When a Man Loves a Woman (Indigo) by LaConnie Taylor-Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

“Ready?”
    “Yes.”
    She bore most of his weight, and after a couple of tries, managed to pull him up until his hips were on the edge of the bed. Slowly, she guided him down to the mattress and slid a pillow beneath his head. Moving down a fraction, she swung his legs up on the bed, then pulled the sheet up to the middle of his chest.
    “Baptiste, if you get out this bed one more time, I’ll kill you. Do you hear me?”
    He chuckled. “Yes, Honey.”
    After folding back the covers, she sat on the edge of the bed and smiled. “Got the clinic covered for you.”
    About a week after they met, Vic learned of A.J.’s efforts for the past eighteen months to set up a free health clinic for the residents of East Oakland.
    He smiled back. “ Merci, mon amour .”
    Thank you, my love . Every time he uttered those words to her, she melted. “Okay, what else is on your agenda for the rest of this week?”
    Now that the cobwebs had finally cleared from his head, he closed his eyes and sighed softly. Even though his family’s corporation, BF Automotive, the top-ranked black-owned dealership in the country, had given a multi-million-dollar donation from their corporate philanthropic foundation, there was still a funding shortfall.
    “I had meetings scheduled with a couple of foundations today to secure more money for the clinic.”
    He reached for the phone.
    She caught his wrist. “And just what do you think you’re doing?”
    “I need—”
    “You need to stay right where you are and get well,” she reminded him, tucking his arm under the comforter. “I’ll take care of it. Just tell me who your contacts are.”
    “The information is in my office,” he slurred.
    She nodded. “Anything else?”
    His medication had kicked in, and he yawned. “We need to talk.”
    She stood and adjusted his pillows. “Later. Right now, I want you to go to sleep and rest.”
    Fifteen minutes later, Baptiste was in a deep slumber. Vic decided it was a perfect time for a sponge bath. After returning from the bathroom with a basin and towels, she methodically dipped the cloth into the water and carefully cleaned his face, mindful to avoid the left side. She used another towel, wringing the excess water out, to cleanse his neck, arms, and upper torso, which was covered with thick, black curly hair at the center.
    Even though her touch was professional, Vic openly admired the magnificent male specimen lying before her. His body was well toned, and she knew that type of conditioning resulted from a rigorous exercise regime. Before she knew it, her fingertips ran lightly over the tattoo on his right bicep, trailed down the flat surface of his stomach, and even farther to stroke up and down powerful thighs and legs. His manicured hands and feet garnered her full attention. Caressing the softness of his palms, she could envision the calmness babies felt in his care. Then she wondered how they would feel on her.
    Vic taped the left side of his chest, and then pulled the sheet up to cover his body. Once she drew the drapes to dim the brightness, she quietly closed the door and headed to his office downstairs.
    Seated behind an antique wooden roll-up desk, she searched through every file neatly stacked inside a desk organizer to locate the information for the health clinic, but she couldn’t find it. She sighed, wondering where it could be. Suddenly, she remembered a few months back overhearing Marcel tease Baptiste about writing the things he felt really passionate about in a diary. She knew his clinic was as fervent as they came. Thirty minutes later, she located the diary in a bottom drawer. Shifting through the pages, she quickly discovered not only had he journalized the information about the clinic, he’d also documented every detail of their relationship from the day they’d first met. Pleasure rippled through her body despite the faint alarm going off inside her head. All these months, he’d known exactly what he was doing in his