Goddess

Tonight,my brother surprised me by inviting me to dinner with him and Jasper. They’re heading back to Florida now that they’ve consulted with Austin and given him the information he needs to start the investigation. I couldn’t say no to seeing my brother before he left. Who knows when I’ll see him again. Jasper wanted Mexican food, so we ventured to another local hot spot, but my mind was back here with Goddess. I did not even have a way to call her to let her know I would be running late. I couldn’t have Mother pass her the message either without invoking suspicion. I wouldn’t want to spark hope where there is none. I admit that seeing a woman again is not part of my norm. Still, I keep telling myself that I’m allowing the exception because my time is split between helping my mother. I don’t have time to find women to occupy my bed every night.

When I arrive back, I find Goddess in her room, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and her back up against her bed. She’s reading a book, so she doesn’t notice me at first. I use this time to take her in. She’s wearing some sort of tiny gym shorts with a tank top. Once again, she’s braless. This woman doesn’t even realize how much of a fucking temptation she is without wearing shit like that. The moment my mother invited her to stay here, I never stood a snowball’s chance in hell. My dick is already twitching to be balls deep in her again. Where did she even get the clothes because I’m pretty sure she didn’t buy that at Target yesterday. She finally looks up, startled.

“Your door was cracked,” I say, willing my cock to calm. She looks at me only briefly before returning to whatever she’s reading. It’s after nine, so I don’t know if our window of opportunity to talk has passed, but I have to try. “Sorry. Things took a little longer with my brother than I expected, but he’s leaving in the morning.”

“It’s fine,” she says without looking up. I’m beginning to hate that damn word. Especially since it’s evident that things are never fine when she says it is. She’s not getting rid of me that easy. I sit next to her and try to fold my legs like hers in these damn jeans. The keyword being try. I try a few times before I give up. Goddess doubles over in laughter, so making a complete ass out of myself is worth it. It breaks the ice. I snatch her book away, feigning to be hurt that she’s laughing at me.

“Give me my book back, jerk,” she says, slapping my arm but still giggling.

“No. Because you’re mean. I can’t fold up like a damn pretzel like you,” I tease. “What are you reading anyway?” I turn the book over to read the title, but she snatches it away.

“Romance.”

“Women and their romance. Those books set women up for unrealistic expectations. I don’t believe in happily ever after.”

The air in the room changes. I didn’t mean to put a damper on the mood, but her laughter has stopped. “What did you come by for?” she asks finally.

“Well, I still wanted to talk. I told you—”

“I’m not holding you to that, Huxley. It felt good to get that out. I’d been holding my story in for so long it felt liberating to share and not be judged.” She goes to stand, but I grab her hand.

“Then, please. Give me a chance to do the same.” I surprise even myself. It’s not a ploy. She is so easy to talk to, and I’m not ready to say good night to her. She slowly sits back down.

“Okay.”

“Come.” I stand with a renewed idea to bring her to my room. I tell myself it’s because I have liquor there. A little liquid courage to let someone in. I lead her to my room with her hand in mine.

I watch her eyes widen as she takes in my personal space. It’s the only indulgence that I allow in my life. My man cave, if you will. A sixty-inch television occupies one of the walls, and my huge-ass bed takes up the other side of the room. Purple silk sheets drape my bed while various sizes of candles add to the ambiance. Okay, it’s more like my sex cave. The plan was to bring women here because multiple trips to the hotels would raise quite a few eyebrows. I wasn’t exaggerating about my unconquerable sex drive. My reputation here has already taken a beating. I need people to focus on my mother’s new restaurant and not who I’m fucking.

Goddess immediately heads over to sit on the bench under my bay window.

“This is really nice,” she surmises. “A great space to read. Nice for stargazing too.”

“I’m afraid I haven’t done either.” I chuckle. I pour myself a glass of whiskey neat and join her. I move some of the pillows to get closer. She gives me her full attention when my leg brushes hers.

“So here goes nothing,” I say as I throw back my whiskey in a couple of gulps. “I’ll give you the CliffsNotes version of my life. Wouldn’t want to bore you with the details.”

“You won’t bore me,” she promises.

“Well, the guy I was with today at lunch, Austin, is an old friend of my father’s. They served in the Marines together. Austin runs Legends Security company, and my father originally followed him here to Marietta to work for him. My family has business in both oil and hotel chains, but my father initially wanted to make his own way, hence his reason for joining the military in the first place. He didn’t want to conform to the standards that came along with having the family money. One of the biggest obstacles was that they didn’t accept the woman he loved, my mother. Her pedigree wasn’t up to par in their eyes, and they warned him that she was after his money. My father moved to Marietta with my mother, prepared to start a life here with her.

“Only shortly after they arrived, they discovered she was pregnant with my brother and me. My father had hit a crossroads. He wanted to work hard and provide for his new family but didn’t want to sacrifice the time that would take away from seeing us grow up. He did what he thought was best. He married my mother before taking her back with him to California to claim his rightful share of the family fortune. Once he was married without a prenup, it didn’t matter what his family thought.”

Goddess listens attentively, hanging on to my every word. It’s surprisingly easy to talk to her. Refreshing even.

“Fast-forward a few years. As he took on the role of CEO and ran multiple hotel chains, his daily stress trickled onto his family, and it strained his relationship with my mother until they separated. His family only tolerated her but never accepted her. She moved back to Marietta because she fell in love with the small-town feel. She brought us and our nanny, Rosalita. My father didn’t want to see her go, but he knew he couldn’t stop her. He made sure she was provided for, and he came to visit often.”

“So the woman you call mother, Rosalita, was actually your nanny?” Goddess turns to face me now.

“Yes. I gravitated toward her more than my brother did, even as a small child. When my mother died in a car crash when I was six, she became the woman who was my everything. So much so that my father allowed my brother and me to continue to live in Marietta with her for four more years. We’d already suffered a traumatic loss, and he didn’t want to interrupt our lives even more. He made more effort to be in Marietta as much as he could. Still, Rosalita is who I quickly came to identify as my mother. She was my coping mechanism. She didn’t even flinch the first time I called her mother. “

“I’m so sorry, Huxley. She seems like a really good woman. I’m glad you had someone to help you through such a difficult time.”

“Yeah. Well, my brother, not so much. He began to act out after a while. My father moved us back with him by the time we were ten, but Rosalita stayed behind. She had met a man, and they were planning to get married. I was so mad at her. How could she choose this man over her son? But she didn’t. She visited me when she could, sent for me to spend the summers with her, and never missed a birthday. Silas didn’t have the attachment to her that I did, but she basically acted as a co-parent.”