38: Slowly

Sean

     "So, what do you do?" I ask her once things calm down and a slow song starts up.

     "I'm a masseuse," she answers with a small smile, and I stop in momentary shock.

     Oh no fucking way! I think once I can start thinking again. She starts laughing.

      "I love watching guys' reactions when I tell them that," she purrs with a big grin on her face.

       I swallow. My mouth had gone dry. "Well, can you blame us? That's fucking hot." I watch her closely for her reaction.

       "It's a job." She shrugs. "One that I do well."

       I have to change the subject before I come in my pants. It's been way too long for me. "So, I never learned your name."

       "I never told you," she replies coyly.

       "It would be nice if you did," I say and leave my statement hanging, waiting for her to tell me.

       "It's Belinda," she says. "Now, are you going to tell me yours?"

     "Sean," I tell her, and I see a momentary flash of some unidentifiable emotion cross her face before she immediately masks it with her pretty smile.

       "Well Sean," she says and runs her finger down my cheek, "I need to visit the ladies' room. Don't go anywhere, k?"

        I take the hand off my cheek and kiss her fingers as I say, "I'll be eagerly awaiting your return." She winks at me before she disappears in the crowd.

       Maybe today won't turn out to be so bad after all.

Belinda

     Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! I think in rapid succession once I get safely in the restroom. Is it? Is he the one Maggie was talking about yesterday? I pull out my phone and call Lynne.

     Her voice sounds teasing when she answers, "I thought you were out hunting."

     I ignore the banter she wants to start up, "What was the name of that guy Maggie was talking about? Erin's ex."

      "Sean."

      "Shit." And he's cute too. Damn it.

      "Why?"

      "He's here," I say, glad the bathroom is empty save for me. "I was just dancing with him." It has to be the right one. He matches Maggie's description now that I think about it. "I've been dumped," echoes in my head. Yep.

      "Really," she says slowly, sounding like she's mulling something over. "Keep him there. I want to have some fun."

      "What kind of fun?" I ask, knowing full well what she's capable of.

      "Nothing he doesn't deserve. You're at Hurricane, right?"

      "Yes. Lynne, is this really necessary?"

      "Why else would you call me?"

      "So you can confirm my suspicions."

     "And I did. And now I can't just sit here. I have to do something. Erin is one of us now, and he tried to hurt one of our own. He needs to learn a lesson."

       "You're really scary sometimes, do you know that?" I ask her, holding the phone with both hands.

      "Thanks, hun," she says and laughs. "Keep him there for me... in fact, go ahead and tell him a friend of yours is coming and that maybe we can all get a little friendly. He'll not be able to resist that." 

        I know nothing I could say would stop her. "All right, I guess."

         "Good. I'll see you soon," she says and hangs up.

         I actually feel a small amount of pity for this Sean guy. He's going to get a wake-up call tonight.

         I walk out of the restroom and find Sean looking like a lost puppy without me. 

         "Welcome back," he says with a grin.

         Here goes. "Sorry I took so long," I say and press myself up against him. He doesn't mind in the slightest. "A friend of mine called while I was in there, and I told her about you. She wants to meet you too."

        "A friend," he states like a question.

        "A good friend," I purr suggestively and wonder if he's going to start drooling. 

        He recovers quickly enough, however, and says, "Well, if she's anything like you, I'd love to meet her." Then we start dancing again right where we stand.


--------------------------------

Erin

     I must've fallen asleep because I wake up to Bryce kissing me again. However, this kiss isn't like last time. This time there's no pain behind it, and I'm glad.
      He inhales through his nose while his hands run up my sides, lifting my shirt as he goes.
      "Not sleeping, are you?" he asks huskily.
      "Nope. Just a momentary slip into a blissful state of unconsciousness." I laugh at myself.
      "You have been driving me insane all afternoon, you know," he states against my breast.
      "Me?!" I ask, incredulous.
      "Mmm. Yeah. I like this shirt. It looks nice on you. However, I've imagined how I would take it off of you every calm moment we've had this afternoon."
     He must be able to sense my shift in mood as I think about the not-calm moments of this afternoon.
     "But... Erin, are you okay?" he stops what he's doing and looks at me with a concerned expression.
     "I could be better, I admit, but I'm not near as bad as you fear. In fact, I feel a little better now. Maybe he finally got the message."
      "But you weren't okay when I came up here earlier..." He leaves his question/statement hanging.
      "I hate being cruel, and it took a lot out of me," I say and run my fingers over his concerned forehead and then through his hair. "Don't cut your hair," I tell him, the subject change taking him by surprise.
      He smiles, all traces of concern gone. "You like my hair?"
     "Yes," I sigh. And your eyes. And your abs. And the way those jeans hang on you. And your lips. Damn, even the man's feet are sexy. I look up at my boyfriend and remind him, "You mentioned something about wanting to remove my shirt."
      His eyes open, they'd closed while I ran my fingers through his hair, and he looks down at me with hunger in his eyes. "But I wanted to first make sure you're okay. ... not like last time."
     "I liked last time," I whisper, and his expression darkens. Well, not after. Hm. That must be what he's talking about. "And I thought we fixed the misunderstanding afterwards."
      "I want to make love to you," he says simply, obviously wishing to drop the subject of last time as he slowly peels my shirt off me. He tosses it to the floor before he adds very near my mouth, "Slowly."
      One word. How does he do that with one word?! I shudder to think of Bryce's definition of 'slowly.' A small whimper escapes that gives away my thoughts. I wish I could take it back, but he definitely heard me.
       I hear him chuckle quietly in his throat as he undoes the button on my shorts and pulls the zipper down. Then he sits up, and his eyes lock with mine as he pulls my shorts down and off. A wicked grin covers his features suddenly like he just got an idea. What is he thinking?
     "After all," he says as calmly as he can manage, "I still haven't explored everywhere." He removes my sandals and licks the underside of my foot.
     "Holy shit," I frantically whisper and try to pull my foot away. He's ready for me, however, and catches my ankle.

      "Hm," he ponders while his other hand strokes the underside of my calf.
      "Not my feet," I beg.
      "Why not?" he asks.
      "Feet are gross."
      "Yours aren't," he says and sucks on the toe next to my big toe, taking it into his mouth and lightly biting it. I whimper loudly and try to get my foot free from his grasp again. "I think you like it," he says calmly after releasing my toe. "You just don't want to admit it." He reaches with his free hand and massages the skin around my pinky toe, and the sensation goes straight to my groin. "You like that, don't you?" he asks, and I want to kick him in the face except that would make the wonderful sensation stop.
     "They're feet!" I rasp out, trying to regain control over my body that has betrayed me once again in this man's magic hands. "They're for walking on!" Preposition.
      "Mhm. Feet are really quite interesting, did you know?" he says with irritating calm, still working the skin around my pinky toe with occasional licks and bites to other areas. "You can tie almost every part of the body to somewhere on the foot. So a good foot rub..." He applies the smallest amount of increase in pressure. "...can affect the entire body."
      I whine loudly.
      "Shh. You don't want to worry Adele."
      "No fair!" I say and sit up to try to pry his hands off my feet before it's too late.
      He looks up and grins at me. "Are you trying to fight me again, Erin?"
      "Yes," I growl as I start clawing at his fingers, but I can't gain a good enough purchase. "They. Are. Feet. They're. Not. Sexy. Quit it!" I get out, getting steadily more aggravated as he starts laughing.
       He releases my foot to take my face in his hands so he can kiss me. He pulls back before I expect him to, however, and says, "I love you."
       "Not my feet," I repeat.
       His eyes twinkle as he says, "I love your feet too."
       "That's not what I meant!" I squeal as he laughs a little and pushes me back against the mattress, finally away from my feet. I don't trust him to stay up here though, so I hold his face in my hands now and kiss him.
       "Erin," he pulls back to talk to me in a very amused voice, "there is not a place on your body that isn't sexy as hell." Then he attacks my earlobe.
       I gasp and try to move away. Of course, he has a firm grip of my chin. "Bryce, please!" I can only get out as a loud whisper. It's too weird how much I like that.
       He laughs quietly, and I can feel his breath against my throat as he says, "You stopped me from fully exploring your feet. I need some sort of consolation." I feel his lips on the skin behind my ear, and goosebumps break out all over me. "Oh, and Erin? I will finish that one day, even if I have to tie you up to do it."
        I gasp and feel him smiling against my neck. "What?!" I squeak out.
       "You heard me. I said it right into your ear after all," he says, acting distracted now as his hand travels down to the middle of the side of my torso.
       Quickly, one of his hands lifts me a little while the other flies under me and my bra is undone in a little over two seconds... I think.
       "Haven't lost your touch," I say with a smirk to his answering grin. I can't help but think of an Old West gunslinger practicing his quick draw.
     "Well, I have to keep that skill up just in case," he says while lowering himself to kiss my stomach.
       Where is he going? He'd better not be headed to my feet again... I think as he pulls down my undies. While he's down at my feet, I quickly pull my legs up to me.
       "You make it so tempting." he says huskily. "I was going to leave your feet alone for tonight, but if you're going to deliberately try to keep them from me, then I'll have to rethink that."
       "What?!" I squeak again. "No!"

       Fast as lightning, he captures both of my ankles in his hands and presses my feet against the mattress next to each other, my knees bent. The laughter has left his eyes now as he locks his with mine and pulls my ankles apart. Then his hands travel up my shins, greedily spreading his fingers so that he can touch as much of me as possible. Oh no.

       He leans down and slowly licks the inside of my thigh while his hand moves up the opposite one.
       "Bryce..." I whisper, but he ignores my plea when his tongue strokes my clitoris.
       "Ah!" I cry out, and he stops for a second.
    "You're going to have Adele knocking on the door wondering what's wrong if you can't keep quiet," he says way too seriously.
       "I can't keep quiet," I say with my eyes closed. Just looking at him where he is drives me crazy.
       "So again, I'm denied what I want to do," he says in an admonishing tone. My mouth drops in shock when he says, "You're accruing quite a debt here, Erin."
       "Me?" I ask, flabbergasted, as I watch him remove his pants. I pout when he finishes removing them.
        He looks at me with a confused expression and asks, "What?"
        "You never let me do that. You... distract me." He really wasn't wearing anything under those jeans, I think as I answer my earlier internal question.
       The grin is back for a second before he says, "I like distracting you." His lips finally return to mine as he crouches over me. "Now," he asks, "can I trust you to be quiet?"
        Why was that question hot? "I don't think I can. ...be quiet that is."
        "Oh Erin," he says as he hovers just outside of me, "then you need to practice."

        He enters me with agonizing slowness, sighing as he does so. Then he pulls almost all the way back out before doing it again. I have to bite my lip hard to do my best to keep quiet. He's driving me crazy. I just want him to stay more inside me! This full/empty/full/empty is going to make me scream in frustration soon if nothing else does.
       I finally get his attention when I whimper loudly. "Too much?" he asks.
       "Not enough more like," I say.
       "Oh, you want more?" he asks playfully, still continuing with his ridiculous movements.
       "Bryce!" I snap.
       "Damn, this feels so good though," he says, obviously enjoying my aggravation.
       "At first! But..."
       "I said 'slowly' after all." He grins. "Is there something else you wanted?"
        I have a sudden fantasy about clawing his eyes out.
        Finally, he stays fully inside of me and moves in small, intense circles before he asks, "Like this?"
       "Mmm hmmm," I whimper.
     "Shit, I can tell," he groans before lowering his mouth to my neck where he kisses and occasionally bites me.
       What I enjoyed a few minutes ago slowly starts to irritate the hell out of me. Plus, I'm worried about my neck.
        "Bryce..." I pant, "if you leave a mark on my neck," I let out a low groan when he picks up the speed for only a few seconds before slowing down again, "you're going to regret it."
       He picks up his head and smiles a little down at me before he asks, "I am?"
      "Yes."
      "Again, you make it so tempting."
      Shit, what has come over him?!
       "Bryce..." I say, and I hate the sound of my whining. He merely laughs quietly, and he still won't effing speed up! I growl and grab large fistfuls of his hair.
       "Ow!" he quietly exclaims. "I thought you liked my hair! Why are you trying to pull it out by the roots?"
       "Speed... up!" I growl. I was never this communicative with Sean during sex, but somehow, Bryce brings it out of me.
       He shakes his head. "No. I said... slowly." I start to let out a high-pitched, enraged sound that he quickly silences by kissing me. "Shh!" he says once he releases my lips again.
       "No! Bryce, I can't take this. Not and be quiet at the same time!" I pant.
       "You've done well so far," he says and grins down at me.
       I squeeze my eyes tight and tilt my head back as I let out another whine.

       "Take it, Erin, please. You're so fucking beautiful, and this feels so damn good," he mumbles breathily to me into my neck as he continues with his torturous movements. I start trying on my own to go faster, but he holds my hips steady with one hand as he says, "Oh no you don't. Now, be good. Dammit Erin, trust me and stop fighting it."
       I let out a shaky breath and try. Torturous pleasure radiates from my center to every part of my body until I want to scream. He has absolutely no intention of speeding up... probably at all, I think with another whimper as he gently encourages me to continue to keep myself from fighting him and what he's doing to me. I hadn't even realized what he meant by 'fighting' until I stopped doing it.
      I allow the sensations to take over and consume every thought, blotting out everything else in the universe except what we're sharing.
      I've reached some sort of plateau, and I do my best to keep my cry from being too loud. Bryce whispers something or other that I don't understand as he takes the tempo up only a fraction.
       The pleasure still builds too slowly for me to handle while my breathing sounds coarse and ragged and going to fast. Oh. Oh, I can't stand it!
      "Come on, baby," he whispers, and finally, it forces my body to succumb. He places his hand over my mouth to muffle the noise I can't help but make as he joins me in this powerful climax.
       Sex with this man can never just be 'normal' I guess, I think vaguely while I've started slowly coming back to earth.

37: After So Little Time

Sean

     After going to my hotel room for a few minutes to finish cleaning myself up, I head out to a club I noticed while driving around the other day. I can't stay in that damn hotel room all night by myself with nothing to do but watch bad TV and stare at the walls.

    I get inside and revel in the semidarkness as I make my way over to the bar. I want something strong enough to drown out the guilt I'm feeling.

     'Just let him beat the shit out of you, didn't you?' my subconscious taunts me, referring to that rebound guy and what happened on his front porch.

       I knew it was a long shot for Erin to even want to talk to me while she was around that guy, but I thought I'd try anyway. Then me and my big mouth. I got angry and talked about his kid.

       The bartender takes my order while I stare in the mirror at the small crowd reflected behind him. I hate being here by myself.

      'She's never coming back to you. You screwed up big time.' Again, my subconscious taunts me.

      Meredith isn't even that pretty.

      The bartender hands me my drink, and I decide to have a seat to watch people dance.

      I miss Erin, I think with gut-wrenching pain.

      This trip didn't turn out anywhere near what I'd hoped. I'd thought for sure her leaving town was a way of her asking me to chase her, which I gladly did. I get it; I deserved a little punishment. But no! She really left. She says she likes her new life here.

       She can't possibly be in love with that guy, I think, ignoring the fact that I know she'd never say that if it wasn't true. She just said that to make me leave her alone.

       'Maybe you should.'

       I wish my subconscious would shut the hell up. I mean come on! I was the one to finally get that girl to come out of her shell!

       My memory drifts back to Josh's party, our first date. Damn, she was hot. And uncomfortable. I couldn't let her be a mousy little coward forever... and that dress her cousin in Champs les Sims bought her... I inwardly groan with the memory. THAT'S when the rest of the team saw what I'd already seen. I laugh quietly. They thought I was performing some random act of kindness for asking out a nerd.

      I saw her first. I made her what she is, and I'll be damned if I wound up doing it for him!

    "Hey stranger," a velvety voice says just before the owner herself sits in the chair opposite me. "Why you sitting here all by yourself?"

      I look over at the moderately-attractive woman, and I mentally shrug. What harm can come from a little flirting, especially if Erin is being difficult?

      "Waiting for someone like you to come lift my spirits," I answer and pout a little. She leans forward; it looks to be working.

      "What's eating you?" she asks, still leaning forward so that she can hear me better. Or something. Well, whatever reason it is, I'm enjoying the view.

       "I've been dumped," I answer evasively. I finish my drink real fast, brighten up my expression, and say, "But I'm not going to let it get me down. Wanna dance?"

       "Sure," she says, and I take her offered hand and pull her behind me to the middle of the dance floor.

 ------------------------

Erin

     Kind of like Bryce was earlier, I'm shaking. I don't want to break down in front of Adele. Bryce tightens his arms around me, and I'm so grateful. I bury my face into his shoulder and work on trying not to scream with anger, hurt, and frustration. He doesn't try to get me to talk. Instead, he addresses his daughter.
     "Adele, I'm sorry you had to see what I just did. I... lost it," he tells her.
     "All he did was call me a brat. I don't care," she responds.
     "I do," he says, and the two of them get quiet again. "That doesn't excuse the fact that I was that violent because I want you to know that's not always the answer."
     "I get it," she says in an almost annoyed voice. Then she asks more quietly, "So, that was the ex?"
     "Yes," he answers, and I wonder how much he's told her. "And that's all the more reason for Erin to stay with us until he leaves."
     "It's fine, Daddy. I get it. He needs to leave her alone if she wants him to."
     I start crying. She just... said it so simply! So uncomplicated! If only life worked like that. I sniff and then feel the two of them looking at me.

     "It's okay, Erin," Adele tells me after she walks up and puts her hand on my shoulder. "Daddy won't let him get to you again," she says like her Daddy is her hero. Well, he's my hero too. "I'm going to go put the pizza away, I guess," she tells Bryce.
     "Did you do your homework?" he asks her in his parent voice.
     Adele sighs exasperatedly, and I can imagine her rolling her eyes at him. "No. I guess I'll go do that too." She's quiet for a few seconds before she says, "It's going to be okay, Erin."
     "Okay," I whisper back to her through my tears.
     The second the door closes, Bryce holds me tighter. I feel so guilty. I can feel his breath on my shoulder and his scruffy, perpetual five o'clock shadow against my ear.
      "I'm sorry," I whisper to him.
      "You don't have anything to be sorry about," he says soothingly.
      I nod against his collarbone. "Yes I do. I pretty much told you to get lost so I could talk to him... something you'd already told him wasn't going to happen."

      "Oh that," he says. "Well, don't worry about it. You made up for it the second you told him what you told him." He lightly kisses my shoulder before deciding to just run his mouth against it and up to my ear where he breathes in deeply.
      "Told him what exactly?" I ask.
      He takes another deep breath, and I can hear the restrained emotion in his voice as he tells me, "That you love me more than you ever loved him." Since my ear is pressed up against him, I can hear his heartbeat increase its tempo.
      "Oh," I say quietly. Well, it's true... He heard me?
      "That wasn't a lie to just get him to leave was it?" he asks, now sounding insecure.
      "I wouldn't lie about something like that. He knows that," I answer and wish that Bryce knew that. Maybe hearing me tell Sean made it finally sink in.
      This is the part where I would get mad at him for his insecurities, but after this morning, I think I understand a little better. He never got over Ashley leaving, and he might just be more screwed up than I am since he apparently never dealt with it. I just have to keep reminding myself to look at everything through that 'filter,' and I should be able to understand him better. I don't know how I got that from just a kiss... but it was the way he held me that made me catch on. That and the crying.
     He exhales harshly and turns my face towards his before he passionately kisses me.
     "How is it..." he asks in little breaks in the kiss, "...that you... mean so much to me... after so little time?" Then he pulls back to look at me and takes off my glasses to gently fold them and put them on the bedside table. That action, thankfully, gives me time to take in what he just said. I can't help but shed a few happy tears now; I'm an emotional wreck.
     When he's returned his gaze back to me, he reaches for my cheeks and wipes away the traces of my tears. I get momentarily lost in those warm brown eyes of his.
      "You're dangerous without your glasses on," he says quietly down to me.
      His statement throws me a little, and I can't help but find it funny in spite of everything we've gone through today. I find myself smiling as I ask him why.
      "Because your eyes are the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen," he answers, and I feel glad I'm not standing because I don't know how well my knees would hold up under that gaze. As it is, I sit up a little to voraciously kiss him.
      He pauses for a moment in quiet shock, and I, of course, revel in that moment. He deserves a 'shock' like this after the things he just told me. It doesn't last long, however, and he starts kissing me back. I want to laugh at the way he acts like he needs to kiss me more passionately than I'm kissing him. I feel like we're having a contest to see who can out-kiss the other one. I want to win.
       Bryce groans just before leaving my mouth for my neck, but I'm not finished with him. "Oh no you don't," I say and grab hold of his chin to pull his mouth back up to mine. He lets out a little whine/groan, and I know I've won. Good.
      He is... way too damn hot in nothing but these old jeans, I think as I remember how I wanted to practically attack him down in the kitchen earlier. Do they have to fit him like that? Then to just... casually lean on the door frame like he did. Holy shit!
      I work myself so that I'm straddling him with his legs hanging off the side of the bed. I know we need to talk, but right now I don't want to stop kissing him. He keeps trying to break free to probably kiss me elsewhere, but I'm not having it right now.
     A small growl escapes him after I thwart another of his attempts to leave my mouth. One of his arms flies around my waist, holding me closer to him, while the opposite hand reaches up to almost-roughly grab my breast. When his hand starts kneading me, it's my turn to groan, and it's not long until I have to break the kiss to catch my breath.

      The arm around my waist pulls me tighter up on him and a little higher as well before his hand pushes my breast up so that it comes more out of the top of my shirt. His mouth triumphantly attacks the exposed area, and his arm tightens around my waist to stop my mild squirming when his tongue dips down into my cleavage. His other arm takes over for the one holding my waist so he can undo my braid before he lifts me up only to deposit me on my back upon the unmade sheets, my legs still on either side of him.

      He pushes himself upwards off of my cleavage to once again posses my mouth. I can feel his erection straining against the thin material of his jeans as he presses himself against me there. Surprising me, we both groan at the same time when he starts teasing me with suggestive movements of his hips.
      Having been denied last night and him driving me crazy all afternoon, I'm about ready to explode with suppressed need. I reach up and grab fistfuls of his hair. I decide I love longer hair on guys; it gives me something else to hang onto.
     I'm shaking for quite another reason than I was just a few minutes ago, and I hear myself groan as I think, Oh shit, Bryce. PLEASE don't stop.

     "I desperately need to make love to you right now, Erin," he says soft and low without stopping. My breathing spikes as my nails rake across his chest, shoulders, back, and wherever else I can immediately get to. "But it's almost Adele's bedtime. And I want to take my time with you."
      I let out something between a whimper and a whine. No! Don't leave me like this! I think in a mild panic.
      I can feel his eyes watching me. "However... shall I make you come like this?"
      "Yes," I whisper. Don't worry, it won't take long! I think as he groans and increases the pressure. His tempo also increases the tiniest amount, and I'm about to come apart at the seams. It's all I can do to keep from screaming.
      He must be able to sense that because his mouth claims mine in a demanding kiss. I'm very close now.
      Before I expect it, however, my hips curl towards him in a surprisingly-powerful climax that gives me torturous aftershocks.
       "Oh, baby," he whispers as he does what he can to force as much out of my aftershocks as possible.

      When we've been still and quiet for a few minutes, he brings me back to the here and now just enough to tell me, "I'll just tell Adele that you're resting." There's a small smirk on his face. I love that smirk. That smirk means he's happy he's made me feel so damn good. I'll return the favor somehow... just as soon as I can get the energy.
      He kisses me chastely once before chuckling and getting up to go do the bedtime ritual thing with Adele. I don't know how he's going to hide his physical state from her. The next time I think about it and want to inquire, I notice I must've missed some time because the bed is empty.
      All that with my clothes on.