Chapter 25
JETT
I stroke my cock and grunt, replaying that scene in my head again. Of Cari in that dress. Barefoot and sitting beside me on a barstool, telling me she’d wear anything for me.
When we reached home, I told Brooke that I needed to freshen up and that we’d meet for dinner in thirty minutes. But the truth is, I’ve been hard for most of the day, trying to arrange the wood in my pants. Things just got worse after bumping into Cari. Even getting out of a fucking SUV is torture with this woman around.
My hand moves in long, hard strokes, helping to ease the tension that’s been building in my body all day. Tension I barely managed to release as I left for work this morning.
I come hard, streaking the glass shower door with thick, white lines. All because of her. Groaning out the last of my release, I press my forehead to the tiles. Water cascades down my body, but I can’t wash her off me.
I squeeze my eyes shut, wincing at the memory from last night.
You’re not wearing a bra.
Who the hell says that to their employee?
She’s been messing with my head and my cock. It started when we met in the bar. No, it was before that. When I saved her from near drowning. I can’t forget the way her body clung to mine in the water, the way her legs wrapped around me, the way her hands rested on my bottom, the way her fingers dug in.
When I’m around her, my cock has a mind of its own. It stood to attention when she caged me between her legs in the water. I had to jerk off in bed that night as well, because I had trouble sleeping. I left the sheets a tangled, dirty mess, all because of the feel of her.
And then again last night, seeing her in that off-the-shoulder dress. Like I needed any more encouragement to think about her.
When Ruby told me Cari had gone to meet with friends, I knew instantly who she meant. The thought of her with him—it made me insanely jealous. Still does.
That tells me something.
It matters.
She matters, more than I care to admit.
I sat in the bar waiting for her because I couldn’t sleep knowing she wasn’t back at the mansion. I feel responsible for her, especially here where she doesn’t know anyone, and in a country that is new to her. I would have stayed up all night, but I was pleasantly surprised when she came home when she did.
I saw her on the security camera and expected her to go straight to bed. I wasn’t going to confront her or anything, I just needed to know she was safe.
But she came into the bar.
That was her first mistake.
I would dress however you wanted me to.
That was her second. Why would she say that? Cari doesn’t care about my money or my status. I’m just a boring, old boss to her. So why say something like that to me, of all people?
She needs to go.
The most responsible thing for me to do is to send her home—soon—despite what I said to her. I just can’t be around her anymore. It’s getting harder and more dangerous having her here, in this house, under my roof. It’s easy enough to keep my business life separate from Brooke, but this mess with my PA? That’s hard.
If I’m not careful, I’ll do something stupid, like earlier today when I couldn’t help myself. Instead of going home after a hard day of negotiations, I asked the driver to take me to the caves where I knew they’d be. I was desperate to see Brooke, but I also needed to see Cari. And when I did, I couldn’t bring myself to say a word to her.
On the way back, I watched her sneakily, trying to gauge her reaction after the night before. But she didn’t give anything away. Didn’t say a word. She was quiet. She was probably thinking of her next date with that imbecile.
I didn’t speak to her even though I wanted to. I couldn’t, and didn’t trust myself. But just being in the SUV was something. My sweet little girl sitting between us and chattering about her day helped, but the few glances at Cari told me she was miserable. I wanted to say something so much, but the logical part of me knew better.
Then as we left, we both rushed to grab Brooke’s elephant, and my hand brushed hers like a feather. Having her so near me, caught me unexpectedly.
It made my cock jerk to attention.
I had no option but to jump into the shower. Not because I was hot or sweaty from work, but because I had to get her out of my head.
These last few days, I’ve gone over our interactions, wondering if there’s something I’m not seeing. I try to make her words have a deeper meaning rather than facing the truth for what it is—she’s just a girl who’d had too many cocktails that night and was feeling brazen. She was tipsy and having fun. She’s young, carefree, and still grieving her mom.
Send her home.
I should but … I’m not one for playing it safe. I’m a risk-taker and I have a surprise for her. I’m eager to see if she really means what she said.