Never Be the Same

by A. Aubry

  With that, I turned my attention back to Jameson and kissed him softly. Even upside down, our kiss made butterflies swirl in the pit of my stomach and our mouths still fit perfectly together. I heard Michelle huff and stomp off before I ended the kiss. Jameson indicated for me to come over next to him. I did as I was shown, bypassing the sitting next to him part and going straight for his lap.

  “You are so fucking sexy,” Jameson grinned, his fingertips caressing any and all of my exposed skin.

  “I’m staking my claim on you. She should know better than to try to take what’s mine,” I said as seriously as I could before a light giggle bubbled out of me.

  Jameson’s head dipped down, and his lips pressed against my neck. My soft laughter immediately stopped at the feeling, my breath catching in my throat as my eyes closed. What the hell was going on with me? No man had ever made me feel the way that Jameson was making me feel whenever I was with him. I never was a snooty bitch like I was to Michelle, I never welcomed a man touching me and kissing me in public the way that I was allowing Jameson to do, and I never openly trusted someone as much as I was trusting Jameson.

  “What the fuck are you doing to me, Jay?” I breathed.

  “I’m kissing your beautiful neck,” he whispered against my skin.

  “No, I mean…what happened with Michelle. I’ve never acted like that towards someone…”

  Jameson sat back and looked at me, an easy smile on his face, “Have you ever felt the need to stake your claim on anyone before?”

  Come to think of it, I had never had the feeling that I had to claim someone as mine. Normally Gavin and I never went out. On the rare occasions that Gavin said it was okay for us to go out with our group of friends, I was always off in some corner table watching everyone else’s belongings as they danced and had a blast. Gavin wasn’t interested in putting himself out there and having fun. Of course, he was easy on the eyes. Not as easy on the eyes as Jameson was, but I never saw any other girls approach him and throw themselves at him the way that girls did that to Jameson.

  I simply shook my head as my response. How the hell could I not have noticed this before?

  Jameson lifted his hand, brushing my cheek with the back of his fingers, “Then you never discovered that you had that side of you. And let me just tell you something, it is the hottest thing I have ever witnessed in my life.”

  My hand came up and took Jameson’s, “You’ve probably seen a lot of girls attempt to stake their claim on you.”

  “Have I seen it? Yes. Have I ever wanted anyone to stake their claim on me before like that? Hell no. Not until you started doing it have I ever realized that I never wanted anyone to do that more than I wanted you to do it.”

  A shy smile crept across my lips, “Keep talking like that, Jay, and I might ask you to take me to your office after all.”

  He chuckled and shook his head, “Nah, you’re too good to be taken in my office.”

  “Do I even want to know?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Probably not.”

  I leaned in close to Jameson, “Then kiss me to tide me over until you take me home.”

  He tilted his head to the side slightly, “Now that I can do.”

  When his lips met mine, I felt the fireworks explode. In the back of my mind I questioned how someone like Jameson could want someone like me when he had someone like Michelle throwing herself at him. All thoughts were obliterated when his tongue pushed past my lips and danced with mine. How the hell could someone make you forget everything with a single kiss? And how the hell could I talk myself out of falling in love with him already?

  Chapter Seven

  “Oh, god…Jay,” I groaned as his teeth gently tugged on the skin of my neck.

  We were currently pressed up against the doorway leading into his mudroom from the garage. Needless to say, we couldn’t even make it into the house without our hands or lips on one another. I had never felt this need to be attached to someone in every facet as I felt the need to be attached to Jameson. My leg was wrapped around his waist as he leaned me against the door, his hands slowly moving up to the hemline of my dress.

  My teeth sunk into my bottom lip as I moaned, “Let’s get inside. I need you.”

  In an instant, I was in Jameson’s arms as he lifted me up. With an ease I had never seen before, Jameson opened the door to the mudroom with me in his arms but also while one of his hands slid the zipper of my dress down my back. The fabric sagged before I felt the straps slide down my shoulders. Jameson kicked the door closed and our lips connected as he strode through the house. I barely registered where we were in his house until his cool Egyptian cotton sheets pressed against my skin.

  My dress disappeared as Jameson tugged it down my body, his lips soon finding their way to my breasts. The moment he sucked my nipple into his mouth, my back arched up in pleasure. His teeth teased the sensitive skin and I could feel my nipple hardening but I didn’t need to wait for him to get me all revved up. I was to the point of explosion already, I just needed him to be inside of me. Using my hips, I rolled our bodies over and pinned Jameson into the bed.

  “You want to take control?” Jameson laughed, his hands running up and down my sides.

  “Not exactly, but I want to skip all the extras and just get right down to it,” I admitted before quickly covering my mouth with my hands.

  Did I really just say that?

  Jameson opened his mouth in mock horror before he let out a hearty laugh and sat up. We were nose to nose and his mouth was so close.

  “Say that again, Bri,” he whispered, his fingers tucking my hair behind my ear.

  “That’s so not me though, Jay,” I responded softly.

  He kissed my lips then down my neck, “You were saying what you wanted. That was all you.”

  I groaned at his kisses. What the hell was it about this guy’s lips that made me make those sounds? My hands traced up his arms before pushing his suitcoat off his shoulders. As he took off his suitcoat, I loosened his tie and tossed it behind me. Not even having the patience to unbutton his black dress shirt, I pulled at the fabric and let the buttons fly off wherever they chose to go. Jameson shook his head and chuckled, sliding off what remained of his shirt as I leaned forward and pressed my lips against the warm skin of his muscular chest.

  We rolled back over as Jameson retook control and the rest of our clothes shed easily. Jameson’s lips caressed mine as my legs fell open for him. Without a second thought, Jameson pushed his cock into me with no preamble.

  “Holy fuck,” Jameson grunted against my lips, “So fucking tight.”

  My arms wrapped around his neck and my chest crushed against his, “Shit…”

  The movement began to pick up and our breathing became shallow. Moans were slipping easily from my throat with every thrust as Jameson groaned into my neck. There were no words that I could form in my head about how amazing what we were doing felt. There was no amount of sex that Gavin and I had had that even came close to how good it felt with Jameson. My legs crossed behind his back and as he thrust, he would hit a spot within me that sent shivers down my spine. I didn’t even know that spot existed until he hit it.

  “Oh god, Jay! Right there!” I screamed as my orgasm began to burn every inch of my body as it begged for release.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Jameson grunted with every thrust, each one harder than the last.

  “I’m coming!” I called out, my fingernails scraping over his back.

  I tried to say it again but the force at which my orgasm overcame me was just too much. Jameson’s hand clutched onto the pillow beside my head as he slammed into me one last time and let out the sexiest growl I had ever heard come from a man. My heart pounded so hard that it was almost like I could feel it in my head. I could feel my blood rushing through my body. Let’s just say it was safe to say that my senses were heightened.

  Jameson rolled off to my side and I immediately felt the absence of his body both on me and in me. It was not a good
feeling at all, definitely one I wasn’t used to. Jameson pulled up the sheets to my chest and I rolled over to face him once it was tucked under my arms. The smile on Jameson’s face matched mine as he looked over at me, holding his arm out for me to cuddle closer against him.

  “You feel alright? I didn’t mean to be so damn rough, but I couldn’t help myself,” Jameson admitted, running his fingertips down my back.

  “I feel great, Jameson,” I said softly, “Thank you.”

  “You’re thanking me for having sex with you?” He questioned, a teasing smirk on his face.

  “Well that and thank you for making me feel something I thought I never would feel. That was by far the best sex I have ever had.”

  “Really? Because I can definitely do better.”

  Jameson turned onto his side and pushed his hips towards me. The feeling of his already hard again cock surprised me. I had only been with someone who was a one and done for the night type of guy. Now the real question was, did I have the stamina to keep up?

  “Bring it on, Barnes,” I smirked before pressing my lips hard against his.

  This was definitely going to be a night that went down in the Briella Roberts record books.

  I groaned as I stretched out my limbs. The sun was already high up in the sky from what I could tell out Jameson’s glass windowed wall. The night before flashed through my mind and my cheeks burned. I had never had sex like I had last night. I had also never had so much sex that my body physically ached.

  Getting up out of bed after realizing that Jameson was nowhere to be found, I snuck into his master bathroom to take care of business. Thankfully we had taken a minor break in between our escapade that I could go into the bathroom and take off my makeup. Whomever invented makeup remover wipe pouches that were small enough to fit in my clutch that I had taken with me to the club was a godsend. Looking at myself in the mirror I could see my eyes shine just a little brighter and my cheeks just a little rosier. I was going to call this feeling the Jameson effect for sure.

  I heard a loud clang come from the kitchen and I went back into the master bedroom. After a quick trip to Jameson’s closet and grabbing one of his t-shirts for me to wear, I ventured to the kitchen to see what Jameson had in store. When I finally made the right turn down the long hallway from his bedroom, I saw Jameson standing at the stove pouring batter into a pan.

  “Pancakes?” I asked from the entryway into the kitchen.

  Jameson turned his head and his face lit up, “Is that alright with you?”

  I walked over to where he stood and snaked my arms around his waist, “I love pancakes.”

  One of his large, muscular arms wrapped around me while the other tended to the pancakes that were currently in the pan, “Good. I was going to bring you breakfast in bed.”

  “Well now I am here, and I can help,” I said happily, getting onto my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss.

  Jameson grinned and nodded his head towards the counter beside him, “Why don’t you get started on the fruit salad that I was going to make.”

  “Okie dokie.” I released him and went over to his other side.

  Many different fruits were laid out on the countertop and I cheerfully cut the tops off of the strawberries and diced up the peaches as I talked to Jameson. His phone that was sitting next to the cutting board that I was using lit up and a smooth jazz ringtone floated up from it. I furrowed my eyebrows and read the name on the caller ID.

  “Who is ‘Z-Man’?” I questioned.

  Jameson sighed, “That’s Zander. He usually never calls this early unless there is an emergency. Do you mind if I take it?”

  “Go ahead, Jay. I’ll keep making the pancakes.”

  Jameson swiped his phone to answer it before it went to voicemail and kissed me softly, “Thank you. You’re the best.”

  I shrugged and smiled playfully, “I know, now go take your call.”

  He brought the phone up to his ear and finally started talking to Zander as he left the room. It was just as amazing to see him walk away from me as it was to see him standing in front of me. Lord, my mind was already heading straight for the gutter when I had just spent all night in said-gutter. I went back to the stove and flipped the pancakes, listening to the batter sizzle as it touched the hot pan. While the other side was cooking, I continued to set up the fruit salad.

  It didn’t feel like Jameson was gone and on the phone as long as he was. But I had finished our pancakes, putting the few extras that the batter made on a separate plate. The fruit salad was made and ready to be eaten as well. When I walked out into the living room, Jameson was nowhere to be seen but his deep voice boomed from down the hallway. He had mentioned he had a home office when he gave me a tour on the first night we spent together. Taking my time, I set the table up and poured us each a glass of orange juice before going and seeking out Jameson.

  The second that I got to the doorway of his office, I could hear his end of the conversation and he did not sound happy. You are probably asking, ‘how do you know he didn’t sound happy, you’ve barely known him for a week’. Trust me, when a man like Jameson isn’t happy, you can tell by his tone of voice. Also, there were a lot of expletives that he was using in a very pissed off manner. I lightly knocked on the door after hesitating for several moments.

  “Come in,” Jameson barked.

  I pushed open the door and peeked into the room, “Hey…breakfast is ready.”

  Jameson nodded as he continued to hold the phone to his ear, “Yeah, Zander, I gotta go. I’ll call you back about this later.”

  He hung up without a goodbye before putting his head in his hands as his elbows rested on the dark wooden desk that he sat behind. Feeling like this was the most opportune moment to comfort him, I stepped into the room and came around his desk, resting my hand on his shoulder.

  “You wanna talk about it?” I asked softly.

  His sigh sounded heavy before he moved his hands from his face and sat back in his chair, “We are opening another club in New York. It’s more like half restaurant, half club. There are a lot of issues that keep pushing back the opening date which was supposed to be in two weeks. Zander asked if I’d leave for New York tonight to go oversee what the hell is going on.”

  I looked down at the ground and bit my lip, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  Jameson surprised me as he pulled me into his lap, his nose pressing into my hair as he pressed a kiss against the side of my head, his arms wrapping tight around my waist, “I don’t want to leave, Bri. Especially not after last night. I only have so much time with you before you go back to Chicago.”

  My hand ran up and down his arm that was around my front, “Jay, if you have to go then I completely understand. We can call each other or text to stay in touch while you’re gone. Then, if you aren’t back by the time I fly back home…you can come visit me in Chicago.”

  “Or you could just move out here full time,” he smirked.

  “Very funny. I don’t have enough money to move cross country and pay rent without a job.”

  “You could always live with me.”

  “Jay, I have a job in Chicago that I need to get back to. We don’t really even know what this is yet until we go back to the daily routine that I usually have.”

  I felt his lips on my shoulder and I knew he was seeing my side of things, “I understand. Let’s go get some breakfast because you’re going to need your energy for the rest of the day until I drop you off.”

  Jumping off his lap, I grinned, “You’ll have to catch me first.”

  “Three second head start. Three. Two. One.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Any word from Jameson?” Ashley asked as she took a bite into her sandwich.

  “I’ll give you the same answer I have for the last two weeks. No, I haven’t heard from him since the day after he left for New York,” I answered, pushing around my salad I had made this morning to bring with me to work.

  The day that Jameson left for New York, we we
re fantastic. So much sex was had that it was probably some type of world record. When he dropped me off at the beach house I shared with my friends, I was practically walking on cloud nine.

  The day after Jameson left for New York, he called me and complained about how much work needed to be done and how he might not be able to keep in touch for a few days. That was two weeks ago. In that time frame, my friends and I finished our California girls vacation, went back to Chicago, and were back at work as though nothing had happened. There were many attempts to return Gavin’s belongings to him, but he was always not home or was too busy for me to drop his crap off. We finally decided that tonight was when I could finally stop over and return his shit. Great, because I didn’t want any of it taking up its small space in my apartment any longer.

  “What a douche. He told you he’d contact you in a few days and then just left you in the wind.” She rolled her eyes, biting into her sandwich yet again.

  “He said that there was a lot to be done there. I’m sure he just wanted to make sure everything was being taken care of.” Wow. I actually sounded convincing that time.

  Ashley reached across the table and put her hand on my arm to stop me from playing with my food, “Bri. If I’m being honest, what is happening is not good for you. You’ve barely eaten since we’ve gotten back. I know this because I eat lunch with you every day like clockwork even though we work in separate areas of the hospital. I also know this because I’ve been to your apartment and the amount of food there is scarce.”

  “Maybe I just eat out,” I bit.

  She raised her eyebrow at me, “Unless you’ve been burning off all those calories every night, I highly doubt that. You’ve lost weight and it isn’t healthy.”

  She did have a point. The feelings that were going through my mind were exactly what I felt when my biological father cut me out of his life without any call to tell me that he didn’t want to see me anymore. I felt abandoned just like I was when I was ten years old. I wasn’t eating except for a bite here and there to keep myself alive. My nights, when I wasn’t working a double, were spent lying in front of my television watching romantic comedies until I cried at the happily ever after that always came about. I’d cry until there were no tears left to shed, then I would drag myself to my room and curl up in a ball until I finally passed out from exhaustion both physical and emotional.