“What do we do?” Sam asked.
Before I had a chance to respond to her, Calvin had reached our table and stood, nose flaring, at the edge of our table. His eyes bore into me, and I wanted to sink under the table.
“There she is,” he said, his voice seething with anger, “the little whore who fucks her way to the top.”
“Whatever Calvin, get lost,” Sam said. How did she manage to make her voice sound so calm?
“You, keep quiet,” he said, his failed attempt at pointing his finger at Sam revealed his level of intoxication.
“Whatever, get lost,” Sam repeated.
Calvin slammed his fist down on our table, sending ripples through our drinks. I moved back in my chair, distancing myself from him. He leaned low across the table, bringing himself to my eye level as he glared at me.
“You fucking tell your boyfriend to pay up, slut. He’s not offering me enough.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Sam snapped. I was in too much shock to say anything.
He turned his head to her, “What? You mean you don’t know?”
“Know what?” Sam asked.
“Know who she’s fucking.”
“Nobody noteworthy,” she said.
Calvin’s laugh ripped through the entire bar. “Well thank you Sam, you’ve been a big help.” He turned his attention back to me, “You are going to pay.”
“Leave her alone!” Jenny yelled.
A huge man appeared beside Calvin. “Is this man bothering you?” he asked.
“Yes!” Sam and Jenny shouted in unison.
Without saying another word, the bouncer grabbed Calvin by the collar and frog marched him out the front door. He came back to our table. “Sorry about that ladies, we’ll make sure he doesn’t get back in here.”
“What the fuck was that all about?” Sam asked. My pulse pounded hard in my ears and I struggled to hear her.
What did it mean? I had no idea. What boyfriend was he talking about? Unless he did see me during our hike at the lake after all. But what on earth did he mean by accusing me of sleeping my way to the top? Or of my boyfriend not offering him enough money?
“You’re coming home with me tonight,” Jenny said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because he probably knows where you live! Or if he doesn’t, he could follow you home. Attack you on the street. Who knows what he’ll do, he seems unhinged.”
I started shaking. The idea hadn’t even occurred to me. I’d always thought Calvin was an idiot, but I’d never imagined he was capable of what he’d done tonight.
“Thanks but I’m sure it’s fine, Calvin would never do anything.”
“You need to phone Jay right this minute, tell him what happened. Ask him what he’s got to do with Calvin,” Sam said, poking my shoulder.
Jay had told me not to contact him. I wanted to respect that, god, I’d been respecting that all week no matter how much I’d wanted to talk to him. Did Jay even know who Calvin was? Would he be angry if I contacted him? I didn’t want to ruin anything.
I weighed up the options and said, “I’ll text him.”
“You don’t look convinced. What’s going on Abbie? I know you, I know that look,” Jenny said.
“It’s nothing, you’re drunk,” I said, trying to dismiss her.
Hey, my old boss just verbally attacked me in the bar and said a bunch of shit about you.
As soon as I hit send, I started typing again.
Sorry for contacting you
* * *
I gave Jenny and Sam and exaggerated smile in an attempt to reassure them, but I held on to my phone underneath the table. I would feel the vibration and be sure not to miss any text back from Jay.
“Here ladies,” the barman said depositing another round of drinks on our table, “On the house, for your troubles.”
“Why thank you,” Jenny said, helping him take the drinks from his tray.
We downed the dregs of our existing drinks and gave him our empty glasses. Then we picked up our new drinks. With one hand under the table on my phone, I gripped the cool glass with my other hand. Jenny and Sam each took several big drinks, but after Calvin I needed to be sober.
My phone vibrated in my hand and my heart raced. Was it Jay, and would he be mad at me?
Go to the Four Seasons in one hour. Tell the desk your name, a key card will be waiting for you. J
“Was that Jay, what did he say?” Jenny asked when I looked up from my phone. I shot back.
Okay, see you soon
”He wants to meet up in an hour.”
In a moment of soberness, Jenny clasped my hand and said, “You need to be careful. Promise me. Something isn’t right about him.”
I ignored the comment, and they went back to drinking. The whole time my mind was racing, faster than it had all week. What was Calvin talking about? Why was Jay hiding from me?
I kept looking at the clock on my phone. Every minute, it seemed. Like it was the last day of school before summer break. When forty-five minutes had passed, I set the phone down and stood.
“I don’t want to be late,” I said.
“We’re going to walk you there in case you run into Calvin on the street,” Sam said.
“And you have to text me later so I know you’re okay,” Jenny added.
“Fine, let’s go,” I said.
Chapter 31
I walked into the lobby and up to the front desk. There was a lump in my throat and I swallowed to try and calm my voice before speaking to the clerk.
“Hi, um, there’s a key here I’m supposed to get, um, I mean, you have it for me and I need it.”
“Your name?” the man asked.
“Abbie.” He looked at me and smiled. “White,” I added. “I’m Abbie White.”
He typed something on the computer, nodded and passed me a key card. “Here you go Ms White, room three eighteen, third floor, the elevators are to the left.”
“Thanks,” I said, snatching the card before he could notice my trembling hand.
When I reached the door, I inhaled sharply and tapped my card to the sensor. I stepped into the room, lit only by the dim light of a desk lamp. The door closed behind me.
With my hand on the doorknob I allowed my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Jay walked toward me, the light at his back casting an eerie glow around his frame.
“Abbie, are you okay?” He took my free hand and pulled me from the door and into his arms.
My heart pounded in my throat, preventing me from speaking. I nodded my head. He hugged me tighter, and I felt at home, back where I belonged. I took a few deep breaths, trying to rationalize with myself. Bargain with myself over the issues. If he could explain Calvin, then I would allow myself to sink into his embrace. And only if. But I'd already sunken into his embrace.
I kicked myself. I couldn’t forget the reason I was here or allow myself to forget all the strangeness of the past week; the no contact, the note, the bar. Jenny’s voice echoed through my head, ‘be careful,’ ‘don’t be gullible.’ I swallowed hard and cleared my throat.
“What’s going on Jay?” I tried my best to sound strong.
“I don’t know, tell me what happened.”
“Calvin came into the bar and yelled at me, saying I’m a whore who slept her way to a promotion, and that my boyfriend isn’t offering enough money.”
“Is that it?”
“He said you’d better pay up.”
“But that’s all he said?”
“Yeah, isn’t that enough? He was screaming right in my face, banging his fist on our table.”
“You’re fine now. Safe. I would never let anything happen to you.”
I looked up at him, my eyes wide, “But how does he even know who you are?”
Jay tucked my hair behind my ear and stroked my cheek with his thumb. “He doesn’t.”
“But...”
Jay swallowed the rest of my words into his mouth with a kiss. Though everything in my
head was screaming not to, I kissed him back. His hand pressed between my shoulder blades, pushing my worries out of me. Forcing them up through my body and out of my throat. Except I turned my head away, determined not to lose myself in him
* * *
“I need to know what is going on. Something isn’t right. This isn’t normal.”
Jay sighed and loosened his grip on me. “It’s difficult to explain, and it doesn’t matter anyway.”
“It does matter, it matters to me,” I said, my jaw taut.
He moved to allow some distance between us and held the tops of my arms, positioning us face to face. In the back lighting I found it difficult to read his facial expression but I was facing the lamp, and the light shining on my face allowed him to see mine. I felt on display, bared for him to know everything about me but I couldn’t see deep into him.
“I didn’t expect this to happen. Calvin saw me with you on our hike that’s how he knows we’re together.”
“But how does he know who you are?”
He shook his head, “I honestly don’t know.”
“And why did he accuse me of sleeping my way to the top?” Jay took a sharp inhale of breath, sucking the air from between us. I waited for an explanation, my heart pounding. Nothing about this week made any sense. I had to be strong and not let him dismiss my concerns.
“Well?” I demanded.
He drew me back into him, and his heart thumped against my ear. “It’s all okay, everything is fine.”
“How does Calvin know who you are Jay?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who are you Jay?” My voice was breaking with a mix of anger and tears.
He kissed the tear that had escaped my eyes, kissed down my cheek to my mouth. I tried to resist, tried not to kiss him back, but his jaw forced my lips apart and his tongue forced its way into my mouth. It took all of my willpower, but I did little to return his kiss.
Jay tightened his hold on me and lifted me from the ground. First he only lifted my feet off the floor. I tried to make myself heavy, to ground myself to the earth, but he scooped me up and carried me to the bed, lying me on it.
“Don’t do this Jay,” I rolled off the bed and stood beside him once more. “Why aren’t you answering my questions?”
“What questions?”
“What questions? Seriously? My old boss just sought me out and verbally assaulted me in a bar, saying I needed to tell my boyfriend to cough up more money. And you don’t think I deserve an answer for that?” The words rushed from my mouth.
“I think the answer is your ex-boss is insane. You know that already. How am I supposed to have the answer to why he said the things that he did?” The calmness of his voice helped to slow my heart rate. It made sense. But I still had Jenny’s voice in my head.
“Fine. But what about all the other questions I don’t know the answers to? You know everything about me and I barely know anything about you.”
He sat on the bed and patted the space beside him. “Okay, what do you want to know?”
I thought for a second. “Where do you live?”
“I told you I live in the ‘burbs. Not all that far from where we went for a hike.”
“Do you have a dog?”
He laughed. “No.”
“Why do you have so much money when you don’t have a job?” I was almost afraid to ask because I was so scared of what the answer might be.
“I don’t have much money, you’ve seen my car.”
I searched his eyes, “Jay, I know how much the lingerie cost.”
He leaned away from me and looked to the window. I kept quiet. This was the biggest question of all and I had to have an answer. I would not let another Matt happen.
“If I tell you, you have to promise not to hate me,” he said, his voice quiet.
“Why would I hate you?”
He turned back and our eyes met. The sorrow in his eyes melted my heart and I kissed his cheek. He wrapped his arms around me and held me.
“For lying,” he said.
Lying. That word again. No man could be trusted. My insides caved in, crushing my heart and lungs in the process. I gasped, trying to take in air. The damn burst and tears rolled down my cheeks.
Jay moved closer and wrapped his arms around me. I tried to resist, to move away. In my mind I was already running down the hallway. But he held on to me and I had no chance of overpowering his strength.
Chapter 32
“Listen, hear me out.”
“No, no, no,” I said, shaking my head.
He put his hand on the side of my head and pushed it tight against his chest, immobilizing it. My heart thumped madly, and I needed escape.
“I can’t lose you Abbie, I did something stupid, and I can’t lose you for that. I love you.”
My caved chest exploded outwards. He loves me? Matt hadn’t told me he loved me until we’d been living together a year. And even after that, I can remember each time he said it, so infrequent did those words pass his lips. I let the feeling wash over me, into every dark, long forgotten crevice.
He kissed the top of my head and said, “I have a lot of money and women use me for it. Take advantage of me. They never want me for me. With you, I knew right away you were special, someone I could see myself being with forever. I didn’t want the money to get in the way of us.”
“Rich,” I said, my voice inaudible. I wanted to say ‘forever’ but I couldn’t get the word out. Jay. Forever. No secrets. He was only hiding his wealth from me. Because it’s hurt him before. Women have hurt him before. It made perfect sense. Obviously he was going to tell me when he knew I wasn’t a gold digger. Even Jenny would approve. I leaned into him. “I don’t hate you for that.”
“Good.” He stroked my back, sending my heart racing. We stayed like that, quiet and close together. I wanted the moment to go on forever. But Jenny’s voice screamed in my head.
“But why did we have to stop contact?” I asked.
“Someone was trying to blackmail me,”
“Who, like your wife? Oh my god, are you married?” I’d lost the control over my voice.
“No. Definitely not married. Just a business associate trying to claim my personal life is interfering in a business deal.”
I pulled back to look at his face. His jaw had softened, and he looked spent. Like he had survived an interrogation and was ready to face his fate. I pressed my lips to his and kissed him, giving him all the passion I had earlier denied him.
Chapter 33
He trailed kisses from my lips to my cheek.
“I’m sorry,” he said in my ear, his voice a whisper and continued his trail of kisses down my neck.
Jay pushed me down, so I was lying on the bed with my legs hanging off it. He straddled me, trapping me. His hands palmed my tits through my clothing. I wanted to take my top off, to give him unrestrained access to me, but couldn’t free my arms from his legs.
He stood, and I remained motionless on the bed, watching him, trying to anticipate what he would do next. He pulled his shirt over his head. His muscles looked even more contoured in the room’s shadows. He undid his jeans but left them on, and kneeled on the floor.
Jay licked and nipped his way up both my legs. His rough hands followed, caressing and grabbing at my skin. When he reached my skirt, he pushed it up, bunching it around my pelvis. My pussy dripped, longing for his touch, and of being pounded by his cock.
His fingers brushed against my lips, separated by my panties, sending my pussy into overtime.
He stood and said, “Put your hands above your head.”
I complied, not taking my eyes off him. He leaned over, and ripped open my blouse, sending the buttons flying. He grabbed my bra cup in one hand, and the strap in the other then pulled them apart. Then repeated the action on the other cup. He flipped my bra down, exposing my tits.
Jay grabbed them, treating them much kinder than he had my bra. My nipples hardened under his touch, and my pussy welled. I trie
d to roll up, to kiss him and touch his body but he pushed me back into place.
“I said put your hands above your head.” There was no malice in his voice, only firmness. I laid my arms on the bed above me, expecting things to go the way they had at the lake. I waited.
Jay walked around the corner and flicked on the harsh overhead lights. Blinded by the sudden light, my eyes shut. When I opened them, Jay was standing at the end of the bed surveying me. His eyes raked my body from top to bottom and then bottom to top, sending shivers down my spine.
He took off his jeans and boxers. Naked, he rubbed his cock a few times, until it stood hard in front of his belly. My thighs clenched at the sight of his perfect body and massive cock. I wished he’d hurry up and rip off my skirt and panties and fuck me.
* * *
Instead he climbed on the bed and straddled me again, higher this time. His balls hovered over my mouth.
“Open.”
I relaxed my jaw and allowed my mouth to open wide. I pushed my tongue out from my mouth, relished the contact I found with his balls. Jay went up on his knees, pulling himself from the reach of my tongue. I moaned in disappointment.
He looked down at me with an arched eyebrow. I blushed, embarrassed at my position. But he stared into my eyes and angled his cock down. As soon as the tip was near enough, I latched on. My lips formed a tight seal around it and sucked the head into my mouth.
“Now you can move your hands.”
With them hooked around his thighs, I clasped his shaft with one hand and his balls in the other. My tongue licked side to side, and I suppressed my gag reflex and sucked as much of his cock into me as possible.
The walls of my pussy dripped in readiness. I pulsated my hips. Here I was in a hotel with my boyfriend who’d turned out to be rich. The desire for him burned throughout me, and he was in total control of me. I was powerless to resist him.
Jay pushed my hands down and moved off of me. Leaving me once again waiting.
Dirty Billions: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance: (A Chicago Suits Second Chance Romance) Page 27
