AN: You are really the nicest bunch of reviewers/alerters/favoriters out there! (Are "alerter" and "favoriter" words? LOL) I am honored to write for you. You make me want to write a book!

Chapter 9

Waking slowly, she was lying on a very comfortable chest, with a few curling hairs tickling her nose. She snuggled in closer, not wanting to get up. She yawned, ignoring the voice in her ear.

"Baby Girl, we have to get up," the deep voice rumbled. It was a sweet, sexy, cajoling voice.

"Don't wanna," she said, leaning even closer. That chest even smelled wonderful; woodsy, spicy, manly. It was fantastic. She wanted to kiss it, and she wasn't feeling much inhibition, so she did. She even licked it, it smelled so delicious. It tasted as good as it smelled.

She heard a soft gasp and felt the muscles in that delicious chest stiffen. "P. Get up."

That was definitely Derek. She should've been mortified at what she'd done, but it took her a long time to get moving once she woke up. She was still groggy; she blamed it on that. She looked up at him, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "How long did I sleep?"

"About two hours," he answered.

Her leg was draped over his thighs, effectively pinning him to the mattress. She slid her leg off his. "I'm sorry. I'm a cuddler. Always have been."

"So am I," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "We make a good pair."

She was in a much better mood after the nap she'd had, so she ignored the innuendo and said what she wanted to say. "You know what, Derek? I think we do, too. I may be a bit angry at you, but I'm glad you're my friend."

He kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you are, too, Baby. You mean the world to me. Thank you for everything."

"It's going to be fine, Derek," she said, sitting up. "We can do this. I promise, it'll be okay."

"Don't forget to start thinking about what you really want, Angel. Besides a pink Corvette," he said with a smirk, sitting up on his side of the bed. "Whatever you want, it's yours."

"Don't worry, my love," she said, grinning. "I'll think of something really good."


By the time Penelope had changed into her skirt and shirt, and Derek had pulled his jeans and t-shirt back on, they were both hungry. The smell of the barbecue was wafting through the air, permeating the house, and making them both salivate.

Derek sniffed the air, then smiled. "Oh, yeah. Chicken and ribs."

She looked at him with a quirky grin. "You can tell that by the smell?"

"Hell, yes. I'm a bloodhound for good food," he explained. They started walking down the stairs. "There's a Ryan family recipe that uses cumin and cayenne; it'll curl your hair."

She grinned, reaching the bottom step. "I already have curly hair."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Then it'll make it kinky."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at his one track mind.

"What's this I hear about kinky? In Momma's house?" Derek's sister Sarah was shaking her head at him. "Hell, no."

"Momma gave us the a-ok," Derek said with a grin, wrapping his arms around Penelope, plastering her back to his front. He placed a kiss by her ear. "Didn't she, sweetheart?"

Penelope turned four shades of red again.

Sarah slugged Derek hard in the arm. "Quit embarrassing your poor pretty fiancée, you idiot." She smiled warmly at Penelope. "Don't worry, honey. None of us around here take him seriously, you know that, right?"

"That's why he had to leave Chicago," a big man who must've been Allen, Sarah's husband, said with a laugh.

Penelope thought about that for a second. He was complaining no one took him seriously, and now his family was admitting it. She wondered if it bothered him. She looked up at him. He didn't seem to mind. He was still smiling.

"Pay no attention to them, Baby Girl," he said with a smirk. He leaned down by her ear again, and whispered so only she would hear, "Besides, we both know what Momma really said." He kissed her ear again, causing shivers to run down her arms.

"Derek, it's good to see you so in love," Allen said, putting his arm around Sarah. "You deserve it."

Derek squeezed her a little tighter. "Thanks, Al. I appreciate it. Pen is a great girl. I love her very much."

Penelope turned to look at him. Derek wasn't lying. He was her friend; they said they loved each other all the time. It just felt really strange to hear it in the context Allen meant.

"Come on, Baby Girl, I want to introduce you to the rest of the tribe." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, then reached for her hand and lead her out the front door.

Penelope had to fight touching her lips again. It was that same buzzing, tingling, delicious feeling she had earlier from his kiss. That was barely a brush, yet it lit her on fire and turned her inside out. It stopped her from being able to think. She wanted to be able to think; she needed to be on her A game around all those relatives.

"Sweetheart," he said, wrapping his arm around her, "this is my baby sister, Desiree, and her husband, Ron."

"What's with this Ron business, Leo?" the tall man said with a smile. "Name's Gravy, Penelope."

"Gravy?" Out of all the nicknames she heard so far, that one was the worst.

Desiree smiled at her. "Oh, it's worse than it sounds." She raised an eyebrow and demanded, "Explain, Ronald."

The man grinned. "After you've sifted through all the tough meats and gristle, you've gotten over the hurdles, so the rest is…"

She nodded, returning the infectious grin. "Gravy. I get it."

"He was the worst of the pack," Desiree said with a giggle, leaning up to kiss her handsome husband, "but he's alright now."

He gave a kiss back, then said, "What do you mean, Des? Derek was the worst of the pack. Why he-"

Desiree poked him in the side. "Quiet. Penelope doesn't need to hear about any of that stuff."

"Sure I do," she said, smiling.

"No, you don't," Derek said, pulling her into his arms and leading her away.

"Derek, it's no big deal," she said. "I think its funny."

He held her in his arms, his hands resting on her low back. "Baby, that was a long time ago."

"Still, I want to hear," she said, shrugging. "I like hearing about your past."

He leaned down and kissed her lips again, this time taking a bit more time. His lips played with hers for just a moment, before he broke the kiss. "Sweetheart, you want to hear it, you ask me. Okay?"

She couldn't say a word. She was still too flabbergasted by all the kissing and touching going on. She wished he wouldn't do that so much quite yet. She was still getting used to the fireworks that happened every time his lips touched hers.


Heading outside, the sun was setting, but there were tiki torches lit everywhere, adding needed light. There was island music going, and some people were dancing.

Derek and Pen made two heaping plates with the chicken and ribs, then found a table across from Sarah and Allen. The food was extremely good. They did what they normally did, trading foods back and forth. That way they could try everything there. They always shared food off of each other's plate.

"Ooh, Derek, try this one," she said, holding a spoonful of noodle salad for him to try. He took the bite, smiling and nodding as he chewed.

"Here," he said, feeding her a bite of potato salad from his plate.

She nodded her approval, then swallowed. "Lots of sour cream in that one!"

"Good heavens, you two really are in love," Sarah said, approval written all over her face.

They both looked at her blankly.

"Sharing your food like that," she added, shaking her head. "I barely let Al use the same straw at the movie theater!"

Penelope looked over at Derek. He was looking at her, too, with curiosity. She'd never thought about how it looked to anyone else. She couldn't imagine not sharing bites with Derek.

She thought about Kevin. She never really shared food with him. He always got his food, and she got her own. It just didn't feel right, like it did with Derek.

She met his eyes again. He smiled, leaning forward, close to her. "Don't think too much about it, Baby Girl." He shrugged. "I'm not."

"Good idea," she said, reaching for a piece of cornbread. She dipped it in honey, and put it in his mouth.

He held her hand, his eyes twinkling, and licked her two fingers slowly.

"You had honey on them," he said, smirking at her. His eyes were hot, teasing, but with a touch of something else underneath.

Yeah, right, he wasn't thinking about it. One thing was for certain during this trip, she was learning not to take Derek too seriously, either.


After dinner, the music was turned up, and everyone started dancing. Derek was holding baby Molly, his two-year-old niece, dancing with her. She was giggling at the bouncing he was doing to the Island drum beat.

"Want to dance, Penelope?"

She smiled at Mercedes. He was a dentist from Hoffman Estates, just outside of the cities. He was a nice guy, and a very good friend of Derek's. One of the only single men left in his pack.

"No, thanks. I don't dance." The music switched to something Latin and hot; a definite pair dancing song.

"Sure you do," Derek said, kissing Molly, then handing the baby to Mercedes. "Hold her; Gravy'll be back in a heartbeat."

With that, he pulled Penelope into his arms and began trying to dance with her. Originally, she was stiff and rather unresponsive, trying very hard to master the Latin dance step. She was proving herself right; she was a terrible dancer.

"Baby Girl, stop trying to lead," he said sharply.

"I don't know how to dance with someone like this!" she cried unhappily.

He met her eyes, ensnaring them and not allowing her to look away. His arms locked around her tighter, his hand splayed on her low back, pushing her hips into his. His thigh insinuated itself between hers, and then he caught her right hand in his left.

With how he was holding her, it was impossible not to mimic his steps. He was too strong for her to gain the lead; it was complete dominance on the dance floor. Where she was weak, he was strong. Where she turned, he countered. Within a few moments, she was gliding with him, dancing naturally for the first time in her life. It felt so good.

She realized something then. She wasn't a bad dancer; she just was dancing with the wrong partners.

The song ended, and she found herself sighing sadly. She wanted to keep dancing. Another song started up, and he grinned at her. "Dance with me?"

She smiled back and answered, "Oh, hell, yes."