Chapter 48 Episode 48

I pull her onto the chair with me, then raise her hips up and down, helping her ride me for the first few minutes until she gets used to my girth inside her. “f**k, you’re so big…” she whimpers. It takes several more thrusts before she’s stretched herself comfortably around my c**k. And then she seems to gain her bearings. She puts her hands on my shoulders and starts bucking her hips against me. Her breasts bounce in my face as she rides me wildly. Her lips part and her eyes squeeze shut as she chases the orgasm I know is coming. I’m glad it’s happening quickly because I’m not sure how much longer I can contain myself. The need to come inside her is too great to hold back. “Oh God,” she moans. “Oh God…” I grab her breasts and twist her n*****s between my fingers as she throws her head back and comes shamelessly on my c**k. Her body shudders uncontrollably and then she collapses against me. I grab her and pull her to me as I thrust into her hard from below. She lets out a few defeated whimpers before I explode inside her. Again and again, it gets wrung out of me, until I have nothing left to give. Jessa keeps her forehead on my shoulder for a long time before she finally pulls back. She doesn’t meet my eyes as she gets off me, her legs wobbling. I watch as she picks her clothes up off the floor. At one point, she bends and my c**k flickers to life again. I notice my c*m sliding down her inner thighs. I grab the napkin from the table and stand up. She freezes when I come up behind her, but she doesn’t move when I start wiping her legs clean. She turns around slowly after I’m finished. “Thank you.” Her cheeks are flushed with color, but she looks more shell-shocked than embarrassed. My c**k has never been happier. “I… I should get home,” she stammers as she pulls on her clothes. I nod. “As you wish.” “I’ll just get my things and…” She meets my gaze and her words trail off into the ether. I stand and tuck myself away. “It’s late. I’ll drive you.” She frowns. “Oh. Really? You don’t have to do that. I can just call a cab.” “I said I’ll drive you.” I head for the driveway and she follows behind me. She doesn’t make any comment about the red Ferrari I choose to take her home in. My guess is she’s still processing what just happened. I keep the top down and wait until she’s strapped in before I start the car and pull out. For the first time in my life, I find myself driving slowly. “You really didn’t need to do this,” she says softly. I can see her glancing at me every few seconds as we move through the streets of Los Angeles. The quiet is broken when her phone starts ringing. She stares at the screen for a moment and then declines the call. I look over her shoulder at the caller ID. “Who’s Chris?” I ask. She stiffens. “Just a friend.” “The friend in the picture you’ve got hanging up in your bedroom?” She glares at me. “Of course you snooped through my bedroom.” She lets that one go. “Yes, he’s the guy in the picture. Back in college.” For a moment, I think that’s all she’s going to say, but then she continues. “He’s my oldest friend. He knows me better than anyone else in the world. Honestly, he knows me better than I know myself sometimes,” she says with a sigh. “He warned me about Dane. Said I couldn’t trust him. Said I could do better.” I snort. “Anyone with eyes could have told you that.” She gives me a half-smile. “At the time, I hated him for it. I thought his job as my friend was to support me no matter what. When I told him that, he told me his job as my friend was to protect me.” “I suppose I understand now why you stashed the phone with him.” She glances at me in sheer terror out of the corner of her eye, but she’s already given herself away. “How did you know that?” “I didn’t. Not until a second ago.” Fear twists her expression. “He doesn’t know a thing about you.” “Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I’ll leave the man alone. I can’t fault him for wanting to make sure you’re safe.” She’s silent for a long time. “You really won’t hurt him?” I nod, but she doesn’t seem mollified. “He’s… he’s my best friend, Anton. And a good man. He keeps his word and he promised me that he would keep his mouth shut about what happened that night.” “Like how you promised me?” Her eyes go wide. “Anton—” “I hope his word is stronger than yours.” “I was scared,” she says defensively. “I was emotional and terrified and… I needed someone I could trust. Chris is the only one I could trust. You can’t hurt him.” “I’ve already told you I have no intention of hurting him. You’re going to have to learn to trust me, too, Jessa. Or else you’re not going to sleep much tonight.” She sighs. “Trust doesn’t exactly come easily for me anymore.” “It’s funny… Chris was the first real friend I ever had. All my other friendships fell apart when I moved away or when college ended. But Chris has always been there for me.” “Seems like he has a vested interest in sticking around.” She gives a little start as she glances at me. “Stumbled across a secret, have I?” I ask, as something dark twists in my stomach. “No. Of course not. It’s just…” “Another one of my friends—well, neighbor, friend, I’m not sure… She suggested the same thing after she met Chris.” “Do you think it’s true?” “I hope not. If I can’t reciprocate, I’d rather he not feel that way about me. It would just end our friendship. And I don’t want to lose Chris under any circumstances.” The darkness inside me releases slightly and I feel lighter. I shouldn’t give a f**k about what she just said, but I do. “He was the first person to suggest I become a chef,” she says. “For me, it was more of a hobby. Then I cooked dinner for Chris one night while we were both cramming for finals. He told me it was the best meal he’d ever had and that I should switch my major and become a chef instead.” “No,” she laughs. “I’m stubborn, in case you haven’t noticed. I finished my business degree, which in hindsight was a waste of money. Then I took a two-year culinary course that my parents weren’t happy about. But it turned out to be the best thing I ever did. At the end of the course, the best students were placed in different restaurants in the city. I was one of them.” “How did you start cooking in the first place?” “Out of necessity,” she says with a shy smile. “My parents were always busy. I was left on my own from the moment I was old enough to take care of myself. I used to just pour myself a bowl of cereal and call it a day. But then I got bored with eating the same thing day in and day out. So I learned to cook. And then I kinda fell in love with it. I realized I liked not knowing what I was going to end up with. The mystery of it. It feels like magic, sometimes.” Her face softens as she talks. Even her voice changes. It gets a little dreamier, a little more tender. Perhaps she’s not as bitter as she makes herself out to be. “You’re beautiful when you talk about what you love,” I murmur. Jessa does a double-take. “Do I need to get my ears checked?” I laugh. “Life is cruel and cold and ugly. Passion makes it worthwhile.” “Right,” she scoffs. “‘Cause you’d know a ton about passion. You’re, like, Jack Frost himself. The Abominable Snowman. Ice-cold all the way down” “You’re not the first woman to voice that complaint.” “Did Jhené beat me to it?” I can tell she regrets asking the question at all. Her eyes squeeze shut for a moment before she bites down on her bottom lip. “You noticed Jhené, I take it.” “Please,” she scoffs. “How can you not notice that woman? She’s a knockout.” I snort. “First of all, she’s not a woman. She’s still a girl. And also… I’ve seen better.” “Seriously?” she asks. “You’ve seen better than Jhené?” I nod. “My ex-wife was far more beautiful.” I take a long, indulgent look at her features, which are screwed up so tight I know she’s uncomfortable with my description of Marina. “But,” I add, “Marina was also f*****g insane. Which detracted a bit from her beauty.” “She must have had some redeeming qualities,” Jessa suggests quietly. “You did marry her, after all.” “I didn’t marry her for any of her personal qualities. She was a good option.” “Jesus, that’s harsh,” Jessa mumbles. “No wonder you had a bad marriage.” I glance at her and she looks away quickly. “Sorry, I’m just saying. It doesn’t really help a relationship to hear stuff like that. Especially if she… cared about you.” “What makes you say that?”