Chapter Sixteen

Jordan

I was worn out, in a good way. I wasn’t one for big, high-class functions to begin with. Dealing with the rich and supposedly elite – which was usually code for the rich, selfish, entirely egocentric, and spoiled human beings – wasn’t my proverbial cup of tea. I might’ve be allergic to all that bullshit. I usually tried to avoid it like the plague.

There was no way in hell I was going to let Chastity come to this thing with somebody else. The last thing I wanted was some arrogant, spoiled, trust-fund kid named Chad to get his paws on her. Or think he had a chance at getting his paws on her. There was no way in hell I was going to let that happen.

We drove through the mostly empty streets, heading back to my place, I looked over at Chastity. She really was something to look at. She was way more than just a pretty face, as they say. She was intelligent and ambitious as hell. Driven. Witty. Clever. I could have gone on and on about her amazing attributes.

It was clear that when it came to Chastity Childes, she really was the whole package. Clichéd or not, the woman had it all. In spades.

“What are you thinking?” she asked, her voice sounding a little dreamy.

I looked over at her again and smiled. “Just wondering if we can go back to the gala and recreate the bathroom scene again.”

“You’re bad,” she said, unable to keep the smile from her face.

“Insatiable,” I replied. “And that’s your fault.”

“I wasn’t complaining,” she said, her smile widening even more.

Looking back at the road, I tried to take stock of my thoughts and feelings. I wasn’t entirely sure what they were. I enjoyed being around Chastity. She was unique, that much was clear. Unlike anybody I’d ever been with before. However, I wasn’t sure that I was in the market for an actual relationship. I hadn’t been actively looking and there was still some small splinter of my mind that rebelled against the idea of being tied down to just one person.

Though in all fairness, that splinter was probably the one that controlled my cock, which wanted to sample everything – or more accurately, everybody – in this world.

No, I hadn’t been looking for a relationship with anybody when Chastity walked into my world. I still wasn’t sure that’s what I was looking for now, but I found myself feeling oddly protective of her. I couldn’t stomach the thought of another man putting his hands on her. Honestly, the image of another man fucking her would be almost too much for me to bear. I didn’t like the thought one bit at all.

Everything in my head about Chastity was a jumbled mess. A chaotic maelstrom of emotion I did my best to avoid at all costs. In my experience, opening yourself up to those kinds of emotions only seemed to lead to disappointment, anger, and despair. So, I’d crafted a life free from those constraints, which allowed me to move from one woman to the next without regret or fear of consequence. I was simply enjoying life and everything it had to offer.

Then Chastity walked into my life and not only upset the apple cart, she entirely blew it up. Leaving me sitting amongst the rubble and debris, trying to make heads or tails of it all.

“You have the strangest look on your face,” she said.

I turned to her again. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “You just look deep in thought,” she said and then added with a smirk, “And not about our little bathroom escapade, either.”

“I’m thinking very deeply about our bathroom escapade,” I replied.

“Liar,” she said and giggled. “Is something on your mind?”

I picked up her hand and gently kissed the back of it. “Nothing worth discussing right now.”

She looked at me with eyes that were half-closed with exhaustion, and a satisfied smile upon her lips. Just looking at her caught the breath in my throat and set my heart fluttering. Damn, she had a powerful effect on me. One I didn’t understand and one I wasn’t ready to cope with.

“If you say so,” she said.

“I do,” I replied. “For now, anyway.”

*

I poured a couple glasses of wine and carried them into the bathroom. Dimming the lights, I set the glasses down on the small table next to the tub. Clouds of steam rose to the ceiling and the air was saturated with the aroma of jasmine. I lit the final few candles just as Chastity walked into the bathroom, completely naked.

My eyes roamed her body, sliding up and down her alabaster skin, drinking in every inch of her. I felt my pulse speed up and the blood flowing into the lower parts of my anatomy. I couldn’t help it. She was a gorgeous woman and just being around her got a rise out of me – so to speak.

Given that I was naked myself, there was no hiding my arousal. I suppose I could have thrown a towel over my cock, but that would have been awkward with the towel hanging off me like it was stuck on a bar. No, there was no hiding it, so I just went with it.

I smiled though, when Chastity’s eyes went straight for the prize, watching my erection grow at the mere sight of her luscious, naked body. I didn’t know of a woman alive who wouldn’t appreciate seeing a man literally rise to attention when she simply stepped into the room, and Chastity was no different in that regard. Her eyes looked tired, but her smile told me she’d be up for round two if I was willing.

And, I was. Hell yes, I was. But first, I wanted to show her there was more to me than sex. She meant something more to me than simply being a fuck toy. I wanted to prove to her that I didn’t just think with my cock.

I swirled my hand in the water. “It’s nice and warm for you,” I said. “I brought you a glass of wine to relax. I figured you could use it.”

“Well, aren’t you the sweetest?”

I shrugged. “I have my moments.”

She walked forward, her naked body glistening from the steam in the room and the orange light from the candles flickering and dancing upon her alabaster skin. Chastity gave me a smile as she stepped past me and lifted her leg to climb into the tub. I stroked her soft skin as I stared deep into her eyes and placed a gentle kiss upon her shoulder.

“You’re going to join me, right?” she asked.

“It might be a tight fit,” I said, suddenly wishing I had a larger bath tub.

“I think we can make it work,” she said.

She reached out and stroked my cheek as she stepped into the tub. Slowly, she sat down, leaving room behind her and beckoning me to join her with her eyes and the soft smile on her lips. How could a man say no to that?

As I climbed in, I was grateful that my tub was slightly larger than an average bath tub. It was one of the features I loved about this place. Although, truth be told, I’d never actually used it myself until now. I was more of a shower kind of a guy.

I wasn’t a small guy by any stretch of the imagination. But thankfully, Chastity was petite enough that I could slip into the tub behind her. My legs wrapped around her body as she leaned back against me, her long, blonde hair against my chest. I ran my hands through it and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

The steam billowed around us, the candlelight making it almost glow. The jasmine scented air provided a nice touch and I had to pat myself on the back. It was a nice, relaxed, and entirely romantic atmosphere. I wasn’t typically the hearts and flowers sort, but I knew that Chastity would probably appreciate the effort. I felt her body relax into mine and felt us establish some sort of connection beyond just the physical.

“This feels so nice,” she murmured dreamily, her eyes closed.

“Yes, it does,” I said.

Though neither of us mentioned it, her body was also pressing against my erection. Having her naked body pressed against me was such a tease. My cock ached and throbbed, my desire for her oozing out of every pore. I wanted nothing more than to fuck her again, right there in the tub, but I reminded myself of my mission. Tonight was all about her. If she wanted to fuck, she would initiate it. I wasn’t going to force the issue. Though, secretly I was hoping like hell she wanted to fuck like animals again.

I handed her the glass of wine, leaving mine on the table beside the tub. She took it into her small, delicate hand and sipped it, resting comfortably against my body.

Though most of her body was relaxing, her shoulders were still tense, so I started massaging them. She moaned slightly, relaxing even more into me. The softness of her skin and hair against my chest did little to appease my aching balls.

“That was so exhausting,” she murmured. “I hate big events like that.”

My first impression of Chastity would have been one of a woman who loved events like that – big balls and galas with beautiful people and designer clothing. People fawning over her and fighting for her attention. The more I got to know her, the more I realized she wasn’t like that. She wasn’t into big crowds or the superficial people who attended those sorts of events. She didn’t like ass-kissers and she didn’t like fake people.

Which was still a bit of a surprise considering what she did for a living. The fashion industry – at least, my perception of the fashion industry – was that it was replete with fake people.

“Kind of goes with the territory, doesn’t it?” I asked, rubbing a knot out of her shoulder.

“Unfortunately, yes,” she said. Her eyes were still closed as she rested against me. “You know, I never thought I’d grow to hate them the way I do. I’d rather be working than socializing, yet it seems to be a huge part of the gig. Much larger than I imagined.”

I reached for the jasmine and lavender scented body wash and squirted it into one of the body poofs I kept on hand. I was a bar soap kinda guy, but I kept my place stocked for any female guests I might have over. Dipping it into the bath water, I ran it across her shoulders before sliding it down to her breasts. Her pink nipples were swollen and hard, so I washed around them carefully. She groaned softly as I covered her breasts with soap, her eyes opening to stare up at me.

“Everything on me hurts,” she laughed. “Even my boobs.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

I kissed her forehead as I moved the poof down to her tummy, then even lower. Chastity’s breath caught in her throat and her body tightened up as I gently cleansed the outside of her vagina, but I kept it all about the bathing, doing my best to avoid turning it into anything sexual. Not that it was easy. Every fiber of my being was screaming for me to turn her around, sit her on my lap, and fuck her senseless.

If she really was tired and hurting this much, I’d let her rest. Even though I wanted her in more ways than one, I felt the urge to take care of her. It was surprising – no, it was downright shocking – to me. I wasn’t a man who usually denied myself carnal pleasures in favor of emotional scenarios.

Chastity seemed to appreciate that though, smiling up at me as I rinsed the body poof and then washed the soap off of her body. I tried to be as gentle as possible around her breasts. I scooped up the warm water and let it rain down over her, watching the way the rivulets of water slid down her body.

I watched her physically relax into me and I was struck again by the toll her work took on her, both physically and mentally. It was more than clear that she didn’t enjoy the work. At least, not this side of it. I had no doubt she enjoyed designing. Looking down at her, I felt compelled to ask her a question I’d asked her before.

“Why do you keep doing this?” I asked softly. “If you hate it this much? Why keep doing something that causes you this much physical discomfort?”

“Doing what?” she asked, giving me a curious look.

“These events. Or anything on the business end of things, for that matter.”

She sighed, her body tensing again, making me regret asking the question in the first place.

“Because I don’t think I have a choice,” she said. “It’s my company. I am the brand. I can’t let it fail just because I’d prefer to move somewhere exotic like the Seychelles and design clothes, forgetting all about networking and boutique openings.”

I ran the soft poof over her body again, hoping to wash away the flare up of tension and help her relax again. Thankfully, it seemed to work. She laid back down against me and closed her eyes for a bit. Her breathing was even and shallow, and for a moment, I thought she might be asleep.

Then her eyes opened and stared up at me again, a question in her eyes.

“Why do you keep doing what you’re doing?” she asked. “It’s obvious you hate it as much as I hate this side of what I do.”

I shrugged. “Because someone has to take over my dad’s company,” I said simply. “It was supposed to be my brother, but with Nate dead, it has to be me. There’s nobody else.”

“Why does it have to be you?” she asked.

She reached for my face and ran a finger down my cheekbone, a light of sympathy and understanding in her eyes. I was learning that we were alike in more ways than one and that the connection we shared actually did extend beyond the physical. This thought unsettled me more than a little bit.

“I’m sure there’s someone else who can take over, isn’t there?” she asked gently. “A cousin? A nephew? Or maybe someone who works for your dad already.”

“It’s not that easy,” I whispered.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Nate was my big brother. He was the golden child,” I said. “With him gone though, my dad expects me to fill his shoes. Even though Nate’s death hurt him badly, when it comes to the company, he has a firm, next man up philosophy. And, I’m the next man up.”

“But, if it makes you this unhappy –”

“We’re all that we have, Chastity. We only have each other in this world,” I said. “After my mom died too – well, the pressure on me to step up and fill Nate’s role was stronger than ever. My dad’s all I have, I’m all he has. It’s funny, because we hate each other half the time. But, if I’m being honest, I respect the hell out of him. He’s taught me a lot about what it means to be a man. To have a solid work ethic. To not be a total shit. That last lesson hasn’t really taken too well, though.”

Chastity laughed softly and stroked my arm. I kissed the top of her head again and we sat in silence for a few long moments, just listening to each other’s breath and reveling in the connection we shared.

“You don’t want to let him down,” she said.

“Yeah, I suppose that’s probably it,” I said. “I feel like if I let him down, I’ll be the biggest asshole on the planet.”

“But you’re not Nate, Jordan,” she said, her icy eyes softening to an almost cornflower blue. “And I can’t imagine your father would be disappointed in you for studying robotics. I mean, that’s a pretty big deal.”

I sighed. “You don’t know my father,” I said. “Besides, even if he did understand – which he wouldn’t – I couldn’t get into any of the reputable robotics schools anyway.”

“Your record?” she asked.

“Yeah, I screwed up big time,” I said, chuckling ruefully. “After Nate died, I guess you could say I kind of went off the rails. I partied too hard, my grades dropped, I was expelled from two different high schools for fighting and defiance. I was a grade-A asshole. And stupidly enough, it didn’t stop after I graduated either. No school worth their salt would touch me with a ten-foot pole. Not anymore.”

That wasn’t exactly true. There was one who would have me. One I’d mentioned to my dad a while back. It wasn’t a traditional college or university, more like a program for self-learning. For people who could hack it and didn’t need a traditional classroom setting. It wasn’t an easy program, not by any means, but I knew I could handle it. I knew that if I were free to be myself and work at my own pace, I would excel. It just wasn’t cheap, and there was no way my dad was going to pay for it. He wouldn’t even entertain the idea of me going there, even if it was my heart’s one true desire. In his mind, my future had already been laid out – I would take over the company when he retired and that was that.

I’d looked into doing it on my own, but the salary I pulled working for my dad wouldn’t cover it. It was almost like he’d looked into it, knew how much I needed, and kept me below that just to fuck with me. I knew that wasn’t the case, but sometimes, in my more cynical moods, that’s the way it felt.

Chastity said. “Want to know what I think?” she asked softly. “I mean, if you even care to know –”

I nodded. “I care. I care a lot about your opinion,” I said. “I have a lot of respect for you, Chastity. It’s not all about the hot, naked sex – although, I have a lot of respect for that too.”

I meant what I said. I had nothing but respect and admiration for her as a person and a businesswoman.

“I think you’re your own worst enemy, Jordan,” she said. “You so badly want to be the son your dad lost, that you sabotage any chance or opportunity to do what makes you happy. You’ve been doing this since you were a kid. It sounds to me like you just can’t seem to get out of your own way. You’re smart, smarter than most people will give you credit for, and yet, you’ve somehow convinced yourself that it’s a flaw instead of a gift. You do everything you can to hide it. To make people think you’re just this meathead construction worker. Just know that I see through that bullshit.”

“I don’t know,” I chuckled. I kissed the top of her head. “But, it’s sweet of you to say.”

“I do know. And I’m right,” she said. “The real question here is – what are you going to do about it?”

I didn’t have the answer for that, so I didn’t say anything. Instead, I closed my eyes and rested my head on top of hers. I focused on her breathing, the softness of her hair, the scent of her skin, and held her close to me. In that moment, it really was no longer about the sex with her. It was about the comfort she brought me. No one – not even my father – could see into the depths of my soul the way she did.

We couldn’t have come from more different backgrounds. Yet, in a way, it felt like we were very much the same. Two sides of the same coin. Both of us were confined to living a life others expected of us, rather than doing what made us happy.