by Penny Wylder
I smile. “Oh?”
James stands in front of me, our faces close. “I’ve imagined you naked in my bed, and there are few things I want more than to see it.”
I lean forward and kiss him softly, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I think that can be arranged.” I breathe against his lips. Peeling my t-shirt over my head, I let him unclasp my bra and toss it away. James sinks to his knees and then my pants are gone. He leans forward as if to touch me, but I move away, instead crawling across his bed.
His sheets are dark and soft, and I drape myself across them. I turn to look at him and the heat in his eyes is palpable as he takes in the sight of me. I follow his gaze as it moves along every inch of my body, and the pull in my core suddenly makes me think I might want the sex to be sooner instead of later. “Is this what you imagined?” I ask him.
“Much better,” he says, and his voice is hoarse. I don’t have to look at his pants to know that he’s hard. He clears his throat. “Time for your massage.”
“I have a request too,” I say, making him pause. “I never want to see you in that blue polo shirt ever again.”
His smile is slow and sexy. “I think that can be arranged,” he says, pulling the shirt up over his head and tossing it in a corner. The morning light hits his body, highlighting every line. The longer I stare, the more I understand what people mean when they say breathtaking.
James grabs a bottle of lotion from the top of his dresser, reminding me of the last time he did that, heat flooding closer to my core. “I’m rethinking the ‘no sex’ now,” I say.
He laughs. “You’re still exhausted, and in a couple minutes you’re going to feel it again.” He climbs onto the bed with me, turning me over so my back is exposed.
“I’m sure I could stay awake for it,” I mumble into the pillow.
The lotion is cool on my skin, and the movement of James’s hands quickly warms it. His fingers move across my back, strong and slow. He starts at my shoulders, dragging down all the way to my ass and back up, working my skin with his palms. I hate to admit that he’s right, but my exhaustion comes back full force as my body starts relaxing under his hands. He starts a slow path down one side of me, pressing deeply into my muscles.
“You’re very good at this,” I say, though I’m not sure it came out as coherent.
“Thank you.”
I lose myself in the feel of his fingers, and slowly every part of me relaxes. With each stroke of his hand the world falls out from under me, and soon I drift off into sleep.
It’s James’s voice that brings me back to consciousness, but he’s not talking to me. His voice is hushed.
“That’s good,” he says. “I’m really glad to hear that.”
Through the fog I realize that he’s talking on the phone. It’s funny to me, I never imagined him talking on the phone because we have yet to do that with each other. It hasn’t exactly been necessary with him showing up at my house every day.
“Something came up, and it’s important. But tell him hello for me. I’ll be sure to drop by sometime next week. Will he still be at St. Mary’s?”
A silence.
“When does he come home then?”
I work on opening my eyes. I’m still draped across the bed, the windows now showing the light of late afternoon. I’m covered with a blanket now, but still naked. James’s voice comes from behind me.
“Good. Listen, there’s a little bit of a mess in the back corner of the Caldwell residence. I’m sorry about that—I left the wheelbarrow and some tools out there. I’ll text you a list of what I think I left.”
He laughs softly. “Yeah, it has a bit to do with that.” He listens for a moment. When he speaks again his voice softens. “No. I promise that it’s good. It’s a very good thing.”
I can hear the smile in his voice. “All right. Keep me posted, and I’ll give you a heads up when I’m going to come by. Take care.”
There’s a soft tap of his finger against the screen as he hangs up and I hear him set his phone on the nightstand. I stretch, my muscles feeling amazing from the work he did on them. Rolling over to face him, I ask, “Who was that?”
James smiles at me, a brilliant smile that tells me he’s happy I’m awake. He drags me across the bed and pulls me against his body. “That was Mike,” he says.
“Ah, the infamous Mike,” I say. “I’m so happy Mike happened to need this week off.”
“Thank god for Mike,” he agrees, and kisses me. He smoothes an arm down my back, pressing me harder against him as he traces my lips with his tongue. I open my mouth for him, and he plunges into me, reminding me of all the other things he’s done and has yet to do with his tongue. God, I could live forever in his kisses.
I pull away for a breath. “Were you supposed to see him tonight?”
He raises an eyebrow. “I’m hoping you weren’t actually thinking about Mike during that kiss.”
“No,” I say, blushing, “but I don’t want to keep you from seeing your friends.”
James runs a hand along my side, and I suddenly have goosebumps. “It wasn’t anything official. I said I might stop by the hospital.”
It clicks in my brain, then. “You said his dad was having surgery.”
“It was successful. Mike’s been a good friend for a long time, so I know his family. I figured I’d stop by and say hi.” He laughs. “Mike says his dad’s grumpy as hell.”
“We can go,” I say.
“It’s all right. He’s staying in the hospital for a few more days. Right now I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
I make a face. “I’m not made of glass. I’m upset, but it was just an argument. I’ll survive.”
“An argument where your dad threatened to disown you.”
“Still,” I say softly, “it’s only words. There are worse problems to have.”
He looks at me for a moment. “If you really want to go, a visit might cheer him up.”
“Then let’s go. I really mean it.”
“Okay,” he agrees. I try to roll off the bed and he stops me. “That is, if I can stand to let you out of this bed when you look like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you just woke up naked in my bed,” he says, rolling over me and pressing me into the mattress. It feels so good I let out a long sigh.
“I did just do that,” I admit.
“I know,” he whispers, mouth against my neck. “And I can only imagine what you’re going to look like when you wake up in my bed after you’ve been thoroughly fucked.”
My breath is suddenly shallow, and I feel my pussy get wet at the thought. I wrap my legs around his hips and he grinds against me. The fabric of his jeans is rough against my clit, and the grind of it has me gasping already. His mouth slides along my neck, leaving a trail of tingles behind from the heat of his lips and tongue. It’s not enough. I pull his face back to mine as he thrusts against me again, and I groan into his mouth. The muscles of his back are hard under my hands and I can feel the hardness straining in his jeans.
I force myself away from his lips, trying to gather enough breath for speech. “If we don’t stop, we both know that we won’t leave this bed.”
There’s a wicked gleam in his eye. “That sounds like a challenge.”
“Let me up.” My attempts at a stern face dissolve into a smile. “I want to see Mike.”
He groans, but he does let me up. I find my suitcase by the wall and dig through it for some clothes. I’m opting for casual again, since that’s pretty much what I brought. I get dressed quickly and grab my makeup bag, determined to make myself look like I didn’t sleep for half the day.
James pulls a shirt from his closet—a thin long sleeve shirt that clings to his body and makes me stare so long that he notices. He pushes up the sleeves while I’m watching and it just makes the look so much better.
“You’re staring,” he says.
“Guilty,” I grin. I force myself back to the mirror. “It’s just so much
better than the polo shirt.”
He cracks up laughing behind me.
I finish getting ready and within a few minutes we’re back in the car and on our way. “Should we bring something?” I ask. “Maybe cookies?”
“That’s a nice thought,” James says, “but I don’t think that we should bring cookies to a man who just had heart surgery.”
“Fair point.”
We pull up to St. Mary’s hospital, and I find myself suddenly nervous. It’s clear that Mike and his family mean a lot to James, and I don’t want to embarrass him. Maybe he was right—maybe we shouldn’t have come. But it’s too late to turn back now.
James takes my hand as we walk into the hospital. It strikes me how much I like something as simple as walking hand in hand. I don’t know that I’ve ever had that with another boyfriend. If I did, the feeling wasn’t nearly as natural.
Mike’s father is on the third floor, and before I know it we’re there. As soon as we walk into Mr. Willis’s room, I recognize Mike from his work around our house. He’s a little bit shorter than James, with a young face and close-cropped brown hair. I’m suddenly embarrassed by the fact that I never knew his name until James told me. I never cared to know. Just another instance of my own self-absorption. I hope I can make it right.
I see Mike’s eyes go wide as he sees me. Then his gaze moves to my hand entwined with James’s and I think he’s struggling to keep his mouth closed. “Miss Caldwell,” he says, “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
He holds out a hand and I take it with a firm grip and a warm smile. “Hello, Mike. It’s so good to see you again.”
James lets go of me long enough to give his friend one of those complicated guy handshakes before taking my hand again. I’m glad he does.
“I suppose I’ll get none of the attention even though I’m the one who’s admitted?” a voice says.
I look over at the hospital bed, and find that Mr. Willis is not what I was expecting. When James said he was grumpy, I thought he might be a tiny old man, face tangled with frown lines and disapproval. Mr. Willis in reality is closer to Santa Claus with his rosy cheeks and a face that has joy written all over it—even if he is glowering.
“Who did you bring with you, James?”
“Hey, Mr. Willis,” James says, pulling me with him over to the bed. “I’m glad you’re doing well.”
“They’ve failed to kill me so far, though the nurses are certainly doing their best with this sorry excuse for food.”
I laugh in spite of myself, and Mr. Willis’s eyes focus on me again.
“This is Vera Caldwell,” James says. “My…” He looks at me, and I don’t know what he’s going to say. How do you describe us and the backwards way we went about things? “She’s my girlfriend.”
A glow, warm and golden, slides through me as I extend my hand toward Mr. Willis. “It’s nice to meet you. Sorry about the food.”
He pushes his glasses up his nose and inspects me. “Well,” he says, “I can already tell you’re far too good for our James.” I think I see a hint of teasing beneath his cranky facade.
“I doubt that.”
“Well,” he says, “pull up a chair and tell me about yourself and we’ll find out.”
“That’s a good idea,” Mike interrupts from across the room. “I need to talk to James for a minute about picking the slack back up at work. So you two talk, and James and I will step outside.”
“Sure,” I say, nervous as all get out. I tend to be shy with new people. James gives my shoulder a squeeze as he heads for the door, and I’m left alone with Mr. Willis.
“So,” he says, all pretense of a grumpy old man fading away, “what kind of dirt do you want on James? Because I know it all and am happy to give you enough blackmail material to last for the rest of your life.”
My laugh echoes through the room. I think I’m going to like Mr. Willis.
15
James
“Man, are you crazy?” Mike asks me as soon as the door closes behind us. “What on earth are you doing with Vera Caldwell? You trying to get me fired?”
“Don’t worry. Your job is perfectly safe,” I say. “And I don’t know what to tell you. It just…happened.”
“How does that just happen?”
I give him a look. “I’m not going to give you the dirty details.”
Mike shakes his head. “I thought you weren’t into screwing the rich chicks after what happened with Briana?”
“This is different,” I say.
“How?”
I glance through the window in the door, seeing Vera and Mr. Willis laughing together. I have no doubt they’ll be fast friends. There’s no one I can think of that doesn’t like Mr. Willis. “It just is,” I say, shrugging. “There’s something between us. I can’t explain it.”
“So she was the something that came up?”
I clear my throat. “I don’t want to say too much because it’s her business, but she had a fight with her father. The kind of fight that impacts the rest of your life. So she’s staying with me for the weekend.”
“You took her to your house?” I think Mike might collapse from shock.
I look away from him again, watching Vera through the window. “Yeah, I did.”
“Does she know that you never bring anyone to your house?”
“She knows my family history if that’s what you’re asking.” I shove my hands in my pockets.
Mike takes his turn looking through the window and into the room. “Yeah, but does she know you’ve never brought a woman to your house?”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not a conspiracy, Mike. It just never felt right.”
“Then you’re right,” he says. “There is something between you two.”
“Yeah.”
He stretches, his full body extending, and I can hear the bones in his joints crack. “Okay, fine,” he says. “I’m still a little weirded out, but just tell me. How much do you like her?”
I look over at him. “I like her.” I’m not sure how much I can get across with just those three words, but I try, hoping that he understands.
He looks at me for a second. “Okay. Then I’m happy for you, man.”
“Thanks.”
“So those tools you left sitting out…”
I sigh, “They’re in the back corner of the property. I’d bet a large amount of money neither of the Caldwells will go back that far on the grounds in the next couple of days.”
“Fine.”
“But Mike,” I say, “When you do go back, maybe don’t mention me.”
“Because you slept with the boss’s daughter?”
I grin. “Yep.”
He shakes his head. “As long as I’m not fired, I’ll say whatever you need me to say, or not say.”
“You going to be free this week to come work on the Masterson house?”
“Should be.”
“Good,” I say. I pause, unsure how to phrase this. “Seriously, Mike. I know it sounds like I’m glad your father needed surgery—I’m not. But I’m glad that you asked me to cover for you.”
“Because you met her?” he asks.
“Because I met her.”
He laughs, “Man, you’ve got it bad. And don’t tell my dad. If he realizes that he’s responsible for you two being together he’ll never let us forget it.”
“Vera may have already told him.”
Mike looks through the window. “Then let’s go back in before your girlfriend gives it away and my dad has a chance to tell her every bad thing you’ve ever done in your life.”
I laugh under my breath. “No kidding.”
We spend a couple of hours exchanging stories about each other for Vera’s benefit, laughing ourselves hoarse. She was right to make us come here. It’s been good for both of us, and I can see Mr. Willis’s mood lifting as we speak. Whatever small nervousness I had about bringing her here has flown out the window. She fits in perfectly, joking along with us and contributing a few funn
y stories of her own.
When visiting hours are finally over we take our leave, with Mr. Willis giving me a small wink and a thumbs-up as I leave the room. Together, we walk with Mike out to the parking garage and say goodbye. It feels like no time at all before we’re back inside my house.
“That was really fun,” Vera says. “Thanks for letting me go.”
“Are you kidding? Thank you for making me take you. I wanted to stay, remember?”
She comes over and wraps herself around me. “It was good. I like them both.”
“They like you too,” I say as I lean down to kiss her.
“Thank you for bringing me here, too,” she says. “I don’t know what I would have done in that house with him for two days.”
The anger I feel toward her father boils up in me and I have to force it back down. I’d like to give him a taste of the kind of pain he caused, illustrated by my fist in his face. But I don’t think Vera would want that. “You’re welcome,” I say. I try to kiss her again but she pulls away, a devilish smirk on her face.
She pulls me into the living room and sits me down on one of the couches. “I know a way to say thank you that I think you’ll really like.” She drops down and fits herself between my knees. My cock instantly hardens in my pants.
“You don’t have to do that,” I say. I’m going to have her naked in my bed soon enough, and as badly as I want her mouth on me I can wait. After today, I just want to make sure that she’s all right.
“And if I want to do it?” she says, looking up at me.
I have no answer for that.
Her fingers make quick work of my belt and the zipper, pulling my jeans down. Then Vera leans in and presses her face against me, and I can feel her teeth graze the head of my cock as she takes my underwear in her mouth and pulls it down. My cock springs to attention as she pushes me and I lean back into the couch. She smoothes her hands up my thighs, her fingers circling in a way that sends whatever blood I had left straight to my cock and balls.
I can already see the tip of my cock glistening and Vera does too, licking across the top and sending a burst of sensation through me. She takes me in her hand, tipping my cock back so she can lick along the bottom in one smooth stroke. “I didn’t get to explore this as much as I wanted to that first day,” she says.
