Heart Trouble (11 page)

Erin swallowed and met his heavy-lidded gaze in the mirror. “Fuck me, Sean.”

“That’s it.” He thrust once, pushing deep, forcing another ragged moan from her throat. “Beautiful.”

He began to move, plunging and retreating in long, steady strokes. Building the heat until pleasure soaked her senses, flooded into every cell. God, it felt so incredible her knees threatened to buckle. Sean’s hand steadied her, then slipped lower, his middle finger easing along her slick cleft to tease her clit.

“Yes,” she said. “Don’t stop.”

His thrusts rocked her, tipping her head forward until she could only meet his hungry gaze through the disheveled veil of her hair. He pushed his fingers through the errant strands, gently at first, then closed his fist and angled her head back with just enough force to make her cry out, to send a jolt of pain and unexpected bliss right through her core.

“Watch, Erin. I want us both to see your face when you come.”

“Harder.” The tinge of desperation in her voice shocked her.

He obliged, fucking her deep, their bodies slapping together. Her hands curled into fists against the glass, clutching at nothing. Sean’s finger pushed through her wet folds, swirling around her swollen clit.

Another forceful tug on her hair flooded her system with endorphins. She came in a hot, drugging rush, meeting Sean’s determined gaze in the mirror.

He let go of her hair and grasped her hips in both hands, slamming up into her until a deep groan shook him, and she felt his cock pulse in steady beats. His soughing breaths skated over her back as he pressed his forehead to her shoulder. Then he brushed his mouth across her shoulder in a soothing path. A shiver rippled through her behind the rough caress of the day-old stubble on his jaw.

Lifting his head, he slid from her body. Erin straightened, wincing at the dull ache in her tender tissues. No wonder, as much sex as they’d been having.

A hot soak might come in handy later tonight.

Sean kissed her temple. “Luke will be here any minute. I better clean up and let you finish getting dressed.”

He left her alone in the closet. Standing there she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to cry. Why, she wasn’t exactly sure. Hormones maybe? Nerves? Fear? All of the above? She hated feeling so goddamned fragile. It drove her nuts.

She tilted her head back in frustration, blinking to get the tears under control. Her gaze swept over a large shopping bag sitting on the top shelf. Erin jumped up and snagged a corner, and it tumbled down into her arms.

Bingo!
She nearly cried with relief.

Inside were several outfits Tess had given her last year when she’d gained a little weight and couldn’t bear to throw them out. Rifling through the items, she found a long white cotton peasant skirt, which she topped with a loose sky-blue blouse. Flat white sandals completed the outfit. She pulled some of her hair back from her face with a barrette and added a light touch of mascara and lip gloss. Blush wasn’t needed. Not with what Sean had just done to her.

Erin gave her reflection a satisfied smile. Not half bad for a woman who preferred tabloid rags over fashion magazines.

Chapter Ten

Sean gaped when he saw the burgundy-colored cap perched atop Luke’s head.

I Love Cocks
was written in big black letters across the front, in homage to Luke’s family’s beloved South Carolina Gamecocks college football team. In between the words
Love
and
Cocks
was a tiny
the
that could barely be read from two feet away.

“I’m gonna kick your ass, dickhead,” he grumbled.

Luke, who hadn’t stopped grinning since he’d walked through the door, swept the cap from his head and tossed it at Sean. “I borrowed it from my sister specifically for this occasion.”

Sean scowled. “Since I like your sister, I’m not going to touch that with a ten-foot pole.”

Luke laughed and slung his duffel bag off his shoulder. They’d even made sure that Luke used the same brand and color as Sean’s for continuity. “Should we change shirts? I did show you some mercy in that department,” he said, pointing at his navy polo. “I thought about snagging one of my dad’s loud Hawaiian numbers.”

“You come from an odd gene pool, Avery,” Sean said as he whipped his gray T-shirt over his head. “Just remember, paybacks are a bitch.”

Luke followed suit, nailing Sean in the chest with his shirt. “Bring it on, asshole.”

A soft “Oh my” came from behind them. Sean turned around to Erin standing there, her fingers across her lips and laughter dancing in her eyes. “Two gorgeous half-naked men in my living room. What ever did I do to deserve this?” she drawled, fanning her face with her hand.

He couldn’t move. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and his feet to the floor. Erin looked amazing. What she wore was completely respectable, not anywhere near as revealing as the dress she’d been wearing the night they’d met. The skirt grazed her ankles for fuck’s sake, and the blouse barely showed a hint of cleavage through a little keyhole opening in the scooping neckline.

It was what it did to her that had him speechless. She looked so wholly feminine he wanted to weep. The sliver of bare skin peeking out above the top of the skirt and the bottom of the shirt made his mouth water. Her hair fell in soft waves across her shoulders, curling down to the tips of those breasts he wanted to immortalize in bronze. And the blouse… Christ, the color made her eyes look almost unnaturally blue, as if he could dive right into their depths and get lost forever.

It was going to be a long night.

Luke, the bastard, found his voice before Sean could. “Talk about gorgeous.” He strolled over to Erin and took her hands, lifting her arms out at her sides. Her top rode up her waist, showing more of that silky skin Sean knew tasted like sugar. “You, Doc, are the very definition of the word.”

Sean wanted to punch Luke right in the mouth, friend or not.

Erin giggled.
Giggled
. Fuck, he needed to open his mouth. “Luke, put your shirt on and stop putting the moves on my date.”

“Easy there, partner. Just paying the lady a compliment.” When Luke lifted Erin’s hand to brush his lips across her knuckles, Sean’s rigor mortis vanished, and he shoved him out of the way. Luke laughed and fished another T-shirt from his backpack, abandoning Sean’s in favor of one of his own.

Sean pulled the polo over his head, using the moment to get the green-eyed monster under control. He winked at Erin, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “You do look good enough to eat, honey.”

Her cheeks flushed with color, and everything below his belt buckle noticed. Yeah, this was going to be a damned long night. At least until he could get her back to her apartment. Or his. His was closer to his parents’ house. Hell, he might even take her in his old bedroom, christen his virgin twin-size bed while his baseball trophies watched.

The way he craved this woman shocked him to the soles of his feet. He enjoyed sex as much as the next red-blooded male, but this… This he couldn’t put a name to. It was more than lust. And it was more than like. Did that make it love? Had he fallen for Erin that quickly?

Luke popped him on the back. “You’re one lucky son of a bitch, Rembert. I shoulda had that detail at Blue, and then you’d be sittin’ on your ass while
I
squired Miss Taylor—correction—
Doctor
Taylor around town.”

Sean grinned. “Tough shit.”

“Oh, dear.” Erin patted Sean’s cheek. “We better go before you two start thumping your chests and arm wrestling.” Ah, the voice of reason had returned.

“Good idea,” Sean said with a nod.

Erin told Luke to help himself to whatever snacks he wanted, and Sean reminded him about keeping the lights low and staying away from the windows. Luke flipped him the finger. “Go have fun with the Doc. Tell your father I said happy birthday.”

Sean slid his sunglasses on his face before slapping the ridiculous cap onto his head. Erin bit her lip when she read it, fighting a smile. “It’s the asshole’s fault,” he said, tilting his head toward Luke. “Laugh and I’ll spank your ass later,” he murmured when they reached the door. Her eyes went a little round. Then he added, “With my belt.” Her cheeks turned as pink as her nipples, and he fell a little harder.

* * * *

Every once in a while Sean glanced in the rearview mirror as they drove toward his parents’ house. Beside him, Erin had loosened the death grip she’d had on her skirt. He reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a quick squeeze. “We weren’t followed. Pete would’ve called if he’d seen anything suspicious as we left your apartment complex.”

“Okay.”

Chances were good that she wasn’t being watched during the day anyway. The suspect probably had a regular job, maybe even a wife and family. All the past attacks had happened in the middle of the night, so there was no reason to think he’d change his ways now, not when it had been working for him thus far.

Erin relaxed back in the seat of his Charger. It’d about killed him to let Luke drive it, because he knew how Luke treated his own vehicles, but it was necessary under the circumstances.

“So tell me about your family, Sean. Are you close?”

“Yeah, we are, which can be both blessing and curse at times.”

Shit, he shouldn’t have said that, considering Erin didn’t have much of a family. At least one that was close by and tight like his was. He glanced over at her, but she was staring straight ahead, her eyes hidden behind her dark sunglasses.

“We all live here in Jacksonville, so that means a lot of get-togethers,” he said. “My mom finds any excuse she can to do big dinners.”

She smiled. “It sounds nice.”

“Once a month is nice. Once a
week
is trying.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Once a week?”

“Every Sunday night.”

“Oh. Wow. That is…”

“Too much. You can say it. Trust me, it won’t hurt my feelings.”

“Does she get upset if you don’t show up?”

“She used to. Oh, I still get the guilt-trip dumped on me when I don’t come, but what are you gonna do? I’m a cop. My schedule is crazy.”

Erin smirked. “And you can use that as a convenient excuse when you don’t want to come for dinner.”

Sean grinned back at her. “The voice of experience?”

“You know it. If you hadn’t gathered already, I’m a homebody when I’m not working. Tess does her damnedest to get me to go out with her whenever she can, but I need time to decompress. Not all doctors are like that, I’m sure. In fact, most of them lead busy social lives outside the hospital. I’ll do the occasional holiday dinner party to stay in a boss’s good graces if I have to, but it’s not my favorite thing.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” he said.

She glanced over at him, surprise on her pretty face. “Really? You like your own company too?”

He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles before placing it on his thigh. “You and I are a lot more alike than you think, Erin. My job stresses me the fuck out most days. When I get off the clock, all I want is a decent meal, a cold beer, and some mindless television to zone out to so I don’t have to think about the disturbing crap I dealt with that day.”

She squeezed his leg. “And here I thought opposites were supposed to attract.”

“Go figure.”

They rode in silence for a while, which was one more thing Sean liked about her. Not that she talked too much, or he didn’t enjoy their conversations. That wasn’t the case at all. She just wasn’t one of those women who were constantly chattering away about themselves or asking him a million questions about the cases he worked. Instead, she tilted her head back on the seat and watched the city pass by outside the car window.

That was until he turned onto River Road.

He noticed she perked up beside him in the seat, her head pivoting from side to side as they passed luxury home after luxury home. Her hand eventually slid from his thigh to join the other in a knot on her lap, and he felt a sudden pang of guilt.

When he turned into his parents’ drive and rolled down the window to punch in the gate code, she gasped, then leaned forward slightly to stare through the front windshield. “Are you kidding me with this, Sean?”

“Relax, honey, it’s just a house.”

“Just a house?” she said. “I’ve seen shopping centers smaller than that house!”

Sean parked in the spacious brick courtyard between the garages, shut off the ignition, and turned to face her in his seat. “It’s still just a house.”

“How many bedrooms?” she asked.

“Six, not counting the two in the guest house.”

“Mm-hmm. And bathrooms?”

Sean inhaled through his nose. It
was
a damned big house, now that he saw it through her eyes. A sprawling red-brick monstrosity that you could get lost in if you weren’t careful. Sean had become immune to its impact since he’d grown up behind its walls. “Eight full and two half.”

“Right. Did you know there are only four bathrooms in my entire ER?” She held up that many fingers. “Four.”

Sean chuckled and grabbed the hand in front of his face. “Okay, so it’s a
big
house.”

“On the water.”

He sighed, mentally berating himself for not having this discussion with her before now. “I’m sorry I didn’t explain before we got here, but if I told you my family was rich, you might’ve balked at coming.”

“Oh, you can bet your sweet ass I would’ve balked. I’d be torturing Luke with DVR’d episodes of
Househusbands of Dallas
all night while you celebrated your dad’s birthday without me.”

“Like hell you would,” Sean all but growled. “You and I would’ve been getting sweaty on your living room floor while Luke’s butt went numb in the back of that stinking carpet van.”

Erin laughed. “Okay. You were right not to tell me beforehand, but still…you could’ve at least prepared me just a little.”

“There’s no easy way to slip that kind of thing into a conversation without sounding like a braying jackass.”

“So”—she made a sweeping gesture toward the grounds with her hand—“how did all this come to be? Explain so I don’t look like a total hick to your family.”