A Tangled Web (A Books We Love Erotic Romance) (17 page)

"Is that a compliment?" Derek looked amused.

"She decorates for a lot of bachelors."

"I confess. I hired a decorator and told her basically what I wanted, and she did a good job. You and I have very different houses and furnishings. Don't get me wrong, but yours is a bit fancy for me."

"Feminine,"
Erin
corrected. Mitch hadn't liked it either. She was surprised Joseph had managed to keep mum on the subject. It probably was a bit frilly from a masculine point-of-view. "I had it redecorated after Joseph and I parted ways. I was feeling my independence and in wanting to stamp out his presence, I tended towards…feminine. But I might have gotten carried away."

She stroked the arm of an overstuffed chair, enjoying the feel of the fabric while admiring the glow of the rich jade colour in late afternoon light. "I like what you've done here."

Derek had ambled over to the windows where he stood, feet planted wide apart, arms folded, gazing out at the view, but now he turned to face her, looking pleased. Comfortable. At home. Seeing him here, she saw him a new light. He was still sexy but he was a man with dreams and goals, an honourable male who'd tried to do what he thought was right after having acted
too
nobly.

Erin
crossed the room to stand beside him and gaze out the window. He turned and slipped his arm around her waist. "I put a lot of time and thought into this house and had it built the way I wanted. For the interior, I wanted lots of light, colour and comfort."

Nodding, she laid her head on his shoulder, loving the heat of his body, the smell of his cologne. She'd loved him almost from the moment they'd met, but she hadn't really known him. This was the real Derek and she had no complaints.

"Come on. Let me show you the around the rest of the place so you can decide whether to give it your stamp of approval." Turning, he took her hand.

"Are you going to show me the bedroom first?" she asked, heart hammering.

"I think I'll save it for last," he said, grinning down at her.

The kitchen was black and white with the latest stainless appliances, nice but
Erin
wasn't terribly interested in cooking. Her eyes were on the butcher block-topped island and her thoughts were on an uninhibited bout of sex atop it.

"Look out here," Derek said, throwing open a door that led from the kitchen to a cosy patio with a café table and padded chairs, all shaded by an awning.

"Lovely," she murmured.

"We could take our breakfast here on sunny days." He slid his arm around her waist again.

"Mm-hm." The table was too small for sex but there was a generously sized storage chest with a cushioned top.

"What are you thinking?" Derek asked, tipping up her chin.

She felt her cheeks heat up. He'd apparently followed her gaze.

"Naughty girl," he said, laughingly touching the burning spots on her face. "If you are considering that spot, I believe I can show you better ones."

On the lower level of his house was a game room with a mahogany pool table, its surface covered with bright green felt. Standing once more with his feet apart, he stroked his moustache and grinned. "Shall I lift you up there? Or would you like to try the beanbag sofa?"

She opened her mouth.

He planted a finger over it. "Not yet. You want to make the right first choice, even though eventually we can try them all."

Derek drew her into his arms and kissed her. Tangling his tongue with hers, he fingered her crotch and she gasped.

"You're torturing me,"
Erin
whispered as he filled both his hands with her breasts.

"I want you as hot as can be before we start anything," he murmured.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly, pushing her groin against his hard-on. "I'm hot now," she panted.

"I can tell, but I think you can do better. Come on. I have something to show you outside."

"What about the bedroom?" she asked, pulling on his hand. "You haven't shown me that yet."

"You've seen beds before." Derek shrugged and pointed out a door. "That leads outside from this lower level. This is a walk-out basement, of sorts." He led her outside and down a curving brick path that led to a swimming pool with blue water that sparkled in the sunlight.

"It's gorgeous," she whispered. A high wall surrounded the pool and landscaping, which consisted of yuccas and brightly-coloured flowers she didn't recognise along with a sculpture of a naked couple holding hands and a spouting cherub fountain. "It's
Paradise
," she said softly.

"We could swim naked and no one would see us." Grinning, he unbuttoned his shirt.

Gazing at his hard body,
Erin
traced the fine mat of dark hair on his chest down to where he'd hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his suit pants. The button was open and he was about to lower the zipper. She couldn't take her eyes off him. Couldn't wait to run her hands over his manly chest and…

He unzipped his trousers and slowly slid them down his legs. Her eyes were on the bulge in the front of his tight briefs now, and her breath was coming fast. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Derek's hard-on. She could feel him watching her devour his every movement but she was too spellbound to meet his gaze.

With one quick motion, he lowered the waistband of his underwear and she gasped. His penis never failed to fill her with awe.

"Your turn," he said huskily, and standing there totally naked, feet spread wide apart, his cock standing straight out, he folded his arms and watched her with a half-smile.

Erin
fought the desire to tear off her clothes. She was dying to feel his hands on her body and his penis inside her, both stroking until she went wild. But she paced her movements and, watching the way she affected him, she began to enjoy her dance of seduction. Slithering her yellow dress up over her hips and breasts, she wiggled it over her head and tossed it away. Swaying her hips while unfastening her lacy bra, she eyed his rigid cock. "Are you eager?" she asked, chuckling throatily.

"What do you think?" He half-growled the words.

She twirled the bra in the air and let go.

He smiled as he watched it snag on a landscaping light. "A ringer. Let's see what you can do with that thong now."

Erin
turned to display her ass before slipping off the tiny garment. Laughing, she tossed it his way.

He raised a hand and caught it. "I got the brass ring and now I get a prize."

"Who says?" she asked, pushing out her lower lip in a pretend pout.

"Everyone who's ever ridden a merry-go-round." He held out his arms. "Now come here, you."

Suddenly, her playfulness left her and her desire rose, hardening her nipples and dampening her now-aching pussy. All she cared about was having Derek's hands roam all over her body.

A light breeze whipped a lock of hair across her face and surprised her, reminding her where she was—outdoors, standing alongside Derek Acampora's swimming pool, both of them naked.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Confused, she nodded.

"Then come on." Derek dived into the pool.

A shallow dive because the depth was modest, but his form was so beautiful, Erin wished she had a photo of his lean, muscled body breaking the surface of the water, late afternoon sunbeams tinting the spray as it rose.

He surfaced, holding his arms open high and wide, and she jumped into his welcoming grasp. "Sweetheart." His voice was gruff with emotion. His wet body pressed hard against hers and he held her tightly.

Manoeuvring her into water shallow enough for him to stand, Derek backed her against the pool wall and braced himself with a hand on either side of her. Lowering his head, he kissed her, the ripples of pool water caressing her breasts and her longing pussy. Seeking with his mouth, his penis pressed into the softness of her belly, he delved lower to suckle her breasts, first one and then the other. Squeezing and gasping, he laved her nipples with his hot, seeking tongue while stroking her throbbing clitoris.

"I want you, Erin. I want to slide my aching cock between the lips of your wet pussy. I want to feel you tighten around my penis and I want to shove deep inside you."

"Yes," she breathed. "I want you to fuck me. I want you so much, Derek." She dug her fingers into his shoulders and clung to him.

He pushed his tongue deep inside her mouth and pressed his hard rod against the soft skin of her stomach. She sucked his tongue and his movements grew frantic. The slosh of the water against and between them added a new sensation. As he shoved his rigid cock between her legs, she rocked back and forth along its slippery surface. Moaning, he bent his knees, lowering his body to plant the head of his shaft against her vulva. She cried out, and clutching her ass cheeks, he pushed inside of her then slowly withdrew.

"Derek," she whispered, the word almost lost in her welcoming groan. "We've found heaven in
Paradise
."

He rubbed his moustache over her mouth in the way he must know turned her on, and she squirmed against his cock. He positioned himself so it stimulated her clitoris and she buried her fingers in his thick hair.

He raised his head and looked at her. "You're really asking for it now. You know that?"

Wild with desire, she hadn't realised she was pulling his hair, but now that she did… "So," she said, tugging harder, "what are you going to do about it?"

"This," he said, thrusting inside her once more and beginning to move rhythmically, his pace increasing.

Her excitement rose. With the hard planes of his body pressed against her welcoming one and his throbbing cock pushing in and out of her tingling pussy,
Erin
cried out in ecstasy. "Yes. Yes."

He lengthened and quickened his movements, and wrapping her legs around him to raise her hips, she met his thrusts eagerly. His breath came hot against her face. His heart pounded next to hers. They were joined at the groin and that indescribable feeling of excitement and pure joy that started there began to radiate…until suddenly, her climax washed over her. With a cry, he came too.

"I love you," Derek said as he held her close.

"I love you too,"
Erin
said and this time she knew what love really was.

* * *

A little while later, after he'd dried her body with a big fluffy towel, they sat in the bedroom in the middle of a mammoth round bed, enjoying a glass of champagne.
Erin
wore a blue dress shirt of Derek's with the sleeves rolled up, and he was clad in black underwear so brief she couldn't take her eyes off the contours of his penis and balls.

"This is the final leg of the tour, the one I saved for last," he said. "Do you like it?"

Erin
swept her glance over the spacious bedroom. Sheer curtains drawn over the windows filtered the light that spilled over the bed. "It's wonderful." She ran a hand across the blue and white striped bedspread and wiggled her bare bottom into the depth of the mattress. "You have a charming house."

"So you're giving it your seal of approval?"

"Absolutely." Her heart beat wildly, but if she'd misunderstood what he was asking, she didn't want to appear a fool. "I particularly like the swimming pool."

He chuckled, tipped her chin with his forefinger and gazed into her eyes. "What I'm trying to find out is…is this a place where you'd like to live, with an attorney who's never been married or arrested, loves scotch on the rocks and prime rib, has never been known to snore or sleepwalk and who graduated from Indiana University Law School summa cum laude?"

She laughed lightly, almost but not quite sure of herself now. "Is that a proposal or a crash course on your background?"

"Both, but primarily a
marriage
proposal." Derek took her into his arms. "I love you and want you in my life forever, Erin Fox. We don't have to marry right away if you feel the need to wait, but if we do it my way, it can't be too soon."

"Derek?" She could feel the hardness of his penis and she was hungry for him again. "Let's start with me spending the night," she said, rolling him over so he was on top of her, "and we'll talk in the morning."

"Suits me," he said, ducking low, his words muffled as he rubbed his moustache across the lips of her pussy.

She couldn't possibly
not
marry him, but there were things she wanted to do right now that did not include talking.

Chapter Fifteen

"Everything concerning Angel's wedding turned out great,"
Erin
said, stretching her arms high over her head, "but I'm glad it's over. All that led up to it was nerve-wracking."

It was Monday morning and, as she faced her partners across her French provincial desk at Wives-R-Us, she brimmed with happiness. The arrangement of their workspaces in the office allowed her to look into their faces as they talked, and she wanted to gauge their reactions when she told them her news.

Margo reclined in her yellow leather chair, leafing through a window treatment catalogue, trying to find something suitable for her current client's bachelor pad. Lea was sitting at her black enamel table desk, studying her fingernails.

"It was tiring," Margo agreed, "but I enjoyed the brief getaway. There's a lot to be said for shacking up in a hotel with my handsome hubby." She rolled her eyes and licked her lips. "I'm glad you didn't have to borrow Brit for the ceremony,
Erin
."

"The reason it was tiring, Margo, is all that time you spent in your room," Lea said. Pulling a bottle of nail polish out of a drawer, she began adding a fresh coat to her coral-coloured nails. "You two were missing half the time."

"There's something about hotel rooms that turns me on," Margo said, chuckling.
             

"What doesn't?" Lea asked, and they all laughed. "So what's up with you and Derek,
Erin
? Are you two next to tie the knot?"

Erin
folded her hands tightly on her desktop, savouring her news and unwilling to give it away too fast. "I'm still in shock that he's an attorney with half-ownership of a law firm and the owner of a marvellous house in downtown Indy. You should see it, Margo. Talk about bachelor pads! This one is amazing, but it's also well-suited to family living. It's set on a hill, and it's all stone and glass and modern with huge rooms and a terrace and a kidney-shaped swimming pool." Her pussy tightened just thinking about what they'd done there. "It's beautifully furnished, it's his dream house. It's almost anyone's dream, but…"

"Not yours?" Lea asked, waving her hands even though her nails must be dry by now.

"No…yes. I could live there and love it." She couldn't hold back her news any longer. "Derek proposed but I haven't given him a definite answer yet."

"Why in hell not?" Margo demanded, tossing a catalogue on the floor. "What are you waiting for?"

"I don't know about Joe—if he'd be happy there."

"He'd love a swimming pool in his back yard," Margo said.

Erin
nodded. "And the pool table Derek has on the lower level, and since Joe goes to boarding school, moving to another area wouldn't affect his friendships." It would be an adjustment for her son, but she intended to give him and Derek some time to get to know one another before the marriage. "Joey is mature for his age. I guess that's one good thing about the school, and I believe he'll come around just fine.

"However, there's another issue…" This was one that would be less easy to solve and the reason she'd asked Derek to give her a couple of days to work things out. "What about Wives-R-Us? If I move into Derek's house, which is what he wants and I do too, it's unlikely anyone would buy my home and let us continue to maintain a business on the premises. I was fortunate to win an exception from the zoning board in the first place, and if the property changes hands, there's a good chance the board will reverse their decision."

"So-o..." Lea's tone caught
Erin
's attention immediately. "Have either of you ever thought about closing the business?" Lea asked.

"Have
you
considered it?"
Erin
demanded, leaning forward in her chair.

"What would we do without Wives-R-Us?" Margo asked. "I'd get bored staying home every day."

Erin
spoke slowly, taken aback by Lea's suggestion. "It may be different for Lea with twins at home and Mike working out of the house."

"It is." Lea studied her nails and
Erin
knew this wasn't easy for her. "I'd like to take Julie and Jon to the park and zoo and other places they enjoy. You know I wanted children but Doug didn't, and now I feel like I'm missing the best part of it. Their sitter gets to do all the fun things with them and Darlene is good, but it's a job to her, and I feel they need a mother's love. They're either with her or at nursery school, and since their real mom has never cared about them, I think Julie and Jon need me. I also like being there for Mike when he's between patients and wants to talk." Lea smiled. "Or cuddle. However, I didn't want to walk out on the two of you, so I haven't said anything."

"Maybe you could work from home," Margo suggested.

"With twins tugging at me to do this and that? If had to say 'no' to them every time they wanted something, that would defeat my purpose."

Margo nodded, and
Erin
waited for her comment.

"Brit has been talking about a Mediterranean cruise, and closing our business would free me up to go. I might need another career down the road
unless
we decide to get pregnant."

"You're considering a baby?"
Erin
squealed.

Margo shrugged and smiled. "We're just practicing making one for now, but I don't think I'm too old if we decide that's what we want."

"Well, there won't be any babies for Derek and me," Erin said, a fleeting thought crossing her mind, "but if you're both willing and eager to give up Wives-R-Us, I'll say 'yes' to his proposal and deal with my spare time later."

"Wait a damned minute," Margo said. "He almost married Angel so he could have a baby of his own. So what if you two adopted?"

"That's an idea!"
Erin
jumped up to pace. Remembering what Derek said about night time bottles and dirty diapers, she wasn't sure it was a good idea. However… "It wouldn't have to be a newborn that wakes up for feedings. We could go for a toddler that's potty-trained…a little boy to carry on the Acampora family name."

Joey would like being a big brother, and Derek's mom and dad might even forgive him and her for the wedding debacle. She looked at her watch. "I suppose I should wait until Derek gets home from the office to ask what he thinks of the idea."

"Maybe you should accept Derek's proposal before you make one of your own," Margo said dryly.

"Besides, you'd better give adoption some serious thought," Lea said. "Kids aren't easy, in case you've forgotten. Of course, they have their saving graces." She fingered a picture of Julie and Jon standing between Mike and her in front of their country home and smiled.

"Stop it, you two" Margo said. "The question at hand, before
Erin
starts fantasising about motherhood is—"

"I haven't forgotten,"
Erin
said. "What about the future of Wives-R-Us?"

* * *

Derek and Erin stood before the altar of Sweet Love Wedding Chapel. Margo and Lea stood beside
Erin
, and Brit and Dr. Mike stood next to Derek. The organ music swelled and the minister began to speak. When the wedding rings were exchanged, vows repeated and they were pronounced man and wife, Derek's heart swelled with love and happiness. He'd married the right woman
for him
.

Joey was the only other person who knew about the wedding. He and Derek had gotten to know one another over the past month, and he was okay with them getting married but when a school chum invited him to his family's summer home at
Lake
Wawasee
, he begged to go there instead. In another week, classes would resume and he wanted to 'have some fun'.

The wedding package included a white stretch limo to take them to an intimate little Italian restaurant. His bride looked like a cover girl in a cream-coloured silk dress that clung to her tantalising curves. She wore a peach rose pinned in her hair and, sitting next to her in a banquette, he leaned close to inhale the aroma. "Sweet Love did all right by us. Don't you think?" Derek asked.

"They did everything beautifully,"
Erin
agreed, tracing his jaw line. "With your dark colouring, hair and moustache…" Smiling, she stroked it. "You look totally dashing in a white tuxedo." She touched his peach rose boutonnière. "You look like the hero in some fantastic love story."

"The good guy always wears white, and the good guy wins the woman he loves," Derek said, lifting her chin with his forefinger. "Are you happy we chose to elope?"

"Totally. I'd always dreamed of getting married in Vegas." She laid her head on his shoulder. "We experienced enough turmoil with Angel's wedding,"
Erin
told the others.

"Nightmare stuff," Derek agreed, kissing his lovely wife on the cheek. "We wanted to keep everything simple and fun." Chuckling, he fondled
Erin
's thigh through the silk of her dress.

"Quick, before the wedding couple ignites, someone needs to make a toast," Margo said.

"I will,"
Erin
said, raising her glass.

He touched her arm. "You're not supposed—"

"Let me finish, Derek. This is a significant occasion in more ways than one." She smiled at him and turned back to the others.

"Here's to Leanne and Margo and the wonderful years we've spent in business together. Wives-R-Us is ending, but our friendship will last forever."

"Amen." Margo clinked her glass against
Erin
's.

"Forever," Lea echoed, doing the same.

"Now, before our women go teary-eyed on us, let's drink to the wedding couple," Brit said. "Best wishes to Derek and Erin. May their love and marriage last to eternity."

"That said, the bar is open until the wee hours, and your tabs are covered for as long as you want to stay," Derek said, "but don't expect us newlyweds to stick around long." Edging his hand under his wife's dress, he trailed his fingers along her satiny skin. Beneath the cover of the tablecloth, he touched her crotch and found it damp.
Erin
snaked her hand over to fondle his erection. Their eyes met and hers were as hot as his must be.

"I think we've stayed too long already," she announced, winking at him as she rose.

Derek led the way towards the door, holding his dinner napkin in front of him. He and Erin had made it halfway across the room when laughing and clapping rang out from their table. Knowing every head in the restaurant would swivel, Derek wanted to fall through the floor, but his quick-thinking wife stopped, turned and tossed her bridal bouquet, drawing everyone's attention while Derek made his escape.

When she came through the door, he grabbed her and kissed her. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, only differently. "Erin…Acampora…you are one helluva smart woman. And…he whispered in her ear….now I intend to fuck
my wife
senseless."

~ The End ~