by Chloe Morgan
We made our way back to the table before I dropped the diaper bag onto a chair.
“You were saying?” I asked flatly.
“It’s fine. We don’t have to talk about this now,” my sister said.
“Just say it and get it over with.”
She sighed. “Dane is in the military. He’s a Marine. He’s rough around the edges. He’s seen a lot. And a military man is only going to come and go out of Hailey’s life. Deployments. Training. Field work. It comes with that kind of life. You and Hailey have lost enough. Do you really need to attach yourself to a man who is only going to be there, kind of?”
And it sucked that my sister had a point.
Chapter 9
Dane
I parked my truck and set my sights on Mom’s shop. When she walked into the house and told me she took an early day, I asked her how it felt to shut everything down.
But when she told me that Erin was running things until closing time, that had me worried.
I didn’t know why it worried me, but it did. She didn’t need to be there all by herself trying to wind down a place like that. She probably needed some help. Especially if she wanted to get back to her daughter that night. I knew what it took for only one person to close down that shop at night. And even though Mom told me Erin had insisted, I wasn’t taking no for an answer.
I decided to come help Erin out.
I slipped out of my truck and headed for the door. And sure enough, when I took a look around the parking lot, everyone had left. Granted, my mother only had two other employees other than Erin. But, I didn’t see any of their cars. I stood there, taking Erin in. I watched her swirl around the front room, organizing things and dusting before sitting at her desk and typing away on the computer.
The bell over the door sounded my entrance.
“Dane. What are you doing here?” Erin asked.
“Mom came in and told me you were working late tonight,” I said.
“I’m not working late. Just closing.”
“Well, I think you’ll find that closing on your own means working late.”
“I don’t mind. I told her to go home and have a day to herself. She wasn’t feeling well. At least, she didn’t look like it,” she said.
Funny. She looked fine to me when she’d come through the door, given me a massive hug, and kissed me on my cheek.
“At any rate, I’m here to help. I’ve shut down this place a time or two. I think I remember what has to be done,” I said.
“Dane, I really don’t need the help,” Erin said.
“I’m sure you want to get back to your daughter.”
“My sister’s off for the night. She’s watching Hailey until I can get home.”
“Still, I can help. I can get you home quicker.”
Before she had another chance to respond, I made my way through the back door and into the hallway. Erin was a stubborn woman. She had a lot of pride, that much was for sure. But I could understand that. Having to make her way on her own meant she probably felt she couldn’t ask for help. Or, maybe she really didn’t need it. Either way, she didn’t need to be in a shop by herself on the other side of town when all of the stores would be closed down.
It simply wasn’t safe.
“Does Mom still do inventory on Fridays?” I called back.
I heard the padding of feet on the floor, and it caused me to turn around.
“What are you yelling on about?” Erin asked.
I grinned. “Does Mom still do inventory on Fridays?”
“No. She moved that to Wednesdays.”
“Good. Because that would keep us here a hell of a lot later if it was still Fridays.”
“Dane, you really don’t have—”
“I want to,” I said.
I looked into Erin’s eyes and saw a war raging. Now, I’d been a soldier long enough to know what that stare looked like. That thousand-yard stare when memories got the best of someone. I stood there, with the inventory list in my hand, watching as Erin regaled herself with memories. They contorted her face. Made her short of breath.
Rushed tears to her eyes.
“Erin?” I asked.
“Sorry,” she breathed.
She turned around quickly and wiped at her eyes.
“I don’t mean to overstep a boundary. But this place gets dangerous at night,” I said.
“It does?” she asked.
“I mean, this town isn’t really known for its crime. We mostly see car and store break-ins. But yes—this side of town gets hit harder than most. I don’t mean to push around your lines, but it’s not safe for you to be here by yourself at night,” I said.
She slowly nodded.
“She doesn’t do inventory Fridays, but she does organize the back room. It gets kind of disheveled throughout the week,” Erin said.
“Perfect. I’ll start on that, then,” I said.
“I just have to shut down the computers in the place; then I’ll come help you.”
“Sounds good.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as she walked back down the hallway. Finally, she relented. The two of us could get this done twice as fast and still have her home in time for dinner. I began gathering things and putting them in their rightful place. Fabric rolls that had come falling out of their slots and pencils that were all over the ground. My mother had hard copies of all the sketches and proofs for every client, and it seemed as if every folder were pulled out and thrust onto the floor.
I picked them up as I listened to Erin come back into the room.
We danced around one another silently. But every once in a while, I felt her body knock against mine. Like an elbow here.
“Oh, sorry,” Erin said.
“Not a problem. It gets cramped back here,” I said.
Or a brush of her hand there.
“Yikes. I didn’t mean to do that,” she said.
“Do what?” I asked coyly.
“Brush your… you know.”
“Such a shame. Felt kinda nice,” I said jokingly.
But then, I saw a beautiful flush take over her cheeks.
My eyes followed her as she went over to a pile of fabrics in the corner. Holy hell, my mother’s scrap pile had grown out of control. It easily took over a fourth of the space in the backroom. Scrap after scrap of every color, texture, and size, just tossed into the corner.
“Does she even have that waste bin anymore?” I asked.
“I don’t think I’ve seen that thing in months,” Erin said, giggling.
The sound was so nice. So out of character for her. I looked down at her and watched as she practically heaved herself into the scraps, trying to fish for the bin.
“It’s useless. It’s gone. Swallowed up by the masses,” I said.
“Hold on. I think I—”
Erin tugged at what she thought was the waste bin, but instead, some of the independent lights in the back room turned off. Erin squealed, causing me to laugh. But her wild shifting to get off the fabric sent the scraps tumbling.
“Avalanche!” Erin exclaimed.
“Come here. I gotcha,” I groaned.
The scraps tumbled as I reached for Erin. And when I gripped her waist, I pulled her from the wreckage as the scraps came sliding down. They piled at our feet, knocking us off balance. The shadows of the room grew thick as we fell, tumbling to the cushioned ground as my hands planted into the floor.
And underneath me was the beautiful, flushed face of Erin.
“Sorry,” she breathed.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
Her eyes danced between mine—those beautiful eyes I could swim in for days. My arms broke parallel. I dipped myself down. Something drew me to her. Magnetized me to her body. And before I knew it, my lips settled against hers. I felt her gasp. I felt her body lock up.
Then, I felt her relax.
Chapter 10
Erin
When his lips hit mine, I felt panicked. Invaded upon. Taken advantage of
. But when he didn’t move—when he waited for me to respond—it struck a chord with me I’d never experienced before. I relaxed underneath his body, underneath the heat of his lips. I sighed as I pressed into him, allowing my tongue to dart out for the first time in years and taste the lips of a man.
Another man.
One that didn’t force himself upon me.
I slipped my tongue against his lips, and he parted them for me. My trembling hands came up, cupping his cheeks and drawing him closer. His body settled onto mine, his chiseled form, his rippling muscles. I felt them pulsing for me as my legs spread, as his hands ventured up and down my body softly, deftly, squeezing my tits and fisting my waist as our tongues collided.
The groan he let out shot electricity to my pussy lips.
The darkness shrouded us as clothes came off. One by one, they piled next to us, blending in with the mountain of scraps his mother wouldn’t let me throw away. And now, I was thankful for them. Thankful for the opening they created for Dane and I to have this moment.
“Beautiful,” he whispered.
He kissed down my neck, down my chest. He wrapped his puckered lips around my nipples, lapping at them until they engorged against his tongue. I whimpered as he dragged my pants down. I hissed when he gripped my panties with his teeth and slipped them down my legs.
But when he pressed my knees open, my back arched.
He blew a thin stream of air onto my pussy, and I felt it jump. He chuckled, sending vibrations of lust running through the marrow of my bones. He inched my legs over his shoulders. My heels pressed into the thick, pebbled rocks of his muscles. I fisted the fabrics we lay upon as his tongue ran up my slit, gathering my juices on his tongue.
He groaned. “And you taste so good.”
One lick turned into two. Three. Four. Dozens of them, sinking deeper into my pussy. He touched my clit and I skyrocketed. My toes curled and involuntary sounds left my lips. Moans and groans. Pants and gasps. I begged him for more. I begged this strange man for more of him as his hands wrapped around my thighs.
As his arms pulled me closer to his lips.
He drank me down. His spit dribbled down my ass crack. I rolled into his face, bucking and soaring to new heights. My eyes rolled into the back of my head. My body shivered with anticipation. I felt myself climbing, heaving for breath, crying out breathlessly for him to let me come as his tongue pressed into my clit.
“Please, Dane. Let me come. Let me come. Let me come.”
And my whispered pleas were met with a stroke that sent me over the edge.
“Oh, shit!” I cried out.
He held me to him, stroking my swollen mound with his tongue. I shook against him, coated his cheeks in my juices as my hand fisted fabrics of every texture. My legs locked out. My heels dug into his back as I raised my hips to his lips, silently begging for more. He sucked my pussy lips. He kissed the insides of my thighs. He rushed up my body, crashing his lips to mine and allowing me to taste myself on his skin.
Then, I felt his cock sit at my entrance.
I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him deeper than I had any other man. My legs locked around him as he sank every inch of himself into me. I moaned and shifted to make room for him, and he growled against my lips. I felt his cock throbbing against my walls. He planted his hands into the fabrics and pressed into me until our hips connected.
“Go,” I whispered.
He slammed into me, swiveling his hips and raking his thick curls along my sensitive clit. I dug my feet into his lower back, bucking against him, meeting him thrust for thrust.
“Holy—fuck, Erin. Oh.”
He grunted with every thrust. He quivered with every touch of my lips to his. I raked my nails down his back, feeling his muscles work for my pleasure. I breathed the air from his lungs. My pussy tightened around his cock. And when he pounded into me one last time, we fell over the edge together, too caught up in our pleasure to make a sound.
We collapsed to the fabrics, and I felt our intermingled juices dripping down my ass cheeks. My legs fell away from his body, spent and done for the night. His lips pressed kisses into my neck. My shoulder. I felt his tongue lick at the teeth marks he left behind when he bit down into my skin. I had forgotten how wonderful it felt to be beneath a man, to be ravished and called “beautiful” and taken on a journey that made both of us feel vulnerable and exposed.
My eyes flew open.
Oh fuck.
I’d just taken that journey with my boss’s son.
“What’s wrong?” Dane asked.
He must’ve felt me tense up.
“Off,” I said.
I pressed against his chest, and he slowly rolled over.
“Off. Off. Off,” I chanted.
“Okay. I’m going. Erin, what happened?” he asked.
I scrambled to my feet, wobbling on them. Damn him for being as good as he was.
“Erin, talk to me,” Dane said.
But I didn’t want to talk. I hated talking—to strangers, to family, to people in general.
“I have to go,” I said.
I threw my clothes on quicker than I’d ever had. I stumbled on my feet, hopping down the hallway as I stuck my legs in my pants. I slipped my shoes on before I sprinted across the lobby, listening to Dane call out for me.
“Erin! Wait! Hold—hold on!”
I slammed out of the shop and into the cool night air. It soothed my warm cheeks. It dried the sweat on the nape of my neck. But it did nothing for the juices pooling in my panties. I grimaced at the feeling as I dashed across the parking lot. I clung to my purse as I slammed into my car, then cranked it up and sped out of there.
I had to get away from him before he asked me out again.
Chapter 11
Dane
“Hey, how’s your leave going?” Stephen exclaimed.
He hugged me like he hadn’t seen me in years, and it made me smile. I was supposed to be picking up lunch for Mom and the employees at the shop, but I could spare a few minutes to talk to my best friend.
“It’s going well. It’s good, getting to see Mom and everything,” I said.
“My run time has slowed down, let me tell you. My family’s feeding me too much,” he said.
“The hell you so concerned about with your run time? You’re getting out. Remember?”
“Yeah, well. Old habits die hard. And there’s no use in losing this body when there are plenty of new girls that have moved into the area.”
“You’ve noticed that, too?” I asked.
“I’ve seen a few faces I’m not familiar with. Some nice faces, if you ask me,” he said.
“Well, I’ve found myself interested in one, since we’re on that topic.”
“Oh?”
“Oh. I took her out to lunch at that pizza place on the corner. You know, up from my mom’s shop,” I said.
“Did she like it? Because if she doesn’t like it, there’s no point in keeping her,” he said.
“She wasn’t so sure about it at first. But she loved it. Got a root beer to go and finished her entire medium pizza.”
“You always do like them thicker,” he said, grinning.
“She’s great, Stephen. A little hard to get to open up, but I get that. I don’t open up easily, either.”
“What? She had some bad past relationships or something?”
“I think she had a rough go of it with the father of her child,” I said.
“Wait a second. She’s a mom?”
“Yeah?”
“Dane. Come on. You’re smarter than that. Don’t do that to yourself. Single moms come with instant baggage. I mean, instant. Not to mention, no time to spend with her without a child around. Because there’s always a child around.”
“Seriously? Your mother was a single mother,” I said.
“And so is yours. Did either of them remarry?”
“Watch your tongue,” I said.
“All I’m saying is, her priorities are always gonna
be elsewhere. Best to drop it now and not fight about it later on down the road. Fighting in front of kids is never good. Take it from me. My parents fought in front of me all the damn time and I’m pretty sure that’s why I’m fucked-up,” he said.
“You’re fucked-up because you’re an idiot.”
“That hurts, Dane. It really does,” he said, grinning.
“Well, I don’t agree with you. I think there’s something special with her, so I’m going to pursue it,” I said.
“Something special, huh? What? You turning into Lakely now? Thinking you found the one girl that’s different than the rest?”
“Yeah. Possibly.”
Stephen paused before his jaw fell open.
“You’re serious,” he said.
“What the hell do you think I’ve been going on about this for?” I asked.
“Holy shit. You really like this girl.”
“Yeah. I really do.”
“Wow. Okay. Fine. I’ll follow this trail. Have you met the kid yet?” he asked.
“No. I haven’t met her daughter yet,” I said.
“Well, good. Because you ship back out to Pendleton in three weeks. And then, what the hell are they gonna do?”
He had a good point.
“It’s not like they’re gonna come with you. Not after a month. What was your plan, then? Because if there’s one thing I know not to do, it’s screw over a single mom. You’re not just fucking her over, you’re fucking her kid over, too. And that’s nothing but a dick move,” Stephen said.
“Long-distance relationships work. They happen all the time in the military,” I said.
“Do I really have to go into every divorce we’ve had to help our soldiers settle because of ‘working’ long-distance relationships?”
I sighed and tilted my head toward the sky.
“Look, I hate to be the bearer of bad news here. But you have to look at it from that kid’s point of view. I don’t have anything against single moms. They’re some of the strongest fucking women on the planet. But getting entangled with them romantically is a no go for me for many reasons. And I’ve only laid out a few of them,” Stephen said.