Chapter 17

Renee packed up Christian's to-go bag and got him ready to go. Today was his birthday and Jesse had said he had something planned for him. Jesse had relaxed his grip on her after the night they'd had sex. Since then, he had gotten her a different phone that allowed her to call out to other numbers besides his and he had allowed her to go to a mommy and me group.

Renee had made a couple of friends there and she went out at least once a month with them for lunch or dinner. She never stayed out long and she always texted Jesse what was happening so he didn't think she was doing anything suspicious. He would take care of Christian while she was out. He had done a complete 180 with his behavior. He was sweet and caring. She still couldn't find it in herself to feel anything for him and she knew he had to know that. He had told her he loved her so many times and all she had ever been able to do was smile at him.

It had surprised her to find that she was truly happy when she saw how he was with Christian. He was a good dad. He spent all of his free time with him. Jesse didn't go out and spend time with buddies. He had made friends with a couple of guys at work that were married, but he never hung out with them unless it was at their house and she was invited. She hung out with their wives and Christian while they were there.

Jesse would always find her and kiss her or hug her. The other wives would always tell her how lucky she was that he did that. Their husbands weren't that affectionate anymore. Renee would always politely smile and say she knew but inside she wanted to scream at them. They didn't know the truth of her situation. They didn't know that what she truly craved was for Kevin to walk into the room and take her into his arms. The life she had now with a baby and a husband was the one she had wanted with Kevin. It had been almost two years since she had seen Kevin and she still longed for him.

She had finally been able to move past the situation of sex with Jesse. Most of the time she drifted away into her own thoughts and imagined Kevin. She had gotten better at doing it with her eyes open so Jesse didn't think she was doing it. If she let herself think of Jesse as just a hot guy she was sleeping with, she didn't have much of a problem. He always took his time with her now and made sure she was enjoying it. If she just wasn't feeling well or was too tired, he would leave her alone. That one always took her off guard.

Renee smiled as she watched Christian crawl around the floor. He came over and pulled up on her leg. She cooed at him as she picked him up. He was what she was living for now. He giggled as she blew on his belly and she couldn't help but smile as he wrapped his arms around her neck and said mama. No matter what else life held, this was the only good part of it for her.

Jesse had walked in just as Christian had wrapped his arms around Renee's neck. He watched the smile cross her lips. She was beautiful and the look she got on her face when it came to Christian just made her all the more beautiful to him. He had fallen for her. The woman he had only taken to get revenge on someone he hated, he had fallen head over heels for. He knew she didn't feel the same about him and she had let him know it so many times. She never hugged or kissed him. She never touched him unless he touched her first. She had finally been able to sleep with him on a regular basis but there again, he had to come on to her first.

He had hoped that her feelings would change one day, but they hadn't. He was still hoping for it even now. He so badly wanted her to look at him the way she was looking at Christian, with love in her eyes, and that smile on her face. He had slacked up on her going out. She had a few women she would hang out with that had babies Christian's age. He had planned a birthday party for Christian today with all of the women from her mommy and me group. He was hoping that one of these days the nice gestures he was making would change her mind about him.

He walked up and kissed Christian's head and then kissed Renee's lips. She smiled at him but it was a fake smile and he knew it. It wasn't the genuine smile she had just had on her face. Christian reached out for him and he took him from Renee.

"Hey, bud! I have something special planned for you. Let me take a quick shower and we can go, okay?" Jesse said as he handed Christian back to Renee.

He jumped in the shower and when he got out, Renee was in the bedroom. She was in the process of changing her clothes. When she saw him come out of the bathroom, she noticed he didn't have the towel on him but was drying his hair with it. It still surprised her that her body responded to him being naked. She had never started anything with him, though. She didn't want him to know that she actually enjoyed the way he looked. The less power he had over her, the better. But, he noticed her looking at him. He smiled as he walked over and wrapped his arms around her.

"Where's Christian?" Jesse asked.

"He's in his playpen, playing, so I thought I would change into something nicer," Renee answered.

"This is nicer in my opinion," Jesse smiled.

Renee rolled her eyes as she said, "You're getting me all wet."

"I can take care of that for you," Jesse murmured.

"I meant from the water you still have on you," Renee said as she pushed on his chest.

"Way to hurt a guy's ego," Jesse said as he stepped back and began to dry off.

"As big as your ego is, it could stand to be deflated some," Renee laughed.

Jesse walked up and slid his hand down her body as his arm wrapped around her. He slid his hand into her underwear and his finger slid along her folds. She sucked in her breath and he felt she was actually wet. He grinned and then kissed her lips. He played with her just enough to get her frustrated and then stepped back.

"Nevermind. It's re-inflated," Jesse said as he stepped to his dresser to grab his clothes.

Renee's eyes narrowed. That egotistical bastard knew what he was doing and knew how to get to her. Two could definitely play that game. She walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned towards her and she stood on tiptoe and kissed him as she pressed against him. Her hand went in between them and she gripped him in her hand and began to stroke his length. Once she was satisfied that he was enjoying what she was doing enough to cause issues, she broke the kiss and stopped stroking him. She backed away and grabbed her clothes off the bed.

Jesse was stunned with what had just happened. She never came on to him and the one time she did, she was doing it just to leave him wanting more. He was not going to let this happen. He threw his clothes down and walked up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed into her. She had her pants on by this point, but her shirt wasn't on. Renee stiffened as she felt Jesse start to kiss her neck.

"Oh no. We don't have time for this now. You told your son that you had a surprise for him, remember?"

Jesse groaned as he said, "You are a frigging tease. You will pay for this later."

He realized he had chosen the wrong words to say when he felt Renee go still and her body stiffen in his arms. Her breathing had sped up like she was about to have a panic attack. He turned her towards him and he saw that panicked look in her eyes that he had not seen in a long time. He sighed.

"I was just teasing you, Renee," Jesse said as he reached up to touch her face.

She jerked and he dropped his hand. He stepped away from her and went to grab his clothes off the floor. He started getting dressed while he watched her. She closed her eyes and started trying to control her breathing. The one time she had actually done something to tease him as a normal couple would do and he had screwed it up. He was a complete idiot. He watched her as she picked up her shirt and he noticed her hands were shaking. He wanted to comfort her, but he knew if he touched her that it would make things worse.

Renee finished getting dressed and walked out of the room. She should not have taunted Jesse. She knew better than to do that. He could do whatever he wanted, but she couldn't. He could say he was just teasing, but she knew his threats. As long as she was complacent, she was fine, but the minute she wasn't, he would get angry and go back to the way he was before. He had relapsed a few times with his anger. He had not hit her again, but there were several instances when he had been too rough with the sex and it had hurt her.