Angel Falling, page 14
part #1 of Falling Series
He tipped his head back and laughed, still holding me close. “Of course I know that. But love is love and I take Oliver’s love very seriously, and I know you do, too. So I’m warning you: That big lug is smitten. You better figure out soon what it is you want out of your time with him, or you may miss the boat.” My best friend’s boyfriend was giving me a love lecture. There was something oddly dysfunctional about that.
“I’m falling, too.” The words left my mouth so swiftly that I wasn’t sure I’d even said them.
“I know. Oh, honey, I know. You look at Hank the way I look at Oliver. It’s unmistakable. Only the two of you are blind to it.” He smiled and I hugged him tightly.
“Hey now! You trying to steal my girl?” Hank said from behind us. My father must have moved on to another group. Probably telling everyone at the party about how his daughter’s boyfriend decked a congressman’s son.
“Sharing is caring, Hank.” Dean’s mouth twitched but his face stayed serious.
“The hell it is. Didn’t you get a gander at the other fella that talked about my Angel? Want to join him?” He hooked a thumb behind his back for emphasis.
Dean couldn’t hold it in any longer. They both started to crack up. Hank brought over a beer for the man and a new glass of wine for me. It was startling how quickly these two men had bonded.
Just a moment ago I was getting the “watch out for Hank’s heart” lecture from my friend, a man Hank met only a few hours ago! I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. Nothing in my perfectly calculated and planned out world continued to add up. Everything was spinning out of control, specifically circling around a man well over six feet tall who controlled me and my lady parts with just the sound of his breath against the open skin of my neck.
My mother had Grant’s passed out body taken to one of the guest rooms. I was certain she’d have one of the many doctors in attendance look him over. The group settled back into an easy commentary after the spectacle though I didn’t participate.
So much of my life was out of whack. Ever since Hank entered, things have been off balance and messy. Though the last three weeks had most certainly not been predictable, I’d still never been happier.
It dawned on me that maybe I was trying too hard to keep every facet of my life the same. Trying to fit Hank into my everyday life was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Yes, Hank would have to adapt to my obligations with work and up his social grace, but it didn’t mean I wanted to change who he was. I adored him.
I looked over at Hank, a huge smile was plastered across his face. A five o’clock shadow just grazed the surface of his chin, making him look more rugged and handsome by the second. His green-brown eyes darted between my friends. I realized while watching him how perfectly he fit in with the only people in the world who actually mattered. He even was getting along more easily with Oliver, and it warmed my heart to see them joking with one another. Could I see myself with him in the long run? I didn’t know. We needed more time. Three weeks was hardly enough to determine what the future would hold.
Hank leaned back in his chair and laughed at the story London was telling about how her current clients wanted a stripper pole in their master bedroom. She was completely against it but had one put in because the wife was adamant. The first time the female client tried to use the pole she fell off and broke her wrist.
Needless to say, the pole was removed the next day and the client was now letting London make the decisions about home décor. Hank gripped my hand, picked it up, and brought it to his lips, never swaying from the conversation before us. He kissed each one of my knuckles, then placed a warm kiss at the center of my palm. My entire body shivered and ached with desire.
I pulled both of our hands down to my lap. He surprised me by placing his large hand over my thigh and inching up my skirt, just enough so that the act wasn’t indecent. His fingers toyed with my nylons and made endless circles over my knee and around the tender skin just above. He looked over at me; his full lips displayed a small smile before he sent me an air kiss.
The man was full of surprises.
***
Punching out Aspen’s ex-boyfriend in the middle of a forced family fun event was not my best moment. The dick had it comin’. He was downright disrespectful to my Angel, and someone needed to teach the pretty boy a lesson about respecting a lady. Especially if said lady was on my arm.
Growing up I’d gotten into my fair share of trouble, stealing Farmer McMann’s tractor on account of a dare from my brother. Old Man Henry let me stay a full night in the local clink for that. It was never reported, though, because my father was friends with both Farmer McMann and the sheriff. I ended up doing a months’ worth of hay baling and cleaning up pig shit for that offense.
A few other times I’d gotten into a raucous fight with a couple of jocks, then again when I beat up my girlfriend’s cousin for touching her inappropriately. Hell, now that I looked back on it, I’d gotten in a heap of trouble. I’d just hoped that my pattern of solving problems with my fists wouldn’t push Aspen away. For her I could find a way to keep my cool. At least I’d try my damnedest.
“So, I hear your new beau took out Grant this evening.” A fella with a very smart suit and a slutty-looking filly attached to his arm spoke over Tripp’s current tale.
Aspen rolled her eyes. “Good to see you, too, Rio.” London jumped up and hugged the man, picking the tart off his arm so she could hug him more fully. Rio smiled a slick grin at London and the filly frowned.
“London, dear sister, how are you?” he asked. The tart’s smile returned. So this was Rio. I could see the resemblance to their father, but his demeanor said smarmy—nothing like London’s carefree nature and Aspen’s quiet elegance. No, this man thought his shit didn’t stink.
Aspen rose and hugged her brother patting him lightly on the back. I could see their bodies didn’t even touch. Nothin’ like back home. Ma would strangle a family member until they couldn’t breathe when she hugged. I stood and put out a hand. “Hank Jensen. Good to finally meet you, Mr. Reynolds.”
“Rio, please. May I call you Hank?”
“It is my name,” I smiled, hoping to get a reaction out of him. A smile, anything. It didn’t work.
“So tell me, Mr. Jensen, what on earth would make you raise your fists to Mr. Campbell? The rumors are spreading like wildfire. I thought it best to come ask the source.” Rio leaned against the back of London's chair.
“Well, I don’t take kindly to people disrespecting my girl. That includes stuck-up, rich pretty boys like Mr. Campbell. ‘Sides, he wasn’t good to your sister when they were datin’. That alone was reason enough.” I couldn’t figure out this guy’s angle. He showed no facial expression whatsoever. He must have practiced the stink face for hours on end to perfect it the way he had.
“Such strong provocation for someone so new to the fold.”
“Let it go, Rio. It’s really none of your business,” Aspen jumped in.
“Father is going on and on about how ’Hank the Hero‘ knocked out the little prick. It’s becoming legendary. At least now I can say I’ve met the man and heard the legend firsthand.” Aspen rolled her eyes and huffed. “It will be entertaining reading about it in the papers tomorrow.” He turned to his date. “Shall we?” He gestured to the barely dressed brunette. “Until next time, ladies, gents.” His arm candy followed him blindly.
“What’s he mean, he’ll read about it in the papers?”
Everyone looked at one another until Oliver spoke. “Hank, the entire scene will be front page news in the society pages. Don’t worry though; our lawyers are already handling it. You’ll come out on top and Aspen will take care of any reparations.”
“Reparations. What’re you gettin’ at?” I could feel the anger rise through my chest and out my arms.
“She will compensate Grant for any damages.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re going to pay that bastard off because I hit him?”
Aspen’s eyes went wide. “Hank, we can talk about this later.”
“The hell we are. We’ll talk about this now!” I pointed a finger hard onto the crisp linen tablecloth.
Dean leaned over and gripped my forearm. “Hank, now is not the time or the place to have this conversation. Once again, people are starting to stare. This does not look good for Pen or her family.”
I looked around the yard and several people were staring, probably waiting for the next show to start. I nodded and stood.
“Darlin’, you ready to blow this popsicle stand?” I held out a hand to her. She took it and allowed me to lead her. The guys stood and followed us.
“Never a dull moment with you, Stud.” She leaned into my side. I could tell she was trying to lighten the mood but I was good and pissed. Unfortunately, her shoulders were stiff, held back into a perfect arrow. I’d relax her nice and good back home. A few well-given orgasms and she’d forget all about tonight’s happenings.
Home.
Without realizing it, her penthouse was becoming more like home to me than the ranch. My men were still here on the job and I was improving quicker than expected. Doctor said I’d be back to work in two to three more weeks, at least doing desk duty. Maybe then I wouldn’t feel such restlessness.
We made good time back to the city from her parent’s mansion, but the ride was quiet. I could feel the tension in Aspen’s shoulders. She stared out the window the entire time. Every so often I’d catch a glance from Oliver or Dean.
Once back home, Aspen went straight to the bathroom and started the shower. I sat on her bed thinking about my next move. She was quiet, not exactly mad. She seemed … sad. Of all the things I’d seen her feel, sad hadn’t been one of them. I didn’t like it one bit.
Deciding to eat crow, I ventured into the bathroom. She was standing under the spray, her body porcelain and perfect through the clear glass. I removed my clothes and entered the shower. She barely registered my presence. Her shoulders sagged and her head tipped low in defeat.
I kissed the warm skin between her shoulder blades. She sighed. I slowly started to massage her neck, working out the kinks and knots I found there.
“You going to talk to me, Angel? You’ve been pretty quiet.” I continued to knead her muscles and smooth my hands down her back.
“It shouldn’t be this hard,” she whispered.
“What shouldn’t be, Darlin’?”
“This. A relationship. We’re so … ”
“So what, Angel?” I pulled her back until her slick body melded to mine.
“Different,” she finished on an exhale.
I slid my hands up her wet body; one hand cupped her breast, the other her neck. I tilted her chin to the side and trailed kisses up the white column from behind. She moaned when my fingers rolled her nipple, elongating the tender flesh.
“Different can be good,” I told her, my hands continuing to caress and stroke.
“You think so?” Her response was almost lost to the sound of rushing water as it poured over our bodies.
“I know so.” I slid my hands down her body and pushed my knee between her legs, encouraging her to widen them. Leaning down, I lined up my cock with her entrance. In one thrust I was embedded deep inside her slick heat.
“Oh God, Hank!” she cried out.
“See, Angel.” Thrust. “Has it ever—” Thrust. “Been like this—” Thrust. “Before?” Thrust.
She shook her head, bit her lip, and clenched me internally. “I’m going to come,” she whispered.
“Yes you are, and I’m going to make it happen again.” Thrust. “And again. Until you know damn sure that no man will ever fulfill you physically or emotionally like I do, Angel.”
After that last statement I pounded into her. Her hands slammed against the wall in front of her as I took her roughly from behind. I had a point to make. She came over and over again as I hammered into her core. “You feel that? You feel your body succumbing to it. Let it happen, Angel. I’m here. I’ll always be here.” I wanted her to beg me to stop. Beg me to never leave.
“Hank, I can’t, I can’t, no more,” she cried, then moaned as I reached around and found her clit.
“Another. Just one more. I want you to come with me, Angel.” That did her in. Her pussy clamped down around my length so tight it sucked all the air from my lungs. My cock jerked, pouring my seed into her.
We both tumbled into a heap of naked limbs and arms to the floor. I caught her listless form as she slid into my lap. My shoulder screamed like hell, but I didn’t care. That was one of the most intense experiences of my life. I knew at that moment that we could never be apart. She was it for me. There would be no other like her. Now I just needed to convince her of it.
Chapter 11
Something about Hank was off. All week he’d been less demanding of my time, more attentive to what he perceived were my needs. Instead of rushing to bed, he wanted to talk each night. Really talk about my day, about life, about random things. It was nice, normal even. We watched movies together, went for walks, got ice cream, he even went so far as to make me breakfast in bed one morning. I doubt Gustav was thrilled with that. The Swede didn’t take kindly to anyone cooking in my kitchen but him.
Even the sex was different this week. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was, but it seemed as though it held more meaning.
I wondered briefly if it had anything to do with the fact that his mother was coming into town this evening and would be here for a few days.
Excitement and dread took over my thoughts in equal parts. What if she didn’t like me? What if she made Hank go back home? He held his mother on a pedestal, something I was completely unaccustomed to.
My mother was an evil she-devil who didn’t deserve more than a fleeting thought. He doted on his mother and talked about her as if she were made of sugar and spice and everything nice. I pictured a Mary Poppins type. A real do-gooder. I was doomed.
Oliver entered my office. “I’ve got reservations at Bellissimo scheduled for seven for the three of you. Are you ready to meet Hank’s mother?”
“Not really. What if she hates me?”
“Pen, seriously? She’s not going to hate you.” He started messing with my hair, wrapping locks around his fingers to refresh the curls. Hank liked it best when he could run his fingers through my hair, so it was down. I’d been wearing it down a lot more lately. I loved having Hank’s hands on me and would go great lengths to make sure he did as often as possible.
“You don’t know that. My own mother hates me!”
“Your mother is a stuck up bitch. She doesn’t even like herself.” We both smiled, knowing that his words held a great deal of truth.
I leaned against my desk chewing my lip until it hurt. A headache was starting at my temples and I rubbed at it uselessly.
“You’re really worried?” His voice held a twinge of surprise.
“Yes, I am.” I took a deep breath. “Hank adores his mother. If she doesn’t like me, there’s no hope for us.”
“I can’t believe that. Honey, you don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re beautiful, obscenely rich, and most importantly, Hank loves you,” he finished.
“Shut your mouth! He doesn’t love me. He loves fucking me. Big difference!” The words flew from my mouth, but even I didn’t believe them a hundred percent.
“Pen, he does, too. He’s been living in your home for what, five weeks now? Sleeping in your bed. You’ve spent every single free moment together.” His eyebrows knit together. “You owe me for that one by the way. And at the end of the day, you’ve never been happier.” He tipped my chin until my eyes met his. “The cowboy loves you. You’d better accept that and start taking responsibility for it. And, you need to tell him.”
“I have nothing to give a man like him.”
“You have everything to give and his love to gain. He’s not Grant. He’s not going to screw you over. He’s Hank the Hunk. A fucking cowboy from Texas. I should be so lucky!”
“You have Dean, asshat!”
“You’ve got a point. I do have Dean and … mmm, he’s yummy.” He looked off into the distance with one of his dreamy-eyed stares.
“I’m just not used to feeling nervous about meeting the family. In my past relationships, their families knew my family and my reputation spoke for itself. With Hank’s mom, she doesn’t know me from Adam.” I sunk into my leather office chair and banged my head on the desk.
Oliver rubbed my back and shoulders and pulled me up. “Stop that, you’ll leave a mark,” he laughed. “Look, you’re going to be great. Let your beauty and sparkling personality win her over. It did for me. You had nothing but frizzy hair and a trust fund when we met, and I just knew I had to share a life with you.”
“Thank you, Ollie.” Tears pooled at the corner of my eyes and I used the pad of my ringer fingers to stop the flow. The last thing I wanted was to look like a raccoon when I met his mom.
“Yeah well, who else was going to fix that mop of hair and burn your scrunchies?” He mock shivered and pretended to vomit.
“Oh, cut it out. I wasn’t that bad.”
He looked at me pointedly, eyebrows sky high.
“Okay, maybe I was.”
We finished up the day focusing solely on business. I texted Hank to ensure that he was ready.
To: Hank Jensen
Dinner’s at 7:00 at Bellisimo. Is she here?
From: Hank Jensen
Precious cargo arrived. We’ll meet you there, Angel.
Of course my five o’clock meeting ran late. I hadn’t notified Hank, but I was meeting with Grant and his lawyers about the incident at the estate last weekend. After a week of legal hell, I was prepared to offer the bastard a settlement. I didn’t want any of this to get between Hank’s healing or his excitement over his mother coming.
My lawyer, Nathaniel Walker, was a shrewd businessman with a lovely British accent, and he was easy on the eyes. We’d actually been introduced and went on a couple dates a few years ago. Nothing more than a chaste kiss ever occurred; we realized that we were better suited to a friendship and professional relationship than a romantic one.
