“No, honey. I like taking care of you guys.”
“But you don’t sleep a lot. And you always say that sleep is important.”
“It is, honey,” Jess said, kissing her daughter again. “But when you’re a mommy, you don’t always get to sleep as much as you’d like to.”
Her daughter yawned, and then drawled out an, “OK.”
Jess kissed her oldest again. “Time for you to go back to bed,” she said. She started to rise from her chair, when her cell phone chimed. Her heart thudded. The chime meant another picture had come through.
“Someone’s calling you,” her daughter said, turning her head toward her phone.
Jess quickly grabbed her cell, pressed a button to stop the chime, and turned her phone facedown. “It’s just a message from Daddy.”
Her daughter yawned again. “Daddy is always up late too.”
“Yes, he is,” Jess said, the volume in her voice dipping.
“You should try to be up late together.”
Jess raised her eyebrows again. Kids, she thought. Oftentimes they speak nothing but the absolute truth. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you back to bed.”
She rose from her chair, and instead of ushering her daughter to her room, she gathered her in her arms and carried her to her room. After tucking her in, planting another kiss on her forehead, along with her sister’s forehead, she went back to the dining room and grabbed her phone.
“Oh my,” she whispered softly after clicking on OK to view the picture mail Jayson had sent. His dick, bigger than it had been before, filled her screen.
Jayson had asked her if she wanted to meet him. It was a question that she shouldn’t have answered. Or, at the very least, one that she shouldn’t have answered honestly. But caught up in the heat and intensity of the moment, answer it honestly is what she’d done.
She licked her lips as her thoughts revisited the back and forth sexual exchanges she and Jayson had just had.
Wrong. Dangerous. Exciting. Three words that rode alongside those thoughts, the last one being the most dominant of the three.
Exciting.
As wrong and dangerous as it was, Jess couldn’t deny how satisfyingly exciting it was. She looked at Jayson’s dick again, and as she did, her hand slithered back down beneath her panties.
Chapter 14
Rita had to go to the police. She’d been tied up with rope, her ankles and wrists fastened to her bedposts. She’d had duct tape pressed over her mouth to stifle her cries for help and mercy. She’d been backhanded and punched. Her blood had flowed. Tears had fallen from her eyes as she was fucked savagely and repeatedly for nearly six hours.
Raped.
She had to go to the police.
But how could she?
There were pictures and chat and text messages that contradicted the truth. There was a marriage, and more important, a company and reputation to keep from being ruined.
How could she go?
Rita rocked back and forth as she sat hugging her knees against her chest in her Jacuzzi/bathtub filled with now lukewarm water. This was her fifth bath, yet she still felt dirty. The clean bill of health given by her doctor, and seemingly an infinite number of soaps she’d tried since Jayson had been inside of her didn’t matter. She was filthy. Soiled with his sweat that had been absorbed into the pores of her skin. Desecrated with his saliva she could still feel and smell on her.
Rita shivered, cried, and cursed herself for being foolish and desperate enough to play Jayson Winston’s game.
Truth or dare.
She wanted to go to the police, but Jayson had her truths. He had her dares given. Worst of all, he had the dares she had requested.
I wnt 2 b fckd hard and deep.
U wnt it 2 hurt?
Yes! I wnt u to pound me. Make my pussy sore.
I cld fuck u in the worst way, Rita.
Please do!
Rita shivered and cried harder, her body shaking tears. Her own words rocked her to her core. She needed desperately to tell the police what happened. That she had been physically and sexually assaulted. But her words, her requests, her demands ...
Rita trembled violently. Everyone would know if she said or did anything. Everyone would know what an unfaithful whore she was.
She moaned, and then let out a shrill scream as she released the hold around her knees, closed her eyes, and slid down below the water that was quickly growing cold. As water filled her lungs and a pain that she could have never imagined riddled through her body, she hypocritically wondered how anyone could take her own life.
Chapter 15
Meet me.
Jess stopped breathing and held her breath as she read Jayson’s words.
Meet me.
She exhaled slowly as her heart began to beat heavily. It was something she’d been thinking about ever since she responded to his “truth” question. She did want to meet him. It had been an honest answer. It had also been a very scary one, because the truth was something she couldn’t run away from, when running away was the very thing she needed to do.
She was married, and she loved her husband, and despite the growing wedge between them, she was faithful to him. At least she was until she’d sent the first picture to Jayson. Yet even with all that she had done since then, technically, she hadn’t broken the vows she’d made.
But staring at Jayson’s words ...
Jess breathed slowly while her heart beat with such force she could hear it echo. She looked again at Jayson’s words.
Meet me.
A chill ran through her. End this now, her voice of reason whispered. End this before it’s too late.
She continued to look at Jayson’s chat message, his request. Faithful, she thought. She had promised that. Just as Esias had promised that he would always love and be there for her. But physically, he’d been distant, and emotionally, the gap was even wider. Was she supposed to suffer the effects from his vacancy? Jayson wanted to meet. So did she. But yet, she still hesitated to respond.
R u still thre?
Log out, her conscience said. This is your last chance to do the right thing.
Jess?
Another few seconds of nonmovement went by before Jess finally reacted by sitting forward and typing, I’m here. Sorry. Jst had a phone call.
OK. Was jst worried.
Worried? Why?
Bcuz I said 2 meet me.
No worries. Jst a phone call tht I had 2 tke.
OK. So?
So?
Do u wnt 2 do it? Do u wnt 2 meet?
Jess shook her head. It was an involuntary movement because while her head shook, her fingers typed, How?
I can come 2 NY.
I jst realized I never asked where u live!
I’m in Cali.
California! But aren’t u a NY Giants fan? Shouldn’t ur favorite team b the Raiders or the 49rs?
Lol. Blue has alwys been my fave color, so I gravitated to the G-Men.
OK. California. Wow. Didn’t expect tht.
Wht did u expect?
I don’t knw. Jst not California. Tht’s far.
By car, yes. By plane ... jst a cple of hrs.
Do u hve family or friends here in NY?
No. I wld be flyng 2 NY jst 2 see u.
Tht’s crazy.
The only thng tht’s crazy, Jess, is how badly I wnt 2 see u.
I’m married, Jayson, she typed more for herself than for him. We really shldn’t go there.
Hvn’t we alrdy with our pics and chats?
Yes ... but
Do u still hve my pics?
Jess took a side glance at her phone. Yes.
Whch ones?
All of them.
Whn was the lst time u lookd at thm? B honst.
Jess ran her hand through her hair. She wanted to lie, needed to. She typed, A half hour ago.
Why did u look at thm?
Bcuz ...
Bcuz?
Bcuz ... they’re nice pictures.
>
Whch 1 is ur fave?
I like all of thm.
Pick 1.
Grrr.
Pick.And keep it real.
Jess ruffled her hair again. I’m tryn 2 b good, Jayson.
Why? Hsn’t it felt good being bad?
Yes, but I’m married.
And I’ve seen ur breasts, whch I thnk r prfct by the way.
Jess smiled.
Whch pic do u like, Jess?
Grrr. Ur so bad, Jayson.
4 u ... yes ... very. Now pick.
Aren’t u being demanding?
4 smthng I wnt ... hell, yes!
LOL!
So ... whch is ur fave?
Jess took a deep breath and released it in one hard, long exhale. As much as she needed to fight it, she couldn’t. She typed, The pic of your magic stick.
Do u wnt it, Jess?
I ... I’m married.
Tht’s not wht I askd.
You knw the answer already.
R u afraid 2 tell me?
No.
Thn ... answr.
Fine. Yes. I do.
Thn meet me.
I can’t.
Sure u can. I alrdy said I wld come 2 NY.
We shouldn’t do this.
But we’re gng 2, rn’t we?
Jess let out a long, drawn out sigh. Ths is crazy, she typed again.
Whn do u wnt 2 meet?
Jess thought about it for a moment, and before she could stop herself, she answered.
Next weekend my hsbnd is gng 2 Atlanta 4 a producer’s seminar.
O yeh?
Yes.
Can u get a sitter 4 ur grls?
They can probably spend the night with their cousin. God, I can’t believe I’m doing ths.
U wnt this, Jess. U need it. U need the release. Tht’s why ur doing ths.
It’s still wrong.
Look at my pics, Jess.
Jess grabbed her cell, scrolled through the picture mail Jayson had sent, and found her favorite picture.
R u lookng at it?
Jess nibbled down on her bottom lip. Yes.
Thnk abt it being insde of u. Can u imagine tht?
Jess moaned, making sure to keep her voice down to avoid waking her daughters. Yes!
I wld luv 2 b deep, Jess. I wld luv 2 satisfy u the way ur hubby isn’t.
Mmm.
Jess felt herself growing wet in between her legs. She looked at Jayson’s picture again. Four weeks had gone by since she and Esias had had sex. Work, the kids, her online classes, and Esias’s need for studio time just gave them little opportunity for intimacy. There were times when a moment or two did arise for them, and when they did, Esias had tried to capitalize. But in the four week’s span, things between Jess and Jayson had heated up, and as bad as it was, Jess found herself yearning more for their online times together, than for her chance to be with her husband.
I’m gng 2 come 2 NY nxt wknd, Jess. Make arrngmnts 4 ur grls to stay wth their cousn, and thn plan 2 be fcked like u wnt 2 b.
Jess licked her lips.
You hve a way wth words, Jayson.
I’m jst spkng the truth.
Mmm.
Lstn ... I hve 2 get gng unfrtnly. My VB semnr is abt 2 begn.
OK.
Make ur plans. I’ll b buyng my plne tix to NY aftr my class tnght.
Jess felt her cheeks grow warm. OK.
Nite, sexy. See u in class tmrrw.
Jess smiled. OK.
She logged out of messenger as Jayson’s name disappeared. Slowly she shook her head. So, so wrong, she thought.
Her conscience’s voice, which had been on mute, rose in volume suddenly. You’re going to regret this. You’ll see.
Jess frowned, and then put her conscience back on mute. Right or wrong, she’d made her decision.
Chapter 16
Rita was dead. Suicide by drowning herself in her bathtub. She’d been found by her husband six hours after he returned home from a business trip.
Jayson sat in front of his laptop reading an online article about Rita’s death. He’d first found out about it when he signed in to his Visual Basics class and was greeted by a somber message from the professor informing them all that Rita would no longer be with them. He didn’t go into details, but he did explain that she had taken her own life. The class had been cancelled, of course, but people had chosen to remain signed into the class to talk. Some students spoke about their online friendship with Rita; others spoke about their own experiences with losing friends and family to suicide. Jayson participated in the banter with a smile on his face.
After that, he did an online search for local news where Rita lived in Los Angeles and got the rest of the details on her tragic, sad, and untimely demise. Her husband was in shock; her friends struggled to deal with the news, as they had never known her to have had any issues.
Her best friend said, “She had everything in life that she wanted. A successful company, a great husband, wonderful, lifelong friends. Never in a million years did I think anything was wrong. I’m just ... I’m devastated. I can’t believe she’s gone.”
Jayson shook his head with a smirk. Rita. She had everything, but she still had needs. Freaky needs. Needs that he had fulfilled for her. Jayson chuckled, then minimized his screen and went to his desktop. There he double-clicked one folder with Rita’s name. When it opened, everything that tied Rita to him appeared. Transcripts of chat messages—all of the pictures she had ever sent him. Jayson shook his head disapprovingly, and then double-clicked on one of the fifteen photographs he possessed. She was posing in front of a mirror, naked from the waist up. Her cell phone was in her right hand, capturing the image. Her breast was in her left hand. This was one of the first pictures she had ever sent him. Jayson had dared her to do it, to hold her breast for him.
He stared at the picture for a few seconds and admired her cosmetically enhanced D-cups. He’d had a good time fondling, squeezing, and sucking on them when he had fucked her. Whoever her surgeon had been, he’d done one hell of a job.
“Oh, well,” Jayson said with a shrug. He let his eyes linger on Rita’s small nipple for a moment, and then deleted the image, along with all of the other photographs he had. He then deleted the chat messages and, afterward, her folder. When he was finished clearing the desktop, he emptied his recycling bin. “Sayonara, Rita. It was fun while it lasted.”
He laughed. Rita had been so easy to manipulate. The easiest one, in fact, because she was rich, and her money had made her arrogant. She thought her shit didn’t stink. But it did. That’s what attracted Jayson to her in the first place. He enjoyed working her, enjoyed making her do what he wanted her to. He found pleasure in that with all of the women.
But with Jess the pleasure was different.
He leaned back in his chair and thought about her. Thought about how different her energy was; her spirit. She stirred him in a way that none of the others had. That’s why she was going to be the last.
Next weekend.
The beginning of forever.
Jayson moved his arrow along the bottom edge of his screen and double-clicked on a folder with Jess’s name. Hers was a library he planned to enhance and keep for a very long time.
Chapter 17
“Did you speak to your academic advisor yet?”
Jess pulled her eyebrows down as she looked at her husband curiously. They were at the dining table, along with their girls. It was one of the rare nights they ate together as a complete family. “No. Why?”
Esias took a bite of the pasta on his plate, then took a sip of juice. “I checked the messages on the phone when I got home. There was one from two days ago. Your academic advisor asking you to call her right away to discuss the possibility of you failing your class.” He put his fork down, sat back in his chair, and folded his arms across his chest. “I didn’t know things were that bad.”
Jess slammed her eyebrows together even more. “What do you mean you didn’t know? I’ve been comp
laining about how difficult things have been.”
“Yes, but I never suspected failure was an option. I wish I would have.”
Jess pulled her head back. “Excuse me? First of all, if you didn’t realize I was in danger of failing, it’s only because you weren’t paying any attention to me. Second of all ... what do you mean you wished you would have known?”
“I mean that I would have tried to help you somehow had I known.”
Jess shook her head. “You’re full of it, Esias. I’ve been complaining and not once did you ever make an attempt to help me.”
“Again, had I known things were that bad—”
“So what? ... I have to be failing before you decide to lend your wife a hand?”
“I’m not saying that, Jess.”
Jess slammed her hand down on the tabletop, causing her girls, who’d grown silent and had been watching them with curious eyes, to jump. “So then what the hell exactly are you saying, Esias?”
Esias looked over at the girls, then back at Jess. “Will you calm down,” he said, lowering the volume in his voice, trying to take the edge out of it. “I’m not trying to argue.”
Unable to rein herself in and follow his lead, Jess said, “You’re not? Are you sure about that? Because I don’t see how you’re trying to avoid arguing by coming at me the way you did.”
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