Fighting (58 page)

I
dropped my frown and wrapped my arms around his neck.  "I prefer your
fingers over mine," I said.

He
clenched his jaw.  "That was probably one of the sexiest things you've
ever said to me."

I
smiled.  "If you let me down, we can shower and be out of here in ten
minutes.  Still make breakfast with the others."

He
sat me down but didn't back away.  He leaned in and kissed me deeply, slowly,
making up for the fact that he couldn't kiss me while he was behind me.  His
kisses always made me block out the rest of the world, so a solid five minutes
passed by before I broke away.

"Oh,
by the way.  I would have told you sooner, but you kinda fried my brain so I
couldn't."  He grinned wickedly.  "While we were separated, I went to
the doctor, got on birth control."

His
eyes lit.  "Does that mean . . . ?"

I
smiled and nodded my head.  "No more condoms."  He leaned in to kiss
me but I shook my head.  "Breakfast."

"Right,"
he said.

We
showered the sex off of our bodies and dressed for the day.  I used the clothes
that I had just stowed in his dresser the day before.  He watched me get dressed
as I watched him. 

"I
could get used to this," I said.

He
hooked a hand around my neck to kiss my forehead and then we set off for
breakfast together.

"Hey,
guys.  August was just suggesting that we go to the drive-in tonight since we
didn't get to a few weeks ago," Brooks said.

"That's
a great idea," I said.

Ethan
fixed both of us a plate of the pancakes August cooked and I made us each a
glass of juice.  We sat down and he laid a possessive hand on the inside of my
thigh while he ate.  I smiled a secret smile into my syrup and dug in.

Hours
later, we all piled into the SUV and Brooks drove us to the drive-in.  We
spread out a few blankets and I went with Spencer and Oliver to gather the food
from the snack bar and the rest of them settled on the blankets.  I realized I
was short a few dollars, so I went back to the car to ask for more money.  I
stopped in my tracks when I reached the opposite end of the vehicle from Ethan
and Brooks because I heard them speaking quietly about me.

"
. . . never ask you otherwise but I just wanted to make sure you were serious
about her," Brooks said.  "It's easy to see she's in deep with you
and I care about her.  Not saying that you don't, obviously, after everything
we've been through.  I'm just trying to look out for her.  Tell me there's
nothing to worry about and I'll never bring it up again."

There
was a pause and then Ethan said firmly, "There's nothing to worry
about."

Brooks
let out a relieved sigh.  "Good."

One
of them popped open a soda can and Ethan said, "You probably won't stop
worrying until she has my last name."

"Probably
not," Brooks chuckled.

"She
will, you know."

"What?"

"Have
my last name."

A
pause.  "You're not going to rush into anything, are you?" Brooks
asked, concerned.

"No. 
But one day," Ethan said.

"I
guess when you know, you know," Brooks said.

I
was frozen to the spot with awe.  I was shocked that he was
that
sure
about me and thought that far ahead, but what surprised me more was my reaction
to it.  The prospect of committing myself to Ethan for the rest of my life
should have scared the
hell
out of me, but it didn't.  I was never like
the girls I grew up with, who were infatuated with the idea of having a big,
fancy wedding and simply being married off to someone to have a perfect cookie
cutter life, and I never would be.  But a
marriage
with Ethan?  Spending
my life with him?  That possibility was seductive. 

I
should have been hyperventilating, but I was
actually smiling
as I
replayed the promise I heard in Ethan's voice as he assured Brooks of his
loyalty to me, because I knew I was just as certain as he was. 

How
the hell did
that
happen?

I
was sure that I wasn't supposed to overhear any of their conversation, but it
was an honest mistake.  I just happened to walk over when they had this
particular talk.  Brooks muttered something about a flat soda and I snapped out
of my daze and quietly retraced my steps backward.  I got far enough away and
then walked back to the car noisily enough that they probably heard me coming. 
As soon as my eyes hit Ethan's, I wanted to crawl in his lap and kiss him
senseless but that was off-limits in front of the rest of them, so I settled
for crouching in front of him and holding out my hand.

"Do
you have a five dollar bill?"

"Already
asking for money this early in the relationship," Brooks tsk'd. 
"That's not a good sign."

Ethan
smirked and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.  He held out a five and I
reached for it but he pulled it back.  I looked at him and he tapped his jaw. 
I smiled and kissed it while simultaneously taking the bill from his grip.

I
brushed my fingertips over his jaw and murmured, "Thanks, love."

His
expression softened and then I left to rescue Ollie and Spencer from the
overcrowded snack bar.  We came back with food and Ethan tugged me down between
his legs so my back was to his front.  I leaned back against him and he caged
me in with his arms and legs.  Ollie handed me a bucket of popcorn that I
practically salivated over before I even had a taste.  I hummed my voice in
intense appreciation and Ethan pressed his lips against my neck.

The
credits started rolling and we quieted down to pay attention.  I grabbed more
popcorn and blindly brought it to Ethan's mouth.  His lips opened and closed
around my fingers, capturing the popcorn and sucking the butter off of my
fingertips.  I shivered and felt his chest bounce against my back with silent
amusement.

After
we got home from the movie, I followed Ethan to his room.  He took of his shirt
and I took it from his hands as Brooks knocked on the door and called out,
"Ollie has the alarm up and running, so don't leave in the middle of the
night!"

"Okay,"
Ethan said.

Ethan
stepped into his bathroom and I stripped down and slipped on his shirt.  I
crawled into his bed and under the covers.  It was super late, well after two
o'clock in the morning, and I was sleepy but I was also wide awake, remembering
his words to Brooks.  He sat down heavily behind me and I crawled onto my knees
and straddled his hips before he could lie down.

"Whoa,"
he murmured.

I
wrapped my arms around his neck and drew our faces together, already hungry for
his lips.  He quickly caught on to my intent and kissed me back, matching my
demanding pace as he scooted back against the headboard, settling in.  He ran
his hands down my back and around my ass then tore his mouth from mine when his
hands touched my bare skin.  He looked down to where our bodies met, lifted up
my shirt a little and found me completely naked.  He swallowed thickly and I
felt
his reaction move against me.  I raised my arms and he slowly slid my shirt
off, eliciting goosebumps on my skin.

He
nuzzled his nose against the hollow of my throat and I held onto his shoulders
and angled my torso away as he dipped his head and kissed my breasts with slow
intent while his fingertips pressed against my back to hold me steady.  He licked
a path up my cleavage and then nibbled on my throat.  I tugged his face back to
mine and he brought one hand up to press against the back of my head as he
kissed me deeply.  His hand on my back pushed in to fuse our fronts together
and then his hand dipped south.  I was straddling his hips so I was already
opened up to him as he brushed his fingers delicately across and then into me. 
I hummed my voice on a heavy exhale against his face and he pushed my hips up
off of him.  I rose up onto my knees and he slid the waistband of his shorts
down and kicked them completely off and onto the floor.  I lowered my hips and
felt him hard against my stomach as I framed his face and kissed him slowly but
earnestly, desperate for his kiss. 

He
leaned over to grab a condom from his nightstand without disconnecting from me,
but I broke away from him and shook my head, reminding him that we didn't need
to use one anymore.  He paused to look at me for a moment and then came back to
me and lifted my hips as I moved my face an inch from his to stare into his
moonlit eyes as I slowly sunk down onto him. 

I
blinked rapidly and my breathing hitched because he went deeper than normal
this way and without a condom, it felt different, better.  With absolutely
nothing between us when we came together, we were skin on skin for the first
time and it already felt more intense.  His breath puffed against my mouth
heavier than normal and I knew he felt what I felt, that he liked this better
than any time before because he didn't have to investigate how wet I was for
him, he could
feel
it.

He
kept his hands tight around my hips to help support my weight as I very slowly
raised myself off of him and sunk back down.  I built a slow, gentle pace that
was the antithesis of our morning tryst.  He fucked me then, but we were making
love now. 

I
feathered my fingers through the hair at the back of his head and inched my
face closer to his.  My lips barely touched his as he ran his hand through my
hair, tucking it behind my ear.  I ran my nose along his and then under the
strong line of his jaw and gradually increased my effort, so I was reaching a
greater height when I rose up and down the length of him.  His hungry eyes
tracked mine up and down as he breathed me in.  I kissed him very softly and
then broke away to smooth my lips over his jaw and down his neck.  Both of his
hands returned to my hips as my lips reached the healing wound from the bullet
that nearly took him from me.  I kissed it gently and he exhaled sharply,
knowing what it meant and what I was thinking of because he knew my mind just
as well as he knew my body.

My
lips were attracted to his like a magnet and I hooked both arms around his neck
and brought our chests closer together so that my breasts were gliding up and
down his chest.  I felt it building within me as I kissed him with a fire that
burned solely for him.  He hummed his voice at me and his hands pulsed around
my hips.  When I was close, I clenched
everything
around him and he
groaned softly.  My toes curled and I pressed my forehead against his.  I
brought one hand around to caress his cheek and squeezed my eyes closed
tightly, completely overwhelmed by how perfectly we fit together in all ways. 
I opened my eyes and his were still open, patiently waiting for mine to
reappear.  I separated our faces barely an inch and cupped his jaw with my
hands to look into his eyes.

"I
am so in love with you, Ethan Reid," I said softly.

And
then I came.  I threw my head back but his hand quickly pulled my chin down and
cupped my neck to keep my eyes on his as I clenched around him again and
continued to move up and down for him.  His hands pulsed and lifted me up
higher and drove me down harder.  After a few of the heavier strokes, I felt
him come, too.  His clenched his eyes closed tightly but quickly opened them to
refocus on mine as all of his muscles clenched and then relaxed as he exhaled
heavily against my mouth.  He threaded his fingers into my hair at the top of
my neck to press our foreheads together as we caught our breath and held on to
each other.

After
we both came back to ourselves, he feathered his fingertips over my lips. 
"I love you," he said huskily.  He palmed my cheek and rasped,
"You're all I see, Alex."

He
kissed me deeply and wrapped his arms around me as I tightened my arms around
his neck.  He tickled his fingertips all over my back and brushed all of my
hair over my shoulders so it cascaded down my back in waves.  His hands
smoothed down my breasts and ribs and rested around my thighs.  Our kiss slowed
to a lazy crawl and then I reluctantly pulled back and lifted my hips.  Needing
no other words, we swam under the covers and wrapped around each other.

I
fell asleep holding his hand.