Chapter 4

Jessibelle

I closed my mouth, seeing if silence might pull him back to reality, but he continued staring off into the space right next to me as though nothing had changed. Whatever he’d heard on his phone call had clearly bothered him, because he was sitting there like someone had slapped him in the face. Which I might do in a minute unless he starts paying attention to me.

I reached out my hand and waved it up and down in front of his eyes. He took a few seconds to refocus on me, and after a couple of blinks to clear his head, he seemed to return to reality. Did he not notice his robe was halfway open and he was all but exposing himself? What kind of move was that? To be honest, I had to struggle to pull my eyes away from his well-toned legs.

I took a deep breath and realized this meeting was pointless. I wasn’t getting through to him, and it was a waste of time for me to tell him anything when he was clearly uninterested. He swung from listening to me, to goading me to say what he wanted, and then to complete oblivion midway through a sentence. I was done with this crap. I wasn’t paid enough to pander to this billionaire baby right now. I’d make the drive again if I had to, but I wasn’t going to take this abuse.

“I should get going,” I suggested, getting to my feet. “I’ll leave the papers for you to have a look at and maybe I can visit again when you’re a little less,” I waved my hand, trying to find the word, “whatever this is.”

“Maybe you should,” he agreed. That pissed me off. I’d driven a long way to this asshole’s middle-of-nowhere mansion to talk him through shit that directly affected him, and all he had to say for himself was I should probably go?

“Okay then, I’ll see you later,” I nodded.

He didn’t try to stop me as I turned to leave, and my hands shook with the need to throw something at him. I shouldn’t let him get under my skin. It did me no good to let myself get worked up, but I hated being treated like a second-class citizen.

I got back into my car and took a deep breath, not looking back at the mansion. Time to get the fuck out of here, go home, have a big glass of wine, and put this all behind me.

As I started the drive home, the memory of Zachary’s naked body as he got out of the swimming pool haunted me. I hadn’t seen anyone naked since I’d had sex with Aston. And that wasn’t something I needed to dredge up right now. Oh, hell no.

Mr. Rose had a body made for sin. I mean, Aston wasn’t lacking in the manhood department, but Mr. Zachary Rose? Fucking hung. I wondered what a cock like that would feel like inside of me. Zachary had obviously let himself go a little, but he still looked amazing. His rugged beard and messy hair spoke of a different side of him than the carefully groomed pictures on the internet. He was gorgeous, no doubt about it, and those sparkling eyes, when they focused in on me, were enough to make my breath hitch in my throat. Part of me wanted to run my hands down his chest when he’d risen from the pool, to feel his muscles flex beneath my fingers.

The other part wanted to kick him in his over-exposed nuts.

I shoved the thought out of my head. He didn’t deserve my attention. He’d treated me like shit. In fact, in some ways, he’d reminded me of my stepfather, not in his looks but in the way he looked at me.

Carlton Simpson, my creepy step-father, had those eyes that eerily followed you around the room. Like a painting. It made me uncomfortable. In fact, there wasn’t much about my stepfather that didn’t make me uncomfortable, but he had strong connections and wasn’t afraid to call them in for me. I probably should’ve been grateful to him instead of letting my odd little hang-ups get in the way of feeling thankful for everything he’d done for me. It wasn’t fair to think of him like a jackass. I did owe him my entire career.

Zachary had a similar look in his eyes that told me he viewed me as prey, something to entertain him, though the way it made me feel wasn’t in the same ballpark as Carlton. I shifted in my seat as I thought about his eyes on me, the way they skimmed up and down my body. He seemed to do it almost on instinct. Should I have been flattered or offended? Hell, I had no idea.

Apparently, it had been a while been so long since anyone else had seen him, and it was hard to tell whether he would’ve done that to anyone or if I had something to do with it.

I tried to recall the last time I felt desired like that. Back when I was with Aston, of course. Not that he ever truly wanted me. Aston probably just wanted my virginity as some kind of trophy. Fucker.

I flushed with humiliation every time I thought about it, even though none of it was my fault. No one would have blamed me for falling for him the way I did. He did everything he could to make me fall in love, coaxing me out of my shell until I was dead certain he was the one, that I was the lucky girl to stumble upon my soulmate in college.

As I drove home, I zoned out, my thoughts back in the law library. The day after I’d given myself to Aston, I was sore and a little proud. Surprised at how normal everything felt after such an incredibly important event. But I soon learned it was only me who saw myself differently. I had a secret little smile as I picked out the books I needed to study for my next final, wondering if I should have texted Aston to ask him to join me at the library.

He’d left quickly that morning, without kissing me goodbye, but people had warned me that sometimes when guys got emotionally involved, they could withdraw. I wondered where our relationship would go from there. Would he propose? That seemed like the logical next step, and I knew both his family and mine were already expecting him to ask me the big question.

I’d been lost in foolish fantasies at the library when I’d heard a noise. It sounded like someone was panting. I frowned and got to my feet, clutching my books to my chest like a protective armor, as though someone might spring at me from behind the rows of bookshelves. What the hell was going on? The noise came again, louder this time, and it was clearly a woman’s voice, but I couldn’t tell what she was doing. She sounded as if she was in pain, and I’d wondered if I was about to walk in on a sinister scene I’d wish I’d never seen.

I’d followed the sound, slowly, quietly, down a couple of rows of bookcases, and that’s when I saw them.

Becky, the bitch from the year below me who’d been hanging around Aston That he’d assured me time and time again that she had nothing more than a silly schoolgirl crush on him. I believed him, but what I saw thoroughly contradicted that.

She clutched the bookshelves, her eyes squeezed shut and her skirt pulled up over her waist. Her panties were around her ankles and my fucking boyfriend, Aston fucking LaChase, was gripping her hips and slamming into her hard, railing her from behind with gritted teeth and his eyes screwed shut. She’d been the one letting out the odd, strangled moans of pleasure, the sound I’d heard from across the library. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, but it was long enough to know it wasn’t a mistake, that I hadn’t stumbled across some kind of mirage. No, my boyfriend was fucking someone else the day after he’d taken my virginity and told me he’d loved me so much it hurt.

I’d dropped my books and ran. He must have heard me. Because he called out to me, the last words from him I ever heard. I was gone. Never to go back to that fucking prick again.

Tears pricked my eyes as the agony played over and over like some sick nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

God, I hated thinking about that day. I rolled my shoulders back and focused on the road. I’d never let anyone hurt me like that again. Not a snowball’s chance in hell. Not ever. Nope. Never.

When I felt that little jolt of attraction for Zachary, I did my best to ignore it. Getting involved with a man like him could only end up one way, with me feeling exactly as I had standing in the law library, wondering how the hell I’d gotten suckered in like some stupid girl all over again. I was going to go home, work on a strategy, and ban myself from thinking about him. He was nothing more than a professional colleague. I took a deep breath and continued my journey home, forcing him and his enormous cock to the back of my mind.