Anything But Mine (15 page)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

T
he following afternoon, Vince pulled the Lamborghini in front of his apartment building. “Go ahead upstairs, Jennifer. I’ll be up in a couple of minutes, after I drop the car off at the garage.”

“Okay,” Jen replied. “I’m a little nervous going in by myself.”

“Don’t be. Alex is here,” he said, gesturing towards the large man approaching the car. “And Mary should be upstairs as well.”

I’ll never get used to having a bodyguard,
Jen thought, as she stepped out of the car and handed Alex her tote bag.

Once inside the apartment, Jen took her bag from Alex, and walked towards the guest suite. She set her bag down on the bed, before opening the closet door, and finding it empty. “What the…where are my clothes?” she said aloud, before turning towards the dresser, where she found the drawers empty as well.

Jen stormed towards the foyer, and found Vince hanging up his coat. “Where are my clothes?” she demanded.

“In the master suite,” Vince replied. “I instructed Mary to move all your things into my room.”

Shocked, Jen asked, “Why would you do that without asking me?”

Vince’s eyes turned dark, and his tone became serious. “After this weekend, I didn’t think you would object to sharing my bed and my room with me,” he said, angrily, as he crossed his arms against his chest. “Or do you?”

Jen felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, as fear ran through her body. There was an edge to Vince’s voice and his body language telegraphed intimidation, which only eased when Jen re-
assured
him. “Of course I don’t object to moving into your room. It’s just that I’m a little taken aback, that’s all. I wish you’d asked me, or at least told me, instead of just assuming it would be okay.”

Vince narrowed his eyes, and sternly asked, “And why wouldn’t it be okay, Jennifer?”

Jen felt her stomach churn, and she unconsciously began to tremble and wring her hands. “When I told you I loved you this weekend, I meant it, but if we’re going to have a successful relationship, we need to communicate with each other. I’d really like to be asked about what I want or need, instead of you deciding for me.”

Vince uncrossed his arms, and appeared to relax. “You’re right, Jennifer. I shouldn’t dictate the terms of our relationship, and I should consult with you. I guess I’ve been single far too long, and so accustomed to being in charge of everything, from my personal life to my business, that it didn’t occur to me to ask you.” He extended his arms and wrapped them around Jen’s body, holding her close. “I really just thought it would save you the trouble of moving everything yourself.”

In the weeks that followed, Jen began traveling again for work. She flew to Paris, Milan, London and the Seychelles for photo shoots, and each time she returned home to New York she was peppered with questions by Vince about what she did and who she spent time with while she was away.

Although he was able to hire investigators or off-
duty
detectives to follow Jen while she was in Europe, he found that he had no ability to have her watched while she was in the Seychelles, and during the week she was there he was unable to sleep, and barely able to eat. He called and sent her text messages constantly, and when she didn’t immediately reply, he became increasingly more agitated, to the point where Marianne, his long-
time
assistant, threatened to quit her job.
I’ve got to get a hold of myself, but I can’t bear not knowing what she is doing,
he thought, vowing that the next time Jennifer traveled to a remote location, he would go with her.

When Jen returned home from the Seychelles, Vince was waiting for her in the apartment, even though it was the middle of the work day. When the doorman rang to let him know she had arrived, Vince waited for her in the gallery.

After hanging up her coat, Jen turned the corner from the foyer to the gallery, where Vince snuck up behind her, grabbing and kissing her.

Jen let out a blood-
curdling
scream, and wrestled herself away, before turning around and realizing it was Vince. “Oh my God, you nearly scared me to death,” she exclaimed. “Don’t do that to me again!”

Alex bounded into the foyer, gun in hand. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine, Alex. I just surprised Jennifer, and she was frightened.”

After Alex turned and left, Vince said, darkly, “I thought you’d be happy to see me, Jennifer. I worked here today, instead of going into the office, so I could be with you the moment you got home.”

“Of course I’m happy to see you,” Jen said, still shaking. “But please don’t sneak up behind me. It brings back too many bad memories of when I was attacked in my apartment.”

Vince looked long and hard at Jen, and for the first time noticed how frightened she was, that all color had drained from her face and her hands were shaking.
I did this to her,
he thought.
She is terrorized by me. What have I done?

“Jennifer,” he half-
whispered
, “I’m so sorry I frightened you. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He reached out to her, and held her tenderly in his arms, stroking her hair, until she stopped trembling. “I love you so much, and I missed you so much. I hate it when we’re apart.”

“I missed you too,” Jen replied quietly, her heart rate slowly returning to normal. They continued to hold each other for a few more minutes, before Jen said, “Come with me, and let me show you just how much I’ve missed you.”

She took him by the hand and led him to their bedroom, knowing that some quiet intimacy would be the best way to get beyond the awkward moments that had just passed. Jen kicked off her shoes, and slowly removed her clothing, piece by piece, while Vince watched, transfixed. She turned down the bedspread and the sheets before lying down on the bed, with her long hair fanning out behind her, framing her face. She looked up at him, and asked, softly, “Aren’t you going to join me, Vince?”

That combination of sexy and innocent gets me every time,
Vince thought, as he quickly undressed and joined Jen on the bed. He climbed on top of her, and tried to enter her, but Jen resisted and rolled over on top of him.

“What’s the rush, Vince? Slow down,” she said, as she caressed his face and ran her fingers through his hair. “Just relax, and savor the moment. I want to make love to you, not just have some quickie sex.”

Vince moaned, protesting “But I’ve waited an entire week. I can’t wait any longer for you.”

“Let’s take our time with each other,” Jen insisted, as she began to explore every inch of Vince’s skin with her lips, tongue and fingers.

Each time he reached for her, each time he tried to take the lead, she said “shhh…” and “be patient.” She let her tongue trail down his stomach, until she reached his manhood, hot and hard, and took him deep within her mouth, causing him to moan even louder than he had before. Jen released him from her mouth and quietly said, “Shhh…you don’t want Mary and Alex wondering what is going on in here, do you?”

Jen’s tongue continued to tease Vince and he moaned again, softly this time, before begging her to let him make love to her. “Please, Jennifer, I can’t wait any longer. Please let me have you now.”

She paused and looked up at him, his expression wild with desire, before slithering slowly up his body, until they were side by side and she was fully encircled by his arms and legs in a tight embrace. Their lips met and their tongues hungrily sought each other, exploring each other’s mouths.

Vince diverted his attention from Jen’s mouth to her breasts, devouring one and then the other, as a gasp escaped her lips. When he asked if she was ready, Jen nodded her head and parted her legs to accommodate him. He entered her slowly, an inch at a time, until she was full with him. He began moving slowly within her, and she, in turn, moved with him. They continued at a slow pace, unhurried, until he could no longer control himself and his pace quickened, first bringing Jen to her climax before allowing himself his own release.

When he collapsed on top of her, Jen reached up and stroked his hair. “Mmm…I hope you now know how much I missed you, Vince.” He rolled over onto his back, and Jen curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest. “I love you.”

As spring approached, so did Catherine and Luke’s wedding, keeping Jen busy with dress fittings, bridal showers and other bridesmaid duties for her friend. Despite their busy schedules, the two friends managed to squeeze in a lunch date at Fresco by Scotto on a Thursday in mid-
April
.

As they were eating their salads, Jen asked, “So, what do you want to do for your bachelorette party?”

“I’m not really into having an extravagant bachelorette party,” Catherine replied, surprising Jen.

“Well, we have to do something,” Jen said.

After thinking for a minute, Catherine said, “You know what might be fun? An old-
fashioned
sleep over party. We could stay up late, watch some movies, eat popcorn, and drink champagne.”

“That does sound like fun, Cath. Do you want to do it at my place in Southampton?”

“That would be great, only we’d have to drive to go out to dinner,” Catherine replied.

“Pablo could drive us,” Jen offered.

“Yes, but then it wouldn’t be a girls’ night,” Catherine said. “We’d be chaperoned by Pablo, who probably would report back to Vince on everything we do.”

“Hmmm,” Jen said, as she nervously twisted her napkin in her lap.
That’s a good point,
she thought.
I wonder if Pablo reports on me to Vince.
“How about at my apartment in Brooklyn? It’s easy walking distance to lots of good restaurants, and there is plenty of room for everyone to sleep over.”

Catherine asked, “Will Vince mind that you’ll be spending the night away from him?”

“Why? It’s only one night,” Jen replied.

“Yes, but from what I’ve seen, and from what you’ve told me about him, it seems like he’s pretty controlling when it comes to you. He either watches you, or he has you watched by a driver, a body guard, or both, all the time,” Catherine said, nodding towards the restaurant’s bar area, where Pablo was sipping a soda and eating a bowl of pasta.

“He’s just worried about me, and wants me to be safe, especially since the guy who attacked me was never caught. He has taken good care of me, really,” Jen said, even as her mind wandered back to the few occasions when she noticed Vince become angry or agitated when she didn’t call him at the exact time he wanted her to, and how easily he became jealous and questioned her repeatedly when she traveled to San Francisco for work and happened to see Drew.

Catherine watched as Jen unconsciously furrowed her brows.
I’m worried about you, that you’re involved in a relationship with someone who is too old for you, and far too possessive of you.
“I guess so, Jen,” she said. “I just want you to be happy.”

“Thanks, Cath. I know I don’t have to worry about you, because you’re beaming with happiness.” Jen reached out and touched her friend’s hand. “Luke is a very lucky man.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Catherine assured her. “We’re excited that so many of our friends are able to make it to the wedding.” She paused, before continuing, “Did you know that Drew is flying east for the wedding with his new girlfriend?”

Jen felt her chest constrict, and she momentarily had trouble breathing. Her hands shook as she took a sip of water before replying, “No, I didn’t know he was bringing her.”