A/N: I kinda love Eric and Adrian. It's okay to love both brothers, right? Society condones that sort of thing? No? Alright then.
This chapter is chockfull of lemons and gooey happiness, which I feel kinda bad about but I promise shit goes down next chapter.
In other news, you guys and your reviews/story alerts/favourite story add's are pretty frakking fantastic. I love hearing from you guys, even if I don't respond, so please do keep it up.
I never thought I could love anyone but myself.
Now I know I can't love anyone but you.
You make me think that maybe I won't die alone.
Maybe I won't die alone.
"Die Alone", Ingrid Michaelson
Chapter Four
For my 31st birthday in July, Eric surprises me with a weekend trip to Banff, and we spend three days hiking and fucking. Well, we say we'll go hiking, but end up having sex on the bathroom floor. At one point I whip out the fuzzy handcuffs I bought a while ago and he spends a considerably amount of time laughing at their ineffectiveness, or maybe he's laughing at me for even thinking he'll let me use it. We do enjoy the hell out of them though, taking turns to tie each other up and I even go so far as to threaten to handcuff Eric when I go out to get food. When it's my turn, I surprise myself by getting off on the power trip it is, especially since I have a feeling Eric has never done this before either. I grasp at the sheets as I come later, the handcuffs abandoned as we murmur barely intelligible endearments to each other once he has finished.
"Is this okay?" he asks, meaning his weight atop me.
"I'll make you move in a little while." I smile and kiss his hair, brushing my fingers through it. His five o'clock shadow is rough against my chest and I sigh in contentment, feeling happy and sated. "Thanks for this. It's been a great birthday."
"Well, I was going to keep this a surprise, but you seem to think all I did was book us a hotel room." Eric grins, lifting himself up a little bit to regard me. "I made dinner reservations, and I bought you a dress that you can decide whether or not to wear to dinner."
My mouth falls open. "You didn't have to do that!"
Eric hops off the bed and retrieves a BCBG garment bag from the suite's walk-in closet. "I thought you'd like it."
"I didn't even see that in there!"
Shrugging, he says, "I'm paid to be sneaky. Or something. Open it." I do as he says, resting the bag on the bed and tucking the black material away so I can get a better look at the blue dress. It's short and made from a flowy material in a periwinkle shade that I instantly decide I adore. The waist is gathered by a thick band of black satin and it's strapless with a sweetheart neckline. If it were any more poofy it would look tacky but as it is, it's gorgeous and sophisticated.
"Oh my god, Eric. This is too much."
He smiles, "You don't even know how much it cost."
"I don't need to; a hotel room, dinner, and a designer dress? And I know nothing is cheap in Banff, so don't pretend it was."
Wrapping his arm around my side, Eric kisses my cheek and nuzzles it. "Do you like it?"
"Of course, it's beautiful." And it is. I love it. In my head, I'm imagining the next event I can wear it to. After tonight, that is.
"I noticed you wore a lot of BCBG."
"You noticed?" I quirk a brow.
Grinning, he amends, "I noticed you spend a lot of time staring at the store whenever we go for coffee." Ah. There is a BCBG store by the Starbucks in the mall downtown, near the police station. If I meet Eric for coffee during work, chances are it'll be at that Starbucks and I guess he must have noticed my interest. "Just thank me and tell me if you'll wear it to dinner. I have a tie that matches," he adds with an adorable wink. Twisting in his arms, I wrap my arms around his shoulders and stretch up to give him a kiss in thanks and tell him that yes, I'll wear it tonight.
"Happy birthday, Beautiful."
It's later that night when I look over to where he's asleep on his stomach with an arm thrown over my waist, his breath blowing softly on my bare shoulder, that it occurs to me: he must love me too. Eric's not one to stay with me out of a feeling of obligation, and his actions speak volumes. Especially tonight. He was a gentleman all night, and spent most of our time in bed catering to my needs even though I'd insisted he didn't need to. I fight the urge to press my thumb into his perfectly full lips. He has such a gorgeous mouth, even though I would never tell him for fear of being teased.
And I love him. So much.
He mumbles something incoherent and moves over to throw a leg over my hips and tuck his face against my neck. I giggle and entangle my legs with his as I drift off, happier than I have been in ages.
Three months later, I slide into a very uncomfortable seat and try not to be nervous as Eric is called up to testify in front of the court. He spent the night at his house and I haven't really seen him in a couple of days, but today he looks good. Well-dressed and confident. He's clear and succinct, and I can tell judging by the jurists' exchanged looks that they're eating it up. The judge announces a break for an hour after his testimony and I join the crowd in spilling out of the courtroom to get two cups of watery coffee.
"Hey you," I grin up at Eric when I find him, and he kisses me 'Hello' as I hand him the second cup.
"Thank you." He sips at the coffee. "Are you hungry? I couldn't eat breakfast."
"Were you nervous?" I can't help smiling. I rarely see him be anything other than in control. Well, except for when he hands over the metaphorical reigns during sex. "I could eat."
"I usually don't eat breakfast when I have to come to court. There's this amazing Hungarian place a few blocks away if you're okay with power-walking."
I shrug. "Sounds good. Lead the way."
Hands clasped, we walk the three blocks to the small, unassuming restaurant on the far west edges of downtown. The food is fantastic and I decide that we'll have to come back another day, under less stressful conditions, because even if he's not saying anything about it I can tell Eric is stressed.
"You did great on the stand," I tell him once we've settled the bill and he puts an arm around my shoulders, pressing a kiss into my cheek.
A couple of weeks later, after what feels like forever, Felipe De Castro is found guilty and given a life sentence. He rats out everybody else who has ever been of any influence within the mob, since none of them jumped to testify for him during his trials, which means that Sophie-Ann and her little girl can live without fear. She meets Eric at the station several days later and tells him that she's moving to Victoria to raise her daughter in peace and away from the horrible memories of Calgary. I can see her point, and would envy her a little bit if she hadn't just lost her lover in a brutal way. She had told us – 'us' meaning Eric's team – that Felipe had told her, afterwards, what he had done to Madden, and threatened her own life and her daughter's life should she ever make the same mistake again, hence her unwillingness to talk to the police at first. I can't imagine how it must have felt to have been stuck between such a rock and a hard place; grieving the loss of a loved one while fearing for the loss of her child.
"She's been through so much," I comment sadly as we watch the news reel of Sophie-Anne thanking Eric and his team outside of De Castro's sentencing. I snuggle further into Eric's embrace. "Can you imagine?"
"No, I can't," he murmurs and gives me a look that tells me he's glad he'll never have to. "Thank for coming to all the trials."
"Oh, you thought I was there for you?" I bite my lip. "Well, this is embarrassing."
"Yeah, yeah, shut up," he laughs and puts his mouth to better uses, effectively silencing me.
888
I make a strangled screaming sound and drop my head to bang it lightly against the table, completely forgetting there's a police detective in the house until he comes running in.
"What happened?"
"Writer's block," I pout. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He relaxes and moves to crouch beside me at the desk.
"Well, what's the problem? Maybe I can help."
"Trying to repay me for getting involved in your job, huh?" I smile and offer him a kiss that he passes on. "What?"
"You know how I completely support you when you stay in your office for three days straight and don't pick your phone until I drop by?" Like he did today. I nod.
"Yes?" I'm beginning to see where this is going.
"My support doesn't mean you smell any less."
"Gotcha." I slump back and sigh as I scroll aimlessly up and down the Word document.
"How about this, you go shower, maybe put on something a little less… hobo-esque," he eyes my baggy sweats and oversized flannel shirt with mild disdain, "and I'll give this a read, see if I can help you. And then we can discuss it as I make you dinner."
Ah, a break sounds good. "Can I get a kiss then?"
"You can get a kiss now, I was just trying to make a point." He grins and I lean in for a little peck.
"Wanna fool around once I smell clean? I'll shave my legs."
"You had me at 'smell clean'," he laughs and slaps my ass as I walk away. Half an hour later I'm wearing a pair of cropped leggings and a fitted t-shirt, mostly just to bug Eric since I'm still really not showing much skin. He'll appreciate what I'm wearing underneath though, so he will be quite happy in a bit.
"Hi Sexy." I come up behind him to wrap my arms around his waist and he sticks out his butt to rub it against my stomach. Goof.
"Pineapple chicken burgers sound okay?" He has my grill/panini press ready to go, and the chicken is already covered in sauce.
"Sounds delicious. Want me to make some salad or something?" Eric inclines his head towards the freshly-washed cucumbers and tomatoes by the sink and I set to work, peeling and chopping and dousing with olive oil and lemon juice. I yelp when Eric squeezes my ass as he walks by and turn around to raise a brow.
"I was just doing some research," he responds cryptically and I suddenly get it.
"You were checking to see if I'm wearing underwear."
He eyes my ass in between piling the toppings onto our burgers. "You're either wearing a thong or not wearing anything at all. Either way, I'm going to be all over you as soon as you're fed."
"How about a sneak peak then?" I suggest, pulling out plates to dole out the salad, making sure to leave room for the burgers that Eric adds on. While he sets out the plates at the island, I get out a bottle of wine and two glasses, filling them both. Once everything is ready and Eric has taken a seat, I slip a thumb under the waistband of the leggings to pull out the strip of bright red lace, making sure to catch his eye before tucking it back in. As I take my seat, I make a point of checking Eric's pants for the hard-on I know is going to be there because my boyfriend is a sucker for red lace.
"So, what did you think of the chapter?" I steer his attention back to the topic at hand and he takes a big gulp of wine.
"It was great," he tells me rather sincerely. "What exactly are you struggling with?"
"Okay, so Cassie is being framed, right? Her fingerprints are all over the door handle and the lamp that was used to bludgeon Jenna Hader to death, plus there's evidence that she took the microchip with the security codes to the Pentagon mainframe. She has no alibi because she was spending the night with Elias and she can't tell anyone that they were together because they'll both get fired."
"Because he's her handler," Eric adds and I nod in confirmation. This forbidden not-quite-love scenario in my story is kind of a fuck-you to Pam; she wants sexy scenes in my story, she's getting unrequited romance-free stuff, nothing happily ever after. Having my main character sleeping with her handler when they could both get fired seems appropriate.
"I just can't figure out why someone would frame her."
"It's clearly personal, right? If it was just a cover-up for the theft, they could have picked someone who was not the CIA's very own Sydney Bristow."
I file away that little reference for the future, wondering if my boyfriend has a secret crush on Jennifer Garner. "Yeah, it's not about the codes."
"Although whoever it was put a whole lot of effort into the framing if they were willing to steal government property."
"So it was someone on the inside. They'd have the resources," I nod, liking this discussion.
"Who on the inside would want Cassie locked up? A jilted ex-lover?"
I smile at 'jilted'. "That's too obvious, although I could probably fill up a couple of chapters with that as a potential lead."
"Could it be Elias?"
Huh. That'd be an interesting twist. I pop some cucumber into my mouth and consider what it would mean for the future of the character. It would be a pretty good ending to the series though; if Cassie fell in love with him, his betrayal would hurt her both because of her faith in the CIA and her faith in him. I'd be quitting while I'm ahead with five best-sellers out of five in the series.
"What would be his motivation if they're together?" I ask and then grin. "Are you thinking he's with her because he was going to frame her?"
"You must be rubbing off on me because I am."
My face lights up as I begin running through all the little details and the story begins coming together in my mind. I jump to my feet and then freeze, remembering that I can't just run back to my office.
"Go on," Eric smiles knowingly. "It's okay."
"No, no it's not. We made plans." To fuck, but plans regardless. I sit back down.
"Which we can reschedule. Go write it all down before it goes away. Go on." He inclines his head back towards the stairs and I bite my lip because that is exactly what I want to do.
"Are you sure? I promised you sex."
He shrugs. "I'll consider my achievement of the day getting you to shower and eat actual food. It's okay, I'm not mad." He starts cleaning up the remnants of our dinner. "But I'm going to go home, okay?"
"Noooo," I wince. "Shit, I feel even worse now." He'd dropped by since we hadn't seen each other in a few days and I had been pleased but, now that I think about it, I've been a terrible girlfriend and an even worse hostess. "I ignored you all day."
"It's okay, I get it. I'll see you when you're all written out." Having loaded everything into the dishwasher, Eric bends down to give me a kiss before putting his winter coat on. I follow him, feeling a mix of gratitude, guilt and utter embarrassment.
"Call me whenever, okay?"
I nod. "Thank you so much for dinner and the brainstorming. And I am really sorry, Eric. I'll make it up to you, I promise."
"Just go finish that book so I can get laid again, okay?" He laughs and wraps me into his arms before heading out into the freezing October night. As terrible as I feel, I still drag my ass upstairs and quite easily bang out over forty pages and a rather detailed outline of the rest of the book. By the time I'm done it's just past eleven and I deflate when I realize that Eric is most likely already asleep, so even phone sex is out. The next evening, Eric lets himself into his apartment to find a trail of rose petals leading to the bed, and me wearing a lacy negligee and matching black boyshorts.
"Wow, hi."
"Hello." I smile seductively, rubbing my thighs together. "I'm ready to fulfill my promise, Mr Northman."
"Did you finish up?"
"I got to a place where I felt comfortable taking a break. Besides, it's Friday night, and I owe a certain detective something."
"It's Twining, isn't it. You're sleeping with Twining." He feigns anger and I play along, nodding guiltily.
"I totally thought this was his place. Awkward. I guess now I'm just going to have to sleep with you," I sigh, even though I'm being distracted as Eric shrugs off his now unbuttoned shirt to rest his hands at his belt. Moving to the foot of the bed, I reach out and he steps closer so I can undress him the rest of the way, his clothes slipping into forgotten piles on the carpet. Eric's hands brush over the material of the tiny nightgown and I stroke him lazily as we kiss for a few minutes, until he's completely hard and I can break the kiss to take him into my mouth. He's as big of fan of oral sex as I am, which I enjoy; not that I had ever expressed it in high school but I actually like giving blowjobs and Eric's enjoyment means he's more than willing to return the favour. It makes me feel good to hold that power. I feel in control. Sexy. More specifically, I like giving them to Eric because his reactions are such huge turn-ons. Now, he groans and weaves his fingers loosely through my hair, watching my lips wrapped around his length.
"Come up here," he murmurs and I kiss my way up his abdomen and pull his arm away to kiss the anchor tattooed on the inside. Repeating the gesture with the sparrows on the other bicep, I finally straighten up to smile at him, arms slipping around his shoulders as our lips meet. I moan into the kiss and tug on his hair, giggling when his hands drop to squeeze my ass and one moves further down to rub at me. "Sit back," he orders and a moment later I'm on my back at the edge of the bed with my legs thrown over Eric's shoulders as he buries his face between my thighs. I close my eyes and let the sensations wash over me as he quite enthusiastically returns the favour with his strong arms wrapped around the outside of my thighs. With a particular stroke of his tongue I cry out and grab at his hand, clutching it as I come all of thirty seconds later.
"Baby," I coo when he scoops me up and ends up on top of me at the center of the bed. His mouth is glistening, from me, and I reach to wipe it away with my thumb but he quickly turns his head and kisses the palm of my hand. "That was amazing," I whisper. He didn't even use his fingers because I have a thing with not wanting his fingers when I can have another part and now, Eric guides the part in question to the right place and pushes in slowly, watching my face as he sinks in all the way. A while later with his face in my neck and my body spasming, Eric comes with a groan and pulls out to fit my body against his, my back against his chest. As our breathing evens out and our bodies cool, he slips a hand under the soft, sheer material of the negligee I'm still wearing.
"I think this is the only thing I'm okay with you wearing to bed."
"Apparently. You didn't even bother taking it off," I chuckle.
"I wanted to fuck you with it on," he whispers huskily in my ear and I shiver as I pull his arm even more tightly around my waist.
888
Two Fairly Eventful Years Later…
I pick up Thai on the way and let myself into the apartment with a grin on my face.
"Eric?"
"I'll be right out." He emerges a second later, his hair wet from the shower, and greets me with a kiss. "Want to pick a movie while I set everything out?" he asks, taking the bag from me.
"Oooh, you are going to regret this," I tease. He hates most of the movies I pick, because they're usually along the lines of what he gets to deal with on a daily basis at work.
"Honey, be gentle." He sighs and kisses my temple, brushing past me. I pick a DVD from his full wall of movies and pop it into the system before taking a seat. Eric comes back with wine and cutlery, and sets them down next to the food before shooting an apprehensive look towards the TV.
"Lord of the Rings. You're safe." Not the regular edition either; the extended version with the fancy case and the hours of additional footage. I love that he's a bit of a nerd, under the cold hard detective exterior.
We practically lick the containers clean, done before the hobbits have even left the Shire, and I cuddle up to him after finishing my wine. He wraps an arm around me and sighs in contentment, and I smile, losing myself in what is arguably my favourite story in the whole wide world. Eventually though, I pick up on the tension that is creeping into Eric's body, and look up at him with concern.
"Everything okay?" I stroke my hand over his stomach.
"Yeah, I'm just thinking," he assures me with a quick smile and I nod, a bit hesitant. When he speaks a few minutes later, it's with the kind of tone I rarely hear from Eric, like he's feeling unsure and maybe vulnerable.
"What's up, Honey?" I cock my head to the side.
"I love you." He's not even looking at me, choosing instead to stare at our joined hands in his lap.
"That's it?" I scoff. "You had me worried, you big jerk!" I punch him in the arm and shake my head in disbelief. Only Eric would tell me he loves me the way most criminals confess murder.
"You don't seem surprised." I glare at him and lean away as he continues, "Or flattered, but I'm mostly confused by that first thing right now."
"Well, you better fricking love me at this point. We've been together for like two years." He wouldn't have stayed with me for that long without loving me. I wouldn't have stayed with him if I didn't think he loves me, even though my own confidence had surprised me and made me question myself a little bit for sounding like one of those girls who are convinced their boyfriends love them when they're in fact being used.
But the truth is that Eric has never been big on words, and I understood that. His actions screamed his feelings anyways, everytime he would cup my face and kiss me, or the way he touches me when we make love.
Now, he regards me for a moment before cracking up. "You silly, insane girl. Most women would have gotten excited. I was expecting a kiss, and you scoffed. If I didn't know any better I'd be pretty offended right now."
I roll my eyes. "If I didn't know any better, I'd be offended that it took you two years to tell me you love me, when I told you I loved you the first time we were together. So there you go." I shake my head in disbelief and return to the movie, muttering to myself about the nerve of some people.
"Sookie?" He murmurs. I can see him staring at me in my peripheral.
"Mm hmm?' I refuse to look away from Aragorn. He really is very attractive.
"I'm in love with you." Begrudgingly, I look over at him and can feel the corners of my mouth twitching upwards into a smile when he leans forward to kiss my cheek. "I love you. Tell me you love me too."
I look at him through narrowed eyes. "Can I get back to you in two years?"
He chuckles his warm throaty chuckle, and I smile back just a little. "Miss Stackhouse."
"Yes, Detective Northman?"
"Tell me," he insists with a stubborn glint in his eyes, reaching for the remote to pause the movie.
"I love you." Of course I do. He's the best thing that has ever happened to me, with his wordless looks and sly smiles. And he hadn't run the other way when I had told him, the first time we had been together. That was a lot, because who the hell does that? The fact that he hadn't cut me loose had let me know that he was invested too, though maybe not as deeply as I had been.
"Now let me make love to you."
"You're really being very demanding tonight. All I wanted was Vietnamese food and a movie, maybe some snuggling. But you're being all loving and lusty." I'm teasing and he can see it in my eyes. My breath catches in my throat when he leans forward for a kiss, and I can feel my heart beat faster with his proximity. He still manages to elicit the most amazing reactions from my body and now I tangle my hands in his hair, sighing when his mouth travels to my neck. Lying down, I let him climb on top of me and moan when he returns his attentions to my mouth.
"You're really very beautiful," he murmurs. "I don't tell you often enough."
"You tell me plenty." Even if he doesn't, it's hard not to know I'm beautiful in his eyes, with the way he looks at me. He unbuttons my blouse and unzips my pants, tugging my breasts out of the lace to latch onto my nipples. I watch him lave attention onto each breast and play with his hair, though my eyes are glued to the tongue action he has got going.
"Want you," I murmur and kiss him tenderly when he meets my lips.
"Stay with me," he says with a kiss to my cheek.
"I was planning on it," I incline my head towards my overnight bag.
"Not just tonight." He shakes his head.
"What are you saying, Baby?"
"I want us to move in together. Officially." Not that we spend many nights on our own in the first place, yet I have to take a second to regroup.
"Where would we live? Here?"
He gives a little shrug. "Your place is bigger. Or we could get a new place of our own."
I think about it for a second. It's hard, being with a cop; a lot of cancelled plans, a lot of late nights, but we've made it work for two years. He gives me his time whenever he can spare it, knowing how much I have to put up with, and it's a good thing that I was under no illusions before we got together in the first place. I'd known how hard it would be but he's worth it. Obviously, or we wouldn't have lasted this long.
And I love him, not only more than I did in the beginning, but also in a different way. More meaningful, maybe. Deeper. "Okay."
He grins widely. "And I want to stay with you. For the rest of our lives."
This one is out of left field. "Are you proposing?"
"I don't know," he brushes his hand along my collarbone, gaze avoiding mine until I rest my hand atop his. "We've never discussed marriage."
"You didn't even tell me you love me until now, Eric," I smile. "Would you want to get remarried? Or did your first marriage put you off of the whole idea?" He smiles and tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear and strokes the flesh behind it, where my tattoo is. He loves it; we're both closeted tattoo whores, though I'm more hesitant to get inked for fear of regretting it. The delicate fountain pen I got behind my ear is one I can't ever imagine regretting, since I got it after my first best-seller. Each sparrow on Eric's right bicep represents a captured killer, he'd explained after we'd gotten together, dragging me along to get one after the De Castro case. I'd never thought I'd find tattoos so attractive until I saw Eric's. Now, he takes my left hand and strokes the most important finger, shooting me a knowing look.
"I'm thinking, a tattoo instead of a ring. We're not really very conventional, so it might be appropriate. What do you think?"
"You haven't even asked me yet!" I laugh. "Who says I'm going to say yes?"
"Don't you love me?" He asks with a playful smirk and bends down to kiss my neck before rocking his hips against mine. He's hard, and I tug on the hem of his shirt until he sits back to pull it off.
"I guess so."
"Reassuring. Marry me, Miss Stackhouse."
"Eric," I sigh. I'm not sure about this. I don't understand how he went from not even telling me how he feels about me to asking me to marry him. "What took you so long?" I have to know. I don't doubt that he does, or that he has for a while, but I need to know what held him back.
He places a kiss on my sternum and sighs back. "I don't know. I couldn't say it at the beginning, and later I just… I figured you knew."
"Oh." I can't help sounding disappointed.
"What is it?"
"I guess I don't understand because I like telling you that I love you, even though I know it's nothing new. I just like expressing it." And then I want to smack myself because I know, better than everybody, that Eric rarely expresses himself verbally. "Oh, don't even dignify that with an answer." I bury my face in my hands.
"Hey, it's okay," he pulls my hands away to smile at me. "I love you."
"I really like the sound of that," I murmur with a blush.
"Then I'll say it more often." He moves forward for a kiss. "But not in public, okay? Probably not on the phone."
"In text messages?" I grin, feeling like we're negotiating.
"Sure. And greeting cards."
"And during sex?"
His eyes darken with lust. "Yeah."
A couple of hours later in bed, I roll over and flick his nose so he jolts awake. He hadn't really been asleep, more like snoozing in his post-coital haze.
"Didn't I tell you not to do that to a cop? You could get shot."
"Well who would you move in with if you shot me?"
"Whom," Eric corrects and I smack his chest.
"Don't correct the author. We hate that."
"Yeah, yeah, what do you want from me?"
"You should move in."
"I could sell this place," he nods drowsily and I shrug.
"It's up to you. You could keep it as an investment. Rent it out or something."
Eric gives that some thought and then smiles. "I can list it next weekend!"
"So does that mean you're moving in next weekend?" I grin at him.
"You don't think it's too fast?"
"It's not like we just started dating," I argue. "Do you think it's too fast?" Eric pushes me onto my back and throws a leg across my hips and an arm across my chest.
"Nope," he murmurs into my neck.
"Christ, you're huge," I chuckle. His body is pretty much completely covering mine. Eric glances down the length of his body.
"And I'm not even hard."
"That's not what I meant, ya jerk!"
"Pity." His hand drifts up and down my stomach, pausing occasionally to cup my breast or pinch a nipple.
"Hmmm, what are you doing, Lover?"
"Trying to see if you're up for another round."
"Why don't you keep going and I'll keep you posted?" I suggest and he quirks a brow before moving his mouth to my breasts. My fingers tangle in Eric's hair and I rub his scalp without really realizing what I'm doing until he looks up to grin at me.
"Are you giving me a massage?"
I burst out into a breathless laugh. "I guess so. Keep doing that." Eventually I tell him he can stop and push him onto his back to take him into my mouth. He doesn't let me finish him off, even though I try to just to mess with him but he manages to hold out and tugs me up his body
"You can't force me to come," he chuckles breathlessly once he has pushed inside.
"Is that teasing? Are you teasing me during sex?" I quirk a brow and Eric instantly gets this look of horror on his face.
"No. No I'm not, please don't do it."
"Too late, here it comes. Oh no," I sigh in feigned remorse and relax my body, letting my arms and legs flop back onto the mattress. "Here it is. Married Sex."
"Motherfuh…" Eric grumbles and sits back.
"You don't have to stop." I try to suppress my smile because he's just so much fun to mess with. I'd warned him once about teasing me mid-sex, so he really can't blame me.
"Sookie…"
"Hey, you know what to do."
He sighs. "I'm very sorry for teasing you. Will you go back to being an active participant in sex?"
"I thought you'd never ask," I giggle and hold out my arms.
"I die a little bit on the inside everytime you do that." Eric crawls back on top and I wrap my legs around him.
"I know. Learn your lesson and stop making fun of me." I moan when he thrusts in.
"Or what?"
My arms fall from around his shoulders and he instantly takes it back. "Are you sure? I could just lie here and you can-"
"Nope, I'm good."
888
The next Friday I meet Eric at his place to start boxing things up, and we actually end up pushing through most of the night after ordering in a large pizza and brewing a pot of coffee to keep us going. By 4 AM we're all done, which is pretty great since we were expecting to spend all Saturday packing too. This means that tomorrow afternoon we can take some of the boxes over to my house and save the bigger shelves and whatnot for Sunday when Adrian is bringing his truck to help us out. Exhausted and sweaty we crawl into bed and fall asleep, not awakening until it's past eleven. Or at least I wake up at that point and drag my sticky, sore ass to the shower and emerge clean and happy to change into a pair of shorts and a tank top. Everything is packed up so I leave Eric a note and head out to get some food, taking a few of the garbage bags to the chute on my way out. I phone to order take-out from Boston Pizza and pick up some mochas from Starbucks, making sure to get them extra-hot so they last. The food is ready by the time I get to BP so after remembering to ask for plastic cutlery I pay and head back to Eric's, walking in to find my boyfriend in the shower. I set out the food on the coffee table and wash my hands, sitting my ass down just in time for Eric to walk out of the bedroom.
"Hey, pretty lady," he calls happily.
"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine today." I smile. "Did you get my note?"
"I did. Thanks for the food. Is that coffee?"
"Mocha."
He takes a sip and gives me a long kiss. "Hmm, good morning."
"Good way-past-morning to you too, Mr Northman. Now, I got the Jambalaya Fettuccini and the Cajun Rice Bowl 'cause I figured we both like both. Which one do you want?"
"Oh, tough choice." He eyes both dishes rather greedily and I laugh.
"Well, we don't have plates, but we can each eat half and then switch, okay?" I pat his knee and he gives me another kiss before digging into the fettuccini. The next morning I open the door to find Eric's brother.
"Ace!"
"Hey there, lilla syster." He hugs me and actually lifts up my body to swing me around a little bit. I haven't seen him in ages since they went on a family vacation to Mexico for spring break and before that I'd been super busy with preparations for my next book, which will be out at the end of May. I invite him in and offer him coffee from the traveler I just picked up from Starbucks.
"How was your vacation?"
"Pretty good until Paige got food poisoning."
"Oh my god, is she okay?"
"Oh yeah. She was miserable for a couple of days and then got over it." He smiles. "Where's my baby brother?"
"Oh how he loves it when you call him that," I laugh. "He went to get the vacuum cleaner from my house, but he should be back any minute. We just spent like three hours cleaning up." I'm already beyond exhausted since Eric proved to be useless when it comes to cleaning the way I wanted him to, which is just as well since I probably will not be any help when they're moving couches and shelves. Once Eric comes back it takes them a couple of trips to get everything to my place – soon to be 'our place' – while I vacuum and finish up cleaning the place. Once I'm done I put everything that is left in the apartment by the door and lie down spread-eagle in the middle of the living room, stewing in my own filth and wishing I had left myself a towel and some shampoo so I could take a shower. At least I don't smell too terrible, so that's a plus, and the coffee has cooled down to the point where I can pretend it's iced coffee. Having finished what's left of it, I call Eric.
"Hey Hon, we're just about to head back."
"Baybeeeeeee?" I ask in my cutesiest voice and he chuckles.
"Yeeeees?"
"Will you buy me a frappuccino from Starbucks?"
"We were going to get some Vietnamese for dinner."
"But I still want a frappuccino," I say, knowing he can hear the pout in my voice. "Pweeeease? I just finished vacuuming and it's so hot here."
"Alright, alright." He sounds amused. "What do you want? And what do you want for dinner?"
"Something spicy. And a grande green tea frap."
"Yes ma'am. We'll be there soon-ish."
"Thank you, Baby. I love you!"
"I love you too," he laughs and I freeze a little bit, which Eric picks up on. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. You just said you wouldn't say it on the phone and I just… You know what, nevermind."
"I meant on the phone in front of other people. Adrian does not count." I hear Adrian protest in the background and Eric chuckles.
"Oh, okay," I grin.
"Love you," he repeats with plenty of humour in his voice.
"I love you too. Get my food and get over here," I order and we hang up. I get my iPod out of my purse and lay it on the floor beside me, letting the tinny-sounding music pouring out of it entertain me. I sing along quietly for a while before eventually getting up to dance along to "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go", making a bit of a fool of myself. I'm on "A Little Less Conversation", making a rather laughable attempt at the signature Elvis hip move which is exactly when I hear laughter behind me. I wheel around and find the brothers Northman standing in the doorway with the biggest grins on their faces.
"What do you know, Elvis lives," Adrian smiles.
"Well, I usually make people pay to watch me do that, so consider that a private familial show." I give them both a somber nod and hit Pause before skipping over to take the food from Eric, give him a kiss on the cheek and flopping down on the floor.
"Are you guys just going to stand there or what?" I ask when I look to find them both still standing there, and they shake it off to join me.
"Most women would have been embarrassed," Adrian observes.
"I'm not most women." I smile at Eric as he hands me my Starbucks. "Thank you, Baby. Which one is mine?"
"The Satay Beef Vermicelli."
"Oooh, I knew there was a reason I stayed with you." The three of us have lunch in the empty apartment, my boyfriend occasionally looking around at what used to be his home. I reach out at one point for his hand and he gives me a rather genuine smile that melts away my worry over him having second thoughts.
After lunch we load up the truck with the single chair I'd kept at the apartment to help me clean above the cabinets and toss out the last of the garbage before locking up. Eric and I drive back in my car while Adrian follows, and after accepting my offer of a quick drink, he departs to leave us unpacking in what has become our home. The boys have already tossed out the Eric's couch and a couple other pieces of furniture that he will no longer need, which is fine except I have another plan. The next day, Monday, Eric comes home to find me standing in the middle of our obviously couch-less living room.
"What's going on?" He asks, noticing that the dining table is gone too. "Did we get robbed?"
"No," I bite my lip, suddenly second-guessing this whole thing. Maybe this was not such a good idea. "Uhm, I threw it out."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't want it. I mean," I take a deep breath. "I picked out that couch by myself. I personally went out to the store and tested a bunch of couches and picked that one, but I don't want it here if this is going to be our home. I want to go to the store with you and have you complain about us having to shop, and I want us to argue over the kind of couch that we want and then I want to come home and put our couch here. This may have been my house but I want it to be our home." I watch him take it in and offer him a tentative smile, hoping that he's not going to be annoyed.
"Same for the dining table?"
"Yeah. And, it was part of a set with the couch so I figured I should get rid of it too. I was thinking we could get a new bed too but I didn't get rid of it because we need somewhere to sleep." I chuckle nervously and finally get to witness Eric's face breaking into a huge grin.
"I love you, Stackhouse," he tells me quietly and I exhale.
"I love you too."
"And I'm going to hate every second of shopping," he adds, making his way toward me to take me into his arms.
"Good. I'm okay with that as long as it doesn't instigate a fight," I grin into his kiss and he chuckles, arms tightening around me.
"That was a pretty big leap of faith you took there."
"Yeah that hit me as soon as you walked in. Thanks for not freaking out."
"That was very sweet of you. Thank you."
"You're very welcome."
