When I awakened on Sunday morning, I was startled to see that it was nearly noon and that I'd slept in so fucking late. I nearly tripped over my own feet scrambling to get out of bed and get ready for what was left of the day. I couldn't remember if we were supposed to do more preparation for the Integrity meeting or if there was something else expected from me that day.

Checking my phone, I was surprised that I didn't have any waiting messages from either of my bosses. I hoped I hadn't fucked up and pissed off Jesse or Erica somehow. A strike of worry slapped me in the chest at the thought that Erica might've heard my pleasured moans the night before if she'd been back to the hotel then. Surely, that was grounds for firing me.

Cursing under my breath at myself for failing to set an alarm, I dialed Jesse's number and tried to swallow my nerves.

"Hey. You're awake," came a velvety voice on the other line.

My muscles seemed to instantly relax at the sound of his voice.

"Good morning," I sputtered out, glancing around the room for a pair of underwear. "It would appear your assistant forgot to set her alarm and totally fucked up for the morning."

My words were guilt ridden and I cringed at the way I'd phrased it as soon as the sentence left my mouth.

Jesse gave a light chuckle. "It's not a problem, Vanessa. If we'd needed you to get up early, I would've set an alarm for you or called to wake you up earlier. It's Sunday. We're not working today. Well, you're not. I'm sending some emails in the lobby right now. Why don't you come down and join me for lunch? Erica's spending the day with her friend in San Clemente again."

Relief flooded my bones and I smiled at my messy, disheveled reflection in the mirror.

"That sounds great. Let me take a shower and I'll be down soon."

"I'm going to hold you to that," he said sweetly, but I could pick out the underlying tone of desire and teasing.

I hung up and tossed my phone onto the bed. Standing in front of the full length mirror, I studied my body. I looked fresher, happier, more relaxed. I automatically credited that to the amazing night before. Then I spotted the vague bite marks and hickeys on my neck and collarbone and I was instantly so glad I'd packed my suitcase with collared blouses for work. The last thing I needed was Erica noticing and wondering who I'd been getting it on with during our business trip.

A quick shower and shave left me feeling super refreshed. I threw my hair into a messy bun and hurried to get dressed to go see Jesse. I hadn't realized until I stepped out of the shower how hungry I was.

Once I reached the lobby, it was easy to spot my boss hard at work on his laptop. Jesse was the only person in the room typing away like there was no tomorrow. I casually made my way over to where he sat, studying his image as I walked. He looked both determined and like he had way too much on his mind, but once he noticed I was in the room and our eyes locked, his entire demeanor changed to something happy and relaxed. It made me feel some kind of special – a feeling I'd never really experienced because of a man before – and I loved it.

"Hello, gorgeous," Jesse grinned, standing up to greet me with a sweet kiss as he tucked my hair behind my ear. "How did you sleep?"

"Fantastic." I must've smiled ear to ear just thinking about it. "I feel so good today, Jesse. I don't know what magical power you showered me with last night, but please keep doing it. I'm already addicted."

He gave a soft laugh and the smile rose to his eyes. "What do you want to do today?"

If I was going to be totally honest, I wanted to drag him back up the elevator and let him spend the entire rest of the day fucking me senseless, but that delicious thought was overridden when I remembered the subject I'd been avoiding telling him about.

I breathed a heavy sigh and asked him if we could go talk somewhere privately, a complete shift from my demeanor a moment ago and I knew it was throwing him off. I didn't want to be that person who sent mixed signals and I didn't want to have The Bradley Chronicles nagging in the back of my mind every time we were intimate, so I told myself there was no time like the present to blurt it all out. I was pretty certain the way Jesse took my info dump would give me a brilliant indication of how committed he was to making our relationship work, or if hearing more shit about my horrible past would make him less interested in me.

"Is something wrong?" Jesse asked, his voice suddenly heavy with concern as we made our way back to his hotel room.

I shrugged awkwardly. It wasn't that something was wrong. It was that I was insecure about revealing to him the other skeletons in my closet. I was scared it would run him off and I hated that because in just the few days that we'd decided to try our romance, I'd enjoyed his company so much that I already knew it was going to hurt like hell if he rejected me over this. Then again, telling him the rest of the story would definitely give me a good indication of what kind of man Jesse Reese really was, and truth be told, I'd rather find out sooner than later.

Jesse reached out a calming hand to my face, his thumb caressing my cheek in soft circles. His eyes were filled with worry, like he was anticipating me telling him something terrible. I was already starting to regret beginning this conversation, even if it was just because I felt bad for giving him concern.

I nestled into his palm and reached up to place my hand over his. His touch was so caring and calming.

"Do you remember when I told you about how I got such a bad reputation at my job in Dallas?" I asked sheepishly, hating both the subject and the memory.

Jesse's brows drew inward and he sat down in a chair near the balcony waiting for me to continue.

I took a seat at the foot of his bed and rubbed my palms up and down my thighs against the rough denim material. It was an old nervous habit.

"I feel like I haven't been totally honest with you," I began, my eyes meeting his with uncertainty.

His frown deepened and he leaned forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on top of his clasped hands. He looked very serious.

"What do you mean, Vanessa?"

There was no ideal way to explain it to him, so I decided to just spit it all out and hope it made at least a little bit of sense by the time I was finished.

I started with telling him about the way Brad had destroyed most of my belongings after I'd left for Minneapolis and how Haley had had to salvage what was left for me. Jesse seemed to be listening intently, like he was taking mental notes.

I continued, detailing for him the ridiculous aftermath of how I'd tried to sever all ties to my ex and how he'd responded by calling me from a new number, begging me to take him back after every time that I blocked him. I told Jesse about Brad then tracking me down in Minnesota and mercilessly stalking and harassing me and my family and even Haley while she was still in Dallas. I told him about all the times I'd had to call the police and my failed attempts at acquiring a restraining order. Then I went into a long, spotty explanation of why I hadn't called him all those years and why I was so skeptical about affluent men, thanks to the only thing I had to go by being my ex and his shitty rich friends. Eventually, I was pretty sure my words stopped making sense, but I kept trying to say everything, to get it all off my chest until there was nothing left to tell him about.

At some point during my word vomit, I had begun to cry. I couldn't tell where in all the verbiage I'd lost control of my emotions, but the bottled up frustrations I still held about my ex were all coming to the surface in a miserable, gasping type of cry that I couldn't seem to make stop. It was ugly and embarrassing and I was half expecting Jesse to get fed up with my messy issues and leave the room. But he didn't do that. Instead, he left his spot in the chair and came to sit beside me, wrapping a comforting arm around me and pulling my body to rest against his.

He didn't say anything. He didn't try to get me to stop crying. He didn't have a comment one way or the other about my lunatic of an ex. He simply sat beside me, holding me, rubbing a reassuring hand up and down my arm, and letting me get my tears out. Some of which ended up on his shirt, but he didn't seem to mind.

"I'm so sorry," I finally choked out and started vigorously wiping the tears off my cheeks in embarrassment. "I'm so fucking sorry, Jesse. I didn't mean to turn into a sobbing mess. You must think I'm pathetic."

When I finally lifted my gaze to look at him, he actually looked a bit pissed. Oh, great, I thought to myself. Now I've done it. This is the part where he tells me he doesn't want any part of my drama.

"Wow," was all Jesse said for several long seconds, which emphasized my stress until he continued. "You really think I'd have that opinion about you after hearing all that?"

I was caught off guard and looked at him with confusion. "Well... I don't know too many men who would hear all that and still want to hang around. I guess I just figured-"

"You figured wrong."

"Oh..."

It was the only response I could muster. I was too lost in the cloud of emotions encircling my head and it was making me dizzy.

Jesse brushed his finger against my chin and tilted my head to meet his gaze once more. His eyes searched mine for a moment before he pressed one gentle kiss to my lips, completely contradicting my expectations.

"Don't say anything. Just listen," he instructed. "I understand why you felt like you had to tell me all that, and I appreciate that you want to be transparent with me. That's the foundation of a good relationship. But you don't owe me an explanation, Vanessa. Your ex sounds like an absolute bastard, and frankly, I'd love to meet him in a dark alley sometime. But there's nothing you can tell me that he did that's going to change my mind about you. I want to be with you. I want to try this. That's what we both agreed to. I could sit here all afternoon and rattle off all the bad memories I have with my exes, but I don't think that matters to you, does it?"

It wasn't remotely what I'd thought he was going to say, and it had completely thrown me off guard. I was so happy to hear that Jesse wasn't going to judge me on my past, but I'd gotten myself all riled up in anticipation of him kicking me to the curb because I had a ridiculous fear of dating a man who had money.

Jesse Reese continued to surprise me in all the right ways. It was something I'd never thought was possible with a man. It seemed like they all hurt you eventually or get mad over something stupid, but here he was, completely understanding and making every effort to support and reassure me no matter how many times I told him some image tainting detail about myself. I had baggage. Emotional baggage. And I was very aware of that. How could someone like Jesse take all that and dismiss it like it wasn't a relationship killer?

"I'm not going to leave you over any of that, Vanessa," he said softly and pressed his lips to my forehead.

His arm was still wrapped around me and I was still leaning into him. I could smell his heavenly cologne mixed with the subtle scent of his aftershave, and that alone was relaxing me.

Finally, I cleared my throat, rolled my shoulders to relieve some tension, and turned to face him.

"Thank you... for everything," I said as I tried to gather my wits and figure out what was the right thing to say. "I felt like I owed it to you and to our relationship to tell you about all that, mostly because, to be completely honest, I never got closure and Brad never suffered any repercussions for his actions. I live every day of my life now scared that I'll run into him again and that he'll reignite his stalking fetish. I couldn't get justice before, and I've seen articles in newspapers with pictures of his father with a senator or a congressman or a judge. It's always something touting his company's contributions. Any normal person would see that and think it's nice that he's supporting their campaigns or whatever, but I see that and all I can think about are his connections – the same connections who prevented me from getting justice against Brad – the same connections who could prevent justice in the future if it did happen again."

Jesse nodded slowly, taking in the volume of what I'd just confessed to him. He understood. I could see it in his eyes. Somehow, that gave me a sense of protection.

"Your concerns are one-hundred-percent valid, Vanessa. No one can fault you for having these worries. Actually, I feel a bit better knowing all this, because it was hard for me to understand why you were hesitant about me. Now I get it. I do. And it makes perfect sense. I can't be mad about you wanting to be cautious and protect yourself after what you've been through. So don't think that at all, Love. Okay?"

It was the sweetest, most loving thing anyone had ever said to me, and I knew in that moment that I could easily fall in love with this man. And part of me wanted to, already. That was crazy talk and I knew it, but it was the way I felt. I knew I had to take it slow for both our sakes, but I was also really hoping it wouldn't take too long to reach that fairytale romance ending that every woman dreamed of getting.

"Thank you," I whispered as his lips met mine.

The kiss was soft and full of passion. I knew he was holding back, wanting to do more, and so was I. Soon enough, the passion turned to a wild, fiery desire that neither of us could keep at bay, and the urge enveloped us and had our clothes leaving our bodies in what seemed like mere seconds.

Jesse picked me up with ease and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his naked body, allowing us both a rush of pleasure when his hard cock rubbed against my already wet core. He sat back on the foot of the bed as we made out hot and heavy, gasping for air between deep, urgent kisses. He positioned me on top of himself and I broke our kiss, throwing my head back in a long, drawn out groan of satisfaction as I slowly sank down onto his cock.

"Fuck, Vanessa," Jesse moaned, gripping my hips and helping me to start riding him.

I was getting wetter by the second and the feeling of his hard length impaling my pussy was skyrocketing me to a level of pleasure I'd never reached before then.

I braced myself against him with my hands on his biceps and I could feel his muscles tighten beneath my touch. This only fanned the flames inside me and I started bouncing up and down on him faster. His groans were the sexiest sound I'd ever heard from any man and my confidence was through the roof, knowing I was making him come undone so well.

"Tell me when you get close," Jesse panted, struggling to get the words out.

Allowing myself to completely lose control and submit to all my body's needs, I screamed out his name over and over, sliding up and down on his cock with as much vigor as I could produce, until I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Jesse, I'm close!" I practically shouted. "I'm so close!"

Before I could utter another word, Jesse had me flipped over on my back with my ass almost hanging off the edge of the bed and he was finishing me off, ramming his cock into me in uneven, messy yet powerful thrusts while his mouth worked wonders on my painfully erect nipples.

"Yes! Jesse! Fuck me harder!" I cried out, dragging my nails down his back.

I was in pure bliss letting him take every bit of me. I didn't want it to stop. And then he gave a low grunt and a scalding heat rushed over both of us. His thrusts gradually slowed down until he wasn't moving anymore, but he left his cock buried as deep as he could be inside me. I could feel his come starting to drip onto the comforter and a sex-drunken giggle left my labored lungs.

Jesse managed a breathy chuckle and pecked my lips again. "You know, I don't think I've ever come that hard in my life."

I rolled my eyes and grinned so hard it made my cheeks ache. "If you're not careful, I'm going to fall in love with you, and then you'll be stuck with me."

It was a joke, but his expression told me he didn't take it in a comical way at all.

"That's exactly what I'm counting on."