Captivating Her Jaguars (Embracing The Bond #13)

Chapter One

Haven

“Shit. I’m a fucking cliché.” I drop my suitcase and lean against the doorframe, staring at my boyfriend's ass as he pounds into my friend. “Really? My best friend?” Brian pulls out of her, landing in the middle of the bed, his eyes wide. Okay. She’s not really my best friend.

She’s more of a friend of a friend. But still.

“Haven, what are you doing here?” Brian asks, scooting across the mattress.

“That's your response?” I hiss, crossing my arms. Jenny or Jenica or Jamie…whatever… struggles to sit up.

“I thought you were going out of town,” he mumbles, almost falling off the bed as he reaches for his pants.

“That was the plan,” I sigh. Brian isn’t the love of my life.

Recently, I wasn’t sure if I even liked him.

This incident puts him solidly in the dislike category.

“I thought I would say goodbye in person. My mistake.” I glare at him as he hops into his pants, secretly hoping he will zip his cock in them.

Brian has bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and a strong jaw.

He’s attractive, fit, and pulled my chair out on our first date.

We’ve been seeing each other for a little over two months.

I’m super glad I haven’t slept with him yet.

Something was holding me back. Apparently, I need to trust my gut more often.

“Listen, she just—”

“Please.” I hold up my hand. “Just stop if you're going to use any of the following excuses.” I lift one finger. “You were drunk.” Another finger. “She came on to you.” Another finger. “I don’t put out, so what was a man to do?” I raise my middle finger.

“She conveniently fell on your dick, and you were trying to shake her off.” He stares at me, his mouth opening slowly.

He thinks better of it and doesn’t speak.

“Jenny, would you cover your breasts, please. It’s creeping me out.

I feel like they are staring at me, judging. ”

“It’s Jenica,” she whispers, but yanks the sheet over her.

“Does it matter?” I ask, and she lifts a bare shoulder.

“Haven, can we talk calmly?” Brian says, taking a step forward.

“Considering the circumstances, I think I’ve been fairly calm, Brian,” I grit out. “Obviously, we are officially breaking up. I can go, and you can continue to bang my friend.”

“We’ve met twice,” Jenica mumbles, and I roll my eyes.

“Girl, it doesn’t matter. Did you know I was dating him?

” I ask, and she lowers her eyes. “Exactly. If he did this to me, what makes you so special that he won’t move on to bigger and better next week?

” She presses her lips together and studies the blanket.

I should have known something was off with her when she sent a friend request to all my socials and spammed my accounts.

I’m glad I don’t put anything personal on my page. I'll be blocking her account today.

“You don’t need to lecture her,” Brian says, and I grind my teeth.

“You know what? I don’t.” I straighten, pointing at him. “Have at her. I don’t care. I can walk away knowing I dodged a bullet. Have a great life. You aren’t worth it.” I pivot and grab the handle of my bag.

“Your dad was wrong. He thought you would be grateful for my attention.” I freeze. “Two months. Two months and all I get is a few kisses and a handjob. You aren’t worth it.”

“Excuse me?” I whisper, turning to face him. “You know my father?” Brian comes toward me, a sneer on his pretty face.

“He had to bribe me to go out with you. The promotion wasn’t worth the trouble.” He stops in front of me with a smug smile.

I take a deep breath.

“You work for him.” I don’t need his nod of confirmation.

I'm not on the best of terms with my entitled, rich, abusive, judgmental asshole of a father.

I had no idea that Brian was another way he could attempt to control my life.

I wish I could be there when he finds out he failed.

“Pretty proud of yourself, huh?” I tilt my head.

“You're the one who fell for it,” he snorts.

“You’re right. I did. I thought you were just a regular guy who couldn’t turn me on enough to want to fuck you.

” His face reddens. I smile, and his eyes flare.

“I should just let this go. But I can’t.

” I ball up my fist, surge up on my toes, and let it fly.

Pain radiates up my arm as my knuckles connect to his nose.

Blood flows steadily while I drop back, trying not to cringe. Brian whimpers, covering his nose.

“You fucking bitch,” he cries, and Jenica shrieks.

“Tell my father to fuck off. Have fun with him.” I ignore my stiff fingers and wave at her, wiggling them.

She narrows her eyes, and instead of humility filling her features, anger lines her face.

I turn on my heel, swiping my bag with my uninjured hand, and storm out.

Slamming the door behind me, I move quickly out of the building.

Prick. Stupid men. I’m swearing them off. No more.

I make it to my car and shove my bag into the back seat.

Dropping into the driver's seat, I reach for my phone while blowing on my swollen fingers as if it'll help.

I thought there was something wrong with me.

My plan was to surprise him by putting off my trip by a day, spend the night with him, and try to feel something.

How did I not see what an ass he is? I call my brother, fuming.

“Haven,” he answers.

“Did you know?” I ask harshly.

“What?” he asks.

“William, did you know about Brian?”

“I assume he messed it up,” he says.

“You could say that.” Even though we have had our issues, I’d hoped he would be shocked and ask what the hell I meant. “Why?”

“Dad is trying to help. You have no direction. No purpose. You don’t come to family dinners anymore. You cut him off. He wanted you to settle. Apparently, Brian wasn’t the man for the job.”

Tears sting my eyes, and it pisses me off.

“Thanks, Brother. I should have known I couldn't count on you to be on my side.” I don’t wait for a response, so I hang up and drop my phone in the cup holder.

Flexing my hand, I close my eyes briefly, taking a deep breath.

This is nothing new. I shouldn’t be surprised or hurt.

I can’t help but feel a pinch in my chest, though.

My silly heart hurts, but not as much as my hand, so I’m calling that a win.

They can’t do much more to make me want to run away and never return.

I buckle my seatbelt and start my car. I back up carefully and suck back tears.

My father wants me to work at his company, but I refused.

I don’t want to sell houses to other rich people.

Sure, it would be good money. I don’t like the strings that come with it.

It’s not the first time I’ve disappointed him, and it won’t be the last. Instead, I choose to work random jobs, and when I want to try something else, I do.

Is it a bonus that it pisses him off? Yes.

Yes, it is. I shouldn’t take joy from it, but good or bad, I do.

When I dyed black streaks in my blonde hair at age fifteen, he almost exploded.

His reaction caused me to turn the strands blue a year later.

He finds anything outside the norm ridiculous, and his little girl not conforming is too much for him to bear. Being a father isn’t his strong suit.

This latest episode is a prime example. Basically, hiring Brian to make me fall in love with him, give up my life, and turn into a smiling wife.

Neither of them like a woman who talks back, and I’ve always had a problem keeping my mouth shut.

He hates that his daughter works as a waitress.

I love the small restaurant and the people there.

They care about their employees. Unfortunately, one of my coworkers introduced me to Jenica.

She came in a few times and sat in my section.

I had no idea she was scoping me out. Brian visited me twice, and only stayed for a few minutes, but it was long enough for her to see that we were together.

My phone rings, and I roll my eyes as I see Brian’s name.

Denying the call, I grit my teeth, and make a note to block his number.

I’m sure he's regretting his actions, not because he wants me back, but because he doesn’t want to admit to my dad that he failed.

He will wait as long as possible to be honest with my father.

I have to move on. Chalk this up as another lesson learned.

Instead of dwelling on them, I focus on pushing them to the back of my mind and remind myself that I’m better off without them. There is one person who is excited to spend time with me, and I drive away, intent on the adventure ahead.

When I was twelve, my teacher thought it was a brilliant idea to enroll all of us in a pen pal program.

She thought it would help improve our social skills and writing.

We all rolled our eyes, but accepted the challenge.

What choice did we have? At first, I hoped to get through it, get the grade, and move on.

To make it fair, the teacher did a random draw of names out of a hat.

I got two picks, and reluctantly wrote my first letters.

The first girl wrote back, her letters were short and dark.

Apparently, she had a complicated childhood, but didn’t give me any details.

In an attempt to make her comfortable, I lied, writing pages of how much I loved my wonderful life.

We had nothing in common, but I hoped she would open up.

We stopped writing shortly after we started.

Rylee was different and sweet. Our communication started hesitantly and distrustfully.

What was once a chore turned into a genuine friendship.

As time passed, and we moved up a grade, we continued to talk.

Eventually, we exchanged phone numbers. The first conversation over the phone was odd, but it didn’t take long to relax.