Page 26 of Giving It to the Man-Whore

Crying women were not a good thing. Tears were not something he liked to deal with.

He didn’t walk back.

He found Mel on the floor of the sitting room. Paperwork was on the floor in large piles. It didn’t take a genius to recognize the bills that were there. So many of them.

She didn’t even look up at him as she sorted through them.

The tears were dropping onto the paperwork, and she was distressed. He couldn’t stand it.

“Mel,” he said.

She gasped, turning to look at him. Her hands moved to wipe the tears off her face. “What are you doing here?”

“You’ve not been by the club in some time. I was worried, and I thought I’d check on you.” He stepped into the room, and she threw her hands up.

“No, I’m fine. I may be at a party this weekend. I’ve just got a lot of things to organize first. That’s all.”

“This looks like more than a lot. What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing that I can’t handle. I can do this, and help Penny with her math homework, along with keeping a nice home, because that’s what Social Services wants. Well-adjusted people who don’t party, or drink, or have fun. They like throwing words around like failure, debt, unstable, broken home, damage. Have you ever noticed that?” she asked, rambling on. She was on her knees in the middle of the room, looking at him.

He noticed she wasn’t dressed in any sexy clothing. She wore black pants and a plain white shirt that had a name tag on.

“You work at the mall?”

“Yep. I work at the mall. Good caretakers have jobs.”

“Mel, what’s going on?”

She sat back, running fingers through her hair. “My sister is nearly eighteen years old, and I’ve been doing a great job in trying to keep this roof over her head. The debts though, I can’t make sense of them. I have interest coming out of my eyeballs. My parents’ funeral, medical bills just to pronounce them dead. If someone dies in a hospital, funds should cease because they didn’t do their job. They failed, and right now I can’t be that woman at the club. Right now, I’m responsible, so you can leave and find someone else to have a fun time with.”

Pea watched as she looked around at the mess, and he couldn’t take it.

He took over. Grabbing up the stack of paperwork, he ordered her to the kitchen to make him a coffee as he sat at the dining room table with a notepad and a calculator. Ignoring Mel, he went through each piece of paperwork until he was done, and Mel was wringing her hands.

Telling her the figure didn’t help her. She looked ready to crack. “I’ve screwed up. They’re going to take my parents’ home, and I’ve failed my sister.”

He pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her neck. She smelled so good, and felt amazing in his arms. “You could marry me.”

She jerked back, and looked at him. “Marry you?”

“Yeah, you could marry me, and I could help you solve all of these problems.”

“But you don’t want to marry me.”

He shrugged. “I don’t want to see you upset or feeling like a failure. This is a lot to take in, and I can help. I’ve got the money to help. It’s all yours.”

****

Mel hadn’t answered him that day. For a week, she had taken her time to think it over and decide what they were going to do.

All Pea had wanted to do was to help her.

She’d agreed to be his wife, but on the basis that she didn’t trap him in marriage. He was free to fuck who he wanted, and so was she. They’d been younger, and he’d been more than willing to do whatever she wanted.

He had a ring on her finger, and in the past few years he’d grown closer to her.

Staring into her face, Pea knew he’d do anything for this woman. No matter what, he’d protect her.

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