Reclaiming His Wife

CHAPTER ELEVEN: LET'S GO

Mark reentered the living room after ending his call with Matthew and making arrangements for his outing with Jessica. As he grabbed his wallet and key card off the side table, he heard a noise outside. However, when he opened the door there was no one there. Shrugging, he made his way to Jessica’s room. He’d considered calling her before going over, but figured she might be reluctant to talk to him after the kiss they shared last night and how she fled afterwards. He knew she could refuse to see him as well, but figured it would be harder for her to turn him away, especially since he had no intention of obliging.

With what he’d found out through Matthew, he now had a better understanding of what went wrong in his marriage and what he now needed to do to reclaim his wife. He’d also placed a call to his sister Melissa, hoping she would be able to shed more light on the extent his mother’s abuse went as it related to Jessica. Unfortunately, he’d only gotten her voicemail. After calling three times, he’d given up – leaving a message. He hoped Melissa would get back to him soon. He needed to better understand exactly what his mother had been doing to his wife behind his back. 

He loved his mother dearly. He also felt sorry for her for the way his father treated her – constantly disregarding her feelings and leading a parallel wife from her. However, that did not excuse any ill-treatment she had meted out to Jessica. He didn’t care who the person was – be it his mother, father, sibling, friend, colleague or a complete stranger - no one was allowed to disrespect or ill-treat HIS wife. From the minute he’d become friends with her and she had endeared herself to him, he’d appointment himself as her protector, her confidant, her rock to lean on in times of need or trouble. It pained him deeply to know she had not felt comfortable coming to him with the way his mother was treating her.

Didn’t she know he would never choose anyone over her? Apparently, not.   

That was one of the things he needed to fix. Jessica needed to KNOW she could count on him and she could tell him everything and anything. He figured he’d have to be extremely careful when he broached the topic of his mother. But based on what Melissa revealed and Jessica disclosed, would determine the extent to which his mother remained present in his life. He didn’t look forward to checking his mother, but it needed to be done. She’d need to apologize for her behavior at the very least. It would not be easy. Elaine Thomas apologized to no one. She’d have to make an exception for Jessica Thomas, though.

Arriving at Jessica’s door, he wrapped and waited for a response. After a few minutes of waiting for a response that never came he fished out his cellular phone from his pocket and called his body guards. He became annoyed when they informed him she’d already left her room and was presently taking a stroll in the gardens at the side of the hotel.

As he made his way to where she was his annoyance grew. Why couldn’t his lovely wife have remained in her room until he was ready for her? He knew it sounded asinine and selfish, but he wished for once she was the type of docile wife who sat around and waited on her husband. But no, not his Jessica. At this very moment she was standing in front of a water fountain, dressed in a gorgeous floral white dress that hugged her curves so lovingly it put him in mind of a naughty angel. No one should look so sinfully sexy and innocent at the same time. Especially his wife, who was talking to a man who no doubt was one of the guests at the hotel. She must have gone for a walk after eating breakfast, and this guy must have followed her back like a lost puppy. He was literally drooling over her.

As he got within hearing shot, he heard her give a lilting laugh and his mouth flattened. The guy was in his forties and looked sleazy to Mark. And hell, Jessica looked like she was flirting with him. Didn’t she have any sense when it came to men? The sooner he showed her what it was like to make love to him, the better. She wouldn’t be entertaining anyone else.

“Look at that,” the man murmured near her ear. “I thought this fountain was the most beautiful thing I’d see today, until I turned around and spotted you.”

Mark glared at the pervert, and then strode faster leaping over a rose bush in a rush. If she was going to flirt it would be with him. He really needed to get her to put her wedding rings back on. It would serve as a barrier for some of these poachers.

“How about us going for a scenic drive?” the man was saying. “Maybe even do lunch in town? I know it’s pretty busy at this time of year, but we should be able to find somewhere to eat. What do you think?”

“I—”

“I think I need to speak to my wife,” Mark cut across her as he stepped to the man. They spun to look up at him. “Jessica, honey, there you are. Sorry I took so long. I needed to make some calls to New York before we headed out.”

Jessica sent him a puzzled look, but didn’t object when he pulled her into his arms for a hug and gave her a peck on her cheek. Her reaction to him made it clear she didn’t mind the interruption and he felt ten feet tall knowing she was receptive to him.

“Mark, its Sunday. You work too much. Anyway, you didn’t keep me waiting. Gavin here was kind enough to keep my company.”

Mark noted Gavin’s lips tightening and he was happy he’d been able to thwart whatever plans the man had had for his wife.  

He had the urge to kiss her as he’d done last night and show Gavin and anyone else looking who she belonged to. He’d never felt so possessive in his life. He was beginning to realize that his wife brought out the caveman in him. Before the idea could take traction and gain root, he grabbed her hand.

“Let’s go.”

Jessica’s eyes widened at his gruff tone, but she followed him without a backwards glance at Gavin.

“Okay,” she said simply.

As they turned to go to the parking lot where the car he’d rented was, Mark paused for a moment to look back at Gavin.

“Nice meeting you man,” he said with a smirk.

Gavin looked at him defiantly before asking, “Jessica, I didn’t get your phone number.”

Jessica tilted her chin stubbornly and responded.

“As you can see I’m married and my husband won’t appreciate it nor would it be appropriate for me to give you my number.”

Together they made their way to the hotel’s parking lot, where Mark assisted her into the SUV he’d rented. As he made his way around to the driver’s side, he counted to ten in an attempt to tamper down his excited. But it was futile. Jessica had willingly left with him without making a scene, without questioning him or putting up a fuss. She’d simply followed him. He was filled with so much elation and hope, he couldn’t contain his joy.

While buckling his seatbelt, something occurred to him. Wasn’t it strange that she’d been edgy with him last night, yet she seemed perfectly at ease with Mr. Pervy down there? And what about last night with the tour guide? She hadn’t seemed nervous around Dewayne.

So what did that tell him? What did it mean? That she was comfortable with men she considered safe? This meant she must feel nothing for them – no attraction, he mused. Nothing at all. The thought filled him with relief.

As for what she was feeling for him…there was definitely something between them.

Yeah, judging by the way she was squirming in her seat, she knew they’d be explosive together in bed.

And that begged the question. Just how far was she prepared to go to fight her desire for him? What would it take for her to give in to the attraction between them?

More importantly right now, did she have any idea what she was inviting by wearing that dress? It was a hot day, so he had the air conditioning on blast. It was meant to cool them both off. But he was far from cool. He assumed the air conditioning was responsible for her pebbled nibbles printing through her dress. She’d gone braless from all appearance. His d**k was rapidly hardening and his mouth had gone dry from the knowledge.   

Making a decision, Mark put the car in gear and reversed out of the parking lot and unto the main road. He needed them to be on their way. If they’d stayed one more minute in that parking lot, they’d be arrested for indecent exposure. He would not have been able to stop himself f*****g her for the first time in a rented SUV in the parking lot of a hotel.

While his body was not opposed to that idea, he knew he wanted their first time to be special. Jessica deserved that. Perhaps their fifth or tenth time would be in a car park somewhere isolated. 

He could only hope.