Jacked (60 page)

OVER THE NEXT
few weeks, Erin and I started falling into a comfortable rhythm. Whenever possible, I was in her bed or she was in mine, except the Friday night before Ramirez’s wedding.

Erin wanted nothing to do with intruding on my poker night, which was a shocker. Nikki always gave me a hard time, saying that she didn’t do shit like that so I shouldn’t either. Erin made her own plans with her friends, keeping her life instead of stopping it. I had invited her along, figuring she’d hang with Cherise, but she didn’t seemed phased with doing her own thing—even though she strongly advised I “put my ass in bed and rest” since I’d been fighting a bit of a cold all week while spending extra hours looking over all the evidence from the Martins and Wyndmoor dealership robberies. I’d let her baby me for a few days but I was really feeling much better.

Come to think of it, all that care she gave me, I felt great.

All of this was swirling in my mind while sitting in God’s house mid Saturday afternoon. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I spent most of the time sitting in that church pew imagining Erin standing up there in white. I’d considered marriage before but there was always that big chunk of doubt that made me realize something just wasn’t right with the relationship to take it that far.

My parents had been married for almost forty years, and though they fought with the best of them, they never called it quits. Dad had said to us once that we needed to find the girl that would make us want to be a better man.

I held Erin’s hand while we sat and watched fellow ATTF officer Jesse Ramirez’s wedding. I didn’t fully understand what my dad had meant by that, until now. It’s not a comfortable feeling for me to do the self-analysis to acknowledge how I react to things. Now that we’d been officially dating for almost three months, little things were becoming crystal.

Hearing Erin tell the server she couldn’t have the champagne when the woman tried to pour the toast at our table brought on a swell of guilt mixed with appreciation. Marcus was sitting across from us, giving his subtle nod of approval. He knew all my shit and now he knew that Erin knew my shit, too.

“You don’t drink either?” Cherise asked.

What a leading question.

Erin shook her head. “No, not really, and oddly I’m not a big fan of champagne.”

That was a lie.

A little lie she made up and tossed out effortlessly for me.

“You can have some,” I whispered near her ear.

I watched her lick her bottom lip, leaning just as close. “If you don’t, I don’t. It’s that simple.”

I guided her chin, needing to kiss my woman.

There was a level of comfort there I’d never felt before. It was effortlessly easy. I pulled my cell out of my pocket, feeling the need to capture the moment. I leaned closer to Erin, snapping a few new pictures of us together to add to my growing collection.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught the blur of bright red interrupting my moment.

Then I heard
her
voice, trying to be sweet to Cherise. I watched Nikki work it, knowing she and Cherise were never tight. Cherise only tolerated Nikki for my benefit and that was not without effort.

Cherise, being the sassy mocha woman she was, was two seconds away from telling Nikki where to get off, and would deliver it without batting an eyelash.

“How are you, Adam?” Nikki asked, sizing up Erin more than anything. She had a date with her—some meathead looking dude that was busy eyeing the bar or the closest exit—probably in that order. That was until he noticed Erin.

My girl was looking especially gorgeous tonight. Flawless hair and makeup topping a killer dress that made me wish I had a private escape of my own. I could appreciate the package, but Nikki’s date had three seconds to stop staring at Erin’s tits before he’d meet my fist.

I leaned into his line of sight.
That’s right, fucker. Eyes on me.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Nikki said.

Cherise scoffed. “Does he have to?”

God, I loved that woman, too. She was the sister I wished I had.

Nikki shot her a dirty look.

I focused on Erin instead. She gave me a small eye-roll, making me check my manners. When it came to Nikki, I had none left.

“Nice to meet you, Nikki.”

Yeah, Erin had much better manners than I did, but she still didn’t reach to shake Nikki’s hand. Ten points for our team.

“So how did you two meet?” Nikki asked, eyeing us both to see which one would answer.

This was getting old, fast. She wasn’t asking just to make small talk.

I was just about to end this bullshit when Erin said, “I’m pretty sure you already know the answer to that, just like you know my name, where I work, and how long Adam and I have been seeing each other. Oh, let’s not forget what kind of car I drive, too.”

My partner Marcus choked on the other side of the table. It was fun to watch Nikki’s smugness wither away. I’d shown him a few of the crazy texts I’d been getting the other night; the disgust rolling over Cherise’s face confirmed that he’d shared that information with her.

Cherise turned in her chair and faced off with Nikki, letting the flair of her hands punctuate her message. “You satisfied now? You get all the information you were fishing for? I think it’s best you move on now before you spoil my dinner. Go on. Get gettin’.”

Right after Nikki stormed off, Marcus relaxed back in his chair, eyeing both of our women as though he was seeing them anew. “Daayum, I don’t know which is hotter—white woman sass or black woman sass—’cuz you both are off the charts hot right now.”

Erin’s laughter lightened me right up.

Cherise leaned over toward Erin, doing the girl version of a fist bump. “I’m totally
all
over white woman sass myself. Damn, girl. I like you. Adam, I totally approve. You keep this one. That one over there, she’s nothing but trouble. But this one, she’s a keeper.”

Good, then you’ll all get along
. “Glad to hear it.”

It was hard to keep my hands off of Erin throughout dinner while she charmed the pants off my friends. I skimmed my hand over the top of her thigh, keeping low enough to let her feel my desires without being a perverted ass. Just watching her squirm while she tried to form sentences was providing me with unlimited entertainment. Even Nate Westwood and his wife Katie were hanging on Erin’s words.

After dinner, the lights dimmed and the DJ’s music filled the room. All eyes were pointed at the dance floor.

Jesse’s groomsmen were tanked, making the first dance into a joke. Chucking the finger at each other and cursing with little kids watching?
Assholes
. My wedding would be classier than this, although Erin wouldn’t want to put on pretenses. She’d opt for elegance.

Erin would dance with her father.

He’d twirl her in a circle, adding his love and suave footsteps to her joyous smile and laughter. Her dad was a class act. Her mom was gracious and warm and had me envisioning how beautiful Erin would become later in life.

My mom would be beyond ecstatic. While we slow danced, she’d tell me how proud she was of me while her eyes welled with tears of happiness. I’d make sure to have tissues on hand.

Marcus would be my best man.

I squeezed Erin’s hand in mine, feeling drunk those possibilities when she lovingly brushed the edge of my jaw with her fingertips and smiled. Picturing Erin as future wife material was effortless, although the fact that I was picturing her like that at all was a bit unsettling.

Didn’t matter. As soon as I had my first opportunity, I seized it. I pushed my chair back and stood. “Come with me. I want to introduce you to someone.”

Erin placed her hand in mine, giving me her trust. I weaved us through the maze of tables and bodies, finding a corner of the wooden floor I could call my own.

I spun Erin to face me and pulled her to my chest. The cling of her gorgeous dress, the fresh citrus smell of her hair—I was lost in it all.

“I thought you were going to introduce me to someone?” She gave me that sultry look I’d come to know and enjoy so well.

I pressed her body up against mine and swayed us to the slow beat. “I am. I hope you like him.”

Her hand snaked over my shoulder, resting on the back of my neck, lightly caressing the hair under her fingers. It was ownership, which I willingly surrendered to. It also, though I know she didn’t intend for it to be that way, sent a clear message to Nikki, who was trying not to watch us from the opposite side of the dance floor. “He’s a good dancer.”

I focused on Erin’s lips. “I’ve got moves you haven’t seen yet.”

“Oh really?” Erin kissed the edge of my mouth. “I look forward to you showing me each and every one.”

The want was too much; my restraint crumbled to pieces. Her mouth tasted so damn delicious, teasing her tongue with mine was all I could think about.

“People are staring,” she whispered.

“I don’t care.” I didn’t know if it was the music, the atmosphere, or the mood of the day, but it was overpowering. “Let them.”

“Nikki is—”

“Don’t. Don’t even mention her name.” I pressed Erin closer, swaying her hips with mine. She had to know being here in my arms—there was no other woman I would rather be holding. Even my fingertips pressing into her bare back felt desperate to get that through to her. Erin tucked her face into my neck; my eyes slipped closed, enjoying the feeling her lips softly whispering out each of the words in the song.

So this is what feeling completely happy felt like.

This is what breathing easy was all about.

Those three words were there on the edge of my tongue.

I placed a soft, lingering kiss on Erin’s skin instead.

I’d have to tell her soon. It needed to be said that all of me loved all of her. Her curves, her edges, her perfect imperfections—just like the song. She needed to know that’s what was inside me, pressing on my heart.

Our bodies naturally moved together with each passing beat, separate but whole somehow, as though I was holding on to the other half of me.

The song ended, breaking into a thumping tempo, which quickly killed the mood. That was until Erin started grinding her ass into my cock. I held her hips, imagining her repeating each of her moves while I was buried deep inside her.

I didn’t need an alcohol buzz to push the rush through my veins. Erin was twice as heady and lethally potent, swirling me into a stupor.
That’s it, baby. Let go.

She grabbed my ass and owned me, making me a slave to whatever she needed. The power shift flowing between us heated my blood. Her back pressed to my chest, I slid my hand up the column of her throat, taking the power back. We were surrounded by a packed dance floor and sweaty bodies, but Erin smiling shyly over her shoulder at me commanded my complete attention.

She was getting tied up tonight.

I’d pound into her so fucking hard she’d lose consciousness. Sometime before that I’d tell her I’d fallen in love with her.

That’s it, baby. Slide on me again
. Who knew all it took was a bit of Usher and that Timberlake dude pumping in the air to light my girl up.

We needed to get out of here.

I needed her naked and to be doing this dance inside her—as soon as possible.

The next song started but I towed her off the dance floor.

“They’re cutting the cake,” she said.

“Fuck the cake.” I needed the door.

“Don’t you want any dessert?”

I weaved through the tables, focused on getting my suit jacket over the back of my chair. My keys where in the pocket. “I’m having you for dessert.”

“Oh really?” She laughed.

Cherise passed us with two plates mounded with desserts and slid back into her seat at the table. She knew how to turn Marcus on. All it took was a pile of sugar and a fork.

One of the servers placed cut cake at our seats. Much to my displeasure, Erin sat down.
Okay, sips of water, the taste of sweet icing flavoring that mouth of yours for me, and then we’re out of here.

I swiped a nip of icing off her slice, smeared it on her bottom lip, and licked it off while kissing her. Icing was my new favorite thing. I’d take my slice to go. “I’m hitting the men’s room. Then we’re out of here.”

I ignored Cherise’s questioning eyes. She should know a man on a mission when she saw one.

A TRICKLE OF
sweat dribbled down between my breasts from dancing. My chest heaved after Adam left me breathless.

Icing. Mmm
.

My tongue searched for any remaining sugar.

Cherise had me pegged in her sights from the other side of the table. “Mmhmm,” she murmured, taking another bite of something that was coated in chocolate.

A tinge of embarrassment rushed over me, wondering how others perceived our little public display. The way she was nodding at me, it could have been one of several perceptions.

“Told ya,” Marcus drawled, clearly speaking to his wife.

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes now,” she added.

My cheeks were warm.

“So Erin…,” Cherise leaned up on the table, “you falling for our boy Adam? Because I got to tell ya, he’s a good man.”