by Ali Parker
"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 34
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 the 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.
"He's great. He's been really good to the staff and he's on the ball all the time." I sat down on the couch and leaned back, crossing my legs.
"He lost his wife about three years ago, and really became a good man out of it. Weird how death can force you into being a better person." Kent shrugged and sat beside me, reaching over to grab a portfolio. "Let's look at these final drawings for the advisory logo. I know Mitch was all for them. I assume I
will be too."
"Highly unlikely, but I have an ace in the hole in my back pocket."
He smiled. "You made me an extra drawing?"
"Always. This isn't my first rodeo." I cringed as the guys hit the wall and laughed loudly. "Or should I say circus?"
***
The meeting with Kent was over by the time Damon walked into the living room, sweaty and huffing like a freight train.
"We all good?" He panted and lifted his thumb toward us.
I laughed, unable to help myself. I'd seen the more playful side of Damon Bryant a few times over the years, but nothing like he was around his little brother. It was comforting and depressing all in the same moment. My brother and I had a horrible, tense relationship. What I wouldn't have given for it to be more playful, or at least somewhat loving.
"We're good, and I should fire you and hire Erica here. She's the only one among you who doesn't goof off all the time." Kent stood up and glanced down at me. "You want a CFO job?"
"Not only no, but hell no." I stood up and twisted around, stretching my back.
"Well, damn. Never mind, son. You're stuck." Kent turned and handed me the final sketch. "I love the last one. Swing it by Mitch and let's get rolling on it. Great job, as always."
"Thanks." I bent down and put the sketch up.
"You all good?" Matt stopped at the opening to the living room, and I realized everyone else had gone into the kitchen or somewhere else in the house.
"Yeah. I'm glad we came down here together. It's more comfortable. You know?"
"I do know." He walked toward me, reached out and took my hand, and walked us to the back door. "Let's go for a walk."
"It's cold out there." I glanced back, thinking a jacket might be prudent.
"It's Texas in early November. It's not that cold." He chuckled and opened the door, walking us out into the chilly night.
"It is cold." I wrapped my free arm around myself and paused when we reached the grass at the bottom of the patio stairs. Stars filled up the sky, every inch of it crowded with their light. "Wow."
"Right?" He wrapped an arm around me and tucked me against his side. "It's beautiful out here. So clear that you could see for miles."
"I love it," I mumbled breathlessly.
"Come on. I want to show you something." He took my hand again and we walked across the large expanse of Kent's backyard.
"Has your father always lived here?"
"Yeah. He bought it when Damon was born, I believe. It was a hell of a lot of fun growing up here. We always had parties by the pool, or haunted houses in the woods. It was a good childhood." He glanced over at me. "How about you? Did you grow up in Seattle?"
"Yeah. My mom and dad had an apartment in the city." I brushed the front of my shirt, suddenly a little uncomfortable. "It wasn't anything like this, but it was okay."
"And you've known Lanie all your life?"
"Since I was in junior high." I smiled, thinking of my best friend. "She carried me through a lot of rough years."
"Because of your mom?"
"Yeah, and my brother. He's as mean as a snake." I moved closer to Matt as we reached the woods. "What exactly are we doing here?"
He paused and pointed toward the sky. "See that tree house up there?"
"Where?" I moved forward and squinted, finally making the dilapidated looking thing out. "Oh, wow. Did you guys build that?"
"Yeah," he paused to laugh, "we totally did. We wanted to see if we were good with our hands, you know, in case Dad didn't share his money, and neither of us ended up too smart."
I chuckled and turned to face him as he moved closer. "Are you trying to tell me that you've been cut out of the will and this is our future home?"
His expression softened as the moonlight danced across his handsome features. "I'd be fine with that. As long as you were involved."
I ran my hands down the thick muscles of his chest. "I'm terrified that you're going to run the minute I agree to let this thing between us become real."
"I know that." He touched the side of my face softly, his thumb dragging across my bottom lip. "We'll just take things slow. I can only promise you that I won't run so many times. I'm just going to have to prove it, but I'm not Tanner, Erica. I'm not going to show up and tell you that I'm not interested anymore."
"You say that now, but-" I glanced away as he cut me off.
"No buts. I'm not that guy."
"I want to believe that so bad, it hurts." I turned back to him as he leaned down and consumed me with a long, passionate kiss. All the signs pointed toward go, and I was without any doubt that I would start down that path with him toward forever, but first I had to figure out how to get my nails unhinged from the past.
He wasn't like Tanner at all, but then again, Tanner was never the type to love and leave either. People change all the time. Me included.
Chapter 35
Matt
After a few kisses the night before, I walked her back to the house and sat down on the couch to watch the fire die out. Where I wanted to sleep with her, I knew better. We were at a turning point. She needed to know that I had control of my hormones, unlike my big brother. His advice to fuck her every chance I got might be something that worked for him, but we weren't the same.
I woke to someone popping me in the head - hard.
"Ouch. Shit." I jerked up and narrowed my eyes on Damon as I tried to come to. "I swear I liked you more when you were depressed."
"That stings." He pressed his hand to his chest and frowned.
I would have asked what he wanted so damn early on a Sunday morning, but he was dressed to play golf. My father walked in and stopped by the edge of the living room.
"Are you still sleeping? Get up. Tee time is in forty minutes." He shook his head, turned and walked back out.
"Hey. No one told me we were playing." I got up and stretched, feeling like I'd slept on a box of rocks all damn night.
"We play every time we can on the weekends. You know this." Damon gave me a stern look and walked toward the backyard. "Did you sleep out here?"
"Yes. Don't give me a lecture either. I'm not even up yet." I walked toward the bedroom, hoping to sneak in and not wake Erica up. The sweet sound of her resting greeted me as I slipped into the darkness. The fact that I loved her wouldn't leave me alone. It wasn't just about the excitement and thrill of wanting to bed her, or make her laugh or hear her moan. It was about wanting to make up for anything in her past that left her unsure or unloved. Every part of me yearned to be that guy for her.
I unzipped my bag in the dark and pressed the button on my watch to see what the hell I was grabbing. I had an outfit that would work for a round of golf, though I'd not look nearly as well put together as my brother or father. What else was new?
"Matt?" Erica mumbled softly.
"It's just me, baby. I'm getting some clothes."
"More. Give me more," she whispered roughly before moaning low in her chest.
White-hot need pinpricked my skin. Was she dreaming?
I stood and let my clothes drop to the floor as I moved toward her.
The outline of her on her back, the covers twisted around her legs and her hair a mess had my dick standing to full attention within seconds. She moaned again and arched her back, her breathing becoming more labored.
Did she really dream of me? Something about that thought undid me. I sat down beside her on the bed and reached out, brushing my hand down the soft side of her throat, between her breasts and rested it on her stomach.
"You awake, baby?" I leaned over and pressed my lips to the small bit of skin showing between her shorts and tank top.
She groaned again and reached down, sliding her fingers through my hair as she writhed a little. I could smell her arousal, which had me throwing the idea of golfing to the wind. No fucking way I was leaving when she was wet and needy.
Indecision raced through my mind, tearing at me. Just because she dreamt of me making love to her didn't mean she would
appreciate me-
"Matt. Please," she begged and lifted her hips again, rolling them in the faint light of morning.
"Anything you want, baby." I got up and locked the door before pulling my t-shirt over my head and stripping my pants off. I left my underwear. I didn't have a condom with me, so it wasn't like I could take full advantage of making love to her.
She reached for me as I moved onto the bed.
"You awake now," I whispered before moving to rest on top of her.
"I think so," she mumbled against my neck as I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly against me. "I dreamt that you made love to me on the plane."
Her giggle was cute, sleepy.
"I'd love to do that, if you'd let me."
"Since when do you ask for permission?" She licked up the side of my neck, sending chill bumps all over my skin. "I need you. My body hurts."
"Then you can have me." I ran my hand down her side as I kissed at her soft mouth, licking and sucking at her bottom lip as I slipped my hand in between us. Her shorts were so incredibly tiny, so hot. It took very little effort to work down to her flesh, but when I did, time stopped. She was drenched, so wet and sticky that I couldn't help but think she'd already come a few times in her sleep.
"Shit," I moaned and kissed her again before pushing up and working on her shorts. "I don't have a condom, Erica. Just let me touch you, baby."
"No. Just don't come." She sat up, moving to her knees and tore her shirt off. The movement surprised me a little, but no more than her gripping my shoulders and forcing me to turn and drop down onto my back.
"It's impossible not to come with a woman like you on top of me." I reached up and palmed her heavy breasts, squeezing and tugging at her nipples as she gripped my undies and moved back, pulling them down my legs.
She bent down and ran the side of her face along my length, licking and nibbling on the head of my cock as I grunted and gripped the sheets.
