Taming Eric (17 page)

He paced impatiently as he waited for the limo and tried numerous times to call Natasha, but it went to voice mail every time. As each minute ticked by, his anxiety rose and his mind was filled with the endless painful words of his parents and his Mother’s boyfriends. “Fuck!” He yelled and became aware that his outburst had drawn the attention of some of the beach goers aroun
d him.

When Henry finally turned up, Eric told him to drive to the hotel and as they slowly made their way through the heavy traffic, he prayed he’d be in time to catch Natasha, that she hadn’t had enough time to pack and leav
e him.

As soon as the limo pulled up at the hotel, Eric climbed out and hurried inside, his long stride carrying him quickly through the spacious foyer as he headed for the bank of elevators. He punched the button to bring one of them down and watched as the light above one signalled it was on it
s way.

The doors opened and she was there. Fuck it, but Natasha was right there, in front of him. She was bent over retrieving her bags and straightened, head still lowered as she took a step forward just as he stepped forward and she slammed into his
chest.

“Oh sorry, I…” She started to say before her eyes came up and met his. He watched those stunning blue green eyes of hers widen before they filled with fear when she saw it was him and she backed up until she hit the wall of the elevator. Eric couldn’t stop the shot of pain her look sent through him. She was scared o
f him?

“You got back.” She whispered and something about how she said it and the look in her eyes immediately brought his anger back in a
rush.

“Yeah, I got back.” He lowered his voice until he spoke softly, but the fury at her was still present. “No thanks to you though.” He walked up to her until their bodies were almost touching. “So what the fuck was that shit all about? Why the fuck did you drive off and leave me like that?” He asked as he punched the button on the elevator to take it back up to their
suite.

“I don’t know.” She said so quietly he almost couldn’t hea
r her.

“Damn you Natasha.” Eric slammed his hands against the mirrored wall of the elevator as his frustration mo
unted.

She recoiled from him, fear on her face. “Don’t hurt me.” She
cried.

It was his turn to recoil from her. God dammit but she thought he would hurt her? He could never hurt her no matter how crazy she made him. He’d never raised his hand to a woman b
efore.

“You think I could hurt you?” He was shocked. “How could you think that of me? I’ve never hit a woman in my life and I’m not about to start with you, no matter how crazy you’ve got me right now.” He raked a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out how to get them back to normal again, to right this tension that now radiated between
them.

“Please Eric, just let me go, this isn’t working ok, I want t
o go.”

Frustration made him hit the elevator wall again. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me
why.”

“You scare me when you’re like this. You acted like a caveman at the beach. What was next? Grabbing my hair and hauling me away? Brodie is just a friend, he saved me from a nasty sunburn yesterday and he caught me before I fell over in the water today. What’s so bad about that? It was all innocent and I barely know him, but I like him. He’s just being friendly after
all.”

Oh he was just being friendly alright, Eric thought to himself, but he was a man too and he could see that Brodie’s interest in her went beyond just being ‘friends.’ Reluctantly he had to concede that she was right about his behaviour though. He had gone all caveman but something about Natasha just brought it out in him. The need to whisk her away from all other men so he wouldn’t risk losing her to someone else. The jealousy which was an emotion he wasn’t used to feeling and a vulnerability that scared the crap out o
f him.

“He had his hands on you and I didn’t like it. He wants you Natasha, can’t you see that?” He ground out. Why couldn’t she see that for herself? He wouldn’t be acting as irrationally as he was if he didn’t see the bronzed idiot as a potential t
hreat.

“Well so what if he does. I’m with you for now, for this week anyway. Your behaviour was embarrassing, I felt like nothing more than a high class hooker and I don’t like it. Why can you be so nice sometimes and a complete bastard at other times?” She
asked.

Because she had him all fucked up, that’s why, the words bounced around in his head, but he couldn’t tell her that. He was acting completely out of character, he
knew.

“I wasn’t being a bastard, I just wanted that Brodie to realise that you are
mine.”

“But I’m not yours.” She shouted at him. “We were to have this week together then life goes back to normal, r
ight?”

‘Yes,’ Eric thought to himself. She was right but things had changed now, he was in love wit
h her.

“Fuck this Natasha, come back to the suite, I’m not doing this any longer in the damned elevator.” He moved to walk out but she wasn’t following him. “Natasha?” He held out his hand. “Pl
ease.”

With an impatient sigh and her tone dripping sarcasm enough to make him wince, she said. “Well since you asked so nicely.” Before picking up her bag and stepping out of the ele
vator.

They walked into the suite and she dropped her bags by the door before flopping down on the lounge. It was one small victory for Eric. He had her back inside at least, now he had to try and convince her to stay wit
h him.

He began to pace up and down the room in front of her, raking his hands through his hair while she sat watching him. “Fuck this Natasha, talk to me. I thought you were having a good time with me, then suddenly you’re best friends with a man you barely know and I’ve become the bad guy and you fucking well drive off and leave me stranded. I want a damned explanation and I bloody well want it now.” He knew he was shouting at her, but he couldn’t seem to control hi
mself.

“I don’t know Eric. Suddenly it all got too much. It goes well, then something happens and you get angry and I hate the way you can make me feel. A part of me thinks I should never have agreed to this week together. You make me feel like your dirty little secret. I… I… I can’t give you a better explanation than that, I’m sorry.” She shrugged her shoulders before slumping forward, looking dej
ected.

He stopped pacing and walked over to her, dropping to his knees in front of her. He dreaded asking her his next question, but he had to. “Do you regret our time together?” His eyes searched her face for a hint of what was going on behind their blue green d
epths.

“Yes… no… sometimes.” She finally whispered, not meeting his
eyes.

Eric felt fresh pain at her words stab at his heart. “Why were you going to leave me?” Watching as she t
ensed.

“I don’t know. I just felt overwhelmed, angry, frustrated, I had to get
away.”

Everything he was feeling she was too it seemed. He moved forward on his knees, leaning on her legs as he studied her beautiful troubled face for a m
oment.

He raised a hand to cup her cheek. “Do you want to leave?” He whispered, his stomach tightening as he braced himself for her rejection but instead she began to cry and his heart contracted at the sight of her in
tears.

He pulled her into his arms, desperately wanting to stop her crying. It hurt to know that he was responsible for upsetting her so much. “God baby, don’t cry. I’m sorry, I never meant to upset you. I’m sorry that I’ve made you so sad, that you want to get away from me so badly.” He caressed her back and she buried her head into his chest, sobbing louder, her tears dampening the fabric of his t-shirt. He felt so helpless as she cried like her heart was breaking and he knew it was because of him. He’d fucked up again. He’d hurt the only woman he’d ever cared about. His Mother’s voice filled his head, mocking him which only served to remind him that he was no good, no good to anyone but he couldn’t let her go, he had to try and make things right between them
again.

“I don’t want to go.” Her voice was muffled against him and he had to strain to hear her. “I love… I love the time we’ve spent toge
ther.”

Eric’s heart leapt at her words before she finished her sentence and a flash of disappointment shot through him. For a moment he thought she was going to say she loved him. “Don’t be a fool Eric.” The little voice in his head chastise
d him.

“Then what is wrong?” He pulled back so he could see her face. Gently he rubbed his thumbs under her eyes, wiping away her tears, but they were still coming too fast and as fast as he wiped them away, fresh tears followed. He hated it, he hated to see her so
upset.

“I don’t know Eric, please stop asking me that. Maybe it’s just hormones, ok?” She pushed him aside and stood up, walking a few feet away fro
m him.

Did she hate being near him that much? Had he ruined things beyond him being able to repair them? He didn’t know, but his frustration mounted again. He could fix a problem with work, but he didn’t know how to fix this. He’d never had to do something like this before. He’d never cared about anyone, enough to eve
n try.

“Dammit Natasha, I don’t know what you want. I don’t know what you expect, all I know is you’re doing my fucking head in woman.” He paced restlessly around the room. “You frustrate me like no other woman ever has, you make me want you like no other woman ever has and you drive me crazy, so fucking crazy. I don’t want this to end, I don’t want you to go but I don’t know what to do either. How the fuck do I make this right?” His tortured gaze met
hers.

Suddenly an idea came to him and he looked over at Natasha who was watching him pace up and down the room. He was going to take her away, no more time in the hotel, he wanted to take her to his country home in Tasmania. Now he just had to try and convince her to come wit
h him.

“Come away with me Natasha.” He
said.

She gave him a confused look. “Isn’t that what I’m doing now? I’ve already come away with you, I’m here now. Did you spend too long in the sun today or something?” Her lips tilted up on one
side.

“No Natasha, I mean, come away with me, not here, not in this hotel. Come and stay with me at my country home. I have a small home in Tasmania, it’s quiet, it’s secluded, it’s peaceful. It’s where I go when I need time to unwind. Please come with me.” He stopped his pacing to watch for her reaction. If he could get her to Tasmania, he’d have her to himself and definitely have her away from any other men who thought they could muscle their way in on his
woman.

She just stood staring at him in surprise for a moment and Eric could feel sweat breaking out on his brow as he waited anxiously for her response, any res
ponse.

Finally she asked.
“Why?”

“Because I want you to.” He replied while inside he was thinking, because I love you, I need you, I wan
t you.

“But what about
work?”

“I am the boss Natasha. I’ll give you more time
off.”

“Well what about the other employees, friends, family, what do we tell
them?”

“Fuck the other employees, fuck the friends and family. Will you just damned well answer me?” All he wanted was for her to say yes and he really didn’t care anymore what anyone else th
ought.

“I don’t have enough clothes with me. It’s colder in Tasmania, isn’t it? I’ve never been there. I’m going to need warmer clothes.” Eric listened to Natasha’s ramblings and he tried not to get his hopes up. At least she hadn’t said no although she did seem to be looking for excuses to get out of
going.

Eric sighed. “Natasha, please, forget all that, we can buy you more damned clothes. Yes you’re probably going to need warmer things but we won’t know for sure until we get there. Can you stop worrying about the crap and just give me an answer. Will… you… come… to… Tasmania… with… me?” He said s
lowly.

Natasha simply stared at him for a long time, numerous emotions flitting across her face and Eric wondered what she was thinking. There was a wary look on her face when she finally said. “I bet you take all the girls t
here.”

Eric felt a small glimmer of hope ignite in his chest. That sounded like she was testing him. Well, he could put her mind at ease on that score. “I’ve never taken anyone else there. I sure as hell wouldn’t have taken any of my lovers there. My home is my place to unwind and relax. I wouldn’t want any of those whining women there. I wouldn’t want them knowing I have that home and seriously Natasha, can you picture any of them staying in the country? No designer boutiques just down the road where we’re g
oing.”

“How do you know I’ll like it there with no shops nearby?” Natasha
asked.

“Because you’re different. You are so very different to any of them.” She was too. She was genuine, naturally beautiful and not a product of a great plastic surgeon like most of his ex girlfr
iends.

While he nervously waited for her to decide he watched her teeth chewing around on her bottom lip and he had to stop her attacking its full perfect shape. He cupped her face in his hands. “Don’t do that. You’re going to break the skin.” He bent to her and touched his lips against
hers.

It was only supposed to be a gentle, healing kiss but Natasha responded and with a groan Eric deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into her mouth. His hands shifted to her shoulders and pulled her against him, moving down her back until he cupped her sweet ass, to hold her agains
t him.