Chapter Fifty-Seven
Jesse woke up with a smile on his face, realizing that he'd slept through the night. No nightmares had haunted him like every other night. Marley’s body was warm next to his, her hand clasping his tightly. He could feel her breasts rising and falling with each breath and he wondered what it would be like to wake up like this every morning. He shook his head at that thought. Marley was too young to get entangled with a man like him. His past wasn't pretty, it wasn't even mildly attractive and she ... she was different.
Life was brutally unfair, giving him a taste of what it could be like only for him to realize he wasn't good enough. Sure, she'd initiated the sex and it was good, it was better than good. He was a man, one who didn't say no to sex, even if he should have. The problem was that he liked her too much.
He untangled himself from her and switched the shower on in the bathroom. He got under the spray and closed his eyes as he turned his face up into the water. The door of the shower opened and Jesse turned to look at Marley. He had no idea where they went from here, but Jesse couldn't and wouldn't ignore the look in her eyes.
“No regrets, Jesse.”
“No regrets.”
Marley went down on her knees in front of him and gripped his stiffening erection and closed her mouth over the head. Jesse closed his eyes as Marley took him deep and her one hand started fondling his balls. Jesse lost himself in that moment as her tongue swirled over his head.
He could feel it at the base of his spine and he pulled out of her mouth, pulling her up and pressing her against the shower wall. He kissed her and lifted her one leg before pushing inside her. The steam rose around them and Marley’s cries echoed off the walls.
Jesse’s legs felt weak and his heart was thundering against his ribs as they both came down from their high. Marley started washing her hair as he got out of the shower. Jesse dried off and got dressed in the bedroom with a smile on his face.
“I’m going to start breakfast.”
The shower door opened partially. “Okay.”
On the bottom step, Jesse froze as he smelled the aroma of coffee. He pulled the gun from his holster and cleared the living room. In the kitchen doorway, he froze again as Kelley sat at the table with a cup of coffee in front of him.
“How the hell did you get in here?”
“I have a key, remember.”
“Shit, Kelley, I almost shot you.”
“Relax, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. I was going to knock on the door but then I heard you had company.”
“Why are you here?”
“Shit, Jesse, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you wanted me gone. I’m glad you’re getting out there again.”
Jesse couldn’t look Kelley in the eye. “It’s not that I’m trying to get rid of you, I’m just surprised that you’re here.”
“I decided to come through for the weekend, check on a few business dealings and thought I’d check up on you too.”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Jesse stiffened. “Listen, Kelley …”
Marley stepped into the kitchen and she smiled as she saw Kelley. “I thought I heard voices.”
Kelley looked from Jesse to Marley and back to Jesse again. “Looks like I was worried about nothing.”
Kelley stood up from the table and placed his cup in the sink. He took his jacket from where it was hanging on the back of the chair and shrugged it on. “Kelley …”
“What, Jesse?”
“Can we talk about this?”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I have to go, I have a meeting.”
Kelley walked out of Jesse’s house and climbed into his Escalade. Jesse watched him from the living room window when Marley’s hands settled around his waist from behind. The Escalade drove off and Jesse sighed.
“What are you thinking?” Marley’s arms loosened and Jesse turned to look at her.
“I can’t figure out how pissed off he is.”
“I don’t care what he thinks. This is about you and me, nobody else.”
“For the most part that’s true but he’s your brother and my friend.”
“I don’t regret what happened last night or this morning but if you do then I’ll understand and I’ll go back home.”
“I don’t regret what we did, Marley.”
“Then what?”
“I’m afraid of hurting you.”
Jesse pulled Marley closer to him and rested his head against her shoulder. Her arms wrapped around him and they stood like that for a good ten minutes. Marley could feel something shift between them and she knew Jesse was pulling away from her.
“Jesse …”
“I’m sorry, Marley. I’m not the man you want to settle down with. Trust me on that.”
Marley pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. He was completely closed off now, his eyes hard and distant. Marley nodded her head and turned towards the stairs. Once back inside her room the tears that had gathered spill from her eyes.
‘I’m such an idiot,’ she thought to herself.
It had taken only a week for her to fall in love with Jesse. Days and weeks of working up the courage to know if he could ever feel the same way about her. She wasn’t a victim, would never be one. If Kelley could survive being an Alexander then so could she.
No matter what the Elite did to her, she’d never be a victim. She was lost in Jesse Owens, liked his quietness, and liked the orderly way he did things. He made her feel safe and beautiful, like she mattered, like she was precious.
She had to leave. She knew she couldn’t stay there anymore. When she heard his bedroom door close, she grabbed her suitcases and left his house. She waited for the Uber down the street and then went back to the house on the hill.
