Just a Love Story Read online

  His body reacted to her exclamation, his hips drawing back and pushing powerfully forward. “I can’t hold out much longer,” he said as the need to cum began to boil in his balls.

  “Don’t hold back. I need more,” she panted as she bent her knees and lifted her legs, completely opening herself up for his pleasure.

  Her submission drove him to the point of no return. Shae absorbed the thrusts of his body, her fingers digging into his back as pants of satisfaction burst from her lips.

  “I need you, Derek. I need you so much!”

  “You’ve got me,” he promised, even as he delivered.

  “Oh, God!” she gasped as he began to take her even harder, fucking her with long, deep thrusts that made her cry out with delight. This was it, something was happening. The pleasure he’d given her with his mouth had been amazing – but this…this was different. Bigger. Deeper. She clung to him as her world became more and more laser focused with every impaling thrust. “Derek!”

  He cradled her as she shattered, her pussy fluttering around him in a move designed to push him over the edge. Burying his face in her neck, he bellowed, “Shae! Fuck!” Every muscle in Derek’s body stiffened as his own release pulsed through him in wave after wave of white-hot delight. “Oh, God, that was good. So good.”

  Long moments passed as they held one another, catching their breath. As she lay content in Derek’s arms, Shae pictured them as the characters in her love story. After such a mind-blowing, tender scene, the hero would kiss the heroine one more time and declare his undying love. As she smiled at the thought, willing fiction to become fact, a memory floated to the surface in the sea of her contentment.

  Oh, my God!

  She’d told Derek she loved him. And he’d said…nothing in return.

  As a writer of romantic fiction, she understood how these scenarios played out. One party would declare their love in the heat of passion, and the other – not feeling the same – would try to pretend the words had never been spoken.

  Oh, hell.

  She began to ease out of his embrace, but Derek wasn’t letting her move. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Nowhere. I just thought you might want to get up.” As far as she knew, most guys weren’t into spending the night.

  Derek raised his head to gaze into her eyes. “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No. No. Of course not.” She ran a hand up his bicep, enjoying how he tightened his hold on her to keep her close.

  “Good. I thought we’d leave from here early in the morning to go to Austin, if that’s okay.”

  Shae smiled. He didn’t seem to be disturbed by her declaration. Maybe…he felt something for her. “Sure, that’s fine.”

  Derek rubbed his cheek on her chest, peppering kisses along the way. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you?” she asked. “For what?” Shae ran her fingers through his hair, memorizing each moment.

  “For letting me love on you. For giving yourself to me. I’ve never been anyone’s first before.”

  Shae’s heart melted. “You’re welcome. And thank you for making my first time so special.”

  Derek raised up and held his face close to hers. “Was it? Special? I didn’t hurt you?”

  Pushing his hair from his forehead, she answered softly, “Yes, it was perfect. You gave me so much. I don’t really remember the pain.”

  “I’m glad.” He kissed her soundly. “Because you blew my mind, girl. I’ve never enjoyed anything more.” Derek nuzzled her neck, running a hand down her body to cup her sex. “I can’t wait to do it again.”

  “Me either.” She cuddled close, mollified by his pillow talk.

  “Gives us something to look forward to tomorrow,” he murmured in a sleepy voice.

  She didn’t voice an answer, but Shae agreed. For the first time in a long time, she did look forward to spending time with someone. Today had been wonderful and tomorrow would take care of itself.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Wake up, sleepyhead. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  Shae lifted her head and opened one eye. “Starbucks!” Accepting the warm cup with a smile, she sighed in anticipation. “Where are we?”

  “Just outside of Angelina. We’ve been on the road about an hour. Only four more to go.”

  “Geez, this is a long drive. I didn’t realize it was so far.” She rubbed her eyes, then took a sip of the sweet drink. “Oh, you got extra good stuff, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He smiled and leaned over to kiss her lips. “Whipped cream moustache. Irresistible.”

  Despite the coffee, Shae yawned. “I was planning on waking up early to give you a surprise, but I was just sleeping too good.”

  “Yea, you’re a snuggler,” he commented, taking a sip from his own cup. When she raised her eyebrows and frowned, he reassured her. “No, I loved it.” He wasn’t used to it, Blair hadn’t liked to be touched in bed. Sad truth. “What surprise did I miss?”

  “A blowjob.”

  He choked, almost spitting his coffee on the windshield. “Well, damn. Let’s go back home.”

  Shae laughed. “I’ll give you a raincheck. Besides, it would have been my first, so you probably didn’t miss anything.”

  “Let me be the judge of that,” he informed her with a huff. “I’ll take that damn raincheck, thank you very much.” Just the thought of her lips on his cock made him hard. “Hell, now look what you did.” He carefully set his coffee in a cupholder, then covered the bulge in his jeans with both hands.

  Shae glanced around with a grin. “Well, we are pulled over…”

  Derek let out a bark of laughter. “Damn, if I wasn’t on a schedule! You are a handful, you know. I love being with you.”

  She beamed at his compliment. He couldn’t have said anything that meant more to her. “I’m glad.”

  “Shall we get on the road?”

  Shae nodded and soon they were headed west and traveling through the Davy Crockett National Forest. “Ah, trees.” She inhaled a deep breath of air. “Seems like the only place you can see a stand like this is in a protected area.”

  “I know. I guess one day timber will become a scarce commodity.” Derek drained his cup. “Along with fresh water, clean air, and wildlife.”

  Shae smiled at him, recognizing a kindred spirit. “I hate waste and destructive behavior.”

  “Have you heard rumors the mill is closing?” he asked, keeping an eye on the road as they approached a cop car pulled over to the side of the road, giving someone a ticket.

  “I don’t hear anything anymore, since no one talks to me…” She gave him a sad smile. “But there was a rumor some time back. I don’t think the plant is turning a profit like it used too. I keep expecting something to happen and when it does, the whole community will fold. My grandfather never worked for the mill, but he ran the company store for them. Longleaf has only existed because of the Knox family. They supported the school, built the library, the housing projects – without them, everyone will move away. The whole place will be a ghost town in a matter of months, nothing left but retirees and dirt farmers.”

  “The way they’ve treated you, you should be glad.” Even as he made the comment, Derek knew Shae didn’t have it in her to be vindictive.

  “Yea, well, no.” She shrugged. “I can’t wish that much hardship on anybody.”

  “I knew you felt that way.” Derek placed a hand on the back of her neck to stroke her hair. “You have a good heart.” His observation keyed a memory and Derek decided to test out a theory he’d suspected for a while. “I would sell my blood to give June what she needs. I have no problem paying child support, but I told Zane that I feel the alimony is unreasonable. Blair has the proceeds from my company and a good job of her own.” All of this was true, but he was fishing for a particular reaction from Shae. “She just doesn’t care what hardship she puts me through.”

  Shae turned to look at him. “Remind me when we get home and I’ll go ahead and pay
you for next month.”

  Bingo. “You gave me all of this month’s pay at once to make it easier for me to make my alimony and child support payments, didn’t you?”

  Shae looked surprised at his outburst. “What?”

  Derek let out a long sigh, he shook his head, cutting her a glance with a smirk that highlighted a dimple near his mouth. “I demanded that you pay me each week in advance because I didn’t trust you, and you gave me a whole month’s worth instead, just to help me. Didn’t you, Shae?”

  Shae crossed her arms across her chest and looked out the window instead of at him. “No, no. You know visiting the bank is a chore I dislike. Going once is easier and giving you the money right away saves me from having to keep it at the house…” Her voice faded out, as if she wasn’t quite convincing herself.

  “See…a good heart.” He picked up her hand and kissed it. “I don’t want to be paid in advance anymore. After the fact is fine.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “I’m not sure, but Coretta has used it on me for years. I think it means ‘the answer is no, but I don’t want to argue about it’.”

  Derek laughed out loud, placing her hand on his thigh and pressing it down. “I just want you to touch me, okay?”

  “Of course.” She cupped her hand over the top of his muscular leg and squeezed him reassuringly. “Are you worried about the meeting?” Shae knew what it was like to dread something so much that you felt sick from it.

  “Zane sounded…positive, but Blair has a vindictive side to her.” He rubbed his brow, then plowed his fingers through his hair, steadying the steering wheel with a raised knee. “I honestly don’t know what she’s up to.” Derek shook his head and blew out a harsh breath. “I can’t say that her wanting a divorce surprises me. We didn’t have a great relationship, but…” He tapped the steering wheel thoughtfully. “There’s something else going on. I won’t say that Blair was a bad mother, but her maternal instincts weren’t strong. I’d like to say all of this is just to hurt me, but...I have this weird gut feeling something else is going on and June might be in danger.”

  “I’ll help you any way I can, I hope you know that.”

  Her sincere offer touched Derek’s heart. “I know you would.”

  The rest of the drive to Austin was peppered by small talk. There was so much Shae wanted to know and she used their time together to urge Derek to tell her everything under the sun about himself.

  “What were you like as a little boy?” she asked as they pulled into Woody’s, a general store in the town with the descriptive name of Centerville.

  “Oh, girl, I was a scoundrel. My parents couldn’t keep me inside. My favorite place to sleep was on the roof.”

  “The roof? Why?” she asked as she bounded out of the truck to join him for a rest stop and to select a snack for the road.

  He grabbed her hand as they walked up the six or so steps to the storefront. “I loved the outdoors at night – looking at the stars, the wind on my face. It seemed like I could breathe easier.”

  “Did you ever fall off?” She could just picture him teetering on the edge of a steep pitched roof.

  “Nah, I came close once. I was fast asleep when this thunderstorm blew in and a bolt of lightning striking out of the blue woke me from a sound sleep. I thought the world was ending.”

  Shae clutched his hand tighter as if she could protect him. “No more roof sleeping for you.”

  “Aww, we’d have a good time.” He opened the door for her. “I think there’s a good spot up on your roof for a snooze.”

  After visiting the restroom and buying some pepper jack cheese and jalapeno bread to make sandwiches, they continued on their way.

  As they traveled and snacked, Derek opened up, answering questions and volunteering information on everything from his dreams and aspirations to his deepest fears.

  “I used to say I wasn’t afraid of anything.” He laughed wryly. “The thing I dreaded most was growing old, you know losing my independence – but then my baby came along and I understood the immense honor of caring for this tiny little human.”

  Shae felt her heart overflow. “I’m so jealous,” she confessed.

  Derek glanced at her questioningly. “What do you mean?”

  She hesitated to answer, fearing what she would say would send him running for the hills. “Oh, I’ve always longed for…someone to love like that.”

  He nodded, understanding. “There’s nothing like being a parent. When my little girl throws her arms around my neck and hugs me, I feel like a king.”

  Shae studied his face, adoring the look of love she could see reflected there. What she wouldn’t give to have him look at her that way. “You’re a good man, Derek. I’m so glad I met you. You’ve restored my faith in people.”

  When Derek hit I35 in Round Rock and turned south toward Austin, he realized that she’d had him talking about himself the whole time. “Heck, I didn’t realize I had so much to say.”

  “I enjoyed listening to you,” she told him, her eyes taking in all the hustle and bustle of the traffic on the interstate and the varied businesses lining both sides of the road. “Wow, I stay in the boonies so much, I forget places like this exist.”

  “Keep your eyes open, if you see any place you want to visit, we’ll catch it on our way out.”

  “Okay.” She sat up straighter in the seat to look around better.

  “If it’s okay with you, I thought we’d spend the night in town.”

  A thrill shot through Shae. “Okay, but I didn’t bring anything with me.”

  “We can pick up whatever we need at the shops in the hotel. I took the liberty of booking us a room at the Driskill, downtown. Will your pup be okay?”

  She nodded. “I put out plenty of food and water. There’s also newspapers on the floor in the appliance room for emergency bathroom breaks.” She smiled, looking forward to their adventure. “Do your folks live out here?”

  “They used to, they’re gone now.”

  “I’m sorry. Mine are too. My grandmother is all I have left.”

  “I’m sorry too.” He gave her a caring look, his warm eyes twinkling. “When I was young, we lived in Port Arthur. I spent my summers in Longleaf, like I told you. Later we moved over here and I didn’t visit East Texas as much.”

  “Does Blair and June still live in the house you shared?”

  “As far as I know.”

  His voice sounded so forlorn, she squeezed his leg again, massaging the rock-hard muscle. “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”

  Derek gave her a smile. “I’ll weather the storm and come out stronger,” he said, hoping he was right about the future.

  When they made the exit toward downtown, he checked his watch. “We’re right on time. Zane’s law office is not too far from the capitol building and there’s a world of stores nearby for you to explore. How about if I call you when I’m through and we can go check in the hotel and go from there?”

  “Okay.” Shae was looking forward to the shopping. “I plan on finding Coretta a birthday present while I’m here.”

  “Perfect.” He pulled into the parking garage and leaned over for a kiss. “You do have your phone, don’t you?”

  She nodded. “I’ve kept it charged up since the day Coretta broke her hip.”

  “Good.” They climbed out and he locked the truck. “Come with me and you can leave from the law office. I want to make sure you’re safe. I don’t trust these parking garages.”

  Shae held his arm as they entered the law office, feeling cared for and important. “Oh, this is nice,” she whispered, struck by the Texas décor of rich wood and opulent leather. “Old Mr. Noble’s office in Hempfield is about to fall down. Of course, he is too.”

  “Derek, you’re here! Good!”

  Shae looked up to see a striking man with dark hair coming to welcome them.

  “Zane, great to see you!” He stepped fo
rward to greet his friend, keeping a protective hand in the middle of her back. “Shae, this is Zane Saucier. Zane, this is my friend, Shae St. John.”

  His friend.

  Okay.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she told the man, who was looking between her and Derek with more than a little curiosity.

  “Shae, I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance. Are you from Longleaf?”

  “I am.” Shae looked at Derek for a little direction. “We met when…”

  “I’m renovating her house.” Derek provided the explanation, looking every bit as awkward as Shae felt.

  “I see.” Zane nodded. “Can I get either one of you something to drink?” He gestured toward the receptionist to see to their needs.

  “No, thank you.” Shae looked up at Derek. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

  “She’s going shopping,” he explained to Zane, then turned to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you when we’re through.”

  “Sure. Fine.” She nodded and smiled at them both before heading out on her excursion.

  “Very pretty,” Zane commented as they watched Shae leave. “Are you ready?”

  “Oh, hell yeah.” Derek followed Zane into his office. “What’s Presley doing today?”

  “She’s good. I think she’s on her way in to the office.” He went behind his desk and gestured for Derek to take a seat. “I was going to ask how you were doing in East Texas, but if Shae’s any indication, you’re doing better than okay.”

  “Well…” He was prevented from saying more by the arrival of another man.

  “Rylen, come in. You’re right on time.” Zane stepped around to shut the door. “Derek Alden meet Rylen North. He’s our private investigator.”

  “Mr. Alden, good to know you.”

  Derek stood to meet the PI. “Rylen, call me Derek.”

  All the men sat down with Zane on one side of the desk and the other two across from him. “Okay, Derek, let me give you my opinion on something and we’ll get started.”