Trouble in Sudden Falls: A Sudden Falls Romance (35 page)

Emma couldn’t believe how quickly she’d acclimated to her role of dominatrix. Or how satisfying it was to hear the alternating cries of pain and moans of pleasure that strained from Rob’s throat.

Her heart was thumping in her chest and her pulse was pounding between her thighs. She knew without a doubt, she’d never been this turned on before. She needed a release in the worst way before she crawled out of her own skin.

“Are you ready to call ‘Red’ yet?”

“Only if it pleases you,” he said meekly.

This was a side of her husband she’d never seen before… and she liked it.

She released the snap-hooks that held his wrists at the top of the bed’s finial. “Oh, you’re about to do a lot more than please me,” she assured him, amazed at her own brazenness. Prior to this evening, she’d never have listed “talking dirty” as one of her skills, but it turned out she was pretty good at it.

She sat on the end of the bed, her legs dangling over the end of the mattress, then pulled him toward her. “On your knees,” she commanded.

Rob dropped in front of her open knees, bracing his hands on the tops of her thighs. His touch caused tingles to shoot through every erogenous zone on her body. Still blindfolded, he leaned in and nuzzled the inside of her thigh, nipping her gently with his teeth.

“Is this what pleases my mistress?”

She couldn’t conceal the nonsensical moan that escaped her lips but he took it for the affirmative that it was. She pulled the scarf off his eyes and tossed it on the floor. His gaze met hers for the first time since he’d come out of the bathroom. She felt a moment of hesitation before Rob placed a hand on her abdomen and pressed her back until she was lying on the bed.

Grasping an arm around each of her legs, he tugged her forward until she was even with his mouth, then he licked her panties right over her pulsing nerve center. He untied the bows that held her thong in place and threw it over the side of the bed. She whimpered as his tongue made contact with her.

A cry tore from her throat as he latched on and suckled hard. Emma grabbed the comforter under her in each fist, her legs tightening around his head.

Emma knew that in her entire life she’d never reached climax that hard or that fast. Rob barely let the storm die down before he stood, scooping each of her knees up as he buried himself deep inside her.

Emma screamed out and Rob pulled back and thrust into her again. He was not gentle. He did not treat her with kid gloves. He slammed into her hard and fast, and she felt the pressure build again as she closed her eyes, her entire body tightening as one climax after another crashed over her until she thought she’d lose her mind.

With a guttural groan, Rob buried himself one more time, his body shuddering, his hands reaching to pull her tight to him.

She wrapped her arms and legs around his body and held on for dear life.

“We found them near Stonelick State Park,” Eli said to Donna Goodman from his cell phone as he and Maddie navigated the short distance to the Goodman’s house. “We’ll be by to pick you up in a few minutes.”

“Oh, thank God.” He could hear the relief in her voice. “Do they know we’re coming?”

“No. The park ranger said they have a campsite with two tents and they’re sitting around the campfire roasting hot dogs. I figured we’d surprise them.” And not give them the opportunity to leave the area. He couldn’t believe, after everything Rogan had done to clean up his act, that he would run off and lie to him this way.

“For a new parent, you’ve got good instincts,” Donna said. That comment almost made up for the fact that he felt like a total parental-imposter. “I’ll be waiting on the front porch.”

Eli signed off, snapped his phone shut and slid it into the holder on his dashboard.

“So what are you going to do to him?” Maddie asked.

“I haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Give him a chance to explain before you go off the deep end.”

Eli bristled at her trying to tell him how to deal with his son. “You’re an expert on parenting now?”

She gave him the expression he’d always thought of as her “you’re such a man” look. “No. My experience is on the other side of things. If my parents had spent a few minutes listening to my side of things occasionally, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into nearly as much trouble as I did. I’m saying, don’t explode until you let him tell you his side.” She reached across the distance between their two seats and squeezed his thigh.

Eli sighed. He so hated it when she was right. He probably would have blown his cool if she hadn’t said something, and he suspected highly that Rogan would have completely rebelled against anything he’d have had to say.

When they arrived at the campground, the ranger pointed them in the direction of their children. They pulled up in time to see Rogan pop a toasted marshmallow in Amy’s laughing mouth.

Donna was out of the car before Eli even pulled the key from the ignition. Eli could see that Amy immediately recognized that her goose was cooked.

Rogan looked a little ill-at-ease himself.

Good.

“Pack up your stuff, kids. You’re going home,” Eli said.

“Mom, I can explain.”

“I’m not sure I want to hear it right now,” Donna said. “I’m so mad I can’t see straight.” She took a deep breath and Eli watched her clench her fists at her sides. “First, you lied to me. Then you left town to spend the night with… with this—” Eli felt his neck prickle in irritation. “—
boy
, and then I find you eating straight sugar. Are you insane? Are you trying to put yourself into a diabetic coma?”

Amy didn’t say a word, she simply picked up some trash near the fire and stuffed it in an empty grocery bag before standing up and moving to her tent.

Eli went to Rogan who looked completely defeated. He refused to look Eli in the eye. Instead, he focused all his concentration on disassembling his tent. Eli stepped over to help, recalling that this particular tent was as much of a pain to take down as it was to put up.

Rogan mumbled, “Thanks,” as Eli held open the nylon bag so Rogan could stuff the tent, poles and stakes in. It took less than ten minutes to get them packed up and their camping equipment stuffed in the back of the truck.

“Before we hit the road, let’s sit down at the picnic table over there and have a little talk, shall we?” Eli asked.

“Okay,” Rogan said quietly, still not meeting Eli’s eyes before he headed toward the picnic table across the dirt road from their campsite, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

Amy glared at her mother and Eli thanked his lucky stars that Becca had sent him Rogan rather than a pissed-off, teen-aged girl. It went to show that things could always be worse.

The adults sat on one side of the table, Amy and Rogan on the other. Donna opened her mouth to speak and from the look on her face it wasn’t going to be nice. Eli jumped in before she could do more harm, keeping in mind Maddie’s suggestion. “Okay, guys. We’re going to give you the opportunity to explain first
before
we jump all over your cases and ground you until your twenty-first birthdays.” He gave them both a stern look for good measure. “Make it good.”

Donna looked skeptical, but when Rogan started speaking, Eli knew he’d made the right decision.
Thank you, Maddie.

“I’m sorry we lied,” he said. “I’m not sure it’ll make any difference to you, but we talked about it earlier, and we fully intended to come back tomorrow and confess everything.” He sighed and Eli nodded at him so that he’d keep going. “Mrs. Goodman, I know you have a lot of… concerns about me, but I would like to ask your permission to date your daughter—after whatever period of in-home-incarceration that we probably deserve.” Pride filled Eli. Sure, Rogan had made a pretty big mistake, but he seemed to be handling everything else with quite a bit of maturity. Eli never would have had the guts to make such an impassioned speech to a girl’s parents when he was Rogan’s age.

Rogan elbowed Amy gently. When she didn’t say anything, he prompted her. “Go on. This is your chance.”

She clasped shaking hands on top of the table. “Mom, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied. I…” She took a deep breath. “I wish you could learn to trust me.” Rolling eyes at herself, and chuckled a little disparagingly. “Okay, I realize this probably wasn’t a step in the right direction… but I’m seventeen. I’m going to be in college in a little over a year. I take good care of myself and I’m careful.”

“Eating marshmallows is taking good care of yourself?”

“Mom, I had two marshmallows. Since dinner was a little light on carbs, it wasn’t a big deal.”

She pulled a small black pouch out of her back pocket and dropped it on the table. She put a tiny strip in a small electronic device Eli suspected was a blood sugar tester. She pressed a small plastic wand against her finger and pushed a button, squeezed her finger and placed the blood drop on the end of the strip. The whole thing took less than ten seconds.

The tester beeped and she slid it across the table to her mother. “One-oh-eight.” She shook her head. “What is it with you? The night of the dance I went a little high. A quick correction and I would have been fine, but no! You have to drag me to the hospital.”

“Is it so wrong that I want you to be safe?”

“If you’re smothering me to death? Yes.” Amy heaved a big sigh before continuing. “You don’t have to answer us right now, but think about it.” She looked up at Rogan. “Rogan is a
nice
guy. He’s been nothing but a gentleman.”

Eli looked over at Donna. She looked a little sad, but Eli had a feeling she’d be relenting soon. Hopefully even before Amy turned twenty-one.

“All right, kids. Let’s get back home. We can finish this conversation later.” He dangled his keys from his thumb and forefinger near Maddie. “You mind driving the Explorer back to Sudden Falls? I’d like to ride with Rogan.”

“Guess I’d better get used to it, since you’ll be taking over my car soon.” She winked and grabbed at the keys.

Eli held on and grinned. Leaning down until his mouth was even with her ear he said, “I’m really grateful you were here today. Thanks.”

“Anytime,” she whispered back, before turning her head to drop a soft kiss on his cheek.

Eli wondered if they hadn’t been interrupted if she’d have finally said the words he’d been waiting to hear.

He stepped back across the road to where Rogan waited by his car. “Don’t mind if I ride with you, do you?” he asked.

“Depends.”

“On…?”

“Are you doing it because you don’t trust me to get home or because you’re going to light into me as soon as we hit the road?”

Eli grinned. “I trust you to make it home and while I think you know this wasn’t your smartest move without me telling you so, I’m proud of the way you handled yourself today. I’m only offering you company.”

Rogan’s eyes went wide. “You’re proud of me?”

“Always. You’re a good kid.” Rogan blinked hard and Eli wished more than anything at that very moment that he was Rogan’s biological parent. He wished he’d had something to do with what a great kid he was. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d threaten to ground you if I thought you hadn’t already learned your lesson. But I think you have.”

Rogan nodded. “Yes, sir.”

They slid into the car and followed Maddie in Eli’s Explorer.

Rogan didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, when they reached the highway, he asked quietly, “Do you think Becca will be coming back soon?”

Eli had been doing a really good job of not considering that possibility. “I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her.” He looked over at Rogan. “Have you?”

“Not for six weeks or so.” He shrugged. “But she doesn’t usually stay away for more than four months.”

“Do you miss her?” Eli asked. Maybe Rogan wasn’t as happy living with Eli as he’d hoped.

“Sometimes.” He smiled ironically. “Not as much as I think I should.”

“There’s a question that’s been bothering me lately… and I don’t really know how to ask it.”

“What?”

Eli hesitated for a long moment. “What did your mom tell you about me?”

“Only that you were in the Army and you’d died in Afghanistan.” He rolled his eyes. “I have no idea where she got that.”

Sadness rolled through Eli. He knew exactly where she’d gotten it. Eli’s cousin, John, had died in Afghanistan in the early days of the war. John had been a couple of years older than Eli, but they’d looked
a lot
like one another. Maybe not exactly like looking in the mirror, but they’d been very similar. He’d be willing to wager that he’d figured out the secret of Rogan’s birth.

“You never knew about me, did you?” Rogan asked, unaware of Eli’s major epiphany.

“Of course not. Believe me. If I’d known about you, I’d have been a part of your life.” And that was a true statement. Even if he hadn’t been Eli’s own son, he would have been there for John’s son, particularly after John died.

Sadly, it didn’t hurt any less that he and Rogan were related by blood after all.