“Us?” There was an ”us”?
“Yes.”
Helen looked toward the back of the store, where Yvette had discreetly disappeared, with trepidation. “I’m not sure if this is the place for a conversation involving us.”
“We can make love here, but we can’t talk here?”
“Griffin!” The things he said.
“You slay me.”
“I will if you don’t stop making me blush.”
“Then you’re going to have to, because I love to see your cheeks burn for me.”
I’m not going to blush more.
I’m not going to blush more.
“I really enjoyed being with you today.”
“I enjoyed myself as well.” Okay, that sounded really lame. She was definitely going to have to work on being more chic.
“I’d like to do it again.”
“Now?”
Griffin chuckled. “No, not now, and before you ask, not here, either. I was kind of hoping that next time we could use a bed — hell, a couch, even.”
“A bed would be nice.”
“What else do you think would be nice?”
“What do you mean?”
“I want you to plan our next rendezvous. Having you here was a fantasy of mine. I wanted to see you ruffled and decked out in nothing but lace and that sexy flush you seem to wear like a dainty pearl necklace whenever you’re around me. Let me tell you, Helen, you certainly know how to make a fantasy pale in comparison to reality.”
“What a compliment.”
“What an experience.” Griffin waggled his brows teasingly. “Speaking of experiences, we’ve brought one of my fantasies to life, now it’s your turn.”
“To do what?”
“To bring a fantasy to life.”
“I don’t have any fantasies.”
Or at least, she didn’t think she did. To be truthful, Helen was just excited she could officially boast, if she were one to boast about these things, that she’d had an orgasm with someone else in the room who wasn’t snoring next to her.
“Sure, you do.”
“No, really, I don’t.” Helen shrugged her shoulders halfheartedly, feeling more upset for Griffin than she did for herself. The poor guy looked completely amazed at her declaration.
“Not a single one? Nothing that you’ve always wanted to do, but never had the opportunity to try?”
Because it seemed so important to him, Helen took a moment to think. Still nothing came to mind, nothing she’d be willing to say aloud at any rate. She shook her head regretfully.
“Now that’s a damn shame. We’re just going to have to rectify this somehow.” Griffin had a mischievous look in his eyes.
“I don’t know if I like the sound of this.” Helen wanted to have fantasies, she really did. But she had been a teenage mother and an abused wife. She had no basis to even know what to fantasize about.
“Well, here’s your mission, if you’re willing to accept it. I want you to do some research and find out about all the sexy, dirty, nasty little things people do in their bedrooms and kitchens and, hell, even out in public. Then we’ll get together this weekend, and you can tell me all about them.”
“I could never talk to you about that.” Helen waved her hand for effect.
“Oh, yes, you can, even if we have to turn out the lights while you do it. You have more gumption than any woman I know, and you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Helen knew it was reverse psychology, telling her he was proud of her doing something she didn’t really want to do in the first place, but it worked like a charm. She was almost looking forward to going home and getting on the computer.
“But what if I don’t like some of the things I find out about?”
Helen was worried she’d discover some sick, disgusting sexual practice that would put her out of the mood for the next fifty years. She couldn’t wait until she was one hundred for another mind-blowing orgasm.
“I don’t expect you’ll like everything you find. You may not like half the stuff you discover.” Griffin’s voice lowered, and he leaned in close, so she could feel his breath on her neck as he spoke. “But I’m hoping you’ll find something that gets you hot and bothered. Something that has you squirming to know more. Something you’d never think you’d be able to ask for, but that I can give you.”
“Okay.” Her response sound benign, but who was she kidding? She was practically squirming right now, and he wasn’t even touching her.
“Good girl. Now don’t forget, I expect you to be wearing some of this fancy underwear when we get together again. Maybe I can convince you to give me a fashion show.”
“Today’s show didn’t get too far.” Helen could feel the blush creeping up her face. She was definitely going to have to learn to control her wayward flushes.
“Too far? With you, I don’t think that’s even a possibility.”
“You haven’t seen what I come up with yet.”
“I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
“You’re an odd man. You know that, right?”
“You wouldn’t be the first to mention it.” Griffin laughed. Helen liked the way he laughed; heck, there wasn’t much she didn’t like about him, but liking him and getting involved with him were two separate things. “Before we go further, I think there’s something I need to make absolutely clear.”
“Okay.”
“I’m not looking for a relationship or…”
“Didn’t we go through this already?”
Griffin’s bored toned rankled Helen a bit. “Yes, but I’ve noticed you have a very annoying habit of hearing what you like to hear.”
“You have a very annoying habit of beating a dead horse.” His eyes twinkled with amusement. “Don’t worry, Helen, I read you loud and clear. You don’t want to get into a real relationship with me. You just want to use me for my body.”
“That’s not what I said.” Helen was outraged at his audacity.
“It’s what you’re implying. I’m good enough to bring you pleasure, but not good enough for you to date.”
Helen wanted to pull her hair out in frustration. He was completely twisting her words around to suit his own purpose. “You’re trying to drive me crazy, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“It’s not going to work.”
“No more than your asinine effort to put our relationship — and that is what we’re having — in a box with a label. Life isn’t that simple, Helen, and neither am I. If you don’t want to wear my letterman jacket, I’m okay with it, but don’t assume sex is the only thing that will be between us. How far we go is up to you, as long as you recognize the only thing holding us back is you.”
“This isn’t a relationship,” Helen grumbled, refusing to give in to his Gestapo tactics.
“Keep telling yourself that, love.” Griffin leaned into her, brushing a quick kiss across her pouting lips. When he pulled back, Helen could read the amusement swimming in his eyes. “Just keep telling yourself that.”
*
As he pulled up in Marc’s driveway Griffin couldn’t help the smile coming to his face. Helen had called him earlier in the day, shyly inviting him over to her condo for dinner. He couldn’t understand how the woman who had three children and was willing to have sex with him in a lingerie shop could be shy about asking him over for dinner, but that was the enigma of Helen. She was definitely her own unique person, and he loved every aspect about her.
Griffin stopped abruptly as he was easing himself out of the car.
Had he just said he loved Helen?
Okay, he logically knew people always talked about loving things.
“I love ice cream” and “I love this television show” didn’t mean a long-term relationship. Although he teased Helen about her reluctance to be in a relationship, he wondered if he was ready to go the extra step himself. Fortunately, before he could psychoanalyze himself into the nut house, Marc interrupted his thoughts.
“Are you going to come in, old man, or just stand there staring off into space all day?”
Griffin pulled his briefcase off the seat, got out the car, and closed the door, stalking toward the house. “Old man, my ass. I could outdo guys half my age.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to hear about you doing anything or anybody, if you get my drift.”
They walked into the house together and headed toward Marc’s office. Easing into the comfortable leather chair, Griffin took the drink Marc handed him.
“So you want to tell me what you meant by that remark before I hand over these papers?”
Marc didn’t even pretend to misunderstand Griffin’s meaning. Taking a deep drink, he shook his head before answering the question. “Man, I warned you this wouldn’t turn out well. Now I know a whole lot more about my mother-in-law than I ever thought I would.”
Griffin was sure Helen wouldn’t broadcast their encounter to the world at large, but he couldn’t help squirming in his seat as he wondered just what Marc knew. Of course, outwardly he remained calm, lifting a brow in question at Marc’s implication. They had been friends too many years, and Marc knew exactly what Griffin was waiting for.
“Lily went over to Helen’s yesterday to invite her to lunch and found her surfing the net. Looking at sex sites. My God, man, what the fuck is going on? Wait, stop, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.” Marc took another big swig of his drink. “I had to spend an hour calming Lily down. She was very upset, and you don’t want to upset a pregnant woman whose hormones are wacky and who is throwing up on the hour. It’s not a pretty picture.”
In the midst of all of Marc’s bluster, Griffin focused on one thing. “What type of sex sites?”
Marc blanched as he banged his glass down on the desk in outrage. “Are you listening to yourself? My mother-in-law shouldn’t be looking at sex sites.”
“Why not?”
“Because…because…it’s just wrong.”
“There’s nothing wrong about a woman searching to find ways of pleasuring herself. If I recall correctly, it’s exactly what you did with Lily.”
“We’re not talking about Lily; we’re talking about her mother. Mother, for goodness’ sake. If you don’t understand the gross-out factor here, then there’s something seriously wrong with you.”
Try as he might, Griffin couldn’t help the chuckle that rose from deep inside of him. “Do you really think you have the patent on sex? Or that your generation was the first to experience orgasms?”
“I want you to stop seeing her.”
“I want you to lay off the drugs. There’s no future in them, Marc.”
“There’s no future with Helen for you.”
Amusement gone, Griffin crossed his arms over his chest, unwilling to back down. “Says who?”
“Damn it, Griffin, why are you being so stubborn?”
“Because I care about her.”
“Care…” Marc sat down dejectedly. “Griffin, you’re not the marrying kind.”
“I would have said the same about you a year ago.” Griffin wanted to be angry with Marc, truly he did, but he could see that underneath all of his bluster and bite was concern, and for that, he loved him. “Neither Helen nor I are looking for marriage, and even if we were, our decision has nothing to do with you. We’re adults, conducting ourselves in an adult-like manner, and we don’t need or want your approval.”
“That’s just it, Griff, it’s not my approval you’ll need. You might not recall what it was like with Tweedledum and Tweedledee, but let me refresh your memory. Those two are overprotective and crazy. Not a combination a sane person wants to deal with.”
“We’re talking about me, Marc. What does sane have to do with it?”
“Griff, you’re being unreasonable. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Go somewhere else to sow your wild oats and stop pissing in my backyard. I’m going to be a father soon. I can’t handle the pressure.”
“Marc, you take care of Lily, and I’ll take care of her brothers. And don’t worry about Helen. She can take care of herself.”
*
Griffin wondered what Helen had planned for dinner tonight. Sure, he was interested in her cooking; after all, he was a single man who’d had to cook for himself for more years than he cared to admit. But after his conversation with Marc, Griffin was more interested in the other aspects of the evening Helen might have planned. The idea that she was surfing sex sites had gotten him thinking, and he just hoped she was on the menu as dessert.
Knocking on the door, Griffin found himself straightening his tie and laughed aloud at the ridiculous picture he must be making. He was as nervous as a senior on prom night. He even had the pocketful of condoms to prove it. The porch light flipped on, blinding him for a moment as Helen swung open the door.
“Come on in.” Her voice still had that shy quality, but there seemed to be a hint of seduction behind it, too. Or maybe he was just as horny as a teenager and all he could think about was sex.
“I wasn’t sure what you were making, so I brought a white Merlot.”
“It’s perfect. I thought we could grill salmon steaks and eat out on the patio.” Helen waved him through the sliding glass doors and turned away. “I’m just going to get a few things from the kitchen.”
“Let me help you.” Griffin wanted to spend more time taking in the gorgeous woman in front of him. Helen was wearing a sarong skirt, loosely belted around her waist, with a flowing blouse that sometimes covered and sometimes revealed a form skimming tee shirt underneath. He wondered, if he pulled on the knot of her skirt, would the entire thing fall apart and pool at her feet? It was something he would have to file away for later.
“Thanks. If you can take these trays —” Helen handed him a tray with the steaks and another on top with vegetables. “— I’ll get the rest of this stuff.”
Griffin headed out toward the patio as Helen rushed around him to quickly open the door.
“Let me fire up the grill.” Griffin promptly took over the manly art of grilling food while Helen skewered the vegetables. “So, how have things been the last couple of days?” He wondered if she would reveal the internet sex surfing.
Helen blushed prettily before answering. “It was very interesting, definitely interesting.”
“Do tell.” Griffin couldn’t wait to hear her talk about the kinky sex sites she might have discovered.
“Let’s just say I’m changing the locks on my door and making sure none of my children have keys.”
“I like the sound of that, but would you care to go into more detail as to why?”
“No.”
“No, you wouldn’t care to, or no, you won’t?”
Helen grinned as she handed him the veggies. “I’m willing to bet you already know.”
“I definitely got the washed-out version.”
“From Marc?”
“Who heard it from Lily.”
“Isn’t it wonderful how the grapevine works?”
Griffin chuckled as he turned the fish over. Helen didn’t sound too worried about her encounter with Lily, and if she wasn’t concerned, neither was he. Despite everyone’s attempt at sheltering Helen, she was making it remarkably clear she didn’t need their protection.
“So what sites were you looking at?”
“It wasn’t as sordid as all that.”
“How disappointing.”
The sound of Helen’s laughter drifted around Griffin, arousing him quicker than Playboy ever could. “You really should have seen her face.” Helen’s voice rose several octaves higher as she pretended to be Lily. “Mother, what are you doing?”
“What did you say?”
“I told her if she didn’t know, then we had a lot of things we needed to talk about.”
“I’m sure that went over well.”
“Not as well as when I told her that I expected her to knock before entering my house.”
“You didn’t.” Well, hell, his Helen was comin
g all out.
“I did. She even had the nerve to ask me why, to which I firmly replied, because if looking at the Kama Sutra online is sending you into convulsions, walking in on Griffin and me acting it out will definitely kill you.”
“Oh, shit.” Griffin couldn’t believe his ears. “No wonder Marc was up in arms.”
“You’d think they invented sex.”
“I said practically the same thing today.”
Helen disappeared into the kitchen and returned quickly with flatware. She paused in the middle of setting the table to glance over at Griffin, who’d been watching her every step. With a wicked smile, she said, “So now they know.”
Griffin tried not to read too much into what she said and what she didn’t say, but still, he had to know. “Does it bother you?”
“Does what bother me?”
“That your kids know we’re involved.”
Helen paused for moment, a look of satisfaction on her face.
“You know, I thought it would, days ago, before I knew any better. But I’ve got to say I’ve wised up since then and decided I really don’t care what they think. They are all grown, starting families of their own, and I’m finally going to live the life I was meant to live.” Helen’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, and Griffin smiled in response. Although he might not have had much competition for her favors before, this Helen, the one who looked as if she were lit from within, would be drawing the men like flies. He was looking forward to the challenge.
Sitting down at the table, Helen swung her leg back and forth, briefly giving him a glimpse of her bare leg in the split of her skirt. “I don’t want to imply raising my kids wasn’t a wonderful time, because in many ways it was. But I’ve decided to live my life outside the ‘mom’ box once in a while.”
“Well, I can’t say I’m too upset by the idea.” Griffin checked the fish and veggies one final time before grabbing the plates and filling them. “Dinner is served.”
“It all looks wonderful.” Helen took the plate Griffin handed her as he sat down with the other one.
“So did you really tease Lily about us acting out the Kama Sutra?”
Helen speared a forkful of salmon and blew gently before popping it into her mouth and closing her eyes as she tasted the flavors. Griffin had to adjust his cock thinking about her tasting him with that same look of enjoyment on her face.
Redemption 4 - Helen's Release Page 7
