by Michelle, T.
After a few calming moments, Jared turned, laying them both out on the rug. It had been so long since she’d had sex and never before had it been as intense as this. Her head was pillowed along his bicep, her breathing returning to its normal ebb and flow.
“Did I hurt you?” He whispered, still running his fingers through her hair.
“No.”
“I’m sorry, Tabitha. I don’t know what came over me. You’re so small…” He trailed off, his hand stilling at her crown.
She opened her eyes and captured his gaze. “I’m not so terribly small to be breakable, now, am I?” Her tone was harsher than she’d hoped, coming out more as a challenge.
He smiled, rocking his hips and proving that the night was still young. “No, frail you are not.” She laid her head back down, feeling him slowly move within her. “But you seem so dainty beneath my hands.” As though to prove his point, he laid one of his massive paws across her back. “Christ, my hand takes up a good two-thirds of your back.”
“It makes me feel secure.” She nuzzled further into him.
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Pixie.”
“Giant.”
He jerked his hips, piercing into her with his revived enthusiasm. Tabitha gasped and pulled back to look at him. There was a mischievous glint to his eyes and he arched an eyebrow, rocking his hips into her again.
“I thought you’d had enough.” She said, swatting playfully at his chest.
His expression changed, growing serious. “I don’t think I could get enough of you, Tabitha.
Chapter 7
She called Kristen at the first possible moment, sneaking out of Jared’s oh-so-comfortable kind-sized bed before he woke, and begged her to come up.
“I have meetings all day, Tabby. Can’t this wait?” Kristen’s groggy voice rasped out. She was a prominent public relations agent in the sports industry and usually didn’t have a lot of time to spare during work hours.
“No! Can’t you call in sick or something? Oh, God, Kris. I need to talk with you in person.” Tabitha paced the back lawn, chewing at her long nails. She’d spit out three already.
Kristen blew into the phone. “Okay, honey. Just calm down. I was going to put my car in the shop to get some work done anyway. I’ll tell my assistant I’ve got car trouble and rent a car…I can be there in about 3 hours. What time is it anyway?”
“I have no idea.”
“Jesus! Tab! It’s barely 6 am.” She cleared her throat and jostled the phone a bit. “All right. I’m up. Maybe we can go do breakfast before you have to begin working.”
“I don’t have to work today. Jared’s here and he asked me last night to take the day off. With pay.”
“Oh-kay.” Kristen drawled. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Tabitha busied herself cleaning up the living room. Basically, she removed any remnants of the night before, praying that when he woke he wouldn’t remember anything. When the house was picked up, she silently moved down the hall to take a quick bath.
With her cast wrapped in plastic and slung out to the side away from the water, she let the steam relax her high-strung nerves. She soaked a washcloth in the hot water and placed it over her puffy eyes. From what she gathered, she’d only managed about three hours of sleep before being jolted awake at the reality of the situation she’d managed to land herself into.
The door squeaked open and she slipped the cloth from her eyes. Jared stood with his back to her, relieving himself in the toilet. It didn’t look as though he even knew she was in the tub behind him. She held her breath; afraid that if she made any sudden movements it would startle him and that could lead to quite a mess considering his current preoccupation.
Once finished, he stretched, releasing a huge yawn and scratching his sides. Then, he moved to the sink and began to run water. He splashed his face and brushed his teeth, coming up to inspect his handiwork in the mirror. She saw the moment his eyes lit on her. They widened perceptively and he let out with a rather shocking expletive, whirling around to face her.
“Hi.” She responded timidly.
“Good morning.” He ran a hand through his mussed hair. “You scared the hell out of me. Why didn’t you say something when I barged in on you?”
“I wasn’t aware until you were already peeing.” Her whole body had turned red under his scrutiny. It was one thing to be seen while the excuse of alcohol could be used, it was quite another to be bare to an audience in early morning’s light.
“How are you feeling?”
“Alright. My arm’s throbbing a bit today.”
He immediately went on alert, coming over to her and checking her fingers and shoulder joint. “I don’t feel anything out of place. Do you need a pain pill?”
“No. I’ll be fine.” She felt awkward, insecure, whereas he was the pillar of normalcy.
“I’ll make some breakfast.” He moved to the door.
“Actually,” She began, focusing on the ripples her free hand made along the water’s surface. “Kristen’s coming up. She should be here in about an hour.”
He studied her for a long moment. “Alright then. I’ll cook for one.” And with that he left.
She took her time getting dressed, to delay another confrontation with him. She needed time to sort things out in her head and she couldn’t do it around him. Just the sight of him this morning had brought all kinds of sensuous flashbacks to her mind. She didn’t need to delve into any analyzing about it just yet. She would have plenty of time to do that with Kristen.
Tabitha managed to time it just right and finished getting ready as a knock sounded at the door.
“Be right there, Kris.” She hollered, knowing that since Jared was up, the front door would be open. “Come on in.”
She met her friend at the entryway, ushering her out before she could greet Jared. “We’ll be back in a few hours.” She called out to him from the doorway before practically running to Kristen’s car.
Once safely inside and backing down the drive, Kristen turned a fierce look on her. “Just what the hell is going on?” She did a once-over on her passenger before a knowing light hit her eyes. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”
Tabitha put her face into her hands, covering up the shame and tears. “Yes! I don’t know what I was thinking.”
They both looked up to witness the object of their discussion standing on the porch, watching them leave as he shoveled a plate of food in his mouth. He was clad only in a pair of jeans, the top button of which had been left unfastened.
“I know what you were thinking. Jesus, that man is seriously hot!”
“Oh God, Kristen. What have I done?” Tabitha became hysterical. “I’ve slept with my boss, my doctor, that’s what I’ve done. I’ve whored myself out to a man that’s giving me a place to live and a job. Omigod, I’ve become a call girl!”
“Just calm down, hon.” Kristen patted Tabitha’s leg as she steered onto the freeway. “Let’s find a place to sit and grab a bite to eat and you can tell me all about it.” She cast a sheepish look at her friend. “And I do mean, all about it.”
The small mom and pop restaurant was packed, but they managed to find a booth in the back, near the restrooms. This was a perfect location since Tabitha was afraid she would burst out in tears at any minute.
“So, what’s the big deal?” Kristen asked after Tabitha had spilled out her story. She had been forced to dole out every detail for Kristen’s warped mind, reliving every delicious moment of their sordid affair.
Tabitha pulled her hair up off her now heated neck.
“What’s that?” Kristen said, scrutinizing the side of her neck. She leaned over across the table and pressed her pointer finger into Tabitha’s skin.
“Ow!” Tabitha jerked back, rubbing the affected area.
“Ha-ha!” Kristen burst out. “You have a hickey! That sophisticated, sultry man left a love-bite on your neck!”
Tabith
a struck from the booth and made a dash for the bathroom. The mirror revealed exactly what Kristen had been laughing at. A small, dark almost purple spot marring her white skin, close to the base of her neck. She paled and ran a shaking hand over the mark. She drew a paper towel under some cold water and held it to the spot.
Sidling back into the booth, she looked at Kristen who was smirking, barely holding her laughter back.
“That doesn’t work, you know.” She pointed a fork at the towel Tabitha had pressed against the mark. “It’s an old wives tale. Or maybe a young teenager’s.” She laughed again. “Tabitha, tell me…what exactly is so bad about what happened last night?”
Tabitha thought. She’d slept with her boss, a man that admitted to having a girlfriend. A man she owed a lot of money to. A man letting her stay at his house until the cast came off her arm. She’d slept with a man way out of her league, someone she didn’t have a damn thing in common with. Now, she’d risked her safe haven, her good-paying job, and a possible friendship in pursuit of carnal pleasures. Not a damn thing was wrong with what happened. She threw her friend a look of dismay and refused to state the obvious.
“So you slept with him once. Big deal.” Kristen shoveled sausage into her mouth.
“Actually, three times.”
She choked. “Three times? In one night?” She cleared her throat. “That’s impressive. But, still, it was only one night.” She eyed Tabitha. “It was only last night, right?”
Tabitha nodded. “But, even so, it shouldn’t have happened. Now what am I gonna do? I can’t pretend that it didn’t happen; hell, my emotions are already wrapped up in the guy. I think I had started falling for him long before last night.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
The girls entered the house still discussing options for recourse. Jared sat reading a large tome in the front room, still clad in nothing but jeans, the only adornment being the glasses perched neatly on the bridge of his nose. He glanced up and smiled, placing the book on the coffee table in front of him.
Kristen surmised from the book title. “A little light reading, Jared?”
He smiled. “Something like that. How are you, Kristen?” Tabitha was grateful he hadn’t looked at her yet.
“Good. Just taking a little time off to check on Tabby.” She rubbed Tabitha on the back then moved to take a seat in one of the chairs flanking the sofa.
Jared’s eyes found Tabitha, making her feel awkward, as if in a spotlight. “I hope she told you everything is fine.” He didn’t look at Kristen while he spoke, continuing to hold Tabitha in his gaze.
“Yeah. Her arm feels much better. And her disposition is rather chipper today.” Tabitha could have dropped her friend on the spot. Instead, she resorted to throwing a nasty look her way.
“Well, I’m glad to hear it. Anyone need a drink?” Jared stood and made his way into the kitchen.
“Got any beer?” Kristen asked, stifling a giggle. Yep, Tabitha was going to jail for murder. She shot out a chopping hand gesture to stifle Kristen’s mocking comments.
“I think there’s one left.” He called.
“Actually, Jared, I’ve got to get going. I have some clients to see, but thanks.”
Tabitha walked Kristen to the door. “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me.” She hissed.
“I can’t believe you’re making such a big deal out of it.” Kristen rolled her eyes. “I think you should just talk to him. Find out what’s going on.” She hugged her tightly. “Then you can feel free to make any decision you want.”
They said goodbye and Tabitha stepped back in to the now foreboding house.
“So, where’d you go for breakfast?” Jared asked, coming back into the room with two large glasses of orange juice. He handed one to her, stopping just short of colliding with her.
“Um, that little place over by Travis’ shop.”
He nodded, watching her intently. She gulped down the juice and set the glass on the table.
Jared moved to place his hand against her neck, rubbing his thumb back and forth across her jaw line. “You look nice today.”
“Thanks.” She muttered, trying to force her eyes to stay open. The subtle, rhythmic movement of his thumb was entrancing her. “Uh, Jared…”
“Yes?” He set his glass down then stepped closer to her. He moved her hair off her left shoulder and bent. He stilled. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yep.” She pressed her lips together in a thin line.
“I did that to you?”
“Well, Kristen certainly didn’t. Although she got a big kick out of it.”
“Kristen knows?”
“How was I supposed to hide a hickey I didn’t even know I had?” She practically barked at him.
He grabbed her by the shoulders, bringing his face down level to hers. “Hey, I’m not saying you have to hide what happened last night. I was just asking a question. I’m sorry about the mark if it embarrasses you.”
She leaned her forehead against his shoulder. “No, not really. Although I don’t even remember how it got there.”
“Neither do I.” He pulled her into him, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. “But it doesn’t surprise me.”
“Oh, really?” She pulled back to read his expression. It was playful, and hinting at something she couldn’t quite grasp.
“Yeah.” He bent and kissed her. A sweet, lingering kiss that pulled her bottom lip up in between his teeth. He traced her upper lip with the tip of his tongue. His hand moved down slowly, grasping her butt through her thin shorts.
“Jared.” She breathed as he began trailing kisses down her neck.
“Hmmm?”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing here.”
“Anything you want.” His hands pulled her firmly up against his arousal.
Her self-control was melting. “No, that’s not what I meant. I meant – ”
“Shhh.” He slid his hands up and around to cup her breasts. “You think too much, Tabby. The whole time you were gone, I kept picturing you in that bathtub. You feel like taking another bath…with me?”
Oh, that was an enticing offer. She really shouldn’t; she was in enough trouble already. But his hands and mouth were performing sweet torture to her body and he had begun walking them backwards down the hallway.
Fear welled up inside her. “I can’t. I’m sorry.” She stepped away from him. “I have some errands to run…I should get that out of the way.”
“Stay. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow.” He bent to kiss her again.
She turned her head. “No. Tomorrow I have to work.”
“Well, I’m the boss and I say you can take tomorrow off, too.”
“I need the money.”
“I’ll pay you anyway.”
“No!” She cut around him, stormed back down the hallway and out the door.
Tabitha drove around Austin all day. By the time she made it back to the house it was past dark and her arm was killing her. Jared’s vehicle wasn’t in the drive. Part of her was relieved that she could just sneak in and out without him being there, but part of her felt the weight of sorrow at not being able to tell him goodbye.
She’d thought about it all afternoon and there really was no other way out of this mess. She’d have to leave. She slowly gathered up her clothes and stuffed it into her backpack. Her shoes and personal belongings got crammed into a plastic bag. There was nothing else to do but leave. She had enough money to stay at a hotel and had managed to get hired on as a cocktail waitress at a nightclub in Austin. That had been a stroke of good luck for a change.
She was to start on light duty Friday night and in a few weeks, once the cast came off, she could begin waitressing fulltime. The manager had even said she could learn to bartend if she wanted. It wasn’t her ideal job, but it was something and it opened up her days so that she could look for another job working with kids.
The hotel she’d
found was an extended stay with discounts for paying in advance. It was a small room, but had all the amenities she’d need, even offering a kitchenette, Internet and cable TV. All for less than $200 a week. She couldn’t beat that.
Pulling onto the freeway, Tabitha burst into tears. Not quiet, feminine tears that silently trickled down her face, but hefty, loud, wailing tears that spilled from her eyes and made her nose run. Driving under the handicap of only one arm was no time to get all blurry-eyed behind the wheel. Tabitha tried to pull herself together by acknowledging that it could have never worked anyway.
Jared had a girlfriend. He also had a thriving medical practice and an active life by all accounts. She was nothing more than some misfit who just happened to be at the right time and place. Surely, their intimacy had meant far greater to her than it ever would to him. She hadn’t left a note, praying that he’d understand and not be too upset with her for walking out on the job.
The room was comfortable and in no time she had her belongings stored in the dresser drawer, her three pairs of jeans and two skirts hung neatly in the closet. That done, Tabitha settled down on the bed and cried herself to sleep.
Work wasn’t all that trying since no one would let her do much except play hostess and wipe down some tables until the cast came off. It wasn’t excellent money, but it would pay the bills. Especially since she didn’t have many to worry about any more.
She called Kristen after a week and patiently listened while her friend railed into the phone, going on about how worried everyone was when she’d just disappeared and that she should have cared enough to at least call and tell her she was okay.
Tabitha apologized profusely and admitted that she had needed time to sort her head out.
Kristen was excited, however, that she’d landed a job and mentioned as an after thought that Jared had contacted her wondering where Tabitha was. “He’s worried about you, Tabby. Can’t you just give him a call?”
“And say what, Kris? No, it’s better just to leave it alone.”
“He just wants to know that you’re alright.”