Chapter Fifteen #2
Grace cleared her throat and checked the time again. “I have to go pick up Sunny, but if you need anything, just let me know.”
Livvy managed a nod and was thankful that she didn’t have to get to her feet. Ethan showed Grace to the door, and after he locked up, he made his way back to her. He didn’t even glance at the info on the computer screen. He simply scooped her up in his arms and started walking.
She didn’t protest. Couldn’t. Livvy just let him carry her into the guest bathroom where he turned on the water in the tub. “Take a long soak,” he suggested.
Livvy doubted that was going to fix things, but she thought of something that might help. She took hold of Ethan and pulled him into her arms. Yes, it was a huge risk with her emotions running so high, but she needed him to hold her.
And he did.
Performing his usual magic, he gathered her close, pressing against her. They sank down onto the floor, Ethan anchoring his back against the tub, and he let go of her only long enough to turn off the water.
“I don’t feel like an Alyssa,” she muttered. “I feel like Livvy.”
He brushed a kiss on the top of her head. “Because you are Livvy and have been for twenty-eight years.”
She knew that but had apparently needed to hear it because it lifted some of the weight from her heart.
Of course, a lot of that heaviness would likely be there for a long time.
Livvy knew she wouldn’t be able to quickly process what she’d learned and handle the grief for her dead mother. No, that would have to come bit by bit.
And she’d need more information.
A deeper background check might help with that so she could learn about her mother’s family. It was possible she had other relatives out there. Not that she wanted to deal with that now, but she might down the road.
“About the visit to the house tomorrow,” he said, his words dripping with concern. “Are you sure you don’t want to give that a day or two?”
“I do want that,” she agreed, “but more than that, I have to know what happened. Right now, all I have is Chloe’s file and Franklin’s account of things. Neither of which might be the total truth.”
He sighed, causing her to look up at him. Oh, yes, the worry and concern were definitely there and had darkened his gray eyes to the color of a storm cloud.
“Just think about this investigation being over,” she said. “Being solved. A killer identified and caught. Then, we can go on that date.”
As she’d hoped, that caused him to smile. Even though it was barely there, it did amazing things to his face. Then again, Ethan’s face hit the amazing mark without him doing anything at all.
Livvy didn’t try to talk herself out of what she was about to do. She kissed him. And yes, that helped, too. It wasn’t going to undo any of the bad stuff that’d happened, but for this moment, the kiss did the job.
Of course, since the kiss was with Ethan, it did more than just level out some of the tension. It generated some heat, and that was a nice bonus. So was the sound of her name that he whispered against her mouth.
“Livvy.”
He seemed to be saying it as a warning, that they were playing with fire. And they were. No doubts about that. But it didn’t stop Livvy. In fact, she turned, easing onto his lap so she could press against him and deepen the kiss.
Her body very much approved of this new contact, and the heat slipped up a notch.
It was obviously doing the same to Ethan, too, because she felt no hesitation in him now.
Just the opposite. He hooked his arm around her, dragging her even closer until they were fitted against each other as much as her baby bump would allow.
The kiss got hotter. Hungrier. Filled with so much need, and the need, of course, fueled the urgency. A great kiss could do that—amp up things from foreplay to a raging hunger that was already demanding things.
Like more kisses.
More contact. More everything.
Livvy sated the need by touching Ethan. Not some frantic rush to take in everything at once. Not yet anyway. She kept it slow, her palm gliding over his chest, over all those muscles.
Then, to his stomach.
Plenty of muscles there, too, and when she went even lower, when her hand slid over the front of his jeans, she felt the hard length of him.
He made a ragged sound of pleasure and caught onto her shoulder, breaking the kiss so they could make eye contact. “We need to rethink this,” he managed to say, though it was obvious he was having trouble getting out the words.
Yes, they probably did. But Livvy didn’t want to do any more thinking right now. She only wanted Ethan and the comfort—and the pleasure he could give her.
“It’s okay,” she said, trying to reassure him.
She needed no such reassurances for herself. Livvy knew exactly what she wanted, and that was why she kissed him again. No slow, exploring pace now. This kiss was scalding hot and filled with fire and hunger. A good combination for skipping past a couple of levels of foreplay.
And that was what Livvy did.
She somehow managed to remove his shoulder holster. Then, his shirt. And she got an amazing reward for that. Now when she touched him, it was skin to skin. No barrier of clothes, and it made her want so much more.
Apparently, it did the same for Ethan because he, too, rid her of her holster and shirt.
He didn’t waste any time, kissing the tops of her breasts.
Long, lingering caresses of his mouth that escalated big time when he shoved down the cups of her bra and gave some kisses that shot the heat through the roof.
And through every inch of her body.
Mercy, she wanted him, and it had to be now.
She was glad that Ethan was on the same page with her about that, and the battle started for them to get rid of the rest of their clothes. It wasn’t easy since the need had pushed this into frantic mode.
Ethan yanked off her bra and went after her pants. She went after his belt and jeans, and throughout all of it, they continued to kiss and touch. Continued to fuel the fire that was already burning out of control.
But Ethan seemed to find some control just as they got naked. Livvy could feel him battling the need. Trying to be gentle as he pulled her back onto her lap.
She was glad he hadn’t tried to move this into the bedroom. Livvy didn’t want to wait even that handful of seconds to have him, and the moment she was straddling him, she took him inside her.
And the pleasure erupted through her.
Wonderful pleasure that robbed her of her breath. Everything though was at the highest level. The sensations of him being inside her. Of pushing into her.
The need just kept on growing though with each long, hard stroke. And while part of her wanted to savor this, to hold on to these moments, Livvy knew that wasn’t going to happen.
No.
Their bodies were calling the shots here, and the demanding need was skyrocketing until Livvy knew she couldn’t hold on much longer.
And she didn’t.
She just let Ethan take her higher, higher, higher. To the only place she wanted to go. To that peak. Then, to the release.
The climax came, rippling through her. Giving her a final burst of that pleasure. Ethan wasn’t far behind her. He gathered her in his arms and surrendered right along with her.