Savior

Chapter 45

-xx-

Cate grinned up at Derek as she finished buttoning his dress shirt. She ran her hands over the front of the gray fabric, and nibbled on her bottom lip.

She attempted to step away from him, but was caught by two arms around her waist. "You really need to stop biting that lip," he warned as his lips met her neck.

"Or what?" she challenged.

They were on a tight time limit, and stopping right now was not in her itinerary. An extra two hours of sleep had been added to their schedule. Cate never realized that bars in Chicago could be open until 4am and she was definitely hurting for it.

Even Derek was showing signs of not being used to it. When the alarm went off at 9am, he repeatedly hit it until it stopped making noise.

Derek had promised his mother they would be at the restaurant for Desi's shower at 1:30. The red numbers on the abused clock read 1:19pm.

"The things you do to me, woman," he replied as he slipped on his suit jacket. He spread out his arms jokingly, so Cate could get a full look at his outfit.

He allowed Cate to talk him into a dress shirt and jacket, but there was no way he was giving up his jeans for the day. Even his mother admitted he looked fine in the jeans when he stopped in the kitchen for coffee earlier that morning.

He let Cate get an extra hour of sleep when he left the house and run a quick errand. On his way back, he was sure to get her coffee.

"Let me help," he offered as he watched her struggle to clip the back of her dress. She wore an emerald green maxi dress with a high neck. The back had straps across it, but showed enough of her tattoo to make her happy. Derek definitely approved of the slit that went to past her knee, as well as the strappy heels that accented the outfit. "Beautiful," he complimented and kissed her shoulder. "I think you need a little something to go with it."

Derek pulled a black box out of his back pocket and opened it. Inside was a simple silver chain with a diamond clover hanging from it. "Derek," she began as her fingers ran over the pendant. "This is gorgeous. Thank you."

She placed her hand to her cheek before capturing his lips in a kiss. "A buddy of mine owns a shop around here. I like to pop in when I'm in the area."

She grinned. "Always looking to add to your watch collection?" He nodded sheepishly. "I love it," she said as he helped her put it on.

"I'm lucky to have you, Catie," he said as his fingers ran down the chain and the pendant. He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her lips to meet his.

"I would like to thank you in the proper way," she said with a wink, but glanced around him at the clock, "but I have a feeling your mother is already planning our demise for being late."

1:32.

"Shit," Derek muttered under his breath as he started out of the bedroom. Cate grabbed her purse and threw her cell phone inside. "I'll cash in that thank you later," he said to Cate as he started down the staircase.

Cate braced herself on the door frame and watched him retreat downstairs. She forced herself to take a few deep breaths; the simplest phrases from Derek could seriously take her breath away. And turn her into a puddle in the middle of his mother's home.

-xx-

"She's definitely a keeper, D," Desiree directed at her brother as she took a seat at the table with her family. "She makes you look really good."

Cate beamed as Derek hung his head in mock shame. "See how they treat your baby boy?" he asked his mother. He turned to the red head and his mother's boyfriend who was seated on the opposite side of her.

"I think this is the first time he hasn't been in all black," Sarah added. "It's a miracle," she said as she held up her wine glass.

Cate held her hands up. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't pick his clothes out for him." The table laughed. "But when you're that handsome, you can really wear anything."

Derek rested his arm on the back of her chair and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.

"That's not what I was saying," Desiree added with a laugh. She pulled up the photo album on her cell phone and showed off a photo from the night before. "You make him look good." Cate took a good look at the photo on the screen and smiled; Desi had orchestrated a miniature photo shoot the night before at dinner. She landed on a photo of Derek with his arm wrapped around Cate outside of the restaurant, both wearing big smiles.

"I don't think my boy has ever smiled this much," Fran added. "It's a good change."

Derek hid his face behind Cate's shoulder to hide the blush rising in his face. The brunette grinned at his actions, but more so at what his family was saying. She was truly making a difference in Derek and she was so proud of that.

Watching him with his family over the past two days had been a breath of fresh air for Cate. He was always warm and inviting when it came to her, but she saw the expressions on his face when he walked in from work. He had an extremely tough and demanding career, and it took its toll on him over the years.

But the smile that was constantly crossing his face made her heart soar. The constant joking between the three siblings kept their mother laughing and put a permanent smile on Cate's face.

Cate took a sip of her wine. "She does compliment me pretty well," Derek replied with a smirk. "The good thing is she is more than just looks." The brunette could feel her cheeks turning pink and getting warmer by the second. "I'm a lot to handle and Catie doesn't complain about it."

The smile Derek directed at her made Cate's knees weak. She thanked her lucky stars that she was already seated.

"Can you go back to being a hard ass?" Sarah asked with a smirk. "This mushy stuff is not you, D."

"I for one kind of like it," Desiree retorted. "Can you imagine Derek changing diapers in a few years?" she asked with a laugh.

Sarah smiled. "I married a man who has two beautiful children already. They came fully potty trained!" The curly brunette laughed. Deshawn grinned from the seat next to his wife; his ex had walked away from their two children without so much as a glance over her shoulder. Parenting was not her thing, she used to say. But Sarah stepped in four years ago and has been more of a mother to them than their own was.

"Let's not get ahead of yourselves, ladies," Derek said, noting the fading smile on Cate's face.

"Desiree!" The table turned as one of Desi's bridesmaids started towards their table. "C'mon, let's go get the next game ready."

Derek sighed as his sister started to walk away from the table. "I am out if you crazy ladies think I'm playing another round of Bridal Bingo."

"Me and you both, man," Deshawn added from the other side of the table. "I think it's time for another round," he said as he held up his empty bottle.

One by one, all of the men at the table had drifted towards the bar, and were slowly met by Collin's friends.

"I wish this weekend was not coming to an end," Fran said with a pout. "I'm not ready to drop you two off at the airport yet."

Cate smiled and reached across the table to place her hand on top of the older woman's. "We'll be back before you know it," Cate said. "But maybe next time we can skip the 3 am bar crawl," she said with a look directed at Sarah.

The oldest Morgan child chuckled. "We were just prepping you for your girl's weekend in Miami next week!"

-xx-