Decker's Wood (19 page)

“I’m sorry,” she finally coughed out between fits of laughter. “Decker said it would be alright if I belched at the table, and I was doubtful, but I see he wasn’t kidding now. Ya’ll remind me of holidays with Bradley and his family. This is great.”

We smiled at Andi’s apparent good spirits at the Steele dinner table.

“If you think this is entertaining, you should have been here two years ago when Decker’s other brother, Drew, came home as well. All the boys together under one roof for one weekend, it was chaos. I decided to go all out. I cooked a pot roast, fried chicken,
buffalo wings, and an apple pie to finish it off. I spent the entire afternoon cooking while the boys went out to celebrate the fact they were all together again. When they got home, they were all as hammered as a bent nail. We sat down to dinner and Drew just up and vomited in the kitchen sink, and Mr. Sensitive Stomach here decided to join him.” Mom was glaring at me as she remembered that god awful night.

I raised my hand in self-defense. “Hey now, you were well aware of my sympathy gag, that was all Drew’s fault. And who took everyone out to dinner the next night and paid?”

Mom shook her head and smiled. Dad and Daniel laughed at the memory that really wasn’t so pleasant.

“Porn and crappers is lightweight table talk, and I probably should have warned you, my family knows about my career,” I said, giving Andi’s shoulder a gentle nudge with mine

“Ex-career,” Mom said, glaring at me with a look that brokered no argument.

I kept my mouth shut and averted my gaze. My mom had this uncanny ability to draw guilt from me with nothing more than a look. And right now, her look was making me feel all kinds of shame. The truth of the matter was, I still hadn’t made a decision. A sideways glance in Andi’s direction had me realize she was also watching me intently. Her sparkling green eyes looked curious and careful. Her brow was slightly creased, her perfect full lips cast in a small frown. I found myself admiring the small splash of freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks. She was like a
breath of fresh air, wholesome, new, exciting. Would it always be that way though? Would we tire of each other? My parents didn’t appear to have outgrown their affection for one and other, but marriage and relationships were fickle creatures. Some lasted decades while others crashed and burned in weeks. Could I give away my career for Andi? Could a take a chance on something that might be nothing? I found myself believing I could.

“Who wants to sing some karaoke?”

I spun my head in my mom’s direction and began shaking my head in a vigorous no.

“Oh my god! You have a karaoke machine?” squealed Andi.

I turned and shook my head at Andi. NO!

I sat and watched in stunned silence as Mom dragged the microphone and music DVDs out, setting it all up in front of the large TV screen in the living room. Dad and Daniel sat beside me.

“Wow, a girl who knows your background and still likes you, drinks beer, and enjoys karaoke. How the hell did you get so lucky?” Daniel asked. He wasn’t joking though, the wonder in his voice and the awe on his face as he watched Andi talk and laugh with my mom so easily, was clearly evident on his face.

“No idea. I thought you were the lucky one.”

“I am, my wife rocks, but it appears your little Texan kinda rocks a bit too.”

“I can’t believe they’re doing this,” I murmured gruffly as Mom flipped a coin to see who would start. Apparently they both wanted to kick off this musical escapade, so the coin would sort it out for them. Mom won and belted out Katy Perry’s “Firework” and I’m proud to say my mom sounded like a rock star. She has an amazing voice, hence her compulsive desire to drag guests into the lounge room for karaoke. Andi jumped up the moment she finished, clapping loudly. She flicked quickly through the song list and gave me a wink that went straight to my groin. I shifted conspicuously to hide the suddenly rigid member beneath my jeans. I laughed as
“The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers began. Andi was destroying it. She was fucking terrible. Like, worse than terrible. That sexy as hell voice had a hard limit and it was singing. Andi didn’t care though as she sung the iconic karaoke must-have. My dad was laughing as he gave me that ‘look’, the one that radiated approval and admiration. The one that was reserved for ‘the one’ and for just a brief moment, his smile disappeared and his look became serious. Now it was that look that screamed, ‘don’t fuck this up’. I gave my head a small shake. I wasn’t sure if I was telling him I wouldn’t or if I was telling him he was being ridiculous. Whatever he read into it was satisfactory as he turned his attention back to Andi. It was nearing midnight by the time we left. As I pulled in front of Andi’s place, I walked her to the door and watched as she unlocked it and quickly disarmed the alarm. I wanted to go in, I wanted to stay with her for another night, but I could see the exhaustion creeping into her eyes. I had kept her awake most of the previous night and had done little less than maul her the entire day. She needed a break. I needed a break.

“I had a really good night tonight. Your parents are really cool,” she said a little nervously from the doorway.

“See, you got all hivey for nothing.” Her hand reached for the now flawless skin of her neck. We stood there, unmoving and silent that reached into uncomfortable silence. I stepped away from the door. “You look beat. Go get some sleep. I’ll wait until you’ve locked up and reset the alarm. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She nodded and went to pull the door closed. “You are retired, right?” Her voice was suddenly small, missing her usual confidence. My heart hammered hard in my chest. My hesitation made her eyes widen and I saw the panic setting in. “You said you retired because of technical difficulties,” her eyes dropped to my groin, “but everything seems okay now, so I just wondered if you’d be working again.” Her turn in mood when we had arrived at my parents’ place suddenly made sense. “I mean, it’s not like we’re dating or anything here. You couldn’t really call this a relationship, so if you were going back to filming, it’s not really any of my business, except, I guess, I wouldn’t really want to be doing whatever this is while you’re doing that.” She rubbed her palms nervously against her thighs. “And now I’m rambling.”

“I’m considering a proposal my dad presented me with. It would mean some extra study to get my architectural license.” Her relief was palpable. Those big trusting green eyes shot to mine, and her posture relaxed.

“That’s awesome,” she whispered with a breathtaking smile. Before I could feel the full impact of my conscience punching me in the gut, Andi launched herself into my arms and kissed me soundly. With her legs wrapped around my waist and arms around my neck, her lips moved in a gentle dance against mine, her tongue dipping and tasting, teasing my own. When she
finally pulled away and released her hold on me, I lowered her to the ground, my erection pressing hard against her stomach as her feet became planted firmly back on the ground.

“It’s Sunday tomorrow, would you take me somewhere?” she asked.

“I’ll be here at nine,” I said without even considering where I would take her. I’d fly her to the fucking moon if she asked me to right now. That beautiful glowing smile was the last thing I saw as she reset the alarm and made her way to the apartment. I drove away from the book store with a lovesick smile on my face, yet a sickly feeling in my gut. I’d lied to her, sort of. By omission of the truth I had, in fact, lied.

ANDI

“I can’t believe people actually stored their horse and carriages in there,” I whispered in awe.

The carriage houses of New York were an awe-inspiring sight. Filled with history and charm, I was drawn to their old-world beauty. I loved all things historical and aged. Decker obviously realized that when he decided to bring me here. That thought alone made my heart swoon for him a little more. I sighed, as if I needed to be anymore Team Decker. The man had me wrapped around his damn pinky. His confession the night before that he was thinking about taking on more work in his and his father’s business had completely thawed any reluctance I had for him and us. The thought of Decker studying architecture made me grin with delight. I could just imagine a disheveled Decker Steele in nothing but a pair of tattered low slung jeans as he pondered over an architect’s display easel. He was already so sexy, but to see him deep in thought in something he loved—outside of porn—made my nether region clench with appreciation.

“Not everyone could afford horses and carriages, for those it was merely a storage facility like a garage or shed is for us today. The more wealth, the larger the space beneath the home, the more space the more horses and the more carriages,” Decker explained, his voice lost in his own obvious love for the historical buildings.

“What do people store in them now?” I wondered, noticing some of the carriage houses had only a small door and windows on what was once a storage space for transportation.

“Some people just use it for general storage, some might have a car down there. A few have been converted into an extension of the house, extra rooms and quest quarters.” Decker stopped out front a beautiful home with potted lavender flowers hanging under third story eaves. “A lot of these homes have been influenced by Victorian design, the stained glass bay windows, decorative molding and trimming.” He pointed to the next home along. “Or that cobblestone effect, that’s classically Victorian.”

“I like this one.” I nodded towards the home directly in front of us, with its floral arrangements and old-fashioned appeal, it was peaceful and charismatic.

“You hungry?” Decker said out of the blue. “I’m starving.” He rubbed his stomach and glanced down at me.

I raised a brow. “In the time you’ve known me, do you recall a moment where I turned down food?” He grinned that sexy wolfish grin that made my skin tingle and heart thump loudly. He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear, the thick stubble on his jaw tickling my cheek. The backs of his fingers ran down my arm until his fingers tangled with mine.

“Then let’s go eat before I find a dark corner to push you into so I can devour you right here, right now.” Decker pressed a firm but gentle kiss to my lips. It was almost chaste, almost. That last caress of his tongue made it something more. I’m sure I could have found something sarcastic or witty to say in response to his declaration of public eroticism, but that kiss scrambled my brain faster than you could say, ‘horny much’.

Decker continued to hold my hand as we walked away from the historical village hidden amongst the modern concrete structures. Public displays of affection were a foreign concept to me. I had never experienced something as simple as holding hands. I relished the feeling of safety and possession his sure grip gave me. Such willingness to announce to the world that I was his and he was mine gave me a girlish thrill. I wanted to find a tree and draw a heart with our initials inside its curved walls into the bark. I wanted to share a meal of spaghetti just like in
Lady and the Tramp
. I wanted to lean into his strong embrace on a slow horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park just like a princess from a fairytale. Fuck, I wanted to make him a mixed tape. I almost laughed out loud at that thought.

Otto was a warmly lit, hard wood floored Italian restaurant that, according to Decker, boasted the largest Italian wine list, ever! As much as I wanted to fulfil one of my girlish desires and share a pasta dish, Decker ordered us pizza. Screw the wine list, this was officially the best pizza I had ever encountered. I was up three slices to Decker’s two when he cast me a disgruntled look.

“What?” I said through a mouthful of food.

“You’re going to choke on that if you keep eating so fast.” The teasing play in his eyes made me giggle. Yes, giggle, like a freakin’ school girl.

“Tell me about your brothers,” I asked him. Decker stretched his legs out under the table, each one resting on either side of mine. I smiled at the thought that he still reached to touch me even as we ate.

“Well, you already know Daniel, he’s the eldest. Then there’s Drew, he’s two years younger than Daniel, two years older than me. You would assume Daniel, being the oldest, would therefore be the most responsible.” Decker’s eyes lit up as he began to talk about his family. “Daniel is the most irresponsible person I know, yet he still managed to meet a beautiful woman he’s been happily married to for eleven years. They have two kids and they live in her hometown of San Jose, California, where he works a marine engineer.” Decker shook his head in amazement. “To this day I have no idea how he managed all that, and yet he was the only one of us to get his tongue stuck to a frosted post in the middle of a New York winter. He also managed to saw half way through the pergola porch post when he was just nine, and he put dirt in the lawn mower’s fuel tank. The boy had more than a few
loose screws, he kept Mom and Dad on their toes.”

“I hope his own kids are paying him back tenfold.”

“His son, Aiden, is a handful.” Decker grinned. “Drew is the one who seemed to get all the common sense and responsibility. Daniel and I are what you might call playful. Drew is way more serious. Don’t get me wrong, he knows how to have a good time, but he was always chastising me and Daniel for our pranks, and he hated covering for us when we snuck out.”

“Is he married?” I asked.

“Was. They got a divorce about three years back. He’s been seeing someone for a little over a year now, but he’s still spooked by the disaster that was his first marriage to consider trying for a second time.”

“And they all know?”

Decker winked. “Know what, Country?”

I rolled my eyes. “They all know you swing your shlong on camera?”

Decker laughed loudly and it was contagious. When we finally settled down, he nodded.

“Yeah, as you may have gathered, Daniel found out in somewhat of an embarrassing way. I never thought about my brothers watching porn and I sure as hell didn’t expect my parents to
...” his voice trailed off, and my eyes widened.

“Shut the fuck up!” I exclaimed, wincing when an older couple sitting nearby cast me an irritated glance.

Decker chuckled. “They sure as hell weren’t expecting to see my shlong swinging while they got their busy on.”

My hand clamped over my mouth trying to hold back the laughter. It was hopeless. I was laughing so hard my eyes filled with tears, my stomach clenched
, and I found myself scrambling for the bathroom, much to Decker’s hysterical delight. I washed my hands and used a paper towel from the dispenser to mop the excess water from my eyes. I loved spending time with Decker; he made me feel lighter than I had felt in a long time. The laughter that came so easily, the conversation, the playfulness that he brought to my world was a reminder of my reason for stepping out of the world of a socially inept newt and into the world of the living. It was like jumping from a plane in a rush of what-ifs and who-cares. My cheeks were flushed, my eyes twinkled, and my mirrored smile was easy and carefree. I felt different since meeting Decker. Hell, I even looked different. More confident, more open, more…everything. As I pushed open the bathroom door and meandered back into the restaurant, I felt like I was floating on a cloud of euphoria. It reminded me of that one time I smoked pot and spent the entire night giggling over nothing. When my head rose to find our table, I bumped smack bang into a solid chest.

“Oh damn, I’m sorry,” I said as I took step away from the human wall in front of me. When my eyes moved to settle on a familiar, shocked face, my stomach sank and that euphoric cloud of happiness was sucked into oblivion.

“Andrea?” he exclaimed, his voice rising with shock.

“Miles,” I pushed out his name between my clenched teeth. Just being this close to him had me feeling ill.

“Wow, you look…”

I steeled my shoulders and looked him right in the eye. My ex, Miles Harrison, the man who liked to play with handcuffs, was the last person on earth I ever wanted to see again. Stepping
around him, I set my gaze on the front door and walked straight through the restaurant and out onto the street. Then I kept walking. My brain was a scrambled mess, and my fists had instinctively clenched into fists of rage and hate. My heart was beating so furiously it thundered through my ears, blocking out the world around me.

“Andi?” Decker’s raised voice stopped me in my tracks. I spun around to see him rushing towards me with a confused expression on his face. Behind him came Miles. I took a small step back which caused Decker to slow down and look over his shoulder. With nothing but concern in his eyes
, he reached for my hand. I felt immediately safer, stronger.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded of Miles as he cautiously approached us. I thought Bradley had been keeping tabs on Miles since he was more than aware I never wanted to see Mr. Creeper again. Then, of course, there was the small matter of a restraining order.

“I live here. What are you doing here?” he demanded with equal outrage.

“Who the fuck is this?” Decker growled. Miles blanched as he took in Decker, only
noticing him for the first time now. Unlike Decker who rocked the grizzly, wild, earthly look, Miles was clean shaven, his blonde hair cropped short around the back and sides, slightly longer on top. He wasn’t as tall as Decker, nor was he as wide, but he still had a strong, fit physique. Miles might have presented a clean, professional package, but he had a darkness within him that created a sludge like aura that physically repulsed me. I was delusional to have ever dated Miles Harrison. He had been a friend of Bradley’s, so I had taken a chance and gone out to dinner with him. He had been charming, sweet, a true gentleman. But, as we spent more time together, his true color of dark and dank began to ooze through all that false charisma. He became jealous and possessive and his bedroom kinks began to disturb me. I wasted six months on this demon in disguise before I realized what a mistake I was making. Miles didn’t take no for an answer; instead, he handcuffed me to his kitchen table for four hours while he went to work.

“This is an old acquaintance of Bradley’s,” I spat. Miles raised a brow, his too thin lips
stretching into a nasty smirk.

“What, you don’t want your current boyfriend to know about a past one?”

“No, not you. You were nothing but a big, nasty, vile mistake that I sure as hell won’t make again and I sure as hell wouldn’t waste a minute of my day discussing you with anyone.” He seemed genuinely taken aback by the venom in my voice. I couldn’t believe he couldn’t understand how much I detested him. He had handcuffed me, to a freakin’ table!

“This is him, isn’t it?” Decker said in a low, deadly voice that had my attention swinging back to him. His eyes were on Miles, but the hand gently wrapped around my wrist squeezed, letting me know the he knew who Miles was.

“I’m not sure what she told you, but she has a reputation for being a pathological liar,” Miles said with a snarl.

I gasped in outrage, but before I could utter a single word in my defense, Decker had dropped my wrist, turned, and punched Miles square in the face. Miles stumbled backwards, squealing
as loud as a frenzied pig that caused a spluttered laugh escape my lips. Blood seeped from Miles fingers as he attempted to staunch the flow pouring from his nose.

“I hear you like bondage,” Decker snarled. Miles cast him a wary glance. “If you even breathe in Andi’s direction ever again, I will have you bound, gagged, and handcuffed naked in the middle of
Times Square. Then I will broadcast that shit over every TV station on the face on the earth. Your name and face aren’t worth shit now, but after that, you won’t be able to take a step without someone gawking at you.” Miles eyes widened. “And if you had half a fucking clue as to who I am, you would know that’s a promise, not a threat.” Decker turned around and took my hand, leading me away from a bewildered Miles. It was at least two blocks before I could talk and before Decker had settled down enough to resume walking at a normal pace that I didn’t have to jog to keep up with.

“You hit him?” I said, a little in awe.

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. I could see how upset he was making you, and as soon as I realized he was the creeper who hurt you, I saw red.”

“Nobody’s ever hit someone for me. I mean Bradley had someone rough him up, but that’s nothing like what you just did.”

“Bradley should have come home and taken care of it himself,” Decker snapped.

“Hey, chill out, Rocky. Bradley isn’t the type of guy to get his hands dirty. Not like you anyway. Strangely enough I think I like a man who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty.” I grinned as I recalled the moment Decker’s fist had plowed into
Miles’ face.

Decker’s surprised eyes caught mine. “You liked that?” he purred.