"I'm here," came a weak reply, but praise the angels, it was her!"Baby! Thank Christ..." I tried the knob again. "Let me in. We have to go!" The door latch clicked and I wasted no time wrenching open the final barrier between me and my girl. I would have torn it off and thrown it if I'd had the ability.She stood there looking pale, with her hand over her mouth, sweat dotting her forehead, in her beautiful periwinkle dress. The most gorgeous color in the whole bloody world right now! Maybe forever. I didn't think I would ever forget how I felt in this moment. The stark relief at finding her just about took me to my knees in thankfulness."What's going on with the fire alarm?" she asked. "Are you okay?" I wrapped my arms around her, but she pressed a hand to my chest to keep a distance. "I just threw up, Ethan. Don't get too close." She kept one hand over her mouth. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Thank the gods I remembered about this bathroom being so close by. I was in here ben
"I feel better," she panted. "Whatever that was tonight seems to have passed." She slowly straightened up and lifted her head up to the night sky. "Gawd!" "I'm so sorry, baby. You're ill and I'm dragging you on a road trip and everything's so royally fucked up " "But you're here with me," she blurted. "and you're going to help me through whatever that shit was on my phone, aren't you?" She stared at me, her eyes still wet, her chest still heaving from being sick in the bushes, and utterly amazing to me because of her bravery."I will, Brynne." I took the couple steps that separated us and drew her close. She folded into my arms and rested her cheek on my chest. "I'm going to be here every step of the way to keep you safe. I'm all in, remember?" She nodded. "I'm all in too. Ethan.""Good. It's gonna be okay, baby." I rubbed up and down her back and felt her relax a little."I do feel better... even if I smell like puke," she said. "Sorry about that.""That's good you feel better. And y
Ethan's eyes held on to me as he mastered my body, his grip firm on my hips, his thick flesh filling me up and moving inside me, his mouth all over me, his teeth on my skin.All of this from the man who had broken though the walls I'd built and captured me. They were demonstrations of touch and pleasure, a means of cementing the connection between us, of keeping me close to him. It was his way. He didn't need to worry, though.Ethan had me.Despite the whole mess tonight, he had me in his arms and underneath him, his commanding strength taking charge in the way it'd been from the beginning. Holding me safe. That night on the street when he'd coaxed me into his car and the later phone calls demanding I acknowledge him were just the start of my understanding of Ethan Blackstone. There was so much more to the man than I ever imagined back then.I wasn't going anywhere. I was in love with him."I want my cock in you all night long," he rasped, his blue eyes flashing against the moonlight
Somebody wanted me, despite all that had gone down in my past. Someone was willing to fight for me. I was important to another person. To Ethan I was. The power in that knowledge was life-changing.Ethan's particular brand of attention was intense and a lot to accept at first but it worked for me. Ethan worked for me. He could show me how much he wanted me, and for the first time I had some hope that we could really make this relationship work. The "let's go slow" part hadn't happened at all like we'd agreed when we first met. But if we had gone slowly, I very much doubt I'd be naked in bed with him at the Somerset coast, in an English manor fit for a king, which happened to be owned by his sister, and being fucked to the brink of an- other magnificent orgasm right now. A girl has to take things as they come.It took a bit for me to rouse myself after the second round of sheet-clawing sex, but I managed to wriggle out of his hold to head for the bathroom so I could clean up and prepar
He stiffened above me, and his jaw got that stubborn set to it. "When it comes to protecting you, I'll do whatever I need to do. I'm not taking the risk with you-it's too late for that. I told you I was all in, and that's not changed in the last hours."His glaring expression was more than a little intimidating, even in the dim light. I tried to explain myself. "Well, no, my feelings haven't changed either. but that doesn't mean we can..."My words trailed off as I tried to process what he'd just so confidently declared that getting married would be a good idea-just like eating more veg- etables or wearing sunscreen was a good idea. I had to wonder if the stomach bug that had got to me tonight was making me hallucinate."There's no reason we can't." Ethan looked a little wounded as he studied me carefully, and it gave me a pang of regret, but only for about two seconds. What he was proposing was absolutely insane. I could barely wrap my head around being in love with a man who'd stor
Out on patrols we saw all kinds of horrifying shit. Democracy is something most peo- ple never really have the opportunity to appreciate. I suppose that's a lucky thing for much of the world, but still food for thought for those who don't even know how good they have it. The thing that bothered me the most was the incredible waste of potential. People suppressed and terrorized have very little potential-just the way third-world dictators like them to be,We'd seen her around begging on the streets of Kabul before, but never with the boy. Servicemen were restricted from interaction with the Afghan women. It was far too dangerous, and not just for the troops, but horny men are the most predictable, stupid creatures on the planet. They'll go looking for pussy and find trouble just about every time. It was fair to assume she was a prostitute. Although not common, brothels did exist in Kabul, not that I'd ever be caught dead in one. But some of the men took the risk, morons that they are,
He pinched my nipple, much more sensitive than usual, and the pain blind- ed me for an instant. I cried out as the climax started to roll through my body. He soothed the tender flesh with his tongue and spoke: "Say my name! I have to hear it.""Ethan, Ethan. Ethan!" I chanted against his lips as he plunged his tongue into my mouth and swallowed my words. I shuddered and clenched my inner muscles around his cock, pinned down and fully taken. And never more satis- fied than I was in this moment. He took charge of my pleasure and never let me down.But he wasn't done. I remembered what he'd said to me before. Ethan growled a very primal sound and pulled out of me. I protested the loss,but welcomed the jerk down the bed and the hot head of his penis filling my mouth as he readjusted his point of penetration. I could taste myself mixed with the taste of him and the eroticism was blatantly explosive. Gripping his hips, I pulled him deeper and sucked him to the back of my throat. Just a few
"Yeah, well, it's good that someone is," she grumbled. I decided right then that I wouldn't share Ethan's "proposal" of the previous night. I needed some coffee before I tackled anything of that magnitude. Better wait about telling her of Ethan's ultimatum to move in with him too. Gaby had no trouble giving her opinion on things. And at the moment I didn't need to hear the resulting noise it would bring."Iley," I asked her, "you didn't answer my question. Are you okay? Last night was so messed up. I know we exchanged texts and no damage done, but still..."Silence."Gabrielle?" I asked again, notching up the intensity by using her full name."I'm fine." Her voice sounded flat and I knew she was holding back. "Where did you go? I wanted to introduce you to Ethan's cousin, but that obviously never happened.""I got distracted... and then that alarm went off and I had to get out just like everyone else. I waited outside on the street for a while until I got your text. Once I knew you we