Chapter Sixteen
Eric
It was past midnight, and Jamie was curled against me, naked and trusting, her breathing deep and even.
This should have been simple. Count the minutes until I could wake her, watch her face transform with pleasure again. Or better yet, sleep. Dream about the way she’d fallen apart for me only hours ago.
Instead, I stared at the ceiling, my mind circling back to her story about being lost in those woods.
Christ, how had she done it? Stripped me bare with a few simple sentences about hiking trails and panic. It was the feeling of being utterly lost without even realizing it, of looking up one day and not recognizing anything around you.
Every word had hit like a physical blow because it was my fucking life in a nutshell.
I’d spent years building what everyone called the perfect life in Manhattan.
When I walked away from it all, I told myself I was finally free.
But I’d just traded one cage for another.
Instead of chasing someone else’s definition of success, I’d thrown myself into being the perfect caretaker, the reliable brother, the one who held it all together.
I’d been so busy taking care of everyone else that I’d never stopped to ask what I wanted.
Until now. Until her.
Jamie had somehow opened a door I didn’t even know was locked. Every moment with her felt like stepping into sunlight after years underground—first in Manhattan’s shadows, then under the suffocating weight of responsibility.
The fear. The anger. The long, numb stretch of living on autopilot. It all dropped away.
With her, I felt present.
Fucking alive.
Was it possible for a blow job to lead to an epiphany? Ridiculous sounding, but here I was, feeling like I’d experienced a seismic shift in my existence.
At some point, while I was still dissecting my own existence like a damn philosopher, sleep must have taken me.
I woke to soft morning light filtering through the curtains and Jamie’s spectacular ass cradling my semi-hard cock.
“Mmm…” Jamie moaned, low and throaty.
I swept her hair off her shoulder and leaned in to kiss the curve of her neck. Her skin was like silk, and she smelled like honey and desire and everything I wanted to wake up to for the rest of my life.
The thought should have scared the hell out of me. Instead, I filed it away and focused on the woman in my arms.
I trailed light kisses up her neck while my hand moved in the opposite direction, skimming down her arm, her hip, grabbing a handful of that perfect ass I couldn’t stop thinking about.
When she moaned again, I brought my lips to her ear. “Good morning, beautiful girl.”
She tilted her head back, sleepy and pliant, offering her mouth without opening her eyes.
I took it.
Her kiss was pure seduction. It started slow, still heavy with sleep, but within seconds, her tongue was pushing into my mouth like she couldn’t get enough.
Yesterday, she’d been the one calling the shots, and I’d loved watching her take what she wanted. Nothing was sexier than a woman who wasn’t afraid to demand pleasure.
But this morning? This morning was all mine.
I took control of the kiss, my hand tightening in her hair. She made a sound of approval that shot straight to my cock.
Grabbing her hip, I pulled her back toward me, grinding against her ass. The friction was phenomenal, but I needed more.
I slid my hand between her legs, running my fingers over her pussy, lightly circling her clit before dipping down to tease her opening. When I found her wet and ready, satisfaction rolled through me.
I broke away from her mouth. “I need you now, beautiful girl.”
It wasn’t a request.
Jamie opened her eyes, pinning me with a look of pure need, and lifted her leg over my thigh, opening herself to me.
She was so small in my arms, but her body fit against mine like we’d been designed for each other. I kissed her again while my hand drifted up to tease her nipple with feathery touches.
Her breathing turned ragged, little moans escaping with each touch.
“You want me?” I circled the tight peak of her breast.
“Yes,” she breathed.
I dragged my cock through her wetness, coating myself, making her gasp. She was so slick and hot, I wanted to bury myself inside her and never come out.
But then reality crashed in.
No condom.
How the fuck had I forgotten? I’d never been this careless, never lost control like this. Not with so much at stake.
Jamie noticed my hesitation, her hands grasping at my dick, trying to guide me home.
“Stop.” The command was too sharp, but I needed her to listen. “We need a condom.”
She froze, and for a moment we just breathed together, suspended between need and responsibility.
“Oh. I have some.” She bolted upright. “Let me get them.”
She was up and gone before I could respond, and I watched that gorgeous ass jiggle as she ran for the bathroom.
Fuck, I needed her back here, now.
She returned in seconds, bouncing onto the bed with a strip of condoms. “Here. My doctor always gives me samples. I keep telling her I don’t need them, but I’m going to thank her next time.”
I ripped one off and tossed the rest across the mattress. “You can thank her for me too.”
Jamie sat back on her heels, watching intently as I rolled the condom on. Her lust-filled eyes tracking my every movement made my cock twitch.
“Come here,” I commanded, my voice rough with need. “Right back where you were.”
Her smile was sin incarnate as she slowly crawled the short distance on her hands and knees. Like a cat, she arched her back and stretched out beside me, pushing that perfect ass toward me.
She was gorgeous. And right now, she was all mine.
I pulled her tightly against me, earning a yelp that quickly became a moan of satisfaction.
Now Jamie was the impatient one, throwing her leg over my hip, grinding against my straining cock.
“Take me,” she gasped, tilting her head to look at me. “Don’t hold back. Just take me.”
Her permission unleashed something primal in me. “You want it hard and fast?” I guided myself to her entrance, barely holding back.
“God, yes.”
I lifted her leg higher and began pushing into her heat. Slowly. Inch by fucking inch. The torture was exquisite.
With her eyes closed and mouth open, Jamie cried out as I filled her.
Tight, wet, and perfect, she felt like home wrapped around me. I pulled out slowly, gripped her tighter, and pushed in again. Slow and deep. She was trembling, her sounds of pleasure pushing me to the edge of my control.
I wanted to pound into her like an animal, but the slow burn was building something devastating between us. Something that would shatter us both when we let go.
When I slicked my fingers through her wetness and began rubbing her clit, her eyes flew open, breath catching.
“You like that, beautiful?”
“Yes, Eric, don’t stop. Please.”
“I thought you wanted it hard and fast?” I kept my rhythm slow and steady. “Change your mind?”
“I don’t care. It feels good. Don’t stop.”
“Good girl. Hang on tight.” I kissed her deeply, our tongues tangling, stoking the fire burning through my veins.
Then, without warning, I rolled us both to our knees. Keeping her back to my front, I sat on my haunches and pulled her down over my lap, her legs falling to either side of mine as I impaled her.
Her cry was loud and lustful. Exactly what I wanted.
My hand returned to her clit as she rocked over me, taking everything I gave her. Her cries turned sharp and desperate as I met her thrust for thrust.
She was close—her body tensing, her head falling back to my shoulder.
I bit her neck and growled against her ear. “That’s it, beautiful girl. Come on my cock.”
I pulled her hair, turning her face toward me as I took her mouth.
She exploded.
Unable to maintain the kiss, Jamie’s head fell back as she screamed her release.
She was still shaking when her orgasm triggered mine. But I had other plans.
I pulled out and pushed her flat to her stomach in one smooth motion, ripping off the condom so I could mark that amazing ass with my cum.
“Don’t move.” I leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I’ll clean you up.”
When I returned with a warm cloth, Jamie was giggling.
“What’s so funny?”
“My God, Eric. We just woke up the entire hotel. It’s only six-thirty, and you had me screaming like the building was on fire.”
“Maybe we did set it on fire. It’s still pretty hot in here.” My face hurt from smiling.
This playful side of Jamie was everything I didn’t know I needed. Her quick wit and easy laughter made me think life with her would be an adventure worth taking.
Life with her. The thought settled in my chest like it belonged there.
My existence had been about surviving day to day, not making plans beyond Caleb’s next procedure. Thinking about the future had been too overwhelming.
But Jamie made me want to plan. Want to hope. Want to believe that maybe, just fucking maybe, I could have something good.
After cleaning her up, I trailed kisses up her shoulders and neck. She rolled over, pulling me down for a kiss that was soft and deep and perfect.
“I’m sorry about the condom situation.” I searched her eyes. “I’ve never been that careless before.”
“Neither have I. We both got carried away.”
“I trust you completely, but I can’t take chances. Not with—”
“I understand. And just so you know, I’m extremely careful with birth control. Hunter was...well, I had no backup protection. One condom malfunction later and I was pregnant.”
“Thanks for telling me. But this isn’t about trust. It’s about being responsible for both of us.”
The way she looked at me then, like I was someone worth trusting with her life, hit me hard. Considering the men in her past, her willingness to believe in me was staggering.
I cradled her face. “Do you want to try sleeping for a few more hours?”
“No.”
“Breakfast?”
“No.” She sighed contentedly. “I just want to stay here with you. Like this.”
“Escaping reality?” I understood the appeal. Right now, this felt like the safest place in the world.
“Maybe. I just like the way you make me feel.” A wicked smile bloomed on her face. “And I like the way I can make you feel too.”
“Really? Tell me more.”
She pushed against my chest, rolling me to my back before straddling my waist. The demanding, take-charge Jamie was back, and I was already halfway hard again.
“I want to ride you until I come again,” she purred, squeezing me between her thighs. “Then I want to suck you off…you can come on my tits this time.”
Christ, this woman. “Sounds perfect. But here’s what’s going to happen first.”
Her eyebrows raised at my tone, and I felt her grow wetter against me.
“First, you’re going to sit on my face. I’m going to lick your pussy until you scream some more. We’ll wake up anyone who managed to sleep through round one.” I gripped her hips, already guiding her where I wanted her. “Then you can ride me however you want. Deal?”
Her smile turned feral. “Deal.”
She started moving up my body, and I felt like I was about to receive communion. When I finally got my mouth on her, all my earlier thoughts were confirmed. She was like honey, the sweetest thing I’d ever tasted.
I treated her like my last meal, feasting on her, fucking her with my tongue, devouring her with my lips. She came so hard she pulled my hair, her legs locking around my head, her body shaking with aftershocks.
And she did it all while screaming my name.