by Scott, J. S.
Tears of relief started to trickle down my cheeks, the product of a stark realization that I’d made a pretty lucky escape.
I leaned against the door and swiped away the tears. Now that I’d vented my suppressed anger, Stuart would never be allowed to take up even a tiny bit of space in my head ever again.
Lia
I felt so much lighter the next day as I pulled into the parking garage of Zeke’s penthouse, surprised to see that his Range Rover was already in his parking spot.
I’d knocked off early since my manager was on duty, and I picked up some groceries so I could make Zeke chicken parmesan with pasta, his favorite.
Cooking for him was never a chore since he went out of his way to let me know how much he appreciated it.
Other than the fact that I was afraid that our relationship would eventually end, I was happy.
After my encounter with Stuart, I was moving on. He no longer had any power over me, and I was done being afraid. Maybe I’d have some lingering self-doubt for a while, but I knew it would fade away.
I shut off the engine of my car, and gathered up the grocery bags.
I opened my door, but I hesitated to leave my vehicle as I spotted a familiar figure making her way to her car.
Angelique.
Here?
At Zeke’s apartment building?
My heart squeezed inside my chest as I connected the significance of her presence with the fact that Zeke was here when he shouldn’t be home yet.
Angelique and I had only met a few times in passing, but she was a woman who very few people would forget.
She was always immaculately groomed, and she reminded me of a woman who spent a lot of time on her appearance. Her long, dark hair was always perfect. She had the gorgeous bone structure of a model, with the height and slim body to match.
I let go of a shaky breath as she left, but I couldn’t let go of the apprehension and jealousy that suddenly threatened to swallow me whole.
She was here.
Zeke was here when he should be at work.
She’d obviously been with him, right? Why else would she be here? I knew for a fact that she didn’t live in this building.
My heart didn’t want to accept the obvious explanation as I rode the elevator to the penthouse, but my brain couldn’t ignore it.
My suspicions were validated as soon as I walked through the door.
“Lia,” Zeke said hoarsely as he wandered out of the bedroom in only a pair of pajama pants riding low on his hips.
I put the groceries on the counter before he could reach for them.
Zeke didn’t usually hang out in pajama pants unless he’d just gotten out of bed, and the thought of anybody else being in our bed with him except me made me absolutely livid.
“I saw Angelique,” I said in a deceptively mild tone. “I thought we made an agreement to try to make this marriage work.”
I started putting the groceries away, but I really wanted to just sink onto the floor and weep.
I knew what I was seeing, and I wasn’t an idiot. Still, Zeke cheating on me just didn’t feel…right.
I’m probably not the first woman to think that, or the last. No woman wants to believe her husband is sleeping with someone else.
“I don’t know what you’re saying,” he said in a raspy voice.
I turned to face him. “I’m saying that I saw Angelique leaving the building. And you’re home. In bed. In pajamas. Are you sleeping with her?”
“No.” His answer was simple.
“Then why was she here?” A glimmer of hope sparked in my soul, but I was too defensive to let it turn into anything else.
I was surprised when he pushed me against the refrigerator, forcing it to close before he pinned me with his body.
“Are you seriously trying to say that you think I was screwing another woman?” he asked harshly.
I looked up at him. “I don’t know what to think. She was here. And you’re dressed…like that. You’re never home this early.”
He slammed a fist against the stainless-steel door of the fridge with a grunt of what sounded like frustration. “Jesus, Lia! After the last few weeks, you still don’t believe that I fucking love you. There is no other goddamn woman for me. I know I wasn’t the greatest friend to you while you were with Stuart, but I’ve tried to show you in every way possible how fucking sorry I am. I don’t know how in the hell to convince you that I’m not going anywhere, that I’m crazy in love with you, and that there never has and never will be any woman for me but you. Christ! I’m incapable of cheating on you because the only woman I see, and the only female who gets my cock hard anymore, is you.”
I lost track of how many curse words he’d managed to put into one declaration, but it didn’t really matter. I was way too focused on the “crazy in love with you” part.
He’d been staring into my eyes as he’d told me that he loved me, and I felt the truth of that confession deep into my soul.
Zeke never lied to me. And I didn’t think he was capable of it when he was looking into my eyes that way.
“I-I don’t understand,” I stammered. “She was here, and you’re here with hardly any clothes on at a time that you’re never home.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him, but nothing was making sense.
“You’re pretty damn adorable when you’re jealous, but it does piss me off that you, even for one second, considered that I might touch another woman,” he commented softly. “I can’t tell you for sure why she was here, but she used the gym and the pool here a lot while we were dating. I think she might have had a backup guy or two who she met here, but she sure as hell wasn’t with me.”
I felt my muscles relax. I was still pinned against the refrigerator by Zeke’s warm body, but I wasn’t trying to get away.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I blurted out. I felt terrible for even thinking that Zeke would betray me. If he’d wanted all this over with, he would have just told me. I’d gone with a knee-jerk reaction instead of trusting him.
“It’s okay,” he said as he moved back. “Maybe if I were in the same position, I might have initially assumed the same thing. It’s not like I haven’t made mistakes with you when I was jealous. Just know that I don’t need to look anywhere else, Lia, nor do I have any desire to do that. No reason to when I’ve finally got the woman I’ve always wanted. I’d have to be a total moron to screw this up.”
I finally got a good look at Zeke when he moved away, and I was dismayed when I saw that he was as pale as a ghost. “Are you okay?” I asked as I stepped up to him and put a hand to his face.
Oh, my God! He’s burning up.
“Zeke, you have a fever,” I said, worried as I looked him over steadily. I should have noticed earlier that his voice didn’t sound completely normal.
He nodded. “I’m pretty sure I have the damn flu. It’s been going around at the firm, but I don’t usually get sick. It came on pretty fast. My secretary kicked me out of my own office because she didn’t want to get sick. Not that I blame her. I feel like shit, and I didn’t want any more of my employees sick, either.”
His secretary adored Zeke like a son, so I wasn’t buying that she kicked him out. No doubt she was worried and wanted him to take care of himself. “Oh, God, why didn’t you tell me right away?” I asked, suddenly anxious because I’d made Zeke stand here and justify why he wasn’t cheating on me when he was ill.
Now I understood exactly why he was home in a pair of pajamas, and in bed before I’d come in.
As long as we’d been friends, I’d never seen Zeke anything but healthy. He was right. He generally didn’t catch anything going around.
I put my arm around him as I demanded, “Back to bed. You probably caught the flu because you haven’t been getting enough sleep.” We’d spent way too many late nights awak
e and drowning in sexual bliss since we’d gotten back from Mexico, and the crazy man worked really long days.
“Don’t get too close, Jellybean,” he ordered. “I’m contagious. I should have kept my distance in the kitchen. I can take care of myself for a few days. I don’t want you to get sick.”
I rolled my eyes. “Move,” I insisted, staying beside him until he finally flopped back into bed. “I’m mad at you for not calling me the minute you found out you were sick. I could have gotten here before you did, even after a stop at the grocery store and the drug store. I’m your wife, Zeke Conner. I meant that whole ‘in sickness and in health’ part of my vows.”
My heart squeezed as I looked down at him. He was even paler than he’d been in the kitchen, and the heat he was throwing off that massive body wasn’t healthy. His voice was raw, and the poor guy looked like somebody had dragged him through hell and back. Unfortunately, since his symptoms had just started, it would get worse before it got better.
“I hadn’t planned on even getting close to you,” he admitted unhappily. “I want you to stay healthy.”
My heart plummeted as I realized that Zeke’s every thought seemed to revolve around me, even when he was ill, apparently. I sat down on the bed and stroked his wayward hair back from his forehead. “Get used to me being very close until you’re feeling better. Did you really think I was going to let you take care of yourself? I work with the general public every single day, so don’t worry about me. If I was going to catch it, I probably would have already.”
He looked like hell, and it scared me. There was no way I wasn’t going to be within hearing distance from him until he was better.
He scowled at me. “And if I don’t want you close?”
Yeah, nice try, buddy, but you aren’t scaring me off.
The dirty look didn’t last long because he started to cough.
“Then I’ll call your mom,” I warned. “It’s me or her. And if I do call her, it will pretty much be both of us since I don’t plan on going away.”
“Okay, now that’s just cruel,” he muttered when he finally stopped coughing. “Did you even hear me when I said that I was crazy in love with you?”
“I heard you,” I answered. “And you have no idea how happy that makes me because I’m insanely in love with you, too, Zeke. But right now, I just want to get you better.”
“Say it again,” he demanded grumpily. “I’ve waited forever to hear you say you’re in love with me. If I can’t do anything about it right now, I at least want to hear you say it.”
“I love you,” I said obligingly.
He tried to crack a small smile. “I’m better.”
I shook my head, but a small grin formed on my lips. “You’re not getting out of bed. I was going to make chicken parmesan, but that’s going to have to wait a few days. I’ll make some soup, and see what I can find to take that fever down. If you’re a good boy, I’ll bring you a Popsicle,” I teased.
He groaned. “It sucks to have the woman I love not see me as her stud.”
“I don’t need a stud,” I argued. “Right now, I just want to see you healthy.”
I started to rise so I could get him something for his fever, but he grabbed my hand. “Lia,” he said, his voice sounding like his throat had been scraped with sandpaper. “I really do love you. I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that, but you must have already known exactly how I feel.”
His expression was so earnest that I felt like a vise was tightening around my heart. God, Zeke was beautiful, even when he was sick as a dog. I leaned forward and kissed him on his fiery forehead. “I didn’t exactly know, but I think you made yourself perfectly clear. I really do love you, too. Now get some rest while I find some medicine, something to keep you hydrated, and make some soup.”
I had a million questions I wanted to ask him, but I was more concerned about his health at the moment.
“If you get sick, I’m going to be really pissed off,” he muttered as his eyes closed.
I smiled as I got to my feet, straightened up the bed, and shot him one last worried look as I went to find everything I needed.
He was asleep by the time I left the bedroom.
Lia
Zeke was miserable through the first couple of days of his illness, and I soon discovered he was a terrible patient.
I had to put my foot down pretty hard to keep him in bed after the first day. By day two, he insisted he couldn’t sleep anymore, and I’d had to practically sit on him to keep him in bed resting. I’d finally found a few movies we hadn’t seen yet, and stayed with him to make sure he stayed put.
“I can’t just lay here anymore, Lia. It’s driving me crazy,” he said on the afternoon of the third day. “At least let me go get a shower. I’m fine. Seriously. I’m not sick anymore. I just feel a little wiped out.”
Zeke was better. His fever was finally normal when I’d checked it an hour or two ago, and he’d definitely gotten his appetite back. He’d wolfed down his chicken parmesan today like he hadn’t eaten in months.
Really, I knew he was a very fit, healthy guy, and it wasn’t surprising that he’d recovered fast. I’d probably been overreacting, but seeing him so vulnerable had scared the hell out of me.
I put my hands on my hips. There was probably no reason he couldn’t get up. His fever was gone, and I knew he was getting restless and frustrated. “I’m going in with you,” I insisted.
He grinned up at me. “Do you really think I’m going to object?”
“No funny stuff, stud,” I said adamantly. “I just want to make sure you aren’t going to fall down while you’re in there.”
“I feel fine, sweetheart,” he answered as he threw the covers back. “I have since this morning.”
I shooed him into the bathroom, and when he started to brush his teeth, I dashed back to strip the bed and put on clean sheets.
I hurried back into the bathroom and turned on the water of the rain shower, and then stripped off my clothes as I anticipated the warm water.
Exhaustion was taking over my body since I’d had very little sleep. Not that I couldn’t have slept through the night, but taking care of Zeke must have triggered my memories of when I was taking care of Grandma Esther right before she died.
My dreams had gotten all tangled up, and for some reason, in a nightmare, I’d been taking care of Zeke when I knew he was dying, too.
It was really bizarre, but it had felt so real that I hadn’t slept well since that first night he’d gotten ill.
Zeke was my entire world, and seeing him down and out must have shaken me up. A lot.
I stepped into the water that felt like a gentle rain, and sighed as I watched him finish shaving.
He was the hottest man I’d ever seen, even if he was recovering from an illness. Dressed only in another pair of pajama bottoms that clung to his hips like a lover, I’d never seen a more gorgeous sight than Zeke Conner.
I reached for the shampoo and body wash, making quick work of getting clean as Zeke entered the large space with me.
I’d dashed into the shower a couple of times, but it had been so quick that I hadn’t really relaxed.
“You look tired,” Zeke said unhappily as he got his entire body wet.
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “It feels good to be able to relax. I know it’s just the flu, but I was really worried about you.”
Done cleaning myself up, I opened my eyes and reached for the soap that Zeke used.
“I know when I have it good. I’m not planning on dying anytime soon, sweetheart,” he answered gruffly.
My heart sped up as I filled my hands with his soap.
Was that what I’d been afraid of all along? Was I manifesting the fear that Zeke would somehow be taken away from me, too?
That terror was irrational, and I knew it. He was young and healthy. But my
parents hadn’t been very old, and they’d been gone so suddenly that I’d never been able to even say goodbye.
My grandmother had been older, but she’d been in good health most of her life. Unfortunately, cancer was a greedy beast. It had swept my grandma away in a matter of months.
“I don’t want to lose you,” I told Zeke bluntly as I started to soap up his body. “I’m not sure I’d survive if I did.”
“I know you’ve lost everybody you ever loved,” he said in a patient baritone. “But you’re not getting rid of me that easily, Lia. I can’t stand to think about anything happening to you, either, but I’d rather be with you, and deal with whatever happens, than to be without you my entire life.”
I looked up him steadily as I said, “Me, too.”
Love was always a risk, but Zeke was worth taking a chance. I’d rather love him for as long as we both had with no regrets.
He closed his eyes and leaned back against the shower tile with a groan. “You’re going to kill me off now if you don’t stop.”
I’d finished his back, and was running my hands freely over his muscular chest and gloriously toned abs.
One glance lower, and I knew why he was complaining.
His cock was rock hard, and doing a full salute.
I didn’t hesitate to move my hand down to wrap it around the enormous, steely shaft. “I can take care of this,” I told him in a sultry voice that I couldn’t control. “Relax.”
“Not happening if you’re touching me, baby,” he rasped loudly.
I stroked his massive cock, my anticipation building as I watched his face.
He looked hungry.
He looked frustrated.
And he looked like he was mine to pleasure.
Zeke had always been so eager to get inside me that I’d never gotten the chance to just touch him, taste him, and I relished the opportunity.
“I love you,” I said as I dropped to my knees.