Chapter 14
Sparks Fly - Taylor Swift
I
f anything, the rain intensified as they drove back to the hotel, and their dash from the car park on the side of the building to the front door left them soaked through.
Ignoring the horrified looks from other guests—all sensibly clad in raincoats and umbrellas—they raced through the hallways dripping water. When they finally reached their rooms, Abby’s frigid hand struggled to line up the key card. After two failed attempts, Erik grabbed the card from her and slid it in, opening the door with a click.
He dragged her into the room, pulling her towards the bed.
‘It’s c-criminal that you look this good soaking w-wet,’ Abby stammered between kisses. Despite the icy weather, his lips were somehow still hot, burning life back into her own.
In an effort to protect her modesty, Erik had wrapped his jacket around her before they escaped the car. The result was his soaked white shirt plastering itself to his body, the now transparent fabric sticking to every ridge of his torso.
‘I should let you shower. Change into warm clothes. That’s what a gentleman would do.’ Erik’s breath quickened as he pushed his jacket off her shoulders. Its protection hadn’t stopped the rain from saturating her dress, and his thumb ghosted over the spot where it clung to her breast.
‘You can warm me up instead. And it doesn’t have to be gentle.’
Where had that come from?
Was sheer desperation the key to making her brazen enough to express her needs? Or did everything just feel…freer with the man in her arms?
Erik laughed shakily into her mouth. ‘I am very, very much looking forward to taking my time with you,’ he breathed, grabbing fistfuls of her dress. ‘But one day…one day I am going to bend you over a table, bunch this ridiculous thing up around your waist, and fuck you so hard all you can say is my name.’
Abby moaned into his neck as he pulled the zip of her dress down achingly slowly and peeled it away from her. The cold, wet fabric of Erik’s clothes collided with her bare skin and she shivered against him. A deep, pleased sound rumbled from his chest.
As she reached for the first button of his shirt, three loud knocks on the door interrupted them.
Erik’s forehead dropped onto hers. ‘What. The. Fuck.’
‘Abby dear, are you in there? Is Erik with you? Nora’s knocking on his door and he’s not answering.’
Abby sighed and pushed Erik behind the door before yanking her fluffy hotel dressing gown on and tying it securely.
‘Yes, mother?’ She opened the door a crack and stuck only her face out.
Susan repeated her question about Erik’s whereabouts.
‘Uh, yeah, I think we had some dodgy fish at the pub. Neither of us are feeling great. He’s probably in the bathroom.’ The lie rolled easily off her tongue.
‘Oh, you poor things. Nora,’ Susan called down the hall, ‘the children are having stomach trouble. We should bring up some peppermint tea.’
Abby groaned inwardly, throwing out one last ditch attempt to be left alone. ‘Mother, we probably just need to sleep it off—’
‘Nonsense! We’ll be back with your tea in fifteen minutes.’
When Abby closed the door and turned to face Erik, he wore an amused smirk. ‘Quick thinking. Should I be concerned you’re going to use your powers of deception on me one day?’
‘I’d rather use my powers of seduction,’ she said softly, drawing close enough to toy with the buttons of his shirt again.
‘Oh, Sunshine, fifteen minutes is not enough time for everything I plan to do with you,’ Erik said roughly, his hand closing over hers.
And that… He’d thought about it. About them.
‘Go take that shower. Warm up. I’ll receive our tea,’ he rolled his eyes, ‘and try very hard not to think about you being wet and naked while my mother is in the room.’
Abby pouted, stretching up to kiss him again. If there was one thing in life she was certain of, it was her ability to bring Erik around to her side. Except he grabbed her jaw, holding her in place. ‘Abigail. Shower. Now,’ he said firmly.
His voice had her shuddering as anticipation flared through her body imagining when else he might use that tone.
And that gave her an idea.
Stepping out of his hands with a nod, Abby untied her dressing gown and let it drop. ‘Yes, sir,’ she said, sending a beatific smile his way.
She may have swung her hips more than necessary as she disappeared into the bathroom. The sounds of a long, deep exhale and a muttered, ‘Fucking brat,’ were her rewards.
Abby spent a few long, content minutes letting the water warm her to the bone. Sometime after she had leisurely removed her makeup, Erik appeared. He’d changed into his dressing gown, and he leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed.
The sight did little to calm her.
‘Are you going to join me?’
‘I’d rather watch.’
And he was, eyes staring intently as she slowed the movement of her loofah. He shifted, breathing deeply when she arched her chest under the spray to rinse the last soap from her skin.
It struck her that it should feel weird—her oldest friend watching her shower, devouring the sight of her naked body. That making out in the car should have filled her with anxiety about how this would affect their relationship. Instead, every moment they’d shared that took them beyond the bounds of their friendship had felt natural. Safe. The way things had always been with him.
When Abby shut off the water, Erik moved to the edge of the bath, swaddling her in a thick towel as she stepped out. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed the top of her head gently. It was such a familiar gesture, one they’d repeated thousands of times. But never post-shower, barely clothed, with tension filling every millimetre between them.
‘We’ve been summoned.’
Abby felt her face scrunch in annoyance. ‘What now?’
‘Dinner and dancing.’ The corner of Erik’s mouth quirked up. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the Sunday evening tradition.’
Inside Erik’s arms was exactly the spot she’d imagined spending the next few hours, but in her mind there’d been less clothing and no audience. The prospect of being stuck at a table with their parents beforehand didn’t help.
‘But we’re so sick.’ Abby pouted, widening her eyes as she lifted them to meet Erik’s gaze. ‘Doesn’t it make far more sense for us to stay up here, in bed ?’
The neck of his gown had slipped open, and she was dying to slide a hand under the soft fabric. But Erik still had her trapped in a fluffy burrito. She settled for burrowing her nose into the exposed skin, leaving lingering kisses on his chest.
‘Later, Sunshine,’ he whispered in her ear, steadying her as he stepped back.
Her heart sang as he tucked a steady curl behind her ear, and it took her a moment to place the feeling. For the first time in a long while, she felt… peaceful .
‘If we make an appearance,’ Erik continued, they’re more likely to leave us alone. ‘We’ll have dinner, dance to a few songs, then say we’re feeling ill again and want to turn in early. If we don’t go down at all, our mothers will be back up here every half hour trying to convince us.’
Abby frowned and Erik laughed softly, leaning in to kiss her forehead. He finally let go of her towel, and she snaked one newly freed hand through the fabric and in the direction of his gown’s belt.
‘Minx,’ he grumbled, lips still pressed to her head. ‘Go get dressed. I’ll be out in a few minutes.’
‘I don’t get to watch?’
‘No.’ He was smirking. It was infuriating. And, unfortunately, sexy. ‘Be a good girl; go get ready for dinner, and I’ll make it worth your while later.’
It felt unbearably cliché for her to have a praise kink. The high-strung only child who thrived on academic validation and longed for her parents’ approval? It was practically textbook. But the words ‘good girl’ slipping so naturally off Erik’s tongue had every part of her body heating. And of course, he had clocked that instantly.
It was crazy how in sync they were. Always had been. Crazy how he always knew exactly what she needed to hear. The way he anticipated her every need. Her blood pounded at the thought of what that same attentiveness would look like during sex.
He was going to ruin her.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist, wrinkling the green satin slip she’d thrown hastily on when she’d heard the shower stop.
‘You always smell so good.’ She sighed, turning to melt into his arms. He looked outrageously gorgeous again, wearing deep blue trousers and a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
Erik glanced down at her dress and froze. ‘Is that—’
Abby stepped back to give him a better view. She’d found the dress in a vintage store two months before their leaver’s ball. It had been two sizes too big for her, but she hadn’t been able to get it out of her head. Her mother had suggested that they simply have a replica of the dress made, but Abby had insisted. That was the one. She wanted whatever stories and magic and memories had been made in that dress to flow through her, too. So a seamstress had been roped in, cleverly tucking in darts of fabric in such a way that they could be taken out again, something Abby had been grateful for as her body changed over the following years. With the memories it held, she’d never been able to part with it.
Erik’s brows lowered, and she wondered if she’d made a mistake. Abby had been swept away by thoughts of romance and nostalgia, but maybe it symbolised something else to him. Perhaps it was a reminder of how badly that wonderful night had ended.
‘We should go,’ Erik croaked.
‘I can’t convince you to stay?’ Abby tried one last time, placing a gentle hand over his heart. It thudded under her fingers.
‘Two hours.’ His voice was like gravel. ‘We need to make it through two hours, and then I am going to spend the rest of the night lost in you.’