****3rd POV***

The day had been exhausting, to say the least. All the paperwork that needed to be signed and the calls that needed to be made personally by Annie.
   Her head was pulsing by the end of it.
But the evening brought with it a pleasing delight of what lay ahead. She was elated by the thought of going home to... Jack.

       Knock-knock!

"Come in," she answered subconsciously, her eyes fixed on the computer screen.

The lock clicked before the door swung in.
  Annie didn't bother to look up, she assumed it was either Matt reporting about Noah or her secretary, Grace, bringing in a file.

    "Did you know she's pregnant?" Paul asked as he halted behind the chair facing Annie's desk.

Clueless about what he was talking about, Annie raised her eyes to Paul. The last time they had talked, the conversation had ended up awkward and she never got to tell him that she was moving in with Jack.

    "Who exactly?"Annie asked innocently.

"Pattie. Pattie is pregnant."

The female paused to process the news. Pattie was pregnant and it wasn't Paul's, yet her family was pressuring Paul to honor the marriage contract.

    "That's good news."
Annie smiled genuinely, feeling a cloud of relief descending upon her. With that pregnancy, they could legally terminate the marriage contract and Black Blood would have nothing to do with Pattie or her family.

   Paul snorted, confusing Annie.

He didn't seem happy about the pregnancy, but why?
   Paul had always hated Pattie, long before he left California five years back.

         "Annie, what if that pregnancy is Jack's? I know you'll be living with him. You may lie to the world that it's for protection and all that bulshit, but I know you better than anyone else."

Annie frowned at Paul's truthful words. But she trusted Jack. He wouldn't be so reckless to the point of getting another woman pregnant, much less Patricia.

   "That's impossible."
These words were to convince Paul, and herself.
Yet Paul could see a wavering doubt deep in her brown eyes. It was a mental conflict that she was trying to hide from him.

    Paul sighed feeling sorry for her.
She had put a lot on the line just to get back to Jack. It'd be a sad story if Jack ended up betraying her and crashing her hopes.

    "Okay then. I'll leave you to your love triangle. But don't let Jack occupy too much of your headspace. You're at a critical point in your career."

   Annie nodded, hoping he'd leave the room already so she could rush home. But she had no idea how to bring up such a thing to Jack. What if it wasn't his, but what if it was?

---------------------------------

     The drive home felt longer than it should have. Since her mind was a jungle mess, she had opted to have her driver take over the wheel.

  It was easier that way, but left Annie with a lot of time to drown in her overthinking.
  Gawd!
She couldn't wait to get home and straighten things with him.

    "Can you go a little faster?"

"Sure Boss."

She didn't bother him again, just sunk further into her seat and shut her eyes, suppressing her tears.

    Fifteen minutes later, the car was stopping right outside the mansion.

Annie didn't wait for the driver to open her door, she almost bolted out of the car and into the house, leaving her purse and jacket behind. All she could think of was Jack and-

   "Pattie?" Annie squeaked seeing the blonde seated comfortably in the living room dressed in a pair of booty shorts and a black crop top.

Pattie swung her legs off the couch while sitting up. She turned her head to the side and smiled at the stunned female standing by the doorway. "Hey there, roomie."

   Annie's eyes bulged and bulged till they couldn't take in the shock any longer. She clamped her mouth shut and turned towards the stairs.

It's all in my head. She's not here. I'll just go wait for Jack in my room, she comforted herself as her heels clacked on the floor on her way to the staircase.

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           ****ANNIE'S POV****

There was an emptiness in my chest. It felt like a hole was slowly being drilled in there by some unknown force.
   It had been over an hour since I got to the mansion. Even after locking myself in my room, my demons in the form of Pattie had come to knock on my door. They spoke in her voice and laughed just like she did.

  I had to be dreaming all of it, right?
There was no way on earth or in hell that Pattie was actually in Jack's house.
He didn't like her. He never spoke about her.

     Some scorching hot tears trickled down the side of my face and onto the big teddy bear I was hugging. No matter how much I tried to shut off the voices, they kept saying that Pattie was real and she was in the house just like I was.

   "Annie?" Jack's voice called from the other side of the wooden frame. "Open the door."

   "Why?" I yelled, secretly glad that he was there.

"Open this damn door right now!" Came Jack's order in an authoritative tone.

   My succubus devil stirred But I quickly slapped it back to sleep. I could not avoid being distracted by his deep manly voice at such a critical time.

  "Annie?"

Silence.

"Dammit Annie! Don't make me get the keys."

My heart smiled. Why was I happy over Jack sounding so angry?

    "I won't ask you to-"
Click!
I unlocked the door before he could complete his threat and pulled it open for him.
   
   We made eye contact for a split second, but I turned around intending to walk back to the bed.
  "Stop!" A command rang out from behind, which I ignored in my rebellious nature.

  "How dare-" a rough huge hand grabbed my arm and tagged hard, "-you..."
He then pinned me on the wall outside my bedroom, my hands hanging above my head. "How dare you ignore me?" Jack demanded in a harsh whisper that was transmitted as a hot sexy whisper.

Concentrate Annie!

   "Let go!" I cried wriggling.
But Jack's hand only tightened around my wrists as his face breathed flames on my face.

The way he had handled me felt so damn sexy(if I ignored my previous anger).
    There were raging sparks colliding in his eyes as he glared at me. "You just love being dramatic eh?"

   "I'm not some kind of a pet, Jack. I have my own feeli-"

He grabbed my mouth using his free hand and pulled, bringing our faces closer than ever. I could feel his breaths slipping straight into my nostrils while he took in mine in return.

     "This is my house," Jack whispered in a less cruel tone.

His eyes held mine without blinking even once before they fell on my lips. "You don't get to lock your door just to keep me out, I can easily unlock it and punish you eyes dry out from crying." The whisper went on.
"If you have any problem with me, just come at me directly. You don't need to act up like a teenager."

    "Fuck, you." It came out as a whisper. But God knows I wanted to sound angry and bitter, not weak and breathless.

Jack chuckled still staring at my lips.

   "If only you had the power to do that last night."

"You...!"

His eyes rose in a slow and charming manner till they met mine. A wicked grin stretched his red lips. A grin that made my tummy feel funny and my center experience a bubbly sensation.

     "Got something to say to me, hm?"
Jack asked, daring me to answer so he could make a sexual tease out of it.

      "Jack?"
We both gazed towards the source of the voice, only to spot Pattie standing at the other end of the hallway near the stairs. It was impossible to study her eyes but judging from the sad voice she had called his name meant that us being close had bothered her.

     Jack lifted his head and questioned flatly, "What is it?"

"I...I..."

"I'm busy right now. Whatever it is you want can wait."

   Pattie took a faltering step forward and then froze as if she wasn't sure what to do or say next. "But...bu-"

Jack exhaled out loud before bringing his focus back to me. "I'll explain everything later. Give me a minute," he said, letting go of my wrists and stepping away.

   I frowned.
Was he abandoning me and our intimate moment for the sake of that demon?
   
Surprised and upset, I watched Jack make his way to Pattie in small steps that hid his limping. He grabbed her by her arm and both vanished down the stairs as low muffles floated in the air from them.
   They sounded like they were arguing.
That was good.

But still, he had forsaken me right in the middle of a special moment.