29. Savannah
Afew hours after my embarrassing upchuck, I poured bath beads into the garden tub in my bathroom and drew the water as high as possible. I peeled off my clothes and threw them into the hamper, then slowly stepped into the tub. I sank into the embrace of the warm water softened by the bath-bead oils. I sighed as my body relaxed. This was what I needed after the day I’d had. I lay back and pressed my hands over my flat abdomen. It was official. It would stay that way for the foreseeable future.
I was not pregnant.
Since my blood sample had already been sent to the HEAT lab, Bond had made some calls, pulled some strings to get a test fast-tracked, and provided us with the definitive answer. She’d diagnosed me with “anxiety stomach” and ordered a prescription that I could take as needed when I was under duress.
From the next room, I heard Ben, who was on the phone with Mai, telling her, “Bond said she’s definitely not.”
Great. Word of my post-mission projectile vomiting had reached HEAT agents beyond this building. Now half the world thought I was preggers. Weren’t these people supposed to be good at keeping secrets?
A minute later, Ben said goodbye to Mai, then appeared in the bathroom doorway, looking happy and intense and muscular and yummy.
I closed my eyes to avoid drooling. “Sounds like that was a good call. Have you two officially made up?”
“I don’t know that we ever officially fell out, but yeah, we’re good. And she imparted some sisterly advice.”
I opened my eyes and glared at him. “If it’s about birth control…”
“No. About my dad. She’s pushing me to have it out with him.”
“And?”
“And I texted him and asked him to meet Monday, between classes he’s teaching at the Academy. That way, it’ll just be us there. Not Mai. Not my mom.”
“Good.” I was glad he was going to try to make amends with his dad now instead of waiting until they only had six months left to spend together, like I’d done with my mom.
He quirked up one side of his mouth. “But I want to go back to that look you gave me when I stepped into the bathroom. What’s going on in that dirty mind of yours?”
“Thinking about how to recover from this day, attract potential investors, rebuild my business.” I swept my gaze up and down his body. “Convince a hot Ranger to have his way with me in this tub.”
“You’ll find that last part to be surprisingly easy, but I would like to hear about those other thoughts first.” He stepped closer. “How’s recovery going?”
I shrugged. “The warm water is helping.”
He pulled off his T-shirt and sat down on the area rug beside the tub. “And how do you feel about the pregnancy tests being negative?”
“I’m having trouble coming up with the right word. Not sad, exactly. Wistful, maybe. You?”
He skimmed a finger across the surface of the water. “Wistful fits. And the business?”
“I was thinking about having to start over.” I held out my hand, and he took it. “I should probably be scared to death, but I’m actually excited about the possibilities.”
He arched an eyebrow. “I do like it when you’re excited.” He let go of my hand and pushed a strand of hair back from my face. “Tell me more about the plans you’re making.”
I had so many thoughts to share, but I needed to start at the beginning. “Did I tell you why I started the business in California?”
He shook his head.
“That guy,” I said euphemistically, refusing to use my ex-business partner’s name, “pushed the idea of setting up the company there, but that was because he knew I wanted to move to the other side of my country. I was twenty-four years old and finally had my degree, and I needed to get away from my mom, from her pain.”
I didn’t need to explain that to Ben. The summer we’d dated, when we had hung out at my mom’s house pretending to be friends, he’d witnessed the way she’d still grieved, even ten years after my dad’s death. She never stopped until the day she died.
He kissed my fingertips. “Are you saying you ran away from home?”
“Sound familiar?”
“Little bit.”
“It was probably crazy,” I continued, “given the cost of real estate and commercial rental property. But we had seed investors—who thankfully were paid back before this recent debacle—and enough capital to make it work. When things really started humming, I bought my condo with my profit-sharing. It was scary, the amount of money I paid for it at the time. But now, it’s worth nearly twice that much.”
He made a low whistle.
“There’s enough to put a good chunk of my own money into settling the company’s debts and buying out that guy if I need to.”
“Wait.” His hands went still. “You love that condo. And your shoe closet. And where will you live?”
“I think what I really love is what the condo represents. That I have a place in the world. Maybe I don’t need it for that anymore. As for my shoes, they’ll come with me wherever I land. The California office is so well established, and I have a great second-in-command there who could take over the top spot. But the office here.” I shook my head. “I let the staff down by leaving and neglecting them.”
“Cut yourself some slack. You were grieving.”
“Still, I owe it to them to do better by them. And my aunt’s family is here, and Mai’s home base.”
“What about your other friends? The mastermind group.”
I smiled. “Are you making fun of us?”
“Never. It does seem like a very intense way to have friendships, though.”
“We like it. We already have regular meet-ups online, and I’d fly out to the California office pretty frequently, so I’d see them then. And best of all,” I leaned forward and kissed his neck, “I’d be much, much closer to Chicago. It’s less than a two-hour flight from here.”
“Funny you should mention Chicago.” He reached under the surface of the water and twined his fingers with mine. “My sister is annoying, but she occasionally makes a good point, like the fact that there are a lot of jobs in the DC metro area. Jobs I could take if I didn’t feel the need to stay far away to avoid my family.”
I didn’t mention that he already had a job in the area that was the perfect fit. He would have to realize that for himself.
“And like you said, Mai’s here, and my mom would be thrilled,” he continued. “Michael plans to get a job in Baltimore when he finishes his MBA.” He sighed. “And who knows, maybe things will improve with my dad.”
“Do I understand this correctly? Are the two runners running home?”
“Not home like to the apartment above my parents’ garage, despite the smokin’-hot memories I have of it. But home to Maryland. There’s a condo for sale in Mai’s building. And when you said you’re ready to sell your place in California”—he pulled my hand out of the water and kissed the back of it—“I started thinking…” He kissed the pulse point on the inside of my wrist. “We could buy it.” He kissed my inner elbow.
“You mean move in together?”
“Just think about it,” he whispered as he nuzzled my neck. “Run it by your mastermind group if you want. Workshop the issue.”
I splashed water at him. “Now I know you’re making fun of me.”
“Wouldn’t think of it,” he repeated. “And even if I were, I’m going to make up for it now by letting you live out your Ranger-in-a-tub fantasy.”
“Mmm. That could put me in a very forgiving mood.”
He rubbed my shoulders and plied my neck with butterfly kisses. Tracing circles on my skin, he moved over my throat, then lower, stroking each nipple in turn until I groaned with pleasure.
“Your skin feels like silk,” he murmured against my neck. He sank a gentle bite into the sensitive spot between my throat and shoulder.
I leaned my head back against the tub as he drew more circles over my belly, across my hips, down my thighs. He massaged his way down my legs, pressed his thumbs into the soles of my feet until I moaned, then moved back up my calves.
He slipped one hand between my thighs and slowly rolled his thumb over my clit. I relaxed into his touch. He slid two fingers inside me, stroking me inside and out. I bucked against his hand. He let me set the pace, whispering my name as I rode the wave of pleasure that rose up and pulled me under. My release started like a slow crest, then peaked and sent fire racing through my veins. He worked me with his fingers, drawing out the last bit of ecstasy while my body shuddered.
When I had the strength to open my eyes, his head was propped on his hand on the ledge of the tub. He grinned, looking pleased with himself. “Welcome back.”
I grinned in return. I was even more pleased with him. “What are you doing out there? Come in while the water’s still warm.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” He stood and removed his jeans and jockeys. He was rock-hard, and I couldn’t wait to touch him.
I ran my finger over his erection and bit my lower lip. His dick pulsed in response. I sat up as he stepped into the knee-deep water. I kissed the side of his shaft and tongued the salty drop off his tip.
He sucked in his breath and braced himself with a wider stance. He splayed one hand on the wall behind the tub and cupped the other on the back of my head. He stared down at me, his eyes focused and tensed. Asking me, begging me for my mouth.
With my eyes locked on his, I swirled my tongue over the smooth skin of his thick, hard dick, then palmed the base. I drew him in between my lips. At first, I sucked and licked gently, slowly. Then harder, faster. He pumped his hips to match my rhythm, making love to my mouth. With my lips, my tongue, and the gentle graze of my teeth, I dragged him closer and closer to bliss. When his nostrils flared and his lips parted in ecstasy, I took him deeper.
His body tensed. His shaft spasmed. He threw his head back and groaned as his salty-sweet cum spilled over my tongue. I drank him in.
When he finished, I kissed my way across his hip and sank back down into the warm, silky bath. With a satisfied sigh, he slid down into the water beside me. He tucked his arm around me and closed his eyes, still catching his breath.
I kissed his chest. “Well, I think we’ve learned a lot from today’s workshop.”
He laughed. “Have we? Please, share.”
“You learned that blow jobs are very, very good.”
He cracked one eye open. “I already knew blow jobs are very, very good. Although, I was reminded blow jobs from you are spectacular.”
“Hmm.” I smiled and cuddled against him. “And you learned the importance of good bath beads for silky skin.”
“That is something I did not previously know.”
“And I learned that some amazing benefits would come from living with you.”
He opened both eyes. “Are you serious? Are you saying yes to the condo?”
“That condo, a different condo.” I grinned at him. “The apartment over your parents’ garage. I’m saying yes to you.”
He pulled me tight against him. “This is probably a good time to tell you I love you.”
“And an even better time to tell you I love you, too.”
As I said the words, I knew we’d made the right decision. When I was with Ben, I already felt like I was home.