Belong to You(23)

In love with me, was she crazy? "That's the tequila talking Sienna. He  is not in love with me. In lust, maybe. But we haven't known each other  long enough to be in love."

Sienna took my face into her hands. "Sweetie, time has nothing to do  with it. You wasted seven years with that asshole, that's a whole lot of  time. Did you ever feel for Michael what you feel for Jack?"

I thought about the question, but didn't respond. She smiled broadly. "Right, time doesn't mean shit."

When we got back to the table, Jack was talking with a silver haired man  with a young face and neither of them looked happy. I could see the  tension on Jack's face that wasn't there ten minutes earlier. "All  okay?" I stood next to Jack and put my hand on his shoulder. Young  silver looked at my hand on Jack's shoulder and then did an obvious  slow, learing gaze up and down my body. I watched the whole thing and  the look made my stomach turn. Unfortunately, Jack didn't miss it  either. Jack stood and got in young silver's face, and quietly spoke,  but I heard every word.

"You don't know what you're talking about. And get your fucking eyes off of her before I make it so you can't fucking see."

Young silver snickered, but didn't look my way again before scurrying back to where he came from.

Sienna and I sat, but the mood had changed. "Are you okay babe?" I asked Jack tentatively.

"Yep. Sorry about that. Why don't we get out of here."

Mateo was waiting when we walked outside. I was glad that Jack insisted  on dropping Sienna at her building since it was late. Jack was polite,  but quiet, and I could tell that whatever was discussed between him and  young silver was still bothering him. But I decided not to push him on  the subject and instead held his hand and sat quietly the rest of the  way back to the hotel.



Monday afternoon I finally went back home. I was surprised to hear  Michael's voice on my answering machine. His voice was low and full of  remorse. He blabbered on about wanting to find out how I was doing and  something about finding my grandmother's necklace. I pressed delete and  didn't bother to call him back. I didn't want to be bitter about all  those years I had spent with Michael, but the way it ended had left me  feeling that I lived with a man that I never really knew, a man I really  didn't like.

As I got ready for work, I found myself thinking of Jack and what he was  doing. He has said that he was going to work after dropping me at my  apartment, but what did going to work entail for a man that was in his  business? I had come home from Jack's on a high, feeling good about our  new relationship and less than two hours later, I was questioning his  intentions after just one message from Michael. It took me seven years  to take off the blinders and see who Michael really was, I was afraid of  making the same mistake again.





Chapter 17




The next week flew by and Jack and I were almost inseparable. I spent  most of my time at his apartment, when I wasn't working. After our first  week together, he had insisted that Mateo would pick me up after work,  and I knew that arguing a cab was just as safe was a losing battle. Each  night Mateo was waiting outside when I walked out and he whisked me  directly to Jack's hotel. We had started to settle in a routine where  Jack would get up early to exercise and I would find him working in his  home office when I crawled out of bed about 11. He always seemed to  finish up whatever he was working on when I came into his office, and I  wasn't sure if it was sweet or he didn't want me to look at what he was  working on.         

     



 

I was excited when Jack invited me to a business dinner, there was such a  big part of him that I didn't know and I thought that perhaps seeing  him at work would quell that tiny little nagging feeling in the back of  my head that kept me always searching for signs of a different man than  who I was hopelessly starting to fall for.

I dressed for the dinner in a simple cream pencil skirt, rose colored  silk blouse and nude sling backs. I decided to pull my normally loose  falling blonde hair back into a slick ponytail for a more demure look. I  must have achieved the look I was going for, because when Jack saw me,  he told me he hard the urge to fuck me hard in between the stacks at the  library.



Dinner turned out to be with an older gentleman who brought a woman that  me initially thought was his daughter, which turned out to be his wife.  The restaurant was packed with businessmen and a few women, most of  which eyed Jack as he passed. I didn't blame them; Jack was a sight in  his navy sports jacket with light tan pants and a simple striped tie.  Aside from being devastatingly handsome, Jack carried himself with such  confidence it exuded masculinity from him that made women swoon.

Jack and I maintained a physical connection throughout the meal. We  either held hands, or he leaned his leg against mine or rested his arm  around the back of my chair. It made me wonder if he was aware of the  women that looked his way, and it was his unspoken way of comforting me,  or if he had caught the guy at the table closest to us looking my way,  as I had earlier. Either way, I thought it was sweet and his touch on me  just seemed so natural.

It turned out that our dinner guest owned a small chain of hotels in  Illinois and Jack had been researching the properties as potential  purchases. The Heston hotel chain had two properties in Chicago, but  none in the outer cities, which apparently were good investments as the  population was growing in the smaller, outlying cities. Jack discussed  what his engineers had found and while I thought it was all very  interesting, I was mildly disappointed that the business dinner was  hotel related. I was curious about the other side of Jack's business and  I secretly had hoped that the lunch would give me insight into that  part of Jack's life.

After dinner we headed back to Jack's penthouse. Traffic was gnarled for  a few blocks and, by the time we arrived, I only had twenty minutes to  change or I would be late for work.

Jack and I changed together in his closet, where I had left my outfit for the night.

"Thank you for coming to dinner with me. I hope you weren't bored too much?"

"No, it was nice, I was glad to come." I thought for a minute, he had  given me an opening and I needed to take it if I was ever going to  satisfy my curiosity on the other side of his life. "Although I have to  admit, I was a little disappointed it was hotel business. You never  mention your other business." I emphasized the word other, as if he  wouldn't have known what business I was talking about without my doing  so.

Jack stood silent for a minute and then came up behind me as I was  letting down my hair. "You want to know more about my other business?"

I felt my face flush and was glad that he was behind me. I don't know  why it embarrassed me to admit that I wanted to know more, but I did.  "Yes, I do. You didn't even want to tell me about that side of your  life, so I think it has me curious."

Jack's arms wrapped around my waist and his face nuzzled in my hair.  "Okay then, I'll bring you to my office with me one day if that will  make me feel better."

I felt a flood of relief from a place I didn't even know was stressed. I turned to face him. "You will?"

Jack kissed me, a sweet, tender kiss on the lips before answering. "Whatever you want is yours babe."

I smiled and kissed him chastely back with excitement.

"Two conditions, babe."

Damn it, I knew that was too easy. I looked up at him expectedly waiting for the other shoe to fall.

"One, you remember it is a business for me and not part of my personal life."

I could do that. "Okay. I can do that. What's the other condition?"

"You put your hair back in that ponytail and put back on that naughty librarian outfit when you get home tonight."

My insides melted a little bit, and it had nothing to do with him  wanting me to play naughty librarian with him. Jack called me coming to  his penthouse, coming home. It was exactly what it was starting to feel  like, although it was the man and not the place that made it feel like  home.

I reached up on my tippy toes and gave him a kiss. A long, sultry kiss  that said I want to fuck you. I sucked in his tongue and nibbled on his  lip, but broke the kiss before I was unable to.         

     



 

Jack leaned his forehead against mine. "Fuck Syd." He pressed his  obvious erection into me. "The librarian is going to get a spanking  tonight for leaving me like this."

I knew it wasn't nice to do, but I loved leaving him wanting more of me.  I felt empowered by the effect I had on Jack, who seemed so unaffected  by everything else in his life.



An hour into our performance, I spotted Lyle come into the club. He  waited until the end of our first set and then huddled us together  whispering as if he were about to let us in on classified government  secrets. "There have been some reports of a rat being in the club today.  We are closing down two hours early for the exterminators to treat the  entire floor." I immediately started scanning the room to look for the  creature and I suddenly had the urge to get back up on the raised stage.  Lyle went on that the patrons would be offered free drinks to move to  the lobby bar at closing, but that we were free to go early but would be  paid for the full night.