He was. Naked.
She felt the flesh of his firm ass beneath her fingers.
“I didn’t have
anything to wear to bed,” he explained smoothly, an edge of amusement in his
voice.
“What about
your underwear?”
“I didn’t think
about that.”
Erin huffed.
“Well, I hope you don’t think your nakedness is going to seduce me. I’m
exhausted and kind of in a daze.”
“Perfectly all
right. I wouldn’t dream of seducing you with my nakedness. I’m tired too.”
Shifting her
hips, Erin rubbed her butt against Seth’s groin. “It doesn’t feel like all of
you is tired.”
“Involuntary
physical response,” Seth explained matter-of-factly. “Just ignore it.”
Erin couldn’t
ignore it. She kept shifting restlessly, feeling his erection pushing against her.
And she was
starting to wonder if she even wanted to ignore it.
If only she
wasn’t quite so tired and drained.
“Well,” she
relented, feeling a tight pressure develop between her legs as she kept feeling
Seth’s cock—now at the juncture where her thighs met her ass. “Maybe I’m a
little bit in the mood. But, seriously, I don’t have much energy. If we do
anything, it can’t be wild and sexy.”
“Nothing wild
and sexy,” Seth replied agreeably, his hand sliding up to cup one of her
breasts. “You won’t even have to move.”
Erin snorted in
amusement. “Sounds hot.” She was sort of rocking back against him now, an
arousal building up at her center as she felt his body behind her, as she felt
his skillful fingers on her nipple.
“Believe me,”
Seth murmured huskily, his voice as sensual as a caress. “It will be.”
Erin felt a
tingling thrill at his words and moaned softly as she moved her head against
the pillow. Her thighs kept rubbing together, and she started rocking back
rhythmically into the little pushes Seth was making against her ass.
He bent his
neck so he could nuzzle the side of her throat, his mouth warm and wet and
delicious. His lips found her pulse and he sucked on it, his tongue fluttering
in a way that made Erin groan and arch back against him.
Then Seth’s
hands started moving more purposefully, stroking over her breasts, her belly,
her hips, her thighs—teasing her into a pulsing arousal.
Her eyes were
still blurry, her eyelids heavy and tired. And her mind was in a hot kind of exhausted
daze, her body moving purely on instinct.
It wasn’t long
before Seth slid his hand between her legs, nudging at her pussy. Found it wet
and swollen—more than ready for him.
Without
speaking, he rolled away from her briefly and opened the drawer to her
nightstand. Found the condoms she kept there.
Erin rolled
over onto her back and waited.
It was silent
in the room, except the mingled texture of their breathing, when Seth moved
over her, easing her thighs apart to make room for him.
Slid his cock
inside, the hard substance of it stroking her inner flesh.
Erin released a
husky moan of pleasure and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her hips gave a
few involuntary pumps up against his pelvis, longing for friction to ease the
throbbing ache at her center.
Then Seth
started to thrust into her, his motion steady and constant. He hadn’t started
as slowly as normal, but he wasn’t out of control either. His cock slid in and
out of her clinging pussy with a satisfying cadence.
His breathing
accelerated, became faster and louder above her.
Erin gasped as
a feeling deepened in her chest. Recognized it as love.
She tightened
her fingers on the back of his neck. Felt her hips pumping in time with his
thrusts, despite her fatigue.
Overwhelmed
with the sensations of being filled and surrounded by Seth, Erin kept her eyes
opened, wanting to share this with him, wanting to witness his pleasure.
He leaned down
until he could meet her lips. Kissed her deeply. Clumsily. Their tongues
tangled as their mouths moved against each other’s, the rhythm of the kiss
somehow matching the rhythm of their motion.
The kiss broke
off, leaving both of them gasping desperately. Seth began to grunt softly,
pulling one of her thighs up to give him better penetration.
Her emotions
were even stronger than her physical sensations. She arched with the pleasure
of it.
She wasn’t
going to come, though.
She could have
rubbed her clit and probably gotten there, but she didn’t have the energy.
She didn’t care
about coming. Just wanted to be close to him.
Seth’s breath
was hot and damp against her skin, and his cock was driving into her—not
forcefully, but powerfully.
She gazed up at
him. Saw the deep, hot intensity in his eyes.
Knew what it
meant.
Knew he must
see the same thing in her eyes, as she was flooded by feelings of
possessiveness and tenderness.
“Seth,” she
breathed. Had nothing else she could say, but knew she didn’t have to. Knew
he’d understand.
“Can you come,
baby?”
“No. You come.”
When he looked like he would argue, she tightened her inner muscles around his
cock. “Come, Seth.”
His face
twisted as his pelvis jerked against her. Then he came.
Erin felt his
climax pulse through him. Heard him choke on a strangled exclamation. Saw his
expression transform before he buried his face in her neck.
He clung to her
trembling body. And she clung to him.
Didn’t want to
let him go, even when he tried to pull up to withdraw his softening cock and
take care of the condom.
She let him go,
of course, and lay shuddering in damp exhaustion until he returned to the bed
and turned her onto her side so he could spoon her. His body was hot, relaxed,
almost pliant behind her.
Erin darted her
head back to give him a quick kiss on the chin, her sense of irony returning in
the wake of all the intensity of the evening. “Well, it was very nice, but I
had to move a little.”
Seth chuckled.
“Very sorry. I’ll try to do better next time.”
Hugging his
forearm against her chest—since it was the only part of his body she could hug
in this position—Erin was suddenly overwhelmed with tenderness, with affection.
She slanted a
warm, teasing look back at him. “You know what?”
“What?” Seth
murmured, pressing a few little kisses into the part of her face he could
reach.
“I think I love
you.”
Seth chuckled
warmly again and mumbled against her skin. “Same here.”
Despite her
tender feelings, Erin recognized that he hadn’t actually voiced the words.
He never had.
Not once.
She somehow
understood. He had his strongholds too—and one of his was keeping himself from
being vulnerable.
He loved her
too, but he was holding a little bit back.
It was okay. It
made it safer for her—since she wanted to hold a little back too.
They’d always
understood each other.
“You know what
I think,” he said.
She made a
humming sound in response, since she wasn’t feeling energetic enough to say
more.
“You call
yourself a cynic—”
“A realist.”
“A realist,” he
corrected, “But you’re really a romantic.”
She stiffened
indignantly. “I am not.”
“Sure you are.
Why else would you think that saying you loved me meant everything had to be
wrapped up in a pretty bow?”
She pondered
that enigma for a long time. Part of her admitted he might have a point, but
she wasn’t about to say it out loud. “I’m not a romantic.”
“If you say
so.” There was a smile in his voice.
“Don’t be
smug.”
Seth settled
her more snugly against him. Said in a drowsy voice, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“You might be a
romantic too, you know.”
“Wouldn’t dream
of it.”
Erin was
feeling drowsy too, but she couldn’t help but laugh. Couldn’t wait to go to
sleep. Couldn’t believe that Seth was in bed with her and that it wasn’t just
one in a series of random fucks. He’d be there in the morning. For her. For Mackenzie.
For both of them.
And Erin could
be there for him too. She was actually allowed to be.
Seth was right.
What they had
was real.
And it didn’t
matter that it wasn’t all the way.
“My personal life is not your
business, Marcus,” Erin said into the phone.
“I wasn’t
trying to pry. Just trying to be a friend.”
Her ex-husband
had called her up for no apparent reason while she was sitting on a park bench
on her lunch hour. They talked every couple of months, but this was the second
time he’d called in two weeks.
Erin was quite
sure they’d never be friends, but she tried to be mature and reasonable in
order to maintain a civil relationship.
So she didn’t
snap his head off the way she wanted. “Yes, Seth and I are dating.”
“Is it
serious?”
Her
relationship with Seth since her admission of feelings last month
felt
serious—felt more serious every day. But that fact made Erin nervous sometimes,
made her feel trapped in something she wasn’t ready for, so she wasn’t going to
discuss it with Marcus. “It’s too early to tell.”
“I’m surprised
you’re going out with him.”
“Why?” She
immediately felt defensive at his skeptical tone.
“You have a problem
with men with strong personalities.”
“It’s not a
strong personality I have a problem with,” she replied, forcing herself to keep
her tone calm. “It’s a man who pursues his own will at the expense of mine.”
“And he
doesn’t?”
“No,” she said,
shifting restlessly on the bench. “He doesn’t.”
“Okay. I’m just
surprised. From what I know about Thomas, he’s like me in a number of ways.”
She was silent
for a few moments. Then, “I don’t know what to say to that. And I need to get
going anyway.”
“That’s fine.
We’ll talk soon.”
When she
disconnected the call, Erin stared down at her smartphone for a long time.
The sandwich
she’d eaten for lunch churned in her stomach as she processed the conversation.
There were
similarities between Marcus and Seth, and only a fool would deny them. But she
didn’t think the way she was with Seth was anything like she’d been with
Marcus.
Yes, perhaps
she’d given up small parts of her independence to be with Seth, but that was an
inevitable part of being in any relationship.
She’d made no
commitment. She still had her apartment. She still had her job—although it
wasn’t one she liked anymore.
Seth wasn’t
Marcus, and he genuinely cared about her.
Marcus was just
trying to manipulate her. He probably didn’t like that she was moving on with
another man, and he was playing on her insecurities—the way he always had.
Erin threw away
the trash from her lunch and glanced at her watch. She’d been moved to the
office of the Clerk of Court, and her job wasn’t anything like what it had been
before. She was basically a glorified receptionist now. While it was work that
needed to be done and it paid the same amount as she’d gotten before, she
didn’t enjoy it nearly as much.
She still had a
half-hour left of her lunch break, and she felt no compulsion to get back to
work earlier than she absolutely had to.
She felt
restless and uncertain. She wanted to see Seth. His office wasn’t very far
away.
She’d never
just showed up at his office before without planning it beforehand, and it felt
a little like she might be intruding on his privacy.
But surely he
wouldn’t mind if she just stopped by for a minute to say hi.
A few minutes
later, she arrived at his law firm offices downtown and was recognized by the
receptionist, who greeted her warmly and waved her back toward his office.
His assistant
looked up as Erin asked, “Is he busy?”
“He’s working
in his office at the moment. Should I let him know—”
Before the
woman could finish her question, Erin gave a casual wave and strolled toward
the door to Seth’s office, which was opened just a crack.
She felt a
little nervous. Hoped he wouldn’t mind her just barging in on his work.
More and more, Erin
felt torn between joy and terror in her relationship with him—kept falling
deeper but hating how out of control it made her feel.
As she
hesitated before entering, she peered through the partially opened doorway and
caught a clear view of Seth sitting behind his desk.
He wasn’t at
his computer. Instead, he was staring down at something—probably a file or a
report—in his lap. His elbow was propped on the armrest of the chair, and he leaned
his head on his hand.
He looked
tired, stressed out.
Her face
softened as she watched him, and the wave of affection overwhelmed her.
She remembered
the first time she’d come to his office, to tell him she was pregnant. How
little she’d known about Seth, about herself, back then.
Distracted by
her thoughts, she almost jumped when he looked up and saw her standing in the
doorway.
His brows drew
together as he straightened in his chair. “Erin? Is everything all right?”
She came into
the office and shut the door with a click behind her. “Of course. Sorry to
bother you. I just...”
Seth was still
looking confused. “What is it?”
Swallowing over
her silly nerves, Erin walked across the office until she was leaning against
the front of his desk, only a foot or so away from him. “Nothing. I just wanted
to say hi, but maybe I should have called first.”
Something
changed on Seth’s face. He gave a faint half-smile. “You just stopped by to say
hi?”
“Yeah. Please
tell me if you’re too busy right now. But I was having lunch, and I was
thinking about you, so I just...”