“I know you mean well Ty, but I know myself, I know the signs of an attack and I can handle it. I will try my hardest to do what you say but you have to trust me to know what is good for me. Don’t go overprotective on me Ty. Smothering me is a sure fire way to set me off.” She kissed him quickly and got up grabbing her coat. She looked him in the eye and he could see she was thinking over what to say next.
“Tell me what you are thinking baby. Say what you need to say. I need to know what you want so I can give it to you.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed his robe before walking over to her.
“Trust me Ty, because I trust you to do what’s good for me take care of me and not be overprotective. Stopping for just one moment she looked him in the eyes. Do you promise Tyler? Do you promise not to smother me and be too overprotective? I need my space and my own pace to find my way around city and learn how to handle myself. I have never had to rely on myself, Aunt Emma was always there protecting me and fussing over me. This is a huge deal for me Ty I mean it. I know you want what is best for me and you want to protect me but there are things I need to do on my own.” she looked at him nervously waiting for his answer.
“I promise baby.” He kissed her sweetly and looked into her eyes. He could see the emotion and could tell this was a big thing for her.
Julia Sara and Jenna spent their afternoon exploring London boutiques and as far as Julia and Jenna were concerned it was also spent getting to know each other better. They had lunch at a lovely little restaurant with a wonderful view of a little park. Julia quickly found out that Jenna would forgo eating a delicious meal to sketch something. Actually Jenna was known to forgo a lot of things when the urge to draw something caught her. After lunch, all three women headed to another store to do some more shopping and then decided to head back to the hotel. About two blocks from the hotel Jenna had the chauffer stop the car.
“I have something I would like to look for in here. I would also like to walk back to the hotel by myself.” Looking back and forth from her best friend and future mother in law she reached for the door handle.
“Jen sweetie, are you sure? You haven’t even been in London for twenty four hours are you positive you want to try to venture out alone already?” Sara placed a hand on her friends arm and looked concerned by her friend’s decision.
“Yes Jenna I wouldn’t want you to get yourself worried while you are alone. I would never forgive myself if you came to any harm. “Not knowing how to bring up the subject of Jenna’s anxiety Julia didn’t say anymore.
“Honest you two I am fine. The hotel is two blocks that way.” She pointed in the correct direction and the other women nodded.
“There are a few things I need to do and I would like to do them alone. Tyler did whatever he had to do to my phone to make sure it works internationally. I am feeling confident and happy. I want to do this. I want to show Tyler that I can do this. I can be the woman he wants and can take places with him on business trips without worrying that something will happen to me.” She hugged each woman, grabbed her purse and the portfolio she had brought with her today.
The two women exchange worried glances when Jenna got out of the car. The chauffer pulled away from the curb and took them back to the hotel. When they got back to the hotel Julia saw Tyler talking to the hotel manager in the lobby and went to her son while Sara and Veronica headed to the lounge for a cup of tea.
“Hey mom how was your day with the girls?” He kissed his mother’s cheek and the pair started walking to the lounge.
“Oh we had a wonderful day. We all found something for the wedding and picked out the flowers. Your fiancé decided to get out of the limo a few blocks from here and runs some mystery errands.” As the pair reached the table Sara and Veronica chose she sat down in the seat her son held out for her.
“Where’s Jenna, didn’t she want to have tea with you?” Smiling at the ladies he motioned to the waitress to come over.
“Oh your fiancé had some errands to run and had the limo stop so she could get out a few blocks from here.” Julia took the menu from the waitress and looked it over while Tyler stood next to the table.
“Well you ladies enjoy your tea and snacks I will see you later.” He kissed his mother’s cheek and walked into the lobby.
Worriedly Tyler called the head of hotel security and talked to the man. Showing him a picture of Jenna he told the man where to find her and told him to watch her. Don’t interact with her don’t scare her just watch her and make sure she was safe.
~~~~~~
Jenna walked into the portrait studio she had noticed yesterday on their way to the hotel. Walking to the counter she greeted the salesperson and pulled the sketch she had been working on for the past few weeks of her portfolio and asked if it could be framed. The saleswoman was very friendly and helped Jenna pick out a frame. She told Jenna it would take one hour and it would be ready. She got her receipt and decided to go check out some other stores on the block.
After the second store Jenna started to feel off. Her anxiety was up and she felt like she was being followed. There was this tall man in a nice suite who was about fifteen feet behind her who she swore was in the last two stores she visited. It wasn’t an odd thing for her to feel as though she was being watched or followed when her anxiety acted up so she didn’t think anything of it.
Taking some deep breathes to calm her now rising anxiety, Jenna headed into a small pet store she saw. While browsing she noticed to her relief that the man had not entered the pet store. Jenna had a good time picking out a Union Jack tee shirt of Oscar. She also saw some chewy toys she wanted to get for him too. One was a red phone booth another was a squeaky royal guard and the last was a plush replica of the underground sign. Taking the bag with her purchases in it Jenna left the store so she could go get her picture.
Noticing again the man behind her after she picked up her picture wrapped in brown paper she started to panic. She felt the all too familiar fog rolling over her mind. She headed in the direction of the hotel. The man followed her for the first block. Just to prove to herself that she was being silly she went the wrong way around a block. All the sudden there were too many people, the city was too loud and everything was just too much for her to handle. The man had followed her around the block and all the way to the hotel. Just outside the hotel she tripped. Tyler was inside in the lobby and saw her trip. He ran out to her and got to her a few seconds after the security guard did. When the security guard reached for her to help her up she screamed.
“NOOOO!” Cringing away she sobbed.
“Jenna, baby what’s wrong? What happened?” Tyler knelt down by her and helped her up.
Sobbing Jenna grabbed onto him. “Tyler this man, he has been following me. He has been behind me for over an hour! I was having such a good time. I was actually able to walk around by myself I was so happy. Then I saw him. Oh god Ty I need to go to the room.” He held her close and felt her shiver. He gathered her dropped packages and nodded to the man before guiding Jenna back to their suite.
When they got back to the suite Tyler sat her down on the plush couch. He put her bags and package on the chair. He went to the bar and got her a drink of water. Sitting next to her he gave her the drink and let her relax a little.
“Princess the man was following you. But he didn’t mean you any harm. His name is Nathan. Nathan is my head of security for the hotel. When mom and Sara got back and told me you were off on your own I panicked.” Pushing her hair back so he could see her face he continued.
“I couldn’t take the chance that you would have an anxiety attack in not only a strange city but a strange country. I sent him to watch you to make sure you came to no harm.” He saw her reaction to his confession and stopped.
Jumping up off the couch Jenna paced back and forth.
“How dare you do that? I told you that I have to do things at my own pace! I have to be able to do things when I feel I am able to. Did you r
eally think that having some stranger follow me would make me secure? Damn it Tyler you have to trust that I know myself enough to know what I can handle!” She was almost vibrating with anger.
“I love that you want to keep me safe, I am over the moon that you didn’t come running and try to tag along or drag me back to the hotel. But, don’t you know that if something were really wrong I would call you or come running to you?” She stared out the window with her back to him her arms were crossed across her chest.
Turning to look at him he saw that she was really mad. “Damn it Ty you promised!”
She marched over to the other side of the room. “I know myself. Yes I have been alone in the city before and had a full on panic attack. Yes it scared the hell out of me. But I managed. I called Aunt Emma and she talked me down enough so I could get home.”
She turned to look at him. “I have had anxiety since I was six years old. That’s twenty years of learning what it does to me and how to best deal with it. Rule number one for me is to surround myself with people who I can trust, who believe in me and let me be who I am. That means making my mistakes and learning from them. “Jenna walked over to him and fiddled with his tie.
“Today was a test for me. It was a huge deal. Not only was I living one of my dreams by walking around a beautiful city in a different country but I was actually feeling confident with myself that I could try to do something by myself. You took that away from me Tyler. Instead of believing in me and trusting that I know how to handle myself, you went ahead and decided to swoop in and be a hero. I have to do things like that from time to time. However it was kind of a test for you too. You didn’t do so good Ty.” Tyler could see the pain in her eyes while she let him know how she felt.
“You’re right and I’m sorry. I guess this is a bit of a learning curve for both of us. You should have called me let me know what you were doing. I am not saying you have to check in with me before you do anything. However, if you go off into a situation where I would worry about you, then I will worry about you. I promise I will never do anything like that again. But you have to promise to let me protect you and worry about you.” He didn’t move just let what he said sink in and hope it would calm her temper.
“I am so sorry. You will never know what happened to me when I saw you come running up to the hotel like that. It ripped me open. The minute I saw your panic I knew. I knew I had done the wrong thing. But the fear of you having a panic attack and not having someone around made me crazy.” He walked over to you and wrapped his arms around her.
“Please baby, please forgive me. I swear we will get this. We will work this out and we will find out what works for us. You are a strong woman. Stronger than you know stronger than I know, and I don’t give you enough credit for that. When I look at you I see my love, my fragile princess who needs me to protect her. I guess I need to change some of my views.” Jenna smiled weakly up at him.
“Your right we will manage this. But for now I think I just want to go soak in the tub for a while.” Running her hand down his chest, she grabbed her things and headed through to the bathroom.
Once he heard the bathroom door closed he cursed himself. How could he have had such little faith in Jenna? Dean and Sara had warned him about this. He headed out of their suite to see if Dean wanted to go grab a drink at the bar downstairs.
Chapter fifteen
Tyler met Dean down in the lounge just past the lobby. He took a seat and ordering a scotch rocks he looked at his friend.
“So I screwed up man. Jenna decided to go off on her own and I panicked. I couldn’t fathom her being alone and possibly scared or anxious so I had the head of security follow her and she saw him.” He sipped his scotch and waited for Dean to admonish him.
“It’s hard man. There is something about Jenna that makes you just want to be overprotective. Since the moment I met her I considered her my little sister every bit as much as Sara. There are times when it takes everything I have not to just go charging in and try and solve all her problems.” Dean was drinking his lager and shook his head at his friend’s troubles.
“The look on her face when I told her what I did was horrible. She looked like I betrayed her.” He actually shivered at the thought of Jenna being cross with him or hurt by him.
“She will get over it. You have to realize that even though you two are perfect for each other, you haven’t even known each other a year. There is a learning curve you have to get past. One of the main things we have to keep reminding ourselves is that as much as she needs our help Jenna also wants to be independent.” Dean commiserated with his friend.
“You have trouble of your own with Sara. Is she still seeing that asshole Dalton?” Seeing the anger in the other man’s face Tyler knew he got his answer.
“Yeah she is still letting him play his games. She really thinks she is in love with him, but he is so afraid of commitment he keeps hurting her. I just want to throttle him every time I see them together. When they are together they are great, then he freaks out and takes off.” Dean took a long swallow of his lager to angry to go on.
After an hour Tyler left his friend to go back upstairs and make sure Jenna would forgive him. He arrived at the suite just as dinner was being delivered by the room service waiter. Letting the waiter in and then following him in, he found Jenna surrounded by simple sketches she had done since they left New York. She looked up at him and smiled. Once the waiter placed the plates on the table and left Tyler walked over and reached out his hand to help Jenna up.
Jenna was wearing the fluffy hotel bathrobe she was so fond of. She stood in front of Tyler looking mildly forlorn. “I’m sorry I got so mad.”
Tyler reached down and kissed her tenderly. “We were both upset princess. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”
Jenna smiled and hugged her fiancé. The walked over to the table by the small bar and enjoyed a meal fish and chips. Jenna told Tyler about her afternoon with his mother and Sara.
“I found this great little pet store and got Oscar the cutest little things, some squeaky toys and a little Union Jack shirt.” She was laughing at herself while she sipped the wine that accompanied their dinner.
“Oh god, I’m beginning to see why that little guy is your shadow.” He put down his silverware and stood up. He walked over to a table where there was a bag from his shopping today.
Jenna nearly fell over laughing when Tyler produced a squeaky Big Ben for the little dog.
“He has got you wrapped around his little paw doesn’t he?” She wiped away a tear from her eye as the laughs subsided.
“I can’t help it. He is a sweet little dog and we never had pets growing up.” He walked back over and stood behind her. Placing his hands on her shoulders and squeezing lightly. “I think after we get settled we should get another dog.”
Jenna leaned her head back and looked up at Tyler. There was a huge smile on her face. “I would love that. I love animals.”
Jenna stood up and turned around. “And I love you Ty. I am sorry I worried you and I am so sorry I freaked out on you. So if that was our first fight. Doesn’t that mean we have to make up now?”
Letting her robe drop Tyler moaned when he saw her nude body. He reached out and pulled her to him. Kissing her and lifting her body so she was settled on the bar. Standing between her spread thighs he loosened and pulled off his tie and tossed it on the floor. His jacket and shirt followed.
Tyler took a step back and grabbed her right foot and kissed the little cartoon koala bear on it. His beautiful sapphire eyes never left hers while he kissed his way up her leg. Jenna giggled when he nipped at the inside of her knee. Kissing his way up her thigh he moaned when he reached her sweet spot. He winked and started to taste her. Pleasure her with his tongue and fingers.
Jenna was pulling his hair and moaning loudly. Before she reached completion he pulled back winking and pulling her to him. She wrapped her legs around him locking him close to her. Kissing him deeply Je
nna reached down and opened his pants and wrapped her hand around his hard flesh. Stroking him he guided her to her opening. He pushed forward and filled her. Ty threw his head back and let loose an animalistic growl. The couple moved together hard and fast, they were touching tasting and pleasing each other.
Finding their pleasure together, Jenna held tight to Tyler’s strong body. After a moment used to catch their breath Tyler carried Jenna through to the bedroom. The couple lay together in bed, happy and sated.
“If that is how we make up after I piss you off then I think that I will aggravate you daily.” Tyler laughed at his own joke until she pinched his nipple.
When the laughter subsided Tyler stared at the ceiling and ran his fingers up and down Jenna’s arm.
“Will you tell me what it’s like Jen? I have wanted to ask you that for a while but have been to, well, I was too afraid to pry that far into your affairs.” Rolling on his side to face her he waited to hear her reply.
Taking Chances Page 8