A/N: Hello everyone! Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend! I just wanted to quickly mention again that while this story happens pretty much along the same timeline as The Mischievous Mrs. Maxfield, I'm intentionally not repeating scenes that had occurred there. My goal is to tell Tessa and Jake's story further without making you read a book that pretty much just copied the same scenes and dialogue from TMMM. This does make it harder for me to write but I wanted it to give you more than what you already knew. Hope you enjoy this one!

***

Tessa

"So tell me, babe," Ivy Parker said as she leaned forward as if excitedly sharing a secret. "Your family's close to Jake Hastings and all. Is he, like, single? And you know, looking around?"

I eyed the tall blonde with flat intent. "So you spent fifteen minutes here giggling at everything I said and acting like we're the best of friends just so you can sniff around Jake and put your claws into him?"

So that wasn't very nice of me but I was thin on patience and politeness at this point. I might have also had a few drinks despite Jake's relentless intervention every time I tried to sneak one away. That doesn't excuse it, of course, but Ivy had seriously been hovering on my shoulder like a pet monkey for the last half hour, calling me babe and buttering me up like I was a scone when she'd snubbed me through most of high school. To her and a bunch of other people, who were also here tonight, I was the less-everything sister—less pretty, less popular, less deserving, etc.

Ivy's eyes narrowed. "You don't have to be a bitch about it."

"Well, that used to be my line to you." I smirked and tossed back the rest of my beer. "If you want Jake, go have at him. I'm not his matchmaker. But as a longtime family friend, I can definitely tell you that he doesn't like to sleep with venomous snakes who just want her fangs deep into him and his bank account."

I walked away before Ivy could have a meltdown. I was harsh, yes, but Ivy was a notorious sugar baby who dated older, rich men left and right for a princess lifestyle. She wasn't shy about that specific career. But for all her obvious attractions, I didn't think Jake would fall for her schemes and if he did, I wasn't going to be instrumental to it. Unlike him, I didn't want to stick my nose into his business.

If only he could keep his out of yours.

In the past few hours since we arrived at the party, I had to constantly keep moving because whenever some guy sidled up to me, Jake would show up like an apparition, summoning all the intimidation he kept on reserve. Unlike my brother, Jake's usually pretty easy-going and while I know that running his own company probably required some iron will, I've just never seen him display it with me or anyone else from my family.

"Hey, Tessa. I got you another beer," a slurring male voice said. I turned around and saw Tom Cheng saunter over with a beer bottle in each hand. It must be the dress because like most people who came to talk to me tonight, he was another one who used to pretend I was invisible. "A pretty girl like you should never have to be thirsty."

I fought against rolling my eyes. "Don't know about that. All I know is that a smart girl never takes an open drink from anyone."

Tom feigned an offended look as he thrust the beer bottle into my hand. "I'm not some kind of serial—"

"If you don't take the bottle away, I'm going to smash it against your face."

See what I mean about Jake appearing out of nowhere?

Tom already had several drinks from the looks of it and just chuckled. "Dude. Relax. I'm just having fun with Tessa."

Jake pulled himself up to his full height, effectively dwarfing the other man. "My fists are more fun. Wanna meet them?"

"Okay, that's enough," I said as I wrapped my hands around Jake's very tense forearm to steer him away. "Let's go have a nice chat, Jake, where your fists are not invited to partake in the conversation."

He started protesting but I kept marching forward, not caring if I was bumping people out of my way or they were just instinctively clearing a path for the bulldozer I've become.

I dragged him to one of the terraces in the corner of the living room where a couple was heavily making out behind the curtain. "Leave. Now."

The girl looked like she was going to argue but the guy just yanked her away, leaving me and Jake in private.

"Wow, Tess," he said with some amusement. "I didn't realize you could be so... tyrannical."

"If I am, it's because you've driven me to it," I snapped, planting my hands on my waist. "What the hell is wrong with you tonight? You're acting like a complete barbarian. If you're really inclined, wait here and I'll get a wooden club to whack you in the head with."

He instantly scowled. "I'm looking out for you because you don't seem to have the slightest idea what all those guys want from you."

I scoffed. "Of course, I do. What I don't know is why it's up to you to decide what's acceptable to me or not. I didn't ask you to screen them. If I let you date whoever the hell you want to, I sure as hell expect you to let me do the same. That's what adults do."

His fists curled as his arms stiffened on his sides from frustration. "I'm not—"

"Not what? Dating?" I interrupted with a dry laugh. "We both know that's not true. You have a handful of women on retainer for the last several weeks to go on dates with almost everyday. I was beginning to wonder when the elimination rounds would start so I could grab some popcorn and watch."

He opened his mouth and shut it as if he decided against what he was about to say. Then he repeated the process.

Finally, he blurted out, "How do you even know that?"

I slowly raised a brow. "Don't ask me stupid questions, Jake."

Did he think that no one would notice when he was one of Boston's most eligible bachelors and the women he'd been cycling through were socially prominent themselves? You know, like Gia Davis, the woman I caught him in bed with that morning I walked into his condo.

Jake ran a hand through his hair, pulling at it helplessly. "Look. I admit it doesn't look good from a certain perspective but—"

I put a hand up. "Don't explain it to me because you don't need to. Do whatever you want, Jake. Just let me do the same, okay?"

I swept the curtain aside and walked out before he could come after me. I knew where he was going with that and I didn't want to hear him contemplate about love and finding the right girl again. I wanted to waste as little possible thought on it as I could. And that determination led me to another drink, then another. Anna might be considered the life of the party but I was the one who could drink most people under the table. I wasn't an alcoholic but I just had an unusually high tolerance for it. I wish I could get drunk tonight though because then I could stop caring about having to carefully walk the line with Jake who was seriously pushing me too far.

Like he was—again—half an hour later when he finally slugged a guy in the face for asking for my phone number. Well, okay, the guy had put a hand—quite high up—on my bare leg for a nanosecond which I didn't mind because he was pretty cute. But before I could react properly, Jake's fist was connecting with his cheek and when he tried to throw his own punch, Jake hit him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him.

"You are officially a lunatic!" I yelled at him as he, Charlotte, Anna and I ran down the hallway to get back to his car. The cops were on their way, thanks to some neighborly complaint, and everyone had scattered like ants.

My feet were killing me in these shoes, my hair was a mess and I was thisclose to committing murder.

"He was treating you with disrespect and I'm the lunatic?" Jake demanded, slowing his pace so I could catch up. "Sure! Just let—"

"Can the two of you save the nonstop bickering for later?" Anna snapped, waving one of her neon-pink stilettos at us. "In case you haven't noticed, we need to scram. If neither of you wants to zip it, hand the keys over and Charlotte and I are going to get out of here!"

"I'm driving!" Charlotte piped out cheerfully, even after I glared at her.

"No, you're not," was Jake's very authoritative answer as he headed for his car parked along the street. "All of you, get in. I'm not going to answer to Martin or Brandon as to why the three of you got arrested."

Other than the smooth hum of the engine, it was excessively quiet inside the car as soon as we sped away from the party. I liked it just fine because despite my anger, I preferred to silently seethe. I was already feeling way too much and I couldn't trust myself not to say anything stupid to Jake with my sisters listening.

"Are you sure I can leave you with these two?" Charlotte asked Anna after the car pulled up in front of the condo she shared with Brandon.

"We're right here, you know?" I grumbled, glancing over my shoulder at my sisters with a frown.

Charlotte raised a brow. "Which is exactly why I'm asking Anna. I don't want her to have to play referee alone."

"Jesus," Jake muttered under his breath, wiping a hand down his face. "We're not going to kill each other, alright?"

Charlotte beamed and turned to Anna. "We heard him, right? Good enough, I think."

"At least until after they drop me off," Anna said with a chuckle before giving Charlotte a quick hug. "Thanks again for coming out with us tonight, Char. You're so much more fun when my brother isn't around to keep you all to himself."

"Well, that's why he needs me—for the fun factor," Charlotte said as she slipped out of the car. Then she leaned in through my open window, her smile mischievous. In a hushed tone, she said, "I know Jake's driving you crazy but I just wanted to tell you that you were amazingly confident tonight and that made you all the more beautiful. Don't forget that."

My irritation with her disappeared because very little could withstand the tender force of Charlotte's kindness. After lunch earlier today, I got carried away with the sudden need to peel off the many protective layers of the old Tessa and present her bolder version to the world. No more staying invisible or resigning myself to the fate of being the lesser sister. I was moving full speed ahead until I'd looked at myself in the mirror and wondered if I'd lost my mind because the Tessa that stared back at me was all confidence and attitude. Charlotte assured me that I was perfectly fine and that I was whoever I chose to be. And tonight, I was a restless, reckless Tessa who was too tired of fading into oblivion while waiting for life to give me my turn at actually living. I'd shed my old mentality like I'd shed my old, plain clothes and it drew people like honey. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know this new and mysterious creature who didn't care to please any of them. To be up there, feeling tall and mighty for the first time in my life, the world looked different to me. It would take some time to get used to my new perspective but get used to it, I would, because I was keeping it.

As soon as Charlotte was let inside the building by the doorman, Jake sped us out of there. Only Anna's random chatter filled the car in the five minutes it took us to reach her apartment.

She slipped her shoes back on first before smacking Jake on the shoulder. "You make sure my sister gets home safely, okay? Whether that's from you or other forces of evil, doesn't matter."

Jake glanced at me with raised brows as if saying Seriously?

I just rolled my eyes and made a silent gesture of tossing back a drink because Anna had several of those at the party. I wasn't sure if she saw me but she smacked me on the shoulder too.

"Tess, call Brandon if Jake does something stupid, okay?" she demanded before a loud hiccup escaped her.

"No, I'll call the police, not Brandon," I said, earning a glare from Jake. "But he's not going to do anything stupid so don't worry about it."

I could see Anna pouting from the rearview mirror as she sputtered out her next words punctuated by hiccup after hiccup. "I d-do worry about you, Tess. I want my b-baby sister to be ha-happy."

Before I could answer, she wrapped her arms around the headrest of my seat in an awkward hug. "Love you, Tess. Night-night, okay?"

Jake and I watched as Anna slowly headed for the door of her apartment, still poised even if a little unsteady in her sky-high heels.

The moment she disappeared inside, it hit me that it was just me and Jake in the car and it felt like the interior was closing in on us. I cleared my throat. "You don't have to drive me all the way home, Jake. I'll just run after Anna and I can stay with her tonight."

"You're avoiding having this conversation with me," he flatly stated.

I raised a brow. "What conversation? You seem to have been mostly talking with just your fists and testosterone all night."

"No, we'll talk like civilized people. I reserve the other kind of conversations with assholes who take advantage." Without waiting for me to decide, Jake pulled back out into traffic to head toward my place which was only a few blocks away.

I held myself back from talking for a full two minutes and Jake didn't prod me. The silence felt interminable. If warped speed could be invented in this century, it needed to be now.

"You're completely blowing this out of proportion, you know," I finally said, rubbing my temples as they started to throb. "So I wore a nice, sexy dress for once in my life. I had a few drinks and talked with a bunch of people who never saw me worthy of their attention before—including a few guys, mind you—so what? It doesn't equate to a sign on my forehead inviting every pervert to get it on with me."

"I didn't say that it did but some people want to see permission when there isn't one and that's what I was trying to protect you from," he retorted as we finally pulled up in front of my building.

I scrambled out of the car, slamming the door close, knowing somehow that he was going to be right on my heels. "Was I the only girl out of three who seemed so completely helpless she needed your constant intervention? Because I didn't see smoke coming out of your nose when either Anna or Charlotte were talking to guys."

"Charlotte is married and Anna's... well, she's involved with someone," he argued lamely.

I huffed out a laugh and suddenly skidded to a stop on my heels, wincing as the ankle strap of my heels rubbed the back of my feet that were already pretty raw from the friction.

"You okay?" he asked in concern, peering down at me.

I held a hand up to ward him off. "I am. But are you serious? Because I'm single, I need you for a bodyguard?"

"That's not what I'm saying," he argued.

"Yes, it is," I argued back, pulling myself up slowly and trying to take another step without stripping the skin off my feet. "And it doesn't make any sense so you either need to come up with a new excuse or take your macho madness somewhere else."

I turned my back to him and started to carefully shuffle toward the door when I suddenly felt a strong arm wrap around my thighs.

"What are you—Jake!"

He was crouched down on the ground, holding me steady with one arm while he used one hand to untie my sandal straps gently. "Stay still or you're going to seriously hurt yourself. I didn't realize your heels were paining you."

Even if arguing had become instinctive with him tonight, I couldn't counter that with any heat because the moment the straps fell away from my ankles and my soles pressed flat on the pavement, my feet rejoiced.

I opened my mouth to thank him but I shrieked instead when he suddenly scooped me up in his arms and proceeded to carry me the rest of the way to the apartment.

"Put me down, Jake!" I hissed at his ear.

He just shrugged as if I weighed nothing. "You're a little tipsy and your feet are hurting so let me do all the walking, okay?"

I was too tired and frustrated to argue so I didn't. It had absolutely nothing to do with how his arms felt so solid and strong around me. I did my best not to settle in too comfortably or press my cheek against his chest.

When we reached the elevator, I thought he was going to set me down on my feet but he just shifted me in his arms as he stepped inside. Good thing it was an ungodly hour and no one was around.

"This is ridiculous," I said with a shake of my head. "Just like you've been ridiculous all night."

"If I am, it's because you've driven me to it," he quipped, copying my earlier line. "I'm sorry that you're not happy with it but I'm not going to stand back and watch guys try and bait you like you're some casual game."

I frowned as the elevator door opened to my floor and Jake stepped out and traced the path to my unit without hesitation. He'd only been here once at my house-warming party and that was many months ago. "Well, that's just downright hypocritical because isn't that how you see other women, Jake? Like they're just some temporary means of release that's only slightly better than your own hand? Please. Give me a break. I'm surprised you can still function when you've been sleeping with a different woman every night in the past several weeks."

"I haven't slept with any of them, okay?" he said with some affront as he stopped outside of my door. "I'm in this now for different reasons other than just finding my next convenient bedmate."

"Oh, right! You're looking for some soulmate shit now—the Hallmark-card love story!" I was laughing a little hysterically as I fished my keys out of my clutch and, while still carried in Jake's arms, unlocked the door. The motion-sensor lights flicked on as soon as Jake stepped inside. Knowing this was too dangerous—him, me and a private room all to ourselves—I wiggled out of his arms until he lowered me back to the floor.

"I'm just looking for a happy, peaceful relationship," he said, following me further inside as I tossed my shoes aside and made a beeline for the fridge for a glass of water.

"And what makes you think that I'm not?" I demanded, whirling around to face him, incredulous at his nerve. "You want to fall in love and be happy and all and maybe I want the same thing for myself. You get to do something about it, even if it's as idiotic as trying to lead on five women all at the same time. Why shouldn't I put myself out there and see what I can find?"

"Because I..."

I defiantly held his gaze as he closed the space between us, his eyes bright with emotion as he swallowed hard, his breathing sounding a little ragged. "Because I don't want you finding it."

My brows furrowed. "Finding what?"

"This."

It happened in an instant.

One second, Jake was standing too close to me, overwhelmingly male and complicated. The next, I was wrapped up in all that hot and hard maleness, his mouth storming mine with a rough kiss that robbed me of my breath.

I had countless dreams of Jake's kiss in those years I fancied myself in love with him. My young, innocent heart imagined them to be all sweet and romantic. Nothing like this trembling hunger that gripped me like a fever, blotting out every logical thought until my entire system was all Jake.

The same Jake who would pull away any moment from now and call this an epic mistake.

Anger rushed through me for the pain I was sure to feel after the flames were put out and I clutched his shirt and shoved at him. Jake only backed away half a step, giving himself just enough room to pull up his shirt while still kissing me with fierce intent.

"Jake, w-what are you..." The words I managed in the space of a breath he gave me to pull his shirt off died a quick death at the sight of his bare upper torso. His chest and shoulders were broad while his waist was narrow and tapered, all muscled planes and contours. His arms were strong and perfectly capable of yanking me back into his embrace as he leaned down to capture my mouth again and silence my next protest. There was none forthcoming but he didn't know that.

"Touch me, Tess," he murmured as his lips descended to the curve behind my ear. "Put your hands on me... Need to feel you."

Something in his voice was vulnerable and aching as if I was the only one he could beg for relief.

Heady with that power, I trailed my hands up his chest, my fingers clutching his shoulders as I rose to my toes to press my lips along his collarbone until finally resting at the hollow of his throat.

Jake groaned softly, his hands splaying around my waist and pulling me tighter against him that I could feel the hard swell of his desire against my stomach. A delicious shiver coasted down my spine at the realization that yes, Jake wanted me and he was going to go for it.

"Help me out of my dress," I whispered as I turned around to present him the zipper on my back. Jake wasted no time in peeling off the skin-tight piece along with my strapless bra. As soon as they were completely off me, I heard him suck in a harsh breath.

He wrapped his arms from behind me, one hand moving over my breast where his fingers plucked at the hard yet sensitive tip, his other slipping down my stomach to cup me between my legs where a delicate scrap of lace underwear offered little protection.

"So beautiful," Jake said in a low, almost intoxicated voice as his lips brushed butterfly kisses on the back of my neck while his hands touched me so intimately, I was gasping to breathe.

"Oh, God." My eyes squeezed shut as I gave in to the heat that spiked at the gentle dip of his finger inside me, my body sinking back against him as he delved deeper with another finger joining the first. "Jake... please."

I wasn't really sure what I was asking for but I was chasing it as his fingers started a rhythm inside me. With slow, deep strokes alternating with fast, shallow ones, he hurled me straight into an explosion of light and electricity that melted my bones and charged my every nerve ending.

Giving me no time to recover, he turned me swiftly toward him, kissing me hard as he lifted me and wrapped my legs around his waist. His fingers sank into my hair, tugging the low bun loose until our mashed up faces were curtained by soft, light brown locks. I don't know how long we were kissing before I was suddenly thrown down on my springy bed and presented with a Jake stripped of his jeans and boxers.

My heart raced because of two things—Jake was as gloriously delectable a man as I'd long imagined, and we were doing it. There might be regrets and harsh words after this, probably mostly mine, but I couldn't tell him to stop because I didn't want to stop. Because for all my controlled logic about everything, I couldn't lie to myself about wanting this no matter how fleeting or foolish.

"Come here," I said to Jake as supported myself in a half-sitting position with one elbow, my other arm reaching for him.

I expected him to lunge into bed but he slowly crawled up, gazing at every exposed inch of my body and following it with his hands as they slid up my legs and toward my thighs. I steeled myself against the assessment, aware I often fell short especially in comparison to the kind of women Jake always preferred—tall and shapely and gorgeous. My hair was a mess and despite the white lace underwear I had on, my body wasn't sinfully sexy with its small breasts and narrow hips. My confidence cracking, I leaned away from him so he would stop looking so intently but the smile in his voice stopped me.

"Damn you, Tessa," he said as his hands stopped at the V of my legs, his fingers hooking around the thin straps of my underwear and tugging them down. "When did you suddenly become so wildly enchanting?"

There was nothing but blatant desire in Jake's eyes and it set the fire to high flames inside me again. I fell back on the bed as his mouth captured the tip of one breast, his teeth lightly grazing it as his tongue teased it in sensual circles. Flailing from the intensity, my hands fumbled against him, trying to find purchase. He caught one and gently moved it down his bare hip in suggestion. My fingers wrapped around his hot, thick length, testing its steely hardness with varying degrees of pressure that had him groaning against my breast.

He lifted his head and looked at me from hooded eyes. "I want you, Tess."

"Then have me," I said as I wrapped my legs around his hips, pulling him closer. "Now, Jake."

He grinned as he felt around the bed until he found a foil packet he must've thrown down earlier. "I find your bossiness really sexy, by the way."

"Here's more for you," I said as I watched in a daze while he fitted the condom over himself. "Get inside me now before I lose my mind."

I don't know where this gnawing need was coming from especially since my first and only time at actual sex was an unpleasant, unsatisfying experience. I haven't wanted to venture into it again and almost wondered if maybe there was something wrong with me.

But there was none of that restraint now as I widened my legs to accommodate Jake while he lowered himself over me, nudging between my legs for entry.

I cried out at the first push. He'd been gentle but it had been too long for me. Murmuring soothing reassurances against my lips, he slipped his hands under me to change the angle before thrusting all the way in. My breath stuttered as I waited for the discomfort to subside and Jake remained still to let me adjust to his size.

"Are you okay, Tess?" he asked softly, kissing the tip of my nose.

I nodded, closing my eyes as I shifted my hips in invitation. Without breaking the new kiss he'd caught my mouth in, he surged forward in deep, steady thrusts, picking up speed and losing control as he drove us both to a dizzying release.

His name ripped from my throat as my entire body spasmed with the aftermath while he murmured mine against my lips as he shuddered through loud, heaving gasps.

As our hearts tried to slow down and common sense started to return, I waited for him to roll off me and scramble into his pants as he called this all kinds of mistakes. But he didn't.

When he wrapped me in his arms and tucked me to his side, his lips so tenderly pressed against my forehead, tears pricked my eyes.

The epiphany can wait.

***

So, what do you guys think?

What I do like about Tessa in this story is that she seems to be fully aware of what she's doing while Jake seems to have lost all rational thought. LOL. But logic can only pull you back so far when you're dangling by the edge so we'll see how things are when morning comes.

Make sure to vote and comment if you enjoyed it!

XOXO,

Ninya

♪♪♪ Chapter Soundtrack: Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran ♪♪♪

Settle down with me

Cover me up

Cuddle me in

Lie down with me

And hold me in your arms

And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck

I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet

And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved

You wanna be loved

You wanna be loved

This feels like falling in love

Falling in love

We're falling in love

Settle down with me

And I'll be your safety

You'll be my lady

I was made to keep your body warm

But I'm cold as the wind blows so hold me in your arms

Oh no

My heart's against your chest, your lips pressed to my neck

I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet

And with this feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved

You wanna be loved

You wanna be loved

This feels like falling in love

Falling in love

We're falling in love