For as long as Erica could remember, she'd always gotten filled with excitement at the sound of her father returning home from a day at the office or a business trip. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times. She tossed aside the magazine she was reading when she heard the front door opening and closing.

She had checked on her mother earlier and found her resting. Whether it was peacefully or not, she wasn't sure. Karen's eyes were closed and Erica could only surmise that she was asleep. Her father's last voice mail message said he wouldn't be arriving until after midnight and the clock on the wall indicated he'd been right.

For years she and her mother had suggested that he purchase a private jet for the company, so he could come and go when he pleased without being dependent on commercial airlines. But he'd flatly refused saying it was a luxury he didn't need and that he actually enjoyed spanning the globe like a regular person. Now she couldn't help wondering if perhaps Rita weren't his first affair and not having a private jet had made things easier for him. Employees had a tendency to talk.

Moving toward the door, she walked out of the study at the same time he dropped his luggage in the foyer and glanced her way. Surprisingly, if he was harboring any guilt she didn't see it. But then she wasn't sure she would recognize it in him anyway, since it was something she'd never suspected before.

"Dad," she greeted as calmly as she could.

"Erica."

"Where's your mother?"

"Upstairs sleeping."

He nodded and moved toward her. "Is there somewhere we can talk privately?"

"At this point, Dad, I'm not sure there is anything you can say."

She saw a flash of something in the dark depths of his eyes. It wasn't guilt but hurt. How dare he let what she'd said hurt him after what he'd done.

"Please. Don't shut me out, Erica."

"What do you expect?"

"Your respect, for starters. And then your ability to be fair and not judgmental."

She pushed her hair back from her face. "Are you saying those pictures that were sent aren't real? That you and Rita are not having an affair?"

He met her eyes and without a waver in his gaze, he said, "Those pictures are real and yes, Rita and I are having an affair."

Erica had known all along, but hearing him admit it so easily without a tinge of regret or remorse in his voice was like a slap to her face.

"Then what can you honestly say to me, Dad? Besides, it's not me you need to explain things to, it's Mom. However, I'm warning you not to upset her any more than she's already upset. She pa.s.sed out and I called Dr. Cobb. He's given her something to make her rest. He also told me something- Mom has a heart condition she's been keeping from the two of us and shouldn't get stressed out in any way. He suggested that she go on an extended trip someplace. I've discussed it with her and she wants to do a twelve-day cruise and from there spend a month or so at the cabin in Lake Tahoe. I'm going with her."

Wilson raised a brow. "But what about your wedding?"

"I've called it off. At least for now."

"Erica, please don't let what I did keep you from marrying Brian."

She drew in a deep breath. "How can I not, Dad? Thanks to you and Rita, Mom is more against the wedding than before."

"But what happened is between me and your mother. It doesn't involve you."

She frowned. That was the same thing Brian and April were saying-she disagreed with them and she disagreed with him. "You're wrong, Dad. It does involve me because you and the mother of the man I'm engaged to marry hurt my mother in the worst possible way. Not only did the two of you betray her but you also betrayed me and Brian. At least I a.s.sume Brian didn't know. Maybe Mom is right and he knew all along what you and Rita were doing."

Wilson's features hardened. "Don't let you mother intentionally put a wedge between you and Brian by filling your head up with foolishness, Erica."

"Are you saying Brian didn't know?"

"Yes, that's what I'm saying."

Her sigh was one of heartfelt relief. She doubted she would have been able to handle it had Brian known and not shared it with her. "I'm leaving now, but I'll return in the morning to check on Mom. And remember what I said about her heart condition. Dr. Cobb doesn't want her any more upset than she already is."

Before her father could say anything else, she moved past him and slipped out of the front door.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

When Brian didn't get an answer, he used his key to unlock the door to Erica's home and immediately entered the security code to shut off the alarm. He then glanced around. Not only did the house look empty, it felt empty, as well.

Deciding to do what he normally did whenever he showed up, which was to make himself at home, he carried his overnight bag into the bedroom and began unpacking.

He had slid off his shoes and was leaving her bedroom in socked feet when he heard Erica's car. His heart began beating fast. She would see the rental car parked out front and know he was here. Would she ask him to leave or would she be glad to see him? He'd never before had to question what her reaction would be to seeing him.

Knowing she would be coming in through her garage, he moved toward the kitchen and was leaning in the doorway that separated the kitchen from the dining room when she turned the key in the lock and walked inside.

She glanced over at him after closing the door behind her, and for a few moments they just stood there, staring at each other across the room. He couldn't stop his gaze from roaming over her and the male in him couldn't help but appreciate what he saw.

His gaze traveled back to her face and he saw she'd been checking him out, too.

As they continued to stare at each other he knew her well enough to know that deep inside she was wrestling with her indecision as to what to do with him. He'd been able to tell by a sudden flash that had appeared her in eyes that she was glad to see him, but was afraid to let herself admit it.

"Why did you come, Brian?" she finally asked.

"I told you I would."

"Yes, but I thought you'd know..." Her words dragged off and she looked past him to the painting on the wall. The one of the pier on Myrtle Beach. Her chest was rising and falling with every breath she took, and it seemed as if her breathing was labored, as if there were knotted muscles in her chest.

"That you preferred I not come because you didn't want me here." He decided to finish for her.

Her gaze snapped back to his as if appalled by his words. "That's not true. And it isn't fair for you to say that."

"Then what is true, Erica?" he asked in a low tone. "And you tell me what's fair? Is it fair for you to decide that a day we've looked forward to for six months is being called off because of something our parents did?"

She stiffened her spine. "You're deliberately making this difficult."

"What I'm really trying to do is make it d.a.m.n impossible," he said, straightening up his tall frame and slowly moving toward her. "I refuse to allow you to let our parents' behavior come between us."

"You don't understand. I know my mother isn't the easiest person to get along with, but all she has is me."

"Fine, be the daughter she needs but don't be the daughter she knows she can manipulate," he said, coming to a stop in front of her. "I guess she doesn't like any of the Lawsons about now, and I can respect that. But what I can't and won't accept is you allowing her to poison your mind against me, the man you love and will marry, whether she accepts it or not."

He reached out and cradled her face in the palms of his hands. "I love you, Erica, and I refuse to let your parents or my mother come between us."

Brian then lowered his mouth to hers and knew the exact moment her stiffened spine began to ease and her body melted like pure b.u.t.ter against his. A shudder pa.s.sed through him and he wrapped his arms around her as their bodies continued to meld together.

He also knew the exact moment she began returning his kiss, mating her mouth ardently with his. Slowly and determinedly he kissed her, letting her know in this sensual exchange just what she meant to him and how much love he had in his heart and in his soul for her.

He wished he could erase the past twelve hours from his mind and from hers, but he knew he couldn't. However, it wasn't in the forefront and that was enough for now. The only thing his thoughts were centered on was the woman in his arms. Fully and completely.

Moments later he pulled his mouth from hers and his gaze automatically drifted downward to the fullness of her lips, still moist from their kiss. And as he watched them, they moved in a soundless appeal. "Make love to me, Brian."

Before she could release her next breath, he swooped her into his arms and headed for the bedroom.

She needed him tonight.

That was the foremost thought on Erica's mind when Brian placed her on the bed and stood back to begin removing his clothes. He would spend hours and hours making love to her first with a tenderness that would bring tears to her eyes and then with a hot, primitive rhythm, that would have her begging for more. It was always that way with them and she knew tonight would not be any different.

He had taken off his shirt, tossed it aside and was now standing there, broad shouldered, heavy muscled and bare chested, fidgeting with the belt on his jeans and looking s.e.xier than any man had a right to look.

A part of her hadn't wanted him to come but then another part was glad that he had. Her mother wanted her not only to postpone the wedding but to give him up completely. She knew it was the pain of all that had happened that was making Karen issue such demands, but the declaration had hurt nonetheless. The thought of never having Brian in her life was too depressing to think about, too mind-boggling to consider.

He was now totally naked and the lamp's light illuminated his dark skin, sculpted muscles and the deep set of his dark eyes, staring at her with a hunger that she felt all the way to the pit of her stomach. Her inner muscles clenched in response and she could feel her panties getting wet just from his intense gaze. It was tantalizingly heated and when he suddenly took a swipe of his bottom lip with the tip of his tongue, she knew that before the night was over, he would lick every inch of her body.

"You want me to take off my clothes?"

The question she asked was a needless one since she knew just how much he enjoyed watching her strip.

He only nodded while watching her with eyes filled with both love and l.u.s.t.

Pulling up on her haunches she slowly removed her blouse and tossed it aside, then took off her bra. She saw the heated l.u.s.t flare in his eyes when he lowered his gaze to her chest and saw the fullness of the twin globes before him. He'd always complimented her on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, always said they could make him hard just thinking about all the things he could do to them.

And he was getting hard. His body was responding right before her eyes, as his gaze appeared glued to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. His stare was like a physical caress, a raw and naked hunger that she could actually feel. There seemed to be a strong electrical current in the room, one that was crackling all over her body, making certain areas sensitive and achy.

Her gaze traveled down his body to concentrate on his manhood. Looking down at such an extraordinary male object-one of her most ardent desires-she could distinctly remember the taste of him and the memory literally made the area between her legs throb. Shifting down on her hips, she kicked off her sandals to remove her slacks and her barely-there panties soon followed. And there she was, fully exposed to his hungry eyes and she actually trembled in response to them.

He moved toward the bed, walking toward her with the confidence of a man who not only knew what he wanted but who also intended to get it. She had no problem with that. She was his and would always be so.

And in response to her lover, the man who had her heart, who owned every bit of her soul, her body became a ma.s.s of aching need and she lifted her arms to receive him and together they tumbled back onto the bed coverings, mouths connecting and bodies entwined.

Her legs parted automatically and he eased between them, the head of his manhood hungrily seeking out what it wanted and needed; teasing her by sliding back and forth across the slick folds of her l.a.b.i.a and driving her to the brink of imminent pleasure.

He kissed her so intensely she moaned deep in her throat, and he molded his mouth to hers as if it belonged and reminded her without any shame that it did. And his mouth wasn't the only thing doing the reminding. His hands were everywhere, probing between her legs, caressing her thighs, stroking her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and sending thrills of pleasure through every part of her body.

He pulled his mouth from hers and went for her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, devouring the nipples as if the tips were made of his favorite candy, making her groan with every lick of his tongue. She leaned into him, made her body even more accessible to his mouth and he took full advantage. "Brian!"

With the sound of his name from her lips he slid inside of her, the head of his p.e.n.i.s causing her to shudder as it made its journey deeper inside of her. Her inner muscles began to contract, squeezing everything out of him before he could get started good.

And good was what she knew she would get. She drew in a deep breath as she felt him enlarge even more, sending an unbearable need skyrocketing inside of her. She closed her eyes as sensations began building at the sole of her feet and moved upward with the force of a tidal wave.

"Look at me, Erica. Look into the face of your mate, your lover, your future husband, the father of every baby you're going to have. The man who will die his last breath loving you."

She opened her eyes and the gaze that snarled hers almost s.n.a.t.c.hed her breath in the process. He was all those things. He would be all those things and more. And when his body began moving, thrusting into her, stroking the pleasure out of her, she couldn't do anything but hold fast to that gaze and groan.

They'd made love countless times but never like this. Never with a hunger, a need, a demand that seemed fueled by something neither of them could explain. Tonight her mother had tried making her choose between them, which was something she could not and would not do. Brian was her heart and there was no way she could let him go.

But then her mother needed her. How could she turn her back on her?

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as Brian continued to make love to her, forcing her to savor everything he was giving her and still want more. And then he lifted her hips and shifted his body, hitting a spot inside of her that literally ripped a strangled cry from deep in her throat. His thrusts hardened, his strokes deepened into penetration as profound as any could get, and when she tightened her legs around his waist to lock him inside of her, she felt the moment his body bucked and could feel the hot s.e.m.e.n being shot inside of her. Deep into her womb, which she felt to the core.

She screamed as pleasure of the most intense kind overtook her, overtook them, s.n.a.t.c.hed them together and plunged them in the most gratifying waters known to man. As he continued to thrust inside of her, shoot his release inside of her, she could only groan his name over and over, while she begged him not to stop.

And he didn't.

He kept going and going and she could only hold on, clutching his shoulders, wrapping her arms around him, and telling him over and over how much she loved him, how much she needed him. For now. For always. And she knew when it was all said and done, although she didn't want to, she would have to choose, and heaven help her, there was no way she could not choose love.

There was no way she could not choose him.

"Baby, please don't cry anymore. I can't stand to hear you cry like this. Everything is going to be all right." Brian tried whispering soothingly in Erica's ear. After they'd made love and he'd held her in his arms, the dam broke. Tears began coming and they wouldn't seem to stop. So all he could do was hold her, stroke her back and whisper how much he loved her.

She pulled away from his chest. "But I'm going to lose you. I know I am and I couldn't handle it if I did. But Mom needs me now."

He bit down on his lip, trying not to growl out and ask about his needs. He needed her in his life, as his wife, his best friend. He wanted to build a life with her, start making all those babies they wanted to have. It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair.

"Tell me, sweetheart, what you need me to do and I'll do it. Just don't cry anymore. Please don't. You're making yourself sick. You won't lose me. Ever."

She searched his eyes as if she needed to see in them the truth of his words.

"Tell me, Erica, what do you need from me? If you truly believe postponing the wedding for a while and going away with your mother is what you need to do, then do it. I'll be okay with it."

She swiped at her tears. "You won't like it."

"No, I won't like it but if it's something you think you need to do, I'll give my support. But then I don't want to lose you, either."

She reached up and cradled his face between her open palms. "You could never lose me."

"If your mother has anything to do with it, I will. You do know that she probably is going to try to convince you to move on without me, don't you?"

She nodded. "Yes, but I can't move on without you. I love you. You're my heart."