Open Life (Open Skies #5) (11 page)

“Really?” Mattie said. “How
much
longer?”

“Ten days, maybe two weeks.”

“As Maria’s guest?” Phil said.

“No. As Maria’s… uh. Maria’s...” Maria’s
what
, he wondered. What
was
he to her?

The others all grinned now, enjoying his discomfiture. Finally, though, Jake took pity on him.

“Nice to see that you two got it together,” he said. “Took y’all long enough.”

“Lord, Jake,” Mattie reproved him. “It’s been
two weeks
! As you may recall, it took you and Julie longer than that to decide that you didn’t actually hate each other and
three months
to get together in the end. Then you broke up and had to chase her back to New York and beg for another chance. You leave Dillon alone, now.”

“Yeah?” Dillon stared at Jake. “That all happened?”

“It did.” Jake shook his head. “I was an idiot.”

“Huh.” Dillon contemplated that, thinking that if Jake and Julie had managed to get where they were after all that crap, then he and Maria
definitely
had a chance.

“OK, so.” Jake crossed his arms loosely across his massive chest. “What are you doing down here, man? You want to take a horse out for a run?”

“No. I actually came to ask if I can borrow a suit.”

That gave them all pause.

“A suit?” Phil said.

“For the wedding tomorrow.” Dillon shrugged. “I just have jeans and t-shirts and the bride already informed me in no uncertain terms that I need to dig up a semi-decent suit. Her
exact
words, by the way.”

“Ah. Right.” Jake surveyed Dillon, took in his height and width. “Well, we’re about the same height, but you’re a bit bigger than I am through the shoulders. I think my shirts and jackets might be too tight on you but we can try.” He glanced down at Dillon’s legs, taking in his muscled thighs. “And you’re wearing your jeans tomorrow, for damn sure.”

“Well, maybe jeans with a dress shirt and jacket and tie will be OK? Maybe Julie won’t throw me out if I’m half-suited-up?”

“Maybe.” Jake turned. “Come on, let’s go through my clothes and see what we can find, yeah?”

“Thanks, Jake.”

“No problem.” They headed to the Big House together, enjoying the blazing sun in a deep blue early-summer sky. “We gotta make sure you look good for Maria, huh?”

Dillon blushed again.

**

Julie stared at herself in the mirror and sighed deeply. “Oh, boy.”

“Yeah,” Tammy agreed. “You are
so
obviously pregnant.”

“Don’t I know it.” Julie turned and gazed at her silhouette. “No hiding this bump, huh?”

“No way.” Tammy shook her dark head. “The waist is cut high so the material drapes a bit – but not nearly enough to hide the rapidly-growing sprog.”

“Well, fuck it,” Julie said. “If we can’t hide it, then we’ll
highlight
it. Right?”

Tammy’s violet eyes lit up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, my God… amazing.”

“You think?”

“I do. I think you’re going to look so great, Jules. Curvy and lush and gorgeous.” She grabbed some pins. “Leave it to me. Now stand still.”

Julie watched as Tammy worked some kind of voodoo magic with pins and material. She’d long admired her best friend’s ability to design clothing and since she could barely thread a needle, she was all the more impressed when Tammy transformed a quick sketch in to something real. Julie was astounded as, with just a few nips and tucks, Tammy completely changed the entire shape of the waist on her wedding dress.

Instead of being loose and floaty, now it was unapologetically snug. It hugged the unmistakable baby bump – almost flaunted it, in fact. Julie stared at herself, wondering at how different she looked. With her loose golden-red curls and curvy figure, she looked like some kind of Earth Mother. She smiled, surprised at how good it felt to announce to the world that she was carrying Jake’s baby.

“So.” Tammy stepped back. “What do you think? Too much?”

“No. No, not too much. I love it.”

“Yeah, me too. You look so… round.”

Julie laughed. “I
know
you mean that in the nicest way possible.”

“Of course I do, Jules. You’re curvy and sexy and fucking hot. Jake is going to have one hell of a time keeping his hands off you in this dress, trust me.”

“Well, he only has to control himself for a few hours. As soon as we get to Hawaii, he can do whatever he wants to me.”

“Many times?” Tammy teased.

“As many times as we can handle.” Julie grinned. “And since pregnancy makes me as horny as hell, I’ll keep him busy. Believe me.”

“You may never get to the beach, huh?”

“Maybe not.” Julie ran her hands over her gently swelling stomach. “And know what? I don’t even care all that much.”

“But we went and got you a new bikini and everything.”

“Good point. So one trip to the beach for sure.
Then
I hold him hostage in the hotel room for a week.”

“I think that’s a fair compromise,” Tammy agreed. “And isn’t that what marriage is all about? Compromise?”

“You’re quite right,” Julie said. “I actually think that Jake will really enjoy compromising with me.”

Chapter Nine

Eric twisted the last flower in to place on Julie’s bridal bouquet, secured it with some fine silver wire. He squinted at the bouquet, lifted one of the white roses a bit higher, nodded to himself in satisfaction.

He got to his feet and stretched his lower back a bit. He and Annabeth had been sitting in the living room for about six hours now, arranging the table centrepieces. She was doing a great job, but she’d insisted that Eric do Julie and Tammy's bouquets. He was the pro, after all, and no matter how enthusiastic she was about helping, she wanted Julie’s flowers especially to be as close to perfect as they could be.

Annabeth looked over at him now from the living room floor. She was wearing a simple white shift dress and her hair was loose and flowing over her naked shoulders; she was surrounded by flower petals and her feet were bare. She looked for all the world like some kind of nature goddess or wood fairy: all white and gold and purple, and so shining and beautiful that she took his breath away. She enchanted him.

“Done?” she said.

He held up the bouquet for her inspection and her blue eyes lit up.

“Wow," she breathed. "It’s gorgeous. You're really good at this, huh?”

“You think?”

“Yes. Julie’s going to love it.”

“I hope so.” Eric gingerly put the flowers in to a large container and shut the lid. He put the bouquet in to the fridge, glanced at his watch. “Hey, we made good time, huh? I thought it’d take at least another two hours.”

“It was fun,” she said. “I’ve never even attempted anything like this before.” She turned the flower arrangement and tucked a few petals in. “How’s this?”

“Is that the last one?” Eric asked as he walked over to inspect her work.

“Yep.” She fluttered her eyelashes up at him from the floor. “All done, boss.”

Eric grinned and checked the table centerpiece. It was good: Annabeth had a great eye for balance and color, and she’d managed to make every arrangement look a little bit different. He carried the flowers over to the kitchen counter now, wrapped them carefully. Then he looked over at her again.

She was leaning back against the sofa, her arms raised above her head, stretching. The movement pulled the dress tight against her breasts, tugged the dress up her legs. His eyes rested on her curvy, smooth thighs and his whole body was hit with longing. He’d never forgotten what it had been like to be between those long, slim legs and he wanted to be back there more than just about anything.

She looked over at him, saw it in his face. Right away, she was overwhelmed by a wave of want and heat – of pure, hot, animal
lust
. Since that day that she’d felt his heartbeat and asked him to hold her, she and Eric had been slowly but surely becoming closer physically. Still no kissing, definitely no sex, still in separate bedrooms – but they cuddled on the sofa and touched constantly. It was a steady, slow burn between them… and right at this second, it burst in to flame.

“Eric…”

His dark eyes sparked at the huskiness of her voice. “Yeah?”

“Come over here to me.”

Without hesitation he came and knelt down beside her. She reached for him and he moved closer, took her in his arms. She raised her face to his.

“Kiss me," she said, her voice trembling with need. “Then take off my clothes and make love to me right here on this floor. Take me until I don’t even know my own name anymore.”

Her words – so sweet and yet so hot – sent sparks of light and electricity all through his body. He was instantly, immediately, erect and throbbing.

“Fuck,” he whispered, cupping her shining face between his hands. “I’m going to make you come so hard, baby, and more than once. On my finger, on my tongue, on my cock, all night long. You’re going to beg me to stop even as you beg me for more.”

“Yes,” she breathed. “I want all of it… all of you. Give it to me, Eric. Give yourself to me.”

Unable to hang on to his control for even one second longer, Eric brought his mouth crashing down on to hers. Their first kiss in more than a year wasn’t soft or gentle, not at all. It was harsh and demanding as all of their pent-up need and desire was finally given permission to break loose. Their tongues stroked, licked, teased and the heat between them rose.

Annabeth moaned in to his mouth as he pushed her on to her back on the carpet, covered her twisting, writhing body with his. His impatient hands lifted the hem of the dress up her legs, moved over the front of her panties, stroked her lower lips. She was soaked already and the scent of her arousal was as sweet and heady as the flowers surrounding them. He felt his cock spasm in response and he shuddered.

Oh, Christ. I'm not going to last with her... no goddamn way.

When his fingers found her swollen clit, Annabeth's whole body tensed. Even through the material of her underwear, his touch felt like fire. She needed all the barriers between them gone, craved skin on skin, ached to be totally, gloriously naked with this man. And she needed it
now
.

Her movements clumsy, she lifted his t-shirt over his head, fumbled with the snap on his jeans. He helped her and together, they shoved the denim down his legs, pulled off his boxers. Annabeth sucked in a tortured breath at the sight of his gorgeous cock, so hard and big and all hers. She reached out and touched him, loving his groans as she pumped his length slowly, then faster. Drops of pre-cum glistened at the head and she couldn't stop herself from tasting him.

Eric thought he'd explode the second her lips wrapped around him. She sucked at the tip greedily, flicked her tongue over his liquid arousal. That was all good, but when her hot mouth slid down his whole length, it was
too
good. His hands went to the back of her head and locked her in place.

"No more." His voice was guttural. "I can't take it, baby."

She smiled and in response, swirled her tongue.

Eric arched, pushing himself deeper, which didn't help matters in the slightest. "Annabeth...no... I don't want to come like this. Not the first time."

She took pity on him now and withdrew torturously slowly, holding his eyes as she did. Eric held his breath the whole way, praying for control. When she released him, he felt the oddest combination of relief and regret.

"I really wanted to do that for a while longer," she said. "I love having you in my mouth... love hearing you go crazy when I do it."

Another spasm rocked him and Eric shut his eyes, fighting not to come just at her words. "You need to stop talking, angel."

"Why?" she teased him. "You got some other use for my mouth?"

In response, he kissed her again, even more savagely than he'd done before. Right away, she melted in to him, loving his passion and dominance. Desperate to feel her silky smoothness, Eric yanked her dress up and off her body, broke her bra clasp in his haste to get to her breasts, threw her panties to one side. His mouth was everywhere now, worshipping every inch of her pale, perfect body. Annabeth gave cry after cry as he consumed her completely: he bit her neck, circled her nipples, licked her belly button. When his tongue dipped inside her pussy, she clutched him closer, moaning.

"Eric... I'm there already. I'm - I'm... oh, God!"

Her orgasm shook her with its intensity and she screamed both her surprise and her release: she'd never come so fast in her life.
God
, he'd barely gotten started and she was a shuddering, sobbing mess on the floor. The waves washed her away and left her gasping for air and Eric stayed with her the whole time, his tongue fused to her clit. When her body relaxed and she slumped to the floor, he kissed her inner thighs, loving how the muscles jumped under his lips.

"OK, baby?" he said, his hands moving over her breasts gently.

She gave a laugh. "Uh. Yes."

He rose above her now, his hands roughly caressing her face. She was still panting and her hair was spread under and around her in a golden cloud. Some of the petals had gotten tangled in it and the sight of her like this – flushed and sated and surrounded by wildflowers – made his heart almost break in two with love for her.

"God, Annabeth." His hands stilled. "So beautiful. You just don't know."

Tears sprang to her eyes at his words and he smiled, knowing that they weren't tears of unhappiness or hurt.

"I love you." His hand was between her legs again. "I need to be in here, baby. I need to be inside you."

"Yes." She opened her legs wider. "I can't wait any more. I need this – I need you. I love you... so damn much."

She raised her head from the floor and claimed his mouth and as soon as she did, Eric was a goner. For the past year, he'd imagined what it would be like to make love to Annabeth again. He'd fantasized about every single dirty, hot thing he'd like to do to her if he ever got her in his arms again. He'd fully intended to take things slow with her, to undress her and stretch her out on a bed. He'd wanted to really take his time and get to know her body again, to explore her at his leisure. But Annabeth was making it impossible: she was moving aginst him, rubbing her hip against his cock, begging against his lips.

Gasping for breath, Eric tore his mouth away. "Fast or slow, baby?"

"Fast." She moved her hands down his body restlessly, trying to pull him as close as possible. "I'm so ready... I can't wait."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

He retrieved his jeans and got the condom from his wallet. She giggled when she saw that.

"In your
wallet
? Really?"

"I didn't know when the mood would strike us and I wanted to be prepared." He grinned. "In case we decided to go for it in the mountains, let's say."

"I thought about that," she mused. "More than once."

"Oh, so did I." He rolled on the condom. "But this is good, too."

"It is." She opened her arms to him, needing them to be filled with his muscle and tenderness. "Love me, Eric. Make me
feel
how much you love me."

He didn't need to be asked twice. He turned on his side and pulled Annabeth to face him, draped her leg over his hip. She gave a gasp as his cock nudged her slick entrance and then in one hard push, impatient and done waiting, he was inside her. Her nails bit in to his shoulders as he thrust deep, then he paused to let her body adjust. It didn't take long: her body remembered his and had missed it, and Eric felt her warmth and softness welcome him home.

He pulled back a bit and then re-entered her, watching her face as he did. She bit her lip, her blue eyes blazing with desire and need. He lowered his head and kissed her, his hips moving more quickly already. He wasn't going to last much longer and he didn't even try to fight it anymore. She was murmuring that she wanted to see him come, that she wanted him to just let go, and her words started his body shaking.

"I'm going to come again," she whispered, burying her face in his chest. "Babe, please..."

He let himself go now and drove in to her as hard as he could, angling his hips until she caught her breath and threw her head back.

"There! Eric, my God." Her eyes closed, her lips parted. "
Eric
..."

He wrapped his large arms around her, holding her in place. One hand was splayed across her back, supporting her; the other was gripping her ass, pulling her closer, tighter, to meet his plunges. He took total control of her body, moving her the way he wanted her, and she loved every second of it. She felt as limp as a rag doll and she couldn't do anything but hold on to him and let him take her there.

As her climax approached, Annabeth heard herself start to give cries in time with his rhythmic movements. She covered her mouth to quiet her own voice, to muffle her impending release, but he didn't want that. He tangled his one hand in her long hair, pulled her head back to meet his dark eyes.

"Don't," he growled. "You let me hear how much you love it, baby."

He twisted his hips and a small scream escaped her lips at the burst of sensation. He grinned.

"Yeah, that's it." He slammed in to her now, over and over, seconds away from coming. "Come for me, angel. Come with me..."

With a loud cry, she did. She knew he was there too, because his whole body went as hard as rock, every muscle locked and tensed. Then he pushed his face in to her throat and gave a shout. His whole length was pulsing inside of her clenching pussy, and she felt his heart pounding in time to his release. She pressed her lips to his chest, loving him in his abandon.

Eric sucked in air like a drowning man, stunned at how good it felt to be with her. When he kissed her again, it was without all the urgency of their earlier kisses. This time, he was tender, careful. She responded sweetly, almost shyly, and he pulled away to push her hair off her face.

"Doing OK, angel?"

"Yes." She gave a small shudder as her pussy rippled in a small aftershock. "Oh...what..."

"Oh, fuck." He rolled his hips a bit and her muscles twitched again. "You're still coming."

She whimpered as her inner muscles gave another tiny spasm and Eric gave another gentle thrust. She coudn't believe it – this had never happened to her before and it took a few minutes for her body to stop clenching and releasing on him completely. Every time her pussy flickered, he pushed back, making her shudder and moan. Finally, her body seemed totally satisfied and she relaxed fully. That was when he pulled out and they both sighed.

They held each other quietly, still lying on the floor. At last, Eric got to his feet and extended his hand to her.

"Shall we take this to the bed?" he said.

"Yes, I think so." She blinked up at him innocently. "I feel like I need a nap."

He picked her up and carried her in to the bedroom, whispering how much he loved her. As he laid her down tenderly, Annabeth wondered if they'd actually leave this bed again for longer than two minutes before Jake and Julie's wedding the next morning.

And as it turned out, they didn't.