Special Delivery by April Wilson

Chapter 14 - Erin

Erin O’Connor

Mack returns to the pool room and drops down into the lounge chair next to mine.

“Did you find her?” I ask him as he settles into his seat, looking a bit preoccupied. “Is she all right?”

He nods. “I found her in the kitchen eating pie with Philip.”

I laugh and reach for his hand. “See? I told you he’s honorable. Philip would never take advantage of Haley.”

Mack makes a scoffing sound. “He’s a guy, Erin.”

“So are you, and look at us.”

“Yeah, but you’re twenty-two, not seventeen. She’s legally still a child.”

“Not for much longer. She’s a senior in high school, Mack. She’s a young woman, not a little girl.”

He frowns. “She’ll always be my little girl.” He reaches for my hand and brings it to his mouth to kiss. “She’s too young for—well, you know—grown-up activities.”

I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. He’s serious. “Mack, um, girls are often doing grown-up things by her age. It’s not unheard of.”

Mack turns his dark eyes on me, clearly still unhappy. “He’s too damn big for her.”

I refrain from mentioning the obvious—that Mack is nearly just as big as Philip, and I’m rather petite. There’s definitely a double-standard at play here. But he’s her father—I get it. He’s not thinking clearly.

Loud, raucous laughter draws our attention to the pool where several of the guys are roughhousing in the deep end. Liam and Miguel are ganging up on Jamie—two against one—while Dominic stands on the sidelines egging them on.

Mack shakes his head. “Idiots. They don’t stand a chance.”

I sit up straight in my chair and grab Mack’s forearm. “What are they doing?”

“Trying to dunk Jamie.”

Both Liam and Miguel are jumping on Jamie, pressing hard on his shoulders as they attempt to push him beneath the water.

Molly’s watching from a lounge chair, laughing and yelling encouragement at Jamie. “Show them who’s boss, baby!”

“That’s not fair,” I say. “Two against one. And Jamie’s blind.”

Mack laughs. “That doesn’t matter.”

Suddenly, Jamie disappears beneath the surface of the water. When he doesn’t pop right back up, I start getting nervous. I shake Mack’s arm. “Do something.”

A moment later, Liam and Miguel both disappear beneath the water’s surface. Truly alarmed now, I jump to my feet.

Dominic is laughing his head off, as is Sophie, who’s lounging on a chair next to Molly. Molly looks completely unfazed.

“This isn’t funny, guys!” I yell. “He could drown.”

“Who?” Dominic says, still laughing. “Jamie? Hardly. Now as for Liam and Miguel…”

Just then, Liam and Miguel break the surface of the water, both of them gasping and red-faced. They swim to the side of the pool, where they hang on the edge.

When Jamie pops back up a moment later, he’s waving two pairs of swim trunks in his hand. “You guys looking for something?”

Dominic’s bent over, laughing so hard I’m afraid he’s going to have a stroke.

Sophie whispers something to Molly, who nods as she laughs.

Jamie drops the two pairs of swim trunks in the water, letting them sink.

“You guys better start diving,” Dominic says. “Unless you want to show the ladies your asses.”

Jamie calmly resumes swimming laps as if nothing happened.

“He’s a former SEAL, honey,” Mack says as he pries my fingernails out of his arm. He’s got tears in his eyes from laughing. “Rule of thumb: don’t ever fuck with SEALs in the water. You’re in their territory.”

* * *

“You ready to go upstairs?” Mack asks me now that all the excitement has died down, and Liam and Miguel have managed to retrieve their swim trunks from the bottom of the pool.

“Yes.” It’s getting late, and I’m tired.

We’ve both already dried off after sitting on lounge chairs, so we don’t bother to change before we head upstairs. I wrap my oversized beach towel around me, and we leave the others to their fun.

Once we reach the main floor, Mack leads us on a detour to the kitchen, presumably to check in on Haley. The kitchen is empty, so we try the great room. We spot Haley and Philip, along with Lia and Hannah, out on the back deck playing cards. They’re laughing and drinking soft drinks.

“See, she’s perfectly fine,” I tell Mack. “And she has two very capable chaperones.”

Reluctantly, Mack nods. Then he slides open the glass door. “Don’t stay up too late, Haley.”

Haley tries to hide her embarrassment. “Dad, please.”

Undaunted, he wags a finger at her. “Remember, your room is right next to ours, so I’ll hear what time you come to bed.” And then Mack glares at Philip, sending a message. Alone.

“Have fun, Haley,” I say apologetically as I grab Mack’s hand and pull him back so I can slide the door closed.

As we head upstairs, I say, “You need to lighten up on her, Mack. She’s a good kid. You need to show her you trust her.”

He makes a noncommittal sound. “Philip’s not a bad guy,” he says as we enter our room. “He’s well liked at work, and he has a reputation for being highly competent at his job. It’s just hard for me to think of my daughter with any man. Hell, I know what men like to do with women, and the idea of someone doing that with my baby girl—”

I drop my towel to the floor and turn Mack to face me. “You have to stop thinking about her like she’s still a child. She’s practically grown now.”

Scowling, he nods. “I know. You’re right.” He looks away. “It’s not easy.”

He shoves his swim trunks off his hips and down his long, muscular legs. “I’m going to grab a quick shower. Be right back.”

When he disappears into the bathroom, I get ready for bed, starting with brushing my teeth and then changing into my PJs—one of Mack’s gigantic T-shirts, which I’ve adopted as my own. I get comfy on the bed with my iPad and check my work e-mail. While Beth has been on maternity leave, I’m acting manager of the bookstore. Kayla’s taking over for me for a couple of days while I’m here. Fortunately, there have been no emergencies so far.

After a short while, the water shuts off in the bathroom, and Mack comes out wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair is combed, but still damp from his shower, and there are beads of water on his broad shoulders and chest.

As I take in the sight of his half-naked body, my chest tightens. He’s so… much. Heat blooms in my body and my belly tightens.

He drops the towel and climbs into bed beside me, damp heat radiating off him. “Whatcha doing, babe?”

I glance down at my tablet. “I’m checking work e-mail.”

“Everything good back at Clancy’s?”

“Yes, fine.”

He nods. “Kayla will do a fine job. You’ve trained her well.”

I laugh. “Beth trained me well.”

“Do you like filling in for Beth?”

“Sure. It’s a lot of responsibility, but I enjoy it.”

“If Beth should decide not to come back to work, do you think you’d like to take over officially as manager?”

My eyes widen in panic, and my pulse starts racing. “Do you think there’s a chance she won’t come back?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know that for sure. I just think, with two little kids now, she might decide to stay home with them, at least for a while. Who knows? I’m sure if you ask Shane, he’d prefer that she stay home.”

My stomach sinks at the thought of Beth not coming back to the bookstore. “But we have so much fun together at work. She can’t stop coming.”

Mack pulls me into his arms. “I didn’t mean to upset you, honey. I just thought it was a possibility.”

I settle down and rest my head on his shoulder.

“Forget I said it,” he says, and then he kisses my forehead. “I’m sorry.”

“I suppose you’re right. It’ll be harder for her to manage having two children at work, even with Lindsey there to help. Sam and I will help her too, of course.”

As Mack runs his hand slowly up and down my back, his touch sends shivers down my spine. My body continues to heat, and suddenly I’m aching for more.

I skim my fingers across his chest, marveling at how well defined his muscles are. I press my nose against his skin and breathe in, loving the smell of his skin, which is still warm and damp from his shower. “Mack?”

“Hmm?” He dips his head to kiss me, his lips gentle as he seals our mouths together. Then his tongue slips inside my mouth, coaxing mine to play. He knows exactly how to make me quiver.

I exhale a long breath, followed by a moan.

His hands skim slowly down my torso, giving me plenty of time to decide. When he reaches my panties, he slips one hand inside them and cups one of my butt cheeks.

He smiles. “Do you want me?”

I return his smile. “Yes. You know I do.”

But he always asks. He never takes anything for granted. Not after what happened to me. Not after what still haunts my nightmares.

Those dark thoughts return, unwelcome, and I draw inward on myself, trying not to dwell on the hazy partial memories that haunt me. I still don’t remember what happened that night, but sometimes there are flashes of sight and sound that sneak up on me, sinking me into despair.

“Erin.” His voice, low and gentle, pulls me back to the present. He catches my gaze and holds it. “It’s just us here. You and me. No one else.”

The rational part of my brain knows that the monster who attacked me isn’t ever coming back. Mack made sure of it. The monster is dead. But the recollection of what he did to me is still here, hidden somewhere in the recesses of my mind. I can only hope and pray those memories never resurface. I couldn’t bear to relive that horrific night.

He gently withdraws his teasing hand from the back of my panties and wraps his arms around me securely. He’s my protector, both physically and emotionally.

I do my best to shake off the feelings of dread and despair that are creeping up on me. They strike at random times with little warning. But I don’t want to live my life trapped in the past. I want to move forward, with Mack. “I’m okay,” I tell him.

 

Still, his wandering hand doesn’t return. I think I scared him off, or he’s worried about me.

Trying to salvage the mood, I draw little circles on his chest, my finger skimming through his chest hair, over his nipples, and down to his ridged abs. I know my actions are having the desired effect because his chest is rising more strongly as his breathing deepens.

I can tell he’s aroused—his erection is tenting the sheet that covers the lower halves of our bodies. He’s hesitant to act on it, though. One of the other unfortunate outcomes of my assault is that Mack often feels like he’s imposing on me when it comes to sex. As if a better man wouldn’t ask for sex from a woman who was drugged, tortured, and raped.

But I don’t want to be a victim. I want to be a strong, powerful woman who has a healthy sexual relationship with the man she loves. With the man who’d rather die than hurt her.

I replace my questing fingers with my mouth, trailing kisses across his chest and up to the strong column of his throat.

When a low, agonized groan escapes him, I smile.

I sit up and straddle his hips, knowing he wants to be sure.

“You’re sure?” he asks as he slides his warm hands to the tops of my thighs. His thumbs brush against my skin, inching closer to the place where I ache for him.

I nod. And then to prove it, I grasp the hem of the T-shirt I’m wearing, lift it over my head, and toss it aside. My heart pounds mercilessly as his hungry gaze devours my naked body.

His hands come up, sliding up my torso until they come to my breasts. Smiling, he sits up and kisses me, his mouth gentle on mine. Gentle and seeking. My body continues to heat until I’m throbbing with need.

“Put me inside you,” he says as he presses kisses to the side of my neck.

With a sigh, I sink down onto him and forget about dark thoughts and painful memories. This is my present, here with Mack. This is all that matters.