CHAPTER FOUR
LIAM
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Doing a workout in the BHS gym burns a lot less calories than walking around Beverly Hills with Jessie Rogers.
She went into every single store. Stores both I and the security guards standing outside knew she didn’t have the money to shop in.
Not even sure I do.
Not that I’m a millionaire, but as a pilot I took home a healthy six figures, and BHS pays a lot more.
Jessie’s joy about seeing some stupid designer purse in the flesh as she called it, was so addictive I found myself wanting to buy it for her.
But I didn’t.
“You could buy a car for that price tag.” I shook my head and tossed it on the shelf.
The sales assistant nearly had a heart attack and straightened it one inch.
“Or...this purse.” Jessie was essentially ignoring me as she stood in front of the mirror, moving this way and that.
Jesus Christ, her skirt is so short I’m terrified she’s going to flash someone. I’d be happy to have another glance at her soft, tanned flesh, but anyone else looking would lose their eyes.
It’s not like I haven’t seen her in a bikini before. I have, from the time she was like four until recently.
It’s my reaction that’s changed.
And the size of her bikini.
That they even come in those tiny sizes for adult women should be illegal.
Well, for other women, it's fine.
For Jessie? No.
Chris, she’s perfect. The right height, perfect curves, and those lips are the perfect fullness.
The hours I’ve spent wondering about the rest of her—the space at her sex that’s forbidden. At least to me. Which is why I can’t be spending time with her like this.
“Or instead of that purse, you could put a deposit on a rental, and I dunno, move out.” I cross my arms.
She sighs and puts the purse back on the shelf, propping her hands on her hips.
I wait for the lecture about being boring, but it never comes. Instead, a flash of hurt crosses her eyes and she walks out of Chanel. With me following like the puppy dog I am.
“Jessie, wait,” I call out.
She spins. “I know you hate me, but you don’t have to be so mean. Let’s just go home.”
I grip her arm, tugging her closer. “Stop it. I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you.”
Big blue eyes hold mine, waiting for more, but she won’t get it out of me. Jayden is my best friend, and I made a vow. I won’t break it.
Ever.
Jessie might be twenty-four, but she’s still so young and vulnerable. A budding actress, she’s had a few small parts and, from what I can see, she’s still finding herself.
The last thing she needs is a man like me demanding all of her—because I would. Every single ounce of her I’d take, dominate and consume.
Even if Jayden was okay with us being together, which he wouldn’t be, I’m not sure I wouldn’t swallow Jessie up with the intensity with which I want her.
Between the two of us, no boys stood a chance.
If it wasn’t me, it was Jayden threatening and scaring off the attention they showed. Looking back, we weren’t fair. We weren’t successful at keeping her away from every guy, but we sure tried.
God, I tried.
The day I saw her kissing Kurt Renner, I saw red.
Now here she is, staring up at me, waiting for me to tell her what she knows. That I want her. That I crave her. That my feelings are so much more than her being like a little sister to me.
That’s utter bullshit.
I want to fuck her until she falls apart around my cock.
“Fine, you don’t hate me.” Jessie glances away. “It just hurts—”
“Let’s head to the beach.” I cut her off because we can’t have this conversation. “Let’s get an ice cream and make fun of the surfers.”
It’s a much better idea than I want to sink so deep inside you I leave a dent.
She nods.
Twenty minutes later, we’re at Santa Monica Beach.
We walk along the sand, and Jessie asks me about work and the Black Hawke guys I work with as she licks her caramel ice cream.
I watch her tongue way too closely.
Fuck, I want that lapping my cock.
“I like it here,” Jessie says, glancing up at me.
“LA?”
“This beach. It’s nice. I could find a place along here to live.”
“Do you have a job?” I lift a brow.
Honestly, sometimes she can be very na?ve, and it irritates me. I wonder if we all protected her way too much.
She gives me a look. “Not yet, dad. I got here yesterday.”
We sit, and I lean my arms on my knees and take another long lick of my chocolate chip ice cream. A drop lands on my leg, and she slides her finger along my skin, wiping it off.
I glance over as she licks her finger.
Fucking hell.
“Jess,” I growl, making a mental note to ask Josh for double shifts this week.
“Calm down.” She rolls her eyes, but I see her secret smile as she turns away.
Classic Jessie.
She tries to break down my defenses and has for years. It’s like we play this seductive game of chess against one another.
It’s exhausting.
And at the same time, titillating.
My gaze drifts up her long sleek legs which cross at her ankles, and then out across the beach. Men are gazing at her. I don’t blame them, she’s goddamn gorgeous.
Still, I’m annoyed as I told her to wear something decent, and she walked out in this illegally short dress. Guess it was payback for the you’re not to wear panties comment.
I should have known.
A frisbee, from further down the beach, goes rogue and flies our way. Jessie clambers to her feet and leaps for it—
Jesus fucking Christ!
Instead of some nice silk, lace or even goddamn cotton, I’ve greeted with flesh.
Her bare fucking flesh.
I choke on my ice cream, toss it into the sand as Jessie casually throws the frisbee back and waves out when they thank you.
Angrily, I climb to my feet.
“Wher—”
I rip the ice cream out of her hand.
“What are you doing!?”
“Let’s go.” As I stalk off up the beach, she follows me.
“Liam! What the hell?”
Tossing both our ice creams into the trash can, I turn and glare down at her. She crashes into me, forcing me to grab her hips and steady her.
“Excuse me, Jekyll and Hyde, I wasn’t finished that.”
“Do you think you’re funny?”
Her brows lift slowly. “Today or...which day?”
I swear I’m about to lose control. I don’t know if I want to kiss her so hard it wakes her up or toss her over my shoulder.
I’m about to find out.
Leaning down, I get real close to her face. “No panties? Really, Jessie.”
She blushes, guilty as charged.
“You said—”
Un-fucking-believable.
“I said NO panties visible in the kitchen. Covered—”
“Actually, you didn’t.” She lifts a shoulder, thinking she’s won.
She hasn’t.
Not even close.
I straighten to my full height, my hands gripping her hips tighter.
“Whatever you think is going to happen here isn’t. So, get that out of your head right now.”
Jessie glances at my hands, then lifts her gaze to me in question.
Fuck.
I let go and take a step back, just as my phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket, holding her gaze.
“Captain Rutherford.”
Jessie swallows and her eyes dilate, which any man knows is a sign a woman is getting wet.
No panties.
Jesus, is she dripping right now? For my cock?
Goddamn it.
This is going to be a long fucking two weeks.