by Kinsley Gibb
“Or is he your fuck buddy?”
A few heads whipped around. Even Ethan winced.
“For the love of—“
“Anabelle and I are in a relationship, Mrs. Broussard,” Derek said, his voice strong and assured.
“Really?” her mother asked, echoing Anabelle’s own confusion.
“And what are your intentions towards my daughter?”
“Stop!” She was beyond mortified, had officially entered the ‘black hole, swallow me now’ zone.
“Really, Anabelle, there’s no need to get testy.”
“No need, mother? Really?” She hated the screeching sound her voice made but have mercy.
“Simmer down,” Ethan murmured next to her ear and she glared. Why had she wanted a brother?
“I want to ascertain his commitment level, dear. Both Ethan and Heath have expressed their desire for marriage and frankly you’re not getting any younger.” Claire ignored her daughter’s gasp and turned to Derek. “I don’t mean any offense. You seem like a nice young man, I stress the word young, but you may possibly be too young for my daughter.” She turned back to Anabelle. “He has time to fool around while you don’t.”
“Ouch. You bleeding, sweetheart?”
Anabelle ignored Ethan and the growl Derek gave at the endearment and focused on her mother. “Thanks, mother. I’m glad I don’t have enemies, having you around is hard enough.”
“I’m simply looking out for you.”
“Well, don’t.”
Ethan stepped between them and rubbed Anabelle’s shoulder in apology.
“Come on Ms. Claire, I saw several fine looking ladies you can introduce to me if you can.” Ethan pulled her mother away before he turned back and sent her a reassuring wink.
It didn’t matter because she was going to kill her mother.
Chapter 14
Silence reigned once the cloud of Chanel No. 5 dissipated.
“That was awkward.” She grimaced in apology.
“I’ve been in worse situations.”
She remembered he’d seen combat, so the crazy mother and daughter skirmish was nothing to him. “Right.”
She palmed her hot cheeks and massaged her temples. Think Zen thoughts.
“Is it wrong to contemplate matricide?”
He laughed and pulled her into his arms. “What would the judge say?”
“If the judge knew my mother, they’d consider it a public service.”
He chuckled. “Na, she’s not that bad.”
She pulled back and eyed him askance. “That’s like saying to a girl, ‘Your butt’s not that big honey’ because they know you’re lying your ass off.”
He grinned but said nothing further. The man was smart like that and refused to incriminate himself. “Come on, let’s dance.”
He led her to the dance floor and wrapped her in his arms. They moved to the music of Bruno Mars crooning about when he was her man. She exhaled, wanting the tension to melt away. She hated confrontation.
“You know, we can stop your mom from worrying right now. Marry me and we can get started on Operation Grandbabies,” he whispered in her ear.
She stopped, the music faded away as a loud roar took place in her ear. In an instant, her stress level exponentially increased.
“That’s not funny, Derek.”
He met her eyes. “I wasn’t joking.”
The light was dim but she could see he was serious.
“Derek—“
“That doesn’t sound remotely close to a ‘Hell, yeah’.”
“You know we’re just-”
“Just what? Fuck buddies?”
“Don’t say that. It’s more than that. You’re young and you’re going to want to share life’s experiences with someone young as well.”
“Bullshit. You’re not exactly ready for assisted living Anabelle.”
“My mother was right. I was being greedy in wanting more time before reality intruded.”
“You can have more time. I’ve always said that.”
“I’m not sure.”
“So because Ethan and Heath are closer to your age, you’d entertain thoughts of marriage with them?”
“No, but at this point in their lives it’s more natural for them to want marriage.”
“And is this timeline you and your mother both reference to set in stone?”
“No, but—“
“Come on, let’s go somewhere less public.”
He pulled her through the crowd, led her inside the facility. He opened and closed doors before he shoved them inside a small office. He moved away and stood a few feet away from her as if he didn’t trust himself to touch her. The lights remained off but the twinkling lights from outside filtered through the blinds and lit the space. Muted sounds of music and laughter reached their cocoon as the gala continued. He turned to her with narrowed eyes.
“At the risk of sounding like a needy person…where is this thing going?”
“Can’t it keep on as it is?”
“I find it ironic that I’m the only one here that has an aversion to remaining fuck buddies.”
“You make it sound bad.”
“It’s not? Because it’s feeling a whole hell of a lot like that.” He glared, his chest heaved with his frustration. “Are you ashamed of me?”
“No!”
“No?”
“So you’ll take me to your cousin’s wedding then and make a public statement that we’re a couple?”
Oh Jeez. Anything but that. She’d never hear the end of it. She scrambled for another event to appease him.
“That’s an awful long silence, Anabelle. Sounds like a big ‘Fuck, no’.” His voice was tight with anger.
“How about the charity fashion show next week?”
“No.” This time he didn’t sound angry. This time he sounded resigned.
“Or what about—“
“Sorry Anabelle. This isn’t working for me anymore.”
“What?” She caught her breath. “Why?”
“The situation has changed. I thought I could change your mind and you’d get over this need to satisfy public perception but you haven’t and I’m no longer interested in being your boy toy. The fact you don’t find me worthy of marriage is unappealing.”
His words stunned her. Her brain lacked the speed to process the details of what he was saying. All she grasped was the fact he was leaving her.
She wanted to stop his words, to deny he’d spoken them, to demand he retract them.
She stopped thinking and reacted instead by kissing him. It had the desired effect of shutting him up but he wasn’t participating.
He groaned as if he wanted to push her away but she pushed back and used her body to say what she couldn’t articulate. After a blessedly brief resistance, at last he joined in the kiss.
Anabelle touched any part of him she could. She’d hurt him and she hated it. But he’d changed the rules. Weren’t guys supposed to like the no strings attached approach?
The kiss spun out of control. It burned. Hands tugged, pulled and pushed clothing aside. She smoothed a hand along his corded stomach and he muttered a curse. She struggled with the fastening and he moved her hands aside and took over the task. His hard length sprang between them and she caressed him. He was hot and very hard. She stroked the smooth steel and did what she wanted to for a long time. She dropped to her knees and took him in her mouth. He was big and she couldn’t manage the entire length but she breathed him in, sucked and caressed him until he pulled back, muttering about not being able to take anymore. He lifted her from her knees and pushed her against the door. He pulled up her dress and tugged aside the thong she wore.
“Anabelle.” He entered her in a smooth stroke and she gasped at the deep impalement. He paused. “You okay?” His gaze was searching.
She nodded and didn’t care that her once beautiful updo, the one she and Charlie had spent hours on earlier, fell across her face. She stroked his chest. The touch spurred him on and he thru
st deep, calling forth a groan from Anabelle. He hiked her leg higher on his hip and spread his legs for leverage. It wasn’t enough because he gripped her other leg and hauled her into his arms. He wrapped both of her legs around his waist and anchored her against the door, pushing deeper. The rhythmic thud and answering groan were the only sounds in the room. He covered her mouth with his, sucked in her moans. He cushioned her head to protect her yet used his body as a weapon of pleasure as if to punish her for denying them.
Her body clenched in orgasm, her sheath gripped his cock hard, pulsing, and she screamed into his mouth. Her unrelenting pleasure triggered his release. The pounding cadence was no longer rhythmic but climaxed in brief, staccato like thrusts that rattled the door until he groaned into her mouth, and gave her all of him, spent. With foreheads pressed together, they struggled to catch their breath.
Anabelle looked down. They were locked and as intimate as two people could be. He pulled out, the slow movement triggered post-orgasmic tremors and she shuddered against the door.
He set her on her feet with a hand on her elbow while she steadied herself. She pulled her dress down her thighs and liquid warmth ran down her thighs.
Grandbabies indeed.
In the heavy silence that surrounded their orgasmic aftermath, he tucked and zipped himself into a semblance of normalcy.
He paused as if he wanted to say something but then thought better of it and brushed a kiss to her forehead.
“Good bye Anabelle.”
The soft click of the door closing signaled the end far louder than if he’d slammed it.
Chapter 15
The familiar ritual of cooking soothed the anger in him and he poured the dry noodles into the pot of boiling water. The girls had requested his signature mac and cheese and he would deliver. Odds were they’d soon graduate to a more sophisticated palette and he wasn’t certain his skills could keep up. For now Uncle Derek’s Famous Mac and Cheese was king and he’d take it.
The sound of little girls bickering drifted from his sister’s family room.
“Keep it down, girls. Your mom is trying to work up there.”
“Okay Uncle Derek,” three sweet voices chimed.
He nodded; satisfied even though he knew the silence would be short lived. The bickering would soon escalate again, but for now Dani and Joe could handle it. Although if those two started sniping at each other, chaos would reign and Dylan would have his balls for being a crappy babysitter.
He sort of liked his balls where they were, so he tried his best to contain chaos. He stirred the pot and retrieved the remaining ingredients from the refrigerator. A debate on which princess was the best began in the next room. He smiled at Esme’s fierce defense of Snow White and Jane’s points for Belle. Alex voted for Mulan since she was taking Karate and knew a kick ass heroine beat one who waited for some guy to come along to save her. Alex was gonna be a handful for some lucky guy. Her debate turned into a demonstration as she showed Joe the latest moves she’d learned.
The fact that it took three adults to babysit his nieces was a testament to his sister’s skills. She was a freaking wonder of nature as far as he was concerned because after an afternoon with his nieces, he fell into a comatose state but his sister switched gears and continued to work on her masters degree in Illustration.
Tonight they’d offered to watch the kiddos while Dylan holed up in her home office drawing or painting or whatever digital technique was required. Thoughts of her creative mind led to thoughts on another creative mind, one who was never far from his mind.
Shit.
It was a real pain in the ass, this habit of his.
“What’s with the growl, big brother?”
“What growl?”
“The growl that says ‘beware…unless you want to be chewed up and spit out’.”
“Can’t be that bad, man.” His best friend grabbed a beer from the frig and sat on a kitchen stool, at home in his sister’s farmhouse while Esme tried to hand from his biceps.
“Anabelle problems?” Usually Dani teased and basically tortured him, but not today. Today she was gentle, like she didn’t want to kick him when he was down.
“We’re no longer seeing each other.” He hated how pathetic he sounded.
“Sucks man.”
“Yeah.” He stirred the pot a few times. “She wasn’t interested in pursuing a deeper relationship with a boy toy. Thought of me as a boy toy.”
“Ouch.”
He shrugged. If he slammed the strainer in the sink a little harder than necessary, it was because of the weight of the damn thing, not because he was frustrated. He poured the noodles through the strainer and got a free facial from the steam. The noodles got tossed back into the pot before he measured and added milk and butter.
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure considering she shot me down when I asked her to marry me.”
Dani, in the process of chewing stolen cooked noodles, spewed out a mouthful. “Geez. That was fast.”
“Geez. That was gross.” Joe handed her a paper towel.
She made a face at him. “Bite me.”
“With pleasure,” he said and waggled his eyebrows.
“That’s my sister, man. Come on, not today.”
“Sorry.”
“Maybe you were going too fast, Derek,” Dani said.
“No way.”
“It’s possible.”
“You’ve been panting after her for a long time now. Finally pinned her down for a few dates and you’re rushing towards—“
“Towards what? I want to be public. Acknowledgement. Not be her dirty little secret.”
“You don’t like being a boy toy?”
“I hate that label.”
“She’s been burned, Derek. Badly. Do I need to remind you? That crap must have been difficult to get through. This is a small town, with small town gossip. It may not be a big thing to you but to her and a lot of folks around here, your age difference is going to be something to talk about. Some people are old, old fashioned, old thinking and you’re not going to change it. She’s sensitive about that. She’s been the source of gossip in this town for years now. She’s going to want to avoid gossip as much as she can.”
“Dani has a point, man.”
He groaned. Their points were valid yet all he had seen was she hadn’t want to be with him. His hurt was such that he hadn’t thought of why she felt that way.
“Where’s the mac and cheese, Uncle Derek?”
He looked down on the sweet face of his niece. “Almost done sweetheart.”
“I know how to get Anabelle to like you again,” she said, showing him how efficient she was at dipping into adult conversations.
“How’s that sweetheart?”
“Get her a Barbie dream house with an elevator. She will love it!”
He laughed. Esme had Christmas on the brain. “I’ll consider it.” He kissed her sweet smelling cheeks. “If only it were that easy.”
But now at least, he knew how to please one female in his life. Now if it were that easy to please another stubborn female, he’d be golden.
“Will you stop it already?”
Anabelle ignored her mother and adjusted the table arrangement one last time. The junior league was sponsoring a women’s empowerment event and Anabelle was in charge of event design. Guests loitered in small groups, powdered, perfumed and pumped to network.
“What is it mother?” Anabelle considered the possibility of her mother simply going away if she ignored her but knew it wouldn’t happen.
She wasn’t that lucky.
“Stop and look at me.”
She exhaled and turned. “Yes?”
“You look terrible, by the way.”
Anabelle felt her eyes bug out and growled in frustration. “Once again, thank you, for your kind observations.” She forced a smile and moved away. Where was Charlie? She was supposed to act as decoy. She searched for anyone she could throw in front of the Mack truck that
was her mother.
“You’re not still seeing that young man, are you?”
“By young man, you mean Derek?” She picked up an arrangement of orchids from the cart.
“No need to play dumb, young lady.”
“You’ll be happy to know I am no longer seeing him.”
She slammed the orchids onto the console.
“I told you it wouldn’t last. He saw a lonely older woman and took advantage.”
She was going to kill Charlie, or better yet, find a new best friend. Could Charlie still be annoyed with her? They’d had a long conversation about what a mess Anabelle had made of her love life. Charlie thought she was insane to walk away from Derek and his proposal and had started wearing a custom printed t-shirt that said…Team Derek.
“Jeez mother!”
“What?”
“He broke it off because he wanted more than I could give.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Is it difficult to believe someone might want to be with me?”
“No, but…but he’s so young. At that age he needs excitement. He’s not ready to settle down.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him what you think he needs, but the irony is, he wants marriage and babies.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
Anabelle grabbed a lighter and lit the candles, needing to keep her hands occupied or she’d murder her mother.
“What will happen when the newness is over and he wants a new adrenaline rush?”
“Not all men are built that way.”
“Your dad was.”
Which explained so much.
“What’s so bad about Derek beyond his age? He has a successful business, loves kids, is close to his family and isn’t into drugs.”
“He has a motorcycle.”
“So do other people.”
“It’s dangerous.”
She rolled her eyes. All this because of a bike. “He has a Harley, Mother, to ride for pleasure, not for speed. He’s not one of those speed demons that zip in and out of traffic for the thrill.”
“But he could get hurt.”
“True, but I could get hurt jaywalking across Main Street. Should that stop people from dating me? Does that make me a risk?”