Chapter 12 The Wall
Chapter Twelve
THE WALL
Jessa
Griffin crossed the space between us like a hunter to prey. He attacked his belt buckle and removed it in one motion with a crack of the leather. It clattered to the floor, taking my breath away with it.
“Yes.” Wetness pooled in my panties. Every coherent thought I’d had evaporated.
He backed me against the wall beside my closet. His mouth found mine, hot and demanding, and I melted into him. I’d missed the way he kissed like he was claiming something that belonged to him.
His hands were everywhere—sliding up my sides, thumbs grazing the edge of my bra, fingers digging into my hips like he couldn’t get close enough.
“You’ve been driving me insane all week,” he whispered against my mouth, tugging at the clasp of my bra.
I giggled recklessly. “How so?”
“Your curves. Your mouth. The way you look at me like you’re not impressed.”
“I see right through you. You act all tough and demanding of everyone around you. You’re stressed. I can help you loosen up.”
With one twist of my hand, I undid my bra, and it fell away. He groaned at the sight of my breasts. “Christ, Jessa.”
He buried his face in my cleavage. My hand lifted a breast closer to his mouth. The way his tongue teased my nipple—perfection.
I fumbled with his buttons, fingers clumsy with urgency.
He pulled away long enough to remove it, and his pants next.
From a sexy tight pair of Calvin Kleins, he reached in and pulled out his glorious cock.
I licked my lips. He lifted me effortlessly, my legs wrapping around his waist, his arousal pressing exactly where I needed it.
“Have you been with another man since—”
“No. And you? With another woman?” I held my breath.
“No.” He gave my lower lip a hungry nibble. “We should probably—”
“If you say ‘slow down,’ I’m kicking you out.”
His chuckle was dark, possessive. “I was going to say we should probably move this to the bed.”
“Can’t handle the wall?”
“Baby, I can handle anything. I just want you to be comfortable.”
“I’m very comfortable in your arms.”
His blistering kiss set fire to me, and I drowned in him—the taste of his expensive liquor brand on his tongue, the flex of muscles under my palms, the way he held me like I weighed nothing.
He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, his breath ragged. At last—he gave me the look I recalled from our night in Holly Creek.
“Jessa… Ever since that night I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Tell him about the baby, right now!
But his hands yanked my panties off, tearing them, his mouth hot on my throat, and I couldn’t. Not when I wanted him so badly my body shook.
If I told him, he’d stop. He’d pull away. He might look at me with anger or betrayal or worse—disappointment. And I couldn’t risk losing this, not yet.
He reached down between us and played his cock through my slick folds.
“You’re wet for me.” His voice was rough, strained.
“I have been since the first day we met.” I adjusted my arms around his neck and held on tightly. “Please, Griffin. I need you.”
He positioned himself, and then he was inside me—one slow, devastating thrust that made me almost cry out. I bit his shoulder instead.
“Jesus. So hot, so tight,” he hissed in my ear. “Best goddamn pussy I’ve ever had. Been wanting you again since Holly Creek.”
His rhythm built, his hips driving into me with a desperation that matched my own. My back pressed against the wall, his hands gripping my thighs, I lost myself in it—the friction, the heat, the way he filled me so completely I forgot where I ended and he began.
“Don’t stop giving me your dick.” My nails dug into his back. “Please don’t ever stop.”
My body was changing in ways too subtle to notice—breasts a little fuller, skin more sensitive—but inside, everything was different. My hormones had been raging all week in his presence. Every touch amplified, every sensation sharper.
I was carrying his baby. Our baby. And he had no idea.
I wanted this baby. Wanted to be a mother. To finally have someone to love unconditionally, with or without the daddy by my side.
Preferably with.
The way Griffin was taking me right now—rough and possessive and so good—I’d take this time with him as long as I could.
Until the very last day of the contract.
Because I knew the truth, even if I didn’t want to admit it.
I was just a convenience to him, a simple solution to a problem.
Someone to stand beside him and smile for the cameras and make his investors believe he was settled.
I’d come to New York to tell him about the baby, not knowing what would happen. Not knowing this man could barely love anyone or anything except himself, Theo, and his company.
Maybe that wasn’t the kind of man I wanted in my life anyway.
But I wanted this baby. And the five million dollars meant I could live on my own terms without Griffin. Move my family to a better home. Pay for Pauli and Charlie’s college. Give them the life I never had.
I only needed to survive this time with Griffin without my heart breaking in the process.
“Jessa.” His voice pulled me back, ragged and desperate. “Look at me.”
I opened my eyes, meeting his gaze—storm-gray and intense and locked on mine like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
“You’re not allowed to leave,” he growled, thrusting deeper. “No matter what a shit I am. Not until I say so.”
Is that what his ex did to him in the past? Leaving him with a baby to figure things out on his own?
A laugh bubbled up, half-moan, half-defiance. “The contract has an expiration date.”
His mouth found my throat, teeth grazing skin. “Then we’re on the same page.”
The only thing I was on—was the wall, as the pleasure built, coiling tighter with every movement, every slide of skin against skin. I was so close, right on the edge. When his thumb found my bundle of nerves between us and pressed there—I shattered.
My cry muffled against his shoulder, my body clenching around him, and he followed seconds later with a guttural sound that sent aftershocks through me.
We stayed there a moment, chest to chest, his pulse pounding with mine. When he lowered me, my legs were jelly; his hands stayed at my hips until I steadied.
“I need another shower,” I said, aiming for light. “You’re very inconvenient, Mr. West.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” A ghost of a smile, then he scooped me up and carried me into the bathroom like it cost him nothing at all.
He set the water, then looked back at me—something unreadable flickered then gone. Steam climbed the glass.
“I have to work more tonight.” He reached for his clothes and dressed with cool efficiency. “And I’m leaving early tomorrow morning for meetings. I think Sophie is in the city, so I’ll ask if she can watch Theo. I’ll see you tomorrow night at the cocktail party.”
“I’ll be ready.”
We both hesitated—his with a gaze as if longing for more, but mine with a different sentence hovering on my tongue. Then he nodded once and left. The latch clicked and I bent over to catch my breath.
You should have told him…
I stepped under the spray. Ache pooled in my chest, heat pricking behind my eyes—not weakness, just wanting.
He was right. This changed everything. Could I do all the things at once: be the woman who kept her promises to a nine-year-old and the woman who protected the tiny promise growing inside of her? Play fiancée for his cameras and still decide when and how to tell him the truth?
Saturday morning, I woke to an empty penthouse. Griffin had already left for his meetings, dropping Theo at Mitch’s house to play for the day. Which left me alone with my thoughts, a black card, and a closet full of nothing to wear.
I had one job: find something appropriate for tonight’s cocktail party. I dressed for comfort in a baggy sweatshirt and leggings and headed out. My old, trusty, canvas tennis shoes would get me up and down the streets to shop.
The first boutique was a disaster. Two saleswomen took one look at my scuffed shoes and knockoff purse and directed me toward the clearance rack in the back. No help in figuring out what would pass for appropriate in the life of a temporary fiancée.
The second store was worse. “Everything here starts at three thousand dollars,” the manager said, eyeing me like I’d wandered in off the street by accident. What did I have to do, show them Griffin’s name in gold on the black card to make them believe I was worth waiting on?
By the third store, I’d given up trying to find anything for myself.
Instead, I bought a cashmere sweater for Mom.
A leather jacket for my aunt. Sweaters and earrings for Pauli and Charlie.
Each purchase went into a growing pile that I had them ship directly to Holly Creek.
It seemed selfish, but Griffin had given the approval, and seeing their names on those boxes of pretty things made me feel a little less like I’d left them behind.
When the attendant asked if I needed anything for myself, I shook my head and left.
This wasn’t only about tonight. Griffin had a calendar full of events over the next few months—dinners, galas, investor meetings, the West Games Benefit. I needed an entire wardrobe, not one dress. I had no idea where to start.
I stood on a corner of Fifth Avenue, overwhelmed and close to tears, when my phone buzzed.
Relief swept over me seeing Sophie’s name. “Hi. I don’t know if Griffin told you yet, but I’m in the city and I’ll be watching Theo tonight. I thought you and I could meet for coffee?”
“Please. I really need someone to talk to.”
We met at a café tucked between gleaming storefronts.
Sophie arrived in jeans with heels. A smart rust-tone pea coat and beret finished her look.
So stylish, I envied her. She’d always been able to straddle the line well between city life and small town living.
She ordered us lattes and pulled me into a corner booth.