by Sana Chase
He grabbed my face and jerked my lips to his. He assaulted my mouth, jabbing his tongue through my lips in quick thrusts, matching the rhythm of our bodies as they pounded against each other. I screamed into his mouth when he somehow managed to squeeze his hand between us and slipped a finger into my slit to bump against my clit. His rubbing finger stoked the fire that raged within me, and I kissed down his jaw, burying my face in his neck as my mouth sucked on his salty skin.
My whole body began to shake, and my fingers clawed the seat as he relentlessly stroked my clit, driving me ever closer to release. I knew if he didn’t give me permission to come soon, I was going to be in big trouble.
Thankfully, his hot breath tickled my ear as he whispered, “Come for me. I want to hear you scream.”
Hearing his sultry voice talking dirty sent me over the edge, and I screamed, bucking against him as spasms wracked my body. My pussy tightened and clamped around his cock, squeezing it rhythmically as the powerful orgasm tore through my body. His hands wrapped around my waist and slammed my pussy down, impaling me deeply on his cock.
His head flew backwards, and he groaned loudly as he thrust into me, splashing hot cum against the convulsing walls of my pussy. I slumped against him, my forehead resting on the seat as I floated down from the orgasmic high.
After we fixed our clothing and settled back onto the limo’s leather seat, Jace hit the intercom button and told Stephen to head home. Then he pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket. He touched the screen and the brought it up to his ear. The person on the other end must’ve immediately started talking, because he listened quietly for a moment before speaking.
“Cut the crap, Tiffany. Katie told me what you did. I knew you had a mean streak in you, but I didn’t realize you were such a stone, cold bitch. Let me be perfectly clear. The only reason I invited you to dinner that night was to please my parents. I have no interest in you. Got that? None. Zero. Zilch.
“So don’t make any more impromptu visits to my house. And stop going around telling all of your girlfriends and anyone else who will listen that I am your boyfriend. I’m not. Never have been and never will be. It would please me greatly if I never laid eyes on you again.”
And with those scathing words, Jace ended the call and returned the phone to his pants pocket.
“Now we shouldn’t have to worry about her anymore.”
I smiled at Jace and leaned my head against his shoulder. For the moment, I felt like Cinderella who’d gone to the ball and met her Prince Charming. I knew, despite what Jace said, that a future with him was still unlikely. However, I intended to enjoy it while it lasted.
21.
I woke up suddenly, my stomach rolling, and I jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom. Skidding to a stop in front of the toilet, I barely made it before what little was in my stomach came up. After the violent eruption, I started to move to the sink, but my stomach lurched again, and I fell to my knees in front of the porcelain bowl. It’s where Jace found me an hour later.
“Katie?”
I heard his voice calling from my bedroom.
“In here,” I replied, my voice weak and rough sounding from repeatedly being sick.
“Katie!”
He ran to me and fell to his knees on the floor beside me. Reaching out, he brushed the hair away from my face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. A stomach bug? Food poisoning maybe?”
“We ate the same thing for dinner last night, so I think we can rule out food poisoning.”
He stood up and went to the linen closet, opened the door, and pulled out a washcloth. Walking to the sink, he soaked the rag with cold water and then came over and bent down, wiping my face with the wet cloth.
“Do you think you can leave the bathroom now?”
I nodded weakly, and Jace helped me to my feet. I took one step and stumbled. Had it not been for Jace’s strong arm around me, I would’ve fallen. He steered me to my bed and helped me into it, then pulled the covers over me.
“Try to sleep.”
I thought he would leave the room then, but he didn’t. Instead, he settled into one of the chairs in the corner of the room.
I closed my eyes, snuggled into the blankets, and feel asleep.
***
When I woke up a few hours later, Jace was still in the chair in the corner, but he must have left the room at some point because papers were spread out all over the coffee table in front of him, and his computer rested in his lap. I guess I made a noise to alert him to my wakefulness because he peered over the top of his laptop screen and then set it aside and got up.
“Feeling any better?”
He approached the bed and placing the palm of his hand against my skin, felt of my forehead even though I had not had a fever earlier.
I still felt weak and drained but no longer like I was going to throw up my insides.
“A little better.”
Jace pulled out his phone and jabbed at the screen.
“Bring some crackers and ginger ale to Miss Darling’s room, please.”
He sat on the edge of the bed.
“Let’s see if you can keep anything down.”
A few minutes later, Sophia scurried into the room carrying a silver tray covered with a gleaming, polished dome. Jace took it from her, and she nodded and smiled at me, then left the room.
He removed the cover to reveal a few crackers laid out in a fan on a solid white plate and a clear glass half-filled with a light amber liquid. He set it on my beside table and then helped me sit up, fluffing up the pillows behind me before handing me the glass and a cracker.
I nibbled on the saltine and gazed at Jace.
“You didn’t have to stay with me, you know. I’m sure you have a lot of business you need to attend to.”
Honestly, even after working for him the past couple of months, I still didn’t much understand what he did all day. I knew he owned companies and business, but he spent more time at home than he did at work.
He smiled at me, his gorgeous face lighting up with it.
“It can wait. You’re more important.”
My heart swelled at his words. Could we really make a go of this?
My face must have betrayed my inner emotional state because Jace frowned.
“What’s wrong? Do you feel sick again?”
I shook my head.
“No. It’s not that.”
“That what is it?”
How could I explain how I felt?
“I don’t really fit into your world. Most of those women at the gala could be models. I’m far from it. I mean, yeah, I’ve got big boobs, but that’s because I’m a bigger girl. I don’t have a tiny waist or legs that go straight to my hoo-ha.
“Besides that, I don’t understand business very well. So, I can’t have discussions with the men, and I also know nothing at all about high society or fashion so I can’t talk to the women either.”
Jace started laughing and continued until his face turned red and tears started to leak from his eyes.
Seriously? I poured out my heart and soul to him and he laughed at me?
Seeing the hurt expression on my face quiet his raucous laughter.
“Oh Katie, I’m not laughing at you. Really, I’m not.”
I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“Sure looked like it to me.”
Jace sat on the side of my bed and managed to tug one of my hands free and squeezed it.
“Most of the women you saw were trophy wives. Their husbands only care about their looks and what they do between the sheets. You should never compare yourself to them. You are so much more than that.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. You’re beautiful and smart and funny. And you’re by far the best lover I’ve ever had despite your inexperience. Your passion and eagerness more than make up for that. I wouldn’t trade you for even 100 of them. As far as what you need to know to carry on a conversation, that can
be learned. Like I said, you’re smart. It won’t be hard for you.”
He handed me a second cracker since I’d finished the first one.
“Now try another one.”
As the day passed, I began to feel stronger and for supper, Sophia brought me a steaming bowl of chicken soup. When bedtime arrived, I expected Jace to tuck me in and then return to his room, but instead, he stripped down to his snug briefs and climbed into bed beside me. He put his arms around me and pulled me close, and we both drifted off to sleep.
The next day started out much like the one before. I woke up and ran for the toilet.
“Katie?”
Jace climbed out of bed and followed me, holding my hair out of the way as I got sick.
My stomach settled a little quicker than the day before, so instead of spending an hour on the floor in front of the toilet, it was only a few minutes.
“I guess I ate a little too soon,” I remarked as Jace help me back into bed.
He smoothed a cool, wet washcloth over my face.
“Maybe. We will take it a little slower today.”
Again, I took a nap and woke feeling better but I only got crackers and ginger ale for the rest of the day. Close to bedtime, Jace got a call with some bad news.
“There’s been a major accounting error at one of my businesses,” he explained after he’d gotten off the phone. “I hate to leave you, but I’m going to have to fly out there and get to the bottom of this.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be okay while you’re gone. I’m feeling much better. Really.”
He came over to the bed and bent down, kissing me on the forehead.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Take it easy and don’t rush eating. I’m not going to leave any work for you to do, so just spend some time relaxing, and I’ll see you when I get back.”
22.
The next morning, I once again woke up with a queasy stomach, but I managed to keep from getting sick. Jace had texted me during the night to let me know he’d landed safely and that he would check on me later in the day.
Sophia brought toast for breakfast, and I forced it down. I had to admit, after eating it, I felt a little better. My stomach seemed a little less nauseous.
Tired of being in the bed all day, I moved to the couch in the corner of my room. I grabbed the remote and turned on the television. Within a couple of hours, my stomach felt almost normal, so I decided it was high time I took a shower. After being sick for a couple of days, I didn’t smell so great.
The warm spray felt like heaven against my skin, and I spent a little more time than normal under the cascading water. As I scrubbed my skin with the bath poof, I winced when it grazed my breasts. For some reason, they were a little tender.
Even though I didn’t normally experience tenderness around that time of the month, I didn’t think anything about it. I just attributed it to sore chest muscles from being sick for two days.
After finishing the shower and moussing and drying the unruly mass of curls that was my hair, I settled back onto the couch to watch some more television. I scrolled through the channels until I found a movie that had just started and reclined back onto the couch to watch it.
My mind kind of drifted and I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the movie until I heard the heroine crying on the phone to her best friend that the reason she’d been so sick for the past few days was because she was pregnant. Immediately, I felt nauseous.
I grabbed the remote and rewound the movie and watched part of what I’d missed. The heroine got sick in the morning, felt fine a few hours later, then got sick once again the next morning. She also mentioned how much her breasts hurt.
Oh shit.
My heart thumped in my chest as I frantically tried to remember when I’d had my last period. When I counted up the weeks, the sinking feeling in my gut worsened.
I was late.
Oh no.
Taking a deep breath, I decided it would be best to be sure before I started panicking too much. I grabbed some clothes from my dresser and hurriedly got dressed, slipping on a pair of shoes before grabbing my purse.
I snuck downstairs, being as quiet as I could because I didn’t want to run into anyone and have to explain why I was dressed and out of my room. Luckily, the maids were on another floor and Sophia was absent from the kitchen. I managed to reach the garage without anyone seeing me. I jumped into my car and headed for the nearest store.
***
I couldn’t pry my eyes away from the three sticks all lined up in a row on my bathroom counter.
Pregnant.
Pregnant.
Pregnant.
There couldn’t be any mistake. All three tests were positive. Tears fell down my cheeks, and my hands shook as I gathered up the used tests and shoved them back into the box.
What was I going to do?
Jace’s comments when he saw that pregnant lady at the gala rang in my mind. He obviously hated children, which meant he wouldn’t be happy with this turn of events. In fact, I was certain it would tear us apart.
I had a choice to make. It was the hardest decision I’d ever come to.
I ran.
Stuffing a bag full of clothes and grabbing the jewelry he’d given me plus the evidence of my condition, I took one last look around the room as tears streamed down my face. I’d found happiness only to lose it. I cradled my stomach with my arm. I had more than just myself to think about now.
Quietly, I hurried down the stairs. Once again, I needed to avoid detection. How could I explain the bag thrown over my shoulder? Peering through the kitchen door, I didn’t see anyone inside, so I rushed across the expanse to the back door. I made it to the garage and my car without being seen.
I drove to the bank first to withdraw all of the money in my account. Jace had been more than generous, so I had quite a bit saved. It should be enough to get me started somewhere else until I could find a job.
I called a cab from the bank parking lot. The car was mine to drive but belonged to Jace. I couldn’t take it. Besides, Jace would be able to use it to track me down if he decided to look for me.
With a heavy heart, I dug deep into my purse and found a scrap of paper. Nothing I could say would really explain things, so I simply wrote “I’m sorry” and scrawled my name under it.
The cab pulled up as I was signing the note. I stuck it on the steering wheel and locked the car. Slinging my bag and purse over my shoulder, I closed the door. I had no doubt that Stephen had an extra key, and if for some reason he didn’t, Jace would have no problem affording to hire a locksmith.
I climbed into the cab and directed the driver to the bus station. I looked back as the sporty car faded from my view. Another piece of my heart broke as one more connection to Jace was severed. Tears streamed down my cheeks as the cab carried me toward my new life.
“Good-bye, Jace,” I whispered. “I love you.”
23.
I spent the night in a pretty seedy motel. Since I needed to spend as little as possible, I tried my best to ignore the suspicious stains on the carpet and bedspread and the pungent smell emanating throughout the room. I still wasn’t sure what my plan for the future was. I knew I needed to find a job and a place to stay, but I was too overwhelmed at the moment to think about it.
After making sure the chain on the door was connected and the extra bolt lock was turned, I yanked back the covers and slid between the musty sheets without even bothering to change to my pajamas. I rolled onto my side and hugged myself. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I cried myself to sleep.
The next morning, I pulled myself together and went to a little diner near the motel. I had headed there with the intention of trying to find a copy of that day’s newspaper in order to scour the classifieds, but when I approached the small, block building, I saw a “help wanted” sign in the window. Maybe it was fate. After all, I wasn’t trained to do much, with the exception of the clerical work I’d done for Jace, and there was no way I could use him as a referen
ce.
Tears stung my eyes and threatened to cascade down my cheeks once more at the thought of Jace. Had he discovered my absence yet? Shaking my head to clear my thoughts and taking a deep breath, I entered the diner.
The moment I walked in, delicious aromas wafted toward me. The place might not look like much on the outside, or the inside either for that matter, but the food smelled heavenly. I looked around to see most of the cracked vinyl booths were occupied by a combination of different types of people: construction workers, businessmen, and everything in between.
There were a few stools open on the counter, so that’s where I headed. Along with finding out about the job, I did need to eat breakfast. After all, I was eating for two.
A girl, about my age, stepped up to the counter when I sat down. Her hair was black as midnight, and she had a small nose ring attached to one nostril. Her name tag said “Jenny”, but that didn’t mean it was really her name. Waitresses didn’t always wear a new nametag.
“Can I help you?”
I glanced over the greasy menu looking for something cheap.
“Umm, a biscuit and gravy and a glass of water?”
She stared at me a minute and then nodded her head.
It took me until halfway through the meal to get up the courage to ask about the job when the waitress came over to refill my glass.
“Umm, excuse me, but I saw the sign in the window. Who do I need to talk to about it?”
She eyed me again, as if taking my measure, and then gestured toward the back.
“The owner does the hiring. She’s busy right now though. Ruby always helps cook breakfast. I’ll tell her you’re here, and she’ll come out when she can.”
“Thanks.”
Jenny kept my water glass refilled as I sat and waited for Ruby. Time dragged by and eventually the crowd in the diner thinned down until myself and one other patron was all that was left. The swinging doors that lead to the kitchen opened, and a small, red-headed lady strode through them.