Page 51 of Wicked Healing

Erin didn’t know how she knew, but he’d come to some decision. She would follow along with his cues and what her heart told her to do.

* * *

Luca feltlike he was going to stroke out. What had begun as a fairly light-hearted day had taken on a load of emotional significance he hadn’t expected, first seeing Paul with Hope, and now with Erin. He wasn’t used to this much emotion.

It was good, he decided. More than good. Almost four months ago his life had gone to shit. Now it was searching for balance. Erin felt integral to his peace of mind, but he couldn’t articulate exactly why. Not yet.

He needed to move forward with her, though. Stagnating and staying in one place wasn’t good for either one of them.

With that thought in mind he took her hand and helped her off the stool, then began to lead her back through the house. “Where is your room?”

She pointed to the farthest door from the kitchen and he walked them through it. Luca was aware of a comfortable, cool space, tile floors and white linens on the unmade bed. It was gratifying to see that she wan’t perfect in everything. He motioned for her to sit on the bed.

Luca paced in front of her for a moment, trying to scrape together some courage. He needed to do this and get it over with.

“Luca, don’t do it this way,” she said, holding a hand out to him. “You shouldn’t force yourself. It will come naturally when we need it to.”

He shook his head. There was so much ahead of him to do and he felt like letting her see everything quickly would be one less hurdle. Without giving himself time to think he ripped his t-shirt over his head.

Erin gave him a critical look, but he thought it was because of the way he’d done it and not listened to her, not because of the actual scars. He watched as she glanced down his body. He almost felt the brush of her gaze over his burns and the scars from the shrapnel wounds. Then she looked up at him, her brows raised.

“You seem to be trying to turn me off or something, but it’s not working.”

Standing, she moved in front of him. “It seems only fair that I reciprocate.”

Before he could say a word, she ripped her t-shirt over her head, her brown hair flying. Her beautiful breasts were held in a pale blue satin bra. Luca knew he was supposed to do something but he couldn’t even breathe right that second. Reaching out he brushed his knuckles over the bud of her nipple, obvious through the thin cloth. Erin gasped and held his hand against her for a moment, then reached behind herself and unfastened the bra, letting it fall away.

Luca was dying. That had to be what the pain was in his chest. As her body was revealed to him, he said a silent thank you to whatever gods had granted him this moment. Then, stepping forward he cupped both of her breasts in his hands. She had dark tan nipples and they were rock hard, right now. Pinching them between thumb and forefinger, he rolled them gently.

Erin gasped, leaning hard into his touch and pressing her boobs together. Luca leaned down and laid a kiss on the lovely creamy flesh he held. Absolutely incredible.

It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. Damn near a year. And for the life of him he couldn’t remember what to do for her. He could only think of his own pleasure. He needed with a desperation he’d never felt before.

Erin seemed to sense what he was feeling because she dragged him down into a kiss and cupped his length in her strong hand at the same time. Luca growled into her mouth, loving the way she squeezed him, firm enough to excite and tease. Torn because he really wanted to hold her breasts more, he dropped his hands to her waist and started going lower, cupping her hips and pulling her tight. Her hand stilled, unable to move, but he had to feel her tight against him for just a minute.

Though she didn’t work out the way he did, Erin had a beautiful, strong body. Her power was gained from day to day exercise and work that no one else would do for her. She’d gained this muscle by being a business owner and caregiver at all hours of the day and night, by giving of herself to creatures that had no way to articulate their needs or appreciation.

He hoped he wasn’t one of those creatures but even if he was, at this point he would give in to her.

When he released her hips she stepped back and pushed her shorts down her thighs, then the tiny scrap of her pink panties. Holding his gaze she walked toward him, proud in her own skin. She looked up at him with the promise of sex in her eyes. “Drop your drawers, Carmichael, and let’s have fun.”

She moved to the bedside table and retrieved a condom, handing it to him.

Luca didn’t even hesitate. With both hands he dropped his shorts and athletic boxers to the floor and stepped out of them, then he rolled the condom on. There was a moment’s awareness as he thought about the mechanics of what he wanted to do and whether or not he could do it with his prosthetic on. He supposed he could try and if it didn’t work he’d have her ride him or something.

Erin was staring at his erection, a sly smile on her lips. She hadn’t even looked at his prosthetic. Backing toward the bed she fell across it diagonally, scooting her butt to the center. Luca watched her move, fascinated with the way she held his gaze.

Then she positioned a pillow behind her head and reached up to him.

In that moment Luca was the most thankful he’d ever been that he hadn’t taken his own life. Looking down into Erin’s topaz colored eyes he lowered himself to the bed on his good knee—the prosthetic bent behind him— and he arm crawled toward her, between her thighs. She grinned at him, one eyebrow lifted tauntingly. “Is this going to work or do I need to shift?”

“I have no idea,” he admitted. “Give me a minute and we’ll see what happens. I’m a SEAL. I can make any situation work.”

She giggled, pulling him down into a kiss. Luca rested some of his weight against her as he readjusted. His body naturally seemed to know where to go and he nudged against her entrance. Erin gasped against his mouth and tilted her hips up, welcoming him inside.

Luca didn’t even remember how he moved, just that he did. As soon as he felt how excited and slick she was for him, he quit worrying and just allowed himself to feel. With long, steady strokes he learned her body, accelerating his movements with the sounds she made. Her hands were everywhere, rubbing up and down his body, pulling him tight into the cradle of her hips. He curled himself over her, taking a nipple into his mouth to suckle, and she came apart in his arms. The sound of her high, keening cry was as arousing as the feel of her tight body rippling around his, and he didn’t even try to curb his own pleasure as it swelled through him. With a long groan he arched into her, over and over again as his body strained, playing out the pleasure.

It was a long minute before Luca realized he had collapsed on top of Erin, his head to the side and against the pillow. She didn’t seem to mind, though. She was rubbing up and down his sides, murmuring to him softly. Luca didn’t want to move but he also didn’t want to smother her. Arms quivering he pushed himself up enough that he could roll to the side.

---