“Angel, that is not true,” Ethan protested, pulling a chair up next to her and grabbing her hand and twining his fingers with hers.
“But it is true. Either they want to use me to get close to my dad or they are like you, judging me because of my dad. What is so wrong with me?” she asked.
“Gabe and I will go have a talk with Gary,” Ryan offered.
“Okay,” Ethan said, wanting to go with them and tear Gary apart, but Liz was more important. “Lock the front door, Ryan.” When they left he looked at Liz sitting in the chair, looking so desolate. She was as light as a feather, so he picked her up and sat down with her on his lap like a child. Only she didn’t feel like a child. Liz was petite but she was all woman.
“Liz, baby, look at me for a minute,” Ethan whispered, grabbing her chin and turning her toward him.
Liz felt weighed down and tired by the events of the last two weeks, dealing with Gary, Ethan, and her vandal/stalker. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, waiting to hear what he wanted to say. “I may have had doubts about us not having things in common but I have never not desired you. I’ve dreamt about you, thought about you, and definitely wanted you. What I was dealing with were my own insecurities and doubts. You are perfect.”
“Really?” she whispered, searching his face and seeing nothing but sincerity in his eyes.
“Really,” he answered in a firm voice. “There is nothing wrong with you, Liz. You are beautiful, smart, kind, and I am so sorry I made you feel bad about yourself.”
Liz just sat quietly with her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and letting his words sink in. Ethan ran his fingers through her soft, silky hair. “You looked like a real angel that night at the party. I loved how you felt in my arms and I wanted the music to go on forever so I could have the excuse to keep holding you and never let you go. I have never felt that way before, so maybe I didn’t handle it well and for that I am sorry.”
; Liz’s eyes filled with tears. Ethan’s words touched a part deep inside her, the insecure little girl wanting to be loved.
She looked up at him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Ethan, is that why you call me angel?”
Ethan nodded and she tried to explain to him how she felt. “I’ve always felt like I never belonged. I know my parents love me in their own way but I was always given over to nannies so I wouldn’t be in the way of their work. I never made close friends because jealousy would get in the way or we moved too much. Stella and Lacy are the first people who didn’t care about my background and have truly cared about me.”
Ethan felt guilty for thinking badly of her and felt sad for her lonely childhood. He stood up with her and put her on her feet, wanting to cheer her up.
“I’ll help you clean up, and we’ll go upstairs and I’ll make you my famous grilled cheese and ham sandwich. All this ‘feeling’ talk has made me hungry,” he teased, wanting to hear her musical laugh.
Liz laughed and rolled her eyes, feeling so much better. “You’re such a guy.”
They cleaned up and Liz took the roses upstairs, refusing to throw them away. The flowers were the first sweet thing Ethan had done for her.
“I’ll buy you more, angel,” Ethan told her, locking the store up and setting the alarm.
“I have a vase upstairs,” she insisted stubbornly. “I don’t want new flowers. I want these.”
Ethan made the sandwiches while she changed into more comfortable clothes. They snuggled on the couch with the lights dimmed low and decided to just put the radio on low and leave the TV off. It had been a stressful day and they both needed to unwind and relax.
“I wish I had a fireplace. It would be so warm and romantic,” Liz said.
“You need a Christmas tree,” Ethan told her, thinking of his own fireplace at home. He’d have to take her to his home and make love to her in front of the fire. As they ate he looked around her small apartment with no Christmas decorations except a small snowman figure on her coffee table. When she was done eating she leaned into him and he put his arm around her shoulder and held her close to his side. She felt small in his arms, almost fragile, but the more he got to know her he realized Liz was a strong woman. She had moved hundreds of miles away from her parents to start her own business and made a success of it. She was born into money yet she was kind and compassionate and lived a normal life. He didn’t know her background so he Googled it and was shocked. Her father could buy this town with pocket change, yet she worked and drove a normal car and lived a regular life when she could be sitting on a beach somewhere sipping a martini. He admired her for that.
“I love Christmas trees and lights and all the stuff that goes with Christmas but since I’m always alone here I don’t bother. I thought about getting a small one but when I went to Clyde’s he only had huge monster trees,” Liz explained with a sad shrug.
He kissed her forehead tenderly. “Well, you’re not alone anymore and next year we are getting a huge monster tree and all the trimmings.”
Liz giggled and felt pleasure run through her at his mention of them being together next year. Hope was a wonderful thing. Liz decided to be bold and take the initiative. She turned toward him and slid her hands under Ethan’s shirt and felt his hard, muscled chest. “Mmm, your skin is so hot and smooth.” She kissed his chest and heard him sigh with pleasure. Liz scooted up closer to him and kissed his shoulder and neck, working her way to his earlobe and cheek.
Ethan smiled. “You’re asking for trouble, angel.” But he didn’t try to stop her. He looked at her and pulled her closer to him and lifted her shirt off of her, leaving her nude from the waist up. He then took off his own shirt. The feel of her bare breasts on his naked chest sent tingles up his spine. Her skin was milky white and silky smooth. Ethan played with her nipples, making them hard. He pulled on her nipple, sending sparks of pleasure through her blood. He loved the sound of her sighs of pleasure. “Oh, Ethan, I love your hands,” she whispered softly with a moan in his ear. He leaned down and captured a nipple in his mouth, sucking hard and pinching the other one.
Liz loved the pain-pleasure feel and she groaned. “Oh yes. I like that.” Liz reached down and felt his hard cock underneath his pants as she caressed him. She wanted to take his cock out of his pants, but he said he didn’t want to have sex yet so she hesitated. Ethan looked at her. “I’ll make you come, angel, but I still think sex should wait until later.”
Liz nodded, feeling a little disappointed. She had been dreaming of making love with Ethan since Halloween. He laid her back on the couch and took her pajama bottoms off and threw them on the floor. He opened her legs wide and looked at her pretty pink mound. “Beautiful,” he whispered and she felt her cheeks blush. He touched her lightly with his fingers first. It felt like a feather whispering over her skin, making her shiver. He blew his warm breath on her pussy. Then he inserted first one finger then two into her soaking-wet folds. “Someone is very wet.”
Liz blushed, feeling a little embarrassed at how much she wanted him. “Always for you, Deputy.” Then she couldn’t talk as he found her clit and played with it, making her groan loudly. She grabbed his shoulders tightly, feeling pleasure so intense and so incredible building up inside of her. Her body tightened with the sensations going through her body and she went over the cliff, falling into a deep abyss. “Oh, Ethan!” she yelled out and climaxed in his arms.
They lay there together for a few minutes quietly. “That was good for me but not for you.” She pouted, rubbing his back and loving the feel of his weight on top of her.