….
The next morning, I woke up feeling all out of sorts. Something wasn't right. I sat up in bed gingerly and stifled a groan when I felt my bones aching in protest. My whole body felt heated up and I had a pounding headache which made me want to go back to sleep again. It all came rushing back when Giselle walked in through the door, wearing the skimpiest outfit I'd ever seen her in. And I'd seen her in plenty.
"Oh, good. You're up. I was starting to get worried," she quipped, putting one knee up on the mattress and eyeing me with a satisfied expression on her face.
"What did you do to me?" was the first question I shot at her, trying to ignore the pain in my head.
Giselle smiled at me. "Nothing you didn't already want," she drawled.
"I didn't want this," I bit out, glaring at her. "What is wrong with you? What did you put in my tea?"
Her response was to laugh at me. "Oh, baby. Stop being so dramatic. It was just a little something to make you more...um...compliant?"
I swallowed a couple of times, steeling my body against the shivers that wanted to wreck through it. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" I demanded coldly. "You took advantage of me. You made me do things against my will. I'm not going to let you get away with this."
Giselle licked her lips and cocked her head as she studied me. "You look a little pale, Zi. Would you like me to get you a drink?"
I tasted bile and rubbed my face, stifling another groan as my muscles protested against the slightest movement.
"I'm going to report you," I told her and gritted my teeth.
She'd drugged me. She'd given me something that made me drowsy but also aroused me so that my body would respond to her even if I didn't want to. Except that I hadn't taken enough of it to render me unconscious at first and I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
When Giselle lowered herself next to me, I tried to move away from her but she placed a hand on my arm and said, "You wouldn't say anything about this to anyone. You know why, Zi? Because after the stunt you pulled last night at the stadium, everybody's just going to think you're asking for sympathy to take the heat off your unsportsmanlike behaviour." She shifted to face me and forced me to look at her. "Fans are angry, Zi. It's all over the news. I don't think you want to call more attention to yourself at the moment-"
"I don't care," I threw at her, pinning her with a dark stare. "You drugged me. I wouldn't have let you do any of those things if I'd been sober. I'm going to report you, do you hear me?"
As soon as I conjured up the energy to get out of this bed because I just felt so damn weak at the moment.
Instead of appearing guilty or worried, Giselle smirked at me. "Again, you won't do or say anything. Because I know your dirty little secret, honey and if you tell then I'll tell."
I froze, trying to figure out what she might be talking about. What secret? The only secret I had was...
My lips parted as I took in her overly-pleased expression, dreading her next words.
"I mean, maybe you meant some other 'Skye' when you kept moaning her name and then mumbling it in your sleep but the only one I know of in the whole of Pavia is my boyfriend's mother." Giselle raised her eyebrows at me. "Your best friend's mother."
"You don't know shit," I snapped at her, feeling a wall of panic trying to engulf me. What had I done?
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Maybe. However, I'm willing to bet on it. Who else could it be? We both know how much of a virgin you are and she's the only woman you've probably been exposed to." Her shrewd gaze took me in. "Although, I'm guessing she took care of the virgin part since you didn't seem too shocked last night when I fucked you."
Holy shit.
I knew I was a guy, an adult male and I was supposed to be tough and get mad about these kinds of situations. But when she said those last words, I wanted to cry.
I thought she'd only...
Oh my God.
"I was unconscious, for fuck's sake," I whispered to her in shock. "God, you're sick."
"Not as sick as you for sticking it in your neighbour's wife," she replied.
"Stop saying that!" I yelled at her, finally letting go of the hold on my temper. The need for violence was so strong inside me, I wanted to strangle this girl.
As though she sensed she had pushed me to my limits, Giselle pursed her lips and backed off before sliding off the bed.
"Look, all I'm saying is that...one wrong word in the right ears and...well, the consequences might be nasty, Zi," she told me flippantly. "So maybe keep last night between us?"
I glowered at her and wondered how a human being like her could even exist, walking and talking like everything was normal and okay while having violated someone in this manner. And now she was blackmailing me.
I felt so helpless. How could I have exposed Skye like that? I'd made Giselle suspicious. The last thing I wanted was for rumors to start floating around about the woman I loved because of my carelessness. Closing my eyes, I dragged in a ragged breath, feeling sweaty and feverish. I needed to go home. I needed my dad. My family.
"I can't believe I thought you were being nice to me," I croaked out, refusing to look at her for fear that I might do her some bodily harm if she dared to smirk at me again.
"I can," she said lightly. "You are always so trusting. So innocent. But last night was pretty hot. I loved watching you lose control like that, baby."
I had no control in the first place! I wanted to scream but I bit my tongue. It was pointless. This girl didn't really seem to think she had done anything wrong. She had simply taken what she had been wanting for months through whatever means necessary and felt no remorse. I couldn't even tell Jacob about her now. She'd mention her suspicions to him about Skye and everything would go to hell.
"Give me my phone, please," I whispered to her because I felt drained of energy. "I want to get out of here."
After a beat of silence, I heard her rummaging around in my bag and then the mattress dipped and something hard landed on my lap.
With shaking hands, I picked up the phone and scrolled through my contacts, texting the only person I could count on to come and pick me up from Giselle's house without asking me a million questions or judging me for it.
As I hit send on the message to aunt Jasmine and slumped back against the headboard to wait, Giselle made as if to lean closer.
"Get the hell away from me," I hissed at her.
She laughed softly and blew me a kiss. "You're too cute, Zi," she murmured before finally leaving me alone.
****
Chapter 18
Skye
It was now or never. Cole hadn't left my side since he'd been back and Jasper and Jacob had been inseparable as well. Except for a cursory hug in front of the kids and a few meal gatherings, I hadn't actually spoken to Jasper at all.
But it was now Monday afternoon and my husband had finally decided to go attend a meeting with a potential client down in the village. He'd been gone for almost half an hour before Izzy and Ben got home and asked if they could hop on over to Armaan's place because there was another training session with the local team today and Jacob had probably gone straight there after school.
I agreed way too easily because I needed to talk to Jasper alone. I mean, his uncharacteristic silence when I was so used to him being blunt all the time was driving me insane. I knew he knew something so why wasn't he saying anything?
I found him in his room at the Batcave, standing by the window and studying an enlarged photograph as if to determine whether it lived up to his professional standards or not. Jasper looked up from the picture when I walked in and then he looked up and down at me in that way of his, as though he needed to make sure every inch of me was still there. Or maybe he just enjoyed looking at me, even after all these years.
"Cole went for his meeting, huh?" he asked me with one raised eyebrow and I nodded, regarding him warily.
A long minute passed while we both ignored the elephant in the room. Jasp
er swept one last glance over the photograph, placed it carefully on the bed and then started to walk over to me with a ghost of a smile playing around his mouth.
I held up my hands. "Look, I'm not here for sex," I informed him calmly.
He stopped walking, frowned at me slightly and asked, "No? Is he that good?"
My mouth fell open a little and I blinked a few times. He was talking about Cole. Right?
"Okay, listen," I began, not even sure what I wanted him to listen to. I just knew that I needed to get his one-track mind to latch onto something other than sex for now.
"How have you been, Madison?" he questioned when he noticed that I was floundering.
My response was to glare at him. "You've been back for almost three days and now you think to ask me that?" I fired at him.
Jasper smirked at me, his mouth still so fucking sensual and sexy. How did he do it? How did he manage to look this attractive at his age?
"Aww. Are you mad because you felt ignored?" he drawled, stepping towards me again. "And after only three days." He shook his head at me. "Remember how I went halfway across the world having to leave my entire family behind and you decided to ignore me for a month?"
I regarded him with a wide-eyed stare. So what if I had? He'd deserved it after the way he'd acted with Jacob, trying to undermine me. Besides, he couldn't have actually missed me since he'd been in touch with everyone else and also had those Australian girls hanging on his every word to keep him entertained.
"Anyway, I thought you'd be too busy with your husband and your new lover to even notice me," he added with a glint in his eyes. "Come to bribe me into keeping my mouth shut?"
"I seriously have no clue what you're talking about," I lied to his face because I wanted to know exactly what he knew before I gave everything away.
He let out a chuckle. "Either way, you know what my price is," Jasper murmured. "Your body for my silence."
He'd come even closer and now he was sort of blocking the doorway so I stepped away quickly, towards the closet. "Why are you still such a pervert, Jasper?" I asked him snarkily. "And when are you finally going to get rid of those creepy fantasies that make you sound like some dirty old man?"
His lips twitched at my words and I tried not to smile. I was here to gauge his intentions, damn it, not play word games with him and enjoy his seduction routine.
"You should be pleased, Madison," he replied, still trailing me. "Now I can finally make all your Daddy fantasies come to life."
"Shut up," I giggled at him and then clamped a hand over my mouth. What the hell was I doing?
He cocked his head to the side again and studied me keenly. "You're different," he observed, speaking almost to himself. "You seem...happier." After a pause, he puffed out his chest and glowered at me. "Is he really that good?" he demanded to know, sounding almost angry now.
I didn't know what to say. Zi and I were over now. I hadn't seen him since the game on Saturday and hadn't tried to contact him either. He'd caused such an uproar amongst the soccer community by abandoning his position at the game and we'd all been worried about him. But Armaan said he hadn't been feeling well so he needed some time to rest. It was just the pressure that had gotten to him. I felt bad for the guy but I was afraid to get in touch with him for fear of revealing too much. He'd come around eventually once he felt better.
"Skye," Jasper said softly and I snapped out of my thoughts to blink at him.
"Jasper," I said just as softly. "I...I don't know how to explain-"
"Are you in love with him?" he cut in abruptly.
"What? No," I told him firmly. "No. I just...I got caught up in the novelty of it. I screwed up, okay. But you can't tell Cole, Jasper. Please. I didn't do any of this to hurt him!" I cried desperately.
"Of course, I'm not going to tell him," he hissed at me. "Jesus, Madison, why do you think I haven't said anything to him already?"
I swallowed and pressed up against the wall by the bed. "I don't know," I mumbled. "Maybe to hold it over me. To taunt me with the knowledge. You can go ahead and say it now. Call me a cheater."
He raised his eyebrows at my words. "Boy, your opinion of me is that low, huh?" he half laughed at me. "In case I didn't make it very clear, I do love you, Skye Madison and I don't simply exist to make your life hell."
My jaw almost dropped. Whoa. Did he just say he loved me? I mean, he actually said the words out loud. After...after almost two decades of not telling me.
I was gawking at him and I didn't care. Why wasn't he being a jerk to me, acting like an asshole, making me realise that I wasn't a good wife or any better than him?
"Come here," he ordered gruffly and I shook my head at him, my brain still trying to process his confession.
"Skye," he growled at me. "We can do all the talking later. Right now, we're going to tackle this the way we do best when we're not sure of each other."
I already knew but I had to ask.
"What way is that?" I spoke in a whisper. His eyes started glittering and it made my heart pound.
In three long strides, he covered the distance between us and had his arms around me, crashing his mouth against mine while pulling me tightly into his body.
He was still so big and broad all over, so fucking tall and ferocious in his lovemaking. I found myself surrendering to all of that, forgetting the reason I had come here in the first place. Or maybe this had been the reason buried in my subconsciousness all along.
"Jasper, please, we really need to...to talk," I managed to whisper once his lips left mine to explore the column of my throat while his hands slid over the skin of my back, removing my top as they travelled upwards.
"We will, baby," he murmured, lowering his head to suck my nipple through my bra. "It's why I came back." He moved to the other nipple and rolled and licked it.
My head slumped back against the wall. I wantonly pushed my breasts into his face and he let out a soft growl and fed on them hungrily.
"Oh, god, we have to stop," I told him weakly.
He unzipped my jeans and pushed them down hastily. "Again. We will. Just let me have this pussy for now. I fucking missed it."
I would have scoffed at that because he'd probably had dozens of pussies Down Under (no pun intended) during the first few weeks he'd been there. But his fingers were on my clit now, rubbing insistently and making me bite my lip because I wanted to let out a growl of my own.
His musky scent filled up my nostrils, intoxicating me. My own hands removed his t-shirt and then unbuttoned his jeans. Jasper's lips sought out mine again to capture them while he helped me take off his clothes. He let out a groan when my hands moved to cup his balls and stroke him firmly, finding him hard as a rock for me.
"I don't care how many cocks you think you need, Madison," he rasped out in my ear as he lifted me up to wrap my legs around his hips. "You're never going to be able to get enough of this one."
With those words, he thrust inside me fiercely and I gasped at the feel of him, twining my arms around his neck as he began to ram his hips into mine. There was no trying to dominate him. There was no telling him what to do. He knew exactly what I liked and how I liked it.
In the middle of our fucking, I thought I heard a sound and dug my nails into his shoulders, whispering for him to stop.
"What?" he asked breathlessly, his hair matted to his forehead due to sweating.
I heard another sound, footsteps, and this time, Jasper heard it as well. What the hell? Nobody was supposed to be home right now.
"Hey, Dad," Jacob's voice carried loudly through the doorway and we both panicked. "Have you seen my soccer boo-?"
I let out a shriek and moved so fast that I banged the lamp stand against the wall, trying to find a way to cover myself. It was too late to drag on my clothes now.
"Fuck! Fuck!" Jasper was cursing as he, too, let go of me and moved to find something to put on. "Motherfuc-"
"Jasper, for God's sake, stop swearing," I scolded automatically, grabbing his sh
eets to cover myself just as he pulled on his boxers.
My heart was pounding so hard and my face was burning because our son was standing there in the bedroom doorway, gaping at us. I was frozen in place.
Oh no, Jacob. My poor baby. To have walked in on something like this?
He was going to be traumatised for life.
"Jacob," Jasper growled and I watched him pin Jacob with a scowl that could even intimidate grown men. "Get out of here."
Jacob looked so stunned and so pale as he backed away slowly and left. I was going to kill Jasper. I stuffed myself in my jeans and pulled on my top in record time. The only thing on my mind was going after my son and explaining things to him.
Shit. This wasn't the way I had wanted him to find out about us. Oh my god, Jacob.
"How could you talk to him like that?" I shot at Jasper, feeling pissed off. "He just got the shock of his life and you chose now to act like an ass? Ugh."
I stormed out of there but felt him close behind me as we both hurried after Jacob, trying to call him back. This was bad.
This was really bad.
I was about to find out exactly how bad when I followed my son into our house that afternoon.
~~~
Ziad
My life had turned into some kind of nightmare over the weekend. I was constantly on edge, wondering how to handle the Giselle situation because whenever I thought about it, it made me nauseous. People shouldn't be able to get away with doing something so horrendous. I hadn't even gone to school today. My fever was fading now but I still felt overwhelmed and unable to face the world outside.
My family...I didn't know how to express my gratitude towards them. Aunt Jasmine had picked me up yesterday morning, heard my 'I don't want to talk about it, please', taken one look at my condition and I didn't know what she did or said to Abbu and Aaliyah but they both simply told me that when I was ready to talk about what was bothering me, they would be ready to listen.
Shameless Page 15