My Bachelor (19 page)

Chapter 27

Rafe

The faint sunlight
had disappeared completely, bathing the room in shadows. Eliot was sleeping tightly in my arms. Her long, dark lashes fluttered with a dream and her body wiggled. She was so busy with work and school, I wondered how often she managed to get in deep enough sleep to conjure up a dream. When she talked about saving just to put tires on her mom’s car, all I could think was that I wanted to help. I wanted to make things easier for her any way I could.

It was a strange fucking situation I’d gotten myself into. I was stuck in a contract where I was legally bound to propose to one of the bachelorettes. They were all amazing, beautiful, likable women, but none of them had found their way into my soul like the woman in my arms.

Eliot stretched in her sleep and made a soft, purring sound as she turned around. Then still fast asleep, she nestled her bottom against me. My cock, which was already hard from her nearness, pushed back against her perfectly rounded ass.

I smoothed my hand along her stomach and over her breasts. She purred again and pushed her nipple harder against my hand.

“More practice?” she asked sleepily.

“Your fault. Those sweet sounds you make in your sleep are so fucking hot, it’s almost as if they floated from your lips and swept right down and around my cock.”

“I did all that in my sleep?” She giggled and wiggled her ass against my erection.

I reached over her to the dresser for a condom and then tucked in behind her again. I slid my hand down between her legs. She opened her thighs for my touch. A soft moan followed as my fingers found the sweet spot between the folds of her pussy. I massaged her clit as I slid inside of her.

“God, baby, even sleepy, your pussy is so fucking sweet. I never want to leave it.” I moved against her while I stroked her clit. The shadows of the room unfurled around us as her body moved in rhythm with mine. “I’ve found my reason for being here, El. You’re my reason for being here. It’s all making sense now.” My voice trailed off as my body inched toward orgasm.

Eliot pushed against my thrusts and held my hand tightly between her thighs. Her fingers clutched at the blanket as she braced against me. “Oh, Rafe, please, yes,” she cried out as her pussy clenched around my cock, milking me to orgasm.

We lay there in the dark for a long time, listening to the sounds of night. She held my arms closed around her like a warm coat. “A girl could sure get used to these arms,” she said, her voice still trembling from the last few moments.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to stay the night. Besides, we’ve got a lot more practicing to do.”

“I can’t stay.”

I tightened my arms. “Yes you can.”

“Jackson will know if I’m wearing the same clothes for work in the morning. He has this sixth sense about stuff. Especially when it comes to me.” She spun around in my arms. “And then there’s the tiny matter of the outdoor security cameras. Shit, it’s dark.” She sat up.

“Yes, that’s what happens in the evening when our side of the hemisphere rolls away from sunlight.”

“Funny man. Although, you are some serious stuff when it comes to the sex, mister.” She leaned down to kiss me. “I’ve got to go. It’s already going to look strange that I’m leaving here so late.” She swung her legs off the bed. She hopped up and searched around in the dark for her clothes. “I’ll have to come up with an excuse if anyone asks.” She pulled on her panties and shorts. “Which will only happen if they think the union is going to come down on them for giving me overtime without pay.”

I got up from the bed and walked over to her side. I pulled her into my arms. “Are you sure I can’t coax you into staying a while longer?”

“I have no doubt you could coax me.” She popped up to her toes and kissed me. “It wouldn’t take much more than that smile of yours. But I really have to go. I have homework.”

“Homework. Is there an uglier word in the whole damn language?” I pulled on my jeans. “I always hated homework.” I followed her as she scurried down the hallway with her shoes in hand.

“How am I going to get through this whole night without you, El?” I took hold of her hand and spun her back around to face me. I pushed the curl off her forehead and lifted her chin to give myself full view of her lips. They were swollen from kisses, but that didn’t stop me from kissing her again.

She peered up at me. “You are making this extremely hard.”

“That’s my plan.”

“I can’t stay. You know I can’t, Rafe.” She headed out to the front room and sat on the couch to put on her shoes.

I flipped on a light and sat next to her.

She placed her foot on the edge of the coffee table to tie her shoe, and it landed on a piece of paper. She stared down at the list.

Her fingers slowed as she tied the shoelace.

“Doug said he needed a list for the one on one dates. I had to give him four names.” For the last few hours, we’d been two people starting a new relationship. The show had fallen away, as if it never existed.

Eliot dropped her feet to the ground. “You don’t need to explain, Rafe. I know how the show works, and you are part of it.” A sad laugh followed. “In fact, you are the central figure. I need to go.” She stood up quickly.

“Eliot, you know how I feel, right? You know—”

She nodded weakly as she picked up her keys. “It’s all right, Rafe. I’m fine. I’m a big girl, and I can handle just about anything. I shouldn’t have done this, but I’m not going to waste a minute on regret.”

I reached for her hand, but she pulled it away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she slipped out the door.

Chapter 28

Eliot

I couldn’t have
been more relieved to have reached the end of a work day. Rafe had been busy on set all day. We’d had no more than a few minutes alone, and, even then, I worked hard at keeping it professional—just an assistant and her bachelor. The only problem was I kept thinking of him in those possessive terms, like the new viral
#mybachelor
. It seemed a large swath of the viewing audience, and according to Kiley it was massive, had decided that Rafe was theirs too. But in reality, he didn’t belong to me or the viewing audience. He was going to belong to one of the women on the show. The list of four names on the table had brought me back to Earth like a slap in the face. No regret, I reminded myself. Of course, it wasn’t so much regret that was making me feel as if my entire insides were filled with cement. It was heartbreak. Pure and simple. But I’d done it to myself. As Jackson liked to point out, I was always my own best saboteur. 

Jackson came up next to me. We both watched as the crew started dismantling the obstacle course, or as Doug had called it, the gauntlet. It had been one of his brilliant ideas, a physical challenge for the women, a grueling competition to win the heart of the bachelor. Naturally, the women had all shown up for filming in the skimpiest workout gear they could find, most likely at the request of the director. It had been a particularly hot day, and there had been plenty of skin and sweat and tight spandex purposely splashed with cold water. I had gotten lucky enough to be sent on several errands and thankfully got to miss most of the taping.

“Look at our boss,” Jackson snorted. “He’s got a smile as wide as the crack on my ass.”

“Jeez, that’s a pretty analogy.” I’d been forcing a cheery mood all day just to keep my best friend off the scent of my true feelings. Jackson was just a little too damn good at reading my mind. I didn’t want him to know what I’d done. I wished I could wipe it from my mind too.

Jackson lifted his sunglasses onto his head. “I think they got enough semi-erotic footage today to give the ratings another kick. Not that they need it this season.”

“I don’t know why Doug didn’t just have them set up a bunch of stripper poles and put on some dance music.”

“Snap.” Jackson looked at me. “Someone’s in a judgmental mood today.”

“I mean it. Each season he tries to push the envelope on the shock and awe stuff a little more. Why not just film the whole thing in a hotel room? Lock them all up with booze and food and silk sheets and put the cameras on.”

I could feel Jackson staring at the side of my face. I’d been stone faced all day, and now, I’d nearly let it all slip with one rant.

I shook my head. “Sorry, it’s just so damn hot out here, and I’ve got to study before I go to Sparky’s. I’m just feeling grumpy.”

“Grumpiness forgiven.” Jackson crossed his arms to watch the work on set. “I’m glad I’m not involved with taking down the obstacle course. Especially because I have to work tonight to set up for the invitation party. It’ll be down to just eight girls tonight, and I think it’s pretty obvious who the eight will be. Who do you think he’ll send home?”

I shrugged. “Haven’t given it much thought. I’ve got too much else on my mind. I’m going to help the caterers clean up, or we’ll never get out of here.” I walked away quickly before Jackson realized something was up.

One of the many things Rafe was highly skilled at was finding me alone. I hadn’t even heard his footsteps as I busied myself wiping off empty trays behind the caterer’s truck.

His hands went around my eyes. I dropped the tray. It clattered with no small noise against the other trays.

“So much for our stealth meeting behind the food truck.” Just hearing his deep voice sent a curl of warmth through me.

I spun around and stepped back from his touch. His smile faded.

“What are you doing back here?” I glanced around. Everyone was busy with their own tasks.

“I just needed to see you.”

“Looked like you were having a good time out there today.” I couldn’t keep the lacy fringes of jealousy from my tone.

He stared at me. “I had to be out there. I signed a stupid fucking contract. In fact, I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. Never sign your name to anything. Ever.” He took a step closer. I couldn’t will my feet to back up. I wanted nothing more than to walk straight into his arms. But I froze to the spot like a confused and completely smitten rabbit, knowing full well I should run from the wolf, but unable to make it happen.

“Come see me tonight.”

A slightly unhinged laugh shot from my mouth. I looked around again. No one was in earshot, and there wasn’t one person on crew who would ever guess the conversation that Eliot, the
safe assistant
, would be having with the bachelor. “I can’t. Besides, I’m working tonight.”

“What time are you off?”

“You are persistent.”

“Only when it’s something I really want. And I really want you. What time?”

I sighed. “I’m off at ten tonight because I have school in the morning.”

“Great. So I’ll expect you around ten thirty.”

“Maybe you missed the last part of my sentence. I have school at seven in the morning.”

“We’ll have you up and out in plenty of time for school. Unless I find that I can’t let you leave my bed. Then you might be tardy. Do they still call it tardy?”

“How do I explain my car driving up to the house late at night and driving away from the house early in the morning?”

His unshaven jaw slid back and forth as he worked up a scheme. “Got it. Meet me behind the house. That way you don’t have to worry about being seen. I can get you through the backyard out of camera view. Whoever set up security in the back must have been high. There are all kinds of gaps in the coverage.”

The lyrical sound of the contestants’ laughter inside the food tent brought me back to the real world. “I can’t come, Rafe. This is—eventually I
am
going to feel regret. A lot of regret. Life changing regret. Especially when you ride off into the sunset with Janelle or Nina or one of the other amazing women on the other side of this canvas.”

“Eliot, just come. My sister’s husband is a lawyer. When I called her the other night, I told her to have him comb through the contract just to see what my options are.”

“Your options? Are you familiar with the term iron clad? Doug has had his lawyers perfect that contract, including the part that says you must stick it out, or at least look like a couple, in the public’s eye for six months after you leave the show. Too many couples were calling it quits right after. It was making the whole thing a joke.”

He raked his hair back with his fingers and looked around. “Sure did get myself into one hell of a mess.” His gaze fell back on me, and my resolve not to see him tonight crumbled a little bit more.

“Ten thirty. I’ll wait for you. If you don’t show up, then I won’t bother you again, Eliot. We’ll just go back to bachelor and assistant. It will kill me, but I’m letting you decide.”

I watched him walk away on his long legs with his incredible mane of hair and his broad, confident shoulders and all I could think was I’d never meet a man like him again. That realization sucked big time, and yet, it fit ever so perfectly into my not so perfect life.

Chapter 29

Rafe

“That’s it. I’m
out.” Leo threw down his cards. His two buddies had already folded. “You sure you want to have five phone minutes instead of my cash?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Leo couldn’t hide his smile. “Fine by me. I’ll save that twenty for a pitcher of beer.” He pulled out his phone and slid it across the table toward me. “Five minutes. And remember—no talking to anyone about the show and no telling anyone that you used my phone. If someone asks, I’ll tell them you snuck it away from me.”

“Got it.”

I stood up from the chair.

“That Janelle, she’s a looker, eh?” Leo commented before I managed to escape his security booth.

“Yes, she is.” I stopped and looked down at him. “You’ve got your money on her?”

“Yep. Sure do. Just thought I’d put in a good word for her.”

I lifted the phone and pointed to the door.

“Five minutes,” he called.

“Yep.” I dialed Jill’s number, hoping to hell I’d catch her near a phone. She answered on two rings.

“Hey, it’s me. Did Terrence get a chance to look over that contract?”

“He did. He’s sitting right here. I need to help Brian with his math homework or he’ll walk away and turn on video games.” Jill handed the phone over to Terrence.

“Big Rock, how’s it going in bachelor land?”

“Just great. I’ve only got five minutes phone freedom. Did you look over the contract?”

“Yes and it’s pretty damn tight. No wiggle room. You need to offer a proposal of marriage to one of the bachelorettes. Jilly is leaning toward Nina, the teacher. Thinks she’ll make a nice sister-in-law.” I could hear Jill laughing in the background.

“You two are a regular comedy duo. So, they’ve got me by the balls?”

“Yep. Both of them. And you’re required to put up at least the pretense that the relationship is strong and the wedding inevitable for at least six months.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck. I must have been temporarily brainless to have gotten into this.”

“It’s quite the conundrum, Big Rock. Here’s your sister. She wants to get in a few terse words before you hang up.”

“Just what I need.”

“Damn right,” Jill said sharply into the phone. “Look, Rafe, you signed on for this. I’m not sure what’s going on in that terrified of commitment head of yours—”

“I’m not terrified of commitment.”

“Uh huh, anyhow, what I do know about my little brother, the infamous playboy, is that you don’t like to toy with a woman’s emotions. I’m sure most of the women on that show signed on thinking they were going to meet their dream man. You need to take this seriously, or it’s not fair to the women.”

“Jill, this is the last thing I need right now, but point taken. How are Mom and Dad?”

“They’re fine. Dad said he and Tracker have been taking long walks every day. He’s thinking about getting a dog again.”

“Wish I was out there taking walks with Tracker instead of here.”

“Not much longer.”

“Yeah. Hey, I’ve got to get the phone back to its owner. Take care, Jill. And tell Terrence thanks.”

I walked back inside. Leo was putting his wallet and keys in his pocket. “Well, I’m out of here. Got a date.” He took the phone from my open palm. “Later, suckers.”

I headed back to the house. It was just after ten. I decided to head out back early to wait for Eliot. I knew damn well there was more than a good chance that she wouldn’t show, and I couldn’t really blame her. That still didn’t keep me from sneaking out to wait for her.

I easily slipped past the spotty camera coverage at the back of the house and climbed over the back fence. My feet hit the ground and then the road that led behind the houses and down the hill to civilization. I had to keep myself from taking off at a full run, without looking back.

Since the top two houses on the hill were owned by the studio, the last section of road was deserted. It had been one of those close to triple digit California days, a shitty day for the stupid ass obstacle course Doug had created for today’s shoot. Even with the sun having set hours earlier, the air was still warm with a dry breeze.

I walked along the road to the second estate. They kept some of the outdoor lights on to give the illusion that it was occupied, but the house itself was dark, save for one or two dim lights shining through various windows. From the road, I could see all the way through the side yard to the rainbow of city lights below. The pool had an amazing view, and on a night like tonight, the cool water looked inviting.

I sat on the retaining wall lining the property and stared into the dark wilderness. There was more than a good chance that I was waiting for nothing. I sat there in the silent shadows of night wondering how I would feel if Eliot didn’t show. I’d given her the option. I’d been feeling like a self-centered heel, too worried about my own feelings to consider how hard this had to be for her. She would stay away, I told myself and then instantly assured myself she would come. I suddenly found myself agonizing over the possibility that she wanted nothing to do with me.

I stared down the road. The more I considered the possibility that Eliot would stay away, the darker my mood grew. As hard as I tried to convince myself that I’d be all right with her decision, I knew that was bullshit. I had no fucking clue how this had happened, except that Eliot was anything but the ordinary girl she pretended to be. Everything about her was real and funny and smart and fucking beautiful. She had convinced herself that she was moving through life, unnoticed and unspectacular, completely unaware of the glittering trail of starlight following along behind her.

Headlights lit up the road below. I stood from the wall and reminded myself it could be anyone. When the same headlights came around the last bend, I released the breath I’d been holding. The unexplained weight that had been pressing on my chest lifted.

Eliot pulled over and parked. I realized that, once again, I was holding my breath as I waited for her to get out of the car. The breeze pushed her thick hair forward. She reached up and brushed it back from her face. Her lopsided smile followed.

I walked toward her as she shut the door and stood next to her car.

“You came,” I said, mostly to convince myself that she wasn’t just a mirage.

“Yes. But trust me, there was a whole lot of debate happening inside this head.” She pointed up.

“I’m glad the yes side won.”

She looked around. I figured that she was checking out the surroundings but then I saw that she was trying to blink back tears. “The yes side didn’t win. Every rational thought told to me to turn the car around and head far away from here.”

I swallowed the tightness in my throat as I tried to piece together what she was telling me.

“You decided this wasn’t a good idea?”

“I didn’t need to decide. I know for a fact that this is a bad idea. A very bad idea, where I end up just a little more broken than I already am.”

I stood waiting for her to continue, wanting badly to stomp toward her and pull her into my arms.

Her blue eyes looked like jewels glossed by tears in the moonlight. A long stretch of silence followed, and then her thin shoulders shrugged. “Yep, every rational thought, every reasonable argument went right out the damn car window.” She ran toward me.

I caught her as she jumped into my arms.

I kissed her long and hard.

Reluctantly, our lips parted, and she looked up at me with those amazing eyes.

“El, I don’t want to let you go. I just want to leave this place with you and never look back.”

“Just say the word, Outlaw, and you can steal off with me in the night. I won’t even put up a fight.”

I lowered my mouth to hers again. The warm Santa Ana breeze brushed our skin as we stood beneath the navy blue and silver sky. Everything about it was perfect, except for the fact that we were having to sneak around and I was legally bound to pick a wife. And, in the midst of it all, Eliot had to worry about losing her job.

But it was late, we were completely alone, and we were out of range of security cameras and anything else that reminded us of our shitty situation.

“I’ve got an idea.” I wrapped my arms tighter around her. “Why don’t we take a swim in that pool with the awesome view. The cameras aren’t on, and the place is empty. We’ll have it all to ourselves.”

Eliot glanced across the nicely landscaped yard to the dark house. “But I don’t have a bathing suit.”

“Yep, that’s all part of my plan. We’re alone, which suddenly makes skinny dipping a viable option.” I reached up and brushed the curl off her forehead. “What do you say my tempting little assistant?”

She smiled as if something amusing popped into her mind.

“What are you grinnin’ about?”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. It’s just that Jackson told me that Doug and Kiley had made me assistant because I was a
safe
choice.” Her smile widened. “Oh, I do love a good dose of irony, don’t you?”

I laughed. “I do.” I took hold of her hand and led her toward the path to the pool gate. “Especially when it’s followed up with a good dose of naked pool fun.”

I reached over and unlatched the gate, and we continued to the pool area. Gray brick pavers filled the area around the pool, which was built so that it looked as if it was flowing off the side of the cliff. The city below pulsated with colorful lights. It lent just enough glow to the pool area for a romantic swim.

I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my shirt. Eliot hadn’t taken anything off. She stared at the house. “I guess they leave a few lights on inside to make the place look occupied, not that many people come this far up the hill anyway. Seems like the only intruders they’d need to worry about are coyotes and raccoons. I heard one time a whole family of raccoons—”

She ended her story with a gasp as I walked up behind her and grabbed the ends of her shirt. “You’re procrastinating with raccoon stories.”

“No, I’m not.” She lifted her arms, and I pulled the shirt off. “Just thought it was interesting.”

I unfastened her bra and slipped it off her shoulders. Then I turned her around and gazed down at her naked breasts. “They are even more beautiful in the moonlight.” I lowered my mouth to kiss and tease each breast while I unbuttoned her shorts.

She braced her hands on my shoulders and kicked off her shoes. Her shorts dropped to the cement, and I gave her panties a little push.

She crossed her arms. “Feeling a little exposed out here.”

“You’re right. Those raccoons might be watching us.” I pulled her against me and kissed her.

Her laugh stopped the kiss. “The breeze is tickling my butt.”

“Guess this is the first time you’ve stood outside naked?”

She peered up at me. “Oh no, I do it all the time. My naked roommate and I like to go out to the apartment parking lot and wash our cars in the nude.”

“You do realize just how fucking hot that sounds, right?”

“It was meant to be sarcastic, but I see your point. Well, I was invited for a swim.” She ducked under my arms, ran to the pool and jumped in. She popped her head up through the surface. “It’s like a bathtub.”

“Thought it might be. It’s in full sun all day.” I stripped off my pants and underwear and walked to the edge of the pool.

Eliot gazed up at me. “This is a very nice angle. In fact, I’m wondering, do you even have a bad angle?”

“I’ve got plenty of them, you just have to look for them.” I jumped in and surfaced again next to her. I brushed my thumb over her forehead. “No curl when it’s wet.”

“The only time Jack disappears.”

I pulled her into my arms. She rubbed her fingers over the beard stubble on my jaw. “So here we are. Swimming. Naked. A first for me, by the way.”

I laughed. “No way. You mean to tell me you got through high school without at least one skinny dipping adventure?”

“There was one night, but we kept on our underwear, and I’d had three sips of a disgusting rum punch, which helped me loosen up.”

“Well damn, I didn’t bring any disgusting rum punch.” My hands smoothed down her back and over her ass as I lifted her toward me. My cock pressed urgently against her pussy. “I wonder if there’s anything else we could do to loosen you up?”

“If we think really hard.” She pressed her lips against mine.

I carried her to the small ledge seat in the corner of the deep end. We had an unobstructed view of the city below. We both stared down at the endless mosaic of colorful lights that ended in stark blackness at the coast.

“It’s so clear I can see some of the boat lights out on the water.” Eliot turned away from the view and rested her head against my shoulder. “Rafe, I don’t want to end up with the tattered remains of a broken heart.”

“I would never do anything to hurt you, El.”

“Then tell me—” She stopped and glanced out at the lights again before turning back to me. “Tell me how this ends because right now, I don’t see any way around the broken heart thing.” Her voice wavered.

I reached up and took hold of her face to keep her from looking away. “I will figure this out. But know this—no matter what happens, it’s you. I choose you, El. You were the woman who stood out right from the fucking start.”

I kissed her hard, and she wrapped herself tighter around me as she straddled my lap.

“El, I didn’t come prepared,” I said between kisses. “But I had to go through a physical before the show and—.”

“It’s all right. I’m covered too.” She floated up and hovered above my cock, brushing against the tip to tease me. I groaned as she lowered herself an inch over me and then floated back up with a giggle. “I wonder if this is what it’s like for the astronauts up in the space station, except for the unwieldy space suits and the fact that NASA scientists are watching.”

“You are an anti-gravity tease.” I took her breast into my mouth and traced the nipple with my tongue as my hands took firm hold of her ass. Her long fingers tangled in my wet hair as she slid down over my cock.

“God, I knew your pussy would feel like this, like warm silk around my cock.”

She wrapped her arms around me as she lifted and fell over me, her pussy swallowing more and more of me each time. I teased the tight hole of her ass with the tip of my finger as she writhed over me, moving her hips forward and back to feel every inch of me.

The lights of the city below blurred into one mass of color as our bodies worked in rhythm, bringing each of us closer to the edge, like the pool we were sitting in. Warm water rippled around us. I held her ass firmly as she moved over me, faster and harder with each pass. Normally, I could control myself and hold onto an erection for as long as my partner needed, but with Eliot it was different. Everything about her sent pulses of need through me and being inside of her was all I needed to come. Especially now that there was no barrier between her body and mine.

I gritted my teeth wanting badly to explode, to spill my hot seed, but I wanted to hear her cries of ecstasy first.

I worked my finger deeper into the tight hole, and after clenching against it, initially, Eliot moved against the pressure, using it to bring her toward climax.

Her fingers tangled tighter in my hair, and soft sounds rolled from her lips until her body tightened and she clenched her pussy around me. “Oh, Rafe.” Her weak cry echoed out over the valley. She crumpled against me. I was so close to coming, my cock ached, but I withdrew and carried her across the pool to the steps. I lifted her out of the water and carried my dripping wet and extremely hot assistant to one of the chaise lounges.

Eliot’s flawless skin shimmered glossy wet in the moonlight as she stretched her arms back and took hold of the top of the lounge. I lowered myself between her thighs, and she wrapped her legs around me as I plunged into her. A low moan rolled from her lips as my cock penetrated her pussy. She held the ends of the lounge and lifted her ass higher to take in more of me. I was eager to comply. I drove into her fast and hard until my body hardened and shuddered as I came.