30
“E r...rin. Erin.”
Erin turned her attention to Alijah. “I’m sorry. What’d you say?”
“I asked if business was still steady.”
“Yeah, it is. We’ve picked up over the past couple of weeks, and we got a call from one of the sororities at the University of Colorado about doing a matching piece for their members.”
“That’s great,” Chayse stated. “Do you know how they heard about you?”
“One of their sisters, her actual sibling, came in and got a tattoo and recommended us to them. They like that we’re female-owned and operated.”
“Look at you doing big things,” Lawrence stated.
“Thanks,” Erin smiled.
“When does Cruz get back?” Alijah questioned.
“At the end of next week. Ten more days.”
“And how long has Paetyn been gone?” Chayse asked.
“Two weeks.”
“Are you okay?” Alijah inquired.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I miss them, but it isn’t like they aren’t coming back.”
Erin could admit that when she’d seen Paetyn off at the airport, she hadn’t wanted to let him go. The same way she hadn’t wanted to with Cruz, but she knew the sooner she let him, the sooner he’d be back. He’d volunteered to fly back every weekend while he was gone, but she wouldn’t be that selfish. They were filming long days six days a week, and Sunday would be his only day to unwind. She wouldn’t ask him to spend eight hours between Saturday night and Sunday evening when he’d fly back on a plane.
There was also only a two-hour time difference, so he called her most nights around nine. If he didn’t because filming ran late, he’d call her the following morning. She’d also spoken to Cruz a few more times. So, she was fine. In two weeks, she’d be able to see them both. She took a drink of her wine. She was eager to see them in person again and wanted them to be just as enthusiastic.
“Chayse,” Erin called, getting her attention. “Are you busy after work today?”
“No. I have some photos to edit for one of the magazine spreads, but I have time. What’s up?”
“Can you meet me at around eight at Paetyn and Cruz’s? I want you to take some pictures for me.”
“Ooh,” Lawrence started. “Sending your beaus some naughty pictures.”
Erin smirked. “Something like that.”
“Yeah, I can meet you. Just send me the address. I’m not confident I remember how to get there and don’t want to get lost.”
Alijah looked at her phone. “I have to get going. Kieran has a meeting in a little over half an hour.”
“Go,” Lawrence stated. “It’s my turn to pay anyway.” He looked at his watch. “We all probably need to get back. We’ve been here over an hour.”
“I’ve got the tip,” Erin stated before downing the rest of her wine as Lawrence stopped the server to ask for the check.
Erin pulled out some cash for a tip, while Lawrence pulled some to pay the bill. He returned the envelope to the server, and the four exited the restaurant. They said their goodbyes on the sidewalk and went their separate ways.
E rin pulled up to the house at quarter past eight, and Chayse was already waiting for her. She had to go to her apartment and grab a few things, but she texted her to let her know she was running late. She placed her thumb on the keypad at the front door to allow them access.
She wasn’t sure when, but Cruz added her security profile to their panel at some point. She’d stopped by one day and, after knocking, placed her thumb on the pad playing around. She was shocked it unlocked. In hindsight, she probably shouldn’t have tried because she could have done something to the system were she not an approved profile.
“Where do you want to take your pictures?”
“We can go to Paetyn’s bedroom first and then Cruz’s,” Erin responded, leading the way upstairs. She figured taking them in their rooms would add a little extra flair.
While Chayse set up the couple of ring lights she brought, Erin changed into a dark blue teddy she’d gotten when they went shopping. It was Paetyn’s favorite color, and she hadn’t worn it yet. She hadn’t worn any makeup to work and decided she’d keep it that way. She might have put some on for an entire boudoir shoot but only wanted a few pictures.
“Will you rearrange his pillows? I don’t want to overstep any boundaries in his space,” Chayse stated when Erin exited the bathroom.
“Sure, how do you want me to put them?”
Chayse instructed Erin on how to put them and then told her to pose how she wanted to. However, she knew Chayse would direct her if something didn’t look right and if she had an idea to make it look better.
“I don’t need a lot of pictures,” Erin stated, getting into her first pose. “Maybe seven or eight in each room because I hoped you could touch them up when we finish. I wanted to try to send them tonight.”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
Over the next twenty minutes, Erin knew Chayse snapped far more pictures than she needed, but she’d learned long ago that her friend tended to get into a groove. She had to stop her and tell her she thought it was enough. She fixed Paetyn’s bed, grabbed the bag she’d brought, and helped Chayse carry her lights into Cruz’s room.
She left Chayse to set up the lights while she went to change. This time, she put on a dark green baby doll, another item they’d bought her that she hadn’t worn yet. When she exited, Chayse again asked her to rearrange the pillows.
They took just as many pictures as before, and when Chayse finished, Erin helped her pack everything up and volunteered to make them a late dinner while she touched up the photos. She agreed, and Erin went to change after fixing Cruz’s bed.
She decided on pasta—something quick and easy—and they talked about their upcoming trip and what they wanted to do while they were there. By the time they finished eating and Erin had washed the few dishes, Chayse had touched up all the pictures she’d taken, Telling Erin it didn’t take much to touch up pretty people. She emailed all the images to Erin before she needed to get going.
Erin walked her to the door and watched her enter her car before closing and locking the door. She turned off the lights and went upstairs to Cruz’s bedroom, where she’d left her bag. It was after ten, and she decided she would stay. It would be her fourth time doing so since they’d both been gone.
After her shower, she dressed in one of his t-shirts, turned the overhead light off, and slipped into bed. Going through the pictures, she chose five of each and sent the pictures to them separately. It was after ten o’clock, which meant it was after midnight for Paetyn and early morning for Cruz. She ensured her alarm was set before putting the phone on the nightstand. She pulled a pillow to her chest and soon drifted off to sleep.
C ruz wasn’t surprised to find Erin in the house. He’d gotten a notification when she’d arrived and when she’d locked the door, and he’d set the alarm from his plane a few minutes after that. It was a nice welcome home to find her in his bed, the lamp on the nightstand glowing softly.
He’d gotten her pictures when he’d landed, and he’d been tempted to say fuck waiting on his luggage and leave it on his plane; he could get it another time, but he knew he didn’t have to be in a hurry. She wasn’t going anywhere. She looked irresistible as she always did, but in his favorite color, posing just for him after he hadn’t seen her in person for four weeks, physically fucked her for four weeks. Getting those while being away would have been torture.
Cruz left his suitcases by the dresser and went into the ensuite. He closed the door before turning the light on and starting the shower.
Four weeks away seemed like a lifetime. He knew that he was going to miss her. That was a given, but by the second week of not being able to work the time out to call her more than twice and do more than send a few texts, he was ready to tell Amir he needed to pick which areas were most important to him for systems because he needed to get home.
It was amazing how much caring for someone made you hate being apart because he focused on returning as soon as he could the entire time he was gone. He’d been able to get everything installed within four weeks, including loading everyone’s profiles, giving them access to the appropriate systems, and showing them how to operate them.
Amir had hosted a dinner on his last night, and when he asked Cruz if he was sure he didn’t want to take in some sights, he passed but told him he’d do so next time. Next time, he planned on taking Erin with him.
Once finished with his shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom after turning the light off. He dried off, grabbed a pair of boxers, and slipped them on before getting into bed. He wrapped an arm around Erin and pulled her to his chest. It was after midnight, and he didn’t want to wake her, but he did want to hold her. He could wait until morning to do everything his mind conjured upon seeing those pictures.
However, Erin stirred, released the pillow she held, and turned over, burying her face in his chest. She inhaled, nose nuzzling one of his pecs.
“You smell nice,” she mumbled, and he knew she was still mostly asleep.
He chuckled. “Thank you, Ma?y.” She gasped, her head tilted back, eyes opening to look at him. “Hey, baby.”
She pressed her lips to his, climbing on top of him as he turned onto his back. His hands slid down to grip her ass, only to find she wasn’t wearing any panties, and he groaned into the kiss.
“I missed you,” she whispered against his lips.
“I missed you too.”
“How did everything go?”
“We can talk about that later,” he responded, massaging her ass.
“Mm. Did you get my pictures?”
“I did. That would have been an awful way to tease me if I was still away.” He nipped her lower lip.
“Not tease, remind you of what was waiting for you at home.”
At home. Cruz liked that. He knew what she’d meant, but it made it sound like they shared a home.
“Trust me, Ma?y. I’ll never forget that. I’m hands down the luckiest man to get to come home to you.” He paused. “Well, I guess it’d be a tie for first with Paetyn.”
Erin laughed as she ran her hands over his chest. “It was a long flight. Are you tired?”
Cruz flipped them over, drawing a gasp from her. “I slept on the plane, but even if I hadn’t. I’m never too tired for you.”
He kissed her chin before moving down her body, throwing her legs over his shoulder and going in tongue first. The first taste had him moaning deep in his chest. Four weeks without tasting her was a crime. Fuck, he missed it, and as much as he wanted to savor it, to see how many times he could make her cum before the sun rose, he knew she had to work in the morning. He wouldn’t keep her up too long.
Cruz swirled his tongue around her entrance before sliding it inside and fucking her with it. When he was sure he’d gotten her wet enough, he swirled his tongue around her clit before taking it into his mouth and sliding his middle finger inside her.
His finger and lips moved in unison, fingering her at the same speed he sucked on her clit, curling his finger to brush against that bundle of nerves. He wanted her to cum for him before he slid between her legs. There wasn’t enough patience in him for much more than that because once he slid inside her, he would fuck them both to orgasm. With how long he waited to be inside her, he knew it would be a quicker-than-usual affair.
“Baby, please,” she begged, and he missed that sound, her in the throes of passion as she approached release.
He continued, and she began to move with him a minute later, her fingers lacing through his hair to hold him in place as her orgasm built. Cruz could feel her pussy convulse around his finger, and she was soon cumming for him.
“Fuck, Cruz.”
He removed his finger and released her clit, taking a couple of seconds to give her long licks, tasting her delicious cum before moving up her body and kissing her. He snaked his tongue into her mouth and allowed her to taste herself while he reached blindly into the nightstand.
Once he retrieved a condom, he sat up, pulling his boxers down enough to allow his dick free.
“Wait,” Erin stated as he began to roll it on. “I wanted to taste you first.” She pouted.
Cruz tossed the wrapper on the nightstand and threw one of her legs over his shoulder. “I’ve waited a month to have this tight little pussy grip me.” He slowly slid in, pulling moans from both of them as she gripped his biceps, her walls squeezed around him, and he could have damn near cum right then. “Let me have you like this tonight, and tomorrow, I’ll take you out and bring you home to give you exactly what you want.”
“You promise?” she asked, tightening around him.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “Yes, Ma?y. I promise.”
She ran her thumb over his bottom lip. “Then take what you want.”
Cruz didn’t need to be told twice. He pulled out to the head, snapped his hips, and pushed back in. Each thrust was hard, and his pace gave chase to his release. He should have gone slower and been a little less rough. He was aware of that, but she’d told him to take what he wanted, and what he wanted was to cum with the wetness of her pussy surrounding him.
“You feel so good, Ma?y.” He sat up on his knees, her leg resting against his chest as he wrapped his arm around it. “I’ve missed being inside you, missed making you cum for me.”
His thrusts stopped anything she could have responded with and turned it into staccato gasps and clipped moans.
The minutes ticked by, and he soon felt his balls begin to tighten. He wasn’t surprised, she always felt so fucking good, and he’d gone far longer than he ever wanted to without her. She clenched around him, and he knew she was close to cumming.
“That’s it, baby. Cum for me. Cum with me. Let me feel it.”
He used his thumb to rub her clit, and she threw her head back with a moan as she came, gripping his dick, and with two more thrusts, he followed her.
“Fuck, Ma?y.” Cruz released her leg. Leaning over to give her soft kisses as he pulled out.
Once he’d disposed of the condom and they were both cleaned up, he climbed back into bed with her and turned off the lamp as she snuggled into his chest.
“I’m glad you’re home,” she said with a kiss on his chest.
“Me too.” Cruz kissed the top of her head, and they soon drifted to sleep.