Chapter Nineteen
Chloe cried out as the orgasm washed over her, her fingers squeezing Erik’s hand as he continued to stroke her.
It was bliss, but she wanted more. She wanted his weight, wanted to feel his hot skin pressed to hers, and that thick arousal, that was currently straining the front of his pants, inside of her.
“Come here,” she murmured, tugging weakly on him.
His eyes, that had been squeezed tightly shut, popped open as he reluctantly removed his hand.
There was a touch of uncertainty on his face that reminded her of his confession.
He’d never been intimate with a woman before.
The thought of teaching him the pleasures that could be found was an exciting prospect that only aroused her further.
Sitting up, she finished shedding her leggings before her fingers went to the belt at his waist and began undoing it. “I want to see you.”
The urge was there to rush, to whip his pants down as fast as she could and get him naked so she could see all of him, but she held herself back.
He was tense, holding himself stiffly, and she wanted him to enjoy this.
She didn’t bother to tell him to relax; she knew from her own experience that it never worked.
Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and began kissing those tight, washboard abs.
He let out a shuddering exhale, his posture softening just a bit as his hands went to work gently releasing the messy bun of her hair.
His fingers combed through the strands, the soft tugs on her scalp, soothing.
When he began massaging her shoulders, her hands went back to the waistband of his jeans, and she unfastened them, meeting a bit of resistance as she tried to unzip them thanks to the pressure behind that zipper.
He was a big man, she could already tell, and she licked her lips in anticipation of seeing him.
Slowly tugging the denim down, she revealed the black cotton briefs he wore, and underneath… She was right. Erik was thick.
Pushing the jeans lower, her eyes snagged on his muscular thighs.
He’d said he had some tattoos, but she hadn’t expected this.
Instead of a masterpiece, he’d marked himself with some sort of…
Well, she wasn’t even sure. Code maybe? Column after column of neatly inked eight-digit alphanumeric characters extended down his legs.
There must have been hundreds of them. She almost asked what they meant, the question balancing on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back.
She didn’t know what that question might invite into the bedroom with them, and she didn’t want his attention diverted.
She wanted him focused on her and what she wanted him to feel.
Returning her mouth to those delicious abs, her fingers slid under the waistband of his briefs, drawing them down.
Erik’s breath escaped him in a sharp hiss, and Chloe finally looked at what she’d revealed.
His erection jutted proudly, the tip glistening, and as she wrapped her fingers around his thick girth, he let out a harsh, choked sound.
As she took the head into her mouth, her name was torn from his throat in an almost agonized cry. His hips jerked as he buried his fingers in her hair, but he was careful not to pull her.
His voice was pained as he said, “I won’t… Chloe, I can’t…”
She took him deeper, and he let out a loud shout of fulfilment as he released, his entire body shaking from the impact. His back bent until he was bowing over her, and his legs trembled so badly she was afraid he was going to fall, so, with one final lick, she guided him down onto the mattress.
He was breathing hard, an arm thrown over his face, and Chloe smiled.
Kissing his chest, she began to move upward, her leg lifting to straddle him when he suddenly moved his arm.
There was a glitter of something hot and possessive shining in that turquoise eye as he let out a sexy growl and flipped them so she was flat on her back and he was braced above her.
His lips took hers in a scorching kiss, then went lower.
The sharp points of his fangs grazed her throat, then her collarbone.
His tongue flicked down her sternum to her belly.
Lower, where he bit the waistband of her underpants between his teeth and dragged them down, his hands taking over to remove them completely.
Chloe held her breath, waiting as he hovered over her hips, seeming to breathe her in.
He closed his eyes, almost like he was savoring the scent, before another one of those low growls rumbled through him.
Her hips moved, rising off the bed, begging for him, and her breath expelled in a loud woosh as he buried his face between her thighs.
The cries he wrung from her were loud and uncontrollable as another orgasm barreled toward her like a bullet train. Her entire body went taut as a bowstring, then broke apart, throbbing, making her want to curl up tight as it washed over her in waves, and she shouted Erik’s name.
Erik kissed his way back up Chloe’s body as she panted.
She meant to tell him that she was on birth control, but it came out as a garbled collection of syllables.
And then, she no longer cared. His mouth was devouring hers, and that thick erection was pushing into her, stretching her, filling her.
His arm looped under her leg, pulling it up higher, and he sank even deeper inside her as Chloe clung to him.
Wave after wave of pleasure surged through her as he retreated and thrust forward again, and again. Her voice was hoarse from calling his name. Had he said he’d never done this? If he was this good now, she wasn’t sure she’d survive him becoming a master.
Chloe was sprawled on top of Erik like a blanket.
Her limbs felt liquid, all the tension in her body having drained away, while a delicious tenderness between her legs made her lips curl in a satisfied smile.
She’d lost track of how many orgasms she’d had.
Erik had been insatiable, barely needing more than a minute of recovery time before he’d been ready to go again.
One of his hands stroked over her hair, while the other one skimmed gently over her shoulder, drawing patterns. His eyelids were so heavy, she was surprised he hadn’t fallen asleep.
“Why didn’t you take your father up on his offer to move closer to him?”
Chloe frowned. She thought when he finally got around to speaking, he’d say something like ‘That was amazing,’ not bring up her dad. “Let’s not talk about my father when I’m naked.”
Erik’s chest moved beneath her as he laughed quietly. “I don’t want to get dressed, but I’d still like to know.”
In a disgruntled voice that was only partially feigned, Chloe muttered, “We need to work on your pillow talk skills.” With a grunt, she rolled off of him and covered them both with a blanket as she lay at his side.
Turning to face her, there was pure curiosity on his face. “What are you supposed to talk about after?”
Chloe’s mouth opened to reply, but she hesitated. She didn’t want to sound like she was fishing for compliments.
“Chloe?”
“Aren’t you tired?” Honestly, she was amazed Erik was still awake, especially after what they’d just done, and after the man had stayed up all night in a cemetery, of all places. He should be exhausted.
He nodded. “I am. But I’m also curious. Your father could’ve protected you. Instead, you struck out alone. Why?”
Chloe plucked at the blanket. “Part of it, I suppose, was that I thought returning home would make me feel like a failure.”
“Why?”
She shrugged her shoulder. “I guess it’s just the way society views it. You know? Once you reach a certain age, you should be making it on your own.”
“I would think under the circumstances you would have been excused.”
“Probably.”
“And the other part?”
“What?”
“You said part of it was societal. What was the other part?”
Oh, right. Chloe gently cleared her throat.
“My father is a great man, and I love him, but he can be controlling. He’s used to giving orders and having them obeyed.
He and I didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of topics, and that led to a great many arguments.
We get along now because there’s distance between us.
If I’d moved out there, he would have tried to take control of my life again, and I didn’t want to risk losing what ground we’ve gained. ”
“And your mother?”
“My mom and I get along great for the most part, but she’s very old-fashioned. She doesn’t like to make waves and didn’t like it when I did either. She strove to be the perfect officer’s wife.”
“I’m not sure what that means, but then, I have no real frame of reference for parental dynamics,” Erik told her with a small, thoughtful frown.
Chloe thought of growing up with her parents.
She hadn’t known it at the time, but she’d been a bit spoiled.
Going to the theater with her mom, and the frequent get-togethers with the other officers’ wives, while Chloe played with their children.
The dance and music lessons, the voice coach that probably cost a fortune, and the theater rehearsals after school.
Her mom was constantly chauffeuring Chloe around, but she never complained, even when she’d probably rather be doing other things.
Then there was her dad. Yes, they’d argued, especially during her teen years – some of them heated – but when she’d been little, and he’d been stationed stateside, he’d carry her around on his shoulders, play with her, tuck her into her bed, and read her bedtime stories.
If he could help it, he never missed one of her performances.
Whether it was a dance recital, chorus, or a theater production, if she looked out in the audience, she would see her parents’ faces proudly beaming at her, or on their feet, clapping.
She’d had a great childhood, one many would envy.
Erik hadn’t had any of that. She probably sounded like an ungrateful wretch to him.
Not liking the dark cloud that had suddenly invaded this space that had been all about pleasure and intimacy just a few minutes before, Chloe changed the subject. “So what’s your latest art project?”
Erik propped himself on his elbow and looked down at her, his lips quirked up into a smile. “Do you want to see it?”
She nodded eagerly. “Yes, please.”
Getting up from the bed, he strode naked to the closed bedroom door, and Chloe drank in the sight of all that skin on display; the breadth of his shoulder, the strong back, the line of his hip, and the long, muscular legs...
“Wait. Aren’t you going to put some clothes on?” Jayla might be out there, and whether they regarded each other as siblings or not, Chloe didn’t want the other woman seeing Erik like this. She’d staked a claim, and she was a possessive lover.
“We’re alone. I would have heard if someone came in.”
But they’d also both been pretty distracted for a while there. Plus, the cameras… “Just humor me.” Climbing under the sheets, she tossed him the blanket.
With a shrug, Erik picked it up and wrapped it around his waist. “I’ll only be a second.”
True to his word, he came right back, his sketch pad in hand. Immediately shedding the blanket, he climbed back in bed with her and began flipping through pages. “I’ve been working on this.”
Chloe let out a sharp bark of laughter. That stupid rattlesnake tattoo. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
Erik smirked. “Probably not.”
And speaking of tattoos… Grinning, she asked, “What about that stuff on your legs? What’s that about? Seems an extreme way to keep track of your passwords.”
She regretted the joke when she saw Erik’s expression darken. All traces of humor had fled, and it felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.
“A tribute to the fallen. My brothers and sisters who never got a chance to taste freedom or be known by a name. Their lives mattered. They deserve to be remembered. Even if it’s just by me.”
Chloe’s sinuses prickled as tears welled in her eyes. There were so many, and they’d been children. She couldn’t fathom it.
Wrapping her arms around Erik, she held on tight. Swallowing thickly, she managed to say, “Tell me about them. So I can remember them too.”
Erik’s voice was quiet, reverent, as he shared their stories, and Chloe gave him her full attention. She would keep her promise. She would help Erik keep their memories alive, even if only in her heart.