Taking a Risk

by Jen Talty

  “I believe that is my line.”

  She pushed him, forcing him down on the chair, a little too forcefully, but he didn’t seem to mind as his smile grew larger. His eyelids lowered and his light-green eyes turned dark and smoky as she slowly lowered herself over him, taking him inside her, inch by glorious inch.

  He leaned back in the chair, hands gripping her hips, gaze locked on her hands toying with her breasts. She rolled her hips slowly, enjoying how difficult it seemed for him to remain in control. His fingers dug into her ass so hard they had to have left bruises.

  The build-up started in her toes with the tingling of her skin. Her ankles heated, and the warmth crawled up her body like a hot burning match. She rubbed her nails against her nipples, grinding her hips a little harder and a little faster.

  He smiled like a schoolboy as he leaned forward, sucking a hard nipple into his mouth, his hands cupping her ass, his hips moving against hers.

  Her breaths came in quick pants. Her thighs ignited as if kerosene had been tossed on her flaming body.

  “Oh…Nolan…” She moaned, clutching his shoulders as his hips jerked and his girth swelled inside her like a stick of dynamite about to explode. “Oh….”

  Nolan nibbled his way up her neck, biting her lower lip. “Cum for me, Jessica.”

  Her body shivered as her stomach shuddered. Tremors washed over her like the ocean waves rolling onto the beach. As soon as one shock retreated, another slammed against it, pushing it harder.

  He grunted, thrusting himself deep, pushing her hips back and forth until he groaned so loud, whoever was in the conference room next door heard him. With his head buried in the crook of her neck, he continued to ease her hips over him until they both had a chance to catch their breath.

  She held him for a long time, stroking his hair, massaging his neck, wondering how in eight days she had lost her heart.

  12

  Nolan walked out of Jessica’s office, waffling between a smile and a scowl. Screwing her in her office had to be the most memorable sexual experience of his life. Only he wanted to think of it as making love to her. Could one fuck like there was no tomorrow and it be the same as lovemaking?

  This struggle over how to qualify the romp on her desk tugged at his heart. He thought he had no room left in there for a woman, and yet there was Jessica. He found himself wanting to find ways to combine his home life with a love life, hence the invitation to dinner, which both his daughter and his mother constantly asked him to do.

  But all that brought a smile to his face.

  The scowl came from the fact the condom had broken. Brand-new pack and the damn thing broke. It wouldn’t have been that big a deal since he trusted her to be honest about being clean, and he knew he was. Abstinence had all but guaranteed that. But when he told her what had happened, she replied with, “Fuck, I’m not on the pill.”

  Ever since Heather had entered his life, he never allowed himself to believe he’d marry or have any more children, which honestly hadn’t been high on his list of things to do. But now he found himself entertaining both concepts, and that scared the shit out of him, mostly because of the way Jessica’s face contorted at the prospect of being pregnant.

  Not to mention they’d only known each other for a month and had been a couple, if one could call them that, for eight days.

  He pulled into his parents’ driveway and immediately knew something was wrong when he saw his sister and Heather in the yard, waiting for him. Karen’s eyes were moist. Heather smiled and waved, but it wasn’t her usual happy self.

  “What’s going on?” he asked as he stepped from the SUV.

  Heather ran, as best she could run, arms flapping at her sides. “Daddy.”

  He scooped up Heather and squeezed her tight. She sniffled, burying her face in his neck. “Grandma is having a really bad day.”

  Ambulance, his sister mouthed.

  The sound of tires churning up broken gravel stole his attention. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Jessica pull in. He pointed to the spot next to his SUV. “Heather. If Jessica is willing, how would you like to go get a burger and a shake?”

  “Are you coming, Daddy?”

  “No. I think Auntie Karen and I need to stay and help Papa.”

  “She’s going to the hospital, isn’t she?”

  He closed his eyes. He didn’t want the hospital to ever be a bad place for Heather, only a necessary evil in her journey to having a leg as good as it could be. While his mother had a do not resuscitate order along with no heroic measures, she didn’t want to die at home. Her fear was that it would turn the family house into a constant reminder of pain and agony, and she didn’t want her husband to feel as though he had to sell.

  “She’ll be more comfortable at the hospital,” he whispered, stroking his daughter’s curly locks.

  “It’s her time, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know, baby, but for now, I think it’s best if you let me and Grandpa worry about Grandma, and you go have some fun with Jessica.”

  “What kind of fun?” Jessica placed her hand on his shoulder. “Oh, Heather, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s Grandma.” Heather shifted, her arms lunging toward Jessica.

  “Whoa,” Jessica said as she grabbed the little girl who had flung herself.

  Nolan scratched the back of his head. Heather had always been an outgoing little girl, but in times of need, she tended to cling to him. The doctor had said it was because she’d lost her mother so young and was forced to rely on him, a stranger at the time, through her first surgery and that they formed a parent/child relationship that in many ways was stronger than if he’d always been in her life.

  “Daddy doesn’t want me here when the amblewence comes.”

  It was impossible not to crack a slight smile over the way his daughter said some words. “I thought you two ladies might like a night out on the town alone.”

  Jessica nodded.

  “Take my car.” He pried Heather from Jessica’s arms and eased her into the car seat. “You be a good girl for Jessica, okay?”

  “Yes, Daddy.” She puckered her little lips for a kiss, and he didn’t hesitate.

  “I love you.” He closed the door, handing Jessica the keys. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “We’ll be fine.” She squeezed his biceps. “Take care of your mom.”

  “The keys to the house on are on the ring or take her back to your place. I don’t know how long I’m going to be, but I promise if it gets to be past ten, I’ll come get her.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  He leaned in and kissed Jessica’s cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered.

  Sirens blipped in the background.

  Nolan tapped his chest as he watched Jessica pull out of the driveway with his daughter safely tucked in the back seat.

  His sister patted his shoulder. “Little brother, you are head over heels in love with that woman.”

  The next couple of hours went by in a blur. Doctors and nurses came and went as his mother faded in and out of consciousness. His sister’s husband had managed to Skype from his deployment in the Middle East to say his goodbyes. Nolan understood why he didn’t rush home, saving his time so he could make it back in time for the birth of his first child.

  Something that had been robbed of Nolan by Gina. He was no longer bitter, but there’d always be a pang of anger over the stolen moment.

  The hardest part of the evening had been when the priest had come by to read his mother her last rites. Shortly after, she’d drifted off into a deep sleep. Thirty minutes later, his mother was dead.

  He sat in the waiting room, his face in his hands, tears burning his cheeks. No matter how prepared one was for death, when it came, you realized you can never prepare. He’d called Jessica and told her the tragic news, asking her not to say anything to Heather. He needed to be the one to tell her.

  It had been a difficult decision to move into his parents’ house with Heather, not wantin
g to fill her little life with doom and gloom, but she’d brought such joy to his mother that he couldn’t deny a dying woman’s wish.

  So, what was he supposed to do with his mother’s engagement ring? He dug into his pocket, pulling out the large diamond. Before the paramedics had loaded her into the ambulance, she’d handed it to him, telling him that she knew without a doubt that he loved Jessica.

  Eight days, and he’d lost his heart.

  His mother was right. He loved her. But was he ready to make a commitment to her and more importantly, was Heather?

  He leaned back in the chair, glancing down the hallway where he saw a woman standing sideways, hand on her pregnant belly. His chest swelled with a mix of love and fear. Like his daughter, he couldn’t imagine spending a single day of his life without Jessica in it. He shook his head. If he declared his love for her, she’d think he was nuts. Not only that, she’d probably think it was because of the broken condom.

  Which scared him on a different level because part of him hoped he’d gotten her pregnant, which was beyond nuts, bordering on batshit crazy.

  The pregnant woman, wearing a white coat, spoke to a man and pointed toward the waiting room. Eight other people sat in the space, most likely waiting on some kind of news about a loved one.

  Nolan rested his head on the back of the chair. He’d told Jessica he’d meet her at his parents’ house, though she was free to leave when his sister arrived since she’d Uber’d home over a half hour ago. Nearing the seventh month of her pregnancy, her exhaustion level was in high gear. His father still sat with his wife, and Nolan couldn’t bring himself to force his father to leave.

  They had the kind of love that great stories were written about.

  He put the ring back in his pocket. He and Jessica had some time to figure things out. He certainly didn’t want to scare her away.

  “Mr. Nolan Greer?”

  “Yes?” Nolan sat up, then stood as he faced a man who looked vaguely familiar. “Care to comment on the news about your girlfriend having been arrested for drug possession?”

  “What?” Nolan rubbed his temples.

  “Jessica Roads and the news she’d been arrested for possession?”

  Nolan looked up at the man, still trying to decipher the meaning of the words and what it had to do with him, or Jessica. He looked vaguely familiar with his dark hair, notebook in hand… the press conference. The same reporter that asked him about his relationship with Jessica.

  “What the fuck do you want?” Nolan barked.

  “A statement about the latest report on Jessica Roads and her drug bust back in college.”

  The pounding between his ears echoed in unison with his aching heart. “I have no idea what you are talking about, so I’d appreciate it if you—”

  “It’s all right here.” The man held up his tablet. A mug shot of Jessica, obviously taken a few years back, graced the screen. The headline read:

  Jessica Roads, Social Media Director for the Miami Dolphins, has a Drug Record.

  “You fucking bastard!” Nolan cocked his arm, making a tight fist and landing it right on the reporter’s nose. Blood squirted, hitting Nolan’s shirt.

  The reporter fell backward, landing on his ass.

  Nolan leaned over. “Don’t you have anything better to do besides digging up old dirt that doesn’t mean jack shit?”

  The pregnant woman raced to the reporter’s side, helping him to a standing position. Had it not been for her, Nolan would have hit the asshole again.

  Then it registered. “You!” He pointed to the pregnant woman. “You’re married to Robert; the man Jessica was having an affair with. You’re behind all this bullshit, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.” She took two steps backward.

  Nolan waggled his finger. “I bet you’re the person digging up all this crap, trying to make Jessica look bad because your husband cheated on you with her.” He heard the words flying from his mouth, knowing he should shut the fuck up. “But I bet you had no idea that she didn’t know he was married until it was too late. That he played her for a fool just like he did you.” Painfully aware he stood next to a pregnant woman who dwarfed in his size, he stepped away from her but got closer to the prick asking the questions. “Tell me why you have it in for Jessica.”

  The reporter looked between him and the pregnant woman, that he knew for sure was Maggs, married to Robert. “Did she hire you to dig up gossip?”

  A tall, slender man stomped down the hallway. “Back the hell away from my wife.”

  Robert. Fucking great.

  “Back the fuck away from my girlfriend.” Nolan took two strides before someone grabbed his biceps.

  “Stop it right now,” Jessica yelled.

  “Your boyfriend is out of control,” Robert said.

  “Your hired asshat isn’t very good.” Jessica poked Robert in the chest. “I saw him following me, and I also had my IT guys trace his IP address to a fake account that has been up my crotch all day.”

  Robert tossed his hands wide. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Maybe not. But your wife does, doesn’t she?” Jessica said.

  Nolan rubbed his face, retreating even farther away from the conflict. By the waiting room doors, he saw two men. One taking snapshots. The other with a video camera.

  Fuck.

  “You assholes deserve each other.” Nolan waved his hand between the reporter and Robert and his wife. He glanced toward Jessica. “I don’t have time right now for this shit.” Without looking back, he took off down the hallway, looking for his father.

  13

  It had been three weeks since Nolan’s mother had died and two weeks since he’d seen or talked to Jessica. He’d been appreciative of her presence and support during the days following his mother’s death, especially where Heather had been concerned. Jessica had made a point to be with Heather whenever necessary, but Nolan noted how distant Jessica had become after the incident in the waiting room, which had been blown way out of proportion.

  Actually, that was a false statement, though the truth had come out that Maggs had hired a crew of people to discredit Jessica in hopes to disgrace her and her career simply because she’d fallen for a lying cheat. The entire sordid affair had been put out there for public scrutiny. Mostly, it made Jessica look like a victim, but still, he understood her anger at the situation which is why he’d given her some space.

  Then again, his family needed some time to grieve over the loss of his mother. Jessica had been by his side during the funeral, though they barely spoke. He’d taken a week off after the funeral only to come back to find out she’d taken two weeks off. Today when he’d called her, she texted back with: Let’s talk later in the week.

  He paced in her apartment building lobby for an hour waiting for her to come home. He knew she’d returned from visiting her parents because he’d seen her car in the parking lot at the stadium along with her gorgeous body in the stands during the opening game of the season, which ended five hours ago. Her reporting of the game and his coaching had been spot-on, but that wasn’t why he wanted…no needed, to see her.

  The ring burning a hole in his pocket and the love filling his heart demanded he speak with her. Now. Today. This second.

  The last couple of weeks had been sheer hell.

  The doors to the parking garage swung open, and Jessica stepped through. She stopped the moment her eyes connected with his. “Nolan,” she said softly. Her sweet voice sent a warm tingle all over his skin.

  God, how he missed her.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “We need to talk.”

  She nodded, stuffing a small bag into her purse. “I said later this week. We’ve both been busy.”

  “Heather wanted to sit with you at the game today. I thought you might have watched from the box. I was told that’s where you usually did your reporting.”

  “I was in the box for part of the game and spo
ke with Heather for a bit. She’s quite proud of her dad.”

  He hadn’t known they’d seen each other since his father had taken his daughter home so Nolan could chase down the woman of his dreams and at the very least get rejected to his face. He swallowed. “Why are you ignoring me?” His heart pounded in his chest. His skin itched to scoop her into his arms and kiss her senseless.

  “I told you after the funeral—”

  “Yeah. I remember. Something about us both needing some time.” He put his hands on his hips, sucking in a breath. His body trembled like the day he’d made the decision to retire. Fear prickled at the back of his neck. “Well, I’m tired of being ignored, so we’re talking now.”

  “Fine,” she said. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  Once inside the elevator, he inched closer, pushing her against the wall. “Why have you been ignoring me?”

  “I needed time to think. The scene at the hospital was intense and then the emotions around the funeral. We both needed time.”

  “I needed to step back from what happened in the hospital to help my father bury the love of his life. My family needed me, and I needed you. You did everything I asked, and I thought that meant you cared.”

  “I do, but—”

  He hushed her with his forefinger. “After the funeral, I kept texting and calling, but you didn’t answer. Heather and I needed you then too, but you took off. I gave you the space because I figured you needed it. What Robert and Maggs did, trying to destroy your reputation, sucked, and my punching the reporter that night certainly didn’t help.” He cupped her cheek, staring into her stunned eyes. “It’s been hell without being able to do this.” When he pressed his lips against hers, he moaned at the electric charge rippling between them.

  Her hands came down hard on his chest, fists clenching his shirt. She pounded a second time as if to push him away, but her tongue swirled in his mouth in perfect harmony with his.

  “I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “I love you.” He never wanted to stop saying those words to her, ever.