Anticipation(9)

"I knew you would save my bacon."

Blue eyed the fridge pointedly. "Shouldn't we be stuffing our faces with chocolate about now?"

"Of course, my liege. My apologies, my liege," Eddie said, pretending to  tug on his forelock as he stood and collected their plates.

"I quite like that. Keep it up," she said, leaning back in her seat and  assuming the most regal/arrogant posture she could manage with half her  leg encased in fiberglass.

Eddie placed a platter of sprinkle-covered chocolate balls on the table with a bow.

"Try not to make yourself sick," he said.

"When have I ever been sick from your cooking?" she asked, eyeing the treats with avaricious intent.

The doorbell sounded before he could respond, and she reached for a truffle as he headed toward the front of the house.

"Man, these are good," she told the empty room as she swallowed the first mouthful of sweet, creamy chocolate.

She could hear voices as Eddie spoke to whoever was at the door.  Probably someone selling something. No doubt Eddie would give them short  shrift - he hated being harassed in his own home.

She'd just popped a second brigadeiro into her mouth when she heard the  click-click of high heels. Sugar dissolved on her tongue as she glanced  over her shoulder. Sure enough, a statuesque woman entered, Eddie  following her. Her blonde hair was long and tousled, her skirt short and  tight. Blue could smell her perfume from across the room, something  heavy and floral.         

     



 

Blue didn't recognize her, but that was no surprise. No one could keep up with the women in Eddie's life, including Eddie.

"This is Leanne," Eddie said. "Leanne, Blue."

"Oh. Hi," Leanne said, confusion creasing her pretty face.

Obviously Eddie hadn't mentioned he had a house guest.

"Hi." Blue reached for her crutches. "I'll give you guys some privacy."

Eddie frowned. "You don't need to do that. Leanne was just dropping off a magazine for me."

Blue's gaze found the rolled-up magazine peeking out of the other  woman's handbag. How long had it taken Leanne to come up with the  magazine as a pretext for a drop-in visit? An hour? A day? A week? It  would be churlish of Blue to take the wind out of Leanne's sails when  she'd gone to so much trouble to win some face time with Eddie.

"You guys don't want me hanging around, cramping your style," Blue said.

Leanne didn't bother to hide the small, relieved smile that curved her lips. Blue tucked her crutches beneath her arms.

"Seriously. You don't have to go," Eddie said, his frown deeper now.

"I'm tired anyway," Blue said. It was the one thing she knew that would shut him up.

"What about the brigadeiros?"

"I've had enough."

"Are those chocolate? I love chocolate," Leanne said. "They look amazing."

"Help yourself," Blue said, already turning toward the hallway that led to her room.

She could feel Eddie watching her as she left, but she figured he'd get  over his host-guilt the moment he noticed that Leanne had no discernible  panty line.

Blue shut the door with a firm push, then got rid of her crutches and  hopped to the bed. Even though she'd planned to resume the Call of Duty  game she and Eddie had been playing after dinner, she would be just as  happy reading her book. Leanne turning up unannounced was no skin off  Blue's nose. It had happened more than once when she'd been hanging out  at Eddie's place, after all. Same old, same old.

She made a pile of pillows against the wall and settled into them. It  wasn't until she'd turned the second page of her book that she realized  she was holding her breath, her shoulders tight with tension as she  tried and failed to ignore what was going on in the other room.

She heard the low rumble of Eddie's voice, followed by the thud of the  refrigerator closing. Leanne's laugh sounded too loud, even from a  distance. Blue wondered where he'd met her, how many times he'd slept  with her.

Whether he was going to have sex with her again tonight.

Blue heard them moving around, then the sound of music. Eddie creating a  bit of ambience, no doubt. Not that he needed to do much by way of  seduction if Leanne's decision to arrive sans underwear meant anything.

Leanne's laugh sounded again, followed by Eddie's.

They were probably on the couch, eating the brigadeiros he'd made for Blue.

He's going to fuck her. You know he is.

He was. He was going to lift her short little skirt and spread her  thighs wide. He was going to lick and suck and bite her breasts. He was  going to slide inside her and pump into her until she called his name.  He was going to find his own pleasure inside her.

He was going to do all the things to her that he did to the women he  took to his bed, the things that had given him a reputation for being an  exceptional lover. The things that meant there was never a lack of  women with no underwear in his life.

Bile burned at the back of Blue's throat and she swallowed convulsively, desperately trying to ignore the sourness in her belly.

She couldn't. Her jealousy was too overpowering, too encompassing, too pure and hot and gut-wrenching.

The thought of him touching Leanne …

Of him being inside her …

Blue rolled to the edge of the bed and struggled to her feet. She didn't  bother with the crutches, hopping with desperate lurches into the  bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet before dinner burned its way  up her throat.

Her eyes were streaming afterward, her mouth acrid. Wiping her mouth  with the back of her hand, she struggled to rise and shuffled across to  the basin, carefully keeping her weight off her bad leg. Her arms and  good leg were shaking from the effort - or maybe that was more to do  with the aftermath of the emotion that had turned her stomach.

She washed her mouth out four times, then brushed her teeth for good measure. Then she sank onto the rim of the bathtub.

She could still hear the music in here, but no voices or laughter. Maybe  they'd already gone to Eddie's bedroom. Or perhaps they were too busy  going for it on the couch.         

     



 

Anything was possible.

Not two hours ago, she'd cried tears of relief that things were back to  normal with Eddie, and now here she was, literally sick with jealousy  over what he may or may not be doing with his blonde de jour.

This wasn't going to work. They weren't okay. At least, she wasn't.  Something had shifted inside her, and she needed to work out what it was  and how to fix it.

If she could.

In the meantime, she needed to not be around Eddie for as long as it took for her to get her head straight.

Body still trembling with residual reaction, she struggled back into the bedroom and reached for her phone.





Chapter Five

The next morning Eddie woke to the sound of the front gate opening. He'd  been meaning to oil the hinges for weeks now, and his punishment for  being a lazy bastard was being woken at the crack of dawn by an  unwelcome visitor.

Another one. Apparently he was collecting them these days. Leanne last night, and now whoever was about to ring his doorbell.

Right on cue, electronic chimes echoed.

Sighing heavily, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and reached  for the pair of jeans he'd worn yesterday. He needed to get to the door  before the inconsiderate idiot riding the bell woke Blue up.

He had his hand on the doorknob to his room when he heard the distinct thud of Blue's crutches pass by outside.

She was up already? And moving around?

He exited his bedroom in time to see her open the front door, revealing a  taxi driver in the neat, pale blue uniform shirt mandated by Victorian  law.

"I'll need help with my bags," she said quietly.

So as not to wake him, Eddie imagined.

"What's going on?"

She swiveled on one crutch, her face pale beneath the deep blue of her hair. "You're up."

"What's going on, Blue?"

"I won't be a moment," she told the driver. "Start the meter if you have to."

There was a familiar defiant tilt to her chin as she turned to face him  and he knew before she opened her mouth what she was going to say.

"You're not going to your place," he said. "Don't even think about it. You're not up to being on your own yet."

He was prepared to take her crutches away and confiscate her luggage if  he had to. Whatever it took to protect her from her own idiocy.

"Lena called last night. She flew in two days ago, and she's heading  down to her folks' place at the beach. She's offered to look after me."

He stared at her, trying to work out if she was snowing him or not. Lena  was Rafel's ex, and she and Blue had remained in contact despite the  fact that it had been nearly two years since Rafel and Lena had parted  ways. The last time Eddie had exchanged emails with her, Lena was firmly  ensconced in New York, having retreated there after failing to win Raf  back eighteen months ago.

"Call her if you don't believe me," Blue said, pulling her phone from her back pocket and offering it to him.

The driver was hovering in the doorway, having taken it upon himself to play witness to their altercation.