Starting Over(Hart of Seattle)

Chapter Four



As they pulled out of the parking lot, Von dug in her purse for her phone. There was a patient whose progress she was extremely interested in—a young child. Her coworker Sharon promised to contact her if there’d been any changes.
She turned it on and saw that while she hadn’t missed any calls, two text messages had come through. One was Marketta wanting to know how her evening had gone. The other was from Sharon. Little Philip was progressing well and the doctors were hopeful that he’d be moved from ICU in the morning. Von briefed a sigh of relief and gave a silent prayer of thanks for prayers answered.

“He seemed mighty interested in you.” Inside the dark interior of the car, Derrick’s voice broke the silence.
“Who?” she asked absently, her mind at work and on what needed to be done when she started rotation again.
“Sean.”
“He was being polite,” she said dismissively as she tucked her phone back into the side pocket of her purse and then turned to watch the streetlights flash by.
“Hmm...”
Quiet descended between them once more. The radio played softly in the background. A song came and went before Derrick said, “You certainly were talkative. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so animated. You two were so into each other, I might as well not have been at the table.”
That caught her attention. She turned and stared at his profile in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? Sean is your friend. He came in town specifically to see you.”
“I know that,” he said, a frown marring his handsome face.
“You invited me along to meet him. I didn’t ask to come—”
“I’m aware of how you came to be there,” he said shortly.
“...and now you’re upset because I was friendly? What did you expect me to do when he started asking questions, sit there and say nothing?” she finished doggedly.
“No,” he denied. “I just didn’t expect you two to hit it off so well.”
“Why wouldn’t we?” she asked, honestly confused. “We may never have met in person before but we spent almost four years exchanging letters. I feel like he’s a friend. Maybe as much mine as yours. I mean, that’s the whole reason you asked me to be there tonight, isn’t it? So we could finally meet face-to-face?”
“You’re being friendly isn’t the problem,” he said in an annoyed tone of voice.
At a lost, she asked, “Then what is?”
“It’s just, you never told me half the stuff about your job that you did Sean,” he complained.
Von sorted through the various responses she could give to his statement and finally settled on, “He asked. You never have other than to see what my schedule is.”
“That’s because I didn’t think this job was all that important to you. I mean, it is only temporary. Once we’re married, the hospital will no longer be an issue.”
Incredulous, she asked, “Says who?”
Derrick tapped an impatient tattoo on the steering wheel with his fingers. “Von, after we’re married, you won’t have time to work. You’ll be busy helping me with the ministry.”
She took a deep breath and then in a quiet but firm voice said, “I’m not quitting my job.”
“Of course you are,” he said confidently.
“No, I’m not.”
The tapping stopped. He cast a glance in her direction, probably to determine how serious she was. “Von, baby, you work twelve hour shifts. With your current schedule, when do you expect us to spend any time together? You’re so tired when you get home all you want to do is sleep. You spend your days off catching up on all the things you couldn’t do while working.”
While she was considering what he said, he continued in a soft voice, “Is it so strange that I would want my wife by my side? You know how single women target ministers. If they see a ring but no wife they’ll think I’m fair game. They won’t care that you’re working.”
She’d never thought about it like that. But still...
“Derrick, I hear and understand what you’re saying, but I love my job. When we have a family, maybe I can see myself staying home full-time to raise them, if we can afford for me to do so.”
“So what you’re saying is you’ll give up your job for our children, but I don’t mean enough to you for you to give it up for me.”
“No! That’s not what I’m saying at all!”
“Von, that’s exactly what you’re saying. Your position at Mercy Hospital is more important than our relationship,” he concluded, sounding hurt.
Is it? Suddenly she wasn’t as sure of herself as she’d been.
Von sat in deep thought as their changing surroundings showed she was close to home. In no time at all, Derrick had the car parked and was escorting her to her door. Out of habit, while she fumbled around the bottom of her purse for her keys, Von asked, “Are you coming in?”
“Yes, I think I will.”
Derrick stood close behind, almost looming over her. Feeling the need to hurry, Von shook her bag impatiently, heard a jingle, and breathed a sigh of relief when she managed to snag them. She pushed the key into the lock and twisted the doorknob, almost in the same motion. Pausing only long enough to lock the door behind them, Von kicked off her shoes into the nearby closet and walked through the living room into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, “I don’t know about you, but I’m thirsty. You want anything?”
She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and stood at the counter drinking it.
Derrick came and stood close, releasing her hair from its bun. “I love your hair,” he murmured, gathering the mass in his hand and burying his face in it. There was a slight tug as he pushed it to the side, then his mouth was on her neck, nibbling the tender skin.
Von automatically leaned her head to the side to give him easier access. He voiced his approval and she felt the light scraping of his teeth in the bend where her shoulder met her nape. He pressed closer and she felt his erection against the small of her back.
“You are so beautiful. No wonder Sean couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
Suddenly irritated, she set her bottle down on the cabinet with a snap. “Derrick, don’t be ridicu—”
Derrick spun her around and thrust his tongue into her mouth, his kiss deep and forceful. His grip on her arms a painful reminder of earlier in the car. Alarmed by his rough handling, Von tried pulling away but he followed, switching his hold to her face while pinning her body to the counter with his aroused one. She wanted him, but not like this.
She brought her hands up and pushed at his shoulders, finally managing to pry enough space to turn away, breaking the kiss. “Derrick, stop. You’re hurting me.”
His touch immediately gentled. “I’m sorry, baby. I can’t get the image of you in that negligee out of my mind, though I’ve tried. You were so sexy. So beautiful. I was a fool to leave,” he murmured as he nibbled on her right earlobe. He ran the tip of his tongue around the outer shell of her ear, briefly dipping inside before tracing the delicate skin behind it with the tip of his forefinger.
Von shivered and goose bumps broke out over her flesh.
Using his thumbs, he tilted her chin so that he could gaze into her eyes. “I want you. I go to bed at night thinking of you. My dreams are full of you and I tangled together. I wake up in the morning hurting, in need of you,” he said in a deep, mesmerizing voice.
He lowered his mouth to hers, and this time she was ready, having melted inwardly with his words. Again, there was no slow, sensual build up of passion like she was used to from Derrick. While not as forceful as the first one, this kiss still packed a powerful, passionate punch. Von wrapped her arms around Derrick’s neck and gave herself over to his control.
Maybe, she thought hazily, her seduction routine the week before had actually borne fruit. Derrick certainly wasn’t behaving as his normally restrained self, she noted, as his hands roamed over her body. He pulled her shirt free of the waistband of her skirt and slid it higher, seeking her bra, loosening the catch once he found it.

Derrick stepped back and pulled her shirt over her head and Von obligingly raised her hands to assist. Another tug and her bra slid down her dangling arms and fell to the floor. The chill from the air conditioning immediately caused her nipples to tauten and pucker into hard little nubs. He visually examined them. His intent perusal lasted so long, Von fought the urge to cover her breasts and simply stood there and allowed him to take as much time as he needed. Finally, a strangled sound that ended in a groan emerged from his throat and he lowered his mouth to her left breast, engulfing it.
Von arched her back, gripped Derrick by the sides of his head and held him to her, afraid he’d stop. The suctioning tugs felt so good she moaned her approval. Derrick switched sides, and toyed with her abandoned breast with his fingers, twisting and tugging it until she was whimpering and thrusting against him.
“Derrick, please,” she begged.
“What do you need?” he asked in a husky voice.
“You. I need you,” she told him. With this skirt on, she couldn’t get his erection positioned where she needed it to do the most good.
Resting his forehead against hers, Derrick gripped her skirt by the sides and began edging it up, watching as it rose. “Do you have on one of those sexy bits of underwear you like to wear?”
“Look and see for yourself,” she shyly tempted.
“Oh, I plan to,” he promised.
Her skirt reached mid-thigh and kept rising. The narrow bottom tightened a bit but Derrick applied a small amount of force and the high back slit did the rest. Soon the denim was bunched around her hips and waist. Derrick rubbed her mound through her panties and then dipped lower, between her legs. “You’re wet.”
“Yes.”
He toyed with the edge of her bikini, along the sensitive crease of her inner thigh and Von spread her legs to give him access. “Touch me.”
“I’m touching you,” he said.
“No. Touch me.” She guided his hand inside her panties to her folds.
“Like this?” He watched her as he gently parted her labia and pressed a finger to her opening.
“Yes,” she quickly agreed.
“Or like this?” he asked, taking the moisture from her vagina and using it to stroke her *.
“Ooooh.” Von tilted her hips, arching and moving with him. His touch felt so different from hers. His fingers thicker, longer, harder. “Yes, that.”
“Do you do this, baby? Do you touch yourself at night, pretending that it’s me?” he asked in a deep, low voice.
Eyes closed to better enjoy the sensation, Von didn’t know how to answer. Did she confess to pleasuring herself?
“Do you?” he demanded. Something in his tone had her opening her eyes.
His piercing gaze drilled into her eyes.
“Yes,” she heard herself confessing.
He eased a finger into her sheath while his thumb continued its caressing motion. “And do you have toys, instruments you put in here?” He punctuated the word here by stroking in and out the opening of her vagina.
Von grabbed for the counter as her knees weakened. She trembled from head to toe, her arousal greater than anything she’d been able to manage previously on her own. She rode his hand, wanting him to go deeper.
“Do you, Von?” Derrick asked, adding another finger.
“No,” she cried out.
“Does this feel good?”
“Yes.”
“You want more?”
“Yes.”
“Say please.”
“Please.”
“Look at me. Please, who?”
It was a struggle to open her eyes. They felt heavy, weighted down. “Please, Derrick.”
“That’s right, baby. Derrick. And this,” he thrust deeper, his fingers brushing her hymen and the brief pressure made her flinch, “is mine, isn’t it?”
Von wasn’t sure which he was referring to, her virginity or her vagina, but the answer to both was the same. “Yes.”
“Remember that,” he said as he eased his fingers from between her legs. “I gotta go.” He circled his thumb around her * one last time before pulling away.
“What?” Dazed, she reached for him and he gently brushed her hands away.
“I’ll see myself out. Go to bed and get some rest. Dream of me,” he commanded.
Von remained slumped against the counter, unable to move, trying to figure out what just happened.

****


An hour later, Von was still twitchy. Masturbating during her shower barely took the edge off. She needed a man, one with a thick, hard dick to satisfy the emptiness Derrick had left inside. She paced the floor of her bedroom, rubbing her arms, willing her body to settle down.
Finally, she threw herself across the bed, forcing her mind to ignore her flesh and think. The phone rang—probably Marketta calling to see how the evening went—but she ignored it. Viewed objectively, she was closer than ever to her goal—making love with Derrick. Tonight he’d taken her to heights she’d never reached before and she desperately wanted more.
She was tired of being wound up and left wanting. Enough was enough. Her plan to seduce Derrick without him realizing it seemed to be slowly working. So, if the sight of her in a simple nightgown left him dreaming of her for a week, what could she wear that would destroy his control? Marketta would say naked was best, but Von wasn’t sure she was ready to be that brazen. But...
She scrambled off the bed and over to her lingerie drawer. On a shopping trip with Marketta she’d purchased a skin toned, sexy shelf bra that lifted the underside of her breast but left them bare, and matching minuscule, sheer g-string panties that gave the illusion of being covered while showing everything. At first glance she should appear to Derrick to be naked. Hopefully, the combination of the two would be enough to snap his control.
It was a bold move on her part. Could she pull it off? Did she have the nerve?
Yes, Von thought, remembering Derrick’s actions tonight. She realized his jealousy of her attention to Sean was a large part of why he did it. It was stupid, since Derrick knew how much she loved him but maybe, as more than one friend had suggested, that was the problem.
Derrick was too sure of her. He took her love, her always being there for him, for granted. They’d urged her more than once to make Derrick jealous by pretending an interest in someone else. To give him a little competition, however unreal, to shake him out of his complacency. Before, Von’s innate honesty wouldn’t allow her to play those types of games, but if the green-eyed monster helped her achieve her objective, maybe it was time she started. She didn’t want to be thirty and still unmarried, and with the way things were going between them, that was a real possibility.
On the other hand, those same friends also suggested that the reason Derrick was so willing to wait until marriage to consummate their relationship was because he had a steady supply of sex on the side. Either that or he was on the down low and using his relationship with her as a cover. She’d disagreed, saying Derrick wasn’t gay or bi-sexual, and would never be unfaithful to her. She tried to explain about him being a minister, a man of honor. They scoffed and called her na?ve.
At least Marketta agreed with her. Although her reasoning had nothing to do with Derrick’s faith and everything to do with him being ‘a selfish, uptight religious pig.’
Von sighed, really wishing that the two most important people in her life would get along.
She pulled the taupe set out of the drawer and laid it on the dresser. Her friends would be shocked to know that under the ‘prudish’ attire she normally wore was the sexy lingerie of a siren. After seeing her momma go around half-dressed for most of her life, always on the prowl for her next sugar daddy, Von could appreciate and applaud the modest attire Derrick’s father encouraged the women of their congregation to wear. Her sexy underwear was like a delicious secret she kept from the world at large while satisfying her desire to be sexy and feminine.

Fingering the thong, she considered how to proceed. She needed to shock Derrick, blast through his defenses before he had a chance to erect them. That required the element of surprise. She was certain once he saw her in this, nature would do the rest. After all, like her he had to still be battling with arousal from tonight’s round of foreplay.
Tomorrow. It had to be then. It was her last day off from work so she didn’t have to worry about leaving early. Derrick’s game with Sean was scheduled for noon. By six he should be home alone, ready to wind down and prepare for church on Sunday. The idea of facing her future father-in-law and the other members of their small congregation so soon after having sex with Derrick for the first time made her a little queasy. She quickly squashed the thought, knowing if she dwelt on it for any length of time, she’d lose her nerve.
Take it one day, one hour at a time, she counseled herself. First seduce Derrick. Then deal with the consequences.
Now how to go from dressed to undressed without Derrick noticing? She couldn’t show up and begin to strip. He’d stop her and escort her to the door. Bad enough she was showing up unannounced.
For a moment, she was apprehensive. Derrick really, really disliked her coming by without warning. He said as a minister it reflected badly upon him and the church to have single women in his apartment, even if that woman was his fiancée. She could count on one hand the number of times she’d been to his place, and even then either other people were present or she sat in the car while he ran inside to get some important item he’d forgotten. Once again she questioned the wisdom of her planned actions.
Von chided herself for being a nervous twit. Derrick loved her as much as she loved him. More importantly, his desire for her was as strong as hers for him. There was nothing wrong with them taking their relationship to the next level. He just needed a little nudge. This would work, as long as she planned it right.
So, she needed something quick. Something she could throw off in an instant. That brought to mind flashers, and she shuddered in distaste. Von didn’t want to equate what she was doing with perverted old men baring their indecently exposed bodies to unsuspecting victims.
Then Von remembered overhearing one of the women she worked with telling another how she’d surprised her husband on their anniversary. She’d slipped out of the house dressing in an overcoat and nothing else, rang the doorbell, and when her husband answered the door, flashed him. He’d been stunned and very much appreciative of her efforts.
Von smiled, much preferring the image that brought to mind. But wearing winter gear in the summertime would definitely draw too much attention. Something she wanted to avoid. Not to mention have Derrick thinking she was crazy.
Hmm, she did have a coatdress. It would serve the same purpose and was dressy enough for church service the next morning, eliminating the need to return home early in the morning and change. Additionally, she wouldn’t have to carry an overnight bag. Everything else she needed would fit in her purse. Derrick wouldn’t suspect a thing and by the time he realized what she was up to, it would be too late.
Again she hesitated. Maybe I should simply talk to Derrick. Tell him how I really feel. Derrick was really vocal about what he called ‘brazen’ women. Even after all these years together, Von had to be careful of when and how she touched him. Anything overtly sexual and he’d turn cold.
She forced herself to shake off any uncertainty. She had a plan, one that would work. Satisfied, Von returned the panty set to the drawer and closed it. Then she crawled into bed and turned off the light. Her smile, had Derrick been there to witness it, would have warned him to watch out. She fell asleep and as Derrick commanded, her dreams were full of the two of them entangled in all sorts of erotic poses.