Chapter 7

Sheena paced the room haphazardly, unable to stop her heart from racing.

She felt uncomfortable and unnerved by the intense look Jake had given her as he sauntered confidently to the table where she and Elena were seated.

Sheena stopped to look at the wall clock. It's been five minutes since she got to her room, Elena should be here by now and she wondered what was keeping her sister.

She had her back to the door with her muddled thoughts, when the door to the room opened, ushering in an intruder.

‘Oh God, Elena! What took you so long?’ Sheena queried, with her back still facing the door.

‘I need help getting out of this gown, please.’

She shifted her hair which she had let loose to the side to allow Elena to untie the strings and undo the zipper.

As the figure got closer and slowly pulled down the zipper of the beautiful strapless gown, Sheena froze.

The familiar green citrus and fine cedar wood scent she has come to know too well wafted into her nose. She knew right then it wasn't Elena.

Realization hit her hard in the face as she turned her head to meet the intense brown eyes of Jake, staring down at her with what looked like a mix of lust and anger.

Sheena instantly jumped away from him, holding the strapless gown to her chest as it hung loosely around her shoulders after Jake had unzipped it more than halfway and helped loosen all the many strings holding it in place.

They both stared at each other in silence for nearly a minute, with shock evident on Sheena's face.

‘What are you doing here?’ Sheena asked incredulously. She had least expected him to be here.

‘Where’s my sister?’ She queried as he continued staring at her in cold silence.

‘You mean the lady who sat with you at the table? I saw her talking to “your husband". Jake explained with particularly angry emphasis on the word husband.

'They might be on their way up here any moment from now.’ Jake added nonchalantly.

'Oh’ was all Sheena could mutter. She could feel her heart racing as she stared at this adonis of a man dressed in a simple white sleeve folded at the arms and tucked into a perfectly ironed pair of navy blue trousers that hugged his thighs tightly and displayed his toned legs and physique.

'What are you doing here?’ Sheena repeated after finding her voice. Her hands still lay crossed over her chest, supporting the gown from falling and exposing her nakedness.

'You lied about being single last night, why? Why didn't you tell me you were getting married today……much more so, to my father?’ Jake shot at her instead. He grimaced at the word “father" and had his anger-filled eyes focused wholly on her.

'Tha….that's because I….I was single up until today.’ Sheena tried to explain. She felt entirely unsettled by the look on Jake's handsome face.

Suddenly, her courage shot up when she realized he had also lied to her about his name and identity.

‘Wait a minute. You also lied to me last night too.’ she accused defiantly.

'Why did you tell me your name was Jake Cross when in fact, you're Jake Rollins?’ she fired.

Jake laughed and shook his head mockingly at her naivety.

'That's because I am Jake Cross! I do not answer to the Rollins's name. Cross is my stepfather and it is what I go by.’ He revealed. He softened as he mentioned his stepfather.

Sheena stared at him thoughtfully, understanding his words.

‘But you don't look anything like Rollins.’ she argued.

Jake stared at her in disbelief. She'd just said he looked nothing like Mr Dominic, when all his life, he'd looked and was told by everyone that he was a carbon copy of his father.

It was his uncanny resemblance to his father that made his stepfather suspicious and eventually exposed his mother's secret that he, Jake, wasn't his son but Mr. Rollins.'

Jake scanned the room for a second and directed Sheena's attention to a framed picture on the shelf, in a corner of the large, exquisite-looking room. The picture stood on the shelf beside several awards and laminated certificates that lined each stand.

It was a picture of a handsome, much younger Mr Dominic Rollins, and as Sheena stared closely at it, it immediately dawned on her how alike Jake looked to the young Dominic in the picture.

'The old man is my father.’ Jake supplied, as Sheena turned her gaze away from the picture back to him.

She stood silently watching him as she was at a loss for what to say to him.

‘For how long have you been seeing my father?’ Jake queried, breaking the awkward silence.

‘Huh?!’ Sheena exclaimed in confusion.

‘I was never seeing your father! Today at the church was the first time I met him in person. I was only arranged to marry him as part of a deal my father brokered with him. I did not lie when I said I was single.’ She explained.

Jake watched her in silence, with distrust in his eyes, as he watched her explain. Deep in his heart, he felt she was telling the truth and desperately wanted to believe her, but his mind on the other hand found it difficult to do so, especially not after the lies the night before.

Jake Cross was particular about, and vehemently against sleeping with a lady who was either married or in a relationship with someone else.

The experience of his doting stepfather had made him come to such a resolve.

Andrew Cross had been utterly devastated when he found out the young kid whom he'd loved and called his own wasn't his child.

His wife Sonia, who was Mr Rollins’ secretary then, had lied to him about Jake's paternity until Jake grew older, and his uncanny resemblance to Mr Rollins could no longer be ignored.

Andrew Cross, Jake's stepfather had died of a heart attack after seeing the DNA test results, and Sonia, Jake's mother, had lost her mind from the trauma. She'd been confined to a mental institution since then, and Jake had completely despised his father, Dominic Rollins, ever since then, for the part he played.

He'd also swore never to be like his father….never to have anything to do with someone else's woman.

Jake was reminded of all of these as he stared angrily at Sheena who was still holding onto the gown.

'Okay, so you decided to have a little fun with me before you jet off to go get married the next day, huh?’ He questioned, moving towards her with strong confident strides as his eyes darkened in anger and what seemed like lust.

Sheena backed off in fear as he strode towards her angrily. She took cautious steps backward until her back hit a barrier. She was already backed to the wall, with nowhere to go and entirely at his mercy.

She looked back at her predator with worry and uncertainty in her eyes because she didn't know what he was up to.

She raised both her hands to try to plead with him, forgetting the small issue of her loose gown.

As she took her hands off of it, the gown slid down her sides, forming a puddle around her feet. She became aware of her nudity.

Jake who was only a few inches away from her stopped dead in his tracks as the gown fell, exposing Sheena's soft, ample breasts with pink hardened nipples - ones he had suckled and fondled with severally during their steamy, exhilarating romp last night - and black lace panties that covered her hot tight mold.

Jake took in a sharp breath as his eyes dilated. His eyes were blinded with lust as a surge of blood rushed towards his groin, lighting a burning fire only Sheena could quench.

He closed the small distance between them in one swift motion, pinning her possessively to the wall.

‘You think you can use me and go scot-free, huh?’ Jake muttered breathlessly, his mouth barely inches away from hers.

'I….I…I did not use….’ Sheena stuttered, nervously trying to explain.

Jake captured her luscious lips in his before she could finish.

She tasted like apple pie as he deepened the kiss and took one soft mold in his hand, kneading the flesh and rubbing at her taut nipple.

He pushed her legs apart and was going to run his free hand up her thighs towards her wet, hot, groin when the doors of the room suddenly pushed open.