Indulgence

by Liz Crowe

  “What’s his prognosis?” she asked, genuinely concerned.

  “He’s going to be fine. A lot of therapy, weeks of heal time. I’m moving him into the penthouse so he can receive round the clock care. Least I could do considering.” I tried to pull away but she embraced me once more.

  “Pen, if I’d lost you too, I don’t know what … I couldn’t bear it. I just … ”

  I hugged her tight, enjoying her warmth and love. “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere. But, I really do need to get to the hospital. He’s waiting for me.”

  She nodded against my shoulder, then stopped abruptly and pulled back. Her pointed gaze searched mine. She tilted her head, her eyes widened and her mouth split into a huge smile.

  “Holy shit, Pen. You’re falling for this guy!”

  The comment threw me back as if someone had just socked me. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m not falling in love. Your cuckoo radar is off. You need to adjust the setting again.”

  God I was so tired of this thing she had with empathy. This unearthly ability to feel what others were feeling. It really was freaky and generally dead on target. Ability or not, I wasn’t falling for Hank. I’d barely just met the man. What she was feeling was not love it was fear. Fear that he wouldn’t get better. Guilt that it was my fault he was hurt in the first place.

  She shook her head. Her once teary eyes alight with pure joy. “I can feel it. The desire in you. It’s thrumming around your body like a soft halo of light. Who is he?”

  No, no, no. When London got an idea in her head, she committed to it one hundred percent. She claimed to have this empathic ability and lived her life by it. I’ll concede that she was more often right than wrong but really besides the fear and guilt what I felt for Hank was not complicated. She was alluding to the idea that my desire for Hank was something more, something likened to love, perhaps. It wasn’t. Unless one mistakes pure unadulterated lust for the hearts and flowers thing of love. If I was being honest with myself I felt things for Hank, deep things, but all of them revolved around us being tangled together naked on the nearest bed.

  “London, I’m not in love. Don’t even go there. Please, please don’t worry about this. I’m fine. Hank’s going to be fine … ”

  “Hank? Is that his name?” She smiled brightly. She was incredibly beautiful and had a way of getting what she wanted. People just spilled their guts to her. It was part of what made her so good at what she did with her clients, moving in with them for weeks, then deciding exactly what they needed to make their houses into a home. It was more than just interior design or decorating. She had a way of filling a void in her clients lives with whatever it is they needed to be happy and she’d made a very profitable career out of it.

  “Okay, okay.” She waited patiently for me to answer. “I have a little bit of hero-worship. He’s incredibly attractive and we’ve shared a few kisses. Alright? End of story. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.”

  She nodded. “Yes, you have to get back to Hank. Oh, this is so romantic.” She clasped her hands together and looked off into the distance dreamily. “He saves you from death, sweeps you off your feet and … ”

  “Stop it right there. This is not a romance,” I sighed. The woman would piss off a priest in confessional.

  “But you want to fuck him; I can feel the lust running through every inch of you. It’s coming at me in waves. I might have to go get laid tonight just to get over the vibe you’re putting out into the universe.”

  “Must you be so vulgar?”

  “Yes. I must. Admit it and I’ll leave.” She crossed her arms over her tiny form.

  I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, I want to have sex with him! It’s been months since Grant and I broke up. Happy now?”

  She jumped up and down in her sandals, her flowery dress waving in the air with her. It was times like this that I remembered she was my baby sister. Top of her game in the interior design world with a waiting list a mile long for her skills, but she still bounced around like a little girl. Some things never changed.

  “Very happy. So, this man, is he hot?”

  “You’re killing me. Yes, he’s good-looking. He’s a cowboy from Texas. But it’s not going anywhere. We are from two totally different worlds. He’s used to barbeques and baseball, not mergers and acquisitions.”

  Her mouth pulled together into a pout. “When you find your soul mate, it won’t matter what he does for a living, or what he wears, or whether his portfolio is as sound as yours. It only matters that he’s meant for you.”

  A sadness blanketed the moment. London had lost the man that she thought was her soul mate to a terrible accident. I pulled her into a hug and she squeezed me tightly.

  “I love you so much. I’m so relieved you’re okay,” she whispered.

  “I love you, too.”

  “I’m looking forward to thanking this real life hero in person.” She wiped at her wet eyes. Still as pretty as ever. “Oliver told me how Hank jumped in front of you and now that I see where you were hurt, I’m more confident in his place in your world.

  “Oh yeah, and what’s that?” I asked pulling my bag over my shoulder headed for the door.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” She smiled wide and her entire face lit up. “He’s meant to protect your heart!”

  I rolled my eyes for her benefit only. The thing was, she wasn’t entirely wrong. There was something about Hank that I couldn’t define. It was just a feeling when I was near him. It had to be that I was overly sensitive to him after he saved my life. Superhero syndrome of sorts. There really wasn’t another reason. Love wasn’t on the table or in the cards no matter what London’s empathic ability suggested.

  All I could think about all damned day was my sweet angel’s fingers wrapped around my cock. I could die a happy man with that memory to sustain me through eternity. The woman was talented.

  Fantasies of me standing, her sitting on the bed, me slipping my cock past her moist lips pressing deep, my dick ready to burst at the seams, rolled through my thoughts all day. Her sucking me like a fucking Hoover, my hands twining through her golden locks as I pumped my seed into her. Christ! It was the stuff right out of my most erotic dreams.

  I closed my eyes and tried to will away the images, my heart rate slowly coming back down from my thoughts. The meds were finally giving me some relief without making me feel like I was drugged. A pretty angel in white fluttered across my thoughts relaxing me further …

  A clacking noise woke me. I craned my neck and looked over toward the sound realizing I must have drifted off. Aspen sat in the chair next to my bed, blazer removed, eyes glued to her laptop. Her blond hair was piled on top of her head in a bun-like contraption resembling a donut. She had thin black reading glasses perched on her small nose. Her legs were crossed; her skirt had ridden high on her thigh, giving me a healthy view of her long legs encased in sheer black stalking’s. My angel looked like a sexy secretary.

  Every so often she nibbled on a sandwich. Watching her work and eat, her mind laser-focused on the task in front of her, was a lovely site. Everything about her pulled at my being, from the wisps of hair falling along her exposed neck to the ticking of her heel as she typed.

  Made me wish my shoulder wasn’t in such a state, or I’d have already claimed that woman physically, and hopefully emotionally. I didn’t want her the way I’d used my recent flings. She wasn’t the type of woman I could just use to get off. I wanted to know things about her, connect with her on a different plane. See where it led.

  “You know what they say about all work and no play, right, Darlin’?”

  She grinned, but finished typing whatever she was working on. “I didn’t hear you complaining about my playtime this morning.”

  The morning’s activities flooded my mind. She continued to pound at the keyboard, and bit her lip. I waited until she clicked a few more buttons and closed the screen. Her almond shaped eyes met mine, glasses still in place.

&
nbsp; “Darlin’, you could bring a man to his knees wearing those things.” I gestured to her specs.

  She smiled and crossed her legs, reclining in the chair. She made no move to approach me. “How was your day, Stud?”

  Stud? Hmm. I liked her pet name. Hadn’t had a woman give me one in a while. It felt good. Hell, it felt great.

  “Can’t complain. You?”

  She blew a breath over her forehead. “It was fine.” Her lips thinned as if she were making a decision. Then her expression changed, softened. “Not as good as my morning though,” she added with a saucy little pout.

  “Yeah well, anytime you want a repeat, Angel, I’m all yours.” My eyebrow cocked and she answered with her own pointed brow.

  “How’s the shoulder?”

  “On the mend. How were the suits regarding the build?”

  “I handled it. They’re back to believing everything is right on point. So when you check in with your foreman, let him know I plan to pay a visit to the crew, express our gratitude over their willingness to continue the project to completion and on deadline.”

  “Good plan. Now, are we done talking about work?”

  She smiled. “Yes. We should talk about the plans for your release tomorrow.”

  I shook my head. “Come here.”

  “Hank,” she said in warning.

  My finger pointed at her then down to the space on the bed next to me. “Come. Here. Now.” Her eyebrows rose but I held firm.

  She stood and I reached for her hand. Gripping her wrist I pulled her close enough that I could grab the back of her nape and crush her lips to mine. She moaned and I ate up every sound. Our tongues mingled slow and unhurried. Kissing her was like coming home. The feelings were hard to explain.

  Being with her was comfortable, safe, the only place you ever wanted to be, with the added benefit of all encompassing lust and need. I didn’t want to think about how it could be like this. So easy, so fast. It just felt right.

  After minutes of kissing her into oblivion, her body slack against mine, I leaned my forehead against hers and tried to catch my breath. She was just as winded.

  “Now Angel, how was your day? Really? I think you skipped over some parts earlier.”

  She groaned. “Awful. It took hours to convince the stakeholders that we were going to be fine and one in particular was ruthless.”

  “Just a bunch of pricks with dicks.” I kissed the side of her face along the hairline. “Now tell me why one of them was worse than the others?”

  “Because he’s my ex and I’m stuck working with him. He put a large sum of money into the magazine startup when we were together. Bad idea to mix business with pleasure, I guess.” Her eyes met mine. She tried to push off me, her face twisting into a grimace. I held tight, my grip relentless.

  “Nut uh. You ain’t runnin’ from me, Angel. We have a deal. Two dates.”

  The tension in her body visibly relaxed, her shoulders sagged. Her body melted against mine once more as she nodded into my neck. Her smell was all around me. Vanilla and honey. I inhaled deeply, contentment filling my pores. “I love the way you smell.”

  She pulled up and sat her heart-shaped ass on the edge of my bed. In my half-reclined position I moved over as far as I could to the opposite edge of the bed making sure not to jostle my shoulder too much. She sat and tentatively leaned against my chest and the good shoulder. “Is this okay?”

  “Better than anything,” I whispered. This small woman fit so perfectly in the crook of my arm, like she was made for me.

  “Tell me about you, Hank. I hardly know anything.”

  Her face snuggled into my chest, her cheek planted against the bare skin. My good arm cradled her. I yanked on the rubber band holding up her hair letting the waves of silk fall over her shoulder. It eased my pain to have her so near. Running my fingers through the strands of her hair calmed and soothed me. I had a sneaky suspicion it did the same for her. She took a deep breath and relaxed deeper into my chest. Her small fingers rested over my heart. Once more I thanked God I was able to reach her in time.

  “How about we start with the basics?” She nodded. “Okay. Family first. Mom is Julia, Dad is Henry. They are retired cattle ranchers. My brother Heath now runs the family business with his wife Jess. They have twin boys, Holt and Hunter. They’re four and putting my brother through the ringer. I love every minute of it.” Thinking of Heath and the boys made me chuckle.

  She joined in laughing lightly. “So all of the men in your family are named with an ’H’ I see?”

  I smiled and rubbed my chin against the top of her head. “Yes, ma’am. Old Man Henry likes it that way. And what Dad wants, Dad gets.” She smirked. “What about you, Darlin’?”

  “Well, my father is William Reynolds. My mother is Vivian Bright-Reynolds.”

  “Why would she hyphenate her name?”

  “Because she comes from a very well-to-do family. It’s customary in our circles. My name is hyphenated, too. Technically, I’m Aspen Isabel Bright-Reynolds. My mother insisted on all of her children having her maiden name included on their birth certificates.”

  “Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Will you change it when you get married or will you have five names?” Seemed ridiculous to have so many names.

  “I don’t know. Depends on the marriage.” She tapped her fingers on my chest. “Then I have my baby sister, London, who’s an interior designer and my older brother, Rio, who’s huge in real estate.”

  “Aspen, London, and Rio?”

  She smiled and nodded. “My parents named us each after the place they were vacationing at when they found out they were pregnant. It’s actually the only sweet story I know about their love. They’ve never been the happiest couple.” She seemed to burrow in closer when she spoke of her family.

  I tightened my grip on her small form. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I’ve been very fortunate. Never wanted for anything growing up. Went to the best schools. I used my trust fund to start my company, and now I’m bigger in business than they ever dreamed.”

  I cupped her shoulder and squeezed her tighter. Being with her like this was comfortable. Easy. It had been a long time since I felt such ease holding a woman. She sighed and nuzzled her nose into my chest. The movement sent tingles rushing through my body and the deep wall around my heart started to crack and shake, small starbursts of light peeked through the crumbling foundation. “They must be very proud of you.”

  “Not really.”

  “Why not? Your company is doing well. You’ve made a name for yourself. And you’re drop-dead gorgeous.” I patted then squeezed her fanny for emphasis.

  “Hank!” She laughed but didn’t remove my hand. “No, it’s just--they didn’t want me to be as successful as I am. They wanted me to marry someone successful, have perfect little high society brats, and attend charity functions with Mother.”

  I cringed and my lips twisted into a snarl.

  “Exactly!”

  “Our parents always have one idea or another for us but we rarely go that route. Take me for example. Old Man Henry wanted both his boys to take over the business. Technically, I own fifty percent of it, but instead, I opened up Jensen Construction. I’d rather spend my time building new things than herding and selling cattle.”

  “So what did your dad say?”

  “He was honest, Darlin’. Told me he was disappointed, but respected my decision to go after my dream, not his.”

  “Sounds like a great guy, your dad.”

  “The best.” My dad was the best around. He worked hard for his family and rightly deserved the retirement he now enjoyed. A little old-fashioned but so was any good Southern man at his age and station in life.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” she smiled coyly. Her hand rubbed along my bare chest, “there’s only one guy sitting on a pedestal for me right now.” She planted a kiss against my peck. She flicked her tongue against the nipple and bit down on the tender nub. The pl
easure-pain went straight to my shaft. I groaned loud.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t help myself. You’re so … so, I don’t know. I just, I want you.” First time I’d ever heard her struggle to speak and it was music to my ears. Knowing that she was just as affected by my presence as I was with hers, made me ache to have her.

  “The feelin’ is mutual, Angel. There’s nothin’ I want more than to hear you scream out my name when you come, but this is not the place. Once I have you naked, there’ll be no turning back and I’ll need a bed and a full night to do it right.” I lifted her chin with one finger and planted a quick kiss on her lips. “Now you need to go home and get some rest. You have a man moving in tomorrow.” I winked and her corresponding smile melted my heart.

  Chapter Five

  “Wake up, Princess.” Oliver’s sing-song voice broke through the haze of sleep. “We have to go save your prince from the evils of public healthcare and bring him back to the castle. I’ll be in your closet picking out your clothes. You have ten minutes!”

  I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. Oliver had always been a morning person. I wasn’t. On top of that, the combination of lack of sleep and sexual frustration had taken its toll. I’d never been swept away with lust before. Did I like sex? Yes. Who didn’t? Did I need it? On occasion, sure. With Hank, my skin was literally leaping off my body to be next to the man. It seemed as if the only thing that would take the edge off was having his big body pressing me into the closest mattress. Preferably soon.

  Needing someone for anything was new to me. I’d worked my ass off to make sure the only person I needed was the face in the mirror. Oliver and my sister were the only real human ties I had or cared about. I valued the people I worked with and the individuals I employed but never let them get too close. People who claimed to be my friends came and went. Hell, even my own mother and brother I could do without, most days. Sounded harsh, but my mother saw me as a disappointment and my brother saw me as a challenge.