Running From Destiny (12 page)

“N
…N...No, not cold. Just...” I pause, “Scared.” I stutter out between shaky breaths.

“Why are you scared?
I’m not going to hurt you.” He says as he pulls back and looks into my eyes, lifting the discarded camisole and raising it over my head, tossing it to the floor.

“I’ve never felt this wa
y before, Jackson.” I tell him. He stops and sucks in a breath, concern etching his eyes.

“Are you a virgin, Alexandra?” He
asks, suddenly very serious.

“No, no. I’m not.
But this feels like the first time.”

Suddenly I am lifted into his arms and he walks up the steps, down the hallw
ay and into a gracious bedroom. I’m too lost in his eyes to really notice, but I see him kick the door closed behind him and he gently places me down on the bed. His fingers go to the buttons of his shirt and I sit up. “Allow me.” I tell him, suddenly feeling brazen and bold. I try not to think about where these feelings are coming from and just go with it. Heather would be proud.

He stops and I sit up on my knees, my legs folded under me, my trembling fingers reaching and graspi
ng at the buttons of his shirt. I finally get the bottom button undone and straighten up to my knees, pushing the shirt off of his broad shoulders. It slides down his arms and lands in a puddle on the floor.

Strong muscles a
nd smooth skin cover his torso. I drag my hands over his skin, heated with arousal. I admire the small smattering of hair between his pecs that travels down to his rolling abdomen and disappears between the v of his waist and into his pants. I press my lips to his nipple, gently kissing and pulling it into my mouth. His hand is on my head, pulling his fingers through the locks of my hair.

He lifts m
y chin and leans in for a kiss. This kiss is harder and more demanding than the last one. His tongue forces its way into my mouth and I suck on his tongue, reveling in his taste.

He pulls away after nibbling on my bottom lip, and gently pushes me to my back, low
ering his toned body over mine. I suddenly don’t care about the muffin top and love handles that adorn my body. All I can think about is having this man on me. In me.

He continues the kiss, grinding his cock against me, igniting a desire and a need so big that I’m afraid of losing
it before he’s even entered me. He licks and traces his tongue down my neck, through the valley between my breasts, tenderly sucking one nipple into his mouth, while toying with the other.

He doesn’t stay long, because now he is kissing a path down my belly, stopping to li
nger a few seconds on my navel. My body melts under his.

His fingers tug on my panties slowly lowering them and his face follows, his hot breath blows on my sex as he
completely removes my panties. He leans back up and gazes at my swollen lips, heating my core with just his stare, a new rush of moisture gushes out and I try real hard not to be embarrassed at my reaction to him.

His thick index finger drags through my folds, my back arches on the bed as I suck in a br
eath and squeeze my eyes shut. His finger draws a figure eight around my clitoris, not quite touching it. “Jackson, please.” I say on an exhaled breath, though I am not sure what I’m begging for.

Slowly, he pushes his finger into my waiting depths as his tongue swirls between my soft folds. Again, my back arches up and he presses his other hand on my
abdomen, holding me in place. “So beautiful. And so wet.” He breathes against my sex as he strokes his finger in and out, spreading the wetness up to my clit. “I’ve been dying to taste you.” And he plunges his tongue in my slit along with his finger, both stroking simultaneously creating a fever in me that rages through my body.

“Oh....u
gh!” Is all I can get out. The moisture between my legs has short circuited my mouth and my body is a heated inferno, the flames licking at my core.

A second finger joins the first and his tongue continues its lazy exploration of my most private area, curling
up and stroking my inner wall. He parts my labia with two fingers, exposing even more of my naked flesh to his mouth, then he suctions his lips over the now hardened bud, his tongue flicking it back and forth. When I think I can’t hold back any longer, he stops and I exhale a frustrated breath. “Not yet, Alexandra. Wait for it.” He says as he stands up.

He unbuttons his pants a
nd he pulls them off, taking them underwear with him, holding a condom packet in his hand that must have been in his pocket.

Hello there.

His cock is large, hard and pointed straight at me and my eyes widen in aroused fear. He stands there looking at me, stroking himself and licking the remnants of my arousal off of his lips. He opens the foil packet with his teeth and slowly rolls it on.

He crawls back on top of me and spreads open my legs with his strong
thighs, his lips meeting mine. He nibbles on my bottom lip and I feel him pressing against my entrance. I can taste myself on his lips, which would normally gross me out, but I find it so hot that I lick into his mouth, savoring my taste and his. He slowly pushes into me, dragging back out before pushing in again. The friction against the sensitive walls of my vagina igniting a fire deep in my belly. “Relax, Alexandra. Let me in.” The smoothness of his voice sends a new rush of moisture between my legs and he pushes in to the hilt. His pelvis flush against mine.

“Oh God!” I s
cream.

“Ahhh yes
, sweet Alexandra. So tight and hot. Open your eyes and look at me. I want to see your face this time when you come.” He whispers as he pulls back out and thrusts back in.

I drag my fingernails down his back, probably a little harder than I should, but the pressure building in my body needs to be released, and I’m sure I’ve broken the skin, but
he doesn’t flinch at the pain. His hips roll and thrust, in and out causing more moisture to flow making it easier for him to continue.

I push my hips up,
meeting him stroke for stroke. He growls and grabs my legs, throwing them over his shoulder. His cock dragging against a sensitive area inside that I never knew existed. He speeds up and I can feel that he is losing that precious control he claims he has and he leans forward into me, putting his lips on my neck. “Come for me baby, let it go.” He pulls his head back up and I explode. Tremors beginning at my toes and travel up my body, settling on my heated core.

“Yes
, Alexandra. Yes!” He pushes in one last time and stills. I can feel the throbbing of his cock against my sensitive flesh and I squeeze the muscles around him and hold on, pulling every drop of his come from him.

He takes a few extra strokes and pul
ls out, his warmth leaving me. He ties off the condom and tosses it in the trash can, and crawls back in the bed pulling the blanket over us both. He pulls me into his arms and kisses my forehead, staring into my eyes. “Mine.”

Chapter 11

Silence is deafe
ning sometimes, and that’s what woke me up. I’m used to the whirling of my ceiling fan and other noises from the apartments around me. My lids flicker open and it’s dark. As my body comes awake, I frantically search the room for a clock. I find the bright green LED from the alarm clock on the end table, two o’clock. In the morning? Shit!

I slowly pull the covers off of me and try to get out
of bed without waking Jackson. He’s sleeping soundly next to me, his arm stretched across my stomach. I lightly move it off of me and he stirs, but rolls over and stays asleep. Whew!

I struggle to find my clothes, but the on
ly thing I find is my panties. Well, thank goodness for that.

I pull them on and begin to open the door, hoping the hinges have been oiled la
tely so that it doesn’t squeak. It doesn’t and I release the breath I held as I reached for the doorknob. I softly pad to the great room and find my bra and clothes, quickly putting them on. As I’m strapping on my sandals, I realize my car is in the parking garage and I am nowhere near home.

So, here comes an unexpected expense of a cab to take me home, or do I take it to the
parking garage and get my car? No, the garage is locked and I won’t even be able to get in. So, home it is. I silently exit the condo and make my way to the elevator, quietly and quickly not wanting Jackson to wake up and realize I’m gone yet. Thankfully, I make it to the lobby and the concierge desk, where I see the back of Frank’s head. It is tilted to the right a little, his chin resting on his shoulder. He must be asleep.

I lightly tap on
the desk and he snaps his head.

“I’m sorry, ma’am.
How can I help you?” He asks, bright eyed like he’d just been busted sleeping in class.

“Ummm
, I need a cab to take me home. I don’t know of any, because I’ve never taken one and I really need to get home.” I ramble on. By this time, panic is setting in and I realize what a conundrum I’ve gotten myself into. I mentally smack myself for being so irresponsible.

“
Its okay ma’am, I have one on speed dial and they’re very quick. Just give me a moment. One will be here shortly.” He says as he picks up his phone.

“Thank you.” I say as I turn and make my way to the doors
to the unusually quiet street. But I don’t exit. I may be confused, scared and alone, but I’m not stupid. A single woman just doesn’t stand on the sidewalk in the middle of the night in Atlanta. Well, maybe some do but not me. I wait by the doors and after a few minutes, a yellow cab pulls up out front.

I turn and wave to Frank and make my exit, quickl
y climbing into the back seat. I give him my address and scan the cab looking for th
e
Credit Cards Accepte
d
sign. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see it, because I don’t have nearly enough cash to cover this.

As the cab quietly travels up the interstate, I close my eyes and try
to think about what I’ve done. Tim is going to want an update on our meeting, and we never even discussed the job. We went straight from the office, to dinner and to bed. What was I thinking? This isn’t me, not at all. I don’t do one night stands and I don’t sleep with clients, but I can’t get the way Jackson made me feel out of my head either.

He was so ge
ntle, so tender and so loving. He was just as concerned with my pleasure as he was his own, so different than any other man I have been with. The others were only concerned with getting their rocks off that they couldn’t have cared less about me. I found those encounters to be very unsatisfying and a complete waste of time. But this was so different.

He made me feel special and beautiful, not just a piece of meat.

Maybe I’ll just call out sick tomorrow, err....today. After all it is two thirty in the morning now. Gosh, tomorrow is going to be a long day.

But I can’t call out sick.
My car is in the parking garage and Tim will see it and have even more questions. Heck, he’ll probably send a search party out looking for me. God, what have I gotten myself into? I can’t call Heather because it’s too late and she never hears the phone anyway since she’s such a heavy sleeper. I look at my phone, no messages and no texts. Good.

Then I wonder how I am
going to get to work tomorrow. Shit, I’ll have to call another taxi to come get me and take me to the office. Maybe Heather can drop me off, since she doesn’t work far from me. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do, I go ahead and send her a text asking...no, telling her to call me before she leaves for work, that......hmmm, my car had issues yesterday and it is in the shop. Yeah, that’ll work. At least for now.

I word my
text carefully and press send. Wait!Damn I wish I had a
n
Oh Shi
t
button! She is going to see the time I sent this text and be immediately suspicious. Nice. Good thinking Ally. No, frankly, I’m not thinking. The fact is, I don’t know what to think anymore.

“We’re here ma’am, do you have the key card to get into the gate?” The taxi driver asks, jolting me out of my
thoughts.

I dig throu
gh my purse and locate the card thankfully I didn’t leave it in my car.

I reach out and scan the card and the arm lifts,
allowing the taxi to continue. I give him directions to my building and hand him my credit card to pay the fee.

“No nee
d ma’am, fare is taken care of. Have a good night.” He says.

“What?
How? I haven’t paid.....” He cuts me off.

“Pa
yment was called into dispatch. Thank you for your business.” He says a little irritated.

“Thanks.” I say as I get out of the car, fishing for my keys in my purse.

I figure Jackson must have woken up and talked to Frank. Remind me to thank Frank for running his mouth. Though, I guess his loyalty lies with Jackson and not some skank that sleeps around. Is that what I am now? A skank? I shake my head as I enter my apartment, heading straight for my bedroom. I drop my purse on the floor and flop onto the bed, in my clothes, without brushing my teeth. At this point, I am so tired and confused that I don’t care.

Just as I am about to drift off, I
realize I haven’t set my alarm. I reach for the clock to press the ON button and realize it’s already six a.m. Wow, I actually fell straight to sleep and thankfully, my internal clock works, or I could have been in serious trouble. Now, I have to hope that Heather got my text and will come pick me up for work.

I trudge to the shower, letting the hot water cascade over my body, soothing the now aching muscles tha
t haven’t been used in so long. It’s a good ache too, just enough to remember the prior evening. I wash my hair, shave and soap up. By the time I am finished, I feel like a new, no…. a slightly used woman.

Its
six forty five and I dash into my closet looking for something to wear. I choose a light sundress in pale yellow and low heeled sandals. I dress quickly and grab my phone to see if Heather has called. She hasn’t. No response to my text at all. I shoot off another one and finally get a response.

H -Sry, sick. Staying home.

That’s it? Thanks friend. I flop on the sofa and grab my laptop. I guess I have to call another taxi to take me into the office. Great, now I’ll never get that damned credit card paid off.

I’m searching Google for the cab service I used last night, bu
t I don’t even know their name. I never asked and I didn’t pay attention. Had he swiped my credit card, I could view my online statement to see the billing name but I don’t even have that.

My phone be
eps indicating a text message. I peek at it and it’s from that unknown number. Jackson.

Car will pick U up in 5. B rdy.

I sigh, and snicker at the same time. Jackson Bentley and text messaging just don’t add up. He’s so refined and debonair, yet he texts like a kid.

I close my comput
er and grab my keys to lock up. By the time I am on the sidewalk out front, the limo has pulled up. Oh no. Not the limo again. I hope Tim doesn’t see me getting out of it at the building, in fact...I hope I beat him to the office so he doesn’t realize my car has been there all night.

The driver gets out and walks arou
nd to my side, opening my door. I slide in and bump into a hard, warm body.

“Good morning, Alexand
ra.” He says, but not happily. In fact, he looks angry.

“Umm
, hi. Thanks for picking me up. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get to the office today.” I respond as if nothing is amuck.

He mumbled something, but I couldn’t understand what he said and
I don’t ask him to repeat it. Right now, I am as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I know my tail is about to be squashed, but I don’t know when, so I sit in silence drinking in his manly sent. He smells freshly showered and clean. A light spicy cologne and his hair is even still damp, but messy as if he has been running his fingers through it.

Di
d I say I hate silence earlier? Well, I do. And you could hear a pin drop in this car. The only sounds are of the tires swooshing along the road and the low rumble of the engine.

We come to a stop suddenly and I g
lance out the window. Traffic. Great.

“Why did you leave without telling me, Alexandra? I would have taken you home if that was what you really wanted.” He finally breaks the silence.

“I didn’t have clothes for work, and I needed to get home. You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you.” I reply.

He sighs, “You’
re running and I don’t like it. Don’t run from me again, Ally.” Gosh he confuses me.First it’
s
Alexandra
,
then it’
s
Ally.

“Maybe I don’t like being chased, Mr. Bentley.” I
snarl back at him.

“Not chasing, Ally. Pursuing.
There’s a difference.” He says.

“P
o-tay-toe, po-tah-toe, Jackson. It’s the same thing. I don’t think we should continue this...this...whatever it is, this game of cat and mouse. It’s disrupting my life and causing problems at work. I’m not wealthy like you, so I can’t afford to be unemployed.If we continue thi
s
thing
,
then I am going to lose my job.I’m making a choice here, and whateve
r
thi
s
is,” I wave my hand between us, “is over.”

“See, that’s your prob
lem Ally. You think too much. I watched your face last night when we made love, you weren’t thinking then, you were just feeling. That’s what you’ve been missing in your life. Feeling.”

“Don’t you dare tel
l me what I have been missing! YOU DON’T KNOW ME! You know nothing about me.”

“I know
you’ve been hurt before, Ally. Tell me. Who sucked all the life out of you and drained your self-esteem? Who damaged you?” He asks.

“I don’t owe
you any explanations, Jackson. It is what it is and I’ve dealt with it the best way I know how. Now, are we going to talk about the project so I have something to tell Tim? Because if I don’t, all hell will break loose.”

“Ha ha ha, old Ti
m. Well, he’ll be fine. And he’ll get his update. Here...” He reaches into his briefcase and hands me a document. “Just give him the signed contract. That will be all he needs to know. You and your team will need to be at my office Friday after lunch with your designs. Then work can begin next week. I trust you, Ally. I know your creation will be amazing, just like you.” He says.

Amazing.
That’s the second time he’s used that word with me and I still don’t understand it. How can he judge me when he doesn’t know me? He doesn’t know what I’ve been through. What does he see that I don’t? I don’t have time to answer those questions because the limo has pulled up at the office. I look through the dark tinted windows and don’t see anyone from work on the sidewalk.

“I’ll get this contract to
Tim and we will see you Friday. Thank you for....this, “I wave the contract in the air “and for the ride.” I quickly exit the car, allowing the driver to close the door behind me. I don’t look back as I enter the double doors to my building and rush to the elevators.