by Elisa Adams
“Guest room? There’s no way in hell you’re going to stick me in some guest room when I’ve already shared your bed.”
She faced him, her hands on her hips and her jaw set. She’d like nothing more than to let him share her room tonight, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Too many things had happened, and she needed to sort them out in her mind so she could make a decision. If that meant he had to wait, well, that was his problem. If he couldn’t handle her requests now, that didn’t bode well for their future.
If they even had one. After tonight, she wasn’t so certain.
Chapter 12
Eric sat slumped in a chair in Ellie’s studio, his hands clasped over his chest. His eyes kept trying to close and he had to force himself to stay awake after the sleepless night he’d spent on the twin bed in the tiny guest room. His back hurt, his legs kept cramping up, and he’d done something funny to his neck. Irritation rose in him as he thought about Ellie, sleeping in her queen-sized bed with soft covers and comfortable pillows. Why had she banished him like some servant to a room no bigger than a closet?
The sun streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows that covered one wall of the converted garage, which only served to irritate his tired eyes. He supposed she needed as much natural light as possible to work, but at this point he didn’t care. The fact that she’d barely spoken a word to him since getting up this morning increased his agitation.
“You’re distant today. Do you want to talk about it?” he asked her, not really expecting an answer. The silent treatment would only get worse when he told her she had to leave Stone Harbor indefinitely. That was something he wasn’t looking forward to.
She stopped her hand in midair, the paintbrush a few inches from the canvas. Her eyes darted his way, briefly, before turning back to her work. “I… You know what? It’s nothing.”
“Come on, Ellie. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I was thinking about my sister, Becca.”
“She’s the youngest?” he asked, trying to keep his tone even. He didn’t want to alert her quite yet to the trouble Becca could be in. The girl was safe—Liam would make sure of it—and telling Ellie would only make her worry more.
She nodded. “Yeah, and she’s got this jerk of a boyfriend. I don’t know what to do about him.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He doesn’t want her spending any time with her family, and he’s been living off of her salary until recently when he finally got some overnight job at a grocery store. He treats her like dirt, and she lets him.” She went back to focusing her attention on her painting in an obvious attempt to tune him out.
Well, that wouldn’t be happening this morning. She’d pushed him away last night—for the last time. Now she was going to face her problems. He let his eyes drift closed and sighed deeply. “Do you want me to have a talk with him?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. Maybe later.”
There wouldn’t be a later, because none of them would be around. Eric had talked to Carol last night and asked her to make arrangements for all of them to visit Ellie’s mother in Georgia until the town was safe again. He hesitated to tell Ellie, since she was already mad enough at him without throwing another problem into the mix.
“You know I’m here whenever you want to talk.” He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
* * * * *
Shaking her head, Ellie looked over to the corner of the room where Eric sat. It figured. How could he possibly sleep in the middle of the morning, in a room filled with bright sunlight? Surely he’d been able to get some sleep last night. A demon hadn’t tried to kill him.
She’d wanted him to stop asking questions, but now that he’d fallen asleep she was angry. It made no sense. If she no longer wanted him to pry into her personal life, why did she suddenly feel the overwhelming need to talk?
She huffed as she went about cleaning up after herself. Today, for the first time in a long time, she’d been able to spend a decent amount of time with her work. But when she looked back at the canvas, the sight that greeted her disturbed her. The sunset she’d been wanting for weeks to paint took on a sinister look in tones of bright red and dark purple. The gray clouds looked angry. Menacing. The trees appeared to have grown human-like limbs with large, sharp claws ready to grab an unsuspecting person that walked by. Shuddering at the vision her mind had painted, she covered the canvas and walked away, set to the leave the studio for the day.
“Ellie?” Eric’s voice was softly pleading as she reached the door. “I know what you’re trying to do, but please, just stop now.”
“Stop what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Stop trying to put distance between us. I know there are many unknowns for you right now, and I know this whole thing makes you uncertain, but please let’s just see where this goes before we throw it away. It could be the best thing that’s ever happened to either of us.”
Bull. The man had lived for over a thousand years. He’d probably had naps better than…whatever this was they were doing. She didn’t want to endanger her entire family for a few nights of incredible sex—which was undoubtedly the only thing he truly wanted from her. “I’m going up into the house now. Feel free to sleep out here as long as you want. It won’t bother me. I’ll talk to you later.”
To her surprise, he jumped up from the chair and pushed the door closed when she tried to open it. She watched him carefully, waiting for him to lunge at her. He didn’t. Instead he pulled her into his arms and kissed her lovingly, almost reverently. Once she’d started kissing him back, he deepened the kiss until he’d turned it around and she was clinging to him. By the time he broke away, they were both panting.
“It’s been a bad couple of months,” he told her, a look of desolation in his eyes. “I think I brought this danger on you, at least part of it. The killer I’m tracking murdered three of my friends, and I might be next.” He ran a hand through his hair and glanced around the studio. “Me, and Royce too. Please don’t push me away now. I couldn’t take it.”
Her heart gave a little tug. How could she walk out on him, when he’d admitted to needing her so much? Still she couldn’t help but feel he was sweeping their problems under the rug.
“I won’t. Come into the house with me. We’ll talk.”
She felt his relief wash through her like it was her own. He kissed her quickly before pulling away to smile down at her. “I have a better idea.”
He took her hand and led her to the worn armchair where he’d been resting. He stripped her clothes off slowly, kissing almost every inch of her body before he settled her into the chair. The faded denim fabric abraded her sensitized skin. She knew she should at least try to make a token protest, but her mouth refused to make any sounds other than soft moaning ones.
“Close your eyes,” he told her, his tone commanding. Reluctantly, she leaned her head back against the chair and did as he asked. She listened to him rummage around in cabinets and drawers, and then she heard the sound of running water. What was he doing? She wasn’t any closer to answers when he came back to her. She let her eyelids flutter open as he knelt on the floor in front of the chair, but she closed them immediately with the sharp shake of his head. He nudged her thighs apart and the cool air hit her swollen sex. She shivered, both cold and aroused. She felt so exposed that her body flushed with embarrassment.
“What’s wrong, Ellie?” he asked, his tone no longer as gentle. He trailed his fingers up the insides of her thighs before sliding them through her folds. “You can’t tell me you’re not turned on. You’re far too wet for that.” He spread her moisture along her inner thighs, drawing small circles on her skin.
She started to open her eyes again, and this time he got serious. “I asked you to keep them closed. Now I guess I’ll have to do it for you.” He tied a clean white rag around her eyes before settling her back against the chair. The faint scent of paint mingled with the scent of laundry detergent on the
rag tickled her senses as she drew in a deep breath.
“Do you know what I see when I look at you, Ellie?”
She shook her head, very aware of the room around her—the fragrance of her acrylics, the feel of the rough fabric against her back, Eric’s subtle movements as he continued to touch her.
“I see a beautiful, sexy, intelligent woman. One I wouldn’t mind spending all my free time with.” He pushed one finger into her, then another. “But right now, I see the woman who’s got me so hard that I can’t even think straight. All night I thought about what I wanted to do to you when I got you alone, but you pushed me away. Now that I have you all to myself, I can’t wait.”
She felt something soft and wet trail up her leg. A paintbrush. She whimpered as Eric brought the soft bristles between her legs, circling her aching clit.
“What do you feel?” he asked.
“I feel…” Her voice dropped off as he dipped the brush into her cunt and then twirled the bristles over her engorged nipples, dousing them with her own fluids. “Oh.”
“You’re beautiful.”
His thumb brushed lightly over her clit, a soft teasing touch not designed to bring her to orgasm, but instead to drive her insane.
“Show me,” she whispered.
“Not yet. Not until I’m finished.”
He increased the pressure on her clit, the brush clattering on the ground as it fell from his hand. She pushed against him as a jolt of pleasure ran through her. She couldn’t take much more before she burst, from both the intense pleasure and the…love she felt for the man giving it. She smiled to herself, just now realizing how true it was. She loved him. They still had miles to go before they worked out their differences, but she could wait for as long as it took.
He spread her legs even further and leaned down to put his mouth against her sex. She whimpered, so aroused now that it was nearly painful. His tongue skimmed over her clit, edging her to the brink or ecstasy. A quick thrust of his fingers inside her pushed her over, sending her into an orgasm increased in intensity by the makeshift blindfold.
He nuzzled his face into her pubic hair before he removed the blindfold. “You came too soon. I wanted to eat you for so much longer.”
Another quiver ran through her cunt. “Oh,” she whispered, not able to say much more.
He laughed softly against her neck. “All night I’ve been waiting to fuck you. All damned night, Ellie. I’m going to, right now.”
A full-blown spasm shook her inner muscles.
“Do you want me to fuck you, Ellie?”
She closed her eyes and nodded, in the middle of a mini orgasm.
He slipped his fingers out of her and lightly slapped her thigh. “Look at me.”
She snapped her eyes open and met his. His gaze was so hot and intense that it shook her to the very core. She glanced down at the floor and spied the paintbrush, an idea forming in her head.
“Strip for me, Eric.”
“What?”
“Take off your clothes.” She stood up from the chair and walked across the room to the cabinets and pulled a clean brush out of a drawer. She dampened it with warm water from the sink and turned around, putting her hands on her hips when she saw he was still fully dressed. “What are you doing?”
“I should be asking you that question.” He shook his head, looking at her as if he thought she was nuts. “Put that down and get over here.”
“No way.” She walked over to him and pulled him down for a kiss, rubbing her body over him. Her fingers closed around his denim-covered cock, stroking him through his jeans. He groaned and stepped away, but she wasn’t letting him get away that easily. “Undress, or I’m going to put my clothes back on and walk out of here.”
He stared at her for a few seconds before he shook his head and, unceremoniously, stripped out of his clothes. “Happy now.”
“Um-hmm.” She smiled slowly, reveling in her sudden power, before she gazed pointedly at his jutting cock. “It looks like you are, too.”
She shoved him back and he fell into the chair, looking dumbfounded. Good. It was about time she got to be the one to have a little fun. She knelt in front of him, as he’d done to her just a little while ago, and stroked his cock lightly with the tips of her fingers. His hips convulsed and he groaned. “God, Ellie. Don’t tease me like that. I’m right on the edge.”
She couldn’t stop the wicked laugh that escaped her lips. “Why should I stop? I’m having so much fun.”
She ran the paintbrush lightly down the length of his cock before bringing it back up again to swirl over the head. He hissed out a breath as she played the soft bristles against the slit. She continued teasing him there with the brush while she wrapped her free hand around his cock and stroked. She found, when she tightened her grip just a little his entire body shook. After only a couple minutes of play, he growled incoherently and yanked her off the floor to straddle his lap. The chair was confining and she wriggled her legs to get comfortable, eliciting a moan from Eric.
His gaze held hers while he lifted her up and fit the head of his cock inside her cunt. He thrust up hard as he pulled her down on him. It was so intense, so perfectly right, that she tried to close her eyes against the overwhelming emotions flooding her.
“Watch, Ellie.” He tilted her body back a little, supporting her weight with one of his hands on the small of her back.
Her gaze dropped to where they joined. From this angle, she had an arousing view of his cock disappearing into her cunt. She licked her lips. It couldn’t get any better than this. She took over the thrusts, riding him, enjoying the way she could see and feel him fill her to the hilt. He shifted in the chair, angling his hips up as she came down, allowing him to slide all the way inside her. His cock throbbed within her and her muscles contracted around it, her cunt trying to suck him back in whenever she rose up.
“Do you like this?” he asked harshly, his breathing jagged. She nodded, not able to say anything more.
“Touch yourself.”
She stilled at his command. “You want me to…?”
“Yes. I want to feel you come around me, and I want to watch you rub your sweet clit while you do it. Show me what you like, Ellie.” When she hesitated, he insisted. “Do it, Ellie. Touch yourself for me.”
Embarrassed, she had trouble obeying his command. He grasped her hand in his and brought it to her mound, pressing her fingers against her clit. A few strokes and she took over, her embarrassment fading to almost nothing as the jolting, pleasurable sensations shot through her. He felt so good inside her, and her body enjoyed this so much, she couldn’t do anything but follow his instructions. She lifted her gaze to his and saw the effect of her compliance in his eyes. He nodded slowly, the heat in his gaze filling her as she brought herself higher.
She came with a soft cry, bucking over him. She would have fallen if he hadn’t held her in place with his hands on her back. He paused as she came back down, and when her breathing had regulated, he stroked into her harder than ever. Amazingly, she convulsed again as he came, still trembling as he pulled her against his chest.
“You’re amazing.” His whispered breath tickled her neck.
She shook her head as much as her weak muscles would allow. “Trust me. It’s not me. It’s you.”
She’d never had sex like this before. Her entire adult life she’d had what she thought was good sex. But she was wrong. Eric had proved to her how little she really knew on the subject. Now that he’d shown her what she was missing, there wouldn’t be any going back.
“Is this some kind of demon thing?” she asked softly.
“What?” His voice took on a wary tone as he shifted her so she sat across his lap. His arm came around her shoulder and he held her, making her feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“This amazing, incredible feeling. I didn’t know it could be this good.” She nuzzled her face against his chest, taking comfort in the sound of his heartbeat.
He sighed heavily. “It’s us. It’
s this chemistry between us that makes it so good. You wouldn’t get it from any other cat, not this good, so don’t get any ideas.”
“So I guess asking for an introduction to your friends is out of the question?”
“Ann Elizabeth…” he warned, his tone a low growl. His fingers dug into her shoulder.
She laughed and playfully bit his nipple. He drew in a sharp breath. “Don’t do that unless you mean it. Otherwise you’re going to end up in trouble.”
She paused midway into her second bite. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“If you continue to play rough, I might ask you to do things you’re not ready for.”
“Like what?” She couldn’t imagine what he was talking about.
“Like bite harder.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t think of a single answer for that. Before she could reply, he spoke again.
“I want more from you, but I can’t ask you yet. And I’m not talking just about sex here, Ellie, so if you don’t want it all, keep your teeth to yourself.”
It all? What could that possibly mean? “Eric, what—?”
“Don’t. I can’t. I don’t want to get rough with you. I could end up really hurting you.” He paused, breathing slowly in and out. “We’ll talk more about the future when you’re ready, okay?”
“Can I…?”
“Can you, what? Can you become like me?” He shook his head. “Not under normal circumstances, no. Supposedly there’s a way, but I can’t do it. It takes an ancient who knows a special rite, and I’ve never practiced rituals. We’d have to work something else out if…if you decided you wanted to stay with me. Maybe Royce could—”
“Don’t even go there.” What was this fascination with Royce turning her? “I do not want to live the rest of my life as a vampire.”
He stared at her for a minute. “That’s the only way I can think of that can keep us together, Ellie. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you after only fifty or sixty years.”
Now he sounded like Amara. Why did they all have to keep reminding her of her mortality?