“What of the girl?” So what if his tone was on the defensive side?
“You care for her, otherwise you would have not brought her to us.”
“She was in danger and I saw to her safety. That’s what I do.”
Lucian’s smile suggested he saw through the flimsy excuse. “What of her family?”
“She has not spoken of any. Whatever she left behind I sense was painful for her. She wants to make a new start here, but circumstances have not been kind to her. I was hoping Amaryllis could assist in Ari’s new beginning.”
“Do not fear. I believe my wife has found a new project in your Ari.”
Bale bit back the need to correct Ari’s title and chose to change the subject. “I shall only be in town for a day. I plan on leaving for the East tomorrow. Kristos and Brett may have need of my service while she is on maternity leave.”
Lucian laughed. “Who would have thought one tiny baby could cause so much chaos?”
“But that little girl is loved.”
“Beyond measure,” Lucian agreed. “This family has much to be thankful for, and much to celebrate. Perhaps there will be more in the near future.”
“Perhaps.” Bale bowed. “If there is nothing else, I will retire to my quarters.”
“Go. Rest, my friend.” Lucian stopped him before he left the room. “Do not forget, Amaryllis expects to see you at breakfast.”
“Of course. I live to serve my princess.”
“Careful, Bale. She’ll hold you to that if she hears you say that out loud.”
Bale nodded. Yes, the princess would not hesitate to make him do as she commanded, and he had a scar on the inside of his thigh that attested to how well she wielded the whip.
* * * * *
Ari watched Bale race from the room and forced herself not to acknowledge the stab of hurt that made her eyes water. Why would she expect he would engage in something as touchy-feely as a goodbye hug? If there was one thing the man did not strike her as, that was being the sentimental type.
The appearance of Amaryllis entering the room straightened her spine and made her blink the telltale moisture away.
“Let me guess,” her hostess sighed. “Bale needs a lesson on how to properly say goodbye to a woman he cares about? I swear, if I didn’t love that man like a brother, I’d kick his ass into next week.”
Ari had to laugh at the image. “I’d pay to see that.”
“Come.” Amaryllis threaded their arms together and led her up the grand staircase. “Let’s get you settled. I have to admit, I am incredibly curious about you, and I do love to meet new people. Tell me, Ari. Where do you hail from?”
“Ah, well, I’m from a little town out in Missouri.”
“I thought I heard a delightful lilt to your accent. I wish I had an accent, especially one as exotic as yours.”
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked with complete incredulity. Amaryllis spoke in the same musical cadence as Bale but with the enthusiasm of someone who grabbed life by the balls and squeezed until it screamed.
“Oh, I know, people say I have an accent, but I just do not hear it. Ah, here we are. Second room on the right is yours.”
Amaryllis threw open the double doors with a flourish and revealed a plush suite that rivaled any five-star hotel Ari had seen on the Travel Channel. A California king-sized four-poster bed looked tiny in the space that held a complementary sofa and loveseat pairing, as well as a coffee table and armoire with a big-screen plasma television. The bedspread was cobalt-blue velvet and there were so many pillows on top of the tall mattress she’d need all her fingers and toes to count them.
“The closet is in here.” Amaryllis opened another set of double doors on the huge walk-in that was lined floor to ceiling with cedar shelves. “And the bath is through this door.”
Ari’s bag dropped to the floor with a sad plop and her jaw hung slack as she stared at the marble-tiled shower that was so large there wasn’t even a wall of glass or curtains to keep out the water. The tub alone looked as if it could fit four grown adults with ease.
“This…this is your guest room?” she gasped.
“Yes.” Amaryllis blinked with surprise. “Is it not adequate?”
“Are you insane? This place is amazing. I’ve never seen anything so luxurious in my life.” Her gaze dropped to her boots covered in mud and the tattered hem of her dress that had been ripped when the goober twins had tried to hurt her. God, could she look any sorrier? “Holy crap, why didn’t you tell me to take off my boots? I’ve probably tracked mud all over.” She bent down and unzipped the ruined Jimmy Choos and set them by the door.
“Do not fret. You’re fine and now you are here with me. After a nice bath you’ll feel as fresh as a flower after a gentle rain. Then you will sleep well and in the morning we will go retrieve your car and you can plan your next course of action.”
This unexpected bout of good fortune was a double-edged sword. Of course she was grateful, but how would she ever repay such kindness? “Thank you, but I wouldn’t want you to go to any extra trouble. I’m a perfect stranger and yet you’ve opened your home to me. I can’t ask you to do any more.”
“You aren’t. I’m insisting. No.” She held up her hand when Ari’s mouth opened to protest. “It is settled.”
Now Ari saw why Lucian had a private security detail for his wife. The woman was quiet the ball-breaker. “Thank you.”
Amaryllis jumped up onto the mattress and giggled as she bounced. “Tell me about yourself, Ari. What has brought you to the city?”
“Oh, well.” She fiddled with the edge of her sweatshirt then pulled the cotton from her shoulders and stalled for time by hanging the soggy garment up in the closet. “I’m looking for adventure. Something different. I figured this city may be a good place to start.”
“Won’t you miss your home?”
“Not really. There was only my mom and I, and we aren’t that close. There’s nothing left for me there.”
“What made you leave?”
Her fingers curled around the hanger. This was not a story she wanted to share, especially when she was surrounded by opulence and with a woman who appeared to have the world on a Tiffany platter. In comparison she was as dirty as her floral dress, maybe even filthier. The last thing she wanted was to be kicked out on her ass, or have Amaryllis think less of her.
The need to lie curled her tongue, but when she glanced over her shoulder and saw Amaryllis stare at her with those kind eyes and an expectant smile, her sense of self-preservation wilted. This woman allowed her into the sanctity of her home. The least Ari could do was grant her an honest answer.
“Bad breakup.”
“So bad you had to move across the country to recover?”
“Yeah.” She scratched at her arm. “The town I live in is pretty small. The biggest industries are farms and the state penitentiary. Anthony was a lawyer from St. Louis who often came to town for work. We met when he had dinner at the place where I tended bar. He was cute and high class and he made me feel special.”
“How long were you together?”
“About a year. We’d meet once or twice a month, and Skyped when we could.” She drew a big breath. “Then a few months ago the shit hit the fan. I didn’t know that he was on the city council. And very married.”
“Ouch.” Amaryllis winced with sympathy. “How horrible for you. Were you in love with him?”
She opened her mouth to answer then paused to consider her response with an objectivity that came with distance. The time she had spent with Anthony before the blowup had been magical. She had had the best of both worlds with a boyfriend who showered her with gifts and attention when they were together and then left her alone to have the freedom that came with being a single woman, although she had never cheated on him during their relationship.
But had she loved him?
“I think I was more in love with how he made me feel. At least how he made me feel before the badness occurred. He made m
e feel sexy and wanted and worthy of being with a man with a fancy car and nice clothes, instead of the wrong side of the trailer park.” She looked at her soggy sock-covered toes. “Guess that makes me sound shallow.”
“Not at all. Flattery is very seductive.”
“It sure is.”
“How did you discover his deception?”
“A news crew showed up at my door asking me what it was like being a mistress and a home wrecker. His wife found the files of our video chats.” Heat raced across her cheeks. “Apparently he had kept copies of the racier exchanges.”
“The cad.”
Cad? Amaryllis’ vernacular made Ari smile. It reminded her of Bale. “I was quoted on the six o’clock news as calling him a motherfucking bastard.”
Amaryllis laughed. “Why did the press track you down?”
“The whole thing was quite the political scandal.”
“But politicians have affairs all the time, and you were an innocent party. Hadn’t a bigger, better scandal come along to make you old news? What made things so bad that you had to leave your home?”
“His wife was six months pregnant.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. She has half the state’s sympathy, and I’m the wicked, gold-digging jezebel. As I said, my hometown is small and the people thought I was more like my mom than I had appeared to be. I was shunned and it made things difficult at work. When I lost my job I decided to drive as far away as possible and start fresh. So here I am.”
“Where were you planning on staying once you arrived?”
“A hostel or cheap motel.”
“What about work?”
“I’m a bartender. Hopefully it won’t be too hard to find work,” she said then dread settled in her belly. “Will it?”
Amaryllis stood then crossed to her side to envelope her in a hug. “You are a brave girl for wanting to strive for better. You will not regret this decision. I know in my heart it was for the best.”
The comforting touch was too much for Ari to resist and she sagged into the smaller woman’s embrace. Finally there was a human being who didn’t think she was a horrible person for falling for the wrong guy. “Thank you, Amaryllis.”
“Now, I want you to march in there and take that bath. Tomorrow we will have a hearty breakfast and map out a plan for your new future.” She clapped her hands with delight. “Oh, there is so much I want to show you.”
“Really—”
“No.” Amaryllis slapped her hand over Ari’s mouth. Okay, that move was still weird. “Have you not learned yet? I always get my way.”
Ari thought of her giant husband. “Always? Lucian looks like he may have some sway over you.”
“Only when I let him.” She winked. “Good night, lebshone. My home is yours. Make yourself comfortable wherever you wish.”
“Thank you again.”
Amaryllis skipped out of the room and the quietness that settled in the wake of her departure hit Ari hard at how much space the woman’s presence sucked up.
With nothing but her exhaustion for company, Ari went into the palace-like bathroom and spent five minutes figuring out how to turn on the tub’s faucet before stripping her tattered clothes from her achy body.
“Ahhh. Holy fuck,” she moaned as she sank into the coconut- and hibiscus-scented water. A switch near her head turned on the Jacuzzi feature and she groaned again as the jets hit all her sore spots.
Over her head a crystal chandelier sparkled in the soft light and little swirls of steam played with the ends of her hair. Now this was the life.
Or death.
“I died. That’s what happened. When I fell, I hit my head and died and went to heaven.”
She closed her eyes and floated on a sensuous cloud of aquatic divinity and wished never to wake from such a lovely fantasy, because seriously, who had ever been rescued by a sexy-as-sin fallen angel and delivered into the comfort of luxury reserved for royalty and the über-famous? Not Ari Rayner, that’s for certain.
An hour later when the water had grown too chilly for comfort, she switched off the jets and opened the drain. A fluffy cotton towel awaited her on a warming rack and she thanked the Lord again for her good fortune. How she wished she had fancy nightwear to match her decadent surroundings. A cotton tank and a pair of shorts just screamed white trash, especially as she slid onto the silk sheets and rested her head on the overstuffed pillows.
Within seconds the day’s events sucked her into the dark abyss of mindlessness, aiding her in rejuvenating her spirit and ridding her of the stress of the last few months. The contentment that seeped into her bones heated and thickened, pooling into her womb to simmer like a pot of dulce de leche on the stove. Fire licked up her belly to tease her nipples and a sheen of sweat broke out across her skin.
Her eyes flew open on a gasp and she realized her hand was nestled between the slick folds of her sex. The feel of her own pussy was not an unusual one, but usually she was conscious when working her body to an explosive orgasm. Her gaze flew wildly around the room and found nothing but furniture and shadows while her breath whooshed in and out as if she had been running for her life.
What the hell had she been dreaming of to have her on the cusp of oblivion so readily? For Pete’s sake, her head had just hit the pillows.
Bale. It had to be. That bathtub was made for sensual indulgence and there would be nothing more indulgent than seeing that muscled body of his lounging back in the tub with bubbles hiding and revealing all his gloriously male bits.
She moaned and thumbed the swollen bud of her clit as the images bombarded her mind. What harm could there be in giving in to a little bit of fantasy? It’s not as if Bale would ever find out just how nasty her imagination ran.
Would he let her soap up his muscles and allow her full access to whatever she wanted to touch? Would he encourage her to straddle his thighs and guide her hips up and down as he impaled her on his cock? Or would he take her in the shower with nothing but him and her in the steamy enclosure and all five showerheads roaring at full blast? His arms were so strong he’d have no problem lifting her up to pin her back against the chilly tile.
Ripples rolled up her belly as she imagined the sight of her legs wrapped around his lean waist as his hips bucked and the cheeks of his ass flexed. The skin of his back would be tan, but she was certain he was pale below the waist. He would most definitely take off his shirt in the sun, but he didn’t seem the type to bare all to the world.
He’d take her hard until she howled her orgasm into the spray, and when reduced to nothing but a quivering heap, he’d set her on the edge of the shower seat and push his throbbing cock into her mouth, forcing her to suck her cream off every pulsating vein. And she’d do it too, with gusto, all the while watching him through her lashes as his face tightened with the need to come. She bet his cock was so huge it would fill her mouth to overflowing, because of course he was hung like a champion stallion. This was her dream, after all.
Did she have the ability to make him cry out or would he remain as silent and vigilant as always and grit his teeth as the yearning burned in his dark eyes? The harder she sucked, the firmer he’d grow against her tongue until his cum began to spill from the tip.
With a growl he’d pull away and make her open her mouth so he could spray her lips and breasts with his cum. As the image of the hot jet of his seed splashing across her flesh flashed behind her clenched eyelids, her sheath tightened around her probing fingers. Her hips lifted from the mattress as her core turned molten and her blood boiled through her veins. She bit her lip to hold in her cries and tried to still her writhing as shame burned through her as quickly as her orgasm.
It was one thing to milk your body for pleasure in your own home but completely different when under the roof of strangers. This wasn’t her bed. These weren’t her sheets. Didn’t Miss Manners have a rule that said one did not desecrate the hospitality of those who host you by masturbating in their guest room? Party foul.
> A scream penetrated the walls of her room and brought her upright. Another high-pitched wail reverberated down the hall, followed by a guttural moan that was distinctly male.
Ari climbed down from the bed and inched toward the door, cracking it open an inch. A wave of lust enveloped her like fog rolling off the sea and the walls of her pussy constricted in response. Helpless to resist, she crept down the hall toward the sound and paused when the cries and the rhythmic smack of something heavy hitting the wall grew louder.
“Come again,” a man shouted in a voice deep with need. “Now. Now!”
“Yes. Yes! Lucian, take me with that big cock,” Amaryllis screamed in one long breath that sent chills down Ari’s back. The cry then broke apart in staccato bursts as if she were being ridden hard.
“Holy shit!” Ari clasped her hand over her mouth and backpedaled down the hall.
Of course Amaryllis and Lucian had an active sex life. If Lucian were her husband, she’d probably think of nothing else but getting him alone and riding him every minute of the day. However, expecting them to have an active physical relationship and actually being within earshot of their lovemaking and seeing the walls shake with the fervor of their coupling was fascinating and horrifying all at the same time.
Man, no wonder she woke up so horny. Her subconscious probably picked up on their sexy vibe and let her imagination run rampant.
As the two lovers’ shouting became louder and the paintings on the wall began to bounce on their hangers, Ari raced back to her room and shut the door. Even then her brain flashed images of what the pair must look like dripping with sweat and cum and wrapped around each other’s gorgeous bodies.
The shouts grew louder and more frantic, and with them her heart raced and sweat trickled down her back.
Sleeping through this noise would be impossible, and with each moan and thump she couldn’t help but imagine it was her and Bale screaming down the roof.
“Crap. I have got to get out of here.”
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