Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel) (18 page)

“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 shoved 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.”

“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.”

“And you’re sure it’s him. This isn’t just a rivalry thing?”

“He definitely sent the roses, I am sure he was behind the robbery because he needed the money but I don’t think he was the guy I tangled with in the alley. He was in jail the night the shop was vandalized. In the little bit of surveillance footage we have, the guy is definitely a lot smaller. So in answer to your question, no I am not sure it’s him. I am not sure of anything at all.”

“Have you considered that this is just a lot of coincidence?”

“What?”

“Well, have there been any direct threats to Erica?
Phone calls? Letters?”

“No.”

“People are robbed every day, cars and property are vandalized every day. Yes it’s unusual to have all three but not entirely out of the realm of possibility.”

“Someone broke into my house,” Ethan admitted quietly.

“What? When? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“It happened on Friday, I didn’t see you until the game and then after everything with Erica… it slipped my mind.”

“It slipped your mind? Did you get any footage?”

“I don’t have cameras on my house.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because it’s my house.
It’s miles out. I honestly never thought I would need them.”

“I am sending Bruce out there first thing in the morning.”

“Too late, I already sent him this morning.”

“Good. So what did they take?”

“That’s just it, nothing.” After Ethan filled Jace in on all the details he just sat there in stunned silence.

“They used your code?” He asked at last.

“Yep.”

“Did you tell anyone your code?”

“No, you think I just started doing this?”

“How often do you change?”

“Every ninety days.”

“Damn.” Jace sighed.

“It’s not just that, in every piece of surveillance we have, all we get is the back of a hooded sweatshirt. It’s like they know exactly where the cameras are.”

“Some of that footage is from cameras that aren’t ours.”

“All right, then this person knows how to spot and avoid the cameras.” Ethan drew a deep breath. “Jace, I think we need to look at our own personnel records see who’s been hired since this mess all started. See if there are any connections to Erica or her shop. 

“All right,” Jace sighed again, “I’ll do that.”       

Erica was closing by herself. Zoe was out and she'd let Shelly go early. She had someone coming by in an hour to interview for a full time position so she couldn't leave anyway. She was crouched behind the counter straightening supplies when she heard the bell on the door jingle.

"We're closed," she called before she stood up. When she stood she was snared by a pair of sharp blue eyes.

"We're closed." She repeated with much less confidence. "I've already shut everything down and washed up." Her heart pounded as she waited for him to speak. She hated how much she had missed him. Hated how much she wanted to throw her arms around him. He didn't speak, he just stared at her and she had the uncomfortable urge to fidget.

"Did you come for your car? I can get the keys." She pointed at the door to the office and almost hoped for the chance to escape.

"No. I did not come for the car." Ethan watched Erica's face. She was trying to guard her expression but he could see the wariness in her eyes, he hated that wariness.

"I came to ask you if you would have dinner with me." Erica's heart leapt even as her brain warned caution. Then she remembered the interview.

"I can't."

"All right, I guess I deserve that."

"No," she said quickly. "I didn't mean... I just have someone coming for an interview. I can't leave."

"Can we talk?" He pointed at a table and she nodded. She took off her apron as she came out from behind the counter. Her heart was pounding like she'd run a six minute mile. She locked the door before sitting in the chair across from the one he'd chosen.

"I've ah... Well I've been trying to figure out what to say to you. It hasn't been easy."

"You could've just called or texted." She immediately regretted the statement, she sounded needy and she didn't want him to know just how vulnerable she was.

"I could have, I should have,
I just didn't know what to say." His voice was soft and subdued. Erica was having a difficult time gauging where the conversation was going. She wasn't sure if he was here to try to patch things up or to let her down gently. Ethan looked into her eyes for a long moment not saying anything. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He typed on it quickly and then put it away. It was obvious what he'd done when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She eyed him quizzically as she pulled it out.
"I miss you." Her heart lurched again and she fought the urge to both cry and smile. Even though she felt silly she typed her response.

"I miss you too." He looked at the reply and he did smile.

"I know what I should do, what I should say. I should apologize and say that if you give me another chance that it won't happen again. But I am not going to."

"You're not?"

"I can't. The fact is I am not sorry.

"You're not?" she repeated.

"That guy is... a sleaze and if he walked in here right now I am ninety eight percent sure that I would hit him again." Her brows rose in surprise but she didn't comment this time. "I do have regrets about the whole thing. I regret most the way I spoke to you. You can talk to whomever you chose to talk to. But this is who I am, it is my nature. Anyone who treats you with anything but the utmost respect is going to get knocked on their ass. I do feel that you belong to me, not that I own you, but that you are mine to protect." Erica couldn't keep the tears at bay anymore and they slid silently down her cheeks.

"Please don't cry. I am sorry that I hurt you."

"Oh Ethan!" She leapt out of her chair and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed him fiercely. He squeezed her tightly pulling her right down onto his lap. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes just happy to hold on to each other.

“You’re hiring?” he said at last.

“Yeah, Zoe is taking some time off.”

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah. She is… going to Chicago actually.”

“Really?”
Ethan pulled back so he could see her face.

“Yeah.”
Erica sighed, “I don’t think it’s a good idea but it’s not my decision.”

“Well I am sure she’s given it a lot of thought.”

“Yeah.”

He was quiet for a minute then she felt him draw a deep breath. “Erica…”

“Hmm?”

“Will you come and stay with me while Zoe is gone?”

“Why?” Erica held her breath, waiting for the answer. Ethan was tempted to say it was for safety, because he was worried about her being alone with the stalker out there. But he couldn’t.

“Because I want you to,” he said softly, “I want to see your clothes hanging in my closet and your toothbrush beside mine. I want to go to sleep with you every night and wake up with you every morning and not have to ask everyday if we’ll be having dinner together.
Or whose house we’ll be at.”

“Ethan we’ve only been dating for a month.”

“So?”

“So, we still don’t know each other that well.”

“What better way to get to know each other?”

Erica didn’t know what to say, she had to admit he had a point. If she stayed at his house they would get to know each other very well.

“Are you sure? What if I have some really annoying habits that it turns out you don’t like?”

“I doubt you do, but if you do I am going to have to see them eventually.”

It went against everything she planned and everything she did in her carefully ordered life but she found herself nodding anyway. She wanted to even though it went totally against her five year plan.

“Only while Zoe is gone.”
She warned and he grinned and nodded. Then he cupped her face gently with his hands and pulled her lips to his.