Chapter 9
ERIC
We ate slowly, the conversation drifting between comfortable silence and easy banter.
Ivy told me about her job at a prestige club, how the tips were great and the pay was more than she had expected.
I listened, filing away the detail as I focused on the way her eyes lit up when she talked about the regulars who treated her well.
"So, you get paid well but can't buy groceries?" I arched a brow at her and she pulled a face.
"I hate grocery shopping. I'm a single woman. I like girl dinners. Some nights I just have a muffin."
"You know, sometimes there's too much freedom as an adult," I joked, and she smacked my arm lightly.
"Life is made to be lived, and I like some comfort foods, dick," she shot back, and I grinned. Calling me names had always been her thing back when we were together. It was like she had her walls up even while softening for me.
"I'm just saying, when you hit thirty, those 'girl dinners' as you call them are going to catch up to you," I said, adding in air quotes for emphasis.
"Mmm, well, I'm sure I'll still look fine with extra curves," she shot back, and I chuckled.
"So, you're the big boss for your family's construction company. What's it called?" she asked, and I noted the carefulness in her tone. She was digging, I knew it.
"Briticanna Buildings is the company I manage now.
We work from homes right through to commercial buildings.
Danny used to run it. I spend most of my days managing permits and regulations now, handling all the hiring, bossing around the supervisors and other managers, just big boss stuff.
I rarely get to do any of the actual construction now," I shared, being mindful of what I allow her to know.
She knew me back when I was doing construction on my own, working for myself and getting away from the family business. Until I was reeled back in.
It was all technically true, even if it barely scratched the surface of what I actually did for the Hale Syndicate.
The lie sat heavy in my gut, but I swallowed it down with my coffee.
"So you're the big boss. Always on call. You seem to have a lot of time today with me," she noted as she sipped her coffee. She was quick, I'd give her that.
"Being the big boss comes with benefits. I get to delegate when I want some time to myself," I said, offering her a smile that she returned.
"Well, maybe I should consider myself lucky to have your attention for the day. Well, morning." She corrected quickly.
"No, the day is right. I want to spend it all with you, Ivy." I cupped her cheek, and her smile softened as she leaned into my palm.
God, seeing her again, feeling her body beneath mine, it was awakening so many things once more. I wanted to screw her senseless, to make up for all the time we'd lost. To show her how important she was to me.
"Well, in that case, what's the plan?" She asked, the corner of her mouth curling.
"Oh, I think you know what some of it is." I moved in to press my lips to hers, and she melted into it.
It was soft, but my body was screaming for me to make it more, to bury myself in her again.
But I wanted her to trust me again, to understand this wasn't just some fleeting thing.
Not if I could help it.
"Fine, but I want a shower first, so you can wait," she said firmly when she broke the kiss. "Let me finish eating and shower up. Then we can see where the day leads."
"Whatever you say, princess." I saw the soft shudder the pet name caused. She'd always enjoyed it when I'd called her sweet names.
After breakfast, Ivy showered while I cleared the remnants of our meal in just my briefs. Her apartment was small but tidy, decorated with bright throws and pillows that reminded me of her personality. Vibrant. Warm. Alive.
I checked my phone, firing off a few text responses while I stood out in the kitchen.
When Ivy emerged wrapped in a towel, her hair damp and smelling like coconut, something primal stirred in my chest.
"You're staring," she said, but her cheeks flushed.
"Can't help it."
She rolled her eyes, but I caught the hint of a smile as she disappeared into her bedroom. I followed, leaning against the doorframe as she rifled through her closet.
"You planning to watch me get dressed?"
"Thinking about it."
"Pervert." But there was no heat in it.
I crossed the room in three strides, catching her around the waist and pulling her back against my chest. She gasped, her hands flying to grip my forearms.
"Eric—"
I kissed the curve of her neck, feeling her pulse quicken beneath my lips. "Tell me to stop and I will."
She didn't tell me to stop.
The towel hit the floor, and we tumbled onto her bed in a tangle of limbs and breathless laughter. My briefs were discarded in an instant.
I caged her in my arms, staring down at the face that had stolen my heart so many years ago. The woman who made me feel alive and like anything was possible.
"Eric…" She breathed my name like I would vanish in an instant.
"I want you, Ivy. In more ways than you could ever know," I admitted. Sure, we'd only been together for seven months, but that time had been enough. We'd practically lived together, and sometimes, you just knew.
She'd been the one who'd got away. No other woman had ever made me feel the way she had.
"Show me, be the Eric I remember," she dared, the fire igniting in those wicked eyes.
The Eric she remembered.
That Eric was less restrained. Something she'd caused. Had I had restraint last night with her? Yes, I'd not wanted to scare her off.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." She propped herself up on her elbows to kiss me, and there was no holding it back now.
I claimed her mouth, fingers threading through her damp hair as I tilted her head back.
My other hand slipped between her thighs, finding her already slick and ready.
She whimpered against my lips as I circled that sensitive spot, the sound going straight through me like lightning.
Her hips bucked against my touch, desperate for more friction.
"Eric—" She broke the kiss, gasping as I slipped two fingers inside her, working them slowly while my thumb pressed against her clit.
God, her moans were music to me, my cock throbbing and twinging with each arch of her body. I wanted to be inside her, to fuck her senseless, to embrace the wild side like we used to.
"Eric." The whimper on her lips drew a deep groan from me as I stroked her walls, loving how she writhed and cried out beneath me.
I didn't want her finishing just yet though. No, I had a plan for her now.
"Please…" She was trembling beneath me, and I couldn't wait any longer. The one word, the begging request, it was all I needed. I positioned myself at her entrance and pushed inside with one smooth thrust. We both groaned at the connection, her body welcoming me like we'd never been apart.
I pulled back to graze my teeth over her shoulder.
"That's it," I murmured against her throat. "Let me hear you."
Her nails raked down my back, leaving fire in their wake. The sharp sting only drove me harder, deeper. She wrapped her legs around my waist, heels digging into my lower back.
"More," she gasped. "Eric, more—"
I grabbed her hip, and her legs released me as I flipped her onto her stomach. She'd always liked how deep I could get this way, the way I'd work her into a frenzy.
Her surprised laugh cut off into a moan as I pressed her down into the mattress, my hand splayed between her shoulder blades.
"You want more?" My voice came out gravelly, dripping with hunger.
"Yes—"
My palm connected with her ass, the crack of skin on skin echoing through the small bedroom. She arched into it, a desperate sound escaping her throat.
"Say it. Say you're mine, and I'll fuck you senseless, princess."
"Yours," she breathed. "I'm yours—"
Heat surged through my veins. I pulled her hips up, entering her from behind in one thrust that had us both groaning. The angle was devastating, and she dropped her forehead to her crossed arms.
"Look at you." I gripped her hair, pulling her head back just enough to expose the elegant line of her throat. "Perfect."
She clawed at the sheets, pushing back against me with every movement. Her body was taut as a bowstring, trembling on the edge.
I reached around, fingers finding that sensitive bundle of nerves as I drove into her. She cried out, the sound muffled as she bit down on her forearm.
"Don't hide from me." I moved my hand in her to wrap around her throat, applying just enough pressure to make her gasp. Her pulse hammered against my palm. "I want to hear everything."
"Eric—" My name came out strangled, desperate. Her inner walls clenched around me, and I felt her climbing higher, teetering on the edge.
This had always undone her, the dominance. She'd said feeling at my mercy and knowing I'd never hurt her was what had done it for her.
I would never hurt her again. Never leave her. She needed to know that.
"That's it, princess. Come for me."
My hand tightened fractionally on her throat, and she shattered. Her body went rigid, then liquid, a broken cry tearing from her lips as she came undone beneath me. The sight of her, the feel of her pulsing around my cock, it dragged me over the edge with her.
I released her throat immediately, gathering her against my chest as we both collapsed onto the mattress. Her breathing came in ragged gasps, chest heaving as aftershocks rolled through her.
"You okay?" I pressed my lips to her shoulder, noting the red marks on her throat where I'd gripped. They'd not leave bruises though, I'd been careful about the pressure in that regard. I always had been.
She was my lover, not something or someone to hurt.
She turned her head, eyes glazed and satisfied. A lazy smile curved her lips.
"More than okay." Her voice was hoarse. "That was—"
"Rough?"
"Perfect." She shifted onto her side, tracing idle patterns on my chest. "You remembered what I like."