Breaking the silence, Alexis whispered into the phone, “Okay, I’ll be there.”
“We’ll expect you around eleven on Saturday night.”
Alexis hung up the phone and put her head in her hands, messaging her temples. She needed a few minutes to catch her breath and think about what she had just agreed to and what this meant for her and Allen. Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest. The thought of seeing that man again was making her crazy with desire, but it was also making her angry to think how easily she had allowed a man like him to take control of her actions and use her like a whore. She was being given a chance to take that control back, and that’s exactly what she was going to do.
* * * *
Lily turned off her cell phone. She was taking a huge gamble, but Jackson was worth it. If Alexis told him the truth, Lily knew Jackson would be livid, possibly angry enough to shut down her business regardless of his own involvement. He had a self-righteous streak a mile wide. However, she was gambling on Alexis to walk away from him with her dignity in check without revealing the circumstances surrounding their first meeting. It would do Alexis no good to tell him how she came to be with him at Lily’s Place.
She was betting that Alexis would not want to humiliate herself further by telling him the truth. It wouldn’t change the fact that she had enjoyed every minute of cheating on her fiancé with a stranger. An added benefit was that it would be good for Jackson Craig to be served some humble pie. And of course, she thought happily, she would be right there to comfort him and make him forget all about Alexis.
Lily called Jackson to confirm his appointment. She heard a softness enter his tone of voice when he said Alexis’s name, and that put her on edge. It wasn’t possible that he could be falling for this girl in one night, this dull-witted twit who was to be married in a few months. No, the woman that would capture his heart would be a daring, dynamic risk-taker who could keep up with his dark desires, a woman worthy of man like him, not that milksop of a girl that had given him one good night of sex that far exceeded what she was really capable of delivering. No, Lily convinced herself, she wouldn’t believe it. She was convinced that when all was said and done, Jackson was a man that needed a woman like herself—a woman who could easily fit into the role of his whore, his mistress, and his wife. She was a woman who took chances, and when she really wanted something, she usually always got it.
Chapter 13
Alexis told Allen she was going to a bridal show in Center City and would be staying the night as a guest of the convention center bridal registry. She had thought up the lie at the last minute, but it sounded true, and he had no reason not to believe what she told him. Hopefully, Margie, his mother, wouldn’t catch on, since she was pretty busy these days with a multitude of high profile conferences that had taken her away from the office a lot in the last few months. Besides, she wasn’t the type to question her almost daughter-in-law about being away from her son on a Saturday night.
The days went by far too quickly, and before Alexis could catch her breath from her busy workload, it was Friday night, the night before she was scheduled to see “that man,” as she had come to think of him. Lily never did tell her his name, and it was probably for the best not to put a name with the face.
Allen usually stayed over on Friday night, and this week would be no different. She wore her sexiest nightgown and waited for him to finish brushing his teeth before he came to bed. His touch was considerate and very sweet. Foreplay consisted of a few kisses on her mouth and breasts. Her nipples weren’t even hard. She waited, hoping for once that feelings of desire would overwhelm her, but they didn’t surface. Instead, she laid there waiting for him to mount her and pump her until he finally ejaculated into his condom. She didn’t have the strength to fake it, but instead told him she was incredibly tired. He told her he understood. He got up to clean himself and was back in bed for maybe five minutes when he started snoring. Alexis turned away from him, moving to the very edge of her side of the bed, and cried silently into her pillow.
The next morning she got up early and made Allen his favorite breakfast. He loved eggs sunny-side up with crisp bacon. He was all smiles when he entered the kitchen and gave her a hug.
“You are the best, you know that?”
“Well, you deserve the best,” she responded, trying to smile when all she felt like doing was crying. He did deserve so much better, and after tonight, she would never do anything to put their happiness in jeopardy again.
She spent the day catching up on laundry and errands before she left the apartment. Allen kissed her sweetly on the lips, thinking she was heading to the hotel for the bridal registry. She almost didn’t go, but she had made a commitment to herself, and she needed to see it through. She needed to do this. Ever since she could remember, she had never met adversity in her life head on. Instead, she had sidestepped it. She supposed that was a lesson she had learned from her parents.
Regardless of their differences, she had never heard them raise their voices toward one another. She had always been grateful since so many of her friends were the product of divorce. However, now she wondered if their way had been the best way. The last time she had visited they had seemed so separate from each other and her. Even when she had talked about her volunteer work with the Special Olympics, a cause she felt passionate about, they had shown minimal interest. Ever since that night at Lily’s Place, she had begun questioning things in her life she would never have thought to question before. She knew her friends had meant well, but they had no idea of the damage they had done.
She took a taxi to her office where she worked on a few events and watched the clock until it was time to go to Lily’s and meet up with the man that had turned her world upside down and would now help her put it right again.
The taxi driver expertly weaved in and out traffic from her office on City Line Avenue to Second Street with the skill of a video race car driver. She tipped him and then stood for a moment looking at the neon sign that spelled “Lily’s Lounge and Games” that was nothing more than a cover for Lily’s Place.
Alexis walked into the familiar bar where there was a large crowd dancing and drinking with the music blaring. Tonight it was just a regular disc jockey that was spinning a combination of jazz and soul. She had tied her hair back in a ponytail and wore a pair of faded jeans with a white tailored button-down shirt with her black leather boots. She had worn no makeup, not even lip gloss. She wasn’t doing this to entice the man. She was doing it to rid herself of the man. She almost laughed because it was all pretty surreal. Just being in the bar again was making her feel strange, not quite like herself. She could not lose her resolve.
Liam touched her shoulder, and as expected, she followed the man who never smiled to the back of the bar and through the door to where the private rooms were located. This time there was no stopping and waiting for Lily. They kept walking until she saw Lily ahead of them in the dim hallway.
Lily hugged her. “You look like a woman on a mission. You know what you have to do.” Her eyes met Alexis’s without a smile.
“Yes. I know exactly what I have to do.”
“I’m counting on it,” Lily voiced under her breath.
“Is he here?” Alexis tried to keep her voice even.
“Yes, just up the hall.”
“Well then, let’s do it.” Alexis took a deep breath.
“I can’t be with you when you tell him, Alexis,” Lily told her as they walked together. “He’s requested that you come to him alone.”
“I knew I would have to face him by myself. It’s really the only way.”
Lily stopped in front of a deep mahogany door with a shiny gold handle and door knocker. “Just knock and then go in. Be strong, little one,” Lily whispered, squeezing Alexis’s hand. “I won’t be far.” Lily walked down the hall and disappeared around the corner.
Alexis stood for a moment, gathered herself, and then knocked on the door, and as Lily had instructed her to do, she opene
d it and walked into the room, closing the door behind her with a click.
Chapter 14
He was sitting in an armchair near a fireplace filled with logs that burned brightly. She watched him lift his head slowly, as if in a daze or lost in thought, and then put his drink down on the table next to him. Alexis trembled. In the firelight, he appeared even more handsome than she had remembered. He was wearing a soft gray button-down shirt, pressed jeans, and black leather boots. He, too, had dressed down. Why, she screamed inside, did he have to look so damn good?
“Alexis.” He said her name softly. Blue eyes pierced her own, holding them, not allowing her to look away. His voice carried to her, but it was as if he were talking to himself. “You look even more beautiful then I remember.”
He didn’t summon her to him like the last time. Instead, he stood up from the chair and slowly closed the distance between them, without allowing his eyes to ever leave hers. She devoured him through every pore of her being. Realizing she was about to lose her resolve, she closed her eyes quickly. She felt him stop directly in front of her, but he did not reach out to her. She could feel his eyes on her, willing hers to open. Her skin felt strange, taut, like a violin string. She needed to tell him to go fuck himself and then walk out and never see him again. That’s what she needed to do, and the sooner, the better.
She opened her eyes to do exactly that, but before she could open her mouth to speak, his head tilted down in her direction, somewhat hesitantly, as if he were almost afraid to touch her. She was mesmerized by the feel of his lips as they softly brushed hers before moving to her cheeks, her hair, her ears, her neck and, finally, back again to her lips where his mouth became more insistent, opening hers for his tongue to feel and tease her own.
He yanked her ponytail loose, the band dropping to the floor, allowing her hair to spill out around her shoulders. Both hands slid around her waist and down her hips to grab her buttocks that he deliberately drove forward, forcing her into his hardness.
She gasped upon impact, and so did he. The friction he was creating between them was burning her from the inside out. He pulled back, only to begin unbuttoning her shirt while she just watched through a haze of lust that became more intense with each button that he forced through each buttonhole. He took his time to gently kiss each new area of skin exposed until he saw her nipple ring.
“Something new?”
She didn’t answer, her eyes drifting down to the gift she knew she should have never accepted.
“A token of appreciation from one of your clients?” he asked, an edge creeping into his voice.
She caught her breath. “I guess you could say that, if you think of Lily as a client.”
He took the ring between his lips and tugged on it with his teeth. Alexis enjoyed the erotic sensations he was creating deep in the pit of her stomach.
“Do you want me, Alexis?” His voice sounded sincere, as if her answer were important to him. But how could it be?
She gave the only answer she could. “Yes.”
Ashamed, she knew she wanted him so badly she was willing to throw away her upcoming marriage just to feel his touch. But to him, she was nothing more than a whore to be used for his own pleasure. And why shouldn’t he, she wanted to cry. She was playing the part to perfection. There was no doubt in her mind that she deserved whatever she got from this point forward. He had no idea that she wasn’t one of Lily’s girls.
Funny, everyone always considered her to be the girl that did the right thing. What would they think of her now? Was it simply a part she was playing, or dare she admit that for the first time in her life, she was doing exactly what she wanted
When he lifted her up into his arms, she became pliant, her head drifting to his shoulder, her arms encircling his neck. He hugged her closer, sensing her complete submission, before turning toward the bed that was through an alcove to the right of the fireplace.
He kissed her hair, his lips lingering among its strands before he sat her down gently on the side of the large canopy bed. He tilted her chin upward, his eyes searching hers for possibly her approval. If that was the case, she gladly gave it. With slow, deliberate movements, he first removed her boots and socks so slowly she thought she would scream from the frustration of wanting him so badly. Then, his fingers wound themselves around the button on her jeans that he released with a tug before he unzipped them. Pulling them and her panties roughly out from under her, he pushed them down her legs, kissing her thighs, her knees, and her ankles.
She thought she was going to die from the tension and her need that had made her thighs moist with her own juices. She moaned softly as he laid her back down on the bed. He ripped the lacy bra that barely covered her ample breasts away from her body. Backing away from the bed, the torn piece of material dropping to the floor, he said, his breathing heavy, “God, how could anyone be so beautiful, so desirable? Alexis, I have to have you.” He groaned. “I want you now.” His eyes were dark and his voice husky.
She arched her back, lifting her breasts higher, urging her hard nipples to point upward in response to his words. Playing with her nipples, she pulled them toward her, lowering her head to lick her own nipples. She reveled in the deep groan of desire she heard escape his lips while he quickly dispensed with his clothing that ended up in a pile beside hers. He was completely naked, his shaft long, hard, thick, and erect. Alexis lifted herself off the bed to come to stand in front of him, her legs parted, and then, as she had before, without thought, she simply dropped to her knees before him.
She spread her legs open to reveal her completely shaved pussy that dripped for him. She could feel his eyes looking down at her, burning her with his need. She spread her legs wider and cupped her hand around the swollen lips of her desire that belonged totally to him, and began to push her middle finger in between her labia, rubbing her clit. While his eyes continued to torch her flesh with his desire, she pulled her finger away and brought it to her lips.
She looked up at him standing there, tall, dark, muscular, and in total control of her every move. He nodded his approval before she pushed her finger into her mouth to taste her own juices. She watched his cock expand while he stroked it to the same beat she sucked the juices from her finger.
Her eyes begged him as she mouthed the word, “Please.” She was ready for him to take her fast and rough, but she was to learn that wasn’t his plan.
Lifting her from her knees, he not so gently pushed her back down on the bed. He caressed her inner thighs while spreading them far enough apart to give his fingers free access to manipulate her wetness, stroking her clit methodically. She lifted slightly when he pushed two fingers deep inside her. She moaned, lying back against the bed, biting her lip, practically drawing blood.
And then, to her shock, his fingers were replaced by his mouth. Her eyes flew open to see his head between her legs. She gripped the bed sheets while his tongue caressed her most intimate places with skills she had no idea a man could possess. There was no holding back. Alexis’s body strained upwards while whimpers of pure ecstasy escaped her lips.
Totally consumed by the experience, it took Alexis a few minutes to recover enough to return to reality. It wasn’t like she didn’t know what oral sex was. It was just that she had never experienced the feel of a man’s tongue and lips on her like this before. Allen had never once even attempted to kiss her down there. Did this man have any idea what he was doing to her, that he was ruining her for any other man? And that Allen, dear sweet Allen, could never compete with the likes of him? Nor should he have to, she thought soberly. No, Allen was a man with his own merits, and someday he would find a woman worthy of them. She obviously wasn’t that woman.
“Alexis.” She heard her name spoken from the very lips that had brought her such indescribable pleasure.
“Yes,” she breathed. “That was incredible.”
He drew himself up and smiled, his blue eyes dark with lust, the usual arrogance missing from the face she knew would haunt h
er forever.
“It was for me, too.” He grinned boyishly. “You bring out the best in me, Alexis.”
It was easy to catch his mood that brought a giggle to her lips when she responded, “And you in me.”
She moved farther onto the bed, making room for him, her butt exposed for a moment. He playfully smacked it before he hauled her underneath him, the laughter quickly gone from his eyes, replaced by his need for her.
“I want to feel my cock inside my beautiful, seductive cunt.”
He entered her in one single thrust, his muscled arms lifting her to drive his cock deeper and deeper, while she lifted her arms to grab onto the bed rails behind her for support. He pounded her body with his, lifting it from the mattress.
“I want every inch of you inside me, making me yours,” she whispered.
The words she spoke were true, but nevertheless, they made her vulnerable to him. If he watched her too closely, he might see that her feelings for him were more than they should be. She quickly closed her eyes, hiding her emotions, hoping he had seen nothing more than her lust for him.
His hand moved her chin upward. “Open your eyes, Alexis,” he demanded. Reluctantly she opened them. “I want you to see what you do to me when I come inside you.” His voice was thick with his need.
Alexis kept her eyes on his face. She wanted nothing more than to see him contort with pleasure and to know that she was responsible.
“Alexis,” he moaned.
Uncontrollable giant spasms shook him. She embraced his body with her own, full with the knowledge that right now she was one with him. She continued to make love to him with her hands and eyes until he collapsed with a sigh on top of her. The rapid beating of his heart pounded against her breast. Gently, she ran her hands through his hair, cooing gentle words under her breath.
Chapter 15
Jackson couldn’t remember when he had ever wanted to please a woman the way he wanted to please Alexis. From the moment he had watched her walk into the room, he had acted purely on instinct. Her makeup-less face with those teary green eyes looking at him with such sadness had turned him inside out. Normally he would have let the woman take care of his needs first, but nothing about his reaction to Alexis was normal.
Rosewood, Natalie - Submission of Innocence (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 5