I hope all of you who are reading this story are continuing to enjoy it. There are a few directions I can go to wrap this one up, and I am trying to decide where I want to take it. The next chapter may be a ways off as I write down ideas and try to outline a good climax and ending. Speaking of climax, this chapter has some M rated material. :)
As David Rossi walked into the lobby of the hotel, what he saw caught him off guard. Ross Brannigan was holding Erin's hand to his lips, and Erin had a look on her face that registered somewhere between lust and incredulity.
"Have I really done that terrible of a job showing Erin how much I care about her that she would fall right back under Brannigan's spell?" David thought to himself.
At that moment, he and Erin locked gazes, and he knew she had seen him, as her cheeks flushed the deepest shade of red he had ever seen. He loved it when Erin was embarrassed. It wasn't easy to fluster her, but when it happened, David thought it was extremely adorable.
"Oh this is going to be fun," he said, as he walked toward Ross and Erin.
"David, what are you doing here?" Erin asked as he approached.
"How soon we forget, Erin. I have a lot of connections on Capitol Hill as well. I made a call or two, and the organizers of the fundraiser were more than happy to accommodate me."
"It's been a long time, Dave," Ross said, as he extended his hand.
David shook Ross's hand firmly. "Indeed is has, Ross. Indeed it has. I hear you had a lot of trouble getting a date for this shindig, so you had to steal my girl," he said, as he glanced at Erin. If it was possible, David could swear her cheeks flushed even deeper.
"Wait, you two are dating again?" Ross asked surprisingly.
"It's been a casual off and on thing," Erin chimed in. "Nothing serious, just like always."
David was taken aback by how much her biting words affected him.
Well, I'll let you two get on with your evening. I have to check in and take care of some other business. Enjoy the night."
Erin could not believe that this was actually happening. David had pushed back so hard about her spending time with Ross, he had followed her here, and now he was acting like it was no big deal. This was driving her crazy, and she wasn't about to let David Rossi drive her crazy.
"Your business can wait, David. Why don't you join us?" Erin suggested.
"Yes, please do, Dave. I won't take no for an answer," Ross said.
"Well in that case, I'd love to," David said with a smile.
If Erin didn't know better, she would have thought that David and Ross were best friends. The two of them had spent the entire dinner trading banter back and forth like they had never missed a beat. Erin did not understand why David was being so nice to Ross all of the sudden, and she was determined to find out what exactly he thought he was doing. First, she had to find a way to say goodnight to Ross without seeming rude.
After dinner, David had parted ways with Ross and Erin to handle the business he was planning to attend to earlier. Ross, ever the gentleman, had decided to walk Erin back to her room. They were standing outside the door of her suite, and Erin was struggling with what to say.
"Thank you so much for dinner this evening, and for the lovely gift. I really should get some sleep so I can be at my best tomorrow," she said politely.
"Of course, Erin, I wasn't going to invite myself in or anything. You should know me better than that."
Erin laughed nervously. He may not be expecting to come in, but the way he was looking at her told her that he certainly expected something. Her suspicions were confirmed when he put his arms around her and leaned toward her mouth, but instead of kissing her lips, he brushed her cheek lightly.
"I will be at the Capitol tomorrow so I won't see you until the evening. I'm looking forward to it. Goodnight, Erin."
Erin took a step back to create some distance between them.
"Goodnight, Ross. Thank you again for the lovely dress and the hair pin."
"I can't wait to see you wearing them."
With that, he turned and walked toward the elevators. Erin hadn't realized she was holding her breath, and she let it out in a deep sigh.
Turning to the doors of her suite, she slid the key card into the reader and waited until the light turned green. Pushing the door open, she tossed her purse on the table in the hall.
"How I wish I could have a real drink right now," she said out loud.
Walking toward the bar, she grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. She kicked off her shoes and headed toward the bedroom. She couldn't wait to fall into the middle of all those pillows.
She opened the door and gasped when she saw David standing in the middle of the room waiting for her.
"How the hell did you get in here?" Erin asked coolly.
"Relax, babe, I didn't mean to scare you," David replied
"What is going on, David? What is with the suite and why are you even here?"
"You know why I'm here, Erin. I don't trust that guy, and I'm pretty sure I have good reasons not to."
"You didn't seem to feel that way at dinner. I felt like the third wheel."
"I wasn't going to give the guy the cold shoulder for no reason, but he better keep his distance from you. He seems to be trying to win you over by showering you with expensive gifts."
"I don't plan to keep them, David. I was going to return them as soon as the fundraiser is over."
"I'm not asking you do to that. I just question what his motives are, that's all. The other reason I came here was to apologize to you for the way I acted last weekend. There was no excuse for it, and I feel terrible. The look on your face when you pulled that dress out of the box just killed me, because I wasn't the one making you feel that way. That's why I paid for the suite. I wanted to give you something too."
"You've never been good at expressing your emotions, David. That's why we have never been able to have any type of real relationship. You always run the other way when things start to get serious. You should know by now that gifts and material things don't mean as much to me as your time and attention."
"I don't want to make any promises, Erin, but I will try harder to be a better man for you. The last thing I want to do is lose you because of my inability to commit."
"Well, try to work on that, okay? I'm still really pissed that you followed me here. Promise you'll keep your distance tomorrow night? I still have a date with Ross."
"I know, I know. I'll try, but it's going to be very difficult. If he so much as looks at you the wrong way – "
"I think he wanted to kiss me tonight, but he didn't," Erin interrupted.
"Good, then I'll kiss you for him," David said, as he grabbed Erin around the waist and dipped her backward. His mouth found hers and he could taste the strawberry lip balm that she always wore.
Erin relished the feeling of David's mouth on hers, and she deepened the kiss and moaned into his mouth. Her reaction was all David needed. He grabbed her bottom lip between hers and bit down gently, and then he pulled away from her mouth and started trailing his hot breath down her collar bone. He slowly unbuttoned her blouse and watched it fall to the floor. He continued kissing down her chest and between her breasts.
"Oh God, David, that feels so good," Erin whispered.
David was so familiar with every curve of Erin's body that whenever he touched her, it was like solving a puzzle from memory and without instructions. He knew just where to go, how much time to spend there, and what would send her over the edge. His hands had run over her body so many times, but the feeling it gave him made it seem like each time was the first.
Erin returned the favor and began unbuttoning David's shirt, running her hands over his chest as she did so. The electricity coursing through his body at the feel of her hands on him was more than David could take. He picked Erin up and carried her to the bed. He laid her down gently in the sea of pillows, and as she looked up at him expectantly, her skin flushed from his touch, he realized he had never seen anything more beautiful.
Erin reached up to wrap her arms around his neck and pulled him down on the bed next to her. David could tell that she wanted more. Her eyes were ablaze with desire and her touch was becoming more hurried and intense.
"What do you want, Erin? Tell me what you need," he said huskily.
"You know. You always know," Erin replied as she trained her fiery gaze on his erection and fumbled with the zipper on his pants.
David let out a low growl as her fingers brushed against him. He released himself from the constraints of his own clothing and then quickly worked Erin out of what remained of hers.
In seconds, he was inside of her and the familiar rush of her warmth enveloped him. As they moved together, David was reminded how no other woman fit him quite like she did. No other woman made him feel complete the way she did.
As he watched the expression on Erin's face change from passion to ecstasy, David was overcome by the thought that he wanted to be the only one to make her feel this way. He was trying to hold on until he knew she was ready to let go, and as he felt her nails dig into the back of his shoulders, he knew she was close. She started to whimper, so he began moving faster and with more intensity. Just when he thought he couldn't hold on anymore, Erin raised her hips to match his movement. Her breathing quickened and she moaned loudly. He covered her mouth with his, and at that moment, they both found their release.
David rolled off of her and pulled her close to him, stroking her shoulder softly.
David smiled mischievously. "We always have great makeup sex, don't we?"
"Is that why you keep doing things to piss me off? So you can seduce me and con me into having makeup sex with you?" Erin said, as she swatted him playfully.
"It is a good possibility. I love it when you're feisty. It turns me on."
"Mmmm, that's nice," Erin said, her voice getting softer.
David knew she would be asleep shortly. Every time they finished making love, she passed out in his arms within minutes. In some ways, Erin was so predictable.
"What time do you need to get up tomorrow? I'll set the alarm," he offered.
"I already did. Let's go to sleep now," she said as she nestled into the crook of his arm.
As David rested his head on the pillow beside her, he caught the familiar honeysuckle scent of her shampoo. He drifted off to sleep thinking about Erin and where he wanted this relationship of theirs to go.
It seemed to David that he had only been asleep for a short time when he opened his eyes. However, the bright sunlight streaming through the window suggested otherwise. Erin was still there beside him, and she hadn't stirred at all. He leaned over Erin to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand, and almost fell off the bed when he saw what time it was. How had they managed to sleep until 3:00 in the afternoon? Erin was supposed to meet Ross in two hours.
"Erin, wake up!" David shook her gently. "We are so late, love, you need to get up now."
"What? Why? I have all day. I don't have to be anywhere until 5:00," she said sleepily, pulling the covers over her head.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, darling, but you have less than two hours. We slept through most of the day."