Taming Blake (A New Adult Romance): The Complete Trilogy (28 page)

“I didn’t ask you here, Blake,” I replied, moving my face away to avoid his kiss, wriggling out from his grasp.

He smiled. He obviously wasn’t taking me seriously.

He thinks I’m just playing hard to get.

When he took an eager step towards me again, once more reaching for my butt, I actually felt myself forcefully pushing him back off me. I hadn’t intended it to happen until I did it. And he looked genuinely confused, like no girl had ever told him ‘no’ before.

“What’s this all about, Jessica?”

“You don’t own me,” I said. “You can’t just pick me up whenever you want and then drop me again, whenever the hell it suits you, Blake. I didn’t turn up to Milan and drag
you
out of whatever supermodel’s hotel room you probably slept in, did I? What gives you the right to turn up here like this? You think that just because you gave me a credit card, I’m yours? Well, you’re fucking
wrong
.”

The words came flying from my mouth with way more venom than I’d intended, and I realized that they must have struck home because I watched something change in his face – a wince of pain, perhaps.

And with that, I turned and headed back inside, leaving him shocked and silent on the sidewalk.

I rejoined Fallon and Josh. Fallon handed me my beer bottle and I took a big hit, for once glad for the sharp, intense taste of the beer, as if it might somehow wash away the memory of what had just happened.

“Who was
that guy
, anyway?” Josh asked, shaking his head, as if he couldn’t work out how I could possibly know a square like that.

I looked to Fallon for a moment, then to him.

“Just my boss.”

§

Circles were
amazing –
better than I’d ever seen them before. Fallon played it cool behind her drum kit, but in between songs, when everyone cheered, she couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. And the other two girls in the band, Clara and Evelyn, played and sang like their lives depended on it. The short time on tour had obviously done them good already. They were tight: totally in sync with each other.

And I wasn’t the only one who seemed to think they were good, either; the whole crowd was into it, nodding along as they played, clapping and whooping wildly between songs.

“They were awesome!” Josh shouted as their short set came to a close, leaving the whole room cheering and roaring, an electric charge running through the air.

“I’m so proud of her!” I grinned back, glad to have Josh here, glad I wasn’t on my own after that horrible scene with Blake.

Again and again, the thing that ran through my mind were his words on that last night in London:
You do know I’m seeing other people ...

And as I thought it, my attention – and my eyes – drifted occasionally to Josh. Because he was kind of cute, wasn’t he? And if
Blake
was allowed to ‘see other people’ then why wasn’t I, too?

After all, we’d been flirting all evening. Maybe we could take things a little further ...

Pretty soon, St. Vincent, the headline act came on. I guessed Fallon had things to do back stage, so Josh and I were left to ourselves to watch, and I found myself immediately transfixed by her amazing performance: she was so strong and cool and confident, not to mention
fabulously
dressed in a skintight white dress and knee-length matching boots, her bleached hair slicked back, her guitar-playing out of this world, and her vocal delivery pitch-perfect.

Wow.

If only I could be as cool and confident and in-control as that ...

She danced, sang and played guitar all at once, all with an effortless calm and control. It was amazing.

And as the drums pounded and the guitars wailed and the synths fizzed and swished, I found myself turning around, away from the stage to face Josh, who had positioned himself just behind me. I looked up at him and he looked back down at me, smiling a warm open honest smile, and before I could change my mind, I leaned in and kissed him.

He pulled me closer, his soft lips brushing against my own, the sharp taste of beer on  our tongues. I kissed him hard and hungrily, feeling my heart pounding in time to the beat of the drums, the whole room melting away for a moment, my nervous fingers slipping themselves down his chest and cupping the hot swelling bulge of his cock through his jeans for a delicious moment.

And then ...

All of a sudden it was as if the floodlights came up and I froze, realizing that I was kissing
someone else
, and I quickly pulled away again.

“You okay?” Josh mouthed, trying his best to communicate over the intense roar of the music.

But I couldn’t explain it, and not just because of the noise. All I could do was shake my head and mouth the words, “I’m sorry,” before quickly pushing my way out through the churning crowd, towards the neon green EXIT sign ...  

I lay on my bed, trying to filter out the noises coming from Gina’s room across the hall, all those super-loud groans and moans and sighs she was making, not to mention Julius’s occasional animal grunts, and, to top it all off, they were so loud, I could even hear them over
The
Best of Prince
, which she’d had on repeat for the last three hours, too.

I still hadn’t talked to her, or anyone, about what had gone down last night with Blake. Or with Josh.

Oh God, what a stupid horrible mess ...

I needed a just little longer to get my head together and work out what I really wanted.

Because now you’ve got two guys to decide between. That is if Josh ever wants anything to do with you, after you run away from him for a second time ...
 

Just then, my cell buzzed into life, alerting me to a new text message. I picked it up.

Hey, I got your no from F. Hope that’s okay? I really enjoyed spending time with you last night. I’d like to see you again. Wanna meet tonight? Josh x

And then, as if
that
wasn’t enough, my cell actually started ringing, too, this time saying ‘Unknown Caller’ on the screen’s ID.

I know I’m making it sound like my phone was just constantly ringing off the hook, but the truth of it was, I’d given myself a duvet day, and I’d spent the past eight hours or so hiding in my room, without so much as a single peep from my cell.

I paused for a moment then picked up, answering rather cautiously. “Hello?”

“Ah, Jessica! Alex Wiltshire here,” the voice said with a warm purr. “I said I’d be in touch, didn’t I?”

“Oh hi,” I replied, a little taken aback, but at the same time excited that he’d finally called to arrange a meeting, even if right now
was
a little late in the evening to be calling people about business matters.

“Well, I was just wondering if you were free this evening — I thought we might talk things over at my place. What do you say?”

I hesitated, thinking about Josh: the kind of fun we might have if I texted him back right now.

Then I thought about my future: the kind of business contacts a meeting with Alex might lead to.

Once more in my life, I seemed to be at a crossroads. I couldn’t stay in bed all day. I had to make a decision.

I paused before I answered.

§

I took a deep breath then rang the buzzer. And after a moment’s silence, I heard movement within the apartment, steps heading towards the door. This place was very different to Blake’s pad. There was no doorman in the lobby, or attendant in the elevator. Everything was actually a bit run down, and I wondered if perhaps he had
another
more expensive apartment somewhere else too, and just used this place for business meetings ...

Just then the door swung open, interrupting my thoughts, and there stood Alex Wiltshire, dressed not in his usual formal attire, but in casual cream chinos and a loose-fitting Hawaiian shirt, unbuttoned rather too far at the collar, revealing a spray of bright white hair on his tanned leathery chest.

“So! You made it!” he said, stepping aside to invite me in. “How lovely!”

I smiled and nodded politely, taking a tentative step into the rather dimly-lit apartment. I followed him down a small corridor and through to a large, open-plan living room and kitchen, straight away noticing the somewhat out-of-date decor. Almost all the furniture in the room was leather-covered and the whole place smelled overpoweringly of cigars, turning my stomach a little. A huge record player stood in one corner, pumping out some kind of sleazy-sounding jazz. And I don’t know what it was exactly, but I started to get a bad feeling about this whole meeting. Something about it just felt kind of ... shady. 

“Can I fix you a drink of something, honey?” Alex said, moving over to the mini bar and pouring himself an extra-large whiskey on the rocks. “Vodka? Gin, perhaps? And of course, I’ve got some champagne on ice, too ...”

“No, I’m fine thanks,” I said rather curtly. I just wanted to get this over with. And my feeling of unease was growing. After all, what kind of meeting
was
it where you drank champagne? “So, about this work you wanted me to do for you …”

“Hey, hey, hey. Let’s not rush things,” Alex interrupted. “That’s not how I operate. I always find that business works best when two people get to know each other a little better first. What do you say?”

“The thing is,” I stammered, “of course I agree with you about the importance of
business
relationships, and I’d really love to stay and talk, but I’m actually meeting a friend very soon, so perhaps we should reschedule … How about brunch?”

“Of course, I know all about you busy young New York women. Always on the go! But don’t you think you should take a moment to appreciate the finer things in life? Come now, sit down,” he insisted, patting the shiny brown leather of the couch, right next to where he had placed himself. “Even if you
are
in a hurry, you’re not going to stand there for the whole meeting, are you?”

I took a quick nervous glance towards the door. It would be so easy to just get the hell out of here. I had a really bad feeling about this whole thing all of a sudden. He just seemed so
sleazy
.

But maybe I was just being stupid.

Blake trusted him, after all. And he’s just from a different generation. I’d seen
Mad Men
– I knew how long it took these kinds of guys to get used to women who weren’t just secretaries. He was just a little old-fashioned, that’s all.

Plus, if I was getting it wrong and I left now, then I’d blow it for good. There would be
no way
Alex would give me any more work in the future, not to mention what he might say to Blake about me.

And it was this final reminder — that Alex was one of Blake’s
friends
after all — that made me swallow back my nerves and take a seat next to him on the old, creaking leather couch.

“That’s a good girl,” Alex murmured as I lowered myself into an awkward perch, right on the edge of the sofa, knees together, back rigid, my portfolio clutched tightly to my chest. “So, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”

See Jessica?

This is just like a job interview.

What were you worried about?

And so I began to tell him my story.

“Well,” I said, “I guess it began with my doll’s house at home. I just loved to decorate it, making furniture and soft furnishings out of any spare scraps I could find around the house.”

I thought that starting off like this might lighten the mood. And I felt guilty for being so uptight. Alex smiled at me. It seemed like it was actually going well ...

“So I majored in Interior Design at Savannah,” I continued. “And really, if you wanna make it in this business, then New York is the only place to be. So ...”

Just then I stopped, feeling something begin to brush gently against the skin of my knee. I glanced down. It was his hand.

What the fuck?

I sat, rigid, unable to speak, unable to think as his fingers traced their way upwards, in the steady direction of my skirt.

“Go on,” he growled. “You were saying?”

I shifted away from him, away from his hand, as far as I could, right down to the very farthest edge of the sofa.

“I was actually working in, um, in Barney’s when I got a lucky break and ...”

Alex shifted up the sofa too, once more closing the space between us, leaning in to me, his hand sliding back onto my knee.

“Keep going, this is
fascinating
,” he breathed in my ear, the smell of whiskey so strong on his breath that it made my eyes water. 

I wanted to get away from him but there was nowhere left to go.

“Say,” I croaked, glancing once more towards the door. “I think I’d better get going.”

“No, no, no,” he hissed. “Don’t go just yet. Carry on with your little story, Jessica. Blake’s told me
just
what a clever girl you are. But now I want to hear it for myself ...”

I couldn’t move. I found myself totally frozen there, like a rabbit in the headlights, unable to believe this was even
happening
, my heart beginning to pound, as Wiltshire’s hand worked even
further
upwards, actually pushing beneath my skirt now.

At that, I sprang back into action, grabbing at his wrist, but he forced his way even further between my legs, his fingers now tugging at my panties, trying to work their way right inside me. And with his other hand, he’d begun wrestling with his belt, undoing his pants, his hot whisky breath coming in wheezy spurts from his leering mouth as he pushed himself right on top of me, pinning me beneath him on the creaking sofa.

“Stop,
please!
” I gasped, trying to get away from him, but he wrestled his heavy body further on top of me, his other hand now grabbing my wrist and pinning me in place, his hard little cock jabbing at my thigh.

“I know you want it, clever girl,” he hissed. “After all, that’s how it worked with Blake, wasn’t it? Tell me, did you agree a fee
upfront
for your services, or did he pay you
cash in hand
?”

“Don’t! Alex! Please! Let me
go
!” I moaned, trying in vain to struggle free from his grip.

Is this really happening?

I could feel his fingers tearing my panties, his cock brushing my leg, his horrible sour breath against my face.

I knew how this was going to turn out if Alex got his way. And I had done
nothing
to ask for this.

But I wasn’t about to lie here, wishing that I’d left his apartment sooner or never come in the first place, and let him have his way with me. And all the anger that had been storing up inside me this whole evening while I felt paralyzed suddenly burst out of me.

I brought my knee up hard, hitting him square between the legs, sending him rolling off me, letting go of my wrists as he cupped himself, crying out and yelping in pain.

“Fucking
bitch!
” he shouted, red-faced, wincing and rolling on the floor.

I got to my feet and sprinted towards the door, the whole room lurching.

I heard the door slamming behind me as I ran back down the dim corridor, my footsteps echoing as I ran down God-knows-how-many flights of stairs, fast as I could, hoping he wasn’t chasing after me.

It was only when I was back out on the street that I stopped, catching my breath for a moment, gasping at the cold late-November air.

What do I do?

Where do I go now?

I turned and once more, I ran.