Welcome To My World (Hell Yeah!)

by Sable Hunter

  Making his way into his home, Bowie chunked his Stetson over to one side and decided to shower while he came up with a plan. Cassie’s place was just down the road a few miles but he didn’t figure she’d welcome him just dropping in. The fact that he didn’t have her phone number irritated the crap out of him. What had he been thinking? As Bowie mulled over his mistakes, he shucked his clothes and headed for the bathroom. Maybe the hot water would help him come up with a strategy.

  Stepping under the refreshing spray, Bowie let his mind travel back to the night he’d met Cassie. Why couldn’t he forget her? For him, wanting to contact her was about more than just returning her bracelet. It was also tied up with the look of desolation on her face, the hopeless shadows that had clouded her eyes after he’d asked her to dance. Hell! What was he going to do? Every word they’d said to one another—the teasing, the banter, the conversation—came pouring back through his mind. And then it dawned on him. Circle C Candles. Bowie laughed. “Now, I know how I’ll get in touch with you.” Rinsing the soap from his body, he ignored his erection. He’d been ignoring it for days. Every time he thought of Cassie, he got hard and Bowie refused to do anything about it. Maybe after he saw her today, he’d get her out of his system and get on with his life. Maybe.

  * * *

  “Almost done here and then you can watch The Good Wife,” Cassie mumbled, making a promise to herself as she lowered the fire on a pot of wax. Thank goodness for the DVR. She had splurged and allowed the cable company to install one. “I just hope the Amazing Race didn’t run overtime this week and mess up my recording.” Suddenly the fact that she was having a running conversation with herself hit Cassie with a wave of sadness. She was lonely. Resentment rolled up her spine like fire. Why did the accident have to happen? Why her? Tears cascaded down her cheeks. Cassie knew she’d always be alone. No man would ever want her. No man would ever ask her to marry him.

  BUZZ! BUZZ! The phone ringing made her jump. Cassie didn’t get many phone calls. She wheeled over to grab it, answering in a voice that was a little out of breath. “Hello?”

  “Is this Circle C Candles Customer Service?”

  “Yes.” Cassie’s head swam. Oh, goodness, what was this all about? “May I help you?” Her caller was a man. She pushed her hair over her shoulder, trying to regain some composure. A man with a very sexy voice, she might add.

  “I looked on your website and this number was listed as the one to call if there was a complaint to be made.”

  A complaint? “Sir?” What could have happened? Wrong color? Wrong scent? Wrong address? Bad wicks? “I’m so, so sorry.” She gulped and tried to get her words to come out straight. “What is the nature of your complaint?” Oh, this was bad.

  “Well, I have two.” He paused.

  “Two?” Cassie was trembling. She’d never had a complaint before.

  “Yea,” Bowie said, choking back a laugh. He was beginning to feel a bit guilty. This number was the only one he’d found on her website. Obviously it was her. He’d never forget that sexy, husky little voice. “My first complaint is that you left Arkey Blue’s without giving me a chance to say goodbye. And my second is that you throw your jewelry around like Mardi Gras beads. I found your beach bracelet out in the front as I was leaving.”

  Several seconds passed before Cassie lined up her thoughts into a coherent chain. When she did, her heart skittered, butterflies took flight in her stomach and—swear to God, her knees knocked. It wasn’t really possible, but they knocked. “Bowie?”

  “Yea, darlin’, it’s Bowie.”

  Darling, he’d called her darling! “You scared me,” she whispered.

  Sizzle! Spark! Splash! “Oh, God! Bowie, my pot’s boiling over! I have to go.” She threw down the cell and went to rescue her pink rose wax.

  “Cassie?” Bowie tried to figure out what was going on. “Cassie?” What the heck? But when he heard her cry out in pain, there was no way he could be still. “I’ll be there in a minute!” he yelled, pocketed the phone and headed out the door.

  * * *

  Dang it. Dang it. Dang it. Cassie held her arm under the water flow of the bathroom sink. She’d heard of using hot wax in BDSM play but this wasn’t the same. Her sensual thoughts while in pain made her snort. “You’re pathetic, Cassie.” Yea, she read romance novels like they were going out of style. She didn’t own a Kindle but the free app on her computer stayed busy. It didn’t take too many sparks to the synapses in her brain to move from BDSM to romance novel to… “Bowie!” Bowie had called her and she’d hung up on him. “No, no, no,” she moaned.

  Bang! Knock!

  “Cassie!”

  What in the world? She turned off the water and started to back out of the bathroom. Okay, the pain must have been worse than she thought because Cassie was hallucinating. She knew better, but the voice sounded a lot like Bowie’s.

  “Hold on, I’m coming!”

  “Where are you, honey? It’s Bowie!”

  The staccato beat of boots on the wooden floor left her in no doubt he was in her house and swiftly coming toward her. “I’m in the bathroom.”

  “I’m calling an ambulance.”

  “No!” She managed to call, as she began to move the chair backward. “I’m fine. You’re—”

  “Right behind you.”

  He announced and she clasped her hand to her breast, even though she’d known it was him and he was about to appear. Still the sight of the big man in her small bathroom, looking more handsome than a mortal had a right to look, was just overwhelming.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? Let me see.” Before she could protest, he had her wheeled down the hall and back to her living room.

  “It wasn’t bad.” Every one of her senses was fully engaged. She couldn’t get enough of looking at him, listening to him, or even smelling him. He must’ve just got out of the shower because he smelled like one of her ocean candles with a hint of musk. Parts of her body were celebrating his nearness, parts that she hadn’t known were in really good working order.

  Kneeling at her feet, he checked out the long burn mark on the inside of her arm. It was red, angry and beginning to blister. “Do you have some aloe ointment?”

  “Yea, it’s in the bottom cabinet next to the sink.” She started to tell him that it wasn’t hurting anymore. All she could feel right now was excitement about him. Bowie. In her house!

  Bowie squatted. Bottom cabinet. Hmmm. Odd place to keep medicine. “Here it is.” Then, it hit him. Her cabinets were all normal height. She’d have the devil of a time reaching anything. “Damn.” That’s why she burned herself. “You pulled that pot down on top of you, didn’t you?” Yep, there was wax all over the floor.

  “I leaned up to grab it and got overbalanced.” Cassie started to explain more about her struggles, but he knew she was in a chair. “Usually, I manage pretty good.”

  Bowie harrumphed, he actually harrumphed. She stifled a giggled as he hunkered down next to her and gently spread the cool lotion on the burns. Frissons of awareness danced across her skin. “Thank you,” she murmured. This was totally unbelievable.

  “Hold on, one more thing to do.” Without even asking, he found a dishrag and a case knife and went to work scraping and cleaning the wax off the floor.

  “You don’t have to do that,” she protested.

  “All done!” He smiled after a few seconds. When he faced her again, he could see she was a bit embarrassed. “It was nothing. Glad to do it.”

  “Thank you.” She was grateful. The only problem was that this fiasco just drew his attention to how different she was than other women. And Cassie didn’t want to be different. “I’m sorry.”

  “Hey!” Bowie went to her, kneeling by the chair, lifting her pretty face with one finger under her chin. “Did you think after hearing you scream in pain that I wouldn’t come? What do you think neighbors are for?”

  “I’ve done it before. It’s no big deal.” Cassie clenched her hands into fists. She wasn’t angry, sh
e was trying to keep from grabbing him. He was mere inches from her face! The man was almost edible and she had been on a lifelong starvation diet when it came to romance and sex.

  To add to her agitated state, Bowie enclosed her wrist in one big hand and turned her arm over. “How does it feel, does it still hurt?”

  “No, it’s better.” Truthfully, it was. “The aloe works wonders.” Actually, him touching her was more healing than any medicine could be. She was so aware of him—how broad he was, the strength of his biceps, the thickness of his forearms and especially the kind light shining in his eyes. “Could I offer you something to drink?”

  Not wanting to rush off, Bowie pulled out a kitchen chair. “That sounds good. What have you got?”

  She laughed at his seeming enthusiasm. “Well, cola, coffee or chocolate milk?”

  A sexy groan almost caused her to run into the cabinet as she headed to the other side of the table.

  “Hmmm, no contest, chocolate milk.”

  “Smart man.” She acknowledged his good taste. Opening the fridge she took down a half gallon of milk and headed over to get a glass.

  While she was getting his drink, Bowie had been scoping out her house. It was comfortable, colorful and welcoming—just like her. Everything was soothing earth tones with splashes of blue and green. “I see you have the beach theme going on here too. Which reminds me!” He was about to dig in his pocket and extract the charm bracelet, but when he turned around, he nearly croaked watching her stretch and strain to get a glass down. “Here, let me get that, baby doll.”

  Cassie almost had it—almost! It was on the tips of her fingers. If she could have stood up, just a bit, she could’ve reached it, but she also would’ve moaned or groaned in pain and that was one thing she wasn’t ready to share with Mr. Bowie. Got it! With one finger she pulled it forward and it fell right off the shelf, right smack dab into his waiting fingers. “Yay! We did it.” No use being glum. He handed it to her and she poured it. Her height in the chair always made her seem like a child when she tried to work at the cabinets, like a little girl who wasn’t quite tall enough to be of much use to anyone.

  “Yes, we did.” He didn’t say anything else. Bowie didn’t want to make her self-conscious but as he looked around her house, he saw that it could in no way be construed as handicap friendly. Now, he was really going to worry.

  “Sit down, Bowie, please.” Since his rescue of her glassware, he was still on his feet, making her feel out of balance with him. “Here you go.” She pushed a full glass of chocolate drink toward him. “I do appreciate you driving over here so fast. It could have been worse, so I am in your debt.”

  “Nonsense.” Bowie waved it off as he settled into the straight back chair. “Now, about those complaints I need to file with you.”

  Cassie laughed, a sweeter sound he’d never heard.

  “You do realize you aged me ten years,” she chastised him. “I kept trying to imagine what I’d done wrong.”

  Bowie sobered. “You didn’t do anything wrong but I needed for you to know I came back to find you at the bar just like I said I would.”

  Cassie realized his tone had changed. He was trying to make amends, not for himself but for every guy who had let her down in the past. “Bowie, I…” She paused. Just because he was a consummate gentleman did not mean he should be required to do something he would never have chosen to do in the first place—like spend time with the crippled girl. “I enjoyed the few minutes we spent together very much.”

  “So, why did you run?” Bowie didn’t know why he was pushing it. Did he want to date her?

  Cassie could feel her cheeks grow pink. Using the same gesture she had succumbed to since childhood, she covered her face with both hands. “I guess I just didn’t know what to do with you.”

  Bowie felt a tug on his heartstrings. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, I’ve never heard it put quite that way before. But I have been told I’m a handful.”

  “I bet you are,” Cassie said before she thought and then she blushed crimson.

  Bowie loved it. This reminded him of their fun exchange of one liners when they first met, before the wheelchair got in the way. “Yea, and I have heavy equipment too. Remember?”

  He was teasing her. She knew it, yet Cassie loved it. “Yea, I’d like to see your heavy equipment sometimes.” When his eyes got big as saucers, she let him off the hook. “I know about Malone Earthworks. I drove by it a while back.”

  Dang, the little Angel-face was turning him on. A team of wild horses couldn’t hold back his comment. “If you’ll give me the opportunity, I’ll show you my heavy equipment up close and personal. If you want, I’ll even let you drive.”

  Cassie knew the very second when she stepped from shallow waters to over-her-head. He wasn’t talking about dozers or tractors, he was talking about the bulge behind his zipper. And it did appear to be heavy equipment—and she would give her eyeteeth to be the kind of woman he needed. But Cassie had limitations, sexual limitations. To what extent, she really didn’t know. Honestly, she was afraid to find out. Every time she tried to touch herself, the dread of nothing happening was enough to keep anything from happening. Just the thought of a perfect man like Bowie Travis seeing her useless legs flop around and trying to coax a response from feminine flesh which might be incapable of responding was just too horrifying for words. “I’d probably mishandle your equipment. I’m not a very, uh, experienced driver.” She tried to laugh off their by-play. “Did you say you found my bracelet?”

  “Yes, I did.” He stood up and fished the tiny sterling silver piece of jewelry from the front pocket of his jeans.

  Yea, there it was. She followed the movement of his hand as he dug in the front of his pants, wishing she could go fishing in that particular hole of mystery. When he removed it and held out the delicate silver chain to her, she felt tears rise in her eyes. “Oh, thank you, Bowie.” Impulsively she held her arms up for a hug.

  He wouldn’t have turned her down for the world. Leaning over he accepted her gratitude. She squeezed him tight and planted a sweet kiss on his cheek. A powerful swelling of tenderness swamped Bowie like high tide at Galveston. “You’re welcome, baby.”

  Pulling back, she looped it around her wrist. “I’m going to put it on.”

  “How does your burn feel now?” He realized he must sound like a broken record, but he so wished he could take the pain from her.

  “Not bad.” She smiled up at him. “I’ve had worse.”

  He started to ask for her to explain but he didn’t know how.

  Cassie cleared her throat, seemingly trying to compose herself. “Tell me a Bowie story.” It was always easier to have someone else do the talking. Everything she could say about herself was more than boring.

  “Okay.” He would rather have talked about her instead of himself, but he could break the ice. “I’m a member of a couple of groups who are called upon to locate missing people, either in a wilderness setting or at sea. One group is an equine search team and the other is a dive team.” He took a swallow of the milk, watching her rub the condensation from her glass. He wished she were touching him. Her hands were so small. “Nothing glamorous, but finding people who need my help satisfies me.”

  “I can imagine it does.” She bit her lower lip and he licked his in response.

  Kissing her was a great temptation.

  “You not only help people, but you see the world.”

  Bowie could tell the thought of traveling filled her with longing. “What about you? You make candles, I remember.” He pointed toward the boxes, packed and sealed. There were also several larger ones sitting around. He stood up and moved closer. “This is beautiful.” With a careful touch he ran his finger over a brown candle which had been intricately carved with a picture of a deer running through the woods. “Did you do this?”

  “Yes, I did.” She moved her chair to the left a bit, to be closer. “I’m a frustrated artist, I love to sketch and this isn’t much dif
ferent. Instead of pen and ink, I use wax and a carving tool.” As he moved to another which was carved with a date and flowers, she went on to explain. “I do custom requests to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries, new babies, things like that.”

  “I wouldn’t want to burn it.”

  Cassie giggled. “Most don’t. I treat it with a special lacquer which preserves them quite well, especially if I press flowers or leaves or shells into the hot wax.”

  “You’re very talented.” He was impressed.

  Over the next hour, they talked about everything. Bowie coaxed her to open up and just share with him. She told him about her work at the animal shelter and the nursing home. They discussed serious things—life, politics, religion, and philosophy. His ploy was simple, he was working hard to make her feel at ease with him. Bowie was showing her they had a lot in common and he was interested in her as a person. After he had her laughing about his views on being a vegetarian—he was against it, by the way—Bowie took a sip of the drink, glanced over to the glass door and chuckled. Two pairs of eyes were gazing at him. “I think we’re being watched.”