Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
T he ride back to the mansion is tense. My fucking leg throbs, but my heart hurts more. How dare they continue to call Jenna a “Black Widow”?
For her part, Jenna keeps her head down, deep in her own thoughts. Maybe she’d be better off without me. At least the paparazzi wouldn’t follow her around like stink on trash. My heart twists at the possibility of her not being with me.
“Here you go. Safely back to your house,” the driver announces.
“Thanks. Appreciate the ride.” I pass him a hundred-dollar bill. “Have a good one.” Don’t want to give him any ammo to tell the circling vultures that I’m a cheap bastard.
Jenna’s already inside the mansion by the time I get out of the car. I watch the car drive away, then limp up the stairs. Fuck, this hurts. How will I be able to perform on stage tomorrow night?
Going through the open door, I’m greeted by Jenna holding an ice pack.
Always an ice pack.
“Have a seat,” she points to the chair in a nearby sitting room. When I move in the direction, she says, “On second thought, take off your sweats.”
Despite all the pain, despite all the crappy things reporters screamed at us, I smirk. “I didn’t know you cared.”
“Seriously? You reinjured yourself hours before you’re set to take the stage.” She pushes down on my shoulders. “Stop being a prima donna and sit.”
The shock of her description, plus physically moving me, causes me to cave. My leg is put on a footstool and ice is on my thigh within seconds.
“What were you thinking back there? You’ve been making great progress.”
“I was thinking the reporters were fucking out of line.”
“You know they want to get a rise out of you. Why did you give them one?” Her fingers worm under the ice pack and massage my pulled muscle.
My head leans on the back of the tall chair. “God, that feels so damn good.”
She huffs a laugh. “It’s what you’re paying me for.”
I grab her wrist. “That’s not true. You mean so much more to me than therapy.” I stare into her eyes. “You have to believe me.”
Her lips tighten. “I think the pull is relaxing. How’s your pain level?”
I query my body. “About a six,” I lie.
“Fine. Eight it is.”
My gaze follows her movements as she sits across from me. “Jenna,” I begin. “Lissa means nothing to me now. Back in high school, she was my world. Her and Curtiss. Until they put a wrecking ball to my life. I haven’t thought of her in years, not in any romantic way. Perhaps they came through my mind as betrayal, but nothing more.”
“I believe you.”
Three simple words. Ones I’ve not heard from another person’s mouth since Dad. He used to believe in me, but no one else has. Until Jenna .
I want to hug her until all the air between us evaporates. Bring her into my body and not let her disappear. This woman has the power to ruin me, and I’d gladly let her do it because I love her.
I can’t contain my feelings any longer. With a clear conscience, I admit, “I love you.”
Her hand flies in front of her face. “Bennett, no?—”
I raise my palm toward her. “Shh. You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know.”
She glances around the room, then focuses on the ice pack. Standing, she says, “I think you’ve had that on long enough.” She removes the ice and takes it into the kitchen.
For once, I don’t rip myself to shreds over my confession. The proverb “the truth will set you free” is one hundred percent correct. I can only hope she feels the same way. Someday.
Long minutes later, Jenna returns to the sitting room, pulling a different shirt over her scrubs. “Think you’re ready for some PT?”
I’d do anything for her. With care, I get to my feet, relieved the pain from my groin pull has subsided. “Bring it on.”
Two PT sessions and one delivery meal later, we find ourselves in the basement playing arcade games again. Due to her presence and the realization our time is drawing to a close, I can’t concentrate. She has to join UC on tour. I won’t accept any other answer.
I walk, without pain, to Donkey Kong. She’s absorbed in the game so I take time to enjoy how she puts her entire body into it. Something goes wrong as she screams, “You suck!” and pounds the machine.
Chuckling, I ask, “Not the ending you wanted?”
“No.” She pulls a disgusted face and I laugh. She may not have hair extensions, Botoxed lips, or surgically-enhanced boobs, but she’s perfect. I love every single thing about her. She has to feel the same way about me .
She has to.
“Let’s put on a movie.” I walk over to an overstuffed sofa and a large screen TV by the jukebox. For once, I’m not in the mood to listen to music. I scroll through my Netflix account, stopping at The Godfather. I point to the screen. “Which one?”
She reaches behind her head only to realize she ditched her ponytail during dinner. Tucking some hair behind her ear, she replies, “It’s your last night in Aroostook. You pick.”
“Hmm. Hard decision.” We settle in and Part II comes up on the screen. Her startled moan is my reward.
After a few minutes, she admits, “Luke told me not to break your heart.” At my raised eyebrows, she adds, “When he whispered to me in the doctor’s office.”
My eyes close. Seems like Luke’s watching out for me. “I promise never to hurt yours.”
The movie rolls, but I can’t concentrate on it. Nevada casinos and hotels provide the backdrop to my thoughts. I need her to agree to come with me on tour. During one of the shooting scenes—not the big one, of course—I play with her hair. “Say you’ll join the tour.”
“I have a lot of responsibilities here.”
“Aren’t I one of them?”
She sighs. “I know you still have a ways to go with your rehab.”
I lean forward, placing my hands on her legs. “I need you to make that happen.”
“What will the band say if they see me with you? I don’t want to cause discord.”
“Let Luke and me handle them. I’m sure they’d love to see you again.” Darren’s best friend 007 will be the hardest sell, but I’m sure we can get him to come around. Somehow.
Her head drops, studying my fingers making random musical notes on her legs. “I don’t know if I want to open myself up to the media circus again. They were brutal the first time.” She inhales. “This time hasn’t been a walk in the park, either.”
“I know. You’ll have to ignore them, like I generally do.” Except when they go after the woman I love.
“Doesn’t seem like the restraining order did much good.”
“If you agree, you’ll be far away from here. UC’s PR team will have tighter control.” They better.
She worries her bottom lip and I have an unbearable desire to lick it.
“I’m not sure. I still need to talk with Court and Ma.”
“Which you can do in the morning. Right now”—I lean in closer—“I need to soothe that lip of yours.”
I don’t wait for her response, simply mash our lips together. Like before, after a second, she opens up for me. My tongue sweeps through her mouth, tracing her bottom lip. Her little moan spurs me to envelop her in my arms and drag her to my body.
On screen, shots are fired but they don’t come close to the fireworks raging through my body. When our tongues clash like an out-of-control inferno, I drag my fingers down her torso until I’m able to trace her boobs. Outline her bra. Go around her chest and work the hooks open even though she’s still wearing her shirt.
Her hands skim down my torso and pull up my sweatshirt. I help her and soon we’re both naked from the waist up. The way her boobs press against my chest is indescribable. More. I want more.
Grabbing her hips, I drag her across the sofa until she straddles me. My lips pay homage to her rosy nipples, biting and licking and sucking. Her lower half undulates over me and I clamp her down over my straining erection.
Pain shoots through my right leg and my eyes pop open. No. Fucking. Way. I ignore the unpleasant throbbing, focusing on how her nipples have pebbled for me. She shifts her weight over me and I let out a groan. Not of pleasure.
Above me, Jenna’s eyelids reveal dazed grey irises. Which morph into an awareness. “Oh my God, Bennett. Are you all right?” She struggles to get off my lap and lands in a heap on my left side.
“I was better a second ago when you were on my lap.” Even as I say these words, I know they’re a lie. My hand massages my uncooperative groin.
“Let me get ice.”
The thought of putting something so cold next to my rock-hard cock elicits an immediate response. “No way.” I suck in air and pull her tight to my side. “Stay with me. You’ll make it all better.”
I can tell she wants to argue. Yet, the slumping of her body next to mine is all the response I need. A tentative palm lands on my chest. “I can feel your heart racing.”
My cheeks inflate. “See what you do to me, Jenna? Stay.”
I hold her for a long while, until her head lands on my upper pec and I kiss her forehead. “You mean so much to me,” I whisper. When she doesn’t reply, I check her gorgeous face and am rewarded with dark lashes covering the tops of her cheeks. She’s asleep.
Damn.
I arrange her body, enjoying how her limbs fit into mine like they were made for each other. My muscle pull stops hurting after a while, and I reach for a throw blanket to cover us both. I’ve slept in much less comfortable places. With her at my side, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
My alarm rings at seven in the morning, waking me. Jenna’s head is still against my side and a longing to wake like this every day emerges. Well, perhaps not exactly like this considering we’re still half-dressed on the sofa downstairs and not naked, in a proper bed. But I would wake like this for the rest of my life if I’m with her.
I kiss the top of her head. “Jenna,” I whisper. “Time to get up.”
I swear she kisses my upper pec. Her head flips to the opposite direction then she startles upright, the blanket falling to expose her beautiful boobs. “Oh no. Did we fall asleep down here?”
Eyes glued where my lips want to be, I reply, “Sure did.”
She looks down, gasps, and pulls the blanket off my body to cover hers. “I can’t imagine what you must think of me.”
That you’re not a groupie . Because if she were, we’d have done the nasty at least two or three times last night. We wouldn’t be talking now either. I keep these thoughts to myself. “Your virtue’s safe with me.”
She pauses in the process of putting hair behind her ear. “How’s your leg?”
“Doesn’t hurt now.”
“Good.” She stares at my chest. “You UC boys sure are shredded.”
While true, I don’t like being lumped together with the band. “I’m sure my rehab is easier because of all the work I’ve put in at the gym.”
“I agree.” She scoots away, pulling the blanket totally off my body. I don’t bother to hide my morning wood. After all, she’s the cause.
“No pressure, but I need to get ready to head out. Will you be joining me?”
Her naked shoulders square. “What you said yesterday makes sense. Now is actually a good time for me to get away and work on your PT, since my two clinics basically run themselves and the third one is only in development. Angie and King can scope out a fourth location for me.”
My heart races. “So you’ll come?”
She holds up her hand. “Whoa. I’m not ready to commit, just pointing out the facts.”
“All of which urge you to join me on tour.”
“I still need to talk with my employees about it. Especially Court. Courtney. She might be willing to shoulder more duties if I’m away. Not to mention having a big discussion with Ma. Nothing’s a done deal, but I’m more inclined than not to join you. Your doctor did prescribe PT while you’re on tour.”
“He did. He seemed impressed with you, by the way. He appreciated your initial diagnosis, which you did without any machines, might I note.” I run a finger down her bare arm. “What did he say to you when he pulled you out of the office yesterday?”
She waves her opposite palm, not disturbing my fingers. “Nothing exciting. Mainly medical stuff, prognosis, exercises, that sort of thing. He seemed impressed you’re not taking the meds.” I shake my head, and she continues, “I get it. Thank you for your dedication to the exercises and for powering through them without artificial assistance.”
I’m done talking about the doctor. Who said I can’t have sex for another thirteen days. All I want is Jenna’s agreement to be with me on tour. Well, and to sample more of her delicious wares.
“When will you have your final decision?” I leave in a few hours and want her at my side.
“Probably a couple of days.”
Thud. “I’ll be gone by then.”
“There are such things as airplanes. I can meet up with UC wherever you are.” She pauses. “Assuming that’s my decision.”
Days. I don’t want to wait so long for her to be back in my arms. “What if I can’t wait that long?”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine.” She taps my shoulder. “Promise me you’ll keep up your exercises, no matter what.”
“You know I will if you’re riding my ass to get them done.”
“Bennett.”
I don’t wait. I close the remaining distance between us and we kiss like never before. She hasn’t agreed yet, but I know she’s going to come with me. We’ll tour the world together—I’ll rock stadiums, and she’ll rock my world. Once she fixes this muscle pull, which protests its awkward position. I separate from her and adjust my leg. Her eagle eyes land on me.
“Hurts?”
“Slightly.” I wait a beat. “Maybe a three.”
She stands, wrapping the blanket around her like a toga. “Let’s do a set of exercises before you have to get on the helicopter, Rock Star. We’ll take a shower after, and you’ll be ready to leave. ”
I let her nickname for me pass. Rather, I zero in on the magic word. “ We’ll take a shower?”
“Separately.”
“ We’ll see about that.”
Together, we go into the gym and she oversees my PT regimen. Because I already was in my shorts and nothing else, I do the exercises half naked. Jenna, although again in her scrubs from last night, doesn’t seem to mind.
I lie on the weight bench while she gets another ice pack. These exercises are challenging, but they’re making things better. Can’t wait until PT is over and I get to have Jenna all to myself for my own wicked reasons. Until then, I’ll take her however I can get her.
She returns and the damn ice is put on my thigh. “While you let this sit, I’m going to take a shower.”
As she’s walking away, I grasp her fingertips and tug. She willingly returns to my side. “A kiss.”
Without protest, she gives me a sweet kiss. I let her leave, savoring how her lips covered mine. This was the first time she initiated a lengthy kiss, even if I did demand it. Progress.
About five minutes later, my cell pings. I pick it up and wince. It’s from 007:
No fucking way. Luke just told us you’re bringing Jenna on tour. I refuse to let that woman near me. What are you thinking?
I consider my response. While I want to tell him she’s mine now, I’m sure his allegiance to Darren won’t let him believe my truth. Instead, I type:
She’s my physical therapist and I’m still not healed. I need her.
Find another therapist!
We’ve been working together for two weeks. She’s really good. Remember how fast she got Darren back to touring?
And dead
I’m not taking any meds
Three dots bounce then stop. Twice. Finally, I get another text:
I don’t want her on the tour
She’s great at her job. Don’t you want me to have the best possible care?
Dude
Sensing I’m getting through to him without explaining my feelings toward Jenna, I make my closing argument:
She’s not how you remember her. She’s quieter. I’m sure she’ll keep to herself. Besides, she’s not responsible for Darren’s death. You know this.
Or I’ll keep her locked with me. 007 doesn’t need to know this until we’re touring.
I still don’t like it
I take this as a win and don’t bother to respond. All I need now is to convince her that this tour is the best thing for her. And us.