Page 78 of Never Quiet

Chapter Seventeen

The next day was spent going through her personal things and figuring out what Amanda would take with her.

Callie and Davis helped her while Sterling, Heather, and Julia ran in and out of her bedroom. She didn’t know where Erick was and didn’t ask. It had been a weird couple of weeks and wouldn’t get any less weird anytime soon.

Roark and Ash were being briefed by all the military and mercenary people. They were huddled together in her dad’s office going over security, protocols, and how to make life as normal for her as possible.

Amanda didn’t hold out much hope for that.

She was carrying down a trash bag of random schoolwork that wasn’t interesting in the slightest when she heard sounds coming from her library. Leaning the bag against the back door, she peeked into her sanctuary.

Erick was wrapping and packing her art, her photos. Crossing the threshold, she took in his board shorts, tank top, and flip flops.

“Hey, Erick.”

“You need some of the beauty you’re used to around you. You need to find a little place to set up your lab, your writing station. It will help you acclimate. I know you’re deciding on basic things and maybe this stuff isn’t considered necessity but I think it’s important for you.”

“Thank you.”

“You work on what you need to. I’ll do this and then we’ll all go swimming. You can trust me to be careful.”

“I know.”

She turned to go and he called her name. She paused and he walked across the room to her. For a long time, he stared into her eyes.

“You look beautiful.”

Amanda glanced down at her athletic shorts, t-shirt, and bare feet. She hadn’t even brushed her hair. It was piled on her head in a loose, messy bun. “Um…”

One side of his mouth lifted in a smile. “Foolish Amanda. You think clothes matter? You’d rock a garbage bag dress. If you shaved your head, you’d rock that, too. You’re the definition of radiant.”

“Thank you.”

He dropped a kiss on her lips. “I just thought you should know that the moment you walked in, the moment I glimpsed you from the corner of my eye, my entire body went nuts.”

“You hide that well.”

“Years of practice.” He kissed her again. “I think you know something about that.”

“I do.”

“Your dad mentioned ATVs…?”

“Oh, yeah. We’ll take them out later. They work like jet skis. I’ll show you the land.”

“I’d like that.” His eyes focused on her mouth. “Kissing you is a lot more addictive than I thought it would be.”

Slipping his hand along the nape of her neck, he took his time placing tiny kisses along her jaw. Her eyes closed as he licked across her lips. She let him in. Something told her she’d always let him in.

When he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers. “You need to walk away from me, Amanda. This isn’t the time or the place and I’m struggling.”

She reached out, grabbed the edge of the door, and closed it. As an afterthought, she locked it.

In a whisper, he said, “Amanda…”

She put her palm on his chest, explored his torso, and his breath caught. Slipping along his side, she went under the hem of his shirt and raked her nails up his back. Laying her hand flat on his spine, she soaked up the warmth of him as his breathing picked up. Stepping closer, she pressed her body to his and he moaned softly.

Gently nudging him across the room to her big reading chair, he sat and she straddled his lap. His arms went around her, pressed her against his cock, and she rocked her hips to his almost painful moan.

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