HeroRising (6 page)

“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 me 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.