by Kylie Scott
“That’s a damn shame.” Daniel brushed his nose against hers, Eskimo style, and handed over the plain cotton panties. “Not too bad. I’ll get cleaned up.”
Al was glowing with good feeling, panties in hand and fingers fidgeting. “Finn, thank you for putting up with me. For everything. Again.”
She was so happy. Alight with love. And he wished, just for a second, that he was the one on the receiving end. He gave himself a moment to wonder what it would be like to not sleep alone. Because if he had been just a couple of days earlier, then he could have been the one she threw herself at.
A few fucking hours earlier was all it would have taken and it would have been him. There it was. He was dismissed. Job done.
Time to take it on the cheek and roll with the punches. “We’re friends, Al. It’s all good.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
She was scarily happy.
Blissfully happy and scared shitless all at once. Of course, the rabbit had issues with making such a gargantuan leap of faith. Bad luck. It was too late for any rabbit-type retreat.
“Talk to me,” Daniel demanded from beside her. They lay on a nest she had concocted for their comfort out of old blankets and towels.
Finn had bedded down on the far side of the room, behind the car and out of view.
While Daniel washed up, Finn had made a small production out of plugging into a tiny MP3 player, affording them as much privacy as possible.
“What about? You’ve only been gone a few hours.” She stared back at him, bewildered, full of joy, amazed he had returned to her. She hadn’t lost him. Maybe there was a God of some description on high.
“Talk,” he demanded again. “I want to hear your voice.”
“Okay, okay.” He was wonderful. Her stomach wouldn’t quit somersaulting. The light from one lone candle flickered and fluttered over the planes and angles of his face. Those blue eyes fixed on her. Waiting. “Ah, well…”
“Come here, babe.” Daniel’s impatient hands grabbed her. No. He grabbed at her one lone item of clothing. Soon enough he’d ridded her of the t-shirt and she lay bare, body and soul. He had total access without even trying.
She had no idea how it had happened. Before she could worry about exposure, he was there, covering her, distracting her. He was a master at distraction. Her breasts filled his hands, thumbs stroking the tight peaks of her nipples, sending warmth flooding through her. The way he touched her lit her up from inside. “I love these. So, you got away okay? Everything was alright?”
“Y-yes.” His hands coaxed and teased, there was no chance of coherency. He was crazy to expect it and it was well past time to return the favor.
The hard muscles of his stomach jumped beneath her touch as she slid her hand down the front of his pants, loving the liberty to touch him how she pleased. Wheresoever she pleased.
His cock was at the ready, hard and hot, perfect. Her fingers wrapped around him, stroked and caressed. All for her. What a gift he was. And she had nearly lost him.
“Good. That’s good. Knew I could count on Finn.” His lids dropped to half-mast, eyes glittering with a lust that thrilled her.
“I can take care of myself.” There was no impact. The words came out more breathy than bold. Hopeless.
No chance to get angry when her heart and mind were melting.
“Course you can. You’re my uber girl.” He moved, winced, abruptly stopped. With a pale face he muttered something deeply profane.
“Right, that’s it. On your back, buddy.” Ali eased him over with careful hands, abandoning the hardness and heat of his cock for now. She hustled up his white t-shirt, revealing a spectacular black bruise the size of her hand. Her throat shut tight. The mark covered the entire right side of his ribcage.
“You said you were fine. Holy shit, Daniel. This is not fine. This is a really long way from fine.”
And whoa, there went her voice. She screeched at him by the end of it.
“Shh. Don’t go ballistic. I can explain…” He lifted up, flinching all the while. Hands gripped her hips and rearranged her till she sat atop him, aligned with his groin. She stared down at him, careful to keep her knees back from the damage. Where was it even safe to touch him?
Daniel sighed. “Actually, you know, it’s not worth explaining. But, okay, don’t get mad. There was all sorts of crap in the water. I hit something when I went in. I lived to tell the tale. End of explaining. Feel free to rub yourself against me in a show of sympathy. Hang on. Up.”
His hands urged her to rise up sufficient to drag down his boxers. Going skin to skin with Daniel sent her out of her mind. The contact hot, hard, and soft, and wet. He hissed as she let out a sharp, shock of a breath.
“Babe, you are so wet. Fuck, that’s good.” Daniel’s hips pressed up, his hands on her pressed down. “Oh, yeah.”
“Dan. Shit. Stop.”
The grip on her shifted, moved up till her breasts were back in his hands. Her own hovered, uncertain where to land. Oh whoa, that bruise. And who knew how to tell if he had cracked or broken something. Then again, surely a man with cracked or broken ribs didn’t go around lifting women and positioning them where he wished. Surely.
For the four-hundredth time in twenty-four hours, she thought she might burst into tears.
“I’m not hurt. Touch me,” he implored. Fingers lightly pinched her nipples, and he toyed with her while his hard cock slid against her pussy. She became dizzy. The combination set her senses to reeling, so much sweet sensation. Her body rocked against his of its own volition, out of control.
It was so good, so right. She wanted to cling to him, rub herself against him till they both got off in a spectacular fashion, spectacular but without hurting him. The thought of him in pain undid her. Poured cold water on the rocking and rolling and grinding herself against him.
“Wait. How bad are your ribs? Are you hurt anywhere else?” Ali covered his hands with her own, stopped the action going on with her boobs. Necessary for straight thought, hard as it was. “We need to talk. I thought you wanted to talk.”
Daniel scoffed, drew her fingers down to his mouth and kissed them. He rubbed his lips over her knuckles, the palms of her hands, making her feel treasured.
“Please,” he said. “With you sitting on top of me bare ass naked? Are you kidding? Nah. No way. Come here. Let me get my mouth on you.”
Hands slid back down to her hips, tried to lift her, move her up his body. She swatted at his arms, which were unblemished, therefore a fair target. “Stop. Dan, I’m serious. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
He groaned and rolled his hips against her, sliding his cock against the seam of her pussy, nudging her sensitive bits and getting her even slicker. Her insides squeezed tight. The cheat. “Oh, I’m hurting, babe. But it has nothing to do with any bumps or bruises. That much I can promise you.”
“Dan.” Ali scowled, wrestled back her hands and set them by his head. She bent over him, careful not to let her knees nudge his sides. “Why can’t you give me a straight answer?”
“Why can’t you ride me like a pony?” He scowled straight back at her, unrepentant. “Don’t pretty girls like ponies? I thought they did.”
“Daniel Cross. Tell me if you’re hurt anywhere else. Please.”
Dan licked his lips, studied the ceiling above her head. Talk about avoidance. He blatantly hated any hint of weakness. Bad luck. She cared about him a lot. Possibly more.
“No. I’m not hurt anywhere else. The ribs are bruised but I’m pretty sure they’re not broken. Okay?”
“Thank you.”
A huff was all she got in reply. Then, eventually, a pout from the man between her thighs. The bastard. It was hard not to smile at the disgruntled moue. “Whatever.”
“I’m sorry if I killed the mood. I am, however, positive I can revive it.”
“Like to see you try,” he grumbled, keeping a firm hold on her hands beside his head.
“Okay.” Ali took him at his word, pressing her li
ps to his, soft, firm and perfect. And closed.
They did not open to her again until she nipped at his bottom lip, sunk her teeth in sufficient to get his attention. When his mouth opened, it was to bite back, teeth snapping. “Careful, baby, two can play at that.”
“Decided to get back in the game, have you? Let me have my hands.”
“Why should I?”
“Because, with my hands trapped I’m not sure I can reach your cock with my mouth.”
Daniel stopped and stared at her with open fascination, blue eyes darkening. “That might just be the best reason I’ve ever heard.”
“I’m very glad you think so. I choose however not to ask how many women you’ve caught in this position.”
“My girl.” The big man grinned, brought her hands to his mouth and kissed them elaborately. “I love you.”
Her insides quivered alarmingly. “Shuddup.”
He winked, freed her hands with a flourish. “I’m yours to command.”
Biting her tongue against further comment, she crawled down his body, everything in her feeling hyper sensitive, totally in tune with him. Even the brush of his leg hairs against her nipples was a sensual thing. The whole of him worked her up to a fever pitch.
Already half erect, he lay thick and proud against his belly, beautiful as sin.
She lightly drew her lips down the length of his cock, turned her face and pressed her cheek against him. He smelt good, warm and male. And she had to be crazy about him to be thinking such things. Ali closed her eyes tight, breathed him in deep. Tenderness for him filled her. Such a beautiful man, she couldn’t get enough of him.
Hot and smooth as silk, the pronounced veins wending up his length calling to the tip of her tongue to trace and tease. So she did. No matter how he urged her on she did not hurry up about it either. She’d set out to savor him and that’s just what she did. From the touch and taste and scent of him through to the feel of him in her mouth. The sounds he made were the finishing touch.
“You win,” he murmured, watching her with a singular dedication. As if he were committing this to memory, the view of her huddled over his cock, savoring him. The picture she must make.
And she had almost lost him today, could lose him for good next time from one thing or another. The world was a dangerous place.
Ali took him in hand and rubbed the flat of her tongue against the underside of the head. Dedicated to pleasing him, she would stop worrying about shit that didn’t matter, future things she couldn’t effect. They were together now. That was all that mattered.
She studied him with her mouth, lips, tongue and teeth, gave herself over to his pleasure with enthusiasm.
He mumbled her name as she took him deep. Not as far as she would have wished, but then they always said the head of a man’s cock was the most sensitive part. Duly, she lavished it with attention. He groaned when she gently dragged her teeth up the underside of his cock and pride and heat filled her in equal measures. Maybe she wasn’t so bad at this. Maybe she could drive him as wild as he did her with a little practice. God, but she wanted to give to him. She clenched her thighs together, redoubled her efforts. Not stopping till he threaded his fingers through her hair, tugged her gently off him.
“Babe. Stop.”
She blinked at him, dazed and confused and more than a little caught up in the moment. Her lips felt swollen, mouth tingling from all her efforts. She had been waiting for the pay off, waiting to taste him on the back of her tongue. Further proof of just how far he had managed to sink beneath her skin. “But…”
The man shoved a condom at her and oh man, he could only have gotten it from Finn. She and Dan had lost their packs with all required supplies. Mortification swept through her.
But now was not the time to dwell. Really and truly not.
“Babe, I love you,” he said, and her rabbit heart twisted and turned. “Trust me. You can suck my dick whenever you want. You’re a goddess at it. I’ll actively encourage it to happen often. But right now, I want to be inside you.”
When she hesitated, he took back the condom. Daniel ripped it open and set about rolling it down his cock, still wet from her mouth. “Let me rephrase. I need to be inside you now. Right now. Up.”
“I thought I was in charge.”
“And you did great.” His big, strong hands gripped her arms, taking her weight and drawing her up his body. She knew was safe with him. He wouldn’t drop her. Drive her insane with his alpha bullshit, yes, that he would do. Hurt her though? Never.
Once in position, her slick pussy hovering above his sheathed cock, he set a hand to her hip to still her. A finger trailed down her torso, through the valley between her breasts, down over her belly, stopping to circle her belly button, round and round until she ground her teeth in frustration. “I can’t begin to say how proud I am of you. You did brilliantly.”
“Well, thank you,” she panted. “But no teasing.”
Ali gripped his hand and pushed it down toward her center. A part of her in dire need of attention, as the noise she made when his finger drifted, feather light, up and down the seam of her pussy attested to. No one had ever affected her the way he did.
“No teasing,” he promised, while his fingers did exactly that.
Long before his fingers ceased to thrill, he changed tactics. He took his cock in hand, teasing her with the thick, blunt head. Her eyes nearly rolled back into her skull. Heat coiled low in her belly till she ached with it. She was so turned on it hurt. Daniel stared up at her, studying her, gauging each and every reaction. His absorption in her was disarming, distracting.
She couldn’t come with him watching her. He saw too much.
“No.” He grabbed the hand she moved to cover his eyes with. “Let me see. You like this, don’t you.”
“Yes, but … Dan. Enough. Let me…”
He obligingly fell still beneath her. She let her body be her guide, his and hers both. Gave up on the worry and gave in to the feel of him. It was all so simple, concentrating on the prod of his cockhead against her opening. The slow, steady push of him into her stole her breath. But the lust and love in his eyes stole her heart. It washed away the bitterness and fear of a lifetime’s making. The raw feel of so much emotion stunned her. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Somewhere in between fit best.
“Okay?” he whispered hoarsely.
“Yes.”
His hand stroked her cheek. “So pretty. Ready to come for me, babe?”
She nodded, beyond words. The fit and the fullness of him had her there, teetering on the edge. That and his teasing.
And this position, it was the perfect angle for grinding her clit against him. Her body wasn’t interested in slow and sweet. And her body was definitely in control. Or more accurately, her pussy. Her brain had been shelved, though her heart was wide open.
It had been a hell of a day. The rush of it, the sensation building as she took his cock inside her again and again thrilled her. She was burning up. All of the emotions, the love and fear and all the rest, were pressure packed inside her. She had to have release. Every cell screamed out for it. Her body was mindless in its pursuit of it.
It shocked her when it hit. Like freefalling. Her heart faltered. All the air left her body on a cry, dragged out from somewhere deep inside. Somewhere she hadn’t even realized existed.
Dan’s fingers dug into her waist, pushing her down onto his cock as he pressed up and came with a gasp.
They both lay still, slicked with sweat and silent, for a long time.
Her bones felt hollow, the whole world light and floaty. The noise had emptied her out. She pressed her forehead into his shoulder, letting the aftershocks have their way with her. Daniel’s ribs moved in and out between her knees, bringing her back to reality.
“Did I hurt your ribs?” she murmured.
Sweat slipped from his forehead, and he gave a small smile. “Forget my ribs. I can’t feel anything outside of good. My girl, I think you needed that.”
She could only nod her agreement. What she needed was him, but she wasn’t sure she could admit to it yet.
“I know I did,” he said. “And you were loud.”
She tensed. “I was?”
“Oh, yeah,” he laughed. She considered giving the strong column of his neck a nip but settled for a kiss instead. Partly to hide her face as it heated.
Dan trailed his fingers over the line of her spine, exerting pressure to hold her in place when she tried to rise. He brushed his lips against her ear, lulling her into a false sense of security as he mumbled, “Spectacularly loud. You’re a security risk. Finn had to have heard you.”
“I’ll have to be more careful. Finn’s listening to music.”
“Bullshit. He’s listening to you.”
“No. He’s not.” She frowned, carefully rolled off him and settled in against his side as he dealt with the condom. “You’re just trying to mess with me.”
Daniel smirked.
No way. Impossible. “Aren’t you?”
“Whatever you say.” He wriggled an arm beneath her neck and drew her in closer against the heat of his body. Summer nights be damned. “No teasing. That’s what I agreed to,” he said.
“Hmm.” A world of doubt filled the sound. He turned his head toward her, stared her down. “Dan. I don’t want him. I want you. You know that, right?”
“He’s a pretty boy. Smart. Lethal as hell. And most importantly, in my humble opinion, very keen on keeping you safe.” His hand stroked over her, trailing down to the curve of her hip and back up again. “Important things, especially these days. Well … pretty is overrated.”
Guilt bit her ample ass. Had she been flirting? Not with intent, most definitely, but still. His voice had not been accusing. It would be closer to say amused. Talk about confusing.
Ali wriggled out from her safe place against him, rose up on an elbow to better gauge the expression on his face. “Where is this coming from? Are you tired of me or something?”
