(Aiden’s POV)“What are you doing?” Sasha asked.Sasha looked displeased, placing her hands on her hips and squinting her eyes at me. One thing about her, she was only like this whenever I was too focused at work, neglecting whatever was considered essential for my health. “Reading an email?” I answered straightforwardly because it was what I was doing.“Funny.” She sneered. “You know it’s not what I mean to say.”“Then what?” I asked, raising my head to look at her.Sasha rolled her eyes at me, then walked toward the fridge, getting a soda can. When she returned in my direction, she glanced at Jessamine in one of the sleeping quarters and wandered her eyes around the tent.While the house was under renovation, the construction company set up a tunnel tent near the lake. It excited Jessamine, following Morris around, not minding she was limping, and asking him many questions. She was exhilarated, telling him she had never been in such a big tent with four sleeping compartments, but s
(Aiden’s POV)When Aaron stopped the car in front of the apartment, Sasha immediately got off to open the door for me. I had been trying to wake her up, but since I couldn’t, my last resort would be carrying her.“She looked exhausted,” Sasha said as she took her backpack. “And this is all your fault.”I sighed, scooping her carefully and carrying her in my arms. Before I could step on the porch, Deborah had opened the main door, gaping at us.“Oh, my God, what happened to her?” Deborah panicked, opening the door wide for me.“She’s just sleeping. I can’t wake her up,” I muttered, glancing at Sasha, giving her the cue to give Jessamine’s things to her housemate.Deborah placed her palm on her chest, breathing in relief. “I thought something happened to her again,” she chuckled, taking the backpack from Sasha.“Again?” Sasha raised her eyebrows.“Yesterday, she hurt her foot,” she reminded her.“Ah!” She chuckled softly, nodding as she understood what Deborah meant. “Aiden, we’re leavi
(Aiden’s POV)“Oh, God! What happened?”My heart hammered, hurting my ribcage, when I saw Jessamine sitting on the floor, clutching the shower curtain and trying to reach the metal rod. Charlie beat me into rescuing Jessamine. The puppy ran toward her, biting the polyester fabric, but he could not get it because she was gripping the curtain hard. The dog barked again but exited the bathroom instead of trying to pull it away from her again.“Jess! Are you okay?” I asked, rushing toward her.Crouching on my knees, I made a quick check on her. Jessamine looked fine, but her body was shaking and gripping the fabric hard as if her life depended on it. I had to move each of her fingers to release her hold of the curtain, taking me a few seconds to take it from her.“Are you hurt? Tell me, Jess,” I asked worriedly, picking up the metal rod and placing it on the side. “Answer me… or at least, talk. You’re scaring me.”Jessamine chuckled weakly, nodding at me. “Is my shower curtain okay?”I
(Jessamine’s POV)The excitement, fear, and happiness that jumbled together inside me skyrocketed my heart to my throat and catapulted my brain off my body. Who cares? I didn’t want to think. At this moment, my body had its own mind, only wanting Aiden to touch me… kiss me, be inside my core, and mark my territory as his.My heart pounded violently when I realized we had finally decided to cross the line. As Aiden crushed his lips on mine, kissing me ferociously and kneading my mounds aggressively, I knew this night would be long but glorious.I was as hungry as he was, not caring if our tongues were melting into each other. All I could think of was how delicious and delightful his kiss was that I could not help moaning in his mouth.“Aiden…” I panted, catching my breath when he broke our kiss.“Yeah?”I felt his lips curved into a smile when he planted a kiss on my neck. This man knew how to tease me, nibbling playfully on my skin as his hands played. I gasped, my fingernails digging
(Jessamine’s POV) I arched my head backward, gasping as I saw Rick tying my hands against the metal headboard. My heart pounded hard, hurting my chest as I lost the excitement, replacing it with extreme fear and stress. “N-No!” I cried, writhing my hands to escape from the rope. My eyes were wide, horrified as I tried to break free from the familiar metal ornamental butterfly in the center of the headboard. “Jessamine.” It was Aiden calling me, but his voice seemed distant. “Aiden!” I cried, turning my head from side to side, hoping someone could explain why I was back in the dark bedroom. “Help! Aiden, help me.” My heart hammered, seeing Rick whistling toward the bed and tying my foot to the metal footboard. I squirmed, screaming when he caught my other foot and tied it, spreading my legs. “Help!” I cried, wriggling my body when he climbed on top of me. “Please, help me!” I wept, breaking down. I screamed in pain when he thrust his manhood into my core, pounding hard despite my
(Jessamine’s POV)“Jessamine!”Aaron walked toward me, stopping… more like blocking me from entering the tunnel tent. The surprise across his face told me something was up. His lips curved into a smile, but his lips trembled like he was asking me why on earth I showed up.“Jess?” Sasha’s face flustered, blinking as she looked at me in confusion, then turned pale. “Paige?” She gasped, smiling nervously as she gaped at her. Only then I realized the confusion was not about me showing up unannounced.I turned around and saw a gorgeous woman standing behind me. Her high-heeled shoes made her taller than me, but I bet we would be the same height if she were not wearing them. She raised her eyebrows, looked at me from head to toe, then leered.I sneered when she walked past me, copying her, looking at her from head to toe. Her clothes didn’t need to lie. This Paige must have come from an affluent family.“Where’s Aiden?” Her eyes were on Sasha as she asked.“Umm…” Sasha, whom I had known to
(Jessamine’s POV)Without my brother knowing, Charlie and I crashed at his apartment. Thinking he could fix my heart, I went to his place, waiting patiently, and while I cried my heart out, Charlie was also whimpering like he knew that Aiden and I had broken up… as best friends.The clicking sound from the doorknob made me jump, waking Charlie from his sleep on Benedict’s couch.“Finally!” I took my phone, glancing at the time, and groaned, seeing it was past midnight already. I stood up and walked to the main door, waiting for it to open.“Jesus Christ!” Benedict’s body jerked, startled when my brother saw me standing in the dark. His hand groped for the switch, turning on the lights.“Not even close.” I clucked my tongue and sighed. “You should have said either Mary or Magdalene. That would be acceptable,” I said, walking back to the couch. “Didn’t the great palace clock remind you it’s past midnight?”“I’m not Cinderella. I’m a doctor,” he answered, closing and locking the door. “H
(Jessamine’s POV)Why was my birthday a big deal to everyone when I didn’t even care about it? Deborah kept pacing the living room, and if Charlie could talk, he would probably ask her to stop because she was making us dizzy. I tried to focus on my laptop’s screen, browsing and reading important emails from possible suppliers and applicants, and some were from Sasha. I read her emails but didn’t reply to any of her messages because I was still pissed and embarrassed the last time we met.“Are you sure you’re okay to be alone today?” Deborah glanced at me worriedly.“Yeah,” I nodded, looking at her briefly and returned my eyes to my laptop’s screen. “Why wouldn’t I be okay? And why do you look soooo guilty?” I chuckled, teasing her.“Because I always miss your birthday,” she pouted and sighed as she sat beside me, hugging me tightly.I chuckled. “Deb, it’s not your fault I was born on the same day as Xavier’s parents’ wedding anniversary.” I eased back, narrowing my eyes as I looked at