by Shayla Black
“Yes. And because he tried to tell me when my dad was gravely ill.” She teared up again. “His funeral was this morning.”
“Oh, honey. Come here to Mama Gloria.” The woman enfolded her in a gentle but firm hug. “Let it all out.”
“I don’t want to trouble you with my—”
“You’re not. Trust me. Now…” she crooned. “When did your daddy die?”
“On Sunday, a few minutes after I found out Beck was married.”
“That must have been one hell of a shock.”
“It was even worse because, a few minutes before that, we had finally…” Heavenly grimaced. “You know.”
“Fucked like bunnies?” The woman yanked her head against a maternal shoulder and stroked her back with a comforting caress. “Poor baby. So…was that when Ken took your virginity?”
She jerked away. “He told you?”
“No, but he admitted months ago that he wasn’t seducing you because you were so innocent. Glad he got over that hump…” Gloria laughed at her own joke. “Was he gentle?”
This conversation kept getting weirder. “He and Seth were very, um…tender and—”
“Wait. And Seth?” Gloria looked stunned. “They took you together? For your first time?”
Heavenly squirmed. She didn’t know why she was confiding in Beck’s wife, except the woman’s easy warmth invited confidences. Maybe because she was lonely and at a breaking point? “It wasn’t planned…”
“Don’t get shy with me now, honey. I doubt they’re complaining. But a virgin managing double penetration… I’m impressed. I was in my thirties before I tried that.” She fanned herself and wagged her brows like she’d sure enjoyed it. “Tell me everything. How did this happen? Last I heard, Ken and Seth aren’t exactly friends.”
“For months, they weren’t. The way they sabotaged one another was beyond crazy.”
“Oh? I need details.”
“Well, while I was at Beck’s house for a date, Seth reported Beck dead, so a guy from the morgue came. He interrupted our, um…kissing to search the house for the supposed body. I thought that was bad until I was at Seth’s house a few days later and Beck hired a woman with a sex donkey to put on a show for—”
“A sex donkey?” Gloria doubled over laughing. “Shit, Ken has always been a kinky bastard, but that’s so sick and wrong it’s hysterical.”
A reluctant smile tugged at Heavenly’s lips. “At the time, it was horrifying. But looking back, it’s actually funny.”
“I can only imagine what you must have been thinking. So when did they decide to stop measuring their dicks and give them to you instead?” Gloria asked bluntly.
“When they overheard that I’d offered my virginity to a mutual friend because I didn’t want to give it to my landlord. The thing is, I couldn’t pay my rent and…”
“Ken didn’t pay it for you?” Gloria sounded both stunned and pissed.
“He didn’t know.”
The woman relaxed again. “Because you didn’t tell him. Am I right?”
“It wasn’t his problem.”
“Uh-huh. I’ll bet that didn’t go over well.”
Heavenly winced. “Not so much.”
“You do understand he wants the responsibility of taking care of you, right?”
“Why? He’s already done so much for me.”
Gloria cocked her head. “Let me ask you a question. What if, before your dad died, he’d needed help? Would you have wanted him to suffer or ask you for a hand?”
“That’s different.”
“No, it’s not. Would you have helped him?”
“Of course. My dad was sick for years, and I took care of him. I would have happily done it for the rest of my life.”
“Did you ever consider him a burden?”
The idea horrified her. “Never.”
“Ken feels exactly the same. He’d do anything for you, honey. Anything.” Gloria squeezed her hand. “He loves you.”
“That’s not possible. He… No.” She shook her head in a stunned daze. “We’ve only had three dates over the last three months, so he can’t—”
“He does. He all but admitted that last December, before any of those dates.”
Heavenly sat back in her seat, shocked. “He’s never said that to me.”
“Would you believe him if he had?”
She shook her head. “I know he cares…but he’s been so kind that I thought he was helping a friend.”
“Kind?” She snorted. “We’re talking about the same man, right? Honey, I’ve known Ken a long damn time. He doesn’t help anyone except his patients and the people he loves. So unless you’ve got a vascular issue…”
“I don’t.”
“Then he loves you.” Gloria sent her a pointed stare. “So…you were saying that he and Seth found out you tried to give away your V-card. Oh, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. What then?”
Heavenly flushed. “Long story short, they saved me from my lecherous landlord, helped me get my dad into a different hospital…and then found out I’d been working at Bazookas since before Christmas.”
Gloria’s eyes flared. “Oh, shit. Ken didn’t take that well, either, did he?”
“Not even a little bit. Neither did Seth. I thought they were going to punch my assistant manager into next week. But after we got everything out in the open—or so I thought—one thing led to another and…”
“The clothes came off and the banging was on.” The woman grinned. “Were the orgasms good?”
Beck’s wife wanted to hear how much she’d enjoyed pleasure from her husband? “Um…”
“Since you’re blushing from head to toe, I’ll take that as a yes. Keep going. Your dad fell ill, you found out that Beck and I were getting divorced, and…what? You thought I needed to know that my husband was a cheating prick?”
“Something like that.”
“Oh, lord… What did you tell him before you left?”
“Nothing.” She winced. “After my father’s funeral, I hopped in a girlfriend’s car and drove away. I’m going to Wisconsin to spread his ashes. Then…I’ll figure out what’s next for me.”
For a split second, Gloria looked stunned. Then she smoothed her expression. “Let’s talk through your options and figure this out.”
“I’ve already taken too much of your time and blurted way more than you wanted to hear. I’ll just head to my motel and—”
“Don’t be silly. You just got here. Let’s open a bottle of wine and talk. Sit right there. Red or white?”
Heavenly hesitated. But why run off? Gloria didn’t seem to mind…and talking to her was surprisingly therapeutic, maybe because she didn’t seem to be judging at all. “I like white if you have it.”
“I’ll be back in two shakes.” Gloria headed around the corner.
“Baby, where are my brown socks?” a leanly muscled stranger with salt-and-pepper hair shouted as he sauntered down the stairs and entered the adjoining kitchen wearing nothing but a towel and a smile. When he caught sight of her, he stopped short. “Hi. I didn’t hear the doorbell. Sorry.” He snagged Gloria by the arm. “You didn’t tell me we had company.”
We? Did the man live here?
His eyes narrowed. “Did you answer the damn door while I was in the shower? You know you’re not supposed to.”
Gloria sighed. “Don’t stare at me like that. I’m in one piece. I looked out the peephole first.”
“I still don’t like it.” He nodded toward Heavenly. “Is she here for a job? She’s pretty. You could charge double for her.”
“Isn’t she gorgeous? But she’s Ken’s.” She smiled tightly. “This is Heavenly.”
On that note, she rose to give Gloria and her nearly naked man some privacy. “It was nice to meet you. Thank you for listening and not hating me. I’m really sorry to have intruded. I didn’t know you were…busy. I’ll be on my way.”
“Don’t you dare. Sit down, honey. By the way, this is Buddy.
He’s my fiancé.”
Fiancé?
Heavenly’s mouth fell open. Had Gloria strayed from the marriage first and asked for the divorce? Had she broken Beck’s heart?
The redhead turned to the barely clad man. “Check the dryer for your socks, and for god’s sake, put some pants on.” Then Gloria looked her way and held up a finger. “I’m going to run to the wine cellar, honey. Two seconds. Don’t leave.”
“What do you want to do about the girls tonight?” Buddy called after her.
She turned back. “Crap. Give Trinity a call and see if she can keep an eye on them, would you?”
Girls?
Heavenly swallowed, feeling utterly ill. “You and Beck have…children?”
“Fuck no! We, um… No. I’ll explain once we have wine. Don’t leave.”
With that, Gloria disappeared, her heels clicking across the hardwood floor. In a daze, Heavenly stood and wandered out the open doors to the expansive patio, staring at the pool beyond, illuminated with a peaceful glow by the approaching sunset. A warm breeze swept through the yard. Fluffy clouds gathered above.
She tried to absorb everything Gloria had told her. Even if she’d listened to Beck’s explanations, she would never have believed him. Who would? This situation was beyond surreal. Heck, even Gloria had told her the marriage wasn’t traditional and she still didn’t truly comprehend.
Heavenly stood outside until the sun slid farther toward the horizon, the crickets sang, and the wind picked up while the temperature dropped.
Behind her, heels clicked again. “I’m back. Pouring vino now.”
Heavenly turned and wandered back inside. “You have a lovely house. Did Beck live here with you?”
“No. I bought this place myself long after he moved to LA. Have a seat.” She set a glass of wine on the table beside a plate of cheese and crackers. “Drink. You must have a million questions.”
“That’s an understatement.” Heavenly sipped the surprisingly light wine and gathered her thoughts. If Gloria was willing to tell all, she would listen. “Did you two separate a long time ago? Is that why you don’t have kids?”
“Ken and I were never married in the usual sense of the word. We weren’t in love and we didn’t plan to stay married this long.”
Apparently he’d been telling the truth. Heavenly felt guilty that she hadn’t believed him.
“Didn’t he tell you how we met?” Gloria asked.
“No. I only knew your name and where you lived because I saw the petition for divorce fall out of his pocket.”
“Right after he popped your cherry. Oh, hell. No wonder you thought the worst.” Gloria sighed. “Honey, I’m a madam.”
Just like that, the weirdness got weirder. Heavenly gulped more vino. “You manage prostitutes?”
“High-class ones, and I prefer the term pleasure consultants. But at the end of the day, we’re working girls. Well, I used to be. It’s damn nice not making my living on my back anymore.”
Heavenly felt her eyes bulge. “You were a…”
“Hooker? Whore? Lady of the night? Yep. Don’t worry about offending me. I’ve heard them all.”
“And Beck knew?”
She nodded. “When we met, he was a kid living on the streets while I was working. And no, he wasn’t a customer.”
Beck had been homeless? “How old was he?”
“Sixteen. And before you ask me about his past, that’s his story to tell. I won’t break his confidence.”
“Of course not.” But as Heavenly sucked down the last of her wine, she wished she already knew everything.
“Here.” Gloria rushed to the kitchen, grabbed the bottle, then hustled back to pour her more. “Drink up. You need it.”
Heavenly didn’t balk, especially since she was beginning to relax in a way she hadn’t thought possible an hour ago.
“Anyway…” Gloria went on. “I couldn’t turn my back on him. He was young and had a massive chip on his shoulder. He needed help. After he extricated me from a sticky situation, we decided to stay together.”
“And get married?”
“It made sense at the time. Ken was always a strapping boy. Even at sixteen, he looked at least twenty-one. He was strong as an ox, angry as fuck, and always willing to fight. That made him damn good at keeping greedy pimps and violent johns from hurting me.”
Heavenly pressed a hand to her mouth. Gloria was so petite. Of course being with strangers in the sex trade was dangerous. “Oh, my goodness.”
“You know how fiercely protective Ken can be.”
Heavenly nodded. “He and Seth almost killed my landlord.”
“The fact they didn’t shows surprising restraint.”
After she emptied her glass, another wave of warmth wended through Heavenly’s veins. So many questions dive-bombed her that she wasn’t sure what to ask next. “So you married Beck…and then what? How long did he live with you?”
“About five years. But you want to know if we’ve ever fucked, don’t you? I’m not going to lie. We have. That boy needed someone to show him how to treat a woman, but we haven’t had sex in well over a decade and a half.”
Heavenly’s jaw dropped. “Even though you’re married?”
She shrugged. “We quickly figured out that we were better friends than lovers.”
“Why?” They both seemed kind, smart, interesting… “Did Beck think he couldn’t love someone in your line of work?”
Gloria laughed. “No, he never had a problem with that. Hell, his prom date was one of my girls. I was just never going to be who he needed.”
After the woman refilled her glass, Heavenly downed more wine. She had to have more liquid fortification for this conversation. “What do you mean?”
Gloria leaned in. “He’s always craved someone soft and sweet. Submissive. Someone like you. Besides, I never saw myself as the marrying kind. I mean, Ken and I were legally hitched, but neither of us ever considered ourselves committed. Hell, when I started dating Buddy, it didn’t occur to me to mention it until he tossed around the M word.”
Was that the same reason Beck hadn’t told her? Had it seemed that unimportant? “What did Buddy do when he found out?”
“Same as you. He walked out the door. But I hauled his ass back and explained.” A smile lurked at the corner of her mouth. “That was some damn great make-up sex, let me tell you. We busted his bed that night.”
Heavenly found herself blushing. “So you’re divorcing Beck to marry Buddy.”
“No, honey. I’ll admit the timing works for me. But Ken is divorcing me for you.”
Heavenly’s heart stuttered to a stop before it slammed against her ribs. Her thoughts tangled like a cheap string of Christmas lights. She reared back, then reached out to steady herself. Lord, when had she gotten so dizzy?
“Heavenly?”
“I’m fine,” she lied, chugging the rest of her wine. “Just having a moment…”
“I shocked you.”
A witty reply—and a few thousand questions—rumbled through her sluggish brain. All she could manage was a mumbled “Uh-huh.”
“You look pale. When did you last eat?”
“Um…” Heavenly tried to remember. “Breakfast. Kind of. Beck and Seth made me choke down some toast.”
“Oh, shit. Cheese and crackers aren’t enough. Let’s get you some real food.” Gloria stood. “Buddy!”
He slid around the corner in his brown socks, worn jeans, and a plain tan tee. “Need something, baby?”
“Heavenly hasn’t eaten—”
“I’ll be fine. I don’t want to”—she hiccupped—“impose.”
“You’re not.” She turned to Buddy. “You hear her?”
What?
“She needs something to soak up the booze,” he agreed. “Chinese? Mexican? Burgers?”
Gloria looked her way. “Honey?”
She couldn’t imagine eating now. “Really, I’ll just drive through somewhere on the way to my motel.”
&nbs
p; “You’re in no shape to drive anywhere now. I might have fucked half the cops and judges in this town, but even I couldn’t keep you out of jail tonight if you got pulled over for DUI, and Ken would kill me if I let that happen.”
“He doesn’t know I’m here. But I miss him. And Seth.” She frowned, her thoughts jumbled. “Why would Beck divorce you for me? Unless he’s thinking about—”
“Marrying you? Honey, mentally he’s already put a ring on your finger and knocked you up twice.”
Liam and Hammer had said something remarkably similar last month. She’d heeded them then and tried to walk away…only to fall back into Beck’s and Seth’s arms because she couldn’t help herself.
“I don’t know what to do. I feel sick.” And that wasn’t the alcohol talking.
“Aww, honey… Take a couple of deep breaths.” Gloria patted her hand, then turned to Buddy. “Burgers. Stat.”
“Back in ten.” He grabbed his keys and was out the door.
Heavenly blinked. “Afterward, I really should get to my motel. I have a reversation. A recitation. No. A res-er-vat-ion. Yeah. That.”
Gloria smothered a laugh. “Tell me where and I’ll cancel it. You’re sleeping in my guest room tonight. No arguments.”
Though she felt a little guilty, here would be much nicer than her grungy motel. “The Downtowner, but—”
“On Eighth Street?”
She nodded. “I prepaid for my room.”
“How much?”
“Twenty whole dollars.”
Gloria tsked. “I’ll give you a hundred to stay with me.”
Heavenly frowned. “That math doesn’t make sense.”
“It does to me. While we wait for Buddy, why don’t you tell me about Seth, honey?”
“He’s hot. So hot.” She got worked up just thinking about him. “And his tongue…”
“You gotta love a man with a good tongue.” Gloria winked.
“But he’s also strong. Spontaneous and funny. And so thoughtful. He makes me feel special.”
“How did you meet him?”
“At the hospital. When Raine—” She gasped, then remembered her promise. “Crap, I have to text her.”
Heavenly groped for her purse on the floor and, after some fumbling, managed to pull the unfamiliar burner phone free. Bless her, Raine had already programmed her number in.
