Indulgence (192 page)

I left her room to head out to the gardens to call Dad.
“Dad, it’s me. Yes, she’s resting. Did you know she’s planning to fly home with
me? Yes, I understand…”

Dad told me, “Son, I know how hard this is. Your mother and
I made this decision together. She wanted to be the one to tell you.”

I could hear his voice cracking and it nearly sent me over
the edge. “Ok. We’ll see you in a couple days. Love you too, Dad.” I sat down
on the nearest bench with my head in my hands as the tears fell from my eyes to
the grass below.

After an hour of feeling sorry for myself I decided to go
back to Mom’s room and found she was still sleeping. I left her a note telling
her I would be back in the morning, went back to the hotel and headed straight
to the bar.

“Whiskey, make it a double.” The bartender nodded and
fetched my drink. I downed it in one gulp and the fire burned me all the way to
my toes. The bartender looked at me. “Water, please.” I knew better than to
have any more. Glancing at the menu, I decided to order a steak and salad.

After struggling about whether or not to order another
drink, I spoke to the bartender who made the arrangements to have my dinner
sent to my room. I was scanning through emails and on the phone when room
service knocked. I opened the door and the waiter brought the meal in on a
cart. After handing him a few bills, he bowed and left the room.

“Smith, just do what you need to get it done. Sabrina and
Delaney should have all the necessary information. I want it done by Friday
night, sooner if possible. You, too. Thanks.”

Sitting down, I made hasty work of my meal before getting
back to work; it was the only way to keep my focus off Mom. I worked into the
wee hours of the night and decided to go for another workout. After another
long visit to the gym, I showered and hit the hay.

*****

“What do you mean there’s no change? She’s been here for
four months.” I was on the verge of hurling myself on the doctors. Of course I
wanted her home, but home
and
in remission.

“Mr. Benedict, I understand your frustration. While the
cancer cells haven’t spread, neither have they receded.”

“James, please sit down.” I was burning a path in the small
office as I paced back and forth. I did as my mother asked and she put my hand
in hers before looking back to the three doctors standing in front of us. “I’ve
told my son that I’m going home. We’ll be leaving tonight. I appreciate
everything you and your staff has done for me. We knew this was terminal five
years ago.”

The female doctor nodded her head. “We’ve discussed this in
great length at our sessions, Mrs. Benedict. We all respect and honor your
decision.” The doctors took their turn hugging my mother before leaving the
room. Mother just looked like everything was fine. It couldn’t be farther from
the truth.

“Jimmy, go back to the hotel. I just need a few hours to
pack and say my goodbyes. I know you need to make some phone calls.” Good ol’
mom, ordering me around like it was business as usual.

“I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

We left the small office and I kissed her on the cheek
before she headed toward her room. As I made my way for the car, I pulled out
my cell and called the pilot to put him on standby.

*****

It was the middle of the night when we landed at home. Dad
was waiting for us and Mom was thrilled to see him. They’d always had a very
loving and tender relationship. It made me ache for Cassidy. I told her I would
be in touch and I hadn’t been; she would probably be furious with me. It was
near dawn on Thursday morning, Halloween. I couldn’t go to her now. I was an
emotional mess and I could only imagine how busy she was with work. Smith was
waiting with the Rover so I climbed in and he took me back to the hotel.

~ CASSIDY ~

The week had flown by with the exception of missing James.
The auction was the next day and I hadn’t heard from him all week. Maybe my gut
was wrong; I thought for
sure
that I would’ve heard from him. Besides the
lingerie, flowers and the pictures in the paper, it was like he,
we
,
didn’t exist. There was another picture in Tuesday’s paper of us chatting
outside his office building on Monday morning.

After another long day at work, I was walking into the
parking garage behind my building. I had worked late to avoid the kids surely
knocking on my door for Halloween. It was then that I looked up and he was
there, his bike parked behind my car, and he was just sitting on the seat
staring at me.

I froze in my tracks. I couldn’t help it; the smile that
spread across my face revealed how super excited I was to see him. He stood up
and put his hands in his pockets with that look on his face that made him
irresistible. I took a deep breath and continued walking toward him.

“Cassidy.” He looked down to his boots, rocking nervously
back and forth when I tried to scowl at him.

I halted a couple arm lengths in front of him and crossed my
arms over my chest. “James.” I wasn’t sure what to do. Never having been in a
situation like that before, I was pissed at him for not calling, but so
thankful he was there in front of me. He looked up at me and reached for me but
I stepped back to avoid contact. “When did you get back?”

“Early this morning.” The anger started rising in my gut.

“I see.” He was just standing there; both of us speechless.
I unlocked my car with my fob and started toward the driver’s door, attempting
to walk around him.

“Cassidy, please, help me out here.”

Angrily I swung on him, “Help
you
out? I’m sorry, but
what do you need help with?” He looked at me like he was surprised by my
rebuttal. “You said you would call. It’s Thursday and I’m still waiting.”

“I’m sorry. I was really busy; there’s a lot going on you
don’t know about.” He
did
look sorry, but I was so mad.

“A lot I don’t know. You can say
that
again, James.
Or should I call you JB3?”

“God dammit.” He started running his hands through his hair
and began pacing. “I fucking
hate
that nickname.”

“I wasn’t expecting to see my face plastered all over the
papers. A little warning might’ve been nice.” The frustration was emanating
from him. “I feel like any minute reporters will figure out who I am and come
knocking down my door.” Ok, I was exaggerating a little and just felt bad for
both of us.

“Cassidy. I’m sorry. I couldn’t figure out if you didn’t
care who I was or if you truly didn’t know.”

“Yes and yes.” He stopped walking and looked at me like he
forgot his original question to me. “I don’t give two shits who you are or what
the papers have to say about you. They’re paid to tell stories. I just wish I
knew about it all before you left.”

Looking slightly relieved at my statement, he closed the
distance between us. He bent down to my level and put his forehead on mine; his
hands were on my hips. “I’m so sorry, baby. Forgive me?”

Trying to ignore him, I could see he was pouting out of the
corner of my eye. I couldn’t resist him; I was a junkie and he was my drug. His
scent traveled through me and I was a goner and suddenly flooded with emotion.
I rolled my head to the side and buried myself in his chest, wrapped my arms
around his waist and squeezed him tight. “I missed you so much. Don’t do that
again.”

I felt him exhale a deep breath before he tilted my chin up
and kissed me quickly. “I missed you, too, Blackbird. More than you know.” His
arms circled around my waist as he stood to his full height. My arms moved to
his shoulders and around his neck as I was lifted off the ground, concealing my
face in his neck.

I wasn’t sure how long we stood there just holding on to one
another. This man owned me and it scared me to death. After a few minutes of
figuring out our plans he decided to follow me back to my place.

When I pulled up in my driveway I saw a petite blonde
walking out my front door.
What the hell?
I threw my car in park,
blocking the foreign car in the driveway, and jumped out of my car. “Can I help
you?”

“You must be Cassidy. Oh, James, there you are.” She walked
over to James who was just getting off his bike, both of them completely
ignoring me. Kissing him on the cheek, she said, “Everything is all set. I
thought I had another day.” She gave him a scolding look. “You’re lucky I like
you.” Playfully, she swatted his shoulder before I interrupted, ready to stake
my claim.

“I’m sorry, but who the hell are you and what were you doing
in my house?” She looked at me like I was the rudest person she’d met and
before she could speak James interjected.

“Cassidy, this is Delaney. She’s an interior designer and a
friend.” Delaney was scrolling through her phone like we didn’t exist.

“That’s nice, but that doesn’t explain why she was in my
house.”
That
got her attention. James looked pleased with himself and
Delaney looked offended.

Before I could say anymore, he thanked Delaney again and
walked her to her car, holding her door for her before making his way back to
me. “Are you going to let her leave or do I have to move your car for you?” He
was all smiles.

I grunted loudly, got in my car and moved up far enough for
her to pull out of my driveway. Once she had left me enough room I pulled into
the drive, parked and got out. “What’s going on, James?” I was beyond annoyed
and he could tell.

“It’s all good. Don’t worry. I didn’t redecorate the
whole
place, just made a few modifications.” He was looking haughty as he ushered
me through the door.

“It doesn’t
need
any modifications.” He frowned down
at me and I gave up the banter as we entered my house, too busy trying to see
what the modifications were.

“Are you hungry?”

“Dammit, James. If you don’t tell me…” He started laughing before
pulling me up the stairs behind him.

We reached my room and I walked in and immediately stopped
in my tracks. My room had been
completely
transformed and smack in the
middle was a brand new bed, a
big
four poster bed. The bedding was an
exact replica of the bedding from his hotel, specifically the suite I stayed
in. I was utterly speechless.

Walking to the bed, I took in the headboard. It appeared to
be wrought iron, but was painted ivory with a gorgeous trellis design. I ran my
hands over the luxurious comforter while still taking in all the metalwork.
This was a bed you could tie someone to. The faint smell of paint lingered in
the air and I realized there was a new color donning the walls. There were also
some other new pieces of furniture. The bed had to be king sized. I didn’t
think a bed that size would fit in there, but it did.

“How?”

“Do you like it?” He was grinning from ear to ear, just
watching me take it all in.

“Seriously. It’s too much, James.” I was lost for words.
How
did he do this?
“How? She did this in like 10 hours?”

“Your spare key. I’ve had Delaney, Smith and Sabrina pulling
strings since Monday to get it done. I’ll be lucky if Delaney works for me
again, though I compensated her well for her time.” Looking at me like he was
waiting for my approval I just shook my head. “Please tell me you were serious
about wanting a bed for your birthday.”

I started laughing. “James, if I thought you were really
going to give me anything I wanted I may have asked for a million dollars or
maybe a Ford Mustang GT500.” The look on his face said he could do that, too.
He started to speak when I motioned my fingers across my lips telling him to
zip it. “It’s amazing, you’re amazing, and I’m suddenly ready for bed.” I
winked at him and he grabbed my wrist before tackling me and throwing me on the
bed.

Straddling my hips, he had my arms pinned above my head and
he quickly looked very serious. “Do you trust me, Cassidy?” I let a chuckle
slip before realizing that given the look on his face, he wasn’t joking anymore.
I simply nodded.

He started unbuttoning my shirt before removing it from me.
He was silent and meticulous in his task. Once it was off he placed a hand just
above my breast bone and slowly trailed it down to my navel as my breathing
quickened. He discarded my heels and skirt next. Groaning, he traced the lace
lining on the hips of the new panties I was wearing; ones he had purchased for
me. My hips lifted, seeking more of his touch.

“In due time, baby.” He inched his way back up my body
before whispering to me, “Roll over.”

Once I was on my stomach, he began trailing feather light
kisses down and across my back. I couldn’t help but move my shoulders at the
sensation.

“Don’t move.”

I felt the weight of his body leave the bed and heard the
shuffling of clothes hitting the floor followed by more movement. His weight
returned to the bed and I sighed as I felt the heat of his naked chest against
my back.

Rolling to my side he whispered in my ear, “Get on your
knees.”

I obeyed without a second thought. Once I was on my knees, I
turned my head to look at him and my sight was taken from me. The feel of a
cool satin blindfold covered my eyes. “Oh.”

“Shhh, you’re safe.” My nipples immediately hardened as I
felt the cool air dance across my breasts after he removed my bra. Running a
finger over my ribcage and tattoo, he caused my breath to catch. He then gently
took my wrists and placed my hands high up on the headboard.

He stood behind me when I felt him reach around me, and I
felt something soft and smooth encircle my wrists. I should’ve felt panicked,
but I was surprisingly calm and wet. James tied me to the headboard; I knew
this when I felt him tug on my binds. Slowly, he ran his hands down my arms,
grazing my breasts as he continued down to my waist, past my hips and down to
my knees. I couldn’t contain the shivers that passed over me.