Best Of My Love

by N. D. Jackson

  “Sorry but-,”

  Erick froze and waited for regret or something worse. “But?”

  “I lost count.”

  Her words sank in and he laughed, separating their bodies and rolling over so they were face to face. “Me too.”

  “That was nice. Better than nice.” Hazel eyes looked up at him with a satisfied smile.

  It was everything. “It was amazing.”

  “Yep. But we should do it again just to be sure.”

  Erick leaned in and captured her mouth in a slow, hungry kiss that pulled their bodies closer and closer until they were once again, wrapped tightly around each other.

  They didn’t separate for hours.

  It’s just sex. Just sex. Dre had kept telling herself that since her eyes popped open just before dawn which just pissed her off because of course it was just sex. What else would it be? It hadn’t been more than just sex since…, “Oh hell.” She’d had to sleep with the one person on the planet that had the potential to engage her emotions. She’d worked too hard and too long to push those fuckers down to have them surface now after a night of, admittedly spectacular, sex.

  Nope, it’s a bad idea. Terrible idea. The worst idea she’d had since she shaved half her head in high school. It didn’t mean anything. Nope. She scrubbed her skin raw to destroy the scent of them together, but not because it meant anything. It didn’t. She just didn’t want to smell like him all day. Liar. She ignored that voice because that voice was being a stupid bitch. She was deep in the Land of Denial and she had no plans to leave anytime soon.

  Dre would not acknowledge just how much damage he’d done to the main wall protecting her heart. The sex had been hotter than any she’d ever had but the disturbing part was the part that went beyond the bumping and grinding of naked bodies twisted in ecstasy. It had been deep and intense. Hot. Soul destroying. She’d felt connected to him in a way she never had before and that’s why she scrubbed her skin pink in the shower. If she could wash it away, she could erase it from her mind.

  Pretend it never happened.

  I should have kicked him out right afterwards, she chided herself because sleepovers were not her thing unless she was on the road and the bed belonged to some resort management conglomerate. Snuggling close in a hotel room was one thing, but inside her personal space just made it feel too…personal. Sleeping in Erick’s arms again, after so long, had a weird impact on her mind. Her body. He had always run a few degrees hotter than normal and last night, his warmth had been the only blanket she needed. Oh god, what the hell is wrong with me? She didn’t talk like that. Didn’t think about things like being cradled in someone’s arms.

  “Need some help,” he pulled the curtain back and poked his head in, making her scream.

  “You scared the hell out of me!” Chest heaving she took in the sight of him when he pulled the curtain back. Last night she’d been too insatiable to appreciate the sight of Erick, the full grown man in all his glory. Dark brown hair sprinkled across his chest before trailing down in a delicious line that disappeared behind one of her light blue towels. Golden skin, bulging muscles and that smile that she sometimes still dreamed about, all stood there, hard and naked. And waiting. And pulsing. And hard. Dre licked her lips. “Yes. I do need help. So damn bad.”

  He pushed inside so that she ended up under the now lukewarm spray. He looked his fill as water cascaded down her body, making her nipples bead and her core pulse. “Where do you need help, I wonder.” He played a wicked game of teasing, starting with soft kisses against her jaw, slow and lingering at her mouth before peppering her chest and the valley between her breasts with warm smacking kisses. He took forever on her breasts, making her smile while she edged closer and closer to bliss. “Here?”

  She blinked at the questions, trying to picked up the thread of conversation but it was hopeless especially when his mouth brushed soft open mouth kisses low on her belly, her thighs. Her chest heaved and she gripped his hair tight from the passion smoldering inside her.

  “Maybe here,” he murmured and flung one leg over his shoulder so she was exposed to him. Wide open to him. One finger dipped inside twisted, and he groaned at how hard she tightened around him. “Yeah I think this is exactly where you need me.” She groaned and cried at the divine torture he worked with first his fingers, then his tongue. His mouth. Licking and sucking and flicking. And more sucking and she had a flash of memory, her and Erick trying oral for the first time. He’d been too sensitive and she’d been embarrassingly wet.

  A chuckle escaped mixed with her arousal.

  “Am I not keeping you properly focused?” The question was playful but his tone was serious, so was the way his fingers hooked inside her while he pulled her clit deep into his mouth. The pressure was incredible but it wasn’t quite enough and he knew it. She could only lie back and accept the pleasure heaped on her by the last man on the planet she expected to give it to her. His mouth and fingers kept up a steady pace that kept her orgasm just out of reach so she floated endlessly, letting the passion carry her away to a place where she could forgive him and they could have this.

  For real. The words had barely faded into her mind when an orgasm ricocheted through her body, tearing her apart from the inside out while he continued to pleasure her, grinding his face against her and triggering another orgasm.

  They left the shower behind in search of orgasms two and three before finally collapsing on the bed in a pile of sweaty limbs. He needed to leave and she would let him. As soon as she could restore enough energy to get the words out.

  She woke up later as the smell of coffee found her and she went downstairs to drink the whole pot. “Coffee,” she growled into her mug.

  “You’re welcome,” he offered and because of her gratitude to him for making it, she didn’t sneer at him. Almost. “What are you up to today?”

  After another long gulp she turned to look out the window at the golden glow that turned the backyard into a wonderland. “Contracts to review, finished projects to check over and some stuff Mayor Weston needs.”

  “The Taste of Emerald?” His brows rose in surprise and he shook his head with a smile. She knew that smile. She’d been had. “I have all the information you need because I too was roped in. She caught me picking up Orchid from school and before I knew what was happening, I was helping her organize it.”

  Dre laughed and immediately wished she hadn’t. “Well she got me because it’s next week and of course she couldn’t think of anyone else she’d rather have.” She rolled her eyes. “I agreed just to get her to stop gushing.”

  “Marshmallow,” he accused.

  “She’s always been kind to me so I had no reason to be a bitch to her.”

  “Kind? The woman is a menace.”

  “Roping the good town folks into volunteering for the sake of community spirit and all that junk?”

  “Exactly.”

  She loved the way his eyes seemed to hold most of his laughter. The deep baritone rumble could be heard but those eyes, they felt it. “Well get that to me as soon as you can so I can move it off my list.”

  “Sure. Is your business okay with you here?”

  He seemed so nervous the grin wouldn’t have stopped if she’d commanded it to do so. “It’s fine Erick. I have Burke, my business partner and employees I can rely on to do their jobs, plus I have a workstation wherever I go. In fact, I’ve picked up two new clients since I’ve been in town.” Sure, one of them was the town of Emerald Creek, but still she had a town for a client.

  He asked about her business and how she’d been able to grow it so quickly, and she happily told him. Where many women felt odd talking up their accomplishments Dre had no problem with it. She was proud of the business she’d built, the wealth and freedom she had in her life. “I do speeches on cyber security and software applications all over the world and I usually pick up a few clients too.”

  “And men don’t have problems taking advice from petite woman with freckles?” />
  They used to before she’d learned the art of killing someone with words without getting emotional. “They know that I know my shit and if they don’t, they learn quickly.” She’d found dressing up to look like the millionaire businesswoman she was only made her look younger. And less like she knew her shit. So she bought designer clothes that looked like she didn’t give a damn—designer ripped jeans, overprices graphic tees and hoodies—to up her street cred. That, along with her shit kicker boots, and she rarely had that problem anymore. “What about you, planning a chain of Maverick’s?” She wouldn’t be surprised to learn he had big plans for his restaurant. It seemed he’d picked up his own ambition over the years.

  “I’d like to. Been thinking about opening a second one in Champaign. There’s still a lot to consider.”

  It sounded like a good plan. Mostly. “What about in Kansas or Ohio so you don’t become your own competition. Every time down staters come up they’ll stop at Maverick’s above all others because they can’t get it at home.”

  He thought it over for a moment and grinned. “You have a good mind for business.”

  “I’ve been doing this for a while.”

  He groaned as his phone buzzed on the nightstand. “Breakfast with Orchid and Ma. Wanna come?”

  Dre shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” In fact it might have been the worst idea she’d ever heard. Breakfast with the family would mean more than she was ready for at the moment.

  “But you want to come.”

  “Yes. But I shouldn’t do it.” Breakfast with his family would be entirely too cozy and she might get the wrong idea about what sex with him meant. Especially with Sarah all but pushing them into a dark closet and locking the door. And Orchid had already earned a spot in her heart so yeah, breakfast sounded like a spectacularly bad idea.

  Erick tugged her close and tugged at the towel until it loosened and dropped to the floor. “But if you say you’ll go,” he kissed across her collarbone and up her neck, “we could take another fifteen minutes. At least.” He kissed her lips, her cheeks. “And blame it on trying to tame that hair of yours,” his words came out sharp and breathy and she shivered at the rawness of it. He spun her around, dropping open mouth kisses on the back of her neck while two fingers plunged deep between her legs. “Think about it,” he growled in her ear and kept up his wicked torture.

  Thirty minutes later they finally made their way to Erick’s childhood home. To have breakfast. With his mom and daughter.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’m not interested in anything you have to say Calista.” She spent most of the day hanging around the Maverick’s booth at The Taste of Emerald flirting with customers and trying to get Erick to check out her cleavage. He wasn’t interested and as always, she was oblivious.

  She pouted and rolled her eyes. “You’re no fun.”

  Yep that was him. No fun. “Stop harassing my customers.”

  “It’s not harassing if they want it.”

  He shook his head. “If any of them wanted it you wouldn’t still be here.” Calista’s problem had always been that she required too much attention. Needed to be the center of everyone’s world. Especially men.

  “Why are you being so mean? When is your mom getting here with my baby?”

  “Calista if you approach her you will regret it, I promise you.”

  “I won’t, jeez. I just want to look at her. See how big she’s gotten.”

  More like she wanted to see if her little girl was still beautiful. She wanted a pageant girl but Orchid would never be that. She was beautiful but earthy and athletic, and too precocious for that world. “Then make sure you see her at a distance.” He didn’t watch her stomp off as she’d intended because he needed to deal with the growing line of hungry customers. Business was good and he felt pretty sure he’d already done more business in the first day than he’d had all week last year thanks to all the tourists in town for the big music festival in the city. He wouldn’t complain. Every little bit helped.

  Too bad he didn’t have any help getting rid of Calista permanently. She came back and leaned on the glass for the fridge that housed desserts, beers and his gourmet slaw and potato salad. “You’re not trying to get me out of here before your precious Dre gets here are you?”

  Erick ignored her, knowing just how pointless it would be to engage her. “Bye Calista.” Dre had always been a sore spot between them and he knew Calista’s reappearance had happened now because she’d heard, somehow, that Dre had come back.

  Her lips curled up and her eyes sparkled with mischief. “See you later Erick,” she tossed him a finger wave as she sauntered off.

  Erick shook his head and let his shoulders relax when she disappeared into the crowd. Calista had been a handful from the beginning and he’d accepted it because he couldn’t give her the one thing she wanted from him. His love. Since the divorce she liked to play games, when she bothered to come around which she hardly did. He didn’t intend to indulge her this time. Last time he’d indulged her he messed up his whole world and he wouldn’t do it again. This time he would be smart. Take a firm hand with Calista who no longer had a place in his life. Or Orchid’s.

  He was moving on with his life. Delegating more tasks at work so he could spend more time with Orchid. Opening a new location and most of all, getting Dre to open up. She hadn’t been so closed off lately but he could still feel the distance between them. At the rate they were going it could be years before they truly made up.

  Patience.

  “Smelling mighty good over here,” Al said with a grin as he strolled up to the truck.

  “Hey, thanks! What can I get you?”

  He ordered a barbecue plate and a beer. “Come on and sit with me,” he urged and shuffled off to a vacant seat.

  It always took Erick a moment to get used to seeing Al without the Sheriff’s uniform despite their years of friendship. He would always be Dre’s dad first. “How’s it going Al?”

  “I’m tired. Thinking about hanging up my cuffs. Been with the department since before Dre was born.”

  Erick knew that too. “You’ve earned retirement. Now you can take Annie to see the world.”

  His laugh was thick and full-bodied. “She would love that. But then I’d never get to see Andrea.” He shook his head in despair. “I’m no closer to her now than I was when she was halfway around the world.”

  “I’m not sure I’m much further along than you are Al. Dre is different now but in some ways she is still the same old Dre.” He loved it when she let pieces of herself shine through. When she forgot to hide herself from him.

  “Did you know that she knew?”

  Erick froze, beer halfway to his mouth as the vague question registered. He could figure out the who pretty easily but the rest was unclear. “Knew what?”

  Al sighed and hung his head low. “They day her mother died I was with Ann. When she called I brushed her off and she’s never forgiven me for it.” Erick nodded because that was no secret. “At least that’s what I thought. She didn’t dislike Ann because she thought she was trying to replace her mother. She didn’t like her because she recognized the perfume. All those months later she remembered that damn perfume and she knew.” His eyes held such despair. “I’ll never get her back now.”

  Erick thought there might be a chance Al was right about that. Dre certainly didn’t forgive easily and anything mixed up with her mother’s death would likely make forgiveness almost impossible. He groaned as he realized that this whole mess with Al was also tied into her anger at him and what he’d done. Son of a bitch! He would just have to work harder. “Have you tried to apologize?”

  “You know Dre,” he said, resigned as he cast a frustrated gaze Erick’s way.

  He did know. “That’s why I think an apology is a good place to start.” For both of them. Dre hated having people tell her how she should feel or remind her how normal people behaved in any situation. She would react, probably in some over
the top way that never ended well. The best course of action was to just own up to your shit and let her work it out for herself. If nobody pushed her she would come around. Usually. He thought that maybe while he was busy dispensing advice he should take it too, and give her the apology he owed her. He couldn’t apologize for it all because he couldn’t regret Orchid. But he did regret betraying Dre. Hurting her. “It might be worth a shot,” he added for extra reassurance.

  Al looked at Erick, the man who had been like a son to him for more years than he could remember, and smiled. “Or you can just win her back so she stays right here. Where she belongs.”

  If only things were that simple. But Erick knew better so instead of replying and offering false hope, he finished his beer and stood, looking out at all of Emerald Creek turned out to support one another. He never understood Dre’s desire to leave this place but it had only been her love for him that had allowed her to agree to set up shop here. Without him, without them, he’d known she wouldn’t come back.

  He just hadn’t thought it would take her ten years to return to him.

  “I should get back to it,” he told Al, hooking his thumb over at the grill because he couldn’t lie to the man but he didn’t have the heart to tell him that even if, by some stretch of the imagination, Dre fell in love with him again there was no guarantee she’d come back to live in Emerald Creek for him. I wouldn’t ask her to, he realized and froze in shock. If that was true he really needed to take some time to think about his next step. He wouldn’t ever be a kept man. Just the thought of it made him shudder. But could he leave behind everything for her? “See you later Al.”

  The older man sent him an absent wave as he continued to stare off into space. Erick could only imagine the demons he wrestled with after realizing there was almost no chance he’d fix his relationship with his daughter. Eventually he shouted a request for another beer and a crab burger, staying in his seat for hours while Erick turned his attention back to the makeshift kitchen in the truck.