Vixen in Vegas (Sinful Novellas) (22 page)

“You remember that night on the ship?” He asked, while his lips practically touched mine. “So, why are we in the pool instead of the hot tub again?”

I nodded. “I remember. And had I known that you had a heart condition, we wouldn’t have been in the hot tub then either. I suppose the answer to your question is…we aren’t in the hot tub because I want you to live, stupid head.”

“It may not be a hot tub, but at least we don’t have to worry about being disturbed here,” he murmured while reaching behind me. His hands made short work of the knot in my bathing suit. Still holding the strings, he pulled them around the front and slowly peeled down my suit.

My breasts were soon exposed. My nipples hardened before our eyes. And judging by the way his swim shorts were bulging, his cock was large and in charge, too. There was only one way to find out. I reached down and untied his trunks.

Moments later, we were both naked, our dripping suits tossed on the cement near our towels. We were rubbing against each other all naked and wet. His hand was knotted in my hair, directing my face and my neck so that he had access to every part of me when he wanted it. We were kissing and fondling each other with pure abandon. I couldn’t get enough of him on me, and now I wanted him in me.

Wrapping my legs around his waist, I slid against him until I found what I was looking for. Looking him boldly in the eye, I watched his reaction as I slid him into me…every hot, hard, pulsing inch. His hands moved to my waist and he pushed more frantically.

There was something so amazing about sex with him. It felt better than any before. I could never get enough of him. It made me think crazy, stupid, mushy things…like how magical the connection was, and how he was touching my heart, and other nonsense. I wanted to be more cynical. I had every reason to be. This was quite possibly going to be the biggest mistake I had ever made. I was ridiculously in love with a man who couldn’t see it through.

He wasn’t going to be around long enough for me to get tired of him or fall out of love. He had more power over me than anyone ever had before. I loved having him bare inside me, instead of fumbling for condoms, but then I started thinking how it was too bad we couldn’t have children. I could almost picture it…the two of us with one or two or even three mini versions of ourselves.

Then he gave one more thrust, gripped my hips hard, and growled as he finished taking me. “You know you are mine forever, right?” He asked when he could finally speak again.

“Completely,” I admitted. I was still quivering inside. I could go again. I knew it, but now that I knew the seriousness of his condition, I would never put him through it.

“Sit here for me,” he urged, trying to position me on the edge of the pool.

I had learned to never question with him. It always seemed to pay off. This time was no different. So I sat where he suggested on the edge of the shallow end. He stood and began kissing his way down my neck. His hands grazed my breasts. Then his tongue was on first one, then the other.

Yup. The fire inside me was definitely burning. I reveled in the feeling of his tongue on my nipples, while his hand crept down my body, opening my legs, and finally sliding along my inner thigh until he slid two fingers in my eager wet opening. All I wanted was this man and all these moments. His mouth slid lower until it was on my pussy, sucking, licking and nipping until I came harder and faster than before.

When he was done, I slid back into the water with him. My legs were useless at the moment. I didn’t need them while I was sitting on his lap anyway.

“Bed,” he urged. “Tomorrow is a big day. And Sunday is even bigger.”

Nodding, I forced myself to get up. Soon enough he would see just how big Sunday would be.

The wedding was perfect. We stayed through the ceremony. We stayed through the cake cutting and special dances. I recorded all of it for posterity, and for Brenda. God bless her. She was doing her best to be calm and I think she actually pulled it off. When we said our goodbyes, she seemed saddened at the prospect that we would be leaving town in the morning.

“But I was just beginning to really like you!” She said honestly.

It made me laugh. “Believe me, the feeling is mutual. And don’t worry, we’ll be back.” I knew that we wouldn’t be able to stay away an entire week. It was a really busy time of year for the winery. Unless it was an emergency or something super special, then we would have to hold off on any really long trips.

We hopped in my vehicle, which had Ben very excited. “Where are we going?”

“I thought that we could pick up a few things for our trip,” I said honestly.

That’s how we ended up at the mall. He was…disappointed. I read it all over his face. “Where did you think we were going?” I asked with chuckle.

“I suppose I imagined we’d be hitting an Adam and Eve or something,” he said honestly.

“Close enough. Hang in there,” I urged.

We walked with purpose. I knew where I was going. Our first stop was at a Best Buy. I had ordered something that we would need.

“Rosetta Stone?” He questioned. “Italian?” He asked.

Laughing, I said, “It’s a good sized drive to Vegas. I figured we could be productive in the vehicle.”

“But Italian? When will I ever use that?” He asked.

“Hey, have you ever watched the Addams Family? Gomez speaks Italian all the time. Gives me chills,” I said as I winked at him.

Leaning over, he did his best Raul Julia imitation while kissing up my arm. “Cara mia,” he murmured.

Looking at him, my heart melted. “Oh, my love,” I sighed. “That will do it every time.”

We went to Spencer Gifts after that. I knew just what I wanted. He was surprised when I walked straight to the back of the store. I looked at the board games. There were several options. Body Bingo looked promising…forcing us into longer foreplay. And more than that, I looked at the Love Game. It promised to make us get to know each other and grow more intimate with one another.

I glanced at him for a reaction. His face revealed nothing. He had been quieter than normal since the wedding. I had chalked it up to exhaustion. So rather than talk to him, I decided maybe it would be best to just hurry the process along. We drove back to the estate and while we drove I gave him a warning about the trip.

“Listen, while this trip is mostly about making memories, I want your opinion, too. I’m going to be looking at a few houses. I called a realtor and they have a few showings lined up for us and one Open House. I hope you don’t mind.” I looked at him sideways.

“I do mind,” he said quietly. “I have this amazing house. Why don’t you want to stay there with me?”

“Come on, Ben. I do. It’s not that. I need to have a place to go eventually, a place for all my things. Having them in storage is costing me a small fortune. I need to unload, get my own space, have my home.” I shrugged hoping he’d understand. I think he did. I think he heard in his heart that I would need a home to go to when he died.

“You can have the estate,” he said. “You can live there. It was left to me. Tradition. A will that had been made at birth, long before I was sick.” He was staring out the window.

“No thank you. It is too big. I’d have to live there with twenty-five friends to feel comfortable. And as you well know, I only have Jolie.” I was trying to joke with him, but the reality of our situation had hit home once more.

When we pulled into the driveway, he stepped out of the vehicle. “I’m going to go lay down. Just give me a little while and I’ll be ready to for dinner.”

Part of me wanted to ask if he wanted company, but I knew the answer. If he wanted me with him, he would have mentioned it. He would have given me some hint, some indication. He needed space right now. Maybe we both did. I know the truth hurt him, but there was no escaping it. This wasn’t something we could stick our nose in the sand about. We needed to accept and make the best of it.

While he headed up the stairs, I went out on the patio to think. It was the most serene place, perfect for that. Only, I guess serenity was not something I was going to experience.

When I walked out onto the patio, Brenda was sitting there drinking a glass of wine. And from the look on her face, flushed as it was, it wasn’t her first. My entire body sighed. Already I had discovered that conversations could be hit or miss with her and I wasn’t in the mood, not when Ben was hurting and needing space.

Still, I had no choice but to take a chance, so I sat in the seat across from her. “What are we drinking?” I asked as a means to encourage small talk.

“I am drinking a pinot noir. It’s a nice summer wine.” She scowled at me.

“Okay, what’s up?” I asked seriously. “Was there a problem after I left? Did the family not like the pictures? What?”

She stared at me for a minute. Then, setting her glass down, she finally revealed her concerns. “I thought you loved him.”

My face scrunched up and I could feel myself losing my temper. “Of course, I love him. What are you insinuating?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

She was visibly shaking. I could see that. What I couldn’t see was how I had merited an attack. I am nothing if not devoted to Ben.

“How can you just let him die?” She all but shrieked. “Why haven’t you encouraged him to get treatment? Don’t you want him to live? Or are you just better at hiding your gold digger tendencies than the others?” Her emotion induced tremors made it virtually impossible for her to lift her wine glass.

“The thought of losing him kills me. If there were anything that could save him, I would be pushing him to do it. How can you think that I wouldn’t?” I had slammed back in my seat from the weight of her words.

“There is! There is a treatment!” She screamed in excitement.

I swallowed hard, afraid to get my hopes up. “He told me there wasn’t.”

“There is. It’s not here. It’s experimental.” She took a deep breath. “At the same time, it’s better than nothing and they have had some serious success.”

Slowly, I licked my lips. “Where is it? What would he have to do to qualify?” There was something happening in my chest. I started feeling tingly…all my nerves.

“It’s in Switzerland. They are working on some drug therapy that has proven to strengthen the heart muscle and undo the effects of the chemo drugs.” She smiled a little now. I guess she realized that I wasn’t the monster she imagined I was.

“So, do you have paperwork, or an application or something?” I asked.

Frowning, she looked at me, “He’s already been accepted. I sent the paperwork in and he was accepted right away, first round.”

“Yay! So when does it start? When does he go?” I asked happily.

“He refused to leave. He was angry with me for going behind his back. He packed up and took a cruise.” She looked at me with a smirk. “And I guess we all know what happened from there.”

Yeah. We did. We all did. Only, I didn’t understand. Why wouldn’t he do this? “I’ll talk to him.”

“Please, Sin,” she said sadly. “I can’t lose him.” She reached her hand out to me. I took it.

“I can’t, either,” I admitted sadly.