"Mmmm," Heather murmured sleepily, snuggling deeper beneath the sheets. A smile curved her mouth as she slowly came awake to memories of the wild loving Jake had given her last night. She had been living with him for a few months now aside from the one week it had taken her to travel home, get things packed and in order, and to fly back to him. She had hurried the process with her sister's help out of fear that Jake would change his mind and not want her when she got back. But he hadn't changed his mind.
Jake had arranged for her to have a position within his new company - "So you can be accessible to me at all times," he'd said, and she'd been more than happy with the solution. She'd have agreed with anything he told her, just to get back in his good graces. And although their relationship now barely resembled the loving marriage she'd once coveted, Heather had no serious complaints other than she wished Jake would tell her he loved her again.
Stretching luxuriously beneath the covers, she marveled at all of the wild, exciting ways she and Jake had now made love, then felt her smile turn into a frustrated grimace. Well, to be truthful, she supposed "had sex" was a more appropriate term. The first day she'd been in Vegas with him, he'd taken her out to buy a new wardrobe of outrageously sexy clothes. He'd then fucked her, rough and hard, against the wall of a dressing room after shamelessly bribing the saleswoman to let him escort Heather back to try on clothes. Afterwards, he'd carried her to dinner at a posh restaurant and spent most of the meal with his hand between her legs, thanks to her shorter-than-decent new dress, bringing her to one orgasm after another as business went on as usual around them.
Since she'd been in this town, Jake had made love to her in the elevator of a major casino, on the rooftop of his friend's penthouse with both of them as naked as jay-birds, on the balcony outside his bedroom, in the alley behind a busy nightclub, and in the bathroom while at a party at one of his clients' homes. He often visited her in her office, locked the door and had his wicked way with her across her desk as well. Many times he dropped in just for a quick blowjob, not even bothering to get her off. Every one in the office had gotten used to their frequent trysts and knew full well that she was Jake's slut. He'd made sure of that. A few of the more braver souls in the office and in Jake's circle of friends had dared to ask her out, thinking she was an easy lay, but she had firmly set them straight that she was Jake's and Jake's alone. And each night he brought her to the condo and repeated the experiences in the privacy of his home. All in all, he'd persuaded her into positions she'd never known were possible and given her more orgasms than she'd ever imagined she was capable of. Still, she couldn't help but long for the lazy, tender loving they had often indulged in in the past. She'd discovered a little bit of wild sex was exciting every now and then but she didn't feel very loved afterward.
She stretched her arm, searching for him beside her, but of course he wasn't there. He never was. It was as if he made a point of leaving her alone in the bed before she woke each morning. She had never realized what a treasure it was to wake up in his arms until he no longer allowed it.
Sliding out of bed, stark naked - Jake refused to let her wear clothes when she slept - she padded sleepily into the bathroom, wondering now if she was making any headway with Jake at all. She had hoped by now that he would have returned to his old self. Instead, he still had the power to shock her with the ruthless decisions he made in his business dealings. He often called her filthy names like slut, bitch, and whore while in the heat of passion. On the few occassions she'd made him mad about something, he'd taunted her about her affair with Ty, making her feel worse than pond scum. But she never dared ask him to stop any of it because she didn't want to risk their newfound relationship. And for the most part, he treated her well enough, just with an indifference that was nothing like the Jake Devlin she'd married. Even his family had noticed the change in him.
She remembered the long conversation she'd had with his sister the other day. Danielle had called to speak to Jake and been surprised then overjoyed to catch Heather on the other end instead. She'd assumed Heather and Jake were back together and told Heather how glad she was to hear it. "Mom has been distraught because Jake hardly calls any of us anymore, and when he does, he's very brief and distant. He just hasn't been the same since the two of you started having problems. Funny, though. Jake didn't tell us you'd moved to Vegas with him," she'd said. "I thought the divorce had gone through months ago." It had been an uncomfortable moment, one Heather had let pass without correcting her ex-sister-in-law with details.
Probably the most uncomfortable Heather had been since staying here had been when Jenny, Jake's "girlfriend" since the divorce, had showed up to collect her things. Jake had cruelly demanded that Heather help the other woman pack while he left to go golf with some clients. Heather had reluctantly done so, feeling hurt and jealous as she helped the woman pack some intimate lingerie that Jenny then bragged about wearing exclusively for Jake.
The other woman had been amazingly calm during the task, chatting casually to Heather as they worked together. She'd even warned Heather, "Jake is probably the best lover I've ever had. I don't know how he was when you were together, but I think he's been out to prove something in that department, if you know what I mean. Lucky me reaped all the benefits, so I suppose I should be thanking you," she added with a smile. "Yeah, I'll miss him for that, but honestly, he's not the same guy he was when we first met. By the way, did he tell you how we met?"
When Heather had shook her head, Jenny told the story of how she'd found Jake in a bar one night, and since he was the hottest guy in the room, she'd decided to see if she could pick him up. He hadn't been the least bit interested, so the brazen blonde had turned up the heat by hopping up on the bar - Coyote Ugly-style - and dancing provocatively to arouse his interest.
"Next thing I know, I'm being pulled down off the bar by these two rough-looking guys who started to drag me outside to their car," she explained. "I might have been a little drunk, but it was Jake I was trying to tease. I made it clear I didn't want to go with those thugs. Next thing I know, Jake is right there, rescuing me from the bad guys. He made it look easy to take down those two; I couldn't believe it. Then he bundled me in his jacket and drove me home. Didn't lay a hand on me."
Despite herself, Heather found herself asking, "If he didn't lay a hand on you, how did you...?"
"He left his wallet in his coat, and I was still wearing his coat when he dropped me off at my place," Heather explained with a sly smile. "When he came by for it the next day, I invited him in, and we talked for hours. We hit it off. I liked Jake, and I could tell he was hurting. I told him he should give you a taste of your own medicine and start sleeping around, but he said he wouldn't do that while you two were still married. I told him to give me a call when the papers made it official. A few days later, he gives me a call and asks me out. The rest you know."
She also told Heather that she'd sensed Jake was about to dump her, so she'd been sneaking around his back with another guy. "So you see, I'm really no better than you," she'd pointed out sadly, then added that she was moving in with her new beau, so on the off chance that Jake asked, he didn't need to worry how she was getting along.
As Heather soaked herself under the shower now she told herself that the old Jake was still around somewhere. Take, for instance, his relationship with Jenny. Most men would have used the other woman, then dumped her. Jake had not only let her live with him, but from what Jenny had implied, Jake had never looked twice at another woman while they'd been together. Heather felt assured of the same now. If Jake had really turned into a bastard, he would have been sleeping with every good-looking woman who looked twice at him - and to Heather's dismay, she had seen a lot of women doing just that. Not to mention he would have flaunted the fact in Heather's face every chance he got. But somewhere deep inside he obviously still held firm to his values of monogamy. She was so grateful for that. The mere thought of Jake sleeping with any other woman crawled under her skin and festered with anger and jealousy.
Heather had been put on the sidelines, so to speak, a few times thanks to her period, and while she'd worried how Jake would treat her if she couldn't be the slut he demanded her to be, he had surprised her. Since they couldn't make love, he had relaxed enough to share laughs occassionally over old memories as they snuggled on the sofa watching DVDs of their favorite movies. Every now and then, he would surprise Heather with tickets to a show - usually one she'd said back when they were married that she'd like to see if they ever made it to Vegas on vacation.
Oh yes, the Jake she had always loved was still inside him somewhere. But what else could she do to regain his trust and love?
Since it was Saturday, she wondered where Jake was. He usually liked taking Heather down to a casino for a few hours and then spending the rest of the day with her in bed. She would prefer to just stay in - Jake's reckless gambling unnerved her, especially considering how careful they'd both always been with their finances in the past. She knew he was filthy rich now, but she also feared he could lose everything if he weren't careful. The funny thing was, he didn't seem to care. Just last week he'd wagered the deed to his condo in a high stakes game of poker without blinking. Heather had held her breath, certain he would lose it, and then felt her heart drop when he revealed a winning hand, walking away with the title of a new SUV and a pot worth almost a quarter of a million dollars. He'd given her the keys to the car, but she didn't feel comfortable driving around in it, knowing some poor soul had lost it in unfortunate circumstances.
She supposed she should make some effort to discuss her unease with Jake rather than sit numbly by and watch him keep taking worthless risks over and over again. Would he understand that she worried because she cared about him, or would he take offense and kick her out? Sighing, she decided it was a risk she would have to take, for his sake. When she came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, she was startled to see Jake sitting in a chair apparently waiting for her, a drink in hand. That was something else she would have to mention, she realized. She'd seen Jake drink more hard liquor these past three months than in the entire nine years they'd been together as a couple. She suspected he was teetering on the edge of aloholism and feared for his health.
"Jake!" she gasped in surprise, then asked, "Where have you been?"
She half expected him to tell her it was none of her business. She shouldn't have asked - she knew that. But to her surprise, he simply shrugged and said, "At the gym. Working out."
