Page 59 of Corrupt Obsession

The garbled sound escaped as she rocked against his mouth. There was no self-consciousness. Not after what they’d done yesterday. Jesse made it clear that he loved her response and didn’t want her to hold back. She couldn’t if she wanted to. He fanned an inferno inside of her. Needs she didn’t know she possessed and a soul deep hunger she worried would never be satisfied.

She looked down and saw Jesse watching her. The way he catalogued every hitch in her breath, every muscle twitch, unsettled her. Already, he knew so much more about her body than she did. What made her cave, what made her crazy, what made her sob. It still made her stomach dip when she locked eyes with him. Part of her still couldn’t believe they were doing this. The other half wept with joy.

She ran her fingers through his hair and saw his eyelids droop in ecstasy. It amazed her how little it took for him. He was a natural sensualist. Uninhibited, unashamed, eager to please, and be pleased. It was a wonder he’d been single for four months. He was famished and she was reaping the rewards.

She clutched his hair and tipped her face up to the bright lights as she prepared to have her world blasted apart.

“Jesse!”

The sound of Dad’s angry voice coming from Jesse’s bedroom startled her so badly, she would have fallen if Jesse hadn’t steadied her.

“Isaac, for God’s sake,” Lynne protested. “You’re going to wake the whole neighborhood. Calm down. We don’t know all the facts. Let’s just see what they say.”

“They haven’t said anything,” Dad retorted. “And I’m getting to the bottom of this right now.”

She swung her leg off Jesse’s shoulder and backed away, eyes wide with horror. Their parents couldn’t know, could they? As Jesse got to his feet, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve, they heard her bedroom door being flung open.

“Violet!”

She jumped and hastily locked the bathroom door in case Dad tried to come in. He sounded pissed. What the hell happened?

“I’m in here, Dad.” She looked around frantically for her underwear, snatched it off the floor, and pulled them on. “I’m getting dressed. What’s going on?”

“Where’s Jesse?”

She stared at him as she lied. “I think he went outside for something.”

“I want to see you in the dining room. We need to talk.”

She and Jesse stared at one another as the sound of their parent’s voices faded.

“They know,” Violet whispered and touched her throat, which felt like it was beginning to swell.

Jesse looked thoughtful. “I don’t think so,” he said, as he buckled his belt.

She couldn’t believe his blasé attitude. “What else could they be talking about? I’ve never heard Dad yell like that in my life!”

Jesse clasped her face. “Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together. We’re going to be okay, I promise.”

His calm demeanor stopped her emotions from spiraling out of control. She hauled in a deep, steadying breath and tried to think rationally. If Dad had suspected they were intimate, he could have forced his way into the bathroom and caught them red-handed. He hadn’t. Maybe Jesse was right, and it wassomething else. Clinging to that slim hope, she asked, “What do we do?”

“I’ll go out your window and come around to the front door.”

She pressed her ear to the door leading into her bedroom and walked in to make sure the coast was clear. Her heart was in her throat as Jesse quietly opened her window and climbed out. This was what their life had come to? She shook her head and started for the hallway when she heard Jesse say, “Morning, Mr. Davidson.”

She wheeled around as their neighbor replied, “Jesse, what are you doing tending to the plants in your Sunday’s best?”

What else could go wrong? She was tempted to linger to hear Jesse’s reply, but the distant murmur of her parent’s voices reminded her they were waiting for her. Hands trembling, she started down the hallway and prayed Jesse would hurry so whatever she was walking into, she wouldn’t have to face alone.

The moment she entered the dining room; her parents fell silent. Dad’s forbidding expression made her palms sweat. Mom looked troubled.

“What’s going on?” Violet asked.

“That what I want to know. Is there something you want to tell us?” Dad asked.

It took everything she had not to wring her hands. Guilt and panic clouded her mind, making it hard to think. She couldn’t hold Dad’s intimidating stare, so she looked to Lynne for guidance. “I have no idea, what…?”

“We just received a call,” Lynne said quietly. “Tucker’s in the hospital, being treated for serious injuries we’re told were caused by Jesse. Do you know anything about that?”

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