Chapter 48

Erica

Matt was completely out of it by the time we reached the cabin. I'd offered ten times to take the wheel and let him get a nap, but he wouldn't let me. We walked into the cabin, and he motioned that he was going to check out the bedroom.

When he didn't come back twenty minutes later, I realized where he was. Sound asleep on the bed. Poor thing.

A smile lifted my lips as I stood beside the bed and watched him sleep. He had no idea how handsome he was. I knelt and kissed his forehead before whispering into his ear.

"I'm going to town to get groceries. Be right back."

He grumbled something and turned over, his tone that of a pissy teenager. It was too cute. How hard it must have been to live in Damon's shadow. I was grateful that I only had an older brother and not a sister to be compared too, though I wasn't too sure Kent was the comparing kind. He seemed to enjoy and appreciate both of his boys for who they were. It was one of the reasons I liked him so much as a boss. He was supportive and caring toward all of us.

I drove to the store in silence, giving my thoughts a chance to entertain me. I had so many things to figure out, but something about the serenity of the mountains gave me pause. I didn't need to work through all the shit I was dealing with just yet. I could take a day off from it.

A text from my brother, Leon busted up any sense of peace as I walked into the small grocery store. He wanted me to go see mother. It was my turn.

It was always my turn, but the bad part was that she hated seeing me. I was everything she wasn't. Kind, artistic, giving. I was my father's child for sure.

"Afternoon, Miss." An elderly guy stood at the only cash register in the store.

"Hi there. I'm just going to grab a few things for dinner."

"Absolutely. We just caught some fresh trout. My son should have the fillets ready back there if you're interested."

"That sounds great." I walked to the back and picked up a couple of things before grabbing a packet of fillets. The old man seemed quite pleased with my selection of groceries. It was cute and endearing.

There was something so simple about the type of living he and his family were doing, and I envied him a little. Could I just pick up and leave my life? Head up to the mountains with Matt and live off what we could catch or kill?

I laughed at myself as I pulled out of the store and drove back to the cabin. Matt would be up, or I'd get him up. I didn't want to come off as greedy, but I sure as hell wanted to spend whatever time I could with him.

The chances of us making it out of the Mitch situation still together and unscathed seemed highly unlikely. It was painful to think about what would happen when I told Matt everything that had transpired. Would he see my sacrifice as a true sacrifice?

And if I didn't sleep with Mitch, then what? How would he get me back for that? By lying to Matt? It wasn't like Matt would listen to him.

A million options ran through my mind's eye, each sounding worse than the last. I pulled up to the cabin to find Matt outside, working on a fire as the late afternoon was soon to turn into evening.

I got out of the car and grabbed our groceries.

"Need a hand?" He moved around the open car door and took the bags out of my hand.

"I could have gotten that."

"I know, but I'm here. You don't need to carry anything." He leaned in for a kiss.

Cupping the sides of his handsome face, I took my time thanking him with my lips.

He pulled back, looking a little starry-eyed. "Wow. I'm going to start toting shit more often."

I laughed and closed the car door. "I was going to get hot dogs for dinner, but they had some fresh trout that looked too good to ignore."

"Fish sounds better." He moved back, and I opened the door. "Sorry I fell asleep. Someone sucked the energy right from me on the ride up here."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, Lord. Let the tacky teenage boy jokes start."

"All part of the charm, baby. All part of the charm."

"This is true." I wrapped him in a tight hug and pressed my cheek to his back, never wanting to let him go.

Everything felt suddenly so fleeting.

My phone buzzed, and I released him to walk back toward the tiny living room. "I'm praying this isn't my brother."

"Answer it if it is. It could be about your mom."

"Yeah, cause that's a subject I want to talk about." I picked up the phone to see that it was from an unknown number.

Matt pressed his chest to my back, offering me comfort. "You know you wouldn't forgive yourself if something happened to her and you ignored it."

"You're right." I pulled the phone to my ear and walked toward the door. "Erica Hall."

"Erica. It's Mitch. I just wanted to make sure you were feeling alright for our date tomorrow night."

A cold sweat broke out on my skin. It was a damn good thing I'd walked away from Matt. Sickness swam in my stomach as I opened the door and walked out, closing it behind me.

"It's not a date, but I'm fine. I'll be at the event at seven."

"You'll be here at my place at six-thirty." His tone was still light, but I could almost imagine him with his teeth clenched together. I was a pain in the ass, no doubt. I was trying to be.

"I said I would come to the event. I never said I would meet you at your house. I don't trust you, and you can understand why. Give me the address to the event, or forget it."

"You play hardball a little too often, Erica."

"You haven't seen anything yet." I dropped down on the stairs. "After tomorrow night, you're going to leave me alone."

"Or?"

"Or I'm going to talk with Damon or Kent. Or fuck. Both of them!" My words sounded silly in my ears as if I were a six-year-old girl making threats against a grown man.

"I'll send you the address, but please don't forget your place in all of this. You sold your body for a night. I didn't force you to do it. You eagerly said yes."

"No, I didn't." Disgust for my action threatened to pull me under. "I'm hanging up. Send me the address."

"See you tomorrow."

I dropped the call and stood up, my legs a little shaky. After sucking in three or four deep breaths, I turned and walked back into the house. Matt was in a woman's apron, moving around the kitchen, humming something funny.

He was only wearing the apron. His cute little pale ass flexed as he turned and looked over his shoulder. "You like?"

I laughed, needing his humor more than anything at the moment. "I love it and you."

"Good. Come over here and help me tote the stuff outside."

"You are not going outside butt-ass naked."

"True. There are wild animals out there." He stopped in front of me and ran his strong hands over my shoulders. "But there's a wild woman in here." His smile faded. "Baby... what's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'm just dealing with a lot at work."

He encircled me with his arms. "Like what? Talk to me, and we'll figure it out. You've been closing up a lot lately. Open up to me."

"I want to, but I hate to bother you with stupid stuff." I leaned in and pressed my forehead to his chest. "Thank you for the apron outfit though. It's brightening my day."

He didn't smile when I lifted my chin and locked gazes with him. "What at work is bothering you?"

"Mitch mostly. I think he has it out for me." A small sense of relief raced through me as I got a little bit of the situation out and on the table.

"I think he has it out for me." Matt laughed and released me. "He was quite the dick at my event last week, and then... all of a sudden, he just stopped bidding. It was the weirdest shit ever."

I bit my tongue and moved around him, grabbing a beer from the cooler he'd brought up with him. It was my chance to tell him why Mitch had stopped bidding. My offer to the asshole had plugged the drama leak that night but had made my life so much more complicated.

"He's going to the event tomorrow, and honestly, I just don't want to be around him." I popped the top on the beer and took a long drink as Matt pulled the apron over his head.

His strong body was bare and on full display for me. An ache resurrected between my thighs as I reached for him.

"You need to talk to my father about this if it's upsetting you this much." He brushed the back of his fingers down the side of my face. "I knew something was going on, but I didn't know what."

I couldn't help but wonder what Damon would have done if it were him and Bethany. Would he have told her to talk to Kent? Or would he have found Mitch and choked the life out of him? Sadness raced through me at my thoughts. They weren't fair to either of us.

Matt was only trying to help with the little bit of information I'd given him.

"I'll figure it out." I lifted up to kiss him again. "Go get dressed and let's get dinner going. I'm starving."

"Alright." His voice lacked excitement. "Give me a minute."

The air around me felt like it had deflated completely. Things got a little better as we cooked dinner and turned the conversation back to his art. He filled me in on the new contract job a little more, and I encouraged him to take it.

"I don't know. I really hate being told what to paint." He shrugged and leaned away from the fire.

"I can understand that, but sometimes you have to take on a few jobs that pay the bills so that you can fund the jobs or art that you really want to work on. It's just a balancing job." I reached out and touched his arm. "I'm really proud of you, by the way. You did a great job at the show a week ago. It's been so crazy since then that I don't know if we got to-"

He pulled me close and pressed his lips to mine, silencing all my concerns and wandering thoughts. I breathed him in and sunk down into his arm, letting the strength of his hold lull me into a place of peace.

"Don't let me go. Promise me," I whispered against his lips.

He pulled me into his lap and tightened his arms around me. "Never. You have nothing to worry about Erica."

"And if I do?" I leaned in for another long kiss.

"People fuck up all the time." He licked up the side of my throat and gripped my ass, massaging it as he rocked against me. "Just talk to me when shit comes up. I think open communication has to be the answer to everything right?"

"Maybe so." I pulled at his t-shirt. "Make love to me out here."

"Can I fuck you instead?" He smiled up at me before pulling his shirt over his head.

I didn't get yes out of my mouth before he picked me up and carried me to the hammock on the side of the house. The stars twinkled above us as he laid on his back and held onto my hips. I fucked him nice and slow, taking my time to trace the muscles of his stomach and chest.

His grunts mixed with my moans and the world exploded around me as I convulsed with my orgasm. I loved him so much and wanted to bath in the excitement of a future together, but I was too damn scared to just yet.

The moment felt fleeting, like the end was near. As badly as I wanted to shake it, I simply couldn't.

He would find out about my proposition to Mitch and label me a whore.

No matter how good my intentions were.