Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
Erasmus
Sweet Gaia, Franklin tasted like the perfect batch of sweet tea. No, he was better than that. Nothing matched the feel of his rough lips. They weren’t soft and supple—they were firm and commanding. Franklin kissed like he meant it, like there were no second thoughts, like I was the very last man he ever wanted his lips to touch.
I couldn’t say when my arms moved, but I suddenly found my fingers fisted within the back of his shirt, gripping and clinging for dear life.
My lips parted and Franklin’s tongue immediately dove inside. The intrusion was welcome, and I melded closer to him. Chest to chest, my legs parted enough for Franklin to move a thigh between them. I groaned deep when his muscled thigh teased my hardened length. Before that moment, I’d never dreamed I could cum just from a kiss and a clothed cock rub.
I pulled away, gasping for breath but ready to dive right back in when the sound of my momma’s car horn physically pushed me away. The glare of her lights quickly followed, nearly blinding me.
“Shit,” Franklin and I swore in unison.
Throwing my hand over my eyes, I prayed Momma would turn off her headlights. Thankfully, Gaia heard my call and soon we were left in blissful night—not that my eyes followed suit as quickly.
Momma’s car door slammed closed before I heard her yell, “Erasmus, thank God you’re all right.” Momma ran up the short drive and threw her arms around me, hugging me almost tight enough to suffocate.
“Momma…c-can’t b-brea—”
“Oh!” She immediately relaxed her grip but didn’t release me. Instead, she pulled back enough to keep her hands on my wrists, but far enough away to run her eyes up and down my body, scanning me for injury.
“I told you, I’m fine,” I protested. Franklin stood behind us and off to the side. Momma had completely pushed him out of the way, and he wore a bemused expression that indicated he had no idea how he’d been so easily displaced by a woman half his size.
“Hush. I know what you said, but I need to get my eyes on you and see for myself.” Momma’s fingers carded through my bangs, pushing them away from my forehead. “Are you really unharmed?”
“I’m sure there will be a bruise or seven, but nothing that won’t heal.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Momma rested a hand over her heart, all her bravado leeching out as relief settled in. “I need to call your father and thank him again. I thought his wards were over-the-top, but I’m reconsidering.”
Franklin cleared his throat as he shifted his stance. I could just make out the outline of his thickened cock, but doubted Momma would notice given the nighttime hour. As for my dick —Momma’s car pulling in the drive along with its accompanying honk had deflated my arousal.
“Mrs. Boone,” Franklin started. “Your son was thoroughly checked out by medics. He’s telling you the truth.”
Momma whirled, turning on Franklin with startled eyes and a surprised gasp. “Oh. I’m sorry. I saw Erasmus with someone when I pulled in but I’m afraid I forgot all about that. I should have introduced myself properly.”
My heart melted when Franklin smiled at Momma. “No apologies needed.” Holding out his hand, Franklin said, “I’m Detective Franklin O’Hare, ma’am. I was with Boone this afternoon.”
Momma’s eyes lit from within and a huge grin split her face. “Detective O’Hare. Meeting you is a true pleasure. Erasmus has told me so much about you.” Momma took Franklin’s hand and gave it a good shake. “I didn’t mean to interrupt police business.”
“You’re not,” Franklin answered while shooting me a conspiratorial glance. “The investigation has wrapped up for the night. I was just saying goodbye to Boone.”
Well, that was certainly one way to put it . Kissing wasn’t my usual go-to way to depart a situation, but I hoped Franklin and I could make it our routine for parting ways.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, Boone,” Franklin said before stepping away. “Take care and call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”
“Consider yourself on speed dial,” I responded with a cheeky grin and wave of my phone.
Franklin’s grin widened before he turned fully and headed back to the replacement vehicle the department had dropped off. As he walked away, I realized I’d left my car at Linus Remington’s crime scene. Franklin promised to drive me back to my car so I could pick it up. I planned on holding him to that promise. Tomorrow.
I stood there, phone dangling from my right hand while my left uselessly followed suit. I watched Franklin get in his car, close the door, and head down the street. I was still staring at his fading taillights when Momma punched my arm.
“Ow,” I protested as my phone dropped to the grassy ground. “You do remember the part where I was just in a high-speed chase that resulted in a ditched vehicle, don’t you?” I rubbed my shoulder dramatically while giving Momma puppy dog eyes.
“Please, you just finished reassuring me that you’re fine. Are you going to stand there now and tell me that you and your man lied to me?”
I started to protest but fell over my words when my brain computed. “ My man? ”
Momma rolled her eyes. “Do not give me that. I’ve got eyes, Erasmus, and those eyes tell me I just interrupted more than police work . Or is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
“Sweet Gaia. You did not just say that lame-ass line.”
“I most certainly did. Now, are you gonna offer your momma a drink, or are you gonna send me back home straight away?”
I could have said I needed some time alone, but tonight wasn’t about me. Intellectually, Momma knew I was fine, but the slight tremble in her fingers told me she needed more. Momma needed time—time with me. She needed to see and hear that I was okay. She needed to know that her son was still in one piece, no harm done.
With that in mind, I offered Momma my arm and walked her toward my back porch. The light automatically flared to life when it sensed motion, making our walk a little less treacherous. As we made our way through the grass, Momma laid her head on my shoulder. Her soft hair brushed my neck and her fingers gripped my arm a little tighter than necessary.
“I was so worried, Erasmus. When your father called me, I…” Her voice trailed off and I thought I heard a sniffle. “I won’t make you promise never to make me worry again. It’s what mommas do. Just promise me you’ll be careful. I can’t bear the thought of losing you, and your father… that is a volatile situation.”
I hid my trembling fingers by gripping tightly to the screen door and easing it open. The hinges managed their typical tonal complaint. Momma was all too right about Pops. He hid it well, or more to the point, he simply didn’t talk about his fears. Despite keeping his feelings on lockdown, I was well aware I was his biggest, most threatening fear. For his own good, Pops should have abandoned me like nearly every other warlock did their necromancer children. I’d always counted myself lucky that he hadn’t. I still counted myself lucky. What I was also beginning to count myself as was selfish. I wouldn’t be the one left behind. Pops would be.
I helped Momma onto the couch and settled in next to her. I should have offered Momma a drink. I didn’t. A cool beverage wasn’t what she needed right now.
Clutching my fingers tight, Momma pulled my hand into her lap while her opposite hand ran repetitively over our intertwined fingers.
“Are you really okay?” she nearly whispered.
“I really am,” I promised. Given how upset she was, I wasn’t about to tell Momma about the part Aurelia had played. “I just wish we could have caught the culprits.”
Momma’s fingers squeezed tighter. “I think it’s best you didn’t. If half the things I’ve heard are true, you were outgunned. God only knows what would have happened if you’d cornered them.”
Momma probably wasn’t wrong. “If I were a warlock, I could have done something to stop them. I wouldn’t have been so useless and—”
“Erasmus Samuel Boone, don’t you dare utter another word. You know how I feel about those kinds of thoughts. You are perfect just the way you are. My God and your Gaia made you just the way you were supposed to be, and I’ll not hear a word different. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t been thankful for who you are, or that I’ve wished you’d been born a different way. You need to get that through your thick skull.”
The tightness in my chest eased. I don’t think I realized how much I considered the weight I’d been carrying.
Inhaling, I counted to ten before letting that breath go, attempting to expel all the bad personal vibes and self-recrimination with it. “I’m sorry, Momma. I think not being able to help more with the investigation is getting to me. I’m a necromancer. I bring souls back from the dead, at least temporarily, and I can’t manage that.” I reconsidered my words and amended them. “I mean, I can bring the soul back, but it’s not very helpful.”
“Maybe so and maybe not. I’m not a detective or a necromancer. What I do know is that you’ve never given anything less than one hundred percent in your life.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I think Mrs. Layman would disagree.”
Momma scoffed. “I think you’ve matured a little bit from sixth grade algebra.”
My grin was automatic. “I doubt my math skills have improved much, despite Mrs. Layman’s best efforts.”
I basked in Momma’s soft chuckle. “Bless that woman, she did try. She was determined to see you through. She was a good teacher. I think she retired far too soon.”
“She retired the year I entered seventh grade. I think I broke her.”
Momma’s chuckle thickened into something gleeful, washing away the earlier gloom. “I doubt it, but who can say. I still think you gave it your best. Math has simply never been a strong suit. No one can be good at everything, Erasmus. That simply wouldn’t be fair.”
Dear Gaia, I loved the woman sitting beside me.
Leaning into the softness of the couch, Momma and I sat silently. The air-conditioning kicked on and off and still we sat, simply enjoying each other’s company. Momma’s death grip finally eased, allowing blood to circulate through my fingers again. Darkness swam around my home, the soft lighting inside pushing away its empty call.
For a moment, I thought Momma might have fallen asleep. I knew my eyelids were heavy. The stress of the day, combined with bringing Linus Remington’s soul back, weighed on me. Sleep was a heady drug I was ready to embrace.
Momma erased that sleepy ease when she asked, “Does your father know about your detective?”
I almost swallowed my tongue. “Know what?” I hedged.
Momma smacked my arm. “You know what . Don’t play coy. I’m only asking because you know how he is and…” Momma sighed. “I think Nikodemus always hoped you’d find a longer-lived mate, someone you could bond to that might share their lifespan.”
I swear my heart stuttered. “Pops wants me to tie myself to…” My mind spun with the possibilities. “He seriously thought I’d fall in love with and become someone else’s true mate?”
Different species called it different things. Warlocks and witches called it their one and only. Vampires termed them beloveds. Weres often referred to their destined matches as mates. Pixies occasionally bonded with a living individual. Every species was different. Humans didn’t create eternal, unbreakable bonds—at least not with each other. There were occasional tales of them creating that kind of bond with someone from another species, but it wasn’t that common.
If a human did find such a match, their lifespans took on that of the longer-lived species. And not just humans—all species seemed to operate that way.
“Can you truly blame him?” Momma asked, her voice soft. “He loves you and wants to keep you with him as long as possible. It would have been a solution.”
Any ease I’d found vanished under the boulder-sized weight crushing my chest. “I think it’s a little early to declare Franklin my forever mate. Tonight was the first time we even kissed, let alone anything else.” I liked Franklin. I liked him a lot. However, that didn’t automatically equate to forever.
“I see,” Momma said with a knowing cadence. “I understand your point. What I also understand is that you don’t do things by halves. I meant what I said earlier. You give everything one hundred percent, and if you believe Detective O’Hare is worth kissing, then I suspect you believe he’s worth a whole lot more. I’m not saying you need to tell your father right away, just… If it does turn into something serious, keep him in the loop.”
I fought the urge to rub my hand over my chest. The ache there was a palpable thing, and I didn’t think it was going anywhere soon.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Momma.” I’d not only keep it in mind—I’d obsesses over it until my temples pounded and my heart hurt.