“You know what I mean, Lucy. Has shit like this been happening a lot.”
“Well not a lot.”
“Tell me.” As if he could sense my vulnerability he yanked me toward him and put his arms around me.
“Just a couple phone calls and a note on my car.”
His arms flexed around me and I could feel the tension strumming through them. “Have you told anyone?”
I rubbed my cheek against his soft t-shirt convincing myself I was answering his question. “Trina was the one who found the note on my car. And I may have mentioned the phone calls, but I thought it was over. I haven’t had any calls or notes and so I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
“Of course it’s a big deal. Someone is threatening you. And it’s escalating.”
I shivered and it had nothing to do with the cool night air.
“You think this is the same person who is threatening our business, don’t you?”
Even though he posed it as a question he had already figured it out. “That’s why you were so worried when I told you about the clients we have lost. You tried to tell me but without all these details I thought you were over reacting.”
“I still could be. Who knows if the person who’s leaving the notes and making the phone calls is the same person who did this. It could have been just some stupid kids that picked my car.” I moved my arm to encompass my damaged car but didn’t pull away.
“It makes sense that it’s the same person, Lucy. We need to tell Meredith about this so she can investigate. Just in case. Is there anything else?”
I was grateful that tow truck made its appearance at that moment. The fierceness Jackson displayed finding out about some silly notes and phone calls kept me quiet about the visit from the masked man. If Jackson and Dean found out I lied to them about being assaulted I would never hear the end of it.
The driver didn’t even try to hide his shock at seeing three tires molded to the ground.
“Damn, honey you must have pissed someone off.” He moved around the car with more grace than I thought a bigger man should have.
As I watched my car lift on the back of the trailer Jackson held onto me and I didn’t have the strength to detach from him. He confused me with his weird mood swings and it annoyed me that when he offered to console me I couldn’t refuse him.
Jackson had always been my Achilles heel and I wasn’t in the frame of mind to change it. I was disgusted with myself at how easily I fell into his open arms but tonight with someone on the loose who had a vendetta against me I assured myself it was okay to do it one more time.
Jackson gave directions on where to take my car before shaking the tow drivers hand and herding me toward his truck. I climbed in and turned up the heater before he could get the truck in drive.
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m more sleepy,” I admitted my head too heavy to hold up. I snuggled into his truck seat and closed my eyes trusting Jackson to get us home safely.
“I’ll make you a sandwich at home.”
I didn’t bother answering him as sleep tried to pull me under.
“I mean it, Lucy. You need to eat.”
“I’ll eat tomorrow. I just want to sleep.”
“We’ll talk about when we get home.” Jackson’s warm hand covered mine on the seat. “I’ll wake you up when we get home get some sleep. You know I can’t say no to you even if it’s for your own good.”
10
True to his word Jackson called Meredith the moment he woke up the next morning. Meredith came over and I answered her questions avoiding the subject of the masked assault. That was one story I wasn’t going to tell anyone.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone about the phone calls?” Meredith asked sounding just like Jackson last night when he asked the same question.
“I don’t know. It didn’t seem like a big deal it just seemed like a minor inconvenience. You have to remember I did sleep with a married man. His wife and family have a very good reason to want to harass me.”
Meredith and Jackson frowned at me but I held my ground. I refused to forget my responsibility for what I did. I broke up a marriage or if his wife decided to stay with him, I shook the foundation like an earthquake.
“Enough with the martyr shit. You’ve done enough self loathing and I’m sick of it. I feel bad making fun of you now. And I like making fun of you so get over yourself and start acting like my Lucser.”
Meredith’s eyebrow pushed up to her forehead and she cocked her head to the side studying Jackson. “I suggest taking Jackson’s advice and stop wallowing in your past shit. I mean who are you to deny him the joy of torturing you with his words.”
Meredith and I burst out into laughter as Jackson scowled at us.
“You’re useless. The both of you.”
“I’m going to go back to the station and see if I can come up with anything. Do you happen to have the note you received?” Meredith wiped her eyes and attempted to be professional.
“I stuffed it in my friend Trina’s glove compartment. She’s coming over later for a girls night. I’ll get it from her then.”
Meredith hugged me goodbye and made me promise I would call her if anything else happened. Jackson scowled at me until it was just the two of us alone in the house.
“What?” I asked not backing down not sure why he appeared to be so mad at me.
“I’m pissed at you.”
“I can see, tell.” I waited for him to elaborate leaning against the counter across from him.
“Just seeing you here with Meredith and hearing everything makes me see how much danger you’ve let yourself get in. Fuck, Lucy.” He grasped the counter and I watched as his arms flexed from the movement.
“You’re blowing this out of proportion. I’m not in danger. So someone left me a note and my tires have been slashed. It’s just pranks. They haven’t done anything to hurt me.” I couldn’t suppress the shudder as it moved through me when I remembered the pain I felt when the masked man’s foot connected with my midsection.
Jackson’s eyes narrowed and he pushed off the counter not stopping until we were face to face. “You told Meredith everything, right?”
I nodded swallowing deeply. He searched my face and I kept mine passive hoping to give nothing away. Jackson’s finger traced my jaw his face softening as he watched me intently.
“I just want you to be safe.” His whispered words lit every nerve ending.
My eyes widened as his finger continued to trace my jaw moving down my neck and ghosting over the top of my breasts. Without waiting for him to make the move I pushed up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.
He froze for a second and crushed me to him. One arm held me tight while his other snuck around my neck massaging it while his tongue invaded my mouth. The counter pushed into my back as Jackson ground into me.
All my senses were lost. His smell, his essence owned me. This wasn’t a kiss. This was a battle and neither of us wanted to relent. He lifted me up on the counter and fitted in between my legs. My wetness was evident when he pressed his erection against the seam of my pants.
He reached under my shirt and his hand molded over my breasts. I groaned as he yanked my bra down freeing them before imprisoning them with his palms. The roughness of his hands made the sensitive skin burn with desire.
I thrust my hand down the back of his slacks, grasping his firm ass and guiding him closer. My head fell back as he assaulted my neck, his teeth scraping against the think skin. We were fused together lost in each other. Our groans and gasps urged the other to continue discovering each others secrets.
With a flick of a wrist Jackson had my bra in place and my shirt settled over my heaving torso. He pushed himself away from me and wrenched open the fridge bending deeply as if the contents had the answer of life mysteries.
If I trusted my jelloish legs one iota I would have jumped off the counter, grabbed his hair and guided his mouth back to where it was. Where it belonged.
&
nbsp; The door opened and slammed before I could question Jackson’s abrupt ending to a magnificent start.
Dean hustled into the kitchen and Jackson popped up from the fridge and greeted him. If it wasn’t for the wild look in Jackson’s eyes my ego would have been mortally wounded.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I’m going to go change really quick and we can go.” Dean moved toward the stairs and stopped with one foot on the first step.
I held my breath as I tried to appear calm.
“Lucy, are you okay? You look weird.”
“She always looks weird,” Jackson supplied.
I flipped him off and he shot me a wink flustering my insides. “I’m fine, Dean. When’s Trina coming over?” I didn’t move my attention away from Jackson. My body frustrated from the denial of what it was so close to achieving.
Jackson still had the fridge door open and I was curious if he was hiding his still raging erection.
“She said she’ll be over here in and hour.” Dean answered. “I need to go change so we’re not late.” Dean bolted up the stairs.
“Whatcha hiding in the fridge, Jackson?” I taunted.
Jackson slammed the door shut. He stalked over to me as if I were his prey. A shiver of lust smacked into me and held on tight.
“Sausage. Do you want a taste?” His lips coasted over mine and I jutted my head forward to increase the pressure.
For a split second his tongue invaded my mouth but just as quickly as it began he pushed away.
“We can’t do this. I shouldn’t have started it.”
I shook my head trying to clear it. His mood swings were getting more volatile and at the moment my labido seemed to be suffering the most.
“Well you did start it. The question is, are you going to finish it?” I couldn’t believe how bold I was being but my emotions were too raw to be anything else.
“Nothing. I’m not going to do anything about it. Tell Dean I’ll meet him outside in my truck.” He stomped out of the kitchen.
My mouth hung open when I heard the front door slam shut and Jackson’s trucks engine crank over. Dean came down ten minutes later dressed in a button down shirt and slacks. They had a meeting with a potential client. Due to the recent sabotage activity Jackson and Dean decided to take them to dinner to explain what was happening.
Sort of stop the fire before the match was struck.
I was still sitting on the counter when Trina knocked on the door. Jumping off I gave Jackson a mental middle finger and went to answer it pushing Jackson to the back of my mind. I refused to let him ruin my night or take up any more of my time.
And no more letting him kiss me and push me away. It wasn’t fair and it was stupid to let him continue to have his way. He could go play games with the girls he was going out and dating. I would not be his convenient toy any longer.
Trina’s arms were full when I opened the door. Taking some of her load from her we headed to the kitchen.
With pizza and wine we settled on the couch and scarfed food. I went heavy on the wine wanting to push Jackson out of my every thought somewhere he didn’t deserve to be.
“What movie do you want to watch?” I asked flipping through Netflix.
“Holy shit, I almost forgot.” Trina reached in her purse and pulled out a large manila envelope. “It’s your work contract,” Trina clapped her hands together unable to wait the couple seconds for me to open the envelope.
“I got the job?”
“You did. My boss loved you. In fact everyone was talking about how amazing you were. Sign the contract and I’ll take it to work on Monday. We’re going to have so much fun working together.”
I climbed off the couch and ran in the kitchen to grab a pen. The agreement was everything I wanted and more. Mr. Ranazzi had offered me more than I’d asked for and it was very generous.
I hated that I felt less than excited after I signed the document. I felt it was the wrong move as before the ink was dry. It was another people pleasing decision and I knew it. I didn’t need the job.
Being so immersed in my freelance I realized how much I liked being my own boss. My want to work in an office was my own fear of the unknown. I lacked the confidence that I could continue to work just off my talent alone.
And if I was being honest with myself it also had a lot to do with my self punishment. Wanting to stay busy every hour of the day so I wouldn’t be duped again by anyone. An image of Jackson’s face conjured up in my head and I growled.
I was making another mistake with Jackson following him around like a star struck fangirl.
“What’s taking you so long?” She looked over the figure I was offered and whistled. “Damn girl, he must have heard about what you did to your last boss.”
“Haha.”
Trina took the decision from me and stuffed the papers into the envelope and back into her purse. I sat on the couch not really watching the movie. My thoughts wouldn’t stop reliving all my recent mistakes and the fact I couldn’t seem to stop making them.
Trina threw a pillow at my face breaking my train of thought. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I don’t know. I keep second guessing all my decisions lately. I’m afraid I’m making stupid mistakes because my heads not right.”
“You think too much. Just go with the flow. You’re not second guessing the job are you?” Trina made a puppy dog face and I laughed. “Do you not want to work with me?”
“It’s not that.”
“Stop you’re killing my buzz.” Trina reached over and emptied the rest of the wine into my glass. She opened another and poured it in hers. “Here’s to good choices.”
We clinked our glasses together and I took a large gulp wanting to stop my mind from whirling. Trina nodded and refilled my glass the moment it was empty.
“You know what you need?”
I shook my head and gave her a silly smile the wine going straight to my head. I melted into the couch my muscles feeling liquid and warm.
“You need a good orgasm.”
“Are you offering?” We giggled and she rolled her eyes.
“No, but if you aren’t willing to have a partner at least do it yourself. I always make sure to have an orgasm when I get too stressed. When was the last time you had one?”
My eyes shot to the kitchen counter where I was on the precipice of a cataclysmic one before Jackson pulled away. My body tingled as it remembered his hands and lips touching me where ever he had access.
Trina laughed and threw another pillow at me. “I can see I’ve given you an idea. I’ll call an uber and get out of here.”
With stumbles and giggles we cleaned up our mess before Trina’s uber arrived. She hugged me and then gave me a two finger salute wiggling them so we erupted in laughter all over again.
I closed the door and headed for bed feeling nice and relaxed.
11
Struggling to get out of my clothes I collapsed on the bed more drunk than I thought I was. Putting on a tanktop and shorts seemed like too much of a hassle. I climbed into bed naked. The cool sheets caused goose bumps to erupt on my skin.
I shivered and sunk deeper in my pillow. I wasn’t tired but my mind wasn’t equipped to do anything but lay there. My hand was on my stomach and I slowly let it drift down to my belly button.
Lower still I stopped and stared up at the dark ceiling. My hands stayed there my nipples hardened pressing against the sheet covering me. I let out a laugh and moved my hand to the side of me trying to force myself to fall asleep.
When sleep didn’t come I let one of my hands caress one of my breasts letting out a sharp gasp when I went over my swollen nipple. I hadn’t had an orgasm since the last time I was with Richard.
Thanks to Jackson I was constantly in a frustrated sexual haze. I pictured Jackson’s hand replacing mine squeezing my nipple before venturing over to the other. My hand skimmed my thigh as I opened my legs.
My finger moved up and down my slit gathering the wetness. With slight pres
sure my fingers parted the soft flesh. I bit my bottom lip at the intensity caused by my finger brushing over my sensitive clit.
Inserting two fingers I pumped them in and out as I tweeked my breasts. Always with Jackson in my mind. I ground my clit against my palm my fingers jerking inside of me as I climbed closer.
My body arched over the bed my muscles tight my hand moving in desperation. I worked myself over in a frantic need for release. I kept my eyes squeezed shut as my bowed back writhed under the covers. I gasped as I plunged over the edge. My fingers were sucked in and my clit jumped under my palm. I squeezed my breast breathing heavily as I rode the pleasure cascading through me.
My back hit the mattress with a thud. My heart felt like it was going to escape my chest pounding against my sternum. Breathing heavily I curled up in a ball riding the aftershocks.
A knock on my door startled me. I bolted up in a sitting position staring at my door begging the universe I was hearing things.
“Lucy are you in there?” I squeezed my eyes shut and wished my bed would open up and swallow me.
“Yeah.” I sounded winded and bit my lip in embarrassment.
“Can I come in?”
I scrambled out of bed and threw on my robe. My legs were wobbly from the wine and pleasure. I stumbled to the door and opened it.
Jackson smirked and I tugged my robe tighter.
“Are you okay? You look flushed and I thought I heard you making noises.” He looked innocent standing in my doorway but the broad smile ruined it.
“I smashed my finger in my closet.”
Jackson’s eyes sparkled as he reached down and grabbed my hand. I tried to snatch it back but he held onto my wrist not letting it go.
My face burned with embarrassment when he brought my fingers to his lips and kissed them sweetly. His tongue snuck out and tasted the finger pad.
Jackson let out a groan from deep in his throat. We watched each other as he opened his mouth and sucked the two fingers coated in my orgasm. Into his warm mouth. His tongue lapped around the digits and my knees buckled. He caught me pulling me against his rock hard body as he sucked my fingers clean.
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