Sara Stone - Full Exposure

Using his body, he guided her back to the wall beside the archway leading to the front room. He held her there. Kissing. Exploring. His palms brushed over her breasts, teasing and taunting.

Eric broke their kiss. Glancing down, he watched his rough hands move over her soft skin. She pressed her hands against the wall as if seeking support, and he moved his thigh between her legs. Georgia rubbed up against him, riding him, and hell, he wished he’d stripped out of his clothes.

“We’ll make this right, I promise.” His voice was a low growl and she moaned at the sound, arching into his touch. He traced small circles around her breasts.

“Georgia,” he murmured, lowering his mouth to her neck. He pinched her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. She cried out, grinding her hips against his thigh. He could feel her growing wet through the fabric of his pants. He wanted to make her come just like this.

“Eric,” she panted. “Eric, I—”

“Get your fucking hands off her!” The command came from the front door, punctuated by a slam.

Liam.

Every muscle in Eric’s body tensed. He heard footsteps rushing from the front door toward the archway leading to the kitchen and debated stepping away from Georgia. But Eric didn’t want her brother’s first punch to hit her. Liam would never do it on purpose. Still, fury could push a person past control. Eric stayed, his clothed body shielding Georgia’s naked one. If he moved, she’d be exposed.

Liam grabbed Eric’s arm and pulled him off Georgia, his anger adding to his strength.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Liam demanded. “She’s my sister!”

“Liam, please don’t do this,” Georgia said.

Liam ignored her, delivering a right hook to Eric’s face. His head swung back, and he felt blood pool in his mouth. Eric stumbled back a step and then steadied himself, preparing for the next hit, knowing he deserved every one.

GEORGIA SCRAMBLED TO find her dress. She had to stop her brother. Eric refused to fight back, taking each hit as if he’d earned a penalty for loving her.

“Stop, Liam.” She slipped her dress over her head, quickly buttoning up the front just enough to cover her chest. “This is not what it looks like.”

She raced forward and grabbed her brother’s arm. Liam stilled, unwilling to risk pushing her aside in order to hit his friend, the man she loved.

“It’s exactly what it looks like,” he said. “I trusted him and look what he fucking did.”

“He didn’t do anything,” she said.

Liam turned to her. “You were naked, Georgia. In the damn kitchen. He had his hands all over for you. When I asked him to give you a job, I expected my best friend to keep you safe. Look after you. Not seduce you.” Her brother’s eyes narrowed. “Is this why you wanted to leave last night? Did he force you?”

“What?” Her eyes widened. “No! It’s not like that. It’s never been like that.”

“Never?” Liam turned to Eric, baring his teeth like an angry animal intent on tearing something to shreds. “How long has this been going on?”

“A couple of weeks,” Georgia said. “Not that it is any of your business. And we were planning to tell you after the investigation.”

Her brother didn’t look at her, instead focusing on Eric. “You’ve been sleeping with my sister for weeks and you didn’t think to tell me because of some problem at work? What the hell? You’re my fucking best friend. I respected you, Eric. How could you lay a hand on her knowing what she has been through? She’s been back three months! Before that she was living in a war zone. And this is your way of helping her? I thought I could trust you to take care of her. But stripping her down and screwing her against the wall in broad daylight before she goes to pick up your kid? That’s how you repay decades of friendship and trust?”

Georgia stepped between them. She’d had enough of the anger and accusations from her brother. And Eric still hadn’t said a word. His face was a bloody mess and his eyes were downcast, as if he believed Liam’s words.

“Eric didn’t strip me down. I took off my own clothes, thank you very much,” she said, meeting her brother’s fury head-on.

“Georgia—”

“No. It’s your turn to listen. He did nothing wrong. We fell in love.” She pressed her index finger against her brother’s chest. “And don’t you dare tell me I can’t handle that. I know what I’m capable of.”

“No, Georgia, you don’t,” Liam snapped. “You had a nightmare just last night.” Her brother looked over her shoulder at Eric. “Did she tell you about how she wakes up terrified? How she is afraid to sleep?”

“He knows, Liam. He’s the one who woke me up.”

Liam stepped around her, grabbing the front of Eric’s shirt. “You know and you still thought, ‘What the hell, I’ll fuck her’?”

“Because he loves me and trusts me,” she said. “Right, Eric?”

She moved to her brother’s side, placing her hand over his. Liam released his hold on Eric’s shirt. Georgia laid her palm over the place where her brother’s had been—over Eric’s heart.

“You love me,” she said.

“I do, Georgia,” Eric said finally. “You’re my friend—”

“Not anymore, she’s not,” Liam growled. “If she were your friend, you’d have treated her with some goddamn respect.”

Eric stood tall and strong despite his physical pain, but looking into his eyes, she could see his uncertainty. It was as if Eric believed her brother, as if he thought she didn’t know her own heart.

“Enough, Liam,” she said. Inside, her emotions ran wild. In a matter of minutes, feelings would overwhelm her, reduce her to tears and force her to acknowledge the simple fact that her heart was breaking. She was losing someone she loved, even though he was standing right there in front of her.

He’d been trying to explain, she realized. Earlier, when he’d held back, telling her he couldn’t touch her, he was pushing her away. His reasons, whatever he used to justify walking away from love, didn’t matter. Her list was longer, but she’d still come back and fought for him.

One tear escaped and she backed away. She refused to fall apart in front of Liam and Eric.

“I thought you were stronger.” She looked at Eric. Blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth. She’d so rarely seen him out of control, except maybe for a moment that first night in his bedroom. But right now, he looked lost. “I thought you had the courage to follow your heart.”

“Georgia—”

“Are you in love with me, Eric?” she pressed. “Because if you’re not, nothing else matters.”

“It’s not that easy,” he said.

Georgia bit her lip. Hard. Needing to feel something other than the rushing, all-consuming heartbreak.

“There are some things worth fighting for,” she said. “Against all odds, in spite of the obstacles. I thought we were one of them. But I can’t change how you feel. I can’t make you fall in love with me.”

She waited for him to object and admit that his love for her trumped everything.

“Georgia,” he said. “I need to do what is best—”

“I’m leaving now.” She turned away and went to retrieve her bag from the kitchen counter. She couldn’t stand to hear him profess his desire to do the right thing again. “But I’ll be back.”

“You’re not working for him and you’re not living here,” Liam ground out. “He can find a new nanny. You’re moving home.”

“No. I’m not staying here or moving in with you, Liam. I’ll sleep at a friend’s house. And I’ll continue to care for Nate.” She looked back at Eric one last time. “I’ll never walk away from him. I love him too, and I refuse to let what happened between us hurt him. I’ll be there when he gets out of preschool. Today and the day after that. You have my word.”

Her head high, Georgia turned and headed for the door. She stepped into the garage and ran for the Jeep. Inside the car, she turned the key and backed out. She drove until she reached the main road. Once she felt certain they’d stayed behind to fight instead of chasing after her, she pulled out her cell and dialed.

“Hello?”

“Katie,” she said, her voice wavering as the tears started falling. She couldn’t hold them in any longer.

“What’s wrong?” her friend said. “Did something happen? Are you OK?”

“Liam found out. And he threw punches,” she said, fighting back a sob. “It’s over. Between Eric and me. He’s not in love with me.”

“Oh, Georgia,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

She drew a deep breath. “At least I wasn’t afraid to go after him, right? I had the courage to fall in love. And he . . . well, he didn’t.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Katie said. “I believe Eric loves you.”

“Not enough.” Georgia closed her eyes. “Not enough.”

GEORGIA WAS GONE. Eric stared out the kitchen window, watching the Jeep disappear down the drive. And this time, she wasn’t coming back. Not for him.

“Forgetting for a minute that Georgia’s my little sister,” Liam growled, “I would have thought the idea of starting something with a woman who’s likely to bolt would have kept you away. I was there every time one of your parents’ new friends walked out, forgetting about you as quickly as they did your parents. Hell, by the time you were sixteen, you believed everyone who said they loved you would walk away. In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never had a serious relationship. You were always waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Eric’s hands balled into fists. The friend who knew him better than anyone else had just handed him the truth. So many people had vanished from his life, over and over again. Even his mother was leaving him behind soon.