Hungry Heart: Part Two Page 2

  His cock jumps at my question, making it clear which way his body wants to go. He stalks toward the bed, towering over me until I lean back on the pillows, and then he walks around the bed before getting in.

  Lying on his back, he fists his cock, his eyes seeking mine out and finding them. “Straddle me.” When I do, he keeps his one hand on his cock while using his free one to grip my chin and makes sure our gazes are connected before he says, “Thank you for telling me.”

  “As if I had much of a choice?”

  “Of course you did.” He swipes his thumb across my lips and when they part, he smiles. “It might’ve taken you a week, but you chose honesty when I made you face me.”

  “You brought me my favorite muffin and fucked me like you missed me. How could I not?” We both know I’m not serious. Yeah, I hoped she would tell him before I did, but in the end, I would’ve told him no matter what. And for that, I add, “I’m sorry for putting you off. You’re right; I didn’t want to hurt you. But that’s not for me to decide when it’s something you should know.”

  “Apology accepted.”

  “You don’t seem all that surprised though.”

  “Your girlfriend doesn’t stop sleeping with you eight months ago without it being clear something isn’t right, Caroline. I wish I could say I’m surprised they began before she talked to me about it, but I’m not.”

  “Why…? Did you suspect?”

  He drops his hand from my mouth, his smile rueful. “No, I didn’t, but there’s no use in being angry about it, is there?”

  “You’re still gonna wait for her to break up with you even though she cheated?”

  “I told you, it’s the only way to go,” he says with a shrug. “Did it sound like they were planning to tell me?”

  “Uhm, he wants her to, but it seemed like she was afraid for you to find out the truth.”

  “I believe that.”

  I’m sure he does. It’s clear he’s given up on her, but I’m still taken aback at his lack of what I think would be a proper reaction at what I told him. “Are you hurt at all by this?”

  “I stopped being hurt by her a while ago. Not much surprises me anymore when it comes to Miranda. We’ll part ways when she says we will, and I suspect it will be sooner rather than later now.”

  “And your friendship with Len?”

  He lifts a brow at the same time as his hips. “Do you really want to continue talking about this, or would you prefer to ride my cock and give us something else to focus on?” Grabbing one of my hands, he replaces his hand with mine, and puts both of his behind his head. “Well?”

  The fact he doesn’t want to talk anymore is obvious. So, instead of answering him, I do what he least expects and scoot back a little before bending over and covering the tip of his cock with my mouth. His hiss of surprise is followed by a guttural groan, and his hands slipping into my hair, fisting it even though he keeps his grip gentle. Flicking my eyes up to his face shows his are closed, so I shut my own while taking him deeper until I can’t go any further, my hand tight at the base.

  It doesn’t last long. I’ve never considered myself real good at it, so when he indicates with a light tug that I should stop, I do. His eyes are gleaming as they meet mine, reaching for and then handing me a condom.

  “Much as I love having your mouth around me, sweetheart, I want you on top.”

  I’m barely into position when he grabs my hips and thrust into me with single, hard lift of his hips.

  “God,” he says, pulling me down so we’re skin to skin, and hugs me close. “I’d fuck you all day long if I weren’t such an old man.”

  “Shut up.”

  We both laugh and he releases me, letting me straighten up before cupping my breasts in his hands and squeezing them.

  “Have I told you how much I love these?” He flicks his thumb over each nipple, making them rise and tighten as he grins. “Because I do. They almost overfill my hands, but not quite. They’re perfect.”

  “They might be, but I’m not.”

  I don’t realize I’ve said that out loud until he frowns, and slides his hands around me to pull me down toward him once more. He presses one, two, three soft kisses to my lips, then whispers against them.

  “You don’t need to be perfect. Just be yourself, Caroline, that’s all I care about.” A longer, deeper kiss, and then, “It hurt more to have you avoid me like that than what you told me. I’m never going to be mad at you for being honest.”

  “Okay.”

  He smiles against my lips. “And after this, I believe you owe me dinner.”

  “Mmm, I am hungry.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.”

  Don’t even get to ask him what he means. He invades my mouth with his tongue, sliding a hand to cup the back of my neck, rolling us over until I’m on my back and he’s surrounding me. There’s no more talking, only sighs and gasps and moans during the gentlest sex we’ve had together yet.

  3

  The answer to my question about his friendship with Len is answered the following evening.

  Arriving at the club with Benedict hand-in-hand, it’s only seven p.m. yet the place is packed. Benedict keeps it open tonight for Christmas Eve, but he’ll shut down at three a.m. and won’t open up again until the day after Christmas.

  Walking through to the bar, it’s funny how many people say hi and greet him by name, and I wonder — not for the first time — how the hell I never knew he was the owner. Guess that goes to show how much I didn’t pay attention, but I sure am now.

  I’m a little nervous tonight. I haven’t seen Miranda or Len since that day, and I think Benedict somehow knows how I hope to avoid them, because he won’t let go of my hand. He keeps me close until we hit the bar where we sit, and Frank greets me with a warm smile.

  “Caroline, glad to see your lovely face, darlin’. What d’ya want to drink?”

  “Hmm. Make me something tasty and pretty.”

  He winks. “Coming right up, I’ve got the perfect thing for you. Sir?”

  “You haven’t called me sir in five years, don’t start now Frank.” They both laugh and Benedict shakes his head. “Nothing for me right now.”

  A pair of arms encircling me from behind make me jump, until I hear Ethan’s laugh and Destiny’s distinctive giggle.

  “Caro, you too busy being Ben’s slut to call me?” he sits his head on my shoulder and when I turn my head a little to look down at him, he’s pouting.

  “As busy as you are being Destiny’s prostitute. Where’s my money?”

  He laughs and lets go of me, sitting on the stool beside me as I whirl to face him. “In my back pocket. She paid me all in one dollar bills. You’ll have to dance for it.”

  “Hi Caroline,” Destiny sings, wrapping her arms me without warning, or invitation.

  “Uh, hi.”

  After I give her an awkward return pat, she steps back with a grin, and throws her arm around Ethan’s shoulder while he encircles her waist with his.

  “No, really.” Ethan’s tone is serious now and he rests his free hand on my bare knee, eyes searching mine. “You okay? Your texts had me worried and I wanted to kick somebody’s ass, but didn’t know whose.”

  “I’m taking care of that,” Benedict tosses in as he places his hands on my shoulders and bends to kiss the crook of my neck. “Speaking of, I’ll be right back.”

  He walks away before I can respond and I crane my neck to see where he’s going but soon, he’s lost in the crowd.

  “Here’s your drink, Caroline,” Frank says, catching my attention. “It’s called purple haze.”

  “Wow, it’s really purple!” Destiny notes with a giggle.

  “Yeah, hence the name.” Frank nods at me. “Let me know if you like it. If not, I’ll make you something else.”

  One sip tells me all I need to know. “It’s like drinking candy, Frank, and I love the color. Thank you.”

  “I’ll have one!” Destiny shouts like Frank is deaf and he win
ks at me before walking away to make one for her.

  “Caro—”

  That’s all the words able to leave Ethan’s mouth before we hear a female scream and a man saying, “What the fuck man?”

  I know the voice though, and with a ‘watch my drink’ to Ethan, I make my way through the crowd. It’s pretty easy to shove my way through as people stop to gawk, and right as they all appear in my sight, Miranda glares at Benedict.

  “What the fuck is your problem?”

  Len is holding something to his face, blood drops on his shirt making it clear Benedict punched him dead square in the face. Miranda stands between them, although it looks at if Benedict retreated a little, and she glares as her focus shifts to me when she realizes I’m nearby.

  “Oh,” she says with a slightly hysterical laugh. “I get it. Turns out shutting your mouth isn’t your strong suit is it?”

  “Lay off, Miranda and go to my office,” Benedict says as the music shuts off and people continue staring. “This isn’t the place for private conversation, as you two should’ve realized last week.”

  “You started it by punching him in the face.”

  “Go, Miranda. You and him. Now.” He looks up at the DJ. “Turn the music back on. Sorry folks.”

  Benedict reaches me first, but it doesn’t prevent Miranda and Len from glaring at me as they walk by us on their way to the office.

  We follow them, and seeing Benedict flex his hand, I ask, “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. Can’t say the same about his face.”

  I bite back a laugh at that. “Was it necessary to punch him the moment you could get close enough?”

  “No, but it felt great.”

  As they reach the door and walk inside, I stop. “I don’t need to be in there with you, Benedict. They sure as hell don’t want me in there.”

  “Personally, I don’t give a shit what they want, but if it makes you uncomfortable then stay out here. However, I need someone in there with me as a witness.”

  “To what? Murder?”

  With a chuckle and shake of his head, his lips meet mine in a sweet kiss before he steps back. “If you don’t want to go, how about Ethan? Destiny is Len’s sister and Frank is loyal to me, so they’re both out for those reasons. Have to protect myself.”

  “Okay, let me go ask him.”

  Of course, Ethan agrees after I give him a brief idea of what happened, and goes to join Benedict. It’s not that I don’t want to hear what they have to say, because I do, but I think it’s better if I’m not in the room with them at all.

  Unfortunately, that leaves me alone with a freaking out Destiny at the bar who asks me a bunch of questions and insists on wanting to go check on her brother. I’m not sure what I should or shouldn’t say, so I just try to keep her as calm as possible while we wait and finish my drink, followed by another.

  About a half hour after they go into the room, I receive a text from Nathan.

  “I need you to come home right now. We need to talk.”

  Frowning at the vague yet urgent tone of his message, I send back, “Okay. I’ve had two drinks though and I didn’t drive. Come get me?”

  “K, be there in ten.”

  Waving at Frank, I wait until he’s close to say, “Looks like I gotta go. I’d text Benedict but I don’t want to interrupt him. Let him know Nathan needed me at home and came to get me okay?”

  “Of course. Merry Christmas, Caroline.”

  “You too, Frank. Keep an eye on this one.” Turning to Destiny after he nods, I tell her, “Stay here and wait okay? Be calm. I’m sure they won’t be in there much longer.”

  Not even waiting for a response, I make my way to the front door, which takes a bit as the club has even more people than when I arrived barely an hour ago.

  By the time I get out front, Nathan is waiting in the car. Once I’m buckled in and we’re on the road, he says without even glancing over at me, “I need to go on a trip tomorrow morning.”

  “What? To where? For what?”

  “Work needs me to fly to close some deal across the country. I could be gone anywhere from three days to a week, depends on how negotiations go, but they want someone there in person.”

  “Oh…okay.”

  I’m not sure what else to say in the face of his matter of factness about the whole thing, not seeming to even care they want him to go on Christmas day, and my heart plummets as I look out the window. We’ve always spent the whole day together and now we won’t get to. Yeah it’s his job, but couldn’t he go the fucking day after? Seriously.

  “…somewhere else to go?”

  Focusing back on him, I frown at what I did catch of the sentence. “I’m sorry, what?”

  He sighs, covering my hand with his as he turns the corner toward our home. “I said, I’m sorry it’s such short notice and that I’ll miss Christmas with you. But, I don’t want you to be alone, and we’ve never been apart like this. Leaving you alone in the house by yourself worries me. Will you be okay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m not afraid of empty houses. Besides, it’s not like I don’t have anybody to call to come hang out with me.” Turning my hand over under his, I lace our fingers together. “I’m glad we can spend the evening together at least.”

  “I wish I didn’t have to go,” he says, kissing my hand before releasing it. “Come on. Let’s go inside where it’s warm and make the most of the night.”

  Once inside, we get ready for bed and as Nathan puts a movie in as is the tradition, my phone buzzes like crazy. I send both Ethan and Benedict the same message without reading what they said: “Can’t talk tonight. Nathan going on trip in the morning, spending evening with him. Talk tomorrow.”

  I don’t know what they say, because I put the phone on silent, and snuggle up to Nathan as he returns to my side. It’s not long before I fall asleep.

  And when I wake up in the morning, he’s gone.

  4

  I text Ethan at ten a.m. and it’s not long before he arrives at my house eager to fill me in on the details of last night. We’re barely sitting at the table eating the breakfast he brought before he’s talking a mile a minute.

  “We get in there and Miranda get’s all nasty, asking him what I’m doing in there. And when he says he needs witnesses, she freaks out asking him what he thinks they’re gonna do. He says ‘besides what you already have been doing and are doing’ and she didn’t like that. He sat behind his desk after saying that, and I just kept standing by the door. They were both sitting on the couch. Len looked like shit but he wasn’t bleeding anymore.”

  “Did he break his nose?”

  Ethan makes a slicing gesture in the air. “You know better than to interrupt my stories! But no, he’s fine although he kinda deserves it huh?”

  “You tell me, mister story teller.”

  “It was bad, Caro. Benedict asks her if there’s something she needs to tell him, and she starts crying like the manipulative bitch she is, and Len got all defensive. He’s like, ‘oh we were gonna tell you, just trying to find a way’ and Benedict said, ‘you mean you were gonna tell me how you were fucking Miranda before we opened our relationship?’” Ethan laughs at his own memory and rolls his eyes. “Len’s like, ‘oh I thought you were talking about her being pregnant.’ I about died at the ‘you’re an idiot’ look he gave Len.

  “Then he tells Miranda to stop crying and say what she needs to say so they can all get on with their lives. Of course she cried harder while telling him she was almost five months pregnant and it was over between her and him because she wants to marry Len. Benedict said finally, now both of you get the fuck out.”

  My mouth drops open. “You’re exaggerating.”

  “Of course I am. We were in there a long time, a lot of other dumb shit was said by those two, but it’s not important. They tried to justify what they did by saying they wanted to make sure they would work out before she left him. Uh huh. He wasn’t believing it either.”

  “Poo
r Benedict. He deserves better.”

  “Yeah,” Ethan agrees with a scowl. “Poor him. He needed comfort too and comes out to find you gone. Frank told him Nathan came to get you for something not even ten minutes before, and he understood, but didn’t look happy about it.”

  My phone buzzes and Ethan gives me a knowing smile before finally digging into his food.

  Of course the message is from Benedict. “Good morning. Are you alone?”

  “No. Ethan is here. Sorry I had to leave like that last night. You okay?”

  I poke Ethan in the arm while waiting for Benedict to answer. “Where’s Destiny?”

  “With her parents. She’ll text me when she is free to get together.”

  “You two spend a lot of time together.”

  Buzz.

  “Yeah, we do. She’s awesome.”

  “I’m happy for you.”

  Buzz.

  “I know you are. Answer him before he shows up at the door and drags you back to his cave by your hair, and so I can eat in peace.”

  Rolling my eyes, I pick up my phone and read what he’s sent.

  “Not really, but I’m sure Ethan filled you in. It’s over. They said they’re going to get married. I may or may not be drinking.” Followed up with, “Any chance you can come over?”

  “He wants me to come over. Says he may or may not be drinking.”

  “That means he’s probably drunk.”

  “Strange reaction for a man who told me he stopped being hurt by Miranda a long time ago.”

  “Caro, don’t be an idiot.” When my mouth drops open at that, he uses two fingers to shut it and gives me a disapproving look. “He might’ve known her breaking up with him was inevitable, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less no matter what he tells himself. I mean, they’re getting married and having a baby. That would hurt anyone who loved someone who didn’t want to be together anymore after eight years together.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, I guess. I know I’d be pretty upset. If I go, will you drive me over?”

  “When you go, you mean? Yes I will take you.”