Chapter 28

Chapter 28
Erik tightened his jaws. The cords in his neck stood out, and his cheekbones looked even sharper for a moment. “I said those things because I was... scared. I didn’t know what to think. And so, instead of believing you, like I should have done in the first place, I fell back on the story I’d always heard.”

“How do I know it won’t happen again?” I asked.

Cupping my face in his hands, Erik stared straight into my eyes. “I had faith in you, right? With the council?” I nodded.

“Okay. Then have faith in me. I promise I won’t doubt you again. All right?”

I took a deep breath. “I think I can do that,” I whispered.

“There’s just one other thing,” Erik said, finally kissing me again. “Are you sure you want to be here? I mean, not a whole lot of big concerts come through Jamesburg.”

“Yes, of course,” I said. “I love it here. I never want to leave.”

He shrugged and smiled. “Some people think they like the idea of being here, but—”

Immediately, I shook my head. “I’ve never been happier anywhere.

Hell, I’ve never been happy anywhere, not like this. Not like I am with you. I’ve never felt...” I swallowed, hard. Just thinking what I was thinking hurt a little, but to say it made it real.

“What’s wrong? You can tell me anything,” he urged. “Even if it seems like I’m kinda, I dunno, aloof and have my head up my ass, I’m always listening. Especially to you.”

“It’s just that I’ve never felt... special before. Not like you make me feel.”

He took my hands and held them down at my sides. I kept breathing harder, but not knowing exactly why. Nothing was happening. Erik and I were just staring at each other, watching one another breathe like we had done a thousand times before. But there was a kind of energy in the air right then, a sparkle that I’d never felt before, that lit on my skin and made my whole body tingle.

“What is it?” he said with a grin that made the rest of my guard simply drop. “I can always tell when you’re thinking about something hard.”

I blushed deeply at the compliment like I always did. “Oh yeah? What’s my tell?”

“You’ve got a dimple right here,” Erik paused to kiss my cheek. “But that’s normal. The one here,” he said, kissing the other cheek, “only shows up when you pucker your lips a little. And that only happens when you’re thinking about something. Don’t make me torture you to get an answer.”

“Torture? You gonna put me on the rack?” I asked, looking up at my huge Erik and biting my lip gently.

I couldn’t help but smile at him as the sun behind Erik cascaded down his shoulders. The huge tattoo that covered his chest poked out the top of his slightly-open shirt collar. The part I could see was a green and black leaf, part of a branch that was part of a tree. I’d seen the thing a thousand times, but never really studied it before right then.

Tracing the visible edge of the leaf with my fingertip, I pulled his shirt down slightly. “Well?” I asked. “I thought you were going to torture me.”

Lifting my shirt, he kissed my chin, then my neck, and then the hollow between my collarbones. Warm, vibrating groans thrilled me as he went lower and lower, but he never let go of my hands. He moved them around to the small of my back where he flattened his hands against my skin, pinning mine against my back.

“You’re brilliant, you’re gorgeous,” he said, pausing to kiss me again, a little further down my chest, right above the last of my shirt’s open buttons. “I don’t know if I’ve ever known anyone more amazing than you are, and I’ve got you,” he whispered when he came up for air. “How did I manage to luck into this?”

“I don’t think the person getting tortured is supposed to hope that it goes on forever,” I said with a smile stretched across my face. “Aren’t you supposed to make me tell you what you want to hear?”

“You will,” Erik said. “The best torture starts slow. If you go too fast, it’s over all at once. That’s no good.”

Releasing my hands, he moved a finger around my waistband slid it underneath both khakis and panties, and ran it against my softest skin. Almost immediately, I sucked in a sharp breath and I let my head fall backward in a mixture of pleasure, relaxation, and anticipation. He knelt, pushing my shirt up with the tip of his nose and kissing me right above the belly button.

“You never kiss there anymore,” I said with a little wiggle. Every time he kissed me there I got the shivers, and that time was no different. “It’s been so long that I thought you’d forgotten.”

“I never forget a good spot,” Erik whispered. “I just stop doing it for a bit so you get more excited when I finally do it again.”

“God,” I moaned. “You’re making me think my knees are about to give out. How long has it been since we did this?”

“Depends on what you mean.” He kissed me again, warming my flesh with a circling of his tongue before sucking me right above the top of my slacks. I felt myself go by turns hot and cool with each of his gentle, nipping kisses. “If you mean in general, about... four hours? If you mean what I’m going to do to you specifically today, then... never.”

“I like the way you talk,” I breathed. “Although I can’t think of anything we’ve never done, except... Oh no,” I said. “Oh no, no, no, not that.”

“Relax,” Erik said, kissing me again. “I promise I’ll go as slow as you need me to go. If you trust me, then this is the last part of the marking ritual. If we go through with this, we’re one forever.”

A thousand things went through my mind at once. Erik and I had done just about everything I had ever imagined except two things. First, it was always just he and I. He’d never shared me, he said out of jealousy, although for me it was hard to imagine sharing him either. The other thing was that he’d never put it... there. I’d used my mouth and... but never there. He was so big that just the thought was a little chilling, even though that fear was mixed with equal parts excitement.

“You’re shaking,” he said softly. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“It’s just... I’m scared,” I admitted. “I’ve never imagined doing that and... well, you’re sorta big, so...”

Erik squeezed my hand. I expected some kind of joke or a sexy glance, but instead, he just held me against him and stared into my eyes. “I’ll never hurt you. Never in my whole life will I hurt you. You’re my mate, Isabel, and I’m going to protect you until the day I die.”

“But... won’t it hurt? I mean, not that you’re going to hurt me, not on purpose anyway, but won’t it just...”