“Before he started using drugs, I would say a three in the absolute worst case scenario. After he started using, I can’t begin to guess. I never thought he would smash up my living room and threaten to hurt me, but he did.”
“Elise,” Rob took her by the shoulders and held her away from him so he could see her face. “You and Colton are staying at my house until we know where Javier is. He’s a loose cannon. Shane has a lot more experience with parolees and absconding. He’s staying at the house with me this week. We should let him know everything that’s happened. He’s trained in self-defense and handling firearms. You can ask him anything.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t want to be a burden on you. I’ll be fine at my apartment. The cops are aware of my situation. I just thought you deserved to know, too.”
Rob blinked. Which part of his order did she not hear? “We’ll let the authorities know where you’re staying, but it’s not going to be in your apartment unless I’m there with you. You can decide whether we’re sleeping at your place or mine.”
It took a long hesitant moment, but he watched her swallow her pride. Her stubbornness was commendable.
“There’s more room at your house and Maisie needs to be at home.”
* * *
Hours later, Rob brushed a strand of hair from Elise’s cheek. They lay in bed together, the warmth of the summer night blowing in through the window. Crickets chirped and Rob inhaled the mingled scents of redwood, pine, and Elise’s unique sweetness.
“Thanks for cooking tonight. Is there anything you can’t make?”
Elise had thrown together an enormous pan of beef enchiladas drowning in a red chili sauce that made his mouth water just thinking about them.
“I’ve never tried making sushi,” she said.
“We’ll go out for sushi sometime if you want.”
“That sounds good,” she said, her eyes closing as he scooted forward and brushed his lips against her cheek. “Cooking helps take my mind off my problems, but I’m glad you like the food. I can’t eat it all by myself.”
“I’ll definitely help you out with whatever you can’t eat. Shane and Bodie will be more than happy to help, too.”
“The three of you ate everything. I thought I made more than enough. I’ll have to adjust my recipe next time.”
He kissed her jaw, then the spot just below her ear. “The problem is, no matter how much you make, we’ll eat every last bite. And you don’t have to cook. We usually take turns. Although, Shane just buys takeout and Bodie is hit or miss on his nights.”
“I love to cook. Really. It’s a genetic trait. All the women on my mom’s side of the family cook.”
“Hmm,” he hummed as he found the edge of her collarbone. His hand trailed up and down her side. “Nice trait to inherit. I’ll be sure to thank your mother and grandmother if I ever meet them in person.”
A quiet laugh moved through her chest. “Rob?”
“Yes? Do you want me to stop? I know it’s not a good time to strip off your clothes and devour you considering everything going on, and a houseful of people.” His hand snaked beneath her top and cupped her breast. “But you’re in my bed, and you’re fucking irresistible.” His lips traveled along her neck to the spot beneath her chin.
“Is Shane really okay with camping in the living room by Colton?” she asked.
“He is. They were having a great time tonight. He told me while you were in the shower that Colton is an all right kid. That’s Shane’s way of saying how much he likes him. And my brother may be an asshole and a goofball, but inside, he’s a decent guy. That’s my way of saying his heart is in the right place, especially when it comes to people he cares about.”
“I can’t believe how much fun Colton was having with him tonight. It’s pretty cute how the two of them are in their sleeping bags. But Shane doesn’t know me or Colton that well.” Elise’s hand began to rove over his back and down to his ass, her nails leaving a tickling path over his skin.
“Shane figures things out quickly and it’s easy to see how much you mean to me. That would be enough for my brother’s protective instincts to kick in. He talks a lot of trash, but his family comes first. He’s always been that way.”
Elise’s hand slipped inside the waistband of Rob’s boxer briefs. “You seem to be pretty protective yourself. I’m not used to that.”
“I can’t help it, Elise. You bring out the primal urges in me. I’m a damn Neanderthal when you’re within smelling distance.”
“Really?” she asked with a hint of humor playing at the corners of her mouth.
“Fuck, yes. No, make that a Viking, not a Neanderthal. And next time you’re being stubborn, I’m going to drag you by your braids into my longhouse.” He covered her lips with his and let his mouth prove how much he needed to mark her as his territory.
“Then what would you do to me?” she asked. She tweaked his nipple while massaging his growing erection.
“Bend you over and take you from behind until I shoot my cum inside you,” he whispered in her ear.
“Will you pull my hair?”
“Hell yeah.” He bit her earlobe and ran his fingers into her hair and took a handful by the roots.
A tiny moan escaped from her throat. Rob’s cock stiffened even more with the sound.
“I need you to cover my mouth with yours when I come so I don’t wake up everyone in the house,” she said.
“Is that all you want me to do?” he asked, low, seductive, suggestive.
“I’ll have more requests as we come to them,” she said, her voice matching his in need and desire.
Rob found her center. His finger dipped inside her heat. She was wet enough to soak him. Elise lifted her leg over his hip, giving him more room.
“Oh, God, Rob. Don’t stop.”
He teased her alluring pearl while stroking her from the inside. She massaged his erection with a skilled, patient, and cunningly wicked hand.
“I want to wrap my lips around your cock and circle your head with my tongue,” she said and slid down his body, letting her breasts glide over his chest and stomach.
“Turn around and bring your ass up here to my face so I can return the favor,” he said.
Rob rolled onto his back and Elise straddled him. She bent low over his cock and took his full length into her soft, wet, and hungry mouth. Rob buried his face between her legs until her thighs quivered and her whimpers turned to moans. He held back the best he could, but he was so close to climax that it was becoming almost painful.
He pulled away from her clever lips and made a swift move to turn her onto her back while flipping around so he could cover her body with his. Rob had only been half kidding about the Viking comment. The urge to be inside her, conquer her, was primal and nearly unstoppable. Before he had time to think about it, he was inside her. He pumped back and forth and couldn’t believe how incredible she felt. Rob reached for her hands to pin her beneath him. Lost in the sensations overtaking his body, the way she felt, the heat, the rising sweat, the pounding of his heart, he forgot himself. The sounds she made added to the phenomenon and then he remembered she wanted him to kiss her while she came, while she moaned. He placed his lips against hers and she opened her mouth to accept his tongue. Kissing couldn’t get any better than this moment, he thought as his cock stroked her, and his tongue entwined with hers.
Elise whimpered into his mouth as her inner walls tightened around his length. This is it. The sensitivity to her body was unreal. He could feel everything from her head to the soles of her feet pressing against his ass. Then he realized why the sensations were so exquisite.
He stopped moving. “I forgot the condom. Damn. I’m sorry. I didn’t come yet,” he said quickly and started to pull out.
Elise kept her legs wrapped around his waist. “I’m on the pill. I’ve taken it for years. Please, don’t stop.”
Rob was half lost with the crazy longing to feel her come undone beneath him, to let his own undoing have full reign. “C
hrist, you’re amazing.” He plunged back in.
“I need more of you, Rob. Fuck me slowly, then harder.”
A cry of pleasure escaped past her lips and her body tensed around his member. Her womanhood quaked, then pulsed as she found release. He kept his mouth over hers, muffling her moans. Rob drank in the sounds as his own pleasure crested, peaked, then soared.
* * *
The next few nights passed with a similar schedule. Elise and Colton went to the bookstore during the day. Rob walked them inside and checked every nook and cranny of the building for anything suspicious or out of place. He found nothing.
Andre and Brenna were informed of the extra security measures being taken for Elise, Colton, and the shop. Everyone did their part to stay alert but not overreact.
Shane took Elise’s problem ex upon himself and looked into Javier’s case in Arizona. Shane didn’t tell Elise what he planned to do, but he told Rob. They decided there was no sense in upsetting her further if there was nothing new to report on Javier. Shane wanted to have a little conversation with Javier’s parole officer and find out as much as he could on the parolee. If need be, they would let Elise know any important details. Rob waited for Shane to update him, but so far, the parole officer either couldn’t be reached or had yet to return Shane’s call.
On Monday morning, the new security system was installed. On Tuesday morning, Elise’s mother was coming from Arizona. Elise was supposed to pick her up at the airport in Reno. On Tuesday afternoon, Autumn was supposed to fly in from Florida. She would rent a car and drive herself. Colton was scheduled to have his surgery on Wednesday. There were no visits from Javier or any attempts to contact Elise. Both Rob and Elise wondered if Javier had taken her seriously and left town. Shane suggested that no one let their guard down yet.
They heeded Shane’s warning and if Rob were being honest, he liked the new daily routine. Elise slept in his bed every night. They woke up together. He drove her to work, picked her up, and they spent the evenings relaxing and enjoying the mountains. Colton had a great time playing at his house with him, Shane, or Bodie. The kid looked happy. One of their favorite things to do was hike down the trail from his house to the lake and play on the shore.
The closer Wednesday came, the more tension Elise exhibited. On Monday night, she chopped vegetables like she had a vengeance. Spanish curse words were muttered under her breath as chunks of cucumber and carrot shot off the cutting board beneath her knife. Rob fed and played with Maisie while Shane and Bodie played the Memory card game and Candy Land with Colton. Shane had taken to wearing his goalie hockey mask when he spent time with the boy and Bodie wore a helmet, too. His brothers looked ridiculous, but had a great time smashing helmets together when someone won or lost or incurred other board game injustices or celebrations. Rob laughed at their clowning around, and even Elise smiled at the three of them in their helmets. But during dinner, no one mentioned the death of the tomatoes in the salad.
Late Monday night, Elise’s phone rang and Rob heard part of the one-sided conversation. She spoke in a blend of Spanish and English, which further concealed the exchange. He guessed it was her mother on the other end. Elise set her phone down and went to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. It wasn’t like her to have a second beer, and this was her third.
“Is she calling to confirm her arrival time with you?” Rob asked when Elise remained quiet. She sat on the couch, stared at nothing Rob could see, and drank almost half the beer in one swallow.
“She has to cancel. My mom has the flu and hasn’t been able to get out of bed except to use the restroom.”
“I’m sorry. Autumn will still be here, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m here, too,” Rob said.
Elise finished the beer. The milk stout had an aroma of brown sugar and vanilla, a thick head of foam, and tasted of roasted mocha, slight hops, and roast bitterness. It wasn’t a beer one would normally chug. He didn’t point this out to Elise. She laid her gaze on his, set the bottle on the table, and slid over until she was tucked against his side.
“I know. Thank you.” She leaned up and kissed his jaw. “I’m trying to process it all.”
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her chest rose and fell in long breaths. She dropped her head to his shoulder and Rob wrapped an arm over her shoulders.
“It’s just... I was counting on my mom to be here not only for Colton, but for me.”
“I’m sure she’s just as upset about canceling,” he said.
“Probably more. She wouldn’t stop apologizing.”
“I can still go with you if you want,” Rob offered.
“But you told me your big delivery at the brewery is Wednesday. I know how much it means to you to be there when your tanks and equipment arrive.”
“Shane and Bodie will be there. I don’t mind. I can see the tanks on Thursday,” Rob said.
“It’s okay. Autumn will be with me. It’ll be fine,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said.
“You can always call me if you change your mind. The delivery is supposed to be early in the morning, so I can come to the audiology center as soon as the tanks are in place. Does that sound like a good compromise?”
Elise shifted next to him and swung her leg over his lap so she straddled him on the couch. She placed her hands on his shoulders and her lips against his. The tip of her tongue slid over his lower lip before slipping inside his mouth. She kissed him slow at first, then with more hunger. The mingled flavors of the stout and her naturally sweet honey flavor caused his cock to rise to attention. Just as he started to place her on her back on the couch and forget about his brothers and sleeping children in the other rooms, she broke the kiss.
“You’re incredible. Thank you for being here for us. All of this.” She looked around the house. “For letting us stay here and offering to be there for me and Colton this week.” She placed another quick kiss on his lips. She stared into his eyes and didn’t look away or put up any walls, just stared. “I... I think, I umm...”
Rob had a moment of fleeting realization that she was about to say she loved him. His world shifted as he realized just how much he loved her, too. He would say so the instant she said the words to him. Everything about her made him better. He never felt like that with a woman before. She made him want to be a better person. To put her and Colton before himself and take care of her. The feelings reached inside his core, touched his soul, and said, “She’s the one for you.” He didn’t know those urges existed inside him until he met her. But there was no commitment between them and Elise never asked for one. He waited for her to speak.
“I need to pee.” She kissed the tip of his nose, backed off his lap, and hurried out of the room.
Or maybe she’s just drunk. God, he could use another beer himself.
Twenty-three
ELISE’S COMPUTER MONITOR WENT BLACK. It wasn’t the black screen of a power outage, but the black screen of death.
“This isn’t happening today,” she said to herself.
From the photography and nature section, Brenna asked, “Everything okay over there?”
“I think our computer just died,” Elise said.
After a fitful night of worrying and tossing and turning, she arrived at work on Tuesday a sleep-deprived, slightly hung over hot mess.
“Oh, no.” Brenna strolled over to the checkout counter where Elise had been working on an order for the store.
Elise kept the stronger words and colorful adjectives to herself regarding the computer/register/data base/everything-necessary-for-operating-her-store PC. Luckily, both computers in the shop ran on the same system and she could access all files and programs from the computer at the coffee counter. And she had enough experience to know that triple backing up her work was always for the best, so everything was available in the cloud. Her personal laptop also had important files and programs, but the main computer crashin
g today was a headache she really didn’t need.
Most days, Colton entertained himself while she worked. She took time for him as needed, providing help or giving him something to do, but he’d already interrupted her ten times more than he normally did. He was being extra clingy today, and she couldn’t blame him. He was about to have his head cut into in less than twenty-four hours. She was extra needy and emotional, too. He probably picked up on her anxiety, which just made her more stressed. And now the computer needed troubleshooting even though she suspected the hard drive had died.
Freaking fantastic. Colton chose that moment to ask if they could go get ice cream. She said, no, and he had a meltdown. She brought him upstairs to settle down.
Elise spent the rest of the day with the computers while Colton zoned out on her phone. When closing time neared, she felt like the worst mother in the world for letting her kid be babysat by electronic games and videos. After hours of testing and fiddling, she came to terms with the fact that the computer could not be resurrected.
She retrieved her phone from Colton and realized she had a string of text messages waiting for her. The most important one was from Autumn.
Autumn: Flight delayed. I won’t be arriving until 11 p.m. California time. Call me asap.
Brenna said goodbye, clocked out for the day, and Elise locked herself and Colton inside. She dialed Autumn.
“I’ve been stuck at the airport all day. How are you doing?”
“I can’t believe I haven’t checked my phone. Colton’s been on it and I’ve been so distracted,” Elise said.
“I know you’re stressing about tomorrow, but everything’s going to be fine. You’ve been waiting for Colton’s implants for so long.”
“It’s not only that. Our main computer crashed and burned. I’ve been doing tech support and trying to fix our system all afternoon.”
“Well, shit,” Autumn said and paused as the news sank in.
“Exactly. It’s been a nightmare.”
“Did you get anything resolved?”
Divining Elise Page 22