36. Derrick

CHAPTER 36

Derrick

Tonight, I find myself in the truly shocking position of being a guest of the Warwick family. I’m still being closely monitored by Iris and Thomas, especially with Raleigh sticking closely to my side. But no one’s holding a gun to my head. Thomas even shows me to a luxurious suite that I’m meant to stay in, and doesn’t threaten to kill me if I leave it without a guard.

The first thing I see inside it isn’t the huge bed or the snack bar, but the landline sitting on the bedside table. I know without asking that it’s tapped, but I don’t care.

I need to give my mother an explanation for this morning.

I beckon for Raleigh to follow me inside, half expecting Thomas to stop her. She takes my hand immediately and settles on the edge of the bed with me as I dial my mother’s number. Thomas waits in the doorway, making sure I meet his eye one last time. Then he closes the door and leaves us alone.

Maybe we’ll survive being in the same house for a night after all.

My hand tightens in Raleigh’s as I listen to the phone ring on and on and on. It goes on so long that my stomach starts to feel like a pit.

Would Thomas use my mother as a hostage for my good behavior?

Suddenly, the ringing cuts off. My mother’s voice is strained when she says, “Hello, who is this?”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Mom, it’s-”

“Oh my god- Derrick!” she bursts out. “Where are you? Are you all right? I found your phone- it was in pieces in the attic! Did Raleigh break it?”

Raleigh flinches beside me, and I squeeze her hand. “No, mom, listen to me. I did a really bad job of explaining this morning. That’s my fault. Raleigh did absolutely nothing wrong, but-”

“Nothing wrong?! You had her in handcuffs!”

If I could tell my mother the truth now, I would. To save my mother more pain, to save Raleigh from the fear of losing her affection, I’d tell the entire messy, humiliating truth. But from the corner of my eye, Raleigh shakes her head. She’s not ready for the truth to be told yet either.

Maybe because, until this very morning, we hardly knew what the truth was ourselves. It would be better for my mother to hear it from both of us together.

“I know,” I say placatingly through the phone. “I know. The truth is- I got a call from one of my deputies first thing this morning. Before it broke. I can’t give you too many specifics right now because the investigation is still ongoing. But last night, members of Raleigh’s family were involved in a robbery. I had reason to believe she knew it was going to happen. I made assumptions that led me to take her in for questioning, but I was very quickly proven wrong. She’s completely innocent, and I was an idiot.”

Raleigh’s thumb brushes over the back of my hand, and I press her knuckles to my lips.

“Oh, Derrick…” my mother sighs heavily. “Did you two break up?”

I can’t help but laugh at that. She sounds like she’s speaking to a boy a third my age. My mother has her priorities, and I love that Raleigh still being my girlfriend is now one of them.

“No, mom, we’re still together. I’m making a lot of apologies.”

“You’d better,” she warns. “Take her to dinner. Buy her some nice jewelry. Rubies maybe- oh, or opals! I think she’d look lovely in opals. Though honestly, she’s such a beautiful girl, even after you dressed her like a boy. Make sure you apologize very well, sweetheart. She’s a keeper, I’m telling you.”

Raleigh puts her free hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle, her eyes sparkling. I force myself to cough instead of laugh.

“I will mom, I promise. I’m planning to buy her some jewelry soon.”

Raleigh’s hand drops, her eyes widening. I kiss her knuckles one more time.

“Good,” my mother says promptly. “I’m glad.” She lets out an explosive sigh. “Thank you for calling, sweetheart. I really appreciate the explanation.”

Guilt squeezes my chest, but I nod. “Of course, mom. I have to get back to work now. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Give Raleigh my phone number too. Tell her she can call me absolutely anytime. And next time you two visit I insist you stay through the holidays.”

I let myself imagine that, staying in the house as it gets buried by snow, staying cozy and safe by the fireplace with Raleigh. By then, the baby will nearly be born. I can’t imagine a better place for Raleigh to spend the later months of her pregnancy.

“We’ll try, mom,” I say, my throat tight. “I love you. I’ll try to get back up there in the next couple days to grab the boys. I’m sorry I left you with them so suddenly.”

“Oh, you know they’re fine here. I love you too, sweetheart. Please be safe.”

I swallow and hang up. Before I’ve even replaced the phone in its cradle, Raleigh takes my face in her hands and pulls me into a possessive kiss. It’s like a cloud clearing from before my eyes, and I grab her waist to lay her down on the bed, but she quickly breaks our kiss.

“No, not here,” she insists.

She pulls me out of the guest suite and marches me across the house to a room that I have to assume is her own. The bed, curtains, and rug are covered in gorgeous jewel-toned patterns and gold accents, with an overly large vanity set up on one wall and clothes spilling out of the closet.

Only after Raleigh closes the door between us and the rest of the house can the line of my shoulders relax. This day has been too long, and too full of twists, turns, and emotional torment. It might not even be midnight, but I’m ready to collapse on the bed and sleep for the next two days straight, no matter the adrenaline now racing through me.

That is, until Raleigh starts casually stripping off her clothes in front of me.

“I’m honestly shocked Thomas left us alone together,” she sighs.

And I thought I’d never see her again at all after I went into Thomas’s office. Which makes the sight of her gradually appearing bare skin even more beautiful than it’s always been.

“Do me a favor?” Raleigh asks sweetly, lifting her shirt over her head to reveal her full breasts.

“Anything,” I promise boldly.

“Will you fuck me in my own bed tonight?”

I will fuck her on any surface of this room if she asks. But first-

I put my hands on her hips and run my palms up her naked sides. “Can I fuck you in the shower first?”

She wraps her arms lazily around my neck, smiling coyly. Suddenly, it occurs to me that this is the first time we’re having sex without our lives being in danger or being in the middle of an argument. Without us keeping secrets from each other, even. I’m about to suggest we use the bed after all, to give this occasion its proper pomp and circumstance, but Raleigh kisses my chin and coos,

“Fuck me in the bath instead?”

I peel the rest of her clothes- still my clothes- off as Raleigh’s enormous clawfoot tub fills with searing hot water. Our kisses start sloppy, but as my cock hardens in anticipation, I tighten my grip, and Raleigh softens in response.

I’ve never had the chance to see her playful in this context. She can’t stop smiling when I kiss her, dragging her nails lightly over my skin, licking my jaw or my throat or my chest when our mouths part for more than a second. She’s ready to eat me alive, and I’m ready to let her.

When the bath is full, I lower myself in first, hissing at the heat. Raleigh steps in like it’s the tamest temperature imaginable, and as soon as I’m seated, she settles in my lap and closes her mouth over mine again. Her hands cup my face, tangle in my hair, keeping me close. I’m breathing in the strawberry and vanilla of her chapstick, glorying in the way the heat of the bath is turning her skin dewy. Using her grip on me as her anchor, she begins to drag her clit up and down the length of my cock. I squeeze her thighs, helping to steady her rhythm, groaning as she grinds harder against me.

“I love you, Derrick,” Raleigh gasps, pulling back so she can look me in the eye. Her hazel ones are dark, her pupils huge with hunger. The playfulness is gone now, something fierce and possessive taking its place. “I love you, and I don’t give a shit what anyone says. I’m keeping you.”

I tighten my grip on her, lifting her off my lap. Raleigh cries at the loss of our friction, but when I lower her down again, I plunge my cock inside her until our bodies slap together. Raleigh shrieks in pleasure and pain, arching her spine so her torso lines up with mine. I cup her ass, guiding her to rock back and forth as the water crashes over the edge.

After a few seconds, she takes over at her own pace.

Her arms wrap around my neck, her forehead resting against mine as she rides me lazily. I close my eyes, tilting my head back so that she can kiss every inch of my face more easily. Her lips whisper over my eyelids, my brow, my nose, my cheekbone, the shell of my ear.

I’m hers. And now, in her own bath in her own room, it’s her turn to lay claim to every part of me.

“So… what kind of jewelry do you plan to get me?” Raleigh asks.

I smile. “Earrings. Pearl earrings.”

Raleigh sweeps her fingers through my hair and kisses me hard, punishing me for my insolence. I thrust up into her, matching the speed of her rolling pelvis.

I may have no clue what tomorrow brings, but I intend to face it with this woman. I intend to spend the holidays with her in my mother’s house. And I intend to bring our child into a world where we don’t have to tell them pretty lies to keep them safe.

“Turn around,” I tell Raleigh, and she groans eagerly. With some sloshing, we get her turned away from me, but when I lower her back down onto my cock, I’m even deeper than before. Raleigh clings to the edges of the tub, searching for leverage so she can thrust herself back onto me, and I brace my feet on the far end of the tub to do the same.

Every time our bodies slam together, and the waves splash against the tub’s walls, it feels like I’m being revived. Minutes ago I wanted nothing but rest and oblivion. Now I’m ready to go all night with her.

I feel Raleigh’s pussy begin to tighten around me as her body prepares to orgasm, and I reach around her to get my thumb between her legs so I can push her over that edge. She gasps, her rhythm instantly stumbling as sensation shoots through her. I watch her back arch, feel her leg muscles jump and kick against mine. Her glorious ass tips up toward me, and I squeeze it with both hands as I bury myself inside her and cum.

Raleigh flops back against me, and after taking a moment to catch my breath, I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her thick hair. My hands rest on the little swell of her stomach, and she hums contentedly.

“What’ll you buy me to go with the earrings?” she asks, after a moment of sleepy quiet. She already sounds like she’s drifting off, and between the warm water of the bath and the post-sex haze, I’m ready to join her.

“A bracelet,” I murmur, and feel her chuckle through my whole body.