Masked Innocence

Twenty-Four

Over thirteen hours later, I woke up in Brad’s bed. The smell of bacon was in the air, and I was naked, his thousand-thread-count sheets cool against my body. The shower was running, and I glanced over to the clock. Six-forty a.m. We had stayed up late, talking over dinner, and then, later, sweet, sensual sex, an incredible joining that had given me an emotional connection when I desperately needed one. I fought the desire for bacon and closed my eyes, feeling my body drift back toward dreamdom. The sound of the shower door halted my descent and I rolled over, propping a pillow underneath my head and watching the door swing open, steam billowing out. I smiled when I saw him emerge, butt naked and utterly gorgeous, ripped muscles surrounding nine inches that had become my full-time obsession. I drank him in, his head obscured by a white towel, his hands rubbing it over his head and then down his body. He turned and paused, meeting my eyes, a smile creeping over his face. He dropped the towel and came to me, halting by the side of the bed, my eyes now in perfect eye level with his cock.

I rolled back, looking up into his face, a lazy smile spreading over my own. “Good morning.”

He leaned over, resting his weight on the bed and kissing me with a mouth that hinted of mint toothpaste. “Good morning, beautiful. Go back to sleep. I’ll be out of here in a few minutes.”

I frowned, propping myself up on one elbow, my face close to his. “Fine. If you absolutely refuse to join me.” I tilted my head up and he closed the distance, planting a soft kiss on my lips. Then I curled back into the sheets, my eyes closing before he even walked away, sleep beckoning me from afar.

I was wakened by a loud woman’s voice.

“I know you don’t think I’m going to clean around your lazy ass!” I cracked open one eye, then two. Martha stood at the foot of Brad’s bed, her hands on her hips and a glare on her face. I propped myself up on one elbow and held the blankets against my body.

“I wasn’t aware that you did clean, Martha.”

“What is that supposed to mean!”

“It means that I thought Helga cleaned, and you ‘managed.’ And it’s...” I looked at the clock. “Only eight-fifteen. Not exactly grounds for calling me a lazy ass.” Though I had planned on sleeping till at least ten. So much for sleeping in late with a home-cooked breakfast.

She threw up her hands and looked to the ceiling. “Lord Almighty, you test me with these women....” She stopped cursing whoever was above the ceiling and pointed a finger at me. “I’m not gonna have you talk to me like that!”

That did it. I threw my legs off the bed and stood, dragging the blanket off with me. “What is your problem?!”

“My problem?”

“Yes, your problem! You have been horrible to me since the first day I met you! I thought it was just ‘your way,’ but now I think it’s something you personally have against me!”

She pointed at me again and I wanted to reach over and break that finger off. “You’re just like all of his girls. You think you’re special, but you’re not. Why should I bend myself backward to kiss your ass when, two months from now, you’ll be back at home, crying over the man?”

I stared at her and pulled my own finger out from behind the sheet. “First, Martha, you don’t know a damn thing about me. I am fucking special, and I don’t cry over men. If I am back at home in two weeks, or two months, or two years, it’s because I want to be there, not because a man got tired of me and kicked me out. But while I am here, I’m not gonna tiptoe around your grumpy ass. I’ll treat you with respect, and don’t think it’s ridiculous to ask for it in return. Now, since you, as far as I know, don’t clean, how about you give me some privacy!” I turned on my heel, hoping I didn’t get tangled in the blankets, and flopped back down, throwing the covers over my head and praying to God, Martha’s God, that she wouldn’t throw something large and pointy at me.

I heard her laughing, a cruel, mean laugh that grew in volume, and I flung the covers off my head and glared at her.

“Next time you throw that high-and-mighty routine, don’t do it under a photo of another naked woman. Just a tip there, Julia baby.” She sniffed, laughed again and sauntered off, slamming the door shut behind her.

I flopped back on the bed, glaring up at the gorgeous naked beauty framed above my head. The life-size portrait was of an ex of Brad’s, something he told me he hadn’t had the time or effort to replace. I’d have to push that higher up on his to-do list.

I rolled over to the other bedside and grabbed my phone. Eight percent battery. Figures. I called Brad, hoping he was still in the house but knowing he wasn’t.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Martha is a bitch, you know that?”

He chuckled, sounding way too sexy for 8:00 a.m. “I can’t talk now. What do you need?”

“I’m stranded here with your crazy excuse for a... What is her job title again?”

“Ruler of Everything in the House. Martha is part of the package, babe. You’re going to have to learn how to get along with her.”

“She’s the one who’s being difficult! She marched in here yelling at me this morning!”

“She’s being territorial, Julia. Take whatever attitude she gives you as a compliment. Most women she doesn’t even bother being rude to.” His soothing voice did nothing but irritate me further. Especially since I now realized whose side he was taking.

“Whatever. I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Just hang out at the house.”

“No, thank you. I hang out at the house any longer and me and her are gonna come to blows. And I’m positive I’ll lose that fight.”

“Julia, she’s not that bad.”

“To you! The one who pays her!”

“Look, if you want, I’ll have Jeff or one of the other drivers give you a ride.”

I slumped back. “Let me figure out my day, and I’ll let you know. Maybe one of the girls can give me a ride.”

He said something to someone else, then was back on the phone with me, dropping his voice now. “You sure you don’t want to just stay? I like the idea of having you there, and I can give you a ride at lunch.”

“I’ll think about it,” I muttered.

I hung up, lay back and stared at the ceiling. Damn Martha. Then I closed my eyes and fell back asleep.