Starting Over(Hart of Seattle)

Chapter Three




Derrick parked the car and grabbed her by the left arm. “What are you saying?” he asked angrily.
Von’s gazed traveled from his hold to his face. “You’re hurting me,” she told him in a low, quiet voice.
He shook her roughly. “Answer me,” he demanded before finally releasing her.
Rubbing her throbbing bicep, Von moved closer to the door, watching him warily. He’d never touched her in anger before. “I mean just what I said. You can’t demand obedience of me because we’re not married. Even if we were, I’m a woman with thoughts and feelings. A human being deserving of respect, not a dog waiting to obey your every command,” she spat out in rarely shown resentment.
His eyes rounding in shock, Derrick held out a hand and she flinched away from it. Noting her reaction, he paused and then sighed deeply. Leaning on his door to give her more space, he ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustration. In a much calmer voice, he asked, “Where is all this coming from? You’ve never had a problem following my lead before.”
Von turned her head and gazed at Chili’s through the windshield. Was Sean inside waiting? After a few moments of tense silence, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking—about me, about us—and I don’t like what I see.” She twisted around and pinned him with a look. “Do you really know me, Derrick? The real me? Or is who you see the person you and your father seem to want me to be? Sometimes I wonder.”
Derrick’s opened his mouth and moved his lips, but no sound emerged. Finally he closed his eyes and visibly composed himself. When they re-opened, he stared at her with that intent gaze of his that always made her feel like he could see through her, and slowly smiled. He raised his hand and hers went to the door handle. He shook his head. “I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. Earlier was a mistake.”
She watched with wary eyes as he cupped her face gently and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Of course I see the real you. Sometimes I think I see you more clearly than you see yourself. You’re sweet, gentle, kind and compassionate. You value peace, dislike arguments, and love helping people. You’re good with children, respectful to the elderly and kind to animals. Everyone loves you.”
He stroked her bottom lip and his gaze became slumberous with desire. “I love you, too. I know it seems like we’ve been waiting forever but we will be married. And when we do, you won’t just be a pastor’s wife. You’ll be my wife. The woman I love and desire above all others.”
Derrick closed the distance between them and kissed her. It started out gentle but as she gradually responded, ended in an intoxicating tangle of tongues and teeth that left both of them breathing hard. Withdrawing only far enough that their breath still mingled, Derrick said in a husky voice, “We’d better go inside before Sean thinks I stood him up.”
He placed another light kiss on her lips then exited the car. As usual, Derrick knew the right thing to say to calm her troubled thoughts. She waited while he came around to open her door. As she rose beside him, he pulled her into his arms and gave her another deep, lingering kiss.
“Derrick! Public displays of affection are not appropriate for ministers,” she scolded, shocked but pleased.
He laughed and placed a hand on her lower back to escort her inside. Leaning close to her ear he murmured, “You’re my woman, and I don’t care who knows it.”
Derrick opened the door and held it for her to enter. As she did, he pinched her butt and chuckled when she jumped and slapped at his hand. Von felt her face flush with embarrassment, but she was grinning as the hostess approached. This was the playful man she’d fallen in love with. Since seminary, he’d been much too serious.
“We’re meeting a friend. A Sean Jacobson.”
“Yes, sir,” she told him. “You’re party’s already arrived. Follow me.”

They followed the hostess to where Sean sat near the window, nursing a beer, his dark head bent gazing at the open menu.
“Cougar,” Derrick called out as they approached.
Sean looked up and a huge grin crossed his face. “Hooch!”
Hooch? Derrick had been holding out on her. She’d have to remember to ask Sean about the name later.
Sean rose from the seat and the two exchanged back pounding hugs. Lagging behind, Von felt a smile cross her face at their display.
“Your waitress will be with you in a moment,” the hostess told Von before excusing herself.
The two men were talking a mile a minute and while Derrick was distracted, Von was able to take a good look at Sean, up close and personal. He was tanned, toned, and extremely handsome in his snug army green t-shirt and fatigues. His pictures didn’t do him justice.
After a while, when she was sure Derrick had completely forgotten her presence, she cleared her throat—twice. The second time he heard her.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” He reached out and pulled her closer, placing an arm around her shoulder. “Cougar, this lovely lady is my fiancé, Von. Von, this wild man here is my buddy, Sergeant Sean “Cougar” Jacobson, the guy you took pity on and sent letters to while I was enlisted.”
Von’s eyes widened and she bit her lower lip at the reminder that Derrick had no idea their letters to each other continued.
“Master Sergeant, now,” Sean corrected as he held out a hand. As she shook it, he told Derrick, “She’s as beautiful as you always claimed. I never thanked you for your generosity in taking time to write a poor, lonely soldier like me with no family.” His eyes twinkled at her, smiling at their shared secret.
She breathed a silent sigh of relief that Sean wasn’t going to ‘out’ her. “It was my pleasure.”
He continued holding her hand within both of his and Von gently tugged. “Oh, sorry,” he said, releasing her.
Derrick herded her to one side of the booth and she scooted in, placing her purse on the seat in the corner as he slid in beside her.
Sean resumed his seat across from them. “They have their two-for-twenty special going if one of you wants to share.” Though his words were directed toward Derrick, his gaze was on her.
At that moment, the waitress arrived at the table bearing two more menus. “My name is Mindy and I’ll be your server today. Can I take your drink order?”
“We’ll have two sweet teas,” Derrick told her.
“Make mine a strawberry lemonade,” Von corrected.
“That has too much sugar. You’ll be up all night,” he told her. Turning back to the waitress, “Two sweet teas, please, and make one of them half sweet and half unsweet.”
Mindy looked to her for confirmation. Von’s gaze slid to Sean, who made a show of studying his menu. Von reluctantly nodded her agreement with the order, then turned her head to look out the window.
“Sir, would you like another beer?”
“No, this is good.”
“I’ll be back with your drinks and take your order.” She walked off.
“So, Sean, tell me what you’ve been up to since Iraq. Emails and infrequent status updates on Facebook don’t tell it all.” Derrick casually reached out and took Von’s hand in his, holding it on the table in full view while he played with her fingers. Von sat stiffly, watching their reflection in the window, only looking away from it when the waitress returned with their drinks.
“Everyone ready to order?”
“Yes,” Derrick answered, after a brief glance at Sean for his agreement. Without consulting her, he told the waitress, “I’ll have the fried shrimp and my fiancé will have your Chicken Caesar Salad. Put the dressing on the side, please.”
“Mindy, change that, please. I’m having the half rack of baby back ribs and loaded mash potatoes instead of fries.”
Derrick frowned and looked at her. “Pork isn’t good for you, even the bible says so.”
“That’s why I eat it sparingly,” she said in a firm, ‘don’t mess with me’ tone of voice.
“You’ll feel better if you have the salad. It’s much lighter.”
“I don’t want a salad,” she told him fiercely.
He scowled but subsided when he took note of her angry expression.
“Would you like the two-for-twenty? Both of your entries are on the selection items,” Mindy stated helpfully, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the two of them before settling on Von.
“Yes,” Von said.
“No, no appetizers,” Derrick said, speaking over her.
Inwardly, Von fumed but since Derrick was the one paying the bill, she accepted his decision.
“Well, I’d like the two-for-twenty, and you can add their meals to my tab. I’d also like the half rack, with fries please, and...” Sean paused and glanced at her. “...since Derrick doesn’t want one, what appetizer would you like, Von? We can share.”
Startled, Von said, “Oh. Um, the onion and jalapenos?”
He grinned. “A woman after my own heart. Bring us that, and I’ll have another beer now.”

****


The waitress walked off with their order. On his thigh, Sean’s hand tightened into a fist before he consciously relaxed it. The scent of Von’s anger and humiliation rose in the air and he wanted to lunge over the top of the table and teach Hooch not to be such a dictating a*shole. Instead he smiled and acted like he didn’t notice the growing tension between the two and answered Derrick’s questions with generalities.
When they first walked inside, Von’s mouth had been swollen like she’d recently been thoroughly kissed, and the faint scent of arousal lingered in the air. Both of them had been smiling and looked so comfortable with each other that Sean thought he’d have to accept the fact that she and Derrick were happy together and settle for having a few days with the woman he loved, even if she didn’t return his feelings. Then he’d discovered Derrick didn’t have a clue of their continued association. If she hid that from him, what else was she hiding?
As the evening progressed, he occasionally caught Von watching him out the corner of her eyes, especially when one of the answers he gave to Derrick’s inquisition glossed over or downright contradicted what she knew to be true. He worried for a moment that she might think he’d lied to her previously and that it would ruin the trust they had built between them. Then he caught the little secretive smile she quickly hid. She knew he was lying to Derrick and the thought amused her.
“Enough about me. What have you been up to? Obviously not the gym. You’re getting soft, man. If the guys could see you now...” he taunted, knowing how obsessed Derrick used to be about his physique.
As expected, he took the bait. “Soft? I can still wipe the court with your tail.”
Sean winked at Von, pleased when she flushed. “Nah, I don’t want to humiliate you in front of your woman. I know how sensitive you are.”
“Bring it on, baby. Tomorrow at twelve. Loser buys lunch,” Derrick said, his chest puffed out.
“I hope you have enough money ’cause I’m feeling steak—porterhouse.”
“Don’t worry about what’s in my wallet. I won’t need it.”
They needled each other for the rest of the evening and Sean even managed to draw Von out of her reserve a few times. There were times when he could see questions in her eyes. She’d open her mouth, glance at Derrick, and fall silent. He knew she was curious about what happened to him, and he planned on telling her, but not in front of an audience. The question was, how did he get her alone without causing problems with Derrick?

“So, you finished your medical training. What field was it, again?”
“Respiratory therapy,” she answered.
“You like it?”
“Love it,” she replied with a wide grin. “The hours are crazy—we work twelve hour shifts—but I’m so glad I went into this field.”
“So what does a respiratory therapist do, exactly?” She’d told him before about her job at the hospital and her patients, but Derrick wouldn’t know that and it would seem strange if he weren’t curious about Von. Besides, he liked hearing her speak.
Von proceeded to tell him about her work, her patients, some of the cases she’d worked on. He listened intently. Every now and then Derrick stirred impatiently, but whenever he interrupted or tried to change the subject, Sean brought it right back to Von with another question. He stared into her eyes the whole time, making sure Von knew she was the sole focus of his attention. With his gaze, Sean tried to tell her what he couldn’t say with words.
He’d done some crazy things in his life, but attempting to seduce another man’s fiancé right under his nose was new. Discreetly sniffing the air around them, under the leftover scent of food he could smell Von’s growing excitement and confusion. He knew from her letters that Derrick ignored her except for when it was convenient for him. For a caring, sensitive woman like Von, being the center of a man’s attention would be heady and seductive, a type of foreplay.
Though it obviously flustered her, she couldn’t help but respond. Taking a risk, he reached out and lightly stroked one of her hands that rested on the table, timing it right when Derrick looked away at one of the mounted televisions near the bar. Von sucked in a sharp, inaudible breath, widened her eyes, and snatched away her hand like he’d burnt her. But underneath that prim and proper shirt she wore, her nipples pebbled and the enticing aroma of her arousal increased incrementally. Being a lycan had its advantages.
Derrick made another restless move. Deciding he’d pushed enough, Sean got his former army buddy talking about his church and his time in seminary.
The waitress came and cleared the plates from the table and asked if anyone wanted dessert. Derrick and Von both declined, but remembering Von mentioning once that she loved cheesecake, Sean ordered a slice. When it arrived, she gazed at it hungrily.
“I love cheesecake but it’s so rich, I can never eat the whole thing by myself,” he lied. “Are you sure you two don’t want any? I’m willing to share.”
“No, I’m sure,” Derrick answered.
“What about you, Von? You gonna do the charitable thing and help me out?”
Torn, her gaze bounced back and forth between the dessert and Derrick.
Sean gave her another verbal nudge. “You know, gluttony is a sin. So is waste. Think of all those starving children in Africa,” he teased. “I’d hate to leave half of this on my plate because I was too greedy to resist.” He forked a piece of the semi-sweet confection and put it in his mouth. “Mmm, so good.”
That was all the prompting she needed. Von picked up her spoon, stating, “What kind of woman would I be if I didn’t save you from yourself?”
She spooned a piece of the pie and swirled it in the strawberry glaze before bringing it to her mouth. The sound she made was so orgasmic, he wondered if she’d make the same noise when she was coming around his cock. He bit back a triumphant smile, pleased to be giving pleasure to the woman he loved, in even such a small way.
“Derrick, you sure you won’t have any, man? There’s plenty.”
Derrick flicked a glance his way. “No, I’m fine,” he said while watching his fiancé with a frown.
Von took two bites of the cheesecake and stopped. “Thank you. That was good.”
He nudged the plate in her direction. “Here, have some more. I insist.”
She shook her head. “Two bites were enough to satisfy.”
Derrick seemed to relax at this sign of her self-control. Sean shrugged, disappointed but trying to appear unconcerned. Since he’d ordered it for Von, he took another bite or two and set his fork to the side.
“That was good.” He picked up the check and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.
“How much do we owe?” Von asked.
“I’m paying,” he reminded her.
“Oh but—”
“The man said he’s got it. Say thank you and accept this as a blessing from God,” Derrick told her.
“At least let us pay the tip,” she countered.
“Totally unnecessary,” Sean said, trying to dissuade her, but she already had her purse open, and wallet out. She placed a ten on the table.
“That’s too much,” Derrick protested, reaching for the bill.
“It’s not. She gave good service and we’ve been here a long time, cutting into other tips she might have received,” she told him, placing a staying hand on Derrick’s.
Inwardly, Sean shook his head. Not only was Derrick controlling, he was cheap. His friend had changed, and not for the better.
“What time are we meeting tomorrow? And you never said where.”
His question distracted Derrick from the tip and the next several minutes were spent finalizing the details of tomorrow’s one-on-one basketball game at a court near Derrick’s apartment complex. Outside the restaurant, before they parted ways, he shook Derrick’s hand and gave Von a very brief hug, thanking her again for taking pity on a soldier like him and thanking Derrick for being the one to initiate their correspondence.
Since he was parked closer to the entrance, he watched as Derrick escorted Von to his car, solicitously opening the door for her, making sure she was securely inside before shutting it and going around to the driver’s side. As they pulled off, Sean sat drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.
After seeing the two of them together, Sean was more convinced than ever that Hooch didn’t deserve Von. She was too good for the likes of him. But did that knowledge give him the right to try and take her away? He just didn’t know.
His conscience said to leave her alone, but that new, untamed part of him demanded he take her. Von was deeply attracted to him, whether she wanted to be or not. He could use their years of friendship and her interest to get closer. It would be fascinating to see which side won.
Sean started the truck and headed for the base. He’d start by emailing Von. See if he could convince her to see him alone. If not at her apartment, then maybe for lunch somewhere private. He could entice her by telling her he wanted to discuss what happened on his last mission, but not in front of Derrick, since doing so would reveal they’d kept in touch. Which was the absolute truth. Von he’d tell everything. And maybe, just maybe, while he was at it, he’d tell her how much she meant to him.