Liam.

His name vibrated through her like a force all its own. She'd really gotten herself into a bind with this one. Stealing a glance at him, Jackie drew a stilling breath. He was the closest thing to perfect she'd ever had the pleasure of encountering, but it couldn't last. These things never did. She had to think with her head screwed on properly. Like she'd assured herself she would. If she was going to hold onto her newfound self respect; it was time to go before the “good angel” had a chance to talk her out of it.

Rising from the bed slowly, careful not to disturb him, she fought past an intensifying pang in her gut that was already resisting her. Then dressing as soundlessly as she could, she made her way out of the room, closing the door with as quiet a click as she could manage.

Her heart fought her on it, though.

All the way down the stairs to the lobby, she felt a massive urge to turn back, but she stuck to her guns. It was the best way. It might be difficult now, but she'd get used to the new routine, and she'd suffer far less heartache because of it.

That's what she told herself, anyways, as she hailed a cabby from the row of professional cars waiting out front of the East Tower.

Starting at the buzz of the phone in her pocket, she waited for the cabby to get out and open the door for her. He probably thought she was ridiculously rich having exited the premises. Grimacing, Jackie realized she'd have to keep up the facade and over tip him. He had opened the door, after all. And, it was... kind of nice receiving the plush treatment.

Pulling her phone from her pocket, she glanced at the blinking message reading: Mom. Donna probably wanted to meet about developing another variation of trail mix. Their sales numbers were going through the roof, so far. At the rate they were going, she'd have the year's tuition paid for in a half a year. If mom wanted to expand, as difficult as she could sometimes be to work with, Jackie was all for it.

Still, she'd wait to read the message after she showered. Dealing with Donna sometimes gave her a headache, and she'd rather not start the day like that. She had enough on her mind already.

Settling into the cushy seats of the cab, she tried and failed to force Liam from her thoughts. A new project might help her get him off her mind. The way his essence was lingering on her now, she had a feeling he wouldn't be so easy to shake from her memory.

“Where to, Miss?”

“240 Blakely, please.”

Returning the phone to her pocket, Jackie turned to glance at the East Tower once more, a pang of guilt and regret tingeing the feel of it. She'd thought about leaving a note, but decided that would be corny – an over-explanation at best. Waking up to see she'd gone was message enough. She didn't intend it to be a rude message, but how do you politely say “thanks for the sex, gotta go?”

You don't.

You let your absence speak for itself, or you'll be sucked right back in.

Liam

Reaching a hand to grab a breast from what was fast because becoming his favorite pair, Liam's eyes blinked open as his hand hit the bed beside him. Turning to confirm that there was, indeed, no body there, his heart sunk. But only for a moment. She could be in the “powder room” or downstairs in the lobby enjoying the amenities. She seemed adventurous like that.

Fighting past the feeling that he was slipping into denial over the obvious, he rose up from the bed, stretched, and headed toward the parlor. If her clothes were missing, and the room key was in the slot, she was gone.

Without so much as a word.

Clenching his jaw, he checked the slot with a tightening in his gut to find the key waiting where he'd tossed it. He fought past a sudden reluctance to make his way to the parlor, but fuck illusion. If she'd already left, there was no point in hanging around.

Drawing a breath, he made his way through the short hall leading into the parlor, his gut clenching to find it just as tidy as it had been when he'd rented the room. Her clothes? Gone. Yeah, she'd left. Didn't bother to say goodbye. Hadn't even offered her number.

Running his hands through his thick, gloss of hair, he leaned back against the wall, fighting the reaction to put a hole through the over-priced walls that were quickly taking on the feel of a trap. Had he overdone it? Would she have preferred a hole-in-the-wall motel?

Where did he go wrong?

It wasn't the sex.

Without arrogance, he knew without needing to fool himself that he'd more than satisfied her, multiple times before they'd passed out for the night. But for what ever reason, she'd decided to run, anyway, and there wasn't a whole hell of a lot he could do about that.

He'd been entertaining the thought that she might actually be his match. Maybe even... the one. But there was no way to tell how she actually felt. By all indications, she felt nothing beyond the physical satisfaction they'd shared.

Liam was lost in thought for a long time before he finally pushed off from the wall, got himself dressed, and closed out of the rental for the day. It was a lonely feeling leaving the hotel alone, though, as he slid into the driver's seat of his Mercedes and pulled out from the lower parking lot of the Dark Tower.

It's funny how quickly the right person can insert themselves into your life and make something that's typically run of the mill and everyday at its core seem like a chore now that you were doing it alone.

He must have expected that she'd eventually be riding in the passenger seat alongside him that morning, ready to see the studio and his apartment. The emptiness of realizing she'd obviously had no intentions of enjoying a Day 2 with him sat heavily in his gut, but he eventually pushed past it.

When he got home and showered, he got a few rounds of sparring off at the gym. It helped clear his mind well enough. That was until his father's assistant texted him to tell him there was a "new engagement," and his father expected him to be at the announcement breakfast on Wednesday.

Lovely.

Because it was always such a pleasure subjecting himself to his father's controlling bullshit. Liam felt sorry for his future mother-in-law already.

~

He didn't bother to go all out with his apparel selection. And he was only going for the sake of the poor, misguided woman who'd erringly accepted a marriage proposal from a man who would undoubtedly drop her when a shinier, prettier model presented herself.

The man had zero honor and an obsessive fixation on never aging (or appearing to, anyway). Liam's father wasn't a domestic sort of man, and his marriages, of which there'd been several, were always based on how his women made him look.

Rolling the cuffs of his button-down over his dinner coat, he straightened his smoky, argyle tie and took a final look at himself before grabbing his keys and heading out the door.

There hadn't been time that morning to stop at the gym again, but he already needed it. The mere thought of his father had a tendency to fuck with his nerves, and he could use the release. He'd jacked off twice the night before thinking of Jackie, but that had only resulted in making him feel emptier.

He'd have to get over it.

The last thing he wanted to do was become an internet stalker. She'd ignored the one message he'd left in her Two of Hearts box, and now he was absolutely sure that she'd been a one night deal. For whatever reason.

Maybe she'd met him with exactly that intention in mind.

Maybe she wasn't as nice as he thought.

Could be she played the good girl routine well, when in all actuality she had a man out of town. His head was so fucked up over it, it really didn't matter what the reason was now. He just had to get past it. Maybe he was enjoying the karma of his earlier exploits, with the shoe on the other foot and whatnot...