Altered Allies Page 2

  She didn’t speak for several seconds. In fact, she didn’t move. But her eyes grew dark and the tiny gasp she gave showed that, hell to the yes, she was definitely interested.

  He watched just as quickly as the interest dimmed. “I take it since she’s not employed as a nurse…”

  “Yes, I fuck her.”

  “You don’t have to be so crass.”

  He shrugged. “That’s what it is. It isn’t love. I’m not entirely sure she even likes me, but she likes what I do to her. The way I make her yield, how I use her for my pleasure, the pain I let her experience, and the pleasure that makes it worth everything.”

  “You’re still together, then?”

  “I don’t know if together is the right word, but she’ll be over tonight.” He let that sink in, that while she was busy doing her job, he’d be taking his pleasure with another woman.

  “As long as you’re not too loud. If you disturb your grandmother, you’ll have to take it elsewhere.”

  Two hours later, Emma had been introduced to Eleanor and fed her a light snack. The older lady promptly went back to sleep after, which made Emma think the string of never ending nurses had nothing to do with Eleanor and everything to do with her grandson.

  The doorbell had rung fifteen minutes earlier. Rosa, she assumed. After William’s account of how he’d be spending the evening, she’d been afraid she’d hear everything that went on between the couple. But so far, she hadn’t heard anything.

  She glanced down at her patient. Sound asleep. Maybe she’d go put her things away in the room she was staying in for the weekend. William had shown her the space as part of the tour, but she hadn’t had a chance since to do anything other than put her bags down.

  But when she stepped into the hallway, she didn’t turn in the direction of her room, but walked toward his room with timid steps. The door was open, which was odd. If he was having a kinky sexfest and the door was open, she should have heard something.

  A quick peek inside showed he wasn't in the room. She told herself it was a sign, and she should turn around and go back to her room and forgot about William and his sex toy for the night.

  But she really wanted to know where he was.

  * * *

  Rather than give into her burning curiosity, she decided to go downstairs to the kitchen and get a quick bite to eat. When William brought her up to her room earlier, they’d used the main staircase, a huge handcrafted wooden number, but there was another flight of stairs closer to her room. She trotted down that one, not realizing how hungry she was until that very second.

  She reached the bottom and looked back up, counting in her head. The staircase didn’t seem to have stopped on the main floor where the kitchen was, instead, before her was a closed door.

  Crazy rich people and their crazy homes.

  She didn’t stop to think before pushing the door open, surely it lead somewhere useful.

  “Make it harder, slut. I’m going to destroy that ass tonight.”

  She heard William’s voice at the same second he turned at the sound of the opening door. He stood in the middle of a large room, and at his feet, a woman knelt with his cock in her mouth.

  Emma didn’t know what to do. Should she just turn and leave? Did she apologize first? No one ever taught etiquette on what to do when you interrupt a blow job. Highly unlikely that subject would make it in the newspaper advice column.

  “Unless you want me to fill your mouth next, Ms Olson, I suggest you turn around and leave.”

  She didn’t hesitate to turn and ran back up the stairs. It wasn’t until much later that she realized she never got anything to eat.

  She jerked awake in the middle of the night, uncertain as to what had roused her from sleep. The bedside clock read 2:32. The monitor she had in the room to alert her if Eleanor needed her was silent. What had woken her?

  She got out of bed, stepped into the hallway, and gasped. William was right outside her door.

  “Were you coming into my room?” she asked.

  “Please. If I wanted late-night companionship, I wouldn’t stoop to breaking into your room.”

  “You’d have to break into my room, because you know you’d never be invited in otherwise.”

  “Is that right?” His posture changed. He’d taken her statement as a challenge.

  “Yes.” She hoped she sounded more convincing to his ears than to her own.

  “Did you like watching me have my cock sucked?”

  “Of course not, that’s why I left.”

  His laugh was low and rough and resonated right at the achy spot between her legs. Damn the man.

  “Funny, I thought you left because you didn’t want a sample yourself.”

  “That too.”

  “Answer the question, truthfully. Did you like watching me have my cock sucked?”

  What the fuck was he doing outside her room? Creepy as hell is what it was. Definitely not the grandmother chasing away the nurses, but the grandson.

  “I think I’ll go back to my room now.” She moved to head back, but he blocked her.

  “Answer the question.”

  “If I answer the question, will you move?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I felt nothing watching.”

  “Liar.” His voice didn’t sound pleased. “I saw you. You wished you were the one who had her lips wrapped around my dick.”

  God help her, for a second when she’d realized what was happening, she had wished she was the one on her knees before him.

  “I won’t make you say it this time,” he continued. “But rest assured. I know.”

  He disappeared into the darkness, but she couldn’t go back to sleep when she returned to her room. She stayed in the strange bed, looking up at the ceiling for hours, thankful when the clock beeped at six o’clock.

  After checking on Eleanor, she took a quick shower and went down to the kitchen to fix breakfast, using the correct stairs this time. She pulled to a stop at the sight of William drinking coffee and sitting at the kitchen table.

  “Good morning, Ms Olson.” His voice and expression showed no hint of the conversation he’d had outside her room. “Sleep well?”

  “No, I didn’t sleep well,” she said in response. She pulled the oatmeal down and started water boiling.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Was the temperature uncomfortable?”

  She’d had her back to him, but at his nonchalant reply, she spun around. “No, you asshole. I was sleeping fine until someone came to my room at two in the morning to hound me about how much I enjoyed watching him get sucked off.”

  “You enjoyed that?” He coughed. “I mean, someone came to your room?”

  “Don’t act like you don’t know.”

  “I didn’t come to your room. I was checking on grandmother and returning to my own room when you came out of yours.”

  She thought herself to be pretty good at reading people. He didn’t exhibit any of the typical signs she picked up on when someone was lying.

  “Ms Olson.” He put the coffee mug down and looked her straight in the eye. “I assure you, I was not planning to enter your room last night.”

  She nodded and returned to preparing Eleanor’s oatmeal. By the time she made it upstairs, the lady in question was stirring. She helped her to the bathroom and got her dressed. Eleanor insisted on sitting at the small dining table in her room to eat breakfast.

  Emma actually found Eleanor quite personable. Granted, neither her short-term or long-term memory was the best, but she was pleasant. Nothing at all like the dragon lady she’d heard rumors about.

  Eleanor asked if Emma would read to her, so they both settled on the couch in her room and Emma read LITTLE WOMEN. It had been years since she’d read the story, and it wasn’t until she got to the third chapter that she looked up and found Eleanor sleeping.

  “She always loved that book.”

  Emma jumped at the sound of William’s voice. He stood in the doorway, and she wondered how
long he’d been there.

  Emma placed the book on the end table. “She’s a wonderful lady, I’m not sure…”

  It didn’t seem polite to finish her thought.

  But William was obviously unconcerned with politeness. “You’re not sure why I’ve had such a hard time keeping a nurse employed?”

  She lifted her chin. “Yes.”

  He didn’t say anything, but lifted his grandmother in his arms and carried her back to her bed.

  “You could have used the lift to help you.” Emma stood up and arranged the covers over the sleeping woman.

  “I have no doubt that you could, Ms. Olson, but perhaps you’ll humor me? I’m not sure how much time I have left with her.”

  And in that second, Emma knew William Richard Richardson III was more than a gazillionarie computer geek who looked like Adonis. He was a real man with with real emotions who was already mourning the approaching loss of a dear family member.

  “Of course,” Emma hastened to say.

  “Come sit outside with me. We can talk while she rests.”

  He turned and walked out the bedroom door just assuming, Emma supposed, that she would follow. She would, of course, but still, it grated her nerves just a bit. Made her feel like a lap dog.

  Go ahead, snap your fingers. I’ll just trot along after you. Throw me some kibble, why don’t you?

  She almost said, “Yes, Master,” before she remembered what he’d been doing with Rosa last night. Heck, he’d probably like it if she said that.

  She promptly ignored the tingly feeling that followed in the wake of those thoughts.

  William led Emma to the patio at the rear of the house. It was a beautiful spring day, and several of the cherry trees were blooming. He remembered the last time he’d managed to bring his grandmother outside. She’d talked on and on about the cherry trees and asked if he remembered that time they went to Washington D. C. when his grandfather had that conference and the entire city was in bloom.

  “Tell me about your grandmother,” Emma said, sitting down beside him and pulling him away from his thoughts.

  “Before the cancer spread, she was nothing like she is now. She was a task master, a dragon slayer who breathed fire herself, and she didn’t take shit from anyone. She’s changed, and I don't ever see how much until I see her from someone else’s eyes.”

  “Did she have a stroke?”

  “They think so.”

  He watched a nearby bird swoop down and come to rest on the nearest cherry tree. He thought about the conversation he’d had with Rosa before she left last night and wondered why he thought it important Emma know about it.

  “I’m not seeing Rosa anymore,” he said.

  “That was short-lived, do you not do long-term?” Emma asked. Before he could answer, she continued, “Just as well. It was hard to concentrate on anything knowing all that kinky sex was going on.”

  “If a blow job is your definition of kinky sex, you are in dire need of a proper education.”

  “A blow job?”

  She had no way of knowing that after she’d run back up the stairs, Rosa stood up and told him she couldn’t do anything with that woman in the house. It’d pissed him off and he’d told her she could leave then. He didn’t think she’d be back.

  No, Emma wouldn’t know exactly what happened, but it would be a lot of fun to torment her. He enjoyed their verbal sparring. “Blow job?” he asked. “You know when you get on your knees, open your mouth, and take a man’s dick down your throat.”

  She turned the most alluring shade of red. He wondered if her ass would turn the same color under his hand.

  “I know what a blow job is,” she said. “I was just under the impression there was more than that planned in your evening last night.”

  “There was a lot more planned, yes, but it didn’t happen.” He scooted closer. “Would you like for me to show you? To slowly strip you of your inhibitions until your soul is just as naked as your body would be before me?”

  “You already said you don’t fuck the help.”

  “Technically, you’re not the help. You’re here on a trial basis.”

  She drew herself up straight. “If you’re somehow insinuating that I have to sleep with you for the job -”

  “I’m insulted, Ms Olson.”

  “I’m sorry to insult you, but you asked.”

  “There would be no sleeping involved.”

  Her mouth dropped open, and she closed it, only to open and close it two more times. She looked so fucking flustered, he couldn't help but laugh. “I”m kidding. I’m kidding.”

  “I’m not sure I believe you.”

  “It’s horrible of me to joke with you like that. I don’t know what’s come over me.” He tried to act mollified. “Hypothetically speaking, though. If you weren’t here to work for me, would you be interested?”

  “Hypothetically speaking, I’m now very certain why you can’t keep decent help.”

  “Are you saying you’re indecent?”

  “No, I’m saying you’re indecent.”

  “Ahhh, but Ms. Olson, I never claimed to be decent.”

  She stood up, and he knew he’d pushed her too far. If he looked close enough, he was certain they’d find smoke pouring out of her ears.

  “Sit down, Ms. Olson.”

  Her fingers curled into fists at her side. “I will not sit here and be sexually harassed. You may think you’re my only opportunity for employment, but as much as I like your grandmother, I’d rather scrub toilets. I’d rather pick gum off the underside of first grade desks. I’d rather follow behind draft horses at a parade -”

  He held up his hand. “I get the picture and, yes, I was horribly out of line. I apologize and I promise it won’t happen again.”

  “No it won’t, because I’m out of here.”

  “I’d like to offer you the job.”

  She sat down with a whoosh and a sigh. “What?”

  “You’re excellent with my grandmother and you don’t take shit from me. You’re perfect for the job.”

  She wanted to take him up on his offer. She had been almost ready to jump at the chance. But she didn’t. And he knew it was his fault. Damn it all, he was going to hate himself if she left. She really was wonderful with his grandmother. Granted, she hadn’t been here for long, but he had a sixth sense about people.

  She looked at him with eyes so full of hope, his chest hurt. Fuck, he was an ass.

  “You promise you’ll drop the sex talk?” she asked.

  “If you take the job, you have my word. I will not bring up sex or even think about sex while in your presence.” He tilted his head. “In fact, if you want to talk about sex, you’re going to have to be the one to bring it up.”

  She held out her hand. “Deal. When do I bring my things over?”

  Two weeks after Emma’s arrival, William told her to take the afternoon off. She’d been working nonstop and had turned down all of his previous suggestions to take a break. This time, he told her it wasn’t an option. She’d huffed and puffed in that typical way of hers, but he’d gotten her to leave the house for a few hours.

  It was eerily quiet without her. For some reason, just knowing she was in the house made the place feel more alive. He thought about that as he walked to his grandmother’s room.

  “William.” She held out her hand. “There you are. Come and take me outside.”

  He couldn't help but smile. He was so glad she was having a good day. They were becoming less and less frequent.

  He picked her up and carried her to the balcony attached to her room. She didn’t say anything as he arranged her and tucked blankets around her frail body. Damn, but she was just skin and bones. So different from how she was just even a year ago. His eyes filled with tears.

  “Don’t start that,” his grandmother said. “I have something important I want to talk to you about, and I can’t do it if you’re crying.”

  He sniffled and wiped his eye. “I wasn’t crying. It’s al
lergies.”

  She waved her hand. “Sit down and listen. I’m only going to say this once.”

  Now that sounded like the Eleanor her remembered. He sat down and waited.

  “I know I’ve been difficult to most of the nurses you’ve brought in.”

  He snorted. Difficult was an understatement.

  “Truly, William, can you blame me? If they weren’t so mousey I was afraid to talk to them, they were picking up the china and looking to see who made it when they thought I was asleep.”

  “Is this about Ms. Olson?” He didn’t think she’d be looking at the china. The paintings, maybe, but not the china.

  “Yes, it’s definitely about Emma. She’s the one for you.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve been trying to find you someone so you won’t be lonely after I’m gone. I know you’re busy and successful with your company, but you need a woman. Not a plaything like that Rosa.”

  “Grandma, I -”

  “Emma is perfect. She’s smart, she’s kind, it doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty, she knows how to put you in your place, and she’s not afraid to do it.” She shrugged. “What more could you want?”

  Truthfully, he couldn’t think of anything more than his grandmother had listed.

  “There was all that secrecy about what happened at the hospital,” he said.

  “Oh, that. I asked her about that.”

  “And she told you?”

  “Yes. She said she’d walked in and found one of the head nurses injecting an overdose of morphine into a patient’s IV. The patient died, and when she confronted the nurse, she was told the patient requested it and that if she didn’t keep quiet, she’d wish she had.”

  It didn’t take a genius to know Emma hadn’t kept quiet. He only wondered what the head nurse had made up to get Emma fired. He remembered her determination the day she came to his office about how she was innocent, and he suddenly felt guilty that he’d doubted her.