Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel)

by Hale, Melissa

  “I couldn’t help myself.” She whispered as if in confession.

  “You’re a naughty little girl aren’t you?”

  “Only when it feels so good.” He slid his fingers deep into her hair and tugged her head to the side exposing her neck. The small pain sent an erotic thrill straight to her pleasure points. He ran his tongue up her neck and she whimpered. She wanted to squirm from the ache building between her legs but her pelvis was still pinned to the bed. The weight and inability to move added to her arousal.

  Ethan bit the back of her shoulder and then sucked hard. She couldn’t hold back a moan as pleasure spasmed through her. She felt wild and wanton, and she loved it.

  Ethan eased his weight off to one side and with a hand on her thigh spread her legs. She felt his fingers graze up her thigh and along the seam of her sex.

  “You’re so wet, that is so sexy.” He said in that sexy deep growl just before he plunged two fingers deep inside her. She gasped as her body clamped down tightly on him. He plunged and withdrew at a pace that had her panting and squirming in moments. Then all at once he stopped and withdrew.

  “Uh huh, don’t get ahead of me now.” He pulled away from her completely and she growled her frustration. She was surprised to find a surge of anger accompanied her sexual frustration. She wanted to hurl something at him but managed to refrain by reminding herself that they weren’t finished.

  “Why don’t you help me out of these clothes?” She quickly rolled to her feet. She pulled his shirt free of his slacks and then over his head. Opting for speed rather than the sexy buildup of unbuttoning one button at a time. He chuckled but let her continue stripping him. She dropped to her knees to pull his slacks from his feet and found herself eye to eye with a very impressive erection. She opened her mouth but before she could take him in he stopped her by a hand full of hair.

  “This is my show remember?” He admonished. She smiled coyly. She couldn’t move her head closer but she stuck out her tongue and swiped it across the head of his cock. He hissed and she grinned. He moved forward and painted her lips. Her eyes locked with his and she opened her mouth sucking in just the mushroom shaped head. She felt his grip tighten in her hair and knew what he was going to do. He pushed her head down slowly until she had taken him all. Then he pulled her back just as slowly. She swirled her tongue around him and sucked the tip. He groaned and pushed her down more forcefully. He moved her head in three then four strokes before he finally pulled her off completely.

  “Your mouth could tempt a saint.” He pulled her to her feet and kissed her. He sucked her lower lip and nipped it lightly before he pushed her back onto the bed. He bent and sucked her nipple into his mouth then bit down on it. She gasped and he laved the spot with his tongue. The pain that had shot through her tingled into pleasure. He moved to the other nipple and she expected the same treatment but instead he sucked it and nibbled his way around the full globe. She sighed and relaxed back into the bed. He lifted one of her legs and hooked it over his shoulder then buried himself to the hilt in one swift movement. The air in her lungs escaped in a surprised moan. He withdrew and surged home forcefully several more times before he pulled away completely. He leaned forward and sucked her clit between his teeth and she cried out. She was completely off balance and unsure of what to expect. He flipped her over and pulled her up on to her knees so quickly that she barely got her arms underneath her. He surged into her again and she gasped.

  They hadn’t done this position before. The sensation was different, more intense. She leaned down on to her forearms. She heard her own voice cry out but she didn’t feel like she had actually made the sound. She came apart around him losing all sense of reality. She was only dimly aware of him gripping her hips and shuttering against her before he finally released her. She slumped to the bed. He quickly disposed of the condom that she didn’t even notice he’d put on. He laid down beside her and pull the blanket over both of them. She sighed as she pushed her face against his chest but she couldn’t open her eyes. Her body pulsed and tingled all over but every part of her felt too heavy to move.

  Ethan looked at Erica in the dim light. Her hair was fanned out in disarray on the pillow. There were dark smudges under her eyes where her makeup had run. Her mouth was slightly open and slack as she slept.

  She was beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. He loved her so much he ached with it. The idea that something could happen to her made him nauseous. The idea that someone that posed a threat to her had been in his house kept him from sleeping. He had stuck as close to her as possible but it clearly wasn’t enough. He needed to step it up. It was time to neutralize the threat to his woman.

  Chapter 18

  A light feathery sensation ran slowly up Erica’s spine then back down again. It went up and over her butt then swept along the tops of her thighs. She sighed and turned her head finally opening her eyes. Ethan smiled and she returned it. He lifted the tulip he’d been running along her body to his nose.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning yourself. How long have you been up?” She noted that he appeared to have shaved and showered already.

  “A little while.” He shrugged.

  “Why didn’t you wake me?”

  “You looked peaceful.”

  “Then why are you waking me now?”

  “Because I have a game in an hour and I want you to come and cheer me on.”

  “I see; you’re not expecting me to play catcher again are you? Because after last night I don’t think I can get into that stance.” She giggled but he frowned.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “No you didn’t hurt me.” She lifted up and kissed the frown from his lips. “Let me get a quick shower and we can go.”

  Erica had to admit there was something really sexy about Ethan in a baseball uniform. She was going to have to ask him if he had any pictures of himself in his Marine uniform. That could probably fuel her fantasies forever.

  “Erica, it’s good to see you again.” Erica looked up as Norma sat down beside her and felt her cheeks warm, embarrassed by where her thoughts had just been.

  “It is good to see you too. Do you come to all the games?”

  “I like to watch. My Bobby played all through high school, I never missed a game.”

  “Ethan told me… I am very sorry for your loss.” Erica said quietly, uncertain if she should mention it or not.

  “Thank you. Ethan is a good boy, a good man, I am glad you found each other.” Erica opened her mouth to deny it but then she didn’t really know what she was denying so she smiled instead.

  “Me too.”

  Erica cheered her loudest for the whole team but especially for Ethan. He had a great game, striking out nearly every batter. The usual cheerleaders were present as well but she managed to largely ignore them. When they won, Ethan lifted her off the bleacher steps and swung her around before kissing her soundly.

  “Let me grab my gear and we’ll go celebrate.”

  “Sounds great.” She laughed and he plunked her back onto her feet. She stood talking to Norma and waiting for Ethan when she heard someone call her name. She turned and saw it was Marco approaching. Her stomach clenched with apprehension. He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles the way he always used to.

  “Erica, I am so glad I ran into you.”

  “Marco? What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to apologize, Bella. My behavior was unforgivable. All of my behavior.” He emphasized the word all. “But I would like to ask for your forgiveness anyway.”

  “Um, okay.” She really had no idea what to say to him. She really just wanted to walk away but he still had a tight grip on her hand. Before she could even formulate a polite dismissal, Ethan was there. He shoved Marco backwards and he released her hand.

  “Stay the hell away from her!”

  “We were only talking.”

  “Yeah the last time you talked to her, you left bruises!” Ethan said through clenched teeth. Marco sh
oved him and Ethan immediately swung, landing the blow on the side of Marco’s face. Knocked off balance Marco fell to the ground.

  “Ethan!” Erica gasped and rushed forward stepping in front of him and stopping his advance toward Marco. “Stop it.” She hissed trying to push him back but it was like pushing against a brick wall.

  “He needs to learn to keep his hands off what doesn’t belong to him.”

  “Belong to him?” Erica echoed but Ethan was looking over her head at Marco who was now back on his feet.

  “You stay away from her, you don’t talk to her, don’t look at her, you damn sure don’t touch her.” He said pointing his finger at Marco. Erica was mortified. The people around them were staring and he was talking about her as if she were a piece of property. She could feel her cheeks flaming. She didn’t dare look around to see just how big of a crowd had gathered.

  “What’s the matter, afraid she might prefer me to you?” Marco taunted. Erica wished he would just go away but it didn’t seem like either man was going to back down.

  “That’s a joke. She belongs to me now.”

  “I don’t belong to anyone.” Erica said angrily. Ethan finally looked down at her.

  “The hell you don’t.”

  “I do not belong to anyone.” She whirled and pointed at Marco. “You and I are finished. There is nothing left to say.”

  “See.” Ethan said smugly and she whirled back to him.

  “And you. I do not belong to you, or to anyone else. I will talk to whomever I want, whenever I want.”

  “Not if it’s some ass who thinks he can put his hands on you!” Erica couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Ethan had never acted like this before and the fact that there were so many people to witness it made it that much more horrifying.

  “What if it’s some ass who’s acting like a Neanderthal and thinks I am his property?” She spoke through teeth clenched tight.

  “You didn’t have a problem with me acting like a caveman last night.” Erica gasped, shocked that he would say that, that he would use it against her, and unbelievably embarrassed that others were around to hear it. The situation just kept getting worse and she wasn’t sure she could take anymore. She didn’t even know what to say. She wanted to scream at him at the same time she wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole.

  She held her head high, turned and retrieved her purse from the ground a few feet away where she had dropped it. She ignored the people crowded around and didn’t meet a single set of eyes as she passed through the crowd.

  “Where are you going?” Ethan called after her. She was walking toward the road; away from the parking lot. She didn’t turn or slow. She was determined to get away from people before the tears burning the back of her eyes escaped.

  Ethan watched Erica walk away and cursed. Clearly she wasn’t going to get in his truck. He really wanted to deck Marco again and he probably would have if it weren’t for the fact that he was already walking toward his own car. Ethan headed back toward the dugout to get his gear. He intended to catch up to Erica before she made it too far. Jace barred his path.

  “That was smooth.”

  “Fuck off Carpenter.” Ethan growled and tried to step around him. Jace moved into his path again.

  “Look you’ve fucked up bad enough already…”

  “How, because I don’t want that asshole to touch her? Because I want her to be safe? How the hell does that make me the bad guy?”

  “Ethan, do yourself a favor and calm down before you try to talk to her again. If you don’t you’ll regret it. I will make sure she gets home safely.”

  Ethan watched Jace walk off and flipped him the bird even though he couldn’t see it. It was childish, he didn’t care. He grabbed his bat bag. He stalked to the truck and threw it in the back.

  Erica heard the truck coming up the road behind her but she just kept walking, she didn’t even look. When it pulled alongside her she was surprised to see it wasn’t Ethan, it was Jace.

  “Erica, hop in I’ll take you home.” He called through the open passenger window.

  “No thanks I’d rather walk.”

  “Come on, you know Ethan is going to be right behind me. I assume you walked away because you didn’t want to talk to him anymore.” Erica clenched her teeth hard. He was right but she didn’t want to talk to Jace either. She sighed and gave up, opting for the quickest route home. She climbed into the truck.

  At first Jace drove in silence but Erica could feel the tension building until he finally broke it.

  “He didn’t mean it.”

  “Don’t.”

  “Erica…”

  “Jace, if you’re going to make excuses for him just pull over and let me out.” Jace sighed and fell silent again. Once again it didn’t last. This time he spoke quickly as if he were afraid she would dive out of the truck before he finished.

  “There is no such thing as a former marine. You can leave the corp, but it’s always who you are. Ethan was a damn fine Marine. We enlisted at the same time but by the time we left he was my CO. He collected metals and commendations that no one knows about because that’s not why he did it. He is going to protect what belongs to him at any cost because that’s who he is.” Jace turned into the parking lot of her apartment complex as he spoke. She could’ve just gotten out but she couldn’t let it go.

  “That’s just it, I don’t belong to him.”

  “Don’t you?” Jace questioned. “Doesn’t he belong to you?” The question hit home and Erica had no idea how to respond.

  “Thanks for the ride,” she said then hopped out.

  Chapter 19

  Erica’s anger got her through the first day and night. By the next morning her anger had cooled. She developed a hollow ache in her chest. Which only intensified as the day went on. Ethan always texted her. He would ask her how her day was going or what she doing. But her phone remained silent. Four o’clock came and went and Ethan didn’t come in for his coffee. She wanted to go over there, to march across the street and into his office but she didn’t. What would she say? At some point she would have to trade cars with him. She could accomplish that by simply leaving it in his garage, but she wouldn’t make it that easy. He was going to have to face her eventually.

  She had managed to avoid Zoe the night before and all day because Shelly had worked in her place but she was in the apartment when she arrived.

  “What’s the matter?” Zoe asked as soon as she saw her.

  “Ethan and I had a fight.” As she spoke the words her eyes filled with tears. Zoe pulled her into a tight hug and led her to the sofa.

  Ethan’s chest heaved with exertion but he didn’t let up. He continued to pound the heavy bag. If he wasn’t wearing gloves his knuckles would already be raw and bloody. But he was wearing them, and it wasn’t nearly as satisfying.

  “Why don’t you just call her?” Even if he didn’t recognize the voice he would’ve known it would be Jace. He hadn’t let up at all.

  “Why don’t you give it a rest?” He pounded on the bag that much harder.

  “You going to let her go then?”

  “Maybe, what’s it to you?”

  “Thought I might ask her out.” Ethan turned and swung in the same fluid motion. Jace anticipated the move and stepped back out of his reach.

  “You here just to screw with me?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

  “Well I could suggest we go get dunk and laid but if you’re smart you’ll say no to that.”

  “Why? She is apparently done with me, why shouldn’t I go get laid?”

  “You mean other than the fact that you’re not stupid enough to ruin the best thing that ever happened to you. Could you even get it up for another woman right now?” Ethan glared at him and considered taking another swing.

  “What do you want from me Jace? What is it going to take to get you to leave me alone?”

  “Call her.”

&n
bsp; “And say what? I’m sorry? Because I’m not. I’ve had the guy under surveillance for weeks. I have personally followed him the last two days. He’s scum. He’s been sleeping with at least three woman and conning all of them. He owes more than he’s worth and to a damn loan shark no less. Given the opportunity I would hit him again. Hell I would pound him into the ground. The only thing that keeps me from finding him and doing exactly that is the fact that Erica never slept with him.”

  “She didn’t?”

  “Nope.”

  “How long were they together?”

  “Five or six months.” Ethan shrugged.

  “That doesn’t strike you as odd?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why does a guy like that stay with a woman that isn’t giving him what he wants?”

  “I would.” Ethan grumbled.

  “But you’re not a self-indulgent wanker.” If circumstances had been different Ethan might have smiled at that. It was a quote from a Nicholas Cage movie, Jace had seen them all. But he didn’t smile, he couldn’t, at the moment he wasn’t sure he would ever smile again.

  “The money.” Ethan mumbled. “He asked her about money. He wants to get his hands on the money her parents left her. He needs it to pay off his debts.”

  “Think he would resort to terrorizing her to get it?”

  “Of course. She was supposed to get scared and coming running back to him but I got in the way, but now I am not there.” Ethan ripped off his boxing gloves and pulled his phone from his bag. “Sean, where is she?” He barked into the phone then listened. “Any trouble?” He hung up not saying anything else. He made another call and put the phone back to his head. “Troy, you have eyes on?” Again he was quiet for a moment. “All right, keep me updated.” He dropped the phone back on his bag and looked at Jace.

  “Erica is at home and Marco is at some back room poker game on Market St.”

  “That’s good right?”

  “Yeah,” Ethan sighed as he sank down to the bench. “He has to be working with someone. I just can’t figure out who. I have checked everyone in his life and no one fits.”