A Song for Us

Chapter Forty-Five

ERIC

SARAH HANDED ME the keys and we got into her sister’s car and headed toward the hotel. Her guitar was lying over my bags on the backseat and she smiled when she saw it.

“I thought that was gone forever.” She reached behind her and ran her fingers over the strings.

I grabbed her hand and pulled it to my lips to kiss it. “I want to hear you sing again.”

We pulled into the hotel and Sarah surprised me when she got out of the car and grabbed her guitar from the backseat. I grabbed my bags and slung them over my shoulder.

“You coming in?” I asked as I rounded the car to her side.

“You said you wanted to hear me sing.”

I grabbed her free hand and pulled her toward the office. An older woman sat at the desk and eyed us suspiciously. “We don’t rent by the hour. This isn’t that type of establishment.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, but Sarah looked livid. “No. The room is for me. I need something for a few days.”

The woman thought it over before she typed away on her keyboard and looked back to me. “I have something available. It is fifty-three dollars and ninety-nine cents a night. How many nights would you like?”

“Let’s start with two.”

I handed the woman my bank card, and after what felt like an eternity she handed me the key to my room. We made our way to the opposite end of the building and up a flight of stairs outside.

The room was small but it had a bed and a minifridge with a microwave on top. That is all I needed. I knew I would be spending most of my spare time with Sarah anyway. I just needed a place to lay my head. I turned on the light and it flickered as Sarah stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

“It will do,” I said as I slid my bag off my shoulder.

Sarah raised an eyebrow at me as she struggled not to laugh. “We will find you an apartment tomorrow.”

I turned to her, placing a hand on either side of her face as I pulled her mouth to mine. She pressed her body against me as her hands slid up to the back of my neck and into my hair. I ran my tongue over her lower lip and she let her lips part, inviting me to kiss her the way I had dreamed about since the first day I saw her.

She moaned quietly into my mouth and I turned us so her back was against the door. I didn’t want to push her after all I knew about her past. I couldn’t stand it if I hurt her again, but she didn’t resist and her tongue slid over mine and our kisses became hungrier.

I pulled my mouth from hers to search her eyes. “Is this okay?”

She nodded as she stared up at me through hooded eyes.

“I love you,” I whispered, my lips moving against hers. Finally saying those words was terrifying and liberating.

“I love you, too,” she said back just as quietly.

My heart raced as my hands slid down to her hips and pulled her toward me. “Say it again.” I kissed her lips and she giggled.

“I love you.”

I growled as I lifted her, and her legs wrapped around my hips. “Again.”

“I love you.”

Her forehead was against mine as I carried her to the small bed in the center of the room and lowered her onto the mattress. I hovered over her as I stared into her eyes. I grabbed her wrists and slowly pulled her arm toward my mouth, placing a kiss on the jagged scars that marred her perfect porcelain skin. “Maybe we can help each other heal.”

“I’d like that.” A tear fell from her eye to the blanket below. She reached between us and gripped the bottom of my shirt, tugging it toward my head. I grabbed it and yanked it over my head as she pushed up from the bed and placed a kiss on my chest above my heart. “You keep your scars on the inside.” She ran her fingers over the spot her lips had just touched as my heart raced. I lowered myself on top of her, needing to be as close as possible. Her mouth pressed against mine and the urgency was gone. Neither of us was running away again. It was only us and we would work on healing each other. I didn’t care if it took months or years.

I ran my hand down her side and gripped her hip as I trailed kissed over her jaw and down the hollow of her throat. Her head fell to the side as my mouth slid over her shoulder. I lifted off her and grabbed the bottom of her shirt, tugging it up. She lifted her arms so I could pull it easily over her head, and I stared down at her beautiful body. I relaxed back against her, continuing my trail of kisses down to place one over her heart as I slid her bra strap from her shoulder. My eyes met hers briefly to make sure she didn’t object.

I couldn’t count the number of women I had been with in my lifetime, but I had never once made love. My hands slid behind her back as she arched from the bed so I could unclasp her bra. I tugged it down her arms as my mouth dipped lower, kissing her breast as her hands slid down over my back and her fingernails dug into my flesh. I ran my tongue over the tattoo on her ribs that read COURAGE in cursive.

I trailed kisses down her stomach, worshipping every inch of her flesh. I ran my fingers along the edge of her jeans so lightly it tickled her and she squirmed. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything.”

I slid my finger behind the button of her jeans and popped it free before sliding down her zipper. She lifted her hips from the bed as I tugged the jeans down her legs and tossed them on the floor. I pushed to my feet as she stared up at me and undid my jeans, then I kicked them off next to hers. She crawled back to the center of the bed and I climbed over her, my mouth finding hers again as I tangled my fingers in her hair.