A Good Time

by Shannyn Schroeder

  “Sore feet?”

  “Swollen ankles.”

  He wiped his face on a napkin and tossed it on his plate. “Let me see.”

  She inched her feet over. “No. I look like Shrek. They go down overnight.”

  He pushed their plates over and sat on the edge of the table. Lifting one heavy ankle, he peeled away her sock. She cringed. It was worse than usual.

  “Is this normal?”

  “One of the many perks of pregnancy. It’s right up there with crazy hormones that make me cry for no reason.”

  Keeping her left foot in his lap, he reached across to grab a pillow from the couch. He placed the pillow under her right ankle and began massaging her left foot. She wanted to stop him, she really did, but it felt so damn good. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. A moan formed in her throat, threatening escape, and then he stopped.

  “Do you want some tea? I bought a kettle because I didn’t think you brought yours.”

  “Thanks. That would be great.” He bought a kettle and was making her tea. Moving in began to feel like a mistake, but one she was enjoying. Her stomach flipped at the thought of sleeping under the same roof with Griffin but not in the same bed.

  From the comfort of the couch, she heard the kettle whistle. It dawned on her that she’d never had a man bring her tea before. She didn’t get cozy moments like Quinn did. She remembered Quinn telling her about Ryan making her breakfast. Not for a special occasion—just because. How great it must feel to have a man love you like that.

  “Here you go.”

  She opened her eyes to see Griffin holding a cup of tea and a plate with chocolate cake. She straightened on the couch, shifting into the corner, and reached out, not sure which she wanted more. No contest. Cake always won. She took the plate from him, and he placed the tea on the table beside the couch but still within her reach. “You better watch out. I could get used to someone waiting on me.”

  “Any time. I’m no cake connoisseur, but I have it on good authority that this is the best cake around.” He sat on the opposite end of the couch and pulled her feet into his lap.

  “Aren’t you having any?”

  “No. I get my pleasure from watching you eat it.” His fingers caressed slow circles on the ball of her foot.

  She placed the first bite of cake into her mouth, and he moved his fingers to the arch of her foot. The low, wanton moan crawled from her throat. Very little could top a foot massage while eating chocolate cake. She licked the frosting from the fork. “Who’s your authority?”

  “Moira. She insisted I wouldn’t find better cake. Was she right?”

  “It’s a tough call. Quinn’s has always been the best, but this one would definitely give hers a run for the money.” She closed her eyes and swirled another thick piece onto her tongue. The frosting melted and squished with the moist cake. Her toes curled in satisfaction, and Griffin shifted.

  After two more bites, she leaned over and put her cake plate on the table. “Sure you don’t want some? I’m full.”

  “I might try a taste.”

  She leaned back, and he closed in. He lips touched hers gently and coaxed hers open. His tongue slipped inside. The moment was too brief before he pulled away.

  “You’re right. Delicious.”

  She reopened her eyes and their gazes locked. Desire clouded his irises, and a lustful pull formed low in her belly. It had been so long since she’d been touched. She missed being touched. She wanted more and didn’t care about her resolve of steel melting into a pool.

  The punch of her belly stopped her. “Oooh.”

  Griffin moved closer. Their faces remained within inches of each other. “What?”

  She placed a finger on his lips to keep him quiet and raised her shirt. The baby somersaulted. Bumps rose and moved against her taut skin. Griffin’s large hands covered her stomach, and the baby continued to toss around.

  “Wow.”

  She laughed quietly. “Pretty cool, huh?”

  “What the hell was that? It looked like an alien moving around getting ready to burst out.” His hands slid across her belly, feeling for more.

  “I think it was an elbow, but it might’ve been a foot.”

  “He stopped.” Griffin moved his hands, sounding disappointed.

  “He always does at the sound of your voice. It doesn’t matter how far away you are or how fidgety the baby is. Your voice calms and soothes him.” She pulled her shirt back into place. “Or scares him.”

  “Scares him?” Worry etched his voice.

  “Kidding. I don’t think babies can get scared in the womb.”

  Griffin still sat close enough that she felt the heat of his body. Her breath came in short pants. This man was chocolate cake. Definitely bad for her, but he tasted so good. How could she walk away? She never got the hang of deferred gratification.

  He stood abruptly. “I have some work to do in my office. Do you need anything else?”

  She blinked twice before answering. He was stopping? They’d both be better off if they kept their hands off each other. “No. I’m fine.”

  Taking all of the dirty dishes with him, he left the room. Indy leaned back into the couch with her cup of tea. Maybe the sight of the alien in her tummy quashed his desire. She did resemble a beached whale at this point. A whale with fat ankles. She sipped at her tea. She’d seen something in Griffin’s eyes when he’d rubbed her belly. He might not want to have sex with her, but he cared about her baby. She could probably live with that. Learning to live without sex would do her good.

  Two days later, Indy lay in bed, trying to follow doctor’s orders. Left with little more than her own thoughts, misery set in. Griffin tiptoed around her, and it freaked her out. He decided to work from home to keep an eye on her.

  Nothing she said changed his mind. So now, not only did she live in the same house with Griffin, worrying about spending nights with him, but she also saw him all day. His attentiveness made her nervous.

  Man, she wished she could leave.

  In a half hour, class would start without her. One more thing she wouldn’t finish. Seemed like every time she attempted to make a plan, she failed. How was she supposed to run a business? Follow-through didn’t come naturally.

  Griffin knocked at her door. “Ready for some company? I brought a snack and some water.”

  “You don’t need to wait on me. I talked to the doctor, remember? When she said bed rest, she meant I shouldn’t spend hours on my feet. I already quit working at the bar. I think I can get food when I’m hungry.”

  He put a bottle of water and a plate of fruit on the nightstand. “You need to fuel up. Class starts soon.”

  She grabbed the bottle and chugged. “Ha-ha. No class, remember?”

  “Ah, ye of little faith. Class starts in twenty.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He left the room and returned with a laptop and a rolling tray like they have at the hospital. He booted up the computer.

  “I have a laptop. Stop buying me stuff.”

  “I only brought this in because I didn’t know if yours would work.” He spun the screen to face her.

  “What is that?”

  “A video link to your class so you don’t fall behind. No need to drop out.”

  She felt like a fool again as a tear streaked down her cheek. “You did this? Thank you.”

  He shrugged. “Have a good class.”

  She wiped her face and straightened in the bed. She reached across to the nightstand and grabbed her notebook and pen. Griffin managed to save her the headache of trying to get a refund, and she wouldn’t lose the time she’d already invested in the class.

  He was like her own personal superhero.

  Class hadn’t been exciting, but she’d been able to participate. Her classmates liked that not only was she able to video chat but that she had a personal stand-in to operate the computer. Griffin had sent someone to sit there and run the computer to make sure she didn’t miss
anything. She’d talk to one of her classmates to get them to do it instead. She couldn’t rely on Griffin to pay one of his employees to sit in her class.

  She pushed the computer away and climbed out of bed. Her muscles were stiff. Lying around all day wasn’t just boring, it added to the loss of shape of her body. The beach ball under her shirt itched. She rubbed the taut skin. She’d never be herself again.

  Hadn’t that always been her fear?

  She’d lose her body and her personality. She’d have to become someone else. What if she didn’t like that someone else?

  She sighed. This was why bed rest sucked. Too much time to think. If she could plow through her life without thinking about it, she’d be better off.

  Downstairs, silence greeted her. Griffin must’ve gone out. She loved this house. Where quiet usually made her bat-shit crazy, here it gave her calm. The colors on the walls and the soft fabrics of the furniture made her cozy. She had done a great job. This alone told her she had a chance to be successful.

  “Fuck!”

  She whirled at the sudden noise. Quietly, she moved toward Griffin’s home office. She didn’t want to interrupt his work, but she peeked in the open door. He sat at his desk, running his hands through his hair.

  Mussed and sexy.

  But very unlike him. She knocked to get his attention. “Problem?”

  His face blanked out whatever he’d been feeling. “No. Work shit. How was class?”

  “Good. Thanks. You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it. I’ll pay whomever you sent today and I’ll have a classmate take over next week.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you sent one of your employees to sit in my class.”

  “I did what was necessary to remove some stress from your life. You’re supposed to stay calm.”

  “It’s hard to stay calm when you’re stuck in bed doing nothing all day. There’s only so much TV you can watch.”

  He stood and walked around the desk. “What do you want? Name it.”

  “I don’t want anything. No, what I want is to have my life back. To go to work and school and be a regular person. So unless you can wave a magic wand, there’s nothing you can do.” She pushed her hair away from her face. “Sorry. You keep being nice to me and I’m being a bitch. A whiny one at that. I’m just restless.”

  He tugged her hand. “It’s fine. Are you ready for dinner?”

  She shrugged. “It’s pretty sad that the highlight of my day revolves around meals. I used to be a fun person. I was the girl everyone called when they wanted to have a good time.”

  After dinner, Griffin invited her to join him in his media room. Fancy description for a man cave. He used this room often, more than any other room as far as she could tell.

  Reddish-brown mahogany trim accented dark hunter green walls. With the blinds and drapes drawn, it really felt like a cave. He plopped crookedly on one of the leather recliners, dangling his legs over one arm.

  “Come on, this’ll be fun.” He pointed to the chair beside him.

  She opted for the chaise longue on the other side. The room was definitely designed for comfort.

  “What do you like to play?”

  “Huh?”

  “What type of video game? RPG, first-person shooter . . .”

  His sentence trailed off as if he expected her to jump in with a response. The problem was, she had no clue what he’d asked.

  “Haven’t you ever played video games?”

  “No. It’s more of a teenage boy thing.”

  He clutched his chest like she’d shot him. “I’m neither a teenager nor a boy. Didn’t you even play at the arcade as a kid? I have some of the classics if you want to go old school.”

  “I lived in Hooperville. We didn’t have an arcade. The pizza place had a couple of games, but I really only liked pinball.”

  He began pressing buttons on the remote. The TV lit up and a game system hummed. “Pinball is so primitive.”

  She laughed at how offended he seemed. “That’s what’s great about pinball. Its simplicity. It’s all timing and rhythm. Then, when you get it right, there are lights and bells telling everyone you’re a winner. Instant gratification.”

  “I get instant gratification when I blow the enemy’s head off.” He responded while staring at the TV, scrolling and clicking. “What do you want your name to be?”

  She hesitated. “I’m good with Indy.”

  He shook his head. “You need a screen name. Something kick-ass.”

  “Hmm . . . Lara Croft.”

  Griffin stared at her and then shot a dazzling smile at her, the one she loved, deep dimples creasing his cheeks. “Perfect.”

  After creating profiles, Griffin gave her a quick rundown of the game. She itched to get her hands on the controller; blowing shit up sounded like fun.

  But he kept telling her the story of characters in the game.

  “Wait a minute,” she interrupted. “There’s a storyline like in a book or movie? I have to keep track of who these people are?”

  He nodded. “It makes the whole experience better. What did you think?”

  “I thought a bunch of gamers all sat around in their boxers killing each other.”

  Griffin handed her a controller. “I’ll wait if you want to change into some boxers.”

  “Ha-ha.” She snatched the controller from him. X Y A B push button. How the hell could she keep it all straight and watch the screen?

  “We’ll start offline to give you some experience and get used to how to play.”

  Five minutes later, she mourned her own death. She tossed the controller down. “This is such a guy thing. You said it would be fun. Dying? Not fun.”

  He sighed his poor-Indy-doesn’t-get-it sigh and stood up. “Scoot over. I’ll show you how to have fun.”

  Oh, yeah, he could show her fun. Hormones flooded her system. She slid across the longue to make room for him.

  He sat against the back, angling himself with long legs spread wide.

  Her mouth went dry.

  “Come here.” He patted the space between his legs.

  She answered with a raised eyebrow because she couldn’t speak.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter. No funny business. I’m going to help you with the game.”

  His quick dismissal of his innuendo stung, but she held in her grimace. She needed some fun and she’d take it any way she could.

  She nestled between his thighs and prayed her hormones wouldn’t give her away. His body heat radiated through her shirt and kicked her temperature up a notch.

  Griffin’s arms encircled her. He held the controller out. Once she took it, his hands cradled hers and directed her fingers to the correct buttons.

  For the next couple of hours, she sat with Griffin and fought her hormones like they were enemies on the battlefield.

  But she had a hell of a good time.

  Chapter 17

  Indy walked past his office wearing nothing but some long T-shirt thing for sleep. He used to prefer sexy lingerie, but seeing her in comfortable cotton turned him on more than imaginable. They’d been living together for weeks and he didn’t know if he would make it. He’d agreed to be nothing more than roommates, but he didn’t think he could keep up his end of the deal. She was so damn sexy. And he couldn’t touch her, not the way he wanted to, because that would be far from bed rest. He wouldn’t chance hurting the baby. His baby.

  Refraining from sex with Indy was the hardest thing he’d done. Every day he wanted her. From their first night when he practically ran from her chocolate moans to spending an evening playing video games, he was sick of trying to hide his near-constant hard-on.

  He needed to focus on taking care of her. Sex had to wait. When she was better, they’d have it out and make up. They didn’t have a choice. They were tied together forever now. It would be easier to take if he could understand why she lied.

  Admittedly, he hadn’t been keen on the idea. He’d kept telling her no expectations. That h
e couldn’t marry her. That he wasn’t meant to be a father.

  My big mouth.

  No wonder why she didn’t want him to be the father. He’d have to prove her wrong.

  He stared at the projections for the second quarter for Walker Industries. The spreadsheet blurred. How could he focus on numbers when his baby was down the hall? What if there were more complications? Maybe he should check into getting her the best doctor in the city.

  Scale it back. She’s not going to let me run her life. She won’t even admit I’m the father.

  He closed the file and opened Kendra’s notes. Press releases and plans for a party. She was still nagging him about Indy. She thought Indy’s pregnancy would be bad for his image. It would bring his history with Selena out. Part of him didn’t give a fuck anymore. He’d moved on, gotten past his mistakes. And he’d made a bunch of them with Selena. He wouldn’t make the same mistakes with Indy.

  Knowing he was too distracted to get any work done, he planned on holing up in his media room. Unfortunately, when he got there, Indy sat in his favorite chair. He’d known she’d been playing a lot since that first night. She didn’t have much else to occupy her days, but he needed to escape her and his need for her.

  She turned and caught sight of him. Her cheeks were ruddy from crying. His heart plummeted. “What’s wrong?”

  He prayed the baby was fine.

  “You didn’t tell me he was going to die.”

  “Who?”

  “Shepard.”

  Pent-up air seeped from his lungs. She was talking about the damn game.

  “You could’ve warned me. But no, instead you have me invest all these hours getting to know these guys as people and then he dies. There’s no way around it. I played the same mission more times than I care to count trying for a different outcome.”

  “It’s war. People die.”

  “But not people people. Not the main characters you get to know.”

  “I’m sorry. It didn’t occur to me to tell you. Plus, I didn’t think you would stick with the game until you reached the conclusion. You didn’t seem into it.”