Save Me From Myself (24 page)

My breath speeds at the mental image, and before I can even think about it, the words, “I thought we didn’t have time for all that?”

“We don’t have time for sex. But, it is your birthday, so I do owe you a spanking.”

Arching an eyebrow, I pull back to look at him, “So, you’re saying you’ll spank me, but no sex?”

David shakes his head, then laughs when I pout at him, “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Now, go get dressed.”

Continuing to pout, I turn and head to the bathroom so that I can get ready for whatever he has planned for tonight.

***

When I come out of my bedroom in the outfit Anna bought me for my birthday, a little black dress with a wide emerald green belt (emphasis on the “little” - it barely covers my ass), with the emerald green pea coat that matches draped over my arm, David stands.

“Fuck darlin',” he says, his voice an octave lower than normal, “I’m not sure whether to thank Anna or curse her name.”

“I take it you like it?” David’s eyes travel down my body and stop at the black suede over-the-knee boots that end a couple inches below my dress. Anna has a serious shoe fetish, and by the look on his face, David definitely appreciates it.

“Darlin', like isn’t the word I’d use.” He holds out a hand, and when I place mine in it, he pulls me into him so that my back is against his chest. He keeps my hand in his, grasping my hip with his free hand. Moving his head so that it’s close to my ear, he whispers, “When we get back to my place, I want you in those boots and nothing else.”

The combination of his breath and words in my ear makes me shiver. I can’t say a word, so I just nod my agreement and David groans. When I turn my head, I’m thankful that these heels have a much higher heel than I’m used to, because I don’t have to reach up very far to touch my lips to his. His hand tightens on my hip as his lips move over mine forcefully.

After kissing me for much less time than I’d like, David pulls away. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he growls.

I open my mouth, but he puts a finger over it, shaking his head, “Don’t even go there. Call me an old man and I will make sure you regret it.” Regret it? Looking into my overly wide eyes, he shakes his head and chuckles, “Stop looking at me like I’m about to beat you. There are plenty of ways to torture you that wouldn’t involve physical pain, trust me.”

I’m not sure I want to know what he’d do, so I refrain from making any smart ass comments, and he leads me out to his car. “Are you ever going to tell me where we’re going?”

David grins, “You’ll find out soon enough darlin'. I promise.”

***

It doesn’t take long to figure out that we’re heading to Drench. David drives down the alley, parking his car behind the bar. He helps me out of the car, pressing his lips to my forehead. “Happy Birthday, darlin'.”

Scrunching my brows in confusion, I look up at him. “You already told me that this morning.”

He smiles, “Does that mean I’m not allowed to say it again?”

“No, it’s just that you don’t have to, but thank you, again.”

Taking my hand, he leads me in through the back door. When we walk into the building, I’m expecting to hear loud music and lots of noise, but apart from the low murmur of music from the front of the bar, there’s not much noise at all. David doesn’t act like this is unusual at all, and maybe it’s just so quiet because it’s not even 8pm on a Wednesday night, but all my instincts are screaming that something is about to happen.

When we walk out into the main room, the room is pretty dark, and my heart starts to beat faster. God, what did he and Anna do? I don’t have to wonder for long, because about ten seconds after we walk into the room the lights come on and a group of people yell “Surprise!”

Looking at them all, I see Ben and Toby, Brandi and Alex, Terra and some guy I don’t know, and Anna. Next to Anna is Sebastian, and I’m pretty shocked to see him actually come out with the rest of us. He’s usually so uptight! But, it’s the people behind them that make me understand why David was acting so nervous earlier. All of my siblings are here, even Edward!

Squealing, I drop David’s hand and run over to them. Aria and Kaitlin wrap their arms around me at the same time and all three of us are hugging, laughing, and crying. “OH MY GOD! I can’t believe you guys are here!” I gush, so completely in shock that I don’t know what to say.

Aria laughs, “Believe it, sis. You better thank that sexy man of yours. He’s the one who called and invited us all here. He even offered to pay for plane tickets and to get us hotel rooms for the night.” Kaitlin nods, grinning hugely, and I turn to look at David wide-eyed while hugging my brothers. Edward, being the guy he is gives me a stiff, one-armed hug, while Philip and Andrew both give me warm hugs and a kiss on the cheek.

“How did you guys get here? And how long are you staying?” I have so many questions that I’m not sure what to ask first.

Philip shakes his head, “How did we get here, as in Nashville, or here as in this bar? We flew in, your guy over there picked us up at the airport and brought us here. And, your sisters are staying through the weekend. Edward and I have to leave in the morning.”

I can’t help but frown at Philip. Out of both my stepbrothers, I’m closest to him. It’s funny, because he only lived with us for a handful of years before moving back with his mother, unlike Edward Jr who is pretty much his father’s clone. When he just smiles apologetically, I turn to Andrew, “What about you? When are you leaving?”

“I don’t really have a set time, but I figure I’ll leave tomorrow or Friday. I have a deadline I need to meet.” Deadlines I definitely understand. Andrew is a writer, mostly screenplays, although he has written a couple of novels. His real love is scripts though. He loves writing the story and then watching it come to life during filming.

I chat with my brothers and sisters for a few more minutes before I feel David’s arm wrap around my waist. Leaning into him, I press my lips to his cheek, “Thank you for this. It might be the best birthday present I’ve ever been given.”

Philip laughs, “Even better than that year your mom decided to do the full on debutante thing for your party?”

Pointing a finger at him, I glare, “Shut it you. Don’t even remind me of that freaking disaster.”
 

Turning back to David, I explain, “For my fourteenth birthday, mom decided to do the whole debutante ball. Just imagine, she rented out the country club ballroom, everyone had to wear a tuxedo or ball gown. It was like going to a prom. Absolutely
awful
! She invited the kids of all the influential people in Manhattan, half of them I’d never even met. It was my party, but it ended up being a networking event for her and my stepfather.”

Philip grins devilishly at me before telling David, “She begged us all to take her anywhere but that party, but Meredith is nothing if not persistent. She has very specific ideas about who Lyric should be, what she should do with her life, and who she should be with.” Gesturing between David and me, he continues, “I’m sure she’s thrilled about this.”

David stiffens beside me, and I put my hand on his chest to let him know I’ve got this. “It really doesn’t matter if she is or not. David is the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”

Raising the beer bottle Aria brought him a few minutes ago, Philip agrees, “I can tell.” Meeting David’s gaze, he continues, “Please don’t think all of us feel the way Meredith does. We all want Lyric to be happy. Whether it’s with a CEO or a garbage collector. You’re going to have a hard time keeping her out of your relationship though. When Meredith DuCharme wants something, she’ll do anything in her power to make it happen.” Swinging his gaze back to me, he says, “Like telling your asshole ex-fiancé where he can find you. I’m still waiting to kick that little shits’ ass by the way L.”

 
Nodding, I smile at him, “I know you are, and I appreciate it. Truly, I do.”

Shrugging, Philip reaches out to hug me, telling me, “Anytime. Now, go enjoy the rest of your party. I’ve monopolized you enough for one evening.” Giving David a single head nod, he turns and walks over to Kaitlin and Aria who are talking to Ben and Toby.

***

The rest of the night passes quickly, and before I know it, it’s almost eleven and people are coming up to say goodnight. It’s been an amazing night, and definitely the best birthday party I’ve ever had. Not to mention the presents I’ve gotten from people who really do know me. Anna gave me the outfit I’m wearing, Ben and Toby gave me a gift certificate for a popular Nashville Spa, Brandi and Terra gave me a really pretty necklace and earring set with Emerald Green stones. Sebastian gave me tomorrow off, which made me smile, considering I was already off, but it’s the thought that counts, right? David gave me a night with my family and closed his bar for my party, SarahBeth gave me a couple really pretty t-shirts, and my brothers and sisters gave me a new MacBook Air. Now, instead of trying to type on my iPad, I have a laptop I can take with me for my reviews.

I get lots of hugs as everyone starts making their way to the door, and soon it’s just David and me, along with Anna and my siblings. After giving my sisters huge hugs, and telling Anna thank you for everything, she takes them with her to the apartment. Since they are staying for a few days, and I’m spending the night at David’s anyway, they’re going to stay in my room tonight.

That leaves David and I alone with my brothers, and things get uncomfortable quickly. Edward is much older than the rest of us at 38, and his approval means a lot to me. He studies David, who has his arm wrapped protectively around me, for a few minutes before finally holding out a hand. “Thank you for looking out for my little sister. She’s never been this far away from family before, and knowing she has someone looking out for her will make me sleep better at night.”

Tears spring to my eyes, and I reach out to hug him tightly. “I love you so much, EJ,” I sob into his chest and he pats my back.

“Don’t call me EJ, squirt. You know I hate that nickname.”

I let out a watery laugh, “Sorry, can’t help it.” Pulling back, I smile up at him and he shakes his head before kissing the tip of my nose.

“I’ll see you soon, okay?”

I nod, and hug him one more time before moving back to David’s embrace.

Philip steps forward next to shake David’s hand, ‘It was nice to meet you.Take care of my sister. I’d hate to come back to Nashville solely to kick your ass.”

I snort, David has about three inches and forty pounds on Philip, but my stepbrother is just as protective as David is, so I don’t really doubt that he would do exactly what he says.

David doesn’t seem to mind though, he just nods and shakes Philip’s hand saying, “Understood.”

Philip hugs me tightly before following his brother out the door, leaving just Andrew behind.

He grins at David and I, before saying, “Nice to meet you, but I’ll help Philip kick your ass if you hurt my baby sister.”

I roll my eyes as I hug him, my brothers are so overprotective.

“I have a sister, so I completely understand,” David replies, looking across the bar to where SB is sitting at the bar talking to one of the bartenders. “I’d kick the ass of anyone who dared harm her.” He sounds like he’s warning the bartender off, even though we’re too far away for him to hear him.

Andrew laughs, and clapping David on the shoulder, says, “As long as we understand each other,” before leaving the bar as well.

David’s posture relaxes once my last brother leaves the building. Turning to me, he raises an eyebrow, “Are you ready to go home?” The fact that he refers to his place as “home” to me causes a warm, comforting feeling in my chest. I love this man so much, and am really beginning to wish that his place was my home.

I don’t say any of that though, I just nod, “Yes, please. I’m so sleepy.”

David grins down at me mischievously, “Not too tired, I hope?”

“Never too tired for
that
,” I say, shaking my head.

His laughter rumbles in his chest as he replies, “Good to know darlin', good to know. Let’s get you home before I take you into my office and do all the dirty things I’ve been thinking about all night.”

Holy crap
! My mouth drops open, and I can’t think of anything to say. Finally, I remember how to speak. “I’m good with the office,” I say breathily, but David just shakes his head. Telling SarahBeth to come on, he leads me back out to his car and we head towards his house to continue my birthday “celebration”.

I’m so nervous about the show I’m reviewing tonight. This isn’t a small Nashville band. This band is one that David hung out with when he lived in Charlotte. They’re here in Nashville to talk to a few record companies and since David knows the lead singer, he got them to play here. When Sebastian heard the story, he told me I had to cover the show.

Anna came with me tonight, I think she’s secretly hoping that she’ll be able to hook up with one of the band members. We haven’t been sitting at the table long before David comes over to join us.

Gripping the back of my chair with one hand, he puts his other flat on the table in front of me, leaning over to give me a quick kiss.