Henry (The Beck Brothers) (9 page)

 
“
Henry,
”
she said, and tapped his cheek.

Henry sucked in a
sharp breath as his eyes fluttered open. "Huh?
”
he grunted, his unfocused eyes landing on her.

"Hey, Henry, how
about we get you back in bed?
”
Claire asked softly, stroking his hair back from his sweaty forehead.

"I'm fine; leave
me alone,
”
Henry grumbled,
his eyes sliding closed again.

"There's no way
you're comfortable here,
”
Claire said, still stroking his hair.

His jaw was shadowed in
a couple days worth of stubble now. His eyes had dark circles under them. He
just looked sick. "The floor feels good,
”
he sighed.

"Please Henry, I
hate seeing you lying on the floor,
”
Claire pleaded.

Henry made a noise low
in his throat, but he started to roll over. Claire watched and waited as Henry
got to his hands and knees. His head hung down and he was breathing heavy. He
must really be feeling weak.

"Fuck,
”
he breathed.

Claire bent over and
took hold of his upper arm. With her help, Henry was able to get to his feet.
He stood there for a few moments, panting. Henry opened his eyes to look down
at her for a moment, his green eyes glassy. He turned and shuffled slowly back
out to his bedroom, with Claire's help. He groaned as he climbed into his bed
and curled up in his side, his back facing her.

Claire smoothed her
hand over his hair. He sighed heavily and settled into the bed. Claire
continued to stroke his head until he fell back to sleep. Henry snored
slightly. Claire smiled softly down at him. Something inside her shifted. She
was never going to look at Henry the same way ever again. She was falling for
him, and falling hard. She never knew she could fall for someone without as
much as a kiss. But she knew what she was feeling, and there was no stopping
it.

                                                 
~~~~~

Henry woke to someone
calling his name and giving his shoulder a little shake. Henry sucked in a deep
breath and rolled into his back. He stretched his arms above his head and
sighed as he relaxed. He definitely wasn't as achy as before, which was good.

 
“
Henry,
”
he heard Claire's voice from
his right.

Henry cracked an eye.
He could see her sitting next to him on the bed but she was all fuzzy. Henry
rubbed his eyes then opened them again. He could see Claire a bit better now,
but she was still a bit blurry. He then remembered that he didn't have his
contacts in or his glasses on.

"Hey,
”
he murmured sleepily.

"Hi,
”
she said with a sweet smile.
"Do you think you could sit up and drink some Gatorade? You really need to
get hydrated."

Henry nodded and
slowly sat up; he scooted back until he could lean against the headboard. He
raked a hand though his hair, which was thoroughly disheveled, then scrubbed
his face with both hands. He then realized that he was only in his underwear,
in front of Claire, his personal assistant. Jesus Christ. This gave a
completely new meaning to the term
personal
assistant.

Henry opened his eyes
again and looked at the gorgeous woman sitting on his bed next to him. If she
was in any way uncomfortable about the situation, she didn't show it. And he
definitely would have been able to tell because Claire had the most expressive
face he'd ever seen, and the most beautiful, with the sweetest smile.

She handed him a
bottle of the red Gatorade with a straw. Henry sipped it, praying his stomach
didn't rebel. He hated throwing up, and he really didn't want to do it again.
He waited after taking a few sips. His stomach didn't protest, so he took a few
more sips and waited again. All the while Claire watched him, her blue eyes so
warm and caring.

"How long have I
been sleeping?
”
Henry
asked, his voice sounding like he chewed on some gravel.

"About three
hours since I've been here,
”
Claire replied.

Henry frowned.
"You've been here for three hours?"

Claire nodded.
"Someone's got to take care of you.
 
Sebastian doesn't seem to know how. Checking in on you isn't enough,
”
she said with a frown of her
own before giving a pointed look to the bottle in his hand.

Henry raised an
eyebrow. "I thought I was the boss?"

"Yeah well, right
now you're not.
”
Claire
snorted. "Drink," she commanded.

Henry smirked and took
another sip of his drink.

"Do you feel any
better?
”
Claire asked, her
concern clear on her face and in her eyes.

Henry nodded.
"Yeah, a little, definitely not as achy."

"Good, I think
your fever is gone, too,
”
she murmured, placing the back of her hand against his forehead for a moment.
She then stood. "Why don't you get a shower? I have a pot of soup on the
stove that I need to check on."

"Soup?
”
Henry coughed, almost choking
on his Gatorade. Claire made him soup?

"Yeah, chicken
soup, is that okay? I could make you something else,
”
Claire said.

Good Lord she was
amazing. Henry shook his head vehemently. "No, no, that's fine; I just
didn't think you would cook me soup,
”
he said, brows furrowed.

Claire smiled sweetly
down at him. "You need to eat something and what better than chicken
soup?"

Henry's heart swelled
with affection. If he wasn't so sick, he'd kiss the shit out of her.
"Thank you, Darlin'."

Claire smiled
brightly. "You must be feeling better if you can call me Darlin',
”
she said as she headed for the
door. "Get in the shower,
”
she called over her shoulder before leaving the room.

Henry stared at the
door for a moment. She was something else. How did he get so lucky? And why was
she here? It wasn't out of obligation. She wouldn't be making him soup if she
felt obligated to be here. Could she really just care about him? They had
become somewhat close over the past three months. He did catch a little
something in her eyes every once in a while before she would cover it up.
Something that looked very much like affection.

Henry did as Claire
said and got in the shower. God, the water felt so good. He stood under the
spray for a couple minutes, just letting the water ease his achy muscles. He
washed himself and his hair then got out. He brushed his teeth, and then with
the towel wrapped around his waist, he headed out into his bedroom. Claire was
just setting a tray with a bowl of soup on his bed.

She glanced over at
him and he was sure he saw her eyes darken with desire. It made his heart pound
and his cock stir, which was in no way appropriate. Henry went over to his
dresser and pulled out a pair of underwear, gym shorts, and a t-shirt. He
pulled his underwear on under his towel then pulled the towel away. His shorts
were next, then his t-shirt. After he was dressed, he rubbed the towel over his
wet hair.

"Feel better?
”
Claire asked.

"Much,
”
Henry sighed and started for
the side of the bed where she was.

Claire smiled.
"Good,
”
she said
watching him as he moved closer.

Henry stopped just in
front of her, making Claire have to tilt her head back to look at him. Her
breath seemed to catch, throwing Henry for a loop. Could she really feel
something for him, or was she just attracted to him on a purely sexual level?
Henry slipped his arms around her waist and tucked his face into her neck.
Shit, she smelled good. Claire hesitated for a moment; seemingly unsure as to
what was going on, but then she wrapped her arms around him, one hand cupping
the back of his head.
 

"Thank you,
”
Henry murmured into her neck.

"You're welcome,
”
she whispered back.

Henry hugged her for a
few moments longer, not knowing when the next time he would get the chance to
touch her would be. He reluctantly let her go and sat on the bed. He lifted the
tray onto his lap and looked down at the steaming bowl of soup.

"This looks
delicious,
”
Henry said,
smiling up at Claire, who was still standing where he had left her.

She seemed to snap out
of whatever she was thinking, as her eyes flicked to his. She gave him a quick
smile and a nod. Claire grabbed his wet towel off the floor and took it into
the bathroom, where she hung it up. When she came back, she went around the bed
to sit next to him.

Henry couldn't help
but watch her. She was wearing jeans and a v-neck baby-doll t-shirt that hugged
her ample breasts. As she crawled up into the bed, Henry got a nice view of her
cleavage. Thank god the tray was on his lap because he got an instant hard-on.
Claire sat next to him. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What?
”
she asked.

Henry shook his head.
"Nothing,
”
he said
quickly, grabbing the spoon. The first bite of Claire's soup was heaven. Henry
closed his eyes and moaned as the favors exploded in his mouth. "Oh my
god, this is so good,
”
he
moaned and took another bite.

"Thanks,
”
Claire said softly.

Henry was just about
to ask about Ethan when his bedroom door flew open and his mother, Anne Beck,
came waltzing in. Claire jumped and let out a startled yelp. Henry jumped also,
as his spoon slipped out of his hand to clatter on the tray beside the bowl.
Henry bit out a curse.

"Henry, my baby,
are you okay? Sebastian said you had the flu!
”
His mother cooed and rushed to his side.

Henry was going to
kill Sebastian! He knew his mother always meant well but damn could she smother
a man. Henry didn't know how his father dealt with it all these years. Her gray
hair was styled and hair-sprayed to perfection. Her makeup was done, looking
elegant, not overdone. She wore jeans and a button down white blouse. She
wasn't overly heavy, but she wasn't the skinny young girl she used to be. She
did look great for sixty-five though.

Her cool, soft hands
cupped his face and tilted it up to look at her. "You feel warm, dear,
have you taken anything?"

Henry shook his head
free of her grasp and brushed her hands away. "Jesus mom, you could have
just called,
”
he grumbled.

Anne planted her hands
on her hips and glared at him. "I tried but you haven't been answering, so
then I called your house phone and Sebastian answered.
 
He said that you came home from work
yesterday sick as a dog. And why he'd be here and hadn't told me, I will find
out another time."

"Yeah, I'm sick,
but I'm fine, I just need to rest,
”
Henry said wearily.

"Well, I'll stay
and take care of you, you need someone here...
”
she started, but Henry cut her off.

"No mom, you
don't need to stay. I have Claire here; she has made me soup and has been
making sure my fever stays down,
”
Henry said firmly. He really did not want his mother to stay. He'd get no rest.
She'd be fluffing his pillows and tucking him in. Fuck, he was so going to kill
Sebastian.

His mother's eyes
flicked to Claire for the first time since she barged in. "And who is she?
”
Anne asked as if Claire wasn't
sitting right there next to him.

"Claire is my
per...my friend,
”
Henry
said, catching himself before saying personal assistant. His mother was weird
about mixing work and personal life. God forbid she showed up when Asher was
over to watch a football game or something. He had to listen to her rant about
how he shouldn't be friends with his employees. "Claire, this is my
mother, Anne"

"Your friend?
Since when do you have women friends?
”
Anne asked, her eyebrow rose in challenge, completely ignoring the
introduction.

Henry clenched his
teeth and glared at his mother. Claire shifted uncomfortably next to him. God
dammit! "You don't have to stay mom, I'm just going to finish my soup and
go back to sleep. There
’
s
really nothing for you to do here."

"So Claire is
going to leave, too, then?
”
Anne asked.

Jesus, she was acting
like a jealous lover or something. His mother was so afraid that if her sons
gave their attentions to another woman then they would forget about her. She
really made their love lives very difficult. And it wasn't a surprise that only
one of them had gotten married so far, even though that was now over. Their
mother had run off so many potential wives between the four of them, it wasn't
even funny.