Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
R upert
I was so hard, it hurt. I’d thought I was going to be all right, but having her so close to me completely naked was agonising. Veronica’s backside rubbed against my stiff cock while I tried to think of my elderly aunt without teeth who’d tried to kiss me when I was six. Her body was shivering, making it all the worse.
“Rupert,” she moaned, placing my palm on her breast.
Jesus.
She was my biggest temptation, but I fucking couldn’t. This just didn’t sit right with me.
“I’m sorry, sunshine. I can’t touch you right now. You’re so sick, and I’m trying hard here to be respectful. Come on, let’s get you to bed. My housekeeper, Justyna, should be here soon. She’ll fix some homemade chicken soup and other yummy food for later,” I said as I stood and stepped out of the bathtub.
Her gaze landed on my pierced cock. I didn’t even know why I had done it, but after I’d come back from Greece, I’d had an urge to do something crazy to my body. It had hurt like hell, but apparently women loved it, at least the ones I’d fucked since then.
She licked her lips then parted them, probably not hearing me at all.
“Does it hurt, you know, when you have sex? Do women complain?”
“No, it actually helps to give you a very intense orgasm,” I replied, taking her hand and prompting her to get out of the bath.
When she did, I grabbed her towel, dried her off as quickly as I could, and put the thick white robe on her.
“If I wasn’t ill, I would be riding you on this floor right now, and you would have never said no to me.” She sighed.
I smiled, wrapping a towel around my waist. This was going to be a long day. I could feel it in my bones.
“Without a doubt, sunshine, but right now we need to get you to bed. I’ll give you some painkillers, although I prefer to use a more natural method,” I told her.
She needed to rest. I touched her head. She wasn’t burning up any longer, but I was going to check her temperature to be sure.
We went back to my bedroom, where her scent filled the room. I dried her hair a bit while she sat on the bed and then helped her get under the covers.
“Thank you. I owe you one.” She smiled at me.
“Are you hungry? I think Justyna is already downstairs. I can bring you the soup?”
“No. I feel like I might throw up again. I will eat later,“ she said then closed her eyes, likely quickly forgetting about riding with me in the bathroom.
Isearched for some clothes to wear. Veronica breathed steadily. I wasn’t sure if she was asleep, but she must have been exhausted.
Moments later, I went downstairs where Justyna was re-heating something on the stove.
“Mr Banks, I made the soup like you asked for and thought I would make some Polish dumplings, too. I know how much you like them.” She smiled.
“Thank you. Veronica is sleeping so she won’t be eating right now. For now I’m going to make myself a protein smoothie and then I will be in my office if you need me,” I told her.
She nodded. Justyna's mother was from Poland and she had been in the kitchen, cooking with her mother, since she was a little girl. She didn’t always cook for me because I enjoyed preparing all my meals myself, but at times I got so busy with work that I asked her to fix some dishes. I was very regimental about my meals and rarely ate out.
Three hours later, I stretched out and rubbed my eyes. It was just before midday. I glanced at my watch, knowing Veronica would probably be up by now, and when I turned around, I nearly jumped as she was standing in my office.
“Christ, you could have given me a heart attack.” I stood and walked up to her. I touched her forehead, which for a change wasn’t burning, but she was still very pale.
“Thank you for looking after me, my guardian angel, but I woke up starving,” she said, embracing me unexpectedly.
I liked having her close to my body.
“There’s plenty of food downstairs.” I told myself that I couldn’t fall for this woman. She was trouble, and there was no way I could allow her to work in the club. Something had to give. “How is your stomach?”
“I felt nauseated before I fell asleep, but I feel fine now,” she replied before letting go of me.
“Good. Come on then, let’s go downstairs to feed you,” I said.
She nodded, and I sensed her tension. Since her fever has gone now, I suspected she was feeling a little embarrassed about everything that had happened in the bathroom, but I wasn’t planning to be a wanker and call her out on her neediness.
Justyna had left the dumplings in the pan, but I took out the chicken soup from the fridge and started reheating it. Veronica sat on one of the stools by the island, popping her hands under her chin.
“Something smells incredible,” she said. “So are you going to tell me why you reacted the way you did the other day when I asked you about that photo?”
I kept stirring the soup, feeling uneasy. I had to tell her since I’d overreacted the other day, but I didn’t like sharing that story with anyone. All these memories from the past made me feel helpless because this was something I could never control. Cancer had fucked me up when I was a child, and even years later I was told it could still come back. I waited until the soup was warm, then poured it into a bowl and placed it right in front of her.
“I was diagnosed with leukaemia when I was around four, hence why I had no hair in that photo. I’m sorry I reacted like that then, but I still find it hard to talk about the past,” I said, deciding to let go.
Veronica stopped eating and stared at me with wide eyes.
“Cancer… oh dear Lord, Rupert, I’m sorry, but you obviously fought it off, right?” she asked.
“I don’t remember much from that time. I knew I was in the hospital for several months, then I was home. My mother said my immune system was shattered so I couldn’t see anyone, so she moved my brothers somewhere else because she was scared I might catch something from them,” I explained.
These memories were slightly hazy. I remembered sitting in my room and staring outside the window, seeing some kids playing outside. I knew at some point it had been touch and go—my parents thought they were going to lose me.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. It must have been horrible,” she said.
I nodded, then dragged my hand through my hair.
“It’s the past that left me with some scars in my adult life. I get regular checkups every six months and I have a private doctor. I have some OCD tendencies that I believe are linked to my childhood.” I wanted to move past that. “I always crave control, and I fucking freak out if I’m not. Maybe that’s why all my previous relationship failed.”
“Hence the fact that you never let any woman sleep in your bed?” Veronica asked, sounding concerned and compassionate. “I would have been happy spending a night in one of the other rooms.”
“I panicked when I brought you home. You were so ill. I called my doctor, but he was in France. He managed to calm me down a little.” I’d felt completely powerless while she’d lain in my bed, weak and pale. “Eat, otherwise the soup is going to get cold.”
“Shit, I really need to call Laura. I texted her saying that I wasn’t feeling well on Friday and then this morning again, but she’s probably freaking out.” Veronica tried to get up.
“No, eat first,” I urged, stopping. “I talked to Spencer earlier on, and I think he let her know you were all right.”
Veronica nodded and continued to eat. I grabbed several dumplings and put them on my plate, then sat down in front of her. For a while, we both enjoyed our food.
“These dumplings look delicious. You know that Laura is Polish. She was born there, and then was adopted by this couple from London,” Veronica said.
“My housekeeper is Polish, and the dumplings are her mother’s recipe,” I said. “Listen, I have to apologise. I may have freaked out your roommate a bit, but she’s a feisty one. She kicked me in the balls.”
Veronica laughed.
“Yeah, she told me about that but don’t worry, I now kind of understand you a little better. The fact that Laura works for your brother has freaked me out slightly. I can imagine what you must have felt,” she added, stealing one dumpling off my plate and biting into it. “Oh my word, these are delicious.”
“You’re trouble.” I knew that if this were someone else, I would have already lost it. I hated when other people touched my food.
“Rupert, I’m really sorry about your childhood. It must have been hard for you, but I think you should let it go. You’re young and healthy. You need to let your hair down for once,” she said.
I wiped my mouth and stared at her beautiful face, only just noticing that she had makeup on. She must have had some in her handbag. It seemed that Veronica didn’t like letting her hair down, either.
“I’m trying, sunshine, but it’s not always so easy,” I murmured. I wouldn’t bring up the club and ruin the moment. “So tell me about your past relationships? Did you have anyone special in your life?”
“I haven’t been in many relationships. There was one when I was at Uni, and this guy was totally obsessed with me. We went out for two years and then broke up because he became too much,” she explained. “There’s nothing to talk about. Better to tell me about your summer plans?”
“Spencer and Maja go to Sicily every year since we still have family there, and I was planning to accompany them,” I told her.
The school holidays were starting in a few weeks, and I often took time off work in August, although the weather on the Island was unbearable at times.
Veronica’s face brightened.
“No way. I’m planning another trip to Europe, mainly Italy with a few girls. Nothing is set in stone, but that’s another spooky coincidence." She winked at me. “Anyway, I think we should go for a date, Rupert. Obviously that sexual tension between us is not going away, and I really want to see that pierced cock in action.”
I was taking a sip of water and nearly fucking choked. Veronica was a devil. I could already see that mad gleam in her eyes as she laughed.
“Maybe. I do want to fuck you again, but the club is a dealbreaker for me, sunshine. You quit and then we date.”