Chapter SEVENTEEN
"What are you thinking?" he asked huskily.
EJ was studying Sami's face as she lay beside him, the sweat from the exertions of their love making still drying on their bodies. Sami turned her head and looked up at EJ as he lay on his side next to her, head propped up as he leant on his elbow looking down at her.
"I don't know," she said truthfully, "Lots of things."
EJ frowned a little to hear that and put a hand out to rest just below one breast, cupping her rib cage.
"You don't regret it do you?" he asked with concern, feeling a sick feeling in his stomach at the thought that Sami might be having seconds thoughts about what had just happened between them.
"No," she said quickly and lifted her hand, rubbing the back of it back and forth across EJ's chest soothingly when she saw the sudden worry on his face, "No of course not EJ. How can you ask me that?"
"I guess I just worry that I'm going too fast for you Betty," said EJ quietly, "I need you so much and sometimes I think I'm asking more of you than you're ready for because I'm being selfish."
It was true, even though EJ felt like he'd waited two life times to be with Sami again, for her of course it had only been a couple of months. During that couple of months she had to learn about men and women and the relationship between them when most people had years to do such things. Sami hadn't had any of that really. She'd just woken up one day as Betty and the whole world was new to her. EJ's almost rabid need for her had driven him to pursue her even more relentlessly than he had the first time round, already knowing that he was totally and utterly in love with her. Before they'd made the decision to run away together EJ had thought he knew what it was to want Sami over every other thing in his life, every other consideration but this time round it was like a whole new dimension of emotion had been opened to him.
He still remembered clearly what it had felt like to send her home to her husband after every one of their encounters and how the wait to see her again had become unbearable, so much so his need for her had made him careless. That was how Nicole had found out and then of course there were such terrible consequences for his carelessness. EJ remembered what it was to stand over Sami's grave and know that his heart would never be whole again, that it would always be in agony for the want of a woman he'd thought lost to him forever. He'd thought he'd know then what it was to want Sami but from the moment he'd seen her again in the subway EJ found himself redefining that. It was like every cell in his body cried out for her, nonstop, day and night, insatiable for the sight of Sami, the sound of her, the touch and taste. No matter how much EJ had he needed more the next time and more than ever before he was utterly lost in her.
"How do you know if a person is ready for anything like this?" she asked him curiously, "And you're not selfish EJ – you're the kindest, most generous man I know."
"Don't put me up on a pedestal sweetheart," he warned her sadly, know he wasn't worthy of such faith, "I've done a lot of bad things in my life, so many things that I regret. It's a terrible thing to have regret Betty and I've got more than I think I can bear sometimes."
"I'm sorry," said Betty, her eyes filling with compassion when she saw the obvious pain in his, "Don't be sad EJ, I don't want you to be sad."
"I could never be sad around you Betty," he said huskily, taking the hand that was still brushing back and forth against his chest and raising it to his lips and kissing the back of her hand.
He held her hand to his cheek and smiled down at her lovingly.
"You make everything in my world perfect," he told her throatily.
"Well maybe that is how love is too," she said guilelessly and EJ's heart lurched so painfully in his chest to hear her say that word that he almost cried out, "You find love not by finding the perfect person but by seeing the imperfect person perfectly."
EJ was both stunned by the deep truth of what she'd just said and by the implication behind it.
"Betty," he said hesitantly, emotion making his voice choke, "Do you… do you love me?"
Betty looked up at him seriously seeming to think about this question for a long time, until EJ was almost screaming from the anticipation of it all.
"I think about you all the time EJ," she said honestly, not knowing how to be any other way, "I just want to be near you and I never want anything bad to happen to you. It's like I only feel alive when you're in the room or I know I'm going to see you. I try and imagine what my life might be like without you and I just can't. It hurts worse than I can say to think that I might lose you."
EJ closed his eyes, tears stinging the backs of his lids at hearing Sami say such things to him again.
"I know what the word love means," she said softly as EJ opened his eyes and a lone tear streaked down his face, "But I don't know if I've ever been in love before but I can't imagine that it would ever have felt like this – like my heart was going to burst from happiness. I don't know if what I feel for you is love EJ or something even bigger – all I know is that I'll die if I can't be with you and that nothing makes sense to me unless you're there."
"Betty!" exclaimed EJ, unable to contain himself any longer and kissed her with a desperate need.
She'd said everything he'd only ever dreamed of hearing from her lips again and EJ felt utterly reborn in that moment. To have been granted her love not once but twice in this life was a gift he knew he would never stop being extraordinarily grateful for. EJ knew he didn't deserve it and it was humbling to think of the gift Sami had given to him without, he suspected, even fully understanding its worth.
Betty thrilled to the way EJ was kissing her, not having expected her words to have had that much of an impact on him. It shocked her actually that EJ had to even ask if she loved him. To her it felt like it was written all over her face, that she gave it away in everything she said and did. It was as though she'd only come truly to life after meeting EJ and even after such a short time together Betty had no idea how she could possibly live without him.
"I love you," EJ whispered fiercely against her lips, wishing for all the world he could call her by her proper name in that moment.
He ached to speak the name Samantha and for her to understand that was who she was but if their heart shattering intimacies of earlier hadn't bought back her memories EJ was beginning to despair that anything ever would. It seemed an almost churlish thing to be concerned with considering he'd faced down losing Sami forever but they had shared so many life altering moments for EJ that he wanted desperately for her to remember them as well.
"You do?" exclaimed Betty, pulling back at him wide eyed, totally shocked by this information.
"Of course I do Betty," he said earnestly, "I'm insanely in love with you, from the first moment I saw you I was lost."
Betty looked at him a little uncertainly, finding that a little hard to believe. After all EJ could have any woman he, why would he settle for a broken little girl like her? She felt like EJ was just being kind in saying that to her but didn't care. It was a lovely thing to hear come from his lips and Betty took it willingly. She knew that this wouldn't last forever but she was determined to love every single minute of it. She loved EJ with her whole heart and for her it was enough. Hearing him declare his love for her as well made her heart beat wildly in her chest but Betty knew how kind EJ was when it came to her and was almost certain that this was what this was.
He was looking at her intently and knew he was waiting for a response from her and she smiled warmly, letting herself have this moment of fantasy. Betty cupped his face and leant up and kissed EJ with all of the love she had in her heart for him and just enjoyed the fact that she was in his arms right then, determinedly not thinking about the future. EJ's kisses were becoming more heated and the tension was beginning to build between them again when suddenly Betty's stomach made a loud gurgling noise. EJ broke the kiss and look down at her with an indulgent smile.
"Are you hungry sweetheart?" he asked her with an affectionate smile.
Betty wrinkled her nose and flushed a little but could hardly deny it after that.
"I could eat," she nodded with a shy smile.
"I'll order room service," EJ told her, reluctant to let Sami out of his room and have to share her with anyone else that day.
They had the rest of the day to spend together and EJ was going to try hard to make it the rest of the night as well. He longed to wake up with Sami in his arms again and to have her beside him all night. First thing first though, they'd eat and then he'd work on that. EJ rolled over and retrieved a menu from the bed side table drawer and handed it to Sami.
"Choose what you'd like darling," he told her, rather enjoying the thought of eating food in bed with her naked.
"A peanut butter and jelly sandwich," she said quickly without even looking.
"Betty," groaned EJ affectionately, "You have that every day at work. You can have anything you like from the menu, anything at all."
"I really like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," said Betty with a grin, "So sue me."
"But wouldn't you like a Waldorf salad or a steak or chicken cordon bleu?" he tried to tempt her.
Betty just smiled and shook her head at him.
"PBJ," she informed him cheekily, "Don't you like them EJ?"
"I can't say I'm overly fond of them," said EJ ruefully, "I think perhaps it is a cultural thing."
"Well I love 'em," said Betty happily, "I could eat them for every meal."
"Whatever you want my darling," said EJ, still too happy right then to even feel hungry.
Sami had told him that she loved him and for EJ, that would be all he ever needed in this world – food seemed like a minor consideration now.
oooOOOOooo
"Thank you," EJ smiled at the young man who'd bought up the tray of food and paid him his tip as he left.
He walked back into the middle of the room, carrying the tray which contained Sami's sandwich and a BLT sandwich for him. EJ had only bothered with pulling on his pants to answer the door and Sami was in the bathroom.
"It's here," he called out to her as he set the tray down on the coffee table by the sofa.
"Oh good," said Betty, suddenly appearing in the doorway, "I'm starving."
EJ looked up and his heart nearly stopped beating in his chest. Sami had gone into the bathroom naked and was now immerging in one of his white dress shirts and nothing else. It enveloped her all but completely and EJ was almost floored by the sudden memory of the last afternoon they'd spent together before Nicole's violent intervention. Sami looked exactly as she had that day and it seemed to EJ like time had stood still and that for a split second all of the ugliness of the last eight months had never happened. She walked towards him as EJ slowly straightened up, his eyes never leaving her and his mouth suddenly dry. She smiled at him and took one half of the sandwich, sitting on the sofa and looking up at him in surprise.
"Aren't you eating?" she prompted him curiously.
"Yes... yes of course," he stammered, trying to recover his senses at the strong feeling of déjà vu that had just come over him.
He sat beside Sami on the sofa and they ate in companionable silence for a bit.
"How was it?" she asked him when he was done.
Truth be told EJ hadn't tasted a single morsel with Sami sitting there looking so unbearably sexy. All he could think about was having her again, being inside her body once more and losing himself in her delights. EJ despaired at how he was ever going to get through a day now working beside Sami and being able to keep himself in anyway under control as per their agreement.
"It was delicious," he said, sure that it would have been if his appetite had been for anything other than the woman sitting across from him on the sofa, "And yours?"
"Yummy," she grinned at him, "You're really missing out EJ."
"There's only one thing I'm missing right now," he growled playfully and reached out a hand and buried it Sami's hair and dragged her towards him so he could claim her mouth in a heated kiss.
Sami tasted of peanuts with the slight after note of jam as EJ sampled her delights deeply.
"I was wrong," he said unevenly, breaking the kiss at last, "I [i]love[/i] the taste of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."
Betty giggled to hear that and leaned in closer putting her arms around his neck and beginning to press playful little kisses along EJ's jaw line.
"I knew I'd convince you," she said with a little laugh between kisses, "Apparently I can be very convincing when I want to."
"Apparently," nodded EJ with a quirk of his lips but then he couldn't bear to be not kissing Sami properly any longer.
He crushed her lips under his, trying to remind himself to go a bit more slowly this time but the little taste of her had inflamed his senses and very quickly the kisses were getting out of hand.
"I want you Betty," he groaned against her lips.
EJ's hand found its way down between Sami's legs as she sat there on the sofa next to him and found her gratifyingly wet, his fingers stroking her slick folds.
"I want you too," said Betty breathlessly, his probing of her being reward with fresh wetness for him to enjoy.
Betty moved then to get off the sofa and head back towards the bed but EJ stalled her.
"Here," he said thickly into the curve of her neck, "I want you here sweetheart."
"Oh," said Betty, having not really considered having actual sex anywhere other than a bed but found the idea deeply exciting.
She gave him a sexy little smile and went to lie back on the sofa but again EJ stalled her.
"Like this," he said huskily, quickly releasing himself from the confines of his trousers and discarding them so that he was sitting on the sofa naked now.
EJ put a hand to Sami's hip and guided her towards his lap.
"Straddle me sweetheart," he encouraged her as Betty looked at him a little uncertainly.
The erection that had started as soon as EJ had seen her in his shirt stood rigidly to attention now, fully swollen and eager for her. Betty shuddered to see it, marvelling yet again that his body could do that and that she was the cause. She carefully put her knees on either side of his thighs and both of EJ's hands went to her hips then, guiding her opening towards his raging hard on. Betty gasped as once again she felt his engorged tip at her core, nudging against her tightness. She realised then that she was going to be the one to complete their union this time round and felt a thrill of power at the thought. She could see the tension in EJ's face, knew he was desperate for her to do just that. A little knowing smile touched Betty's lips as she moved her hips a little, dragging her folds back and forth across his tip slowly, enjoying the tortured look on his face.
"Betty!" he groaned impatiently, tugging on her hips.
"You never answered my question," she reminded him throatily, knowing what he wanted her to do but refusing him the satisfaction of penetrating her right then.
EJ gave a growl of frustration even as he adored her playing with him like this. He was getting harder by the second as she titillated him and it did things to EJ to imagine her having to take him when he was so big.
"What question?" he asked her distractedly, hardly able to think of anything else other than the enticing wet heat that was being kept tantalisingly just out of reach.
"Does it hurt when you get all big and hard like this?" she asked him, a coy little smile on her lips.
"Yes," he groaned, feeling like he was going to explode if she kept this up for much longer.
"Bad?" she teased him throatily, "Does it hurt bad EJ?"
"God YES!" he moaned desperately, his hands almost clawing at her hips now, "Please, god please Betty, I have to have you now!"
Betty looked down at where she was kneeling over EJ, his back against the sofa back and saw the enormous erection he was currently sporting.
"You're so big," she purred, her lips as his ear now, playfully biting at his earlobe, "I don't think you'll fit inside me EJ."
"Yes I will!" said EJ desperately, squeezing his eyes shut, "God Betty hurry please."
"You're not allowed to come until you're inside me," she instructed him authoritatively, her lips still to his ear and enjoying being the dominant one now.
Betty felt his hard on jerk against her and knew he liked that.
"Tell me what you want EJ," she ordered him.
"I want to be inside you and have your teat in my mouth," said EJ excitedly, loving her taking the lead like this.
"Is that right?" she asked, her voice suddenly smoky, "I think you'd better show me what you mean by that second part EJ, don't you?"
EJ didn't need to be told twice, instantly finding one distended peak through the material of her shirt and beginning to ravage it quite energetically and the whole time he kept eye contact with Sami, silently willing her to remember the last time he'd done this for her. She bit her lip and began to make approving whimpering noises but there was no flash of recognition in her eyes and EJ knew that this was going to be the first time he'd done this by Betty's reckoning. There was a flash of sadness on EJ's behalf but that dissolved very quickly as both of their arousals grew to fever pitch.
Betty couldn't stand it any longer and needed to stop torturing them both. She began to sink down on EJ's raging manhood that she could feel between her legs, granting him entrance to her body at long last. He moaned loudly and clamped down hard on the mouthful of her breast he had, not exactly biting her but there was a pleasing pain to the sensation for Betty even as her walls struggled to accommodate his girth. EJ was using every ounce of self control not to come right then because of how tightly she was sheathing him in her heat.
"Oh... ah... oohHH!" her strangled noises Sami was making as she worked to take him into her body not exactly helping him in the control stakes either.
Finally Sami had taken him completely and EJ threw back his head and gave a long moan as the last of his length slid home. Sami was panting from the exertion of what she'd just achieved but almost immediately began to ride him hard, obviously enjoying the fact that she was in control of the show now.
"Too fast!" he moaned desperately, feeling how hard and fast Sami was moving her body up and down on his and knew he couldn't last long if she continued at this pace, "God I'm going to come – slow down sweetheart!"
Betty didn't care though, loving being the one to be in command of of the rate and depths of his penetrations of her, moving her hips this way and that each time she took him into her body and bearing down tightly on his rock hard length as she did. It felt completely different in this position from when they were on the bed, not necessarily better, just different and Betty was loving the experience, thrilling to every new sensation she caused herself and mindless moan she dragged from EJ's lips. She was riding EJ so energetically that his too large shirt had begun to slip off her shoulders and very quickly it had fallen down around her waist and EJ was presented with Sami's naked breasts again which was just too much for him. Her excited gasps, the feeling of being taken into her into her heat again and again with such enthusiasm and those gorgeous pale breasts bobbing up and down was EJ's undoing.
Betty gasped as EJ suddenly went rigid under her and she felt the warm sensation of her walls being flooded with his maleness as he came noisily inside her, face screwed up against the intense pleasure of it all. She slowed her movements, clamping her walls tightly around EJ's spurting member and helped to milk him of every last drop, kissing his face, nails raking lightly down his chest as he rode out his latest orgasm. Finally she felt him go limp, falling back against the sofa and looking up at her blearily.
"God," he said raggedly, blinking groggily and trying to focus on her as he came down from his high, "Oh god sweetheart that was so unbelievably glorious."
Betty's hips were slowly moving down, rolling around on EJ's now spent manhood, still to find her own nirvana.
"I love making you come EJ," sighed Betty happily, "You're so beautiful when you're coming."
"Not as beautiful as you are sweetheart," he told her and reached down a hand between their bodies, "I want you to show me how beautiful you are Betty, come for me now."
EJ knew he hadn't satisfied her before losing his mind and load inside of her but he wasn't done yet either. His hand sought out the heavily engorged nub between Sami's legs as she still straddled him, the little bundle straining against its hood. He latched onto it, squeezing it hard and making Sami squeal loudly and jerk almost violently.
"Don't move sweetheart," he ordered her determinedly seeing out her little bud again after she'd wiggled free, his breathing still laboured.
Sami whimpered and fell forward, burying her face and her moans into EJ's shoulder as he continued to rhythmically squeeze and release her nub for her, enjoying the way she was shuddering helplessly against him. EJ held on tightly to her highly sensitised peak for a long minute, kissing her deeply while he did and Betty made little gasping groans into the kiss before suddenly releasing it and beginning to rub on the little nub energetically. Betty felt her body explode in sensation as soon as EJ did that, her orgasm radiating out from his skill fingers and throughout her entire body. She clung to EJ even as her body bucked wildly and she sobbed out her satisfaction to him. EJ wrapped his arms tightly around her and held Betty close as she shuddered against him and around him.
This, EJ decided blissfully, must be what Heaven was like...