What I was expecting when Jesse mentioned going to his place, I have no idea, but it definitely wasn't what I was seeing. Jesse seemed to me like a luxury penthouse type of guy, so you can imagine my surprise when we pulled up in the driveway of a beautiful Long Island home in a ritzy neighborhood. The house was somewhat on a hill which provided a nice, albeit faint, view of the Manhattan skyline.

"This is your place?" I asked, brows raised as I took in the sight.

Jesse smiled and hopped out of the car. "Welcome to my house, Vanessa."

The gentleman that he was, he walked around the vehicle and opened my door for me, extending a hand for me to get out. It would seem chivalry wasn't dead after all.

As we made our way to the front door, I gawked at the surrounding homes, floored by how fancy everything looked. These homes were very reminiscent of some I saw in Beverly Hills on our L.A. trip.

Jesse held the door for me to go in first and then lead me to his kitchen, a room I was particularly fond of. The countertops were my favorite part – a gorgeous marble on the main counters and a butcher block top on the island. Complete with the stainless steel appliances and a beautiful bay window, it was the kitchen of my dreams, and yet it looked like Jesse rarely touched anything in the room.

"Do you ever cook in here? It looks a little too clean," I asked, leaning against the sink.

He shrugged, a somewhat regretful look in his eyes as he looked at the room. "I rarely have time anymore. I used to, but for the last several months, I've been so busy with work that I either don't have the time or I'm too exhausted to bother when I get home at one a.m. I wish I had more time."

Be careful what you wish for popped up in the back of my head and I cringed, thinking about the looming fate of Jesse's company. He'd probably have plenty of time to spend at home after Advantage shut down, but that wasn't the kind of extra time he was hoping for. Knowing that my plans with Eliza Morgan had gone south would likely haunt me for the rest of my life now. In a way, I felt responsible for Advantage's demise and everyone losing their jobs. I knew it wasn't my fault, but I had the opportunity to at least try to fix everything, and I'd failed. So, it seemed fair to assume some of the blame.

"Are you going to have to sell this place after Advantage closes?" I thought out loud, immediately regretting the question when I saw the look on Jesse's face.

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the island counter and sighed as he glanced around the room. "I don't know, Vanessa. I don't know. I can barely afford it now, let alone without a job."

I wanted to ask why he'd bought the house if he could barely afford it, but he answered my question without me needing to.

"I never would've bought this place if my mother hadn't pushed me to," he continued. "Personally, I'd like a little seclusion. All these homes are right on top of each other. When I have the front windows open, the neighbors across the street can look right into my kitchen. When I was looking for a house, I had my heart set on an area of Westchester County where the houses are almost as nice as this one and more spaced apart. I don't need something real fancy. I just want a place that I can look forward to coming home to every night."

"Why'd your mom push you to get this one?"

Jesse shook his head, resting his chin against his fist. "My mother is all about image. Always has been. She thought anyone with the title C.E.O. should live up to the image people associate with that title, part of which being living in a big, fancy house that I can barely afford. I like this place. Don't get me wrong. But it's not what I want or where I want to be."

I wanted to know if he planned on trying to get another house in the area he'd talked about, but it seemed to be a subject of frustration for him and I didn't want to exacerbate it.

"Are you hungry?" Jesse asked as he walked to the fridge.

Really, the depressing conversation had stricken me with a loss of appetite, but I wasn't going to be a party pooper.

"Sure."

He retrieved a couple water bottles for us and lead me out to the balcony right off the kitchen. The back yard was twice as gorgeous as the front. There were two giant birch trees towering over the space, lending the perfect amount of shade to the deck.

Jesse had a lovely setup with several chairs and small tables surrounding a stunning firepit with a grill off to the side. It was the type of place that made you want to stay there all night roasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate. Granted, I could see into the neighbor's living room from there, so I understood what Jesse meant about the privacy situation.

"What are you in the mood for?"

I was so caught up in admiring the back yard, Jesse's voice behind me startled me.

I turned around to face him and that familiar feeling from when we were talking in my office came rushing back, complete with the humidity skyrocketing and the heat between us beginning to sizzle. Had he been asking about food or something else?

Stepping into his arms, I pressed myself against his body and kissed his cheek. It was a slow, sensual move that he obviously wasn't expecting.

"Surprise me," I whispered in his ear and sauntered back into the house, leaving him standing on the balcony alone with his thoughts.

The kitchen flowed right into the living room and I wandered over to the couch, flopping down onto some of the most comfortable pillows I'd ever lounged on. The living room windows looked out onto the balcony where Jesse was still standing, looking at his phone. I wondered what he was doing, but I didn't want to seem clingy, so I patiently waited on the couch for him to come back in. I assumed he still wanted to watch Netflix.

When the door finally opened, Jesse walked in, setting his phone on the coffee table and smiling as he plopped down beside me. His arm snaked around my body and pulled me in close to him. There was nothing sexual about it. It was all sweet and loving, and that meant a lot to me in that moment.

"I ordered Chang's," he told me, pressing a kiss to my cheek and reaching for the remote.

I grinned. "How'd you know I love that place?"

Jesse tilted his head side to side like he was pondering whether or not to divulge his secrets. "I may or may not have asked your roommate what some of your favorites are."

I playfully swatted his arm and kissed him again. "You're kind of perfect. You know that?"

He laughed off my comment and turned the T.V. on. "Far from it, my dear."

Watching him switch to the Roku, I cuddled into his side and laid my head against his shoulder. This was exactly the kind of afternoon I needed after all the stress and regret and... my ex. There was something I hoped Jesse could take my mind off of for the remainder of the day. I was tired of thinking about depressing things. I needed a happy distraction.

"Are you going to surprise me with what we're watching, too, or do I get to pick?" I asked, snaking an arm around his torso.

"Well, I may have asked Haley about what you like to watch, too," he chuckled. "She said you guys were talking about wanting to watch Bridgerton, but you hadn't had time. You have time now. Sound good?"

That sealed it. He was the most thoughtful man I'd ever met. I was convinced of that now. How many men actually took the time to ask your friends what your interests and likes are just to be nice? How many men were perfectly fine watching whatever you wanted to watch, rather than pestering you to put up with their ESPN addiction?

"That sounds perfect."

Our food order took a good hour and some change to get to Jesse's, presumably due to the heavy traffic, but it was well worth the wait. By the time Jesse brought the takeout boxes into the living room, we were on the second episode of Bridgerton and I was starving.

"I hope I got your order right, considering I didn't exactly ask..." he muttered sheepishly, handing me the container.

I opened the lid to find shrimp pad Thai – my absolute favorite!

"You're much better at surprises than you think," I told him happily, fishing for a plastic fork in the bag – I'd never been graceful with chopsticks.

We settled back in together with our food and Jesse turned the show back on. We ate in silence, too absorbed in what raunchy things were taking place on the T.V.

This was all foreign to me. I'd never watched anything with sex scenes in it with a guy before. Haley and I were uber perverts when it came to watching stuff like that – we'd spent countless nights immersed in movies and shows with kinky episodes, chowing down on ice cream and fantasizing to each other about how we wished we could do whatever was happening on the screen with our own Prince Charming. But watching such a thing with Jesse had uncontrollable tingles dancing up my back and raising the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. Three episodes in, Daphne and Simon were absolute goals.

Another thing I'd immediately grown to love about Jesse was that he didn't seem to mind sharing food. My ex would've thought that was a preposterous idea. Come to think of it, I couldn't remember ever sharing anything with him besides a bed. So, it warmed my heart when Jesse offered me a couple bites of his sesame chicken and didn't complain when I took three forkfuls.

"This is exactly what I needed today," Jesse smiled as he collected our empty food containers to throw away. "Can I get you anything else on my way back?"

He disappeared into the kitchen and I took his absence as an opportunity to pop open a button on my shirt. I stood up from the couch, meeting him in the doorway as he came back to the living room.

"Just you," I said softly, brushing my lips against his. "That's the only thing I want right now."

He smirked against my lips and deepened the kiss, placing his hands on my waist and tugging me against his body. My stomach pressed against his belt buckle, eliciting a spark of desire between my legs. I snaked my arms around his neck, my fingers playing with the back of his hair while he hoisted me up to wrap my legs around his waist, and he continued to kiss me the whole way to his bedroom.

I was so absorbed in feeling his arms around my body and his lips against mine, I hadn't even noticed when he kicked the door shut behind us until I felt a falling sensation when he tossed me onto the bed, climbing on top of me and beginning to unbutton the rest of my blouse.

"I want you," I gasped when his teeth grazed against my collarbone in a sloppy kiss. "I want this. I need you so bad, Jesse."

I was nearly out of breath already and we'd barely begun.

Fumbling with the buttons on Jesse's shirt, I managed to get them undone at the same time he finished mine. The look on his face was priceless when he saw that I hadn't been wearing a bra the whole time and he instantly went to work kissing, licking and sucking on every inch of my chest. Impatiently, I reached down to unbuckle his belt, anxious to quench my pussy's aching desire as soon as possible.

"Jesse, I need you inside me," I begged, moaning and gasping with his every touch.

He breathed a sexy laugh as he kissed his way further down my torso and moved his hand to finish undoing his pants. By the time his mouth reached my waistline, I was trembling with need and I could feel how soaked my panties were. I couldn't wait to see the look on Jesse's face when he saw.

Lifting my ass up, I helped him to yank my pants down my legs, dragging my panties with them. He tossed my clothes aside and I spread myself for him to fuck me, but he had other ideas.

"Jesse... what-"

I couldn't finish my sentence before his mouth was on my pussy, lapping up my wetness and flicking his tongue over my clit. Every stroke of his tongue sent another shock of electricity through my core and it was taking all my self control not to scream his name every other second.

"You taste so fucking good," Jesse smirked against my damp skin, giving me one more lingering swipe of his tongue before he stood back up.

He leaned down over me and kissed me long and slow, making sure I could taste everything, and I nearly came right then.

"I'm going to make you feel so good," he whispered devilishly in my ear.

Standing back up, Jesse flipped my whole body over and dragged my ass down to the edge of the bed. He shoved my legs apart with his knee and before I could utter a word, he thrust his cock deep inside my aching pussy.

"Fuck!" I screamed out. "Yes! Please! Fuck me harder, Jesse!"

I immediately came unglued, grabbing fistfuls of the sheets, tugging them off the corners of the bed and crying out into a satin pillowcase while he plowed into me over and over.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so wet and needy! Jesse had brought out a side of me that had never shown herself like that to a man before. The only time I let myself lose control like this was when I was alone at night thinking about men like Tom Ellis and Stephen Amell. It felt amazing to let myself go crazy and give someone else the reins for a change.

Jesse's hands gripping my hips dug into my skin as we drew closer to a peak. He slowed his pace for only a moment to flip me onto my back again and then he started fucking me harder and faster, making sure to give me his full length with every stroke. My body was on fire. My lungs burned from gasping. The painful desire built up in my pussy was almost too much to bear.

And then he gave me what I'd been needing for so fucking long. We reached our highs in unison, both moaning out each other's name with a slew of curse words. Jesse continued to fuck me throughout each wave of pleasure, riding out the orgasm in the best way possible until neither of us had the strength to move another inch.

He collapsed onto the bed beside me, both of us staring up at the ceiling, panting. I must've smiled like an idiot when I felt his fingers lace with mine and he brought my hand up to his lips, giving me a sweet kiss.

In that moment, all my problems, worries and doubts faded away into nothing but pure happiness, and I only had Jesse to give the credit to.