Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but all too human.” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.
Eric didn’t get sick, but Gracie stayed at his place throughFriday, when her fever finally broke. She’d been heartbroken to miss Christmas with her parents and delivering Santa gifts to Margaret for Pip, so Eric had done it for her. He’d even wrapped them in the special parchment paper and ribbons she’d bought. She’d been half-asleep when he’d told her he was leaving to deliver them, but he’d taken pictures as proof.
Eric knew she’d gotten up this morning to check on The Local Bean and see her parents, but he was hoping she was coming back to his place after. He couldn’t help checking his phone between drink orders, hoping he’d find a text from her.
It was almost last call, and still nothing. He shouldn’t be disappointed; just because he’d taken care of her this week didn’t mean that she wanted to pick up where they’d left off.
“Hey, Eric, can I get a lemon drop?”
Eric turned to Kirsten’s feline smile. “Yeah, coming up.” He mixed it quickly and when he handed it to her, she asked, “So did you and Gracie break up? I thought I read something in Small Town Scandals about the two of you—”
“No, we didn’t.”
“Huh. My mistake. I saw her car parked outside Mike Stevens’s housetonight. Figured maybe those two had finally connected after all these years. But good for you for sticking it out.” She did a little finger wave and walked back to her table.
Eric gritted his teeth, cursing himself for letting her get to him. Gracie and Mike had both told him they didn’t feel anything more than friendship. He had no reason to be jealous. Kirsten was just being a bitch.
Then why hasn’t she texted you all day if things are better between you?
Little needles of doubt wiggled through his brain the rest of the night, and he tried not to think about it, tried not to let his imagination go crazy. He texted her as he was walking out the door.
On my way home. You staying at your placetonight?
He got into his car and drove, waiting for the notification ding that never came. He was getting agitated, especially when he drove by her place and didn’t see her car. The crazy part of his brain told him to drive by Mike’s house, but the not-a-jealous-bastard side went straight home instead.
When he pulled into the drive, Gracie’s car was parked in front, and his heart thumped in relief. He got out and moved quickly into the house, feeling like the world’s biggest asshole for checking up on her.
She was curled up on his couch asleep, the TV on one of the movie channels. Fuzz was sleeping across her legs, his chin resting on her butt. Eric peeked over at her, wrapped up in a blanket and his T-shirt. She was the best thing in the world he could possibly come home to. He reached down and rubbed Fuzz’s head until the dog jumped down.
Eric came around the front of the couch and lifted her slowly into his arms. He was always amazed at how small she was, how light and delicate. She was such a pistol that most of the time, she seemed larger than life.
She snuggled into his chest and whispered drowsily, “You’re home.”
Damn, but he liked the way she said that. “Yeah, baby, I’m home.”
A soft snore was his answer, and he carried her back to his bedroom, slipping her gently under the covers. He undressed quietly and reached out for her. She snuggled against him, and he was so tempted to say the words he’d been holding back all week, but he resisted. He needed to learn how to be patient.
* * *
Gracie woke up the next morning in Eric’s bed, wrapped up in a tangle of long arms and legs. She smiled at the familiar smell of his cologne and wiggled closer to him. She’d stayed late at Michael’s, talking about everything that had been going on with them, and when she’d left, all she could think of was being with Eric. She hadn’t realized she’d left her phone at The Local Bean until she’d reached into her purse to call Eric and let him know she was heading to his house. She hadn’t felt like going to the shop to get it and had continued out to his house to wait for him.
This week had flipped something inside her. When Eric had taken care of her without expecting anything in return, and after the way she’d behaved with him, she’d realized she needed to be better. To stop letting fear of being hurt determine the direction of her romantic life.
But was she ready to think about an actual relationship with Eric?
Little needles of jealously stabbed at her when she thought of another woman waking up with him every morning, making dinner with him until food was forgotten and all they hungered for was each other. Another woman who would call him on his bullshit and bear his children. Another woman who would kiss him fifty times a day and grow old with him.
The thought of Eric with anyone else made her ill, but no matter how much she cared, she wasn’t sure if they were right for each other. It had to go beyond just feelings and down to what they both wanted for the future. She had been too afraid to ask any heavy questions about kids, afraid he’d think she was trying to move fast. A month was not long to date someone, and definitely too soon to start talking about marriage.
Unless you know that person is the right one.
She frowned at herself. Romantic craziness got you into trouble, and that was trouble she didn’t need. They were happy right now. No sense in rocking the boat.
And her feelings for him were definitely different from anything she’d ever felt before. She just wasn’t sure yet what to do with them except to treat him with all the respect and care that he’d done for her. That was a good start.
She slipped out of his arms to make breakfast. Fuzz got up to go with her.
When she reached the door, his voice stopped her. “Where are you off to?”
She turned toward him. He looked blurry-eyed and ornery and sexy. She couldn’t stop the goofy smile that spread across her mouth. “I was going to make us food.”
He shook his head. “Forget it. You’ve been sick all week and don’t need to strain yourself. Come back to bed, and we’ll get donuts later.” He held his arms out. “Hurry up, woman, it’s freezing without you.”
“Well, gee, since you asked so nicely.” She walked back to the bed and crawled into his arms. His big hand played with her hair and ran down her back, over the cotton of his T-shirt.
“How was work?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It was work. People got drunk, acted stupid, and I called them a cab. What did you do yesterday? Somebody said they saw your car parked at Mike Stevens’s.”
She looked up to see his expression. His eyes were closed and his face was relaxed. “Yeah, I went there after I spent the afternoon with my mom. We exchanged Christmas gifts and talked.” Several moments ticked by before she prodded, “Who said they saw my car?”
“I don’t know. I think it was Kirsten.” His voice held something she couldn’t place.
She leaned up on an elbow and tried teasing. “Were you jealous?”
He opened his eyes and looked at her face so directly, she froze. “Yes.”
His answer startled her, and a tiny part of her was thrilled. “Why were you jealous? I told you that Mike and I are just friends and that’s all we’ll ever be.”
“I don’t know.” Eric ran his hand over his face with a groan. “Just thought maybe you might have changed your mind.”
“Not yet. I promise you’ll be the first to know if I do, though.” She said it lightly, adding a kiss to let him know she was kidding. It was so strange to think of this big, macho guy feeling so insecure. It was just another clue that what was between them had somehow become real. “So, what should we do today?”
The shadows left his eyes, and he wiggled his bushy black eyebrows. “I could think of a few things.”
She ran her hand over the soft down hair covering his scalp. She was surprised he was letting it grow.
“Oh yeah?” she purred. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
* * *
Eric held his breath as her lips trailed down his neck. Her hands were doing little circles over his body, and after weeks without her, his cock was ready to explode. He waited with bated breath while her hand slid over his stomach and under his boxers. He lifted his head to kiss her, playing softly over her lips. She responded briefly, kissing him back hard, but then pulled away to trail her mouth over his bared abdomen. She hovered over him, her breath warming the front of his boxers. She slipped her hands into the top and slid them down.
His cock sprang free, and Gracie’s hand wrapped around the base of him just before her mouth covered his tip.
“Jesus…” he groaned, running his hand over the back of her hair.
She pulled up enough and teased, “Nope, just me.”
Before he could laugh or tell her that was a good one, her mouth was back and his laugh turned into another groan. His hands moved out of her hair, and he gripped the covers in his fists. He tried to think about anything but the feel of her going down on him. He started visualizing a car engine and how to rebuild it, but the sweep of her tongue under his shaft made little stars explode behind his eyes.
“Fuck, baby, if you don’t stop I’m gonna…”
She paused long enough to whisper breathlessly, “It’s okay.”
He rolled them until he was sitting up, hovering over her. “No. Not for me. It’s not good for me unless you go too.”
He caught her smile a second before his mouth took hers, and he drew out the kiss, making slow leisurely sweeps of his tongue. He helped her pull his T-shirt over her head, revealing her small perfect breasts, and gave each rosy nipple a soft kiss. “You are so beautiful.”
He watched her face as he rubbed the firm mounds gently, taking one of the hard points between his lips. He rolled it in his mouth, and her head fell back with a moan.
“I think about this a hundred times a day, touching you, kissing you, listening to those sweet sounds you make when I do something you like.”
Her lips twisted up at the corners, and her voice was breathy as she joked, “Only a hundred?”
He chuckled and moved his hands down her body. “It’s probably more, but every time you cross my mind, my dick pitches a tent in my pants, and it’s damn uncomfortable.”
Gracie giggled until he slipped his hand between her legs. His fingers found her clit, then slid down along her slit. He worked his fingers in and out of her with one hand while the other pressed her nub, making fast circles over it as she moved against him.
When her hand reached between them and grabbed his dick, he let her take control. She guided him to her entrance, and he pushed inside.
She tried to kiss him hard, but he controlled the rhythm of their lovemaking and kept the kisses soft. He eased out of her and slid back in deep, so slow it was bordering on torture for him, but he wanted it to be good for her. She held on to his shoulders, and he continued to kiss her sweet mouth as he slipped in and out of her tight body.
Finally, she started to tremble. He caught her cry in his mouth as her body rocked against his, and when her muscles spasmed around his cock, he let go.
As they both came down, he rolled onto his back and ran his hands over her spine. Her lips were sweetly swollen and her eyes dreamy, and he reached up to cup her cheek. Her smile was like Christmas lights, bright and twinkly, and her voice was low when she quipped, “I think you’re getting better at this.”
He grunted. “I’ve always been good at this. I’m just lucky I found the right partner.”
Her body stiffened, and he realized he’d sounded like a fucking jackass.
“Sorry, I just meant we’re good together.”
“Yeah,” she said, trailing her fingers over his chest without meeting his eye.
“It’s too bad you still don’t like me, though.”
His teasing had the effect he hoped for, and she relaxed. “Yeah. Too bad.”