Ethan
Ethan watched as Amelia started stacking dishes. “You don’t have to clean up,” he said, finishing his glass of milk and joining her at the sink. “I’ll get it in a little while. You cooked.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t ask me to,” she protested. “It’s my mess, I can--”
“I ate two helpings of everything,” he pointed out. “I think that earns the chef a break.”
“I really don’t mind. You’ve been at work all day.”
“So have you,” Ethan countered, gesturing at the food. They were going to have leftovers for a few days and he was already looking forward to taking some of it for his lunch tomorrow.
“What are you, some kind of feminist?” Amelia demanded with a grin.
Ethan laughed. “You got me.” Her green eyes were sparkling and he wanted to kiss her so badly, he ached. “Now, get out of here and let me prove it.”
“No way,” she said. “We can clean this kitchen like equals, can’t we?”
He pretended a very heavy sigh and swatted her gently with a dishtowel. “Fine, if you really wanna steal my thunder.”
Amelia began to fill the sink with hot, sudsy water and Ethan gathered the rest of the dishes. He stacked them neatly on the counter beside her. Then he leaned around her to wet a cloth to wipe down the table and sink. He caught her scent and his body immediately registered the heat of hers. He knew he needed to back up, but God, he didn’t want to. This was the closest they’d been all day and his body relaxed at the small contact with hers. She fit him so well.
She leaned back against him and he dropped his head to the curve of her neck, following it with his lips. She was irresistible, even if he had no idea what was going to happen between them in the future, or how she really felt about him. She might want nothing more than some support in a scary time. He was beginning to discover how much more he wanted.
She turned in his arms and raised her chin. “Kiss me,” she whispered. “I’ve missed kissing you so much, Ethan.”
He couldn’t have told her no if his life depended on it. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her lips all day. He covered her mouth with his own, teasing her tongue with his until she moaned into his kiss.
“Come to bed with me tonight,” she murmured against his lips. “I don’t want to sleep in there without you again.”
“Baby, if I take you into that room, you won’t be doing much sleeping,” he said roughly. He needed her to know what she was getting into.
Her arms tightened around him as her eyes went bright. “Good.”
He swept her up into his arms, making her squeal and laugh, and then carried her down the hall. Ethan kicked the door open and dropped her gently onto the bed. Then he looked at her. Amelia Stratton, looking breathless, her gorgeous green eyes shining with excitement and laughter. In his bed, where he’d been dying for her to be again for almost two months. In his bed, where she belonged.
She sat up and reached for him, pulling him down onto the bed with her, but he didn’t push her back onto the mattress again. Instead, he knelt over her, gripping the back of her neck, taking her mouth until she gasped against his. Her hands gripped his t-shirt as he continued the kiss greedily.
God, he’d wanted her. A warning sign went off somewhere in the back of his mind. This was more than simple want. This was need, pure and simple. He ignored it, threading his fingers through her thick red, gold hair and tugging her head back, exposing her neck and kissing his way down it before closing his teeth over the sensitive spot at the side.
“Oh God,” she moaned and he felt her body strain toward his.
With him kneeling over her, curving his body down to hers, there wasn’t much she could do to touch him. He wanted to keep her that way for the moment. He wanted her wanting him, needing him right back. He’d be damned if he were the only one dragged down into these feelings. He’d find a way to take her with him, a way to make her his.
She tugged at the t-shirt he wore and he let her go only long enough to yank it off and toss it over his shoulder. Her hands swept down his chest, but he gripped her wrists, moving her hands behind her back and holding them with one of his own. Then he settled in at her neck again.
“You taste so damn good,” he said against her skin. “I wonder what you taste like everywhere else.”
Still holding her hands behind her back in that easy grip, he began unbuttoning the shirt she’d worn that day. It was one of his and it looked just as right on her as she looked in his bed. He kissed every inch of skin he exposed, feeling her catch her breath when he got to her breasts. They were just slightly fuller than they’d been before and, apparently, a bit more sensitive. Her nipples were rock hard, pressing against the thin fabric of her bra already. He hadn’t even touched them yet. She pushed up, presenting her breasts to him in a silent plea and he took one of those nipples between his teeth through the bra. Her head fell back, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, tickling the arm he had behind her back. It was like silk.
“Oh, not too hard,” she whispered.
He flicked open the front clasp of her bra and dragged his tongue over the nipple he’d been a little too rough with. “Better?”
Her only answer was to move forward as much as she could, so he took it as a yes. He circled the hard point with his tongue before drawing it back into his mouth, teasing her with long licks. She was squirming on the bed now.
“Gettin’ impatient?” he asked.
“Yes! Ethan, please, I need you to touch me!”
He grinned. “I am touching you, baby.”
She squirmed again. “Not here...I...”
“Oh, you don’t like it?” He moved back up and pressed his lips to hers again. “Maybe I should just stay up here.”
She moaned in desperation. “No!”
He laughed. “Then I guess you’ll have to tell me what you want. I’m not a mind reader.”
“You are such an ass sometimes,” she gasped.
“See?” he said, lightly pinching the nipple he’d been ignoring. “You’re already saying what’s on your mind. What’s the problem with telling me what you want?”
“I want you inside me,” Amelia managed to say.
“Too bad,” he said, ducking his head once more. “I said I wanted to know how you taste, remember?” Ethan waited long enough for her eyes to widen in surprise and excitement and then he let go of her wrists and pushed her back onto the pillows. “Hold onto the headboard,” he said. “No hands yet.”
When she did as he asked, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her pants and tugged them down. He left her panties on for the moment, kissing his way down her thighs, making her tremble. He dragged his tongue up her inner thigh and went just under the edge of her panties. She jerked slightly and he saw her hands tighten on the headboard. When he pressed a kiss to the center of her, over the panties, she jerked again.
He glanced up at her, realizing something suddenly. “Nobody's ever done this to you, have they?”
A flush highlighted her cheekbones as she shook her head. “No.”
Ethan grinned at her. “And here I thought we were done with firsts.”
He stripped the underwear off and then hooked his arms underneath her legs, spreading her open to him. “Last chance to say you don’t wanna do this,” he offered fairly.
“No,” she said quickly. “I... I want to see what it will be like.”
“Remember to hang onto the headboard,” he advised.
“Why can’t I touch you?” Amelia asked.
“It’s not that,” he answered, letting his grin go wicked. “It’s just that you’re gonna need something to hang onto.”
Her giggle was cut off by a cry of pleasure when he pressed his mouth to the heat between her legs. He ran the tip of his tongue up her tight clit and held her down firmly when her body bucked upward.
“Oh my God,” she gasped out. “Do that again!”
He indulged her, focusing solely on her clit, which was plumping up just a bit more, swelling with her arousal. He brought her to the very edge of an orgasm and then pulled back, raining kisses on her thighs again while she trembled. He was holding her too tightly for her to arch up the way she was clearly desperate to and he enjoyed the whimpers and moans she gave as her body drew back from the precipice.
Then he started in again. She was more sensitive this time and he took advantage of it, sucking her clit a little more roughly. Amelia choked back a scream and gripped his shoulders.
He pulled back once more. “Hands on the headboard, baby.”
“I think you get off on the control,” she said, gripping the bed until her knuckles went white.
“No, I just don’t want you drawing blood before I fuck you,” he answered, making her mouth drop open. “Be good and I’ll make you come this time.”
Her legs, which had gone tight, loosened up and he lowered his head, licking her slowly and gently. Her head began to toss on the pillow. He dragged his tongue up her slit, loving her taste.
“You said you’d let me come this time!” she reminded him raggedly.
“Yeah, but I didn’t say it’d be fast.” He gave her another leisurely lick while she writhed under him. “Do you know how long I thought about doing this to you?”
“You...” Her voice caught on a pleasured moan when he slid a finger into her soaked pussy. “You did?”
“Oh yeah,” he answered against her skin. “And, baby, it’s even better than I thought it would be. You taste damn good here, too.”
His cock was throbbing, jerking, rubbing against the rough fabric of his jeans with every beat of his heart. He was dying to sink into her. She was even wetter than she’d been their first night together and all he could think about was how tightly she fit him. He’d get every inch slick in her arousal and then he’d fuck her as hard as he dared.
But first, he wanted her to come. It wouldn’t be difficult. She was on the razor's edge of it, her pussy soaking his fingers, her hips pumping now that she had a bit more freedom to move. Amelia was panting, half begging him to let her come.
Ethan pushed his fingers deeper, letting her fuck them while he sucked her clit between his lips, lapping at it quickly with his tongue. She screamed to the ceiling, her body jerking wildly as she came on his fingers. He used his free hand to keep her steady, licking her and licking her, wanting every drop of her delicious orgasm.
She let go of the headboard and dragged him up over her, her fingers fumbling with the button of his jeans. “I need you,” she said breathlessly. “God, I need you so much.”
Ethan was happy to oblige. He smacked her hands out of the way, shoved his jeans down and grabbed her around the waist as he rolled over. He came to a rest on his back with her straddling him. He gripped her hips, lifted her, settled her over his cock.
Amelia slid down slowly, letting him fill her. It was his turn to grip the headboard. She needed to get used to him again. He needed friction and heat. Her eyes, still heavy with pleasure after the orgasm he’d given her, scanned his body with admiration. He couldn’t remember anyone ever looking at him like that.
“You’re so sexy, Ethan,” she said, her voice slightly hoarse. “I can’t believe I’m the one who shares your bed.”
She rocked forward, seating him deep. He bit his lower lip, tightening his hands until the headboard dug into his palms.
Amelia leaned down, her hair curtaining around the kiss she gave him. He returned it desperately, needing a distraction from her tight heat. Her lips traveled down, doing the same thing to him that he’d done to her. His hips jerked up off of the bed, shoving his cock deep when she sucked firmly at the hollow of his neck.
She moaned. “It feels so good when you go deep like that.”
He loved it when she got so abandoned that she didn’t worry about talking dirty. “Are you sure it’s okay?” he asked roughly. “I don’t wanna hurt you.”
Her smile was soft. “It’s fine, Ethan.”
He brought his hand down on her ass, smacking it just hard enough to sting. Her eyes widened in pleasure.
“Then ride me,” he said. “I remember you being damn good at it.”
She sat up, working her hips slowly at first, driving him crazy with frustration. But when she got into her rhythm, he couldn’t keep his hands off of her. Ethan grabbed her hips, steadying her so she could take him as deep as she wanted him. The slick friction sent pleasure spiraling through every nerve he possessed.
She was moaning steadily now, cupping her own breasts and teasing her nipples. Ethan reached around and began to rub her clit with his thumb. She began to ride him more quickly, her head falling back again as she gave into the next rise of pleasure.
“Yes, Ethan, yes!”
He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of hearing her say his name. She was working him like a pro now, her body perfectly in synch with what he needed to come. Even the first time hadn’t been this good. If it kept getting better, he probably wouldn’t survive it. But fuck, what a way to go.
“I’m going to come,” she cried out. “Oh, God! God, yes!”
She tightened like a vice and Ethan’s own orgasm took him by surprise.
“Fuck,” he groaned as he felt it begin. “Ah, fuck, Amelia....don’t stop, baby, don’t stop.”
She rode him hard as he came deep inside her. “I can feel it,” she whispered. “I can feel you coming.”
He groaned again at the amazement in her voice. When she’d wrung him dry, he wrapped her in his arms and dragged her down to his chest, staying inside her as long as he could while they caught their breath.
# # #
Eventually she shifted off of him, so Ethan wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close against his side. She cuddled in, draping her leg over him and resting her head on his shoulder. They both caught their breath slowly.
It was perfect. Ethan wished he could just go to sleep, holding her like that. But there were still questions tumbling through his brain. Too many of them to let him sleep.
What were they going to do next? What about her father? Why hadn’t she told him about the baby? Would she really have let him go his whole life never knowing he had a kid?
The last one was the one that haunted him the most; it was the answer he had to have to move forward. The rest was incidental. If he trusted her, they could get through the other bullshit. But he had to be able to trust her first.
“Amelia?”
“Mmm?” she murmured, clearly more than half asleep already.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the baby when you found out?”
She didn’t speak for a few moments. Then she propped herself up on one elbow and looked at him. “I told you before. I was scared,” she said honestly.
He felt his jaw clench, but he tried hard to keep the anger out of his voice. “Because of your father and his shit about motorcycle clubs?”
To his surprise, she shook her head. “No, it wasn’t that. It was everything else. What would you say? Would you tell me to get rid of it? Would you laugh at me? Tell me it was my problem? Tell me I should have been more careful? Can you tell me honestly that none of that would have crossed your mind?”
Ethan cupped her cheek and laughed a little ruefully. “I guess we both should have been more careful,” he admitted. “And it would have shocked the hell out of me. Itdidshock the hell out of me, so I don’t really know what I would have said if it had been just the two of us in the moment.” He reflected for a second, trying to imagine hearing it from her instead of her father. “I don’t think I would have been a dick about it, though. I wouldn’t have tried to force you into anything you didn’t want to do.”
“I probably would have broken the news a little more gently than my dad did,” she said with a small smile.
“Were you ever going to tell me?” He wasn’t aware he was holding his breath until his lungs started to burn. This was the question that would determine whether they could stay together. He knew that he couldn’t forgive her if she’d really planned to hide his child from him for the rest of their lives.
Amelia sighed heavily. “I thought I wasn’t. But honestly...I don’t think I could have kept it from you the whole time. It felt more and more wrong every day. I would have broken down sooner or later.”
He studied her face, searching for any sign of a lie in her words.
She met his eyes squarely. “I don’t know how to handle anything in this situation,” she admitted. “And I know I’ve screwed some things up. I just hope you give me the chance to fix them. I want us to be honest with each other from now on.”
Something that had been tight in his chest relaxed and he pulled her forward for a kiss. She returned it eagerly, clearly relieved.
“If we’re gonna go ahead and be honest,” Ethan said, running his fingers through her hair. “Then I have to tell you that I still don’t have any idea what you wanted that night.”
“Freedom,” Amelia answered promptly. “Dad was pushing me about going out with Anthony, threatening to cut me off, reminding me I wouldn’t get anywhere without him. The walls felt like they were closing in.” She nested in the curve of his arm again. “I felt like I could see my whole life playing out. The good political wife, heading up meaningless charity drives for buzzword causes, never making enough waves to matter. Never really doinganything.”
“So you headed for a biker bar?” Ethan just couldn’t figure that part out. “I mean, hell...you could have gone anywhere.”
Amelia shrugged. “I thought if I was going to spend the rest of my life being good, I wanted to be really bad for one night. It was the most daring thing I could think of.”
Ethan laughed dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “That’s cute.”
She smacked him in the center of his chest lightly. “Are you making fun of me?”
His eyes sparkled in the low light. “You’re damn right I am, baby. You’ve got the Vegas strip a few hours away, and you headed for The Hole.”
“I believe in supporting local businesses,” she said loftily, pleased when he laughed again.
“And so you walked into a biker bar, got everyone’s attention, and--”
“I didn’t geteveryone’s attention,” she said with a laugh. “Just you and that creeper.”
“The hell you didn’t. I was there. I saw it.” When she didn’t reply, he drew back and looked down at her. “You walked in like you owned the place; don’t act like you don’t know you’re sexy.”
“I was too scared to look at anyone,” she admitted. “I just kept my eyes on the empty stool at the bar and went for it.”
Ethan shook his head, amazed that she’d been unaware of all the eyes on her. “Trust me, everyone noticed you. Michael and I just happened to get there first. You could have had your pick that night.”
“I did,” Amelia said shyly.
Ethan continued to run his fingers through her long hair, sifting the silky strands between his callused fingers. “And then I went and knocked you up,” he said, feeling more than a little guilty about it suddenly. She’d been so naïve. “When all you wanted was some freedom.”
Amelia looked at him. “I wasn’t going to be free anyway,” she reminded him. “At least this way...” She put her hand on her stomach. “Well, I don’t regret anything about it.”