A Tangled Web (A Books We Love Erotic Romance) (15 page)

"You're quite handsome," Barbara said, breaking into a big smile. "Just like
Erin
said, and I find you very likeable. No wonder my sister Julia was so disappointed she isn't getting you for a son-in-law. Just wait until she finds out who is."

"Mother."
Erin
groaned. "Don't go there. Derek and I haven't resolved all our issues. Besides, your competition with Aunt Julia is growing old."

Barbara, ignoring
Erin
, turned to him. "I'm sure you will work things out. But Derek, why did you propose to Angel if you were in love with
Erin
?"

"I hadn't met
Erin
yet," Derek said, unwilling to give away Angel's secret.

Erin
's mother nodded and smiled, apparently accepting this half-truth. "That explains everything. Now I think I'll do some shopping and leave you two to your issues."

Standing, she lifted
Erin
's left hand from the table, examined the diamond and smiled at Derek. "You might want to get the ring back you gave Angel," Barbara said. "So she'll know your engagement to her is over."

"Mother,"
Erin
huffed. "Remember, you and Aunt Julia are going to be better friends. This isn't a competition with Derek as first prize."

"I suppose not, but he's worth winning." Barbara chuckled. "I'll see you again. Soon, I hope, Derek."

"I hope so too, Mrs. O'Brien." He stood and clasped her hand. "I don't know that I'm a prize, but in my book,
Erin
's clearly the winner."

* * *

"I've missed you so much. I feel like I've been living a nightmare," Derek said when her mother had left and they were alone. Looking at
Erin
sitting across from him at the table, he thought how beautiful she was. A vision in pale green slacks and top, her hair hanging loose, resting on her shoulders and framing her lovely face. But something was still troubling her, something that a wild, passionate fucking wouldn't answer. She still needed to talk. With regret, he told his penis it would have to wait a bit longer.

"How do you think it's been for me? You disappearing, then me learning you were marrying Angel, and thinking she was having your baby? After we met, didn't you think about what you were doing to me, having sex like a couple of rabbits while planning to leave me? Making me fall in love with you?"
Erin
tapped her fingernails on the tabletop.

"I was falling in love with you, too, but I couldn't stop seeing you until I absolutely had to. I admit I went into our relationship knowing it could only be temporary, but I was so drawn to you, I couldn't help myself. I'm a man of my word and I was committed to a marriage. I couldn't see any way to cancel without making a fool of her and her entire family, and she didn't deserve that. I'd proposed. Invitations were sent. She'd been given a bridal shower. Like I told you in the beginning, I thought she was desperate and might do something to hurt herself. What would she do if I called the whole thing off that close to the wedding?"

"I understand it would have been awkward calling the wedding off, but I don't believe you would have proposed to a woman expecting another man's child because she
might
be desperate. If she didn't tell you she was going to kill herself, the reason you offered to marry her was because of the child. You wanted a baby and that was your way of getting one."

"That's not true," Derek said, but his voice fell flat. He was excited at the thought of holding an infant that might as well be his, considering he'd be there for its birth and every event after that. "Okay. Sure, I'd like to have had a child, but I'd long ago accepted that I couldn't."

"Are you sure?" She gazed straight into his eyes. "Because if you're being honest, the other explanation is that you were carried away with acting as Sir Galahad."

"Dammit,
Erin
. Back off, will you?" He ran his hands through his hair. "I've been through enough today. I don't need my motives examined under a microscope. I was okay with marrying Angel until I met you, and I can't help whether or not you think coming to her rescue was a legitimate reason for going through with the wedding. The point is, I had already proposed and I thought it would be a damned lousy trick to back out as much as I wanted to."

"But you got yourself into the mess for a reason, and it's just as I thought. You were doing it to become a father." She tapped her nails on the table again.

He wished she'd stop doing that. It grated on his nerves like chalk on a blackboard. She was making a big deal out of nothing.

"Tell me honestly that you wouldn't like to have a son to play ball with or teach how to tie a necktie,"
Erin
said.

"Dammit. I am a normal male, so sure, I'd like those things, but we can't have everything we want in life. I love you and now that I'm free to marry you, that's what I want to do. There's no reason for conjecture."

She laid her hand over his. "I have to know how important that baby is to you, Derek. If you marry me, you'll miss out on all that. No one would ever need to know the child wasn't yours except your parents and Angel."

So that was what bothered
Erin
. She didn't want to rob him of fatherhood, and she wouldn't, not totally… He broke into a smile. "I'll be fine without a baby, but I'd sure like it if your eleven-year-old son would let me pitch him a few balls or help with his necktie."

"You would? You wouldn't mind starting with a half-grown kid?"

"To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to midnight feedings and dirty diapers. And when I'd picture myself with a boy, he was closer to Joe's age than he was an infant."

"You remembered his age and name even though you've never met him."

Erin
's eyes brimmed with tears and Derek hoped he was getting somewhere. He'd expected her to be happy that Angel and he had agreed to part ways. He hadn't counted on her love for him raising concerns about his happiness even though it might tear them apart.

He chucked her under the chin. "Besides, the baby could have turned out to be a girl," he said. "And you know now how lousy I am with females."

"You do goof up a lot with the opposite sex," she said, smiling.

"Joe and I should get acquainted soon and my parents would like to meet you. But right now, guess what I have in mind."

"I'd wager it's something I've been dreaming about but thought might never happen again."

"I'm in love with a very smart woman," Derek said, as they rose and he slipped his arm around her waist.

* * *

"Derek, are you sure we should do this?"
Erin
asked when they reached her hotel room. What if—"

"Don't say it. Things
will
work out for us."

He was already undressing and she sat on the edge of the bed to watch. He had an amazing body. Broad shoulders. Muscular chest.

He caught her watching and stopped with his shirt in hand. Flinging it onto a chair, he opened the top button of his pants. "Is this what you're waiting for?" Smiling, he slowly slid down the zipper and turned back the cloth as if to give her a better view. His cock strained at the cloth of his boxers.

She licked her lips suggestively. "You can go farther than that." She clapped her hands. "More. I want to see more."

Laughing, he lowered his pants and thrust forward his pelvis.

Take it all off, big boy."

Derek dropped his trousers and turned down the waistband of his briefs.
Erin
, seeing the tip of his penis peeking out, grew serious. She wanted him to fuck her too badly to continue with the male stripper charade. Dropping to her knees in front of him, she tore at the one piece of cloth that kept his hard rod from her grasp.

When she'd lowered the garment and he'd kicked it away, she took his hot cock in her hands and fondled it. He moaned and she laved the head with her tongue.

"Sweetheart," he said breathing hard.

She ran her lips and tongue up and down its corded surface. Her pussy was unbelievably hot and wet. She took his rod farther into her mouth, sucking hard.

He grew unsteady on his feet and grabbed onto the bedpost. "Ohmigod, Erin."

She licked her way down to the head and up again. Then she clamped her lips tightly around it and he cried out.
Erin
's pussy was pulsating. Her breasts felt heavy and the nipples sharp and hard. She needed to make him climax. She'd made him burning hot and she needed the reward of him shooting his cum down her throat. Opening her mouth wider, she took in as much of his throbbing penis as she could and vigorously began sucking him off. Her heart pounded and her pussy puckered.

"I…you're going to make me…"

Erin
nodded and sucked harder.

Derek shot his thick, hot cum and she drank it greedily. Swallowing it and feeling a great sense of fulfilment, she looked up at her lover. His eyes were half-closed and he was smiling but still hanging onto the bedpost, knees slightly bent.

She had no more than stood when he pushed her down on the bed and kissed her. While running his tongue eagerly around her lips and inside her mouth, he fondled her clit.

"Your turn now," he said.

She was laying crossways on the bed and, sliding her to the edge, he knelt on the floor and lapped up the juices her pussy had already wept. Then he began to eat her. Nibbling, sucking, tongue-fucking.

With his mouth eager and feral on her pussy, he drove her into a frenzy and her cum spurted out like it never had before. When she'd stopped convulsing and Derek lay beside her,
Erin
sighed contentedly.

"I love you, Erin," he said softly.

He loves me.
As he stroked her body, following every line with his hands as if memorising them, her heart and spirits lifted.

Derek loves me.

Chapter Thirteen

Erin and Derek met his parents, Janice and Antonio, in the lobby of the hotel where they all were staying, and rode with them to an Italian restaurant they'd chosen from the magazine,
Indianapolis
Monthly.

Candlelit tables in secluded corners beckoned to Erin, who longed to be sitting at one alone with Derek. The memory of sucking his delicious cock until he came, and him lapping her cum from her throbbing pussy, proved they were right for one another, and his declaration of love affirmed everything she believed about their relationship.

His father, however, opted for seating beneath one of the brightly lit chandeliers in the middle of the room.

"I like to see what I'm eating," he declared after the server took their drink orders.

Derek's mother was a tiny woman with salt-and-pepper hair. His father was tall with thick, wavy grey hair and a pencil-thin moustache. Antonio focused mainly on the quality of the food. He proclaimed some dishes delicious and others unauthentic or less tasty than he made.

"Dad is an excellent cook," Derek said, "and a would-be restaurant critic."

Antonio smiled. "Italian only, but I'm also a connoisseur of red wines."

"This one is excellent, Dad," Derek said.

Erin
, murmuring her agreement, sipped hers, fighting an urge to gulp. Dining with the elder Acamporas was bound to become awkward with her and Derek trying to explain all of what had transpired.

And it soon did. They were confused about their son's wedding being called off and almost at the same moment meeting a woman he professed to love. Derek tried to answer all their questions, but they turned to
Erin
when he mentioned she was part-owner of Wives-R-Us. She described the business, and mention of three divorced women running it led to a discussion of her previous marriage and her son. They seemed particularly interested in learning about him and his interests, and
Erin
grew more uneasy.

It seemed like ages since she and Joey had spent any real time together, and she felt as if she didn't know him as well as she should. She still didn't know if he liked baseball, so she went on the assumption he did. She couldn't tell whether they approved or disapproved of him going to boarding school. Janice's raised eyebrow could mean either thing.

"Where is Joe now?" Janice asked. "Why isn't he here with you?"

"What does it matter? I'm sure he's in good hands," Antonio said. "No eleven-year-old boy wants to attend a wedding."

"That's right,"
Erin
said, gripping her wine glass. "He's spending this time with his father because I'm…I was supposed to take part in Derek and Angel's wedding."

Janice clasped her throat. "
You were
?"

Derek came to
Erin
's rescue, but when he said that she and Angel were cousins, an awkward silence fell over the table. It did sound ridiculous, even when he tried to explain that Angel called off the wedding because she loved another man.

Erin
did gulp her wine then. This was no time for sipping. She'd barely touched her lasagne, but what she'd eaten felt like a rock in her stomach. "I know it sounds like a soap opera," she said as Derek's father poured her another glass. "But it all came about quite innocently."

Feeling that Derek wasn't totally innocent, she glared at him.

Turning red, he returned the look before addressing his mother. "How was your visit with Sylvia, Mom?"

Janice, smiling, launched into talk about their granddaughters, and everyone relaxed—at least momentarily. The new baby was adorable and the older girl unbelievably precocious. Derek's sister and husband were going to try getting pregnant one more time, hoping to add a boy to carry on the family name. "Of course, that wouldn't be
our
family name," she added, patting her husband's big, hairy hand.

And that opened up the discussion of a cancelled wedding to a girl who was pregnant. "You knew it couldn't be yours, so why would you plan to marry her in the first place?" Janice asked.

"That's easy," Antonio said. "You keep talking about carrying on the family name, Janice."

"It's for you, Antonio. I know how important it is to you."

Derek ran his finger around inside his shirt collar and
Erin
felt sorry for him.

"It's important to all Italians, but what can we do?" Antonio raised his fork in one hand and his wine glass in the other. "Nothing. It's not Derek's fault. I told you we should have had more children and eventually we'd get another boy. But no, you didn't want to. So forget about it. You'll make our son self-conscious and his lady friend uncomfortable."

Antonio was right, but his remark rendered his wife tight-lipped and red-faced. Janice didn't have anything to say after that and
Erin
tried to concentrate on her food.

"How are things at the office, son?" Antonio turned to Derek. "Taken on any interesting new cases lately?"

"Cases?"
Erin
echoed, dropping the pasta off her fork. "Office?"

Derek's face turned crimson. "Law office. Court cases. You know, sweetheart."

"No, I don't know." She wasn't going to pretend even though he seemed to want that.

"I've been out of the office for a month, Dad, working a temporary stint for Cousin Bill. He's the son of my Uncle Bart, Mom's brother," he added for
Erin
's benefit. "He broke his leg and needed surgery to repair it. He might have lost his job being off that long and I welcomed a change of pace."

Erin
could hardly believe what Derek was saying, and his parents didn't look pleased.

"You're an attorney," his dad said. "You know they couldn't fire Bill because of a medical problem. So what was really behind all this?"

Derek sighed and pushed away his plate. "I'd proposed to Angel and was having second thoughts, and that was before I even met
Erin
. So I wanted to get away and think things through. Angel works days and with this job, I worked nights, so I couldn't be expected to spend time with her."

"With that attitude, your relationship was bound to deteriorate," his father said.

Derek shrugged. "I told myself I was suffering burnout and getting away from law would make me appreciate my profession more when I returned."

Antonio sat forward in his seat, mouth firmly set.

"I've talked to Larrison a few times and everything's fine, Dad," Derek added hastily. "I'm itching to get back." However it was a ninety minute drive from the hotel to the
offices of Acampara and Larrison, Attorneys at Law, plus Angel had all sorts of things for him to do here. Normally, he spent ten minutes on the road going from his house to work.

His mother, clutching her chest with one hand and toying with her strand of pearls with the other, spoke. "Of all the nerve—"

"I guess Uncle Bart didn't tell you, Mom?"

"He certainly didn't. The gall of Bill asking you!"

"It worked out okay. I enjoyed the change and they're having another baby and…"

Babies again
.
Erin
sighed.

Derek's mother opened her mouth to say something else, but
Erin
spoke quickly. "You're a lawyer and you never once mentioned it, Derek?" She turned to his parents. "I thought he was
really
a bartender."

"And she fell for me anyway." Derek gave his mom and dad one of his winning smiles while taking
Erin
's hand between his. "I
was
'really a bartender'. I made good drinks, didn't I?"

"That's not the point and you know it. You weren't forthright."

"We can talk about this later," Derek muttered.

"It seems our son has been busy saving people," Antonio said, motioning to their server to bring the bill. "First Angel and then Bill. You're a good man, Derek, but it appears you have a few things to straighten out with the women in your life."

"There's only one," he said, looking into
Erin
's eyes.

"Make sure the bride-to-be knows that," his father said, slapping him on the back.

The dinner ended with Janice saying they'd leave in the morning, as soon as they could get a flight. "There's no reason to stay since there won't be a wedding," she said, sniffling.

"Would you want him to marry a woman he doesn't love and who's having another man's baby?" Antonio demanded.

Janice huffed out of the dining room without responding.

Derek's father kissed
Erin
on the cheek. "Nice to meet you. Next time, I hope it will be at your wedding, although I wouldn't blame the two of you if you eloped."

* * *

"We should never have gone together. You shouldn't have taken me along,"
Erin
said as they stood outside the door to her room.

They'd had to ride back to the hotel with his parents after dinner at the restaurant and the trip had been an uncomfortable one.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Mom and Dad are nice people who love one another but they do squabble. I wanted you and them to meet, but I didn't mean for you to get drawn into the middle of things."

"The worst part was that you'd deliberately misled me."
Erin
tapped a finger against his chest. "I felt like a fool not knowing you were a lawyer. You led me to believe bartending was your vocation."

"Not disappointed, are you?" Derek tried to hug her to him but she stiffened, and he stepped back. "What's the matter? Do you have something against attorneys?"

"It's not that…"

"Then you need to tell me what it is." Derek stepped close again and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "When the folks go to bed, I'll come back and…hold you while we talk."

"After they've gone to bed? Why then? To mislead them? Is nothing ever aboveboard with you?" She pushed against his chest, forcing him back a step.

Anger flashed in Derek's dark eyes as he grabbed her hand. "I think I've put Mom and Dad through enough for one night."

"You've put me through plenty as well. You've been deceptive with me on every level since we met,"
Erin
said. "Why did you let me think bartending was your regular job?"

He threw up his hands. "Maybe I wanted to see if you could fall for a blue-collar worker. You have an elaborate home and lead an elegant lifestyle. I like to test people to see if they're snobs—like Angel's mother, who was horrified when she found out her daughter might be marrying a bartender."

"You were testing me with no intention of a future together? What difference did it make since I was just a fling?"
Erin
knew her voice was rising but she couldn't stop it. "What kind of home do you have, Mr. Professional? Angel said her fiancé had a big house but she hadn't seen it. You didn't bother to carry on a real relationship with her either, did you?"

"I was just going through the motions with her. I admit it. It sounds rotten, but I never even took her to dinner after we set the wedding date. And why was that? Because I met you almost immediately and I couldn't think of anything else."

"Except making lo—screwing me."

"Don't make it ugly,
Erin
. I was obsessed with you. I still am. You wove a spell around me the first time our eyes met."

She covered her face with her hands. "I don't know you, Derek. You're an attorney." She peeked through her fingers. "It's hard to picture you as a member of the bar, standing in a courtroom dressed in a suit and tie. I found the image of you behind the Club Rendezvous bar with your shirtsleeves rolled up sexier."

"Hey, I like that. Maybe I should forget law." He slid his arms around her waist.

"It's weird. You have an office I've never entered and a house I've never seen. I don't even know where you went to college."

"That's because you never asked me, and why is that? Because you presumed I hadn't gone beyond high school and you didn't want to embarrass me. Am I right?"

"I…I wouldn't have minded if you were a dropout. I just didn't want to put pressure on you by asking. I kind of liked the idea that you were different. That you weren't a 'suit' like the men I work for and Joseph."

"
Erin
…you know something? I believe you really mean that. And to be perfectly honest, the reason I didn't open up was because I thought you and I were destined to part. I knew I could never get enough of the incredible sex we shared, but the past didn't matter and we had no future. I tried to accept that, and the better we got to know one another, the harder it would be to leave you. But I couldn't stop wishing and dreaming I could make you mine."

"Thanks for giving me that, Derek." She leaned her head against his shoulder, believing what he'd just said, but reality came flooding back, and with it, fear. "What if Angel doesn't notify everyone the wedding is off? What if you're roped in after all?"