Craving Jessica

Chapter 8

Ethan POV

"You sure you're okay, man? ’Cause right now you look like death warmed over." Aiden, my best friend and pal, asked from where he was seated across from me in the luxurious bar we were in. His eyes scanning me like he was trying to read my soul.

No, I wasn’t okay. I had kissed my brother’s wife, and right now I felt like s**t.

My chest tightened at the thought, a knot curling low in my stomach. I had almost wanted to blurt that out—say the one thing that had been haunting me for the since last night when it happened—but instead, I let out a deep sigh and leaned forward, taking a slow sip from my wine as if that would wash away the sin stuck to my skin. The taste burned, but not enough to erase her.

"Yeah, I am." I managed to give him a small smile, and though he didn’t look convinced, he didn’t probe further.

"So what’s going on? Why did you bring us here? Y’know it’s so unlike you to drink." He asked, his voice and gaze holding that mix of suspicion and curiosity which made me shift in my seat.

Yeah, I wasn’t the type who normally drank. After what happened five years ago, I had given up that life completely but now, after the filth I’d done with Jessica, I had no choice but to resort to the one thing I hated the most.

Because for some twisted reason, it seemed to be the only thing that calmed me down.

But there was no way in hell I could possibly tell Aiden that yeah, tell him I was out here drinking like a madman because I kissed my sister-in-law last night… and ever since then, I haven't been at peace because a shameless part of me wanted to go back and do it again..

"Nah… nothing," I shrugged casually like it was no big deal. My voice sounded steady, but my fingers were tight around the glass. "Just felt like it’s been long since we hung out. What, you don’t like it?" I asked, and he shook his head immediately.

"Nah… I’m just surprised. For a moment I wanted to believe it was the old Ethan coming back," he said lightly, just passing it as a normal statement.

But for me, it was different. At the mention of “Old Ethan,” the already dim light in my eyes went out completely. My fist clenched tight against the glass in my hand as a familiar, forbidden memory came kicking in, sharp, merciless, and uninvited. My throat tightened. I gritted my teeth.

Aiden seemed to catch on because he immediately began to apologize.

"So… sorry, man. I… didn’t mean to bring that—"

He was still talking, but I wasn’t listening. I wasn’t even seeing the bar anymore. All I could see was the fire surrounding me while I struggled to escape, the heat clawing at my skin. Then… I saw it. The faint outline of a girl. I wasn’t even sure if she was real or just another trick from my head. My chest rose and fell harder.

"Ethan?" Aiden’s voice came crashing into my haze, and I blinked hard, dragging myself back to the bar.

"What’s wrong? You seem to be spacing out a lot," he noted.

I sighed deeply, took another sip from my wine, the burn sliding down my throat like penance.

"Nah, it’s nothing. Just stress… work. You want another drink?" I asked, trying to change the topic when I noticed the glass before him was now empty.

He shook his head immediately.

"Nah, I’m thinking of taking one of them ladies. What about you?" He asked, and I immediately followed his gaze to the other side of the bar, where some bitchily clad sluts were stationed, all perfect curves and painted faces. Beautiful yeah but none of them had her face. None of them had her lips, and none of them had the power to burn me alive with just a look.

The hell.

My jaw clenched tight, my teeth grinding together as the f**king familiar face slipped right into my mind like it owned the damn place.

Blood of Christ. F**king Blood of Christ. Even with all these beautiful women right in front of me, she still found a way to crawl into my head? My stomach twisted.

I looked at the ladies again, an idea suddenly creeping into my mind. Maybe this was what I needed. Yeah—maybe this was how I’d keep all the insane s**t going on in my head out for a while.

"Yeah… and I think I’ll go for the blonde one," I said, pushing up from my seat and moving forward to go talk to her.

---

Jessica POV

"So I’ll be going out for a trip tonight, and I figured you’d be needing this."

Marcus suddenly tossed something in a fancy package at me.

I picked it up from where it had landed on the bed beside me, unwrapped it, and saw it was something tucked inside a small rectangular box.

"What’s this?" I looked up, giving him a questioning stare. This wasn’t the first time he’d given me something in fact, when it came to gifts, Marcus was the best. He always made sure I didn’t lack in that aspect. But there was something strange about this… the size, actually. I didn’t think I’d ever seen a box quite like it before, and that made me curious.

He didn’t reply just nudged me to keep unwrapping.

"Why don’t you open it and see for yourself?"

I didn’t waste any time. But the moment I finished opening it and saw what was inside, my jaw hit the floor.

"Marcus?" I glanced up from the sleek pink vibrator that was lying there in the box to look at him. He smiled. That sly, smug little curl of his mouth I’d always hated.

What the hell?