Chapter 10 #2
And then she was on her knees on the bed, covering his mouth with a kiss to quiet that thought. Tenderness for her hit him square in the chest, a gut check reminding him to treat her well. To do this right.
Willing down all his heat for her, Remy kissed her, taking his time to find the places that made her sigh or gasp or just wriggle closer.
Behind her ear made her hold him tighter.
The soft place just above her shoulder had her melting all over him.
Only then, when she was too distracted to tease him, did he unhook the front clasp of her bra to reveal the rest of her full breasts.
They more than filled his hands, and he urged her back on the bed so he could take his time with each one, licking and nipping until the tips were tight, sensitive peaks. Erin’s fingers ran through his hair until he pulled one nipple deep into his mouth.
While she murmured softly, moving against him in a restless dance, he peeled her leggings and panties off in a long sweep, baring the rest of her.
His mouth never left her breast as he cupped her sex in his palm, barely grazing the silken folds, already damp for him.
Then her nails curved gently into his shoulder and held, a pleasant, grounding pain to balance out the unbelievable pleasure of having her underneath him.
“Remy.” She smoothed her fingers over the place where she’d held him tight a moment ago. “I want you inside me.”
Not until that moment did he make the connection—one of the many reasons he liked Erin was for her bluntness. He cleaned up well, but his roots were as bayou earthy as they came.
“Yes, ma’am.” He reached for the box and attacked the shrink-wrap.
She had to help him, a smile creeping over her lips.
“Open boxes much?” She brushed her fingers along the rough edge of his jaw.
“Not with a hot woman urging me to go faster.” He freed a packet and ripped it open with his teeth.
Her light laughter felt like a stroke along his spine, a touch that tingled all the way down.
“You like that, chère?” he whispered in her ear, enjoying the feel of her silky hair against his lips. “I’ll give you more to like in a minute.”
Her breath caught in her throat as he eased a finger inside her.
A small gasp echoed in the quiet room as he added a second.
He had to close his eyes to dull some of the sensation threatening to catapult him over the edge.
Everything about her made him want her more.
Seeing her, tasting her, the amber scent along her neck…
“Remy.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and he opened his eyes again. “Stay with me, okay? Right here, in this moment with me.”
He nodded, his throat closing up tight.
Withdrawing his fingers, he positioned himself between her thighs. Sweat popped along the base of his neck from the effort to go slow, and he wasn’t even inside her yet.
And then, slowly, he was.
Heat blasted up his spine, the sensations rocking him. He needed to stay still, holding himself right there, deep inside her until he could rein himself in. Erin’s legs circled his hips, her ankles locking to keep him there.
“You feel incredible.” He traced the curve of her hip. The indent of her waist.
“You’re telling me?” She arched closer, her breasts pressing into his chest. “I’ve never felt this good in my life.”
Taking a deep breath, he began to move inside her. Slowly at first, letting the pleasure build again. He thought about her lips. Her shoulders. Her sleek fall of bronze hair. Any small detail of the moment to keep his full focus away from the slick hold of her body on his.
So when her breathing shifted, he heard it. He was so dialed into her every movement he knew just where to touch her to take her higher. He could feel how close she was to finding her release and it pushed him nearer to his.
“I’m not going alone,” she warned, her hips rising up to meet his, shifting the rhythm in a way he couldn’t ignore.
Then, it was just a matter of time. Control slipped. Desire flamed red hot. Release pounded through him in wave after wave. Vaguely, in the middle of it all, he knew that Erin found hers, too, her body arched and taut for long moments until she writhed with him in a tangle of limbs.
When he finished, he collapsed beside her. He might as well have passed out, unconscious, his brain a blank to the world while the rest of his body tried to recalibrate. Pleasure fed every nerve ending for long moments.
Eyes still closed, he stroked her hair. He became aware of a ceiling fan clicking overhead, stirring the faintest breeze.
The longer he could soak in this peaceful ease, the better.
He didn’t want to think. Didn’t want to remember the last time he’d lain naked beside a woman and breathed the same air.
“Maybe if we don’t talk anymore tonight, we can end on this good note.” Erin shifted beside him.
He forced open an eye to gauge her expression. She propped her elbow beneath her head as she watched him.
“A vow of silence to combat first-time awkwardness.” He stroked his jaw, pretending to think it over. “Unorthodox, but it just might work. It would be nice to take home all these happy endorphins without ever tackling a big, meaningful conversation.”
She bit her lip and twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “It would have to be a vow of sex and silence, though.”
“Does that mean we have sex quietly?” He brushed a silky strand of dark hair away from her face. Tucked it behind her ear.
“Well, no. I meant we could have more sex despite the sworn oath of silence.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” He reached for her just as his cell phone buzzed.
“I’ll try and find us something to eat while you take that.” Erin slid off the bed and shrugged into a pale green silk robe decorated with big pink flowers.
Sifting through the pile of clothes on his floor, he found his phone. The number belonged to Sarah’s counselor and it wasn’t her office phone. It was her cell, something she’d only given out for emergency contact in the past.
“Thanks for returning my call, Theresa.” He sat on the edge of Erin’s bed, his shoulders tense.
“Actually, I’m calling on Sarah’s behalf.”
The counselor had been with them since she’d been introduced to Sarah at a grief support group at the hospital after Liv’s death. Theresa had been with his daughter through a lot, and while there had been ups and downs in Sarah’s behavior, Remy trusted the woman’s opinion.
“Didn’t you get my message?” He’d called to ask her what she thought about Sarah not applying to colleges. “I’m worried that Sarah’s keeping secrets. She isn’t following through on important things and—”
“Remy, Sarah has confided some things to me that are troubling, but she has invoked her doctor-patient privilege at a time when I would have really preferred to bring you in on the discussion.”
Her words delivered a solid punch to his gut.
“What kind of things?” He pulled on his boxers and pants, feeling he’d better be dressed for this.
He wished he hadn’t let Sarah go to that party tonight.
Had he been in too much of a hurry to be with Erin?
“I can’t discuss it with you, but I can promise I’m encouraging her to talk to you about it.”
Fear and frustration rattled him from his toes. He paced Erin’s bedroom, barely seeing where he was going. He wanted to be on that plane now so he could sort this out in Theresa’s office face-to-face with Sarah.
“You can’t be serious. If she’s in trouble or making bad choices, you can’t just let her get hurt.”
“Of course not. Please. Remy, I’ve been with Sarah a long time. She’s scared and trying to do the right thing.”
“What’s she scared of?” he half shouted, on edge at the thought of his daughter afraid when he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. “Is it me? Was she scared to tell me about the colleges?”
“No. Listen. I need for you to calm down.”
“I defy you to be calm if someone told you your kid was scared and wouldn’t come to you about it.” He stopped just in front of Erin’s door and leaned his forehead against it. His temples had started to ache and the pressure felt good.
“I understand. Believe me, I do.” Theresa paused. “Remy, is there any way you can delay your trip back to Miami?”
His head shot up.
“Excuse me?” On alert, he wondered for a second if Sarah had concocted something to stay in Heartache longer, then felt guilty for thinking it.
“I wondered if you could extend your work trip so that Sarah could take a little breather from home.”
“She has school. She’s already missed a week.”
“Next week is her spring break. I’d be happy to contact the school myself.”
“I have a career. A life.” He pounded his fist against a bureau, making the miniature female superhero action figures adorning it jump. “I could lose my job.”
He’d already pushed it, taking so much time off after Liv’s death. He needed to increase the ratings on all three of his shows, but Interstate Antiquer especially.
“It’s only for a little while until we deal with an important issue.”
“An issue I can’t know about.” Closing his eyes, he squeezed his temples and wondered what the hell the studio executives would have to say about this.
“Unfortunately, I have reason to believe that Sarah isn’t safe in Miami.” The counselor’s words took his knees out from under him.
He was standing one second. The next, sitting on the floor.
“What are you taking about?” The blood drained from his face, his extremities. The room spun.
“I’m talking about being very vigilant where Sarah’s safety is concerned. This is just a precaution until I talk to her school counselor and get a better handle on the situation, but until then, she will be safer with you in Tennessee or wherever else you need to travel.”
“If you have endangered her in any way by not telling me what’s going on—” He couldn’t finish the sentence since there was no reasonable retribution he could name.
“Sarah is a strong girl. You should be proud of her for confiding her fears to someone.” She emphasized the last word ever so subtly, as if to remind him that Sarah didn’t trust him enough to talk to him.
Then again, he could just be listening to Theresa with a lot of guilt on his conscience.
“I would do anything to keep her safe.”
“I know. And when you tell Sarah of the change in plans, you might not want to mention the specifics of our conversation. I haven’t said anything that would break confidentiality, of course, but it might help her open up to you sooner if she didn’t feel pressured.”
“I’ll do my best.” Thanking her, he disconnected the call and wondered what the hell to do for the next few days.
Stay in Heartache? He was sure that would be Sarah’s preference, although he could move on and scout other locations in northern Tennessee or Kentucky for future episodes.
One thing was certain, he needed to figure out what was going on with her.
Because whatever it was must be serious.
It would take all his willpower to stay here and wait for Sarah to confide in him when what he really wanted to do was catch that plane to Miami by himself and interrogate every last kid in her school until he found out what had her spooked.
For now, he needed to leave Erin’s and put tonight out of his mind. It had been welcome. Incredible, even. But this wasn’t the right time in his life to make choices for himself.