19
E rin had just finished putting her shoes on when there was a knock on her door. She knew it was Cruz coming to pick her up. Paetyn had left a few hours earlier after running her a bath, making her breakfast, and being sweet enough to change her sheets for her. He hadn’t been playing with her the night before. She was exhausted, but after filling her stomach with a cup of coffee, breakfast, and an energy drink half an hour ago, she felt more energized.
Opening her door for Cruz, she found him in black jeans, a dark gray V-neck t-shirt, and matching Jordans. She didn’t think she’d ever get over that her men looked good in anything they wore. He leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her lips.
“You look gorgeous.”
“Thank you. Come in. I need to grab my bag, and we can go.”
Erin entered her bedroom, opened the closet, and removed the backpack she needed for their date. She transferred her wallet into its front pocket, placed her phone inside, grabbed the blanket folded at the end of her bed, and returned to the living room. He was sitting on her couch, on his phone, when she walked in.
“I’m ready,” Erin announced, and he stood, placed his phone in his back pocket, and reached out to take the bag and blanket from her. “I’ve got it.”
“Give them to me,” he stated, and Erin decided to choose her battles since she was sure there would be at least one more later in the day.
She handed them over, and they exited her apartment. Cruz led her to his car once she locked her front door and set the alarm. He opened the door for her, and Erin slid into the passenger seat. Her backpack and blanket were placed in the backseat behind her before he went around and got behind the wheel. Cruz leaned over and put her seatbelt on her before starting the car.
Erin was still shocked now and then by all the sweet, thoughtful gestures she received while dating them. She’d like to think it came with age and maturity since she hadn’t dated many men older than her until them. However, age did not always dictate maturity, which meant she’d just been dating the wrong men.
“Where to, Ma?y?”
“Washington Park.”
Erin hadn’t wanted them to go to the same park since she wanted the dates to be different and tailored. Washington Park was also large and open and would be perfect for what she had planned. Soft music filtered from the radio as they drove, and she looked out the window at the passing scenery. She didn’t think she’d been to this part of town yet. None of it looked familiar, but she made a mental note to check out several shops they passed.
When they pulled into the crowded parking area, finding an open space took them a minute. She wasn’t surprised. The weather was nice, and she hadn’t expected anything else for a Saturday afternoon.
Erin grabbed her backpack and blanket from the backseat after getting out. Cruz took her hand, and Erin led him to the park. Even as packed as the parking area was with cars, the expansive park made it seem like hardly any people were there when that wasn’t the case. It would give them plenty of room to do the first thing on her agenda.
She found a spot close to one of the ponds. The closest people to them were several yards away. She grabbed one end of the blanket, handing the other side to Cruz, and they spread it out. She sat down, and he sat beside her as she placed the backpack between them. Erin opened it, pulled out everything inside, and put the bag on the other side of her.
“We’re flying kites,” Cruz observed.
She nodded. “Yes. We have to put them together first, but it should only take a few minutes.”
In planning both dates, she knew she wanted to take advantage of the nice weather. She hadn’t flown kites since she was a kid, but she thought it would be nostalgic to do so. They put their kites together, Cruz helping her with the nose of hers since it was a tight fit. They were ready to let the kites fly once they’d tied the strings on.
She’d opted for two easy-fly kites that they could essentially toss into the air, and the wind would catch them. She hadn’t known how much space they would have, even with as large as the park was, and didn’t want them having to run all over the place for the kites to take off.
It took a few tries, but the kites soon caught on the wind, and Erin spooled some of her string out to allow it to go higher. She was backing up, walking around their chosen area, when she bumped into Cruz. He wrapped his free arm around her waist as their kites flew side by side.
“I haven’t done this since childhood,” Cruz informed her.
“Me too. I was twelve the last time I did this. My dad was home on leave, and the whole family went to the park. We flew kites, had a picnic, and did paint by number paintings.”
“You sound sad about it.”
“Six months later, my sister made plans to relive that day with me. Our dad wasn’t going to make it home for New Year. He’d already missed Christmas, and our mother had to work that day. I was bummed about it.” She paused for a moment. “Rhyin died the day before we were supposed to go, and I steered clear of those things for a long time.”
Erin wasn’t sure why; to some, it would sound unreasonable, but she’d steered clear of doing everything they’d done that day. It brought up so many sad memories for her. However, she knew that a part of healing was facing fears and looking at things that caused you certain emotions head-on. So, she’d decided to put her best foot forward and engage in some of those activities with her men to change those memories.
Cruz kissed the back of her neck. “I think she’d be proud to see you’re facing those emotions.”
Erin leaned back against him, grateful he hadn’t apologized for her loss. While she knew people were offering their sympathy, and many genuinely meant it, the apology never made it sting less. It never took the hurt away.
Silence sat between them for several long minutes, and Erin knew she needed to get the mood back to where it needed to be. She hadn’t meant to tell him that, but it was a testament to how comfortable she felt around him in their relationship. She didn’t talk about her sister to others often. She didn’t hide Rhyin, but she’d give vague answers or change the subject when asked. Few people knew the pain she felt that stemmed from losing her sister and her mother, and she had given him a glimpse unprovoked.
“How’s the software coming along?” she asked, wanting to return the tone to where it was before. It wasn’t that she thought the date’s mood had shifted, but she knew hers had and didn’t need that while spending time with him.
“We’ve finalized it, and a software update for all affected systems will be rolling out soon.”
“It’s for the business systems, right?”
“Yes. The first of two planned to release this year.” Cruz released her waist, attempting to grab the kite’s string and maneuver it away before it crashed into hers. He hadn’t been fast enough, and they fell to the ground.
They picked up their kites, getting them flying again, and this time, they staked the handles into the grass to let them free fly. Cruz pulled her to sit between his legs on the blanket, and Erin took one of his hands, flipping it over and using her free hand to trace her middle finger over his and his palm.
“I’ve discovered that I have this weird obsession with your hands,” Erin informed him absentmindedly.
“It’s because you know what I can do with them,” he responded, and she smiled while shaking her head. “Tell me how the shop preparation is going.”
“Really well. I’ve got appointments to meet with sign makers, and I hope to place an ad for artists.”
For the next several minutes, Erin told him her plan for opening and how she wanted to have an event to display her work in person. That way, those interested could see her portfolio and how her work would stand out on their skin.
“If all goes according to plan, I hope to open mid-July.”
Cruz hummed. “Are you busy tomorrow?”
“I’m meeting Chayse at the shop, and she’s going to take more pictures for me.”
“You said you wanted to give me another tattoo. Do you want to do it tomorrow? Chayse can take pictures while you do, and it gives you one more person your work can be seen on at the opening.”
Erin turned around, sitting on her knees to look at him. “You’re serious?” When Cruz nodded, she kissed him and he chuckled against her lips before pulling her closer. “Thank you, babe,” she stated when they pulled apart, only for him to pull her back in. She had a few pictures of her working on people in her portfolio, but not nearly enough, and being able to add more would be beneficial.
Her phone ringing disturbed the moment, and Erin groaned into the kiss before they pulled apart. She removed her phone from the backpack and when the same number flashed across her screen, she almost answered it in irritation. Instead, she released another groan of annoyance and sent them to voicemail.
“Someone you don’t want to talk to?” Cruz asked.
“I don’t know who it is,” she responded before explaining that she thought it was a client who lived or worked in the worst reception area there was.
Her boyfriend didn’t look convinced. “You’re sure that’s all it is?”
“Yes. I distinctly heard the words appointment, available, and client on the two calls where they said something.”
“But why wouldn’t they say anything before?”
Erin shrugged. “They could have been, and I couldn’t hear them because of the service.”
Cruz rubbed his beard, and before he could respond they heard a soft crash. The wind had let up, and her kite had come crashing down. His followed suit a few seconds later. When they retrieved them this time, Erin suggested they take them apart and pack them up. She was ready to move on to the next part of their date, also in the park.
Folded blanket under her arm and the backpack in his hand, she took his free one and led him to the other pond. It was bigger than the one they’d been flying kites near. She approached the rental booth and gave the attendant her name. She’d called when planning both dates and reserved a pedal boat.
The attendant gave her the total for the rental, and when Cruz’s hand came over her shoulder with his card held in it, she smacked it away. She turned to him, retrieving her wallet from the backpack as he again tried to hand his card to the attendant. Erin took it from him and placed it in her back pocket.
“You realize I have more than one,” Cruz stated.
“You realize if you don’t let me pay, you aren’t getting any tonight,” she countered.
The man in the booth chuckled. “I’d let her pay, man.”
“She’s bluffing,” Cruz told him.
“Am I?” Erin inquired with a raised brow. She was, but she wasn’t going to let him know that.
“Fine,” he acquiesced.
Erin smirked triumphantly before paying the attendant. He returned her card and receipt to her, and she placed them back in her backpack.
“Here’s the key to unlock it from the tether. It’s boat four,” the attendant told them. Erin thanked him, and they headed toward the boat. She pulled Cruz’s card from her pocket to hand it back to him. He glanced down at her.
“Keep it.”
“No,” she responded, placing it against his chest.
He finally took it, and Erin stepped into the boat, sliding over so he could get in. She unlocked the tether at the back, and they began to peddle as Cruz set the bag on the floor under his legs. They peddled around the pond silently, enjoying one another’s company until she remembered one of her conversations with Paetyn yesterday.
“I’m thinking of learning a new language.”
“Yeah?” Cruz asked. “Which one?”
“Polish, if you’re willing to teach me. I can communicate with Paetyn in Spanish, so I want to be able to do the same with you eventually.”
“I speak Spanish,” Cruz informed her in the mentioned language.
“I know, but I want to be able to talk to you in your heritage language as well,” she responded similarly. “So, will you teach me?” she inquired in English.
“Of course, Ma?y. Speaking of Paetyn, how was your date?”
“It was good; we had fun.”
“What’d you do?”
Erin scrunched her nose. “I spent the day giving him my undivided attention like I’m attempting to do with you.”
Cruz chuckled. “I get it.”
It wasn’t that she minded talking about her date with Paetyn. She didn’t want to do it while she was on one with him. For the most part, she and Paetyn hadn’t brought him up when they’d spent time together, and she wanted to do the same while she was with him. Erin had no problem telling him about it tomorrow if he still wanted to know, but today, she was with him, and that was where her focus was.
They did more laps around the pond, staying on the water for over an hour before peddling the boat back to where it was tethered. After turning the key in to the attendant, they returned to the parking area and got into his car, Erin giving him their next destination.
C ruz pulled into the parking lot of Axe Whooping and turned to Erin to find her smirking at him. He shook his head because he knew this was about to turn competitive, just like when they’d gone to the shooting range, but he was all for it. There was nothing wrong with a little friendly competition.
They exited the car, and he took her hand, leading them inside. A smiling face greeted them, asking what they were interested in doing while there.
“Hi,” Erin greeted. “I reserved the course for four-thirty. Erin Daniels.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve got you. If you give me just a few minutes, I’ll get one of the guys to take you back. The tutorial takes about fifteen minutes at the teaching target, and then the course will take about an hour to an hour and a half to complete.”
“Thank you,” Erin responded, and Cruz pulled her to the side as a group walked in.
“You know I’m not going to go easy on you, right?” he asked, placing his hands on her waist.
“I hope not because it’d be less fun when I beat you.”
Cruz snorted, shaking his head as she smiled at him. That smile always did things to him; even when she wasn’t actively trying to, she had a way of stirring things inside him. He couldn’t stop himself from leaning down and kissing her.
A few minutes later, a young man introduced himself before leading them to the back. He went over some basic safety rules and demonstrated the best way to throw the axe before allowing them a few practice throws, then led them to the beginning of the course and informed them each target was stocked with six axes, three for each of them, and the first one housed their scorecards to take along with them. There were ten targets, each of which would take six to ten minutes to complete.
“Are you sure you want to do all ten of these, Ma?y?” Cruz asked when they were alone.
“Why? Are you getting cold feet because my practice throws were better than yours?”
“You wish. I don’t want your arm to be sore by the time we finish.”
“I think I’ll be okay, but let’s make this interesting.”
“How so?” he inquired.
“If I win, I get anything I want,” Erin informed him.
“I already give you that. How would this be different?”
She glared at him playfully, but Cruz knew she couldn’t deny it. Though she didn’t typically ask them for much and complained when they did things for her that she thought were over the top or cost too much, they gave her anything she wanted and things she didn’t know she wanted. Paetyn had told her it didn’t matter what it was; she could have it, and he hadn’t been lying. If it was within their power to give it to her, it was easily hers.
“I get to cash it whenever I want. It doesn’t have to be now.”
“Okay, and when I win, you have to accept that doing things for you, buying you things, comes second nature to us. We do it because we want to, and stop fighting us on it constantly.”
Erin pouted at him, shaking her head. Cruz was sure he’d never seen anything so adorable before in his life. “No, that’s not fair. Choose something else.”
“I won’t. That’s what I’m choosing. If you don’t want it to happen, all you have to do is win, baby. Which you were so confident about a moment ago,” he reminded.
“Fine, but when I win, I don’t want to hear it was because you let me.”
“Deal.”
Cruz gestured for her to go first, and as much as he knew she wanted to win, he couldn’t allow that to happen, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t take it a bit easy on her as long as she didn’t notice.
“I was so close,” Erin stated as they sat in the restaurant she’d asked him to pick for dinner two hours later. She’d pouted the entire car ride and asked him if he’d been axe-throwing before because that had to be the only way he’d beaten her.
“You were, Ma?y,” Cruz agreed. He’d planned on taking it easy on her but realized by the fourth target that if he did that, she would beat him. As it was, he’d only beaten her by four points.
“We could have gone double or nothing. I don’t know why you said no.”
“Could your arm handle another hour and a half of throwing? Can you give me a tattoo with a sore arm?”
Erin puffed her cheeks before releasing the air she’d gathered in them. “Fine, but you have to be reasonable in your request.”
“I’ll think about it,” Cruz informed her as their server came back with their drinks, and they placed their orders. He took a drink of the Japanese whiskey before putting his glass back on the table.
“Can I try it?” Erin asked, and he slid the glass to her.
He watched her try it, holding it in her mouth before swallowing and placing the glass back on the table. She tilted her head as if deciding how it was.
“Do you like it?”
“It isn’t bad. I’ve never had Japanese whiskey, so it’s my first.”
They lapsed into conversation, and Cruz debated whether or not to tell Erin that he’d be leaving in a month for a month, but he decided to hold off. The additional systems Amir wanted would take almost two weeks, but they hadn’t finalized the dates yet. They had another call scheduled for the upcoming Friday and would figure it out then.
She was telling him about her father coming to visit her for Father’s Day next weekend when she stopped mid-sentence, looked over at another table, and Cruz raised an eyebrow at her.
“Do you know the woman at that table over there?”
“No,” he responded.
“You didn’t even look.”
He didn’t need to. If it was the same woman sitting there from when they arrived, he didn’t know her. However, he glanced over, confirming it was, and found her staring at their table.
“No, I don’t know her.”
“Then she’s just being blatantly disrespectful by staring at you. I let it go the first couple of times, but she keeps glaring at me when I catch her.”
Cruz shook his head and refrained from chuckling. The last thing he wanted was the woman at that other table. Hell, any woman, for that matter.
“Should I sit you on the table and eat your pussy for her to see?” he asked her in Polish.
Erin studied him for a minute. “Yes,” she answered with a nod. This time, he did chuckle.
“You don’t even know what I said.”
“Well, posadit’ in Russian means either seat or sit. Stol means table. Vylizat’ means eat or lick, and tvoyu means your. Those four words sounded the same. Considering you have no filter, I used context clues for the rest. So, yes. You can eat my pussy on this table.”
The stirring that Cruz felt in his groin had him reaching over and gripping her chin. He pulled her to him and took her lips in a deep kiss. He’d only been mildly joking when he asked her, but her giving him permission had a primal possessiveness rising. Eating her pussy in front of the entire restaurant would get them put out and make tabloids. He didn’t care about that. It was the fact that other people, other men, would get to see what was for his eyes only to share with one other.
“I enjoy the way you tempt me, Ma?y.”
“Good because I enjoy doing it.” She smiled against his lips before pulling apart. Her eyes shifted in the direction of the other table. “Our friend over there is pissed at me. If looks could kill. I have the biggest urge to stick my tongue out at her, but that would be childish.”
Cruz chuckled as their server returned with their food. He placed his hand on her thigh, using the other to pick up his fork while Erin picked up her chopsticks. Even though he’d won their little bet, he agreed to let her pay for dinner because he’d be paying her back a different way once it was over.
C ruz’s dick was far too hard as Erin rubbed it over his jeans. She’d taken to teasing him in the restaurant after his question, and once they were back in the car, she’d attempted to release him from his pants. He had to stop her because if she did that, he’d be pulling over to fuck her in whatever parking lot he pulled into, and at six foot six inches, he was far too tall to fuck her in the car comfortably.
She hadn’t let that stop her, palming him through his pants, adding pressure now and then as she leaned over from time to time to kiss and bite his neck. He needed them to get to her apartment faster, and it was as if traffic wanted to get in on the torture because it wasn’t complying with what he wanted.
After what felt like an eternity, he pulled into the parking garage of her building, and before he could say anything, Erin removed her hand from his crotch and got out of the car. Cruz took a deep breath because she knew what she was doing, and he needed to get himself under control, or he’d fuck her right there.
Getting out a few seconds later, he followed her down the hall, a small distance between them. He removed his wallet from his back pocket, pulled out a condom, and replaced his wallet.
Cruz closed and locked the door behind them as soon as they entered her apartment. He took the corner of the condom wrapper between his teeth as he advanced on her. He put his hand on her back, pushing her over the back of the couch, and she let out a gasp. He was sure he’d surprised her since she didn’t see him coming.
With his other hand, he reached around, unbuttoned and unzipped her shorts, and pushed them down past her knees. He ripped the wrapper open with his teeth, spitting the edge to the side, as he undid his jeans, pushing them down to his thighs and freeing his dick over the top of his boxers.
Once he had the condom free of the wrapper, he slid it down his dick with one hand, the other still on her back. Cruz rubbed his dick along her pussy, listening to her moan before he pushed into her. His patience was non-existent at that moment, and while he might take his time in round two, right now, all he wanted was for her to cum for him. He gripped her waist as he began to fuck her, pulling her back to meet each of his thrusts.
“Cruz, baby, wait.”
“Nah, Ma?y. I want you to cum for me, and I’m not waiting to get it.”
She was up on her toes, and he removed his hand from her back, gripping her other hip, and lifted her lower half to angle her just where he wanted her. She gasped as her feet left the floor, and Cruz abused that bundle of nerves he knew would have her cumming for him.
Her moans filled the living room, and he wondered if her neighbors could hear her, wondered if they knew he was deep in her guts. If they didn’t, they would. The force behind his thrusts increased, and he watched her grip the back of the couch.
“Come on, Ma?y. Don’t you want to cum for me? Be a good girl and let me have it.”
“Cruz, please.”
“Unless you’re begging me for more, to let you cum, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Yes, baby. I’m…fuck, I’m going to cum.”
He leaned back, angling his hips more, and though he knew it was impossible, he tried to push deeper, further. Join their bodies as one.
“Let it out. Good girls cum when they’re told to. So, show me how fucking good you can be for me.”
Cruz punctuated the command with a hard thrust, and Erin’s legs began to shake. His name ripped from her lips like the last word she’d ever speak, and her pussy clamped around him as she came. He held himself still, allowing her to ride out the high.
He talked her through it, his words causing her pussy to spasm, and he pulled more moans from her as he removed her shoes, tossed them aside, and removed her shorts, moving them where they fell. He pulled out of her, placing her on her feet before turning her around and sitting her on the back of the couch. Sliding back into her, he watched the pleasure pass over her face.
Erin reached for the hem of his shirt, and he allowed her to take it off and throw it aside. She pulled him down, and he placed his lips to hers, letting her dictate their movements as he pulled out of her before snapping his hips and entering her again. She moaned into his mouth, and he took it down like the finest wine.
“Will you cum for me again?” he questioned against her lips, and she nodded. “Words, Ma?y. Will you cum for me again?”
“Yes, yes, I’ll cum for you again.”
He began to thrust into her. “Mm. Will you cum for me as many times as I ask you to?”
“I…”
Cruz nipped her lower lip. “Will you?”
“Yes, I will.”
He moaned as he brought a hand up to cup the side of her face. “So good for me. Willing to give me exactly what I want.”
Erin whimpered against his lips, and Cruz smirked. “I almost forgot how much you enjoyed hearing how good you were. Hearing how good this tight little pussy feels.” He ran his tongue over her lower lip and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “How it’s the only one I want. How you’re the only one I want.”
“Cruz, please.”
“You know that, right, baby?”
Erin nodded. “Yes, yes, I know. Just please.”
“I’m not stopping you, Ma?y. Let that shit go. Give it to me. Don’t make me tell you again.”
“Fuck!” she exclaimed as she threw her head back, and Cruz attached his lips to the hollow of her neck as he fucked her through her orgasm. Her body responded to his words and commands as if he’d programmed her to do so.
This time, he didn’t stop and let her come down, he continued to fuck her, and Erin leaned back over the couch. He wasn’t sure if it was an attempt to get away from him or change the angle. Either way, she hadn’t given him a temperature. So, he knew she was okay.
“So good, baby,” he praised as he slid his hand under her shirt and pinched her nipple. “Now, give me another one.”
By the time he finished with her, her body wouldn’t know whether it was cumming or going.