Sweet Obsession: Windy City Kink, Book 1 by Kelly Jamieson Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t want to talk about what had happened. I just wanted to forget it. Pretend it never happened. My mom made me volunteer at a shelter for abused women, and lectured me over and over about how I was better than that, and I didn’t need to put up with that, and that any guy who really loved me would never hurt me or do things like that to me.”
    Now Kevin’s mouth fell open. “Ah…”
    “She was afraid I had low self-esteem or something and I was going to turn into one of those women who ends up in abusive relationships and can’t leave. The women I saw at the shelter who ended up going back to their lowlife boyfriends or husbands.”
    “Abusive. Whoa. But…”
    She shook her head. “I know, I know, I don’t have self-esteem issues and that’s not going to happen. It was just an embarrassing mistake and I’ll never make it again.”
    “Sixteen is pretty young,” Kevin said slowly. “But, Sasha…” He stopped. She could tell he didn’t know what to say.
    Heat climbed from her chest into her face at reliving that humiliation.
    “Okay, back to the hitting thing,” Kevin said carefully. “What exactly do you mean by that? Was he hurting you? Was he abusing you?”
    She bit her lip and looked down at her now empty plate. “No. He was spanking me. It wasn’t really hurting me. I mean, it was, but not like he was…injuring me. Or beating me. But my mom interpreted it that way.”
    Kevin blinked. “Uh-huh. Okay.”
    “Are you shocked by this?” she asked. “You seem kind of surprised. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
    “No, no, I’m not shocked. But Sasha, honey, you’re kind of…naïve, aren’t you?”
    “What! Naïve? I am not!”
    He smiled. “It’s okay, doll. “
    “I’m twenty-eight years old. I’ve had sex and relationships. I’m not naïve!”
    “You have led a somewhat sheltered life,” Kevin pointed out. “A lot of your boyfriends are guys your parents set you up with, carefully screened.”
    “Not anymore.” She pressed her lips together.
    “So, after that night you never saw Jack again, right?”
    “Right. He dropped out of school and left town. I was heartbroken. But I was also angry with him, for putting me in that position, and causing such an uproar with my family. Things were uncomfortable with my parents for…well, they still are,” she admitted. “They were disappointed in me, ashamed of me. I felt like I’d let them down. But they also blamed Jack. God, they hated his guts. He never did show his face around our home again, but if he would have…who knows what they would have done to him.”
    “So he just disappeared. Never even called you or emailed you?”
    “Nope. It was hard. But I survived.” She strained a smile. “I knew Jack had moved to California. Or at least the last few years he lived there. I don’t know if that’s where he went when he left here. He’s been hugely successful. He and another guy started some kind of Internet security company that’s apparently gigantic and worth gazillions of dollars. I also knew he was back in Chicago. It was in the news about six months ago that they were moving their headquarters here. But I never thought he’d contact me, and I sure wouldn’t have contacted him.”
    “So he’s filthy rich now.”
    “Apparently. You should see his condo! It’s amazing.”
    Kevin grinned. “And you’re not easily impressed, having grown up in the lap of luxury.”
    “Oh please. You make me sound like a spoiled princess.”
    His smile softened. “You’re not spoiled, doll, but you were a bit of a princess.”
    She frowned. “What does that mean?”
    “Your family is very protective of you. Your father, your brothers. They practically waterboarded me when you were moving in here.”
    “Oh, they did not!”
    “Pretty close.” But he grinned. “They’re pretty intense guys.”
    “Yeah, well now you know why,” she muttered. “It drives me crazy. Hey, do we have any ice cream?”
    “No. But we could