Deliver Me (16 page)

The
week leading up to Thanksgiving, Bethany was much more animated than usual. She
chalked it up to the babies’ first turkey day together. Just like Halloween,
they were doing everything to make the holiday special. After carving the
pumpkins, they placed them on either side of the porch and set the babies in
between them in their seats. Right as Erik snapped the picture, the kids’ hands
found the other. Erik had that picture enlarged and framed, and it was hanging
above the mantle.

Erik
had reached out to Sarah, not to apologize, but to see how his friend was
doing. She had not been around since she gave him the magazine, and he wanted
to know how she and the baby were progressing. Even though her attitude toward
him had changed, he still invited her over for Thanksgiving. She declined, but
thanked him all the same.

Bethany
arrived early on Thursday. She said she wanted Erik to teach her how to cook
all the side dishes that went with the turkey. They had prepared the turkey
together the night before, and Erik put it in the oven before he went to sleep.
When she insisted he get a really large bird, he should have been suspicious.
She explained that she really liked turkey sandwiches. Brady had already eaten,
so she placed him in his seat and fed Delilah while Erik puttered around the
kitchen. Once Delilah was fed, Bethany dressed her in one of her 7’s Princess
outfits and placed her on the floor with Brady. The babies were their happiest
when they were on the pallet together. They weren’t old enough to sit up without
assistance but they didn’t seem to mind just being in the same space together. 

Erik
was getting used to having them around all the time. His receptionist and her
son had been a godsend when he thought Lee cheated on him. He had Delilah, but
she was also a reminder of Lee.

Bethany
and Erik were talking about recipes and drinking coffee when Duke barked then
ran out the pet door. Bethany grinned and said, “You better go see who that
is.” Erik sucked in a breath. It couldn’t be. He jogged to the front door and
as soon as it opened he was engulfed in a set of tattooed arms. Lee’s mouth
came down on Erik’s as whistles and catcalls sounded from the group still in
the driveway.

“Get
a room,” Echo yelled, laughing. She, Sloane, Pauly, Gus, and Mack were sliding
out of a limo.

“What
are you doing here?” Erik asked, his heart overfull.

“I
missed you,” Lee breathed against his lips. “And, I miss my girl. I didn’t want
my daughter to spend her first Thanksgiving without me.”

Erik
led the crew into the house. Lee went to Delilah and picked her up. “I hear you
have a boyfriend. Listen, Mr. Brady, you keep your hands off my girl until I
know what your intentions are.”

Bethany
laughed and picked Brady off the floor. There were hugs all around while the
babies were passed between everyone. Erik nudged Bethany’s shoulder. “You
really like leftover turkey sandwiches, huh?”

She
beamed at him. “What can I say? The smile on your face is worth every second I
kept this a secret.”

Lee,
holding Delilah, wrapped Erik into his empty arm. He kissed him softly on the
lips. “Happy Thanksgiving, Doc.”

The
meal took a little longer than it should to prepare, because Lee wouldn’t stop
kissing Erik. Every time Erik turned around, Lee was all over him. The rest of
the crew made themselves at home in the living room, each fussing over who got
to hold which baby. Erik asked Lee where Cade was.

“He
stayed in South Carolina with some friends of his family.” Lee shrugged. Erik
knew their relationship was still strained, but Cade flying to Nashville to see
Erik had gone a long way to bridge the gap.

The
rest of the day was filled with food and laughter. When Mack sang the Tom
Jones’ version of Delilah, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Everyone was
crying from laughing so hard. Erik couldn’t wait to take a look at the photos
on his camera. Not only had he snapped random pictures, but everyone else in
the room had, at some point, done the same. Before Bethany left for the
evening, Erik set the camera on a tripod so they could get a group photo. He
hoped it was the first of many times his new family was together for the
holiday.

Echo
and the crew went to Lee’s house to spend the night, giving Erik and Lee some
privacy. As soon as they were alone, they settled in on the sofa with Delilah. It
was past her bedtime, but Lee wanted to see her as long as he could. Erik
couldn’t blame him for that. When she couldn’t hold her eyes open any longer,
they placed her in her crib. They wrapped their arms around each other as they
sang her song together.

Before
they were all the way in Erik’s bedroom, clothes were being shed and landing
wherever they were dropped. Lee pulled Erik’s naked body close and held him
tight. “Goddamn, I’ve missed you, Doc.”

“Does
that mean you forgive me?” Erik whispered against his ear. Instead of looking
him in the eye, he fingered the key Lee was still wearing around his neck. He
didn’t want to see the look on Lee’s face if he said no.

“Yeah.
I won’t lie and say I wasn’t hurt. But I don’t want to think about that now. I
don’t want to think at all. I just want you to make love to me. Can you do
that?”

Erik’s
breath caught. He had never made love to anyone. Never thought he’d use the
word love when thinking of another man, yet here they were. He had told Lee’s
sister he was falling for her brother. There was no more falling. Erik was
totally, irrevocably in love with Lee Holloway.

“I
can do that.” He pulled the covers back so Lee could lie down. He took a moment
to enjoy the beautiful body spread out on his bed. From his long legs to his
tapered waist, all the way up his tatted arms, and finally to the beautiful
face with those striking green eyes, all of that was his for the taking. Erik
stretched his body on top of Lee’s and remained still. He needed a moment to
acknowledge what it felt like to be with the person you loved.

“Doc?”

Erik
couldn’t voice his feelings. He was afraid if he spoke the words aloud, it
would somehow ruin what they were about to do. Cade heard Lee say he loved
Erik, but until the man said it to him, he would hold it in. Instead of
speaking the words aloud, Erik slanted their mouths together and breathed his
love into Lee, using his tongue to convey the depth of what he was feeling. He
made love to Lee’s mouth before he loved his body.

Erik
took his time prepping Lee for sex. He lubed his fingers and opened Lee’s body
to be able to take all of Erik. While he twisted his fingers in and out of
Lee’s hole, he kissed the inside of his thighs, licking his way to where Lee’s
balls were waiting for attention. After laving both, Erik took Lee’s cock into
his mouth, licking the precome off the head before sliding his tongue down to
the root and back up. “Mmm, you taste so fucking good.”

“Fuck,
Doc, it’s been too long. You need to get inside me.” Lee had the sheet twisted
in his hands, his hips pumping toward Erik’s face.

Erik
rose up on his knees so Lee could watch him as he poured lube into his hand and
slicked up his aching dick. He wanted to make this good for Lee. Wanted to make
love to Lee. Erik wasn’t sure if he knew how. He’d only ever fucked before. He
wrapped his fist around his cock and lined it up with Lee’s hole. He held on to
Lee’s knee with his other hand, pushing his leg farther back, opening him up a
little more. Erik entered his lover and stopped, allowing him to get used to
his size.

“No,
don’t stop. I want all of you, Erik.” Lee wrapped his legs around Erik’s thighs
and used his heels to thrust into him.

“Lee…”
Erik couldn’t breathe. The feeling of being wrapped in Lee’s arms, his legs,
his ass, was so much more now that deep feelings were involved. He closed his
eyes so Lee couldn’t see the turmoil there.

“Doc,
please,” Lee begged.

Erik
took a deep breath and opened his eyes. When he saw nothing but need in Lee’s
green ones, he began to move. He rocked his hips in and out, the tightness already
pushing him toward an orgasm. “I’m not going to last,” he admitted.

“That’s
okay, we have all night,” Lee said, pulling Erik’s head down for a kiss. Lee
ran his hands through Erik’s hair, his nails scraping over his scalp. The
sensation added to the intensity of their lovemaking. Erik let Lee’s tongue
dominate the dance in their mouths. When they finally broke apart, the look in
Lee’s eyes said everything.

“Oh,
God, Lee…” Erik couldn’t stop his orgasm. He called out Lee’s name the same
time Lee yelled Erik’s. Lee’s dick shot off between them, his ass tightening
around Erik’s cock. He emptied his load into his lover, not pulling out even
after the last pulse subsided. He caught Lee’s mouth in a hard kiss. There was
too much emotion in what had just happened. Erik was feeling so fucking much. Lee’s
legs were still wrapped around him, tugging him closer.

Lee
pulled his lips away from Erik’s and grabbed him around the waist until Erik
was flat against him. One hand found Erik’s hair again, and Lee’s face made its
home in Erik’s neck. When Lee inhaled, Erik laughed. “Are you smelling me?”

“Yes.
Your shirt finally stopped smelling like you.”

Erik
rolled to the side of Lee’s body, his softening cock leaving its warm cocoon.
He propped up on his elbow and asked, “You took my shirt?”

Lee
nodded unapologetically. “Yes. I bought the body wash you use, but it doesn’t
smell the same on me. It’s not mixed with Erik, so yes, I took your shirt.”

Erik
laughed and pulled Lee closer. “I hope they never discontinue that particular
scent.”

“Me
too, or else I might have to hire a scientist to recreate it.” Lee inhaled
Erik’s skin at his neck before licking along his jawline. He rubbed his
whiskered cheek against Erik’s smooth one and found his lips. What started as a
chaste kiss on a smile turned into a heated clashing of lips, teeth, and tongues.
Lee rolled Erik to his back and took his turn at making love. He filled Erik’s
body with his cock and his heart with love. If he had any doubts about Lee’s
feelings before, he definitely didn’t now. Whether or not he had said the
words, Lee Holloway loved him.

They
rose at some point to shower. By the time they had both sucked each other off
under the hot spray, they were ready to crash. Neither one had the energy to
change the sheets, so they grabbed a couple of dry towels from the linen closet
and placed them over the wet spots.

Lee
draped his long body over Erik’s, settling his face into Erik’s neck. Erik
wrapped his arms around his lover, relishing the feeling of having him back in
his bed. He closed his eyes, but sleep eluded him. Erik had dreamed of a man to
love and a family to fill his home. After the heartache of finding Bradley with
someone else, Erik relegated himself to the fact he would be alone the rest of
his life. Now, Erik was close to having everything he ever dreamed of. He already
had Delilah, and soon he would have Lee, too. The lock on his heart rattled,
ready to be opened.

Duke’s
wet nose woke Erik the next morning. He gave the dog a rub on the head to
acknowledge he was awake and took a moment to enjoy the man in his arms. Lee
had to leave soon to go back on the road, but now they only had two weeks left.
Erik knew the time would drag, but they could make it. Fourteen days and Lee
would be home for good. “Good morning,” he whispered into Lee’s hair.

Lee
didn’t open his eyes, but he smiled and leaned in for a sniff. “Good morning,
Doc. Last night was the best night of my life.” When he finally opened his
eyes, there was so much love shining there. He kissed Erik on the lips. “Erik,
I…” Lee’s cellphone alarm pinged, cutting off his sentence. “I have to get up.
Fuck.” He kissed Erik again. “I need to take a quick shower. I’ll see you and
the princess in a few minutes.”

Erik
enjoyed the view of a naked Lee walking to the bathroom, his morning wood
bouncing in front of his body. He wished they had more time, because he would
really like to take care of Lee’s problem for him. Instead of dressing in a thin
pair of sleep pants, he pulled on a pair of jeans knowing the others would be
there soon. He went into Delilah’s room and said good morning. She smiled and
cooed at him, making his heart sing. He didn’t want Lee to be the baby’s only
father, but they would discuss that when Lee came off the road. They would
discuss a lot of things then.

Lee
padded into the kitchen looking absolutely edible with his hair damp and his
feet bare. Erik passed Delilah off to her father so he could prepare coffee for
them both. Duke barked and ran out the door. Erik unlocked the side door so the
crew could come on in. Echo came in first, followed by the men who were
carrying Krispy Kreme boxes. Lee groaned, and Erik smiled.

“The
hot now
light was on. We had to stop,” Echo said as she grabbed a
chocolate covered cream filled donut.

“There
isn’t a Krispy Kreme for miles. You had to go looking,” Lee chided his manager.

“I
don’t care why you went, I’m just glad you did,” Bethany said as she entered
the kitchen.

“We
just had to get through all that fucking black Friday traffic over by the
mall,” Gus huffed as he helped himself to a couple of glazed.