"I understand, Jude," I said softly and I did. I was a victim of keyboard cowards targeting me too, especially when it came to body-shaming. It was a cold world out there sometimes.
"Brent is an old friend of mine in Florida," Jude continued. "He invited me over this weekend. I told him I was busy but after talking to Ella, I think maybe I should go see him. It's been a couple of years and the guy hardly ever calls but we're still close. We used to hang out all the time when he lived in Atlanta."
I swallowed down my own anxiety as he spoke of going away. What was I even going to do without him during the days? How was I going to sleep in this bed and not have him touch me or hold me while we slept?
"Will you come with me?" Jude asked.
I turned to look at him in surprise, unable to believe he really was asking me to accompany him. Take a trip to Florida with him in the middle of an impending scandal.
"Really? Are you serious?" I breathed out in astonishment.
He smiled. "Well, you are my assistant," he said in a lighter tone. "I'm going to need a lot of help while I'm working."
My lips curved joyfully and without thinking twice, I put my arms around his neck and kissed him. "Sure thing, boss," I quipped and he squeezed my ass in response.
He drifted off to sleep while keeping his arms around me and I admired his features like I always did, allowing my eyes to soften just a bit. I could look at him for hours if resting wasn’t so essential.
Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up with my heart thundering loudly. My hand reached for Jude and I felt warm, bare skin which was enough to make me breathe out a sigh of relief. I'd had a bad dream. In my dream, Jude said he hated me. He'd kicked me out of his home and his life and never wanted to see my face again because of all the agony I had caused him. Because of my deceit.
"Riley?" He stirred and mumbled my name before squinting at me in the faint illumination coming from the bathroom light. "Hey. What's wrong?"
I wiped a sheen of sweat from my face and rubbed my eyes, trying to shake off the dread. His hatred...it had been such a tangible thing. Even in my dream, it had shattered me.
"Jude," I whispered shakily and wished he wouldn't find my behaviour ridiculous. "I... I just..." I breathed in and out a few times and felt him shift beside me.
When I looked up, he was holding a glass of water and asking me to drink it. "Are you okay?" he questioned with a frown.
I drank the water and kept the glass in my hand while I thought of what to say.
"What do you hate the most in this world?" I blurted out suddenly.
It was all that came to mind and I burned to know the answer to that. What would it take to drive a man like Jude Knight to hatred?
"Why are you asking me that?" he inquired in a puzzled tone.
I shrugged. "I just...want to know. Please. Can you tell me?"
He was quiet as he took the glass from me and drank the remaining water in it before placing it on the nightstand.
"I don't know," he said as he turned back to me. "I've never really hated anything in life." He seemed to be considering it and then added, "I can't stand people judging me, I guess. I...can't stand criminals. Maybe because I was determined to become a lawyer before I started to write full time. But I hate being lied to most of all. It's hard for me to tolerate that. It's...my hard limit, I suppose."
I might have turned to stone and I didn't even care that tears were falling down my cheeks at his words. I didn't care if he saw me. I felt in that moment that I had already lost him. It was only a matter of time before it all became official.
Chapter 23
Jude
Brent's home in Florida was in such a great location, it was hard not to feel like I was on holiday even as worry plagued me regarding my situation. He lived right near the beach and it had been a while since I'd visited. The guy had a huge family house where he stayed with his wife and daughter and then another cottage reserved especially for his writing. I asked him for the cottage even though he wanted me to stay in the main house with them. But I needed my privacy and with the way Riley and I fucked, I wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of anyone hearing our business.
Brent's wife, Caroline, gave me a warm, welcoming hug but her pleasant demeanor turned slightly sour when she saw Riley. She and Jennifer were in touch so I didn't know if the cold shoulder was because she knew about my cheating or because she was just surprised that my assistant was there with me, looking incredibly hot in her tight shorts and tank top and holding on to my arm as I introduced her.
Riley liked to touch me a lot and be touched in return. I didn't mind. In fact, there were so many things about her now that were growing on me. Her vulnerability, her capacity to get highly emotional, the fierceness I detected in her eyes whenever she felt something was bothering me as though it raised her protective instincts. And then there was the way she let me take her. Such beautiful abandonment. I'd never experienced that kind of responsiveness from a woman before. Her passion was all for me. Riley cared about me. Even when I was down and sulky, she stayed with me and treated me like I was some boy in need of comforting.
And that rare laugh of hers. That was always unexpectedly delightful. She laughed with the same abandonment with which she made love. I didn't know what was happening to me but I couldn't get enough of her sometimes. I suppose that was what affairs boiled down to. Suddenly, you found yourself so wrapped up in that other person that you started to forget some very crucial things. Like maybe you shouldn't have brought your young, sexy assistant with you on a trip to your friend's house when your ex-girlfriend had just threatened to destroy you for cheating on her. Jennifer would definitely hear about this but I couldn't keep away from Riley.
She went shopping with Brent's daughter, Elaine, the next day while I locked myself up in the cottage and wrote furiously. The novel was coming along so great. I'd long since admitted to myself that I was pouring out my own addiction into this book. Addiction to a person whom you knew wasn't the best choice for you. At first, it had been about my subconscious feelings for Wynnie, who still sent me random but meaningful messages from time to time, but now it was all about this other woman in my life.
Riley Benson. She was my addiction. I hardly thought about my stalker when I was with her because of how Riley devoted herself to me. My emotions and experiences were vaguely portrayed in this book as well. I felt a thrill in my bones at the knowledge, the kind of knowledge the world didn't have about this story which was going to make headlines. J. R. Knight writing erotica. I smirked to myself as I penned out the last paragraph for the chapter I was working on and then, went for my shower to get ready to meet with Brent for drinks later at his place. He was probably locked in his office as well for the whole day but evenings were a time for him to unwind.
An hour later, I lounged in the front yard of his home and gazed out at the beach, waiting for the sun to set because Florida sunsets were really a sight to behold. Brent's wife was inside the house and Elaine and Riley were strolling on the beach, talking to each other with the orange sun casting a glow over their figures. Elaine, who was a senior in high school, made animated gestures as she spoke and Riley barely smiled but she seemed to be in a good mood. I couldn't take my eyes off her as I sipped on my wine and thought of all the ways I was going to have sex with her later. Maybe we would try the beach when everyone went to bed. I'd never had sex on a beach before but Riley inspired me in so many wonderful ways.
I didn't realize I was smiling to myself until Brent spoke up from the lounger next to me and his question wiped that smile off my face completely.
"So...what's it like fucking a teenager at your age?"
My heart seemed to stop beating momentarily as I turned my head to stare at him.
Brent tipped his wine glass towards Riley in a discreet manner and smirked. "Dude...I mean, I shouldn't say it but there's something about her and I understand the attraction but never thought I'd find you in such a position. Not judging yo
u. Just curious."
I swallowed hard at his words, not being able to comprehend what he meant at first. A teenager?
"Riley's not a teenager," I corrected him. "She's twenty-two."
Brent let out a snort and sipped some wine. "Jude, you don't have to lie to me," he said. "I told you I'm not judging. I did think it was weird at first that you hired someone so young for the position but now I get it."
I scowled at him then and his incorrect assumptions. "I know she looks really young but Riley's not a teenager, Brent. Why would you say that? Of course I'm not into teen girls. The fact that you'd even ask me that is ridiculous."
His own eyebrows lowered at my response, his eyes boring into me in a thoughtful manner before he shook his head. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "She looks almost as young as Elaine and being around a teenage daughter and her friends, I just took one look at Riley and felt like she would fit right in. There's an air about her. A kind of youth and innocence you only see in high school girls. I thought it was pretty obvious."
He still sounded uncertain and even though my breathing was starting to go all uneven, I kept my voice firm and steady as I looked at him and repeated, "She's twenty-two, Brent."
My friend was quiet as he took in my warning tone to back off the subject because I didn't appreciate his prying so he just nodded and settled back in his seat, swirling the wine in his glass.
Chapter 24
Wynnie
Jude was super quiet when we got back to the cottage later that night after a wonderful dinner with Brent's family. And I mean it when I say that it was wonderful. I don't remember the last time I dined with other people apart from Jude and actually enjoyed myself. Brent's wife seemed a little stand-offish but then so was I, to be honest. I wasn't going to judge someone for not having a more outgoing personality. At least she wasn't rude to me. Brent was the life of the party, a very cheerful and entertaining host and so at odds with Jude's calm nature so their friendship was really interesting to me. And Elaine... I had never met a girl my age who was so kind and humble. We actually had a lot of fun shopping and she was the one who ended up convincing me to buy a bikini, something I hardly ever wore due to not feeling secure enough in my own skin. Elaine was so nice about it though and I felt really glad to have met her.
But then, Jude was acting really weird and at first I thought it was just writing stress because he was on his laptop for over an hour so I went off to bed and busied myself with some reading and updating his social media profiles. When he joined me later however, he still wouldn't say a word.
He just lay on his side facing away from me and seemed to be lost in thought. I couldn't keep my hormones in check anymore though. He was wearing just his boxers with his gloriously sexy body on display and after a long day of hardly even touching each other, I yearned to hold him so I scooted over to his side, tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Hey."
Jude's only acknowledgment of me was to blink into the distance he was staring at.
"Is everything okay?" I asked him, feeling apprehensive.
He rumbled something deep inside his chest and I felt my lips quirk slightly. He was being moody. Maybe it had nothing to do with me but just a state of mind he was in. I guess I could live with that. For now. I stretched out next to him and placed a kiss on his smooth back before going back to my book. Jude didn't even respond or make any move to reach for me that night. Something seemed to have changed between us all of a sudden and it was all coming from his side. It filled me with dread the next day when he maintained his distance and I was forced to spend my time with Elaine again.
"What's going on with you?" I questioned him on the second night when he continued to behave strangely.
He only shook his head and said goodnight to me, claiming he had a lot on his mind before going off to sleep.
The explosion came the next afternoon when we made it back to Atlanta and found Ella waiting for us at Jude's place. What the fuck? Did he just give his keys to anyone to enter his apartment whenever they pleased?
"Jude," she greeted lightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug while looking straight at me.
She really was asking for it. I actually found myself running the pad of my thumb along the sharp tips of my nails while glaring at her. Jude gave her a tiny smile but it seemed forced. He obviously had been expecting her, however, because they went inside his office after that to have a private conversation.
With a frustrated sigh, I headed off to his bedroom and resisted the urge to do something completely immature like go and slash her tires. I couldn't wait for Jude to get rid of Ella. Then I could finally sort things out with him and get back to my work-hard-fuck-him-harder routine.
Chapter 25
Jude
"Okay, what's wrong?" I asked as my friend settled into the chair opposite me at the desk and regarded me gravely. She'd called to let me know that she'd be waiting for me back here and had something important to discuss. I assumed it was regarding my situation with Jennifer. "Is she going to make trouble for me?" I inquired, frowning at the unpleasant thought.
Ella just gave me a look and said, "She did find you with your dick almost buried inside your assistant at eight in the morning on the kitchen counter."
I winced a little at the graphic reminder. And I might have started to feel kind of turned on as well. Riley made me so horny. It had been an effort to keep my hands off her for two days straight but Brent's words had sunk in deep. Now I couldn't stop picturing her as a teenager. It didn't matter that she was in her twenties. People would look at her and know that I was too old to be screwing her. It didn't look good at all when we stepped out in the real world.
"I have tried so many times to apologize to Jen, Ella. I do feel bad about how she found out."
Ella's lips thinned as she studied me thoughtfully. "Jude," she began in a low voice. "I probably should have done what was required of me as a law-abiding citizen but I had to talk to you about this first. I can tell that you have feelings for Riley-"
"It's just sex," I interrupted in a clipped tone, not wanting to get into the whole having-feelings-for-Riley conversation with her. The first part of her sentence had put me on guard.
She closed her mouth and I was surprised to see a faint blush creeping along her cheeks as she looked at me. It caused me to frown at her again and she glanced down quickly and started to search for something inside her briefcase.
"Well, this would be easier then. I didn't want to...hurt you or anything by involving the police until I had spoken to you about her. Jennifer's fine, Jude. She's dealing." Ella slid a bunch of papers towards me and her face was pale as she whispered, "It's Riley you should be worried about."
I picked up the papers carefully and studied them, feeling puzzled as the seconds passed by. It was a police report regarding a person of interest, some teenage girl called Wynter Cassidy who was also known as...
My blood chilled at the name written beside that, the name she was known as by her friends and family.
I looked up at Ella and she immediately got up from her chair and came over to me.
"Are you okay?" she asked me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Jude, you've gone so pale."
I didn't tell her about my stalker. That her name was Wynnie too and all of this was just so baffling.
"Why are you showing me this?" I questioned in a voice that wasn't quite steady.
Not my Wynnie. Not the girl who I believed was harmless and maybe even a friend who understood me. She couldn't be a criminal. She had never tried to hurt me or push herself on me beyond the Twitter messages.
"Jude." Ella sounded a little shaken as well. "Listen to me carefully. The girl in the report, Wynter Cassidy, is the same one who is in your house right now. Riley Benson is a fake identity. She...I don't know how she got here and managed to fool all of us but I did a lot of digging and found out that your assistant is a fraud, a fugitive and quite possibly sick in the head."
I swallowed a couple of ti
mes, my fists clenching as I absorbed the truth of Ella's words. As the facts hit me in the face even before Ella turned another page and a black and white photo of Riley...no, Wynnie stared up at me. She looked only slightly different with lighter hair and no glasses but it was her. There was no mistaking it.
"This report says she is only eighteen," I whispered to myself. Shock had settled into my system, making me numb to the horror and anger I should be experiencing. She was fucking eighteen years old and hadn’t even graduated from high school.
"We need to call the police now," Ella told me determinedly. "She's dangerous, Jude. The way she tried to kill that man...and all this planning and deception. I'm not sure exactly what she wants. Whether it's money or-"
"Me," I said numbly and glanced back at the report. "She wants me."
Ella was quiet and then I felt her dropping a kiss on my temple and speaking to me in a soothing tone but I hardly paid attention.
Riley was...she was my stalker.
She was Wynnie.
She had been here the whole time, under my roof, in my office, working with me and then...sleeping with me.
My throat worked again and I got to my feet, tears blurring my eyes as the news really sunk in and the numbness began to fade, replaced by fury and hurt. She made me feel things for her. She made me think that it was okay to fuck her in all the ways that I did. She lied to me and used me just to fulfill some dark desire of hers. I genuinely felt sick as I thought about everything I had done to a teenage girl. All the depravity and roughness I had unleashed upon her. I'd trusted her. I'd thought she was a good person who maybe even cared for me.
"I need to talk to her first," I said to Ella slowly, disliking my choked-up tone. "She's…just a kid, Ella."
"Wynter Cassidy is no kid," my friend informed me in a hardened tone; the tone she used in the courtroom with criminals. "She knows exactly what she is doing. She orchestrated this con so perfectly, we never had a clue despite being lawyers. She let that innocent facade fool us. And she has been smart enough to cover her tracks, stay out of any media exposure. Don't get soft with her, Jude. No kid can manage all of this. And the girl I spoke to on Friday was definitely not somebody who sounded like she was innocent. She messed with the wrong person."
Girl Obsessed: A Dark Romance Page 16