by Ana E Ross
“I didn’t plan on it. It just kind of slipped out when he asked me about him.” She crossed her arms to stop the quivering in her stomach.
“Your father is a drunk and a drunk killed Miss Cassie, but that doesn’t have anything to do with you. Even if it was your father, the doctor wouldn’t hold it against you. He’s a fair man, and I’ll tell you what he hates most are lies and deception. Tell him.”
Michelle knew the old woman was right. She needed to tell Erik the truth, and she would. She just had to find the right time. “Mrs. Hayes, how well did you know my parents?”
“What do you mean, dear?” She dropped wearily down in the chair next to Michelle.
Michelle shrugged. “Well… I know they aren’t from New Hampshire. All Robert and I know is that they moved here from the south when Robert was just four years old, and my mother was already pregnant with me. They don’t have any family. Not any we know about. They must have come from somewhere.”
Mrs. Hayes placed her wrinkled hand over Michelle’s. “Do you have a specific reason for asking these questions, little Michelle?”
“It’s just that one of my friends thinks that he may not be our real father. You know, because neither of us looks like him. We don’t act like him either.”
“Hmm. I only knew your mother for a very short time, Michelle, but we became close friends.”
“So close that she asked you to be in the delivery room when I was born.”
She nodded. “She was very sweet and shy and kept to herself a lot. Your father was very protective of her in public.” She paused for a moment and her face twisted with concentration. “Now that you brought it up, he was more guarded that protective. If he saw Violet talking to me, he’d always find a way to stop the conversation and take her into the house.”
“You think he was hiding something? You think he was afraid she’d say something he didn’t want her to reveal?”
“I don’t know, dear. I asked her if he physically abused her. She swore up and down that he didn’t. I never saw any bruises on her, so I don’t know.”
Michelle clenched her teeth together. Her blood boiled at the possibility that her father had hit her mother.
“If you think he’s not your father, then you should look into it,” Mrs. Hayes said. “You should at least find out where you came from, or if you have any other family. There was just something about him that didn’t quite fit. I should finish up the laundry and make up the doctor’s bed,” she added. “Thanks for putting away the groceries.” As she straightened up, she swayed and grabbed the table.
Michelle was on her feet and holding her. “Are you all right, Mrs. Hayes?
“I just felt a little woozy there.”
“Sit down.”
“No child. I just probably need to take my medicine.”
“Where is it? And what are you taking meds for?”
Mrs. Hayes placed a cool hand against Michelle’s cheek. “I have all kinds of ailments. The doctor keeps me supplied with medicine. It’s at the guesthouse. Perhaps if you could run down and get it for me.”
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? And I’m not going to take no for an answer,” she added, steering her across the kitchen and out the door. “If I could, I’d sling you over my shoulder and carry you, but since I’m so skinny, you have to walk. Just hold me tight.”
Mrs. Hayes protested all the way to the guesthouse, but after making sure she took her medicine and propping her up on her sofa in front of her plasma TV, Michelle came back to the main house with a smile on her face.
But that smile slowly faded as she walked down the second floor hall toward the master suite. She’d promised Mrs. Hayes that she would make Erik’s bed and put out fresh towels for him. An army of butterflies took flight in Michelle’s stomach. She had been living in this house for almost two months and she’d never ventured into the master suite. On several occasions, curiosity had lured her in that direction, but each time she reached the door, she’d stopped. She always felt as if she were snooping, which in fact she would have been, seeing she had no reason to enter the private quarters that man shared with his late wife.
Now here was a legitimate chance to satisfy her curiosity. After work, Erik was flying up to Granite Falls to see Danielle and wouldn’t be back until late tonight. She would be in and out before he came home and he would be none the wiser.
Taking a deep steadying breath, Michelle opened the door and stepped into a fully furnished cozy lime green and beige sitting area. A book lay on the table beside the sofa. Curious to know what he was reading, she went over for a closer look. The Kite Runner. She smiled. She’d read that book a while ago. She supposed he was a little behind in his reading.
Leaving the sitting area, she walked into another room where the only furniture was a double king-size unmade bed with an ivory marble headboard that extended into two nightstands on either side. The bed was situated in the middle of the room under a skylight. Michelle didn’t even know they made them this big. She stepped inside and her bare feet sank with ease into the soft carpet as her nostrils picked up the heady scent of Erik’s cologne.
She glanced around the softly painted room, noticing that the inside walls were mirrored, allowing a full view of the bed. Feeling an awakening blush come, she instantly flushed the images from her mind.
You’re here to make the bed.
She walked toward an archway that opened into two separate walk-in dressing areas complete with built-in bureaus and drawers. She took a swift peek inside the Hers and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the rows and rows of clothes and shoes lined up against the walls. A purple silk robe was draped over a chair in front of a silver and white vanity, and a pair of black pumps lay on the carpet beside it—one overturned on its side. Michelle wondered if this was how Cassie left her dressing room the night she died.
Poor Erik. He was really living in the past.
Michelle backed away and walked through into the bathroom—a spacious gold and ecru refuge of supreme tranquility. A large glass-encased shower stood in one corner next to a long slab of marble with two sinks. A sunken Jacuzzi with three steps leading up, then down into it, sat under a low window.
The tub in her bedroom was gigantic, but God, what she wouldn’t give to be able to soak in this giant whirlpool covered to her neck in bubbles.
You’re here to make the bed, Michelle.
She cased the room then went over to what looked like a linen closet. She opened the door and stared at shelf after shelf of neatly folded towels and sheets in assorted colors.
She pulled out a set of navy blue towels and draped them over the towel rack next to the shower. She ran her palms slowly down the soft, fluffy fabric, knowing that later this evening Erik would use it to dry off the most intimate part of his anatomy. A wicked smile curled her lips at the thought, and feeling a sense of wantonness overtake her, like a kitty on catnip, Michelle picked up the towel and began rubbing it all over her face.
“Michelle, what on earth are you doing?”
Michelle clutched the towel to her chest and froze. A hand seemed to tighten around her throat, cutting off her breath. She couldn’t move. She wanted to die, to melt into the marble under her feet, never to show her face again.
“Michelle.” His voice got closer and her body got tighter.
He stood behind her, close enough for her to smell him. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be on his way to Granite Falls.
“What are you doing in here?” he asked again.
Michelle shuddered, released her grip on the towel, and with shaky fingers tried to straighten in on the rack. “I... I… um… Mrs. Hayes—”
A thrill of anticipation zapped up and down her spine when his hand closed around her shoulder. He turned her around then backed her into the glass wall of the shower. It was cold against her shoulders.
Afraid to look into his eyes, Michelle stared at the corded muscles of his chest straining ag
ainst his blue shirt.
He put a finger under her chin and forced her to face him. Animal passion burned in his eyes and tightness settled into his sexy lips. “You trying to leave your scent for me, little kitty?” he drawled in a husky voice.
Michelle licked her lips then swallowed. Her body was on fire. She licked her lips again.
With his eyes glued to her face, he nudged a knee between her legs, urging them apart, then he bent down, looped his arms in the inside of her thighs and effortlessly picked her up.
Michelle grabbed his arms as he spread-eagled her then leaned in, curving his body into hers. She was wearing shorts and she looked over his shoulder to see her bare legs dangling in the air, her red-painted toes curling in expectation.
He thrust forward, slamming her against the shower wall. Hard. The glass shook so violently, she thought it would shatter.
“Is this what you want, Michelle?” he whispered in a ragged, tormented voice. “You want to feel me deep inside you?”
A gasp escaped her at the hard ridge of his penis pressing against her moist center. The inner walls of her vagina tightened into a painful ball of quivering flesh. Her legs trembled and blood pounded against her temples. She had hungered too much from the memory of his mouth on hers, the intense suckling of her aching beasts, the possessiveness of his touch, the perfect fit of his hard body against hers, and the shattering release he had brought her to in Granite Falls. But this time, she wanted more than his fingers. She wanted his...
“Yes, this is what I want, Erik. I want to feel you buried deep inside me.”
He groaned, long and hard. “Okay, then. Let’s give you want you want, right now.” He gathered her close then stumbled out of the bathroom, through the dressing area and into the bedroom.
He placed her on the unmade bed then came down on top of her. His potent arousal pressed urgently against the softness between her thighs, causing a throbbing sensation deep within her core Michelle had never felt before. He captured her hands in one of his and pinned them to the mattress above her head. As his other hand reached under her shirt to cup and massage one breast then the other, he dipped his head and captured her mouth, forcing her lips apart with his tongue. Michelle tangled her legs about his and surrendered on a moan as he kissed her deeply and sweetly.
Somewhere, she heard a deep growl, followed by a mild swear, then he was off her, and sitting on the edge of the bed. Michelle’s entire world crumbled as a truckload of rejection slammed into her chest. He didn’t want her. Too stunned to speak, and too numb to move, she curled up in the bed and squeezed her lids, trying to stop the tears stinging her eyes.
Erik planted his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. It was the house, this bedroom he’d shared with Cassie and her moral values. He felt like a caged tiger, wanting to break free and roam the jungle in search of a mate.
Since he’d returned from Granite Falls, he’d lain in this bed and imagined Michelle under him, on top of him, next to him, night after night. Her woman’s scent had stained his brain. Her mewling sex sounds were stamped in his heart. He’d taken cold showers in the bathroom where she’d just been laying her scent like a cat in heat that wanted to make damned sure her male recognized and followed her smell. She was in his bed, and he couldn’t take her, hard and ready as he was.
“I have to pick up Precious from that birthday party.” Michelle said. “So it’s just as well we didn’t—”
Erik turned and looked at her. She was sitting up in the bed, staring at him. He saw the rejection, the disappointment in her black eyes. “It’s not you,” he said.
She snorted. “I’m the only one here.”
“It’s the bed.” He threw her a crooked smile.
“What’s the real reason you stopped?” she asked, her voice filled with frustration. “You keep leading me on. I can’t take any more teasing, Erik. Is it really because of this bed you shared with Cassie?”
Erik chuckled. Cassie. He leaned back against the headboard. “Yes, it’s Cassie, but not for the reasons you think.” He sighed. “Cassie had these moral values. She didn’t believe in premarital sex. I kind of adopted them.”
She hissed. “So you’re saying we have to be married to make love?”
That didn’t sound too bad, he thought. The idea had crossed his mind, not only so he could have her without feeling he was doing something wrong, but because she had become a wonderful surrogate mother to his child.
Precious was happy, the happiest she’d been in two years. She loved Michelle and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Michelle loved her. Michelle loved him, too, and she wanted to have his babies. So yes, marrying her would be a good thing, a sensible thing. And although he knew she would fill the hole in his heart, he wasn’t ready to take it that far.
“No, we don’t have to be married to make love, Michelle. We just can’t do it here.”
“We can go to my room. Mrs. Hayes is gone for the day and I don’t really have to pick up Precious for another hour.”
Erik chuckled again. “Michelle, darling, an hour is not enough time for me to make love to you properly and thoroughly.” He raked his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t believe he was having a conversation about when and where to make love to a woman. When he wanted Cassie, he used to just take her to bed. No discussions necessary. Marriage did have its perks.
He glanced at Michelle sitting in the middle of his bed. The cotton fabric of her shorts clung to her soft curves, accentuating the seductiveness of her swollen hips and long shapely legs. He wanted those brown legs wrapped around his waist and neck. His manhood stirred as he recalled the feel of her wonderful sable nipples cresting in his mouth and her moist, tight woman’s flesh pulsing around his fingers.
“So what should we do? Rent a hotel for a night?”
Erik stood up. “No. Well, yes.”
“You’re double-talking again, Erik.”
“Okay. I’m supposed to attend this gala in Boston. It’s an annual event for the doctors in the area to rub shoulders, and for their wives to meet each other.”
“I’m neither a doctor nor a doctor’s wife, Erik.”
“But you can be my date. And if you would honor me with your lovely presence, Michelle Carter, by the end of the night, you will be a doctor’s woman in every sense of the word. We can spend the night in Boston. What do you say?”
Her eyes lit up. “I say yes, yes.”
Erik stared at her eagerness. He was going to make her purr, and she would no doubt make him growl. His big bang was coming, sooner than he anticipated.
“When is this event?” she asked, anxiously.
“Saturday.”
“Saturday? That doesn’t give me much time. I have to find the perfect dress and shoes, get my nails and hair done—”
Smiling, Erik grabbed her hands and pulled her off the bed to stand in front of him. “You have two days.”
“I don’t want to disappoint you.”
Erik swallowed at the naked passion in her eyes. He brought her hands up to his chest. “You can never disappoint me, Michelle. I have faith in you.”
She bit into her lower lip and smiled at him like a teenager on prom night. “We’re really going to do it.”
“Yes, Michelle, we’re going to make love. Slow, sweet amazing love, all night long.”
Her lips trembled. “I wasn’t snooping, you know. Mrs. Hayes asked me to set out towels and make your bed. And that thing in the bathroom you walked in on, well I was just—”
A faint smile ruffled his lips. “Michelle, it doesn’t matter. But if it would make you feel any better, to redeem yourself, you can help me make the bed. It’s rather large.”
She giggled. “You’re telling me. I’ll get the sheets. What color?” she asked on her way to the bathroom.
“Surprise me.”
She stopped and curled her lips. “Speaking of surprises, what are you doing home? Aren’t you supposed to be on your way to Granite Falls?”
> “The chopper was delayed. The pilot is picking me up at a local airstrip later on.”
“You could have called and warned me.”
He laughed out loud. “And missed the scene I walked in on. No way.”
She gave him a salacious smile that fired electricity through his blood. It was a feeling he wanted to experience over and over again for the rest of his life.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Michelle stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She smiled, pleased with her appearance. She was lucky to have found this dress at such short notice. Felicia, her new best friend, had taken her on a shopping spree to some exclusive boutiques in Boston, none of which Michelle would have dreamed of visiting a few weeks ago, probably never. Felicia had pulled the dress from the rack and insisted that Michelle try it on. It fitted her perfectly.
Michelle had almost barfed when she saw the price tag, but she’d managed to swallow her reaction. It was a special occasion, probably the only one of this kind in her lifetime, and she wanted to shine. Most of all, she wanted Erik to be proud of her. Hair, shoes, nails, and a few sexy undergarments from Victoria’s Secret had just about wiped out the money she’d earned in the time she’d been working for Erik. The rest of it had paid for Jessica’s camp.
She twirled, feeling like Cinderella on her way to the ball. Only difference was, she’d already snagged Prince Charming. Oh, had she snagged him, she thought, remembering the conversation she had with Erik yesterday.
They’d been sitting on the patio off the kitchen watching Precious and her play date, Belinda, when Erik suddenly blurted out, “Marry me, Michelle.”
Certain she was hallucinating and wondering what the heck Mrs. Hayes put in her lemonade, Michelle had just ignored him.
But he’d said it again. “Let’s get married in secret. No one else has to know.”
At that point, Michelle had eased her glass down on the tempered glass top table as carefully as she could. Under the right circumstances, she would have jumped up, wrapped her arms about his neck, locked her lips to his and screamed, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
