“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was ashamed.” She sucked in a big breath, eyes still glued to a place above his head as if she couldn’t stand to look at him. “And even if I’d told you, I knew there was nothing you could do. Aside from getting yourself thrown in jail.”
“You could have gotten transferred to another home,” he said. “You could have—”
“There was no guarantee another home would have been any better.” Erin laughed bitterly. “You know what it’s like, Blake. I had to get out. I couldn’t take another two years of Phil or anyone else.”
Blake nodded, wanting to take her in his arms, but refusing to let himself touch her. If he started, he might never stop. “I’m sorry. I hope you know now that I wouldn’t have thought any less of you. It wasn’t your fault. You could have come to me. We would have figured something out without you running off on your own.”
“I know that now. And if I could go back…” She met his eyes again with a tight smile. “But I can’t and that’s not the point to the story.”
“What is the point? That the foster care system is seriously flawed?”
“Well, that.” She laughed. “And that I always knew Phil was a piece of shit. I had suspicions about Scott, too. I even tried to call off the wedding at one point before he talked me out of it. I didn’t know how bad things would get, but I knew we weren’t meant to be.” She paused, watching him with soft eyes. “But it’s different with you. You may not know it, but I do. You’re a good man, Blake, and we belong together. Always have, always will.”
“Erin, I love you. You know I do, but—”
“I love you, too.” She jumped off her chair and crossed the room, taking his hands in hers. “So there’s only one more question that needs to be answered. Well, maybe two questions.”
“And what are those?” he asked, feeling his will to fight slipping away. He wanted to believe Erin was right and that he could be the man she needed.
Maybe, with her help, he could be.
“Do you like kids? Abby in particular?” she asked. “Be honest.”
“She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I was afraid to hold her too long. I knew if I did, I wouldn’t ever want to let her go.” Blake paused, still afraid to let hope in. “But if you and I…and Abby… Things would have to change. We’d have to keep the play in the bedroom.”
“We would, but that’s not such a big deal.” Erin smiled, tears filling her eyes. “God, it’s so good to hear you say that. About Abby. I’m so glad.”
Blake squeezed her hands. “What’s the second question?”
“It’s not so much a question as a statement.” She sniffed. “Our ticket was one-way. I brought all of our clothes and dropped the few things I had in boxes at the UPS store on the way to the airport. Damned Naughty
said I could shoot the layout I’m doing for them as easily in Miami as L.A., and I sort of told my landlord I wouldn’t be coming back.”
“Sort of?” Blake asked, heart beating faster as he realized the full impact of her words.
“Not sort of, I flat out told him we were out of there. For good.” She laughed nervously, her fingers twining in front of her. “And I’ve got full physical and legal custody of Abby so there’s nothing from the past to weigh me down. I want the future. With you. Think you might have room for a couple of girls around the house?”
“A couple?” His eyebrows lifted. “Is Abby—”
“She’s in your room,” Erin said, gesturing toward the closed door. “There were more pillows in there and I wanted to make sure she didn’t roll off the bed if she started moving around in the night. She’s a wild sleeper.”
“Just like her mother.” Blake smiled, barely able to believe this was really happening.
A part of him still felt like he should be fighting the happiness and relief that coursed through his system at the thought of him and Erin and Abby becoming a family, but the rest of him was doing a good job of shutting that insanity down.
Erin was right. They belonged together, for better or worse.
But he was going to do his damnedest to make sure it was all better.
“Yep,” Erin said, her smile lighting up her face. “So, you want to get comfortable in the guest room? We could snuggle up in that full bed and see how many times I kick you in my sleep.”
“I have a better idea,” Blake said, pulling her close, letting his hands travel down to cup her ass.
“Oh?” Erin asked, eyes sparkling. “And what might that be?”
“It seems a shame to waste this outfit you’ve put on.”
“You like it?” she asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I figured you might need a visual aid to remind you how much we belong together. As well as a good talking to.”
“An excellent idea. I’m only sorry I didn’t have a chance to get prettied up for you.”
“That’s okay, I kind of dig the beard. Though I’ve always wondered…” She stood on tiptoe, closing the distance between their lips.
Their first kiss in two months was enough to make Blake’s heart threaten to stop beating. The feel of her tongue sneaking into his mouth, the sweet taste of her, the way she dug her fingernails into his neck as their kiss grew more intense—all of it was even more amazing than he remembered.
“Yep, it tickles.” She laughed and kissed him again.
God, there was nothing in the world like kissing this woman. Kissing Erin was like coming home and being transported to another world all at the same time. She was all he’d ever dreamed of and so much more. He was one lucky bastard, and so grateful he hadn’t lost her.
“Thank you,” he whispered against her lips.
“You’re welcome.” She sighed as she hugged him more tightly. “I hear sometimes even wise men need a little reality check.”
“And you should feel free to give me one anytime.”
“I will. But you should feel free to give me things, too.” Erin wiggled her bottom under his hands, bringing to mind their last encounter at the club in L.A.
His cock grew even thicker at the thought of private spanking sessions, when there would be no reason not to end the encounter by driving inside Erin’s welcoming heat.
Damn, they were going to have fun together. There were so many things he wanted to do to her, with her, so many boundaries to test and explore.
But tonight, he wanted to keep things simple. “No paddles tonight.”
“No?” she asked, looking a little disappointed.
“No, and no nipple clamps or whips or restraints.” He kissed her again, softly, thoroughly. “Tonight is about just you and me.”
“The real you and me?” she asked, the heat in her eyes making her real question clear.
“Of course.” He released her with a smile. “So go get your ass in that bed and spread your legs. Play with my tits and my pussy, but don’t touch my clit or come before I get there. Just get my cunt wet. You understand?”
“Yes, sir.” She leapt into his arms, hugging him so tight his laugh came out as a grunt, then turned and fled into the guest room.
Blake watched her go with an ache in his chest so strong he could barely breathe.
That was his girl. His love, the only woman who would ever know him, who could ever make him feel like he was the kind of man he wanted to be. And he was going to do whatever it took to show her how much she meant to him—tonight and every night for the rest of their lives.
He stopped and took a deep breath before following her, his eyes drawn down to the angel on his arm. For a moment, he would have sworn the ink looked brighter, richer than it had in years, as if the tat itself were grateful to be reunited with the woman who matched him as perfectly as their identical tattoos.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Erin
As she ran and jumped onto the guest bed, Erin felt like laughing and crying at the same time.
She’d done it; she’d really done it! And it hadn’t been nearly as hard as she’d worried it would be.
Her stomach had been tied in knots for the entire plane ride. Not even Abby’s constant squirming on her lap could distract her from her fear that Blake’s stubbornness would prove too much for her to conquer. Once he had his mind made up, he was usually impossible to sway.
But then, neither of them had ever been in love like this. What they’d felt for each other when they were kids had been wonderful and real, but nothing compared to the connection they had now. This was what people dreamed about, wrote stories and made movies about. This was the real thing, a love she hadn’t dared dream she’d find.
The thought was enough to bring fresh tears to her eyes.
“Disobeying my first order. This doesn’t bode well for our future,” Blake said, the laughter in his voice making her smile.
“You’re the one who said I was a pushy bottom.” Erin rolled over onto her back, her breath catching as she saw him standing in the door, wearing nothing but his jeans. How many times had she fantasized about that bare chest? About running her fingers over the contours of his muscles, letting her tongue trace each dip and curve?
“I was wrong, you’re not pushy, just hard to handle.” He stalked slowly toward the bed, making her pulse pound.
“I’ll probably need a lot of discipline and punishment before I’m anywhere near where I should be.” Erin spread her legs, slowly, deliberately, and let her fingers trail up her thigh. She was already wet and aching, just seeing Blake was enough to make her body come to life. “Training me is not going to be an easy job.”
Blake watched her hand with undisguised fascination as she slid her fingers inside her thong, dipping into the well of heat between her legs. “Easy is overrated.” His breath rushed out through his parted lips. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I’m here and I’m never going to leave,” Erin said, the back of her throat getting tight again. “Now are you going to fuck me or not? If not, I’m probably going to start crying again and I’ve really had about all the—”
“Take off your panties. Leave the stockings and shoes on.”
Erin obeyed, hands shaking as she quickly shed the scrap of silk and then lay back on the bed, her nipples so hard they poked through the stiff satin of her corset. A wave of dizzying desire swept over her from head to toe, making her head spin. God, she needed this, needed Blake to take control of her, to make her feel so safe and free and completely consumed by him.
Him. Her love. Her perfect match.
Every name she called him made her giddier.
“Spread your legs. Wider,” Blake ordered, working at his belt with swift, sure movements. “Show me my pussy.”
Electricity shot through her entire body as she parted her thighs. She could feel her lips plump under his eyes, swelling until she felt bruised with the force of her wanting. She sure as hell hoped Blake wasn’t planning some long, drawn-out seduction, because she didn’t think her mind would survive it. She needed him.
Now.
They could do the long, drawn-out thing later, when she didn’t feel so desperate for the connection she’d been denied for the past two months.
“You are so beautiful,” he said, his voice catching as he shoved jeans and boxer briefs to the floor, freeing his cock. The poor man was so swollen the veins stood up along his length, and his plump head dripped a single sticky tear.
Erin licked her lips—she wanted to taste that salty drop, to lick it away and suck his beautiful cock deep between her lips. “You, too. You don’t know how many times I’ve imagined this.”
“I can guess.” He knelt at the edge of the bed, bringing his warm hands to the inside of her thighs and spreading her wider. “Maybe a few hundred less than I have. I swear to God, I could taste you in my sleep.”
“Please, Blake.” She squirmed beneath him, feeling she would shatter if he didn’t shove that beautiful hardness between her legs in the next ten seconds. “I need you inside of me.”
“Are you topping from the bottom again?” he asked, his voice soft as he dipped one thumb into her cunt, groaning as he slowly drove in and out of her slick heat.
“No, I just—”
“Because if you are, I don’t care. Nothing could keep me from fucking this pussy.” He slid his hands from her body and positioned his cock at her entrance in one smooth movement. “Right now.”
She called his name as his hips surged forward, shoving his engorged length inside her. There was a hint of resistance at first. No matter how aroused she was, he was a tight fit, his cock even thicker, harder, hotter than it usually was. He felt so large that a hint of delicious pain accompanied her pleasure as he filled her, driving fast and deep, not stopping until he lay buried to the hilt.
“God, Erin.” His breath came in swift, shallow puffs against her lips as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, pulling him closer. “I’m not going to last five minutes. You feel so fucking good.”
“Five minutes should be more than enough.” She rolled her hips in a slow circle, grinding her clit into his pelvic bone with a shuddering sigh. “You feel pretty good yourself.”
“I aim to please,” he said as his hands gripped the top of her corset and tugged, pulling at the fabric until her breasts were free. “I missed these tits.”
“And I missed you calling them tits. I actually came to like the—” She broke off with a soft cry.