Don't Break My Heart (Return to Redemption, Book 6) (6 page)

Annie dragged her gaze up and down
Ben’s tall frame and snorted softly. “Yeah, all six feet, four inches of you
will get lots of sleep there. You need to start worrying more about yourself
and less about your friends.”

Justin released a sigh of relief and
rose. “Well, I think I’ll say goodnight, too. I enjoyed spending the evening
with you all. Thanks, BJ. I really appreciate the invite. Haley had a great
time tonight, and so did I.”

As he turned and strode toward the
tent’s exit, Ben followed him and grabbed his arm. “Wait. I just had a better
idea. You’re staying alone in your room at the resort, right?”

“Yeah, why?” he shrugged.

“Because there’s a beautiful woman
in my suite who would rather be drinking hot chocolate with you tonight. In
exchange for your hotel key, you can take my place in my suite.”

“You sure?”

“Dead sure. She’s into you, and if
you play your cards right, I doubt you’ll be sleeping on the couch.”

Justin dug his room key out of his
trousers and handed it to Ben. “Thanks. Now I really owe you.”

“Just don’t let Sabrina or Luke see
you tonight or tomorrow morning. The suite is to the left and is—”

“—the first door on the right.” he
finished for him.

Ben chuckled. “You were listening.
Why do I get the feeling you would’ve been knocking on my door in about a half
hour.”

“No.” Justin raised his hands. “I
can’t say I wouldn’t have thought about it, but I never would’ve done it.”

“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you
had. Trisha’s a beautiful woman.” He lowered his voice to almost a whisper.
“I’ll sneak back right before the brunch to change my clothes. Luke and Sabrina
should be with their guests at the resort by then.”

“Sounds good. I’ll do the same.”

“You can jump on the shuttle we’re
running for Luke’s Explorers to go back and forth to the hotel.” Ben lowered
his voice. “And if you need ‘em, there’re condoms in the night table.”

“Thanks again—for everything.”

On his way out, Justin swung by the
teen’s table to say goodnight to Haley. “Hey, Pinky. I’m tired, so I’m heading
to bed.” Naturally, he’d keep the location of said bed to himself.”

“Look what Santa gave me for
Christmas!”

His heart sank when she waved a
replica of the I-pad he’d bought to surprise her with tomorrow morning. Now
what would he give her for Christmas? He’d bought her a few other small things,
but the tablet had been his big gift.

“That’s great. I wish I’d thought of
buying it for you.”

“I’m sure what you got me is just as
good.”

Sure it was. But what kid needed two
tablets? “Dani’s mom and dad are in charge. When they tell you it’s time to
leave, no arguments. Okay?”

“Okay.” She stood on her tiptoes and
kissed his cheek. “Thanks for making me come with you today. I really did have
a great time.”

He planted a kiss on her nose. “I
know you did, kiddo. Maybe next time you’ll remember your Uncle Justin usually
knows what’s best for you. I’ll see you at brunch tomorrow.”

In the meantime, he had to think of
something else to give her for Christmas.

~*~

When Trisha entered the mansion, the
housekeeper was waiting for her. “Ms. Mason? I’m Mrs. Pershing. Mr. Elliott
asked me to be on the lookout for you. I can show you to his suite.”

“Thank you.” Trisha didn’t even want
to contemplate what the woman must think of her.

“Right this way.” Mrs. Pershing led
her up an extra wide staircase that looked like the one Scarlett O’Hara had
tumbled down. When they reached the top, they went left and the woman opened
the massive carved mahogany door to a powder blue and pale gray sitting room.”

She pointed to another, smaller
door. “The bedroom and bathroom are through there. Mr. Elliott said you should
feel free to use the tub. I laid out one of his T-shirts and a robe for you,
and there’s hot chocolate here.” She gestured to the coffee table where a
silver tray held an ornate thermal carafe and two delicate china cups. “If
there’s anything else you need, just press zero on the phone.”

“Thank you. You’ve been extremely
helpful.” Just how often did Ben’s housekeeper take women to his bedroom?

After Mrs. Pershing left, Trisha
wandered through the door the woman had indicated and found a huge dressing
room to the left and an immense bathroom to the right with a Jacuzzi bigger
than the six-person hot tub next to the pool at her old apartment complex. It
actually had two spouts, one on each side to fill it.

What the heck. It wasn’t every day
she had the chance to stay someplace so luxurious. She might as well take a
swim. After all, the tub was practically big enough to do the backstroke in it.

She turned on both spouts’ faucets,
adjusted the temperature, and added some of the liquid bubble bath she found on
a glass shelf above the tub. While she waited for it to fill, she strolled into
the bedroom decorated in navy and light blue accents with a pale gray carpet as
soft and cushiony as a memory foam mattress topper.

She could fit three of her bedrooms
into Ben’s. His gigantic furniture probably wouldn’t even squeeze through her
doors. The duvet had already been turned down and the lights dimmed. She
scooped up the silk paisley robe lying on the foot of the king-size bed and
carried it into the bathroom. She kicked off her heels and shimmied out of her
dress. After stripping the rest of the way, she tossed all of her clothing on
the vanity’s stool.

She tested the water’s temperature.
Perfect.

Even though the bathtub had filled barely
halfway, she spread the thick bath mat on the floor and climbed in. The hot
water only covered her to her waist, but the mountain of foam around her
continued to grow. Maybe she’d been too generous with the bubble bath.

She laid back and closed her eyes. A
few minutes later, a door closed out in the sitting room. Damn. She should’ve
thought to bring a cup of that cocoa in with her. The water line had finally
crept above her breasts, and the bubbles hid anything indecent beneath the surface,
so she called through the door, “Hey Ben, would you mind bringing me a cup of
that cocoa?”

A few moments later, the door swung
open. “I may not be Ben, but I’m happy to oblige.”

Trisha gasped and sunk lower in the
tub. “What’re
you
doing in here?”

He set two steaming cups on the
ledge surrounding the bathtub. “Ben decided he preferred the solitude of my
hotel room and asked me to trade places with him. Believe me, it’s not because
he didn’t want your company. He’d just gotten the impression you might prefer
mine. If he was wrong, I can leave.”

How could she tell him to go when
she’d been having fantasies like this for the last decade and a half?

This had all happened way too fast.
It might not be the best idea to ask him to stay given that they’d broken each
other’s hearts all those years ago. However, her girl parts tingled just having
him in the same room. She couldn’t bring herself to turn down the chance to
make love with the only man she’d ever cared for, again.

She’d accepted the impossibility of
anything lasting between them. Still, she could see no reason why she couldn’t
have a casual fling with him for a few days if they established the rules up
front.

“Ummm, you don’t have to go. But if
you’re staying, I refuse to be the only one naked.”

“That can be remedied.” He smiled
and removed his jacket and tie. Next, he towed off his shoes and shucked his
socks.

“We also need to agree that what we
do tonight doesn’t mean anything serious. I don’t want us to hurt each other
again. We’re just having a good time.”

“I can do that.”

The tender way he looked at her left
her unsure if he meant it. However, she couldn’t drag her gaze away as he
slowly plucked each button open on his white dress shirt.

“What? No stripper music?” he asked,
lightening the mood as he peeled the shirt from his shoulders which were
broader and more muscular than she remembered. Also, a tad more hair covered
the center of his chest than he’d had in college.

“Sorry. No music. Just deep
admiration. You’ve been doin’ a lot more than sitting at a drafting table since
we last saw each other.”

“I occasionally lift weights, but I
get most of my exercise just working around the house. And up until last
summer, I did construction with Habitat for Humanity a couple of weekends a
month. Since Haley will be sixteen this summer, I’m hoping to get her involved
as something we can bond over.”

“That’s a great idea.” She made a
downward gesture toward his trousers. “Don’t stop there. Drop ‘em.”

He smiled as he unfastened his suit
pants and simultaneously shoved his underwear down with them, revealing his
eagerness to join her in the tub. Did a man’s parts continue growing as he
aged, or had she simply forgotten how well-endowed he’d been?

After he folded his trousers and set
them aside, she twirled her index finger in a stirring motion. “I want to see
the whole show.”

He spun his back to her and smiled
over his shoulder. “I hope I’m going to get the same privilege when you climb
out of the tub.”

“In your dreams, pal.”

“You always have been. May I join
you?” He turned off the water.

“Hmmm. I dunno.” she reached out and
stroked his erection with one finger. “The view is a lot more interesting with
you outside the tub.”

He climbed in anyway. “That may be
so. But it’s not nearly as much fun. And that’s what we’re supposed to be
having, right?” He picked up the fresh bar of soap from its crystal dish and
worked up a lather between his hands before replacing it. As he knelt between
her knees, he slid both soapy palms over her breasts. When he grazed her
nipples with his thumbs, a spear of hot pleasure shot straight to her core.

“Oh, my gosh, that feels good.”

He nibbled her ear, kissing his way
down her neck. Her spine arched, pressing her naked body against his. She let
her hands roam over his back, tracing every well-defined ridge between each
muscle with her fingertips. “I think I’ll send Habitat for Humanity a donation
when I get home.”

“Hmmm. They can use it.” He nuzzled
the top of her breast and pulled her higher in the water so he could suck her
nipples.

She slid her hand down his abdomen
and stroked his hard length, making him groan.

“I don’t know about you, but I’d
like a taste of what’s hiding under the water,” he whispered. “Unfortunately,
I’m not amphibious.” He hoisted himself up and grabbed one of the thick towels
from the overhead shelf. While he stood in the tub drying his upper half, she
knelt and slid her lips over his thick shaft.

His whole body stiffened. “Holy
crap. Give a guy some warning.”

“I was simply taking that taste you
mentioned.”

He pushed her away. “I’m sorry. It’s
been almost a year since I’ve had sex, so if you don’t want me going off like a
rocket without you, you’d better wait a while to feast on me.”

He wrapped the oversized towel
around his hips. After climbing from the tub, he grabbed another bath sheet,
scooped her up in it, and carried her into the bedroom.”

When he laid her on the bed, it
undulated a bit beneath her, and she clutched the sheet.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. I just didn’t expect a
water bed,” she said, scooting over to make room for him.

“Really? I’ve never made love on
one. You?”

“Never.”

“Then this should be fun.” He pulled
open the beside table’s drawer and pulled out a condom. “Ben told me to help
myself.” He smiled. “Now, where was I?”

“You wanted to taste something
previously under water.” She grinned.

“Oh, right. Your navel.” He bent his
head and swirled his tongue around her belly button.

“I had someplace lower in mind.”

“Your wish is my command.” He spun
around in the bed and grabbed one of her feet. As he kissed each of her toes,
he tickled her arch.

She shrieked and yanked her foot
away.

“Still as ticklish as ever, I see.”

“I wasn’t referring to quite that
low, and you know it.”

He snagged her leg again, kissed her
ankle and nibbled his way up her calf. With every inch his kisses rose, her
tension mounted.

“Am I getting closer?” he whispered.

“Yes, but you’re still at least a
foot too low.”

He sucked on the inside of her knee.
“Better?”

“You’re getting closer.”

As he sucked his way up her inner
thigh, shivers rippled through her. She clutched at the mattress, both savoring
and despising the heart-pounding anticipation. He blew softly on her pubic
curls, and her legs inexorably spread wider as her hips automatically lifted
slightly.