N. Walters - Erin's Fancy

Abel slammed into her once more, gave a hoarse yell, and came in a hard rush. When he had emptied himself inside her once again, he leaned into her, propping her back against the wall to hold them both up as they struggled to recover.

A minute passed before he pulled out of her. She felt bereft without him inside her, but he scooped her up into his arms and carried her up the rest of the stairs. Stumbling into the bedroom, he tumbled them both into bed, and tucked her into his arms.

“We’ll talk to your brothers in the morning and fly out tomorrow night.” It was said as a statement, but she sensed that he was looking for her approval.

“That’s fine with me.” Wiggling her behind until she was settled comfortably against him, she sighed when his hand came up to cup her breast, and she drifted contentedly off to sleep.

It was both physically and emotionally harder than she’d imagined it would be to make herself step into her home early the next morning. Jackson was seated at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee, as he scanned a newspaper. He glanced up when she entered, and the look on his face quickly changed from one of confusion to one of anger as he noticed Abel behind her and the proprietary hand he had rested on her shoulder.

Jackson pushed his chair back from the table and slowly came to his feet. His hands were fisted at his sides and his face went from a stark white to an enraged red in a matter of seconds. Although she wasn’t afraid of her brother, she was very glad to have Abel’s massive, protective body behind her for moral support.

“What the hell is going on here?” His quiet tones made Erin flinch. The angrier that Jackson got, the quieter he became. This was definitely not a good sign. She hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words.

“Garrett?” Jackson’s laser gaze was now focused entirely on Abel and the fact that he’d called him by his last name put them both on notice that Jackson was feeling less than friendly at the moment.

She sensed Abel shifting behind her and knew she had to speak. “Sit down, Jackson. I want to talk to you.” She had created this mess, so it was up to her to deal with it.

Striding forward, she pulled out a chair at the table and arched her eyebrow at her brother. He never took his eyes off Abel, but he slowly sank back into his seat. Reaching out, she grabbed one of her brother’s hands and tugged on it until he turned and faced her.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?”

Erin felt herself flush at his question, but refused to feel shame for what she’d done. She was a grown woman, not a child. Only Jackson had the ability to make her feel like a little girl being scolded by a parent.

“Abel and I have been seeing each other.” The clock on the wall ticked off the seconds as she waited for his reaction. Its ticking and the heavy sound of breathing were the only sounds she could hear above her pounding heart.

“You mean you’re sleeping together.” Jackson’s voice was little more than a harsh whisper as he studied her face intently. He tugged his hand free from her grip, and Erin clenched her hands helplessly in her lap.

“It’s much more than that, but yes, we are sleeping together.” Erin opened her mouth to begin to explain things to her brother, but it was already too late.

“You bastard,” Jackson roared as he erupted from the table. The chair fell backwards and slammed onto the floor as he charged across the room towards Abel who had been standing quietly, waiting just inside the doorway.

“Jackson, no!” Erin screamed and jumped from her seat, but Jackson was past listening to reason, and there was no stopping him.

Abel stood his ground, not moving when Jackson reared back and landed a hard right hook. Staggering backwards, he landed heavily against the wall, shaking the very foundation of the house. The kitchen clock fell off the wall and smashed to the floor, shattering in a dozen pieces.

Jackson pulled back his arm to land another blow, but this time Abel caught his hand in mid-swing before it landed. Both men strained, but Abel held Jackson’s arm in an iron grip. “The first one was free because I deserved it, but from now on I’ll fight.”

Jackson’s face turned even redder as he yanked his arm away and turned on Erin. “How could you?” he yelled.

She stood her ground, determined not to flinch from his fury. She’d freely admit that it was her own deception that had led to this scene, but enough was enough. “How could I what?” she yelled back. “How could I act like a grown woman who wants a relationship with a man? How could I grow up and want more out of life then living at home for the rest of my life? How could I want to be loved, rather than grow old and dry up like some old maid?”

Erin was on a roll now as years of her pent-up frustration spewed forth. “How could I want you to treat me like an adult, rather than a child? You’re not my father, Jackson, you’re my brother. I want your blessing, but I don’t need it.”

Her head was spinning, as she gasped for air. What little food she’d eaten for breakfast was threatening to come right back up. Taking a deep breath, she held her hand out to him, wanting desperately for him to understand. “This is my decision to make and no one else’s.” When she finally ran out of steam and finished, she didn’t feel any better. Instead, she felt slightly ill. She didn’t want to fight with Jackson.

Her brother paled and staggered backwards as if she had landed him a fatal body blow. She reached out her hand to him again, willing him to understand. “I love him.” Her voice grew quieter as she continued. She glanced at Abel for support as he came to stand beside her before turning back to Jackson. “I really love him.”

Erin closed her eyes and swallowed back her tears when Jackson turned to leave the room without saying another word. He didn’t even look at her as he headed towards the back door.

“You can’t run away from this.” Jackson froze with his hand on the back door as Abel spoke. “Why don’t you ask me how I feel about your sister?”

“It doesn’t matter how you feel.” Jackson didn’t turn around, but continued to face the door. “It’s a proven fact that you never stay.”

“Maybe Erin will go with me when I leave.” Jackson tensed at his words. “Or maybe we’ll both stay. That is, if we’re welcome.” Abel’s words, stark and bare, lay between the two men.

Jackson slowly turned and faced them, his face like granite. “Well, which is it?”

It slowly dawned on Erin that Jackson had already suffered the loss of his best friend over the years that Abel was gone, but he was now afraid of losing her as well. He was like a parent faced with the fact that his child was grown up and leaving home. Yes, he was her older brother, but he’d been the one to take care of her since she was a child. He was the one who’d bandaged her bloody knees, read her bedtime stories, and it had been Jackson who’d taken her shopping to buy her first bra.

Over the years, he had been the one constant in her life. It was Jackson who’d attended all her school plays and made sure she had a costume at Halloween. He had made sure that birthdays were celebrated and that she and Nathan had presents at Christmas. But now, she was moving onto adult things like sex and relationships and these were things she had to do on her own. Jackson could not protect her woman’s heart from harm.

The knot in her stomach dissolved as she realized that he wasn’t judging her, but was afraid for her. Afraid that she might be hurt. Afraid that they might not be as close anymore. Erin reached out and gave Abel’s arm a squeeze before she slowly walked across the kitchen towards her brother.