Chapter Twenty-One

JACK PARKED THE RENTED SUV in the circular driveway in front of Violet’s beachfront mansion. The meticulously manicured display of palm trees and tropical flowers created the perfect backdrop for the luxurious estate.

Jessie sat and waited for Jack to come and open the door for her. He held out his hand, which she accepted. He helped her out of the SUV, glancing down at her as the short dress she was wearing rose up her thighs.

Jessie clasped his hand and held it as they walked up to the massive front door and rang the bell. A few moments later a uniformed housekeeper opened the door and greeted them. She ushered them into the house, inviting them to take a seat in the spacious and opulent living room.

“Mrs. Johnson will be with you in just a moment,” she said flatly.

Jessie felt sorry for anyone who had to work for Violet. She had seen the horrible way Violet treated their server when they went out to lunch. This poor woman probably hated her job.

Violet made her entrance in a tight pair of tiny denim cut-offs and a light green halter top knotted under her large breasts. Jessie heard Jack suck in his breath and then let out a hiss of air as she walked in the room, even as he kept his expression indifferent.

Jessie swallowed the jealousy that threatened to take over and instead plastered a happy, fake smile on her face.

“Hi guys,” she greeted them, a seductive inflection in her husky voice.

“Hi!” Jessie replied with more enthusiasm than she felt.

She and Jack stood up and Violet hugged them both, kissing their cheeks. Jessie thought that the hug she gave Jack was a tad overly affectionate considering how little time they had actually spent together.

“Let me give you a tour,” Violet offered generously, as if she was bestowing a great gift on them.

Jessie nodded agreeably as she felt Jack clasp her hand.

Violet showed them her impressive home, pointing out luxury features, expensive artwork and significant pieces of furniture and electronics. Jessie acted appropriately impressed, but in truth she was really only impressed with Violet’s dressing room. It was amazing.

“Wow! I’d love to have a dressing room like this,” Jessie gushed.

“Hear that, Jack?” Violet purred, resting a hand on his shoulder and holding his gaze a second longer than necessary.

Jack glanced at Jessie, her back to them as she checked out the room.

“Your lady wants a dressing room. You know what they say… happy wife, happy life.”

Violet’s voice held the slightest touch of bitchiness, which Jack picked up on. He met her gaze, and held it steady. This bitch was sending him some serious fuck-me vibes.

Jessie turned around, her pretty face beaming. “Babe, isn’t this great?”

She tried to pretend she didn’t notice Violet’s hand on Jack’s shoulder and that she couldn’t feel the sexual tension between them. Meanwhile, her heart pounded with jealousy. She would never be able to compete for Jack’s attention with women like this.

“May I use your bathroom?” Jessie asked.

“Of course.” Violet directed her to the guest bathroom down the hall.

Once she had left the room, Violet turned to Jack. “She’s sweet.” Somehow she made it sound like a bad thing. “The kind of girl every guy wants to marry.”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, she’s a good girl.”

Violet twirled to face him. “I’m sure she is.”

Jack took a deep breath as Violet leaned close, her lips near his ear. “I, on the other hand, am not a good girl. I’m a bad girl… very bad,” she teased. “I think we could have a really wild time together. Let me know if you want to hang out… just us.”

Jack took a step back. “Thanks, but I’m not interested,” he lied.

Violet was definitely the type of girl that usually got him hot. But showing interest in her now might compromise their cover story.

Violet’s smile tightened. She wasn’t used to being turned down. Especially not in favor of someone as vanilla as Jessie.

Jessie returned from the bathroom and Jack stepped toward her, taking her hand.

“Come.” Violet swept from the room. “We’ll have lunch outside by the pool. There’s an amazing view of the ocean you have to see to believe.” Violet walked out of the room and Jack and Jessie followed.

THEY DINED AL FRESCO BY the pool, overlooking scenic vistas of the ocean. Lunch was served by another uniformed house worker. Caprese salad followed by a refreshing gazpacho and then cod in an herbed white wine and lemon sauce and a grilled green vegetable medley. Chilled white wine completed the delicious and light meal.

As they ate, Violet and Jessie discussed the wedding. They politely asked Jack his opinion on various details, but he deferred to Jessie each time.

“Just want my girl to be happy on the big day,” Jack said, and Jessie smiled adoringly at him.

Jack excused himself to the bathroom, thinking it might be a good time to take a look around while Jessie kept Violet occupied with wedding talk over lunch.

Once inside the house he turned to go down a hallway.

He heard heavy footsteps approaching from behind him. Jack turned around and recognized the man instantly. He had to exert significant effort to stop a look of shock from registering on his face.

Sam Dennison.

Alive.

His gray hair was longer than in any of the pictures Jack had seen, and a beard now covered his face, but it was definitely him.

“You must be Violet’s husband, Hank.” Jack extended his hand. “Jack Turner. Your wife has been helping my fiancé plan our wedding.”

Sam Dennison shook Jack’s hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Jack. Vi told me that you and your fiancé were coming for lunch but unfortunately I already had another commitment. Otherwise I would have joined you.”

Jack nodded. He couldn’t believe his eyes, but it all made sense now.

Sam Dennison had faked his own death in order to run off to live in the islands with his sexy twenty-three-year-old girlfriend.

Jack looked at him, thinking how much of a pussy this guy was. It was one thing to have a hot piece on the side. Jack could at least understand the temptation. But leaving his wife of forty years and kids to pay off his gambling debt to a dangerous drug and sex trafficker was just pathetic.

They walked out to the patio together. Jessie did a good job masking her surprise, smiling pleasantly as she was introduced to Hank Johnson, aka Sam Dennison.

Violet stood and greeted Sam with a chaste kiss on the cheek. Jack idly wondered what their sex life was like. He couldn’t help but hope that when he was Sam Dennison’s age he was still banging chicks this fucking hot.

An hour later they were preparing to leave, when Jessie stopped in the living room and said suddenly, “Violet, do you mind if I borrow those brochures you were telling me about? I could look through them tonight. Jack wants to hang out with Kyle anyway.”

“Sure, I’ll go get them.” Violet disappeared.

Jessie took out her cell phone and pretended to be texting while she was snapping pictures of Jack and Sam Dennison. Jack and Sam stood by the large sectional, chatting. Sam didn’t even notice that she was snapping pictures he was so engrossed in conversation with Jack.

Violet returned with the brochures. She and Sam walked them outside to their SUV. Jessie thanked Violet for lunch and for all of her help. They hugged and kissed on the cheek while Jack shook hands with Sam who excused himself and walked back into the house.

He opened the door for Jessie and she climbed in, smoothing down her dress as she put her seatbelt on. He closed the door and turned to Violet, who was waiting to say goodbye.

She leaned forward and hugged him. He didn’t hug her back but stood stiffly as she whispered, “Let me know when you’ve had enough sugar and want something a little spicier.”

His expression was unreadable as he looked into her eyes. “Like I said, I’m not interested. Happy with what I’ve got.”

He would have been glad to drive his cock into her any other time, but now she was insulting Jessie. It was kind of pissing him off, even though he’d described Jessie the same way more than once himself.

Who the fuck did this little bitch think she was? She might be hot and have a body made for fucking, but she wasn’t even in the same league as a girl like Jessie. Not only was Jessie the prettiest girl he’d ever met, she was warm-hearted, a genuinely good person, sweet, kind, and funny. No one would ever use those words to describe this heartless cunt. She was just a trashy little slut, good for one thing only… a hot body for guys to get their dicks off on.

He got behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition. Neither of them spoke as he drove the car around the circular driveway and back to the road.

“Did you get his picture?” Jack asked, already knowing that she did.

Jessie nodded. “Of course I did. I can’t believe it. He actually faked his own death. Sounds like some crazy movie plot!”

Jack nodded. “No shit. I thought I was seeing things when I turned around and saw him standing there. Makes sense now. Sam Dennison was funneling money for the past twenty years into a fake charity, saving for a rainy day, I guess. Just waiting for the right young, hot piece of ass to come along.”

“I don’t understand how he could have pulled it off. I mean, there were remains that they pulled from the boat wreck. They identified the remains as Sam Dennison.” Jessie wondered, her mind still blown by the shocking revelation.

Jack shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he paid someone off in a morgue for an unclaimed body and paid off someone else to alter the results. The kind of money this guy has can buy just about anything you want.”

“I can’t believe he would do that to his family. Especially his kids. I mean what kind of father does that?” Jessie asked. “My Dad adores me. He would never do anything like that.”

Jack shrugged. “There are a lot of dickheads in the world, Jessie. You just got really lucky. My father was a piece of shit. He didn’t fake his own death but he definitely put chasing tail ahead of his kids.”

“I’m so sorry, Jack.” Jessie placed her hand on his arm and squeezed gently.

He shrugged and fell silent.

“So what happens now?” Jessie asked.

“I’ll call Russell and fill him in. We’ll send him the pictures you took and likely we’ll turn it over to the police. We’ve finished our part of the job. We’ll be able to tell Rachel Dennison what happened to the money, and more. We’ll probably head home tomorrow.”

At the resort, Jack checked in with the front desk and got the key to the room that was now available. After collecting his things he moved into his new room, which was a couple of doors away.

He breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to share a room with her anymore. It was too tempting with her walking around in her little shorts and tank tops, her pretty body so close but so off-limits.

Jessie sulked. “I’m going to be lonely here all by myself.”

“You’ll manage,” Jack said dryly, rolling his eyes.

“Are you going out with Kyle tonight?” Jessie asked.

Jack nodded. “Yeah, but not until later. I’m meeting him at eleven.”

“Oh good, so we can hang out for a while. And you can have dinner with me.” Jessie smiled.

She hadn’t been looking forward to eating alone again.

Jack nodded.

“What are you in the mood for? Italian? Seafood?” Jessie reviewed the list of restaurants.

“You pick.” Jack sat on the edge of the bed, watching her.

Her shiny blonde hair hung softly over her back and tanned shoulders, the hem of her dress stopping mid-thigh. She turned her sparkly blue eyes to him.

Fuck. She definitely had the prettiest eyes he had ever seen. The way they made his heart rate speed up irritated him.

He dropped his eyes to her pink, glossy lips. Those lips always looked so soft and ready to be kissed.

Or maybe ready to wrap around his dick.

Goddammit.

He was letting his thoughts wander into dangerous territory. Again, he was glad another room at the resort had opened up. He wasn’t sure he could resist the temptation one more night.

Especially not with Jessie looking at him like she did sometimes. Like she wanted him to kiss her, wanted him to put his hands all over her.

She was too shy and awkward to make the first move, but he was almost one hundred percent sure if he had kept going last night she wouldn’t have stopped him.

He recalled kissing her in New York. He had been the one to pull away then, too, leaving her breathless and looking shocked and confused.

He had replayed that kiss over and over in his mind, remembering the way her mouth had felt, how good she tasted. The heat coming off of the skin that felt like velvet against his rough fingers. The way she had moaned into his mouth as if she’d never been kissed before. The way kissing her had made his dick throb harder than it ever had before from just a kiss.

Kissing her again last night had only confirmed that his reaction had been more than just a fluke.

“Seafood,” Jessie said, interrupting his inappropriate thoughts. “Do you think this dress looks okay? Or should I change?”

She glanced at herself in the mirror, eyeing her reflection critically.

She turned to face Jack so he could assess her. His eyes slid over her slowly, taking in every inch of her, from the top of her blonde head down to her pretty polished toenails and back up again. She looked fucking fantastic.

“You’re fine.” He seemed indifferent, but in fact he was trying to think of the right words to tell her how pretty she looked without giving her the wrong idea.

She sighed and looked disappointed by his lukewarm response. She turned back to the mirror and smoothed her hair. Then she reached into her purse and pulled out a tube of lip gloss, touching up her lips as he continued to watch her.

“Okay, then. Let’s go.”

At dinner, Jack let Jessie try his conch soup and grilled snapper and she shared her lobster with him. They had fun, like they always did, joking with each other and good-naturedly giving each other a hard time.

“So are you disappointed that you didn’t get a chance to sleep with Violet?” Jessie teased.

Jack laughed. “No. Not at all. The more time I spent with her and saw what a cold bitch she is, the less sexy she was. Maybe you were right about that. I don’t think I usually spend enough time with the chicks I hook up with to get to the point where their personality actually starts to turn me off.”

Jessie smiled. “I’m glad you realize that it’s not all about looks.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Jack smirked.

After dinner they walked back to Jessie’s room.

“It’s still early. Want to come in and watch a movie?” She stood in the doorway and looked up at him, long lashes fluttering.

Why was it so hard for him to say no to that face?

He nodded and came in her room with her. They sat on the bed together and watched Independence Day.

At ten-thirty Jack got up to leave. “Sure you don’t want to come with us?”

Jessie got up and hesitated. “Oh, what the hell? Why not?”

Jack was surprised that she agreed. “Great, let’s go.”

“Give me five minutes.”

THEY MET KYLE AT A beach bar frequented by locals as well as tourists. The place was jumping when they arrived. Hot, tanned, beautiful people everywhere.

Jessie looked cute as hell in a white dress with tropical blue flowers all over it and Jack had been doing his best to keep his eyes off of her. The dress set off her tan, and the short length showed just enough of her pretty legs to be sexy, but not slutty. The neckline was also appropriate. Daring enough to be hot, but still tasteful.

The three of them drank and talked, Kyle entertaining them both with stories about tourists and living in an island paradise, far removed from the realities of the real world.

Jessie found herself having a great time. She was glad she had decided to come out.

Jack excused himself to use the bathroom. Kyle had turned on the charm hard after Jack walked away from them, and Jessie was smiling up at him, her blue eyes lit up from several Malibu cocktails. The attention Kyle was showering her with was making her giddy. He was really cute. His hand kept resting on her arm as they talked at the bar.

“You’re so pretty,” he said, reaching out and brushing his fingers over her cheek.

“Thanks,” Jessie looked down, suddenly shy.

“I told Jack he was crazy for not making you his girl. But you know how Jack is. He said he thinks you’re sweet but he isn’t into you. Said you give off that virgin little sister/good girl vibe, and he prefers girls who are already broken in. But that’s lucky for me, huh? I think you’re just about the sweetest thing I’ve ever fucking seen.”

Jessie felt a little jab in her heart at Kyle’s words. Jack had said that about her? Well at least now she knew for sure what he thought.

Fine, then. To hell with Jack Turner. He could keep his slutty women if that’s what he liked.

There were plenty of guys that would be interested in her. In fact, Kyle was looking at her right now like she was the only girl in the whole place.

Suddenly she really wanted to kiss Kyle. So when he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, she let him. She kissed him back, sliding her hand up his chest and around his neck. She felt the weight of his hand on her hip and didn’t protest when he rubbed it across the back of her dress, squeezing gently as he moved closer.

Jack came up from the bathroom, shaking his head in disbelief. Some hot chick had been coming on hard. He had politely declined. Some other time he might be into that scene, but not when Jessie was here with him. He certainly couldn’t just ditch her.

Jack stopped in his tracks when he looked at the bar.

Kyle had one hand tangled in Jessie’s soft blonde hair and the other all over her perfect ass. He was kissing her.

And from where Jack stood, it looked like Jessie was enjoying it.

Fuck. Why did seeing them kiss make him feel so pissed off? He had clearly said he wasn’t interested in Jessie, so why did Kyle making a move make him want to knock his teeth down his throat?

As for Jessie… he had warned her about how Kyle was. Yet there she was, letting him kiss her and put his hands all over her ass.

And twenty-four hours ago she had let him kiss her and put his hands all over her too.

So maybe she was serious about wanting to have a little fun after all.

Jack shook his head and continued walking toward them.

What the fuck was wrong with him? Why should he give a shit who Jessie fucked around with? And if Kyle wanted to get a little taste of that wholesome blonde sweetness, who the fuck was he to object? It wasn’t as if he had any plans to keep her for himself.

Kyle and Jessie pulled away from each other when Jack returned to his seat.

“Oh, hi,” Jessie greeted him, her already flushed cheeks turning even pinker.

“Hey,” Jack replied gruffly.

“You two want to go do a line? I’ve got some good coke,” Kyle asked.

Jessie glanced nervously at Jack, who seemed to be considering it. She shook her head.

“No, thanks, I’m good,” Jessie declined.

She had never tried drugs before, except one time she and Zoey had smoked pot with some friends in college. It had just made her tired and she had fallen asleep within fifteen minutes.

Jack shrugged and looked at Jessie, who was anxiously waiting to hear what he would say. “I’ll pass, dude. Thanks, though.”

“Okay… I’ll be right back.” Kyle smiled, patting Jessie on her back.

After he left, Jessie turned to Jack. “Does he do that a lot?”

Jack shrugged. “I don’t know. He didn’t used to.”

“Well you don’t seem very surprised.”

“I’ve seen him do it before, but as far I know it’s just an occasional thing,” Jack answered her, taking a drink from the gin and tonic the bartender had just set down in front of him.

“Have you ever done it with him? He seemed to think you’d be into it,” Jessie asked.

Jack looked into her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I tried it once. I’m not into it. I heard it could enhance sex, and maybe it does for some people, but it didn’t for me.”

“No? What did it do?”

“Just made me really wired and jumpy. Felt like shit later when it wore off.”

Jessie was disappointed that Kyle was into cocaine. She thought he was so cute and funny, and now she knew he was a really good kisser, even if his kiss didn’t rock her world quite the way Jack’s had. But the drug thing was a big turn-off for her. She was glad to hear that Jack wasn’t into it.

“So you and Kyle are hitting it off,” Jack said, looking away from her.

Jessie shrugged. “I guess so. Is that okay? I mean, is it weird that he’s your friend?”

“Why would that matter? You don’t need my permission, Jessie. Do what you like.” Jack’s words said he didn’t care, but the heated look in his eyes said something completely different.

“I don’t like that he does drugs, though. It’s kind of made me lose interest.” Jessie tried to ignore the sharp stab at Jack’s indifference.

“What difference does it make? It would just be a one night thing anyway.”

“No, it wouldn’t. I don’t do that.”

“Oh, okay. So what were you thinking? I told you what he’s like. And even if he wasn’t, how are you planning to have a boyfriend who lives in St. Thomas?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it.” Jessie laughed. “Okay, you made your point. It was just a kiss, Jack. A kiss doesn’t mean anything, right?”

They stared into each other’s eyes, both silent for a moment as they each remembered the kiss they had shared the night before.

“I guess that’s true enough.” Jack finally spoke, finishing his drink. “It’s getting late. You want to head back to the resort?”

He hoped that she’d say yes. He didn’t like the idea of her leaving with Kyle, though there would be nothing he could do about it if that’s what she wanted.

“Yeah, whenever you’re ready, I am, too,” Jessie replied, sending a feeling of relief through him.

When Kyle returned they let him know they were heading out. He made a half-hearted attempt to get Jessie to stay, but he was getting a strange vibe from Jack that made him back off a little. He was getting the feeling that Jack might be a bit more interested in this luscious little blonde than he had let on.

Kyle laughed and slapped Jack on the back as they hugged and said goodbye. “Got it, dude. No problem. Have a safe trip back.”

Kyle hugged Jessie and kissed her cheek. “Bye, beautiful. Don’t take any shit from this asshole.”

Jack smirked and rolled his eyes.

Jack made sure that Jessie got in her room safely when they returned to the resort and then he made his way down to the pool bar. It was two o’clock in the morning, but the party went on all night at this particular resort. Within minutes a cute redhead had approached him, asking if he was alone. He nodded and she took his hand.

“You’re really hot. Want to join me in my room? My husband is over there… it’s what we’re into. He likes to watch.”

Jack glanced over at the guy and shrugged. “I’m not into guys, but I don’t mind if he watches.”

“Oh, he’s not into guys either, don’t worry. No contact between you two. He just wants to watch you pound my pussy.”

So Jack did.

“DIDN’T YOU SLEEP WELL?” JESSIE asked as they waited for their flight to board. Jack looked exhausted.

“No, I couldn’t sleep when we got back. Went down to the bar for a drink. Ended up hooking up with some crazy chick… was in her room until four o’clock.”

Jessie felt her heart drop. “Oh. You met someone?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, some chick whose husband likes to watch her get banged by other dudes.”

“That’s… different. Did you… have a good time?” Jessie cringed inwardly while trying to remain nonjudgmental on the outside.

“Yeah, she was pretty wild.” Jack glanced at her.

He felt a little uncomfortable talking about this with her. But he kept thinking that it was best to be totally open with Jessie. The more she knew about the sick things he was into, the better.

Maybe it would turn her off, like she had been turned off by Kyle using drugs. Maybe it would make her stop looking at him like she wanted him to take her clothes off and show her just how hard he could make her come. If she stopped looking at him like that, it might make it easier for him to stop thinking about her so much.

Jessie nodded, her face flushed. It was hard to even comprehend some of the things that Jack was into, but who was she to judge? It was none of her business, really. She looked at her Kindle and read quietly until their flight started to board.