Eraser Crimson

by Megan Keith

  “You’re right, I didn’t.” He smirked at her then disappeared into the closet, returning a few seconds later with a pair of grey boxer briefs. “Here, wear these again. I kept them aside for you.”

  Mackenzie instantly recognized them as the ones he had loaned her the day they went shopping.

  “I thought you must have thrown them out,” she said, taking them from him and putting them on.

  “No, I put them in my pocket.”

  She thought about that for a bit. In the change room at the lingerie store, they were used to-

  “Oh no! I’ll never be able to face Hilda again.”

  Nate laughed.

  “It’s not funny.”

  “Mackenzie, I do know how to do laundry, you know.”

  “You do?”

  “I washed them myself.” Mackenzie’s comically raised eyebrow had him laughing again. “Had to learn to fend for myself when I went away to college. Hilda resides at the house and only comes here to clean once a week. I really don’t mind cleaning up after myself.”

  “I had noticed that,” Mackenzie mused.

  She recalled how Nate had washed his own dishes at her apartment. She looked around the bedroom they were standing in and noticed that, just like the previous morning, the toys from last night were gone and the bed was made. Her clothes folded over the arm chair. He must have done that while she took a shower after their office tryst. She quickly dressed in her work clothes from the night before, mentally kicking herself for not bringing an overnight bag. She had been too distracted yesterday to think of it. And, if she was being completely honest, she had deluded herself into thinking she wasn’t going to stay all night long. She didn’t want to give Nate the wrong impression by spending consecutive nights at his place. Of course, I caved. Again.

  Nate was already fully clothed and waiting on her. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her dress. It was near impossible to look away. She effortlessly pulled her hair into a neat pony tail and put on those sexy as fuck heels he’d specifically requested she wear again. She collected her bag before swinging around to face him.

  “You need to bring some of your clothes over here. I’ll clear a space in the closet for you,” he said, striding her way.

  It was nice of him to offer but she really didn’t intend on spending too much time at his apartment. She looked around as they walked out to the elevator, it really wasn’t a welcoming space at all, and it didn’t suit the man she was falling for. It also made her think of all the women from the bar she’d seen him with. Have they all been here? She didn’t know how to say any of that to him however, so she didn’t respond.

  He helped her into her coat before they left the lobby of the building. Simon was waiting by the car, he held the door open for her to get in. Once the car was pulling from the curb, Nate turned to her.

  “Simon will drive you home, but I need him to drop me at the office first.” He took hold of her hand and pressed it to his lips before clasping it in his lap. “Lunch today?”

  “Oh, I have a few errands to run and I’ll be starting work at two o’clock.”

  “What are your career aspirations, Mackenzie?”

  “Aspirations?” she asked, absentmindedly. Her eyes focused on his chest.

  “Surely working in a bar isn’t your life goal.”

  She snapped back to reality. “It’s a perfectly respectable job!” she said defensively. Of course, he had to have a go at her for something. Everything seemed too perfect this morning!

  “It is, but you must want more from life,” he said, turning his body towards her, giving her his full attention. “What did you want to be when you were a little girl?”

  “A ballerina.”

  “Oh?” He raised his eyebrow.

  “I can’t dance.” She crinkled her nose at him and he chuckled softly. “I like my job, Nate. The Blue Room is the best place I’ve worked at. It’s nice there. Sophisticated. I serve people and brighten their day a little.”

  “So you live to serve, huh? Come to think of it …” The slap she gave his chest was loud in the confined space of the car.

  Mackenzie had always been a waitress. Other than a couple of diners when she was younger, she’d always worked in bars. She didn’t know anything else. But out of all of the places she’d worked The Blue Room was by far the best and she didn’t appreciate Nate belittling it. It was a job, it paid well and she enjoyed it. What more could she ask for?

  “Don’t pick on my job, okay?” she mumbled. “I’ve worked in some real dives over the years and it’s the best one I’ve had.”

  That comment put an image in Nate’s mind that he didn’t like one bit. He shuddered. Though he believed she could do better with her life than working at The Blue Room, he could definitely imagine far worse places to work.

  His eyes wandered over her as she stared out the side window. He squeezed her hand and caught her smile in the reflection of the window and he was instantly relieved that she wasn’t mad at him. He’d never before cared so much about what one person thought of him.

  Mackenzie knocked on Andrea’s door, coffee in hand. Ever since Simon had dropped her off that morning she had ummed and ahhed about going to see her neighbor. They weren’t close, but Andrea was still the closest thing Mackenzie had to a girlfriend. She was about to walk back to her apartment when the door swung open.

  “Mack! Hey! Come on in.” Andrea held the door wide and Mackenzie walked through. “Sorry, I was just getting dressed. How’ve you been?”

  Mackenzie watched Andrea walk back toward her bedroom.

  “Is this a bad time?”

  “No, not at all. I don’t have anything going on today. Hence the late morning shower,” she said with a smile, pointing to the towel on her head. “Just give me a sec.” She disappeared into her room.

  Andrea was a freelance photographer. She was very talented. Her apartment walls were covered in some of the most beautiful pictures Mackenzie had ever seen. She often had her work in the Chicago Times and she’d recently had a show at a local art gallery which had been a huge success. Andrea appeared a few moments later, her hair damp and freshly brushed. Mackenzie’s eyes flitted about the room. Though she really wanted to talk about Nate, she suddenly lost her bravado.

  “So what’s up, Mack?” Andrea asked, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

  Mackenzie took a seat opposite. “Nothing really. What about you? Had that talk with Henry yet?”

  “Not yet. I’m thinking maybe tonight. I’m going to lay it all on the line, you know? See what he says.” She grabbed the coffee jug from the counter and poured herself one. “Top up?” she asked, waving it over Mackenzie’s mug.

  “Ta.” Mackenzie watched the black liquid fill her mug and then took a sip followed by a deep breath. Here goes. “Andrea, you know how you always complain that I’m not the girlfriend you want me to be?” Andrea nodded with a smile. “Well, I need it now. Please. I need your advice.”

  “Really?” the girl practically screamed, “I’m all ears!”

  “I’ve started seeing someone. He’s … I’ve never felt like this before. God! I just have to be near him to be physically aching. I want sex like all the time. I’ve become obsessive. And now I think I could, no … I think I am falling for him. What do I do?”

  “Go with it. Sounds perfect to me.” She grinned over her coffee. “Tell me more.”

  Mackenzie was astounded to find that once she started talking about Nate, she couldn’t stop. She told Andrea how they’d met at the bar and that she’d originally thought it would only be a one night stand. Without going into detail, Mackenzie told her how Nate challenged her physically and that she’d been exploring some of her deepest desires with him. She told Andrea about his player past and the fears that brought. She also told her a little about her lack of relationship experience.

  Andrea was a really good listener. She had no idea how comforting it could be to have someone to talk to. She didn’t judge Mackenzie’s naï
vety when it came to relationships and offered sound advice, telling her to stop being so afraid and to stop thinking about his past. Andrea also spoke a little more about Henry and her own insecurities. It put Mackenzie at ease to know that they faced some similar fears.

  It turned into quite the conversation and more than an hour had passed by the time Mackenzie got ready to leave Andrea’s apartment. She opened the door, empty mug in hand and turned back to look at her new friend. A real kinship had been formed today and Mackenzie’s heart felt enlarged because of it. She gave Andrea a big grin.

  “Thank you for opening up to me,” Andrea said, giving her a hug. “See? It wasn’t so bad! I told you we could be besties!”

  Mackenzie’s arms wrapped around the woman and she laughed. “Thank you so much for not giving up on me.”

  She turned into the hallway and caught a glimpse of a dark-haired man knocking at her apartment, two doors down.

  “Nate?”

  Nate turned to see Mackenzie walking down the hallway, a petite blonde trailing her.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I couldn’t stay away. Thought I’d give you a lift to work.” He put one arm around Mackenzie’s waist and held his other out to her friend. “Hi, I’m Nathaniel Pierce.”

  “Andrea. Nice to meet you, Nathaniel. Well, he’s better looking than you made out.”

  Mackenzie’s face reddened in embarrassment and she scowled at her friend.

  “I can see your dilemma, Mack.”

  “What dilemma?” Nate asked, looking back and forth between the two women.

  “Oh well, we were just having a coffee and Mack here was telling me how hard to resist you were.”

  “Was she now?” He chuckled, pulling Mackenzie closer to his side. “She’s pretty damn irresistible herself.”

  “Right. Well, that’s enough embarrassing Mackenzie for one day.” Mackenzie pulled herself from Nate’s hold and walked back to her apartment. “Good bye, Andrea!” she called, opening the door.

  “What else did she say about me?” Nate asked with a wink.

  “Good bye, Nathaniel,” Andrea said with a smile, shutting her door in his face.

  Nate laughed, then followed Mackenzie into her apartment. He took a seat on her sofa when she called from her bedroom, “I’ll be ready in a minute.”

  “Did you get all your errands done?” he called out but didn’t get a reply.

  When she returned to the room in her work clothes she was unable to meet his eye.

  “You didn’t have any errands did you? What’s going on? Do you want me to go?” he asked, standing and preparing to leave.

  “No!” Mackenzie held her hand to his chest.

  “Well, what then, Mackenzie?” He sighed with frustration and ran his fingers through his hair. “You need to be honest with me.”

  “That’s a bit rich coming from you!”

  “Mackenzie, I explained-”

  She jumped up against him and pinched his lips together so he couldn’t talk. She gave him a wicked smile. “I know, I know, I understand. But, Nate, you need to understand something too – I’m used to being on my own and you’re … frustratingly overbearing.” He tried to speak but she clamped down on his lips to stop him. “I needed some thinking time, and a bit of girly advice, surprisingly, and I’ve decided … I’m done fighting this.” She removed her hand to finally let him speak.

  “Really?” His beaming smile caused Mackenzie’s heart rate to spike. “So if I ask you to pack your things and move into my apartment you’d say yes?” He wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “No, that’s taking things a little too far.”

  “Well, it was worth a try.” He chuckled. “What brought this on?”

  “I had a good chat with Andrea and she made me see sense. I want to see where this thing between us can go.”

  He looked around the apartment before letting her go and stepping toward a bouquet of daffodils. “I’ll be right back,” he said, picking up the vase, leaving the apartment and a confused Mackenzie behind.

  He held the flowers in one hand and knocked on Andrea’s door with the other.

  “Hi?” the blonde said when she opened the door, a confused look on her face.

  “These are for you. Thank you, Andrea. Whatever you said to her, I appreciate it,” he said, passing the flowers to her.

  “Um, okay, sure, thanks.”

  He turned in time to catch the beautiful laugh leaving Mackenzie’s lips. He strode back to her and scooped her up into his arms.

  Mackenzie squealed as her legs wrapped around his waist. She looked over at Andrea who was grinning wildly.

  “Oh. My. God!” Andrea silently mouthed giving her a thumbs up behind Nate’s back before he kicked the door shut.

  “Make me a sandwich woman!” Nate bellowed as he dropped Mackenzie to her feet in the center of the kitchen. He placed a hard kiss on her lips then gave her a wicked grin. “Then I’ll take you to work.”

  Valentine’s Day. It had been such a busy night and Mackenzie was relieved to be finishing soon. She could hardly wait for the next ten minutes to pass. She watched the last clients filter out the door and another man enter, this one she recognized, Simon. He was carrying a long white box which he silently passed to her. She placed it on top of the hardwood bar and lifted the lid to expose the most exquisite, long-stemmed, deep pink, gloriosa flower, encased in white tissue paper. There was a gold envelope beside it. She slid a small card from the envelope and read the perfectly impeccable writing.

  Oh yes, she couldn’t wait to finish work! She laughed to herself. She loved her man’s wicked mind – a romantic gesture with her favorite flower and a dirty note to boot. Life couldn’t get much better.

  It had been seven days since Nate first ‘made love’ to her and it had been one hell of a week! Mackenzie felt liberated. She was a whole new woman. Being with Nate had opened her up to a new way of enjoying life and there was no going back. She couldn’t return to her former mundane existence, the person she once was no longer existed. The old Mackenzie had been erased. Nate had given her life and without him she didn’t know what would become of her. She needed him, now more than ever. He was her drug and she was hooked.

  Of course, he was still ‘Sir’ in the bedroom sometimes, but outside of that he was so fun, honest, genuine and caring. Things were getting serious. There wasn’t a day that went by where they didn’t have at least one meal together (and at least one sexual encounter of either the ‘love’ or ‘Sir’ kind). And her idea of not spending every night in the same bed as him had gone completely out the window. Mackenzie was intoxicated with the possibility of love with this man. Instead of feeling anxious about it, he’d made her feel so safe and secure that she could only feel happiness.

  He lifted the blindfold from her eyes and smiled at the look of wonder on her face. She really couldn’t hide it from him, her jade eyes conveyed that he was winning and she would soon get her brain to catch up – she was his. In his heart he knew, there was no going back from this.

  He scooped her up from the ottoman and gently placed her on the bed. She was still quivering from her last orgasm and he was still breathless from his.

  “Good night, papillon,” he whispered as she curved her body into his side. He ran the tip of his finger over her back in a figure eight pattern and sighed contentedly.

  Things had changed between them this past week. What had started as a battle of wills between the two of them had melded into a beautiful relationship. Mackenzie had not argued when he’d requested Simon drive her to and from work, and she’d been more than willing to cater to all of his other needs as well. They’d shared long conversations with plenty of laughter. They’d run together every morning and alternated between apartments all week, except the weekend; they’d spent that at the mansion. And then there was the phenomenal sex – whether it be hard and fast, or slow and delicious, he couldn’t get enough of her.

  While most men would h
ave taken their woman to a romantic candlelit dinner and given them red roses for Valentine’s Day, Nate had waited for his to finish work and then demanded three orgasms from her body while she was bound, gagged and blindfolded. He smiled into the back of her neck before placing a kiss there.

  He couldn’t be fucking happier.

  Tom had been bugging him daily, wanting to meet Mackenzie and his mother wasn’t much better, calling him at work, wanting more information. He wouldn’t be surprised at all if she flew back from London soon, just so they could meet. It was new to him, this relationship thing and had fast become his family’s new favorite interest, even his dad had weighed in with a few questions of his own.

  Not since high school and his early college days had Nate ‘dated’. Women then had consistently been a disappointment to him, only wanting him for his wealth and status. He quickly learned it was easier to just have ‘encounters’ instead, thus he began a long line of hook-ups. He threw himself into study and later into his job. It wasn’t a decision made on purpose it was just the way it happened. His career took up most of his time and he’d constantly been satisfied in his sex life with the parade of women that came and went, none of which were introduced to his family, or lasted more than a night or two. He’d always presumed he’d one day have something more lasting but never actively pursued it until Mackenzie. No one had caught his attention quite like her.

  “I’m so excited for you, Nate,” Carol said, then sighed in his ear. “I’m relieved too. I mean, it’s not like your brother will ever give me grandchildren, so this Mackenzie woman gives me hope that I can be somebody’s Nan.”

  “I thought you said not to rush these things, Mom.” Nate chuckled down the phone.

  “I don’t mean right away! But a mother can sense these things and, even though I’m halfway around the world, I can tell just how happy you are. She’s someone special.”

  “You’re right, she is.”

  “Of course I am! I know you’ve always treaded carefully in the past but you need to let that go, be yourself and she will love you. How could she not? Now I’ve got to hand you over to your father because he wants a word about something. Just promise me you won’t guard your heart with her.”