Taken By Ezra

by Caroline Peterka

  We’re both breathing hard, my head against his shoulder and his arms still tight around me as if I was going to escape any moment. I’m too weak to move, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. This is where I want to be forever.

  Here in his big arms, barely breathing…but in wonderful bliss.

  Ezra sighs happily, his voice soft when he speaks. “Baby, you can do that anytime you want.”

  I giggle. I feel incredibly happy and sleepy now that our bodies are spent. “Mmm-hmmm… That was great.” I inhale deeply.

  “Are you sleepy?”

  I shrug because that is about as much energy as I have right now. He laughs, lifting me off his body carefully, my skin feeling cold now that he isn’t surrounding me, but instead of getting up out of bed he pulls the covers up over us. He kisses my forehead, snuggling into me and all the warmth returns.

  “Good night, baby,” he whispers softly.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Family Get-Together

  I’ve never woken up so fully rested and…happy. I was warmer than I was used to with Ezra’s body covering mine, his leg over my leg, and his arms fully caging me as if he was protecting me from something. It has been years since I’ve slept like this. My body feels replenished with sleep but a little sore from our extracurricular activity.

  I turn slowly in Ezra’s arms, my gaze scanning his face as he sleeps so peacefully, snuggling his naked body closer to mine. I smile, touching my lips, remembering the way he was gentle with me last night. I really didn’t think he was going to stay after I told him pieces of my past. I was worried he would run for the hills, but what he said to me was sweet. It made me feel like we had a connection. I might not have told him everything, but I told him enough. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel too awful for talking to him about it, and the way he let me be on top last night was amazing.

  I hear Claudia in the hallway, and I begin to wonder how she is doing this morning. I carefully slip out of Ezra’s arms, smiling when he lets out a little snore, and dress quickly in the clothes I had on last night. I glance one more time at him in my bed and realize he looks out of place with his long legs practically dangling off the foot of the mattress. Even though the bed is small he decided to stay with me, which makes my heart soar.

  I go into the kitchen and find Claudia making coffee, her hair sticking up all over the place, her fuzzy pink robe wrapped around her body. I know she has to have a headache, so I say hi quietly next to her, watching her wince at even a whisper.

  “Oh God, I drank way too much.” She groans, clutching her head with both hands.

  I can’t help it. I laugh at her and take over the duty of making coffee. “Well, you did try to get alcohol poisoning with the amount you consumed.”

  “I’m sorry. Did I make an ass of myself?” she asks, peeking at me through her fingers and sitting at the small round table.

  “Not too much, but you did purr when Azriel Lanphear helped us to the car,” I say with a shrug.

  “Oh God! No!”

  I laugh softly so I don’t wake up Ezra. “Oh, yes you did. It was good he helped me, though, because you were mostly out of it.”

  Claudia is silent for a moment, staring off, and then she looks at me. “Did Ezra ever find us?”

  “No, he had to do some work thingy, but he did come over later on when your drunk ass was passed out,” I say, smiling, getting the cups out of the cabinet.

  “Is that what the thumping was at five?” Her eyes widen when I place her cup of black coffee in front of her and nod. “Holy hell, is he still here?”

  “Yeah, he stayed the night,” I say with a happy sigh. I grip my cup with both hands, inhaling the wonderful aroma and loving that we spent the extra money and bought a fast-brewing coffee machine. “It was amazing after I freaked out at first, but he was so sweet to me.”

  “What happened?”

  “I…I was under him, you know… Um…” I’ve never been shy with my best friend before, but trying to explain my sudden panic attack feels awkward. I try to tell her what happened without giving too many details. I leave out the amazing sex Ezra and I had. I even tell her the way he held me until I came out of the panic attack. I explained about him saying he really liked me. “The best part is I didn’t even have a nightmare. I even slept well for a change.”

  “I’m so happy for you, but you know he will need to know more.” Claudia is eyeing her cup, and I know she is right, but I don’t want to ruin this yet. Whatever this is between Ezra and me, I want to explore it. It feels good to be with him. “I won’t say anything, so no worries, okay?”

  I nod, hearing the door to my bedroom creak open. I grin when my Viking of a man steps into the room, looking extremely tall and out of place in our small apartment. His pants and shirt are on, but his hair is crazy messy.

  “Mmmm…coffee,” he grumbles, his gaze landing on my cup. He takes it from me and sips from it.

  “Hey,” I say, laughing. I can’t believe the happiness he creates inside me. I swear I feel it all the way down to my broken soul. “I can get you your own.”

  “But yours tastes better,” he says, his arm coming around my waist, pulling me flush to his body and dipping his head to kiss me on the lips.

  Claudia groans at the way he kisses me, and I laugh, pushing him back an inch before I speak. “I’ll get another cup,” I tell him.

  “How’re you feeling this morning?” Ezra asks Claudia, taking the other seat at the table.

  “Like a Mack truck hit me in the forehead.” She fiddles with her cup, staring down at the coffee she has barely drunk. “Sorry if I ran up a huge tab for you. I can pay you back,” she tells him, her green eyes sad.

  “It’s no problem, Claudia. I’ve got it. I won’t take money from my girlfriend’s best friend,” he says, raising his cup to his mouth.

  The breath in my lungs freezes, and I see Claudia’s eyes get wide as saucers when she looks at me, her mouth turned up into a huge grin. I bite my lip, trying to jump-start my heart with what he has just said. I’m his girlfriend! I’ve never been anyone’s girlfriend before. I finally shake myself and fix my coffee, stepping close to a speechless Claudia. Now there have been two things that has made Chatty Girl speechless. One was meeting Azriel, and now the fact that Ezra has just called me his girl.

  I’m too giddy to talk. Ezra makes small talk with us for the most part, pulling me onto his lap. He tells us that he is going to his parents later for a family barbecue. My heart can’t take much more when he adds that both Claudia and I are invited to attend. It feels great to know he would include her too, but sadly she is going into work for a shift she picked up for someone. I try to mask my nervousness that I’m going to meet his family today. Instead I relish the way he holds my hand or touches his lips to me every chance he gets. Such affection is new to me, and I love the way it makes me feel.

  * * * *

  “Stop, baby. You look fine,” Ezra says for the fourth time in an hour since we left my place. He drove us to his place so he could take a shower and change out of the clothes he wore to the club last night. He decides on khaki shorts and a plain white T-shirt, looking just as gorgeous as ever.

  But the butterflies in my stomach are flapping around like crazy. I’m going to meet his parents. I’d briefly met his brothers in the ER, and they seemed nice enough to me, but the thought of meeting his parents scares me for some reason. It took me two dress changes and almost a third. Well, it would have been if Ezra hadn’t picked me up over his shoulder and carried me out of the apartment, making me choose the teal summer dress I was still debating on. I wanted to look perfect when I first met his parents, and nothing I had felt good enough for a family barbecue.

  Ezra and Claudia both kept telling me I looked great, but I couldn’t see what they saw. My hair was down and wavy like I usually left it, and I had minimal makeup on, but I felt frumpy next to my boyfriend who looked like a model in a magazine.

  Boyfriend… Holy hotness! I have a boyfriend.r />
  “I’m just nervous. I mean, what if they don’t like me?” I ask, squeezing his hand as we finally cross the yard to his parents’ house. I know Azriel is already here, and by the look and sound of it so are his other four brothers. I take in the cars, noticing they are pretty modern and American-made except one, a really nice sleek car. “Is that Micca’s?”

  “Uh, yeah, his wife wanted him to buy it when he got promoted so he looked like a rich lawyer,” Ezra says, tensing at the mention of his brother’s wife.

  “You didn’t say he was married,” I blurt out, hesitating on the doorstep.

  “Oh, yeah, we don’t see her much. Diana travels a lot for her job. She’s a top designer for some corporate office in Chicago.” He puts his hands on my waist, turning me so I’m facing him and leaning down, his face close to mine. “It’s going to be okay, Lanee. My parents are going to love you. No worries about that, but I have to tell you one thing.”

  My eyes widen, and I prepare myself for some horrific thing for him to tell me. “W-what is it?”

  “Mom and Dad are a little…um… I love my parents a lot, but now that we boys are grown, they’ve gotten weirder.” His gaze is trained on mine, and I arch a brow, waiting for him to continue. “Um…they like to pressure us into settling down. I think Mom is the worst. She really wants grandkids and all that. Diana isn’t usually here because Mom hounds her and Micca that they need to start having kids before it’s too late.”

  I laugh. That was the last thing I expected him to say. “Okay, so let me see here if I understand. Your mom is having empty-nest syndrome, which explains why Levi lives at home and why she sent him to check on you the other night.”

  Ezra blows out a deep breath, his body visibly relaxing. “She might want to drill you about your future and what you want. I’m not sure exactly, but it happened once when Isaac brought home a girlfriend last year,” he tells me.

  I smile, slipping my arms around his neck and bringing my face even closer to his. “I can handle it, Ezra. Thank you for telling me. I promise not to run the other way screaming.”

  He lifts me up, gracing me with a wide grin. “Good, because I would probably chase you down,” he jokes.

  “Kiss me.” I breathe, feeling my heart warm at his admission.

  Ezra kisses me long and deep, holding onto me tightly. I open my mouth, and his tongue slips in to find mine, and igniting the lust in my body. I’ve never felt like this before in my life. It feels like I could kiss him forever and always feel safe. He brings out something deep inside me I never knew I had. I never want this feeling to end.

  But…if we don’t stop and go inside, we may never make it to the party. I hesitantly pull back, my fingers twisted in the hair at the back of his neck. Both of us are breathing hard from that passionate kiss, but I somehow find my voice. “We need to go inside before someone comes out here.”

  Ezra nods and puts me on my feet again, keeping his arm around my waist as he leads me into the large house. He leans over and kisses my head before calling out to his family. “We’re here.”

  All the nervousness I had before he kissed me comes rushing back to the front of my mind. This is it! I’m meeting his family as his girlfriend for the first time ever. I may have met his brothers in the hospital, but this is going to be much different. The closer we get to the kitchen, the more my heart pounds. The smell of food travels through the room, making my empty stomach growl softly.

  “In here, baby!” a woman’s voice calls happily.

  There is no turning back now when the woman at the stove turns to face us, her kind blue eyes light up like a Christmas tree when she sees me, and I take in the fact she has to be six inches taller than me. Ezra’s mom is more beautiful in person than in her photos, her short dark hair cut in an A-line around her face, and she is wearing a lime green T-shirt with khakis shorts. Her bow-shaped mouth is smiling as she sets the pie down to rush over to Ezra. I step away from him.

  “It’s about time you two got here. I was worried your brothers would eat all the food,” she says, her eyes twinkling with love when she hugs him. She turns to me, and I smile shyly. “You must be Lanee. The boys told me you were a knockout, but…wow.”

  My face flushes at her words, and I’m taken aback when she pulls me into her arms for a motherly hug. “Call me Marta or Mom if you want. I’m so glad to meet you.”

  “Thank you for inviting me, Marta.” I back up and feel Ezra immediately behind me.

  “Do you need help, Mom?” Ezra asks her sweetly.

  Marta shakes her head, her gaze still on me. “No, baby. Go out and get some food before Levi eats it all.”

  Ezra laughs. “Okay, but hurry up.”

  I follow him out of the kitchen, and we step onto a grand-sized deck with a huge table that has all of his brothers surrounding it. There is enough food to feed an army, but my attention is on the hulk of a man at the end. I haven’t met Ezra’s dad, but I could pick him out in a crowd given how he resembles his sons. His dad has buzzed dark hair, and his icy-blue eyes are just as shocking as his sons’. When his father stands to greet us, I can’t believe how big the men are in this family.

  “Hi, Lanee, I’m Caleb Lanphear.” He shakes my hand firmly, and I smile nervously up at him. When he releases my hand, Ezra resumes his hold on me and his dad turns to reintroduce me to the Lanphear boys. Having met me at the hospital, all the boys smile and wave at me, but it is Levi who keeps his head down so as not to meet my eyes.

  “Have a seat, sweetheart. I hope you brought your appetite, because there is plenty to go around,” Caleb says.

  I try to stop the nervous butterflies flapping around in my belly when I catch the proud look in Caleb’s eyes.

  Ezra takes a seat next to Azriel, leaving me to sit next to his mother who has now joined us. One of the twins hands us two beers from a cooler behind him, and the conversation about work we walked in on seems to resume. They begin to serve the food around the table, and I worry I may not be able to eat with how nervous I’m becoming.

  “It’s okay,” Ezra whispers into my ear as I stare at the burger on my plate. He kisses my temple, and I feel some tension slip away. “These are good, Dad.”

  “Mmhm. Micca got here early and helped me with the grilling,” his father says proudly.

  Micca just shrugs as he eats, and I notice for the first time he is casually dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. It is a big difference from the suit I saw him in the last time. “Great salad, Mom,” he chimes in, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

  Marta nods and turns to me, her smile wide. “The boys tell me you’re a nurse at the hospital here in town.”

  “I am. I’ve been there for over three years now.” I take a drink of the beer carefully, dreading the small talk I know is going to happen. I don’t mind talking about my job, but it is inevitable that his parents will be curious about my family. I smile at Ezra quickly, feeling his warm hand on my thigh, and I relax more. It is amazing how calm he makes me feel with a simple touch. I know I can do this. I just have to promise myself not to fall apart.

  “Is your family from around here?” Caleb asks.

  “Originally we were from Elk Point, but my parents moved here my junior year of high school.” I pick at my burger as I wait for more questions. I know they are coming.

  “What do your parents do?”

  “My mom lives in Elk Point now and works as a psychiatrist.” I pause, my breathing starting to feel erratic as I try to find a way to say the next part. I lick my lips when I notice they are waiting for me to continue on, and I pray my voice stays calm the entire time. “My dad is deceased, but he used to work on the Crestview police force.”

  There. I did it. My stomach is in knots when I meet Marta’s gaze and I see the sympathy there. Saying my father is dead doesn’t make me feel sick like it used to. I’m used to people looking at me in pity, but this is a nice change for once.

  “Did he die on the job?” one of the twins—Issiah, I think—asks me.


  “No…he…um…” Now I’m panicking. I feel Ezra squeeze my thigh, but I can’t look at him. My heart is thundering in my ears when I hear Caleb’s voice.

  “It doesn’t matter, Issiah. We don’t put someone on the spot.”

  I stare wide-eyed at the way Issiah lowers his head like he is a kid and not a thirty-three-year-old adult being scolded by his father. “Sorry, Lanee. I wasn’t trying to pry.”

  “It’s okay,” I say weakly, my breathing slowing down when I see the smile on Caleb’s face. I’m relieved when he takes over the conversation and asks me other questions that revolve around my job or personal life. My face heats up when his mother asks where we met and Ezra tells them about the night at the club. It didn’t feel that ridiculous the night it happened, but to hear it retold is embarrassing as hell.

  “I would have paid to see someone knock out Roxy,” Levi chimes in, his beer glass clanking with Isaac’s when he seconds that.

  At the mention of that girl, Ezra’s hand tenses on my thigh and I look at him, his eyes narrowed to slits as he glares at his younger brother. He kicks Levi under the table when Levi says something I miss, and Levi screeches in pain.

  “What the f…” Levi begins, but his father stops him with a deep growl.

  “You better stop right there, Levi Michael Lanphear.”

  Levi’s face burns red at the use of his full name, and he gulps the rest of his beer down, muttering about bratty older brothers.

  “Suck it up, boy. You’re a Lanphear.” Caleb’s voice booms over the table. His eyes are ice-cold as he looks at his son. “I don’t care how old you are. We don’t talk like that in front of women.”

  “Yes, sir,” Levi grumbles.

  I’m in pure shock. I’ve never been around a big family like this, and the way the brothers still listen to their parents is amazing. Caleb was firm with Levi, but I see the love shining in his eyes as he glances at his sons.

  Marta winks at me, and I hear her light, musical laugh. “Boys.” She shakes her head.