by Katy Kaylee
“I’ve never gotten my period. I was told I can’t conceive without IVF.” Eric stiffened against my back, and I twisted to wrap my arms around his shoulders. His eyes bored into mine, face twisted in confusion, and his lips thinned as he grabbed my butt reflexively. “A side effect of my mom having cancer. I have all the parts, but there are holes in my fallopian tubes, and my ovaries are extremely underdeveloped. I had to take hormones to look like this.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” The surprise in Eric’s voice overshadowed any accusation, and I shrugged absently. Pursing my lips tightly, I kicked off my sneakers as he slowly rolled my shirt up.
“You never asked, and I told you- my mom’s cancer was super aggressive. She got pregnant against her doctor’s orders. There were other things wrong with me when I was little, but I outgrew most of it.” Smiling at how shocked Eric looked, I lifted myself on my tip toes to kiss his lips. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Wait- wait- why would you want to go on birth control or use condoms if you can’t conceive?” Even as he posed the question, Eric started nudging me back towards his bed, and his brows nearly flew off his face. “Were you expecting me to pressure you into not using protection?”
“No- but I worried about it. Mostly…” Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I craned my neck to catch Eric’s eye even as they blazed intensely. “The doctors can be wrong- even if just one time. One untimely mistake- I don’t want to be another Sasha, Eric.”
“The difference between you and Sasha is that if you did get pregnant, it wouldn’t be a fucking mistake, Delainne.” The harshness in his tone prickled my skin and made my heart stutter, and he pushed me back to straddle my waist. Knocking the air from my lungs, he held my hands on either side of my head, and I tensed at the conviction twinkling in his gaze. “An accident, sure- but not a mistake. I would keep you, right here, because you’re more than just an easy piece of ass, Delainne. Sasha can’t even compare to you in any way.”
“I know that I mean more to you than she did. I meant… I don’t want to die. Any pregnancy I have would be extremely high-risk.” Eric jerked, like I’d slapped him in the face, and I reached to cup his cheeks to find them cold and taut. “I never told you because I just assumed you wouldn’t want more kids after everything you experienced with Maggie… and I don’t know that I would want kids- and I want to have this before it all gets… complicated.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” His kiss tinged my mind pink, and I gripped his hands hard as a moan bubbled up from my depths. I wanted this to last forever- this feeling- this completeness- this happiness. “Condoms it is.”
Delainne
“You’re a good man, Eric.” My breathless mumble earned me a beguiling smirk, and I gasped when Eric squeezed my butt and spread my cheeks. “I thought guys didn’t like using condoms because it didn’t feel as good.”
“It doesn’t… but it also depends on who you’re with. Idiot boys that don’t want to use condoms are only after the physical.” Ducking his face against my neck, he trailed hot kisses down my skin, and I buried my hands in his hair with a pleased sigh. Grinding against his shielded rod, I closed my eyes to savor the sensation of him so close. “I want all of you- mind, body, and soul.”
“I’m happy with you.” Tight muscles rippled under my palms, and my gasp filled the room when Eric lipped my nipple expertly. Wrapping his strong arms around me, he leaned back to roll over, and a shiver slid down my spine. The comforter was cold against my pocked skin, but my body billowed heat like a furnace as he ground against my apex.
“I’m deliriously happy with you, Delainne. Don’t ever doubt that.” Knowing fingertips that had explored every part of me caressed my cheek, and I tilted into the contact. “I appreciate you and everything you’ve done for me- and for Maggie.”
Tugging his lips to mine, I spread my legs wider, and Eric’s tongue danced around my own sweetly. My juices slickened the latex glove protecting his hard length, and he reached between us to poise at my entrance. The coarse hairs on his chest teased my nipples, and I held my breath as anticipation ran rampant through my veins.
Intense ripples of icy pleasure swept up my body and down my thighs when Eric thrust, and I moaned into his still mouth. The ridge of his head stretched my entrance, and my grip on his scalp tightened as my muscles went rigid. My heart rate slowed dangerously, but each, powerful beat sent a surge of euphoria through to tickle every cell.
“I feel compelled to say that sex with you is better than any condom-less sex I’ve had.” Giggling faintly at the earnestness in Eric’s eyes, I bit down on my bottom lip in a futile effort to stop my grin from widening. Dropping to his elbows, he growled as the coarse hairs of his happy trail rubbed my abdomen raw. “You’re amazing.”
“Eric…” Capturing my moan with eager lips, Eric thrust to caress my quivering walls, and he sucked the breath from my lungs. His hips clung to mine, and a shiver lodged between my shoulder blades as he groaned lowly. Gripping the comforter hard, I arched into him as need zinged up my spine, and tiny tears welled behind my shuttered lids.
Eric’s slow, deliberate movements rattled my very bones before he ripped his head back to breathe harsh, unsteady pants. His gaze shone down on me- more a feeling than anything else- like the moon on a clear night, and I clenched my jaw hard. The lump in my throat grew denser, and one, traitorous, tear braved the wall to drip down towards my ear. Against my sizzling skin, the small droplet threatened to evaporate, but he didn’t let it get far before collecting it on the tip of his tongue.
A soft pop-pop-pop of stitches bursting echoed in my empty, fogged mind, and I gasped when Eric snapped his hips hard. The force of it made him grunt, and my eyes opened to boggle slightly as the head of his rod jammed against my spot.
Or, maybe, it was my cervix- but the particulars didn’t matter.
My squeak became strained, buried against Eric’s sternum as it dissolved into an earthshattering moan that rocked my very soul. Tightening around his length, I saw the entire universe above us; this time, it went beyond the stars.
“Fuck-k-k yeah! That’s it, sweetheart.” Deep and rumbling, Eric’s voice shot from his chest and up the bridge of my nose, and my hands flew to his shoulders. The slap of skin on skin only added to the barrage, and his muscles rippled wildly under my palms. Spasms raked my entire body, and the cramps in my feet weren’t even painful.
Riding the waves of my rapture, the heat from Eric scorched my skin where we touched, but he was hard- a rock- a gargoyle that had done its duty. There were so many comparisons that flashed through my mind that I couldn’t process any of them.
Eric was incomparable, after all.
“Don’t break something, Delainne.” The humor in Eric’s tone was shadowed by a tender, gravelly rasp, and I sputtered and heaved for air. Sinking into the bed, I trembled wildly as he caressed my cheek and neck, and my eyes wandered uselessly until they found his wry smirk. “Sitrep?”
“What the Hell…?” Eric’s pupils blew, and I blinked hard as my own words sent an ache through my skull. “Wow…”
“You swore-“ His chest, threatening to fuse with mine, lurched at his whisper, and Eric screwed his face. Jaw ticking, he gulped harshly before managing to reign in control of himself enough to continue. “That was disgusting to listen to.”
The tears that had gathered behind my eyelids leaked in thick streaks down to my hair, and I flung my arms around Eric’s neck. My lips met his sloppily, and he thrust deep, even strokes as emotion filled my lungs. Desperation slickened my skin, and I wrapped my legs around his waist to hold him close. Each tilt of his hips sent waves of pleasure through me, and he propped himself on one elbow to grip my butt hard.
“Shit- shit…” His grumbles slipped between the seal of our mouths, and he pushed himself up mightily to sit on his ankles. Gripping my waist with both hands, Eric squeezed as I came undone once again. Rolling my hips loosely, I lost myself in the pleasure of his body rubbing against mine.
“Eric- Eric!” My nails dug ruts into his shoulders and back, but Eric didn’t seem to feel it as he grunted and increased his pace. The tears that slipped down my face tainted our kiss, and I tore my lips from his to hide in his muscular shoulder. Strong arms crossed my back, and his harsh pants rolled down between my breasts.
“Oh my fucking God-!” Choking out the slur, Eric’s teeth sunk into my own shoulder, and his thrusts became more erratic and sharper. I couldn’t breathe- couldn’t do anything even as my lips moved in silent plea. Tightening around his length, I dug my heels into the small of his back as he tensed.
Collapsing forward into a shivering, sweaty heap, Eric crushed me under his weight as he struggled to pull his arms out from under me. The slow action took a second, maybe, but it felt like forever as my lungs screamed for sustenance. Finally managing to half-roll off me, his harsh pants disappeared under my wheezes, and every ounce of energy I had left went to breathing.
“I love you.” The hoarse, bare whisper sent a shock through me, and I jerked even as Eric grabbed my face to force my head to the side. His eyes glimmered brilliantly beyond my watery lenses, and he heaved a mighty gust of a breath before nodding awkwardly. “I love you, Delainne.”
“Wow…” Mine was all I could think to say, and Eric’s smile bubbled as my tears began with renewed vigor. Roughly rolling me towards him, he draped his arm around my neck to tangle his fingers in my hair. “I’m happy- I’m so happy.”
“… I’m sorry that I never tried to learn about your childhood before your father remarried.” Blinking hard at the dark note in Eric’s tone, I exhaled a shaky breath as his face became clear only to blur again. My heart thundered hard, and cold shivers danced under my skin where he wasn’t touching me. “I would love it if you could tell me a little more, maybe.”
“What do you want to know?” The question agitated my raw throat, and I struggled to scoot closer so I wouldn’t have to whisper so loud. Slowly, my mind began to sew back together, and I licked my chapped, abused lips before speaking up again. “My medical conditions?”
“No… were you happy? Growing up like that, I mean… without your mother…” Sympathy speared my chest and nearly took my heart with it, and I nodded mutely. The relief on Eric’s face wouldn’t be melted away- as if I was his hope that Maggie would be okay.
It was a lie, though- I was never happy. I was never one of those kids whose lives inspired books about that wonderful life coming crumbling down. I was content, resigned… even if those things could be considered happy. Because I shouldn’t have been born in the first place… but I’m glad I was.
“You know…” Eric’s pupils fluxed at my rasp, and I reached a shaky hand to his cheek. “Maggie won’t be like me, Eric.”
“I know… but I also know that I can still fuck up, and it won’t be her fault. That’s my duty, now.” He didn’t dare say Sasha’s name, and my chest warmed as my fingertips fell from his damp cheek. His eyes glowed, and I found myself once again thankful that Greg was such a creep- that things had happened the way they had.
Eric
Thumping down the stairs heavily, I raked my hands through my hair and shook my head hard. Even at the top landing, I could hear Tony’s sisters talking, and a scowl set deep in my face as I emerged from behind the wall. Both women stood in the kitchen, right next to the coffee maker, gossiping away without realizing that I was there.
Which made no fucking sense considering my dinosaur steps.
“-no, I bet you a hundred bucks that she’s a blonde- just like Sasha. Guys have a type, you know.” My heart stuttered as my sluggish mind registered what Cynthia had said, and I slammed the flat on my fist against the frame. Both women jumped, and Esther spilled scalding hot coffee all over her chest before choking on her shriek of pain.
Tony’s elder sister went ashen, knowing that I’d heard her, and I inhaled a sharp breath that only fanned the flames inside me.
“Don’t you ever fucking say that name again.” Venom dribbled from my tongue like acid, and Cynthia nodded furiously- like a bobblehead doll. Glancing back up the stairs, I strained to detect even the slightest hint that Maggie was awake, but there was silence. The relief that washed through me couldn’t quench the fire tightened my gut, and I shot both women a nasty glare as I shuffled forward. “You never even met her, and I’ll be fucking damned if you two make this worse for Maggie.”
Glaring hotly between the both of them, I silently pondered when they’d become gossipers. Esther was struggling not to scream from her burns, but I couldn’t find it in me to care; after all, it was her damn fault in the first place.
“I’m sorry, Eric- I figured… you know- it’s not even 5:30am, yet…” Trailing off as she realized how idiotic she sounded, Cynthia hung her head in shame. “Sorry.”
“I don’t accept. Why do you even care about my relationship, anyway? What did Tony tell you?” Somehow, Esther managed to scramble out of her shirt, and I frowned deeply at the bright red glow of her skin. “You should put some water on that.”
“Tony didn’t say anything, actually. He refused to talk about her after we heard her squeak or whatever. That’s why we’re so interested. He’s always got an opinion, even if he keeps quiet.” Surprise tightened my chest as I snatched a mug out of the top cabinet, and Cynthia shuffled hastily out of the way of the coffee maker. “I mean, most of the women you used to be around were blonde and insufferable, and Tony didn’t like any of them, so…”
“I’m not a blonde.” Twisting at Delainne’s firm, soft voice, an automatic smile curved my lips as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her gaze flickered to mine, and I could see the memory that played in her pupils as she leaned on the door frame that I’d just punched. “I was at the time we met, though.”
“Did I wake you up? I’m kinda disappointed.” There was something different about Delainne this morning- she shone brighter- she stood straighter- she had this glimmer in her eye that wasn’t there before. Shaking her head dumbly at the probe, she reached to rake her hand through her beautiful, mahogany, waves before I noticed it.
The tremors.
“I was awake when you went in the shower.” Delainne’s silk pajamas rustled softly as she wandered towards me, and I huffed before grabbed the coffee pot. So much had happened in the past 24 hours that there was no telling what changed her. Was it because Greg was in the slammer? Or, maybe, it could be having comfortable, new clothes.
It could even be the events that transpired after dinner. Perhaps, it was everything. Who knows?
“What’s all the damn ruckus? It’s literally the ass-crack of dawn.” Limping into the kitchen from the living room, Tony’s expression alone could kill a man. “Does no one care that I’m trying to fucking sleep?”
With all the bodies, the kitchen was crowded, but Cynthia and Esther just continued to watch Delainne mutely through narrowed, assessing eyes. Their gazes were honestly annoying, and I swapped my full mug with Delainne’s empty one. A growing sense of impending disaster spread through me, and I kept one eye on the pair as the atmosphere became more and more dense.
“She’s just a baby-“
“Is she even legal?” Speaking up at the same time, Esther and Cynthia snapped out of their dazes, and the eldest of the two crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Eyeballing them wearily, a certain relief hit me at the redness in Cynthia’s cheeks. “Is this a fucking joke? What the Hell?”
Cynthia’s voice reached fever pitch and broke, and I grinned maliciously as she flushed brightly. There it was- the explosion. She’d been this way since before I could remember, and her jaw ticked noticeably when Delainne didn’t crumble under her gaze.
“… Anyway…” For the first time, it occurred to me that Delainne might have some experience with powerful businessmen and women. After all, she’d practically grown up at work- courtesy of Greg, the sleazy fuck- and the moment slid by on pins and needles until she continued. “I’m going to make breakfast.”
&
nbsp; “Waffles?” Tony’s bad mood vanished instantly, and I poured myself a cup of coffee with a smile. My best friend smirked when Delainne nodded, and she took a gulp of her blacked brew to sigh heavily. “Awesome. I love waffles.”
“If you’re not going to play nice, Cynthia- you can leave.” I liked Cynthia, but she was the eldest- and she was a bit of a controlling bitch. Casting her a hard glance, I blew on my coffee as she stood stiff in a dark cloud. “Don’t spoil your reunion with Tony because you’re a bigot.”
“I’m not a damn bigot-“
“Then why are you so mad?” Arching a brow as I cut her off, I sucked my teeth in disdain as she started to turn a shade of purple. “You don’t know Delainne. She could look young but be our ages. You started judging her before you even met her based on what, exactly? That Tony kept his mouth shut? What do you know about her?”
“I-“ Raising my hand to cut Cynthia off, my frown deepened even as her ire reached its peak. She hated being treated like she was less than someone; as a teenager, my favorite passed time was pissing her off about it. The quirk in her personality made her personal life difficult, and she was pretty sensitive about it.
“I literally couldn’t care less about how you justify it. Get over yourself or get out. Those are your only two options, Cynthia.” Maybe it was the tone I used, but Cynthia backed down pretty quickly. Her gaze never left Delainne as she brought out the waffle maker, and she could’ve breathed fire when she huffed loudly and whirled around.
Storming off into the living room, Cynthia all but shook with irritation, and I sighed heavily. Raking my hand through my hair, I glanced at Esther as she stood in the corner by the refrigerator, holding her bra off her burning skin. She was the middle child, but she had the decency to look guilty as she blew on herself.
