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“I can’t do that, Errol. I still have to clean up the place.”

  “Go lie down in the car before you fall flat on your face. I don’t think your mother would like to hear that you're in the hospital room next to hers.”

  With a determined boost of energy, Taryn hopped off the stool and stood her ground. “I’ll hurry up and clean the dining room.”

  Errol grasped her shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “Taryn, you're about two minutes shy of dropping dead on your feet from sheer exhaustion. Seriously, go lie down and close your eyes. I’ll clean up in here and be out in a minute to bring you home.”

  She looked up at him, wanting so badly to argue with him, wanting so desperately to be strong and show him that she was capable of dealing with everything around her, but her lids were heavy and her legs unsteady.

  “Come.” He took a hold of her upper arm, and guided her out to his car. With a quick peck on her brow, he leaned the seat back as far as it would go. “Back in a minute.”

  Taryn fought the encroaching sleep. Her head tilted heavily to the side and she jolted back to wakefulness. Just let go, she told herself. For a minute, stop trying to control everything and just let go.

  Sleep came, blissful and deep. From a distance she was vaguely aware of Errol’s return. He started the engine and the gentle rumbling and soft purr lulled Taryn even deeper into her slumber.

  When the car came to a stop, she lifted an eyelid long enough to see Errol opening her car door.

  “Come, my princess. Let’s get you into bed.”

  He lifted her out of the car and she instantly cuddled into him, finding sleep again as she pressed her face into the crook of his neck. Only when she heard a strange and unfamiliar rumbling and felt an odd stirring in her gut did she awaken.

  “Where are we? Errol, where are you taking me?” She looked around the small and dimly lit cubicle; an elevator.

  Before Errol could answer, the doors slid open and he entered his penthouse apartment. “I’m bringing you where you can get a good night’s sleep; where you can relax, forget about the day, forget about tomorrow and just enjoy the night.” He set her down on her feet.

  Mesmerized she looked around her. The apartment was sparsely, but richly furnished and was strictly in wood tones, black and white. Large windows looked over Manhattan and in the distance she could see the sparkling lights of the Brooklyn Bridge.

  “Errol, with everything I have going on, I can’t waste time coming to your place.”

  “Rejuvenation is never a waste of time.” He pulled her shirt up over her head and reached around to unclasp her bra.

  She looked at him, her body at once aroused, but also physically exhausted. “Errol, I don’t think I’m up to…”

  “Hush. Get your mind out of the gutter for once.” He winked and threw on a cocky grin as he pulled off her shoes and socks, then rid her of her jeans and panties.

  Standing totally nude before him, her skin tingled with anticipation.

  He took her hand and led her into the bathroom.

  Gaping, she couldn’t help but be awed by the beauty of the room. Larger than her living room at home, expensive and exotic tiles covered the floor while a smaller version of the same tiles ran up the wall giving the entire room an air of quiet elegance and rich opulence.

  Errol ran a bath, added scented oils to the gurgling water then turned to the sound system cleverly hidden in an antique armoire. With a flick of a switch, the slow melodic plucking of a blues guitar filled the air.

  “You haven’t had a decent bite to eat since that long ago breakfast. Soak up the warmth, breathe in the sweet scents and lose yourself in some of the best blues this side of Memphis. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

  For a moment Taryn felt a tug of regret. Was he just going to leave her here… alone? But the moment she put her toe in the warm water, the moment the heated oil brought wafts of heavenly scents to her nostrils, she knew this was exactly what she needed. She sank into the water, laid back and lost herself.

  When Errol returned she was in a deep state of relaxation.

  “Don’t move,” he ordered. He proceeded to hand feed her chunks of pineapple, mango, and whole strawberries dipped in deep, dark chocolate. “Fresh fruit is a great elixir.”

  “This is so good,” she said as she chewed on a piece of mango. “I didn’t even know I craved something so cool and refreshing.”

  “As much as I love to cook, as much as I love every minute I spend in my restaurant, at the end of the day, the overwhelming odor of so much food can sometimes be too much.”

  She looked up at him. He was so devilishly handsome, so boyishly charming and so innocently beguiling. “Why are you doing all this, Errol?”

  “Doing what?”

  “Bringing me to the hospital. Helping out at the restaurant. Hand feeding me strawberries.”

  He looked at her for a long moment. “Not many people know this, but a few years ago a good friend of mine was spending all his free time at the hospital. His son was battling leukemia and it was a very difficult time for his whole family. Every chance I had, I’d bring him to the hospital and sit with him as he waited to see his son, waited to get a word with the doctor, waited to get results from yet another test.”

  Keeping her eyes closed, Taryn listened to him and allowed the sound of his voice to flow over her body. His voice was soothing, sure and strong and intensified her relaxed state.

  “When he started falling behind on his bills – mortgage, car, health insurance – I wrote him a check to cover it all so that he could continue to be at his son’s side instead of going back to work.”

  Touched by his story, Taryn smiled. “That was really sweet of you,” she whispered. “Loaning money to a friend can be risky.”

  “It wasn’t a loan. I never loan people money. If I feel it’s needed, I’ll hand it over. If not, don’t even bother asking.”

  “I guess that makes sense.”

  “Then, about a year ago, a friend found himself in a situation similar to yours. He was going nuts trying to keep up, trying to juggle so much in his life, but he just couldn’t manage. I jumped in, helped him out for… what was it? Six weeks I think. Then things picked up, things started looking better for him, and he went on to be a big success.”

  She cracked her eyes open. “So you're just helping me out of the goodness of your heart.”

  “Well, that and I get to see you naked in a bath.” He chuckled as he popped the last piece of pineapple into her mouth.

  “Cute.” She closed her eyes.

  Errol set the empty platter on the counter, took Taryn by the hand and helped her stand.

  “I have to come out already? This feels so good.”

  “I don’t want to wait until you come out of there looking like a dried fruit.” With a big, fluffy towel, he patted her dry and while he lingered a moment at her breasts and thighs, he didn’t push the sexual aspect any further. “Besides, what I have in mind will feel even better.” He led her into his bedroom and had her lie face down on his bed.

  “Should I be concerned about this?” Taryn asked as she propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him.

  “Trust me.”

  “Haven’t I heard that one before?”

  “Just lie down.” He pushed her head down onto a small pillow. After dimming the lights, he turned some music on and came to kneel over her on the bed.

  Every inch of her skin anticipated his touch. What did he have in mind now? What implement would he use to arouse her? What insane and wild technique would he try out on her?

  She heard the squirt of liquid, the clap of hands then detected the light scent of vanilla.

  Warm, oily hands pressed into her shoulders and Taryn let out a groan that released the stress of the day.

  Errol’s hands and fingers pressed over her skin, gently prodded her muscles and loosened every tightness that had built up over the past days. With exquisite pressure, he pressed his fingers down to her lower back and r
olled his thumbs back up to her shoulders.

  For the next twenty minutes his hands rubbed, massaged and tweaked all traces of strain away, leaving her heavy and lethargic. When he traveled over her buttocks, she thought he’d turn the relaxing massage into a sexual tryst, but his hands continued down over her thighs, down her calves and took a hold of a foot.

  Tears of relief lined her closed eyes as the pain of standing all day were erased and replaced with the heavenly sensation of flying. As Errol started the same treatment on her other leg and foot, she felt the first pulling of much needed sleep.

  She wanted to remain awake to feel every sensation he brought her, but sleep was too delicious, too tempting and too impossible to resist. With only a vague notion of the time that had passed she awoke to Errol’s hands riding up her leg and trailing to her inner thigh.

  Innocently, his fingers brushed along the delicate folds of skin at the crux of her thighs. An instant stirring of arousal shot through her. He worked his way down to her ankle and slowly trailed up her thigh, his fingers brushing once again along the now moist skin.

  After several titillating passes over her legs, he brought his attention to her back. His fingers hugged her sides, reaching shyly to touch the sides of her breasts.

  Taryn swallowed the ball of eroticism that filled her throat. His touch was so slow, so teasing, so innocent… it was enough to drive her crazy.

  “Turn over.” His command was an aroused croak.

  Errol took the same slow ministrations to her legs, only now his fingers lingered over her moistened folds longer and longer. Taryn tried to control her rousing hunger, but despite her attempts, her hand snaked out to reach for the waist of his pants.

  “No, no,” Errol whispered. “Lie back and relax.”

  A sly grin came to her lips as she let him set the pace.

  He brought his hands to her belly and trailed up just under her breasts, but instead of taking a hold of the aching orbs, he circled around them, driving her to new heights of anticipation and desire.

  She licked her lips as he passed his fingers close to her breasts, again and again. For a full five minutes, he brought his hands to her legs, completely ignoring her breasts and the moist folds of skin that beckoned him. So hungry for him, she wanted to grab him, pull him onto her and beg him to make love to her.

  Instead, she pressed her lips together and bit down on her desire.

  When he brought his attention back to her breasts, she could hold back no more. “Errol.” She reached out for him.

  “Patience,” he said in a velvety hush. He ran his fingers around each breast, circling closer and closer and closer, but stopping short of touching the aching and erect nipples.

  “Errol.”

  “Hush.” He leaned over her and looked deep into her eyes. “You're tired… exhausted. I don’t want to be responsible for your collapse.” With slow and calm movements, he got off the bed and carefully took off every stitch of clothes.

  “Continue like that and you’ll be responsible for the loss of my sanity.” Taryn eyed Errol’s magnificently hard body, drinking in the naked sight of him. He was so sculpted, tanned, and hard; she wanted to run her tongue all over him and feel him with her hands. All this time they’d been fucking every night, she still could not believe she was with someone of beautifully flawless like Errol. “I want you in me, right now, Errol.”

  He chuckled. “I know you have more control than that. You can take everything I dish out.” Returning to the bed, he brought his lips to the tender skin on the side of her breast then the other.

  Her nipples perked up higher and a tingling sensation between her legs exploded and became unbearable. She ran her fingers through his hair and nudged him closer, urging his lips to find a nipple, to suck until she screamed, until she burst.

  Errol took a gentle grasp of her left hand and brought it over her head. With a loving gleam in his eye and a wicked twist to his grin, he brought his lips, soft and moist, over her nipple.

  Letting out an enraptured sigh, she wrapped her fingers into the sheets as Errol brushed his entire body along her. She felt his hardness as it touched her thigh, and ignited a flame that only he could extinguish.

  While refusing to allow her to move or participate, Errol entered and made love to her, long, slow and loving. He kissed and lightly sucked the tender skin of her neck, just below her ear. His hand delicately caressed every inch of her skin.

  As he murmured softly into her ear, Taryn listened for the words she longed to hear, the words that she struggled to keep inside. They were on the tip of her tongue, in her heart and in her wishful thoughts.

  How she loved this man. And the more she knew him, the more she fell deeper in love with him.

  Chapter 10

  “Where’s your little helper tonight?” Bobby said as he picked up a cleaver and chopped up carrots and celery.

  “You mean Errol?” Stirring a pot of béchamel, she shot him a sidelong glance. “He had to be at La Benicoise tonight. His sous-chef is down with the flu and another employee decided to go to his brother’s wedding at the last minute.”

  “My, my. How will you manage?”

  “No problem. You're here, and everyone came in tonight. I even put Arnie on extra duty. You know, he’s really picking up every aspect of cooking and he’s really good at everything I throw at him.”

  “Yeah, yeah. That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

  Turning off the burner, she set the pot aside and looked pointedly at him. “Then tell me, little brother, what do you mean?”

  He looked her up and down. “You know.”

  She cocked a brow and resisted the urge to burst out laughing. “No, I don’t know.”

  “Come on, sis. You’ve been spending every night with him. Don’t you think I don’t notice when you don’t come home to sleep? And when you’re not sleeping at his place, he’s coming home with you. You guys have been together twenty-four seven for the past two weeks.”

  “You're exaggerating.”

  “You think? Even Mom has noticed. I mean, every time you go to the hospital to see her, he’s right there with you.”

  “Of course he’s there. You’ve got the car, silly. He’s giving me a ride.”

  He set the cleaver down on the chopping block. “Okay, come clean. What’s the deal with you and this guy?”

  “Bobby, it’s none of your business.”

  “I’m your brother. It is my business.”

  “Really? And do you tell me about everything that’s going on in your life.”

  “For starters, that’s different.”

  “Different how? And don’t you dare tell me because I’m a girl and you're a guy.”

  “Absolutely because you're a girl and I’m a guy. What do you think?”

  “I know for a fact that Mom didn’t raise you to have such a chauvinistic point of view.”

  “It’s not chauvinistic. It’s just a fact. As a girl you need to deal with men, romance and sex differently than a guy does.”

  “I cannot believe you just said that.”

  “What? Look me straight in the eye and tell me how hot the sex is.”

  “I will not.” She immediately averted her gaze and glanced into her pot of béchamel.

  “See. You can’t just come straight out and admit you're banging the guy.”

  “Bobby! You're my brother. I don’t want to talk about that sort of thing with you.”

  “Why not? I’m the perfect person for you to bounce off any questions or whatever. I can give you my perspective.”

  “I don’t need your perspective.”

  “Really? I bet that while you're banging the guy, you can’t just enjoy it for what it is. You're falling in love with the guy.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Is it? Last night I had a great time with Leah, a hot piece of babe. Three nights ago this tigress whose name I don’t even remember, fucked my brains out. Two weeks ago I spent three nights in a row with
Amber. A record for me, actually. Three nights with the same girl. But do I want more? Hell no. Do I want to talk about lovey dovey stuff? Hell no. But you… you can’t help but become emotionally involved. It’s in your DNA. Your heart follows your…” He glanced down at her hips. “Well, you know.”

  “How in the world could you be spending so much time with so many women with everything else you have going on?”

  “See. Another difference. No matter how busy, no matter how tired, no matter how stressed, a guy will always find time to spill his seed.”

  Taryn patted his cheek. “What a romantic.”

  “Hey, I’m eighteen. I’ll have plenty of time to fall in love and settle down to the same woman when I’m older. For now, I just want to enjoy myself and not get bogged down by a girl who’ll cry because I’m not paying enough attention to her. Take these girls in my class; Rhonda, Veronique, and Kristen. They’ve been all over me since day one. Okay, so I flirted a bit with them, you know, lay on the charm a bit, but before you know it, Rhonda is all jealous because I talked to Kristen for too long and Veronique is upset because I didn’t call her when she insisted I call her. Girls just want too much sometimes. I mean, I got a lot to give, but there’s a limit.”

  Taking her pot of béchamel, Taryn turned away and handed it to Arnie. “This is for the seafood pizza.” She turned back to Bobby and caught his reprimanding gaze.

  “You know what can happen if you let yourself fall for this guy.”

  “Bobby.”

  “You just have to prepare yourself. I mean, rich, good-looking… and a celebrity. Every woman must be dying to get close to him. You have an incredible battle ahead of you.”

  “No, I don’t, Bobby. Nothing’s going on.”

  “I know you, Taryn. I know when you're hiding something.”

  “I’m trying to hide just how annoyed I am with you at this very moment.”

  “Fine. Don’t tell me.” He put his hand to her shoulder and looked earnestly into her eyes. “All jokes aside, sis, I don’t want to see you get hurt. If ever you want to talk, about anything…”

  She looked up at him. He could be so young and immature sometimes, so frat boy, so party fiend, so skirt chaser… but he could also be so sweet and caring. “Thanks, Bobby. I know you mean well. I promise, if ever I want a guy’s viewpoint, I’ll come to you.”