15. Dylan

15

DYLAN

J essica helped Max onto a chair so he could help unpack dinner.

"I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got our favorites and crossed my fingers that we got something you'd like." I removed the containers and set them on the table.

"I pretty much like everything. It's Chinese food. It's all tasty," she said with a genuine smile on her face.

I pulled out the container of soup and set it aside.

"What's the soup?" she asked.

I glanced at it and checked a to-go container. It was full of rice. "I got some soup and rice for Mother."

"Oh, that's good. She was resting when I left her."

"You visited?" I asked.

"I was looking for you," she said. "She wanted to chat. We chatted. I think you and I need to have our own chat after Max goes to bed tonight."

"That sounds serious," I said.

Jessica left the table and began pulling dishes from the cupboard, and then, utensils from a drawer. "Serious, yes, but nothing bad. Would you like me to take the soup to her?"

I glanced over at the bowls and spoons she had assembled. She stepped away and returned with a tray.

"I'll take it," I said. I loaded everything onto the tray. "Why don't you two get us set up? We can eat in here."

I carried the tray out of the kitchen and down the hall to Mother's rooms.

"She's resting," Clara snarled when I knocked.

"I know. Jessica told me. Max and I got Chinese to-go. I brought soup and rice. There is a bowl here for you too." I waited for Clara to open the door wider and let me in.

Instead, she pushed it open enough so that she could reach out and take the tray. "That woman was in here and kept your mother talking for far too long. You need to discuss boundaries with her."

I was pretty certain that's exactly what Jessica intended on talking to me about later.

Clara took the tray and closed the door in my face. The impertinence of the woman. When I returned to the kitchen, Jessica and Max had the table set and were sitting waiting for me. I had a plate with three crab Rangoons sitting on it. Everything else was still in its container.

I stared at the fried appetizer.

"I insisted that Max serve you an equal portion before he ate them all," she said with a laugh.

"Did you get any?"

"He let me have two," she said.

"Two? Why do I have three? Max, how many have you eaten?"

Max shrugged.

"There were nine left before I managed to set some aside for you."

"But you only got two. What happened to your third piece?" I looked at Max. He was busy munching on the spring roll in his hand.

"Some mystery child named ‘I don't know' apparently snuck in and ate them," Jessica said.

She began serving Max a giant spoonful of steamed rice before putting some onto her plate. She held the container out to me.

I lifted my plate and let her scoop some rice for me. "Take my extra one," I said.

With delicate fingers, she plucked the food from my plate and popped it into her mouth.

Max kept us entertained as he told us all about the aquarium as if we hadn't been there with him.

I was very aware that I had almost ruined the day with my outburst. I needed to make it up to Jessica. After dinner was over, I cleared the dishes and set everything aside for the kitchen staff as she and Max put the leftovers away.

I then scooped Max up and announced that I would take care of bath time.

"You know, that's my job," she joked.

After a bath and several stories, Max was asleep in his bed. I knocked lightly on Jessica's door.

"Yeah," she called out. She was sitting on her bed reading a book.

I pushed the door open. "You're in the wrong bed," I said.

"I wasn't sure," she confessed. "We have things we need to talk about first, I think."

I held out my hand to her. "We do. Come downstairs with me. We can have some wine and clear the air."

"And then?" she asked.

"And then we will figure out this whole sleeping in the boss's bed situation."

She smiled as she climbed out of her bed and took my hand. "I have a better idea."

She continued walking, and now she was in the lead. She didn't go very far. My room was only across the hall. She dropped my hand before she crawled in the middle of my bed. She crossed her legs and patted the mattress next to her.

With a shrug, I kicked off my shoes and climbed up next to her. I wrapped around her so her back was against my chest. My arms wrapped around her. "Is this what you were thinking?" I nuzzled my face against her hair.

"This is nice, isn't it?" She leaned into my caress.

I hummed in agreement.

"I want to tell you more about Ryan, but I don't want you to get mad at me. But I also want to know about Max's mother." Her voice was soft and quiet.

"I'm sorry about earlier. That was uncalled for."

"I get it. I didn't tell you I knew him right away. But I also didn't think it was going to make a difference. As soon as I realized it would, I told you." She spoke fast, even though her tone was still quiet.

I didn't speak. It wasn't my turn to talk but to listen.

"I… I worked for him. He was my boss."

My arms stiffened, but I held my temper, and I continued to hold her.

"I did things I wasn't proud of, but I'm out of that kind of work. And I tried to distance myself from him."

"And then I bring him into the home where you work, where he can threaten you again. I'm so sorry, Jessica. And then I blamed you for my reaction." I was quiet for a while. "I won't bring him around again. No more golfing mornings to discuss business. I don't want someone you don't trust here."

"You'll do that for me?" She twisted so that she could look into my face.

I cupped the side of her cheek and lowered my lips to hers. Her kisses turned my brain off and my body on. "Of course I will." I turned her so it was easier to reach her lips. There was some jostling around, and we fell to our sides, legs twining together. I would do anything for this woman.

I brushed her hair back and continued to press small kisses to her lips and face.

"You are making it difficult to focus," she said with a light giggle.

"Then don't think and just kiss me," I told her.

She pushed back from my embrace. Her eyes were serious. "Did you love Max's mother?"

"What's this about, Jessica?"

"I don't think it's fair for you to get angry about my past when I don't know yours," she said.

"You're right. You're right. I was not in love with his mother, but I was prepared to make a life with her because of him. When she up and left, I was concerned, but not heartbroken. If she had taken Max with her, that would have been different. I love my son. He was a complete surprise, and I do not regret anything that led up to his being in my life."

Jessica continued to look into my eyes. I don't know what she was searching for or if she even found anything.

"I have feelings for you that I never experienced with Max's mother, if that's what you want to know."

Jessica bit her lower lip and nodded. "Yeah, that's what I wanted to know. I had feelings for Ryan, and he ruined them."

"Do you have feelings for me?" I asked.

Her nod was barely perceptible, but it was enough.

I was done talking. The way Jessica hummed and wrapped her arms around my head as I reclaimed her lips told me she was done talking too.

Her leg slid over mine. I ran my hand over the silky undergarment covering her thigh and tugged her close. I rolled her to her back, and her softness cradled me. I eased back and pulled my shirt off. I wanted to feel her hands against my skin.

I skimmed my hand over her ribs and cupped the lower part of her heavy breast.

With a frustrated groan, I rolled off of her and out of bed. I pulled her out with me.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Too many clothes," I growled. I began working on the front buttons of her dress. Bunching the skirt in my hands, I lifted the dress over her head and tossed it aside. Her undergarments were flesh toned and smoothed her curves, highlighting her ample and delightful figure.

She tucked her fingers into the waistband.

I pulled her hands away. "Let me."

The fabric was slick and tighter than I expected. I slid my fingers in between the fabric and her skin. Sliding my hands down, I covered her hips and then her thighs. The garment rolled until I pushed it past her knees and to the floor.

Bracing her hands on my shoulders, she stepped out. She didn't try to help me undress her but waited until I reached behind her and unfastened her bra. I wrapped my hands around her naked breasts and reveled in the feel of them and the way her nipples tickled my palms.

We stood there touching each other. Jessica ran her hands over my shoulders and chest. We were both breathing hard. My heart pounded so loudly, I was certain the sound filled my room. She had to have heard my heartbeat and understood what I was feeling.

It took next to no time for me to get rid of the rest of my clothes and have Jessica back in my bed. Our bodies slid together. Skin against skin, she was heaven to touch. There was nothing more perfect in this world than this woman in my bed, under me.

All of my actions were pure reflex and need. I needed to touch her, consume her. I trailed kisses over her soft skin, down her neck and across her shoulders. I traced her breast bone with my tongue. I wanted to taste all of her. She whimpered and dug her fingers into my hair when I sucked a perfect rose-hued nipple into my mouth. Jessica arched her back as I worshiped her breasts.

I didn't have enough hands to touch and grab and hold her. Even if I had all the time in the world, it wouldn't be enough to properly enjoy the bounty of her body.