I knew that I had to stay calm, but this was too much. I couldn’t just sit here, across the table from Jackson, and listen to him berate my mother and call her lazy.
“I mean, really, Belle,” Jackson continued. “You’re going to have to be a little more self-aware now that you’re what, twenty?” He smirked at me. “These are things we all have to learn,” he added in a smug voice. “So don’t get upset with me for telling you the truth about your mother.”
Every ounce of calm that I’d managed to summon in the past thirty seconds flew out of my body. Standing up, I pushed the chair back from the table so forcefully that it felt open and clattered against the floor with a loud bang. Jackson looked up in surprise. I wanted to slap him again, but that’s when my eye caught my mimosa flute. Grabbing it, I threw it in his face.
“I hate you,” I snarled loudly. “I never want to see you again!”
The look of surprise was just beginning to register on Jackson’s face as I turned on my heel and ran out of Le Bateau Ivre. Tears blinded my vision and I stumbled, almost falling as I ran. When I pushed open the bistro doors and ran into the street, the cold shocked me. For a moment, I stopped, gasping for breath. Then my instincts kicked in and I started running down the street as quickly as I could.
“Hey!” I screamed towards a cab that was parked on the corner. “Hey!”
The cab pulled away before I could reach it and I groaned in frustration. There was a stitch in my side and my breath was coming in white clouds but I knew that I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t risk Jackson chasing me out into the street. I just wanted to go home to Alfred and forget that all of this had ever happened – I wanted to imagine that life was back to normal, that Mom was okay, that I’d never have to deal with this shit again.
I broke into a run again, rounding the corner and speeding down the block.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” Some lady screamed as I almost ran into her kids.
“Slow down!”
“What the fuck, girl? Where you goin’?”
The accusations from New York strangers were enough to make the tears fall faster than ever. I was choking on my snot by the time I reached the stoplight. In a blind panic, I whipped my head around to make sure that I wasn’t being followed. Thankfully, all I could see was a large crowd of people bubbling around the corners and intersections.
Gotta love New York, I thought. All these people make it a really private city, after all.
When the light changed to red, I bolted across the street. The stitch in my side ached and I longed to throw myself down on the pavement and moan in pain. I knew that I had to keep going however, and I lowered my head against the icy wind. My nose was numb and soaked with snot and I wiped frantically at my face with the back of my hand.
Stumbling onto the next block, I kept running blindly. I took a deep breath and sprinted as fast as I could, keeping my eyes down so the wind wouldn’t burn any more than it already was.
“Aurgh!” I cried out loudly as my body slammed right into someone else. “Oh my god,” I gasped. “I’m so sorry!”
I straightened up and looked in front of me, prepared to apologize as quickly as I could and then get the hell out of there. There has to be a cab around here somewhere, I thought. I just have to keep going, just a little bit longer.
Standing in front of me was Jackson Rhodes.
“Belle,” Jackson said. “Why did you leave?” He frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. Even though the temperate of the day had to be somewhere in the mid-teens, I noticed that he wasn’t wearing a jacket.
It’s because he has no heart. He can never be cold, I thought as I glared at him, rubbing my arms with my bare hands. I was freezing.
“You insulted me, my mother, and our whole family,” I spat. “I hate you, Jackson. You made me think you were going to help me! You made me think— “
Jackson grabbed me roughly and pulled me towards him. I wanted to resist but I was powerless in his strong hands. As Jackson crushed me against his muscular body, he bent down and kissed me.
When his lips met my own, I swooned. Jackson’s mouth was soft and pliant, and he tasted like champagne. As his tongue slipped between my lips, my legs felt rubbery and weak. I could feel my knees shaking as Jackson slipped his arm around my waist and tugged me closer, hauling my breasts against his torso. The thin fabric of my black dress was enough to let me feel his muscular body, and I shuddered as Jackson slipped his hands down my back and gently squeezed my ass. A delicious racing sensation coursed through my body and I moaned softly into his mouth as Jackson nibbled at my lower lip. I’d never been kissed before, and this was enough to make me forget everything. I couldn’t even remember my name.
Jackson slowly pulled away. His lips were glistening with saliva and there was a roguish look in his sexy grey eyes.
“We weren’t finished yet,” Jackson repeated in a low voice that sent shivers down my spine.
Then I remembered: I’m supposed to hate him.
“I hate you,” I murmured softly. But my blood was still racing through my body, my heart was still pounding, and maddeningly enough, my pussy was tingling with excitement and arousal inside my damp panties. I wanted Jackson to take me in his arms again, to kiss me, to thrill me with his touch.
Jackson smirked. “Yeah, I bet you do,” he said softly.
My heart was pounding in my chest.
“I can help you, Belle,” Jackson said. He stepped closer and looked down into my eyes. I shivered again. “I can give you what you want.”