Seduction (Club Destiny #3)(47)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Ashleigh held on as Alex followed her over the edge with blinding, intense fury.

In that moment, Ashleigh knew two things: One, she was quickly falling for this man and the ramifications of that scared her half out of her mind. And two, there was no way that Ashleigh would ever find another man who could sate her the way Alex could.

In the end, she knew the devastation would be abysmal, and she promised that no matter the outcome, she’d walk away with the memories of this moment right here, when she had given in to the fact that Alex McDermott owned her – mind, body, and soul.

Chapter Sixteen

Alex had no sooner walked in his back door when Jessie came walking out of the guest bedroom. “How are you feeling?” He asked as he passed through the living room on his way to the kitchen.

He needed a beer and he needed one bad. After that long ass drive to Austin and back, Alex wanted nothing more than to sit back and relax. The only thing that would make it better was if Ashleigh was there with him. Since he’d been busy with work and she busy with a deadline, he hadn’t gotten to see her in two days now – not since that smoking hot scene in his office. The mere thought made his blood pressure soar.

But, instead of sneaking off to Ashleigh’s, he’d be sitting at home with his ex-wife, hoping she would get well enough to go home. He had made a point not to spend the night at Ashleigh’s since Jessie had been released from the hospital, and it wasn’t because he didn’t want to. No, he’d much rather be with Ashleigh, but truth be told, he was worried about Jessie, but more than that, he didn’t trust her.

Not a good place to be, honestly.

“A little better. My arm hurts, but the Advil is helping.” Jessie said softly as she curled up on his couch.

The doctor had offered pain meds, but after a brief chat with him, they opted not to go that route. Jessie was a recovering addict, and the last thing she needed was something to entice her.

“Thanks for letting me stay here. I’m just scared to go back home.” She said when he took a seat on the empty couch across from her.

“Well, Jeff’s in jail for a little while, so I think it would be safe for you to go home if you wanted to.” He wasn’t trying to push her out the door, but a gentle nudge wasn’t going to hurt.

It’s not that he didn’t like Jessie because he did. Hell, he’d been married to the woman. Although that little sham of a marriage was for entirely different reasons, but for some reason, Alex felt like he’d been here before.

Different man, same circumstance.

Alex met Jessie at a strip club when he was twenty-one years old. She was supposed to have been eighteen, but as it turned out, she lied about her age and provided a fake id. Being that she was a dancer at the club, that had caused quite a few problems.

But it hadn’t been the club giving her the most grief. It was her father. So when Alex found out that Jessie was being abused at home, he’d come to her rescue and the only logical way to get her out of that mess had been to marry her. He didn’t recommend it to anyone, but he had done it nonetheless.

They were married until she turned eighteen which was only a couple of months. Then they got the marriage annulled, and Alex had mistakenly thought that would be the end of it. He and Jessie were friends, and he wished her well and all that.

As it turned out, Jessie was a walking disaster. Her time at the strip club had led to some intense addictions – to both drugs and alcohol. Given that she had no one else to turn to, Alex again stepped in to save the day. And for damn near twenty years, he’d been coming to her rescue every time she needed him.

The problem was, he was beginning to think there was something more to these little stunts she pulled. Was she faking it? No, of course not. Her broken arm was proof of what Jeff had done to her. But the story he gave the cops was an entirely different one than the one she offered.

In Jeff’s version, Jessie had called him to come over, and once he was there, she instigated the fight, telling Jeff that the only thing she needed to do was to call Alex and everything would be taken care of.

Her version varied, depending on who she told it to. What she told Alex was that she had just gotten home from work when Jeff showed up. He proceeded to beat her because she wouldn’t go and get them something to eat. She’d been scared and injured, which was why she called Alex.

The scared and injured part he believed. The rest sounded like total bullshit. But what was he going to do about it? He’d spent the better part of two decades saving her from herself so to give up on her now seemed a little cruel.

“Do you mind if I stay here for a couple more days?” She asked sweetly.