The Mistress Mistake (16 page)

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" he
snarled.

"I'm not going to talk to you," she replied,
just as pissed as before.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "You sure
as shit are."

"No." She turned her back to him and opening
the dishwasher, she loaded the single plate she'd used earlier.

From her peripheral vision, she saw him give
her a look that could have killed, and then he turned and walked
away from her and slammed his way into the bathroom. Minutes later,
Jessica heard the shower running. She began pacing, and her anger
began to take on proportions that she couldn't seem to control.

She paced over to the French doors, and saw
all the kids out there still hanging out on the patio. In a fit of
pique and to get away from Connor, Jessica pulled her sleeping
shirt off and threw on a better t-shirt, one that made her tan
stand out and matched her shorts, and went out to join the
party.

****

Even though everyone was happy for her to
join their little impromptu get together, with a sinking feeling,
Jessica knew the second she walked outside that she'd made a
mistake. She should have stayed inside and had it out with Connor
in private. Now that she'd distanced herself from him a little bit,
she realized she didn't want him to come out here and look for
her.

But now she couldn't just leave, at least not
yet. Everyone was drinking alcohol, and before she could take even
a breath, Eric grabbed her by the waist and dropped an inebriated
kiss on her cheek before tugging her over to the table with him and
pulling out a chair for her.

She sat down and for a few short minutes,
almost forgot about Connor as she listened to their laid-back
antics. There were only five people, three guys and two girls, and
with a sinking sensation, Jessica realized that Eric was the fifth
wheel in the group. Just by walking outside, they'd more or less
become an instant pair.

Eric was good looking, and if there wasn't a
man called Connor who
owned her sex life,
Jessica knew she'd
probably be interested in him. But there was a guy called Connor.
At least for now. If he'd fucked someone else, he was history.

Thank God and all that was holy, she didn't
have to put up with his shit anymore if she didn't want to. If he
couldn't keep it in his freaking pants--that was it.

She talked to Eric a few minutes, about his
cousin and the classes they would be taking in the fall, and then
she told him she was tired and had just wanted to say 'hi'. He
raised a single, drunken eyebrow at her, as if he didn't believe
she was really going back inside so soon. He looked so silly that
she laughed at him as she got to her feet.

Both of the other girls had just jumped into
the pool and the splash they made sent droplets of water all over
her and Eric.

Not wanting to let her go inside yet, Eric
made a rush at her and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her
off her feet, and spun her in a circle, toward the water.

Jessica shrieked, spontaneous laughter coming
from her throat, as she clung to him and screamed, "No, don't do
it."

Eric laughed and made another circle and she
began hitting at the hands that held her. He set her down, with her
feet teetering on the edge of the pool, and put his hands on her
shoulders in a move that allowed him the opportunity to push her in
or hold her in place. "What's it worth to you, pretty?" he asked,
his dark blue eyes staring down at her, his words slurred from too
much alcohol.

"How about your life, asshole?"
The
enraged voice came from not a foot behind them, and both Jessica
and Eric turned to face the specter that threatened.

Connor towered over them both, barefoot and
dressed only in jeans. Fury came from him in waves, his jaw
clenched tight as his features became more menacing by the second.
His stance was erect, his muscles flexing, his hands fisting at his
sides, closing, then opening, then closing again. There was
aggression written in every line of his body, and he looked ready
to detonate at any given moment.

A dangerous sizzle filled the air, and
Jessica began to back away from Eric, trying to stop the impending
violence that seemed more probable as the seconds ticked by.

Connor was a good four inches taller than
Eric, and he had probably forty more pounds of muscle on him. And
even though she knew Connor had been drinking earlier in the
evening, he was stone cold sober now and Eric could barely stand up
he was so wasted.

Eric wouldn't stand a chance in hell against
Connor, not even on a good day, and Jessica knew if it got physical
now, it wouldn't be pretty. Connor looked ready to kill with his
biceps flexed, his legs braced apart, and there was absolutely no
doubt in Jessica's mind that he was ready to attack.

She moved to stand between the two men,
inching away from Eric and toward Connor, because she was certain
that the only way to calm Connor down now would be to go with him,
to move to his side. And even though she was still pissed at him
and she had a knot in her throat that made speaking difficult,
Jessica reached out and put her hand on Connor's wrist, in a move
that indicated she would go with him. Trying to do anything to
defuse the situation, she held on tightly, trying to protect Eric,
who was innocent in all of this.

Eric had to choose that moment to start
getting his shit straight. "Jess, you know this guy?"

Her tongue darted out and licked her dry
lips. "Eric, this is Connor. Connor, Eric."

Before she could get another word in, Connor
made a grab for her hand and pulled her behind him. He took another
threatening step toward Eric, and that quickly, he was in Eric's
face. Connor's voice deepened, antagonism coming from every
syllable.
"Stay the fuck away from her, mother fucker.
You
touch her one more time--trust me, they'll never find your fucking
body."

Eric lifted his hands up in the air in a
conciliatory motion, but he looked hurt, and focused his
bleary-eyed gaze on Jessica as he swayed on his feet. "Should have
told me you have a boyfriend, Jess."

Jessica stood with her mouth open, seeing a
side of Connor that he'd never even hinted at. But there was no
time for more of a reaction as she found herself being pulled
behind an infuriated Connor, through the black gate of her
courtyard and inside the apartment.

He secured the lock on the French doors and
turned to her. "You have two seconds to start explaining."

Jessica's nerves steadied out and the fury
she'd felt at Connor earlier came roaring back. "Or what?" she spat
out.

"You want to find out? I swear to God,
Jessica . . . push me, just push me."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Damn, fucking straight."

She let out a disgusted puff of air and
turned to move past him, "Right."

He grabbed her arms and lifted her, bracing
her against the wall, and pushed his torso against hers, her feet
dangling in the air.
"Get the fuck off me, Connor!"
she
yelled. She was absolutely furious at him. Furious, but not
scared.

He ignored her and pressed more tightly
against her. "Have you fucked him?"

Her eyes flared and shock and anger dueled
for emotional control. "What? No!"

"What was all that shit he spewed about you
not telling him that you have a boyfriend? What the fuck did you do
with him that made him say that?"

"Nothing, I don't know." She wiggled her
torso in an effort to free herself. "What about you?
You fucked
another woman tonight.
Don't try to change the subject and turn
this shit around on me."

Connor growled, low in his throat and if
Jessica hadn't been so pissed, she would have taken it for the
warning it was. His lip curled over clenched teeth and his voice
dropped to icy precision. "I told you already. I. Did. Not. Fuck.
Anybody."

"Bullshit, I smelled her all over you."

"I didn't fuck anybody, Jessica!"
he
snarled.

"If you didn't fuck her, you damn sure
touched her. You were close enough to her that her perfume was all
over you."

He let out a slow, aggrieved breath while he
continued to pin her against the wall.

"You've got nothing to say to that?" she
demanded to know. "No, of course you don't,
because it's the
truth,"
she accused.

"I didn't fuck anybody. I haven't fucked
anybody since I met you." His eyes pierced hers. "Did you fuck
him?"

"No!"

"Have you fucked anybody else?" His voice and
his eyes were like chips of menacing ice.

Jessica refused to be pulled sideways in this
fight. She gritted her teeth and remained silent.

His gaze dropped to her mouth. "Have you
fucked anybody else?" His voice lowered and he asked the question a
second time in a low, almost anguished voice.

When she recognized the unguarded, vulnerable
tone to his voice it almost got to her. If the other woman's
perfume wasn't still uppermost in her mind she might have felt bad
for him. He seemed to be in pain, but she didn't know if she could
believe it. She sagged against the wall, crazy emotions vying for
center stage in her stomach. "You know I haven't, don't you?" she
asked.

Their eyes held as a rush of heat passed
between them. "I think it would kill me if you did. You're mine,
and I won't share you with anybody. Not because it was one of your
conditions, but because you belong to me. Just the thought of
someone touching you sickens me." Steel hardened his muscles again
and any hint of softness left his voice. "Nobody gets close to you,
got that?"

She studied his features closely, wondering
at his exact meaning. Surely he didn't honestly believe she
wouldn't ever have male friends. And for him to stand there and
make demands when he came here tonight smelling of another woman?
Bullshit.
"Maybe," she said slowly.

"Maybe? What the fuck is that supposed to
mean?"

"I didn't do anything wrong. I only hung out
with those guys at the pool a few times."

Just as quickly as his anger had left, it
came roaring back with a vengeance. "In that goddamn little string
bikini?"

"It's a public pool for the entire complex.
Did you seriously think nobody would use it except for me?"

"I should have fucking known. I should have
fucking known the second you stepped outside in that little fucking
swimsuit there'd be guys all over you."

"That's not true. They don't come out every
time that I do."

"I can see I made a fucking error in
judgment. Get your shit. I need to get out of here. I'm still too
pissed to be anywhere close to sane about this. I'm still not sure
I shouldn't go back out there and kick his ass."

"Where are we going?"

"My house. Pack enough clothes for the
weekend, and bring that tiny-ass little bikini."

Jessica was gripped with uncertainty. "No,
I'm not ready to leave just yet."

"What?"

"First you need to explain why you waltzed in
here at midnight, reeking of bourbon and perfume."

"Nothing happened, that's all you need to
know."

"I don't think so."

Pushing his hand through his hair, he turned
away from her with a grim expression before, once more, nailing her
with his stare. "I had a meeting 'til nine. Wanted to stop and have
a drink." His voice stalled, and he mumbled under his breath,
'why am I explaining this'
and looked away from her, putting
his fisted hand to his mouth and gashing it to his clenched teeth
in frustration.

Jessica's spine stiffened. "You don't think I
deserve an explanation?" Pain and anger flared up inside of her,
all over again. "I'm just the girl you pay to fuck, right Connor?"
Jessica made up her mind, right then and there, she wasn't going to
tell him yet. She wasn't going to tell him about her windfall until
she knew what he really thought. She wanted to know what happened
with him earlier, and she didn't need to show him her ace in the
hole, not quite yet.

"You know it's more than that, goddamnit," he
snarled, his voice twisted in anger, sounding anything but pleased
to have to admit it.

"Is it?"

"Yeah, it is . . . if it wasn't, I'd have
been able to go through with it," he pushed out through gritted
teeth.

Jessica's eyes flared and she felt her face
turn white. She began struggling, strongly and violently, and she
took him by surprise and was able to squirm out of his arms. She
flung herself across the room, and turned to face him, wrapping her
arms around her waist in self-protection. She stared across the
room at him, tears brimming in her eyes. She didn't know which was
the stronger emotion, hurt that he'd gotten so close to picking up
a woman that he reeked of her, or relief, that he hadn't gone
through with it. And through it all, was the slow burning
anger.

He turned slowly to face her, as if it was
the last thing he wanted to do, and as he dropped his weight
against the wall to lean against it, Jessica saw clearly that he
realized exactly what he'd admitted to.

The heat and anger she felt were almost
overpowering, but she
did
believe him. She believed that he
hadn't gone through with it. Twin tears spilling over, she wiped at
them furiously and spat out at him in an accusatory tone, "You
wanted
to fuck somebody else."

"I
didn't
fuck somebody else," he said
flatly.

"You wanted to, you went out to find
someone."

"We're not going to have this conversation,
Jessica. Nothing happened. That's the end of it."

She shook her head back and forth, unwilling
to accept that. "This was a mistake, all of it." Throwing one arm
wide, she indicated the apartment, the set-up. "I can't live like
this anymore."