Chapter Fourteen

Leandra

“I am so sorry about my dad,” Chrissie said for the third time since leading me to Samuel’s bedroom.  “He just hasn’t been the same after the accident.  It’s like…he’s mad at the world and everyone in it.  It sort of makes me relieved I don’t have a boyfriend.  If I did, he wouldn’t last very long before running away in fear.  You’re not going to leave are you?”

I helped the nervous young woman make the bed with fresh sheets and blankets, while pondering her question.  Am I going to leave?  Hell no.  This is too exciting.  I’m standing my ground and seeing what might happen next.  Since Samuel is currently braving the rain to grab our stuff out of the truck, I have a few precious moments alone with Chrissie.

“I wouldn’t leave Samuel when he needed me.  Sorry…I keep forgetting to call him ‘Sam.’  That’s taking some adjustment.  This place is pretty intense, you know that?  Has it always been so hard for your brother?  Douglas seems to treat him like shit.  Any idea why that might be?”

“My dad can be old fashioned.  He doesn’t show emotion, and everything is pretty much black and white with no middle ground.  Something is either good or bad.  Once he has an opinion, he won’t change his mind.  I try to accept it and not expect too much because I understand he’s had a rough life.  There’s a lot that you probably don’t know about…” she mumbled, trailing off as though unwilling to share any more details.

“If there’s ever a time when the world gets too stressful and you need to vent, I’m here to listen.”  The kid seemed far too serious and bottled up for her young age.  “Hey, how old are you anyway?”

“I turned twenty in February,” she admitted with a shrug.  “It wasn’t anything special at all.  Birthdays aren’t a big deal around here.”

Samuel started working for me in January and he hasn’t spoken to his family since he left home.  Therefore he completely blew off her milestone.

“Well, I’d offer to take you out to celebrate a little late, but you don’t look anywhere near twenty-one.  Any chance you have a fake I.D. laying around?”

“No!” Chrissie replied with doe-eyed innocence.  “Did you have one when you were my age?  What was your most memorable birthday?  I’d like to hear more about your life so I can get to know you better, if you don’t mind.”

“I’ve had so many epic adventures, that I wouldn’t even know where to start!”  That was true.  The hard part was choosing one tame enough for her virgin ears.  “One time in college on spring break, my best friend and I went to Cancun.  Angela is a total firecracker and we ended up taking over this whole bar full of Mexican gang members.  She---”

“That sounds like a long story for another time,” my bodyguard stated firmly, walking into the room and dumping my bags on the floor.  “Thanks for your help, Chrissie, but could we all call it a night?  It’s been a hectic day and I just want to go to sleep.  I promise we’ll have time to catch up tomorrow and you can tell me everything you’ve been up to lately.  I missed you.”

Chrissie ran into his arms and gave him a giant bear hug.

“I knew you’d come back, Sam.  If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I’m going to come after you and hunt you down.  You were gone too long.  Way too long.  We needed you here.”

“I know,” he whispered sadly.  “I’ll make it up to you.  Trust me.”

She turned around, gave me a shy smile, and walked out.  Before I could say a word, Samuel put a finger to his lips and made sure the bedroom door was securely shut and locked.  He then began stripping off wet clothes that had gotten soaked in the rain, treating me to a very welcome strip show.  First came the shoes, then socks, followed by a belt and t-shirt.  Damn.  My bodyguard had abs that would make women melt with desire.

Did I want to touch them?  Yes.  But there were certain things that needed to be discussed first.  Samuel unbuttoned his pants and then looked up at me with a pointed expression.

“You may proceed,” I said, motioning for him to continue.  Maybe words weren’t necessary at this point and we could talk later.

“No.  Turn around,” he ordered as though I’d never seen a naked man in all his glory.  Bitch, please.  I’ve seen many different types of cock in my life.  They were like snowflakes…no two alike.  Well, except for that one set of twins Angie and I took home from the club.  They were identical in every sense of the word.  But I digress.

Rolling my eyes, I did as he requested.  This was no easy feat because the man’s bedroom was practically the size of a shoebox.  Chrissie gave me a quick tour of the downstairs, which hadn’t consisted of much besides the living room, kitchen, guest bathroom, and their parent’s bedroom.  The second floor was much smaller with only two bedrooms and a full bathroom. 

“So, this is where you grew up?” I asked, looking around in an effort to learn more about the mysterious man.  I saw a few posters on the wall, most of them featuring Italian racecars or boxing champions, and not much else.  My line of sight was limited due to being forced to stare in one direction while the modest man changed into fresh clothes. 

“Yes.  You can turn around now.”

I slowly swiveled to feast my eyes upon Samuel wearing nothing but a tight t-shirt and low hung pajama bottoms.  Evidently my bodyguard had gained some muscle since moving to New York, because the clothes fit like a second skin.

“I approve of your outfit,” I said, leering like an old man at the park watching perky females stroll past in short shorts and tank tops.  “Are we getting ready for bed?  Should I change next?”

He nodded his head without really paying attention to the question, and landed right in my trap.  I had no sleepwear.

Deftly reaching down and pulling the v-neck top right over my head, I was left standing in nothing but a lacy black bra.  Samuel growled and averted his eyes like a gentleman.

“Can you warn me before you do that?”

“Can you quit being such a damn prude?” I responded, shimmying out of my black yoga pants and flashing expensive silk panties.  I lived for shock value. 

Samuel tugged open a dresser drawer and threw a t-shirt at me.

“Cover yourself up and get into bed.  I’m turning off the light and going to sleep.  This has been a long day and I’m over it.”

I put on his t-shirt and reveled in the smell of him as it surrounded me.  So masculine and musky. 

“You owe me,” I purred seductively while sprawling out on the double bed.  Is it called a ‘full size?’  A ‘twin bed?’  I have no idea.  I’m sure that ‘single’ is the name of the one that comes in college dorms, but I’m accustomed to a California King.  This was definitely not luxury living at its finest.

“I know I do,” he sighed in embarrassment.  “My bedroom is about a quarter of the size of your closet back in New York.  I apologize for the accommodations.  This is the best place to keep you safe.  No one would ever think to look for you here.”

Samuel held his arm up and waved it around to indicate that a small bedroom on a Kansas farm was the last place on Earth I’d be caught dead in.

Honestly, there was really nothing wrong with his room.  Yes, it was tiny and claustrophobic, but it was clean.  I suppose I didn’t have to worry about the boogeyman jumping out from a secret hiding place, since the room held a closet, dresser, bed, and nothing else.  So sparse.  But that’s not what I meant when I said he owes me.

“I don’t give a fuck about the size of your room.  Would I rather be sleeping in a spacious hotel suite with my bodyguard across the hallway?  Or would I prefer a tight, enclosed area while sharing a bed with an extremely handsome man?  You do the math.”

I licked my lips and patted the bed. 

“Are you going to behave yourself or do I have to sleep on the floor?” he asked warily.

“Do I ever behave?”

“No.”

“You’re no fun at all.”  He really wasn’t.  Imagine how inventive we could be…fucking in every different corner of the room while forcing ourselves to be quiet so his parents and sister didn’t hear us.  So deliciously thrilling with the threat of getting caught, like we’re in high school or something.  I love role playing.

Samuel snapped his fingers in front of my face and whispered, “Snap out of your daydream and move over.  In case you hadn’t noticed, this bed is barely big enough for the both of us.”

“Quit changing the subject,” I demanded.  “This morning you made me a deal.  I shut up for twelve hours and now it’s time for you to give me information.  I’m waiting…”

He walked over to the light switch, flipped it off, and then plopped down on the bed.  Using his body to hip check me, the massive man nearly bumped me off the mattress entirely.

Samuel spread out, tucked his hands behind his head, and let his body relax as it sank into a familiar resting place.

“I thought it would feel a lot different when I finally came home,” he confessed.  “I somehow remember my bed as being more comfortable.”

“Your bed in New York is a king with expensive Egyptian cotton sheets.  This is no comparison.  Last chance.  Give me information or I’ll have no choice but to torture you.”

“You know my last name and met my family.  For God’s sake, you’re sleeping in my fucking bed.  That’s good enough for one day.  Also, I don’t think you’d really torture me.  There was no mention of any tools for that in your duffel bag.”

I began to run my fingers along his stomach in an attempt to make skin on skin contact with the stubborn man.  He instantly jumped out of bed and growled.

“Please don’t do this, Leandra.  I’m asking nicely.  What are the odds of you going to sleep on your side of the bed without touching me?”

“What are you so afraid of?”  Most men would not consider my hot body pressed against theirs to be ‘torture’ in any way, shape, or form.  Just my luck to get the one exception to the rule.

“I’m a man, okay?  I’m not a monk.  There’s no way I can hold out forever when you shove this in my face.”

He’s right.  Why should I offer myself up on a silver platter?  Yes, the sex would be legendary, but that’s not the point.  Samuel can earn a piece of this, just like everyone else before him.  Besides, I would have to be too quiet and there’s no way I’m holding back when I take him for the first time.  Can I use the situation to my advantage?

“I’ll try to stay on my side of the bed if you answer some questions.  Deal?”

“No,” he responded, sliding back into bed, taking all the room he needed, and then desperately trying to shove a blanket between our bodies.  “We do this on my terms or not at all.  I’ll tell you more, but I refuse to answer direct questions.  I’m twenty-nine years old, I ran away to New York in a hopeless attempt to make some quick money, and I have a very strained relationship with my parents.  They’re buried under massive amounts of debt from a few rough years of farming and piles of medical bills after my dad got hurt in an accident last August.  He’s had several surgeries…and that’s why he’s in a wheel chair.  I don’t like to talk about any of this, so that’s all you’re getting.  Good night.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, taken aback by his confession.  It was actually the most I’d learned about him since he came to work for me, and I could tell he was having a hard time getting the words out.  Everyone likes to think their father is invincible.  I wanted to ask more details about the accident, but it was clearly a touchy subject.

“No, thank you,” he replied.

“For what?”

“No one has ever stood up for me the way you did at dinner tonight when speaking to my father.”

“I protect what’s mine, Samuel.  Don’t ever forget that.”

A deep rumble of thunder boomed as if to punctuate my words.  I vaguely wondered if it was tornado season as my eyes closed and sleep took hold.