Chapter 3
Jayce
Whenever I came to Alana’s place, I didn’t knock. I used my code and went straight to the kitchen. The shower was running in the hallway and I had to force away images of her naked in there, otherwise my efforts in the truck wouldn’t do much good. If I popped an uncontrollable boner here, it would be game over. She’d get weird about it and think I had a crush on her or something.
A crush. That was child’s play.
I took the bottle with the indented cork and opened it. When I poured her a glass, I was glad to see that it didn’t look any different from mine. The ‘don’t be suspicious’ song came into my head and made me chuckle as I took a sip of my wine. Too bad I couldn’t share the joke with her.
The door opened and a moment later, she came around the corner in a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top.
There goes that masturbation session. Fat lot of good it did me.
She grabbed her glass and drained it in one breath. I smiled as I poured her a second.
“The wine before a hello,” I noted, feigning offense.
She wrinkled her nose and offered me a mocking smile. “Hey, Jayce. How’s the job? How’s the wife? Is your nice house treating you well?”
“Still my dream job. The wife is locked in my trunk, as usual. Can’t have her trying to escape while I’m out. And the house is a bunch of wood with a lid on top. Nothing new.”
“Well, at least someone has good things going for them.”
Her despondent expression made me step forward. She wrapped her arms around my middle and let out a sigh against my chest.
“Growth isn’t a straight line,” I said before I inhaled her scent. Peaches. I fucking loved that smell.
“Wavy lines suck and I’d like a refund for this ride.”
“Nope. We’re on it together and if you get off, I’ll be terrified. I’ll probably start screaming and embarrass myself.”
Her laugh made me pull back so that I didn’t miss her smile. After a moment, she collected herself and took a slower drink. Her eyes lit up and she bit down on her lip.
“You really did it.”
I raised a brow. “You didn’t believe me.”
“It’s been seven years, so I was starting to give up hope.”
I’d almost given up hope too, but I refused to disappoint her. It all started one night in college. We’d been determined to find out if expensive wine was actually any better than the cheap shit. It was. After falling in love with a five-hundred-dollar bottle of tempranillo- which we acquired legally at nineteen, of course- we made a stupid bet fueled by inebriation.
She determined that I couldn’t recreate the wine because it was fancy and expensive. I took that personally. So, for seven years I’d been making wine, trying and failing to create that perfect blend so that we didn’t go broke buying our favorite bottle. Now that I had my own miniature vineyard in my backyard, it took up even more of my time, but I was a stubborn fucker. I’d definitely spent more money than we were trying to save by doing this, but it didn’t matter. That look on her face right now was worth it.
“Never give up hope,” I said with a smirk. “Don’t get addicted to the stuff, though. I made ten bottles and it’ll be another year before the grapes are ready again.”
“Boo. I’ll just have to supplement with Barefoot.”
I grimaced. “I wouldn’t be your best friend if I let you drink that watered down trash.”
There was a lingering smile on her face as she shook her head. “This really does taste just like it. We’ll have to buy a bottle to do an official comparison.”
“I have a case on the way to my house.”
“Jayce,” she scolded. “Don’t tell me you spent that much.”
“It’s not that much.”
Her eyes went vacant for a moment as she counted on her fingers. “That’s like… Six thousand dollars!”
It was nearly eight, but she didn’t need the details. I wasn’t a millionaire, but I made good money as an aerospace engineer. Since I lived alone and used an inheritance from my grandfather to put a down payment on my house, I was pretty well off. I worked from home the majority of the time and used my freedom to garden, build shit in my backyard and, well, the obvious- watch Alana.
“They had a really good deal,” I lied, concealing my lips behind the glass as I took a long drink.
“You’re a bastard.”
“Mm. Tell me you have a costume for Halloween.”
“A costume? No, I’m almost thirty. I’m not dressing up.”
I licked my lips and regarded her carefully. She’d put on a sports bra under her tank top, but it didn’t do much to keep my eyes away from her chest. Her nipples were barely visible through the fabric and it was enough to make me step forward. Her eyes tracked me carefully. Whatever was in her gaze wasn’t something she’d let herself feel consciously, but her body knew.
“What time is your appointment with the lawyer tomorrow?” I asked, stopping just in front of her.
“Three,” she replied a little breathily. She blinked and took a long swig of her wine. When she spoke again, her voice was more normal. “I’m leaving right after my last class.”
“Stop at my house. I’ll drive you there.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“I already told you I’m going with you, Alana. The whole investigation into his death was ridiculous and they shouldn’t have put you through it.”
“I’m sure they’ll look for any reason not to pay out.”
“Well, you’re entitled to the money. My house at two-thirty or I’ll have to hunt you down. And you won’t like that.”
With an eye roll, she gave me a curt nod. I watched her drink more of the wine and felt a surge of possessiveness travel through me. I poured her another glass before I sat on the counter and pulled out my phone.
“I’m ordering Chipotle. You want the same as usual?”
She chewed on her lip, looking apprehensive. “My jeans say I shouldn’t.”
“Alright, so extra chips and queso. Got it.”
Ignoring her glare, I went ahead and made the order. Her body was perfect in every way and if she thought going up a size in pants would make me see her as anything less, she was crazier than I thought.
*****
Alana was tense as she stared at the wall as if it was the most interesting thing she’d seen all year. Inside, she was probably panicking at a million miles per hour. It was possible she had good reason to, but I hadn’t voiced my concerns because that’s all they were. Concerns. Unfounded, but with rightful suspicion.
After Jake died last November, she expected to get his life insurance money. She was the beneficiary, after all. They wanted to ‘look into it more’, though. Apparently, arson raises concerns when it comes to payouts.
Yeah, sure. The cat was out for blood and wanted to help Alana get rid of her fiancé so that she could get a bunch of money.
I had my own worries when they began digging into the incident, but I was confident everything would be just fine. It was a long eleven months, but now it was finally time. She needed this money. She got by on her salary, but it was nowhere near enough considering the cost of living in Albany. Since she wouldn’t let me take care of her, I had to rely on my brother.
It was… not ideal. The bastard wasn’t all he was cracked up to be, but that wasn’t important right now. She was.
“Hey, breathe,” I cooed as I took her hand. I held it in my lap, rubbing tight circles over her skin with my thumb. She visibly relaxed, even though her shoulders were still tight.
I wanted to calm her down, take her mind off of it. I imagined splaying her out on the floor and suffocating myself between her legs. If I gave her the best orgasm of her life, it’d be impossible for her to be this worked up. She wouldn’t even be able to think straight.
Depending how this day went, maybe that was exactly what I’d do.
“There was nothing suspicious about his death,” I reassured her. “They were just being corporate assholes. Everything’s fine.”
She nodded but before she could respond, the door to a conference room opened.
“Miss Monroe,” a woman in a pencil skirt and blazer said, ushering us inside. I slipped my arm around Alana’s shoulders protectively until we took our seats.
My hand twitched with the urge to keep touching her. I wanted to rest it on her thigh or hold onto the back of her neck. Anything to let her know that I was here offering my support. I’d always been here and I always would be. Only death could attempt to tear me away from Alana and even then, I wasn’t sure that hell could restrain me. Not when it came to her. I’d drag her into the void with me if that’s what it took.
Blinking a few times, I watched the woman and a younger man rifle through some papers. He looked like an assistant, youthful and eager to please. From the way her fingers brushed over his as he handed her a file, I was pretty sure they were fucking. It was funny to see the traditional stereotypes reversed- maybe even a little satisfying. A man trying to sleep his way to the top. I loved the dashing of gender assumptions in the modern age.
Do you know who hadn’t loved it? Jaykob, although he’d never outwardly say that. Alana was independent and it was something he’d loved about her early in their relationship. When things got real and they moved in together, started working, paying bills, and doing housework, that was when shit went downhill.
Alana wouldn’t admit it, but things were rocky with them for a while. They were comfortable, though. Why upset that easy balance they’d settled into?
Two reasons. It was fucking boring and it would never feed her soul. I, on the other hand, would never let her go hungry.
God, I was losing my grip on my control. Every day that passed, I wanted her more.
Why shouldn’t I have her? He was fucking gone. After this, there would be nothing else that tied her to him. He could be completely in the past. All I had to do was make sure he stayed there.
“Thank you for coming,” the lawyer began. “I am Isabella and this is my assistant, Henry. As you know, Tidal Insurance conducted an independent investigation into the circumstances of Jaykob Weste’s death to determine if any foul play was involved. In order to pay out his insurance policy, they had to rule out suicide-”
“We know this,” I interrupted. Alana had gone pale and it made me want to throw the uptight bitch out of the window.
“Of course. I’ll get to the point. The investigation has been closed and nothing suspicious was found. They’ve come to the conclusion that you are entitled to your share of the money.”
Alana let out a grateful breath. I was still caught up on part of what Isabella said.
“Her share?” I repeated, raising a brow as I leaned forward.
She shifted uncomfortably. “Well, yes. I thought you were aware of the split.”
“Split,” Alana whispered, shaking her head. “I don’t understand. We were the beneficiaries of each other’s policies. There wasn’t anybody else he’d want to… I don’t… I don’t understand.”
“What did that fucker do?” I growled.
I knew. I hadn’t up until this moment, but I had a bad fucking feeling about it. My fingers gripped the back of Alana’s neck. I no longer cared how she felt about the gesture.
“Mr. Weste divided the share into two percentages. He left you…” She flipped a few pages and dragged her finger down the lines. “Ten percent.”
A small gasp escaped Alana’s lips. She didn’t say anything else and from the look in her eyes, I didn’t think she was capable right now. Maybe she was in shock.
“If he wasn’t already fucking dead,” I hissed.
Isabella looked at me with wide eyes before she shuttered her surprise. She cleared her throat and slipped into her professional image.
“He had a $500,000 policy, which grants you $50,000 in lieu of his death.”
“Who?” Alana asked, barely audible.
“You. That’s the share you’ll receive.”
“Who is the other?”
Isabella blinked a couple of times, then clasped her fingers again. “The remaining ninety percent went to his child.”
“Child? He didn’t have a child.”
“Alana,” I murmured, moving closer to her. My fingers tightened on her nape, which was beading with sweat.
“I’m going to be sick,” she blurted before she rushed out of the room. I followed immediately. It didn’t matter that she went into the women’s restroom. I crouched behind her and held her hair as she retched. All the while, I rubbed her back and cursed Jake’s name.
If I wasn’t glad for his death before, I was now. I’d hoped Alana would never have to find out his big, dirty secret. If she didn’t know, she wouldn’t have to hate him.
I would’ve loved for her to feel such loathing for him, but it didn’t work in my favor. It was only another obstacle I had to navigate in order to make her see me when she looked at my face, the one I shared with my brother- another reminder that made her distance herself from me when I got too close or stared for too long. It was that way when he was alive and it remained the same even as he rotted in the ground- metaphorically speaking.