Moments with Hailey - The Esquire Girls Series - Hailey's Story (Books 1, 2, 3 & 4) - Box Set (featuring Tender Moments , a brand-new Valentine's Day novelette)

by Cassie-Ann L. Miller

  I shrink away from him. “I think you should leave,” I say as calmly as I can. I’m fuming on the inside. Matt is an asshole, no doubt. But he can make or break my legal career and my ‘boyfriend’ just beat him to a bloody pulp.

  Jackson gives me a confused look. “Hailey…”

  “Jackson – I need you to leave,” I say again.

  He just shakes his head as he walks off towards my bedroom. When he reemerges a few moments later, he’s fully dressed. I hold the door open for him. He tries to kiss me on the cheek as he steps over the threshold, but I turn away.

  A part of me feels a bit bad about leaving things this way, but the bigger part of me is pissed. He acted like a complete brute. All fists of fury, no questions asked.

  Just before he steps onto the first stair, he turns back to look at me. I don’t wait to hear what he has to say. I just slam the door. So hard my whole apartment shakes.

  Chapter 2

  I drag the broom across the dusty floor of the bedroom that Ruthie left behind and I feel a twinge in my chest. A stray tear courses down my face. I shove it away with the back of my hand.

  Ruthie left two days ago to spend some time in the Hamptons with Michael. She came back this morning with a wedding ring on her finger and a face-splitting grin on her lips. Now, she’s packed her things and she’s gone.

  Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy for her – Ruthie deserves love and I’m happy that she found that in Michael. I think it’s incredibly romantic and spontaneous that they eloped.

  But now I’ve got to find myself a new roommate. Immediately.

  I’m not happy about that.

  Ruthie paid an extra month of rent so at least I have a little buffer until the landlord comes banging down the door but I have to come up with a plan by the end of February. At least she left all of her furniture because a furnished bedroom will be an added perk for any potential roommate.

  But, the rational part of me knows that my upset is not just about money.

  I’ll miss Ruthie, for sure. Things won’t be the same now that she’s married and we don’t live together anymore. We’ll still see each other at work and we’ll probably still hang out now and then, but I feel like our friendship won’t be the same. I already experienced it with Amber. Since she got pregnant and, now married, I don’t get to see her as much as I would like to and even when I do see her, I can always feel her lingering anticipation to get back to Spencer’s arms. Same thing with Madison. Anytime I hang out with her, she’s always talking about her fiancé or text messaging him or trying to run off early so they can be together.

  It all makes me feel incredibly alone.

  There!

  I admitted it.

  I feel alone. Incredibly alone…and darn jealous of my friends.

  I crave the warm, filling sensation of love. I want to be wrapped in someone’s arms and know that I belong there.

  And inevitably, thinking those thoughts brings my mind back to Jackson.

  He turned out to be a typical Texan brute. Punch first and ask questions later. I knew that he wasn’t my type. But still, I laid down with him. I let him give me back to back, mind-blowing orgasms. Yes, he’s hot, but he turned out to be everything I wasn’t looking for in a man.

  Rash. Violent. Freaking barbaric.

  I’m infuriated at him for beating Matt to a blubbering pulp. It’s been two days since it all happened and I haven’t seen or heard from Jackson.

  I haven’t seen or heard from Matt, either. He hasn’t even been around the office. I can’t help but wonder if he’s okay. I hope he didn’t end up at the hospital. I’ve been trying to get information from Madison in an underhanded way, but it appears that she knows nothing about her older brother’s brutal beatdown. She’d probably be furious at me if she knew, not only that I slept with her brother on several occasions, but also that I’m the reason behind such a vicious attack on him.

  So, I guess another one bites the dust.

  My fling with Jackson was good while it lasted. But I can’t be with a man who can’t manage his temper and who resorts to violence as the most effective means of solving a problem.

  I need a gentleman. A sophisticated, urbane, refined gentleman.

  Not an ex-marine.

  Not a tough guy.

  Chapter 3

  “Hailey – I’m sorry. I can’t take your side on this one,” Kimberly says matter-of-factly.

  God, she’s blunt. She doesn’t waste time or energy trying to sugarcoat her opinions. That’s one of the things I love about her.

  “Kimmy, you’ve got to see that Jackson acted like a Cro-Magnon. Like a brute,” I say as I balance my smartphone between my shoulder and my cheek. I’ve abandoned cleaning Ruthie’s old room and decided to make myself a power smoothie instead.

  “Girl – I don’t know what the hell a ‘crow magnum’ is. All I know is that what he did was noble as hell. He was just defending your honor, Hailey Bear. Matt the Jerk-Off deserved what he got.”

  I chuckle. “C’mon. You don’t think it was a bit over the top the way he pinned Matt to the wall and pounded him in the jaw.”

  “Not one bit,” Kimberly says, “Jackson was defending your honor. That’s what a real man does when he sees a lady in distress.”

  “I was not in distress,” I argue.

  “I beg to differ, honey. That animal ripped off your towel and had you standing naked at your front door. Lord knows what would have happened to you if Jackson hadn’t been there to stop that drunk creep from pawing all over you.”

  I take a moment to think about it. The thought makes me cringe. “You don’t think Matt would have ‘forced himself’ on me, do you?”

  Kimberly sighs roughly. “Hailey – that guy wanted some nookie from you and it seems like he’d be willing to take any means necessary to get it. You have to see that.”

  My voice gets lost in my throat.

  Kimberly continues, “You call Jackson a brute, but the way I see it, Matt is the brute in this scenario.”

  “But he’s practically my boss,” I say in a small voice as I chop a cucumber into large chunks and toss it into my blender together with the spinach, mango and coconut water.

  “That doesn’t give him the right to rob you of your dignity, Hailey.”

  Dammit – she’s right. I just don’t want to admit it.

  “You were a big lady-douche to Jackson. You’ve got to see that. He was only doing the honorable thing,” Kimberly continues. “I think you owe him an apology.”

  An apology.

  Seriously?

  I’ve got to apologize to the raging man-beast named Jackson Pratt?

  It’s time to end this conversation. “Look – I’m about to start my blender and it’s gonna get real loud. I gotta go.”

  “Apologize to him, Hailey,” Kimberly insists.

  I push a puff of air past my lips. “Okay. Okay.”

  “Good.” I can hear the triumph in her voice. “Go make things right with your tough-guy marine.”

  Chapter 4

  Jackson sits at the other end of his couch, far away from me. He’s leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs, a beer bottle dangling from his fingertips. He looks tense and he’s frowning. His eye contact is scant and he hasn’t smiled once since I showed up at his apartment ten minutes ago.

  “How have you been?” I ask quietly as I take a sip of the tea he prepared for me before sitting down.

  He shrugs at me. “I’ve been good.” He doesn’t offer more.

  We sit in silence. I stare at his hands. They’re still bruised from the battering he caused to Matt’s face.

  He sighs impatiently, jerking my attention back to the present. “Why are you here, Hailey?”

  I clear my throat and run my fingers through my loose blond waves. “I’m – I’m here to apologize.”

  He cocks a brow and brings his gaze to mine. “Is that right?”

  “Yes,” I say tentatively. “You literally came to my rescue the othe
r day and I didn’t acknowledge that. Instead, I pushed you away. I’m sorry.”

  He nods slowly, bringing his eyes to the table in front of him. He doesn’t say anything.

  I draw my finger around the edge of my teacup trying to figure out what to say next. This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have come here. I should have just left things the way they were because now, Jackson obviously wants nothing to do with me.

  Suddenly, he looks up at me. There’s a question in him. I can tell. He wants to ask it but maybe he’s afraid of the answer.

  “What? What is it?” I ask urging him to be open with me.

  “That guy – the one at your apartment –”

  “Matt?”

  “That’s his name?”

  Shit – I knew the moment would come when he’d want answers about why the man I referred to as my boss was at my apartment, drunk and trying to have sex with me.

  “What’s going on between you and him, Hailey?” I can see the vulnerability in his expression as he asks the question.

  “He’s the guy I was sleeping with when you and I met,” I admit. I can’t even look at him as I say the words. I feel so exposed. So stupid.

  I see the hesitation on his face. “Are you still sleeping with him?”

  My hand leaps out and grabs his. “No. No. It’s over I swear.”

  He evaluates my face, trying to figure out whether he can trust me. “But he’s your boss?”

  “Yes – you punched my boss in the face, Jackson.” For days the scenario has annoyed me. But right now, in this moment, for some reason, I find it amusing.

  “I don’t care who the hell that jerk was. I don’t care if he was the goddamn president of the United States. He had you naked at the front door. I hate to think about what could have happened to you if I wasn’t there.”

  “He was drunk.”

  “That only supports my point. He would have hurt you, Hailey. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I would handle the situation in the exact same way. You can always get another job but this asshole was trying to steal your dignity away.”

  He’s right but I don’t want to dwell on that situation any longer. “It’s over between me and Matt. It was a short, stupid fling. And it’s over.”

  Jackson gives me another long, contemplative look. “Fine,” he says simply. He puts his beer bottle down on the table and leans back, propping his head against the wall behind the couch. He opens his legs wide. “So, come over here and kiss me.”

  Chapter 5

  “I love your body,” he whispers into the nape of my neck as I slide up and down his cock.

  “I love your body,” I say in a high-pitched, desperate voice. He feels so damned good inside of me. And just looking at his face as I ride his dick takes me to a level of arousal I’ve never experienced before. His brows are tense with desire. His eyes are deep green pools of lust. His lips are full and red and parted just slightly as he breaths in and out harshly.

  I did this to him.

  I turned this rugged, virile cowboy into an animal who loses all common sense whenever my pussy is wrapped tightly around him. And I feel just about the same when he’s driving himself balls-deep into me.

  “Hailey…” he whispers my name and his eyes flutter shut. His hands move to my hips, controlling the speed of my every grind. When he nibbles at my chin, the sensations are too much. I have to throw my head back and ride the wave of pleasure.

  I clench around him again and again, enjoy every delicious thrust and ripple. My body makes sounds it has never made before as I grind my wetness against him. “God – it’s so good,” I cry out.

  Jackson makes a hoarse sound as he rises to his feet effortlessly. Almost as if I weigh less than a feather. He pins me to the wall. He’s lost all control. He’s pumping into me like a maniac. Frantic cries rush out of my mouth. The pleasure is overwhelming. I don’t even know how to react.

  “I’m so fucking hard, Hailey. I’ve never been so hard,” he roars against my damp skin. I feel like I’m melting into the wall. My nails dig into his back to keep me from shattering to pieces.

  “Just like that, Jackson. Just like that,” I shout, not giving a damn who hears me. I can feel a monster of an orgasm gathering up steam inside of me. I wrap my legs tighter around his back. He grips my waist firmly as he rears back and drives inside of me with raw animal lust.

  “Say my name, Hailey. Say it,” he commands, his face red, the veins in the side of his neck throbbing.

  “Jacksssooonnnn,” I wail as I hit my climax like a head on collision with a speeding train.

  And he comes hard, burying his head into my flesh and squeezing me so tight I can hardly breathe. He shudders violently, sweat pouring from his face.

  Jackson releases me slowly and my slick body slides down the wall. I’m tingling all over. He holds my face between both hands. He brings his face to mine and kisses me with a fierce, languorous passion.

  I sigh against his lips. “I’ve never felt like this before.”

  Chapter 6

  I’m sitting at my desk typing up a client memo on my computer when Matt walks by. He has a dark bruise under his left eye and his jaw is slightly swollen.

  Sweet Jesus.

  He doesn’t say a word, but he just glares at me before continuing down the hall to his office and slamming the door behind him.

  Nadia creeps over to my cubicle. “My gosh – did you see Matt’s face? Rumor has it that some guy caught him in bed with his wife. Beat the shit out of him.”

  I don’t look up at her. I just keep my eyes on my computer and murmur. “Uh-huh.”

  I wait till she’s back at her cubicle and distracted before I sneak away from my desk and tap lightly on Matt’s office door. Thank goodness his secretary isn’t at her station because I wouldn’t even be able to look at her.

  “What?” he yells.

  I open the door a crack and slip my head in. “Hi Matt.”

  He’s standing at his window, staring out over the city as he sips on a small tumbler of scotch. He’s taken off his suit jacket and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. He glances over his shoulder and sees me. He doesn’t look too happy.

  “What do you want?” I take that as an invitation to enter. This is Matteo Moretti after all. He’s notoriously grumpy. Everybody in the office knows it. But now, he has good reason to be especially upset with me.

  “How are you doing?” I ask in a small voice as I close the door behind me.

  He hocks his throat as he turns around to face me. “How do you think I’m doing? That savage of yours nearly fractured my fucking jaw.”

  I bite nervously on my bottom lip. “He was only defending me, Matt. You stripped me naked at my front door.”

  His eyes roll up and down my body. There is pure venom in his glare. “And that’s a shame. It wouldn’t be so bad if I’d gotten beat up over a supermodel. But you?” His words sting. They’re meant to.

  I straighten my back and stand tall. “What you did to me was disrespectful, Matt. And unacceptable.”

  He laughs bitterly. “Trust me, it won’t happen again.”

  “Okay,” I say simply. I turn to leave.

  “And your little security guard friend – let him know that when I’m done with him, he’ll have to cross into Pennsylvania to find work. Nobody in this city will hire him. Nobody.”

  My eyes bulge out of my head as I pivot on my heel. “You got Jackson fired?”

  Matt laughs an evil laugh that makes his whole body shake. “I got him blacklisted, honey. He’s better off finding his ass on the next flight back to Texas because he’s unemployable in this city.”

  Chapter 7

  “Why didn’t you tell me you lost your job?” I don’t wait for him to invite me in. As soon as Jackson opens the door, I push my way through.

  “I was only fired this afternoon,” he says calmly. But the way he scrubs his palm against his scalp tells me that he’s worried.

  “Jackson,
what are you going to do? Rent is in two weeks. Do you have savings?” We haven’t known each other that long. I have no idea what his financial situation is like. But I do know that losing your job in a city with a cost of living as high as New York’s is a big fucking deal.

  My questions seem to make him uncomfortable. “Hailey – don’t worry about it.”