Only One (Ward Sisters Book 2) (9 page)

“How many did you take, hon?”

“I don't know. Maybe two.” He could barely open his eyes.

“What were you drinking, Rob?”

“Whiskey. Grampa Deacon says it's...good for what ails ya.”

“I don't think he meant the whole bottle, sweetie. Come on. We're going to get you cleaned up. You smell like a distillery.”

She began to undress him and he was having a hard time cooperating. Hopefully, he'd only taken two pills and the whiskey bottle wasn't full. The last thing he needed at the moment was a trip to the ER to have his stomach pumped.

When he was undressed, she let him lie on the bed, naked, while she took off her own clothes.

“Rob, we're going to the shower. Sit up. You're too heavy for me to carry and I don't think you want Alan to come carry you to the shower when you're naked.”

“Are
you
naked?” he asked, sounding aroused.

“You can't see that I am?”

He forced open his eyes and then they narrowed to two slits again. “Oh, yeah.” He grinned. Okay, he wasn't completely gone; he could still think like a horny coed.

“Let's head to the shower, big guy.” She pulled him to a stand and he complied, but he was wobbly. This would be easier if he didn't have a foot of height on her and didn't outweigh her by seventy pounds.

Thankfully, the master bedroom and bath was one area of the house that was complete. She recalled that Rob had the contractor prioritize it because the house was often his glorified hotel suite.

She sat him on the bench inside the shower and fiddled with the knobs, finally turning on the hot water. Wetting him with the removable sprayer, she washed his hair and body. As she replaced the sprayer, he pulled her toward him, buried his face in her breasts, looked up at her with half closed eyes, and smiled.

“Thanks, Jen. I love you.”

“I know you do, honey. I love you, too.”

She stroked his hair as he lay his head on her chest. He wound his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. Then he moved his mouth to her nipples, and it had been so long since anyone had touched her – truthfully, since the last time
he
had touched her – that she let him do it for a moment before she realized that this was not the time for such things. Loath to stop him, she had to force herself to push his mouth away.

“Honey, now isn't the time for that. Maybe later, when you're sober. For now, we need to get you into bed.”

“Are you going to sleep with me?” he asked with a grin.

“I'll sleep in the bed with you, but we're not having sex right now. You still want me when you're sober, then we'll talk. For now, I'm just going to take care of you.”

“Okay. I'll still want you when I'm sober. I always want you.”

She laughed a little. “I'm that unforgettable, huh?” she asked as she shut off the water and extracted herself from his arms to grab a towel.

“Mmmm. Yes. Why don't you like me?”

“I do like you.”

“Oh. Good. I like you, too. Why didn't Lola like me?”

“I don't know the answer to that. Okay, I need you to help me again,” she reminded him as she finished toweling his hair.

“I can walk,” he declared, wobbling when he stood.

“I'll help you. I just can't carry you. You're too big.”

“How come...how come girls like my dick but...but they don't like me?” he asked, stumbling.

Jenna guided him to the bed. “Oh, babe, they like you. You're amazing. There is so much more to you than the big thing between your legs.”

He smiled. “Thanks. You really like me?”

“I do, sweetie. I really like you. Let's get you into bed. You want to wear some boxers?”

“No. More work when I want to make love to you later.”

“We're not doing that tonight, Rob.”

“Oh. Okay. Maybe tomorrow?”

“We'll see. Get under the covers.”

“You going to sleep with me?”

“I told you I'd sleep in the bed with you.”

“Will you sleep naked? I like sleeping naked. You're so gorgeous, Jen. I wanna sleep naked with you.”

She sighed. “Fine. I'll sleep naked with you. Just let me make a phone call, okay?”

“Okay,” he said, grinning, as he snuggled into the blankets.

Jenna dialed Amy. It took a couple rings. Her voice was groggy with sleep.

“Jenna? It's nearly 2 a.m. here. What's wrong?”

“Lola dumped Rob. I'm at the house with him. I'll take care of him for now, but we're going to have some serious fallout on our hands. She sold her story to the tabloids. I caught it while I was testing the new program earlier. Can you call Rick and tell him to get another guard out here? I have a feeling he's going to need round-the-clock security.”

“Is Robbie okay? Is he depressed?”

“He's feeling pretty good at the moment because he took a couple Xanax and drank some whiskey.”

“Are you sure that's all he took?”

“Positive. He said he took a couple anxiety meds when I asked and I doubt the whiskey bottle was full. He's mostly just loopy right now. I'm staying with him anyway.”

“Come to bed, Jen,” Rob slurred.

“You're going to sleep right there with him? That's way above and beyond your job description,” Amy said, sounding surprised.

“I'm not doing this because he's my boss, I'm doing it because he's my best friend. He'll be okay. Call Rick and keep me updated. I have my laptop and I can work from here. If need be, I'll retrieve some stuff from my place and move in for a little while.”

“As long as you're sure...”

“I wouldn't be anywhere else. I'll talk to you in the morning. And can you get me the number for his therapist? I think he needs to make an appointment.” Amy agreed and they hung up.

Jenna shut off the lights and crawled into bed next to Rob. He pulled her close and curled around her.

He sighed. “I've wanted to sleep with you again for a while.”

“I've never slept with you before.”

“No, I guess we didn't sleep, did we? Can I touch you?”

“Not now, Rob. You're wasted. We'll talk tomorrow.”

“Okay. Goodnight.” In moments, his breathing steadied. Jenna rolled to face him and checked his pulse. It was normal, not scary fast or slow. She brushed the hair across his forehead and he smiled. “Love you,” he murmured.

She kissed his forehead and sighed in relief. It could have been so much worse. At least he wasn't crying, desolate, or obliterated. Buzzed and on a Xanax high was better than the alternatives.

When Jenna woke in the morning, Rob was curled around her body, his hand cupping her breast. Whatever he'd been dreaming had aroused him. Either that or he was happy to be pressed naked against her. She wasn't sure what to think about that. He took a deep breath and stretched.

“I like sleeping next to you,” he croaked.

Jenna turned to look at him. His eyes were closed and she wondered if he knew who it was he was talking to. She touched his cheek and kissed him gently.

“I know it's you, Jen. I didn't think you were Lola.” His eyes fluttered open. “Your breasts are real, and she hates cuddling. Thanks for taking care of me.”

“You scared the crap out of me. Don't ever do that again.”

“I won't. I promise.” He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, kissed her sweetly and smiled.

“We're not done here. We need to call your therapist and make you an appointment. I have to do a lot of damage control this morning. Lola sold her story to the tabloids. I talked to Amy last night. She called Rick. I don't know if he'll come himself or if he'll send someone out here, but you'll need additional security. Let's see how you feel when you sit up. I doubt you're running.”

Rob sat slowly and winced. “No, I think you're right. It feels like someone took a hammer to my head. You're insanely hot, did you know that?” He looked her up and down.

“Libido is still functioning,” she said, feigning irritation, but she was flattered.

“My libido is on overload when you're around.” He smirked, wiggling his brows. Then he grimaced; apparently, that hurt.

“You're going to do as I say, got it?”

“Yes ma'am.”

“I'm too young to be a ma'am. Just listen to me, okay?”

He nodded gingerly. It was a start.

The next few days flew in a flurry of activity. Rob went to therapy every afternoon and Jenna spent hours putting out fires. Fortunately, they hadn't already rolled out the social networking. At least it they on had his website to handle and a lot of false information to scrub.

Damn that stupid Lola. Why did she have to go a step further and sell a false story to the tabloids? It was all so vague that it skirted the fringe of libel. Jenna suggested Rob consider suing, but he said that he just wanted it to go away, like Lola had.

The first night, a car delivered Rick, who said that Jenna was free to go. Rob insisted that he wanted her to stay. He told Rick that he wasn't going to let his brother shower with him or sleep in his bed. Rick didn't say anything at the time, but he clearly wanted to know if Jenna had been doing those same things.

Later that night, she helped Rob shower and into bed again. The doctor had told him he should take his meds for a few days, at least, or until he felt like he didn't need them anymore. Even without alcohol, the Xanax made him loopy. There might not have been much whiskey in the bottle, after all.

Jenna sneaked out of the room and went to speak with Rick.

“Why did my brother insist that you stay to help him shower and sleep with him, Jenna?”

“Because that's what I did last night.”

“And why do you seem comfortable with that idea?”

Jenna sighed. She and Rob had long ago vowed to keep this to themselves, but the cat was out of the bag. Given Rob's current situation, there was no point in hiding it from Rick and Amy.

“Because we've slept together before.”

Rick's eyebrows shot up. “Oh? When was that? Recently? Is that why Lola broke up with him?”

“I don't know her motives, but as far as I'm aware, they had nothing to do with me. We slept together the day we met.”

“Is the story about not being interested in each other a lie?”

“No, not all of it. The best lies are at least partly true. I won't tell you the details. You don't need to know. But he's fine with me seeing him naked because I already had before last night. He's my best friend. I wasn't about to let something bad happen to him. I knew when he hadn't answered his phone there was something wrong. If you'd smelled him last night, you'd have put him in the shower, too. Whatever comes of it, it's really not your business.”

He looked annoyed, but he said, “Fine. I'll keep my mouth shut. But the first sign of it leaking and we have a problem.”

“Seriously? You're going to say that to
me?
I'm the one who deals with all the bullshit. Someday, it'll be even worse because we'll have a bigger social network. This is minor by comparison. If stupid Lola hadn't sold her story to
Star,
then we'd be in a lot better shape. Your father trusts me, your brother trusts me and Amy trusts me. Get on board.”

She turned to go and Rick's voice stopped her.

“He's on the rebound.”

“No, he's not. I know he didn't love her. He's hurt, but he'll get over it. The media scrutiny and the invasion of privacy will be harder on him than the end of the affair. But if you're trying to warn me that things between me and your brother won't end well, you're barking up the wrong tree. I don't harbor any false hopes of the handsome movie star falling in love with me as I mend his broken heart. I adore Rob and he's far more than just a friend to me, but we don't feel passionate about each other. We both want that in life. I'm going to be whatever he needs me to be while he gets through this. You don't have any say in that. The sooner you realize it, the better off you'll be.”

She turned and left.

Over the next several days, Rick gradually relaxed around Jenna. She wondered if Rob had said something to him when she went to her apartment for toiletries, clothes and the computers.

About a week after the Lola debacle began, Jenna was helping Rob in the shower as she had every evening, when he backed her into the shower wall, and kissed her deeply and passionately. She couldn't help but kiss him back – she really liked kissing him – and she was lost in the moment when he ran his hands down her body, hitched her leg onto his hip and slid his fingers inside her. She pulled away and panted.

“Rob, what are you doing?”

He grinned. “Trying to get you worked up.”

“Why would you do that?” she asked, confused.

He kissed her neck and moved his fingers in and out again.

“Because I want you, Jen.”

She found herself moaning. “Is that a good idea, Rob? You're still on your meds. You're not thinking clearly.”

“I stopped taking them three days ago. The doctor said I could stop when I was ready. And I was ready, so I stopped.”