“Get over it, Jake. You’ll find out who she is in time.”
Pouring himself a coffee, he recalled the friends with her. He didn’t personally know Maya but Chris did. Blowing on his drink, he grabbed his cell phone. Flicking through the contacts he found his friend and hit dial. Minutes later, he cursed, throwing the phone on the counter, surprised it didn’t shatter.
If Chris wouldn’t answer his phone then he’d answer his bloody front door. In quick time Jake put on a pair of jeans, a white shirt, and some shoes. He grabbed his keys and headed downstairs to the parking lot.
Nodding at the security guards, he walked toward his vehicle. Without looking at the time or thinking about what he was doing, Jake drove toward Chris’s house on the outskirts of the city. His friend lived in a modest three bedroom semi. Their friendship had been something to vex his parents but also be thankful. Chris’s family were wealthy but nowhere near in the same league as his family. His parents were workaholics and apart from him, there were no more children. On weekends when his parents needed to go on business, he’d spend them with Chris and his family. In fact, the Robinsons were more his family than his own.
Parking his car outside, he charged up to the front door and started banging. Jake didn’t give up, slamming his fist against the door.
“What the fuck?” He heard Chris yelling inside.
The door opened seconds later and Chris was blinking up at him.
“Hey, Chris,” Jake said, barging past his friend.
“Fuck, Jake, do you have any idea what time it is?”
Glancing at the nearest wall he saw it was a little after nine and said as much.
“It’s after nine on a Saturday. What couldn’t wait for a bit later?” Chris rubbed his head and his hair fell all over the place.
Jake winced. “I did call. Next time you don’t want a visit answer your fucking cell.”
“It’s Saturday, I do fuck-all today and you’ve invaded my morning. You don’t even own a fucking pussy to keep me interested.”
Flicking on the kettle, Jake looked through the cupboards finding the coffee. He spooned plenty of coffee into a mug. “I’m sorry but I need Maya’s number.”
His friend tensed. “Why?”
“I want to ask her about Bella. I need to know more about her.”
“Who the fuck is banging around?” Maya asked, rounding the corner.
Jake wasn’t expecting that. She wore one of Chris’s shirts, which went to her knees.
“Oh, you? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Chris is my best friend,” Jake said, grabbing another mug for her. Great, he could kill two birds with one stone.
“I know who he is.” In one brisk move he was pressed against the wall. “What the fuck do you think you were doing?” She snapped the words in his face.
Frowning, Jake looked toward his friend. “Has she gone mental?”
“Maya?”
“No, don’t even think of interrupting me, Chris. This was a fucking mistake. I should have known not to get involved with you and yet here I am, being fucked again.” She glanced over her shoulder, directing her words at Chris.
Jake didn’t have the first clue as to what was happening.
“You, what the hell did you do to Bella?” she asked, turning back to look at him.
“What? I wanted to know where I could find her. She didn’t give me her number.” He held his hands up in surrender. Jake could have gotten out of the hold she had on him but he didn’t want to risk upsetting his friend.
“She had a terrible time. We took her out last night to finally lose her virginity and to show her how much fun fucking can be. And what did you do? You fucking spoiled it for her.”
Every word she spoke was like a bucket of ice water being poured over his head. Virgin? Awful time? What the fuck had he woken up to? “What?” he yelled.
“You didn’t even know, did you?” Maya asked.
“Maybe you should let my friend go. We’ll have coffee and talk about this like proper human beings, rather than you keeping him pinned against the door to the fridge,” Chris said.
“Yeah, I’m with him.” Jake pointed at his friend with a smile.
Bella was a fucking virgin?
Jake finished the drinks, placing a mug in front of each of them. Taking a seat at the table, he saw the glare on Maya’s face.
“Start from the beginning,” Chris said, taking point.
“Bella is my best friend but she doesn’t trust easily. Last night was supposed to be about her and I fucked up. I should have known not to go to Mixers.”
“What? You were going to let any man fuck her?” Jake asked, growing angry at the thought of another man touching what was his.
“No! You’ve got no right to raise your voice at me. Whatever you did to her, she hated it. She doesn’t want to do it again and from the sound of it, she couldn’t leave you fast enough.”
He’d been taking care of the fucking condom while Bella was finding anyway to get away from him. Jake gritted his teeth as Maya went on to tell him everything about the woman he’d been with.
She hated it.
Running a hand down his face, he took another swallow of the bitter coffee. While he’d been having fun she hated it. Did she even come? Fuck, he felt like the worst kind of asshole for not seeing her pain.
After several minutes he stood up, emptying the rancid drink down the sink. “Where can I find her?” Jake asked.
“What?”
“I want to know where I can find Bella. She left me last night and to be honest I hate the fact she hates sex because of me. I had no idea it was her first time and I thought she was into it like I was.” With his hands inside his pockets, he waited for her to tell him.
“I’m not giving you shit,” Maya said.
“Babe, give it to him.” Chris reached out to touch her.
She jerked away, shooting a glare at his friend.
“No, I’m not giving him jack shit. She’s my friend and I put her in this situation. I’m not letting him screw with her.” She folded her arms underneath her breasts.
Stubborn woman.
“You’re going to give me her number,” Jake said.
“No, I’m not.”
“Do you want her to hate sex? I don’t give a fuck what’s going on between the two of you.” He stopped talking to point between the two. “What I give a fuck about is hurting Bella. She deserved a lot better than what I gave her. Let me make it up to her.”
How he’d keep himself from putting Bella over his knee and spanking her ass, he didn’t know. She deserved a good spanking for what she did to him last night.
“You better not hurt her,” Maya said.
“I won’t.”
“She’s at work today.”
“Then give me her address.” He folded his arms, waiting.
Seconds later he was out of the door. His woman was a librarian. It seemed fitting somehow. Last night at Mixers she seemed out of place and now he knew why. He would bet money she’d been out of her comfort zone then he’d fucked up by invading her life.
Shaking his head, he got behind the wheel and drove toward the town library.
The moment Bella danced with him, she’d cemented her fate in becoming his.
* * * *
Working at the library always helped to ease her troubled thoughts but Bella couldn’t find any help putting books in their right place today. Vera had sent her off when she kept messing up the computers while scanning peoples’ books. Why couldn’t she focus?
The ache between her thighs didn’t help. Every time she moved it caused her to wince. She hadn’t been used to sex and now her inner muscles protested the movement.
Each book on the shelf gave her an excuse to stay away from prying eyes. Whenever she looked at people, she truly believed they could see she was no longer a virgin. Her stomach rumbled, making her aware she’d not eaten.
This morning, she’d slept through her alarm, arrivi
ng late to work for the first time. She’d been so late she didn’t have time for food. Life at the moment sucked.
Leaning against the stacks, she blew out a breath wishing for the day to be over.
“This is where you work?”
Bella would recognize that voice from anywhere. Opening her eyes, she stared at the spines of the books while he stood right behind her. His breath fanned her neck. Didn’t he know he invaded her space? How did he know where she worked?
Great, her one time with a man also brought her a stalker as well as all this pain.
Turning around, she gasped as he pressed his body against hers. His hands reached out, resting beside her head on the shelf.
“We’ve got a problem,” he said.
“How did you know where I worked?”
“Your friend was kind enough to tell me along with a lot of other things,” he said.
“Who?” she asked.
“Maya and one of my friends are more than acquainted.”
He stared at her and she knew what other things her friend had given. Would her misery ever end?
“Look, last night was a mistake.” She looked past his shoulder then left and right to make sure no one heard them. “You don’t need to give me anything. I’m fine and I think its best we forget what happened.”
His fingers caressed her cheek. “No. I’m not going to forget what happened last night and to be frank, Bella, I’m not leaving until we have a chat.”
“I’m working.”
“I don’t give a fuck.”