together like two pieces of metal. He slowly moves his hand up her back, burying his fingers in her hair, feeling the coolness of each strand as he lets it flow through his fingers, feeling the subtle wave of the curls in her hair. He moves his hands over her shoulders. He can feel the beat of her pulse again and he feels his body synching with hers. He moves away, moving his hands down her body to her breasts before he breaks the kiss. Leaning back, he watches her. She looks up.
She sees the flickers of fire burning through him, answering her need. She reaches for him as he reaches for her, cupping her breasts, slowly moving his thumb over her nipple. He leans down, letting her feel the warmth of his breath against her. She moves closer, laying her hands on his chest, gradually moving them down while he takes her breast into his mouth, kissing her, playing with her nipple, tenderly moving his tongue over it, tugging it into his mouth. She moves her hands down his chest, across his stomach, pausing a moment to play with his navel before she moves on. He is focused on her and where her hands are. When they reach his hips, he releases her breast. Sitting back, he looks at her before he looks down at her hands.
It's a couple of seconds before she reaches for him, closing her hand around him. Her skin is smooth like silk, her grip is strong. He closes his eyes, relishing the feel of her touch, the surges of electricity that clambers through his body. He feels his heart pounding in his chest. He feels his need roaring against his soul propelling him towards the end and yet he wants to go slow to make it last.
Pulling her to him, he wraps one arm around waist, holding her as he runs his hand down her stomach. Pausing a moment to play with her navel before he continues on. His hand brushes the curls covering her desire. He can feel the tension building inside her. He reaches for her, slipping his hand between her thighs, touching her. He feels the incredible desperation pressing against her soul. He lays back bringing her with him he kisses her, as he moves his fingers over her deepest core, caressing her desire.
Her grip tightens around him. Kissing him deeply, she pulls away after several moments. She moves to kneel over him but he reaches up, wrapping his arms around her, he pulls her to him and then rolls her onto her back. Leaning over her, he nudges her legs apart. "J, your ribs…."
"Shhh." He whispers, leaning up to kiss her. "I'm doing this." He says, looking into her eyes as he moves into position.
Slipping inside her, he closes his eyes, savoring the feel of her closing around him, enclosing his body with warm satin, slick with desire. He thrusts deeply. He feels her respond, closing around him, trying desperate to hold him inside her. He looks up and smiles. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that this is exactly what I need. I need you. I need to be connected to you in every possible way a man can be connected to a woman, broken ribs or no broken ribs. I need this."
She reaches up and runs her hands over him. When she reaches his hips, she pulls him to her as she lifts hers and he sinks deeper, caressing her as he thrusts again. He moves over and over and she moves with him, building the tempo while they fight to hang on to the desire escalating inside them every second.
He feels the first ripple of her surrender roll through her. Her muscles clinching around him, holding him deep inside while he tries to pull free. He continues to thrust drawing her deeper and deeper into her release. "Jeffrey!" She cries, as the pressure bursts inside her. Rolling waves of her release squeezes him, caressing him while he continues to thrust, moving as though he wants them to become a part of each other.
He feels the pressure build, burning through him, starting at the tips of his toes, traveling up his body, until it disintegrates into surges of staggering swells of desire being wrung from the deepest heart of his body, flooding hers while flutters of her release washes over him. Slowly he sucks in a deep breath, closing his eyes, lays down in her arms.
Small shivers of release flash through out each of their bodies. Its several minutes before he can even lift his head, he watches her for a moment before he press his lips against her throat. He slowly pulls out away from her, rolling to his back. "That was amazing." He whispers, turning to look at her. He sees the tear roll from the side of her eye. "Hey, what's wrong?" He whispers, leaning up on one arm.
"What would have happen if you hurt yourself doing that? He said we could make love if we…."
"I know what he said. I had to do this. From now on, we'll go completely slow and easy."
"Was it about not wanting me to have control?"
"No, it was about proving I wasn't an invalid, that I could still drive you crazy." He says, with a smile.
She pulls away from him, sitting up. She turns to look at him, shaking her head. "That is absolutely the most asinine thing you've ever said. First you're not an invalid, your ribs are broken and you drive me crazy just being here. It's not a reason to put your health at risk."
Sighing, he sits up. He reaches for her and tries to draw her to him and at first she resists but he insists. "I want you to listen to me." He says, bringing her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. "If I thought it was going to hurt me to do what I just did. I would have let you do whatever you wanted to do and I wouldn't have complained or fought you. And we both would have enjoyed ourselves. I don't care about control. In fact, I love it when you take control but tonight I wanted to love you. I wanted to bring that desperate need for release inside you, inside us both. That was what it was about and nothing else. And from now on, until he completely releases me when we make love I'll lay here and I'll let you do whatever you want to do to me."
"Okay."
"Good. So let's lay down because I want to hold both of you, okay." He asks, as she nods.
Moving off his lap after he releases her, she lays down beside him. He lies down behind her. Putting his arm across her waist, he pulls her back to him. Softly he hums in her ear, humming the melody to the song he wrote her when she left. When he gets to the end, he softly kisses her shoulder before he says. "I love you, both of you."
"We love you too." She whispers back, closing her eyes, sighing softly.
They lay there, holding each other. "I think Billy's got some great ideas for the loft." He says, playing with her hair. After a couple seconds he leans up as he says. "Sam." Realizing she's asleep, he smiles before he reaches for the throw, pulling it over them before he lies down behind her again. Pulling her back against him, he lays his hand against her stomach before he closes his eyes, falling asleep.
Ava left the courthouse and goes immediately to Emma's school. When she dropped her off at school, she had promised to draw her out of school if the judge made a decision while they were there today. She's standing in the hall as Emma walks up to her. "The judge made a decision." She asks, looking at Ava.
"Yes, let's go." Ava says, reaching for her hand.
"Just tell me."
"I will tell, but I'm not telling you here." Ava says, taking her hand and they leave the school.
They arrive at Company as James and Olivia pull up to Emma's school. Olivia gets out and goes inside. She comes back a few moments later. "Where is Emma?" James asks, as she gets in the car
"Ava checked her out." Olivia says, closing the door.
"She took her."
"No, before I went to Mallet, I spoke with the principal and told her that I was giving custody of Emma to Ava. She's probably taken her out to explain what happened in court. So, let's go to Company before we go to the Beacon."
"Okay." James says starting the car as Olivia buckles her seatbelt.
He pulls away from the school as Ava and Emma are walking into their room. Ava closes the door as Emma turns to her. "What did the judge say?"
"He said that Olivia doesn't have to go to jail." Ava says, as Emma stares at her.
"But you said. Jeffrey said that she would have too because she tried to…."
"Jeffrey spoke with the DA and the DA offered Olivia a deal. If she admitted to the judge what she had tried to do, they would suspend her sentence and she doesn't have to go to jail."
Emma sits down beside Ava. There are a few moments of silence before Emma says. "She doesn't have to go to jail, not ever."
"Not exactly, there were other conditions to her being released."
"What?"
"She doesn't have to go to jail, but she can't stay here either. She has to leave Springfield, even the state of Illinois."
"She has to leave."
"Yes, the judge gave her a month to get things together and then she will have to leave. If she's not gone within a month she will be arrested and she will be sent to prison."
"So, that means in a month that I'll have to leave."
"Not if you don't want to." Ava says.
"What do you mean? She's my mom. I have to go with her." Emma says, as there's a knock on the door.
"We'll discuss this in a moment." Ava says, getting up she goes to see who's at the door. Seeing Olivia and James on the other side, she takes a deep breath and she almost doesn't open the door, but Olivia calls her name so she pulls the door open enough that she can see them but they can't see Emma inside. "Olivia, James." She says, looking at them.
"Is Emma here?"
"She's here." Ava replies, but makes no move to let them into the room.
"I would like to take her home." Olivia says.
Ava looks over her shoulder and then opens the door enough for her to leave and then she closes the door. "I don't think that a good idea."
"She's my daughter and as her mother I want to take her home."
"As her older sister, it's my job to protect her from any harm and since you don't seem to be that stable right now. I think it's best if she stays with me."
"Excuse me, but that's my daughter."
"You gave me custody. I'm responsible for her now."
"You're doing this because I tried to hurt Jeffrey."
"I'm doing this because I'm protecting her, from you. What will you do to her if she does something you don't agree with? You planned on having my father kidnapped simply because he found a woman he loves deeply and he married her. And because it wasn't you, you decided you would take him away from her and then frame her for it."
"I would never hurt Emma." Olivia says, taking a step towards Ava
"You would never hurt Emma, like you would never hurt me." Ava says, not backing down.
"Okay, ladies. Olivia you can't afford this. You've just been released from jail. You're on a suspended sentence. I'm sure if you do something to hurt anyone right now. That judge will send you to prison." James says, stepping between the two of them. "It's okay if Emma stays here for the night." He says, turning to Ava.
"Yes."
"We'll contact you tomorrow to discuss this some more." He says, taking Olivia's hand. Ava doesn't reply as he draws Olivia away.
Ava stands there for several seconds before she opens the door and goes back into the room. Emma is still on the couch. "Mom was out there." Emma says, as Ava closes the door. "I heard you yelling at her."
"I'm sorry you heard that."
"Are you going to keep me away from her?" Emma asks, as Ava sits down beside her.
"Do you want to see her?"
"I don't know. She's been different since Jeffrey broke up with her."
"Has she hurt you?"
"No, but she's angry a lot and sometimes it scares me, she got mad at me for talking to Jeffrey after he spent the night at the Beacon with his wife."
"I know."
"And she got mad at me once because I was standing behind her and I overheard her talking to someone about some stuff. She yelled at me and she didn't used to do that."
"What about with James? How is she with James there?"
"She's better but I am scared of what she'll do if he left too."
"Do you want to stay here with me?"
"I don't know." Emma says, looking at Ava.
"It's okay. You don't have to decide right now." Ava says, pulling Emma to her and hugging her. After a moment, she releases her. "Let's go get something to eat, okay?"
"Okay."
"What do you want?"
"Can we just go downstairs?"
"Sure, I'm sure Buzz has some chili made." Ava says, standing up and holding out her hand. Emma stands up and taking her hand they leave the room.
Olivia is silent on the drive to the Beacon and as they walk up to her room. James turns to her and asks. "Do you have your key?"
"I don't know." She says, reaching for her purse. She digs through her purse for a moment before she pulls it out and hands it to him.
He unlocks the door and holds the door open for her, letting her pass before he walks in, closing the door behind them. Olivia walks over to the couch and sits down. James follows her. Again neither one says anything until James asks. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking I can't believe my daughter wants to take my other daughter away from me. I'm on a suspended sentence for trying to kidnap a man that the only connection I have to him is our daughter from a one night stand when I was sixteen and very drunk. He's also the mayor. And not only was I going to kidnap that man, I was going to frame his wife for the kidnapping, his pregnant wife I might add. And all of this is happening because I didn't get my way."
"Here's what I want you to do." James says, getting up. He takes her hand and pulls her up. "I want you to go into the bathroom and run yourself a hot bath and I want you sit in there and relax. Don't think about all this, just relax and when you get out. We'll eat and then you can go to bed and sleep." He says, steering her towards the bathroom.
"Are you leaving?"
"No, I'll be right here until you tell me to leave."
"Okay and thank you for standing by me. I know you don't know me and what you do know I'm not the best person…."
"You're…."
"Let me finish, I'm not the best person you could have picked to became involved with when you came to Springfield and I want you to know that I appreciate your support."
"Go take that bath and I'll be here when you get out."
"Okay." Olivia says, walking towards the bathroom. She closes the door and he hears the water start to run before he sits down again.