Page 57 of Just a Little Wicked (Wicked Sisters #2)

Erikson

Charlotte, I need another week off from filming.

Charlotte

Works for me. I want to go on a vegan psychedelic retreat.

Erikson

Charlotte . . .

Charlotte

Erikson . . .

Erikson

Remember the last time you did psychedelics and I had to come get you from the middle of the desert?

Charlotte

Yeah, but this time will be different.

E rikson had realized something the moment Winter’s fist had connected with Nova’s nose: he was in love with her.

She was everything he could have ever hoped for and more.

She was smart, strong, sexy, and she took absolutely zero shit.

Well, apart from his teasing. Someone needed to jostle the frown from her face once in a while.

Erikson wanted to be her person. He wanted to listen to her mournful music, and when she’d purged the compulsion, he wanted to take her to bed and bring the spark back to her eyes.

He wanted to help shoulder some of her burden in whatever way he could, and it would be the greatest honor if she’d allow him to.

Winter had spent a lifetime surrounded by family while still being alone.

If she’d give him a chance, she’d never be alone again.

She walked with him hand-in-hand to the dark house.

When they reached her room, she turned on a single lamp, illuminating a white and bare space.

He supposed some people might think it was boring, but he thought it was very much Winter.

She probably needed limited sensory input when she was overwhelmed by her visions.

The soft yellow glow made the thin satin of her blush-colored bridesmaid gown gleam. She tugged her lower lip between her teeth. “So, I?—”

He took her face between his palms and kissed her. It was a soft kiss, a gentling kiss, and she immediately relaxed. She’d been strung tight ever since the interaction with the Shadow Council.

“I want to hear what you have to say, but let me speak first,” he asked.

When she nodded, he stared deep into her eyes and gave her half his truth.

“I’m falling in love with you, Winter, and it’s not because you’re my soulmate.

It’s because you’re fierce and clever and loyal.

It’s because you’re probably wearing bright yellow panties under that dress right now, and because you punch people in the face who try to hit on me.

You are incredible in every way, and I don’t care if we have to spend a lifetime finding ways to make love that don’t involve you setting things on fire.

I’d rather spend the rest of my time on this planet struggling with you then struggling without you—because it would be a struggle without you.

You’re it for me, Winter. So don’t push me away.

Not in this lifetime. Actually, you know what?

Fuck it. You can try.” He cupped the back of her head and stroked his thumb along her jaw.

“You can try to push me away, but I’m not going anywhere.

Past versions of me were dumb. I’m not giving you up. I won’t .”

She clutched his wrists. “I don’t want you to give me up, Erikson. I’m—I’m falling for you too.”

His heart beat erratically in his chest. “You are?”

She turned her head and kissed his inner wrist. “Yeah, I am. Even though you call me stupid nicknames, like Elf, you’re also patient and kind.

You understand me, and you’re willing to fight for me.

Before you came along, I was so alone. I thought that’s what I needed to be to keep everyone safe, but you showed me there’s strength in vulnerability.

There’s support in letting go. You taught me that when I let my defenses down, other people will show up.

You walked through my shields like they didn’t even exist, and when I pushed you away you respected my feelings while refusing to budge.

You believed in me more than I believed in myself, Erikson.

All this time, it seems I was waiting for someone who wouldn’t let me turn in on myself and block out the world.

Someone who would show me all the beautiful things I was missing by refusing to let down my walls. I was waiting for you .”

She lifted on her toes and kissed him on the mouth.

It quickly accelerated from soft and longing to hot and claiming, their tongues tangling as he angled her head so that he could stroke deeper, drawing a moan from her.

His fingers speared into her curly red hair and he backed her against the wall, flattening her to it without worrying that he’d hurt her.

Winter was steel, and that allowed him to be a little rough.

He dragged his mouth to her neck, where he sucked on the skin hard enough to leave a mark. He scraped his teeth over her collarbone and was sliding off her red cardigan when he stopped. “Shit,” he growled. “There’s a whole tent-full of people out there. We can’t . . .”

“I think I’m okay,” she said, her breath coming fast and her pupils dilated with lust. “I kind of experimented earlier, before the wedding.”

He arched a brow and leaned back. “Now this I want to hear.”

She blushed adorably. “I um, I needed to relieve some stress.”

At the implication, he hardened further. “Go on.”

“I thought losing control might not be an issue anymore, so I tested it on a smaller scale.”

“By playing with yourself.” When she nodded, he clenched his jaw. “That’s so hot, Win. Show me what you did.”

“What? Now?”

“Yes. Lift your skirt and show me your panties.”

She thought about it, then reached for the calf-length hem of her dress and began to drag it up her leg, torturously slow. “It worked, Erikson.” Her breath was uneven as the satin whispered over her skin. “I felt entirely whole and completely in control, even when I was coming apart.”

She dragged her skirt higher, until she finally exposed her panties. They were baby blue, and he could already see they were darker between her legs.

“ Fuck .” He really wanted to take his time with her, but he wasn’t sure that was going to happen tonight.

Someday, he’d ask her to touch herself for him.

Someday, he’d lock the door and they’d spend hours teasing each other until they were nothing but quivering piles of exposed nerves.

But tonight he needed her. He needed to reassure himself that she was here, free from the tyranny of the Shadow Council, and that she was staying with him.

That she wasn’t going to leave him like she had in every other life. That she was his, and he hers.

He scooped her into her arms, and she let out a little shriek when he tossed her onto the bed a moment before dropping down on top of her.

He caged her head between his bent elbows, putting the majority of his weight on his arms so he didn’t crush her.

Her lips were glossy with some pink stuff he’d seen Missy shove into her hands, her eyes half-lidded and dilated.

She gave him a wicked, cat-like smile as her hands untucked his white dress shirt and slid up his back, her short nails dragging over his skin just enough to give him chills.

He bent his head to kiss the crook of her neck and inhale her scent.

“I’m going to make love to you,” he murmured, and felt her thighs tighten around his hips, “until I’m certain you understand what’s happening here.

Until I’m convinced you know how much I cherish you, and that you understand I’m not letting you go.

” She arched her pelvis into him and made a little noise that was almost a whimper.

He gently bit down on the curve of her neck and she inhaled sharply.

“Then, when I’m sure we’re on the same page, I’m going to fuck you until you scream. ”

“Oh my God,” she moaned, tossing her head. “You’re a dirty talker. Of course you’re a dirty talker.”

He dragged the thin strap of her bridesmaid gown down and began kissing the exposed skin. “Is that a problem? Because I don’t know if I can keep all my filthy thoughts inside when I’m with you, Elf, but I can try.”

“No, no, don’t you dare stop. Finding the right words is hard sometimes, so it’s kind of nice to just let you . . .”

“I understand.” And he did. They’d very quickly become a team, and her strengths complemented his weaknesses, and vice versa.

Winter was silent and serious for the most part, and he was more than happy to match that with chatter and playfulness.

He tugged the other strap of her gown down, her chest heaving as she looked up at him with such uncharacteristic tenderness that it was almost his undoing.

He framed her face with both his palms and kissed her gently on the lips before scattering lighter kisses across her nose and cheekbones.

He sat up, pulling her with him so that he could slide the zipper of her dress down, revealing her smooth, bare back.

He nudged her down again and proceeded to divest her of the gown, leaving her in nothing but those baby blue, soaking panties.

Her skin was pale and dusted with freckles, her body lean and muscled from years of labor on the apple farm, her fingers calloused from thousands of hours of playing her instrument.

Her breasts were small and also lightly freckled, the nipples pink and tight and ready for his mouth.

Every single inch of her was pure perfection.

He loved that she didn’t try to cover herself, that she was secure enough to let him look his fill.

If anything, she stretched beneath him, causing her breasts to jiggle.

Blood surged to his groin and he quickly unbuttoned his shirt, still kneeling between her spread thighs.

He tossed it to the floor, and didn’t miss the way her eyes widened with appreciation as she drank him in in the same way he had her.

In the truck they’d been rushed—hasty —and although his heart was still pounding with the urgent need to claim her, he wanted to savor every moment of this.

He traced his fingertips over her ribcage. “You’re perfect.”