by Claire Adams
But both of those had been about business. Then again, for all I knew, that's all this was as well.
“Why don't we go back to my place?” Olivia suggested shyly. “I have a nice bottle of wine that Mom gave me as a housewarming gift, but I haven't wanted to drink it alone.”
“That sounds nice,” I said, smiling over at her and moving into the driver's seat. I gave myself a strong mental kick. That sounds nice? Couldn't I come up with something better than that?
Something about Olivia had me tongue-tied in a way that I had never been around Emily. Of course, conversation flowed smoothly enough between the two of us, but I felt like I was second-guessing everything that I said and did. She made me nervous.
I wasn't normally nervous.
“I should be the one supplying the wine, after dragging you to such a horrible show,” I joked half-heartedly.
Olivia laughed. “You paid for dinner,” she reminded me. She paused. “But if you're really worried about that, you could always supply the wine next time.”
“Next time?” I asked, my blood singing beneath the surface of my skin.
Olivia nodded, her eyes locked firmly on mine. I swallowed hard and then gave myself a shake, putting the car in drive.
I headed back to her place as quickly as the law allowed, my hand resting on her knee the whole time. When we arrived, she led the way inside, and I followed. But rather than go for the wine, she paused in the front hall, turning toward me.
She tilted her head up, leaning toward me, and I could tell that she was going for a kiss. I caught her face in my hands, pressing my lips to hers. I could feel her hesitation, and I did my best to soothe her, taking control of the kiss and nipping at her lower lip so that she opened to me with a soft sigh. Her arms looped around my lower back, drawing me in closer.
I lingered there, not wanting to push her too much, but from her passionate response, I could tell that she was just as hungry for this as I was. She pulled breathlessly away, looking up at me through her lashes, her eyes molten hot with desire. Slowly, she started undoing the buttons on my shirt, giving me plenty of time to stop her.
I didn't want to stop her; I wanted this just as badly as she appeared to.
“It's been a while since I've done this,” I admitted as I pulled Olivia's dress up over her head.
She tossed her hair out of her eyes, smiling at me. “It's been a while for me, too,” she admitted.
“No, I mean it's been a while,” I said, feeling almost frustrated by her lack of understanding. I didn't want to admit this in so many words, but I paused and then took a deep breath. “I haven't had sex with anyone since Emily. It's been about two and a half years.”
Olivia's eyes widened, and her hand crept up over her mouth. “Oh, Eric,” she breathed. There was a long moment of silence, and I started to reconsider even being there. Maybe I should leave.
But for the first time, it didn't feel like I was dishonoring Emily's memory by being with someone else. In fact, I had a feeling that if Emily were to meet Olivia, she would be fast friends with the kind, intelligent woman. And I knew that all Emily had ever wanted was for me to be happy. In the face of my budding feelings for Olivia, I knew that walking away wasn't something I wanted to do.
Olivia looked searchingly into my eyes for a long moment and then twisted her fingers in mine. “Come on,” she said, leading the way toward the stairs. “If we're doing this, we're going to do this right.”
I grinned and followed her, watching her panty-clad behind as she led the way upstairs and down the hall to her bedroom. She paused in the doorway, looking back over her shoulder at me. For the first time, I sensed hesitation. “Are you sure about this?” she asked.
I frowned at her. “Are you sure about this?” I asked. “If you don't want to do this, we don't have to.”
“I want this,” Olivia said, and I was surprised to hear the raw note to her voice that let me know just how much she wanted this. “But sleeping with someone for the first time since your deceased wife, that's a big deal. If you're not ready for this, we can wait.”
I trailed my eyes over her body, from her silky skin to her lace panties. “I want this,” I said hoarsely.
“All right,” Olivia said simply, leading the way into her bedroom. I took a deep breath and followed after her.
Chapter Ten
Olivia
There were a million thoughts whirring through my head, but I didn't stop this, whatever it was. I couldn't believe that we were here, in my bedroom, Eric's naked torso hovering over me while I sprawled out against the sheets. But I wanted this. It might only be our first date, but I trusted him. He was a good guy.
He had a daughter, after all.
I giggled, and Eric frowned. “What's so funny?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Sorry, it's just nerves,” I admitted.
Eric gave me a considering look and then bent down to kiss me. The kiss wasn't as passionate as the one we'd shared just inside the door; instead, it was as though he was trying to prove to me how sweet he could be. His hands were like branding irons along my sides, and I arched against his sturdy chest.
He pulled back, staring heatedly down at me. “You have no idea, the things I'd like to do to you,” he said, emphasizing the point with a thrust of his hips.
“Please,” I whimpered.
Eric looked surprised. “Are you sure?” he asked.
I nodded frantically, looping my arms around his neck and pulling him into another heated kiss. Normally, I didn't have sex so soon into knowing someone. This was technically our first date. But there was something about the way we clicked with one another. I wanted him, more than words could describe. And I could tell that he wanted me too.
Slowly, his hands slipped around my back, and he unclasped my bra. He threw it off to the side and then got his hands on my breasts, kneading the skin there, making me moan lustfully. I could feel my panties dampening with each new pulse of lust that went through me, and I started fumbling at his belt. When I'd removed that and unbuttoned the front of his slacks, I slid my hands below the waistband, cupping his behind. He ground his hips down toward me again, and even through all the layers of fabric, I could feel him pressing at my folds.
I whimpered, head falling back, and Eric grinned dangerously. He leaned down to kiss and suck at my neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin and further stoking the fire inside of me. I trembled as Eric's kisses trailed lower until he was hovering just at the edge of my panties. He planted a soft kiss to my navel and then pulled away from me so that he could shuck off his pants.
Then, clad only in his boxers, he loomed over me again. “How far do you want to go with this?” he murmured.
“How far do you want to go with this?” I retorted. “You're the one who hasn't slept with anyone since his wife. I'd be perfectly happy to just lay here and make out for a while if that's what you want. But if you want to take things further, I'm not opposed to it.”
I bit my lower lip as he scrutinized me. I was anxious to hear what his response would be, surprisingly. But I couldn't remember the last time I had been this turned on, and by such simple touches as well! I didn't want to press things, but on the other hand, if he didn't get me off, I didn't know what I would do. It felt like my whole body was already ready to go up in flames, lust coursing through me. I was desperate to feel him between my legs, to get him naked and inside of me.
Something of that must have shown on my face because Eric nodded a little. He reached up to brush back a lock of my hair and then kissed my forehead sweetly. But then, he caught my hands in both of his, pinning them up above my head so that I was stretched out beneath him, arching desperately as he returned his attention to my neck, nipping at the skin there. He released my hands, and I buried them in his hair as his mouth moved lower, until he was lavishing his attention across my breasts.
We were progressing with glacial speed, and it was starting to undo me. I squirmed beneath him on the sheets, trying d
esperately to find some relief from the explosion that was building up inside of me.
“God, you're sexy,” Eric suddenly groaned, repositioning himself over me and just staring at me for another beat. Then, very deliberately, he reached into the pocket of his slacks and came out with a condom. “What do you think?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” I said breathlessly, legs falling open as though on cue.
Eric grinned and slipped his fingers into the waistband of my panties, peeling them down off my legs, leaving me there naked. Then, he slowly removed his boxers as well. Our naked bodies pressed eagerly against one another's, and I shivered at the feeling of his thick, throbbing member pressed up against me.
“So much for taking things slow,” Eric groaned.
I froze. “If you don't want to do this, we don't have to,” I whispered.
“I want this,” Eric insisted. He nipped at my earlobe and then left a trail of filthy kisses along my jawbone. “I want you open for me, heat pulsing around me. I want to watch you fall apart, overcome with desire. I want to hear you beg me for more.” His hands slid down my sides, resting on my hips and pulling me toward him, as though we could get any closer.
He dipped his fingers into my entrance, his eyes darkening when he found how wet I already was, ready and waiting for him. He plied his fingers against my walls, eliciting soft noises of pleasure streaming from my lips. The rhythm started out slow and sensual, but he quickly picked up the pace. I met him on each thrust, pushing my hips down, needing more from him.
Suddenly, I gasped and cried out, my feelings of lust crescendoing, overtaking me. Eric continued to work on my body, guiding me through wave after wave of pleasure until I was sobbing with release.
When I came down from my bliss, I realized it wasn't over yet. In fact, we were just beginning. Eric slowly rolled a condom down his length and then positioned himself at my opening. He gave me another searching look, clearly asking if this was okay, and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him up toward me.
He breached my folds, plunging deep inside of me, pressing at those secret spots that he hadn't been able to stimulate with his fingers. Again, he started me on slow thrusts, pulling nearly all the way out and then slowly sliding back in, his tip dragging at my sensitive skin and making me writhe, desperate for more. I tried to urge him on, tugging at him with my hands, looping my ankles around behind his back. But he was having none of it.
He held my hips in place, making sure I knew that he was in charge, that he would use my body as he saw fit. He was teasing me on purpose, I was sure of it. But after a period of these agonizingly slow thrusts, I could see that he was losing patience as well.
He started to lose the steady rhythm that he had set, some of his thrusts coming too quickly or else faltering midway through. He reached up and tweaked my nipples, giving me another point of contact that made me cry out shamelessly. He began to ram into me; I could feel the strength of his thrusts resonating through my whole body, starting from my core and working their way out.
Lust shot through me, following the tremors from his thrusts, sparking all the way out to my fingertips, making my toes curl. I bit my lower lip to quiet my desperate cries, but Eric was having none of that: he reached up with his thumb and pried my lip free. My cries filled the room, punctured by the staccato sound of his hips meeting mine, as we moved together in bliss.
Suddenly, I arched against him, my body stilling as I was overcome for the second time that night. Eric's thrusts moved from feeling incredibly good to incredibly overstimulating, but fortunately, he came not long after I did, spurred on by my walls clenching around his length.
He collapsed down on top of me, but I didn't mind the weight. In fact, I snuggled into his shoulder, appreciating his warmth.
Eric sighed and rolled away from me, staring up at the ceiling. Then, he glanced over at me. “That was...” He trailed off, looking as though he didn't quite know what to say.
“It was,” I agreed solemnly, causing him to laugh.
“Come here, you,” he said, pulling me into his arms.
I buried my face against his chest. “God, I feel good right now,” I told him.
“I'll take that as a compliment on a job well done,” Eric said smugly. “As it happens, I'm not feeling so bad myself.” He shifted so that he could see his watch and groaned. “I need to get back to Helen's place to pick up Emma. It's already getting late.”
I frowned, wishing he could just stay there with me and cuddle. And maybe go for another round of this. But I knew that he had Emma, and I had to respect that fact. Still, before he left, I wanted to just clarify one thing: “So, was this a one-time thing, or is there a possibility for a repeat performance?”
Eric blinked down at me, his eyes already darkening at the thought, and I could feel his dick twitch against my side. “This was good,” he said hoarsely.
It didn't exactly answer my question, but I didn't want to press him. At least if we were both clear that we wanted to do this again, there was a high probability that it would, in fact, happen again. Especially since I'd see him nearly every day as he came by the daycare to drop off Emma or to pick her up.
I smiled at him. “Good,” I said.
I leaned up to give him one last, chaste kiss on the lips, then watched as he slipped out of bed and started putting his clothes back on. He paused, once he was fully clothed, looking back at me. “Tonight was fun,” he said.
“It was,” I agreed, smiling as I snuggled into the sheets. “Thanks.”
Eric continued to linger, looking like he wanted to say something else, but whatever it was, it stayed there in his head. He raised a hand in farewell and then slipped out, leaving me alone in the bedroom.
I collapsed back against the sheets, thoughts spinning frenetically in my head. I liked Eric, as a person and as a lover. Our date had been fun, and our tumble on the sheets had been even more fun. I didn't think that I had ever been so attracted to anyone as I was to Eric. He had played my body with practiced ease, despite the fact that it had been our first time coupling. I could only imagine how things might be between us if he started to know my preferences, the ways that I responded the best.
I shivered at the very anticipation of that.
Of course, that was implying that we would do this again, and I had no idea what he was thinking. Did it still count as a rebound, if I was the first person that he'd been with since his wife had died? And could he possibly be having regrets about this whole thing?
I swallowed hard, pushing those thoughts out of my mind. We'd just have to see how things went; there was no use worrying about them now, though.
Chapter Eleven
Eric
I tucked Emma into a nest of blankets at Helen's house, feeling mildly guilty about the swell of relief I felt that I wouldn't have to drop her off at the daycare for the second day in a row. And with the weekend beginning the following day, that meant two more days until I had to see Olivia.
I wasn't avoiding her, per se. But I had a lot of thinking to do.
I hadn't been able to get Olivia out of my mind since our date on Wednesday. We'd had fun, and things were so comfortable between us. And the sex had been good. It left me feeling guilty, though, in ways that I hadn't expected. I couldn't shake the feeling that I had never connected with someone quite as deeply as Olivia and I were connecting...not even my former wife.
I had managed to come to terms with the idea that Emily would have wanted me to go out and date someone else. My mourning period didn't have to last for the rest of my life. But that didn't mean she would understand if I went out and replaced her with someone that I cared even more deeply about.
I wondered if maybe the reason why I could care more deeply about Olivia was that I had been hurt in the past. Maybe Emily's death had opened me up to a whole new level of feeling that I could never have expected to experience. Or maybe I now understood how precious every second of a relationship was, not knowing when the other person cou
ld be permanently taken away from you.
But no matter how I tried to rationalize things, I couldn't help feeling guilty. I didn't regret what Olivia and I had done the other night. In fact, I was so happy that the other night had happened. But I wasn't ready to face all the consequences of the other night just yet, not before I had a chance to figure some things out in my head.
I left Emma dozing on the sofa and headed out to the front hall before calling Olivia. “Hey Olivia,” I said when she answered the phone. “I'm sorry to say that Emma won't be coming in for daycare again today; she's still running a fever.”
There was a long pause. “Okay,” Olivia finally said, heaving a small sigh. “Look, Dr. Jones, I'm sorry if I did something wrong the other night, but we're going to have to interact at some point, given that you are my mother's physician. You can't avoid me forever.”
“I'm not avoiding you,” I insisted. “Emma is sick, and I wouldn't want her spreading her germs all over town. Besides, it's no trouble for Helen to watch her when really all she's going to do all day is sleep, eat crackers, and maybe watch a little TV.” I ran a hand back through my hair. I was wishing that I’d said goodbye to Helen before starting this call so that I wouldn’t have to have it here in her front hallway where she might overhear. I could only imagine how she might take the news that I had finally gotten over her daughter.
There was another pause. “I knew we should have waited,” Olivia said bitterly.
I blinked, taken aback by her tone of voice. “Did you not enjoy the other night?” I asked.
“Of course I enjoyed it,” Olivia said, sounding frustrated. “God, it was amazing, Eric. You were amazing. You know how good I felt afterward; I made that very clear.”
I smiled a little, remembering her vehemence when she told me that yes, she was okay. “I just need some time to process,” I told her quietly. “It's not that I think we should have waited. Or that I didn't enjoy it because I hope you know that I did. I really did. I just need to process it.”
