Sighing, I wheeled out into the kitchen and warmed up the dinner she brought for me. When Vanessa walked in, I swallowed the bitterness inside and decided to do something I hadn’t done in a very long time.
“Thank you for dinner,” I said as nicely as I could. She looked shocked, but recovered quickly enough.
“You’re welcome. You know, I’ll gladly cook meals for you while I’m here. It’s the least I can do for you letting me invade your space.”
“Does that invitation extend to your new friends?”
“Only if you want it to. I honestly like to cook and it makes me feel good to make them food while they’re here protecting me, but if you really don’t want them here, I won’t do it.”
We finally had some sort of peace between us and I wasn’t about to ruin it by being an asshole. If she really liked to do this stuff and it made her happy, I just couldn’t say no. Even if it did bug the shit out of me to have them here all the time.
“Fine, but try to limit it to once a day.” She beamed at me and it melted a tiny piece of my heart that had iced over the last few months. “No more than twice a day.”
“I swear.”
“If you make them all three meals, you’ll have to take them lunch.” Yeah, I was definitely a push over.
She walked over to me and planted a kiss on my cheek, lingering just a tad too long for my liking. “You’re a good guy, Sam.”
“Just don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold right now.”
“They won’t hear it from me,” she said with a smile. She turned to walk out of the room, but then stopped and turned back. “Oh, and just so you know, this doesn’t count towards your day of being nice. That doesn’t start until tomorrow.”
Fuck. I was so screwed when it came to her.
✯✯✯✯✯
“That’s it. Keep pushing,” my therapist encouraged. He could shove it up his ass for all I cared. Day after day, this guy rode my ass, pushing me to strengthen my upper body, but doing jack shit about getting my legs going. He was still insisting that I needed full feeling in my legs before we could really start working. The more he said it, the more I started to think he was full of shit. I didn’t take things slow. I got shit done and right now the only thing that was getting done was my upper body getting in shape.
It was bad enough that my teammates saw me like this, but now with Vanessa living with me, I just didn’t know how much longer I could take this. I needed results. I needed to feel like a man again. I needed to fucking walk around outside without thinking I would get stuck in the mud.
“Great work today, Sam. Another month of this and we should really make some progress.”
Another month? Fuck no. “No, that doesn’t work for me. I need to start seeing results now. This horseshit of taking things slow isn’t working for me anymore.”
“Sam, we’ve talked about this. If you do things too fast, you could end up hurting yourself and slowing down your recovery. We’ll see you tomorrow, same time.”
He walked out of the room and I went to the locker room, feeling pissed that shit wasn’t going my way. Chris was waiting outside for me when I was done, which was perfect. Chris generally wasn’t a big talker and I didn’t feel like saying shit right now.
“How was PT?”
I grunted in response, hoping he would leave it alone, but the fucker kept pushing.
“That good, huh?” When I didn’t say anything, he punched me in the arm. “Hey, fucker. I’m talking to you.”
“What the hell do you want me to say? Still no progress. You knew that from the last time I talked to you.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
“What do you mean? I’m working my ass off every day. I can’t do too much more than I am.”
“If it isn’t working, change it.”
“Change it? This guy is a specialist. Who exactly did you want me to go see?”
“You really think he’s the only specialist out there? Get a second opinion. Don’t be a pansy and sit back and watch shit happen to you.”
“So this is my fucking fault?”
He shrugged noncommittally. “Just seems that if you really wanted to get better, you’d be fighting back harder.”
“You’re a real asshole, you know that?”
“So they tell me.”
I ignored him the rest of the drive home and was just about to bark at Vanessa for greeting me at the door when her smile reminded me that I was supposed to be nice to her today. The last thing I wanted after another shitty day of PT was to put on a happy face and pretend that I was happy to be around Vanessa. The truth was, I desperately wanted to be near her and touch her, but I knew my sour mood would only push her further away from me. But a deal was a deal and I had lost, so it was time to pay up.
“Hey, sweetheart. How’s your day going?”
“Really good. I was just about to make some lunch. Would you like something?”
“That would be great. I’m just going to go take a shower.”
“Need some help?” she asked as she walked into the kitchen. Images of Vanessa standing naked in the shower with me flooded my mind. In my fantasy, she was pressed against the wall as I fucked her hard, but the reality would be much different. She would be straddling me on the bench and riding my cock hard. Although the first was more appealing to me, the second had its benefits also.
“Did you see something you liked yesterday?”
She turned and looked at me for a moment with a slight smile on her face. “I was actually referring to the fact that you were trying to do something yesterday in the shower and it looked like you needed some help.”
That doused any desire that was running through me. Nothing ruined shower sex like the woman you wanted offering to help you adjust the shower head instead of the head that really needed a good tug.
“I’m good,” I muttered as I rolled away. It was the best I could do when I was trying not to be an asshole today.
All through lunch, I suffered through small talk and avoided talking about my injury. I knew she was curious, but I didn’t want to talk about it, so when she brought it up, I switched the topic to her.
“So, any idea who your dad got involved with or why they’re after you?”
She shifted uncomfortably and bought herself time by wiping her mouth with her napkin. “I really don’t know. My father didn’t ever discuss business with me.” Her eyes were shifty and her whole demeanor screamed that she was lying. The thing I couldn’t figure out was why she would lie about something like this, unless she was in on it. That didn’t seem like Vanessa though. She seemed like a genuinely good person and in order for her to be involved, she would have to be partially responsible for what happened to me. I just couldn’t fathom it.
“Maybe you heard something you weren’t supposed to? Any kind of clue could help us get a handle on the situation.”
“I thought you were basically supposed to be my roommate. Why are you asking all these questions?”
“These are pretty basic questions, Vanessa. You ran for a reason. Something must have tipped you off that you were in danger.”
“It’s like I told Sinner when he picked me up, someone was at the door and I recognized him from the charity event. I escaped out the window and I didn’t look back. I don’t know any more than that.”
“But why did you run to your friend’s apartment?”
She stood and started clearing the lunch plates, obviously not wanting to talk about this. “I knew that something was off with my father, but I never found out what. You can grill me all you want, but I don’t know any more than that.” She turned around and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the counter.
“I’m not grilling you, sweetheart. I just want to find out what’s going on so we can keep you safe.”
She relaxed and smiled at me. “I know and I appreciate you looking after me. You know, I have an idea,” she said with a glint in her eyes.
�
��I don’t think I’m going to like this.”
“Doesn’t matter. You promised you would be nice to me today, so you have to do what I say.”
“I don’t think being nice to you equates to doing whatever you say.”
“Come on. It’ll be fun,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.
“That’s what Sinner used to say and then we’d end up in jail in Mexico.”
“This is me we’re talking about. How bad could it be?”
“If I let you do whatever it is you’re about to do, there are ground rules.”
“Fine, lay it on me.”
“There will be no painting any of my nails or dying my hair. I’m not an experiment for you.”
“It’s nothing like that. I just want to give you a massage. We should try to loosen up your muscles. I bet it would really feel good after doing PT.”
She said it like she wanted to help, but all my dick heard was ‘it would feel really good’. There was no way in hell this was a good idea, but I had told her I would be nice to her.
“Fine.”
“Yes! Okay, you go in your bedroom and strip down and put a towel around your waist. Lie on your stomach and I’ll be in as soon as I have all the stuff I need.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You didn’t say anything about getting naked or lying on my bed.”
“Are you chicken?”
“Why are you always baiting me?”
“Why are you afraid to lie down on a bed naked and let me touch you?” She asked innocently enough, but I could see the way her eyes trailed down my body momentarily.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“You don’t think anything is a good idea. Now, go do what I said.”
She turned and walked away, leaving me staring where she once stood and wondering how the hell I was going to keep my body under control with her touching me.
“I’ll be ready in five minutes and I’ll be coming in whether you’re ready or not!”
✯✯✯✯✯
Dogs. Burg. Guns. Zip ties. Vanessa zip tied to my bed. Shit. Think of something else. Uh..Grandma naked. No, definitely don’t think about Grandma naked.
“You’re so tense. You need to loosen up a little.” Vanessa was straddling my waist and massaging olive oil into my skin. Her fingers were soft against my skin and she applied just enough pressure to make it more sensuous than therapeutic. Her fingers kept trailing over my spine and then she would run them over my scar. She even bent over and kissed it once. Fuck me, I didn’t know if I could do this. My dick was as hard as a rock and grinding it into the bed wasn’t helping.
“Has your therapist been doing any work on your legs? I mean doing daily massages?”
“Once a week. When I was first in the hospital, the doctor had recommended it daily, but the therapist said that it was counterproductive until I got the feeling back.”
“Huh.”
She went quiet and that had me wondering what the hell she was thinking. Women always had more to say. Huh really meant ‘that’s bullshit’.
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, I’ve been doing some research and everything I’ve read suggests that daily massages helps to stimulate the nerves and keeps the muscles from atrophying. Maybe that’s why you can’t stand yet.”
“Since when did you become my fucking therapist?” I grumbled. I was rewarded with a pinch to the leg.
“Ow. That fucking hurt.”
“Good. You’re supposed to be nice to me, remember?”
She stood and then shifted further down the bed. Then I felt her pour oil on my right leg and start massaging my calf. It felt amazing. There was definitely something to be said for having a woman’s hands on your body in this way. Her fingers gently rubbed circles into my calf muscles and moved slowly down to my foot. When she massaged the arch of my foot, I could swear it felt like something was happening, like the sensations were more heightened. I started to relax into the bed and the tension that had been building since I left the hospital finally started to melt away.
I laid there for what felt like hours as Vanessa massaged my legs, leaving me drifting into a sleepy state of contentment. That content state was shattered when her hands moved up my legs, running in lines closer and closer to my cock that was now raging again. I was tense again as I battled the images of her grabbing me and jerking me off as she straddled my hips. I groaned in misery, but she took it as a sign that she was hitting the right spot and continued her massage just centimeters from where my balls hung.
I pushed up off the bed, bucking her and trying to get her off me. “That’s enough. I think we’re good.”
“But it was helping. I could tell.”
“Nope. It wasn’t doing anything for me. Sorry.”
I tried to move her off me again, but she wouldn’t budge.
“Don’t try to tell me it wasn’t helping. You were relaxed. I know it was helping you.”
I bucked her one last time, spinning my hips and flinging her onto the bed in the process. Only once I had gotten my hands under me again did I realize that by turning over, I had let the towel slide off and now my throbbing cock was bouncing proud for her to see. My eyes met her for a moment before I quickly replaced the towel. The flush rising up her neck and staining her cheeks told me that she really hadn’t realized what she had done.
“I..uh..didn’t mean to,” She motioned with her hand toward my cock that could still be seen standing tall through the towel. “I didn’t realize..I mean..I knew I was relaxing you, but I had no idea that I was..”
“Vanessa, it’s fine. If any woman came up to me and started rubbing that close to my cock I would be in the same situation right now,” I said jokingly, hoping to relieve the uncomfortableness in the room. It had the opposite effect though because she turned even redder and ducked her head, not wanting to look at me. Shit. “What I mean is-”
“You don’t have to explain. I get it. You’re a man and any woman will do.”
She got up quickly and headed for the door.
“No, that’s not what I-”
My explanation was cut off by the slamming of the door. “Crap.” I just didn’t want her to feel any pressure sitting in my room with me naked and sporting a woody. Sighing, I moved over to my wheelchair and hoisted myself over to the seat, needing to get into the shower and get the oil off of me. Before I could get in the shower, my phone rang. I thought about leaving it, but whoever was calling would just keep calling until I answered.
“Cazzo,” I barked.
“Hey, it’s Cap. I have some bad news.”
“Shoot.”
“Sinner went back to California to get his shit and then he was coming back. He was supposed to meet Cash, but he never showed. Video footage shows him being dragged off outside OPS.”
“Shit. Any leads?”
“Not yet. Cash is working on it and he’ll let me know when he has more. I’ll be heading out there once we have more information.”
“Are you taking everyone with you?”
“John’s crew will stay with you. Someone tried to kill Sinner when he was picking up Vanessa by driving him into a lake. An older man pulled him out and then it hit the news. Whoever took Sinner is hoping he’ll lead them to Vanessa.”
“Who knows she’s here?”
“Derek and I. Sinner obviously knows that we have her, but not where.”
I blew out a breath, conflicted by what I was feeling. I was worried by what they would do to Sinner to get the information they needed, but I was also worried that he wouldn’t be able to hold out and he would give up where Vanessa was.
“We got this, Cazzo. We’ll get him back. Just keep your eyes open and stick close to Vanessa. I’ve already informed John of the situation.”
“Alright. Keep me updated.”
Cap hung up and I sat there staring at the wall for a minute. I had known Sinner since our military days together and didn’t want to think about what would happen if he didn’t
come back. Forgoing the shower, I pulled on some sweats and wheeled into the living room to let Vanessa know what was going on, but she wasn’t there. I knocked on her bedroom door and when she didn’t answer, I pushed the door open and wheeled inside. I could hear the shower running in the other room, so I waited for her to finish.
When the door finally opened, Vanessa walked out wrapped in a towel and had a scowl on her face.
“Did you come to get a peek? Figured that since I saw yours you could see mine?”
I ignored her snippy attitude and got right to the point. “Sinner was taken outside OPS, where he works now.” Her gasp filled the room and her hand flew to her mouth. “He was taken because someone wants to find you. You’re to stay in the same room with me at all times until we have Sinner back and know that our location wasn’t given up. I want you to pack your bag and have it ready to go in case you have to leave.”
“In case..you’re going to send me away,” she said dejectedly.
“No. If we have to move you, John and his team will take you someplace safe. In case you haven’t noticed, I wouldn’t be of much help to any of you.” She nodded and stared at the ground. “If you have any information, now would be the time to tell me. Sinner is a very good friend of mine and he saved your ass, so you’d better not be holding out on me.”
My tone was menacing and I didn’t mean to come off as an asshole, but I knew she was hiding something from me and I needed to know what it was.
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “All I know is that someone wants money from my father. He wasn’t going to pay and offered me in exchange.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means that he was going to have me marry whoever it was as payment for the money that was owed. I heard him say that as his son-in-law, he would have access to all of my father’s financial resources.” She shook her head slightly. “That’s all I know. I don’t see how that will help, other than to tell you that my father is not the man I thought he was.”
Cazzo: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 3) Page 7