Born To Fly: Landing In Love Page 5

  “Yes,” he grumbled.

  “Good.” Ducking under his arm, Bliss headed for the table and placed her cup on a nearby stand. Picking up her cue she lined up to take her shot. A wolf whistle filled the air and she turned her head to find Erich grinning shamelessly at her. “Stop trying to distract me.”

  “Hey, I’m the one being distracted here. You bent over like that is one hell of a temptation, darlin’.”

  “Too bad. After this game you said we’d go take a walk in the park.”

  He pushed away from where he leaned and prowled toward her. “So I did.” Erich caressed her ass as he bent over beside her. “Would you like some help handling the stick?”

  Her tight nipples rubbed against her bra and her breasts felt heavy. The pulsing in her core told her she was losing the battle of being good. I want him again. As if I haven’t been in his arms for most of the damn day.

  Erich moved behind her and lowered his powerful physique along hers. She could feel his erection pressing into her. Callused hands ran down her arms to where she held the cue. “Bliss,” he murmured. “Do you want help?”

  She rubbed against him and his chest rumbled against her back. “I want something.”

  His mouth nibbled along her neck and one hand slid back to settle upon her thigh, just under where her shorts ended. “What is it you want, darlin’?”

  The flames were almost already out of control. “You, Erich. I want you.”

  “Here or upstairs?”

  It was hard to think, much less speak. “Up…up…down this hall to the spare room.”

  The words were barely out of her mouth when he swept her up in his arms and carried her out of the room in the direction she’d said. He kicked the door shut behind them and tore off her shorts and panties. In one thrust Erich was completely sheathed within her.

  “Ahhh!” she moaned, arching her back. Without breaking his strokes he palmed a breast and pinched the nipple. With the door at her back and his warm body in front, Bliss was in heaven. He powered into her, filling her as he had the first time.

  “Jesus, Bliss,” he swore.

  Cracking open her eyes, she stared at him. His strong jaw clenched and she could see wildness in his gaze. “Let go, Erich. I won’t break.” She needed it too.

  “Bliss,” he said.

  Threading her fingers through his short hair, she put them nose to nose. “I’m actually pretty strong, Erich. Trust me.” She nipped his lip and rotated her hips on his thrusts.

  Bliss found herself on the bed, on her hands and knees. Before she could blink it seemed Erich had driven back home. His strong hands gripped her hips and he began to power into her. Dropping her head to the bed, she grunted with each stroke. She could feel him, so deep within her.

  “Ohhhh!” she screamed as her orgasm washed over her.

  “Fuck you’re so tight!” he growled, increasing his speed.

  Clamping down on his shaft with her internal muscles, Bliss undulated against him, allowing him to go even deeper. The fire grew again. Euphoria seemed just out of reach.

  “Erich! Please…I…ne…need…give…let…” she begged without shame.

  He drove harder and faster until he came with a low roar. His release triggered hers and she convulsed around him. They fell forward on the bed, Bliss trapped between the bed and Erich. His heart pounded rapidly into her back.

  “Bliss,” he muttered.

  “Hmmm?”

  Erich moved off her and rolled her to him. Brushing some of her hair back he stared into her eyes. “I think you’ve killed me, woman.”

  “Are you complaining?”

  “Hell no, darlin’. Feel free to kill me like that anytime.”

  “Well if I killed you, I’d not get any more.”

  “True.” He kissed her. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up and get to the park.”

  “You don’t want to finish the game?”

  “Billiards was my choice. You like the park, we go to the park.”

  “Better be careful Texan, you’re beginning to spoil me.”

  “Just now figured it out?” He smacked her on the ass and got off the bed before tossing her the discarded clothing.

  “Slow learner.”

  She watched him shimmy into his pants and she found herself getting wet again. Think of something other than sex. Erich picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder and carried her upstairs where they were both in the shower in moments. It was early evening before they made it to the park.

  He bought them dinner and she spent the evening sitting by the pool on a double chaise held in Erich’s arms. One of his hands ran up and down her exposed arm. His chin rested upon her head and his fingers were interlaced with hers. I could see myself falling in love with him. If she allowed herself to love anyone other than Mateo it would be Erich. The idea to be loved in the way her parents were in love held such great merit, but she was petrified. Petrified of finding love and losing it again.

  “Tell me about your tattoo, darlin’,” he asked.

  The nocturnal lighting surrounding the pool cast an intimate glow around them. She could see his skin glow dusky gold in the dim lights. The mild wind caused the water of the pool to lap gently against the sides. The serenity of the atmosphere helped calm her enough to comply with his request.

  “I got it done when mama passed, a circle to show infinity and tears because I’ll never stop mourning the loss of her.” She cleared her throat. “When papa died I went back in and had the two drops at the front of my ankle done in the color of their birthstones. The rest remain silvery-blue.”

  “I would have liked to have met your father. And your mother.”

  She chuckled. “No you wouldn’t have. My father wouldn’t have liked you.”

  Erich tightened his grip on her hand. “Why not? I’m a nice guy.”

  “You’re a man. I don’t think he was ready to let me go.”

  “Mmm, I don’t reckon I could hold that against him. I think I’d be the same way with a daughter.”

  A weird feeling crept up in her stomach. “You have children?”

  “Not that I know of.” He released her arm and readjusted so they could see into one another’s eyes. “Not unless you’re carrying my child.”

  It hit her like a brick wall. They’d not used protection any of the times they’d made love. Her face must have betrayed her thoughts for he sighed heavily.

  “Bliss, if it turns out you are pregnant I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I can’t be pregnant,” she mumbled. Pregnant. What the hell was I thinking? Oh, crap. Her heart began to pound erratically.

  “Come here, darlin’,” he commanded softly.

  Erich didn’t give her a chance to resist, just drew her back in, close to his body. Erich continued to hold her and murmur softly, until his thick Texas twang eventually calmed her.

  Chapter Five

  “Daredevil. You’re quiet today. Everything okay?” another pilot asked.

  “I’m good, Livewire. Great actually.” He smiled as he streaked across the clear blue sky in his F-22 Raptor. With a glance to his left he watched as Livewire’s plane lifted parallel to his and the man glanced in his direction. “What? Had to come check for yourself?”

  “Something like that. You sound happier than you usually do. Just wanted to make sure it was you and not some alien life form who’s taken your place as an imposter.”

  Flipping his friend off, Erich “Daredevil” Stark laughed. “Don’t you think if I was an imposter clever enough to take his place I’d look like him too?”

  “Nawh, an alien would have gone with a much more handsome mug. Like mine for example.”

  Erich choked on his amused snort. “Livewire, I thought I told you to stop sniffin’ glue before we go up. You know the government ain’t gonna be happy with you if you crash one of their expensive toys.”

  “Oh, so it’s the plane you’re worried about. What about me?” he questioned with false indignation.

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nbsp; “Hmmm good point, it would be a pain in the ass to train another wingman.”

  Erich laughed hard at the muttered words from Captain Donovan “Livewire” Leegan and pushed his jet for more speed. Soon they were screaming across the Pyrenees Mountains and out over the Mediterranean, before turning around and coming back.

  As they flew, Erich thought about Bliss. They’d been officially dating now for two and a half months, and it was early autumn. She hadn’t been pregnant, which he knew was a huge relief for her, but for him, it was a different story. He found the idea of her carrying his child held immense appeal to him. Now they used protection, but he still held out hope there would be an “oops” and she would end up pregnant.

  I want forever with her. He wasn’t so sure about her, though. He could sense there was something she kept from him. Her love and devotion to her brother was obvious, as was the way she protected him like a mama bear protecting her cubs. He wanted her to trust in him and his feelings for her enough to open up completely. He wanted her love.

  He had spoken to the youngest Stark brother and they were all trying to go home for Christmas. Garrick, who was now back in the States, said he had a woman he was doing his damndest to get to agree to come along and Erich had told him he’d try to get Bliss to agree as well. Neither of them had been able to get in touch with their eldest brother, Dominic, but they had both left messages.

  Bliss. She was everything he could ever think of wanting in a woman, and then some. He knew it was hard for her, but she made time for him. He knew Mateo came first, and then things dealing with dance. She took her role of raising Mateo very seriously. But he’s almost eighteen, maybe she’ll be willing to discuss a future with me soon.

  He and Mateo had gotten closer. At first Erich could tell Bliss was a bit hurt by that, but either she hid it well or she was fine with it by now. Today he had agreed to pick him up from school and take him car shopping. Mateo knew the car he wanted, but he had asked Erich to come along with him.

  Back at the base, he climbed down from his plane and saw Livewire waiting for him. “What’s up?”

  “Just wanted to see if you wanted to have dinner tonight. Carissa has a thing with the support group.”

  “Sorry man, I’ve got an appointment.” At the questioning look, Erich continued, “I’m going car shopping with Bliss’ brother.”

  “Damn man, you’re really serious about her, aren’t you?” Donovan asked while they walked to their locker room.

  “I told you that from day one.” Erich sighed and Donovan punched him. “What?”

  “Stop looking like you just got some.”

  He laughed and shook his head. Changing quickly, Erich got to his car in record time and was out the gate on his way to Mateo’s school. He didn’t wait long before Mateo showed up.

  “Hey, Mateo,” he said with a smile.

  “Hola, Erich.” The young man climbed in. “Thanks a lot for going with me. I just want to make sure I don’t get an…how do you say it…an orange.”

  “I think you mean lemon,” Erich corrected with a chuckle.

  “Right, a lemon. Bliss doesn’t know very much about cars.”

  “Hers is nice,” he said, thinking of her convertible.

  “Yes. And she told me I could have papa’s car, but…” Mateo paused.

  “Kind of a rite of passage, getting your first car on your own, and not having it handed to you.”

  “Exactly. Did you do that too?”

  Erich nodded as they drove through Seville to the dealer. “Yes. I took my older brother with me.”

  Mateo smiled and ran a hand through his inky black hair before settling back against the seat. At the dealership, Erich stayed in the background and let Mateo ask questions. After they test drove the car, Erich gave him a few more things to ask about. He didn’t say a word as they haggled over the price. But for the life of him, Erich couldn’t have been more proud of Mateo when he walked out with the keys than if the boy had been his own son. Mateo had gotten it for a lot less than the asking price.

  “Congratulations, Mateo,” Erich told him as he stood by the red truck.

  “Thank you.” He tossed his school bag in the front seat. “I can’t wait to show it to my friends.”

  “And your sister?”

  “Yes, her too. But my friends’ first.”

  Erich couldn’t blame him. “Okay. Have fun.”

  Mateo paused with his hand on the open truck door and glanced up at him. “Erich?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you. Not just for this, but for making my sister so happy. I know it’s hard for her a lot of the time, putting me first.”

  “Bliss is very lucky to have a brother like you, Mateo.” He gave him a sharp nod and headed to his own car.

  “Oh, you do know she’s not at home, right?”

  “Where is she?”

  “Studio. She’s practicing for the show.”

  He furrowed his brow. Show? She didn’t say anything about a show. “Okay, thanks. Drive carefully, Mateo.”

  Mateo grinned and jumped in his new vehicle. Erich waited until the red truck pulled away, then he headed for the studio. He parked by her car and walked inside. The music was fast and loud. Erich came around the corner and saw Bliss dancing with another man. One he’d not met before. And he was a handsome man, who wore nothing but a pair of black pants and shoes. Bliss wore a tight tank top and short shorts with canvas slip-ons. A rumble of possessiveness welled up within him.

  Not saying anything, he moved to sit on a chair along the wall and watched. Bliss smiled and waved at him, but didn’t break. Both of them were covered in sweat but they didn’t stop. Erich listened while they spoke, corrected, and laughed with one another. Thirty minutes later they took a break. A towel in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, Bliss walked to his side and pressed a light kiss to his lips.

  “Hey. What are you doing here?”

  “I missed you,” he said drawing her down so she was on his lap. The urge to claim her in front of this other man was strong. “So after Mateo and I went to get his vehicle I came here.”

  “What’d he get?” she asked.

  “Nope. I’m not saying a word, he wants to show you himself.” Erich gestured in the direction the other man had gone. “Who’s he?”

  “That is my partner, Raul Santiago.”

  “Partner?”

  “Yes. For competitions he’s my partner.”

  Swallowing back his concern, Erich said, “Oh right, Mateo said something about a show coming up.”

  “Yes, in about three weeks. All the dance studios around put on a thing. Give out prizes and let our students compete. Then we also compete.”

  “And Raul is your partner.”

  “Si.” She jumped off his lap. “We have to practice one more dance, then I’m done.” Bliss stared at him. “Can you stay?”

  “Of course.”

  Her smile melted him. “Great.” Bliss hurried to the stereo and changed the music. “Come on, Raul. Let’s go.”

  The man appeared again and barely spared Erich a glance, just moved to Bliss’ side and they spoke quickly before he took her in his arms. Whatever bit of calm Erich had felt vanished in a puff of smoke when he watched the dance unfold.

  Ah, hell no! The anger roared up fast and fierce. There was no light between their bodies. Is this even legal? Erich could feel his fingers biting into the edge of the chair as he strove to remain seated and not punch a hole right through the man. It was as if he wasn’t even in the room and they were expressing their love for one another, short of making love on the dance floor.

  Just when he didn’t think he could take any more of it, his phone rang.

  “Major Stark,” he snapped out.

  “Get back here. We’ve got a situation,” his CO’s voice whipped out the command.

  “Yes sir. On my way.”

  Shoving to his feet, he stared at the dancing couple before he spun around and walked out. On his way ba
ck to the base, he called her cell phone and explained he’d been called back. Anger fueled him as he envisioned them dancing like that over and over. And now he wasn’t there to stop anything if it started. The scowl on his face remained there even after they took to the sky and headed out over the Atlantic Ocean.

  * * * *

  One minute he was there and the next he was gone. Bliss was shocked enough that she almost missed a step. What the hell? I thought he said he was staying. Disappointment welled up within her, but she shoved it to the back of her mind and concentrated on the task at hand. Maybe things weren’t as okay between them as she’d hoped? A small seed of doubt flickered in her mind.

  “Thanks for swinging by, Raul,” she said when they’d finished.

  He sat beside her, towel draped over his neck. “I’m sorry I wasn’t back sooner. We have to cram because I’ve been gone.”

  “It’s okay. We’ll get it in time. I’m not worried.”

  “Where’s your man?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Bliss tried to ignore how much that fact hurt, but she had a hard time doing so. Getting to her feet, she grabbed her things and walked out to her car with Raul by her side. Once seated in her car, she pulled out her phone and saw she had a missed call. It was Erich.

  Bringing up her voice mail, she listened to the message. “Bliss, sorry I had to leave without a word, darlin’, but I didn’t want to interrupt your…practice. I got called back to the base, not sure what’s going on but I’ll call you when I can.” Then he was gone.

  “Well, that makes sense.” Tossing her phone to the seat, Bliss started her car and headed home, exhaustion flooding her body. On the way she wondered about the slight pause before he said “practice”. Still, when she pulled into the driveway and saw her brother standing beside a red truck, a smile crossed her face.

  “What do you think?” he asked after she’d parked and gotten out.

  “I think it suits you. Congratulations, Mateo.”

  “You’re okay that I asked Erich to come with me, right sis?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”