Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Jessie
Eva opens the door, wearing a yellow sundress, her hair down in loose waves. I’m not sure I got the memo that we were supposed to look cute. I’m wearing jean shorts and a black tank top. At least my hair is down, and I have on some makeup.
I extend my arm and hand her the bottle of wine. “I’m underdressed. Is this some fancy dinner party?”
She smiles brightly and grabs the wine as I walk into their penthouse.
“Addie slept through the night last night. I finally had enough energy to shower and do my hair. I had to jump on the opportunity. Plus, she’s six weeks now, and the doctor gave us the green light to have sex again. Roman is ready to pounce on me.”
My head jerks back. “Uh, are you sure you want me here?”
She chuckles and links her arm with mine. “Please, he needs to work for it. If he’s good tonight, I’ll reward him.”
We walk into their kitchen, where Roman and Walker are each holding a baby. I nearly trip over myself. Every time I see him, I forget how beautiful he is.
My heart beats against my chest like it’s trying to make an escape.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t realize you would be here,” I say as we join them around the island.
His eyes appear to glow with delight, like he can sense my nerves and enjoys seeing me squirm.
His lips turn up. “You got a problem with that? Do I make you uncomfortable?”
I scoff. “No. I was just saying I didn’t realize you’d be here. No need to be a dick about it.”
He cocks his head to the side, studying me. I’m not sure why I’m being so defensive. I’m reverting back to my old behavior, where being mean to him feels like the safest way to deal with the tsunami of emotions I’m experiencing.
“And they’re back.” Roman chuckles to himself.
I look at him with what I hope is a murderous stare that conveys how much I will hurt him. He doesn’t seem fazed. He just winks at me.
Eva laughs. “All right, calm down, everybody. Let’s have a nice evening together. It’s my first adult night since I had Addie.”
Roman walks over to the oven and peeks inside. “Lasagna is almost done. Should be another fifteen minutes, and then we’ll let it sit for another fifteen to cool down. Let’s have a drink out on the terrace while we wait.”
I follow them outside onto the terrace that has a breathtaking view of the city. The sun is beginning to set over the Hudson, which gives me chills to see. I don’t spend much time in penthouses, so these views don’t come along very often.
The terrace has several sofas and chairs with big black cushions on top. I settle onto a chair that’s diagonal to a long couch, where Eva and Roman just sat down. Walker takes the chair next to mine.
I can smell his cologne from here. A distractingly woodsy scent that always makes my body break out in a shiver.
It’s hard to even look at him so I look past him toward Eva, who is now holding Addie while Roman pours each of us a glass of wine.
It was just the other night that he told me my mouth was like heaven. I wanted to be angry, but all it did was turn me into a quivering ball of desire. For years, I had wondered if he could tell I was inexperienced. Maybe if I had done a better job, he wouldn’t have pushed me away.
To know the truth about him enjoying it, for him to describe it like that, it just made me want to do it again. I’ve learned a lot over the years. I want to show him what I can do. I want to drive him wild.
I want him to look me in the eyes this time and know it’s my mouth wrapped around his thick cock.
Roman pulls me from my thoughts and hands me my glass of wine.
“Thank you.” I smile as I take it from him.
The first sip goes down so smoothly. I forgot I’m at a billionaire’s penthouse, so I’m probably drinking a bottle that cost more than my electric bill.
Addie and Eli instantly decide to make their presence known as they both begin to wail.
“She’s probably hungry,” Walker announces casually. “I’m going to go in and feed her.”
Roman stands and takes Addie from Eva. “I’ll give her one of the bottles you pumped in the fridge. You enjoy yourself out here. We’ll call you in when dinner is ready.”
Eva hands over Addie, then turns to me and winks. As soon as Roman is out of earshot, she whispers, “Odds are in his favor so far. I think he might be getting lucky tonight.”
I chuckle, then reach for my glass on the coffee table. “Cheers. To at least one of us getting lucky tonight.”
She laughs. “You don’t have anybody you’re … interested in?”
The way she says it, it’s like she knows something that I don’t. She looks over her shoulder at the guys, then back at me.
“Umm,” I drawl, not sure how to answer. I can’t tell her I’ve been pining for her brother since I was a teenager. “Not really. Same old boring dating life.”
“Hmm,” she hums, “that’s too bad.”
I get the feeling that she’s trying to push me to talk. She can’t possibly know that there’s something simmering between Walker and me. I haven’t told her anything. Walker definitely wouldn’t say anything.
Thankfully, she lets the subject go, and we start jabbering about celebrity gossip—a favorite pastime of ours.
Roman eventually calls us in for dinner. We walk into a perfectly set dinner table. I take a seat at the round table.
“Where are the girls?” Eva asks.
The guys point toward the family room, where one is on a mat and the other is in a swing, both seeming perfectly content for the moment.
“It’s a ticking time bomb over there. I don’t know how long we have before one of them loses it,” Roman says.
I’m impressed. The guys have everything under control.
We all plate our food quickly, knowing we don’t have much time. About halfway through the meal, things take a turn.
“Jessie”—Roman looks at Eva and winks—“how do you feel about blind dates?”
Walker coughs, choking a bit on his wine before recovering. I’m thrown off by his question. It feels completely out of left field.
“Uh, I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it. Why?”
He lifts a shoulder nonchalantly. “I’ve got a friend I think you’d hit it off with.”
“Oh, interesting. Um …” I stall as I try to find the right words.
No, I’m not interested. Not when the only man I’ve ever burned for is sitting to my left, occupying every space in my mind.
“Oh, Drew is very attractive. You definitely should meet him,” Eva interjects enthusiastically.
Roman side-eyes her. “Easy there. Don’t go drooling over my friend.”
Eva rolls her eyes. “Chill yourself. I only have eyes for you. I’m just telling my friend here that she should consider it.”
Walker drops his fork on the plate, and a loud clatter echoes around us. He seems visibly agitated. I peek over at him, then back at Roman.
Walker sighs but doesn’t say anything. He has some nerve, getting upset over me being set up. He doesn’t get to push me away and tell me he can’t be with me, then get angry at the idea of me being with someone else.
“You know what? I’d love to,” I reply confidently. “You can give him my number.”
I look over at Walker, who is now staring daggers at Roman. Roman smiles triumphantly back at him while I try to figure out if there’s some kind of game being played here that I’m not aware of.
“Yeah, I’m sure Drew would just love dealing with your smart mouth,” Walker mutters under his breath.
“Excuse me?” I shift forward in my seat, stunned that he just said those words out loud.
Before he can answer, one of the babies begins to cry. Not long after that, the other follows suit. Addie and Eli seem to be battling it out for who can scream the loudest.
While Roman tries to soothe her, Addie takes the opportunity to spit up all over him.
“Shoot. I’ll go get a burp cloth,” Eva tells him before running over to the corner of the room.
While she begins to wipe up Roman’s shirt, Walker places a pacifier in Eli’s mouth and tries to soothe her. She seems reluctant to take it, whining every few seconds.
I suddenly don’t feel like I can finish my food, my appetite stolen with the bitter taste in my mouth. I push out my chair.
“Um, I think I’m going to take off. You guys have your hands full. Thank you so much for dinner, Roman. It was delicious.”
Eva gives me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. We’ll get better at this hosting-with-a-baby thing eventually.”
I wave my hand at her. “Oh, stop it. Next time, I’ll provide the food so you two can have a break. I’d say my place, but it isn’t big enough to host.”
“Take care, Jessie. I’ll be in touch about Drew,” Roman adds as Eva continues to wipe up the spit-up all over him.
“Bye, Walker,” I say through clenched teeth. “Have a lovely evening.”
His piercing stare sends goose bumps up my spine. “I’ll make sure you get home safe.”
I start to head toward the door, not understanding why he even cares. “I’m fine, Walker.”
“I said”—he raises his voice as he places Eli in the stroller, then grabs his diaper bag and slings it over his shoulder—“I’ll make sure you get home safe.” He waves over his shoulder. “Thanks for dinner.”
The room feels too small, too hot. I let out a breath, trying to push away the storm brewing inside. Instead of fighting him, I hold open the door so he can push the stroller out.
We wait in silence for the elevator, the air between us thick with unspoken words. When the doors slide open, the quiet follows us inside, pressing closer than the steel walls ever could.
The space feels charged, the silence crackling like static before a lightning strike. I keep my eyes fixed on the glowing elevator numbers, refusing to look at him, though his presence presses against me with a force that steals my breath.
If this is how he is going to be, I would rather he not walk me home. I’ve been living alone in this city for years; I know how to take care of myself.
“I’m fine getting home on my own,” I say lightly.
He lets out a grunt. “No.”
I’m fed up with his attitude. I don’t deserve this kind of treatment when he’s the one putting us through this. “Let me be clearer. I don’t want you to walk me home.”
He shifts his body until he is towering over me. I crane my neck to meet his piqued eyes. For a beat, he just looks me up and down, as if he’s sizing me up. I swallow back my fear of trying to face off with him when I’m so consumed by the fire his presence engulfs my body in.
“Let. Me. Be. Clear. I am walking you home whether you like it or not.”
My jaw falls slack. I’m shocked at the nerve of this man. I point my finger directly into his chest as hard as I can. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
He stumbles backward but catches himself, though he doesn’t seem pleased. I begin to pull my hand back, but he grabs my wrist and pushes me up against the wall of the elevator.
His lips are a breath away from mine. My anger mixes with lust. It’s a push-and-pull that is making my panties uncomfortably wet.
“Don’t push me right now, Jessie. I’m not in the mood. Let me get you home safe, and then you can go on your little date with Roman’s friend.”
I knew he was pissed about that. I try to shove him out of the way, but he gets back in my space.
“Don’t you dare act like you get a say-so in who I date. You made it pretty clear where we stand, so you don’t get to have an opinion on the matter.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says, which sounds like a warning. “Nothing is clear about where we stand.”
“Oh, I disagree. You’re the one who has this big bad secret that he uses as an excuse because he’s too chickenshit to be a man and take what he claims he—”
Before I can finish, his mouth crashes down on mine, swallowing the rest of my words. The force of his kiss steals the air from my lungs, but it’s the hunger behind it that sets me ablaze. His hands grip my cheeks as his lips devour mine.
I fist his shirt and yank him closer, slamming his chest against mine.
His teeth catch my bottom lip, a sharp sting that makes me gasp before he soothes it with his tongue, sliding deep and tangling with mine.
Heat surges through me, and a helpless moan tears free, betraying just how badly I want him.
We are both ravenous as our lips continue to devour each other. He abruptly stops the kiss, then leans his forehead against mine, our breaths mixing together in the space between us.
“Come home with me,” he demands as his hands move down my arms until they find mine.
My brain is still reeling from our kiss, making it hard for me to think or formulate any kind of coherent thoughts.
“Please,” he continues. “I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to fucking worship your body tonight. To make you mine.”
I should say no. I should tell him to fuck off and stop messing with my head. There are plenty of things that I should be saying at this moment.
Instead, I find my lips moving before I can stop them. “Okay,” I whisper just as the elevator doors open wide.