Geez. His tone and his questions made her feel like she was in front of the school principal. But then, she knew he would react this way. "I'm going to take the bus."
"Does it stop at the complex?"
A new set of butterflies took off in her stomach when she knew she was going to have to give him an answer he wasn't going to like. "About half a mile away."
His features hardened. "And what are your hours?"
"They're usually going to be nine in the morning until six, with an hour break for lunch."
"Usually?"
Shit. Here came the part where he'd throw a conniption because her time with him would be interrupted . . . and because of the fact that she'd have to walk in the dark. "Monday and Wednesdays I'll work noon 'til nine." She told him that quickly, to get it over with.
"No." The single syllable came quickly, and it was inflexible.
"Connor--" Her thoughts fled as he pushed to his feet and walked around his desk. He came to stand in front of her, and lifted his hands and pushed them in her hair, either side of her face and raised her eyes to his.
"No," he reiterated more softly, his thumbs stroking her cheekbones.
Jessica took a deep breath and focused on the part of the equation that somehow, she knew, wouldn't matter as much to him. "I'll be home by nine-forty-five, tops. And the other nights I'll be home way before you get there, I promise."
His hips pressed into hers, a subtle threat, while his hands and voice stayed gentle but firm, as if he were explaining a simple concept that she just couldn't grasp. "That's not the problem, Jessica. The problem I'm having with this is your lack of transportation. As much as I don't want you walking to and from the bus stop, I realize that it's a relatively safe area and during the daylight, I'm sure you'll be fine. But there's no fucking way in hell you're walking after dark."
She ignored his dictate, and focused on the reason for it. "I've thought about that, and I'm going to get some mace."
"Some mace." He repeated her idea and then rolled his eyes and shook his head as if she had no sense at all. "That's not good enough." His words stopped as if he was deep in thought and then he continued more abruptly, "No, you need to call them in the morning and tell them you won't be able to take the job--"
Angrily, she pushed against him and interrupted him with her ace in the hole. "So you want me to have to do this again after our time together is over?" She motioned with her hand between their bodies, indicating the relationship they were in.
His teeth gritted and he snarled like an animal, "No."
"If I save a lot of money now, I won't ever have to do it again."
His snarl became a low, wounded growl and Jessica knew that he realized he was going to have to let her win. "You get off at nine tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"I'll be waiting for you in the parking lot. You can either accept that I'll pick you up on your late nights, or we can have a blow-up, drag-down fight about it, but I guarantee that it'll be pointless because I'll win. That's the only way this is happening."
Jessica inhaled sharply and tried to settle her nerves. "You do realize that you're not the boss of me, right?"
One large hand slid down from her hair to pinch her chin. "You think not? I think I am, so let's not put it to the test. Be the smart girl I know you are and just nod your head and agree with me."
She glared up at him, but took his advice and nodded her head.
****
Now that Jessica was working, the next few weeks flew by. Although not stimulating, her job wasn't boring. True to his word, Connor picked her up every Monday and Wednesday. The other nights, he came to her apartment at his usual time and she was there waiting for him.
Between her job and Connor, she didn't have much time for anything else and she didn't run into Eric or Travis again. She spoke to Allison a few times, and told her she'd been able to score the job, the scholarship and the apartment, and that she was looking at getting a new roommate next year. Although a bit sad, the other girl was in agreement with that, as long as they stayed friends, as she wanted to stay on campus with her sorority sisters.
Everything was working out well, except for one major glitch. Connor's lovemaking had shifted, and not in a good way. Most of the time he treated her as he had of late. He looked into her eyes, held her tightly and made love to her in the missionary style or sometimes with her on top. Those times were amazing and she thought their relationship was evolving into something more normal, maybe even something permanent.
But sporadically, and for no apparent reason, he would revert back to his old way, and flip her to her stomach, with little care for her pleasure, and stroke his way to orgasm. He never said anything during those episodes, not while it was happening and not after, and Jessica couldn't help but feel hurt.
Sometimes she was so hurt and confused that she wanted to tear her hair out and then roll into a tight little ball and cry her eyes out. And it was that confusion that she put down as the reason that she'd temporarily gone off her rocker and done a bad thing.
A very, very, bad thing.
It happened after one of the wonderful nights, a night when he'd made love to her. Infinite love, slow love. He'd had her so upset the night before with the whole flipping her to her stomach episode, that on this night, she'd been thankful and almost tearful that he'd made love to her again. He'd held her face in his hands, he'd looked into her eyes as he'd slowly pumped into her and just before she crested the sun, she whispered those horrible, sad, three little words. "I love you."
He froze above her, obviously more shocked by the words than she was herself. But then, his nostrils had flared and he'd lost it--coming inside of her with a surge of power that equaled the orgasm she was experiencing.
And she'd thought everything was okay for a moment. But it wasn't, because she'd ruined it. Or maybe he'd ruined it. It didn't really matter, because she couldn't take back the words.
He'd pulled away from her and walked to the bathroom as if he couldn't wait to escape from her.
And then it had only gotten worse. He'd come out fully dressed a few minutes later and stopped by the bed to look down at her. But before he could make a comment, his cell phone rang and he scowled, but answered it.
"Yeah?" As he answered, his eyes landed on Jessica and stayed on her. She felt like a fool lying there, totally humiliated from what she'd told him, totally stupid. As he stared down at her, with what looked to her to be accusing eyes, she wanted to wave a wand and disappear or at least pretend it had never happened. As she listened only half-heartedly to what seemed to be a business conversation, her mind began wandering, trying to blame anyone but herself for the words she'd so foolishly spoken. Maybe if she'd had a decent mother growing up, she'd have known better. Maybe a good mother would have taken the time to explain the birds and the bees and to tell her the salient fact that if a woman respected a man, and if the sexual chemistry was there and he treated her well, that if she let him make love to her over and over and over again, continually dropping her guard and letting him see into her soul, then there was pretty much no question that she would fall in love with him. But she hadn't had a decent mother, and it hadn't occurred to Jessica that she would fall this deep, this fast.
As she continued to lie there, feeling so exposed it was cringeworthy, she slowly began to take in the one side of the conversation she could hear. And when she did, her pain and shame turned to anger so quickly she thought she might combust.
She needed armor for what was about to go down, and with her head spinning, she almost forgot about her ridiculous confession as fury encompassed her. She glanced around and hastily grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head.
As Connor ended the call and slipped the phone in his pocket, Jessica scrambled off the bed on the opposite side to where he stood. Heart clanging and nerves stretched, she asked, "Who was that?"
He crossed his arms ove
r his chest and gave her his full attention once again. "Tiffany, a woman I contract to do graphic design for the business."
"Did I just hear you agree to take her on some kind of a date?"
His features turned to granite and his voice hardened. "Not a date. She needs an escort to a wedding next weekend."
"A wedding. How old is this woman, exactly?"
"Why do you want to know?"
At his short, glacial question, Jessica lost it entirely. "How the fuck old is she, Connor?"
"This isn't any of your business, Jessica. This has nothing to do with any of the ground rules that you and I have established. You don't get to question me like this."
"I don't, huh?" Rage such as she'd never experienced shot through her veins like fire.
His jaw clenched. "No."
"You can't date anybody else, Connor." Jessica laid it out for him in succinct words that he couldn't fail to understand.
"I'm not going to fuck her, Jessica. She just needs a goddamn escort on Saturday. I'm trying to be nice, like a fucking gentleman."
"You can't be that naive, Connor! Have you looked in a damn mirror lately? Trust me, she doesn't just want an escort. She wants you."
"That's bullshit. She was very explicit. She needs an escort, just this once."
"Like Anthony needs an escort for summer mixer?" Jessica's rage infused her voice with disdain. "You remember Anthony, right? The hot frat boy you very vocally told me that I couldn't go to the water park with?" She threw the 'hot' part in just to antagonize him as her eyes narrowed and her voice hardened even more. "You go with her next weekend, then I'm going with him . . . and it happens to be on Saturday. Isn't that just a lucky coincidence?" Jessica laid the ultimatum down between them, determination in every cell of her body.
He braced his legs apart and a menacing look came over his face, one that Jessica should have heeded, but didn't and she pushed him again, sarcasm lacing her tone. "So you decide what you're going to do, and let me know soon, okay? Because I need to tell Anthony."