Erica"Right. Sorry." I set my stuff down and let out a soft sigh. "Give me some advice. I need to shake him. He's becoming a little more than work friendly.""Why on earth would you want to shake him?" She tilted her head to the side, her eyes piercing me as if she could somehow see into my future."Because I'm dating Matthew Bryant, and I'm quite happy with him.""Erica. Can I speak freely?" She crossed her arms over her chest."Of course." I sat down in my chair, knowing that she wasn't going to have anything nice to say about Matt. The whole office saw him as a playboy child with a pipe dream of being a great artist. To the business types, it was laughable."I think you're much better matched with someone like Mitch. You're beautiful and so incredibly talented." Her expression grew almost sad. "You need a man who can provide for you and help you build a strong, solid future.""I understand how you could want that, but what if I didn't want security?" I leaned back in my chair and
Matt"Matthew?" My father's voice woke me from a dream I was having about Erica leaving me. I jerked up in the bed, my body covered in sweat, my heart racing."Yeah. I'm in here." I pulled the covers up to cover my lower body and glanced toward the door as my father stopped just inside the room and smiled at me."I thought you were coming later this week?" He was fully dressed and wide awake.I, on the other hand, was not. "What time is it?""Just after eleven. Karen is in the kitchen with Maria, so make sure you put some pants on before you go in there." He lifted his eyebrow at me."Yeah. Alright." I flopped back down on the bed. "What are your plans today? I need to chat with you about work.""I'm free for the next hour. Get your lazy butt up and come talk to me in the office. I'll be working on a few things in there until I head to downtown.""Is that bacon I smell?" I breathed in deeply. Something about being back in my dad's house had me feeling like a teenager. There was a freed
Matt"Shit. Alright." I got up and walked to the bathroom to clean up my mess. I should have forced Erica to come to Dallas with me on the trip. Being away from her sucked far too much.After I got myself together, I walked out of the bedroom and made a beeline for the kitchen. My father sat at the table with a paper and a cup of coffee. The sight of him sitting there brought back a million memories, not all of them good."Sorry. I was on the phone with Erica." I grabbed a plate and filled it with everything left over from breakfast. After finding a fork, I walked over and sat down across from the man I'd always seen as a hero. "You have a good time on your getaway with Karen.""I sure did." He folded the paper and leaned back in his chair. "Let me guess what you wanted to talk to me about. Leaving McKenzie and Bryant?"I stiffened. "It's that obvious?"He chuckled. "I never want you to be something you're not. I do want to know that you're growing up and becoming the kind of man who
EricaIt felt so good to hear from Matt earlier in the day. It was about the only thing getting me through the fucked up task of walking around the office like everything was fine. I'd left early the day before, faking a stomach ache just to get out of having to deal with Mitch a moment longer.The inevitable was coming closer and closer. I was going to have to leave M&B. For some strange reason, the thought of parting ways with my corporate job didn't scare me nearly as much as it should have."Erica. You got a minute?" Lewis walked into my office with a large poster board sketch of our latest ad project. "I know you're probably heading out soon, but I wanted to get your take on this.""Of course." I stood and walked toward him, leaning over and studying the artwork. "It's beautiful. You have very clean lines, and I love the blue and gold coloring at the eagle symbol that they use in their main logo near the top. We're good for presenting it to Kent and Damon.""Excellent." He rolled
Erica"That's not something you have to ask for, Erica. Just tell me if you need me to stop." He opened me up, sliding his thick middle finger into my heat as he rolled the meaty part of his palm against my clit. "You smell so fucking good, baby."I lifted one leg, resting my foot on a nearby chair before leaning back against him. He massaged my breasts one at a time as I rolled my hips slowly, fucking myself with his fingers."I want to hear my name on your lips," he whispered roughly into my ear as he ground against my ass."I want you everywhere. All over me. Inside of me." I bucked against his hand as a fire lit deep inside my womb, threatening to explode."My name," he grumbled and moved his other hand into my panties to play with the warm bundle of nerves at the top of my mound. "And come hard for me.""So bossy." I closed my eyes and let the feeling of him working me hard and fast throw me off the cliff. A scream built up behind my teeth as I jerked against his strong hold."Sa
MattSpending the night in Erica's arms almost had me convinced that nothing was wrong. I woke up next to her and turned on my side to watch her sleep for a little while. She jerked and cried out several times, something haunting her in her dreams."What's going on with you, baby?" I reached out and brushed her hair from her face.She shot up in the bed and yelped. "Matt?""Hey. I'm right here." I pulled her down and wrapped my arms around her as she snuggled against my chest. She was the toughest woman I knew and yet something had her spooked. "You okay?""Yeah. Just a bad dream." She wrapped her arm around my chest and nestled my neck. "I'm just glad you're here.""See? One more reason for us to move in together. I'd be beside you every night and in the morning." I kissed the side of her face. "I need to get moving right now, though. Jonathan is stopping by the house in about an hour, and I wanted to finish working on some highlights for a piece I'd like him to put in the studio.""
Matt"We're looking at opening another art gallery in New York City this spring. It's a huge undertaking, and I'm not quite sure we're ready, but my wife thinks differently. She says it's time to open another storefront." He shrugged. "What the wife wants, she usually gets one way or another."I smiled. "I'm going to ask Erica to marry me sometime next year. Probably early spring. It just depends on how everything goes.""And things are going well now?" He ran his finger around the edge of his mug but kept his eyes locked on me.Everything was great, other than the fact that she had something going on that I wasn't privy to. It had to be something to do with work. Had to be."Oh yeah. She's a dream.""And a beautiful one at that." Jonathan leaned over and pulled out a folder. "I have the contract here for the special project if you want to give it a look.""I'll do that." I took the folder from him and tried to relax. It was a good next step for me, and maybe having a contract in plac
EricaThe last thing I wanted to do was go into the office, but until I figured out what to do with my life, it was my only option. It was almost laughable to think that I was grumbling about Lanie needing to find herself, when I too, was lost."Erica. You've got Mr. Bryant on line one," Joan said as she stuck her hand in the open doorway of my office."Which one?" I reached for the phone. I had a much more laid back relationship with Damon than his father."Damon." She closed the door behind her."Hello, Sir. To what do I owe this phone call?" I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arm over my midsection."Hi, Erica. I was calling to check on the new ads for our Advisory launch in a month. Mitch isn't answering his phone, and I have a partner call later this afternoon. Just trying to get all of my ducks in a row." He was all business, which is why I liked him so much. He had an uncanny ability to separate business from pleasure."It's coming along nicely. I gave Mitch the files on T