To Know Her (Erotic Romance) (8 page)

“Fine, but you have to get out
of your house.  It’s stifling.”  Gretchen was insistent.

“I like my house.”

“Me too but you’re starting to
remind me of a hermit.”

She had stayed in for most of
the time.  One trip to the grocery store had brought her face to face with
Derek.  He had cornered her to ask about a contract with a vendor before
telling her she looked beautiful. 

Beautiful.  Her hair was
in a messy ponytail, and she had on no makeup.  She had dark circles and
pale skin from the restless nights and being sick all the time. 
Beautiful, indeed.

She’d told him he was crazy and
then walked away as he chuckled behind her.

“Besides, I’m not staying
inside constantly.  I’ve been working in the yard for a while every
afternoon.”  The weather was pleasantly warm when the sun was out. 
She loved the color after working with numbers inside all morning, but it
always left her feeling bereft remember the motorcycle ride with Derek and
their time on the blanket.  She missed him so much.  He’d been more
connected with her during those three days of amnesia than ever before. 
It wasn’t reality, just a page out of time.   She needed to shake it
off.

“What’s that about – the
landscaping?”  Gretchen’s tone was curious.

“It just feels more like a home
with landscaping.  I thought I should get in practice before I have a
child playing outside.”  She glanced at the flowers on the patio she’d had
delivered the day before.  She still wasn’t sure where she would put them.

Not visiting Derek each evening
didn’t mean he hadn’t been in contact.  Her email had daily messages from
him, more than he had ever felt necessary to send before.  Questions about
billing, suggestions on her landscaping, which had her questioning how he knew
what she was up to.  He even sent a couple of jokes. 

That morning she opened her
inbox to a picture.  Of them together, in the basement.  She was
naked and had her mouth wrapped around him.  His shirt was off, hands
trapped in her hair, his expression one of bliss as he watched her work the
length of him.  

The caption was simple. 
I
always knew it was you.

She had cried her eyes out over
that one.  Then she’d emailed him back that she couldn’t believe he’d sent
that since security in email was no better than mailing a postcard.  Within
an hour, the email and all traces of it were gone from her computer.

The next day the doorbell rang
midmorning.  Sara didn’t recognize the man who stood outside but opened
the door when she saw he carried a package. 

She signed the clipboard and
thanked him after taking the box.

She sat it on her kitchen table
and pulled a knife from the drawer.  It held soft blankets.  Baby
blankets in pastels.  There was a satin wrapped bundle that spilled new
lingerie when she opened it.  Then a gift certificate for a landscaping
place that made her smile.  The bottom held a large brown envelope. 
She opened it and pulled a stack of pictures from inside.

The first three were of them
together.  Her bound, held tight to a padded bench, her head down but
uncovered.  Another of her bound to a St. Andrew’s cross, clad in the
Grecian dress she’d worn the night she ran out into the rain, a loose hood in
place over her face.  The last was of her spread with a bar between her
ankles, her arms tethered to the ceiling with rope and a gag over her
mouth. 

She remembered each time, but
she wasn’t the focus of the pictures.  For the first time, she had a clear
view of Derek’s face when they were together.  She wasn’t always wearing a
hood, but she was usually turned away from his body.  Now with the
pictures, she could see the intensity there.  He looked at her with
tenderness.  She was breathless as she looked at the three images. 
It was the same look she had seen from him during the days after the
accident.  He looked at her with affection, not emptiness.  His body
didn’t seem to be searching for completion but connection.  He leaned into
her, kissed her shoulder in one of the shots and caressed her back in another.  
Even when she was unable to see him, he saw her completely.  She couldn’t
stand to think he was imagining his wife.  Could he have appreciated that
it was her in the room with him?

The next item wasn’t a photo
but a card with Derek’s handwriting. 

I always knew it was you.  Even
before I was ready to move on, you were the one I knew I would be moving to.  I’m
ready now if you’ll still have me.  Please don’t make me wait much longer.  You
know where to find me, Derek

The last photo fell, and Sara
picked it up.  Her breath caught as she saw Derek alone in the basement,
bound and shirtless.  Waiting.  She was out the door and driving
within minutes.

No one was around as Sara
entered the house.  It was different.  The formerly masculine space
held new touches, warmer, friendlier, more like her home.  Her heartbeat
sped up as she went down the steps to the basement.  She pressed her hand
against the cool wooden door and peered inside.  Derek kneeled on the dark
wood floor.  Hands behind his back, eyes down.   She’d done it
numerous times but seeing him waiting for her so submissively felt
wrong.
 
She wanted him with her whole heart but not this way.  She moved closer to
help him up. 

When she was near enough to
touch him, he rose up, lifting one leg to position himself on one knee. 
“I’m glad you came.”

“I missed you.”

“And you love me.  You
have for a long time.”

She shrugged and nodded. 

“You mean more to me than I’ve
ever said, Sara.”

Her heart stuttered as he
spoke.  She’d hoped he might have cared, been able to move on from his
wife, but she hadn’t let her heart hope for more. 

“Before I ever touched you the
first time, I knew you were special.  I’ve know you inside and out for
over a year.  The warm, caring woman that hides behind the analytical mind
of an accountant.  Only when I got you down here to play did you let go
and show me the passionate creature that could fill the void in my life.” 

She held her breath as she
watched him pull his hands around to touch hers.  He pulled a box from his
pocket and opened it for her to see.  It held a ring with a diamond that
sparkled with the same clarity she felt every time he touched her.

“Oh.”

“Will you fill that void?”

She looked into his eyes,
afraid of breaking the moment but needing to know.  “Is it me or are you
doing this because of the baby?”

He swallowed and grabbed her
hand with his free one.  “I knew the moment I asked you to leave that this
was never going to end.  I came after you that night to bring you home and
planned to ask you to stay.”

“Only I didn’t know you.”

He smiled.  “You really
know how to humble a man.”

She smiled back at him. 
“I could never forget you for long.”

“I want the baby but you’re
giving me him either way.  I want to marry you because I love you.”

She leaned down to kiss
him.  “Or her.”

He nodded.  “God help
me.”  He held her for a longer kiss.   “Now, will you marry me?”

She smiled with tears in her
eyes.  “Yes.”  He pulled her close to kiss her again.  “But we
have to talk.”

He slipped the ring on her
finger.   “Of course.  What about?”

She kissed his neck and ran her
hands down his bare chest, touching him in all the ways she was rarely
allowed.  “You seem to have come unbound.”

He laughed.  “I hope you
put that picture somewhere safe because it isn’t a position I plan to take
again.”

She laughed and stood back for
him to rise.  He towered over her and stared into her eyes. 

“I’m glad you came for
me.” 

“I couldn’t stay away.”

He glanced toward the
door.  “I’ve been making changes since you’ve left, getting ready for
you.”

She smiled up at him. 
“Because you know me.”

He kissed her lips. 
“Inside and out, babe.”

The End

I hope
you enjoyed Sara and Derek’s story.  I’d love to hear feedback about the
book.  Email
[email protected]
with your thoughts. 

Renee