Bliss Series Boxed Set: The Whole Damn Harem (64 page)

“How can I help then?” I bite out, gritting my teeth. The room is full of tension. I can see Ryan in my peripheral vision, his hand gripping his bottle like his life depends on it.

“Well …” She fidgets in the seat. “In the car, Ryan explained how he doesn’t feel safe at his apartment due to whatever is going on with him. He has explained that he has an addiction problem and that he’d like to get some help.” The more she talks, the stronger her demeanor becomes. She’s found her stride now and I couldn’t be prouder. “I think Ryan should stay with you.” I open my mouth to argue, but she doesn’t stop talking. “And when he’s feeling physically stronger, you can both sit down and discuss what his options are regarding therapy, Gamblers Anonymous or similar, and whether he still has a job.”

I stare at her. Everything I was going to talk to Ryan about so that he can get help for his addiction, has already been covered by Sam in the short trip from the hospital. The woman in front of me has miraculously achieved what I couldn’t in the past, which is to get Ryan to agree.

Turning toward Ryan, I notice he has visibly relaxed since Sam finished her spiel. I can’t help softening my stance when I realize that he was genuinely worried that I wouldn’t help him. Maybe he did take my words seriously the other night.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” he pipes up, his voice croaky and full of unspoken emotion.

“Yes, Ry. You can stay here for a few days. Your rent is up to date and paid for the next month, and your landlord has recently upgraded the security system, so I’m sure you will be safe there, but you
have
just been released from the hospital with a few cracked ribs and a head wound. You can stay in the guest room beside my office until you’re back on your feet, but there will be no visitors, no computer, no cell. No access to betting of any sort. This is me giving my little brother one last chance since today you’ve given me a ray of hope that you can see this through this time.”

He nods. “Thanks, brother. I’m beat. I’m going to go lie down if that’s okay.”

“Good idea. I’ll wake you before I leave for the club. Maybe we’ll have dinner?”

“Great.” His voice is decidedly more upbeat when he answers. He stands and picks up his bag, turning toward Sam. “Thanks, Sammy, I really appreciate you picking me up.”

“You’re welcome, Ryan. I’ll call in a few days to check in on you.” The smile she gives him blinds me. I’m hit with memories of all the times she’d look at me like that. It’s like a sucker punch to my very being. I want that smile directed at me again, and fuck if I’m not going to use every weapon in my arsenal to make that happen.

Once Ryan has left, she stands up and I have to choose whether to let her go again or press my case.

I walk around the counter and casually lean back against it, never taking my eyes off her. She noticeably shudders under my gaze and drops her eyes before her body stills, realizing what she just did. She turns away from me and walks over to my floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the street and park.

“Surely this isn’t another coincidence, Samantha. The hospital was chance, this time you knew you’d be seeing me again …”

“I’m helping Ryan,” she replies a bit too quickly.

As always, she’s wearing her heart on her sleeve. She was never able to hide her emotions very well, something I know has been used to her disadvantage in the past. The demise of our relationship case in point. “And I appreciate that, but Ryan is a big boy who needs to stand on his own two feet. Something I told him the other night before I saw you in the corridor.”

“Sean, he needs help. He’s your brother, your only family—”

“I’m perfectly aware of that fact but it goes both ways. What I’m wondering is when do I say enough is enough?”

“When there are no other options.”

“Is that what you did, Sammy?”

“What?” she splutters defensively, turning around to face me.

I stand up straight, pulling my shoulders back, preparing for one of two scenarios to play out.

She bolts.

or

She stands up to me.

Either one will not deter me or turn me off if I’m to be honest.

“When you ended things between us?”

“That was ten years ago …”

“It was, yet seeing you again after all this time has made me remember what happened between us …” I leave the statement unfinished as I step closer.

Her eyes go wide, then dart toward the stairwell leading down to the entranceway.

I shake my head at her as I recognize her flight reflex threatening to kick in. “Uh-oh, Samantha. There’s no escape this time. I let you walk once, and I’m not too keen on seeing the woman who is still buried deep under my skin disappear for another ten years without some answers.”

“Sean, I-”

I stop a foot away from her, putting my hands in my pockets as I trail my eyes from her feet up her long, tanned legs, to her sexy as hell cut-off black denim shorts, her jade fitted tee, to an all too familiar emerald pendant hanging from a silver chain around her neck. I quickly try to hide my shock. She still has the necklace I gave to her on our one year anniversary. The same one I was given by my grandmother to give to her. A piece of my heart that she kept close to her own despite walking away from me,
from us,
all those years ago. Surely this can’t be a coincidence.

My perusal stops when my eyes meet hers and I can’t help but smirk when her eyes drop to the floor moments later, but not before I see that spark that I caught a glimpse of the other night, a flash of recognition that I see right through her defenses.

Realizing she’s cornered, she changes tactics. “Look, I just wanted to get Ryan settled and it looks like he is so I better get going. I’ve got a lot to do before I start work again tomorrow.” She looks up at me, donning a fake smile that doesn’t reach her eyes before making a step to the side to pass by me.

I shoot my arm out and gently grab her bicep. “Sammy,” I murmur in a low, controlled voice. We both look down at my hand touching her bare skin, the electricity sparking between us like an arcing current buzzing between two power sources—the strength of the connection thrilling yet shocking. I watch her chest rise and fall, her breaths coming short and fast.

“You can continue to deny this, but I’m not going away this time. I’m not going to let you walk away without at least having dinner with me.”

“What?”

“Dinner. Two people meeting in a public restaurant where they enjoy a meal and maybe a glass or two of wine. They converse, they laugh, they share what’s been going on in their lives for the past decade. It’s a common pastime I’m led to believe.” I don’t try to hide the veiled humor in my voice. Her reaction tells me that she’s very much attuned to me and my nature, and that she’s fully aware of what she is, yet still trying to deny that fact. But she’s failed to hide her still existing attraction to me.
That
much is obvious.

“I’m very aware of what dinner is,” she snaps.

I grin at the sudden rediscovery of her backbone. “Then you’ll meet me this week for a meal? For old times’ sake. A toast to old friends.”

“We were never just friends, Sean.”

“No, we weren’t.” My reply is direct and forceful, my voice strong and unwavering. “But I’m hoping to find out where we stand now because Sammy …” I release her arm and step in front of her, our bodies so close that I can feel the heat radiating off her, but she just stares at my chest, her brows furrowed as she visibly tries to process our close proximity. “I fully intend to find out what you’ve learned in the years we’ve been apart. Whether your eyes still turn dark when I use words to caress your soul. Whether you’re as breathtaking as you always were when I turn you on and finally …” I stop and lift my hand between us, using my index finger to lift her chin until she meets my gaze. The desire I'm feeling reflects back at me from her eyes, and I bite back a groan when her tongue darts out, licking her parted lips. Our eyes lock together, neither one of us willing or wanting to pull away. It hits me that the pull this woman has over me is as strong as it ever was.

When I continue, my voice is low and full of grit. “I want to know whether you’ll still scream my name until your voice is hoarse when my mouth is on you …” I lean in to place a gentle lingering kiss on her soft red lips before kissing her cheek with the same treatment, then whispering in her ear, “Whether you’ll still tremble when my cock’s buried deep inside you, our bodies so close you can’t tell where yours ends and mine begins.”

Her eyes turn dark and her body unconsciously lean toward mine, and I realize that if I don’t end this now, I’ll push her too far, too fast. I take a step back and try to reel in the unbridled desire pulsing through my body. She looks down and sees
exactly
how I’m feeling right now, and when her eyes snap back to mine I decide to press my case, using all the confidence and bravado I’m known for in the courtroom.

“But these are all things we can discuss at dinner. I’ll call you with the reservation details. Now I must check on my impromptu house guest before I get back to my case. Do you need me to show you the way out?”

She looks at me a heartbeat too long before breathlessly answering, “No.”

Fuck if I don’t feel that deep in my groin.

I give a short sharp nod of approval before spinning on my heel and walking toward the hallway. The string may be stretching between us as I leave but not once do I feel it snap and recoil.

My week is suddenly looking brighter.

“Can’t Remember To Forget You”

Sam

“What the fuck was I thinking, Helen? Dinner with Sean? That’s it. I’m calling to cancel.”

“No, you’re fucking not. You’re going to finish getting dressed, you’re going to go to that restaurant, and you’re going to show Sean Miller that you are even more of a knockout than you used to be. You’re going to sit down and have a friendly meal with the man. You’ll be cordial, witty, charming, and funny. All of the things we both know you can be. You’re not going to shut down on him, you’re
not
going to brush him off and, repeat after me, you’re
not
going to go to bed with him.”

“But … what?”

“You heard me …”

“Helen, like hell that is going to happen. This is a dinner between old friends.”

“You two were never old friends. You were made for each other. Well, I
thought
so until the lingering doubts in your head were fed and cultivated and you fucked it all up.”

“Why am I friends with you again?” I ask, half serious and half deflecting. She’s right, of course, but I’m pushing back the need to admit that she’s one hundred percent right.

“Because you love me and I’m the annoying voice of reason at the back of your head that you need to hear when you’re thinking about being a dumbass.” She giggles and I struggle to hold back a smile.

“See! That’s what you needed to hear. A good ol’ Helen pep talk before the big game.”

“Game?”

“You and Sean. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the restaurant. I just know the sexual tension is going to be epic.” She claps her hands in glee. “I’m kind of glad there is finally a man with brass balls in your life again.”

“Helen!” I growl.

“What? You cannot tell me that Tanner is not a pussycat in the sack. I’ve seen that guy around and I’ve seen him around you. He’s a pussy whipped sap who would let you spank his ass and literally bust his balls.”

“He is
not
a pussycat in the sack. He’s a pussycat
out
of bed,” I retort with a smirk.

I think back to last night when Tanner had turned up on my doorstep, disrupting me from my CSI New York episode. “Tanner,” I mumbled through a yawn as I answered the front door wearing a tank top, pajama shorts and purple fluffy slippers. Turning up unannounced was not an uncommon occurrence for him, but knowing that I had dinner with Sean the next night, I wasn’t in the mood for company. My mind changed when he presented me with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s ‘Karamel Sutra’ ice cream. He had the cutest grin on his face, so I couldn't turn him away after that, could I?

“Baby, you didn’t reply to my text so I thought I’d head over with dessert. That’s okay, right?”

Tanner, the sweet, hot as fuck, sensitive new aged guy who’s been a frequent inhabitant in my bed for the past few months. He caught my eye when I was at the academy working as a field training officer. I’d needed a work out and decided to join in with a bunch of recruits who were working their way through circuit training. When Tanner knelt in front of me and held my feet down while I did sit ups, it was one of those swoon worthy moments where our eyes met, the air crackled between us, and his huge white smile did me in.

Much to Tanner’s chagrin, I could only offer him a physical relationship, not an emotional one. We went out for a drink after work where I explained this to him. After the impromptu date, he was the perfect gentleman and walked me to my door. He then moved toward me, forcing me back until my body was flush against the wood paneling of the doorway and proceeded to kiss the shit out of me. It was soft, almost cautious at first, then the moment I opened my mouth to him, he went in for the kill. Long, languid strokes of his tongue explored my mouth with such enthusiasm and passion I was left a panting mess when he finally pulled away, resting his head against my forehead while he recovered. When I whispered in his ear asking if he wanted to come inside with me, he stood up straight and looked down at me. His eyes widened in surprise before he reached around me and pushed the door open. He gently moved me inside and shut the door behind us. I don’t think we made it to the bedroom that first time, or the second. By the third round, we were at the slow, lazy, sleepy sex stage and the bed was the most comfortable place to be.

That was the first night of many that Tanner and I ended up in bed together. We occasionally work out together, we share a meal once in a while, and we’ve attended work functions as the other’s plus one, but it’s always been a ‘friends with benefits’ situation. I didn’t go after an arrangement like the one we have, but it fits into my life perfectly. I know Tanner wants more, he’s always wanted more, and I don’t miss the looks of adoration he shoots my way when he thinks I’m not looking.