Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel)

by Hale, Melissa

  “They are? Well hell!” He placed the baby right into Erica’s lap and pretended to brush himself off. The group laughed again. Erica started to pass the baby back to her mother but her tiny little eyes opened and looked right at her. Her heart clenched inside her chest. She wanted this more than she’d ever wanted anything and according to her planning it was still five years away. That was a long time when you wanted something so much. She forced herself for casual and glanced over at Ethan.

  “Do you want to hold her?”

  “No way. Contagious or not I don’t do babies.” He smirked. Erica experienced a sharp stab of disappointment. She couldn’t be with someone who didn’t want babies. She forced a smile as she handed the baby over to her mother. The new baby smell filled her senses and she fought the urge to both burry her nose in the blankets and cry.

  “Think I’ll go find Zoe.” She said lightly. She hoped Ethan wouldn’t notice anything amiss and thankfully he seemed fully engrossed in the conversation around him.

  She found Zoe in the bathroom, where she’d expected.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  “Yeah, usually I am okay you know, but sometimes…” Zoe sniffed and dabbed at her eyes.

  “Yeah I know.” Erica said and wrapped her arms around her friend. “We’re quite a pair aren’t we? We should get a couple cats maybe that would help us get over this baby insanity.”

  “I’m allergic.” Zoe said even though she didn’t have to. They both knew she was allergic.

  “They make hypoallergenic ones now.”

  “That’s what we need, one of those hairless cats.” Zoe laughed and Erica grinned.

  After they ate, the place seemed to clear out pretty quickly. Erica had had a good time after she and Zoe overcame their baby issues. Ethan’s friends were fun. Most of them were former military so they were a bit crass at times and ribbed each other mercilessly but they were also loyal and honorable. She could see it in the way they conducted themselves especially with her and Zoe, despite the flirting.

  She knew it was time for her and Zoe to go too, but she really didn’t want to. She hadn’t spent any time alone with Ethan and the truth was she missed him too.

  When she went to say goodbye to Ethan he pulled her aside.

  “Why don’t you stay? We’ll watch a movie.” She wanted to refuse, to at least put up token resistance but she just couldn’t.

  “Will you take me home? I rode with Zoe.”

  “Of course.” His grin was mischievous and boyish and it made her smile.

  “We’re going to need popcorn.” She said after everyone had left and they had cleaned up.

  “Definitely.”

  “So tell me about your friends.” She said as she put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. “I feel like I should have asked for bios because I am not going to remember names.”

  “You’ll get it eventually.” He chuckled. “I served with most of them. Some of them work for me. Or have worked with me at some point. I don’t really know how it got started it just seems like I end up doing some kind of get together about once a month. I have since the house was finished.”

  “That sounds nice.” They walked back to the living room and he sat and she smiled and cuddled up next to him. He began messing with the remote but she continued the conversation.

  “Jace is your business partner, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “Is he your best friend?”

  “Yeah I guess so.”

  “How long have you known each other?”

  “We met on the first day of basic training.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, he was a total ass.”

  “What?” She sat halfway up and looked at him. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. I was probably a little too serious and he never took anything seriously. Everything was a joke to him and it irritated the crap out of me.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Um, he grew on me. He got me to stop taking myself so seriously. He still does I guess.”

  “That’s nice.” She tucked her head under his chin against his chest. He turned on the movie and the opening number from The Little Mermaid began playing. She lifted her head in surprise and he smiled. She was nearly giddy; he was so sweet and thoughtful. She leaned forward and kissed him. She meant it to be a quick sweet kiss but once their mouths fused she didn’t want to pull away. His tongue teased along her lower lip seeking entry and she gave it to him. He teased her with his tongue until they were dueling, their tongues intertwined breath mingling. When Ethan finally broke away she was out of breath, her heart was pounding and she really wanted to crawl into his lap and continue her exploration.

  “Whew, I think you could tempt a monk.” He breathed. She ducked her head slightly embarrassed by her own lack of control. She laid her head on his chest again and felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest. She was glad she wasn’t the only one affected.

  "It's been a long time since I watched this movie. I have to say I am a little disturbed."

  "Disturbed? Why disturbed?" She sat up and looked at him.

  "Well I forgot she was only sixteen, how old do you think that guy is? Looks a lot older than sixteen to me. You think Walt Disney was a pervert?" Erica couldn't help it she burst out laughing.

  "I cannot believe you just said that!" She sputtered between bouts of laughter. He laughed but defended his case.

  "It's no wonder the king flies off the handle, any good parent would right?"

  "You know now that you mention it Sleeping Beauty was only sixteen too!"

  "See."

  "And where are the mothers?"

  "What?"

  "All these movies have evil stepmothers. Does no fairy tale contain a nice normal loving mother?" She asked and he thought for a minute.

  "You know... I can't think of one."

  She settled in again and they watched the movie and ate the popcorn and soon they had migrated down to the point that they were laying on the couch in much the same position they had the first night. Erica didn’t want to move. She was cuddled up to Ethan’s side with her head on his chest and she thought she might just stay there forever. The movie ended and she dreaded him having to move. Thankfully he just used the remote and started another movie. This time it was Beauty and the Beast.

  “How many Disney movies do you have?” She laughed.

  “Well I didn’t have any but I picked up a few.” She lifted her head and smiled.

  “How many?” His lips quirked as he tried not to smile and she smiled bigger.

  “Five.” He relented and she laughed. “I had to get five. It’s a five disk changer.” He defended and she laughed harder.

  “Men.” She snickered. He poked her side and she jumped and gasped. She looked at him wide eyed and he grinned.

  “You’re ticklish.”

  “No.”

  “Yes.” His fingers danced up her side and she squealed and squirmed trying to get away but he was strong. She could feel his biceps flex holding her both from escaping and from falling on the floor.

  “Okay I admit it, I am ticklish!” She cried and he stopped, he was laughing too. “That was not nice.” She panted and pinched him.

  “Ouch.” He jumped but he couldn’t get away from her either and he laughed. “Okay truce.”

  “’K, truce.” She cuddled into him again and he gave her a quick squeeze. She quietly watched the movie for a while but her mind was playing back over the events of the day.

  “Can I ask you a really inappropriate question?” She asked not looking up at him.

  “The more inappropriate the better.”

  “Not that kind of inappropriate.” She laughed and playfully hit him.

  “Hmm we have reached the secret telling portion of our evening.” She could hear the laughter in his voice but she ignored it.

  “How did Darren lose his leg?” Laying on him as she was she had an advantage, she felt him stiffen slightly and shift as if he were uncomfor
table. “Never mind.” She said quickly. “I don’t need to know.”

  “No, it’s okay.” He rubbed his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion. She felt him draw a breath as he continued to rub her back.

  “We were all in the same unit in Iraq. We pulled a security detail. Me, Jace, Darren, Darren’s best friend Bobby, who was Norma’s son.” She tensed with dread at his use of the word was. “We were supposed to be escorting a high ranking security official to the safe zone. We were all on edge. I don’t think any of us had a good feeling about it but none of us knew just how bad it would be.”

  “It turned out to be an ambush. We hadn’t even retrieved the package, the official, when we were fired on. I took a bullet.” Erica lifted her head in surprise. He lifted his shirt and showed her a puckered scar low in his left side and a surgical scar higher up. “It was a ricochet, broke all to pieces inside. They took out eight bullet fragments. One of them pierced my spleen and they had to take that out too.”

  “Oh my goodness.” She whispered.

  “That was the easy part. The real fun came when we took cover in the building where we were supposed to be retrieving the package. They blew it and the damn thing came down right on top of us.” Erica gasped. “By a miracle of God we had taken cover behind a supporting wall that had this huge concrete beam. A few of us, Jace, me, Darren and two others were inside this pocket of space so we weren’t crushed.” He paused for a minute. “Bobby was killed then, Darren’s leg was pinned under a huge piece of concrete.” She could feel his heart pounding under her hand. “The space was small and dark. So dusty you couldn’t breathe. I was already bleeding like crazy and I remember thinking this is it. They don’t even have to bury me. I am going to die in a tomb.” His heart was pounding and Erica began to run her hand back and forth over his chest the way he was on her back. “The radios still worked; we called in reinforcements but they took hours to clear the area of insurgents and hours more to dig us out. By the time they got us out. There was no saving Darren’s leg. There was no saving anyone under the rubble. Lucky for me, I am a good clotter. That, and Jace never took his hand off the hole in my side. I think he thought he could single handedly hold the blood in my body.”

  Erica didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t imagined that her question would lead to that story. She leaned up and kissed him. “I am really glad you are a good clotter, and that Jace didn’t let go.” She whispered.

  “Me too.” He smiled.

  “That’s why you don’t like small places.”

  “Yeah, Uncle Sam calls it PTSD, I call it claustrophobia.”

  “I think I would be incomplete if I hadn’t got to meet you.” She said softly. His eyebrows rose.

  “Careful that almost sounded serious. Wouldn’t want me to get my hopes up and think this might be more than friendship.” He was teasing her, she knew it but she didn’t care.

  “I think that ship has sailed, don’t you?”

  “Honey, that ship left my harbor a long time ago.” He said softly. She could see the sincerity in his eyes and it melted her. She slid her hand under the hem of his shirt and across his flat stomach.

  “Are the bases the same in reverse?” Her hand slid up towards his pecks but he caught her wrist and held it.

  “Sweetheart,” His voice was husky with need and it thrilled her. “I love you touching me, but it is really hard for me to stay in control when you do.” His warning melted her a little more.

  “I don’t want you to stay in control.” She whispered. “I want you to take me into that great big bed and make love to me.” His pale eyes darkened and his pupils flared.

  “You sure about that?”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything.” He held her tightly against him lifting them both to their feet. He held on to her leading her to the bedroom, not stopping to turn off the lights or the movie.

  She giggled at his impatience. “I thought you said you were okay with waiting.”

  “I am. I will wait as long as you need me to. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you more than I want my next breath. Or that I am not going to jump on any opportunity you give me. She reached up and twined her arms around his neck.

  “You’re such a sweet talker.”

  “You should text Zoe. Tell her I’ll bring you home tomorrow… sometime.”

  “Tomorrow? It’s not that late.”

  “If you’re staying, you’re staying.” She smirked but she followed his instructions. As soon as she put her phone away he pulled her close and kissed her again. She kissed him back with as much passion and ardor as she was getting from him.

  He laid her back gently lowering her to the bed. His knee on the bed kept most of his weight off her and she found that she didn’t want that. She wanted to feel him on her, in her, surrounding her. She pushed his shirt up and he let her sweep it over his head. She got her first look at his bare chest and sighed. His muscles were well defined but not in an oiled up body builder way. He had dark chest hair with a thin line of hair trailing all the way down. It was the sexiest thing she had ever seen.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  “Me?” He laughed, “You’re the one who is beautiful, inside, outside, everywhere.” He kissed along her jaw to her ear and gently nibbled. Her breathy moan told him he was on the right track. He pulled her shirt up and off and continued his trek down her neck and across her shoulder. He ran his tongue along the edge of her lacy bra, dipping down in the center. Once he traced the line he reached under her and undid the clasp. It took him a few tries to get it undone one handed. Her laugh was husky and made him even harder if that was possible. He was starting to worry he would be done before he ever got inside her.

  “It seems you are a little out of practice with second base.”

  “Only the logistics sweetheart.” He tossed the bra over his shoulder and continued his exploration. When he pulled one nipple into his mouth she gasped and arched up. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you did I?”

  “No, it feels… good… really good.” He lifted his hand and circled her other nipple with his fingertip while continuing the assault with his mouth. Then he switched. She started to squirm and he recognized the sign. He undid the button and fly of her khaki shorts and ran his fingertips along her belly as he slid his hand inside. He gently parted her flesh and rubbed the sensitive bundle of nerves. Erica moaned and arched into his hand. He took the encouragement gently exploring her and exciting her at the same time. She pushed impatiently at her shorts.

  “Please Ethan, I want you so much, please don’t make me wait.” She said in a harsh whisper. He fully intended to make all of her waiting worth it, but the idea that she couldn’t wait filled him with masculine pride. He pulled off her shorts and dropped his own as well. He stretched out alongside her his hot body pressed against her and she rolled against him. He ran his hand over her and cupped her butt.

  “There’s not a part of your body that wasn’t molded for my hand, for my body, we fit together perfectly.”

  “Let’s find out just how good we fit,” she whispered. He laughed and grabbed a condom out of the drawer. He ripped it open and donned it quickly.

  “You’re good at that.”

  “Don’t leave home without it.” He chuckled. He positioned himself between her legs but he didn’t push in. Instead he began his torment of her breasts and nipples again. When she was once again squirming against him as if she were seeking to impale herself without his assistance; he moved forward. He could feel her heat even though the latex. Chills shot up his back causing the hair on his arms to stand up. He pushed forwardslowly; she was so tight he felt as if he were being squeezed by a hot velvet fist. He panted with the control it took to go slowly. He wanted to surge into her. To bury himself so deeply that neither could tell where one ended and the other began. He moved forward slowly allowing her time to adjust to his size. When he was fully seated she sighed and he felt the liquid heat around him.

  “Ethan.” She w
hispered. He clenched his teeth and dropped his forehead to hers.

  “Erica.” He whispered nearly overcome with emotion. He pulled himself under control and began to move within her. He moved nearly all the way out only to surge in again. She moaned and arched with him meeting each thrust. She wrapped her legs around his waist to prevent him from retreating too far.

  When she whimpered and tightened her legs he knew she was close. He picked up his tempo and she squeezed him tighter. Her interior muscles squeezed him and she cried out. He continued helping prolong the orgasm until he lost himself in her. He buried himself to the hilt and found his release. The silence was eerie in the aftermath. Only their harsh breathing could be heard. Finally he gently pulled out and rolled away. He disposed of the condom and returned to the bed. He lay down beside her and was surprised when she turned away from him.

  “Hey,” He lifted up on his elbow to look over her. “Are you okay, I didn’t hurt you did I?”

  “I’m fine.” She mumbled, but he thought he heard a sniff. He pulled her back forcing her to look at him. His heart nearly stopped when he saw tears on her cheeks.

  “Oh God, baby I am so sorry.”

  “You didn’t hurt me Ethan.” She turned into him burying her face in his bare chest.

  “Then why are you crying?”

  “I don’t know.” She sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her holding her tightly to him. “I just… I didn’t know it could be like that and then there were all these emotions and I felt the tears coming but I couldn’t stop them. I feel so stupid. I am sorry.”

  “Oh sweetheart, don’t be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for. Making love is an emotional thing. I would be crying myself if I wasn’t afraid it would ruin my macho image.” He felt her laugh against his chest and relaxed a bit.

  “Ethan.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You are really good at going home too.”

  “Thank you,” He laughed. “You’re a damn good catcher.” She snorted with the effort not to laugh and lost, laughing so hard she shook in his arms.

  “You are awful.” She said in between giggles. He laughed with her trying not to get carried away on the novelty of being with a woman he could be naked and laughing with at the same time.