Open Heart (4 page)

She thought about the pills and the wine. “Oh, yes. Indeed.” Her voice was flat and lifeless and he felt a tug of concern.

Man, this is all wrong… she’s not OK. Not even close.

She looked up and met his eyes now, and saw a strange look on his face. He was all the way across the cabin, but somehow, he felt very present. It shook her to see those speculative, clever eyes trained on her, like he was stripping away her flesh and bone and reading her actual thoughts.

Desperate to get those black eyes off her face, she turned abruptly. Her careless movement hit the large juice pitcher, hard. She grabbed for it, but it sailed off the kitchen counter in a graceful arch, juice splashing over the wooden floor.

Eric jumped at the sound of glass shattering. He got to his feet. “Annabeth? You OK? Did you cut yourself?”

She was standing there, gazing down at the glass, at the juice. She didn’t move.

“Annabeth?”

Fuck it.

She moved so quickly, he didn’t have time to take a step forward. In one violent movement, she swiped her arm over the kitchen island; plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery flew through the air and crashed on to the floor. She grabbed the pots off the stove and slammed them down too. She moved to the counter.

Eric ran over to her.

“Annabeth!”

She didn’t look at him or answer him; she grabbed the vase of flowers.

Eric reached for her, and Annabeth fought him.

“No!” she said, struggling against his grasping hands. “No!”

“Calm down, Annabeth, please… you’re in bare feet… you’re going to get hurt.”

“Let me go!” She spun on her heels and threw the vase to the floor. Water splashed and tiny glass shards flew up, cutting her face. She cried out in surprise and pain.

His arms were around her from behind now, trapping her arms at her sides. “Annabeth, stop. Please, stop.”

“Let go of me!”

“No. You need to calm down, honey.”

She twisted and turned in his arms, fighting to get loose. Eric clasped his hands together, tightening his grip. She sobbed, her hair falling around her face, her legs weakening. She collapsed suddenly, her whole body sagging.

Eric moved her away from the mess under their feet and slowly lowered her to the floor, still holding her against his chest. She was crying now, helplessly. He held her close, stroking her hair.

“It’s OK, Annabeth. I’m here. It’s OK.”

“Oh, God… Cam… I
miss
him…”

“I know, angel. I know.” He leaned back against the cabinets, pulling her with him.

She turned in his arms, pressing her face in to his chest, weeping. She didn’t care how stupid she looked in front of this virtual stranger; all she wanted was some comfort. He was warm and strong and being held by a man felt so incredibly good, she couldn’t understand how she’d done without it for three years.

Eric pulled her shaking body as close to his as he could. God, she was just in so much
pain
. He could feel it coming off her in waves, and he was stunned that he had missed it so completely. It was like a flimsy tissue paper mask had been ripped away from her, exposing a gaping, wailing chasm of grief.

She’s worked hard to keep this hidden, hasn’t she? She has everyone fooled.

He held her for a long time as she sat in his arms, small and broken. Even after her sobs had stopped, she didn’t move away from him. He ran his hand up and down her back, feeling her body relax and soften against his. All he wanted to do was make her feel good and safe.

The tiny cuts on her face were starting to bleed now. He reached for the dish towel on the counter. “Come here.”

She looked at him as he gently pressed the towel to her cheek. “Is it bad?”

“No, not at all. It’ll stop in a minute.”

Their eyes met.

He couldn’t say quite when her arms moved around his neck, or quite how her lips ended up moving on his. All Eric knew was that her breath was on his throat and then suddenly, they were kissing. Softly at first, shy and tentative, gentle. But soon enough, their tongues were bold and determined; he tasted her tears and he took her face in both of his hands and licked them from her generous lips.

Annabeth moaned deep in her throat as his tongue caressed the corners of her mouth. He was strong and gentle at the same time and she vividly remembered what it was like to be pressed up against a man like this. Cam had been the same, his muscles and power tempered by sweetness and a softness of touch.

He heard her moan and his whole body responded. He wanted to hear that sound again when he was inside of her. He held her tighter and her hands started to move over his chest.

Annabeth couldn’t believe how much she wanted him. She found the bottom of his t-shirt and she pulled it over his head. She saw his muscled chest with dark hair and she gasped as her pussy slicked up, right away. His scar was right in front of her now, and with curious fingers, she traced it.

At her first touch, Eric jolted back to reality.

“Annabeth. Stop. We can’t.”

She pulled her hand back. “I’m sorry. Does it bother you that I touched it?”

“No. No, that’s not it.”

“So what is it?”

Oh, Jesus. How do I say this? ‘Well, Annabeth, you feel my heart beat? That’s your husband’s heart in my chest right now.’

“It’s – it’s that you’re not in your right mind.”

“What?”

“Ten minutes ago, you were breaking dishes… I can’t… I just can’t take advantage of you being that upset.”

“I’m not upset anymore,” she said, running her hands up and down his biceps. “Now I’m something else entirely.”

He held her wrists. “Annabeth, honey. We can’t. We need to talk.”

She looked at his uncompromising expression. “Talk?”

“Yes. About what happened here.” He gestured at the kitchen floor. “What’s going on with you?”

She realized that he was serious.

“I – nothing. I mean, I’m upset about tomorrow being the anniversary, I guess.”

“I think it’s more than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure. I just feel like – like there’s more. And it’s nothing good.”

Goddamnit. How much can he tell? He used to be a cop, remember, and they’re trained to sniff out lies and evasion. So, what do I do? I tell him the truth… just not the
whole
truth.

“OK, Eric. OK. You’re right.”

He waited.

“Something
is
going on. I feel so… lonely. I really need someone to stay with me tonight. I want that to be you.” She dared to glance up at him.

His face was tight, his eyes shocked. “You – what? You want me to stay with you?”

“In my bed. Next to me. Inside me. I want you to… to make me feel something other than fear and grief and just – emptiness. Nothingness. I need to feel alive. I’m so numb, Eric.”

He touched her cheek. “Have you been with anyone since your husband?”

She swallowed. “No.”

“Oh, Annabeth…”

She loved the way her name sounded in his mouth. Sweet and drawn-out and spicy, like a glass of spiked lemonade left out in the sun. The way he said her name made her light-headed and dizzy. Drunk.

“And you, Eric? Have you been with anyone since your surgery?”

He paused. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Is it safe for you to make love?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m totally healthy.”

“So….”

And that’s when he knew; it just hit him like a semi-truck.

I’m in love with her. I have been for what – months? Oh, shit.

“I just haven’t.” He lowered his eyes, afraid that she would see the truth in them.

She studied him for a few seconds and then leaned forward. When he didn’t move away, she kissed him again. He closed his eyes in despair. Eric knew this was all wrong in so many ways, but it felt so amazingly right at the same time.

“Please, Eric. Please. I
need
this. I can’t explain to you how much… I
need
to be close to someone, just for tonight.” Again, her thoughts turned to the sleeping pills. “I’m leaving tomorrow anyway. It’s just one night. What’s one night?”

Why not? No, really. Why not? One night. She needs it and God knows, you want it.

“OK, Annabeth.” He felt like he was falling; he felt like he was flying. “One night.”

For one night, her heart and her husband’s heart will be beating together, on top of each other, side by side. She doesn’t need to know it but maybe she’ll sense it, maybe even find some comfort in it?

It’s one night.

What’s one night?

Chapter Four

Eric stood up and helped Annabeth to her feet. He turned off the element on the stove and carefully lifted her over the shattered glass on the floor. She tugged his hand and pulled him to the bedroom.

He paused at the door. “Annabeth. Are you sure?”

Her hands moved to her shirt and she started to unbutton it. “I’m sure.”

Eric’s breath caught as the top of her breasts appeared. He stepped forward. “Let me.”

She dropped her hands and stood still. He reached for her now and unbuttoned her blouse slowly. He peeled the material back off her shoulders, and set it on a chair. She gasped as he lifted her loose, light skirt up and over her ass, running his hands over her.

Eric almost groaned when he felt the heat of her sex through the silk of her underwear: he ran his fingers around, over, back across. She gripped his shoulders and shuddered as he touched between her lips, gently pressed on her clit. His finger ran up and down, and he felt her open to his touch. Eric knelt down and yanked her skirt off.

“Turn around,” he said.

She obeyed without a word and he undid her bra, rolled her panties down her legs.

“Let me see you, angel.”

She turned to face him, trembling as those black eyes looked her up and down, seeing her whole. He wasn’t touching her, but Annabeth felt her body heating up under his gaze. She arched and bit her lip.

He couldn’t stop looking at her: she was long and lean and curved in all the right places. Her skin glowed like a pale moon, and her nipples were pink and perfect. He had to touch her, he had to be close to her. With a shaking hand, he reached out and touched her mouth, running the pad of his thumb across the lower lip. She closed her eyes.

Eric pulled her to him for a kiss and she gasped when he cupped her ass and lifted her right off her feet. Without thinking, she wrapped her legs around him and even through his jeans, she felt his cock pushing against her. She pushed back, hard, and smiled when he ran his hands over her back. In one strong movement, he lowered her to the bed, followed her down. She lay under him, naked and open and wet and ready.

He knotted her long hair in his fist and pulled her head up to his lips. She whimpered at the dominance of what he was doing, her whole body responding to him as he just took total command. She was losing all ability to think and she loved it.

He pulled her head away and she opened her eyes to meet his.

“I am going to make it good for you, Annabeth. I’m going to make you feel something. You’re going to damn well feel everything.”

Eric ran his other hand down her body. It trailed around her breasts, just grazing the nipples, then down her stomach. Lower. His thumb slid across her pussy and she gave a cry.

“Easy, honey. We’re just warming up.”

He ran his finger between her legs now, up and down between her lips. She was moving against his hand, trying to get him to touch her clit, but he was playing with her. His fingers circled her sweet bud, closer and harder, but never quite touching it.

“Oh, Eric. Please.”

“Please what?”

“Please touch me…”

He grazed her clit and she sobbed in shock at the bolt of electricity that ran straight out from it. “Here?”

“Yes. Yes!”

He did it again, his hand in her hair forcing her to meet his gaze. “Don’t you move your head, honey. I want to watch you.”

His words flared her desire and she felt herself opening more to him. God, her pussy was practically begging for him to thrust inside of it.

Eric looked at Annabeth on the bed, her creamy breasts rising and falling as she panted his name and begged for him to touch her. He watched her face as his finger stroked her slit, spreading her sweet honey all over.

Oh, God. I need to feel her.

He slid a finger inside of her and her hips almost flew off the bed.

“Oh! Oh, God!”

“That’s right, baby. Just feel what I’m doing to you.”

He pulled out, swirled around her clit, pushed back in. Out, swirl, in. Again.

Annabeth could feel her muscles tensing around his plunging finger. She clutched the sheets around her writhing body and whispered, “Eric.”

Hearing her say his name like that was the fucking sweetest thing that Eric ever heard in his life. His cock strained against his jeans in frustration, but he was determined that she was going to come against his mouth and hand first.

He slipped a second finger inside her now, pushing high and hard, reaching for that small, sweet spot hidden so deep. He knew he hit it when her whole body arched up off the bed and she froze.

OK, now she’s ready.

He moved down her body and put his mouth on her clit, sucking it in to his heat. She gave a small scream and he fucked her harder with his fingers, lapping at her at the same time. Eric loved her response, and knew he could just stay where he was forever… he’d just lay down between her quivering thighs and plunge and lick and thrust and taste.

Annabeth didn’t want to come too fast, but he wasn’t giving her body much choice. Before she could fully process the thought of what was happening, she was shaking, crying out, coming. She gasped and let her body just react and wash her away. He held her in place as she jerked on the bed, out of control and helpless under him.

Her thighs relaxed and fell open again. Eric licked the full length of her once more, loving how wet and passionate she was. He wiped his mouth on the sheets and lifted himself on to her curves.

Annabeth was trying to catch her breath, trying to slow her wild heartbeat. Vaguely, she felt him take her in his arms and then his lips were in her hair.

“Talk to me, honey,” he said. “Are you with me?”

She opened her eyes. “Yes.”

“OK, so. How was that?”

“Amazing.” Her eyes met his. “But I bet you knew that.”

“Yeah, I had an inkling.”

He watched her closely, expecting her to cry but when he looked at her, all he saw was calm. He held her closer.

“You OK?” he asked quietly.

“I am.”

They lay together, her head on his broad chest. She ran her fingers around his scar.

“Can I touch it?”

“Sure.”

Gingerly, she touched the raised skin, running her fingers down its full length. “Is it OK if I ask about it? About what happened?”

“It’s OK, honey. Ask whatever you want to.”

“I’ve seen this kind of scar before… it’s for a heart transplant, right? This scar isn’t just from general surgery or a patch-up job, is it?’

He kissed her. “Yep, I had a transplant.”

She was silent. “How did you get shot?”

“It was a total freak thing. I wasn’t even on duty that night.”

She raised her head and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“My partner, Dana, was pregnant and we all had a party for her on her last day of work. Her husband’s a doctor and he got called to the hospital for an emergency, so I drove Dana home from the restaurant. We stopped in to this mini-market so she could get some milk for their morning coffee and there was a guy in there robbing the place.”

Annabeth stared at him. “Oh, my God.”

“Yeah. He was waving his gun around and was obviously out of his mind on some kind of drug. I tried to reason with him, but he was getting more and more freaked out. He pointed the gun right at Dana and pulled the trigger.”

“He shot her?”

“No. No, I jumped in front of her and he shot me instead. That’s when Dana pulled out her gun and shot him.” He rubbed his eyes. “The guy died on the spot.”

“Dana? The baby?”

“Both fine. Not even a scratch on her.” He smiled. “And she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy just two months later. They named him Eric.”

Annabeth touched the scar again. “And you?”

“Bad shape. They removed the bullet from around my heart, but everything was damaged and weakened. The doctors said that I’d need a transplant in a few weeks or everything would just start to shut down.”

“How long did you have to wait?”

“Six weeks almost. I was incredibly lucky.”

She placed her palm over his heart, felt it beating. “It’s strong.”

He was pierced by her words, her touch. “It is. It’s a good heart.”

“I’m glad,” Annabeth said. “I’m glad for you.”

You wouldn’t be if you knew who this heart came from.

He touched her cheek. “Does this hurt?”

“What?”

“Where you were cut…. it’s stopped bleeding, but is it sore?”

“No.”

He held her face gently, his thumb running over her cheekbone. She felt her body loosening, becoming boneless at his touch. He heard her breathing change and he pulled her to him slowly, pulled her in for a kiss.

Their tongues met, retreated, met again. He was hard now, harder than before, and all he wanted was to get these damn jeans off. But he held back; he still wasn’t entirely sure that she’d be able to go through with full-on sex. He thought she would probably come to her senses before that.

Annabeth ran her hands down his body and heard him groan low in his throat. Encouraged, she touched him lightly through his jeans, felt his heat and hardness. His hands fell to his sides and his eyes closed. Her fingers were stroking him now, delicate touches as soft as feathers. Eric turned his head, trying to stay calm.

“Can we take these off?” she said.

He opened his eyes and they were hazy and warm. “Are you sure?”

“Oh, yes.” She practically licked her lips at the thought of him inside of her. “I’m sure.”

He kicked off his shoes and socks, undid his jeans, lowered them down his powerful thighs. She watched as he emerged, his erection so huge that his boxers were tented out. He dropped his jeans on to the floor and she reached for him. He groaned again as her fingers curled around his hardness, moving up and down slowly, then faster.

God, the
heat
of him. She had forgotten what male desire really looked and felt like: it was so strong, so unmistakable. Undeniable.

She eased her fingers in to the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down. When he sprang free, her breath caught. He was perfect, long and thick and so hard.

Eric watched as she lowered her head. A part of him wanted to pull her up, to protest, but she looked so… eager. Was that the word? Yes, it was. He could tell that she wanted to put her lips on him, and God knows, he wanted it too.

It’s been so long since I was with someone. I need her, too.

Annabeth licked up and down his cock, long strokes that made him shudder. Her hands were alive and confident, teasing him as her tongue flicked out. He wanted to beg her to take him in to her whole mouth but he lay still and trembled as she slowly worked her way down.

Finally,
finally
, she touched the tip of his cock. His hips lifted and he moaned as her thumb ran around and around, pressing and stroking. A bit of salty liquid spurted out of him and she spread it around his cock, heightening the sensations. He arched his back, trying not to come right away.

She moved down between his thighs and looked up at him. “I cannot wait to take you in to my mouth.”

He gasped, fighting down the urge to climax just at her words. “Oh, God, Annabeth. Please.”

“Please what?” She was teasing him the way he had teased her earlier, her fingers stroking him, her hot breath on him, but not taking him fully, not yet.

“Please suck me. Please…”

She slid her mouth over his tip, just an inch. She pulled back.

“Like that?”

“More… deeper. Oh,
God
, Annabeth. More.”

Holding his eyes, she moved her mouth on to him. She slid down his cock, her tongue alive, and she took more and more of him in to her sweet mouth. He gasped and shook with the effort of staying in control, but he was losing it fast.

Annabeth slid up again, torturously slowly, making him wait for it. She swirled around the tip, moved down. Faster now, more pressure. His hands were in her hair lightly, his thighs open and spread to her, his head thrown back. He shook, tensed, shook again.

He knew he couldn’t take it much longer and he hauled her up on his body, ignoring her gasp of surprise. He plunged his tongue in her mouth, ground his sex against her belly.

“I want to be inside of you, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Do you want that too?”

She nodded, her pussy wet and primed. She reached for a condom in the nightstand and he took it from her. She watched with breathless anticipation as he slid it down his length. He lay down and reached for her.

“Up here.” He pulled her on to his body, spreading her thighs on either side of him. He rubbed himself against her heat and she responded immediately, her hips thrusting forward, searching for him.

In one move, he lifted her and lowered her on to him, driving in to her body all the way. She sobbed as he stretched her lips over his cock, taking him in, fluttering as her pussy welcomed him. His hands ran over her neck, her breasts, her ass. He grasped her hips and started to move her on him, rolling her back and forth. She rode him, her back arching, her breath coming faster and harder as he plunged as hard as he could.

Eric wanted it to go on forever, but her pussy had different ideas. It contracted, tensed, milked a response from him. In a matter of seconds, her whole body was quaking above him and he knew she was there.

“Come for me,” he said. He pressed his thumb on her clit, stroked it, circled it. “Come for me, Annabeth.”

She stared down at him, at his gorgeous face, and felt her orgasm begin. She gave a cry and let herself break apart; this one was deeper and stronger than her first orgasm, and she shut her eyes as the waves shook her. Her climax and frantic movements set him off, and he pushed in to her harder and faster, reaching for the very heart of her.

Eric let out a shout as he came, holding her in place as he ground in to her trembling body. When she collapsed on to his chest, he pulled her as close as he could, his hands on her back, stroking gently. They stayed like that for a minute, calming, their bodies relaxing.

This time, she did cry. He felt the tears on his chest and he tried to lift her up so he could see her face. Shy and embarrassed, she resisted it and buried her face in his shoulder, her body heaving with sobs.