Hold On, page 5
Aliannah was just adding some hairspray to finish off her hair when Michelle walked in. Aliannah screamed. “Jesus fucking Christ, Michelle, How did you get in? You just scared the hell out of me!”
Michelle laughed “I’m sorry I forgot to give back my key when I moved out. Anyway, I think it is best I keep my key for emergencies or something. Next time, I will have Harry make a formal here-ye style announcement upon my arrival.” She was clutching her sides trying to breathe from laughing so hard. Aliannah nodded in agreement. She knew she could trust Michelle to keep the key safe.
With one final look in the mirror, Aliannah was set. The girls posed together for a few photos before heading out. There was still no word from Jasper. Aliannah felt uneasy about this; maybe she had read too much into their notebook kiss, or maybe it was just simply a kiss with no emotions at all.
Gavin was at the door, as always, and let out a loud wolf whistle as Michelle and Aliannah stepped out of the cab. “Hi, Gavin,” the girls chanted as they walked over.
“Wow-wee look at these two beauties, ladies, you look jaw-dropping. I am going to have to hire extra clean-up crews for all those jaws.” Gavin was looking awe-struck at Michelle as he gestured to the long line of awaiting patrons. He pulled Michelle to him and gave her a dramatic swoop-drop kiss. “Boys hands off. This lady is mine,” He announced loudly to anyone who could hear. Michelle was glowing bright red as the line cheered for them. Gavin tapped her on the bum as she went into the club.
They downed their first drink and hit the dance floor. The theme tonight was ‘Old Skool Rave’. It was so busy. The girls danced with each other most of the night, and the occasional song or two with some handsome men came their way. Aliannah was dancing to a Scooter song when a man grabbed her hand and spun her into his chest. The air was knocked out of her. She looked up and saw those green eyes.
“Jasper,” she whispered as the air came back into her lungs. He smiled at her, led her out of the dance floor to the bar, and ordered drinks for them.
Aliannah didn’t know whether to be happy to see Jasper or to slap him for ghosting her all week. Jasper turned from the bar and handed her a vodka lemon. He spoke before she could. “I’m sorry, Aliannah, work just got so manic this week. I did not mean to ghost you; the week just ran away from me.” She didn’t know what to say. She could see the guilt and intention in his eyes. Was it work? Had he been on other dates? They weren’t exclusive, so it is possible. She hated the thought of him seeing someone else, not that she had any claim over him either; they were still getting to know each other. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. She made a mental note of this occasion as she would definitely not become a doormat.
“I’ll forgive you this time. There will not be a next. Ghost me again, and you will be blocked,” she said firmly. Jasper took a step back. He appeared to be surprised by her harsh tone. Jasper rubbed his jaw as if considering her words. Aliannah looked confused. Which one of them was supposed to be in the wrong, not her, for that she was certain of.
“Fair enough, I can take that offer, Deal!” he reached out to shake her hand. Aliannah shook it. “Now we have that sorted. May I have this dance, m’lady?” Jasper stepped back, gave a ridiculous bow, and held out his hand. Aliannah could not help herself and laughed uncontrollably.
“I suppose, good sir, since your intentions seem to be those of an honourable gentleman, I will accept.” She took his hand and went back to Michelle on the dance floor. Jasper had good rhythm and was able to keep up to the beat with ease. Aliannah could feel his muscles through his shirt. She wondered what it would feel like to have him over her. Jasper looked at her in a way that made her think he could read her mind. Jasper pulled her in and kissed her with such passion all doubts about ghosting left her mind. Aliannah pulled him closer. She could not get enough of him.
“Last song of the night, party PEOPLE!” the DJ screamed through the microphone. The crowd went wild as the song "Maniac" blared through the speakers. Jasper and Aliannah danced closely, with Jasper grinding against her.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Jasper said in her ear. Aliannah nodded and grabbed Michelle to tell her she was leaving with Jasper. Michelle winked and told her to have fun.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Michelle teased as she waved her goodbye. Aliannah laughed. Jasper took her hand, and they headed for the exit.
Gavin raised a brow as she walked out with Jasper. “Mich is still inside. I am trusting that you will get her home, yeah? I’m going home with Jasper,” Aliannah said. Gavin still looked confused and then looked Jasper up and down.
Gavin held out his hand to introduce himself. Jasper shook it. “I’m Gavin, Michelle’s boyfriend. Be good to Ali, she's one of the good ones!” Aliannah hugged Gavin goodbye and left holding Jasper's hand.
Chapter Eleven
Jasper's car service was waiting outside when they left Zino’s. The driver was standing at the back door. “Hello, Miss,” he nodded as he opened the car door. “Hello Mr Conrad,” he nodded again and closed the door behind them. The driver got in his seat and lowered the partition. Where are we going this fine evening, Mr Conrad?”
“Home, Thanks, Cooper,” Jasper said, not taking his eyes off Aliannah. Cooper nodded and put the partition back up. He leaned across, kissed Aliannah again, and pulled her onto his lap. She squealed.
“Shouldn’t we put on our seatbelts or something?” She looked around the car. It was like a mini limousine—huge on the inside. One thing became very obvious and very alarming: There were no seatbelts—not a single one.
“Relax, dear”, Jasper said as he brushed her hair from her cheek. “Cooper is ex-military. He is a sound driver. I trust him with my life. I personally did his background check.” This calmed Aliannah a little bit, to know that Cooper was in good control of the wheel, but it did not ease her discomfort at the lack of safety. Cooper looked mid-thirties. Jasper kissed her neck as his hands wandered down to her ass.
The energy between them was building when the car suddenly veered sharply to the right, sending both of them flying across the car. Aliannah screamed. Jasper roared, “Cooper, what the fuck!” The car veered again, this time to the left. Jasper grabbed Aliannah and held her close as they tumbled again. “COOPER!!!” Cooper didn’t speak. The car continued driving faster and faster until one final sharp turn. The tyres screeched as they took the corner.
When the car came to a stop, Jasper threw the door open in a rage and pinned Cooper to the side of the car. “I’m sorry, boss! These two black SUVs were trying to ram us off the road. I had to do what I did to escape” Aliannah climbed out of the car and straightened herself up. One of the straps of her dress had snapped in the tumble; she held the dress to her body to keep it covered. Jasper released Cooper and ran a hand through his hair while pacing.
“Did you recognise these cars or their plates?” Cooper shook his head for no as he fixed his shirt and tie. “Did you lose them?” Cooper nodded yes. Jasper released a breath. He turned to see Aliannah standing there, shaking, holding the dress. “Fuck! Are you ok, my dear? Let me get you inside and fix you up” He put an arm around her waist and guided her to the elevator. Of course, Jasper Conrad had a private elevator to his penthouse. He is a multi-millionaire CEO. Aliannah was still in too much shock to notice its grandeur.
The elevator door opened directly into the penthouse. It was huge. The interior was mainly white with black accents. It screamed ‘bachelor pad’. There was the sound of footsteps running towards her. A child? No... Not a child… not feet… PAWS! “Whoa! Bella, calm down!” Jasper said as he petted her. He had stopped Bella before she jumped on Aliannah. “Sorry dear, the cleaner must not have locked the gate properly. I’ll be back in a second. I’ll just bring her back to her run” Jasper brought Bella, the big happy husky, back to her run. Aliannah looked around and saw some photos on the wall. They were black and white. Fitting, she thought. Some were recent; others must have been his childhood.
One photo caught her eye. It was a group of boys. They looked no more than seven or eight years old. They were sitting on a log in front of a tent, wearing camouflage clothing. She recognised Jasper immediately; his eyes had not changed a bit. There was another boy in the photo she felt she recognised but she could not put her finger on it.
“Ah yes, my Boy Scouts trip from back in the day. I used to love fishing with my friends. You probably know some of them to see at your museum’s Galas” Aliannah looked at Jasper with an intrigued face. “Yeah, a lot of the boys come from money, so they would be there with their fathers to get a leg up in the business world or on behalf of them if the fathers were engaged at other events.” Aliannah nodded again. She was still shaking from the near-miss. “Come let me check you out.”
Jasper led her to the bathroom and got out the first aid kit. “Why do you need that?” Aliannah said as Jasper got out disinfectant and cotton pads. She looked in the mirror. “Oh my god!!” she reached up to touch her forehead. “Shit!” She remembered hitting her head on the door when they were thrown across the car.
Jasper dabbed the disinfectant on the cotton wool. “This is going to sting,” Jasper gently dabbed the wound, and Aliannah winced. “Sorry dear, I’ll be gentle.” Jasper stroked her face as he cleaned the wound. “You got lucky it won’t need stitches. It should heal quickly enough; it’s not deep at all.” Aliannah turned back to the mirror. Jasper was right; it was just a surface wound. It would not scar. Jasper kissed the back of her head and rubbed her shoulder.
“I’m not letting you go home tonight. You will stay with me.” Aliannah was about to argue, but Jasper spoke again. “You were thrown around my car like a ragdoll – despite my best efforts to hold you close, you have a head injury. I cannot in good conscience let you go home alone.” Aliannah conceded she knew he was right. Being alone after what she had just been through would not be good health practice. In her nervous fidgeting, she dropped her hold on the dress, exposing her breast for a split second. She frantically grabbed the material and covered herself again.
“I’ll grab you something to put on. Wait here.” He left the bathroom at a rapid pace. When he returned, he handed her a T-shirt and some boxers.
“Sorry, I don’t tend to keep a collection of women’s clothes. I hope these will be okay. When you’re ready, I’ll be in the lounge down the hall. Take your time.” Aliannah smiled, thanked him, and shut the bathroom door as he left.
Aliannah let out a breath. How the fuck had this happened. She took off her dress and binned it. There was no way of fixing it. She put on Jasper's boxers and his T-shirt. It was huge. It went halfway down her thighs. She laughed. She could hear what Michelle would say. “If you put a black belt on it and some black boots, you could totally wear it as a dress.”
She made her way into the lounge just as Jasper set down two iced teas. “I figured you could use a drink after all that. No alcohol, though, in case you have a concussion, dear” Aliannah thanked him and picked up her drink. She sipped it slowly. It was elderberry flavoured. “My mother’s favourite drink on a stressful day, I guess it passed on to me too. I find this always helps.”
Aliannah smiled. There was a sudden loud ringing that made Aliannah jump. Jasper quickly shut his phone. “Work can wait. I don’t care if it’s business hours in Japan, don’t worry about it” He put his phone face down on the coffee table. Sitting back on the couch, he reached for his arm to put around Aliannah. Aliannah was about to take another sip of her drink when they collided, and it was knocked out of her hand. It spilled all over her. “Shit dear, I am so sorry” Jasper swiftly put the glass on the coffee table next to his phone.
Aliannah burst into a fit of laughter. Jasper bunched his brows together and looked at her like she was crazy. “I just can’t deal with any more tonight. If I don't laugh, I will probably die,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself as she laughed even harder. Jasper joined in laughing. “You are right. This is as good a time as any to laugh!”
Eventually, they were able to stop laughing. Aliannah sat back on the couch, out of breath. Jasper looked at her. My lord, was she a sight. Jasper licked his lips. Aliannah seemed to be oblivious to the fact that the spilled iced tea all down her had turned Jasper's t-shirt see-through. Jasper looked her up and down and liked what he saw. Aliannah looked down and gasped. She reached to cover herself when Jasper stopped her. “Don’t hide yourself, dear. You are beautiful. Absolutely divine; it is as if the lord made you himself, just for me.”
Jasper leaned in and kissed Aliannah’s perked nipple through the t-shirt. She moaned softly and tipped her head back. He let one hand wander south while rolling her nipple with the other. The wandering hand found its destination. Moments later, Aliannah was moaning louder. Jasper was the first man to be with her since Ivan. She was writhing under him for more. He pulled the boxers off her.
“You truly are beautiful in every single way,” he admired before feasting on her. When he had his fill, Jasper looked into her eyes, “are you sure?” Aliannah kissed him fiercely. Jasper pulled away to get a condom from his wallet before quickly readying himself. He looked at her once more to give her the chance to stop if she wanted to, and she nodded. He kissed her and thrust at the same time. In one motion, he filled her.
Aliannah barely had a moment to adjust before Jasper set a steady pace. Wow, he had stamina and strength. It was not long before her entire body tensed up as the waves of orgasm crashed over her. Jasper found his release soon after. He collapsed onto the couch next to her. They both lay there panting out of breath. Jasper excused himself to the bathroom, returned a few minutes later in Navy tracksuit bottoms, and handed Aliannah a fresh t-shirt. She swapped them and lay back on the couch. “Are you ok?” Jasper asked, concerned.
Aliannah’s eyes were heavy. “Yes”. The events of tonight, both the chase and sex with Jasper, had finally hit her. She closed her eyes. She woke a little to the sensation of being carried. Jasper carried her to the guest bedroom and tucked her in. He shut the door to the room as he left. Jasper grabbed his phone and went into his office to deal with the cluster fuck that was the car chase and try to find out who was behind it.
As soon as Jasper left the room, Aliannah grabbed her phone from where he had left it on the nightstand and texted Michelle quickly.
What a wild night! I am good. I am safe. I will fill you in tomorrow.
No sooner had she returned the phone to the nightstand when sleep hit her like a truck, and she was out like a light. She didn’t wait to see if Michelle would respond.
Chapter Twelve
Aliannah woke with a start. She looked around the room. She was alone. “Where the hell am I?” she muttered to herself. She did not recognise this place at all. Her head throbbed. She couldn’t understand why since she didn’t have that much to drink. She reached to hold her head and felt a gash. Aliannah grabbed her phone off the nightstand and flicked on the camera. “What the fuck?!” she winced as she touched it again. She checked the time, and it was 4:03 a.m. There was a message from Michelle that had come in an hour ago.
OMG cannot wait to hear this one! Call me tomorrow!
She noticed she was not wearing the dress she had left the house in but a men’s size white t-shirt and boxers. The memory of last night came flooding back. Cooper, the car chase, the bathroom, the tea, the sex, she had fucked Jasper. She remembered the way it felt to be with him. The first man since Ivan. She gasped, remembering the car chase; Cooper had said it was two black SUVs that had tried to run them off the road. It couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? Ivan’s cars are black SUVs. She wished she had heard if Cooper had more details about the SUVs. Aliannah knew in her gut that Ivan was most likely behind it, but why would he want her hurt? Maybe that was an oversight on his part, she thought. Seatbelts, the car should have had damn seatbelts. She made a mental note to never get in a car with Jasper again unless it had seatbelts. She had to get out of there; what if Ivan went after Jasper because of her? She wouldn’t allow Ivan’s obsession with her to cause harm to anyone else.
Aliannah jumped out of bed; she had to leave quickly while it was still dark out. She had to leave before Jasper came back. Where was he? That didn’t matter. She had to go, and now with her shoes in her hand, she carefully opened the bedroom door and peeked out. The hallway was dimly lit. No sign of Jasper. She crept out. “Shit!” she whispered to herself as she noticed the exit was an elevator door. The ding of the doors would for sure summon Jasper from wherever he was or whatever staff he may have.
She saw a door beside the elevator. She opened it and found the stairs. It was a long way down. Aliannah looked over the railing, and she couldn’t even guess how many floors up they were. She hoped that if she got down a few levels, she might find a door to another floor and access the elevator from there without summoning Jasper.
“If you want to leave that’s fine, but for the love of god, put some pants on, dear”, Aliannah shrieked and spun around to face Jasper. “And given that we are 80 floors up, I would advise the elevator over the stairs,” She could not tell if he was pissed or hurt or what. His face gave nothing away. Aliannah clung to the railing. Jasper held out his hand to her. “You are safe with me. I had to take a business call from Estonia, and I took it in my office so I would not wake you, dear.”
Aliannah took his hand and went back into the penthouse with him. She was shaking from the fright Jasper had given her. “I didn’t want to wake the house with the elevator dinging…” she said nervously. “…I need to get home before work tomorrow” she tried to mask her nerves as best she could. There was not a hope she wanted to tell him about Ivan. She needed to leave.
“I’ll call Cooper and have him meet you in the garage, and there are some sweatpants on the chair in your room you can put on” Jasper pointed towards the guest room as he pulled out his phone to call Cooper.
