Invisible Leash, page 23
part #1 of The Cross Series
She slid up and down on my cock slowly, her hands grabbing at my biceps and her lips pursing in pleasure. Her breasts rubbed against my chest, bouncing up and down with her every movement. I was about to combust. I reached for her messy blond hair with one hand and grabbed her around the waist with the other, holding her still to prolong the moment.
I circled my cock slowly inside of her, groaning while I looked at her beautiful face.
“Jacob,” she whimpered, her eyes glowing.
My lips violently crushed themselves over hers. I picked up the pace again, trembling at the sensation of being inside her—thrusting, plunging, stretching. With every movement, her eyes shimmered with lust and greed, wanting me all to herself, which was what I wanted, too.
Mine.
She moaned, leaning backward so I had an even better view of her tits. “I’m coming,” she purred, her nails scratching at my shoulders as she climaxed. Her back arched, heavy-lidded eyes looking royally fucked when they made contact with mine.
I couldn’t hold back any longer. My thrusts became deeper and faster. I held her tight around the waist, my hands marking her hipbones. In seconds, my cock was pulsating its cum all over the condom.
I let go of her hips. “Look at me,” I grabbed her chin with my thumb and forefinger. “I love you. I don’t want to lose you,” I said as we basked in the blissful state of the afterglow.
“Then you won’t,” she stated simply.
I looked at her, surprised, unsure if she knew what I was talking about. I kissed her temple, then let go of her, reaching behind me for my suit jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders to keep her warm. She wore it better than I did, especially with nothing under it, giving me the perfect view of her swelling cleavage.
She kissed me, thanking me, then grabbed her robe and dropped her heels to the floor as we both made our way to the bedroom upstairs to wash up.
I was waiting for her on the bed when she stepped out of her bathroom, switching my blazer for her satin robe. As soon as she did, words came out like word vomit.
“I have to tell you something.”
Her eyes looked at me suspiciously. “What is it?”
She crossed her arms over her robe.
“A few days ago, I met up with your father—”
Her eyes went wide. “What?” she demanded, slapping me on the chest once she reached me.
Baby, try harder.
“He texted me while I was here. That’s why I left in a hurry.”
“What did he want? How did he get your number?”
“I don’t know, but he basically told me that it was him who was trying to sabotage my reputation and career,” I said, looking deep into her blue eyes.
Sage’s face flushed with anger. “Why does that not surprise me?” she muttered as she came to sit on my lap. “What exactly did he want?”
“Well, he knew that I was about to find out that it was him who planted that bad vaccine story, and also that it was him who bribed at least some of the women to talk to the press about my personal life.”
“And let me guess,” Sage cut in. “He wanted you to keep that a secret from me, right?”
I nodded. “I guess you’re not that surprised.”
“No,” she said, gazing at the wall “He’s all about lying to maintain control over me, and everyone else in his life,” she spat angrily, bringing her robe closer around her naked body.
“I wonder how he found out?”
I shrugged. I had no idea. “He did say he wanted to apologize, to make amends and help me get out of the mess I’m in now.”
“But I bet he also told you to stay away from me, didn’t he?”
“I’m pretty sure he still wants you to stay with Lincoln. Supposedly, his business is having some financial troubles, and he thinks that if Lincoln becomes senator, he’ll get access to some subsidies.”
“Bullshit,” Sage said. “Lincoln would never do that.” But her voice wavered with uncertainty even as she spoke the words.
“I also told him that Lincoln found out you were forced to be with him, so whatever plans they’d hatched together were most likely void at this point.”
“I can’t fucking believe him,” Sage seethed, pacing around the room as she stood up. Then she stopped suddenly and turned to face me. “So that’s what’s been bothering you these last few days? This whole time, I thought you were going to break up with me!”
What?
“Sage, I wouldn’t leave you,” I promised her. “Is that why you did all this?” I asked, referring to the candlelight dinner and the wine.
“I don’t know. Maybe,” she admitted, gracing my lower body with hers once more as she sat into my lap. “I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for me lately. For being so patient . . . for being you,” she said quietly pulling at my hair.
I wrapped my arms around her. “What do you think your father’s going to do now? Tell Lincoln about me?”
Sage shrugged. “Lincoln already knows about us.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. Sage had been so hell-bent on keeping she and me a secret.
“Yeah. You left your sweater here the other night, and he found it.”
“He was here? At ten o’clock at night?” I asked, with a twinge of jealousy.
“Yeah, he was. We’re friends. It was just to keep the press happy.”
“Did he sleep over?” I managed through gritted teeth.
“No, he didn’t. And if he does, he sleeps on the couch.”
My insides clenched with mistrustfulness. I felt sick to my stomach. Even though I knew it was all for the paparazzi’s benefit, I hated the thought of another man in her apartment. Sure, I trusted her.
But Black?
That fucker was another matter.
“Do you think Black and your dad have some kind of backroom deal?”
“I don’t doubt that my father hopes they do. He’s so like that.” She narrowed her eyes and looked at me in all seriousness. “Don’t you trust him for one second with your business, okay?”
I nodded.
“Only two weeks left until election day,” she said, forcing a smile. “I owe it to Lincoln to tough it out until then, but after that, no more secrets. It’ll be just us.”
“You owe it to him?” I repeated.
“Are you jealous?” she teased.
“I am jealous,” I said seriously.
She rolled her eyes, leaving my lap to pull up the duvet from her bed.
I turned around to face her. “I don’t understand, Sage. Lincoln knows the truth, and so does your father. So why are you still keeping up this charade?”
She flopped down onto her bed, across from me. “Because my resume will look a whole lot better to potential employers if Lincoln becomes senator, and that probably won’t happen if people knew his supposed “committed relationship” went all to hell two weeks before the election.” She made air quotes around the words committed and relationship.
“Are you sure it’s not because you actually want to be with him?” I asked, giving into my weaker instincts.
“How dare you ask me that?” she snapped. “I’ve already told you, I love you!”
I knew that my protectiveness was making me blow things out of proportion. I always hated it when men acted as if they owned their girlfriends. And I was doing the exact same thing just then.
Still, I couldn’t wash away the suspicions that were growing in my mind. Hadn’t she just said that she’d confided in Lincoln like some sort of best friend? Hell, I wasn’t even sure she confided in me—not truly, anyway. And besides, the man got to be next to her whenever and wherever he wanted, for all the world to see. I didn’t think I could stand another two weeks of that.
Sage sighed. “Don’t be like that, Jacob. You know I’m yours and yours only—”
“See, that’s just it,” I interrupted, getting up. “You’re not mine. He has you or so the entire world thinks. He gets to hold your hand and kiss you in public. He gets to sleep over whenever he wants. And I don’t get to do any of that shit because you’re so caught up in protecting him—which is ironic, seeing as that’s exactly what your father wanted from the very beginning.” My tone was icy and dangerous.
She shook her head, clearly upset. “You’re not playing fair! Lincoln’s become a friend, and you’ll just have to accept that. And screw my father. I need to be on a winning team right now or else these past months will have been for nothing. Can’t you see that? Can’t you just think of me for a change?”
I laughed. Think of her? Think of her?
That’s all I’ve been doing.
Tears began to fall from her glossy eyes, making me feel like a total prick. I went to her and wrapped my arms around her. “Don’t cry, Sage. I’m sorry. This is just one more thing that’s out of my control.” I continued to rock her while she clung to me. “Two weeks. And do me a favor? Tell Black that if he puts one finger on you, even during a public event, he’ll lose all ten of them.”
She gave me a small smile. “Thank you, Jacob. I’m starting to apply for jobs again. With Lincoln’s name on my resume, I’m sure I won’t have any problems.”
I flinched at the mention of his name once again. I bet that fucker loved the thought of being Sage’s golden ticket—her knight in shining armor. She did realize that any red-blooded man, including her new bestie, Lincoln, would obviously want to screw her, right? I’d just have to keep a close eye on him.
I pressed my lips to her forehead, leaving them longer than I ever had before. “I’m crazy about you Sage,” I shook my head in disbelief.
“Ditto,” she murmured, throwing her arms around my waist, looking at me like a woman in love.
“Staten Island this weekend?”
“Sounds perfect,” she murmured.
Then I kissed her, and we began to rock each other’s bodies, leisurely so.
44
SAGE
I was in my en suite, removing my makeup with some wipes, while Jacob slept on my bed. Words couldn’t even describe how I was feeling at that moment. My head was throbbing, signaling that a huge migraine was coming on. And my face. It was completely red and swollen after shedding all those tears—tears that I had promised myself to never shed again after my sixteenth birthday.
This week had been the craziest week of my life—I thought Jacob was going to leave me, I’d told my mom about getting raped, and the press was exploding with stories about my past. And oh, yeah, Father was the one who was trying to ruin Jacob’s life.
Not that I was surprised. I wasn’t.
Not. One. Tiny. Bit.
The only thing that mattered, though, was that I’d get to have my happy place with Jacob. Father hadn’t been able to tear us apart. If he had, I don’t even want to think of how I’d have survived. I needed Jacob to revive me, to fulfill me. Not that I needed a man to feel complete. He just made me feel more completed.
Livelier.
Happier.
He’d drastically changed my life over the past months, turning my reality into a dream—a fantasy I’d never have believed would come true for me. Soon, I’d get to live that reality out in the open every single day.
But I knew without a doubt that hardships were right around the corner. So far, Jacob and I had been shielded from the public’s opinion in regard to our relationship.
Things would be different once people knew about us.
I let down my hair and switched off the bathroom light, then got under the covers of my bed and wrapped my arms around Jacob’s muscular torso. He stirred and kissed me on the cheek.
Within moments he was snoring softly again, but I couldn’t fall asleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about something Jacob had said. Something about Father having money troubles. I wasn’t worried for myself. No, I was on the verge of securing a great job and making my own way in the world.
But what about my mother? And Sierra and Caleb, and even Corey?
Finally, after hours of tossing and turning, I started to drift off to thoughts of my usual happy place—the one that contained Jacob, the one so close to my heart.
45
SAGE
“Are you going bankrupt?” I asked Father the next day, storming into his office as he and Corey were having some sort of meeting.
“What? No, of course not,” Corey said, glancing at our father curiously.
“I told him not to tell you,” Father muttered, referring to Jacob without tearing his eyes away from the newspaper he was reading. “It’s just a bit of a financial slump, that’s all. It happens all the time in business.”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “If you’re on the verge of going broke, you really should tell Mom—”
“We’re just having a shortage this year,” Father cut me off, glowering at me as he pushed his glasses up his nose.
I wasn’t buying it. “Corey, can you give us a minute, please?” I said, turning to my brother.
He grabbed a file off Father’s desk and took off.
I put my hands on my father’s desk and leaned in towards him. “Words cannot even express how much I want to hurt you for doing that to Jacob,” I seethed, keeping my voice low.
“Do you even feel any remorse for ruining an innocent man’s career? He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he made his way to the top on his own.” I struggled to keep my composure. I couldn’t lose it, not here in his office where all of his colleagues and employees could hear.
“Pity, all it took were a few scandals to take it all away, isn’t it?”
I slapped him so hard, it shook the hell out of the both of us.
If eyes could kill, I’d have turned to ashes right about now. He rose from his office chair, and I took a step back.
Don’t back down.
“That was uncalled for. I never laid a hand on you,” he said through seething teeth.
“No, but you controlled everything,” I said my voice cracking with emotion. “And I’m sick of it.”
“Look, I went and apologized to him personally, okay?”
“Maybe to tell him to keep quiet about it, since you knew you were already found out?”
Father let out an exhausted sigh. “Why are you here, Sage?”
“To tell you that, from now on, you’re out of my life. For good.”
He reached out a hand towards me. “Sage, I’m sorry. I’ll do a better job of listening to what you want from now on. If you’re not happy with Lincoln, I can talk to him about it. Maybe send you two on a little vacation?”
I took a step backwards, out of his reach. “You don’t get it, do you?” I said, disgusted. “You can’t control my life any more. I don’t want to be with Lincoln, and I don’t want your fucking money. From now on, I’m not taking a penny from you.”
He snorted. “Now, now, you don’t mean that. Do you really want to give up your penthouse, your driver, your cook, your outfits? Come on, Sage. You’re smart enough to know that the world revolves around money.”
“Not for me, it doesn’t. Not anymore.” I laughed bitterly. “The funny thing is, I’d always been afraid that you’d cut me off financially if I didn’t do what you wanted me to. Well, guess what? I’m cutting myself off.”
He gave me a dubious look. “You substituted one rich man for another, tell me dearest what is the difference?”
“NO!” I shouted, then lowered my voice. “I’m never going to rely on any man’s money ever again. I’m going to get my own job, and . . . and pay my own way. And if that means I can’t afford some of the finer things in life any longer, well, so be it. At least, I’ll be free.”
“That seems a little masochistic, doesn’t it?” he said lightly.
“Staying under your thumb for one second longer would be masochistic!” I hissed. “You’ve done too much damage, Father. It’s time for me to take control of my own life. Besides, there are always too many strings attached when it comes to money with you.”
“Fine, Sage,” he said, conceding. “If you want your economic independence, take it. But don’t be angry with me—”
“You think I’m angry?” I laughed. “It’s way beyond anger now. I hate you. In fact, I absolutely detest you.” With that, I turned around and left without so much as saying goodbye.
After texting Amelia to tell her that I’d just cut ties with my father, I went for a long, cold, depressed walk. I didn’t know why I felt so sad. I should have been ecstatic—I’d finally freed myself from his damn controlling ways. But all I could think about was how I was going to survive over the next few weeks if my father did stop all payments.
I needed a job set up for after the election.
This is what I had wanted all along. I knew that Jacob or even Lincoln would help me in a millisecond, but I just couldn’t.
I will never, ever, be beholden to a man again.
A few hours after I got back to my apartment, I began to search online job listings.
Everything that paid decently required at least five years’ experience. Just when I’d given up, Amelia showed up at my place looking completely shocked.
“I can’t believe you finally did it,” she said, coming in and placing some plastic grocery bags on the kitchen island. “How are you feeling? You look terrible.”
I laughed at her honesty. “Gee, thanks.”
“How about you go take a shower while I make us food?” she suggested. “It’ll make you feel better, and besides, if Jacob shows up, at least he won’t see you looking like”—she gestured up and down my body—“this.”
“Fine,” I relented, knowing she was right.
I showered quickly, trying to suppress the guilt and emptiness I was still feeling inside.
I shouldn’t feel bad. He deserves it after all he’s made me go through.
Once I was dried off, I pulled on some black leggings and a long denim shirt. I came back downstairs to find freshly made chicken fajitas waiting for me on my dining table.
I looked at the gourmet spread. “I can’t believe you just whipped this up.”
She winked at me. “What can I say? Those cooking lessons really paid off. Now sit and eat.”
