Entangled Pt. 05

He came back to himself as she shifted against his chest. The hand he'd been using to pull her hips up to him slid free and moved under her shoulders. He hugged her to his chest and pressed his temple against her cheek. His heart sank as he felt the wetness of her tears against his skin.

What a fucking mess. He thought as she wiped them away quickly. I have to get her out of here.

***

The next morning Blake woke with a start. He sucked in a big breath as the images of his dream tried to fade away. He frowned without opening his eyes. The dream had been so real that his shaft was already throbbing. He'd been dreaming about having sex with Jess. He ran a hand over his face then through his hair while his other hand slid under the sheet to grip his length.

An image of Jess straddling his lap, lowering herself onto his thick shaft, rose up in his mind. He began to idly stroke himself as the images continued to play out behind his still closed eyelids. His length pulsed as, in his mind, his hands slid from her hips to cup her breasts. He groaned softly as he thought of the weight of those lovely mounds filling his palms.

Fuck she's sexy.

His hand slowed as the sound of a toilet flushing behind a closed door invaded his fantasy. He cracked one eye open as the door opened a minute later and the reason for his raging hard on walked out. He froze as actual memories bombarded him.

Jess' soft mouth in places it should never have been. Blake's hands and mouth in a similarly forbidden places. The arch of her body as her orgasm twisted through her again and again.

Eric's going to kill you. He thought with a sigh. And you fucking deserve it. His hand tugged at his hair briefly. You can tell yourself that you did it for her but you enjoyed it. Bastard.

He pulled his hand away from his lap and rolled onto his side as she approached the bed. She took a breath then pulled back the sheet to get in next to him. The curve of her butt brushed his still throbbing length.

"Jess—"

"I ordered breakfast for you," she said as she turned slightly to over her shoulder. He groaned as the movement caused her butt to press against him. "It should be here in about half an hour." She turned away and shifted her hips closer to him, pulling another groan from his throat. "You can—"

He slid is arm around her waist and pulled her upper body against his chest. "We don't have to," he whispered against her hair.

"Did you forget what I said?" she asked. He kept his face against her hair but his eyes closed as she pressed again.

The night before, once they'd finished and caught their breath, he'd lifted his body from hers and she'd gone to the washroom. While she was in there Blake had fought to keep his guilt from showing on his face as Francois asked if he'd enjoyed her. Blake had laughed softly in response.

Enjoyed her?

He hadn't been able to find the words to explain what he'd felt while he'd been inside Jess. On one hand he'd known that he had to maintain pretenses to keep her from being hurt. On several others the pleasure he'd felt as they'd moved together was indescribable.

Before he'd been able to form some kind of reply, other than a throaty chuckle, Jess was walking out of the washroom with a wet cloth in her hand. Blake had been expecting her to go to the dresser and put on her sarong. Instead she went to Francois as the big man stood. Francois had murmured something in her ear that made her nod quickly. Once he was satisfied that she would obey whatever directive he'd given her he'd wished Blake a good night, winked at him, and left the room.

Blake had stood as Jess turned from watching Francois' back disappeared through the doorway. Blake had opened his mouth to apologize for what happened. As the first word left his mouth Jess' eyes went wide and she shook his head as she lunged for him.

"Cameras," she said quietly as she looked up at him. His eyes closed as he remembered. Francois would be recording the rest of their night together. It wasn't over, not for either of them.

"What did he say to you?" Blake kept his voice low.

"Sit down for me." She let go of his am and waved toward the bed with her empty hand. He didn't move. "Blake please." He stepped back, felt the mattress against the back of his legs, and sat down slowly.

She twisted the cloth between her hands as she moved between his knees. "What—?"

"Lie back," she murmured.

"Jess no—"

"If you don't—"

"Fine," he said as he looked at her lowered head. "On one condition." She lifted her head. "Tell me what he said to you."

Her eyes closed. "He reminded me of something."

His eyes narrowed. "Of what?"

She opened her eyes, stepped closer, and dropped the cloth on the bed so she could take his face in her hands. "Something you had requested," she said softly as she lowered her head and brushed her lips against his.

He grabbed her hips. "Don't say it," he whispered quickly.

She lifted her head to look into his eyes. "I have to." The curve of her smile trembled, tears shimmered along her lashes, her breath hitched softly. "I love you." Guilt jabbed at Blake from every angle as she kissed him softly and tears splashed onto his chiseled cheekbones.

Eric was still waiting to hear those words from that woman's mouth and Blake had received them mere minutes after violating her body. It had only cost him a hundred thousand dollar membership fee and a good portion of self respect.

Blake snapped back from his memories as Jess shifted onto her shoulders. He scooted his hips back, taking his shaft away from the enticing feeling of her soft skin. "Why don't we shower before breakfast gets here?"

She frowned for a second, obviously trying to puzzle out what he was trying to tell her. "Okay," she said then flipped the sheet back and slid out of bed. "I'll get the water warm for you."

Blake flopped onto his back as she went back to the washroom. He listened to the water turn on and imagined Jess stepping under the spray. His eyes closed as more memories from the previous night came back to him.

When he had turned out the lights and slid under the sheets next to Jess she had tired to turn away from him but he'd pulled her close to ask how she'd ended up there. She wouldn't answer him. He'd tried again and she'd reminded him of the cameras that were recording everything happening in the room and asked him to go to sleep. He relented but didn't go to sleep right away. Instead he'd laid there with his arm around her stiff body, waited till her breath deepened, and she relaxed into sleep's embrace.

He still didn't have any answers.

He sat up with a heavy sigh and climbed out of bed. He stretched his big frame as he ambled toward the washroom. His eyes immediately went to the shower. Jess was rinsing shampoo from her hair. His gaze followed the white foam sliding down her curves for a second. He turned away to grab his tooth brush.

He tried to keep his eyes on the vanity as he brushed but every time he looked away from her reflection he found himself gazing at it again. She was still in the shower by the time he'd finished so he walked over to the glass enclosure, opened the door, and stepped in behind her. She stepped out of the spray so he could get wet and grabbed a bottle of body wash from an insert in the tiled wall. He swallowed a groan as she squirted some of the soap into her hand and then proceeded to smooth it over his chest.

"You don't have to do that," he said, just loud enough to be heard over the water.

"Do you really think there aren't cameras in here?" she asked as her hands moved down to his abs.

He grabbed for her hands before they could go lower but it was too late. His body was already responding to her. "If you keep that up—"

"It doesn't matter," she said as she looked up at him. "I'm his whore—"

"You're not—"

"That's what a concubine is," she hissed. "They can dress it up any way they want but it's the same thing."

He looked into her eyes for a moment. "How did my dad lure you away from Eric?" he asked.

"He didn't lure me." She looked down at his hands holding hers. "Eric threw me away."

"What?" He let go of her hands and tipped her chin up. Her eyes closed and she nodded slightly. "He didn't—"

"He did," she whispered as she pulled free of his grasp.

"Jess—"

"I should go," she said then stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from a nearby hook.

"What about breakfast?" Blake wiped water from his face and leaned out of the shower.

"I'm not hungry." She ran the towel over her skin in quick angry swipes.

"We need to talk." Blake stepped out of the enclosure to stand dripping on the plush mat in front of it.

"I don't want to talk to you." She hung the towel up and turned to march out of the room.

"Then I'll just request you again." As soon as the words left his mouth he was filled with regret.

She stopped with her hand on the door knob, her shoulders slumped, then she turned and he could see the pain in her eyes. "Fine."

"Is there somewhere we can go that has some privacy?"

"The beach." She yanked the door open. "I'll meet you there in an hour." She left before he could answer.

***

Blake was strolling down to the water forty five minutes after Jess had bolted from his room. He walked along the waves trying not to appear anxious and doing a half assed job of it. Ten minutes later he spotted Jess making her way across the sand with a hurried step. The breeze coming off the water whipped the white sundress she was wearing against her legs.

Blake dragged his gaze from the her legs to the less than pleased expression on her face. Without being asked he followed her along the sand to an outcropping of rocks.

"Jess I'm sorry—"

"You swear you weren't in on it?" she asked as she came to a stop.

"I don't even know what it is," he said as he spread his hands out front of him.

"This." She reached into the pocket of her dress then held out a folded piece of paper. He took it, flipped it open, and scanned the words.

Jess,

You were right. This isn't what I want.

You're not what I want.

I'm ending my experiment.

Eric.

"What the fuck is this?" Blake asked in a low murmur.

"A courier delivered it—" Her voice caught. "The day he went to London."

He looked from the paper to her face. "I don't understand."

"I got it just as I was leaving work—" She lifted her hands to her face as she remembered. "I ran into your dad right after I opened it." She took a deep breath. "I'm not sure what might have happened if he hadn't been there."

"Jess—"

"What my ex did was awful but he was just a scum bag. This was so much worse." Her fists clenched in her hair. "Eric hurt me on purpose."

"He didn't—"

She glared at him. "Yes he did!" She stabbed a finger at the letter. "He made me trust him, let me fall in love with him, and then—" She swiped at the tears stealing down her cheeks. "He threw me away like fucking trash."

Blake folded the letter then shoved it into a pocket in his shorts. "Eric didn't do that." Jess opened her mouth to argue. "I know he didn't." He stepped closer to her. "What happened with my dad? How did he talk you into this?"

She looked out at the waves. "When he ran into me I was so upset I couldn't even tell him my address so he took me to his place."

"Have you been there this whole time?"

"Until he brought me here a month ago." She shrugged. "Any time I mentioned going home he had a reason for me to stay. He wanted company, it gave me a place to hide out and put myself together."

"I guess it makes sense, in a fucked up way. But why did you quit your job?"

"I didn't quit, I was fired. I got the email the day after the letter was delivered."

"Have you tried to call Eric?"

"Of course I did, every day for a week. It went straight to voice mail every time." She took a deep breath. "Your dad showed me pictures of Eric with other women—"

"I swear he hasn't been with anyone else since you disappeared."

"I saw them," she whispered as more tears coursed down her cheeks.

"Jess," he said softly. "We've been looking for you." He stepped closer to her and pulled her into his arms. "This whole time."

"Why would your dad do this?" Her voice was muffled against his chest.

"Other than being a self centered ass?" She nodded. "I don't know." He pulled her down onto the sand. "Tell me everything."

She settled herself on the sand and let him take her hand. "Okay..."

***

The letter slid from frozen fingers to float down and land on the concrete sidewalk. She blinked as a hand closed over her shoulder.

"Jessica?" She knew that voice. Her head lifted and she looked at the men next to her.

"Marcus?" He nodded. "What are you—?"

"I was just coming from a meeting across the street when I saw you," he answered. "What happened?"

She waved at the letter on the ground."He lied," she choked on the words as tears closed her throat.

He bent down to grab the letter and envelope from the ground. "I'm sure he didn't intend to," Marcus murmured as the comforting hand on her shoulder squeezed slightly.

She looked at him without really seeing him. "Why would he do this?" Tears slid down her cheeks with her whisper. "Why would he spend all that time trying to win my trust just to do—" She looked down. "This?"

"I wish I had an answer for you."

"He lied." Her head fell forward.

You were right.

The words burned across her heart, scorching it into bleeding little pieces.

You aren't what I wanted.

She couldn't breathe. Her world tilted in a crazy wobble. Marcus gripped her shoulders and steadied her as her knees weakened.

"Can I take you somewhere? My car's right here." He motioned toward the black town car parked ten feet away. She nodded without looking at the car, too lost to really car. She wanted to curl up in a ball and just let the world go on without her.

He led her to the car and helped her inside. She started to cry as they pulled away from the building. Marcus put his arm around her and let her weep against the shoulder of his expensive suit. His phone buzzed as they drove through the city. He didn't bother checking it because he knew it was his assistant, letting him know Eric's number had been blocked from her phone.

Marcus rubbed her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I knew that he'd been selfish in his youth but I honestly thought he'd changed."

"He said he had—" Her voice broke with a sob. "He said he wanted more." She tucked her face into his shoulder as she cried harder.

He had the driver take them to his place. She didn't even look out the window as the car left the city core behind and headed toward the hills overlooking the city. When they pulled up to the front door she let him help her from the car and lead her through to house to a quiet bedroom. She sank down onto the mattress and buried her face in the pillow.

Marcus slipped out of the room, pulled his phone out as he moved down the hall, and gave his assistant the go ahead to bribe the doorman at Eric's condo building. After that was taken care of David would have the guy they'd hired block any frequently used numbers on her cell, draft an email to send to her supervisor, and another to Jess.

As he went down to his office to wait he felt a pang of regret. It was very brief but it was still there. He considered what he was doing to his son for a moment. In the next he reminded himself that Eric was young, and more than capable of finding someone to replace her. He on the other hand would probably never find someone like Jess again and he wasn't willing to risk losing the opportunity to have her for himself.

His only true regret was hurting Jess. From the research David had given him he knew she had suffered after the truth of her husband's activities had come to light. She had slogged through her days while being plagued by self doubt before shoving herself back into the dating world.

The messages she'd traded with his son and her other potential lovers had painted a picture of a wounded, scared creature, hiding behind a mask of humour. A person reading between the lines could see she just wanted to be loved, truly and completely loved.

It was clear that what had begun between her and Eric had been exactly what she had been hoping to find. And he had taken her away from that. It might mean that he would burn in hell for an eternity but if his manipulations were successful it would be worth it. He would happily spend the next decade making it up to her by showering her in gifts and affection.

As long as in the end she agreed to do what he wanted.

***

Jess woke up a few hours after Marcus brought her home. She laid there blinking in confusion. Somehow she'd ended up in a room that looked like it could be used for a design magazine. After a few minutes of speculation she sat up slowly. She leaned over and turned on the lamp sitting on the night stand. She was on a fourposter bed, with a thick mattress, and an incredibly soft blue comforter.

In a rush everything came back to her. Eric had broken things off with her and Marcus had been there. She'd gone with him somewhere. She looked around the room as she thought about earlier that day. It was just a blur of pain but they must have gone to his house. That made sense. He'd have no idea where she lived and she hadn't been very helpful, all she'd been able to do during the car ride was cry.

Even as she sat there admiring the tasteful decoration of the room, more tears were pricking at her eyes. She stood up quickly, afraid that if she stayed there she'd never get out of the bed again. She spotted what she hoped was an en suite and made her way to it, breathed a little sigh of relief when she discovered that she'd been right.

She looked herself over in the mirror and decided a shower would be necessary before she went to find Marcus. In spite of her best efforts the tears started again when she was under the spray of water. In the time she'd been with Eric she'd let herself believe that he meant everything he'd said. She'd allowed herself to care for him and if she was completely honest with herself to love him more than the little bit he'd asked for in the beginning.

In some ways it was worse than the betrayal she'd suffered at her ex's hands. Eric's actions had been cold, calculated, and for his amusement. It was incredibly cruel.

As she stood crying she thought about how he'd let her get close to his brother and best friends. For a moment she wondered if they had been in on his horrid little plan. She couldn't imagine Row being a willing participant in such an awful game. Blake yes but not Row.

She turned off the water and dried herself quickly, intending to get herself together as best she could and get out of there so she could go home and hide herself away. She needed to grieve her foolishness.

She wrapped herself in a towel and walked back into the bedroom to find her phone. She was surprised to find the bed had been made and there was a stack of clothes at the end of the bed. "How long was I in there?" she murmured.

Next to the clothes was a note written in a very masculine cursive.

Jessica,

I had David pick these up for you.

When you're feeling up to it, please come see me in my office.

It's on the main floor, just past the foyer.

Marcus.

She touched the clothes gingerly and blushed as she uncovered lacy underwear in the pile. Her mouth dropped open when she unfolded a cashmere sweater. She shook her head slightly then pulled it over her head and sighed softly as the fabric caressed her skin. She pulled on the panties and leggings then brushed her hair back from her face with her fingers and called her preparations as good as they were going to get.

After a little exploring she found Marcus' office. The door was ajar so she knocked softly then peeked inside. He looked up from the computer screen in front of him with a smile.