Chapter 34

The sound of someone talking in the background woke me up. I opened my eyes and looked around, taking a moment to remember where I was.

Jack's voice came to me from somewhere outside the room. Sitting up, I looked around and took in the messy bed. My nightgown and pajamas had been folded and laid neatly on a chair in one corner of the room.

For a moment, I merely listened, my body aching, until the conversation ended, and there was a tap on the door. Immediately, Jack came in. He was carrying a tray with breakfast and a glass of orange juice.

"Wow. Breakfast in bed, too," I said as I smiled.

"I wondered if I'd still find you asleep. Most of the band went to a studio nearby to lay down some of the stuff officially. Alma and Kai stuck behind to wait for us."

I swallowed, aware that probably meant everyone knew Jack and I had slept together. Was it good they knew? Would it somehow help us? Or would it make things worse?

Without knowing for sure, I tried to focus on what was in front of me. Food, a good-looking man who appeared to be recently showered and dressed himself, and a song to help his band finish.

It was surreal in so many ways, but I couldn't believe I'd slept through so much.

"Do you often sleep so deeply or just when you're with me?" Jack asked a moment later. "I showered, and the whole band was in the room next door, and you still didn't wake up."

"I don't normally sleep very deeply at all," I replied without thinking about what I was confessing.

Had I just admitted that something about having him around made me feel safe and relaxed? I knew my ex had once made me feel like that, however. I wasn't sure I believed my own feelings on it just yet.

As I ate, Jack went back outside, and I heard him tell Kai that we'd meet them at the studio soon. It made me wonder how long I had been asleep, but I ate the scrambled eggs and toast he'd brought me, amused that he'd made me the same thing I'd tucked into at the hotel. I guessed it was a pretty safe bet to give me something he'd seen me eating.

It tasted wonderful, my body starving after the late-night adventure we'd had.

I didn't realize how much I ached and how sore I was until I tried to get out of bed. Jack took the tray and then tried to help me up. Only then did I register how naked I was.

My cheeks grew hot and went pink as I looked for something to cover my nakedness with, but he and the breakfast tray were between me and my clothing. His eyes roved as he smirked.

"If you want to shower, you'd best hurry," he said. "I don't know how long they'll want to wait for us. They're used to me being late, but I think they were hoping you'd be more on time."

I frowned, but it helped refocus me, and I hurried away. The bathroom was so clean I felt as if I might have been staying at a hotel, although the shower wasn't as insanely huge as the one at the hotel he'd stayed at while visiting me. It was strange how much fancier everything was than I was used to, but I tried to push all the anxiety that it brought with it out of my mind and get myself clean.

There were a couple of fresh bruises on my sides near the backs of my hips, and I was pretty sure they happened when Jack had pushed me into the kitchen cupboards at some point, but they didn't hurt.

The rest of my bruises were almost entirely gone, my body mostly healed again after everything Greg had done. There was just one patch on my side that still showed a faint mark, and the area under the skin was still a little tender. It was an improvement.

I hurried through my shower as quickly as I could, Jack bringing me a towel just as I was turning the jet of water off.

"I'll gather my things. How long do you need to get dressed and be ready to go?" he asked.

"Give me half an hour?" I replied, hoping that was enough time.

He nodded, but his gaze wandered again, and I could see him considering something else. Before he could reach for me, his phone started to buzz. Walking away from me, he answered it.

"Yeah, I know. She's up now," he said, his voice getting quieter as he moved farther away.

I dried myself as I listened to him tell whoever was on the other end of the phone not to worry and that there was still plenty of time.

Rushing the rest of the process, I quickly pulled my dressing gown on and grabbed my PJs. It was only as I practically ran back to the apartment he'd assigned me that I noticed the time. It was a little after eleven.

No wonder everyone was waiting for me, and he'd asked if I normally slept so much. It was an insane amount of time to have been late. We would be lucky to get half a day of my input into their process at this rate.

Feeling incredibly guilty and as if this was so unlike me, I tried to get dressed and brush my hair as swiftly as possible. It took me a moment to tame the strands, a large portion at the back tangled from all the screwing. And then, I quickly put on the most basic makeup in about three minutes flat.

When I saw that I'd only taken about twenty minutes in total to get ready, it made me grateful I wasn't one of those women who took ages to get ready because I couldn't leave the house without flawless skin or makeup.

I hurried back to Jack's apartment with my handbag to find him sitting on his sofa, drawing. As soon as he saw me, he put the pencil and paper down and grabbed his phone.

"Come on," he said. "The car's waiting for us already. We'll take the elevator."

I grinned as he did, not minding the subtle dig at my choice to take the stairs the day before.

A part of me felt like I was on cloud nine as we descended. Jack reached for my fingers and entwined them in his, and it only made me feel even better. He was claiming me in ways that made it easier to give in to the needs and desires he clearly had. I could just accept it and let him have what he wanted.

He'd blown my mind the night before, but every time I thought about it, I felt my cheeks heating up. I'd been so hungry for him to be inside me that it was all I could think about. His very touch made me react in ways I hadn't expected.

The elevator reached the bottom all too soon, but Jack didn't let go of me as he walked me out to the car, and we got inside. I noticed it was parked somewhere it shouldn't have been, but no one really said or did anything about it. I guessed it was easy not to worry about a parking ticket when the cost of one was the amount of money you earned in only a few minutes.

Once I was inside the back of the car again with Jack, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. My eyes widened as I wondered what he intended to do with me. Was he going to screw me on the way to the studio?

No sooner had I thought this than he settled back and let me do the same beside him. A moment later, he pulled out his cell phone and sent a message to the rest of the band, letting them know we were on our way.