One Hot Momma (9 page)

“You’re right.” She nodded.

“You wanna call my wife and tell her that?” He smiled as she shook her head no.
“Traitor.”

“Night Jack,”
Layla
said as he walked away. Bethany was a very lucky lady to have Jack.

“Night.”

* * *

The next few days were hell. It was difficult to deny him anything he wanted, including getting out of his bedroom, and she was tired of trying. The only thing he liked about being in his bedroom was getting his daily sponge bath. Much like Pavlov’s dog, he was conditioned. He got hard at the sight of the basin, expecting his daily relief.

“What did you do before you were injured? Did you have to… you know… every day?” She was curious.

“Not every day,” he teased. “Can I have my crutch back today?”

“Ugh! No!” She was so tired of this. “I swear if you ask me for that crutch one more time before Friday, I am going to tie your ass to that bed and make sure you can’t get out of it at all!”

She bit her lips. She didn’t mean to shout at him, but he was making her crazy.
Crazy every day with longing to be more than just a brief relief.
Crazy with guilt for being the reason he couldn’t do anything anyways. Had she not gone to the Rodeo he may have won. He may not have, but certainly if he wasn’t going to point and yell at her, he wouldn’t have been let out of the gate before he was ready.

“Why are yelling?” He laughed a little.

“I don’t know.” She continued to shout. “You have no idea how hard it is to say no to you. I’ve been saying no to you for so long,
Rafe
, I wish I could say yes. I wish you could just get up and walk into your living room, or out the door to see how amazing it looks outside today, but you can’t and it’s my fault.”

Rafe
looked at her for a long moment. “Come here.” He waited. “You just said you didn’t want to say no, so come here.”

Layla
walked closer to him, and he could see why she was trying to keep her distance; she was crying. He patted the bed on his left side. She walked around and stood there facing him. This was the woman he had been lusting after forever, the woman who came everyday and gave him incredible pleasure because she thought he needed it. He bit his lower lip. He knew he was being a bit of a scoundrel with that one, but how could he resist? Like she said, it was the one thing he had asked her to do for him not medically related she didn’t say no to. “Sit.”

She sat on the edge of the bed. “I need to do laundry.”

“
Layla
, come closer to me.” She moved closer but didn’t face him. “Kick your shoes off and get up here for crying out loud. Don’t make me drag you.”

“
Rafe
, what can I do for you in this bed?” She snapped, and then her eyes softened with a memory of what they had done in this bed once before he was sure of it. Then she was all business again. “I can talk to Heath and see if he will give me your crutches back.”

She was sitting next to him, not looking at him, her mind obviously turning with her to do list for the day. She looked healthier than he had ever seen her, but her eyes looked tired. She needed a nap, for that matter so did
he.
If he could
wrangle
her under his arm, he could keep her there until she fell asleep. Slowly he slid his arm closer; then like a snake striking, he wrapped her up and pulled her close to him.

“
Rafe
!” she scolded, but he could tell she was afraid to resist him. She was afraid to hurt him.

“
Shhh
.
You look like hell,
Layla
. Just settle down a few minutes and lay with me.” He hugged her even closer. He could smell her hair as she let her head drop to his left shoulder. The soft tendrils touched his skin, and he took a deep fortifying breath. He couldn’t see her face from this angle, but he could feel her hand gently rest on his chest. They were at an angle thanks to the million pillows she stuffed behind him daily to prop him up.

“I look like hell because it is tough to sleep around here. I’m afraid I’ll miss it if you call for me. The guest room is so far away from you. Even though Heath brought the phone things that let you call me, I keep dreaming you call, then I get here and you’re fast asleep.” She yawned. “Am I hurting you?”

“No,” he said and stroked her hair. “Hand me your glasses.”

“I can’t see without them.” She tried to protest, but he could use the tips of his right fingers. He pulled them off and placed them on the nightstand beside him.

“You’re getting better with that hand now.” She sighed. He could feel her breathing slow and knew she was fighting the sleep.

“I’m getting better at a lot of things now.” He turned his head to kiss the top of hers. She was already asleep.

Rafe
had been asleep for an hour when a pain shot through his ankle, and his eyes opened stinging with unshed tears. It was
Layla
. She had looped her left leg over him in her sleep and kicked his ankle. He fought the urge to wake her and ask for the pain medication. He didn’t want to take it unless he needed it. The throbbing was present and burning with shooting pains up and down his right leg. He turned on the television and decided to try to block it out.

A half hour later, she was mumbling. One word he made out distinctly, his name. A grin slipped onto his face, and he hugged her closer.

As if she had an internal clock in her head,
Layla
woke up thirty minutes before she needed to leave to get the kids from school. Normally he would get a pain pill and wake up when she came back, but today he was not taking it. “Feel better?”

Her body tensed and then slowly relaxed. “What time is it?”

“Time to get the
kiddo’s
from school.” He relaxed his arm as she rolled away from him.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she put her shoes back on.
“My glasses.”

“For what?”
He handed her the frames.

“I thought you would fall asleep, and I would get up and get back to work. Instead I slept through the afternoon and now I’m behind.” She stood abruptly and paced to the chest of drawers.

“I’m not taking the pain pills. Can you get me some over-the-counter stuff?” He frowned at her back.

“Are you sure?” She turned and looked at him. Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled. She was behind yes, but also rested. A new energy was building in her as she completely woke up from the nap.

He nodded.

* * *

Weeks later…

“If you can get in the bathtub, I think you can wash yourself.”
Layla
put the plastic bag over his cast and secured it.

“My back hurts. My ribs still hurt, too,” he pouted. His stitches were gone. He moved around the house on his own for the most part, but this, this he was insistent on. “What if I slip when I step in?”

She shook her head no, but she finally said, “Okay,
Rafe
. I’ll do it.” He had no idea how hard this was for her. Now that he was getting better, she didn’t see an injured man. She saw a man who entered her dreams every night and relieved all of the suppressed sexual tension she built up from this very topic of discussion. It was great for
Rafe
. He always got to release, but for her, on the other hand, it was becoming torture. She mumbled to herself, “I must be masochistic.”

“What’s that?” he asked with a smirk of triumph.

“I’m going to end up soaking wet,” she lied.

“It’s a large Jacuzzi tub. You could make it easier and get in with me.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. The thought had not escaped her mind, but getting naked in front of
Rafe
, after seeing him naked so often, made her very aware of her own body, each and every flaw. She was pretty confident about her body at one point in her life, but it had been so long ago. He looked at her as if he were reading her mind. “You can wear a swimsuit if it makes you feel better.”

“I don’t own a swimsuit,” she retorted.

“Bra and panties then.”
He shrugged.

She bit her lower lip and watched his face light up. He had won. She knew it, so did
he.
His cheek dimpled and his eyes brightened as he smiled. “So let’s get to it.”

After getting
him
settled in, completely naked, she moved out of his sight to undress. Thanks to the new income, she was able to buy a few clothes that actually fit her. She had also sent money to her mother to ship the things she had in storage out to
Rafe’s
address. The children had new fall and winter wardrobes. Bethany had been generous with the salary, and
Layla
would always be grateful to them.

Layla
was currently wearing her favorite of the new undergarments though, a purple bra and panty set. Admittedly, it could have passed for a bathing suit if it
were
of another material and the panties tied at the side instead of being a thin silk ribbon.

The large tub had space to sit, more like a hot tub in her opinion, just not as tall. He watched her carefully as she stepped into the water.

“You decided to keep the bra and panty on, huh?” He looked her up and down. Heat crept from her toes to her head, and not just from the warm water. Her whole body blushed if that was possible. “Will this ruin those?”

She shook her head no and sat down in the tub with him. It was awkward. She had had sex with this man twice and had given him a blowjob almost every day for several weeks. He pushed the button on the tub, and the jets stirred the water as it shot out against them in all directions.

“
Ahhhh
.”
He sighed and rested his
casted
hand on the side of the tub. “I love this tub. After a long day at work, it felt like a massage. Of course, that was before I had you here. This feels good, but you feel better.”

She stared at him. He had his eyes closed and was clearly enjoying himself. The water pressing against her back did feel good, the water on her tired legs and feet even better.

“So what did you do in New York?”

The question took her by surprise. “I, uh, I went to school there. I designed women’s clothing, and I worked at a few high-end boutiques customizing clothes for people. I interned at a few big labels, and I had one more class to complete before I could graduate.”

“How long does it take to get a degree in design?”

“Well, I didn’t just study design. I needed the last class for business. I had planned to run my own line one day.” She tried not to sound sad when she said it but couldn’t help it. “That was before… everything. I don’t want to run my own business now. I can hardly stand the thought of going back to work when…” She didn’t want to say when she left him. It was too hard to think about. “I just want to keep the relationship and time I have with the kids, you know? Maybe I can work at a school, in the office or something.”

“Just give up your dreams?” he asked quietly, but he never opened his eyes or moved from his position.

“I wouldn’t say that. I have new dreams now. I have more than I imagined, even when technically I have nothing but the kids and a few suitcases of clothes to put in an old Honda.” She laughed at herself. “God, I was so stupid then. I always thought my sister had everything. I was right. I was also right when I thought she could never have enough of anything.”

“What about you? Can you have enough of anything?”

“Almost,” she admitted quietly. The silence lingered between them; only the sound of the jets could be heard. It was getting awkward again. Time was ticking, and
her
to do list was resurfacing in her mind. “So let’s get you scrubbed up and out of here, shall we?”

“Suit yourself,” he said and didn’t budge one bit.

“
Rafe
, I need you to move a little more this way.” She tried to maneuver around him, but it was no use. The tub was big, yes, but he still dominated the space. He still had his head resting on the only bath pillow and his eyes closed. Taking advantage of his relaxed state, she moved to straddle him so that she could finish her job.

Rafe
knew she didn’t mean to put herself in the position she was currently in. He knew that even though he was naked, she had become used to it. He also knew she had to get into this position because he refused to move. Nevertheless, she was straddling his thighs and whether she was aware of it or not, he was extremely aware of her. “Move a little bit closer.”

Layla
inched closer and closer until she was aware of the man under her and his unspoken need. “
Rafe
, I can’t do that underwater.”

He laughed. His head came up, and he unleashed the full force of his chocolate brown eyes on her. When she was this close, she could see gold flecks she hadn’t noticed before. His left arm moved, and he pulled her so close his length pressed against her panties.

The feel of him against her made all rhyme and reason fly right out the window. His face moved closer, and she had to close her eyes; his lips gently pressed against hers, questioning. She answered with instinct. Her heart raced in her chest as her body took over. She kissed him. He sat straighter, and she pressed tighter against his lap. Their mouths opened at the same time, and their tongues collided in
a frenzy
. She pulled her glasses off and tossed them without thinking about where they may end up.