Watch Over My Life: Emotional Love Story (What Will Be Book Series)

by Laura Ashley Gallagher

  She could just see the grin on his face.

  “Jake, I am not having phone sex with you.”

  “Who said anything about phone sex? Besides, who would want that when you could have the real thing.”

  “What are you talking about?” she questioned, sounding worried, yet she couldn’t help the excitement shining through her voice.

  “Open the door, and I will show you.”

  She almost dropped the phone.

  “What?”

  “Open the door,” he repeated casually.

  After standing as still as a statue with shock for a few moments, she finally made her way towards the front door. Slowly, she turned the handle, the phone vibrating with nerves in her hand.

  And there he was. Looking like a god in his sweats and t-shirt. She could still make out his perfectly toned body through the loose shirt, and it made her want him more than ever. Jessica watched as his eyes scanned her body and his tender lips curved up into a soft smile.

  “Hello beautiful,” he whispered.

  Then, like earlier that day in the elevator, he didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he walked towards her and kissed her passionately. Just this time, it was a lot softer. He closed the door with his leg as she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing his body closer to hers so they could both feel the heat radiating from one another. With that, she heard the phone make a loud thud as it hit the floor, falling helplessly from her limp hands.

  “You can’t just turn up at my apartment like this,” she said breathlessly, pulling away from him.

  “I know. But I did. So, goddamn it, I am going to kiss you,” he said, wrapping her in his arms.

  His tongue began exploring her mouth. Her body ached for him, and she wasn’t about to let him go again. She didn’t have the power. Not this time.

  He lifted her, pinning her against the wall so her legs were firmly around his waist. He trailed endless kisses down her neck and then finally back to her mouth. She could feel his whole body rub against her. She shivered as his chilly hands gripped her warm thighs. Every touch felt new to her. It was the excitement he gave her; it put her on a new high, and she couldn’t resist him; no matter how hard she tried.

  He lifted her into the bedroom, where he placed her gently on the bed, crawling over her needy body to stare down at her.

  And she was exactly where she promised herself she wouldn’t be. But she loved the thrill of it. Besides, she was a woman. It would be sinful not to give in to those needs.

  This was nature, she told herself.

  And there they were, finishing exactly what they started in the elevator.

  Chapter Five

  As Jessica quietly closed the door behind her, she felt a sudden pang of guilt for leaving again. But she had to. She needed to be at work for nine and Jake, well, Jake did what he wanted. After all, he was the boss. He could stroll in and out any time he liked.

  When she woke, she watched him for a few minutes. Her body was wrapped in his, as if he were protecting her in some sort of cocoon. She stared at his muscular chest, moving up and down with each even intake of breath. He looked consequently peaceful as his closed lids delicately hid his brown eyes; the same eyes she got lost in so many times.

  She hated the thoughts of getting out of bed. She just wanted to stay there, covered up with his warmth, but she was lying to herself by thinking that maybe he wanted the same thing. She wasn’t that naïve. She knew exactly why he was there. But it worked for her, too. The last thing she wanted in her life right now was a man. She didn’t have the strength to deal with it. She didn’t need the complications of a relationship. There was too much at risk. She didn’t want her heart to get broken, and she didn’t want to drag someone else into her situation. Making someone’s life complicated because of her ‘issues’ was not her goal. It wasn’t fair to anybody.

  Many times, she was told to live her life as normal as possible, and right now, that’s exactly what she was doing. And she got herself a hot guy to do it with. Life was good.

  She hoped he wouldn’t be offended when he woke to the note she had left on her pillow.

  There is food in the cupboards.

  Eat and get your ass out of my apartment.

  See you at work.

  Jess.

  She dreaded seeing him. She knew all the emotions from the night before would come swirling back. Though she had told herself countless times she would stay away from him and she could resist the temptation; seeing him standing at her door last night, daring her to give in. Her guard crumbled to pieces, and there was no hope of putting it back together. Even now, the thought of him made her want to run back to the apartment and wake him up with her uncontrollable kisses.

  She no longer recognized herself. Jessica was always the girl who never showed her emotions. Somehow, she hid them so deeply, not even she felt them. Not that she had a problem with her feelings; she just hated to let people see them. Especially now, she didn’t need anyone else to get hurt. It was better if she kept everything to herself. That way, she protected the people she loved the most.

  She dwelt on it all the way to her office, where she threw her bag on the floor, sighing heavily when a pile of new paperwork appeared on her desk. Today was Friday, and she was looking forward to the weekend. She just wanted to relax and be normal. She also wanted to go out and get heavily drunk.

  Bad idea, she told herself.

  She didn’t know where she would end up. Probably Jake’s bed.

  Yes, that was a bad idea.

  The paperwork seemed to go on forever, but she finally finished it, signing her signature at the end, slipping it into a large brown envelope before handing it to Sophie to post.

  She also had a new book to edit. She was looking forward to reading this one. It was untitled by a young, up-and-coming author. Her name was Elizabeth Harold; an enthusiastic, goofy girl who knew exactly what she was writing about and where she wanted to go with it. Jessica met with her once before and found her highly interesting. She could have talked to her for hours. When she found out that Jessica was a book editor, she started sending some of her work.

  She leaned back in her chair and took the thick book in her hand. She read six lines when she heard a slight cough at the door. Her head popped up to see Jake standing there, his body leaning against the door frame with two coffee cups weighing in each hand.

  He hates coffee, she thought to herself.

  “Coffee?” he greeted her, holding up the cardboard cups as he strolled into her office.

  Unfortunately for her, she was dying for a cup of coffee, and thankfully for him, she was going to accept it.

  “Thanks,” she whispered, taking the hot cup in her hands.

  He placed himself in the leather chair opposite her on the other side of her desk. “People will talk, Jake. It isn’t difficult to notice you walking in here with that undeniable bounce in your step.” She smirked. “It’s very gossip-worthy.”.

  “Let them talk then.”

  “You know as well as I do, they need little to start a story around here.”

  “It’s coffee, Jess. I thought you might need it. I know you have a lot on lately,” he said, lifting the cover of the cup and blowing on the fiery liquid. She sipped on it slowly, letting the warmth slide down her throat.

  “Worried about me, are we?”

  “I’m your boss, and I know when you have a lot on.”

  The mention of him being her boss brought her straight back to square one.

  “What are you doing here, Jake? My table is too small for any funny business and I am seriously not in the mood.” She was a poor liar, and he knew it. His smirk told her he didn’t believe a word of it.

  “You have a terrible impression of me.” He grinned, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him. “You left this morning?” It was more of a question than a statement of fact.

  “I had to. I had to be at work by nine,” she explained, inhaling the smell of coffee.

&n
bsp; “I don’t think I would have fired you for being late.”

  “I know that, but as you said, I have a lot on. Someone has to work around here,” she taunted, meeting his gaze. He merely shrugged, staring out into the city.

  “So, what are you doing tonight?” he queried, looking back at her.

  “I don’t know yet, but it’s not you,” she replied, knowing exactly what he meant. He chuckled to himself, his laugh making his nose wrinkle. “I’m relaxing tonight and that doesn’t include having sex with you.”

  “Do I tire you, Jess?”

  “As a matter of fact, you do. Walking is a need that I have.”

  “Thank you very much.” He nodded, obviously pleased with himself.

  She had to bite down on her jaw to stop herself from giggling aloud when he began to yawn.

  “Do I tire you, Jake?” she repeated his words, leaning her elbows on the desk.

  He looked at her and chuckled loudly. “I bought the coffee for a reason, Jess. I never drink this crap, but it keeps me awake.”

  She could feel her cheeks get hot with embarrassment.

  “Don’t you have work to do?” she questioned, making random notes on a page. “You could do better things with your time besides bothering me.”

  “You’re gorgeous, but that hurt,” he teased, dramatically holding his hand over his chest.

  “Get out!” she droned, throwing a pen at him. “Go on. Get out of my office. I have work that needs doing.”

  “Fine.” He threw up his hands in surrender.

  “See you at the meeting later.” He winked before he left the room.

  She hated those meetings. It was an hour of nothing. It was a meeting of about twenty executive workers talking about how the company was going and certain issues they may have. She knew Jake hated it too. She often had to kick him under the table to wake him. He pretended to listen, but he never did. Jessica knew that face when he tuned out of something and was in a complete daydream. He always looked too focused when he was in his own world. His eyes squinted, making it seem like he was doing math in his head.

  With that, her phone buzzed to life on the table. She picked it up quickly, scanning over the caller ID before answering. It was her sister, April.

  “Hey baby sis,” she answered happily.

  “Hello,” April replied skeptically. “Why are you so cheery? Who have you been screwing?”

  “Am I only happy when I am screwing someone? I can be happy.”

  “I suppose,” April answered. “Anyway, I am calling to tell you that you have to come over tonight. Mom is cooking dinner for everyone because Pete is home.”

  “Great. What time?”

  “About seven. And tell Jake to bring the fancy wine he always has.”

  Jessica blinked a couple of times.

  “Please don’t tell me Jake is coming tonight?” Her mouth suddenly went dry.

  “Jake is coming tonight,” April stated dryly. “Get over it, Jess. Besides, you know the way Mom is with Jake. He is like a brother to Pete. And me.” April exhaled loudly. “Anyway, I don’t care why you two are so bitter towards each other, just tell him not to forget the wine.”

  “Fine, I will tell him,” Jessica huffed, feeling defeated. “I have to go, April,” she said before they both said their goodbyes, and Jessica rushed off to that hellhole of a meeting she needed to get to.

  Thirty minutes later, there he was, doing it again. He was sitting next to her in the conference room with his eyes squinting, his nose wrinkling, and his mouth set in a hard line. He looked hysterical. But she promised herself she would not laugh. She would end up looking like an idiot because she was sure she was the only one noticing his expression. Other women were staring at him, but it wasn’t for the look on his face, it was for his face in general.

  Jessica tried to tune out as Mr. Johnson, another partner in the company, rambled on about how they could do more to save energy in the building. She despised these meetings. She never saw the point of her being there.

  Scribbling in her notebook from boredom, she looked back at Jake, who still had that stupid look on his face. She wondered what he was thinking about.

  Was he thinking about her?

  Of course he wasn’t. Why would he? They may have slept together, but that meant nothing to him. He slept with women all the time. He never thought of them. So why would she be any different?

  She wasn’t. That was the point.

  But it didn’t stop her from wanting to be her mischievous self.

  She bit down on her lip to hide the smirk tugging at her mouth. Her hand twitched with the want to touch him. And for once, she gave in to what her body wanted. She placed her hand under the table, slowly, and gently placed her fingers on his thigh and squeezed it tightly.

  “Whoa.” Jake jumped.

  “Are you okay, Jake?” Mr. Johnson asked, looking slightly concerned as Jake tried to compose himself.

  “Yes. Yes. I’m fine,” he explained, swallowing hard as she trailed her fingers up and down his thigh, smiling innocently.

  “Okay.” Mr. Johnson nodded slowly, looking unsure as he went back to rambling on about energy saving. Or at least that’s what she thought he was talking about. She wasn’t paying attention.

  She pinched on her lip playfully with her teeth as she watched him stiffen in his seat, his body rigid as her hand grew closer and closer to that area she knew he was dreading, yet longed for her to touch.

  “Jess.” He leaned closer to her ear, and she knew it was killing him to quiet the moan playing on his parted lips. His breathing was becoming heavier by the second. She tried her best to suppress the giggle bubbling in her throat, and she continued to look straight at Mr. Johnson as she began rubbing her fingers closer and closer.

  “Jess, we are in a meeting,” he breathed, stuttering over his words.

  “I know.” She turned to look at him, her famous sparkle glinting in her eyes. “Revenge is a bitch,” she whispered, moistening her full lips with her tongue.

  As she continued, she finally reached the one area she knew would send him over the top. Her fingers massaged him softly, her palm playing along his suit pants. She watched him in amusement as he moved around in his seat, his hand rubbing over the beads of sweat on his forehead.

  “That’s it for today. I will see you all Monday,” Mr. Johnson announced.

  She didn’t stop when people began packing away their belongings. She wanted to see him sweat a bit more. She slowly pressed against him, unassumingly pressing her lips to his ear. To anyone else, they were sharing a private conversation, but to Jake, he just received Jessica’s moist tongue around his neck to behind his ear.

  “Sweet Jesus,” he let out and God forgive her, but she burst out with laughter. This was brilliant entertainment. “I’m sorry everyone,” he apologized to his colleagues leaving the room, who had now turned around to see what all the commotion was about. “This damn table is really low down for my knees.”

  With a sexual act involved, he was a miserable liar. But all of this didn’t stop his quiet moan sending thrills through her as she removed her hand. He looked disappointed as she stood up. She positioned herself, leaning over his shoulder so she could whisper in his ear.

  “The sweet joys of revenge. I don’t think you should stand up for a while. It might be obvious what we were up to under the table, and I don’t think you would want everyone to know you are having sex with one of your employees.” Her voice was serious.

  “Everything okay down there, Miss Connors?” Mr. Johnson asked, narrowing his gaze. She straightened up and smiled.

  “Everything is fine. I was just making sure Jake was okay. He was looking pale. But everything seems to be looking up now.” She smiled, biting down on her lip to stop herself from laughing at the private digs she was sending to Jake while everyone else was oblivious.

  “Okay, I will see you on Monday.”

  “See you later, Jake,” Jessica simpered, parting her moistened lips.r />
  The image of him sitting there in his chair, unable to stand up with his mouth hanging open in shock, played over and over in her mind.

  She felt evil, but with that man, she didn’t mind.

  Chapter Six

  “Hello, sweetheart.” Jessica’s mother, Rose, greeted her, swinging the front door open.

  Her shoulder-length hair was straight, and her pale green eyes were engraved with tiny wrinkles. Her petite figure had a red apron tied tightly around her curvy waistline, and her long, narrow nose wrinkled as she leaned over to kiss her daughter.

  “Hey Mom,” Jessica replied with a wide smile, kissing her warm cheek.

  Jessica didn’t need the homely and inviting smell to indicate her mother had been cooking. The heat from her skin and her blushed cheeks told her that.

  “I feel like I haven’t seen you in so long.” Her mother frowned.

  Jessica knew what was coming; a lecture about how she should call more. She only lived fifteen minutes away, but with all the work she had on lately, she didn’t have the time to call around.

  “You don’t visit anymore.” Her mother pointed at her. “And any time we see you, you are always rushing away.”

  “I have a lot on now, Mom. I promise to call more often.” She smiled, repeating the words she had said many times before while she made her way into the kitchen.

  The smell of cooked food exploded through her senses, making her mouth water. Jessica always loved her mother’s cooking.

  “Well, you shouldn’t work so hard. I think Jake needs to be spoken to.”

  “I can handle myself, Mom.”

  “Did I hear my name being mentioned?” a familiar voice interrupted, booming through the kitchen. Jake’s powerful frame strolled in with a breath-taking smile spread across his face.

  Rose may have wanted to have words with him moments ago, but Jessica could see his chocolate orbs were making her mother melt into a ball of mush.

  “I brought wine.” He winked, holding up the bottle of white wine before embracing Rose in a hug and giving her a soft peck on the cheek. “You are getting younger every time I see you,” he complimented.