That meant my mind was free to roam, and there was only one subject that I could focus on right now. That fucking husband of hers.
I wanted to teach him a lesson that he’d never forget. It had taken all my willpower not to curse and rage against the man while I was in the kitchen with Erica, but I could see that it was taking a lot out of her to share already. The last thing I wanted was to make her regret it.
What kind of a man does this to a woman?
I didn’t have any answers.
All I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to be away from her right now. So, I waited until Dominic had fallen asleep. When he was out for the night, I rearranged Erica so that I could get off the couch without disturbing her. Scooping Dominic up, I took him up the stairs to his room. Gizmo was curled up on his new pet bed on the floor, and he lifted his head as we passed, watching his boy. He stayed in place, though.
Dominic didn’t wake up at all, even when I put him on the bed, pulling off his white tennis shoes. I felt a curious affection for the boy as I covered his body with his blanket, and he shifted in the bed, letting out a contented sigh in his sleep. Up until today, I’d been viewing Dominic almost as an obstacle on the path to Erica. He was important to her, so Ihadto get to know him.
It turned out that I liked him. He was a good kid that had been dealt a bad hand in life up until now. I could relate to that.
I turned on a nightlight in the wall socket before I slipped out of the room. When I got back downstairs, Erica was curled up on her side on the couch, looking so small that all I wanted to do was protect her. I turned off the TV and was struck by how normal this domestic stuff felt. I’d never considered myself a traditional man, certainly not the type to hang out with a kid, but I was comfortable here.
I knelt next to the couch and gathered Erica into my arms. Lifting her up, I started toward the stairs. Erica’s eyes opened slowly, and when she saw me, she gave me a sleepy smile.
“Where’s Dominic?” she asked. Craning her next around, trying to catch sight of him.
“Sleeping in his room.” I had started to climb the stairs, so I kept my voice quiet to avoid waking him.
Erica relaxed back into my body, closing her eyes once again. The way that she trusted me meant the world to me now that I knew the details of her past.
Erica’s room was dark, but the hall light allowed me to see well enough to find her bed. Shifting her carefully in my arms, I managed to get the sheet and comforter pulled back before lowering her onto the mattress. She turned onto her side once again, snuggling into her pillow and letting out a sigh that was so much like Dominic’s it made me want to laugh.
Just as I was turning away from the bed to leave, a small hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. “Don’t go,” Erica said, her voice sounding more awake than I expected. “Stay with me tonight. Please.”
She didn’t have to ask me twice. I pulled my shirt over my head and kicked off my boots. I thought about leaving my jeans on for her, but I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep that way. So, they joined my boots on the floor and I slipped into the bed beside her wearing only my boxers.
Erica was facing away from me, so I moved closer until my chest was pressed against her back. My arm went around her waist, and her ass lined up just right with my cock. I could feel myself hardening, but I wasn’t going to do anything about it. Not tonight. After Erica’s story, I felt like both of our emotions were too raw to handle anything more physical than this. And for the first time, I wanted a woman to know that I was good for more than just sex. I could give her more.
“Goodnight, Trainer,” she whispered in the darkness.
“Goodnight, Eve,” I said, using her real name for the first time. I understood that I couldn’t call her that, not if she wanted to maintain her fake identity. But just this once, while it was just the two of us in this space, I wanted to acknowledge the person she really was, the life that Jeff had effectively stolen from her.
She stiffened for a second but relaxed quickly. It was a matter of minutes before she was asleep again. I forced all thoughts of hunting down her ex-husband to teach him a lesson out of my mind and followed suit.
* * *
The Bonneville was coming along nicely.It was amazing what a few simple changes, like a new seat and tires, could do for a bike like this. I’d given the thing a full service and taken it out for a test ride at the end of last week. It was a smooth ride for the most part. The only issue I noticed was when I tried to downshift. The gear lever would move as if going to a lower gear, but it wouldn’t actually do it.
It was a simple enough fix, just requiring a new return spring, but I hadn’t gotten the part in until today. So, I was at the shop, swapping out the defective spring for a new one. I anticipated having this bike up for sale by the end of the day.
My phone rang, and I hurriedly wiped my greasy hands clean before digging it out of my pocket. Mama Tammy was calling, and I managed to answer after three rings.
“Hello?” My voice was tense. She had to be calling with news about the biopsy.
“Hello, Raul. How are you?”
I bit back a demand that she tell me her news as soon as possible.
“I’m fine. Working on your future bike right now.”
She let out an undignified sound that was half-grunt, half-chuckle. “Yeah, right.”
“What about you, Mama? Are you okay?”
“I am,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “I got a call from the doctor today. He said it’s not cancer. Just a cyst or something like that.”
