“The only De La Fuente I wish to handle is you.”
“Eww. That’s too much information,” Emelia winced.
Dante coughed and hid his grin behind his hand.
Sylvia rolled her eyes and asked, “So remind me again on whom everyone is?”
“Our brothers, Aiden, Mateo who you’ve met, Kasey and Diego. Then you have our father, Emiliano, and his wife, Lucia, and finally the brat over there, Emelia.” Eric grinned at his sister, and continued, “My dad lives outside of Great Falls, Montana and there’s nothing as beautiful as seeing his house and land with snow covering the ground. The winters can be harsh, but it’s home and it has been to them for a long time.”
“Then I can’t wait to see it on Thanksgiving. But you know what that means?”
He had no clue and his expression said as much.
“You have to go to visit with her family,” Dante added. “Brother, sometimes you need to use the head above the waist.”
“Coming from a priest, that doesn’t sound right.”
“I’m not going there. But tell him I’m right, Sylvia.” Dante grinned at her and Eric felt a little stab of jealousy over his woman.
“Dante always has to be right,” Emelia added, “as do all my brothers.”
Emelia made his heart heavy with worry. It was clear to see that she was really unhappy, and he guessed as long as she was close to Dante, she always would be. She needed to visit someone else and leave their older brother in peace. Perhaps the distance, over time would heal old wounds; at least he hoped it would.
With that in mind, he asked, “You want to come back to Lexington with us, sis?” He’d find a way to make it work with Emelia being underfoot when he wanted to spend his time with Sylvia, but he couldn’t do nothing when it was obvious they both hurt.
“I was there not too long ago,” she hedged. “I like Colorado.” Emelia met Dante’s gaze before he turned away to stare out toward the mountains. “Thanks,” her attention back on Eric, “but I’ll hang around here for a while and then head to Montana for Thanksgiving.” She offered a small smile. “Dante won’t kick me out, so please don’t worry about me.”
“I can’t promise not to.” Eric stared into her eyes with worry as he squeezed her hand and realized his brother was still distracted elsewhere.
“I’ll go and start dinner.”
“I’ll help,” Sylvia volunteered, and followed Emelia inside after she placed a lingering kiss to his lips.
Once the door was closed, Eric turned to his brother. “What was that?”
“What?”
“You’re intelligent, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Dante stayed silent, his jaw tense with the anger that simmered just under the surface. Out of all his siblings, Dante was the one with the longest fuse. He was obviously at the end.
“Look, Thanksgiving is practically around the corner so bring her to Montana with you and leave her there. You know that has to happen, right?”
He nodded.
“I’m going to go and let Emelia know not to make anything for Sylvia and me. I want to take her out somewhere tonight.”
“You’ve chosen a good woman. I hope you realize that.”
“I do. Don’t stay outside too long, it’ll freeze your balls off.”
With those last words to his tormented brother, he went to find the girls.
Chapter Eighteen
Sylvia felt alive with excitement being in Denver for the evening with Eric. It had been a surprise when he’d found them in the kitchen back at Dante’s cabin as she’d been planning that night’s dinner with Emelia. Their sister was certainly troubled, and the tension in the air had been stifling.
With a sigh of contentment, she stepped closer to Eric and slipped her hand into his while they waited to be seated. He was her man and she wanted to claim him in front of the group of women she could see at one of the tables close to were she stood with Eric. They looked and whispered as though Eric was a piece of meat. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but the looks spoke volumes.
Eric, of course, was oblivious, his attention drawn to his cell and the message he seemed to be reading. His distraction with the object bothered her because she thought the dinner in Denver had been for them to spend time alone. He had more interest in the object in his hand though.
She tried to tug her hand free, but he held tight and met her gaze. She turned away and didn’t want to make a scene. It was only a cell, right? Everybody had them, but when he tugged on her hand to pull her to him, she noticed the frown marring his brow.
“I’m sorry, I got distracted.” He sighed. “My dad just sent me a text asking about my brother, Aiden. He went home for a break and Dad is worried about him. He must be to be messaging me. He never messages.” He released her hand, but used his arm to wrap around her shoulders to pull her into the curve of his body.
Her arms slipped beneath his jacket and around his waist, as she rested her head on his chest. She heard his deep sigh as he held her close and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.”
Sylvia tilted her face up to look at him and softly smiled. “I haven’t done anything.”
“You’re here with me, in my arms offering comfort. I like you this close.” He dropped his cell into his jacket pocket. “I’ll call my father later to find out what’s going on.”
“You can call him now if you need to. I don’t mind.”
“No. My father is obviously concerned because Aiden has always been the wild one. I just think Aiden needs a break after years of going after what he wanted, and always being on the road. He doesn’t have anywhere permanent, and he’s tired.” He smiled at her reassuringly, but Sylvia could see the worry in his eyes.
Until the past week, she always put Eric down as being a total badass, but in actual fact, he was a sweet guy. Not that she’d ever tell him her thoughts. Once he’d made up his mind to spend more time with her, his whole attitude changed. And she loved how he just wanted her close all the time. She only hoped that he’d still want that once they were back in Lexington because it would break her heart otherwise.
“Our table’s ready,” he whispered, and loosened his hold around her.
Their hands entwined as the maître d’ led them to a lovely booth set for two with a window behind them as they seated.
Once they were seated and their food had been ordered, Eric removed his jacket and laid it next to him in the booth. Sylvia loved the dark green, soft knit, long-sleeved shirt that he wore. It nearly matched his eyes. It was so soft to the touch that she found her hand wandering over his stomach. It quivered under her palm before a groan left his mouth.
“You need to watch where that hand is going,” he mumbled, his voice husky as he covered her hand, and held it against him. “I always want you, Sylvia, but you make me hard as fuck when you touch me.” He moved her hand lower and dragged her palm over his heavy erection.
She couldn’t hold her gasp of surprise inside and tightened her fingers around his rapidly growing girth. Eric chuckled, but it ended on a hiss.
He placed her hand into her own lap and let out a heavy sigh. “The things you do to me, and the ideas you give me.”
“Mmm, do tell.”
He chuckled. “Not while we can’t do any of them.”
After they’d eaten, coffee and mints were brought to their table. She was relieved that their evening out together hadn’t come to an end too early. Although, her fingers twitched to unzip his pants so that she could touch his naked flesh and finish what she started not too long ago, she enjoyed the quiet meal they’d eaten.
Those other thoughts, the ones of having him spread out on a bed for her to ravage, needed to stay buried while she was sitting in the restaurant. He was right, because the images in her head made her squirm where she sat. Her panties were wet with arousal. Sylvia was tempted to tease him and let him know just how much he aroused her, but thought better of it as his arousal would be seen by all.
&
nbsp; “Are you really going to come to Thanksgiving dinner with me in Montana?” Eric asked, breaking into her naughty thoughts as an uncertain look crossed his face while he waited for her answer.
“If you really want me there.”
He sighed. “Sylvia, I would love it if you came to Montana with me for Thanksgiving.” He smiled. “That is your official invitation.”
“I’d love too.” She leaned in and met his lips for a soft kiss. “I can’t wait to meet the rest of your family,” she whispered against his lips.
Instead of tasting him again, she decided it was better to leave the touching and tasting until they were back at Dante’s place. She stayed close though.
“My family is…boisterous for want of a better word, especially when we all get together. I love family time and over the years, I’ve missed more than my fair share of holiday meals, which is why I promised to be there this year.” He leaned back and took her with him, so she could settle against his chest.
There was no decent place to put her hand so she settled for his belly as she snuggled closer.
With her belly full of food, and the candlelight flickering on the table, she felt ready for sleep. She loved sleeping with her head on Eric’s chest, except in the restaurant they had too many clothes on.
“Tell me about your father. What does he do for a living?” she asked, trying to keep herself awake.
“Horses. He breeds, boards, trains, and anything else you might think of to do with a horse farm.”
“So you know your way around horses then? They scare the bejesus outta me.”
“There used to be one horse on the farm that kept everyone away, including my father.”
“Why do I get the feeling you got up to no good?” she asked as she slid her fingers over the soft knit of the shirt. She loved touching him.
“You obviously know me well.”
“I know you like competition. You probably had to fight tooth and nail while growing up with all your brothers.”
“Maybe, but let me get back to my story.”
“Okay.” She smoothed her hand over his stomach and let it rest against his hip.
“So, this horse would watch everyone approach and knew we were either there to feed him or ride him. On this particular day there was a lot of distraction with a large delivery of hay, so I took the opportunity to sneak away. I must have been about ten at the time. Anyway, I approached the horse and was surprised when he didn’t flinch or start to react like he normally would. So that gave me courage to get closer, and closer still. Eventually, I was standing beside him stroking his neck, and rubbing his nose and head. He allowed me to hand feed him some apples.”
Sylvia stayed quiet and waited, wanting to know what happened to the horse he’d obviously made friends with.
“Unbeknown to me, my father had realized I was missing and knew exactly where I’d gone, and he watched me from behind a tree. After I’d given the horse another piece of apple he sensed my father, which is when I spotted him. The horse started to make a lot of noise and ran. For the next twelve years, I was the only one who could go near him, or ride him.”
She sensed Eric’s sadness now that he’d told her his childhood memory. Although if he was ten and he looked after the horse for twelve years, he’d have been a young man when it all ended. At least, she presumed it ended. “What happened to him?” She needed to know the full story.
“He got sick, and there was nothing the vet could do. He’d had a good life with me, and although it broke my heart to have him leave me, I knew he’d no longer suffer. He was old for a horse, thirty-one, and he’d lived a hard neglected life before my father brought him home. At least those last twelve years had been good ones.”
She smiled against his chest, fighting back tears. “What did you name him?”
“Devil,” he whispered.
They stayed quiet, both lost in thought for a few minutes, before Eric stated, “Way to kill the mood, huh?”
Sylvia sat up and cupped his face, letting him see the tears swimming in her eyes. “Oh no! Don’t say that. I’m touched that you told me about him. You obviously loved him very much. So, thank you.” She kissed him.
“I haven’t thought about him in a while. I will when I take you home with me, because there are pictures of him up all over the house.”
“So you haven’t been kicked out of your bedroom at your father’s house yet, huh? How old are you again?” she teased.
“Too old for you, but I don’t give a shit about that. You’ll just have to deal with it.”
“Age doesn’t bother me.”
“Mmm, and yes, I still have my own space at the farm. We all do. Lucia and my father had three extra bedrooms built onto their home many years ago now. They wanted room to entertain and for my father’s business associates to stay over, and neither of them would hear anything about using our rooms. I appreciate their sentiment, but don’t understand it really. Until I received my discharge from the Marines, I hadn’t been home for a few years.”
“I think it’s sweet that they want to keep your bedrooms there for you if you ever need them. It’s to let you know that there will always be a place for you whenever you need it.”
Eric looked thoughtful for a few minutes. “I haven’t looked at it like that before. But I haven’t really given it a lot of thought until now. “
Collecting her purse, Eric gave her a quizzical look. “You had enough talking.” He offered her a sexy, take-your-panties-off, grin.
“I think they’re wanting to close up for the night.”
She watched him glance around and enjoyed looking at him.
His strong jaw that gave her so much pleasure, his eyes that looked at her like no one else ever had, as though she was his world, and just the man himself. His rough and tumble voice gave her goose bumps and made her want a lot more than they currently had together.
Chapter Nineteen
Eric had been sad to say goodbye to his brother and sister, but he knew he’d be seeing them again soon. He’d started to look forward to going home more than he normally would have done because Sylvia had agreed to go with him.
His relationship with Sylvia had taken him by surprise, but he’d already decided to just go with it instead of running scared. He wanted to be caught, and it made all the difference to his outlook with her.
Which is why he had doubts about working for Sebastian McKenzie in the same building as Sylvia. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their relationship by being around her most of the time while they were at work. Sure, it wasn’t like he was in the same office, but he would see her off and on all day. So far, albeit day one, she’d seemed excited for him to be there with her.
He was glad, and on his way up to her floor for a meeting with Sebastian, he couldn’t wait to see her. She always made his heart ache and even just a smile could make it skip a beat. Her smile would light her whole face and made him feel ten feet tall.
Slipping into her office while she talked on the telephone, he casually leaned against the wall with his ankles crossed, and watched her.
Her blonde hair was pinned to the top of her head in a sleek bun, which made her look professional. The navy blue skirt fit her like a glove, and left nothing of her shape to the imagination. She’d paired this with a pale blue silk shirt, and matching navy high heels.
She finished on the phone as Eric, said, “Beautiful,” the word he thought described her best.
Her head turned and there was her smile. She made his knees weak.
“How long have you been standing there? I didn’t hear you come in.” She moved slowly toward him, and he met her halfway with a hesitant kiss to her cheek.
He had no idea whether or not she’d welcome any intimate contact because it was their place of work, but her smile never faltered.
“I arrived when you were on the telephone, so I waited, and watched you. You are breathtaking.”
“You say the sweetest things.” She turned on her he
el, and indicated with her hand to join her at her desk.
He dropped his butt in the chair opposite. “Sebastian is expecting me, but I’d rather sit out here with you.”
She smiled. “I doubt either of us would get any work done if you did.”
“Work’s highly overrated.”
She sat back in her chair and watched him, her smile slipping. “Are you really okay working here, Eric? I don’t mean because of our relationship, I mean because of what you used to do.”
Eric leaned forward and rested his arms loosely on his thighs with his hands clenched into fists on his knees. “I hated it when I received an honorable discharge on medical grounds. I’m still not sure what direction I want to go in, but you make it easier for me to get out of bed every day. You give me purpose and I know, before long, I’ll have started something new. Something that I want to do until I retire.” Agitated, he got to his feet and crossed to the large window. He felt Sylvia come up behind him as he gazed out over some of the Lexington skyline.
“Oh Eric, I’m sorry. I had no idea you were so torn.” She placed her hand on his back.
He turned to face her. “There’s no reason why you would? I’m okay, really, and I’m lucky that I don’t have to make an immediate decision. If Sebastian wasn’t family, then I’m not sure I would have accepted, even though it’s only temporary.”
“Well, you have me to help you. I hope you know that.”
“I do.”
“My brother, Kane,” Sylvia started, “he was wounded overseas while serving with the Marines, and he came back a different man than when he left home after receiving a medical discharge. He was trained to fight and didn’t know how to do anything else. It took him awhile, but he eventually applied to the police force, and then the SWAT team. He’s happily married, and they’ve given me a beautiful niece...I’m telling you this because you might be feeling lost right now, but I want you to know there’s something out there for you.”
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