Mistress for Hire

by Niobia Bryant

  Jessa looked up at her in surprise. “With me?”

  Charli nodded. “I think you are the epitome of what most men want, and the female agents could learn a lot from how you carry yourself.”

  Looking contemplative, Jessa set the pen down again and leaned back in her chair to study her. “Thank you. I haven’t always used my wiles for the greater good, but, um . . . I do admit I seem to have a way with men—whether I want to or not,” she admitted. “But I hired you on the spot because I see that spark in you, Charli. So the last thing you need is to be me or hang around me or emulate me. Trust me. Just keep being you. It’s working.”

  Charli looked pleased. “Then we have a lot in common.”

  Jessa gave her another polite smile before picking up her pen and turning her attention back to the tablet. “Let’s finish up. I have some more agents coming in today as well,” she said. “Now, I think your last open case for the year is Mrs. Bella Montgomery, and I understand that he was not receptive to you at all.”

  Charli turned her crimson lips downward. “Nothing. I did a couple of stroll-bys, forced an eye contact, tried to start a conversation. Laid out the cleavage. Offered to buy him a drink. Sucked on the cherry in my soda because we’re not allowed to drink on a case. Sexy leg cross in a clinging wrap dress. The works. I don’t know, maybe I’m just not his cup of tea, maybe he just loves his wife or he already has a side chick lined up because he kept calling someone on his phone and was aggravated when they didn’t answer. So I don’t know,” she said, with a one-shoulder shrug.

  Jessa made notes. “Okay. Thank you,” she said, reaching into her side drawer to remove a bright red envelope with “Mistress, Inc.” embossed in gold lettering. She slid it across the desk to Charli.

  She picked it up and opened it on the spot, her eyes widening in surprise.

  “Your Christmas bonus. Good work, Charli, and I hope you decide to remain with us next year,” Jessa said, having enjoyed each and every moment she slid one of those vibrant envelopes to one of her employees that day.

  “My plan wasn’t really long term,” Charli said, rising to her feet. “Can I let you know after the new year?”

  “Of course,” Jessa said, swiping her finger across the tablet’s screen to pull up a new file.

  Charli extended her hand.

  Jessa momentarily shifted her gaze to it before looking up at Charli again as she reached to shake her hand.

  Charli squeezed down.

  Jessa withdrew. “Have a good day, Charli,” she said firmly. “And ask Lacey to come in on your way out.”

  The fuck?

  As Charli took her leave, Lacey Adams entered and took the seat in front of Jessa’s desk.

  The intercom buzzed. Jessa pressed the button. “Yes?” she said, waving a hand for Lacey to take a seat.

  “You have a call from Aria Livewell,” Felisha said.

  Jessa frowned. First a visit from Renee, now a call from Aria. What’s next? Lunch with Jaime?

  “Take her number and I will call her back,” she said, releasing the intercom button.

  Her curiosity was piqued.

  She gave the beautiful woman sitting across the desk from her a welcoming smile but was unable to focus her attention at first. Usually observant, she barely noted the striking black ensemble she wore or her topknot and natural makeup that gave her that fresh-faced beauty that a lot of men favored.

  “Ms. Bell.”

  Jessa looked up at Lacey, shaking her head for clarity. “Yes, Lacey, I’m sorry. Just have a lot on my mind, and you are my last appointment for the day, so I’m a little tired,” she explained.

  She smiled with an understanding nod. “No problem. I can understand that,” she said.

  “Good, so let’s get to it and then we both can head home,” Jessa said, picking up her stylus pen.

  * * *

  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

  And Jessa loved every bit of it as she drove up the drive leading to her home. The white lights entwined atop bushes and wrapped around posts twinkled brightly against the darkness of night. She reached for her iPhone and shook it. “Siri, call Hammer.”

  “Calling Hammer.”

  It rang just once.

  “What’s up, baby?”

  “Where are you?” she asked as she pulled to a stop before her house, taking in the same white lights adorning the trim of the eaves and the windows.

  “Looking at you from your living room window.”

  Her eyes shifted to the left as she climbed from her vehicle. She could see his silhouette outlined against the sheer curtains. She rushed inside and was welcomed by Hammer pulling her into his embrace in the foyer. “I haven’t seen you all day,” she complained, as she pressed her mouth to his cheek and left a print of her kiss.

  Hammer leaned back to look down at her. “My boss is hell,” he joked, feigning seriousness.

  “Aw, poor you,” she said, pouting as she lightly stroked one of his earlobes.

  Quickly he tasted her mouth before he reached for her hand and pulled her behind him toward the living room.

  She resisted just long enough to kick off her heels and set her tote on the table in the center of the sizable vestibule. As soon as they reached the arched entryway, her eyes went to the towering unlit tree, trimmed in gold decorations, but quickly shifted to her mother holding Delaney on her hip.

  “Welcome home, Mama,” Delaney said, already dressed in her teddy bear pajamas.

  Jessa knew that meant Winifrid had already bathed her for the night.

  “Yes, she is,” Darla said.

  Jessa eyes squinted as she thought she heard a slur in her mother’s voice.

  “We wanted to surprise you with the tree,” Hammer said. “We did the tree ourselves. Right, Delaney?”

  “Yup,” she agreed with him.

  Jessa eased from the light embrace of Hammer’s hand on her hip as she quickly walked over to them and eased her daughter onto her own hip. She pressed kisses to her cheek before setting her down on her feet as she looked over at her mother and sniffed the air. “Are you drunk?” she asked, her tone hard.

  “What?” Darla asked, nearly stumbling on the hem of her tiger print caftan. “I ain’t had nothing to drink but some eggnog. This is just good vibes, baby girl. Get into it. Pull the stick out your butt.”

  “I’m ready for my presents from Santa and he got plenty of room under the tree,” Delaney said.

  “Light it up, Ham-mer!” Darla said at the top of her voice, snapping her fingers and clapping her hands as she two-stepped.

  She’s drunk. She. Is. Drunk.

  Jessa frowned, turning to look on as her fiancé lowered the lights in the room with its twenty-foot ceilings and then plugged in the tree. “Where’s Winifrid?” she asked him, as her daughter clapped in delight.

  “We did a good job, y’all,” Delaney sighed.

  Jessa ignored her cuteness. Focus, bitch. Focus.

  The brightness of Hammer’s toothy grin dimmed a bit. “I sent her home early, baby,” he said, rubbing circles on her back as he looked down at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, Christmas tree... Oh, Christmas tree,” Darla sang, swaying with her arms splayed and her legs spread wide, causing the lights from the tree to show she was naked beneath the thin material.

  “Oh,” Hammer said, averting his eyes.

  “Honey, there is a lot we need to talk about before we get married and merge households,” Jessa said, turning her back on her mother. “Uppermost is never, ever, ever, never, ever, ever let Winifrid leave early. Okay? Okay.”

  Hammer turned his back on Darla as well, and they now both faced the entrance. Delaney came around to stand there and look up at Hammer and then at Jessa.

  “My mother is not to be left alone with Delaney,” Jessa said under her breath, turning her daughter’s head so that she wasn’t staring directly into her mouth.

  “And never give my mother anything to drink—whether straight
up or spiked in eggnog,” she hissed.

  Hammer looked contrite. “I didn’t know,” he said. “I made the eggnog and I put a little brandy in it.”

  Jessa closed her eyes and dropped her head. “She’s in recovery, and it doesn’t interact well with her meds—”

  “Hi, Gramma!”

  Jessa and Hammer froze before they both turned to find Darla now standing directly behind them. Her eyes were bright.

  “The only child in this house is Delaney, Jessa Bell,” she said. “Respect me always. I am your mother.”

  Jessa tried her best not to roll her eyes. “I think you should sleep it off,” she said gently. “Let me help you upstairs.”

  “I am not drunk!” Darla bellowed, knocking away the hand Jessa rested on her elbow.

  Jessa wiped away the spittle that sprayed against her chin and throat. “You did not mean to get drunk, but your behind is drunk and you being sloppy with it. If you had fallen with my daughter—”

  Hammer moved quickly in between them and scooped Delaney up into his arms. He carried her over to the Christmas tree, and she immediately began reaching out to touch the large gold balls with the tip of her finger.

  Jessa’s anger dissipated. She was grateful for his intervention, but felt ashamed that she had to have anyone else remind her that she was behaving badly in front of her child.

  She released a heavy sigh as she left the living room and took the small hall into the den on through to the kitchen. She located the bowl of spiked eggnog and dumped all of it into the sink, using the spray to rinse the splatter down the drain. “Damn,” she swore, turning to bend over the island and press her forehead to its cool top.

  She released rapid, shallow breaths that pressed down against the marble and then rebounded to warm her lips. She felt as if she was losing a fight to anxiety. She wanted nothing more than peace in her home. In her life.

  “Lord, please help me,” she prayed, her words landing on the countertop, as she fought to reclaim her inner peace. “Please guide my steps.”

  The sound of Nat King Cole singing “The Christmas Song” drifted in from the living room.

  Jessa allowed herself one last deep breath before she stood tall and made her way back to the living room. At the entry she paused, smiling at the picturesque sight of the illuminated tree, the fireplace now lit, her mother sitting on the couch with her head tilted back as she snored softly in her sleep, and Hammer sitting on the floor with Delaney in his lap as he rocked her to sleep.

  She walked into the room, mouthing the words to the Christmas carol as she softly touched her mother’s hair when she passed her to reach Hammer. She stooped beside him, wrapping an arm around his broad shoulders as she pressed a kiss to his temple. “You are my salvation, my peace, and my spot to fall,” she whispered near his ear.

  He turned his head to kiss her mouth. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” he breathed against her still moist lips. “Absolutely nothing.”

  They stared at one another, the brown depths highlighted by the lighting in the room.

  “Time for bed,” she said, taking Delaney into her arms and resting her head on her right shoulder before she rose to her feet.

  “It’s still early,” he said, unfolding his legs and rising as well. “It’s just like seven or so. We haven’t had dinner, and I am starving.”

  Jessa paused at the entrance to look back at him. “I’m hungry, too,” she said with a pointed look below his belt.

  Hammer looked down and then up. He gave her a wolfish grin. “I can feed you. Whatever you want off the menu is available,” he said.

  Jessa chuckled and continued out of the living room. “Throw a cover on my drunk-ass mama,” she said, rubbing Delaney’s back when she stirred in her sleep.

  “Mama,” she whispered softly.

  Jessa’s heart tugged as she climbed the stairs. She hummed Delaney’s favorite lullaby near her ear, soothing her back into deep slumber.

  Hammer came up behind her. “Gonna take a shower,” he said as he passed, taking the steps two at a time.

  Jessa continued up to the second floor and made her way to Delaney’s room. The scent of baby powder from the plug-ins sweetly scented the air, and she inhaled it as she turned on the night-lights on either side of the bed. She continued to lightly hum as she laid Delaney down and pulled her lightweight pink blanket up around her stomach.

  “What would I do without you?” she asked her softly.

  Same thing you did without Georgia. Get over it in time.

  Jessa closed her eyes, hating her inner thoughts and how she was her own worst critic. “Good night, Delaney,” she whispered.

  She turned on the video baby monitor before making her way to the door adjoining the room to the master suite.

  Now that she was to be wed, and with Delaney eventually getting older, she knew the time would come to move her daughter to a room farther down the hall. I do not need a kid listening to our sexcapades.

  The room was softly lit and Hammer was still in the shower. She turned on the television and switched the channel to the local news as she undressed. When the next few minutes were filled with reports on murder and mayhem, she switched to a music channel. Soon the sound of Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn singing “If This World Were Mine” filled the air.

  She sang along as she lit candles and dimmed the lights before heading to the bathroom when she heard the shower turn off. Hammer walked out with a plush towel wrapped around his waist, swatting one of Jessa’s buttocks as she passed him.

  “Hurry up,” he said.

  She glanced back over her shoulder to see his erection now tenting the cloth.

  “Matter of fact, fuck it,” Hammer said, flinging the towel away and striding over to easily swing Jessa’s nude body up over his shoulder.

  She laughed, reaching down to swat at his bare buttocks.

  He flipped her down onto the bed. She squealed in surprise. “We’re going to wake Delaney,” she said.

  He lay down beside her on his side, his head propped on his hand as he looked down at her. He smiled as he trailed his hand from her knees and up her thighs.

  “I need to bathe, Hammer,” she insisted, gasping softly as she buried her head against his neck at the feel of strong fingers opening the lips of her core and stroking her clit.

  Hammer bent over to kiss her shoulder before rising again to watch the pleasure on her face as he eased his middle finger deep inside her.

  Jessa cried out as her hips involuntarily arched up off the bed and she spread her knees. “Shit,” she swore softly, pursing her lips and releasing a long stream of breath.

  He reached for one of her hands and guided it to his dick.

  She found him stiff and curving. Ready for her. Hard for her. She tightened her grip.

  He grunted and hissed in pleasure.

  “I could cum just watching you,” he said softly.

  She looked up at him. His eyes were on her. Intently. Watching and gauging the pleasure he gave her as he stroked her walls with his finger and teased her clit with light circles. She felt embarrassed and hid her face against him. “Don’t watch me,” she pleaded, releasing him to cover her face with both of her hands.

  “Look at me,” Hammer demanded, lifting one of her legs over his before he smoothly slid another finger into her before circling both fingers against her rigid walls.

  She grimaced in pleasure, her mouth gaped and her heart pounding.

  “Look at me.”

  Jessa did.

  Hammer bit his bottom lip as he quickened the pace of his finger strokes. “So tight and wet,” he moaned.

  Her eyes locked with his as she panted, her nipples hard and pointed upward as she arched her back. “Hammer,” she sighed, rolling her hips against his hand.

  His eyes darted down to take in the movement of her body, and he shook his head in wonder. “You’re so damn beautiful,” he said.

  She raised her head from the pillow to suck his mouth i
nto hers.

  Hammer deepened the kiss, lightly drawing the tip of her tongue into his mouth to suck before stroking it with his. He broke away with one final crush of his mouth against hers. “I don’t know what I want more—to make you cum with my hand or my dick.”

  Jessa trembled, reaching out until she felt his hardness again in her hand. She caressed the length of him. Gently, she dragged her thumb across the smooth tip and then stroked him downward until she felt the strong and hard root of it. “I prefer this,” she said, tilting her chin up and hotly licking at his bottom lip.

  He hardened in her hand. She felt it. Her clit throbbed with renewed life beneath his touch.

  “Your hand ain’t hard, thick, nor long as your dick. It doesn’t cum with me,” she whispered, lost in his eyes. “It doesn’t get hot inside me when you cum.”

  Hammer withdrew his fingers from her before he lay down atop her, spreading her legs with his knees and positioning his dick at her warm and moist opening.

  She shook her head. “Let me ride that dick,” she demanded.

  He turned over onto his back, bringing her body with his. She sat up straight, her thighs pressed against his narrow hips as she arched her back and reached between their bodies to guide his hardness inside her.

  “Ah,” they cried out.

  Jessa’s head fell back and she brought her hands up above her head as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of him inside her, pressing against her walls, filling her completely. With a grunt followed by a hiss, she began rolling her hips in tight little circles, enjoying how the base of his dick stroked her clit every time she completed one full circle. Her nipples ached and she cupped one full breast, teasing her own hard nipples as she rode him.

  “Jessa,” Hammer moaned as his hands dug deep pockets into the soft flesh of her buttocks.

  She smiled and pouted her lips as she looked down at him, biting her bottom lip softly.

  “That’s right, baby, fuck me,” he begged, lifting his hips up off the bed to thrust upward. “Fuck me.”

  She cried out her. Her heart raced. Her clit throbbed. Her nipples ached. It felt glorious. “Yes, yes, yes,” she sighed, bending down and dangling her sweet globes above his face.