by Tasha Black
“I love you,” he said simply.
She smiled and curled her soapy fingers around his darling face.
“I love you too, Erik Jensen. I always will.”
Just then there was a knock at the front door.
Ainsley looked at Erik, he shrugged.
There was a second knock, this one louder than the first.
“Hold that thought,” he said.
“Please be careful!”
“There’s a patrol Ainsley. Everything’s fine.”
CHAPTER 18
Erik bounded down the stairs with his heart in his mouth. There was a patrol all right, but after yesterday he was not going to be taking Ainsley’s safety for granted anytime soon.
He stepped onto the front porch to find Cressida standing on the top step and banging on the frame of the screen door for a third time.
“Cressida!” he sighed, more relieved than annoyed.
“She wants me to knock, I knock. How is Her Highness?”
Cressida’s bravado didn’t fool Erik a bit. He’d known her too long. But he wasn’t going to torture her. His own happiness made him benevolent.
“She’s fine.”
“I know. I could feel it.”
An awkward silence settled over them.
“Do you want to see her?” Erik asked.
“Hell yes, I want to see her.”
They headed up the stairs. Cressida barged right into the bathroom.
Well, knocking on one out of two doors wasn’t bad. Erik cringed a little, wondering what Ainsley would say. She surprised him by smiling.
“Cressida.”
“Hi,” Cressida said shyly. “I knocked.”
“Thank you for saving me.”
“Don’t mention it. Did this guy feed you yet?”
“Um, no.”
“I didn’t think so,” she said, turning to Erik. “Feed her. I have to work but I’ll be back with steak in the morning.”
Erik raised an eyebrow at Ainsley.
She smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, okay. Thanks, Cressida,” he replied.
“I know you’re glad to see her but don’t wear her out too much!” Cressida’s voice trailed down the stairs.
Ainsley giggled. It was such a nice sound – familiar and yet new.
“Let’s get you taken care of,” he said, stepping out of his boxers.
Her eyes got big.
“No, not that. I’m going to bathe you, baby.”
The water was warm and bubbly. He eased himself in, then pulled Ainsley’s head back against his chest.
She was practically purring in contentment.
He grabbed the shampoo bottle. It was his own - mint scented and a little on the masculine side. He liked that Ainsley would smell like him when he was finished. He poured out a dollop and worked it into Ainsley’s scalp.
Her hair was soft and smooth. He eased her head back into the water. She swirled her hair like a mermaid until all the shampoo was gone.
“Let me help you up so we can get the rest of you clean.”
Erik helped Ainsley stand. Water slid off her perfect skin in rivulets. Her hair was dark and saturated and hung down her back in satiny ribbons. She was exquisitely beautiful and she was his.
Erik poured liquid soap into his hands. He worked the soapy lather gently down Ainsley’s arms. Her skin was so soft under his hands. He was especially gentle around the puckered scar where Clive’s bullet had gone.
Next, he reached his hands under Ainsley’s arms and soaped her collarbone. In slow circles he worked his way to Ainsley’s glorious breasts, giving her plenty of time to stop him.
She didn’t. Instead, she went still as if she were spellbound as Erik’s hands smoothed the soap around each ripe globe, palming her nipples.
He worked his hands lower, soaping Ainsley’s belly and the curve and swell of her hips. He knelt and soaped her round buttocks.
He ran his hands around Ainsley’s right calf and smoothed up to her thigh.
Then he repeated on the other leg.
Ainsley was as still as a statue and covered in frothy soap. She looked like she’d just stepped out of a birthday cake.
Erik’s own heart nearly stopped in their shared anticipation.
When he finally worked his fingers into the warm, wet place they had both been waiting for him to explore, Ainsley began to tremble lightly.
“Good girl,” Erik whispered, removing his hand. “All done.”
Ainsley’s eyes opened.
Erik guided Ainsley back into the water where he rinsed the soap from her body with long, soothing strokes of his hands.
As soon as Ainsley was perfectly clean and rinsed, Erik stepped out of the tub and wrapped himself in a towel.
“What do you want now?”
“You,” she said. “Please.”
She reached her arms up to him and his heart thundered.
He lifted her out of the water and set her on the fluffy rug.
She let him dry her slowly with a towel.
Then he swept her up in his arms and carried her back to bed.
For some reason Erik felt nervous. They had mated many, many times that first night. But this felt different. They weren’t compelled. This was Ainsley’s choice.
She loved him. And, oh, how he loved her too.
Tonight Erik needed to show her how important she was to him. Not because she was his alpha, but because he was her man. They had always belonged to each other.
He laid her gently on the mattress and then lowered himself down next to her.
Her wet hair was spread across the pillow. She looked up at him with her startling hazel eyes. She seemed so relaxed.
Erik, on the other hand, felt like his heart would explode. He wanted to kiss her and whisper to her gently. And he wanted to take her quickly, leaving his marks all over her.
He caressed her cheek with a trembling hand as he tried to decide where to begin.
She turned her head to kiss his palm and everything fell into place.
“I love you,” he whispered into her neck as he nuzzled her warm, damp skin.
“I love you.”
“I have never loved another woman. Not in all these years. It’s always been you.”
CHAPTER 19
A insley’s heart was filled to bursting.
Erik surrounded her. The mint of his shampoo was in her hair. His scent was in the sheets and pillows she lay on. His arms were planted on either side of her face and his body pinned hers to the bed.
She looked up into his eyes. He often had a shy way of looking down, leaving her to admire his inky lashes.
Tonight he met her eyes. They told her a story of trust and love so powerful she wanted to look away.
Instead she closed her eyes and raised herself for a kiss.
He responded immediately. He had been treating her like she was so delicate all night. But this kiss spoke of barely restrained hunger.
One of his hands fisted in the sheets above her head. The other thumbed her jaw, opening her mouth wider so that he could devour her mouth.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing him harder against herself. It felt as if she could actually melt into him if she could just get close enough.
He responded with a growl and ground his hips into her. She could feel the length of him, hard and hot against her thigh.
Why was he not inside her already? She would die if he didn’t make love to her now. Ainsley whimpered and tried to work herself into a position to receive him.
“Slow, baby, slow,” he whispered, “I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.”
But he pulled out of her hold.
As she moved to protest, he slid down on the bed. Leaning on his side, he wrapped one hand in her hair and used the other to stroke her breasts.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said dreamily.
He dipped his head down to cover her breasts with tender kisses.
Her nipples stiffened i
mmediately but he took his time, cuddling and cooing over each breast before taking her aching nipples in his mouth - soothing and teasing her all at once.
Too soon, he pulled away again and ran his fingertips down to her belly.
Ainsley instinctively sucked in her tummy.
“No,” he said firmly, moving his hand to her chin and forcing her to look him in the eye.
Ainsley cringed.
“Is there something about you that you don’t want me to see?” he asked.
“I…I…”
“I adore you, Ainsley, and I worship every inch of that hot body of yours. I’m going to fill this gorgeous belly with my babies one day. You can be buttoned up tight with everyone else in the world if you want to. But not with me. You will let me in.”
Tears prickled at Ainsley’s eyelids. She nodded.
“No crying. No crying tonight.”
Erik kissed her eyelids and her forehead. He kissed her chest, pressing her breasts together so that they surrounded his face.
He buried his face in her belly, kissing her and rubbing his rough stubble against her skin until she giggled and bucked under him.
He lifted his face up to grin triumphantly. He was so sexy with his dimples and his eyes crinkled up. He looked so happy, so playful, so confident.
Without warning he dove back down, pressing her thighs open.
Ainsley caught her breath and waited in a haze of anticipation.
At last she felt his tongue lightly caress her opening.
Instantly her hips were moving and she heard a sound that she realized was her own desperate moan.
Erik responded with more pressure and long, leisurely strokes of his tongue.
His slow, steady pace was driving Ainsley insane.
“Please,” she whispered.
“Please, what?”
“Please, I need more.”
He smiled against her thigh.
A moment later she felt his warm rough finger against her. He worked it between her delicate folds unhurriedly.
Ainsley’s vagina convulsed on itself, as if trying to lure his finger deeper.
“Insatiable girl,” he said, and allowed her another inch of his finger.
Ainsley cried out in frustration.
Erik laughed.
“Can’t we take it slow tonight?”
“No!”
“Okay, give me one more minute.”
He didn’t wait for her answer, but instead continued his game.
By the time Erik’s finger was hovering near the magical place inside her, Ainsley was on the edge.
“First you’re going to come for me, baby.”
He lowered his head again and licked her distended clitoris into his mouth. His finger inside her circled the place that made her moan. Hooking his finger into her he sucked hard.
Ainsley came in a dizzying rush.
As soon as the pleasure started to fade he began to work her again.
“No, no I can’t, not again. Please…”
“Shhhh…”
Within moments he had her worked into a feverish state again. Her hips bucked convulsively and she clenched his hair in her hands.
He replaced his tongue with a hand and looked up into her eyes.
“You’re so beautiful, Ainsley.”
She could only pant and whimper in reply.
“I want to make love to you now, please.”
“Yes,” Ainsley begged.
“Yes,” he said with a smile as he crawled up to her.
Once again Erik’s arms framed Ainsley’s head. His heart was thundering and he smelled like Ainsley and sweat and his wonderful self.
Ainsley wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I love you, Erik.”
“I love you, forever, Ainsley Connor.”
He locked eyes with her and entered her so slowly. The pleasure was so sweet, but the love in his eyes was sweeter. Tears threatened again and Ainsley didn’t try to fight them.
“Are you crying?” he whispered.
She nodded.
“I’m so happy,” she whispered.
His answering smile melted her heart.
“Come for me again, baby.”
She wanted to protest.
Before she could, Erik eased his rigid penis into her. He held himself motionless, growling with pleasure, but trying to give her time to stretch and accommodate him.
And Ainsley knew that she would come again – it was inevitable.
As soon as she began to tremble he thrust into her deeply.
“Look into my eyes,” he demanded.
She opened her eyes, shy about letting him see into her soul the moment when she fell apart, but knowing it was his to see – she was his.
He sped up his pace. She could feel him swell and throb inside her and his eyes took on a pleading quality.
It pushed Ainsley over the edge. She came in a thousand tiny pieces, screaming his name.
Erik’s face went still and suddenly she could feel him swell and pulse inside her. His pleasure seemed to go on and on and on. His eyes were angelic. He looked lost and found all at once. Ainsley was mesmerized.
At long last, he collapsed on her chest. The last thing she remembered was the feel of his fingers twining in her hair as she drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER 20
A insley awoke suddenly. Her wolf senses had been alerted to footsteps on the porch a second before the knock came.
Cressida.
And food.
Somehow, they had forgotten to eat last night. She was ravenous.
She was also tangled in Erik’s embrace. It reminded her of real wolves sleeping in a big heap and she almost giggled.
Her stomach growled, reminding her there was time to giggle later. She went about trying to slip out of the bed without disturbing him.
Ainsley padded down the stairs to find her friend.
She supposed Cressida was her friend now, although she wasn’t altogether sure.
It was an odd relationship at best.
Cressida seemed completely unconcerned. As soon as Ainsley came to the door she handed her a grocery bag.
“Good morning!”
“Hi, Cressida.”
Cressida headed right for the kitchen. She banged the refrigerator door open against the cabinets and began rummaging around.
Finding what she needed, Cressida made a small sound of victory and grabbed a pan off the stove.
“I’m gonna make you the best steak you ever had!”
“Let me guess – Pittsburg style?” Ainsley ventured.
“You’ve had it before.”
Cressida’s mouth formed the cutest little pout.
“I didn’t like it then. But I might like it now.”
It seemed the most natural thing in the world to sit at the counter and watch Cressida work. There was a time, not so long ago, when Ainsley would have insisted on helping. Being alpha had its perks. Cressida was clearly proud to be feeding her superior.
In no time, the steak was steaming on plates.
“Go wake your man,” Cressida said, grabbing juice out of the fridge.
Ainsley’s stomach was knotted in hunger, but she had another plan.
“Hold the steak warm, I need a minute,” Ainsley said.
Cressida shrugged and turned back to the meal.
Ainsley headed up the steps.
Erik was right where she’d left him.
His too long hair was splayed on the pillow behind him. A five o’clock shadow defined his strong jaw line. His bulging biceps were thrown behind his head, and his abs were rock hard, even as he lay sleeping. The morning glow through the skylight gave him an otherworldly quality. He looked like a sleeping angel.
The sheet was tented below his waist, telling Ainsley he was ripe for the little surprise she had planned.
Slowly she drew back the sheet.
He didn’t move, so she eased herself onto the mattress.
She lowered her head
and took him into her mouth.
He awoke with a low moan.
“Ainsley.”
“Mmm…”
“Oh god, woman, that’s good…”
CHAPTER 21
They arrived downstairs breathless and bright-eyed, but if Cressida noticed she didn’t let on.
“Steak and eggs are on the counter.”
When Erik lifted the bowls that covered their plates the steam that unfurled was so fragrant Ainsley’s mouth watered.
She tried her best to appreciate the meal in a way that was worthy of Cressida’s generosity. But mostly she just bolted it down – blood and all.
“You liked it,” Cressida said proudly.
“I could eat three more,” Ainsley said with a smile.
She was horrified to admit to herself that she really would have liked to eat at least one more.
“I’m going to need to get a better job if you keep eating like that!”
What did Cressida do for a living? Was it possible to share the level of intimacy they had and not know something as basic about her as how she spent her days?
“What do you do, Cressida?”
“I’m a waitress. It’s a job. Not what I wanted, but it pays the bills. At least it used to,” Cressida looked significantly at Ainsley’s plate.
Ainsley laughed.
“I’ll reimburse you for the steak, Cressida. I’ve got loads of money. God only knows what I’ll do with it now.”
There was silence.
“That makes you guys uncomfortable? After all we just went through?”
“Sorry, Ainsley, it’s just weird to talk about money, I guess,” Erik said.
Ainsley shrugged.
“I worked really hard for it, at the expense of everything else in life. I had a plan to buy my broker’s business when she retired. Now I guess I don’t need it for that. And that was the only thing I wanted. We’ll spend it all on steak, instead!”
“Everyone said you were really rich, but I didn’t believe it. How rich are you, exactly?” Cressida asked.
“I won’t have to work again if I’m careful with it. Though I’ll work anyway.”
“Why?” Cressida asked.
“I like to work. Haven’t you ever had a job you liked?”
Cressida shook her head slowly.
Ainsley immediately wanted to offer to help her friend, but she sensed Cressida would want to save face in front of Erik.
