Indulgent Pleasures (19 page)

Of course, she didn’t expect to hear Justin’s warm, sexy voice in her ear and it gave her a jolt of surprise.

“Hey, am I calling at a bad time?” He sounded strained, a little worried and her heart immediately lurched in her chest.

“No, no, it’s fine. Is everything okay?” Stephanie turned away from her sisters’ curious glances, putting her back to them. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay. I hate to do this to you but I’m going to have to cancel tonight.”

“Cancel? Hold on.” She stood, held her hand over the phone and whispered, “Be right back,” to Andrea and Erin.

Stephanie walked out of the restaurant and didn’t stop till she got to the side of the building. “Sorry about that. What’s going on?”

“No, I’m sorry, Stephanie, for canceling on you tonight. I hope you understand.”

Dread filled her, her formerly hungry and still waiting for brunch stomach now churning with nerves.

Here it was, the big moment. She’d feared this since the second they’d hooked up. Justin was going to dump her, she just knew it. She could feel it in her bones.

“Um, it’s all right, I totally understand. I guess I’ll just see you around.” She was about to hang up, actual tears threatening to spill when she heard him yell her name and she brought the phone back to her ear. “What did you say?”

“Listen, it’s not what you think. I’m—shit, this is embarrassing. My knee has been giving me trouble and well, my doc just put me on bed rest.”

“Bed rest? Are you serious? What happened? You were fine when I saw you two days ago.”

“I know.” He sounded grim. “I’ve been overdoing it, skipping out on physical therapy lately. I haven’t even taken any pain medication in a while. All of it took its toll and now my knee is swelled up to twice its size and I can barely walk. It hurts like a son of a bitch.”

“At least a couple of days, maybe three? I don’t know, my doctor wants the swelling to go down and the only way that’ll happen is if I don’t do anything.” He paused. “I’m going to be bored out of my mind.”

“Do you want me to come over and take care of you tonight?” As soon as the offer flew out her mouth, she wanted to take it back.

He probably thought she was taking this too far, her wanting to come over. And maybe she was. This wasn’t anything serious and taking care of someone when they weren’t well was definitely the realm of serious.

“No, you don’t have to do that,” he said quickly. “I’m fine, really.”

“But I want to. That is, if
you
want me to.” Maybe he didn’t like being fussed over. Maybe he preferred to be alone so he could sulk and be cranky all he wanted.

The idea of going to his house and making sure he was all right filled her with warmth. Taking care of him, seeing to his every need, would that send their relationship into another realm? Make it all feel a little more serious?

Did he want to make it more serious? Did she? Is that why he didn’t want her there?

God, she was thinking about this
way
too much.

“I don’t want to put you out, Stephanie. It’s a long drive and to be honest, I’m really grouchy and I probably won’t be much company.”

Hmm. Nurse. Maybe they could do something a little naughty, a little role play. She had that costume from a Halloween party she went to a few years ago. It still hung in her closet.

If he was up to it, that is.

Glancing at the front door of the restaurant, she sighed. She’d have to deal with her sisters, tell them she had to unexpectedly leave. And then she needed to stop at Whole Foods and pick up a few things before she started for Half Moon Bay. She needed to feed that man right, give him the treatment he deserved.

She couldn’t wait.

Chapter Seventeen

With a frustrated growl, Justin pointed the remote at the big screen TV and turned it off with the push of his thumb. He threw the remote onto his bedside table. With a sigh, he stared up at the ceiling and watched the fan above turn round and round.

What, he’d been on bed rest for a few hours and he was already ready to climb the walls? Or tear them down, whatever was easiest.

Saturday afternoon and his knee had been a raging mess. It had been giving him regular trouble for the last couple of weeks, pretty much ever since he started seeing Stephanie.

Hell, the woman might be bad for his health.

No, more like she distracted him and he forgot everything but her. What she felt like, what she tasted like. He’d become careless, not taking care of himself as well as he should’ve and now he was paying the price.

By Saturday night, he’d been in so much pain he couldn’t take it anymore. Luckily he’d been able to contact one of the Miners’ team doctors and he’d come right out to check on Justin. And then the doc had promptly delivered all the bad news.

Reluctantly Justin had agreed with him. He didn’t need to screw up his body any more. It was already screwed up enough. And he hated feeling like a complete invalid. It brought him back to the time of the accident and those first few days in the hospital. When the doctor and his coach had come into his room together and given him the bad news.

Unfortunately, you’ll never be able to play again. We’re so sorry, Hawk.

Those remembered words from his coach, the shine of tears in his eyes had devastated Justin. It was a moment he didn’t like to remember.

Yet it was always right there, lingering in the back of his mind.

His biggest problem was the way he acted whenever Stephanie was around. He forgot everything and became too distracted by her. And now he suffered for it.

He’d tried to be strong, tried to resist her, but when she asked if she could come see him and offered to take care of him, he’d grown weak and agreed. When was the last time someone had wanted to take care of him? Since his grandmother when he was young? But once he hit a certain age, he’d turned into the caregiver, doing everything he could to make sure his frail grandma was okay.

Doctors had taken care of him but they didn’t count. His coaches had taken care of him too but hell, they really didn’t count either. They were all just doing their job.

When was the last time a woman had wanted to take care of him? And he’d actually let her? He honestly didn’t think it had
ever
happened.

So he should enjoy this, let Stephanie pamper him and make sure he was comfortable. It sounded as if she wanted to cook him a meal, indulge him a bit and by all means, he was going to let her.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a home cooked meal made just for him.

Maybe if he spent more time with Stephanie doing non-sexual things he could regain some sort of control. At least of his cock since it seemed to have a mind of its own every time she came around. It was ridiculous, downright embarrassing how out of control he became. Like a wild animal with one purpose only.

To get inside of her sweet little body as quickly as possible.

She’d called a while ago and said she was on her way and he figured she had to be close now. The second he’d got off the phone, he’d limped to the front door and unlocked it so she could walk right in.

That way she didn’t have to see exactly how bad it was. He could barely stand to look at his swollen knee. Stephanie would probably run screaming if she took one look at that thing.

Just a couple of days and hopefully the water retention would drain and the swelling would go down. Then he could resume his normal activities, head back to physical therapy and get into the best physical shape possible. He had a future job in the works and he needed to be in top condition.

Curt was still in negotiations with the network, hammering out the logistics and the terms of their new agreement. Justin didn’t want to sign anything that would lock him in until he tried out the gig to see if he even liked it.

It sounded ideal but he wanted to make sure this was the new career for him.

The doorbell sounded and a few seconds later he heard the door open, Stephanie’s sweet voice calling hello. His cock did a little happy dance at the first sound of her voice and he grimaced, reaching beneath the sheets and adjusting his jersey shorts.

Fuck, he was ridiculous. There would be no dirty deeds going down tonight. He was in too much pain and he had no business putting himself through strenuous acrobatics just to get some.

Right now, it really wasn’t worth it.

Justin frowned. He could hardly believe he even thought that.

“Hi,” Stephanie greeted when she finally walked into his bedroom, a little smile curving her lush lips. She went to him and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

He was feeling embarrassed but he didn’t want to admit it. It was strange having her here, almost too personal. That she wanted to take care of him still took him aback.

“I’m all right.” He shrugged. “Knee’s killing me but I’ll survive. I’ve survived worse.”

That last statement hung in the air between them and he wished he could take it back. Hell, yes he’d survived worse. The accident that had nearly claimed his life, the entire reason he lay there in his bed miserable and in so much pain.

His stomach rumbled at her words. “Have at it. If you can’t find something just keep looking. The kitchen is pretty much fully stocked. I bought every pot, pan and gadget you can imagine when I renovated it.”

Why, he hadn’t been exactly sure. Not as if he was a great cook. He could throw something together when he had to but hell, he’d hardly been home so he’d rarely used the damn thing. It had given him comfort though, knowing the kitchen was ready to be utilized fully at a moment’s notice.

Not necessarily wanting to go there, he figured it had something to do with his dead grandmother and her love for cooking.

This time Stephanie’s smile was genuine. “Well then, I can’t wait to get in there. I haven’t cooked much lately and I really enjoy it.”

His gaze wandered over her and he noticed that she looked more casual than usual. She wore wide-legged jeans and a red and white striped fitted T-shirt. Her cheeks were pink, a natural flush versus blush since it appeared she wore no other makeup, not even lipstick. As normal, her hair was pulled back since she rarely wore it down. A trait that drove him nuts.

“Why don’t you ever wear your hair down?”

She stopped, seemingly startled by his abrupt question. Her wide-eyed gaze met his. “I don’t know. It’s always in my way. It’s easier to just throw it up in a ponytail.”

He stared at her, wondering if he should go there, wondering if he even had the right to do so. “I prefer it down. It’s so thick and pretty.”

Pressing her lips together, she dipped her head, a little sigh escaping her. “Even in pain and on bed rest you know how to throw on the charm.”

“I’m not trying to throw on the charm. I think your hair is beautiful.” He hoped he sounded earnest since he wasn’t giving her a line.

Slowly she reached up behind her head and tugged the elastic from her hair. She shook her head, the shoulder-length dark locks tumbling all around her face and he noticed she was right. There was a slight ridge along her hair from the elastic holder.

It didn’t detract from her beauty though. He was still filled with the urge to run his fingers through her hair, test the silky smooth tresses.

“Does it look bad?” She appeared truly concerned as she ran a hand over her head as if to smooth it out.

“Not at all.” He shook his head, trying to control the urge to leap from the bed and wrap his arms around her. Bury his face in her hair and breathe deep.