A Father's Secret
“Condom?” Sam asked, pulling away from her just a fraction.
“Right-hand cupboard, there,” she pointed.
He reached up and grabbed a foil packet, ripping it open and deftly rolling the protection over his rigid shaft. Positioning himself between her thighs he slowly eased within her, burying himself to the hilt.
“You feel so damn good,” he rumbled, his mouth at her throat, his teeth grazing the soft curve where her neck met her shoulder.
Erin grasped him tight with her inner muscles, pulling him as deep within her as she could bear before releasing him again. She was beyond words as he withdrew before sliding home again and again in that most ancient dance of perfection. This time when she climaxed, she felt him tumble with her as, with her hips meeting his every thrust and her inner muscles clamping tight, she wrung both his satisfaction and hers from their bodies.
Sam collapsed on top of her and she wrapped her arms around him, relishing the heavy, sweaty weight of him, sensing the exact moment he slipped from conscious awareness into the oblivion of exhausted slumber. She hooked her legs around his and hugged him with her entire body.
“I love you.”
She whispered it ever so faintly she wondered if she’d even said it aloud at all, then closed her eyes and let sleep take her.
Eleven
The persistent chime of her cellphone dragged Erin from her slumber. It stopped briefly, before starting again. Sam shifted his weight so she could get clear of the bed. Naked, she slid the phone from her bag and felt her stomach drop when she saw Sasha’s number on the caller display.
“Sasha? I’m sorry I didn’t get to the phone earlier, is everything okay?”
In the background she could hear the strident wails of her little boy.
“I’m sorry, Erin. He woke from his afternoon sleep with a slight fever and he’s been unhappy ever since. I think it’s getting worse, and he keeps tugging at his ear, too. Can you get back soon? I really think he needs to see a doctor.”
“Of course. We’ll be there in about ten minutes or so, we’re not far away.”
“Good, do you want me to give him a dose of liquid painkiller? It might help with the fever.”
Erin was normally not an advocate of using painkillers with small children, especially not her own small child, but his crying was so piteous she knew they had to offer him some relief.
“Sure, there’s a bottle, for emergencies, in the cupboard above the refrigerator. A sterile dropper is in the box with it.”
Sasha ended the call to go in search of the medication, leaving Erin standing holding her phone and feeling distraught. Her baby needed her and she’d been out here on the lake taking her pleasure with a man she’d only recently met. Guilt threatened to overwhelm her.
“Erin? Is Riley okay?” Sam was already sliding off the bed and reaching for his clothing.
“No, he’s not. Sasha said he woke with a fever and—” she felt her throat close up with anxiety “—he’s screaming his head off. He’s never like that. Never.”
“Here, let me help you with your things. Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon and we can get him to the doctor. He’s in good hands for now.”
Guilt sat on her chest like a lead weight. What was it she’d been thinking earlier, about how happy she was? She’d been a fool to embrace it, a fool to think she deserved it. There was always a price to pay. It had been no different when she was younger, it certainly was no different now.
She accepted her underwear from Sam and hastily pulled it on, her hands fumbling at the clasp of her bra. Sam brushed her hands away and capably snapped the front clasp closed and silently handed her T-shirt and jeans to her. She shoved her feet into her shoes, not bothering with her socks as Sam dressed rapidly beside her.
“Don’t worry about anything else. We can attend to it later,” he said, climbing up the steps that led to the wheel.
Erin stood next to him, frozen with worry, as he capably started the motor, lifted the anchor and carefully pulled away from the spot that had seemed so perfect only a short while ago. Now it was the furthest distance imaginable from her sick baby. They rounded the point and the pier came into view, her home and Riley behind it. As they drew next to the pier she leaped from the boat and hesitated only long enough to tie it off before sprinting for the house.
She burst in through the back door, Riley’s cries sharp in the air.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re back,” Sasha said, her voice quavering. “I know I’ve had three of my own and all that but there are times when only a baby’s mother will do.”