Savior
Chapter 4
-xx-
Derek threw the pillow back over his head as the sun began to shine through the bedroom window. His arm stretched out to find the other side of the bed was empty.
Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he looked around the bedroom. A light gray adorned the walls, with deep purple curtains around the windows. Derek stretched out before rising from the bed.
As he stepped out of the bedroom, he noticed the door to the office was ajar.
Derek knocked on the door and was greeted by a big smile on Cate's face. "Mornin'" she offered.
He grinned at the beautiful woman sitting in front of him. Her hair was in a top knot and glasses adorned her face. She was free of any makeup and proudly showing off the few freckles she had.
Cate sat at her desk in floral short shorts and a black sports bra.
"Morning, beautiful." The blush crept into her cheeks.
"There's coffee in the kitchen. I am just finishing up a bid and I will meet you out there."
Derek crossed the threshold of the office and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I could wake up to this every morning."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." She grinned. "I know - really professional." Cate pointed to her outfit as her laughter filled the office. "I was going to hit the gym but figured I'd get some work done while you slept."
"I'll head there with you when you're ready." She smiled as he backed out of the room in search of coffee.
A few minutes later, Cate closed her laptop and headed towards the kitchen. She carried her coffee mug with her when she spotted Derek sitting at the kitchen island typing away on his cell phone.
After pausing a moment in the hallway to admire the man in her kitchen, she walked towards him.
Cate placed her mug next to his and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She kissed his shoulder before he turned his face towards her. She kissed him before resting her chin on his bare shoulder.
Goddamn, he is jacked, she thought to herself.
Pulling herself away from him, she walked towards the coffee pot on the counter and refilled her mug.
"You and your tattoos. You're just full of surprises."
She grinned. "Keeping it interesting," she replied.
Cate walked around the island to Derek. She stretched her right arm above her head to give him a good look at the tattoo on her rib cage. She had an intricate dream catcher with water color roses similar to the piece on her shoulder.
Derek traced his fingers over it, admiring the detail.
"A beautiful piece on a beautiful canvas," he said as he admired her body.
His hands crept around her torso, and lingered on the scar that took up a good portion of her left side.
Cate's breath caught in her throat as he delicately touched it. His eyes met hers as a tear escaped her blue orbs. "Nothing," he started, "definitely not this," he directed to her scar, "can ever change how beautiful you are to me."
She fumbled with the words to reply with. Instead, she rested her arm on his shoulder, wrapping her hand around his head. When their lips met, Cate couldn't help the tears that escaped. Derek placed a hand to each cheek and held the brunette close.
-xx-
Shopping bags littered the living room as Cate and her niece went through all of their finds from their shopping spree that afternoon.
Outfits were spread across the three seat couch, art sets were placed on the coffee table. Cate smiled from her seat on the loveseat. "Maddy, did you have fun today?"
The six year old blonde beamed. "So much fun! Thank you Auntie Cate!"
"Anything for my girl," her aunt replied. Cate stretched her legs onto the coffee table, watching her niece put together her clothes. "I've got to admit – you've got good taste. You must have gotten it from your aunt."
Maddy laughed. "Mommy doesn't let me buy fun things like you do!" Cate laughed. She was a sucker for that petite blonde and a total pushover whenever Madison asked for anything.
They had gone to a movie early that afternoon before wandering around the mall. Madison got to pick out new earrings and bracelets at one store, and a handful of outfits from another. They grabbed a few art kits to keep at Auntie's so Madison could update the paintings Cate hung in her home office.
As Cate watched her niece play with her new things, her phone lit up with a call. Derek.
"Hey," she greeted.
"Hey yourself," he replied. Her smile grew at the sound of his voice. "How's my girl?"
She laughed, "Tired." Maddy looked in her direction and gave her a smile. "First I try your workout, and then I followed this one around the mall. I am officially tired."
The laugh on the other end of the line made her roll her eyes. He worked her hard that morning when he joined her at the gym.
"I was about to order dinner for the two of us before my sister arrives."
Derek laughed when he heard the six year old in the background sing about ordering pizza. "Where are you ordering from?"
"We prefer Rocky's down the street. It's our usual dinner," she smiled as the blonde danced around the room.
"Do you want a delivery man?"
Her eyes fluttered at the possibility of seeing Derek again. "You know the answer to that."
She could hear his smile through the phone. "Call it in and I'll pick it up."
"You're the best. See you soon."
Cate hung up the phone and got to work ordering their dinner on her cell phone. "Auntie Cate?"
The brunette's head perked up. "What's up?"
"Who was that?"
Cate just smiled. "That was Auntie's friend, Derek. He's going to join us for dinner, okay?"
Madison nodded. "Sounds fun!" The six year old went back to coloring in her newest coloring book.
Forty minutes later, Cate walked out of her bedroom as the doorbell rang. She checked through the peephole and saw Derek standing on the other side, two boxes of pizza in hand.
"Delivery!" he jokingly shouted through the door.
The brunette tucked her hair behind her ear and unlocked the door. She leaned against the door and smirked. "Sexiest delivery man Rocky's has ever hired."
He beamed in her direction. After placing a kiss to his lips, she moved out of the way for him to walk through the door.
Derek carried the boxes to the kitchen and placed them on the island. "Maddy, dinner is here, baby."
The blonde ran into the kitchen. "Hi!" She offered to Derek.
"You must be Madison," she nodded. "My name is Derek."
"I know. You're friends with my Auntie."
Derek nodded. "I am." He leaned on the island to talk to the six year old sitting across from him. "I heard that you are Auntie Cate's personal artist."
Madison beamed. "She buys me all these really cool art sets! Auntie Cate is the best!"
The brunette in the room smiled as she plated the pizza for her niece. She placed the plate in front of the blonde. "I'm the best because I don't say no," she joked.
Her niece giggled.
The three settled into dinner, and Cate couldn't help but smile as she watched Derek converse with her goddaughter. He was a natural when it came to making the child laugh. Was there anything he wasn't good at?
Madison was the most important person in her life, and watching Derek ease into her niece's world made the butterflies in her stomach race.
An hour later, Derek had cleaned the dishes, and was currently sitting on the couch with Madison next to him watching a movie.
Cate sat at the kitchen island with her laptop going over a final bid for her clients.
Maddy had snuggled her way next to Derek, slipping under his arm. Derek had the couch reclined to make it more comfortable for her.
Neither of the couch's occupants looked up from the TV when the front door opened. "Hey Jackie," Cate greeted as her sister walked into her home.
"Cate," her sister replied. Jackie threw her keys onto the counter as she entered the kitchen. "How bad was today?"
Cate looked up at her sister and smirked. "She knows how to work me." The two sisters laughed. "But that's what her fairy godmother is supposed to do."
The brunette shuffled around a few papers on the counter. Jackie took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and sat across from her younger sister. "Is this the house from yesterday?"
"Yeah," Cate replied. "They want to move it quick. A couple came in yesterday and fell in love. I'm hoping to wrap it up for them.
"Wow," Jackie replied. "That was quick."
Cate shrugged.
The two sisters looked almost identical, and the seventeen month age gap between the two of them only helped that. Jackie currently wore her hair in a short bob and was prone to a bright red lip, as opposed to Cate's long, loose curls and minimal makeup.
"Hi mom!" The two women turned towards the living room to see Madison leaning over the back of the couch.
"Hey Mad," her mother replied.
Derek put the recliner down and stood from the couch. With a few strides, he entered the kitchen and extended his hand. "Jackie, this is Derek. Derek, this is my older sister Jacqueline."
Jackie pursed her lips together and took his hand in hers. "I remember you."
Derek nodded, but saw Cate grip her bottle of water and stare blankly at her laptop. "You have an extremely smart little girl."
Cate smiled, while Jackie beamed. "She is pretty amazing," she agreed. "Maddy, it's a school night. Are you ready?"
The blonde sighed and slid off of the couch. "Yes, Mommy." She finished getting her shopping bags ready to head out the door. Madison ran into the kitchen and caught Derek in a hug around his waist. "Thank you for pizza, Derek."
He crouched down in front of the petite blonde. "You are very welcome, Miss Madison. I'll see you soon, okay?" She nodded.
Cate said goodnight to her niece and sister. Derek busied himself turning off the movie from Netflix.
Once the door was closed and locked, she walked to the couch and sat down next to Derek. He threw his arm around her and pulled her close to him. "Thank you, again, for dinner."
He kissed the top of her head. "My pleasure." The two relaxed in the silence of the house, letting the weekend wash over them.
Cate let out a yawn as she focused on the circles he was running on her back. "Are you staying tonight?"
"Do you want me to stay?" he asked. She nodded against his shoulder. "Then this is where I'll be." Cate smiled.
"It's a good thing you keep a bag in your truck," she mentioned. He smirked.
-xx-