by Stella Moore
“I should go in. I have a full schedule and I’ve already taken a lot of time off this week,” she protested.
“No. You need to take care of yourself today.”
Too exhausted to argue, Melissa nodded. “Okay.”
She felt herself lifted into his strong arms and then carried into the bedroom. She fell asleep to the soothing touch of him stroking her hair.
Chapter 16
Jack made the call to Melissa's office, and was assured by her receptionist that everything would be taken care of. Then he placed a call to his own boss, letting him know he needed to take a personal day.
After the calls were made, he checked in on Melissa. Even in sleep, she looked shattered. He hated seeing her this way and he hated even more that he felt so goddamn helpless to fix it. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he wrote her a quick note in case she woke again before he returned.
It didn't take him long to reach his destination. He'd been to the apartment plenty of times in the past. It didn't even occur to him until he was already knocking on the door that she might not be home.
But the door opened and she was there, staring at him with wide, surprised eyes.
“Jack? Is everything okay? Why are you here?” Panic kicked Penny's voice up a few octaves.
“Nothing happened with him,” he assured her quickly, mentally kicking himself. He'd been so wrapped up in Melissa, he hadn't considered Penny's reaction to seeing him show up at her door out of the blue.
“Oh,” she said, and let out a relieved breath. “Is Melissa okay?”
He hesitated, unsure of exactly how to begin. “Can I come in?” he asked.
Visibly confused, Penny stepped aside to let him in the apartment.
“What's going on, Jack? It's been a shitty twenty-four hours and I really need to get some work done.”
“You broke her heart,” he heard himself say. Not the most macho way to begin, but it was the truth.
“Huh? Whose heart?” Understanding dawned on her face. “Oh. Melissa?”
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he paced the spacious kitchen. “She's trying to stand up for you and you made her feel like absolute shit. She was about halfway through her second bottle of wine when I showed up last night.”
Now her eyes widened with shock and concern. “Is she all right? Did something happen?”
“Physically she's fine. She threw a goddamn glass at my head,” he muttered, scowling at the memory.
A short burst of laughter escaped her lips before Penny clamped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she mumbled, the words muffled by her hand. “She did what?”
“You heard me,” he said darkly.
“And you're sure she's okay, physically?” she asked, arching an eyebrow disbelievingly.
He could feel the blush heating his cheeks, which did nothing to improve his mood. “She's fine. You really think I would hurt her?”
Penny shook her head. “I know you wouldn't. I guess that's a conversation for us girls.” She frowned. “If she's still speaking to me, that is.”
Jack sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “She is. She was devastated last night, thinking you hated her. Then her mom came by and made it worse.”
“What happened?”
He wasn't sure how much he should say. All he knew was that Melissa was going to need her friends. So he told Penny everything. “So then she spent twenty minutes in the bathroom getting sick. She's home now, sleeping. I convinced her to take the day off.”
“Poor Mel. I can call Elisa and meet her over there if you need to get to work,” she offered.
It wasn't a bad plan. “I took the day off, but I can make myself scarce for a bit. I took her keys this morning, so I’ll let you guys in and then disappear.”
Within an hour, Elisa and Penny were settled in Melissa's place, waiting for her to wake up from her nap. Praying he'd made the right move, Jack left to make another house call.
The tall, willowy brunette who answered the door squealed with delight. “Jack! To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Hey, ma.” He kissed her cheek as he entered the apartment, already feeling lighter than he had since last night.
“Sit down,” she gestured to the old, comfortable couch in the living room. “Would you like some tea?”
“Sure.” He settled into the couch and waited for her. She handed him a tall glass of iced tea and joined him on the couch with one of her own.
“So how are things? Work is good?” she asked.
He knew it worried her, his job. Just like he knew how proud she was that he'd chosen it. He wondered how different his life would have been without that unconditional support. “Work is great, actually. Just closed a big case. And I, uh, met someone.”
Her gasp was pure pleasure and surprise. “Oh, tell me all about her. You don't work together, do you?”
“No. We did meet on a case, though. She's a psychiatrist. Brilliant. Kind. Gorgeous.”
“Hmm. The fact that gorgeous came in third means it's serious. How long have you been seeing her?”
“Really only a couple of weeks. I'm in love with her.” The admission surprised him, though his mother didn’t bat an eyelash.
“Oh, sweetie.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I'm so happy for you. You should bring her by sometime soon.”
“I don't know. It's not you,” he rushed to explain. “She just had this blowout with her parents. Up-tight, rich bastards basically disowned her. I don't know if it would do more harm than good to bring her here.”
She patted his knee; encouragement, love, acceptance, and a whole host of other feelings were contained in the small gesture. “You do whatever you need to do to take care of her. I'll be here.”
“There's something else.”
She watched him quietly, waiting for him to continue.
“Just, thanks. For always being here, and for supporting me. I know you weren't crazy about me joining the force, but I always knew you'd have my back.”
“Of course, you're my baby.”
And for her, he knew, it had always been as simple as that. “I know. I just wanted to say it, so that you know how much I appreciate you.”
“I know,” she echoed with a smile. “But thank you for saying it. Now, how about some lunch?”
Chapter 17
For the second time that day, Melissa found herself alone in bed. Only this time, she felt significantly worse than she had that morning. How could everything have gone so completely wrong in such a short span of time? Forcing herself out of bed, she brushed her teeth and pulled her robe on, so that she could hunt down Jack and maybe something to eat.
And again, for the second time in one day, she pulled up short at the unexpected guests in her house.
“Did I move to Grand Central Station and someone forgot to tell me?” she wondered out loud.
Penny looked up from the board game she and Elisa were engrossed in. Racing over, she nearly knocked Melissa over with the force of her hug.
“I'm so sorry. I'm the worst friend. You're the greatest. Please don't hate me,” Penny begged, squeezing her tightly.
“Of course, I don't hate you. I thought you hated me,” Melissa replied, returning the embrace.
“You two sound so high school,” Elisa said, sending them all into a fit of giggles.
“I'm glad we don't hate each other. But what are you guys doing here?”
Penny and Elisa exchanged sideways glances. “Well, actually, Jack asked us to come. He thought you'd need some girl talk.”
Melissa dropped onto the couch with a sigh. “How much did he tell you?”
“Enough for us to know to bring emergency supplies,” Elisa jumped up and ran to the kitchen, emerging a few minutes later with a variety of candy and baked goods.
“We wanted to get wine but Jack said no. He wouldn't tell us why, though.” Elisa frowned. Melissa just smiled and shook her head at her friend's obvious displeasure at being left out of the loop.
> “I may or may not have gotten a little tipsy last night. And it's in the realm of possibility that I threw a wine glass at him when he came over,” she casually explained, picking a croissant out of the bakery box in front of her.
Penny giggled, but Elisa could only stare. “Holy shit, doc. You're a mean drunk. Are you okay?” she added sympathetically.
Would she ever stop blushing when someone asked her about getting spanked? She somehow doubted it. “Let's just say, I'm really glad this couch has comfortable cushions. Twice in one night is not an experience I care to repeat.”
Penny winced. “Been there. Not pleasant.”
Melissa sighed. “No, but I brought it on myself. When Jack told me he was going to spank me for throwing the glass, I flipped out. I told him he absolutely was not going to punish me.”
“Eek. How did he take it?” Elisa asked.
“He was infuriatingly calm about the whole thing. He told me that was fine, but if I wanted to call the shots he just wouldn't discipline me. At all.”
Penny let out a low whistle. “Called you out, huh?”
“Exactly. So I had to choose: Do I just forget about it and we live our lives as a normal couple who have some occasionally kinky sex? Or do I finally embrace the lifestyle I've always wanted and give that control over to him?”
Elisa grinned. “Guess you went with door number two.”
Melissa returned the smile. “I did. Then after he paddled me with a spoon from my own kitchen, he told me I was getting a second for arguing with him about it. Five with his belt, with a promise to add five more each time I argue with him about a punishment.”
Penny and Elisa wore identical masks of sympathy. “Poor baby. What happened this morning? Don't tell me you got yourself into trouble again so soon. That’s something I would do,” Elisa said, laughing.
She expected tears, but none came. Maybe she'd finally cried all of the tears her body could create. “My mother was here when I woke up. Somehow, she's found out about Penny's trial and she absolutely forbade me to testify.” She turned to Penny, who had tears silently slipping down her cheeks. “She basically disowned me. They don't want to have anything to do with me.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Elisa crooned, climbing on the couch to pull Melissa into her arms. “I'm so sorry. I can't imagine a mother doing that to her daughter.”
“Listen, Mel. You don't have to testify. We'll figure it out if you don't,” Penny assured her.
Melissa shook her head. “No. If you're okay with it, I want to do it. I need to. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't testify and he walked. But I need to know that you'll be okay.”
Penny nodded. “Eric and I had a long talk about it last night. He helped me see that you were doing the right thing. It's just so embarrassing, you know?”
Melissa reached for her and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “We'll see what we can do to make sure this stays as private as possible.” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “You may want to tell your parents, at least enough for them to understand the need for privacy. Your father has already used his influence to get the trial date bumped up. We might as well make his involvement work for us.”
Penny groaned and dropped her head to Melissa's shoulder. “You're right. I'll talk to them this weekend. Hopefully this will all be over soon and we can all go on with our lives.”
Chapter 18
By the time Jack showed up later that afternoon, Penny and Elisa had left and Melissa had pulled herself together enough to shower and slip into something she was sure he would appreciate. She greeted him at the door wearing a matching bra and panty set in a deep purple and a pair of sky-high heels in a similar color. She'd left her hair down, so that it fell in a straight waterfall over her breasts.
“Hey doc, I'm ba… holy hell.” With the door still open behind him, he stopped in his tracks.
She approached him slowly, reveling in the way his gaze traveled hungrily down her body and then back up again.
“You're fucking incredible. Have I ever told you that?”
“Once before. But I don't mind hearing it again. Will you please close the door, sir?” she asked, deliberately keeping her voice low and husky.
He kicked a foot out behind him and slammed the door shut. With that, she gracefully dropped to her knees in front of him, running her hands up his thighs, brushing just her fingertips over the impressive bulge straining at the zipper of his jeans.
“The girls came by today,” she commented conversationally as she feathered a light touch over his length.
“Uh huh. Told them to,” he grunted.
“I know. You're a good man, Jack Meyers. Elisa told me I should thank you for taking such good care of me.” Slowly, deliberately, she lowered the zipper on his jeans, releasing his length. Once he was free, she slid her tongue around the dark head, delighted by the way it twitched in response. Experimenting, she flicked her tongue against the opening at the top, then gave the underside a long, slow lick.
“You're killing me,” he growled, resting his hands on her head.
Oh, the feeling of making a strong man weak in the knees. How had she gone so long without knowing this exhilarating power? With a satisfied smile, she parted her lips and slipped them over the head, down the silky length of him. Slowly, almost lazily, she moved her head, stroking him with her lips and her mouth. She teased him and taunted him, delighted by his groans of pleasure.
“Faster,” he ordered gruffly. She considered drawing it out, but she wanted to show him she could be obedient. Wanted him to know how much she craved and appreciated his dominance. So she moved faster, sucked harder, pumping him until his hands fisted in her hair and he exploded in her mouth. It was saltier than she'd expected, and not at all pleasant, so she drained him and swallowed what he gave her.
When she'd finished, she sat back on her heels, smiling up at him. He ran a finger down her cheek, under her chin. “You're welcome,” he quipped with a low, gravelly laugh. She flushed and tilted her head so that his hand cradled her cheek.
“Was it okay?” she asked shyly. “I've never done that for anyone else.”
“It was beyond perfect. You can stand now.”
She hadn't consciously been waiting for his permission, but hearing him give it thrilled her. With his help, she stood, and he pulled her to him, kissing her gently.
In the living room, he stretched out on the couch and pulled her down to lay on top of him.
“Can I ask you something personal?” he asked, running his fingers through her hair.
“Of course. Anything.”
“You said that was your first time?”
She understood what he was asking. “I haven't been with many men. And the ones I've been with, I never really felt that strongly towards. For a long time, I thought maybe I was just boring. Objectively, looking back, I can see it was more just an issue of being incompatible.” She turned and rested her chin on his chest, studying him. “They never seemed to be exactly what I needed.”
“And what exactly is it you need, doc?”
“You.”
He cupped his hand around the back of her head and drew her down for a long, lingering kiss. “Ditto.”
Later that night, Melissa found herself in an all too familiar position. It was nearly two in the morning, and she was blinking at her computer screen, attempting to bring the words into focus. She'd lain awake long after Jack had dropped off beside her, feeling guilty about abandoning her patients for the day.
So here she was, forcing herself to stay awake long enough to read one last email, pour over one more file. A shadow fell across the screen, startling her. She looked over and Jack was there, standing in the doorway, scowling at her.
“Shut it down, doc,” he said firmly, his voice rough with sleep.
“I'll be up in thirty,” she told him dismissively, turning back to the screen.
“Now. Unless you want to go to bed with a welted backside.”
“I just need thirty
more minutes,” she whined.
He solved the issue by walking over and plucking her out of her chair. He carried her up the stairs and dropped her on the bed, then crawled in next to her.
“I'm giving you a pass because you've had a shitty day. Next time, I will tan your hide. Now, sleep,” he said and fell back asleep almost immediately.
Smiling, secure in the knowledge that she was well and truly cared for, Melissa quickly followed him into sleep.
Chapter 19
“We'll do our best to get the evidence thrown out, but as I said before, we have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.”
A week after he'd asked Melissa to consider testifying, District Attorney Christopher Jennings was grilling her in a conference room, preparing her for the trial that would be starting in a few short weeks.
“I understand,” Melissa assured him.
“What we may need from you is Penny’s state of mind when she came to you. It'll be a bit like walking through a minefield to avoid giving them an opening to ask you questions Penny doesn't want answered, but I'll help you out there. We want the jury to understand that she was, without a doubt, abused.”
She nodded. “I understand. You should know that Penny's father may be getting more involved. We're hoping to limit the press coverage, at least during the more sensitive parts of the trial.”
“Double edged sword,” Christopher warned. “You still have the jury, who will most likely give interviews after the trial if they're approached. And blocking the media can be like dropping a gallon of blood into shark-infested waters. It's a fine line, but if anyone can walk it, Michael Frost can.”
“From what I know of him, I'm inclined to agree. There's one last thing.” She took a deep breath. “You have a leak.”
“I'm sorry?” By his defensive tone, it was obvious he understood she wasn't referencing his plumbing.
She met his angry gaze head on. “My parents found out that I might be testifying, as well as the sensitive nature of the trial, before I even agreed to do so.”
