“She doesn’t like anyone. You just get the thrill of pissing her off when she has no recourse.”
I grabbed my charts and headed off to my next patient’s room, glaring at anyone who dared to give me a dirty look. They could all fuck off.
I got off work and headed to Eric’s house. He was right, there were people watching me everywhere I went. I stopped at the gas station and people started whispering. And when I drove down Main Street, there were people pointing at my Jeep. You would think I was a circus attraction. Seriously, I was pregnant, not a serial killer.
I pulled into Eric’s driveway and parked, staring at the farmhouse for a minute. This would be my first time spending the night since the incident. It was strange. His brothers would be here and that was a little odd, right? I got out and headed for the door. Did I knock? I was invited here, so I was assuming that I was perfectly welcome, but what was the protocol for sleeping over at your baby daddy/boyfriend’s house? I had never done this.
The door swung open and Eric stood there, leaning against the door frame with a grin on his face. “Were you going to stand out there all night?”
“I was trying to figure out if I should knock or not.”
“Why would you knock?” he asked curiously.
“Well, I wasn’t sure what the protocol was in our current relationship.”
“Protocol?”
“Well, I didn’t want to let myself in and make myself at home. That’s a little too much like I’m your…your long-term girlfriend.”
“As opposed to my short-term girlfriend?”
“Well, we just started being- you know, it’s weird to call you my boyfriend. That’s not a good term for me or you.”
“I see,” he nodded. “Well, you’d better come in so we can figure this out. I don’t want you to stand on the porch every time you come over, trying to figure out what the protocols are.”
He held the door open for me and then shut it behind me as I walked into the kitchen.
“So,” he said, pulling out a chair for me. “I think we should establish this right now. I mean, the town is going to be talking about us a lot. I think I should know what to call you.”
“Girlfriend and boyfriend sounds so…”
“Juvenile?”
“Yes,” I said, thankful he understood.
“Well, I’m guessing I shouldn’t walk around and call you my baby mama.”
“And calling you my baby daddy feels weird. It’s like a kinky version of a father. I don’t know, it makes me feel like you’re a pedophile.”
“Well, I think it’s safe to say that neither of us needs that added to the town Facebook page.”
Footsteps pounded down the stairs and Joe walked into the room. “Hey, quiche-girl, how’s it going? Were you attacked by the town?”
“Almost dragged through the streets. People had oranges to throw at me and everything. I barely escaped with my life,” I grinned.
“Well, glad that you made it home. I have to say though, if you need me to go rifle through your drawers some more, I have no problem doing that.”
I narrowed my eyes at Eric. “I told you not to let him go through my underwear drawer.”
“I didn’t,” Joe insisted. “But you didn’t tell me you had a drawer for lingerie.” He winked at me. “Don’t worry, I picked out something sexy for you to wear.”
“Ew!” I shook my head in disgust.
“What? It’s not like I’ve never seen lingerie before. Besides, since you already chose my brother, now at least I can picture what you’ll look like in something sexy.”
Eric slapped him upside the head. “Don’t say shit like that. You’re never allowed to think about her in lingerie.”
“You know, we’re gonna have a discussion about using your words instead of your fists.”
“I didn’t use my fists.” Eric slapped him upside the head again. “See? Not my fist.”
“Would you stop hitting me?” Joe said, rubbing the back of his head.
“That was a slap. Man up.”
“I’m telling Ma on you.”
“Yeah, you do that. And then I’ll tell her that you were picturing my woman in lingerie and she’ll tell me to slap you upside the head again.”
Joe shook his head. “Brutal, man. I gave up my lingo for you.”
“You gave it up because we made a deal and you kept fucking it up.”
“I’m just saying, after I saved your ass today, you could at least lighten my sentence. You know, time off for good behavior.”
“You told everyone that you thought my dick didn’t work.”
“Well, you should be happy about that. It makes you seem like less of a tool bag.”
I watched the two of them bicker in fascination. My sisters lived further away and were married, so we didn’t really get together that often anymore. But I remembered days like this. Only for us, it usually turned into a hair-pulling match.
“What?” Eric asked, turning to me curiously as I watched them.
“Oh, don’t mind me. I was just catching the show. You know, you guys should turn this into a skit or something. I think the town would really like it. You could live stream it on the town page.”
The door swung open and Andrew stepped inside with four pizza boxes. “Pizza’s here!”
Joe stood immediately, grabbing the boxes from Andrew. “Thank God. I’m starving.”
“Hey, sis,” Andrew grinned, setting one box in front of me. “This one’s for you.”
“For me?”
“Well, sorry, not sorry, but I’m not sharing a pizza with you. I like you, and all, but even after you were outed to the whole town, that’s still not enough for me to share my pizza with you.”
I opened the box and smiled at the cheese pizza in front of me. “How did you know?”
“I called your dad,” Eric said as he pulled pizza from his own box.
“Why didn’t you just call me?”
“Because I wanted to surprise you.”
“Hmm, well, now I really need to come up with a good title for you.”
“A title for what?” Andrew asked.
“Well, I can’t keep calling him my boyfriend.”
“He’s your baby daddy,” Andrew said with a shrug.
“Which would make you the uncle daddy?” I grinned.
“Whoa, hold up a minute. There is no daddy anywhere in my name.”
“Just call him your man friend,” Joe suggested.
I wriggled my nose. “No, that sounds so…” I shook my head. “Too much like a sugar daddy.”
“How about your live-in lover?” Andrew grinned.
“Yeah, I’m sure the church ladies would love that,” Eric snorted. “Thanks, but I already got beaten with a purse multiple times today.”
“And, we don’t live together,” I pointed out.
“Hang on,” Andrew said, whipping out his phone.
“What are you doing?” Eric asked.
“Polling the town.”
“You’re what?” Eric asked, shoving back his chair. “Give me the phone.”
“Just hang on. It’s not like they don’t already know.”
Eric rounded the table, but Andrew anticipated this and took off into the living room.
“Give me the damn phone!” Eric yelled.
“Hang on, I’m getting some suggestions.”
Joe and I continued to eat our pizza as Eric and Andrew fought in the other room.
“This is good pizza,” I said.
“Yep. Best in town. You should really try their taco pizza.”
“Ow! You asshole, I’m trying to help you!”
Something crashed to the ground and then there were loud footsteps pounding toward us.
“Suitor, worshiper, ooh… I like this one. Intended.”
Eric crashed into Andrew, sending the phone skittering across the floor. Eric started smacking him in the face while Andrew tried to ward off his hands.
“I like intended,” I
said to Joe. “Maybe a little too medieval, but it could work.”
“I can’t believe you did that, fucker.” Eric dragged Andrew off the floor and tossed him against the wall.
“Hey, I was just trying to help you out,” Andrew argued.
I picked up the phone off the floor and started scrolling through the feed. There was no point in being mad. Right now, the whole town knew about us. I might as well go with it.
“Well, we could always go with the classic ‘beau’.”
Andrew threw a punch, clipping Eric in the chin. Eric ran at Andrew, shoving his shoulder into Andrew’s stomach. They went flying through the screen door onto the porch. The screen door was ripped from its hinges, just barely dangling. Joe and I walked over to the doorway and watched as Andrew and Eric tumbled down the porch steps, kicking up dirt in their wake. I took another bite of my pizza, enjoying the delicious flavor.
“Is it always like this?”
“What, the fighting?”
I nodded.
“Nah. I mean, it depends on what’s going on. When we were kids, we were constantly fighting.”
“Do you fight Eric?”
Joe grinned, shaking his head slightly. “Eric may be passive, but you definitely don’t want to get into a fight with him.”
“So, you’re saying he could kick your ass.”
“Hey, I’m not ashamed to admit my limitations. But this is good for him. We like to push him into a fight every few months. It helps to loosen him up a little.”
“Seriously? You do this on purpose to him?”
“Just think, when he comes back inside, you can play naughty nurse for him. I packed just the lingerie for you.”
I smacked him in the chest and finished my pizza. I had to admit, it was a turn on to watch him fighting in the dirt. All that sweat and dirt caked to his body, it sent shivers down my spine.
I felt Joe’s breath against my ear. “See? You’re a dirty girl. Aren’t you happy I packed that lingerie for you?”
I heard him chuckle as he walked away. He may have a point, but I wasn’t about to tell him he was right.
Eric
I shoved Andrew’s face in the dirt and punched him in the side as I pressed all my weight on top of him. “Don’t ever do something like that again. I happen to really like this woman.”
“I know,” he groaned.
“Then stop making shit more difficult for us. We have enough to figure out on our own without you involving the whole fucking town.”
I pushed off him and watched as he stood, shaking out his arm. “I was doing you a favor, man. The more you try and keep your relationship with Katherine a secret, the more the town is going to gossip about you.”
“You made me a laughing stock,” I said irritatedly. “What goes on between Katherine and I has nothing to do with anyone else. I swear, between you and Joe, it’s like you’re trying to piss me off and make sure that you’re permanently on my bad side.”
He snorted, wiping off his clothes. “Like you have a good side.”
I walked away. There was no point in arguing with him anymore. I’d said my peace and beat the shit out of him. Now, it was time to spend some time with Kat. I stomped up the porch steps where Kat was waiting for me, a sexy smirk on her face.
“You looked pretty hot out there, rolling around in the dirt.”
“Rolling around in the dirt?” I puffed out my chest. “That was fighting.”
Her fingers reached out and snagged my now filthy, white t-shirt and pulled me toward her. “Whatever you want to call it, it was totally hot.”
“Yeah?” I grinned.
“Yeah.”
She stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her hand around the back of my neck as she pulled me down to meet her kiss. I slid my hands around her waist and pulled her flush against me. The pizza, Facebook, my idiot brother- all of those things were forgotten the moment her lips pressed against mine. And now there was only one thing I wanted, and it involved her, me, and that sexy lingerie that Joe said he picked out. I slid my hands under her ass and hoisted her up against me. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I walked into the house.
“You’re welcome!” I heard Andrew shout.
I kicked the door shut, wishing that my brothers weren’t living with me. I would take her right here on the kitchen table if I didn’t have to worry about them walking in on us. Her lips never left mine as I carried her upstairs. I wanted so bad to strip her down and take her, but I needed a shower. Hell, I was getting her filthy as it was, but I didn’t want her to actually get dirty while I touched her. I opened the door to the bedroom and pushed it shut behind me. Her hands were digging at my scalp as she held me to her lips. I practically tripped over my own feet just getting her to the bed.
We bounced on the bed and I tried to pull back from her. “I want you inside me,” she groaned, making it even more difficult for me to pull away. I took her hands and gently pried them from my scalp.
“I need a shower.” She opened her mouth to argue, but I placed my hand over it and shook my head. “Kat, I want you too, but I’m filthy. When I get you in that bed, I don’t plan on leaving for the rest of the night. I’ll be quick.”
“Then I’m joining you,” she said, sitting up. “I’ve been working all day too. We can shower together.”
This was such a bad idea. Just the thought of seeing water dripping down her breasts was enough to make me take her right now. If I got her in the shower, I wasn’t sure how much cleaning would happen. I pulled back from her and pointed at her not to move.
“Stay.”
Her eyebrows scrunched up and she opened her mouth to say something.
“No. I said stay. We both know that if we get in that shower together, neither of us is actually going to get clean.”
“But-“
“No, Kat. I’m serious. I’m going to go in there and take a shower. When I get out, then you can get in. Do you understand me?”
She pouted and nodded. “Just give me a kiss first.”
I looked at her warily. This just didn’t seem right to me. There had to be some sort of trickery involved. Kat wasn’t innocent or sweet. Well, I guess she might be, but in this moment, I didn’t trust that she was playing fair. Still, the way she was looking at me, I couldn’t just walk away without giving her a kiss. I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. I fully intended to pull away, but then I felt her hands on my zipper, and then she was pushing down my pants.
My cock sprung out and then her lips were wrapped around my cock. I groaned and threw back my head. “Oh hell,” I muttered. She moaned, sending shock waves through my dick. I was a goner. There was no point in fighting her at this point. She had me the moment she batted those eyelashes at me.
I pulled her off me and tossed her gently further up the bed, shoving my pants off the rest of the way and tearing my shirt over my head. “Alright, Kat. You want to play dirty? I can do that.”
I crawled up her body and yanked her pants down her legs, panties and all. She gasped when I shoved her legs up and spread her wide. I looked up at her and grinned right before I shoved my face against her wet pussy. Her hips bucked and she cried out as I shoved my tongue inside her. She tried to move her legs, but I placed my arms over her legs, keeping her spread wide open for me. Her fingers gripped at my hair as she started spasming around me. I didn’t let up. She didn’t want to wait, and now she was going to pay for that.
“Eric! Stop, I can’t take any more.”
I sucked her clit into my mouth and gently bit down. She started writhing even harder beneath me, but I wouldn’t let up. “You wanted this, Kat. I wanted to take things nice and slow. I wanted to see you in that sexy lingerie and take my time with you. You wanted this, and now I’m going to make sure that you feel me all night long.”
I laid in bed, completely exhausted. I took Kat so many times last night. I just couldn’t get enough of her. I couldn’t keep my hands off her. We did eventually make it into the shower, but as I s
uspected, there wasn’t a lot of cleaning going on.
I knew she had to get up soon for work, and so did I. After my day yesterday, I really needed to be on time today. But it was so hard to get up when I had her in bed next to me. She looked so peaceful next to me, not at all like the sassy woman that liked to push my buttons and drive me crazy. Our relationship was so strange. We had started off all wrong, but with a few minor adjustments, she quickly became a woman that I couldn’t stop thinking about. When I first learned about the pregnancy, I made the rash decision to ask her to marry me. That hadn’t gone over so well. But now that she was in my bed, in my house, I had to seriously think about a way to get her to stay. I didn’t want her to leave. And maybe that was way too soon in our relationship, but I could see this lasting with us. I could see us raising our child together in this house and I knew we would be happy.
I would figure something out, but in the meantime, I had to get up and make her something to eat. I didn’t want her going into work hungry. I leaned over and pressed a light kiss to her lips and then slipped out of bed, careful not to wake her. I pulled on my jeans and t-shirt and headed downstairs. I was shocked to see that Frick and Frack were already awake and eating cereal.
“Going somewhere this morning?”
“Got a job interview,” Andrew said around a bite of cereal as he stared at the cereal box.
“What are you doing?”
“There’s a puzzle on the back.”
I snatched the box out of his hands and looked at the puzzle. “This is meant for kids,” I said, tossing the box of Captain Crunch back at him.
“Hey, I can do these puzzles. All the adult puzzles are hard.”
“You’re a computer genius,” I said, a little baffled.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I like to use that much brain power at five in the morning.”
“And what are you doing up?” I asked Joe.
“Just got home,” he said, sipping his coffee.
“Of course you did. Why would you actually be home at a normal time?”
“Hey, I was working.”
“What were you doing?” I asked accusingly.
Maintenance Required: A small town romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 1) Page 19