“Nor any other woman. Except for this one.”
“So where does that leave me?”
“If you want him, and I know you do, you’ve got to fight for him. Show up anyway. His father will welcome you with open arms. And once Harrison compares you to this waitress, we both know there will be no comparison. You’ll win. But only if you’re willing to fight for that victory.”
“Oh I’ll fight alright. If anybody’s going to be his fiancée, it’s going to be me. I earned that right. I’ll be there. Don’t you worry. I’ll be there.”
“We’re all depending on you, Gwennie. If you fail, we fail. But if you succeed, and his old man falls for it, we all will be going home in limousines.”
“We already go home in limousines,” she said and the caller laughed.
But when the call ended, Gweneth leaned back on the float in her pool. Her boy toy was skinny-dipping and showing her what he was made of. But Harrison was on her brain. And she couldn’t get him off of it. Whenever he did decide to marry someone, she knew it was going to be for life. There would only be one Mrs. Harrison Arthur Bainbridge the Fourth. And she aimed to be it.
Like she said, she earned that right. And no two-bit waitress was going to take it from her.
She pressed her intercom button, ordered her lady’s maid to prepare for a trip to Kennebunkport on Thursday, and then she sipped her mint Julep. She was worried that he chose this waitress over her, but it was a mild worry. Once Harrison laid eyes on her again, and remembered how good they were together, that waitress wouldn’t stand a chance. Of that she was certain.
She was so certain that she got up, left that boy toy showing his ass, and went to pack right away.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
He led her into his bedroom that was the size of her apartment times two, but he didn’t stop at the bed. He led her into his ensuite bathroom that was so beautiful that Jayda found herself looking up at the ceiling. A cathedral ceiling in a bathroom. She’d seen it all when she saw that.
Until she saw that enormous Jacuzzi tub. And as soon as she saw it, she blurted out: “I’d give my right arm to take a bath in that!”
Harrison smiled. “No need to give up limbs,” he said as he began running the water in the large tub.
But as he began undressing, Jayda was watching the tub fill. She knew what he was doing, and seemed to him to be avoiding the inevitable. “Jayda?”
When she finally tore her huge eyes away from that huge tub, she realized Harrison had removed his suit coat and tie and shirt, and was about to work on his pants. “Perhaps you can get in a tub fully clothed,” he said to her, “but I would prefer you didn’t in my tub.”
“Oh!” And then she smiled, and began undressing as well.
But it was uncomfortable as it could be, and unreal to her. She never would have thought, when she agreed to show up at this party, that this night would go anything like the way it had gone. And was still going. Especially when both she and Harrison got down to their total nakedness. He first, and then her. And although they both were careful not to stare at the other one’s body, neither were looking away.
For Jayda it was how well-built he was, and how big he was. She could tell he was muscular by his biceps in the suits he wore, but they did him no justice. He was very muscular. And when her eyes roamed down to that certain hanging fruit, she found herself staring. She didn’t mean to do it, but she lingered there. She could not get over how massive it was. And it wasn’t just long, but wide too?That is going to hurt, was her first thought when she saw it. Her second thought was how great it was going to feelafterthat initial shock of it. But there was going to be a shock, she thought as Harrison helped her into the tub. No doubt about that.
For Harrison, it was her beautiful dark skin that was flawless just like her face, and her slenderness that had all the right curves and hips and thighs he adored. Not to mention her more-than-adequate breasts. But she was small, which meant it was going to be a challenge, and he wasn’t at all certain if she could take all of him. Although he had promised not to touch her, that was before he saw her body in its naturalness. How was he going to abstain from that?
But by the way he was aroused just helping her into the tub and watching her perfectly-formed ass glide past him, if he ever started down that road with her there was no way he was going to be able to stop. He was not one of those men with that level of willpower. Not with Jayda. Not with a body like hers. Not with this particular woman that seemed to turn him on in every conceivable way possible.
That was why he couldn’t allow himself to go down that road.
So-called love was down that road.
Heartache was down that road.
Jayda,sweet Jayda, was down that road. And she could destroy him.
He got in the tub behind her. After she decided to sit down at the back of the tub, he sat at the front and turned on the jets. And for several long, tender minutes they both leaned their heads back and relaxed. It was so relaxing to Jayda that she nearly fell asleep. But it was weird to her too. Here she was in a Jacuzzi tub with a man she’d only met a couple weeks ago, but yet in still she couldn’t remember the last time she felt so relaxed. It was, in an odd sort of way, as if she was at home with Harrison. At least she felt at home with him. All those other men she’d been with felt as comfortable as an Airbnb could feel: very temporary. But Harrison felt as comfortable as a home with a mortgage, or fully paid for. Which was the craziest thing ever. He’d already told her he had no love to give to her or any other woman. He had no comfort for her, was how she interpreted what he’d said, so he warned her not to even try to be comfortable with him. But her body, her sense of self, wasn’t heeding that warning.
Harrison spent most of his time staring at Jayda. With her head back and her eyes closed, he could watch her with no pretense. And she was a sight to behold. So sophisticated given her background. And so smart and perceptive. He loved the way she handled Phyllis and the others. She held her own and then some. And that body, he thought, as he stared at her neck, her breasts, and further below. He wanted to stroke himself just watching her. He was just that aroused.
But his headache intensified, and he leaned his head back too. He was worrying himself sick about the health of BCT. And what on earth was his father going to decide. And how on earth was he going to keep Jayda safe from his brother’s knives. Not to mention his father’s. It all amounted to too much.
After nearly ten minutes of pure silence and total relaxation in that tub, Jayda found herself almost dozing off. To avoid it, she lifted her head and opened her eyes. That was whenshe saw that Harrison’s head was leaned back too, but he had a frown on his face. She remembered, in that moment, what he had said downstairs.
“Still have that headache?”
