No Quarter (NOLA's Own #2) (7 page)

“No.” I smiled into his twinkling eyes. “What do you think is going on with Sheri and Jason right now?”

“I have no idea. He was messed up while she was tellin’ you guys. I guess we all were, but he was shakin’ and cryin’.”

“I think this could really bring them closer, if she feels she can open up to him now.”

“Do you feel open with me?” he asked, his voice uncertain.

I replied honestly, “Sometimes, I worry about how you’ll react.”

“Like last night,” he stated, his tone sinking miserably.

“Yeah.”

“I won’t do that again, I promise. From now on, I’ll make sure I completely understand the situation
before
I fly off the handle, okay?”

I grinned. “Okay.”

“I never want to hurt you or risk losin’ you. You’re my whole life.”

A glowing warmth spread from my heart out to my arms and legs, and my mouth stretched into a huge smile. “You’re mine, too.”

His hands slipped around to my front to cradle my face. “When I’m with you, it’s like the world finally makes sense. I’ve never had to do without anythin’, not until I met you. When I lost you that night, I would’ve given anythin’ and everythin’ I had, if only I could belong to you.”

“Damn, Phil,” I said softly, my eyes burning behind my lids.

He pulled me toward him as he leaned in, kissing me breathless before crushing me to his chest and lying back, pulling me on top. His lips and tongue devoured mine, his hands holding my face right where he wanted me. It was so good, so
correct.

“Make me beg,” he said softly, one hand trailing down my back to grab my ass and grind us together.

Oh, hells fuck yes!

Early the next morning, I attempted to wake Phil up to tell him that I was heading out, but he was dead to the world. If his lips hadn’t subconsciously pressed back against mine when I gave him a quick kiss, I might’ve had to check his pulse. He had begged long and hard last night. It must have wiped him out. Just thinking of the things I had done to him, the noises he’d made, made me shiver.

Wow. I should get out of here before I blow off yoga altogether.

I found Sheri on the patio as I headed home to do my morning routine. She was dressed in brand-new spandex pants and a control-top tank top. Next to her chair sat a rolled foam yoga mat with its plastic covering.

“Hey,” I said quietly.

She turned to face me, a gentle smile on her lips. Her eyes were puffy from sleeping after a heavy bout of crying, but they looked clear and determined.

“Hi!” she whispered loudly. “I was hoping to catch you. Can I join you for yoga today? Do you mind?”

“Of course not,” I whispered in return.

We made our way through the backyard to the side gate. She waited in my kitchen while I went upstairs to change into my poofy cotton pants, sports bra, and a crappy tank top.

Sheri had told me she wanted to learn yoga, but until this morning, she hadn’t made any sort of effort. Maybe opening up to us last night had prompted her to do more for herself. I’d never given anyone a lesson, but I tried to remember how my mother had taught Connor and me, and I went with that.

Unrolling our mats so that Sheri faced me, we began with Sun Salutations.

“Listen to my breath, and try to breathe the same way. Inhale and exhale for the same amount of time. Don’t just fill your lungs. Fill your whole body. Imagine yourself as one big lung.” Deeply inhaling, I said, “Fill yourself with clean air and energy.” I exhaled. “Release stress and tension.”

Sheri learned best by observing. She watched me and imitated my moves as much as possible. Each move I made, she took a few seconds to see and then copied me. It took a little longer for me to do my normal routine, but I found this experience rewarding. At the end of the Salutations, she reclined in Savasana while I went on to a more rigorous routine, complete with back bends, twists, and the dreaded handstand.

Sheri watched me in silent fascination until I lay back in quiet repose. Then, she sat with me, her legs crossed, while I arranged myself into Lotus Pose.

“That’s so beautiful,” she said. “I wish I could sit like that.”

“If you keep up the practice, you will,” I assured her.

In silence, we sat and meditated. Her energy was calm, at peace. The yoga had loosened her tension and relaxed her body and spirit. Opening my eyes, I witnessed her face glowing with a sense of contentment. I almost didn’t want to disturb her.

“Sheri?”

She opened her eyes and smiled. “Yeah?”

“You want some coffee?”

“I’d love some.”

Getting to my feet, I rolled up Mom’s bamboo mat, and Sheri did the same with hers.

“That felt amazing. No wonder you do it every day.”

“You’re welcome to join me anytime you like.”

Some hot, sweet lattes were just what we needed. For a while, we sat on the back porch, quietly sipping our coffees.

“Do you feel up to telling me the rest of it?” I gently asked her.

“I do,” she replied. “There’s not really much more with my family. When the cops arrested my father at work, my mother knew they’d be coming for her, so she shot herself rather than face the shame and jail time. My father is in prison, and the law firm he worked for paid me a huge settlement to keep it quiet. I ended up being a millionaire when I was sixteen. I moved in with my grandparents and finished high school in Lafayette.”

“When did you start seeing a shrink?”

“Pretty much from the moment I told my grandparents. But I don’t think I’ll ever be normal, you know?”

“Normal is a vague and misguided term at best, Sheri. There’s something in everyone that can be considered not normal.”

“I suppose. But even back then, I knew that something was really wrong with me. I constantly thought about sex and wondered if my father had turned me into a freak. I wanted to see if I
was
good at it.

“After I graduated high school, I took a job as a cocktail waitress at a strip club. I thought maybe I could work my way into stripping, see if it was something that could help me. I told my grandparents I was bartending at a fancy club. I didn’t want them to worry. I was seriously considering going into porn, but I didn’t want to humiliate them more.”

“Your parents humiliated them, not you.”

“I know, but they didn’t need more of it, you know? And my shrink wanted to keep me away from that sort of life, too. She knew about the strip club though. If I hadn’t met Jason when I did…I don’t think I would’ve been able to stop myself. I felt like I needed the perverted because I
was
perverted, but he was just the right amount of kinky and sweet to keep me from going on to my career choice at the time. He saved me from that.”

I nodded. It really did make sense.

“What happened between you two last night, if you don’t mind me asking?”

She smiled a megawatt smile. “He told me he loved me, no matter what, that he had loved me from the moment he first saw me. And…I told him I loved him, too. He asked why I never told him about what happened to me, and I said that I was afraid he’d think I was too damaged or gross. But he said that would never matter to him, that he thinks the world of me, that it doesn’t make me any less in his eyes.”

“You
are
worthy of love, Sheri. Your father did not take that away from you.”

“I’m starting to feel that way now. I know I have to work through a lot, and I’m going to find a shrink and start sessions again. I know
it will help. Jason said he’d go with me, but I think I need to go on my own for a while at first.”

“Do you still talk to your grandparents?”

She nodded. “At least once a week. To be honest, I think they were happy to let me go, not in a bad way. But when they look at me, I wonder if they feel like failures themselves. Their daughter grew up privileged and adored, and they never once raised a hand to her. The thought that she had done that to me really broke their hearts. But they also knew that, by leaving, I might just be able to find myself or at least some way to be happy.”

“You’re a smart, strong, and extremely resilient woman. You’ve taken a huge step for yourself already. This is only the beginning.”

“I know,” she said, smiling. “It feels really good.”

Having to meet Gavin and Lucy at The Center to get our clinic up and running for tomorrow, I was actually irritated that I had to go back to the real world and work
.
What I
wanted
to do was spend all my time lazing around with my mega-hot metal god boyfriend, and that made me all pissy and shit.

How dare he wiggle his sweet bubble ass into my life like this and turn me into an irresponsible sex fiend! The nerve of him!

I was also annoyed because I’d forgotten my crappy baggy jeans at home, and it was way too hot outside for my ass to wear my tight bootcuts.

“I’ve got shit you can wear, Baby Girl,” came the mega-hot metal god’s baritone from inside his walk-in closet.

I’d thought
my
closet was a walk-in closet.
His
was the size of my old bedroom.

Stupid rich mega-hot metal god boyfriend with his enormous closet and cock, making me fall in love with him to the point I never want to leave him and shit.

Phil came out, holding up a pair of well-worn beige cargo shorts. “These got too small for me. Here.” He tossed them at me. “Try ’em on.” He also tossed an olive-green belt that cinched where needed rather than having holes.

Ooo!

The shorts were all soft and seriously frumpy, like I liked my pants. They hit me below my shins, and I would definitely have to use the belt. Otherwise, two steps, and these bad boys would drop to the floor.

“Why don’t you pack a bag and keep some of your shit over here?” he asked.

I reached for the belt and started threading it through the loops. “Dude, I’m
not
moving in with you,” I told him, sounding like a complete grump.

“
Dude.
Not
yet
anyway,” he replied.

I glared at him, and he glared right back at me.

I went back to this getting-dressed business.

“So…” he said.

I looked up at him while cinching the belt around me. “So?”

“So, next month we have this gig in LA, right?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” That was one of my da’s favorite lines.

“Tellin’ you. It’s the House of Horrors Halloween concert—”

“No shit! We watch that every year! Only
the best
fucking bands play that show.”

He started cracking up. “You’re too cute. We’re headlinin’ it.”

“Shut the fuck up!” I shouted, my face splitting into a huge smile. “I get to see my boyfriend on TV
again
!”

“Actually, you won’t.”

My eyebrows were trying to crawl up into my hairline. “They’re not televising it this year?”

“Of course they are. But you’ll
be there.
We got the finalization for everythin’ yesterday, so I figured if I told you today, you could arrange your schedule around it. I’m sure X has told Alys already, so you should call Lili and tell her she’s comin’, too.”

Stunned, I blinked and stared at him for a few seconds.

He’s taking my two best friends and me to LA for the House of Horrors concert. My boyfriend,
Phil fucking Deveraux
, is taking me to LA.

“
Oh my God, Phil
!”
I shouted. “Are you fucking serious?”

His face split into the Lady Killer, dimples punching deep and white teeth flashing. “Fuck yeah, I’m fuckin’ serious. We got the hotel and flight booked—”

“Oh my God!” I danced in place like a dork before launching myself into his arms. “Shut the fuck up!”

He busted out in surprised laughter, tightly wrapping his arms around me. “Get used to it. I’m takin’ you with me wherever I go.”

Bouncing in his arms—I was
that
psyched—I shouted, “This is
so cool
!”

“I didn’t know you were such a
girl
,” he said, laughing, and lifting me so that my legs wrapped around his waist.

“Me neither!” I squealed. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Giving me a smiling quick kiss, he said, “You’re very welcome.” His hands squeezed my ass, pulling me into him. “Do we have time for—”