Nameless Series Boxed Set (71 page)

But obviously
her gesture now stood out clearly to him as out of the ordinary.

She smiled up
at him, pushing the hair out of her face and stroking his hardening cock after
it had been freed from the confines of his clothes.

“You didn’t
answer my question,” Seth said, easing his hips up so she could push his
trousers down farther.

It took a
minute for her to even remember his question. “You know better than that. You
don’t have to earn it.”

Their gazes met
and held for a moment before she leaned forward, her exhalation blowing against
his bare flesh. Then she flicked her tongue over the head of his cock, causing
him to suck in his breath.

She teased him
with her lips and tongue, until she could feel the muscles of his thighs and
belly tighten.

Turning her
eyes up to his face, she saw he was staring down at her with heavy lids and
slightly parted lips. The deep emotions and physical sensations she’d been
feeling suddenly coalesced into an intense arousal at her center.

He must have
seen the sudden flush of her cheeks and flare in her eyes because his cock
twitched in her hands. He made a guttural sound, and his fingers tangled in her
hair, curving around the back of her skull.

She responded
to his silent demand. Leaned forward again and took his cock into her mouth,
sliding her lips down as much of the length of him as she could and then
sliding them up again to suck hard on the tip.

He grunted,
bucking up his hips very slightly.

He hadn’t been
fully erect when she’d started but she could feel him hardening completely
under the suction of her mouth. His flesh was hot, with a familiar tang, and
pleasuring him so intimately turned Erin on even more.

She squirmed a
little, the wet pulsing between her thighs growing uncomfortable. But she made
herself concentrate on the task at hand. She took him as deeply into her mouth
as she could without choking and hollowed out her cheeks in a quick, hard
rhythm—matching the motion with her hand on the base of his cock.

Seth was
panting now—his inhales and exhales wet, textured, and erotic. And he was
applying gentle pressure with his hands on her head, guiding her rhythm.

She didn’t
resist, feeling a deeply possessive joy at still being able to please him this
way. She brought one of her hands down beneath her mouth. Found his balls and
began to massage them gently, knowing exactly what pleased him the most.

He groaned, low
in his throat, and arched his back in instinctive response. She could tell he
was fighting the urge to pump his hips, to thrust into her mouth.

But he wasn’t
in danger of coming any time soon. His muscles were tight and his responses
were urgent—but his motion wasn’t yet jerky or uncontrolled.

Erin wasn’t
sure she was up to bringing him to climax with her mouth. The muscles of her
throat and cheeks were already getting tired, and she was so turned on now she
was getting desperate for an orgasm. If she made Seth come now, it wouldn’t be
impossible but there was no guarantee of his getting an erection again any time
soon.

So, with one
more hard suck of her mouth and squeeze of her hand, she let his stiff, wet
cock slide out of her lips.

Her face was
hot and hungry as she stared up at Seth, stroking the strong muscles of his
thighs.

He was starting
to sweat, just enough to produce of sheen on his forehead and nose. And his
eyes were heavy, hot, and erotic. He leaned over and reached beneath his chair,
adjusting the switch that locked the wheels of the chair in place so it
wouldn’t roll. “Get up here,” he demanded thickly.

Her channel
clenched possessively at his words and the tone of his voice. She crawled up
his body but asked before she got back in his lap, “Will we be all right in the
chair?”

He frowned at
her and hauled her into his lap. “What do you mean? We’ve had years to practice
this sort of thing, haven’t we?”

“Right,” she
agreed, giggling a little as she straddled his lap, her legs folded on either
side him. The chair was big and there was plenty of room. But she felt a little
unstable until Seth positioned his strong hands on her bottom for support.

Together, they
aligned his cock at her entrance, and she lowered herself on top of him. She
was plenty wet, and they both hissed in pleasure as his erection penetrated
her.

She rocked over
him, trying to angle her hips so his cock would hit her g-spot. She gripped his
shoulders, using her thighs to move her body. And she moaned in pleasure, her
head falling back, when he thrust his pelvis up to intensify the stimulation.

“You feel so
good,” Seth murmured, squeezing the soft flesh of her ass with his fingers.
“Fuck, baby, you feel good.”

She mewed in
pleasure—never tiring of hearing him tell her that—and leaned farther forward
so she could twine her arms around his neck. She kissed him, still rocking her
pelvis over his.

Seth opened his
mouth to her kiss, stroking her lips and tongue with his own tongue. And he
moved one of his arms so it was wrapped tightly around her bare back, holding
her snugly against him.

The kiss went
on for a long time, as meaningful to Erin as the orgasm building slowly between
her legs. Finally, when her thigh muscles started to get tired, she pulled away
from his mouth, straightening her back so she could get the right angle for his
cock to connect with her g-spot again.

Seth was
flushed and panting, but he was controlled enough to recognize what she was
trying to do. He slouched in his chair a little more, changing the angle of his
cock.

Erin gasped in
relief as she found the angle she’d wanted, her rhythm accelerating as tingles
of pleasure pulsed out from the motion of his cock inside her.

“Can you come,
baby?” Seth rasped, both hands moving back down to cup and squeeze her bottom.

“Uh huh,” she
huffed, her motion intensifying as her orgasm started to take shape. “Uh huh.”

He raised one
of his hands so he could fondle one of her breasts—bouncing even with the
support of her bra. His teasing of her nipple generated additional tugs of
sensation, collecting into a deep, intensifying pressure.

“That’s right,
baby. Come. Let me see you come.” Seth’s thick voice was erotic encouragement,
pushing her even close to the edge.

She jerked her
body over his in final impatience until the coiled pleasure finally released.
Her mouth fell open in an almost silent cry of relief as her inner walls
clamped down around the penetration of Seth’s cock. Her climax was deep and
powerful and satisfying, and she shook above him for a long time, extending the
duration of the spasms.

Seth had been
hissing, “Yes, yes, yes,” as she came above and around him, watching her
pleasure with hungry, possessive eyes.

There had been
a time when he’d had to fight not to come every time she did, but that rarely
happened anymore.

When she came
down, she fell forward onto his chest, changing the angle of his cock inside
her in a way that made Seth suck in an urgent breath. She kissed him—wet and
sloppy—and then gasped against him mouth, “That was good.”

He chuckled,
the warm sound producing delicious vibrations all through the length of his
body. “Just good?”

She kissed him
again with a teasing smile. “It was mind-blowing, earth-shatteringly good sex.
Does that satisfy your massive ego?”

He squeezed her
ass, his fingers hard but not quite bruising. “It’s a start.”

She gave him a
full-body hug. “Now it’s your turn. Let me see you come now.”

Seth didn’t
argue. He was still in control but his need was starting to overtake his
patience. So he closed his eyes and began to rock his hips from below her.

Erin clung to
him with her arms and her legs and her inner muscles, loving the feel of his
tightening muscles, his building tension, and the urgent, primitive jerks of
his body. When his panting shifted into rough grunts of pleasure and effort,
she knew it wouldn’t be long.

She watched him
greedily, craving each shift of expression on his twisting face and each
involuntary twitch of his arms and legs.

With an
extended guttural sound, Seth froze, his visceral tension coiled at its
tightest.

Then he opened
his eyes at the very last moment. So their eyes met as he came.

She saw
everything in that moment of naked, nameless expression. Everything she’d ever
needed to know—about his love, his devotion, his passion, his unalterable
presence in her life.

It slammed into
her, overwhelmed her, as it had from the beginning. And she choked on silent
sobs as he came hard beneath her, his body jerking as he released himself
inside her.

Her emotional
release was more powerful than any orgasm she’d ever had, and she clung to Seth
as he came down, pressing kisses on him anywhere she could reach.

“I love you,”
he said at last, after his breathing had evened out and his body had started to
soften. “I guess you probably already knew that.”

She pulled her
head up and snuffled, fighting her emotional reaction. “I had my suspicions,”
she admitted with a shaky smile. Then she reached up to stroke his thick hair.
“I love you too, in case you were wondering.”

They cuddled in
silence for a while—no longer needing to speak.

Until Seth
finally cleared his throat. “So what is it you wanted?” He stroked her hair to
soften the bite of his blunt question.

Erin sighed. He
was far too smart for his own good. “Nothing.” When she felt him start to object,
she hurried on, “Really, I didn’t want anything. Not really. I just…” She
swallowed, unsure of how to say it, now that the time was finally here. “It’s
just that I had something to tell you.”

He tensed up
immediately. “What is it?”

He sounded so
guarded she immediately tried to reassure him. “It’s not bad news. I promise.
It’s…it’s good news, in fact.”

Seth pressed
his lips together and shifted beneath her. “Whatever it is, you felt the need
to soften the blow with hot sex.”

Erin made a
gurgling sound of protest. “I wanted to have sex. I really did.”

His mouth
relaxed into a faint smile. “I believe you. And know that no underlying motive
could possibly make it less meaningful.” He held her gaze, as if making sure
she understood he was speaking the truth.

Then, “But tell
me the news.”

He was wary
still. He was physically relaxed, emotionally open, and in a generous mood. He
was as receptive to her news as he’d ever be.

But he was
still wary. There was more to Seth now—as a husband, a father, a human—than some
people would ever believe. But he would always be who he was. She’d never catch
him unprepared.

So she just
said it.

“It’s news
about Mackenzie,” she began. She’d promised her daughter she’d break the news
to Seth gently, and this was the best she could do. “She has a date on Friday
night.”

Their
daughter's first date.

Mackenzie was
sixteen now. If it weren’t for Mackenzie’s reserved nature and the intimidation
factor that went along with her Seth Thomas’s daughter, this would have
happened much earlier.

It was
happening now, though. And Erin could only hope her husband was prepared for
this inevitable eventuality of having daughters.

She felt Seth’s
body tighten dramatically beneath her. Saw his back stiffen as he straightened
in the chair and his jaw clench as he processed her words. His fingers bit into
her flesh.

And she knew
her efforts had been futile. She’d prepared him as best she could but none of
it had made a difference.

Seth roared,
“She
what
?”

Erin sighed in
resignation. It was going to be a really long week.

“
What
?” Seth demanded.
“What? When did this happen? Why was I kept out of it?”

In his surprise
and indignation, Seth instinctively tried to rise to his feet. Erin, who was
still straddling his lap, had to cling to him desperately to keep from being
thrown off. “Seth,” she gasped, using her weight to keep him in the chair.
“Seth, wait.”

Realizing he
was about to dump his mostly naked wife on the floor, Seth kept his seat. But
he was bristling visibly, as if he had to rein himself in. “Tell me.”

Erin wrapped
her arms around him again and stroked his hair. She was torn between
exasperation and sympathy, and she didn’t yet know which one would win out. “No
one was keeping you out of it. It just happened tonight. He called her. She
accepted. Then she came to tell me.”

Seth’s eyes
narrowed ominously. “And
you
got the onerous duty of breaking the news
to me?”

“Seth, don’t be
like that. Mackenzie was nervous about telling you herself.”

“Why? Why
should she be nervous to tell me?” A flicker of something appeared briefly in
his eyes—something small and wounded that Erin recognized very well.

“Don’t get your
feelings hurt,” she said gently, giving him a soft hug. “It has nothing to do
with her not loving or trusting you. She was just worried about your reaction.”

“What
reaction?”

Erin rolled her
eyes. “I believe you were just proving her point. You tend to be rather
defensive when it comes to the girls.”

“Why shouldn’t
I be?” Seth muttered, starting to tense up again beneath her. “The world is full
of people who would hurt them. Who is this cretin anyway?”

It took Erin a
minute to figure out who he was talking about. “Oh, you mean the boy? He’s just
a boy from her class at school. She's known him for a long time. I've met him
before in passing. He seems like a perfectly decent, nice-looking boy.”

Seth snarled.

“Sweetie,” Erin
chided, “Don’t be silly. Surely you knew they would start dating eventually.”

“They?” Seth
tried to rise to his feet again. “If you’re telling me Anna has also hooked up
with some—”

Erin made a
gurgling sound—somewhere between laughter and annoyance. “Anna hasn’t hooked up
with anyone. Neither has Mackenzie. She has a date. One date. You must have
known it would happen eventually.”

He settled back
in his chair but he gave her a cold look. “I didn’t expect it so soon.”

“Soon! She’s
almost seventeen! That’s late to start dating. Think about what you were like
at seventeen.”

That was
clearly a stupid thing to say, and Erin realized it even before Seth responded.

Seth froze for
a moment, as if he were considering her words. Then he choked on a guttural
sound of rage. “I’ll kill him!”

Exasperation
was quickly overtaking Erin’s earlier amusement at her husband's stereotypical
but eminently characteristic reaction to this news. Seth had always been
possessive and defensive by nature—sometimes to the point of paranoia. It only
made sense that this side of his personality would spiral out of control when
someone he loved as much as his daughter was at issue.

She shook him
by the shoulders. “Seth! Stop it. You’re acting like an idiot. Calm down and
start to think about it rationally. You’re a brilliant, insightful man. Start
acting like it.”

Her sharp words
had the desired effect. Seth’s mouth snapped closed and his responses turned
inward. He was still seething—she knew—but at least he wasn’t about to explode.

“This is
important to Mackenzie. She likes this guy. And you know how reserved and
guarded she usually is around other people. You can’t mess this up for her.”

His eyes darted
over to Erin’s face. “She likes him?”

“Yes. She
really likes him. I’ve not seen her this excited about anyone before. Please,
try to make it easy for her.”

Seth took a
couple of slow breaths. Then his hands landed on Erin’s hips. “All right. Can
you get down, baby? I’d like to get up.”

Erin resisted
the urging of his hands. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to
go talk to Mackenzie.” He was clearly controlled now, and she had no doubts
that he was going to do his best to be supportive. But there was an almost panicked
look in his eyes that really worried her.

Untangling
herself from his body, Erin stood up. Then leaned over to pick up her panties
from the floor. “Seth, look at yourself.”

He was still
sprawled in the desk chair, with his pants around his feet, his hair mussed in
all directions, his shirt wrinkled and sticking to his chest and belly, and his
soft cock still damp from their lovemaking. Glancing down at himself, Seth
murmured snidely, “I assure you, I was planning to pull up my pants first.”

A snort of
amusement caught Erin off-guard, but she managed to overcome it before her
point was lost. “I’m not going to let you go talk to our teenaged daughter
about her date, while you’re half-dressed and still smelling like sex. I’m
going to go clean up. You sit here and try to be reasonable. Then you can go
clean up. Then you can talk to Mackenzie, if she’s not already in bed.”

“I appreciate
your granting me such generous permission.”

This time, the
words were so snide they were almost bitter, but Erin didn’t let herself get
offended by the tone. She knew this transition in their daughter’s life was
going to be difficult for him. Seth had spent his whole life holding on
desperately to anything he loved, anything that gave him security.

And nothing
gave him more security than his family.

So she bit back
her snarky response and instead said, “Seth, please. Take a few minutes before
you go to talk to her.”

He turned his
head to the side for a moment, his lips pressed tightly together. But then he
looked back to her and nodded.

Relieved, Erin
grabbed her dress, threw it on, and hurried to the bathroom. Among other
things, she was feeling rather damp between the legs, and she needed to take
care of it.

Five minutes
later, she went to Mackenzie’s room to warn her daughter that Seth was planning
to pay her a visit.

Mackenzie was
still up, as Erin had expected. Her light was on, and her bedroom door was open
a few inches. Erin knocked softly, catching a glimpse of Mackenzie on her bed.

Mackenzie was
beautiful—just as Erin had always known she would be. She was tall, slender,
and graceful, with smooth fair skin she’d gotten from both of her parents and a
sleek fall of red-gold hair and deep blue eyes she’d gotten from her father.
She didn’t look anything like Erin, except for something inexplicable about her
smile. Her personality wasn’t much like Erin’s either. She had Seth’s
multi-faceted intelligence and deeply reserved nature. She didn’t open up
easily and she was wary of revealing her feelings. But Erin and Seth’s concerted
efforts had ensured that she wasn’t wounded and needy the way Seth had been as
a child. And this had produced in Mackenzie a far more stable and healthy
relationship with herself and with other people than Seth used to have.

But Erin still
worried about her sometimes. And prayed she’d eventually find someone to love
who would truly understand her nature.

Seth wasn’t an
easy man to love. Mackenzie wouldn’t be either. And there was so much danger of
her sweet, sensitive soul getting damaged in the process.

This evening,
Mackenzie was wearing pajama pants and an oversized gray sweatshirt, but she
was one of those people who always managed to look well-dressed and pulled
together. Tonight was no exception.

At Erin’s tap,
her daughter looked up from her book. She straightened when she saw her mother.
“Did you tell him?”

“Yes. He’s
coming to talk to you in a few minutes.”

“Is he…How did
he take it?” Mackenzie’s eyes were wide and anxious. She adored her father
still, although she’d rarely admit it anymore.

“Did Dad blow
his top?” The lilting voice came from behind Erin, as Anna pushed her way into
the room. Anna was two years younger than Mackenzie, and she was blonder,
shorter, and curvier. She was far more like Erin, in her quicksilver wit and
willingness to express emotion.

With a flash of
a teasing grin, Anna folded herself in a large chair, without being invited.
“He did, didn’t he?”

“No, he
didn’t,” Erin lied. “You need to give him more credit. He’s a mature,
intelligent man, and he’s not going to lose it because his daughter has a
date.”

There was a
brief silence, during which Anna and Mackenzie exchanged looks. Then
Mackenzie’s mouth twitched slightly and Anna choked on barely suppressed
amusement.

Erin had to
struggle against a chuckle herself, but she wasn’t going to let Seth down, any
more than she would her daughters. “Anna—”

“I know, Mom.
Dad’s cool and collected with the rest of the world. But I don’t think he’s
going to be happy that Mac's dating.”

“Is he mad?”
Mackenzie asked, leaning forward. She was trying to act unconcerned, but she
was visibly nervous at the possibility.

“No, he’s not
mad. Of course not. He was surprised. But he’ll be fine. You know he just wants
you to be happy.”

“As long as
having sex doesn’t make her happy,” Anna muttered, not quite under her breath.

Mackenzie
released an expression of outrage and threw a pillow at her sister.

Although the
comment had been teasing, it caused an aching clench in Erin’s gut. She
considered herself a supportive, understanding parent, but, when the time came,
she wasn’t sure how she was going to handle knowing her little girls were
having sex.

Erin had had
sex for the first time when she’d been fifteen. Almost Anna’s age.

The thought
made Erin want to cry.

“Don’t you dare
suggest that to your father,” Erin said, suppressing her own private concerns
as she tried to keep control of a situation that could unravel at any minute.

“What? Am I
crazy?” Anna gaped at her. “He’d lock Mackenzie up and not let her out until
she’s forty.”

“He would not—”
Erin began.

“Don’t be
stupid—” Mackenzie said at the same time.

Anna scowled
from her position on the big chair. “You both know it as well as I do. Dad
thinks Mac is the most beautiful, precious creature in the world. If anyone
even thinks about touching her, he’ll destroy them.”

Although Anna’s
words were light and clearly ironic, they caused a pang of worry in Erin’s
chest. Anna hadn’t included herself in her estimation of Seth’s defensiveness.
Erin couldn’t help but wonder why that was.

“He feels that
way about both of you,” Erin correctly firmly. “But that’s not the point. He
loves you, and he’s not going to keep you from a reasonable social life.”

When she saw
that Mackenzie was still looking worried, Erin gave her an encouraging smile.
“Really, pumpkin, he’ll be fine.”

Mackenzie
rolled her eyes at being address by the childish appellation, but her features
relaxed and she leaned back against the wall.

Anna made a
face. “I’ve yet to be convinced.”

“Of what aren’t
you convinced?”

Seth leaned
against the doorframe, eyeing his youngest daughter with slightly arched
eyebrows. He’d pulled his clothes together, reordered his hair, and cleaned up,
so—although he still looked slightly rumpled—he wasn’t reeking of sex. Erin
still noticed a bit of the post-sex look about him, but she doubted her
daughters would be able to recognize it.

Anna reddened
slightly, at being caught talking about her father. But she replied gamely,
“I’m not convinced Mac should cut off her hair.”

It was a clever
move. Seth’s attention jerked over toward Mackenzie. “What?”

“I’m not
cutting my hair. Anna’s just being dumb.”

Seth let out a
breath. He’d resisted every haircut Mackenzie had ever had. When, in seventh
grade, Mackenzie had decided to get it cut just above her shoulders, Seth had
sulked for a week.

“So you have
plans on Friday night?” Seth asked Mackenzie, returning to the issue at hand.
His face appeared controlled and natural, only his eyes hinting at any deeper
reaction.

“Yes.”
Mackenzie looked away, rolling her eyes just a little.

“Who is he?”

“A guy from
school.”

Seth pressed
his lips together. “Do I at least get his name?”

“Are you going
to do a background check?” Mackenzie demanded.

Erin had no
doubts that her husband would do just that, but Seth gave his daughter a
silent, stony look.

Mackenzie
stubbornly met his gaze for a minute. Then relented, “Justin Ames.”

Erin held her
breath as she watched Seth’s face. His brows drew together and she knew that
particular expression. He was thinking—with his characteristic speed and
precision. She just hoped he wouldn’t remember a random detail from a decade
ago.

With anyone
else, Erin would have been certain they were safe. But with Seth…

“Justin?” Seth
repeated, his back stiffening and his eyes narrowing. “This isn’t that little
brat who made fun of your hair and told you…” He cleared his throat. “And told
you things he shouldn’t have told you in elementary school.”

“Seth,” Erin
began, stepping over to put a calming hand on his tense arm.

Mackenzie
cringed, her expression reflecting obvious guilt.

“It is? That
nasty little boy who used to tease you?” Seth was starting to look enraged
again.

“Dad!”
Mackenzie insisted, sticking out her chin in a familiar way, “He’s not nasty.
He was six years old back then.”

Seth pinned
Erin with an intense look. “Did you know about this? She’s going out with that
little idiot she used to hate?”

Erin made a
face at her husband. “They’ve had many years to work out their difficulties in
elementary school.”