ROMANCE: Billion Dollar Question (BWWM Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (African American Alpha Mail Order Bride New Adult) (64 page)

“I don't know where this could go,” Eric said twirling one of her red curls around his finger.

“The sofa, the bed, maybe a table if you're feeling that freaky.”

“I have nothing to promise you,” he said taking a deep breath. “I just got back and I'm going to be honest. My head's a mess, my dick is hard, and the sexiest woman I've ever met is sitting in my lap which is only making it worse. I want this, I want you, but I don't want to break your heart.”

“Eric, I'm a grown woman. I know sex is sex and love doesn't always come into the mix, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it.”

She looked into his eyes and she could tell he was fighting with himself. His cock throbbed against her body and he wanted her. His body was tense trying not to buck against her, but she knew his control wouldn't last forever.

“Look, I've had my heart broken before. I've been married and divorced. Sex can be just sex if that's what we decide.”

“But what happens if we want more?” he asked.

“Then we figure it out when it happens.”

“Celeste,” he gave her another quick kiss. “You're unlike any woman I've ever met.”

“I'll take that as a complement, but I'm wet and you're hard.”

Eric rose to his feet taking her with him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him again. He carried her into the house and closed the door behind them.

“Where's the bedroom?”

“Upstairs,” she murmured and pointed to the staircase.

Eric found the bedroom easily and flipped on the light. He lowered Celeste onto the bed and kissed her neck. His breath was warm against her flesh and she sighed in pleasure. She wrapped her arms around his neck and reveled in the feeling of his hard muscular body pressed so close to hers. His hands slid under her shirt and cupped her breasts through her bra.

“Go easy there, solider,” she said putting her hand on his. “Those ain't sandbags.”

“Sorry,” he kissed her neck. “It's been awhile.”

He touched her breast again, more gently this time. His hand was large enough to cup its full heavy weight. Her nipple rose to meet his palm through her bra. With his free hand, Eric wiggled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. His shirt soon followed. Celeste unhooked her bra and Eric helped her take it off. Straddled over her body he looked down over his body. His intense gaze left a scorching path of desire along her torso.

Leaning forward, Eric licked the valley between her breasts before turning his attention to her nipples. One he rolled his thumb gently over and the other he sucked into his mouth. Slowly his tongue flicked back and forth across its sensitive peak. Celeste sighed in pleasure and arched her back. Eric kissed his way down her torso. Inch by inch he licked, sucked, and kissed down to her jeans. His quick nimble fingers made quick work of her fly and in one swift motion he stripped off the rest of her clothes.

Celeste looked up at him as his smoky gaze grazed against her flesh. Her body quivered with desire for the sexy marine. She spread her thighs inviting him in. He cupped her mound sliding his fingers between her lower lips and brushing against her clit. His touch was soft, but firm as he explored her folds.

“I want to taste you,” he said and buried his head between her legs.

Celeste moaned as his tongue explored the folds his fingers had caressed. She rested her feet on his shoulders as his tongue teased and tormented her most personal spaces. His fingers probed into her body gently seeking out her inner warmth. Her body contracted around the digits.

“If you keep that up I'm going to cum without you,” Celeste moaned.

“Who says I'm only taking you there once tonight?” Eric asked and resumed his teasing.

Passion and friction built between her thighs and spread like a wildfire throughout her body. His free hand gripped her hip holding her in place as she wiggled and moaned. There was no escaping the pleasure that he evoked from her. Eric sucked her aching pleasure nub into his mouth and sent her over the edge. She tugged at his hair as waves of climax washed over her. Eric continued licking and kissing her most intimate folds until she fell still panting for air.

He crawled over her body and claimed her lips in a passionate kiss reawakening her desire even before she had time to cool down. Reaching between their bodies, she wrapped her long fingers around his thick organ. It throbbed against her flesh and she could feel years of longing that had been suppressed for too long. She walked her fingers down his shaft and his eyelids fluttered. He quivered with desire for her body and she wanted him more. She wanted to feel his thick manhood slide into her and fill her entirety. Celeste wanted to know how it would feel to be connected to this sexy and confident marine in the most intimate way.

“Damn,” Eric panted and kissed her neck. “I don't remember the last time I was this damn hard. Over there, I just quit thinking about it. I mean, it would creep up now and then, but I'd put it out my mind. Now I can't stop thinking about it. I can't stop thinking about you: how you smell, taste, walk, laugh. Damn it, I want you so bad, Celeste. I want to sink into you and never come out.”

“I'm yours for the taking, Eric,” she said wrapping her legs around his waist.

Together they moved so that he was pressed between her legs. He rubbed himself between her glistening lower lips. Their moans mingled as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

“I want you so badly, Celeste,” he murmured as he sank into her.

His long thick organ made her feel fuller than she ever remembered being. He stretched her body creating a delicious feeling of friction and fullness. Her body contracted around him welcoming into her. His thrusts were slow at first as if he was hesitant to let down the wall he had kept in place too long. Then he rose to his knees and rested her feet on his shoulders. He still moved slowly, but the position allowed him to slide deeper into her body.

“You're so tight. You feel so good, Celeste,” he panted as he thrust.

Her body moved in time with his as his pace increased. He slid into her faster and harder as years of pent up passion flowed from him and into her. Her toes curled around the air as she gasped in pleasure. She was close to the edge again and her own passion was reflected in his eyes.

Her nails dug into the bed as she orgasmed for the second time that night. Lowering her legs, he leaned down and kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms and legs around his strong muscular body as she returned the kiss. Eric thrust hard into her as he sought his own release. Her body tightened around his manhood as he slid into her soft folds again and again. Waves of pleasure continued to crash over her until her body trembled. Eric twitched inside of her panting in pleasure as he found his own release.

When their passion was totally spent, he lay with his head on her breasts and she stroked his hair.

“Welcome home, solider.”

“I think I'm just going to say this was my coming home party.”

Chapter 3: You Are My Escape

Hours later, Eric woke panting. The dream that had haunted him since his return to American soil had returned. Somewhere through the fog he could feel Celeste stroking him chest and shoulders. He curled into her and pulled her close. She felt safe and warm. She smelled like strawberry shampoo and sex, their sex. Flashes of new memories crashed into him as she wrapped her arms around him. His heart rate slowly began to return to normal.

“You're okay, baby,” she cooed to him and he pulled her closer.

He opened his mouth to apologize for waking her or maybe to kiss her, but he found himself doing neither. Instead, he told her of the dream and of the event the dream nearly mimicked perfectly. He told her about losing two of his closest friends over there and of the guerrilla soldiers who shot down a woman and two small children for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“It's like it's burned into the back of my eyelids and every time I go to sleep it comes to life,” he said pulling her closer to him. “I thought when I came home I could just pick up where I left off, but now I don't even know what the hell I'm doing. How am I supposed to wake up everyday step into a pair of jeans and live like I don't know what's going on over there?”

“You don't,” she kissed his forehead. “You get up everyday knowing what you fought against and the changes it made. You get up everyday and know that we have our freedom because of the sacrifices you and others have made. You live life to the fullest you can and you take it and squeeze out every bit of happiness you can.”

“You make me happy,” he said before he could stop himself.

“I'm not going anywhere, Eric.”

“Thank you,” he said and then paused. So much for playing anything smooth now that he had his second nightmare that day in her home. “Thank you for tonight.”

“Thank you,” she said and gave him a soft his.

He kissed her deeply drinking in the affection that poured from his lips. Her touch wrapped around him as their bodies pressed together. For the first time since returning home, the Middle East was across the sea again and not buried somewhere deep within him. They eventually fell back to sleep wrapped up together after making love for the second time that night.

The next morning, Eric woke with the sun despite his late night awakening. For awhile, he watched Celeste sleep. She looked content and peaceful and he wondered if he could really drag her through all of his baggage. She didn't deserve that. She was beautiful and funny, strong and caring. She deserved so much more than him. He dressed quietly and let himself out locking the door behind him.

Three weeks later, Eric awoke from his reoccurring nightmare again. He reached out through the darkness searching for Celeste. He wanted to pull her warm body close to his and let her scent surround him. She wasn't there. He flopped onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. Of course she wasn't there. He hadn't spoken to her since the night they spent together and tried not to think about her either.

Although he had become skilled at suppressing desire and emotion during his time overseas, he couldn't get Celeste out of his head. He thought about all the things he'd never know about her. Some of them were silly like how she liked her eggs and coffee in the morning and her favorite song. Others bothered him more. He'd never know her story. He'd never meet her parents or see her walk down the aisle in a beautiful white gown that framed her figure perfectly. He'd never know what she wanted to name her first child.

Deciding to take a shower, he walked down the hall and into the bathroom. The clock on the wall said it was shortly after midnight. As he stepped under the hot water, he wondered if she was still awake or was she sleeping peacefully. Had she thought about him since that night? Was she pissed at him or was he haunting her thoughts as she did his?

He turned his back to the water and let it beat against his back. The tension lessened as the hot water seeped into his skin. Could he have really fallen in love with a woman he had just met? Was it even possible? Or had he simply attached himself to her because she felt warm and safe. Just being around Celeste calmed his nerves. He tried to think of another person who had that affect on him and couldn't. Sure, before the war he had friends that he could be himself around, but even with them he knew what not to bring up. There are things in life that you simply keep to yourself or so he thought until he met Celeste.

Eric stepped out of the shower and dried off. He dressed quickly and sneaked downstairs to avoid Bubbles wanting to follow him out into the yard. The golden retriever had become his shadow since he returned home.

He paced the length of Celeste's porch three times over trying to decide if he should wait until morning before disturbing her. If he waited until morning would he lose his nerve? What would he say even if she did answer the door?

“Everything alright, Eric?” the door opened suddenly and Celeste stepped onto the porch.

She wore a long t-shirt that barely covered her panties. He pulled her into a hug before he could stop himself and breathed a long sigh of relief when she hugged him back.

“I just needed to talk to you,” he said stepping back. “I'm sorry about..”

“Don't be,” she said, “we both agreed it was no strings attached. I get it you needed to connect with someone to feel normal again and while I do wish you would have hung around to say goodbye I get why you didn't. Mornings are awkward.”

“I'd love a million mornings with you even if they are awkward,” he chuckled.

“So that's why you came over,” she said stepping closer to him and cupping his package. “I might be up for a second round.”

Longing spiraled through him, but he forced it back down. 

“No, I mean, yes, I want a second round, but..” he paused as she squeezed him. “Could you stop that for just a second. It's hard enough to think around you.”

Celeste laughed and took a step back.

“I can't get you out of my head. I think about you all the time and I want to know if there's something here.”

“Something more than awesome sex?”

“Yeah,” Eric nodded.

“I don't know. You ran off before we could find out.”

“I live next door. It's not like I took off across country or something.”

“Eric, I'm almost thirty. I'm too old to go chasing men down even if it's just across two lawns. I like you – a lot. And I'd be lying if I said I was a little disappointed when I woke up alone that morning. But either we do or we don't.”

“I want to.”

“Want to what?” she asked him.

“I want to try this, to try us. I don't want to drag you through my baggage, my problems. You deserve better than that.”

“You can't drag me anywhere, Eric. I'm a grown woman and I know what I'd be getting into. I'm not going to sugar coat it and say I can love any of it away, because I can't. No one can. What I can do is love you through it and that's all any of us can do for anyone.”

“Around you I feel normal,” he said taking her hands. “And happy and alive again. I want that everyday. I want you everyday. This could crash and burn..”

“Or it could be the beginning of something that lasts the rest of our lives.”

Celeste rose to her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his gently. Eric wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her in close.

“You can come in, but only if you're still going to be here in the morning.”

“I promise,” he said scooping her up into his arms.

“I'll tie you to the bed if I have to, Eric. You only get to walk out on me once.”

“Sexy, sweet, and kinky,” he kissed her neck. “You might never get rid of me.”