Chapter Seventeen #2
Jesse shuddered slightly, Arthur’s complimentary words ratcheting his pleasure higher, even as his cheeks began to flush. Arthur kissed the top of Jesse’s head and nuzzled his nose into his hair. He inhaled and then hummed as though pleased by the scent.
Arthur continued to pump his fist, and Jesse trembled, his knees wobbling slightly as heat rushed to his cock. Fuck, he was feeling so intoxicated by Arthur’s care that he could barely keep himself upright. Knees still weak, Jesse clutched tight to the front of Arthur’s jacket.
“Sweet Jesse,” Arthur cooed. “I know you must be close.”
Arthur positioned the handkerchief in front of Jesse’s swollen member, and the sight of it there, ready and waiting, nearly caused Jesse to climax on the spot. He was teetering on the precipice now. He could feel it.
Jesse’s muscles began to tremble, his cheeks burning hotter. Shivers of pleasure needled up his spine.
“That’s it,” Arthur whispered. “Good boy.”
Arthur’s Goddamned praise sent him over the edge.
Jesse cried out softly as his cock began to pulse, his ejaculate shooting into the waiting white handkerchief.
Arthur continued to move his hand to coax out every last drop.
He whispered words of praise into Jesse’s ear, calling him things like lovely and pretty, and his voice made Jesse feel wanted and whole.
“I’m so sorry, Jesse. I’ve been so lost without you,” Arthur said.
Capturing Arthur’s mouth in another kiss, Jesse moved to unfasten Arthur’s pants so that he could bring Arthur the same sort of pleasure and prove to him how lost he had been, too. But the moment that his fingers found the first button, someone knocked.
Fear seized Jesse by the throat. Immediately, he broke their kiss. He scrambled to fasten the buttons of his pants while Arthur hurriedly shoved the balled-up handkerchief inside one of his pockets.
“Just a moment!” Arthur called out.
His hair was sticking up every which way. Jesse lunged forward to fix it.
“It’s only me,” Charlotte said from the hallway.
Arthur and Jesse shared a look and let out long breaths of relief in tandem.
“Oh, thank God,” Arthur said through his next exhale.
“I’ll wait out here,” Charlotte said.
Arthur placed his palm flat on his own chest, over his heart.
“I feel as though I might faint.” He pressed his hand to Jesse’s chest in the same fashion. “Yours is beating as fast as mine. Lord in heaven, that was close.”
Disoriented from the rush of terror, Jesse only barely managed a nod. Arthur took a step backward, straightening his jacket.
“Do I look presentable?” he asked.
Jesse nodded again. Arthur rubbed his palms together as he walked to the door.
As soon as he pulled it open, Charlotte slipped inside.
Jesse’s cheeks burned. Charlotte had to have known that the two of them had been engaging in some sort of physical intimacy.
Arthur, though, seemed not to be embarrassed in the least, even when Charlotte reached up to fix the last stray lock of hair that Jesse hadn’t managed to push back into place.
“Thank you,” Arthur said. “Are people looking for me?”
“Yes, but—” Arthur interrupted her with an exaggerated groan. Charlotte leveled a look. “But not who you probably think. One of the fair’s organizers showed up. Mr. Mitchell.”
Arthur’s face fell.
“You’re joking,” Arthur said.
“I wish I was.”
Arthur let out a huff. “Once the time reached eight fifteen or so, I felt certain that none of the organizers would come. What respectable person shows up to a party more than fifteen minutes late?” Arthur’s eyes flew wide, and his head snapped toward Jesse.
“Oh my word, Jesse, that is not how I meant it. Really, I can’t believe it came out like that. You’re a perfectly respectable person.”
Jesse let out a fast breath through his nose, almost a laugh, his mouth curling into a small smile even though his stomach was still topsy-turvy from the shock of Charlotte’s sudden knocking.
“It’s fine, Arthur. I know you weren’t trying to criticize me,” he said.
Well, mostly he knew that.
Arthur’s shoulders sagged a little with his next breath. “Thank you,” he said before facing Charlotte again. “Where is he? Upstairs?”
“Actually, no. He’s in the parlor. I’m not sure if he’s here for the party, exactly. Or, maybe he is, but Patrick said that he wanted to speak with you privately.”
Arthur looked over at Jesse. “Will you wait here?”
Jesse managed a nod.
Arthur hurried over and pressed a kiss to Jesse’s lips. Jesse’s heart stuttered as heat rushed to his cheeks. Holy hell, Arthur had kissed him right in front of Charlotte! Jesse’s head was still swimming as Arthur turned to leave.
Before Jesse could recover from the shock of being kissed in front of another person, Arthur and Charlotte were gone. And then Jesse was left alone.
After some time passed, Jesse started back toward the sofa and sat. One half hour went by. Jesse began to pick at his cuticles.
He startled when he heard a sudden click and turned to face the door.
A girl came into the library, seemingly lost in thought. It took her an extra second to notice Jesse, and then she let out a soft yip, staggering back a step.
“Arthur told me to wait here,” Jesse blurted out.
She seemed to relax a little and shut the door behind her. “Oh.” Narrowing her eyes, she took a tentative-looking step forward. “Are you Jesse O’Connor?”
Jesse crooked an eyebrow. “Yes?”
She nodded a few times as though taking this in. “I’m Arthur’s daughter.”
“Emma.”
She nodded once more. Before Jesse could reply, one corner of her mouth ticked up to form what looked like a teasing smile.
“You’re my father’s forever friend,” she said.
Jesse’s eyebrows shot up. “His what?”
“Just something he called you once.” She shrugged and continued toward the sofa. “He likes to believe that he’s clever, but I think I know what it means. I’ve heard him mention you to Charlotte a few other times, too, when they thought that I wasn’t listening. I know a lot more than they think.”
Jesse tried to swallow past the swell of fear that had settled in his throat. Emma heaved a sigh.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Emma said, rolling her eyes. “Mind if I sit?”
Dumbstruck, Jesse only shook his head. Emma sat beside him.
“I’m only here because my friend Lizzie left,” she explained, smoothing out her skirts. “I’d rather not return to the party by myself. It’s boring. But you can go if you want. Everyone will probably be eating soon. In case you’re hungry.”
Jesse managed to croak out a soft, “No.”
Anything he’d have eaten just then would have come right back up.
Besides, Arthur had told him to wait in the library, and so, that was what Jesse intended to do.
Even though Emma was here. Even though Emma was here and she knew that her father was with a man in a romantic sense.
Even though Emma was here and she knew that her father was with a man in a romantic sense and that that man was Jesse.
Emma sat back and crossed her ankles.
“Don’t you work for a newspaper?” she asked.
Jesse blinked a few times, his mind hurrying to catch up with the present moment. So, Emma really wasn’t going to ridicule him, then?
Jesse shifted his weight on the cushion.
“Uhm, not exactly. I work for Putnam Press. Despite the name, it’s only a print shop. We print newspapers and flyers and things, but we aren’t the ones who write them.”
Emma frowned. Apparently, that wasn’t the answer she had been hoping for.
“Do you . . . like to read the newspaper?” Jesse tried.
She shrugged. “Sometimes. I’d like to write for one even more, though.”
Jesse let out an incredulous little scoff-laugh and raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t have heard her right.
Then Emma said, very haughtily, “I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that, because of who I am, I couldn’t possibly ever work for a newspaper. But I will. In fact, I write for my own newspaper right now. It’s not a real one. Obviously. But I know how to write. I write it for my friend.”
“Oh.” Jesse nodded a couple of times, trying to absorb this interesting and unexpected piece of information. “What do you write about?”
“Whatever news I can find out on my own. Which isn’t much. Sometimes I write less serious stuff, too. Social news. Gossip.” Her sly smile returned. “In fact, if you and my father aren’t careful, I might feature the two of you someday.”
Jesse sucked in a fast breath. Emma cackled a little.
“I’m not being serious,” she said. “I know I’ll need my father’s help if I ever want to work for a real newspaper in the future.”
Emma laughed some more, and Jesse ran a hand over his face. Emma may have had Arthur’s passion, as well as his smile, but her sense of humor was not nearly as sweet.
“So, your father supports this endeavor, then?” he asked.
“Not yet. I’ll change his mind, though. I hope.”
Jesse smiled a bit. “I hope so, too,” he said.
Just then, someone flung open the door to the library. Jesse turned to see Arthur standing in the threshold, his beautiful blue eyes sorrowful.
“They chose someone else.”
Jesse’s heart sank.
“Oh no,” he said, his forehead wrinkling with sympathy as he stood. “I’m so sorry, Arthur. I know how excited you were to exhibit.”
Emma stood up as well. She placed her hands over her heart. “Oh, Father, I’m sorry, too.”
Arthur hooked his hands behind his back and shrugged, lowering his eyes to the floor.
“I’m fine,” he said softly. “I thought it would have been exciting, is all. But the organizers know what’s best for the fair. Obviously they want it to succeed. I know this must not have been personal. And I’m sure the printing press exhibits they will have will be nothing short of wonderful.”
Emma took a few steps toward him before suddenly stopping. It looked like she was unsure whether or not she ought to hug her father. Arthur himself looked unsure about how he should act, too.
After a few more ticks of the clock, he said, “Don’t worry about me, Emma. Really. Go back to the party.”