Nowhere Left to Fall, page 5
“Naked,” he sighed. “It’s my fault. I seduced you.”
“We’re both responsible, but I swear to you, I don’t have any diseases. That was my first time not using a condom. Ever.”
I looked at him. “Me too.”
“Are you upset?”
I stared at him. “How could I be upset? When I woke up and realized you were beside me, all I could think about was touching you…being with you.”
“Really?” He looked so surprised I couldn’t help a small laugh.
“I’ve been waiting a long time, too, you know.”
“How did we not know we felt this way?”
“I didn’t think I was good enough for you.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“And I always wanted a chance to get to know you.”
“You’re getting to know me now.”
My heart was pounding, some sixth sense warning me that if I walked away, I’d never see him again. How had our first time become a disaster? Was it a disaster? And why was I more worried about losing him than the possibility of being pregnant?
8
Erik
* * *
The insecurity in her eyes startled me, and I ran a finger along her lips, kissing her lightly, playfully. I sought out her tongue and toyed with it for a moment, until our lips locked together, and she softened against me. I had to have her again, to show her I wasn’t going anywhere, that our passion had been more than a fluke. I’d been telling the truth that I’d never gone without a condom before, and it truly hadn’t crossed my mind until it was over. Being inside of her was as natural as breathing, as though we were meant to be together, and I had to make sure she understood that my feelings for her went much deeper than sex.
We went into the bathroom together to clean up and this new intimacy between us was actually sexy. I liked the way she made me feel, both physically and emotionally, which was something new for me. When we stepped into the shower, she leaned against my chest and trailed her fingers lightly down my back, bringing on goose bumps. She continued down over my ass, my thighs, and around front to my hips. Her touch made me shiver even though the last thing I was feeling right now was cold.
I brushed her hair back from her face and looked into those beautiful eyes I’d been mesmerized by for years. I couldn’t explain all these weird feelings, because they were wonderful, but I didn’t want to push her. Being with her was better than anything I’d dreamed of so I wouldn’t do anything to scare her off.
“I need to taste you,” she whispered.
I groaned in anticipation. “Well, you do what makes you happy, baby.”
She slowly slid down my body, her lips trailing across my torso with soft, wet kisses. The water sluiced over her but she was oblivious, kissing the crease of my leg as she wrapped her hand around my erection. She glanced up at me, meeting my eyes with an impish smiled just before she practically swallowed me whole.
“Sweet fucking hell…” I groaned. “Jesus, baby, how do you…” My voice trailed off as my cock hit the back of her throat and she swallowed. Damn, she didn’t do anything halfway. She had me pumping in and out now, practically bottoming out each time and she never flinched. With her eyes closed and her lips and tongue working in tandem, I’d never seen anything as erotic as me fucking her mouth. She loved it too, because she hummed around me, lightly squeezing my balls with one hand and working me into a frenzy.
I’d had blow jobs before, but nothing like this. If I’d ever doubted a woman could enjoy doing this, I never would again. She worked me like a magician, sucking me so hard and deep I was only going to last about ten more seconds. Much as I hated to get off this quickly, I also preferred to be buried deep inside her pussy when I came, so this would allow me maximum staying power for when I was.
I growled out my release, watching her swallow every last drop and then lick me clean. God damn, she was the sexiest fucking woman on earth.
She slowly stood up again, her body against mine. “Now that’s what I call breakfast.”
“Jesus, will you marry me?”
Shit. The look on her face told me I’d just pushed her too far. I’d said it in jest, but obviously it freaked her out a little.
“It was a joke,” I said softly, kissing the side of her face.
“Erik, what are we doing?”
“Everything. Anything.” I wound my fingers in her long hair and held her head so I could look at her. “I want you. I’ve always wanted you. And now that I’ve had you, the real thing is better than anything I imagined. Stay with me, Casey. Let me show you how good it can be between us.”
“I want you so much it hurts,” she admitted.
I turned off the water and grabbed one of the towels, wrapping both of us in it. I didn’t wait to dry off, though, and carried her back into the bedroom.
“I want you more,” I said as I set her on the bed.
Her answer was to arch her face towards mine, until our lips were fused again, her breath hot against mine.
“Take me,” she whispered.
“Condoms,” I murmured, fumbling around to find my wallet.
“Princes keep condoms in their wallets?” she giggled, watching me.
“Horny, virile men who enjoy sex do,” I responded, tossing it on the bed beside me as I reached for her again, caressing her with more tenderness than intensity. We’d done that already and I wanted to savor her, the way it felt when we came together as intimately as two people possibly could. She moved me in ways I wasn’t prepared for but I loved every second of it.
I kissed her with purpose now, drinking in everything that made Casey the woman she was—the woman I’d always wanted—and couldn’t get enough. She’d captivated me as a teen and now that she was a woman, she brought out feelings in me I wasn’t used to, like possessiveness. With her fingers digging into my hair, her breath hot against my mouth, I lost myself in her. It had been a day but she was mine now and I needed her to know it.
I sheathed myself quickly and slid into her without much foreplay, but it didn’t matter. She was wet, ready, and took me easily. Her hips shifted beneath mine as she clamped around me. But there was no hurry now, and our eyes met when I didn’t move.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered, licking her throat. “I’ve never loved being inside a woman this much before.”
“I’ve never loved having someone inside me so much.” Her gorgeous eyes fluttered closed and she licked her lips. “You feel so damn good. Don’t move for a minute… let me feel this connection between us.”
How had I ever gotten this lucky? I rested my forehead on hers and we just laid there, our bodies connected, and her fingers sought out mine. We threaded them together and sat there for a long time…minutes? Hours? I had no idea but it was the hottest thing I’d ever done, not moving inside the woman I was fucking. Just a physical connection that made me so hard it was painful.
“Now,” she whispered, a hundred years later.
I started to move and our lovemaking was gradual, building to a climax that nearly shattered us both. I had to use my lips to stifle the sound as she let out a scream of pleasure. I was moving inside of her with hard, rhythmic thrusts, and she rode her second climax of the day with her voice muffled in my kisses. Her body shook as spasms overtook her, and she clutched my shoulders for dear life. Her face was cloaked in such rapture I lost every ounce of control I’d ever had, and together we rocked ourselves into another world.
9
Casey
* * *
The next time I opened my eyes, I had no concept of what time it was. I squinted at the alarm clock next to the bed. Five thirty in the afternoon. I probably could have slept until tomorrow, but my stomach was growling, and it occurred to me I might not have much time left with Erik. Our lovemaking had been spectacular, mind-numbing, practically ethereal. But I’d been around enough to know guys like him didn’t stay with girls like me, no matter how good the sex was or what sweet nothings he’d whispered while he’d been inside me.
“Where are you going?” His voice startled me, and I turned, looking over my shoulder.
“I was thinking I’d freshen up. I probably look rode hard and put away wet.”
“Yeah, but I’m the one who made you look that way, so get your sweet behind back to bed.”
“One minute.” I was quick to use the facilities and then slid back between the sheets, resting my head on his chest. He dragged a hand through my hair, stroking it softly.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“Starving.”
“Let’s order room service.”
“Okay.” Relief surged through me. I had one more night with him. It probably wouldn’t be enough, but after last night, I was pretty sure infinite nights wouldn’t be enough. I didn’t know what was going on, but it was so damn good.
“I have to move if I’m going to reach the phone,” he said after a moment.
I laughed and lifted myself off of him. He got out of bed and walked to the desk where the phone was. I admired his naked torso now even more than I had earlier today, impressed with his flat stomach, tight ass and muscular arms. He was perfection in my eyes, strong, sexy and lean. Last night had been a haze of alcohol and overstimulated hormones, but I already had ideas about what I wanted to do to him next.
“Stop staring at my ass,” he called over his shoulder as he waited for someone to answer the phone.
“I want to take a bite of it,” I responded, grinning when he looked back at me with a devilish smile.
“I can make that happen—yes, hello, I’d like to place an order?”
He was back in bed after ordering lobster tail and champagne for two, and I curled into his arms without hesitation.
“Somehow, I didn’t take you for a cuddler,” he said quietly, hands back in my hair.
“I didn’t take you for a hair man.”
“You didn’t think I’d want to run my fingers through hair as gorgeous as yours?”
I lifted my head to look into his beautiful green eyes. “I guess I never thought you’d be attracted to someone as plain as me.”
“Plain?” He made a face. “What about you is plain?” He traced a line across my lips. “Your mouth is made for kissing—and at least a hundred other things I can think of.”
He moved to my nose. “You have the straightest, sweetest, most perfect nose.”
My eyes fluttered closed as he traced my eyelids and eyebrows. “Your eyes are as blue as the Mediterranean, and those lashes are about a mile long.”
He slowly lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. There is no one who holds a candle to you.”
I stared at him. “You’re royalty… Like, the real thing. I’m nothing like the women in your circles. Half the time I don’t have nails because of my guitar-playing, so my hands are super ugly. I haven’t been to college, and I wouldn’t know which fork to use at a fancy dinner so—”
Erik leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. “Do I look like I give a flying fuck about that?”
“How can you not?”
“Because that type of thing has never been important to me.”
“That’s not true. You take your royal duties seriously. Your father has always been so proud of you, talking about everything you do even though you’re not really in line to the throne.”
“I took my duties seriously because I had nothing else to do and I was still finding my way in the world. Now that I have a better idea what I want in life, I realize my royal duties—and title—mean nothing. Since I’m so far down the line of succession, I’m not ever going to be king, and technically, I’ve only retained my title because my uncle granted it. When my father abdicated, he released us all from those titles, but the king thought it was unbecoming for members of the royal bloodline to be without titles.”
“What does all of that mean?” I asked softly.
“It means I’m just a regular guy. And I’m more than a little interested in you.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “Really?”
“Before I answer that, you have to answer one question for me.”
“Okay.”
“Has the last twenty-four hours been as good as I think it has?”
I raised my eyebrows. “You have to ask?”
“Did you fake anything?”
“No!” I gave him a dirty look. “I was drunk, but I knew what I was doing.”
“Casey, if you weren’t faking, then it’s not possible that you don’t have the same types of feelings I have.”
Oh shit. This was going in a direction I hadn’t been expecting and it scared the hell out of me. I wasn’t sure what direction to go with this either. I’d never been the kind of woman who played games, and Erik was too important to me to start now. As long as I was careful.
“You scare me,” I admitted aloud.
“Why?”
“Because being with you would make me some kind of princess. And I don’t know if I’m up to the task. I’m nothing but a musician, and even though that’s all I’ve ever wanted to be, I don’t know how I would ever fit into your world.”
“You don’t have to be anyone other than who you are. It may seem complicated from the outside looking in, but all that really matters is you and me. I’m not nearly as complicated—or snobby—as you may think.”
I stared at him as if he’d gone crazy. “Are you sure you’re not talking with your dick instead of your brain?” I asked at last.
He smiled and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. “How can you ask that? Didn’t last night show you just how much I want to be with you?”
“Last night showed me how much you wanted to sleep with me.”
“Come on—you know better than that. With the friendship shared between our families, I would never just use you that way.”
“I’m never going to be proper or regal. I know when to use manners but I can’t imagine living your life or being on display for the world to criticize.”
“You’d never have to.”
“Why not? Like you said, the king still thinks you have a place within the family.”
He took a breath. “That’s what he wants, but I believe his days as king are numbered.”
My eyes widened. “Why?”
“Because Limaj is going through the early stages of a revolution. A third of the country wants a religious leader to overtake the monarchy, so basically a theocracy; another third wants to be more like England, with the monarchy as figureheads only, and create a socialist government of sorts; the final third likes things as is, but they are probably the minority, more like a quarter than a third. Essentially, there is a great deal of trouble in my country, and the fact of the matter is, I’m disappointed in the direction my cousin wants to take the country when he takes over, so I want nothing to do with any of it.”
“That’s terrible! Aren’t you upset?”
“Somewhat, but I can’t change what’s happening. My father and I have been working diligently to secure our personal assets. In the event of a full-scale revolution, our lives would be in danger if we returned there, so we need to be prepared for complete exile and financial independence.”
“So that’s why your parents have been spending more and more time in their house in Las Vegas.”
“They’re well aware that our days in Limaj may be numbered. If religious leaders take over, our family would probably be executed if they caught us.”
“That’s awful,” she whispered.
“The upside to all of this is that I’m free to date the woman I’ve always been infatuated with.”
I looked at him with a sudden new appreciation of the man he was. In the midst of what was probably the most life-altering situation he would ever be in, he was making the best of it. Although part of me wanted to be offended that he only wanted to be with me because his country was falling apart, I reminded myself that I’d never shown any interest in him whatsoever. Until last night, he’d had no idea how mutual the attraction was between us.
“But do you really even know me?” I asked after a while. “I mean, we’ve never dated or spent much time together—how do you know we won’t be ready to kill each other after a week?”
“I don’t,” he admitted. “But we can find out.”
“How?”
“Let’s spend some time together. You don’t have anything going on professionally, and I’ve got a plethora of events coming up we can choose to attend for fun. Come to Europe with me and I’ll show you my playground as we’re getting to know each other. What do you have to lose?”
I chuckled even though it wasn’t really funny. “My dignity? Making a fool of myself in front of European royalty doesn’t sound like all that much fun.”
“You’ll never make a fool of yourself with me,” he whispered softly. “No matter what happens, I’ll never let you fall.”
I fell a little in love with him right then and there. With those gorgeous green eyes looking into mine with what seemed to be the sincerity of the world, I struggled to come up with anything as eloquent to respond with.
“Will you give me one week to prove that we could make this work?” he whispered, kissing my neck. “One week, Casey. That’s all I ask. If you’re not convinced we can be good together, then we’ll part ways, no hard feelings.”
“And if I’m pregnant?”
10
Erik
* * *
I wanted to laugh but knew better. She was dead serious and, to be fair, it was a serious subject. The only problem was that it wasn’t a problem for me. I was already half in love with her and the thought of her carrying my baby only made me happy. I’d been enamored with her for so long, a baby would be a natural extension of my feelings. I just had to find a way to convince her of that because from any rational person’s perspective, this was happening way too soon.
