by Ali Parker
I brushed my fingers by my lips as I pulled up to the private hanger. She was supposed to pick me up that morning, but I was running a little behind and didn't want to put her in a frenzy because of it.
I needed a new tactic. Damon would know what to do.
After parking, I grabbed my bag and walked to the plane as anticipation danced in my stomach. No matter what happened between us, I was pretty sure she would forever have an impact on me. There hadn't been a time over the last two years of her working for my father at M&B that seeing her hadn't left me tingling, excited, scared.
I walked up the stairs and nodded at the flight attendant before turning my attention on Erica. Her hair was in a loose bun and her dress was business-like, but a little more casual than what she wore in the office. Long legs that went on for days and cream-colored heels that looked good on her. I could almost imagine her in nothing but her garter and the heels, laid across a bed, moaning for me.
"Morning." I smiled and moved to sit down beside her. "You sleep good?"
"Yeah." She turned to face me, her expression peaceful. "Really good."
"Awesome." I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "About last night-"
"No. I need to apologize. I don't care if Kent knows about us dating or not. It's probably best that he doesn't."
"Wait. We're dating now?" I snorted and reached over to squeeze her knee.
"Sounds better than fucking, right?" Her smile brightened up the inside of the plane.
"I actually like the sound of us fucking."
She chuckled and shook her head. "I don't know what we are, but I'm tired of thinking about it."
"All right, then I'll just keep working to steal your heart and your panties and you just relax and try to forgive me. Deal?"
"Yeah. Maybe." She smiled and turned her attention to the flight attendant. "Do you have coffee made?"
"Sure do. And for you, Mr. Bryant?"
"Mr. Bryant is my father, but yes, I'll take a cup too." I leaned back and let my eyes run along her legs as she looked out the window. "You look incredible today. So far beyond beautiful it hurts."
"You're just being sweet." She turned back to face me, her blue eyes filled with far too many questions.
One decision to leave and not call and I was back to square one. Why? Something in her past? I had to know.
"I am a sweet guy. You've tasted me. You should know." Just talking about it had me getting hard. She blushed. The softer side of her. I sighed internally like a love-sick fool. "Tell me about your love life in the past. Any one name repeated over and over in your little pink diary?"
"It's black, and you mean someone besides you?"
Score. At least I was in there.
"Why am I not surprised that it's black?" I laughed as she did too.
"I haven't dated many guys." She shrugged and fiddled with her dress. "And I haven't been with anyone seriously since college."
"Me either. The college part. I rarely date guys." I winked and reached out to take her hand as the flight attendant told us to hold off on the coffee as the flight was taking off.
"I was with my childhood sweetheart from sixth grade, when I started dating, to my senior year in college. Ten years." She turned her head to look back out the window. "Ten long, good years."
Bingo.
"And what happened?" I pulled her hand to my mouth and kissed her fingers. My body was tight with anxiety over this shit swirling between us and the fact that she hadn't stayed with me the night before, but I understood it. She was protecting herself. I could respect that, though the alpha inside of me still wanted to tear down all her walls and prove myself worthy.
"I don't know, honestly. One day he came in and said he didn't feel it anymore, which was funny, because I hadn't felt it for years." She shrugged. "After making the commitment to be with someone forever, you would expect it to last a lot longer than ten years. Guess I misunderstood what forever meant."
"Or you were with the wrong man." I reached over and touched the side of her face, wanting to apologize again, but knowing it was futile. She'd have to learn to trust me through my actions, not my words.
"Maybe so," she mumbled, her eyes moving around my face as if searching for something.
I moved over toward her and slid my hand deep into her hair, tightening my grip just a little as I leaned down and kissed her a few times. I brushed my nose by hers and breathed in deeply.
"I missed you last night, but I know why you didn't come home with me." I kissed her again. "I'll prove myself to you, Erica. I promise."
She touched the side of my face, drawing me down for another kiss. She was battling herself on whether to reject me, or keep me forever. The real forever. I could sense indecision all over her.
"I like that you're willing to try." She kissed me again, pressing her tongue against my lips as if knocking on the door. I opened up and groaned a little as her tongue slid by mine. So delicious and sweet. It wasn't going to take much and I'd have her in the back of the plane, worshiping her beautiful body and trying to heal her soul in any way she would let me.
The flight attendant cleared his throat. "Um... coffee?"
We jerked back and laughed. Maybe the worship could start later that night if I played my cards right.
My brother would be a great resource for how to play the game altogether. Maybe.
*
"Are you sure you're okay with me staying here?" Erica glanced over toward my father as he nodded.
"Yes. Karen and I had Martha make up a bed for you and everything. It's just overnight, and you know you're always welcome in my home, Erica." My dad moved forward and pulled Erica into a hug before glancing over at me. "How are you? Behaving?"
"Never." I wagged my eyebrows and moved up to hug him. The smell blasting out of the kitchen left me feeling like home would always be my dad's house, no matter how old I got. "Where's Damon? Bethany?"
"They're out back. Let's get your luggage stowed away and you can join them." Karen moved to pick up my bag. My stepmother was petite like Bethany. I chuckled and picked up the bag.
"No way are you toting our stuff. Just lead the way, and I'll put it up." I took Erica's bag from her as my father wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Red or white wine," he asked her while leading her into the kitchen.
"Both?" She laughed and the sound filled me with warmth. Why the hell was I running in the opposite direction of her for the last two years? Right. Fear of being consumed by her. Too late. She was all the fuck I thought about, and it didn't seem like that would be changing anytime soon.
"How are you?" Karen glanced over her shoulder. "I mean, like really? You moving up to Seattle is a big step. I'm proud of you."
I smiled. "I'm good. Just trying to work through things with Erica, and settling in, but I'm really good."
"I'm glad to hear that." She opened a door and moved back to let me go in.
"Thanks. I'm doing much better in the office setting than I would have thought. I hate being in a tiny box and only having a computer to look at, but my team has been awesome. They're a bunch of artists too, so we have some good conversation, and the design projects are honestly pretty cool. I could see myself surviving there for at least another month."
She chuckled and pulled me into a hug as I turned around. "Just a warning... your brother and Bethany are in wedding mode, so every conversation they have has something to do with the wedding."
"Did we set a date yet?" I squeezed her and moved back as she turned to walk out into the hallway.
"Yes, but I'll let them fill you in on all of it." She lifted her hands and walked toward the kitchen. "You would think it's happening next week with all the discussion about it, but I'm pretty sure they're looking at early December."
"This year?" I almost swallowed my tongue. No way the two of them would be able to pull together a wedding in a month.
"Yep." She glanced over her shoulder and gave me a look. "Maybe you can talk some sense into them
."
"Right." I lifted my eyebrow. "Because I'm the sensible one in the family."
She chuckled. "It's not even a destination wedding. Bethany wants it here."
"Oh. Wow. So a big wedding?"
"Not really." She waved me away. "Go talk to them about it. It'll be good for them to have a new person to share all of this with."
"Sounds like fun." Or not. I was grateful that things had worked out with Bethany and Damon, but wedding planning sucked. No matter who was involved.
"There's my little brother." Damon walked toward me with a big smile on his face.
I couldn't help but return the gesture. "What's up, bro?"
Erica was sitting next to Bethany out on the patio, the two girls both having big smiles on their faces and seemed to be laughing. I loved how well she fit right into the mix, like she belonged there.
"How is it? Working for M&B? Having Erica as your mistress? Living in the art capital of the States?" He pulled me into a quick hug and moved back, patting my chest. "You loving it or scared shitless?"
I took a moment to think about it. Oddly enough, for the first time in a long time, I wasn't scared at all. I was worried about the situation with me and Erica, but not scared.
"I'm actually good." I shrugged. "I got a lot of shit to work through with Erica, but otherwise, I'm good. Job is all right, apartment is amazing and Erica is everything I could imagine wanting in a woman."
"Awesome. So you guys are together now?"
"Um... no." I ran my hand down my face as he growled.
"What? Why the fuck not?" He glanced behind him and back to me. "Did she not accept your apology for that stunt you pulled a few weeks back?"
"She accepted it, but she's still processing it. She's got some baggage in her past around men getting up and leaving her. It was probably the one thing I shouldn't have done. Had I known, I would have called after leaving that Monday, but I didn't." I slipped my hands in my pockets and drew in a deep breath. "I don't know what to do to speed things up. She's pushing hard against me every time I try, but I keep trying."
"Good. Don't relent." He nodded toward the kitchen. "Grab a beer with me."
"Sounds good." I followed him in and moved to lean against the counter as he grabbed two beers from the fridge. "I'm in love with her for sure, but words aren't working. I'm going to have to figure out how to show her how I feel, and that I'm committed."
"Good." He handed me a bottle and popped the top on his. "You told me how to get Bethany back, and it worked. You remember what you said?"
"Yeah. Be there for her when she needs you most, and don't say a word while you're there. Just support her."
"That shit worked like a charm." He tilted his bottle toward me. "You need to take your own advice, and a little bit of mine."
"And your advice would be?" I lifted an eyebrow and smirked.
"To make love to her every chance you get. Keep your hands on her. Women like to feel protected, cherished and physically adored. Make sure she gets a lot of that."
"Every time she'll let me, for sure." I followed him into the living room and out toward the back of the house. "How's the wedding stuff coming?"
He opened the door and glanced back. "Don't even ask..."
Chapter 14
Erica
It was odd how much I felt like I belonged at the table with Matt and his family. He made sure to pull me into every conversation and touched me in some matter over and over, almost as if he wanted to reassure me that I belonged to him, but did I?
Of course I did. Why was I fighting it so damn hard?
"I'll clean all of this stuff up," Karen spoke to Kent. "You guys just go have your meeting with Erica here. There is no reason for you to go all the way up to the office."
"Sounds good." Kent stood and stretched before glancing down at me and then to Damon. "You guys okay with that?"
Bethany and Martha picked up a handful of empty dishes, and I felt odd not helping clear the table.
"Yep. I'm going to start a fire in the living room and then we can talk. That okay?" Damon got up and moved away from the table.
"I'll help clean up and then join you guys." I smiled and stood, gathering plates and ignoring everyone fussing around me about me working on the dishes. "Hey. I like being involved in this kind of stuff. Leave it be."
Matt chuckled. "Back up, people. She gets what she wants."
"You included." I glanced over at him and gave him a cocky grin.
"You've had me for two years. I just don't think either of us fully realized it." He moved up behind me as I leaned over to get another dish and ran his hand over my hip. Luckily enough, everyone had scattered as if sensing that we needed a moment.
I turned with a handful of dishes in my hands and looked up at him. My heart skipped a beat. "I thought you wanted to talk to your family before-"
"Nope. I was wrong." He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. "And you knew I was in the wrong. You gotta start telling me. Just lay it out, bare it all."
"We're talking about the error of your ways and not sex, right?"
He smirked. "We're talking about anything you want to talk about."
"No losing your man card today." I laughed and moved around him. Trepidation would have to have its way with me another day. I was working too hard to relax and just take things in moment by moment. I wanted 'us' to move forward, for me to forgive him and not be in constant fear that I wasn't enough to keep him. We needed to talk it out, but now wasn't the time, nor the place.
I put the dishes next to the sink and reached over to rub the top of Martha's shoulders. "How long have you worked for Mr. Bryant?"
"Thirty years." Her smile beamed.
"That's incredible." I glanced back as Bethany walked back in the room. "So you've seen a lot of shenanigans with these two boys of his?"
"More than I care to discuss." She shook her head.
Bethany laughed. "Erica. We should totally have a night out with Martha. Get her a few drinks and ask for the best stories of the last thirty years."
Damon's voice startled me. "Or you should just behave and stop trying to stir shit up."
"Watch your language." Martha gave Damon a motherly look as we snickered.
"I'm sorry." He moved into Bethany's arms, leaning down to kiss her a few times as I tried to look away. "You want to hang out with Matthew while I meet with Erica?"
"Yep. I need to talk to him about the wedding anyway." She glanced over toward me. "And you too, Erica. Would you consider being one of my bridesmaids?"
How awkward would it be to agree and then have things fall between the cracks with Matt? I must have stared just a little too long.
"I mean, it's okay if not. You can just let me know when-" she started to backtrack.
"No. It's good." I forced a chuckle. "I got lost in my thoughts. Yes, I'll definitely do it for you."
Relief swept across Bethany's pretty face. "Oh, good."
"No wearing white though, okay? Only Beth gets to tell that lie." Damon wagged his eyebrows and walked out after Bethany swatted at him.
Martha glanced over her shoulder. "That boy is never going to grow up."
"Do any of them?" I smiled and wiped my hands before walking toward the living room. Strong arms wrapped around me from behind and I sunk against Matt. The familiar smell of his cologne filled my senses, and my body worked up and wanted to purr.
"Hey." He kissed the side of my neck. "You fit in almost too good here. You got plans for the rest of your life?"
I snorted. "I'm thinking that might be a little much in terms of long-range planning. I am going to be in the wedding, so if you're going to break my heart again, just make sure you do it after the event?"
He moved back, and I turned in his arms. "I was scared. You know this."
"Are you still scared?"
"Yep. Terrified." He leaned down and brushed his nose by mine, his actions in complete contradiction with his words. "Terrified that I'm going to miss out on t
he greatest love affair of my life."
I lifted up and pressed my lips to his. All the bullshit I'd fed myself about Tanner leaving me because I wasn't enough was just that - crap. It was a way to protect myself just in case no one ever loved me again, a way to set my expectations low.
"Stop being so sweet. You're going to melt my resolve." I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my breasts to his chest.
"Can I lick it off of you when it melts?" He nipped at my lips.
My body hummed, my nipples budded tight.
"How do you have me wanting to crawl into bed with you when last night I promised myself that I wasn't going to sleep with you again until we figured this stuff out between us?"
"Because we are figuring it out." He kissed me again as Damon groaned from down the hall.
"Really? I'm the only one that's supposed to make out with a good-looking woman in the hallway. Get your own identity, Matt!"
We laughed and pulled away from each other.
Matt wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we walked toward the living room. "She is insanely fine, right? Wait. Don't answer that. I'd hate to beat you up in front of her."
"Beat me up?" Damon's expression changed, and I slipped out from under Matt, knowing where it was all headed.
"Oh, Lord." Kent moved up beside me as I stopped at the edge of the living room and watched the two men circle each other, arms out, knees bent like two wrestlers. "We're not going to get anything done today."
"It would certainly seem that way." I yelped as they plowed into each other, Damon sliding back a little on the tile as Matt pushed. "Yeah, I'm out. I can't stand to see someone get hurt, and it's going to happen, isn't it?"
"Always does." Kent turned and walked into the living room. "So how are you liking Mitch? I feel like he was a big win for the firm."
I hesitated, only because the need to tell Kent that the new hire was hitting on me rode hard on my shoulders. It really wasn't that he was being inappropriate, or that I couldn't shut it down myself like a big girl, but I almost felt like I was lying by not mentioning it. Something to assess later.