Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel)

by Hale, Melissa

  He pulled back and gently wiped the wetness off her cheeks and then kissed her gently. He wanted to say something, but at the moment he was afraid to say a word; afraid that if he said anything he would tell her that he loved her. That he didn't want to be without her ever again. He couldn't say any of that. It was too soon. He didn't want to scare her. So he clamped his teeth shut. He forced the words back down. He was saved from having to speak when her stomach growled.

  "Oh my God." She groaned and pushed her face further into his neck.

  "I can't believe I forgot to feed you dinner. I am a terrible boyfriend."

  Boyfriend automaton. Erica thought and smiled.

  "Come on let's go get you some food." He sat up and grabbed his shorts and pulled them on. Erica looked around for her clothes but before she found them he offered her a t-shirt. She smiled, a warm memory of their first night together filling her mind. She pulled the shirt on and took the hand he offered her. He laced their fingers together and led her to the kitchen. The movie had ended and the title screen was still on the TV.

  "What sounds good? There are leftovers from the BBQ or I think I have some other stuff."

  "Leftovers are fine. You want some help?" He pulled her to him and kissed her lips then he grasped her waist and lifted her setting her on a bar stool.

  "Nope. You just sit tight." He kissed her again before turning back to the fridge. He quickly made them each burgers from the leftovers before joining her at the bar.

  "If I didn't mention it earlier, you grill a pretty good burger."

  "Thanks. The BBQ is about the only appliance I work well."

  "Is a BBQ an appliance?" She giggled and he grinned. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Her hair was tousled and in complete disarray the little bit of makeup she'd had on was gone now but she was so beautiful it made his teeth ache. When they finished he cleared away the few dishes and reached into the freezer.

  "Ice cream?" He pulled out the double chocolate fudge that was her favorite and she grinned. The fact that he remembered her favorite ice cream made her want to cry again. The back of her eyes stung but she blinked back the impending tears. She didn't want him to think she was a complete emotional train wreck.

  "Aren't you having any?" She asked when he only put one bowl on the bar.

  "We're sharing."

  "I don't know, I don't usually share my ice cream." She batted her eyes at him and he grinned. He held out a spoonful and she opened her mouth and allowed him to slide the creamy concoction in. After a few bites she realized they weren't sharing he was simply feeding her. She hopped off the stool and retrieved another spoon. She held out a small mound and he opened his mouth. She felt an odd little thrill chase up her spine as she fed him and wondered if he felt the same thing when he fed her.

  "You're kinda ruining my whole seduction scene here." He joked.

  "No I'm not, it's working very well." She was surprised at how breathy her voice sounded. He leaned in and licked a drop of ice cream from her lip and she nearly moaned at the eroticism.

  "You're so hot in nothing but my shirt." He whispered.

  "You're so hot in nothing but your shorts." She whispered back. He pulled her closer so her knees were in between his and kissed her.

  "Can I lick ice cream from your belly button?" He whispered nibbling at her lips.

  "Yes." The word came out sounding exactly like the breathy moan it was. He pulled her hips up and set her on the bar kissing her deeply. He swept her shirt off and she felt a slight frisson of apprehension. It disappeared when he touched her. He ran his fingertips across her breasts causing her nipples to pucker. He cupped the firm weight in his hands and her breathy sigh ruffled the hair on his head. He had never really considered himself a breast man, but hers were fantastic. Full and heavy, nicely shaped with pale pink nipples. They filled his hands and he wondered if he’d ever held anything better. The fact that they were so sensitive and she was so responsive was just icing on his cupcake. He sucked one nipple into his mouth and sucked firmly flattening it against the roof of his mouth with his tongue. She whimpered and it was all he could do not to take her right there on the kitchen counter. He forced himself to take a breath, to back down a bit. She wasn’t very experienced and he wanted to make sure she didn’t regret a single second.

  Ethan laid her back on the bar and she felt wanton and excited at the same time. It was a little unorthodox and a bit uncomfortable but the idea that he couldn’t help himself was thrilling. He dribbled a trail of ice cream across her stomach and followed it with his tongue. She gasped at the cold-then-hot sensation. Part of her had thought he was bluffing about the ice cream but she shouldn’t have. So far he hadn’t bluffed about anything.

  He swirled his tongue into her belly button, it tickled but she was way past squirming from being tickled. Instead she was squirming from being more turned on than she ever had been before. That was until Ethan lifted her leg putting her thigh on his shoulder. He ran his tongue down her folds and she gasped again, this time at the intimate intrusion as well the pleasure that sang through her veins. Undeterred he continued his exploration, she wanted to be embarrassed, push him away but she couldn’t. She was beyond any sort of embarrassment. Her arousal had decimated her inhibitions. Her brain was mush. All she could do was writhe and whimper beneath his ministrations. Until her body exploded in pulsing waves of orgasm. She bucked against him but he held her tight until she relaxed back to the counter which suddenly felt hard and cold.

  As if sensing her sudden discomfort Ethan scooped her into his arms carrying her back to the bedroom. She wanted to protest that as well but her body was too languid. When he laid her gently on the bed she caught his face in her hands and pulled his lips to her. She kissed him pouring all the emotion and passion she was feeling into it. She tugged him onto the bed with her and didn’t let up until he was as breathless as she was. She pushed him over onto his back and rolled up on top of him. She kissed along his neck, scraping her teeth lightly along his pulse point. His breath stuttered out brokenly but she didn’t remain in that sensitive place. She had a goal and it was farther south.

  Ethan fisted his hand in the sheets beneath him trying valiantly to hold on to his control. Erica slid down his body. She kissed licked and nibbled and managed to find every sensitive spot he had. Either that or every spot became sensitive just because she was touching it. She popped the button on his shorts and he heard the tick of each tine of the zipper as she slid it down. He could feel her, the anticipation of her touch held him frozen; he couldn't even breathe. Then she touched him. His cock leapt against her fingertips and she wrapped her hand around him. His breath rushed out in a stuttered groan. She gained confidence and her tentative touch grew firmer and more exploratory.

  Erica was emboldened by his obvious enjoyment of her touch. Her fingertips followed the thick veins on the soft skin from base to tip. A drop of clear fluid welled up on the tip and she leaned forward and licked it off. Ethan gasped and flinched even as his cock surged upward.

  "Erica," he rasped. "You don't have too..."

  "I want to." She laid a hand on his stomach as if to reassure him. She might not have ever been willing to do this when asked before, but suddenly she really wanted to do it for him. She would've had to be living in a convent not to know this was something every man enjoyed. And she really wanted him to enjoy it. Keeping that in mind, she retraced the lines. This time with her tongue. She saw his hand clenched tight in the sheet beside him and felt a surge of feminine power. Mister always-in-charge was dangerously close to the edge. She took the bulbous mushroom shaped head into to her mouth and swirled her tongue over it. The hiss of his indrawn breath told her she was on the right track. She let her instincts guide her. She took him further into her mouth applying pressure with her lips but carefully keeping her teeth back. It took her a few moments of working up to it to be able to take him all. He reached all the way to the back of her throat but thankfully she'd never had a bad gag reflex. She did have
a lot of saliva accumulating in her mouth so she tried to swallow it and he groaned loudly.

  "Erica, you're killing me." He rasped. She glanced up his torso and noted how rigidly he was holding himself. It was taking everything he had to hold back. More than anything she wanted to see him loose control.

  "Let go Ethan, I'll catch you I promise." She whispered then took him deep again. She worked up a rhythm working him in and out and his breathing became increasingly labored. She gently rasped her teeth over the sensitive underside of his cock. He nearly surged off the bed. The first jet of hot salty fluid took her by surprise and she barely managed to swallow it. Then she began to suck in earnest and felt as if she pulled the next three jets from his body.

  She continued laving him with her mouth until he softened completely. Slowly she crawled back up his body he pulled her down so that she was laying on his chest.

  He lay there catching his breath and holding her tightly. He couldn't speak, didn't dare for fear of blurting out everything he was feeling. Things she would undoubtedly attribute to afterglow. No, when he made those declarations he wanted her to be ready to hear them.

  Erica woke to find the bed beside her empty. It was still early. Ethan must be an early riser. She smiled to herself noting they had that in common. She looked around the room; really looked for the first time. He had log furniture it was masculine but not overly so. He seemed to have very good taste. She heard the faint sound of running water and realized he must be in the shower.

  She chewed absently on her thumb nail while she debated her next move. She'd never been sexually aggressive, never wanted to be, but Ethan had opened her eyes to a lot in just one night. Now there was a lot she wanted to experience, a lot she had heard, or read, or seen that took on a whole new significance. She wanted to try everything and she wanted to experience it with Ethan.

  She reached into the nightstand drawer and retrieved a condom. She slipped off the bed and padded to the bathroom. The door was ajar, inside she saw a sight she thought might stay forever as a treasured memory in her mind. Ethan was standing in the shower with his hands braced on the marble wall. The clear glass left nothing to the imagination. He was magnificent, even more so now that she could see all of him.

  "You want some company?" She spoke just loud enough to be heard over the water. He turned and looked over his shoulder water dripping from the ends of his short hair. His eyes swept over her, taking in her naked form, then he grinned.

  "Hell yes." He turned and popped open the glass door and she stepped in the steamy enclosure. He pulled her tight against his body banding his arm around her waist.

  "Want me to wash your back?" She asked in what she hoped was a seductive voice.

  "Yes, and my front." He laughed and she thrilled at the sound. He pulled her under the spray and the hot water sluiced over them both.

  "Mmmmmmm that feels good," she sighed. He ran his hands down her back and gripped her butt pulling her tightly against his erection that had sprang to life when she entered the shower and was now full and throbbing.

  "Yes it does," he said huskily.

  "I have a confession to make." She whispered as if she were telling a secret. "I came in here to seduce you." She showed him the condom in her hand and he grinned.

  "No better way to seduce a man than getting naked and wet."

  "Guess I'm not very original, huh?"

  "You, my dear, are 100% original."

  "I've always wanted to make love in the shower. The rain too, but that is a little unrealistic due to the cold." She giggled.

  "Well my dear, I consider it my duty to fulfill all of your fantasies. And it will definitely be my pleasure to make love to you in the shower and the rain." He adjusted one of the levers on the wall. The water stopped coming out of the shower head and instead began falling from the ceiling like rain. She gasped and looked up. Then she grinned at him and he knew he would give her anything she wanted whenever she wanted.

  "That's perfect." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips down to hers.

  Chapter 13

  “Well, you look… um relaxed.” Zoe laughed when Erica let herself into the apartment. Erica felt her cheeks flush even as she grinned. She sank down on to the sofa beside her friend and sighed.

  “Ah, it was like that huh?” Zoe giggled.

  “It was all that and a bag of chips.” Erica laughed and Zoe did too.

  “So I guess it is safe to say, you now know what the fuss is all about.”

  “I know what the fuss is about; what I don’t know is how anyone ever gets anything else done.” Zoe laughed outright at that and hugged her friend.

  It was hard to go to bed alone, harder still to keep from at least calling him. She didn’t want to seem like a dramatic teenager. Just because they had sex, amazing earth rocking sex, didn’t mean they were joined at the hip now. So what if he had seemed as reluctant to let her leave as she had been to go. The memory of that conversation still made her warm.

  "You don't have to go. I can take you to work in the morning." Erica smiled incredibly pleased that he was so reluctant for her to leave. She didn't want to go either but neither did she want to seem too needy or clingy.

  "I have to go home and get ready for work. I don't even have any clean underwear."

  "You don't need underwear." He grinned and she laughed.

  "I don't want you to have to get up at three am just to take me home." She went up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

  “I don’t mind.” He kissed her and she smiled.

  “I know, now take me home.”

  She wouldn’t admit that the fact that he hadn’t called her either left her a little depressed. When she woke in the morning and discovered she’d gotten her period she was really depressed. She really didn’t want to explain to Ethan why they couldn’t have sex for a few days. That was sure to be a really embarrassing conversation. One she was definitely not ready for. Maybe if she could avoid being alone with him they wouldn’t have to have the conversation.

  Ethan couldn’t wait until his usual time to see her, he missed her already. It was crazy. It had only been about twelve hours. He had never been so drawn to a person. So consumed and compelled to be near her. Making love to her had intensified her effect on him. He couldn’t get enough of her. Being with her had been like coming home. He didn’t want to take her home. He wanted her to move in with him. He wanted to propose and elope and spend forever just gazing at her. And for all that, he knew he was completely crazy, but he didn’t care.

  She was predictably behind the counter when he entered the shop. She and Zoe were laughing and friendly with the customers. He eased forward wondering what her reaction to him would be. He wasn’t disappointed. When she looked up and saw him she flashed him a bright smile.

  “Hey stranger.” She called to him and he smiled. She came out from behind the counter and straight into his arms. She kissed him full on the mouth. He held her tight and kissed her back not caring who saw. When she broke away he had completely forgotten what he intended to say.

  “Little help here Honey.” Zoe called and Erica grinned.

  “Duty calls,” she said and winked at him. She handed him a cup and pushed him out the door. He found himself standing outside on the sidewalk feeling a little dazed.

  The day seemed busier than usual but Erica liked it busy. It was good for business but it was good for her too. When she was working she didn't have time to obsess over Ethan, over where this was going; over whether or not it would follow her five year plan. So far, it was moving much faster than she would have planned. That wasn't as worrisome as the comment that Ethan had made at the BBQ. She had blocked it from her mind because she was caught up in the euphoria of just being with him. She remembered it all too well now. He had said he didn't do babies. She had to be a mother, it was something she had wanted her whole life. The idea of having a family with Ethan made her almost giddy and yet she knew that if he didn't want babies she woul
d never be able to give that up for him.

  "Stop it." Zoe's voice pierced through the cloud of her thoughts.

  "What?"

  "You know what. You're thinking."

  "I wasn't aware that I wasn't allowed to do that."

  "Erica..." Zoe's voice held a clear warning. "You are letting your brain get in the way again. You only just met this guy. Stop worrying if your china patterns are going to match. Maybe you'll decide you don't like him. Maybe he snores or picks his teeth all the time. The infatuation might wear off for you. Stop looking for problems and inventing them where there aren't any." Erica smiled at her friend. She was right, Erica knew it, but she also knew this wasn't an infatuation that was just going to wear off.

  Before she could explain that to Zoe the door chimed and two dark haired women came in. It was Marco's mother and one of his sisters.

  "Roslyn, Maria good to see you." They had always been very nice to her so despite the fact that the relationship had ended badly, she smiled brightly.

  "Erica, dear." Roslyn kissed both her cheeks. Despite the fact that Marco talked with a think Italian accent, Roslyn's was barely noticeable and Maria not at all. "I am so sorry. Marco finally told me what happened. I thought you to we're just having a little spat." Erica smiled not really sure what to say to that.

  "You were way too good for him anyway." Maria chimed in. Erica had to laugh at that.

  "I really hope we can still be friends despite the actions of my idiot son."

  "Of course we can." Erica giggled again. She really meant it too. Marco's large extended family had been her favorite part of dating him. Now that she thought about it she had spent more time in the company of Marco's relatives than she spent in his company.

  "I am so glad to hear it." Roslyn grinned gripping both Erica's hands. "So will you come for dinner at my house tomorrow? You and Zoe both?"