Affinity: A Salvation Society Novel

by Harlow Layne

  “Knowing Phil, poor Jenner probably has never had a home-cooked meal in his life, and heaven knows Poppy never cooked for him. The only thing she taught him was how to use his phone to order food. This is all new to him. Show him what it’s like to have someone care for him.”

  Sometimes when Catherine talked about Reeves, I wondered if she was over exaggerating his circumstances so I would feel pity for him. It was hard to pity a man who, since he was a child, had more money than he knew what to do with, while my brother did everything to put food on the table and give me the best life he could while mourning the death of our parents.

  “I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t make any promises,” I replied.

  “That’s all I can ask. Now, I’ve got to get back to work.”

  “A crisis in Hollywood?” I joked.

  “There’s always a crisis. Keeps me busy and the bills paid.” She laughed lightly into the phone. “Thanks for calling and letting me know about Levi. I can’t believe he was an asshole to you. He won’t be getting a recommendation letter from me. Anyway, we’ll talk soon.”

  “Soon. Goodbye,” I replied before I hung up.

  After getting off the phone, I tried to get back to work, but I couldn’t stop myself from worrying about Reeves. What if he started drinking again? I couldn’t be around him every minute of the day. Although I didn’t think he’d drink in public when everyone on the planet knew he went to rehab for drinking.

  Taking my phone and laptop outside to get some air and so I could see when my new husband got home, I lounged on one of the couches out by the pool and went through each client. After almost two hours, I started to get worried. Two hours was too long to go running. Had he collapsed or had something happened to him while he was out on the trail? Maybe a coyote got him. Picking up my phone, I went into my contacts to dial Reeves’ number only to realize I didn’t have his number, and he didn’t have mine.

  Knowing Catherine would have his number, my finger hovered over the number I dialed earlier when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Reeves was in his bedroom, his hands on his knees, panting. I swore I could hear his heavy breaths all the way out here. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he straightened and walked into the bathroom, presumably to start his shower.

  When I first got here, I was disappointed my room didn’t have a wall of windows, but now I was happy. What if Reeves was outside when I was changing, and he saw everything? The thought was thrilling and scary at the same time.

  Transfixed, I watched as he kicked off his tennis shoes and his hands went to the waistband of his shorts. Not once had he looked up to see if anyone was watching. Probably because he was used to his privacy, and there I was sitting in his backyard being a peeping Tom. I wanted to see those shorts slip down his golden, muscular thighs, but turned my head at the last minute.

  Groaning, I flung myself back into the cushion and stared up at the cloudless sky. What I wanted to do was run inside and rub myself all over the wet, naked man like a cat in heat. If the throbbing between my legs was any indication of how I would spend the foreseeable future, it was going to be a long year.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jenner

  I wasn’t sure if she knew I saw her out in the backyard or not, but when she turned her head and laid back, I was sorely disappointed Abbi hadn’t continued to watch me. Was she really that much of a good girl? With those sexy as sin curves, it was too bad. She was still outside after my shower but had turned to face the other way. Quietly, I observed her for a few minutes before I moved slowly into her field of vision. Abbi’s cheeks pinkened up, and by the time she made eye contact with me, her face was as bright as a tomato.

  I sat on the couch catty corner to hers. Leaning back, I crossed my left ankle over my right knee. Her eyes followed my every movement.

  “Why’d you stop watching?” My fingers tapped my leg as I waited for her answer.

  She cocked her head to the side with furrowed brows. “What are you talking about?”

  She was a good actor. Maybe she wasn’t really a publicist but an actor Catherine had hired to keep me on the straight and narrow.

  “Don’t act dumb or pretend you weren’t out here when I came back from my run.”

  She gasped. “You knew?”

  Tapping the side of my eye, I smirked at her. “Twenty, twenty vision.”

  “Fuck,” she said under her breath. “I’m sorry I invaded your privacy like that. I—”

  “I was hoping you would join me,” I interrupted her. “A year is a long time to go without sex. We could help each other out, and I wouldn’t have to fuck my fist multiple times a day.”

  “Try two years and then talk to me,” she shot back.

  “No fucking thank you. My hand’s already getting calluses. If we don’t fuck soon, my hand’s going to fall off, and then I’m going to have jizz clogging up my throat.”

  Her entire face scrunched up, and then she gagged. “That’s not even possible.”

  Maybe not, but it didn’t go unnoticed that she hadn’t said no.

  Leaning forward, I waggled my eyebrows at her. “What do you say we spend the rest of the day in my bed?”

  Her only response was to laugh and shift her eyes to the side.

  “You don’t remember our night together, so if you wait until our year is up, it will be like it was three years when you finally have sex again. Do you want to wait that long?”

  “Is that how you woo a woman?”

  “Woo?” I chuckled. “Are you from the fifties?” When she only gave me an annoyed look, I continued. “I haven’t had to try to get a woman since . . . ever.”

  “Maybe that’s the problem. Do you really want a woman who’s going to fall at your feet?”

  Hell yeah, I did. I’d love to see Abbi on her knees in front of me with her pretty pink lips wrapped around my cock.

  “God, you’re such a pig.”

  “What?” Had I spoken what I was thinking out loud?

  “Your thoughts were written all over your smug, disgusting face. Do you really think one night of sex is going to satisfy you?”

  “Did I say one night? Because I know one night with you won’t be enough, but maybe just maybe a year of having you in my bed will get you out of my system.” I knew the second the words were out of my mouth, I’d said the wrong thing.

  Abbi let out a scoff. “Even though you’re an asshole, I can’t have sex with you without developing feelings for you, so the answer is no. Now, I’m going to go inside to get cleaned up before I make some lunch. If you want any food, then I suggest you drop trying to get me in your bed.”

  I’d let it go for now, but there was no way I wouldn’t try everything in my arsenal to relieve the growing ache in my balls. Every time I was in the same room as her, it was all I could do to keep the bulge in my pants at bay. Even while sitting outside, I could smell her apple pie scent, and it drove me wild, forcing me to stay in my seat until I could will my erection away.

  By the time I’d grown soft, Abbi was in the kitchen swaying her ass to some music I could barely hear. I swore she was doing it to me on purpose. She had to know I was out here watching her just like she had been watching me, only I was sure she wasn’t going to give me a strip show. Now I wished I had decided to have the spare bedroom in my office space with the wall of windows so I might get a strip show one night. I guess I’d have to settle for seeing her when she was out at the pool until I could convince her us being naked together was a good idea.

  Caught up in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed Abbi come outside with a tray full of food until she set it down on the table in front of us. She had what looked to be a stack of chicken salad on croissants along with grapes and orange slices with two bottles of water for us.

  “I can see why you bought this house. If I could, I’d spend all my time out here. Have you ever thought about putting up a hammock?”

  I put two sandwiches on my plate, took a handful of grapes, and then watched a
s Abbi delicately pulled each grape from the vine and placed them on her plate. I would rather have chips, but I wasn’t going to complain when she’d gone to the trouble of making me food. It was nice to have someone take care of me since it had always felt like I was taking care of someone. First my dad, then Poppy, and sometimes even Levi.

  “A couple of hammocks would be nice. If I had an assistant, I’d have them up by tomorrow, but I guess it will have to wait.” I bit into my sandwich and moaned. Holy hell, how could she make chicken salad taste so good? “You’re the best cook I’ve ever known.”

  Her cheeks blushed as she smiled at me from across the table. “I’m probably the only cook you’ve ever known. Why didn’t you hire a chef when you were married before?”

  She really knew how to ruin the mood.

  “Thanks for lunch. I’m going to go to my spot in the backyard and eat.” I stood with my plate in hand and grabbed my water bottle to a gaping Abbi. I started to walk away when I felt her tiny fingers wrap around my wrist. Looking down at her with narrowed eyes, I pulled my arm away.

  “Reeves, please don’t leave. I’m sorry if my bringing up Poppy upset you. If you tell me to never mention anything about that time again, then I won’t, but please talk to me. I’m trying to make our time together as tolerable as possible, but I need you to meet me halfway. Deal?” She held out her hand for me to shake.

  As much as I hated to admit it, Abbi was right. She had no idea what my triggers were, and if we sat down and discussed them, they’d hopefully be fewer incidents where she pissed me off. I shouldn’t have to hole myself away just so I could get some breathing room.

  “Fine.” I sat across from her. “First, stop calling me Reeves. The only person who calls me that is my father, and you’ve seen how shitty our relationship is. Every time I hear it, it’s like nails on a chalkboard.”

  “Fine.” She nodded, “I should have known you hated it when literally everyone calls you Jenner. From now on, I’ll call you by your last name.” She looked up for a minute before she met my eyes once again. “What’s your middle name?”

  “Don’t have one. My parents couldn’t even bother to give me one. My dad thought it made me seem more badass, but I can tell you when I was growing up, it made me feel like even more of an outcast than I already did around kids my own age.”

  Her face softened, and I could have sworn I saw her eyes start to water, but with a blink of her eyes, they were gone. “Is there anything else that’s off-limits?”

  I knew she wanted to mention my ex-wife, but she didn’t dare go there after I’d almost walked away a moment ago. “I don’t like to think about my time with Poppy. It doesn’t necessarily make me want to drink, but it doesn’t put me in the best spirits, so it would be great if you don’t mention her.” I almost let it slip that thinking of my ex did make me want to snort a line of coke but caught myself in time. I didn’t want to see the look on her face if she ever learned the truth about why I’d gone to rehab. One bump and I was hooked. Hooked to the way every one of my problems floated away when I used. That was until my high wore off, and my world came crumbling down around me.

  Never again was I going to slip down the dark path cocaine had led me. I was in the best shape of my life, and if I kept myself out of any scandals, I would hopefully get back the career I once had.

  “Then, I won’t mention it or her.” She shrugged like it was no big deal, but I could tell she was dying to know the whole story. So was the rest of the world, but they were never going to find out. No one needed to know what a fool I’d been to trust someone with my heart.

  A heart that was now dead to love.

  Abbi bit her bottom lip before she popped a grape in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully, but after a few moments, she never spoke up.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure, whatever you want. I’m an open book.”

  “Who’s Paul? Is he your boyfriend? Are you holding out hope that he’ll still be waiting for you once our year is up?” More than once, his name had been brought up—even Catherine had mentioned him—and it was driving me crazy, not knowing who he was. It stirred insane jealousy in me that I didn’t trust.

  “Paul?” she sputtered. “That has to be one of the worst things I’ve ever heard.” Her eyes scanned my face before they went round. One hand went over her now open mouth. “Are you jealous?”

  “Jealous? No,” I protested, too much even to my own ears, “but we have a deal, and the only person we can have sex with for the next year is each other.”

  Not that I thought they would be having sex since he had made her cry on the phone our first night here. I didn’t blame the dude, though. I’d be pissed off if my girlfriend got married to a guy as good looking as I was while she was having a weekend away with her girlfriend.

  She bit her lip again, only this time it was to keep herself from smiling. “What kind of boyfriend do you think I have that we wouldn’t have had sex in two years?”

  I hadn’t really thought of that. Abbi was obviously not a virgin. There hadn’t been any evidence of me stealing her innocence in my hotel room, and she had said it had been two years since her last sexual experience. Maybe he was saving himself.

  “Some pussy who’s waiting for marriage,” I laughed out.

  “Paul is not a pussy, and if he ever hears you call him one, he’ll probably kick your ass. In fact, he’ll probably do it anyway since you didn’t ask him for my hand in marriage. It should be interesting when you two finally meet.”

  “First of all, I’m not sure how I was supposed to ask for your hand in marriage when I had met you mere hours before we tied the knot. You’re acting as if we were dating and decided to elope. Second, you never answered who this Paul guy is. Do you call your dad, Paul?”

  Whoever he was sounded like he was going to be a royal pain in my ass and someone I should try to avoid for as long as possible.

  “You’re such a dumbass,” she muttered as she looked down. “Paul is my brother. My big brother and the only family I have. He’s been taking care of me since our parents died when I was fourteen.” When her eyes met mine again, they were glassy, and her lower lip trembled.

  Fuck, I was an asshole. How did I not know about her parents? Surely Catherine would have thought it was pertinent information I should have had before I opened my big mouth and said something stupid or insensitive.

  “I’m . . . ” I cleared my throat. No matter what I said, it would never be enough. “I’m deeply sorry. I didn’t know.” Leaning forward so that my elbows rested on my knees, I continued. “Your brother must be an amazing person to have done that, and for having been a part of making the wonderful person you became.”

  “He is the best.” She smiled weakly. “That’s why this is so hard. I hate that I disappointed him. If he hadn’t been about ready to go out on a job, I’m sure he would already be here sizing you up.”

  “Again, I’m sorry.”

  “Like you said, we didn’t know each other before we stupidly got drunk and fixed ourselves to each other's sides for the next year.” She gave a half-hearted shrug.

  “Where’s your brother’s job?”

  “In Virginia normally. He works with Catherine’s husband, Jackson, so who knows where he is right now? Somewhere on the other side of the world, probably doing something that will threaten his life.”

  When she said her brother could kick my ass, I didn’t believe her, but now knowing he works for Jackson, I knew he could hand my ass to me. I was man enough to admit that to myself. Knowing that your only family was doing god knew what in a war-torn country couldn’t have been easy.

  “Do you hear from him while he’s away?” I found myself asking. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to know more about her situation.

  “Not until he’s back. The jobs are becoming less frequent, but sometimes they need his expertise, and he’s the only man for the job. I’m hoping he’ll move out here soon and start doing security for celebrities and governme
nt officials. Once he’s back in the States, Paul said he would come for a visit to see how I’m doing. I hope that’s alright with you.”

  Who was I to deny her seeing her brother who had put his life on the line for our country? I wasn’t that big of an asshole–unless he wanted to move in.

  “He’s welcome anytime.”

  Abbi’s face lit up as if I’d just told her this had all just been a dream, and she could wake up and be back in her own hotel suite back in Vegas. “Great! Thanks,” she chirped. “I think I’m going to take the rest of my lunch inside and go work in my room.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “I haven’t been too productive today. I can’t have Catherine firing me before I ever make it into the office.”

  There was no way Catherine was going to fire Abbi. If she wanted to, she would have already done it when we were glaring at each other in my hotel suite back in Vegas.

  Before I could stop myself, I offered. “You don’t have to work in your room. The house is yours, too, and I have a perfectly good office that I rarely use.”

  The way her big, brown eyes lit up had my heart beating a staccato in my chest, and making me feel things I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

  What was she doing to me? It wouldn’t do either of us any favors if I started to open up to her, or even worse if I caught feelings for her. Our situation had an expiration date, one we’d both be better off to do our best to remember. I needed to keep to myself, and my cold, dead heart locked away from the bright-eyed, gorgeous woman who could easily wiggle her way in if I wasn’t careful.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Abbi

  Sophie pulled her towel tighter around her as she caught sight of Jenner in the pool. His wet body glistened in the sunlight. Each drop of water amplified his golden physique and every ridge of his defined and lickable abs.

  It should have been illegal for him to look that good when I couldn’t touch him. Greg had never gotten me so hot and bothered in all our time together. Every passing moment I spent with him, I contemplated his proposal about having sex with him for the next year. Then right before I was on the cusp of giving in, it was like a switch flipped, and he’d be a huge asshole.