30. Melissa
30
MELISSA
“ B ee?” I called out as I hurried into the bathroom.
Quiet sniffles came from the last stall. I locked the bathroom door behind me and shoved the trashcan under the door handle for good measure. It wasn’t very heavy, but it was a start.
I knocked on the stall door. “Let me in. If you don’t, just know I’m short and have no problem crawling under the door.”
Thankfully, Bridget hadn’t even bothered to lock the stall. I pushed the metal door open and found her huddled in the corner with a wad of toilet paper in her hand.
She dabbed at her eyes, careful not to smear her flawless makeup. “I’m fine,” she rasped.
My heart broke at the sound of her voice. “Honey,” I said gently, crouching down beside her. “Of all the people here tonight, you know better than to lie to me. What happened out there? Did Chase say something to you?”
Bridget pushed off the floor. “I need to get back out there before Kyle wonders where I went,” she whispered .
“Jase is handling him.”
Her eyes widened, shock and horror painted on her face. “You told Jase?”
“No, I didn’t. Because against my better judgment, I promised you I wouldn’t even though he’s my boyfriend and we’re talking about getting fucking married,” I snapped. “Which is all going to go to shit when he finds out that I knew what Kyle had been doing to you this whole time. You promised me that you were leaving him. Why the hell did I get a bridal shower invitation in the mail the other day? Having a fucking bridal shower like you’re happy and in love doesn’t exactly scream getting out of a dangerous situation. ”
She looked down at her shoes as tears of shame welled up in her eyes.
Oh, God. I was such a bitch.
I let out a breath, needing to steady my own temper. “I’m sorry. That was… That was out of line.”
The corner of her mouth quivered. “You’re not wrong.”
“I shouldn’t have said it, Bee. None of this is your fault.” I didn’t know what else to say, so instead of talking, I pulled her into a hug. Bridget crumbled in my arms and cried. She held on to me as heavy, body-shaking sobs choked every other breath coming out of her lungs.
There were tear stains on my satin dress, but I didn’t care. “Bee,” I said softly as she straightened up. “What happened out there?”
She sniffled as she turned and tore more toilet paper from the dispenser. “Nothing happened…”
“Why’d you run? There are plenty of people out there. Kyle won’t touch you.” Not here, anyway.
“I haven’t been alone with Chase in a long time,” she sniffed. “We’ve kind of been avoiding each other, I guess. At poker nights… Wh en he comes to the bar… We don’t talk. And I miss him.” She soaked up a stray tear. “He brought a date tonight. It’s not his fault… Chase… He just?—”
“I set him up,” I said, cutting her off. I didn’t want her mind to spiral any further than it already had. Her body may be bruised and tired of fighting, but I needed her mind sharp. Cunning, keen, and sly. “His date. The redhead. Her name is Whitney. She’s a nurse. We work together.”
Bridget looked at me like I’d punched her square in the nose. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I knew that Kyle was coming with you tonight, and he gets on edge whenever Chase is around you, alone. Chase had been saying that he didn’t have a date, so when he was at the hospital a few nights ago to get a statement for a case, I made the introduction. They’re just friends. I’m sorry. I just… I wanted tonight to go off as smoothly as possible. I didn’t want to give Kyle a reason to come at you when you get home.”
She looked down at the soaked tissue in her hand. “Well. We both know I royally fucked it up by running off. He’s probably lost Jase by now and is looking for me.”
“Bee…” I pressed my fingers into my eyes. “You’ve gotta let me into whatever this plan of yours is. I need to know what’s up. I can’t help you if you keep me in the dark.”
“I need you to get me a phone,” she said quietly as if she was scared of Kyle overhearing us. “I can pay you back. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. I just need to be able to call you without him knowing.”
“Like… A burner phone?”
She nodded. “Something prepaid. I can’t have bills showing up at the house. He has my texts and calls forwarded to his phone. Or maybe he gets them from the phone company or something… And when I do leave him, I need you to come get me . I can’t take my car or my phone. I know he tracks my phone, and I wouldn’t put it past him to track my car, too. I have a little cash saved up. What I’ve been able to hide from him, anyway. I’ll crash at the inn for a few days and lay low after we file the police report.”
I squeezed her hand. We were both shaking. Both knew the gravity of the situation.
Both knew the stakes if it went sideways.
“You’re actually doing this?” I said quietly.
Bridget nodded. “I’m doing it.”
We made plans for me to give her the phone when Jason and I went over to Kyle’s house for dinner. He was going on a business trip at the end of the month, giving Bridget three days to get out.
She’d keep her normal schedule the first day. That way, if he tracked her remotely, nothing would be out of the ordinary. She would close at the bar that night, come home from work, and pack her belongings.
Not much of it was actually hers, so it wouldn’t take long. Just some clothes and personal things.
Bridget would call Kyle that night and talk to him before he went to bed. She’d wait a few hours, hoping that he would be fast asleep when I showed up at their house. We would load her things up and go straight to the police station to press charges and get a restraining order.
If everything went to plan, she would be out of dodge, even if he got back into town early.
The wedding was winding down. We cheered as Hannah Jane and Isaac ran through a line of sparklers as they left for their fairytale honeymoon in Monte Carlo. It was perfect for Hannah, but not my taste.
Part of me wondered where Jason and I would honeymoon if we got married. He seemed like a spend a month backpacking through the Andes kind of guy. In all honesty, that sounded amazing.
He was dead set on the fact that he and I were meant to be. I wanted to believe him, but my mind was too occupied by Bridget’s situation.
What fresh hell would she be entering when she and Kyle were alone behind closed doors? I wanted to love Jase with my whole heart, but I couldn’t—not until I wasn’t carrying a life or death secret.
I held on to Bridget’s promise that Jason would never find out and that she was really leaving as he and I drove home from the wedding.
It was funny that I’d started thinking of my apartment as our home. Just a few weeks ago, he was my best friend’s brother who just needed a couch to crash onto for a night or two.
Now, he slept in my bed. I had shoved my assortment of scrubs and workout clothes into the top two drawers of my dresser and given him the bottom two. His clothes hung beside mine in the closet. His shoes were beside mine at the front door.
“What’s on your mind?” Jason asked, reaching across the truck to hold my hand.
I had tucked myself against the passenger door, staring out the window as we made our way back to Morehead City. There was so much on my mind. So much I couldn’t tell him, and I hated myself for it.
“Mel?” he said, cresting the bridge between Radio Island and Morehead City. “C’mon. Talk to me, Goose.”
“When you were in the Navy, did you ever get tired of taking care of everyone else all the time? You know, being in charge of people?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, it was a little different for me. I had guys under me, but when I was flying, it was just the mission and me, you know?”
I nodded and stared out the window as we came down the other side of the bridge, passing the port. There was a gargantuan container ship from Singapore in the process of being unloaded.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Jase staring at me skeptically. His gaze returned to the road as we bumped over the railroad tracks. “You’re feeling tired of taking care of other people?” he asked, though he probably thought I was talking about working at the hospital.
Taking care of patients took a toll on me, too, but not the same way patching up Bridget did.
I was exhausted. Mentally and physically. Still, I’d do everything in my power to make sure she left him for good.
When the wedding was over, I watched Kyle lead Bridget to his car like he was marching her to her death.
It made me sick to my stomach.
I didn’t like keeping secrets, and I rarely made it a habit. The way it tore me up inside—keeping it from Jason—made me think that maybe I really did love him.
“Yeah,” I admitted quietly.
“What do you need?” he asked as he pulled into the apartment parking lot and cut the engine. Jase circled the truck and opened my door, practically pulling me into his arms. He looked so different in a suit, but still hot as the sun.
Good Lord, the man had an ass made for modeling underwear.
I sighed, wincing as my bare feet hit the asphalt. “To not think for a little while,” I admitted. “Sometimes, I just want to forget it all.”
I carried my heels in my hand as we made our way through the dark parking lot and up the stairs. He waited patiently as I pulled my keys out of my clutch and unlocked the door, but stopped me once I cracked it open.
“Is that really what you want?” he asked as we stood under the single outdoor light. Moths flitted and fluttered around us. “To forget?”
I opened my mouth to correct him. To tell him that I just needed to decompress. Saying I wanted to forget everything had been just a tad dramatic. But when I looked up in his eyes, dark clouds of lust covered his green irises.
“I asked you a question, baby girl,” he said, calm and measured, as he took a step forward and plucked my high heels out of my fingertips. “Do you want someone else to think for you? To take control of you?”
My breathing quickened as he took another step forward. This time, my breasts pressed against the lapels of his suit jacket. Notes of bergamot, cedar, and pepper invaded my senses as I caught a whiff of his cologne.
I trusted him with every fiber of my being. If he was willing, I would trust him with my mind, too.
I slid my hands up the front of his suit, wrapping my fingers around the lapels. “Yes.”
In one quick motion, he grabbed my ass, lifted me, and hitched my legs around his hips. Jase kicked the door shut as he walked into the dark apartment. I was vaguely aware of him carrying me into the bedroom.
I was far more aware of it when he tossed me onto the bed. I squeaked as I bounced on the mattress. Need was already building deep inside me.
I wanted him.
Before I could sit up, Jase was at my feet, grabbing my ankles and flipping me onto my stomach.
“The dress stays on,” he clipped .
I couldn’t see what he was doing in the darkness, but I heard the slick pull of fabric sliding against fabric. Like he was taking off his tie.
“So many ways I want to tie you up, baby girl,” he mused in a low chuckle before grabbing my wrists and pulling them together over my head. He used his necktie to tie a bow around them. “But this is how I’ll start tonight.” He trailed a single finger down the back of my neck, between my bare shoulder blades, down my spine. “We can get creative another time.”
I lay there, still as a statue, as his finger passed over the crease of my ass. I wiggled back in frustration, whimpering when he pulled his hand away instead of continuing down to my pussy.
“Push your ass up,” he said from somewhere behind me. “Get it nice and high for me.”
Wrists bound together, I brought my elbows close to my chest, using my forearms for leverage as I stretched like a cat, pushing my ass up and keeping my chest down.
The silky satin dress slid off my hips and down to my shoulders, crashing like a wave, exposing my breasts and ass. Cool air from the ceiling fan swirled around my nipples, pebbling them instantly.
“Knees apart,” he snapped. “I want to see that pretty pussy.”
It was more difficult than I expected trying to part my knees while my hands were tied. That didn’t keep my body from revving like a primed engine, ready to go.
“Very good,” he said, rather pleased with my obedience. As a reward, he cupped my sex possessively. Jase leaned down, his jaw scratching against my ear. “Who does this pussy belong to?”
It took me too long to form the word, and before I knew it, cool air rushed around my sex right before his hand cracked against the sensitive folds .
I winced, but the sting of pain lasted only a moment before turning into hot pleasure. “You,” I choked out.
“Say it again,” he growled, still leaning close.
“Yours, Jay,” I choked out. “It belongs to you.”
I felt his smile against my ear. “Very good.”
The simple praise felt just as good as the way he had begun sliding a single finger through my wetness.
Back and forth, back and forth. Never dipping in. Not teasing my clit. Still, he had me on a hair trigger.
“You look so pretty like this, baby girl. Tied up like a present just for me.” He left a kiss on my cheek before backing away.
I heard the pull of his zipper as he shucked off his trousers. The next drop of fabric must have been his shirt.
Jason was teasing me without even touching me. Every sound. Every breeze of air. It had my body begging for him to take me. To claim me.
Tonight I didn’t want to be treated like something soft and delicate. I wanted him to fuck me until I forgot my own damn name.
The end of the bed dipped as he climbed on. Hands caressed my calves. His hips pressed against my ass, and I felt the thick length of his erection prodding my clit.
“Jason—”
“I know,” he soothed jovially—almost taunting me—as he leaned forward and grabbed my breasts.
He dug his fingers into the small swells, trapped my nipples between his fingers, and pinched.
The sharp sensation made me push my ass back even further.
“But you wanted me to take control.”
Another twist of my nipples, and I keened.
“This is how that works, beautiful,” he said as his cock pushed against my folds. “You don’t get to decide when you’re ready for my cock. You just have to wait until I say so. ”
He released one breast and reached between my thighs, sliding his thumb into my pussy. It was something, but not enough.
“More,” I pleaded. “Please, Jase—please.”
His slow laugh was low and dark. “As much as I like hearing you beg, you’re not the one who gets to call the shots tonight.”
To my dismay, he backed away.
The next thing I felt was his warm lips on the back of my thigh. Then it was the small of my back. The dip at my waist.
Jason lovingly marked every inch of me. Tasting me. Teasing my skin. Making me pant for him. My limbs were shaking, and there was a slight throb in my lower back, but my mind was blank.
The only thing I could conjure into my psyche was him .
When I felt the tip of his cock prod my entrance, I was dripping and impatient. I needed this. Needed him.
With one smooth thrust, Jason slid inside of me. I gasped at the sudden intrusion, but it quickly turned into a groan of sheer delight. He felt so fucking good.
“Oh my God,” I gasped as he pulled out, then sheathed himself inside me again. “You—your cock… It’s… Fuck .”
He grabbed my ass cheeks, separating them as he drove hard into my pussy. “Fucking love your body, baby girl,” he grunted, snapping his hips against me. Every thrust made my breasts jiggle and my muscles quake.
“Please,” I whimpered. “I need?—”
Before I could even get the words out, his hand was between my legs, strumming my clit. The orgasm hit me with the force of a jet plane.
I collapsed onto the bed as aftershocks of ecstasy rippled through me. It felt like an out-of-body experience.
When I came to, Jason was pulling me into his arms and untying my wrists. He pulled my dress over my head and peppered gentle kisses against my temple .
I curled into him.
I was safe with Jason. And even though we hadn’t said it, I knew that something in me had always loved something in him.
Like jet trails streaking across the sky, there were moments we’d been apart, moments we’d danced around each other. But now—connected—we were one.
Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips to his bare chest and placed my hand over the scar he had from his surfing accident. The accident that brought us back to each other.
“How’s your mind?” he murmured as he tucked us under the blankets, rubbing my arms until I stopped shivering.
I sighed contentedly. “Peaceful.”