Sweet Obsession: Windy City Kink, Book 1 (6 page)

“My parents were supposed to be away for the whole weekend, but they came home early because my mom wasn’t feeling well, and walked in on us. We were both naked, and I was tied up, and…” Her insides crawled with remembered embarrassment. “Jack covered me up. But then we couldn’t get the knots undone. It was such an epic disaster.”

“Okay,” Kevin said slowly. “So, um, how did that come about? I gather you consented?”

Her head dropped forward again. “I did consent, but that was my mistake. I don’t know why I did that. I guess I wanted to make Jack happy. We’d been trying different things…” How could she admit that she’d been excited about it? That she’d wanted it too. Embarrassment crawled beneath her skin. “Anyway, my parents freaked out, as you said. My dad just about had a heart attack and my mom was crying, and it was really ugly.”

Kevin met her eyes and gave her a small encouraging smile. “You know I’ve been there, doll.”

“I know.” She gave him a wry smile in return and reached out to squeeze his hand. “I was really, really in love with him,” she continued, her voice going low as her throat tightened up. “I thought he felt the same about me. When my mom saw Jack hitting me—”

“Wait, what?” Kevin held up a hand, frowning. “He was hitting you? You said he tied you up. What do you mean, he was hitting you?”

“It wasn’t a big deal. Anyway, my mom went berserk. She wanted me to see a psychologist, and I did go a couple of times, but I didn’t want to talk about what had happened. I just wanted to forget it. Pretend it never happened. My mom made me volunteer at a shelter for abused women, and lectured me over and over about how I was better than that, and I didn’t need to put up with that, and that any guy who really loved me would never hurt me or do things like that to me.”

Now Kevin’s mouth fell open. “Ah…”

“She was afraid I had low self-esteem or something and I was going to turn into one of those women who ends up in abusive relationships and can’t leave. The women I saw at the shelter who ended up going back to their lowlife boyfriends or husbands.”

“Abusive. Whoa. But…”

She shook her head. “I know, I know, I don’t have self-esteem issues and that’s not going to happen. It was just an embarrassing mistake and I’ll never make it again.”

“Sixteen is pretty young,” Kevin said slowly. “But, Sasha…” He stopped. She could tell he didn’t know what to say.

Heat climbed from her chest into her face at reliving that humiliation.

“Okay, back to the hitting thing,” Kevin said carefully. “What exactly do you mean by that? Was he hurting you?
Was
he abusing you?”

She bit her lip and looked down at her now empty plate. “No. He was spanking me. It wasn’t really hurting me. I mean, it was, but not like he was…injuring me. Or beating me. But my mom interpreted it that way.”

Kevin blinked. “Uh-huh. Okay.”

“Are you shocked by this?” she asked. “You seem kind of surprised. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, no, I’m not shocked. But Sasha, honey, you’re kind of…naïve, aren’t you?”

“What! Naïve? I am not!”

He smiled. “It’s okay, doll. “

“I’m twenty-eight years old. I’ve had sex and relationships. I’m not naïve!”

“You have led a somewhat sheltered life,” Kevin pointed out. “A lot of your boyfriends are guys your parents set you up with, carefully screened.”

“Not anymore.” She pressed her lips together.

“So, after that night you never saw Jack again, right?”

“Right. He dropped out of school and left town. I was heartbroken. But I was also angry with him, for putting me in that position, and causing such an uproar with my family. Things were uncomfortable with my parents for…well, they still are,” she admitted. “They were disappointed in me, ashamed of me. I felt like I’d let them down. But they also blamed Jack. God, they hated his guts. He never did show his face around our home again, but if he would have…who knows what they would have done to him.”

“So he just disappeared. Never even called you or emailed you?”

“Nope. It was hard. But I survived.” She strained a smile. “I knew Jack had moved to California. Or at least the last few years he lived there. I don’t know if that’s where he went when he left here. He’s been hugely successful. He and another guy started some kind of Internet security company that’s apparently gigantic and worth gazillions of dollars. I also knew he was back in Chicago. It was in the news about six months ago that they were moving their headquarters here. But I never thought he’d contact me, and I sure wouldn’t have contacted him.”

“So he’s filthy rich now.”

“Apparently. You should see his condo! It’s amazing.”

Kevin grinned. “And you’re not easily impressed, having grown up in the lap of luxury.”

“Oh please. You make me sound like a spoiled princess.”

His smile softened. “You’re not spoiled, doll, but you were a bit of a princess.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Your family is very protective of you. Your father, your brothers. They practically waterboarded me when you were moving in here.”

“Oh, they did not!”

“Pretty close.” But he grinned. “They’re pretty intense guys.”

“Yeah, well now you know why,” she muttered. “It drives me crazy. Hey, do we have any ice cream?”

“No. But we could go for a walk and get some.”

“Okay! Anyway, that’s why I can’t work with Jack. Too much history. Painful history. And he makes me nervous.”

“Well, you definitely shouldn’t work with him if you’re afraid of him, or think he might hurt you.”

“What? No!” She slid her plate into the dishwasher and straightened to face Kevin, frowning. “That’s not why he makes me nervous. He would never hurt me.”

“Then why are you nervous?”

She bent her head and stared at the tile floor. “Because…I’m afraid of how he makes me feel.”

“Well, that’s a whole different thing. Guess I’d need to meet him to see for myself.”

“Well,
that’s
not going to happen. Let’s go get ice cream.”

“Let me go change.”

Kevin only wore women’s clothing around the house, and only around her. His guy friends didn’t know, and he rarely told girls he dated, after a couple of bad experiences.

They walked to Sweet Licks, the little ice cream place around the corner. Even in March, it was busy, and they stepped into the warm, brightly lit shop to wait in line with all the other folks there for sweet treats.

“Double or triple scoop?” Kevin asked her, eyeing the menu. “Maybe ice cream
and
a milkshake?”

She laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. “I’m not that bad! I think a single scoop will do it, after all that pasta I ate.”

“I have no idea why you don’t weigh two hundred pounds.”

“Yeah, I don’t know either. Just lucky I guess. One day it’ll catch up with me.” She too studied the menu. Hmmm. “Almond coconut,” she read aloud. “Cinnamon banana.”

“Chocolate cashew.”

She shot him a disgusted look. “You know I hate chocolate.”

“I know.” He grinned. “Which is weird considering your sweet tooth and the fact that you like every other kind of sweet known to man.”

“Almond coconut,” she decided, ignoring him.

“I think I’ll have…peanut butter chocolate chip.”

They waited until it was their turn, and everything looked so good, when it was her turn to order she impulsively asked for a triple scoop. Kevin slanted her an amused glance as he placed his order. “It’s on me,” he said, as she reached for her purse.

“Thanks, bud.”

Moments later they turned around holding their cones, and came face to face with…Jack.

She stopped dead and her mouth fell open. Their eyes met. And held. He smiled.

“Sasha. Hi.”

She couldn’t even speak. Once again, her pulse spiked and her skin heated everywhere. “What are you doing here?” she asked stupidly.

“Getting ice cream. What else?” His gaze shifted to Kevin. “Hi. I’m Jack Grenville.” He extended a hand.

Kevin’s eyes widened but his poker-playing skills served him well as he kept his expression friendly and neutral. He shifted his ice cream cone to the other hand and shook Jack’s. “Kevin Chillen. Sasha’s roommate.”

“Good to meet you. So what kind of ice cream is good here?”

She still just gaped at him and then hastily licked a drip of ice cream from her cone. Jack watched her. His eyes went hot watching her tongue. And then she burned all over.
Oh my damn.

Kevin filled him in on their choices, all casual and friendly, while she stood there numbly licking her ice cream cone so it didn’t melt and run all down her hand.

Cripes. What was he
doing
here? A couple inches taller than Kevin, he looked badass in a super-soft black leather jacket, dark hair falling over his forehead, studying the menu.

“Hmm,” he said. “I think I’ll skip the vanilla.”

Kevin choked.

Sasha blinked.

“Maybe…what the fuck?
Garlic ice cream
?” Jack turned a horrified expression on her.

She couldn’t help but laugh. “You have to try it to believe it.”

“That’s just wrong. Huh. Root beer.” He nodded emphatically. “That’s what I want. Root beer ice cream. Hey, hang on while I order.”

And weirdly, they obeyed his command.
Oh lord and master.
Shatner! She and Kevin moved away from the lineup and found a small table to sit at. She kept glancing at Jack.

“That’s him?” Kevin murmured.

“Yeah.”

He smiled.

“What?” She scowled at him.

“You just said I wasn’t going to meet him. And here he is.”

“Yeah. And that’s freakin’ weird. This is too much coincidence for one day.” She leaned across the table. “What if he’s stalking me?”

Kevin narrowed his eyes, glanced at Jack in line, then back at her. “You think?”

“I don’t know! But doesn’t it seem odd? He calls and sets up that meeting out of the blue and then again shows up here—nowhere near his neighborhood, I might add—again, out of the blue. It’s creepy.” She frowned as she nibbled at her ice cream, which was orgasmically good.

“Mmm hmm.”

Jack meandered over to their table, all casual and super sexy in his leather jacket and faded low-rise jeans, licking his ice cream. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up and sat. “This is really good.”

She gave him a frustrated look. “Jack. What are you doing here?”

“Eating ice cream.” He smiled and nodded. “Yours is dripping.”

She gave a big huff which made both guys smile, and felt just a teensy bit ganged up on. Kevin wasn’t supposed to like Jack. He was supposed to be on her side. She glared at Kevin. He gave her a look that she thought said, “Relax. I’m here. You’re safe.”

She didn’t need anyone to look after her, as she’d told her father and brothers a billion times. And honestly, even though it was kind of weird that Jack had showed up here, she didn’t feel threatened by him. Other than that he made her extremely…aware. Aware of his hands holding his ice cream, his long fingers and neat nails. His casual posture that nonetheless radiated energy. Those intense dark eyes looking back and forth between her and Kevin as if he were assessing them and trying to decide if there was anything between them.

“Sasha came to my condo this morning,” Jack said to Kevin. “About a job. Did she tell you?”

“Yeah, she mentioned it. Sounds like a cool project.”

She again narrowed her eyes at Kevin.

“I think so,” Jack agreed. “I’m hoping she’ll take the job.”

Kevin frowned. “I thought you turned it down,” he said.

More heat washed into her cheeks.

“She did at first,” Jack said with a smile. “But I convinced her to think about it.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good.”

Jack turned that compelling gaze on her. “Remember: Unlimited budget and complete freedom to design whatever you want.”

“I told you,” she muttered. “That’s not a good way to do business. I could build something horrendous and charge you a small fortune for it.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” He smiled, a slow, sexy curve of his mouth. “I trust you, Sasha.”

She didn’t understand why.

“So,” Jack continued, leaning toward her a bit. “How’d you two come to be roommates?”

Her eyes shifted to Kevin and back to Jack, and she told him how they’d met. “It’s Kevin’s house,” she said. “I just pay him rent and do some gardening for him.”

“Since you call each other roommates, I gather you’re not a couple?”

She shot Kevin another look and swallowed a sigh. “No. Just friends.”

Jack nodded but his expression didn’t really change, still casual and friendly. “Sounds like it works out for you.”

“Yes.”

“How’d you get into landscaping?” he asked with what seemed sincere interest.

In her craziest dreams she would never have imagined sitting like this with Jack, having this kind of let’s-catch-up conversation. “It wasn’t planned,” she said. “I went to college and studied business, like my dad wanted me to. Then I went to work for my dad at the bank, but it just wasn’t for me, sitting in an office all day in front of a computer. I wanted do something more creative, so I quit and went back to the landscaping company I worked for when I was going to school, and I started taking some landscape design courses.”