by Measha Stone
Melody joined him after dressing in her mid-thigh leather skirt and tank top. The weather was too cold for so little clothing, but he didn’t remark on it. She would take his interest in her wardrobe and twist it to suit her own desires.
“You’re not pleased with me,” she stated, leaning against the fridge. She folded her hands in front of her and tilted her head, taking a submissive pose that once appeased him when she’d been acting out of line. Now, he found the position manipulative. Jessica would never try to placate him with a demure look. There was a natural quality to Jessica that Melody didn’t possess. When Jessica regretted an action or saw his frustration, her mood shifted, not just her body. The difference between the two actions was significant.
“Melody…” He took a calming breath. A fight was the last thing he needed. “We broke up. Our relationship ended. I’ve asked you to stop sending gifts, but they keep coming, and now you’re here after I explicitly said you could not stay with me. What are you doing here?” He placed his glass in the sink.
“I miss you. I know I was wrong to ask for more than what you offered. I know you may never want more than what we had. I promise, I won’t ask for your love again.”
His words sounded cold and bitter repeated to him. When they’d severed their ties, he had explained he didn’t think love could survive in the type of relationship she wanted. Not that he wanted a love-based relationship with Melody or anyone else at the time. He’d caused the sag because he didn’t want more than what was on the surface.
That wasn’t the case anymore. He wanted the depths of Jessica; morning talks while still wrapped up in each other under the covers, lazy weekends, and everything in between.
He loved her.
“Did you hear me?” Melody’s voice hardened when he didn’t respond.
“Yes.” He shook his head. “You can’t stay here. I’m sorry you’re having trouble letting go, but we’re finished. I released you.” He shoved away from the sink.
Her eyes widened, and she stopped him from walking away by wrapping her arms around his waist.
His favorite perfume engulfed the air around them.
She looked up at him with soft eyes. “I’m sorry I upset you. I can be a good girl.”
He watched her lips as she spoke.
“I can be your good girl,” she whispered, reaching up on her toes, bringing her lips to his.
Chapter 15
Jessica sat on her couch, stunned. The past twenty-four hours left her mind reeling. Royce wasn’t like any man she’d known before. That much she’d figured out on their first date. He continued to pull her emotions in every way, both confusing and exciting her.
A spanking as an adult should be a humiliation. Or so she’d thought when she learned about them only weeks ago. Yet, humiliation was anything but what she felt when Royce took her over his knee or had her draped over the side of his bed. Instead, she’d felt…cared for.
He didn’t get pissed off with her and leave the room—or the relationship—as so many others had. He stayed. He addressed the issue and corrected the problem.
Royce didn’t yell or berate her, instead he cuddled her when the spanking ended. He walked her home again and again, never once attempting to force his way into her apartment. He recognized the boundary and respected it.
She had assumed when she finally gave into anal sex, she would be left feeling dirty and used. But Royce made her feel like a princess. He had woken her and carried her to the bath, sliding her into the water with such care she almost ached from it. She had relaxed against the tub as he washed her hair and conditioned it, running his fingers through the long strands to remove any tangles. When she was all clean, he removed the plug from the tub and brought the showerhead down from its holder.
“Need to be sure every part of you is clean,” he had said, his dimple holding steady with his evil grin. He adjusted the stream of the water and turned it on. “Spread those legs for me.” His order had been gentled by the licking of her nipple. The stream aimed directly at her clit while he suckled her nipples. He hadn’t let up on her until her orgasm ripped through her and her cries bounced off the bathroom tiles.
Thinking back on all her previous missteps with men, she couldn’t think of one who ever put her needs or comfort before their own. James certainly never filled a tub for her, let alone washed her hair. She’d considered herself lucky if he left any hot water for her after his own long ass shower.
Royce was doing things to her. He didn’t push—not too much. He possessed some sort of psychic sense which told him when she had reached her limit and when to stop. Even when he brought her to uncharted territories, and her first reaction was to run, he managed to bring her there anyway, but never forced her to where she didn’t want to be.
The business card he’d given her sat on the keyboard of her laptop. She stared at it from across the room.
The man continually surprised her, and she was beginning to surprise herself. He treaded dangerously close to her.
Every time she put up a barrier, he simply walked through it. This new project of his, this opportunity he’d opened for her, meant more than any trinket he could send her. She wasn’t merely a passing thought in his mind. She knew she held merit.
She moved to sit at her computer, determined to see his project through. Even if nothing came of it, even if she never heard from his friend, completing the task Royce had given her thrilled her.
The excitement of the afternoon took control of her. She finished her résumé and the cover letter—editing them a few dozen times—and grabbed her coat. She wanted to show him and get his input. They hadn’t made plans for the rest of the weekend, but she acted on impulse—another new for her.
The walk—or slow jog—to his apartment only took her seven minutes. The chill in the air made her lungs burn, pushing her to move faster.
She held the envelope in both hands as she entered his lobby and greeted the doorman with a smile before heading for the elevators. He gave a small wave in response, his brow furrowed with worry.
She knocked on Royce’s door, nearly bouncing like a toddler on a sugar high. She’d realized on her jog over it wasn’t the project making her move so quickly, it was him. She craved his touch. Needed to feel him on her lips and in his arms. Most importantly, she knew he would be pleased with her. This alone sent a rush through her.
The door opened, and a half-dressed woman, a foot taller and two sizes leaner than Jessica, stood staring at her.
“Can I help you?” she asked with annoyance.
“Um.” Jessica glanced at the number on the door to be sure she had the right apartment. “I’m looking for Royce?” She gripped the envelope tighter.
The blonde was beautiful. Her hair had been professionally styled, and her face confessed no flaws.
“He’s not here.” Her lips curled into a sneer, as her eyes narrowed. “He went to pick up our dinner.” She raised her chin as she gave the gem of information.
Jessica’s eyes swept the apartment, noticing the woman was barefoot. She peered into the doorway at the floor, lined up against the wall in perfect position sat a pair of black strapped sandals.
Jessica’s stomach twisted, and bile raced up her throat. She swallowed hard and tried to focus her swirling brain.
“Oh.” The woman’s voice mocked her with sympathy. “Was that mat thing yours?”
Jessica looked at the woman with an empty stare. The words and situation refused to compute.
“Yeah.” She remained motionless. Her gaze returned to the floor, fixated.
“Well, Sir will be home any moment, and I have to prepare the table. Did you need something?” Her voice switched up an octave.
“Yes. I mean...no, it’s nothing important. Sorry to have bothered you,” Jessica managed to say, turning from the door. She didn’t look back, but she could feel the woman’s satisfied eyes burning through her jacket.
The elevator did not move fast enough.
Chapter 16
Royce tossed his phone onto the couch. When he finally got ahold of Jessica, he was going to add a rule that his calls were never to go to voicemail unless she was at work. Maybe it was little unreasonable, but he hadn’t heard from her in three days. No phone calls, texts, or emails.
Giving her the project to get her résumé in order had nudged the boundaries, but not enough to warrant her running away from him. She hadn’t reacted so harshly when he’d given her the first project. Although, that had been less personal and had more to do with getting her to relax for a day.
He’d given her space on Saturday so she could work on the project since he had one of his own: getting rid of Melody.
He’d allowed her to spend one night before putting her on the first flight back to New York. She had laid it all on very thick, but he’d managed to escape unscathed.
When he’d returned home from picking up Chinese and found Jessica’s mat replaced with Melody’s shoes, he’d lost his composure.
She’d tried everything to get him to hold her, to kiss her, and when that didn’t work, she’d tried to get him to punish her.
“Melody, the problem isn’t that I don’t want love, the problem is I don’t love you,” he’d finally stated. Being blunt had been the only way to get his message across.
She moved away from him as though he’d struck her.
“I love someone else,” he’d said in a softer tone.
She hadn’t spoken. She’d gone to the bedroom and changed into her fluffy pajamas. Her shoulders slumped and her feet dragged. She had been deflated. He’d hated seeing her in pain, but had made no move to comfort her. He had no reason to believe she wouldn’t turn the situation around again. She needed to know he had meant what he’d said—he had fallen in love with someone else.
They remained silent during breakfast, and he took her down to the cab without a word. Only when they’d arrived at the front doors of his building had she acknowledged him.
“I’m glad you found love,” she’d said somberly. “I’ll let you two be. New York is full of men.” She hadn’t tried to hug him, just walked away and got into the waiting cab. Royce had let out a long breath of relief. Crisis averted. He had worried she would make a scene in the lobby.
The ringing of Royce’s phone brought him back to the present. He hit his knee on the coffee table as he ran to grab it, sending a sharp pain through his leg.
“Hello?” His voice sounded eager to his own ears.
“Royce! Hey there.” It was his friend from the publishing house.
Royce’s shoulders sagged as he sat on the couch.
They exchanged small talk before Marcus got to the heart of the matter. “I think I received the résumé from your friend. It arrived this morning. She doesn’t mention you, but from what you told me of her, sounds like she’s the one,” Marcus said.
“Oh yeah?” Royce raised his eyebrows. He thought Jessica would at least have let him know she’d completed the project.
“She has absolutely no experience, but her writing and her passion for books shines right through this cover letter. I’ve been trying to call her for an interview. Nothing big. An entry position might be just the thing, but I can’t get through. Do you have another number for her, a work number maybe?”
“No, not her work. She’s probably at home tonight. I was about to head over there. I’ll ask her to call you.” He walked to the closet to get his coat and was out the door before the line disconnected.
“Mr. Bradford!” The doorman stopped him in the lobby.
“Yes?”
“I wanted to apologize. I tried to flag your lady friend down, to keep her from going up while you were out, but she rushed right past me. I didn’t catch her in time. When she came back down, she looked…well, she looked as crushed as I’ve ever seen a woman.” He wrung his gloved hands.
“What are you talking about? What lady friend?” Royce demanded, getting impatient.
“Jessica. While you were out getting dinner the other night. She flew in here.”
Understanding hit Royce, knocking the wind from his chest. Jessica had gone up to the apartment and been greeted by Melody. He imagined what Melody had said to her. The mat— Jessica would have noticed her mat missing.
He wanted to ring Melody’s neck. But first, he needed to talk to Jessica.
He took off toward her apartment at a dead run.
Chapter 17
Work had been exhausting. The meeting with the plaintiffs had taken all afternoon and her stomach turned at every moment. She’d listened while Jeremy spun his web of half-truths and spewed out flat apologies. In the end, all the papers had been signed. Some of their money would be returned, most of it wouldn’t. None of it seemed legal, but when you played with words, as attorneys often did, everything was legal, as wrong as it was.
Royce never left her mind. Always reminding her the pain in her chest resulted from her stupidity. Because she’d let him in and allowed herself to feel.
She’d made it clear from the start—they were casual. No feelings. No expectation of love. She hadn’t listened to her own rules, and now she paid the price.
Not wanting to spend another night trying to keep her thoughts at bay, she’d asked Alex over to share a bottle of wine. His knowing look upon arriving made her heart ache even more. She hadn’t told him anything about her relationship with Royce, but the easy way he took the bottle of wine and poured the glasses told her he knew everything he needed to know.
“Are you going to tell me what happened, or should I wait for another glass before I pry?” He refilled her wine. Alex sat in the armchair, his suit jacket draped over the arm and his tie loose at his neck.
“I am forever the fool.” She shrugged. “I just—well, Royce isn’t the one. I’m an idiot and should have stuck with my original plan. Fuck buddies and nothing more.” A drop of wine slid down her chin as she took a large gulp.
A blond eyebrow shot up at her remark. “Fuck buddies? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use that phrase before. He messed up that bad, eh?”
“No, he didn’t. We never said we were exclusive. I told him I wasn’t looking for love—”
“You told him you didn’t want love?” Alex sounded appalled at the idea. He had grown up with parents who were utterly in love with each other. Of course he didn’t agree with her thoughts on matters of the heart. “What do you mean you didn’t talk about being exclusive? Is he seeing someone else?” Steel worked its way into his tone. His back stiffened as well as his jaw.
“Alex, don’t do anything. I know you work with him. Just leave it be. We never talked about it. It’s fine,” she lied. Remembering the blonde standing in the doorway of Royce’s apartment, her shoes lined up at the door where her mat should have been, tore her heart to pieces.
Jessica signaled for another refill as a loud thumping interrupted her thoughts. She handed Alex her wine glass and went to the door. She hadn’t heard the buzzer from downstairs.
Her breath caught in her throat when she looked through the peephole and saw an angry Royce standing in the hallway. His eyebrows were scrunched together, his eyes dark, and he appeared out of breath. He raised his fist to bang on her door again.
She pulled it open, and he stumbled to keep from falling on his face.
“Jessica.”
“Royce.” She forced levity into her voice.
“You haven’t been answering your phone,” he accused, entering her apartment. With apprehension, she watched him take in her home.
She hadn’t wanted him in the apartment at first because she didn’t want that intimacy. Then it became more about not wanting him to see her collection.
The front wall could be described more accurately as the front windows. Six large windows looked out onto the street with a bench acting as storage seated beneath them. The wall holding up the front door housed a small flat screen television pointed at a secondhand love seat. The third wall, also housing the entryway to the dining and kitchen
area could not be seen, nor the fourth wall. Books lined them from the floor to nearly touching the ceiling.
Royce stared openmouthed at the bookshelves until his eyes landed on Alex who had stood and squared his shoulders defensively. The two men glared at each other.
Jessica broke the silence. “I had it on vibrate today. That meeting closing out the 401k client was this afternoon,” she half lied, pushing the door closed.
He turned to her and held up one finger.
“I was busy and didn’t want to talk.” She folded her arms over her chest. She wished she didn’t care at all that she was standing in her oversized football jersey and black yoga pants. “What are you doing here? This is out of bounds.” She tried to sound annoyed, but she wanted to kiss him. Her chest tightened at the thought of him touching her, after he’d touched that woman.
Royce turned to her, effectively blocking her view of Alex. “Jessica, I know you met Melody.” He took up half the room with his size. “You misunderstand.”
“Oh, no, that’s okay. I told you, I’m not looking for anything permanent.” She shrugged her right shoulder, trying to appear indifferent.
“Melody is an old girlfriend. She came into town unannounced. She wanted to get back together,” he explained, stepping toward her. “Can we speak in private?” He gave Alex a sideways glare.
“I’ll be in the kitchen.” Alex’s expression held a warning, darkening Royce’s eyes. After giving Jessica a supportive squeeze on her shoulder, he left them alone.
Jessica sidestepped Royce and grabbed the bottle of wine. As a barrier, it would have to do. Her heart raced, and she found it a little hard to breathe with him in her space.
