“What if I pretended to leave and snuck back in? We could fuck until your pussy—which is already damp with yearning, I’ll bet—is dripping wet with satisfaction. Then I’d leave.”
Erin’s breathing accelerated even more and the sweet ache forming inside her deepened. It sounded so good. And she knew it would be. “I—”
“I’m back,” Joe announced. “Are you staying, Pop?”
“No,” Joseph said. “I neglected to set the timer for the lights to go on at night so people won’t know I’m away.”
“Oh. Well, okay. I’ll see you early in the morning then. Night, Mom. I’ll set my alarm for 4:30. You can make me French toast if you want. Or if you’d rather sleep in…”
“I wouldn’t let you leave without seeing you off. Want me to tuck you in?”
“No need. Love you.” He pounded up the stairs.
“You can tuck me in. Leave the alarm system turned off and the door to the solarium unlocked. I’ll lock it and push in the code when I leave.”
Erin hadn’t felt Joseph’s hot penis inside her since their divorce but she harboured memories of how great he was at fucking. Excitement fired her nerve endings as she got ready for him. He liked the lights low so he could see her and he loved it when she wore a see-through gown although he seldom left it on her for long. She sprayed a pale green negligee with Estee Lauder’s White Linen cologne before donning it. After brushing her hair, she bent over and back again quickly to fluff it, and she was ready.
She was hiding in the shadows downstairs when Joseph opened the door just far enough to slip through and locked it behind him. Hurrying upstairs and back to the bedroom, she waited.
A man who got down to business, but neatly, he took off his suit as soon as he joined her and folded it over her boudoir chair. She’d replaced most of the furniture in the house after he’d gone, and everything in the bedroom was new. He didn’t say anything but he never missed details, and she was certain he noticed that the ‘look’ now was completely feminine. A ‘look’ Mitch apparently didn’t like, and she didn’t suppose Joseph was fond of it either, but she didn’t care.
Joseph was a tall man with a physique like a male model’s. His chest was smooth with only a tuft of hair in the middle between his nipples. Slim waist, narrow hips and an adequate penis—not extraordinary but he used it extremely well. She’d always enjoyed looking at his body. She’d loved him but found that he lacked warmth and compassion. Passionate, but not deep emotionally, he failed to fill the hunger inside her. But he always satisfied her sexual needs, and she was ready for him now.
When Joseph was naked, he slid into bed beside her. “I’ve dreamed of this moment,” he said. She was facing the other way and he drew her close, fitting their bodies together like two spoons, his rigid cock impaled between her legs. He breathed on her neck and she shuddered. He circled her with his arms and wrapped his hands around her breasts, fondling them. “You feel just as wonderful as I remember,” Joseph said softly.
She squeezed his hard rod with her thighs and her heart pounded with excitement. He rubbed her nipples between his fingers and kissed the back of her neck, which always made her shiver. Raising his head, he blew in her ear and then swirled his tongue there. She reached down and touched the head of his male member. His breath came faster and she could feel his heart pounding against her spinal cord.
“Are you wearing your diaphragm?” he asked, his face against hers.
She nodded and rubbed his cock with her finger, finding the tiny opening in the end that was, as she’d expected, moist.
Suddenly, he rose to his knees to cross over her and hold her next to his heated body. Erin was hot for him and when he positioned his penis next to her welcoming vulva, she pushed forward onto it, and he uttered a grateful oath. They lay that way for mere seconds before he rolled her onto her back and knelt over her, sinking his cock deep into her pussy. “Oh, God, sweetheart. We are so good together.”
In bed. But she didn’t say that or anything else aloud. And as he began the slow, torturous pushing and withdrawing he did to drive her crazy, instead of exhilarating in the ecstasy the way she once had, she found herself wishing he’d hurry. She used to love the way he switched into slow motion with her anticipating every plunge, and sliding out far enough to tantalise her quivering clit, but now…
“Loving it, darling?” he whispered, and without waiting for her to answer, he began to lengthen and hasten his strokes. “I’m sorry. I’m overeager,” he said, and he tried to slow down, she could tell, but he was breathing hard and fast.
“It’s okay,” she said, and he started fucking her faster. She matched the rhythmic fervour of his movements until that familiar tingling began radiating in her pelvis and her breasts felt like they were about to burst. “I can’t last much longer,” she whispered.
“Good,” he growled, “because neither can I.”
Throwing his head back, Joseph shot his cum and Erin dug her fingers into his butt cheeks as she climaxed in a series of shudders. He’d been propped up on his hands, but now he lay on top of her until his perspiration turned cool against her skin. She lay with her arms wrapped around him, spent but feeling an unfamiliar emptiness. Without the love they’d once felt for one another, it wasn’t the same. This was the only time and place they had been completely right for one another, and now that was gone. Fucking with Joseph should have felt like coming home again, but the saying you can’t do that was true.
A repeat performance wasn’t in the cards for them and she hoped his tender kiss goodbye meant that he knew it too.
*
Sitting at the kitchen table, Erin stared into her empty cup. It was Saturday morning and after two cups of coffee she still felt depressed. She shoved a hand through her hair. What’s wrong with me? Having sex with my ex? Am I that desperate? Just because Mitch and I broke up, it’s not the end of the world.
Weekends usually found her feeling vibrant and ordinarily by now she would have taken a lengthy walk through the park where maples and elms bent their leafy heads together over the hiking trail. With the crisp morning air further invigorating her, she’d indulge in a latte from Starbucks afterwards and feel ready to take on the world.
Joey, still sleepy-eyed when she returned, would be ready for homemade pancakes with thick maple syrup and crispy slices of bacon, and she’d fondly watch him devour more food than anyone would believe a skinny boy’s stomach could hold.
But Joey was gone and so was Mitch. And Joseph too, although he’d never really been back. She had no plans for that night. Or ever. A Saturday night and a lifetime with nothing to look forward to. Margo and Leanne were married and Erin felt left out of everything.
The three partners had debated changing the word ‘ex-wives’ on their business cards but they couldn’t come up with a term that had the same ring, so thus far, they’d only changed the two last names.
Hearing a sudden screech of tires out front and eager to see anyone who might be arriving at her house whether it was a visitor or a delivery person, Erin bolted out of her chair and rushed for the front door. She peeked out the window and, seeing a bright red sports car, batted her eyes in puzzlement. Who could it be? A second later, a woman with long, frosted hair tied back with a scarf strode up the front walk and rang the doorbell.
Opening up, Erin took a closer look at her visitor. “Angel?”
“In the flesh,” her cousin said. Her laughter sounded less certain than her words.
They hadn’t seen one another in a long time and Erin didn’t think Angel had ever seen her house.
“With your hair highlighted and past your shoulders, you look so different. But great, as always. Er…uh…come in. This is such a surprise. Would you like some coffee?”
“I’d love some but it doesn’t agree with me.”
“You’re thinner. Have you been ill?” Erin asked, touching Angel’s arm.
“Not really. But Mama hasn’t been feeling well an
d I—I was wondering if you’d change your mind and go dress shopping with me? I hate to beg but I don’t want to go alone. Searching for a wedding gown should be a festive occasion and it sounds so lame, shopping for something so special by myself. Besides, I’m not good at making decisions without someone else’s opinion, and your sense of style is much better than mine.”
For a girl who’d always been perfect at everything, Angel seemed to have developed a self-confidence problem. And with no close friends, why wouldn’t she? Erin, who’d been feeling ‘alone’ a few minutes ago, felt a sudden rush of compassion. “Okay, I’ll go. I mean, why not? I need a dress too and things aren’t going exactly the way I expected.”
“Did something go wrong with your engagement?” Angel asked, wide-eyed.
“It’s not that.” Erin shook her head. “It’s Joey. My ex has taken our son on a Mediterranean cruise after I’d counted heavily on time with him. It is a marvellous opportunity for a boy his age. It’s just that it’s left me at loose ends.” She waved her cousin into the living room. “Relax a minute or two and I’ll get ready.”
As Angel perched gingerly on the edge of the living room sofa, her eyes grew even wider. Erin’s spacious home with its large rooms, high ceilings and magnificent chandeliers tended to awe the uninitiated, but Joseph loved splendour and she’d rather come to enjoy it once she’d experienced the lifestyle. She felt uncomfortable now, however, with Angel gawking around. Was it too ostentatious?
“This place is fantastic. My fiancé has a big home too, but I’m sure it’s not furnished as lavishly,” Angel said softly.
“You sound as if you haven’t been there.”
Angel took a sudden interest in her manicure, or so it seemed as she studied her hands folded in her lap. Or maybe she was gazing at her engagement ring. It was the first time Erin had thought to look at the diamond solitaire.
“I haven’t, but he’s a thirty-six year old bachelor and he said it reflects his tastes. So I’m assuming it’s quite masculine.” Looking Erin in the eye now, she smiled brightly. “Like he is. But we can talk about our fiancés later, over lunch if you like. I’d really like to get going now that I have someone to shop with me.”
“I’ll change quickly,” Erin said, turning to go upstairs.
Angel’s fiancé was thirty-nine and Erin’s mother said he was someone from her past. “Before I forget…since he’s older than you, I guess he’s not someone you dated in high school.”
“No. He’s not anyone you’ve met.”
Erin studied her cousin’s face. She’d grown pale and she swallowed so hard, her Adam’s apple bobbed. “So how did you and…Dior, isn’t it…meet?”
She put a hand to her throat. “That’s a nickname, sort of. We met in college and hung out together a lot his senior year, but then he graduated and went on to law school.”
And if Erin remembered correctly, Angel dropped out of her studies at the university and went home to live with her parents at the end of her freshman year.
Angel looked at her watch. Was she in such a hurry to find a gown? Or did she just not want to talk?
“I’ll be right back,” Erin said, and after rushing up the stairway to powder her nose and change, their departure came quickly, with Angel suggesting Erin drive her little red car since she knew the area better. In the passenger seat, the bride-to-be babbled about the weather and inconsequential matters without opening up any more about her husband-to-be. Erin was eager to know more about Dior but resisted questioning her.
In the second shop they entered, Erin found an exquisite yellow satin calf-length dress for the wedding that suited her and fit perfectly. If only it was this easy to find a date.
Angel combed the racks, shaking her head, not seeming to like anything. Erin urged her to try on some gowns, saying they’d look different on her than they did on a hanger. At last, Angel picked half-a-dozen but didn’t come out of the dressing room until she’d slung all of them over the door for the salesgirl to take away.
Wearing her street clothes again, she came out and suggested they leave. “Nothing here fits well. There’s a specialty shop I saw listed on the Internet that’s close-by and while the gowns will be expensive, they’re certain to be better made.”
At the next store, Erin, who never worried about prices, blinked at the sales tags. “I’m sure you could find something more reasonable elsewhere,” she said, taking Angel by the elbow and ushering her towards the door. “You don’t want to say your nuptials with a maxed-out credit card.”
“There’s a sales rack in the back where you might find something suitable,” the clerk suggested, and Angel trailed off after her.
Erin, whose feet were tired, took a seat on a brocade loveseat and waited for Angel to return. At last, she emerged in an off-white bridal gown with an empire waist.
“What do you think?” she asked, twirling before Erin.
“It’s very nice, but why don’t you try something more svelte and sophisticated? That one looks a bit girlish.”
Angel returned in one that was ivory with an overskirt of chiffon that started just below her hips. The silky material pulled at the seams, exposing something that Erin hadn’t noticed before. Angel had a potbelly and, apparently aware of it, was trying to find a dress that disguised it.
“That isn’t the one, in my opinion,” Erin said, and Angel nodded her agreement, disappointment written all over her face. “I know a little shop that has designer outfits and I’ll bet you can find something there.”
“We were over my head here,” Angel protested. “Even the sale prices are ridiculous. I can’t imagine what designer gowns will cost.”
“Trust me,” Erin said. “The prices are reasonable. Let’s get your car. It’s a distance away.”
Erin drove again since she knew where they were going, but when they pulled up in front of a place called Bridal Boutique on a strip mall set in the centre of a lower middle class neighbourhood, Angel gasped. Gaping at the words ‘gently worn clothing” under the name on the storefront window, she grabbed Erin’s arm and dug her nails into her flesh.
“You want me to buy a second-hand dress?” Angel’s eyes flashed with anger.
Erin pulled her arm away and rubbed it. She’d never seen her cousin act this way. “Wedding dresses, worn once, present a tremendous savings, and what’s the chance anyone would know? I didn’t mean to offend you, but I’ve been told they offer a fantastic selection of designer gowns here at moderate cost.”
Angel didn’t appear mollified. Sitting back, her lower lip pushed out, she assumed a tone that didn’t set well with Erin.
“I thought we were friends but now you’re acting just like my mother,” Erin said. “Trying to cut corners and sweep my big moment under the rug. Mama doesn’t even want me to have a train or tiara. ‘Simple is better,’ she says, but it’s not. Why doesn’t anyone understand?” Angel burst into tears. “A kind, wonderful man is marrying me and I want our wedding to be perfect.”
Chapter Five
It was late when Erin entered Rendezvous alone. Feeling daring, she took a seat at the bar before realising the bartender wasn’t Derek. Too embarrassed to jump up and move to a booth, she ordered a chocolate martini from the guy whose nametag said he was George. A crusty older man with a moustache and goatee, he didn’t inspire her to create any sexual fantasies about his facial hair like she’d had concerning Derek’s.
She’d argued with herself whether she should come or not and finally gave in. Now she wished she hadn’t, but she’d grown more and more glum during her day with Angel, and laying eyes on Derek would have cheered her. Laying eyes? Ha! She’d hoped for more than that if she wanted to be honest with herself, and she’d crossed her fingers that by turning up after the busy dinner hour was over, he would have time to chat. She’d even imagined him asking her to stay until the club closed and leaving together.
Angel hadn’t been her usual sunny self. She didn’t like any of the gently-worn
wedding gowns and Erin doubted that she’d have been any happier with them if they’d just come from a dressmaker’s skilful hands. To be honest, none of them were flattering. Angel had gotten thin since Erin had last seen her. Yet she kept smoothing the material over her stomach and hips and complaining the fit was too tight. When they’d left the consignment shop, Erin had suggested lunch at a trendy little teashop she thought would cheer her disgruntled cousin, but Angel had picked at her salad and slipped her croissant onto Erin’s plate.
Sitting at a white wrought iron table amidst a sea of pink and purple roses, Erin had probed her with questions about Dior, thinking that would bring a smile, and for a moment, it had.
Coming out of her trancelike state, Angel had spoken softly. “He’s Nordic and quite handsome and rugged,” she’d said.
“Nordics are blond, aren’t they?” Erin had asked, sitting back in her pink-cushioned chair.
“Not all of them.” Angel had reacted as if she’d been slapped.
George, the bartender at Club Rendezvous, leaned his elbows on the bar in front of Erin, bringing her back to reality and her surroundings abruptly. “You’re quite the daydreamer.”
Had he been ogling her long? She squirmed in discomfort. “I was thinking.”
“Want another Chocolatini?” he asked, picking up her glass. Seeing it was half full, he set it down again. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“Stay away from her. She’s mine.” Two strong hands gripped her shoulders, and Erin swivelled her head to find Derek standing there.
As she gazed up into liquid brown eyes, heat washed over her, and she smiled. He was as handsome as she remembered and he smelled wonderful. She didn’t recognise the men’s cologne he was wearing but it was spicy and musky and it turned her on. If she could bury her face against his neck right now and inhale, she would. “Where did you come from?”
“I was hiding in that booth back there. I’m not working tonight but I was hungry and there’s no better place to eat.” He nodded his head towards a dim corner. “Care to join me?”
A Tangled Web (A Books We Love Erotic Romance) Page 5
