family's legacy

family's legacy
He was still wearing his clothes from the night before, and the tousled hairdo suited him well. I hadn't taken the opportunity to observe him up close, but this was like a free pass. In fact, he looked calm without the usual stress lines around his mouth and eyes. Sleep had calmed him down.
I shifted and stifled a groan as my body protested the movement, a series of pains echoing through my body. When had the van rumbled into the bedroom and run me over?
Had I had too much to drink in New Orleans? I could almost remember the restaurant, but then it all became a little hazy. Why was Arthur there, so disheveled and uncomfortable...and, in fact, kind of sexy?
That tattoo caught my attention again. It disappeared under the black fabric of his shirt in the most tempting way. It made me want to follow it...with my tongue. I closed my eyes at the unexpected thought and the image it evoked.
Carefully, quietly, so that the rustle of the sheets wouldn't disturb him, and so that none of my movements would hurt, I moved my legs until I sat on the edge of the bed. Then I held my breath as uncertainty washed over me. What the hell was I thinking?
For a few moments, I sat there watching Arturo , as lust unfurled its lazy fingers across my abdomen. My gaze wandered again and again to his tattoo; the dark ink against his skin was more tempting to explore than I would have thought possible.
I ran my tongue over my lips and stood up, reaching back toward the mattress as I regained my balance. I exhaled long and slowly, and waited a little longer, convincing myself that he would wake up and find me watching him.
But he didn't, and my desire to know what his tattoo was overcame all my doubts and common sense. I took a step closer, between his spread legs, and rested my palm on the chair behind him as I carefully parted the open front of his shirt.
Then I frowned. It was a shield and a kind of..... I squinted, noting the delicate lines that formed a? fleur-de-lis, only it was so ornate that the top petal almost looked like a vulva. And underneath, that delicate writing was gliding over her skin. Ego. So.
"Good morning." Her deep voice seemed to vibrate through me, and I let go of her shirt as my knees buckled and I sat on her lap, directly on her right thigh.
I gasped, and his arms wrapped around my waist until we were face to face. He opened his eyes, suddenly pinning me with a soft gray gaze. And it wasn't stormy as usual. It was soft and comforting.
"Shit," I gasped. "Fuck. I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm..."
The corner of his mouth turned up in an amused smile and his arms tightened almost imperceptibly.
Too close. He was too close. Oh, shit. I was burning for him. My body burned, heat lashing my skin and coursing through me, my clit throbbing like a second heartbeat.
I pressed my hand against his chest to pull away, to create space between us, but the heat of his body seared my palm. "I..." But I had nothing to say. I wanted to hurt this man, and my throat went dry as I imagined all the places I wanted to touch him and for him to touch me, and I looked away in case he saw it in my eyes.
One month. That was the contract I had signed. Just one month. And I was the one who declared no sex. No sex. No bad things, no matter how needy my body was.
My fucking traitorous body.
But I held my breath, hoping to find oxygen and determination in the air. I just needed to hold up my end of the bargain. One month. Then I'd be home free. Homeowner, business owner, and able to reclaim and rebuild my family's legacy. Mom's.
My future was so close I could almost touch it. I couldn't ruin it.

Arthur began to draw circles on my back and, despite myself, I relaxed against him, craving more of his touch.
Craving it.
I wanted his hands lower, on my ass. Higher, on my breasts, fiddling with my nipples. I closed my eyes and parted my lips, barely stifling a moan before it escaped me and revealed too much about my mood.
When I looked up at him again, his eyes were almost sleepy, and he was watching me with a gentle gaze and a carefree expression. I leaned closer, as if there was a magnetism between us that I couldn't resist.
Crap. I needed to get up.
Seriously, I needed to get up, to not lean so far toward Arturo that our lips almost touched.
But I couldn't.

I waited, without so much as a sigh, not knowing what I expected. Nor what I longed for.
I shouldn't have expected anything.