“Why marry him then?”
“I was young and didn’t think there was any other choice.”
Connor’s black eyes narrowed. “You were pregnant.”
“I was when we married. But I couldn’t carry full term.” Jessa’s voice broke on an unexpected sob. “I never carried full term.”
His hands left her ass, and he drew his arms around her in a comforting embrace that shattered the remnants of Jessa’s fragile emotional control. She laid her cheek flat against his rippling chest and cried until she had no more tears. Connor did nothing but rub her back and murmur nonsense words in his velvet voice until Jessa’s dry, wracking sobs began to subside.
“None of that matters now, Jessa.”
“Then why do I feel so defective?”
“You weren’t defective. He was. He’s the one who didn’t take the time to appreciate what he had. Now you’re free.”
“Am I really?”
The sensuous twist of Connor’s full lips pulled a deep response from Jessa’s womb. A shiver slid down her spine and her body temperature suddenly leapt ten degrees. “You’re getting there,” he rumbled. “And I’m going to love every second of teaching you how to let loose.”
“Like last night?” Jessa asked softly.
Connor’s black eyes shot sparks. “No, that was a onetime thing. Alex won’t touch you again.”
The question burned on her lips. She had to know.
“I thought you and Alex did that kind of thing all the time.”
“It didn’t matter when it was someone like Selena or Isabel. But I can’t watch someone else touch you, Jessa.”
Jessa knew how difficult it was for Connor to admit what he no doubt viewed as a huge chink in his personal armor. She’d already sensed that when she’d looked to him for confirmation before continuing to allow Alex’s slow assault on her body.
“I don’t want anyone else, Connor. I just want you.”
Chapter Thirteen
For the second time in a week, Jessa pushed open the door of Accessories and More. Somewhere inside the store, an electronic bleep signaled the arrival of a customer. Jessa looked around, wondering if she was losing her mind. But there was no way she could make it through another shift in her clothes from the night before. One hour waiting tables in the bar was enough to cover her in irregular splotches of beer and hard liquor. An entire night followed by endless hours playing drinking games with Connor and Alex had left her clothes looking like the morning after Mardi Gras.
“Can I help you with some…?” A wide smile crossed the Gothic Princess’ face when she saw Jessa. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Yes, I suppose it is.”
The Gothic Princess stared down at Jessa’s jumbled ensemble of Connor and Alex’s clothes. “Wow, that’s an interesting outfit.”
“It’s okay, you can say it.”
“You look like the morning after really great sex.”
“Something like that,” Jessa admitted with a blush.
“So you need clothes?”
“I work at the bar just down there.”
“Phoenix Rising?”
“That’s the place.”
“Rough night?”
“Long night actually, and Connor suggested I might find some clothes here since there’s not a clothing store anywhere around.”
One elegant black eyebrow arched high. “Connor Archuleta sent you here for clothes?”
The name left Jessa at a momentary loss. Connor Archuleta? Of course Connor would have a last name. It was just stunning to realize she’d been screwing the man without even knowing his last name. What was the matter with her? When had she completely lost touch with reality?
Jessa abruptly realized how bizarre the entire situation was. Not just because she needed clothes after a wild night of body shots with the two hottest males she’d ever seen. But because she’d come so far from the tight-assed society wife she’d been only a week before.
How had she ever been happy with her and Will’s uptight way of life?
“You know, I think I might have just the thing.”
The Gothic Princess’s voice drew her back to the moment and Jessa realized how ridiculous it was not to know the poor girl’s name. “I’m Jessa Kincaid. I don’t think we’ve ever been officially introduced.”
“I’m Morgan Talley.”
Jessa hadn’t noticed the wide, friendly smile before. But Morgan’s infectious grin chased the remainder of Jessa’s shyness away. “I’m really glad to meet you.”
“I didn’t realize Connor had hired a new waitress.”