“Why didn’t you return my calls, darlin’? You had to know I was worried.”
“I need to talk to Mateo, could you let go so I can get to my phone?”
“You gonna run if I do?”
“No.” He released her so that she could step back and reach into her pocket for her phone. She called her brother and waited for him to answer. It seemed only natural to sink against Erich’s large chest when he stepped closer. She kept one hand on his arm and he curved his arm fully around her waist, anchoring them together.
“Don’t be mad, Bliss,” Mateo said when he picked up.
“Do you have any idea how scared I was by your call?” she hissed.
“I’m sorry for the deception, but you’re miserable. You need to talk to him. There’s a basket by the back of the fountain for you two.” Her brother hung up.
“He okay?” Erich asked.
“A lot better than he’ll be when I get my hands on him.” She stared back at the man who not only still had her pressed close to him, but also took up a bit too much of her oxygen. “Thank you for not letting me hit the ground and I’m sorry about running into you. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go.”
His blue eyes narrowed and he shook his head. “Oh no, darlin’. I can’t bear these evasion tactics of yours any more. We need to talk this through.”
“Why?”
Erich’s face lowered to hers. “Really? You are asking me why?”
“What difference does it make if I’m in your life? There are plenty of women who go after pilots,” she snapped. “Weren’t those your words? So go after them, or better yet go back to the ones you meet in the strip clubs you apparently frequent. After all that’s where I first met you,” she sneered.
He nodded and his eyes hardened. “Yes they were my words, but that’s not fair. Did you even hear what your brother asked me? And as far as the other, I’ve not set foot in one since the day I met you.”
No, I didn’t hear what Mateo asked. Bliss looked away from the intensity in his eyes. She peered down and saw a basket beside him that had a large white sheet on the top with “Erich & Bliss” written in black marker. “You found the basket,” she muttered, more to herself than anything.
“Talk to me, Bliss. I don’t want any other woman. Darlin’, if I wanted another woman why would I have called you so much, left so many messages, begged you to call me back just so I would know you were okay?”
“I don’t know,” she said. Her belly churned and her head began to spin. She wanted to run and hide, her emotions had begun to careen out of control and she wanted to stop it. Deep within her, she also wanted to jump into Erich’s arms and have him hold her. To feel the protection and comfort being in his arms brought her. Like, nothing could touch her. But she couldn’t.
Erich lifted the basket and threaded his fingers through hers. With a gentle tug he led her to a slightly secluded area. Apparently her brother had thought of everything, for soon, Bliss was seated upon the blanket, Erich’s strong arms wrapped around her, warming her. Despite her attempts to remain stiff and unyielding, she found herself sinking into him.
“Bliss,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry you feel I overstepped my bounds. That’s not what I wanted to do. Not at all. I look upon Mateo as my own brother and when he asked me for help, I agreed.”
He thinks of Mateo as his brother? “And the women?”
“Darlin’, he asked me if there were women who liked pilots. I told him yes there were. That’s it. I didn’t mean that he should join just for the women.”
Bliss worried her lowered lip and thought about his words. “I just…when I overheard…” she trailed off. Apologizing was never easy.
“Bliss, if you have a problem with something I’ve done, said, or you think I even thought, come to me.” Erich turned her body so they were facing one another. “Do you know what it was like to not be able to get in touch with you?” He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. “Not because I wanted to keep tabs on you, but because I was scared this attraction between us would disappear if we didn’t get a chance to be face to face.”
Her belly tightened and she found herself held prisoner by his eyes. They gleamed in the setting sun. Why is he saying things like this? Bliss searched for the words she longed to say, but she couldn’t seem grasp a single one.
“I need to ask you a question, Bliss.” Erich set her hand back down and reached out to slide his callused palm along her cheek until his thumb caressed her lips and his fingers teased the hair at the back of her neck. “What is it you’re keeping from me? There is a part of your heart you keep locked away.”
She dropped her gaze, unable to hold his any longer. Shaking her head, Bliss got to her feet and gasped when his fingers closed about her wrist. Erich stared up at her with a plea in his gaze, a plea to allow him the knowledge to understand.
“I have to go, Erich,” she barely managed to whisper. “I’ve been gone from home for a while and I need to make sure Mateo is okay.” Bliss pulled on her arm, but he didn’t release.
“Why are you running?”
“I’m not,” she lied. “I just have to get home.”
A flash of something filled his gaze and he released her. Immediately she missed his touch, but Bliss kept her face composed. In a single fluid motion, Erich pushed to his feet and towered over her. He shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed.
“I guess you must do what you need to, then.”
A sharp stab of pain lanced her heart. Why am I surprised? I’m the one who’s running away. “We could talk later maybe?” she offered.
“Yeah, sure. Call me when you want to talk.” Erich walked away and never looked back.
“Way to go, Bliss,” she muttered as she gathered the blanket and put it in the basket her brother had packed. “How hard is it to say you’re scared?” Considering I didn’t say it, apparently very hard.
Walking back to her car, she cursed herself the entire way. Erich had been right. She was keeping part of herself from him. The sole reason was that she was frightened. In her car, she didn’t head home, but drove to her studio. Her heart jumped in her throat when she pulled in and saw a maroon Camaro under the light. Reclining on the hood, against the windshield, was Erich. He’d backed into a parking spot, so she could see him watching her as she parked beside him.
He slid off the hood and opened the door for her. “Did you really think I’d let it go like that, Bliss?” he asked, assisting her out and reaching back in for the basket.
“Why…how did you know I’d come here?”
“Dance is what you turn to, Bliss. When nothing else makes sense to you, you turn to dance. Plus your brother is home and you really don’t want to deal with him right now, either.”
He really has me figured out. Locking her car, she led the way inside the studio and turned on some lights. He walked to the middle of the floor and spread out the blanket. Bliss watched him pull out sealed containers from the wicker case. She went to the stereo and turned on some low music.
“Come here, darlin’,” he drawled, holding out a hand.
Bliss took the few steps to the blanket and reached out for his hand. She sank down and stared at the food before them. Two fingers lifted her chin and she looked into his eyes. The blue was deeper than she recalled it ever being and it swirled with untold emotions.
“Erich,” she breathed.
His gaze burned her as it moved from her eyes to her mouth and back again. “Let’s eat, Bliss,” he said in a low tone.
She nodded and turned her attention to opening the fare before them. Her brother had packed finger food. Erich took a carrot and bit into it. Bliss looked at him and sat back on the blanket, folding her hands before her.
“I’m scared, Erich,” she blurted out.
Her admission obviously surprised him, for his eyes grew wide and he swallowed quickly. Putting the carrot down, he licked his lips and asked, “Scared of what?”
Don’t wuss ou
t now, Bliss, she told herself. “Loving.” Holding his gaze she reiterated, “I’m scared to let myself love you.”
He wanted to touch her, she could see that, but he remained where he was. “Why?” His voice croaked.
“I’ve loved three people in my life. Two of them are dead.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “When you offered to help Mateo all I could see was myself losing the third.”
“We’ll get back to Mateo in a second. Are you telling me aside from your family, you’ve never loved anyone else?”
“No. I have close friends, but I always have a form of protection up. I don’t give them all of me. I can’t, I don’t know how.” Bliss turned her head away.
“Bliss.” She looked at him. “Do you love me?”
“I want to.”
“No, do you love me?”
She could feel the tears gathering at the back of her eyes. “Yes,” she whispered. “I love you.”
Chapter Eight
I love you.
Erich would have fallen to the ground had he not already been seated. She loved him. His heart stopped and then began beating fast. Pushing the food out of the way, he hauled her up against his chest and kissed her. Into the kiss he poured all his feelings. Ending it, he pulled back and stared down into her glazed eyes.
“I love you, too, darlin’. I love you, too.” Resting his forehead against hers, Erich allowed this new experience wash over him. He’d never told a woman he loved her before and wouldn’t again, those words belonged strictly to Bliss.
“I’m scared, Erich,” she murmured again. “I don’t know how to deal with these feelings. They make me feel out of control.”
“We’ll figure it out together, Bliss. Together.”
“It’s like I’m stuck standing on the edge of a cliff. And I’m scared to move. I’m scared to let myself fall.”
“Step away, Bliss. I’m right here. No matter how far you fall, I’ll always make sure you’ll be landing in love.”
“But for how long?”
“Darlin’, it doesn’t matter how far away I am from you, my feelin’s won’t change. Unless it’s to grow deeper.” He readjusted so he could see her face. Tears hovered in her big brown eyes. “You are the only woman for me, Bliss. Trust me.”
He was awarded a slight nod. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back.”
I know, darlin’, you were tryin’ to put distance between us. “Water under the bridge. Will you come home to Texas with me, Bliss?”
“I’ve never spent the holidays away from Mateo before,” she touched the side of his face, “so can I talk to him about it?”
“Of course.” Erich put his fingers on her face, loving the difference in their skin tone. Her mocha skin to his sun kissed fingers. A beautiful blend. “You are so beautiful, darlin’.”
Heat flared in her eyes and she dropped a hand to his chest. “Erich.” Her voice rasped deeper than usual and his body reacted.
“What about dinner?” he asked, trying desperately to remain a gentleman.
Bliss got up and sat across from him. “Fine. We’ll eat.”
“Don’t pout, darlin’, I’m trying to be good.”
“Okay.”
Somehow that didn’t make him feel any better. And in two seconds, he knew why. With each bite she took, she moaned. She lifted a carrot and slowly slid it between her lips, her eyes hooded and sensual. Then it was the same thing with all the finger foods. In between each bite, she would suck her finger into her mouth and lick it clean, a deep throated groan emerged each time. The sight of her finger slipping from her full lips, glistening with her saliva, sent rockets of lust through him. He became harder and harder. His pants were uncomfortably tight. Erich swore and fought the urge to rip her clothing off. After dinner was finished, they put the containers back in the basket along with the blanket. Mateo had even included her favorite dessert, apples lightly dusted with cinnamon sugar, which Erich had taken great pleasure in feeding to her.
“Erich?” she asked from over by the stereo.
“Yes darlin’?”
“Will you dance with me?”
“Anytime.”
She dimmed the lights so only one set was on and came to stand before him. He held his arms for the waltz but she shook her head.
“Hold me close,” she whispered, stepping flush to his body.
That wasn’t going to be a problem. Erich held her as close as he could while soft music played in the background and the low light added ambiance to the room. His eyes drifted shut as they moved slowly around the floor, bodies in perfect tandem with one another. For that space and time, nothing else existed but the two of them. Her curvy figure seemed to meld into his and Erich swore he could feel the final bit of her hesitation fade away.
After they danced a while, they headed back to her house. Mateo waited for them and Erich hung back as she strode directly to her brother and wrapped her arms around him. The young man’s eyes shone with tears as he met Erich’s gaze. He nodded at him but didn’t say a word.
When they separated, Mateo took the basket and asked, “So, I take this to mean I’m not in trouble?”
Bliss glared and Erich laughed. While he longed to spend time alone with Bliss, he didn’t push the issue, allowing her to decide when to leave her brother. She made some snacks and curled up beside him on the couch while he and Mateo played a video game. It was near eleven when she got to her feet and kissed her brother goodnight. Bliss reached out her hand to him and he took it immediately. With a wave to the man he knew would be related to him soon, Erich followed Bliss’ seductively swaying hips out of the room.
Erich scooped her up into his arms and carried her up to her room where he closed the door behind them. “I love you, Bliss,” he murmured against her mouth while his hands began tugging up her shirt.
“I love you too, Texan.”
* * * *
Bliss bit down on her lower lip as she rocked against Erich, his erection deep within her core. The heated water of the jetted tub surrounded them. Her hair was plastered to her head, his hands were on her breasts and she sat in his lap, moving at her own speed.
“Jesus, Bliss,” he groaned, pinching her nipples. Lightning shot through her and she tightened her internal muscles and rotated again.
Her fingers dug into the edge of the tub as she moved faster. Erich released her nipples and put one hand on her waist while the other found her clit and rubbed it.
“Shit!” she hissed.
“Stop torturing me, darlin’.”
“Erich…uh…oh…damn…please…” Her words fell away, her head dropping and her eyes rolling back.
“Ride me, darlin’,” he commanded. “Come all over my cock as I thrust deep inside you. So deep you’ll feel me even when I’m not there.” His finger flicked her clit again.
Spirals of fire exploded throughout her and she gripped the sides harder. Leaning up, she began to go faster. Erich continued to use his lethal voice as a weapon and it didn’t take long for her to bury her face into the side of his neck and scream out her release. As soon as she came, he released her clit and grabbed her other hip before powering up into her. He stiffened and shouted. She could feel his body shaking as he came in deep and powerful spurts.
She sagged against him until no more mini tremors flooded her.
“I’m sorry,” he uttered.
Drawing back, Bliss stared at him. His face flushed, eyes dark with passion. “For what?”
“No condom.”
Her breath caught and she tensed before relaxing. “Can’t worry about it now,” she mumbled against his lips. “Come on, you have to get some sleep if you’re going to be back at the base bright and early.”
Bliss never lost her smile or the glow which seemed to surround her. She stood while Erich dried her off before carrying her back to the bed. They made love one more time before she fell asleep. Erich woke her before he left, promising to be back as soon as he could.
At breakfast Mateo had a grin
on his face that not even the threat of death could wipe off. Sitting across from him at the table, she fiddled with the fork.
“What is it, sis?” Mateo asked.
Just bite the bullet and tell him. “Mateo, Erich asked me to go home with him for Christmas. To Texas.”
His eyes grew wide for a moment. “You going?”
“I told him I wanted to talk to you first.”
“I say go. Jamie and his family are always inviting me to be with them. We can do something when you get back or before we go.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “You’ve always put me first. Go with him, have fun.”
“You sure?”
“So long as you call me I’ll be fine.”
She nodded. “Okay. I’ll tell him I’ll go.”
* * * *
Texas
Bliss stood with Erich, her lip caught in her teeth. His hand curled around hers, offering strength. Her belly was in knots and she hadn’t even left the airport yet.
“Relax darlin’. They’ll love you just like I do.”
“What if I say something stupid, or do something stupid or forget English, or—”
He slanted his mouth over hers and silenced her tirade with a kiss. Immediately all thought but how he felt vanished. When he ended it, she licked her lips and stared at him.
“Stop worrying, Bliss.”
He signed the form for the rental and they walked out into the cold night. Erich held her hand on the drive out to his family’s ranch. Once there, he helped her out and they walked up to the front porch. She paused and stared through the large glass door. The large home, decked out for the holiday, shone a welcoming light out into the night.
“You okay, darlin’?” he asked, leaning close to her ear, his warm breath skating across her skin.
“A bit nervous.”
“I’m right here, darlin’. I ain’t going anywhere without you. I love you.”
With those words ringing in her ears and surrounding her heart, Bliss walked up the steps and through the door of her future, confident that the man who was beside her, Major Erich “Daredevil” Stark, would keep his word. No matter what the cliff she faced, when the time came to jump he would never fail to make sure she would be landing in love.
Born To Fly: Landing In Love Page 8