“I have never wanted anything as much as I want inside you, Bette.”
I could feel his erection pressing against my inner thigh and wanted that, too. Reaching for his belt buckle, I decided it was time. I needed my lips, pussy, and hands wrapped around him now.
Unfortunately, Jamie’s hand stopped me before I could free him.
“Soon. We have to save something for our wedding night.”
“Huh?” With the force of my orgasm still ringing in my ears, I was sure I was hearing things. Frowning, I opened my eyes slowly, but his gorgeous smile blinded me.
“Nothing.”
Jamie helped me redress when my legs wouldn’t stop shaking long enough, and when we left the room, he held my hand as we traveled the short, empty hall. We made it to the front unscathed, and I soon realized why when I spotted all three of the club’s masseuses, including Klara, huddled behind the receptionist’s desk. It left no doubt in my mind that they’d heard everything.
Fear that word would get back to my father suddenly made my hands tremble. Jamie stopped short when he spotted the sign-in sheet, and with one swift movement, he snatched the top page with my name scribbled on it. Leaning over the desk, he scanned the space until he spotted what he was looking for. I realized once he’d snatched it up that it was the client intake form I’d filled out in the beginning.
“Sir, you can’t do that!” one of the braver masseuses scolded.
“Oh? Then why did I?” He didn’t wait for her response before tugging me toward the door. I wanted to apologize to Klara, but Jamie was moving too fast, so I settled for an apologetic glance thrown over my shoulder. Jamie had led me down one hall and then another before slowing enough to rip and toss the forms in the trash. When we passed a bathroom on the way to the ballroom, I made him stop.
“Hold my bag?”
He took it, kissed me hard, and then patted my rump before letting me go. I was still on cloud nine when I glided into the bathroom. One glance in the mirror, and I knew I’d fallen off the wagon hard. My disheveled hair, wrinkled uniform, and bruised lips told me so. I was beginning to think it was impossible to stay away from Jamie. He was temptation incarnate.
More than anything, I wished I could take back the lie about him not being enough.
Jamie was more than I could ever wish for.
More than I deserved.
Deciding I’d finally tell him so, I hurriedly cleaned the mess we’d made between my legs as best I could with damp paper towels. It looked like I was going commando for the rest of the day since my panties were currently stuffed in Jamie’s back pocket. He refused to listen to reason and give them back so I was left praying that the wind didn’t decide to play peek-a-boo with my bare ass. Once finished, I tossed the towels and rushed back into the hall.
The empty hall.
“Jamie?” My head swiveled back and forth before realizing he was gone. Wondering where he could have gone and with my bag, I started down the hall. I’d made it all of two steps before I closed my eyes, realizing the mistake I’d made. The first had been trusting Jamie at all, and the second…
Giving him my bag with my journal full of poems hidden inside.
He’d been after it for months, and I’d stupidly handed it to him on a platter. The only place I could think to look for him was in the ballroom, where the entire senior class was having breakfast. My heart was pounding so hard that my ears began to throb as I raced through the country club. I wasn’t sure what he planned, but whatever it was, I had to stop him. By the time I reached the ballroom, the tears I’d shed prematurely had clouded my vision.
Which was why I came to a screeching halt just inside the antechamber. My breaths came fast and hard as I began blinking rapidly at the figure sitting alone on the love seat.
There Jamie sat, my bag at his feet, elbows resting on his thighs, head bent… and my journal strangled in his fists.
Sniffling as I frantically wiped away my tears, Jamie’s head lifted at the sound, and if I looked even half as devastated as he did right now… oh, my God.
The second our gazes met, he shot to his feet, and the first thing I noticed as he ate the distance between us was his eyes rimmed with red. He didn’t stop even after his lips crashed into mine. He kept going, forcing me through the doors of the antechamber until my back was against the outside wall. This was nothing like the sweet kisses that made me blush when we were kids and craved now that we were all grown up. Somehow, though, my body seemed to want more. I tried pushing him away, but his hands clamped around my wrists. My journal fell to my feet, but I no longer cared about it as much as finding out what caused his anger. As if reading my mind, his grip on my wrists turned punishing, making me cry out from the pain.
He didn’t hesitate to let me go, but the devastation in his eyes kept me in place.
“Oh, did that hurt?” His tone was mocking, so I kept my mouth shut, knowing his question was rhetorical. “You have no idea, Bette.” Stepping away, he suddenly looked defeated. “It wouldn’t have been even close to what you do to me every day, yet I still can’t let you endure it.”
Somehow, I knew he wasn’t talking about my physical pain. He’d wooed me, tricked me, and all to steal my journal and expose all of my secrets in front of the entire senior class. And then, for some reason, he hadn’t gone through with it.
“Jamie—”
He didn’t give me the chance to say more. He shoved away from the wall and from me before storming away.
Summer… Six Years Ago
“MIND IF I SIT HERE?”
I looked up and nearly swallowed my tongue when I found Jamie towering over me. He’d appeared out of thin air like some newly born god who lived only for mischief.
I still couldn’t get the image of that guard he’d saved me from collapsing to the ground and Jamie standing there like some storybook hero. I knew he was anything but. In fact, he’d acted like nothing had happened while I’d been a nervous wreck ever since. What if that guard had died? What if we’d killed him?
“Oh, um, Ever and the guys are out back.”
We were all hanging out at the Portlands’ today. A playdate with Olivia had been the only reason my parents let me out today since I’d missed curfew by an hour the night of the fair. Olivia was currently upstairs, painting her nails with two of her actual friends, but, as usual, she was nice enough to let me take cover here.
Jamie said nothing as he popped a squat and rested his back against the tree I’d been sitting under alone.
Closing my journal, I angled my body toward him. He was so close that my knee brushed his thigh. “Don’t you want to play catch with the guys?”
He shook his head, and some of his reddish-brown hair fell into his eyes. “Tossing a ball back and forth isn’t really my thing.”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline. If he didn’t like sports, what did he like? “You don’t play sports?”
He seemed wary as he looked me up and down. “Is that a problem?”
“No, I just—is it all sports or just football?” My foot always seemed to find its way inside my mouth when Jamie was around. He didn’t exactly say all the right things, either, but only one of us was ever apologetic about it.