Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel) (11 page)

“Oh Erica, you’re so wet, so hot. It’s sexy as hell.” The gruff whispers sent chills up her arms and she pushed against him searching for more. He obliged adding another finger. He stroked her from the inside with his fingers and on the outside with his thumb until she was desperate to have him.

“Please Ethan I need you. I don’t care that we are in a car.”

“I know sweetheart, you’re almost there.” She didn’t know what he meant by ‘almost there’ until he pushed her over the edge. Her interior muscles spasmed and her hips bucked as the sensation washed over her and just kept washing over her like a tide. Ethan continued his movements. Until she relaxed then he gently slowed and stopped altogether.

“Feel better?” He whispered. Surprisingly she did. She still wanted him but she didn’t feel the desperate need to have him that she had minutes before.

“Yes,” she sighed. “That was… impressive.”

“Thank you.” He laughed. “That was third base.”

“You’re right; you are very good at third base. Should we continue home?”

“No sweetheart. I told you. The first time we make love is not going to be in the back of a car.”

“Are you sure? Can I make you feel better? I mean aren’t you…?”

“As hard as a fence post?
Yes I am.” He laughed. “But I’ll be okay in a little bit.” He sat up and she did too, attempting to straighten her clothes. She’d had an orgasm before but that was self-inflicted and this was different, much much different. She felt alive and relaxed and giddy all at once. It was like a good wine buzz without the brain fog.

“Thank you.” She whispered suddenly feeling a little embarrassed.

“Oh sweetheart, believe me it was my pleasure.” He laughed and kissed her not releasing her for several long minutes. “All right,” he sighed “If I am going to get myself under control I am going to have to stop doing that.” She giggled.   

Chapter 12

“Good morning sleepy head.” Zoe smirked when Erica stumbled into the kitchen.

“Do I smell food?”

“I made waffles.”

“Bless you, I am starving.”

“So Cinderella how was the ball?”

“It was…” Erica searched for the right description. “A long and boring political fundraiser for some guy running for Senate, no Congress, no Senate, I don’t know, he was running for something. There were a few celebs there. No one to write home about. My new shoes gave me a blister.”

“That good huh?”

“It was fantastic, wonderful, absolutely divine.”

“Uh, you
wanna run that by me again?”

“It was the company. Ethan was amazing, he was funny and considerate. He’s a good dancer. He didn’t check out any of those silicone hussies showing too much cleavage.” Erica sighed. “He is amazing Zoe, what am I going to do?”

“What do you mean what are you going to do?”

“There is no way he is real. He is too good to be true. He has to be a robot.
A boyfriend automaton.” She giggled and Zoe laughed. “We took a limo downtown and made out on the way. Then we danced and he introduced me to people I will never remember.  Then on the way back he kept me laughing making jokes about the boring speeches we had to sit through. He walked me to the door and he kissed me goodnight. He didn’t ask to come in and he didn’t hint for an invitation.”

“Definitely an automaton.”
Zoe agreed.

“He is having a BBQ at his house today. He invited both of us. Please say you’ll come with me. I don’t want to go by myself. What if his friends hate me?”

“No one ever hates you Erica.” Zoe laughed. Erica looked at her with pleading eyes and she relented. “All right I’ll come with you.”

Erica was so nervous she couldn’t sit still. She was worried she was going to do something stupid in front of Ethan’s friends. She was going to embarrass him and he was going to see how wrong for each other they were.

“Erica, relax.” Zoe finally said as they neared their destination. “You look fabulous. You are a smart beautiful confident woman.”

“You sound like one of these self-affirming tapes people listen to.” Erica giggled. Zoe grinned.

There were several cars parked in Ethan’s circular drive when they pulled up and Erica’s nerves intensified. The front door was open so Erica and Zoe just walked in. Erica put the veggie tray she brought on the counter in the kitchen. There was a baseball game on the big TV and a few people on the sectional watching it. Erica could see that most of the activity was out the sliding glass door on the back deck. The BBQ was smoking and there were quite a few people milling around some in deck chairs, some seated around the patio table. Ethan was one of them he was sitting in a chair with his long legs stretched out in front of him. A pair of board shorts showed off his powerful tanned legs. She was thankful that Zoe was with her. She had never been so nervous. She didn’t even know what she was supposed to call Ethan, was he her friend?
Her boyfriend? That sounded so juvenile. She stepped out onto the deck and he looked up. His face split into a wide grin and he hopped to his feet. He crossed to her and kissed her soundly. She could feel herself blushing. There was certainly no doubt about the nature of their relationship now. He had claimed her hand at some point when he was scrambling her brain with that kiss. Now he leaned over and gave Zoe a welcoming kiss on the cheek but he didn’t release her hand.

“Glad you made it. Come meet everyone.” Erica recognized Jace. He unfolded his lanky frame from his chair and kissed her cheek.

“Good to see you Erica.”

“You too Jace.
This is my friend Zoe.” The introductions continued all around and Erica knew she wasn’t going to remember all the names. Zoe was much better at that. She could always remember names and socialize with just about anyone. Ethan and Jace pulled up a couple chairs for them. Just before she sat Ethan nudged her.

“You mind giving me a hand in the kitchen?”

“Of course not.” She followed him inside but instead of going to the kitchen he ducked down the hall toward the office. He pulled her against him and kissed her again.

“I missed you.”

“It’s only been twelve hours.” She laughed.

“I don’t care.”

“You were sleeping for most of that.”

“You have ruined me for sleeping alone.”

“You’re such a sweet talker.” She teased but inside she was doing a happy dance. He kissed her again.

“You look great by the way. I love the shoes that show off your sexy red toes.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and he kissed her again.

Most of the BBQ attendees were men, the only women there seemed to be paired up with one of the men. As a result there were several single men who flirted shamelessly with her and Zoe. Erica just laughed them off but Zoe as always gave as
good as she got. Not long after they arrived they were joined by a couple that had a little boy in tow and the woman had what looked like a bundle of pink blankets in her arms. Ethan introduced them as Daren and Sarah, and the little boy was Bobby. Erica was surprised to see the lower half of the man’s leg was replaced with a metal rod. She forced herself not to stare or ask the multitude of questions that sprang to mind.

“Uncle Ethan!” The little boy cried and bounded into his lap. Ethan moved quickly and caught the little boy before he took a foot where he didn’t want it. Then he settled him into his lap. “I got a baby.” The boy pointed excitedly.

“Really, did you get her from the mall?”

“No mom got her at the hospital. They took her out.” Everyone laughed and the little boy beamed.

“Let me see the little Darlin’.” Jace stood up and retrieved the baby. “Oh thank heaven she looks like her mama.” Jace said looking at the sleeping baby’s face. Everyone laughed and Darren flipped him off causing everyone to laugh again. Erica was trying not to watch Ethan. She already thought he was too perfect. Did he really have to be good with kids too? She noticed Zoe watching the baby and her heart ached a bit. Unfortunately, Jace noticed too.

“You want to hold her?” He offered her the baby.

“No way!” Zoe laughed and jumped to her feet. “Don’t you know those things are contagious?” She made a hasty retreat the house as if getting away from the germs.

“They are? Well hell!” He placed the baby right into Erica’s lap and pretended to brush himself off. The group laughed again. Erica started to pass the baby back to her mother but her tiny little eyes opened and looked right at her. Her heart clenched inside her chest. She wanted this more than she’d ever wanted anything and according to her planning it was still five
years away. That was a long time when you wanted something so much. She forced herself for casual and glanced over at Ethan.

“Do you want to hold her?”

“No way. Contagious or not I don’t do babies.” He smirked. Erica experienced a sharp stab of disappointment. She couldn’t be with someone who didn’t want babies. She forced a smile as she handed the baby over to her mother. The new baby smell filled her senses and she fought the urge to both burry her nose in the blankets and cry.

“Think I’ll go find Zoe.” She said lightly. She hoped Ethan wouldn’t notice anything amiss and thankfully he seemed fully engrossed in the conversation around him.

She found Zoe in the bathroom, where she’d expected.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, usually I am okay you know, but sometimes…” Zoe sniffed and dabbed at her eyes.

“Yeah I know.” Erica said and wrapped her arms around her friend. “We’re quite a pair aren’t we? We should get a couple cats maybe that would help us get over this baby insanity.”

“I’m allergic.” Zoe said even though she didn’t have to. They both knew she was allergic.

“They make hypoallergenic ones now.”

“That’s what we need, one of those hairless cats.” Zoe laughed and Erica grinned. 

After they ate, the place seemed to clear out pretty quickly. Erica had had a good time after she and Zoe overcame their baby issues. Ethan’s friends were fun. Most of them were former military so they were a bit crass at times and ribbed each other mercilessly but they were also loyal and honorable. She could see it in the way they conducted themselves especially with her and Zoe, despite the flirting.

She knew it was time for her and Zoe to go too, but she really didn’t want to. She hadn’t spent any time alone with Ethan and the truth was she missed him too.

When she went to say goodbye to Ethan he pulled her aside.

“Why don’t you stay? We’ll watch a movie.” She wanted to refuse, to at least put up token resistance but she just couldn’t.

“Will you take me home? I rode with Zoe.”

“Of course.”
His grin was mischievous and boyish and it made her smile. 

“We’re going to need popcorn.” She said after everyone had left and they had cleaned up.

“Definitely.”

“So tell me about your friends.” She said as she put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. “I feel like I should have asked for bios because I am not going to remember names.”

“You’ll get it eventually.” He chuckled. “I served with most of them. Some of them work for me. Or have worked with me at some point. I don’t really know how it got started it just seems like I end up doing some kind of get together about once a month. I have since the house was finished.”

“That sounds nice.” They walked back to the living room and he sat and she smiled and cuddled up next to him. He began messing with the remote but she continued the conversation.

“Jace is your business partner, right?”

“Yep.”

“Is he your best friend?”

“Yeah I guess so.”

“How long have you known each other?”

“We met on the first day of basic training.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he was a total ass.”

“What?” She sat halfway up and looked at him. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.
I was probably a little too serious and he never took anything seriously. Everything was a joke to him and it irritated the crap out of me.”

“So what happened?”

“Um, he grew on me. He got me to stop taking myself so seriously. He still does I guess.”

“That’s nice.” She tucked her head under his chin against his chest. He turned on the movie and the opening number from The Little Mermaid began playing. She lifted her head in surprise and he smiled. She was nearly giddy; he was so sweet and thoughtful. She leaned forward and kissed him. She meant it to be a quick sweet kiss but once their mouths fused she didn’t want to pull away. His tongue teased along her lower lip seeking entry and she gave it to him. He teased her with his tongue until they were dueling, their tongues intertwined breath mingling. When Ethan finally broke away she was out of breath, her heart was pounding and she really wanted to crawl into his lap and continue her exploration.

“Whew, I think you could tempt a monk.” He breathed. She ducked her head slightly embarrassed by her own lack of control. She laid her head on his chest again and felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest. She was glad she wasn’t the only one affected.  

"It's been a long time since I watched this movie. I have to say I am a little disturbed."

"Disturbed? Why disturbed?" She sat up and looked at him.

"Well I forgot she was only sixteen, how old do you think that guy is?
Looks a lot older than sixteen to me. You think Walt Disney was a pervert?" Erica couldn't help it she burst out laughing.

"I cannot believe you just said that!" She sputtered between bouts of laughter. He laughed but defended his case. 

"It's no wonder the king flies off the handle, any good parent would right?"

"You know now that you mention it Sleeping Beauty was only sixteen too!"

"See."

"And where are the mothers?"

"What?"

"All these movies have evil stepmothers. Does no fairy tale contain a nice normal loving mother?" She asked and he thought for a minute.

"You know... I can't think of one."

She settled in again and they watched the movie and ate the popcorn and soon they had migrated down to the point that they were laying on the couch in much the same position they had the first night. Erica didn’t want to move. She was cuddled up to Ethan’s side with her head on his chest and she thought she might just stay there forever. The movie ended and she dreaded him having to move. Thankfully he just used the remote and started another movie. This time it was Beauty and the Beast.

“How many Disney movies do you have?” She laughed.

“Well I didn’t have any but I picked up a few.” She lifted her head and smiled.

“How many?” His lips quirked as he tried not to smile and she smiled bigger.

“Five.” He relented and she laughed. “I had to get five. It’s a five disk changer.” He defended and she laughed harder.

“Men.” She snickered. He poked her side and she jumped and gasped. She looked at him wide eyed and he grinned.