***
"You sure you have to go to this thing tonight?" I dropped her back off at her apartment and walked her to the door.
"Yeah. I'm sure." She leaned in to kiss me a few times.
I slid my hand into her hair and deepened the kiss, enjoying the way she fit against me so well. I'd wanted to take a shower with her earlier that morning back at the cabin, but the mood shifted a little too much after we talked about her nightmare. Something told me that it wasn't some crazy idea she'd come up with, but rather something she was seriously considering. If someone were trying to hurt her, there would be absolute hell to pay. Some part of me hoped that it was Mitch. Fucker.
"I love you." I moved back and slipped my hands into my pocket. The sound of Zek barking inside the apartment had me smiling. "You want me to take little man back to my place? If you have to go out again tonight, he's going to be alone. Let me have him."
"You sure?" She turned and unlocked the door. "I know he still has accidents in the house."
"He's good training for the kids we're going to have."
She snorted and opened the door. "You're already thinking about kids? Where is my ring?"
"Patience woman." I moved around her and walked to Zek's cage, opening it and scooping the little guy up as he wiggled and whined. "It's alright, boy. We're back now. You want to go home with daddy tonight?"
"I like the idea of you being called daddy." She gave me a sexy smile as she leaned down to kiss Zek's face a few times. "You boys behave."
"No problem here. It's this wild ass that we need to worry about." I leaned in to kiss her again before grabbing Zek's stuff and hauling him and it to the car. I put him back in his cage after walking him around the grass beside the apartment complex. He whined and cried, but I turned on the radio and let my thoughts take me somewhere else. To the future. A big house on the bay with Erica and I painting together and three little munchkins running around, tearing shit up.
Bliss.
My phone buzzed, and I pressed the hands-free device. "Hello?"
"Hey, Bro. What's up?"
"Nothing much. I'm just heading back from a night up at the lake with Erica." I reached over and stuck my fingers into Zek's cage. He licked me to death. "Zek's staying over tonight, so it's a guy’s evening. What's up with you?"
"I'm actually flying into Seattle in about an hour. I have a meeting on Monday and figured I would get there a little early. Bethany and her mom are doing some girl's weekend thing and seeing that I have a dick... I'm out."
"Lucky you." I snorted and pulled up to my place. "Come over tonight, and we'll have dinner at the house. I'm tired of wearing pants. I need a break."
"Yeah, I'm not so sure the idea of you being pantsless at dinner makes me want to come over."
"See you at six?"
"Yeah, I'll be there."
"Good, and maybe tomorrow we can go look for places."
"Places?" Damon asked.
"Yeah. I've asked Erica to move in with me, but I want to buy a bigger place and expand the art studio. I thought about it all night honestly. I want to do something big and flashy for her, something she would see and know that I loved her."
"Flowers won't work, hm?"
"Asshat."
"It was worth a try." Damon snorted. "We can go look tomorrow. I think it's a great idea to treat her to some extravagance."
"I'm thinking of looking for a place with a lot of windows and maybe setting up a huge art studio and then a smaller yoga studio for her. You know she loves that shit."
"Please tell me that you're not going to take up yoga too."
Heat rushed up my chest and coated my neck and cheeks. "No. Fuck yoga."
The things I'd done to impress a woman. I smiled at the thought. I'd go so much farther than I already had to let her know how insanely special she was to me.
"You totally went to a yoga class."
"Nope." I pulled up to the house and unbuckled. "Alright, one more thing."
"Only if you admit to going."
"I need you to check into Mitch Roberson for me, please?" I reached over and grabbed Zek's stuff. "I know you like the guy, but something isn't right. Figure it out for me. I'm your little brother."
"I'm not doing a damn thing until you admit you put on tight pants and stretched into a pretzel for some pussy."
"Yep. I did it. Now, help me out." I got out of the car and walked around to get Zek out. There was no winning with my brother. He'd been pulling secrets out of me since I had my first one. There was no fighting him.
"I knew it!"
"Fuck you too. Dig into this bastard, please? He's on Erica's case big time, and she's having nightmares about him. I want to know if he was involved in her mugging and fender bender events."
"Seriously? Mitch is one of dad's oldest friends. He's not a villain, Matt."
"If it was Bethany that was upset about it, what would you do?"
"Alright. I'll see what I can find out. Clear your schedule for dinner. I'll pick up kabobs or something before I head over. You have beer at the house?"
"Does an accountant have a pocket protector?"
"Right. See you later tonight." He dropped the call.
I knelt and pressed my face close to the cage. "He didn't think my nerdy accountant joke was funny, Zek. What do you think, boy?"
Zek jumped around, barking his little head off.
"Me too, man. I swear my brother has no sense of humor at all." I picked up the cage and walked up to the house as a sense of trepidation rolled through me.
If Erica was having all this negative shit happening to her, wouldn't it be best to stick to her side all the time? What if something happened to her at the art festival later that night? She said Mitch was going. Maybe I should go too.
No. I didn't want to invade her privacy or make her feel like I didn't trust her. Jonathan. I'd see if he were going.
I texted her after getting inside to get the name of the event.
Grabbing my phone, I called Jonathan.
"Hey there. What's up?" He sounded like he'd run a mile. I didn't want to ask in case he'd just finished fucking his wife. That would make for an awkward conversation.
"I was just calling to see if you were going to the Lantique Art Festival tonight."
"Of course I am. Why? You want to go with us?"
"No, but thank you. Erica will be there with her company and some of her work pals. I just wanted to see if you would keep an eye on her."
"Hmmm... Something going on with her that leaves you unsettled?"
"Not at all. She's just having a rough time, and I think one of the guys at work is making her uncomfortable. I've asked my brother to check into him, but I'm glad you're going to the event. Can you just watch out for her for me?"
"Absolutely. I'll keep my distance, but have my eyes on her for sure."
"Thanks, man." I hung up and dropped down onto the couch as Zek pounded on top of me, wanting attention. Worry clung to me, but Jonathan would be there.
It wasn't as good as me going, but it was better than nothing.