Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Another blow of guilt was delivered to his gut. I apologize for bringing that up when we were in the car together. You have a point there. I acted like a jerk."

Her lips turned up into a smile. “Yes. You did."

"Does the fact that I have regrets make a difference?"

"Not much, but some," she replied. Her eyes drifted down to her hand as her fingers worked their way through the hair on his chest.

He drew her in close, his hand resting on the firmness of her behind. "It appears that you are not going to be lenient with me."

"It's not nice," she remarked, arching an eyebrow as she spoke.

"I know. I am truly sorry.

"Are you? Or do you secretly loathe me for the person that I used to be?

He repositioned his now-throbbing erection between her legs by pulling her leg over his and sliding it back between her legs. “Does that feel like I dislike you?”

"The desire to f*ck me is not a reliable indicator."

Her words, which were acerbic and cutting, took him by surprise. Before he could put a stop to himself, he admitted something that should have been kept quiet because there was no possibility of a future for them. "The sexual component of what's going on between us is only one aspect of what's going on here. Both of us had preconceived notions about the other that turned out not to be entirely accurate. His voice was soft as he gently touched her cheek with his knuckles. "You're courageous, sexy, and, as I'm starting to realize, way too hard on yourself," she said. He encircled her face with his hand and brushed his lips against hers in a tender manner. When he took a step back to gaze into her eyes, he saw the same sense of vulnerability that he had experienced while they were making love to one another. If he wasn't able to put her to sleep as quickly as possible, he was going to find a way to go back inside of her. "It's time for us to relax."

She nodded. “Yes.”

He rolled over onto his back, took her with him, and positioned her so that her head was resting on his chest. He felt warmed up from the inside out as a result of her wrapping her leg over his. Indeed, this woman was responsible for what happened to him. He stroked his hand down her back, the situation being too exquisite to be able to adequately explained. He stopped moving, pausing to take in the experience fully.

They still had a long way to go before they could escape the torment of having to flee for their lives. Therefore, he desired, if only for a brief period of time, to act as though the entirety of his world was not a bottomless pit of gloom. And Anna was the one who figured out a way to make that happen.

Anna blinked awake on the third day of essentially living in the same hotel room from sunrise to sunset. She gave the bedside clock a blurry-eyed glance as she glanced at it through her bleary eyes. It is currently eight in the morning. There were only ten days left until they had to make the trip back to Austin for the rescheduled trial. Only. Right.

She would lose several weeks of her life before this ordeal was finally finished. It wasn't like she was bothered by being in Jerome's company. He'd become quite a lovely diversion.

And while we're on the subject of her diversion, Jerome stirred next to her and pulled her into his arms. They laid down next to one another, with their heads on pillows, facing one other. He pretended to be asleep by keeping his eyes closed and acting as if he had reached out for her while he was asleep. But she was more savvy than that. She could sense that he was paying attention to her.

The fact that she had spent these few days sharing each and every waking moment with him taught her a great deal about him. Under those conditions, one could discover a great deal about another person. Countless hours spent doing nothing but making love to one another and chatting. Even just viewing the entirety of the first season of 24 had shed light on many aspects of his life, revealing more information to her than he probably was even aware of.

She was brought back into the here and now when thunder rolled outside, which brought back memories of the hurricane. She attempted to move in order to locate the remote control and turn the television on, but Jerome restrained her movement and held her in place. Her legs were shackled together to keep her from moving farther.

He asked her, "Where are you going?" while his voice was husky from sleep but his reflexes were keen, letting her know that she was correct in her assumption that he was pretending sleep. He had been awake for some time and appeared to be in perfect condition. Naturally, he was always on edge and prepared to get into trouble. That gave her a sense of relief. She hated it for him, and she was beginning to understand that he had less peace in his life than she did, which was saying something because she didn't have much.

Anna felt a surge of tenderness wash over her as soon as she realized this, and she responded by planting a quick kiss on Jerome's forehead. "I'm looking all over for the remote control. There ought to be a clear path for the storm at this point." He paused and then freed her legs. Anna laughed and clambered over him to go for the remote on the bedside table, the covers slipping away from her nude backside. As he massaged her ass with his palm, she chuckled and eyed him over her shoulder. “You are such as ass dude, I swear.”

“I worship all parts equally. I think I’ve shown that.”

“Nope,” she answered, scratching the remote and then sitting back down. She gave him a mocking look to the side as she passed him. "I dare you to show me that you're not a jackass, because I know you are." She scooted up against the headboard and took the sheet with her, bringing it up to her neck as she did so. As she changed the station, the sound of her teeth chattering could be heard. "You dialed the temperature back down once more."

While he was sitting up on the edge of the bed, he made the observation, "You weren't grumbling about anything last night." He was alluding to the marathon round of sexual activity that the two of them had just a few hours ago.

That is correct. She wasn’t complaining one bit. That is, with the exception of the honey. It was wonderful up until the point where I had the orgasm—okay, the two orgasms. When I first tried it, it was sticky.

She questioned him with a hint of pleading in her tone, "Will you turn it up now?"

He stood up, exposing all of his toned muscles and the splendor of his body in its natural state. Would she become sick of watching the man strip off his clothing at some point? It was unnecessary for you to inquire, he remarked. "I was on my way there just now."

She couldn't help but smile to herself about that. "I am grateful."

He gave her a wink, and an electric jolt shot up her spine at the sight of it. This is such a little matter. If it had come from anyone else, it would not have had any effect at all, but when it came from Jerome, it lit her on fire. The craving was something that she just couldn't manage to satisfy. It simply burnt at a higher temperature for some reason.

She felt shocked at how sympathetic he could be, despite the evil that he had within him, as she watched him cross the room and thought about how she felt. She had never felt safe or protected from a man in any aspect of her life. The fact that Jerome was able to do so despite the severity of the situation was significant. She wasn't certain about what it was. It's possible that she and they both yearned for a human connection, and that the circumstances that brought them together made that connection possible.

She redirected her attention back to the television and began flipping through the channels before landing on the forecast and turning the volume up.

As much as it had been hoped, the Texas coast is not going to be able to dodge this bullet. The storm has dropped to a category two, with gusts of one hundred and twenty miles per hour; it is expected to make landfall late tomorrow afternoon. The good news is that this storm has diminished. Evacuation—”

Anna muted the sound because at that point she was more interested in hearing what Jerome had to say than in the music. They were in a precarious position because of the possibility of the storm, otherwise they would have already boarded his boat.

She reminded him that they had discussed this previously, but "you said anything over a category one would put us on the road again." "So, does that mean that we're going to leave?" He had explained to her that he intended to make just one last stop, arguing that the more they moved about, the greater the likelihood that they would commit an essential error that would reveal their location.

Before giving her his complete attention, he messed with the thermostat and said, "Right," indicating his agreement with what she had said. "As soon as we finish attending to certain urgent matters." After providing no further information, he went to use the restroom.

She stared at his back in utter awe. "What exactly does that entail?" However, she was merely babbling to herself. After he'd vanished around the bend, the shower turned on almost instantaneously after he'd left.

Anna pushed the blanket away from her and began to shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill and stormed into the bathroom, where she discovered Jerome hiding behind the curtain. She demanded to know, "What urgent business are we talking about?" "A hurricane is expected to arrive soon. A large one. It is time for us to depart.

When the curtain moved, he peered through it at her while water clung to the long, dark lashes that framed his eyes. After then, he vanished without uttering a single word. She threw her hands to the side in an aggressive manner.

Unbelievable! She climbed into the shower and turned to face him. Almost immediately, she found herself being drawn into his arms, with one of her legs hoisted to his hip and his body fitting snugly to hers. After a moment, she became aroused as a result of him.

She pretended to be unaffected by the fact that their nude bodies were crushed together while giving him a disappointed look. "Why didn't you answer me?"

His eyes were sparkling with mischief. "Because I knew that if I didn't get in the shower first, you would,"

She couldn't help but squeal with delight at his reaction. Respond right away.

It is of the utmost importance that we make haste to get to the boat in order to retrieve the money and supplies that we need before it becomes impossible for us to do so. After that, we engage in a little bit of fishing before vanishing till the trial. His palm slid around her behind while his fingers trailed the crease in a manner that caused her to groan audibly.

She made a feeble attempt to form logical thoughts as she reached behind her and covered his hand. “Stop. I am at a loss for words. What the heck are you referring to with that statement? Fishing?” I have no doubt that he was joking.

He smiled, indicating that he was satisfied with that answer. "Then don't even think about it."

That was not a viable choice, and he was well aware that it was not. “Explain!”

He let out a deep, seductive chuckle as he laughed. He continued, "We're going to catch us a bad person," and then he kissed her, giving her a passionate kiss that swept her away into oblivion. "We're going to capture us a terrible guy," he said.

Before saying, "This is one of those times you have to let me do my job," he raised his head briefly and gave her an intense stare that lasted only a fraction of a second before he continued. Just as the words were about to leave his mouth, he penetrated her, slipping his long, difficult erection inside of her and robbing her of her breath in the process. The significance of his statements was clouded all of a sudden.

Did he mean that they should have faith in him to carry out his duties and lead them to safety? Or put her faith in him to provide an orgasmic experience? Because as soon as he started thrusting in and out of her, she knew without a doubt that she was going to have an orgasmic experience.