But that didn't stop Eric, who was still chasing after his own orgasm. I was shaking by the time he came, and I could hardly breathe as he fucked me through it all, ignoring how overstimulated I was, ignoring the way I gasped and clung to him. He spilled into me in seemingly endless waves of passion, and then finally fell still.
We lay there for a long moment, until he finally dragged his head up, smirking at me even as his fingers slid between my legs. I sobbed and reached down to catch his wrist, knowing that I couldn't handle the way he was flicking the pad of his calloused thumb against my nub; it was too much.
Fortunately, Eric seemed to understand that, because, after a few last, slow strokes, he removed his hand and rolled to the side, off the rug, and onto the tile. He didn't even flinch at the cold, though.
I turned on one side, propping my head up on my hand so that I could stare at him. “We need to talk,” I said finally.
Eric laughed and looked over at me. “Probably,” he agreed.
“Come here, off the tile,” I said, scooting to the side so that he could lie on the rug as well. When he did so, it brought the two of us closer together, and I pillowed my head against his shoulder. Eric's fingers came up to stroke my hair.
I breathed out a soft sigh and snuggled closer. “I'm not sleeping with Buck,” I said, feeling sleepy and sated.
“I'm sorry I stormed in like that,” Eric said, sounding embarrassed and upset.
I smiled. “Actually, it was kind of flattering. Like you wanted to duel for me or something.”
Eric laughed. “This isn't the Middle Ages,” he said.
“Not all chivalry is dead, though, is it?” I asked. “A girl can hope, anyway.”
“For the sake of chivalry, I want to clarify: I never meant for this to be about just sleeping together,” Eric said seriously. “I wouldn't do that to you.” He paused. “I want something more than casual. I just want to do it on our terms, without the whole town butting in.”
“So we need to figure out a way to make that work,” I said thoughtfully, already trying to come up with a solution. My heart was singing at the thought that he might want an actual relationship with me. I only hoped we could manage it.
“We need to find a way to make that work,” Eric agreed. “Easier said than done, but maybe if we set up all our dates when I stop by the daycare anyway, and then we both drive separately to where it is? I don't want it to feel like we're sneaking around, but just for now, I want to keep things quiet if we can.”
“All our dates?” I asked, feeling warmth blossom inside me.
Eric pulled me closer, kissing my hair. “All our dates,” he affirmed. “I know a certain Italian restaurant that you seem to like, and there's a Thai food place that I've wanted to take you to as well.”
I hummed a response and then rolled away. “For now, I guess you have to get back to Emma, though?”
“Yeah,” Eric sighed. He brushed my hair back, tucking it behind my ear. “I'll see you bright and early on Monday morning, though. Maybe I'll bring donuts, to make up for barging in here.”
I grinned. “Well, the sex in the front hall more than made up for your jealousy, but I wouldn't say no to donuts!”
Eric grinned as well and leaned in to give me a last, chaste kiss before he started putting his clothes on.
I closed the door behind him when he left and leaned back against it, wondering if this really could work out between us.
Chapter Twenty-One
Eric
I was in the middle of an appointment on Monday afternoon when my cell phone rang. I frowned, planning to ignore the thing. I could give them a call back afterward. But as soon as the phone quit ringing, it started up again. I glanced at Mrs. Allbright as I finished up the prescription that I was writing for her. “So you'll need to take two of these twice a day until they run out,” I instructed her. “But they'll print those instructions on the bottle when you go to fill the prescription. Let me know if you have any problems or if your symptoms get worse.”
Mrs. Allbright looked doubtfully toward my bag, where my phone had started ringing for the third time. “Aren't you going to answer that, dear?”
“Is it all right if I do?” I asked.
“It sounds like it must be important,” she said.
I nodded and grabbed my phone, stepping out onto the back porch to answer, giving me a little privacy. “Hello?”
“Eric! Eric, thank God. It's my mother. I don't know what's wrong with her or why she hasn't called 911, but she called me and said she can barely breathe and that she has severe pain in her chest. I don't know what's wrong, but I can't go over there right now because I have the kids.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said. “Olivia, I need you to take a deep breath for me, okay? In and out, nice and easy. Where is she?”