by Susan Stoker
“Are you all right, Smalls?”
“Yeah.” She brought her index finger to her clit and slowly massaged it, closing her eyes and imagining it was his finger on her body instead.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” Bryn kept her eyes closed and her finger moving as she caressed herself.
“Are you touching yourself?”
Dane’s voice had lowered even more and Bryn breathed out a small moan as she pressed against her clit harder. Too lost in pleasure to filter her words, she said, “Yeah.”
“Jesus, Smalls. You’re killin’ me. I can picture it. Laying there on your bed, stroking yourself as you talk to me. I bet you’re beautiful…and soaking wet. Are you naked?”
“No,” Bryn managed, moving her finger quicker. It was as if he knew what his voice did to her, because he kept talking, pushing her faster and faster toward her peak.
“That’s so sexy. I can just imagine what you look like, your hand pressed inside your panties, flicking over yourself. If I was there, I wouldn’t be able to see anything but your hand moving under your clothes. Fuck, that image will be burned in my brain forever. You close, Smalls?”
She was. Really close. “Keep talking,” she ordered Dane, wanting his deep voice in her ear to push her over the edge.
“You like the sound of my voice? Like knowing that you’re driving me crazy imagining what you’re doing right now? The luckiest day in my life was when you saw me in the grocery store, Bryn. I’m so fucking thankful you gave me another chance. You’ve inserted yourself into my life so deeply, I can’t imagine you not being there. You make me want to be a better person. I can’t wait to—”
Bryn groaned softly as she flew over the edge. She kept stroking herself as her orgasm peaked. She vaguely heard Dane still speaking through the phone into her ear, but had no idea what he was saying. It wasn’t until she took a deep breath to try to get herself under control that she understood him.
“God, that was so fucking hot, Bryn. You’re so sweet. Thank you for sharing that with me.”
“You’re welcome?” It came out more a question than a comment.
“Yeah. I know we haven’t been dating for all that long, but you trusting me enough to share that with me means the world. But you should know something.”
When he didn’t say anything else, Bryn tentatively asked, “What?”
“I’m gonna want to see you do that sometime. Now, you want doughnuts?”
Bryn cleared her throat and moved up until her back was resting against the headboard again. She knew she was blushing bright red, but she couldn’t bring herself to entirely care. She hadn’t planned on masturbating over the phone with Dane, but when she’d pictured him lying in his own bed, and hearing his voice, she couldn’t stop herself.
“Yeah, I want doughnuts.”
“Get up and get dressed, Smalls. I’ll be there in a little while.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it. Dressed. Jeans, bra, T-shirt. Maybe even a sweatshirt. I’m strong, but I’m not sure I could handle it if you came to your door in your sleep shirt and panties.”
“Are you going to kiss me?”
“Yeah, Bryn. I’m going to kiss you. When the time is right for both of us. Then I’m going to make love to you.”
“I’m ready,” Bryn insisted.
“I’m not,” Dane retorted immediately. “I want to be the kind of man you can be proud of. The kind of man who can take you out to eat and not freak out. The kind of man who doesn’t give a shit if he only has one hand. I’m not there yet. I’m trying, and you make me want to try harder. But sweetheart, listening to you breathe my name as you came just now gave me even more incentive to get there. Knowing you spent the time to research phantom pain and talk to an expert about it gives me even more. And knowing that the first thing you did when you woke up this morning was lean over, pick up your phone and dial my number so you could share what you learned, was the best wake-up call I’ve ever gotten in my entire life. So, yeah, I’m gonna kiss you, Smalls. I’m gonna kiss every inch of your body and let you kiss me the same way.”
“Okay.” Bryn wanted nothing more than to stroke herself at his words, but knew that wasn’t why he was saying them.
“So…thirty minutes? You’ll put clothes on?”
“Yeah, Dane. I’ll be here.”
“Thank you for the wake-up call, Smalls. I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Bryn clicked off the phone and closed her eyes for a moment. She was mortified, turned on, and scared out of her mind all at the same time. Taking a deep breath, she twisted her body and put her feet on the floor. She needed a shower if she was going to see Dane this morning. Smiling, and feeling more feminine than she ever had before in her life, Bryn entered her bathroom more than ready to start her day…with a doughnut and spending time with Dane. Life was good.
Chapter Twelve
Dane looked over at Bryn and smiled. They were sitting on his couch, taking a break from another episode of Mythbusters. They were into season four and her interest hadn’t waned one bit. Rosie had given Bryn the afternoon off after seeing her talking with Dane. He’d been a regular visitor to the library, and the older woman had obviously recognized that he was doing his best to court Bryn.
Bryn was an intriguing woman to get to know. Most people tried to pretend they didn’t see his prosthetic…not Bryn. When she saw people staring at him, she called them on it. When kids would make comments, she’d engage them in conversation and even pull him over to them so they could see his prosthetic up close and personal.
She made him feel like there was absolutely nothing wrong with him, until he’d started to believe it himself. They hadn’t repeated the incident from two weeks ago, when she’d masturbated to the sound of his voice, but he could see the desire in her eyes every time she looked at him.
He’d been holding back because…he wasn’t sure exactly why. Maybe it was because he was afraid sex between them would be awkward. He hadn’t tried to be with a woman since his accident. Figuring out where to put his hand and elbows would be strange.
But if he was honest with himself, he knew exactly why he was going slowly with Bryn. As much as he wanted inside her, he was enjoying the anticipation a hell of a lot. He hadn’t ever put this much energy into courting a woman before, and the longer he waited with Bryn, the better it was going to be. He knew it.
“Are you sure you don’t need to go down to Coeur D’Alene today?” Bryn asked. “We could go to that grocery store and get you some organic stuff. I know you liked the gluten-free bread I served with dinner the other night.”
“I did. But I’d rather spend the time with you.”
Bryn cocked her head and examined him. “Is it still bad?”
Dane would never get used to the way Bryn didn’t just look at him, she looked at him. She saw things no one else had bothered to see before…other than Truck. “It’s better. Slowly but surely, it’s getting better. I appreciate you shopping with me every weekend. It helps.”
“Well, I get more out of it than you, I think. I don’t have to worry about my car dying when I’m down in the city and you keep me from giving all my money to the beggars. Win-win for me.”
Dane smiled and ran his index finger down her cheek.
“Do you have any friends?”
“Friends?”
“Yeah,” Bryn said easily. “I mean, I know why I don’t have that many. I’m too weird. People can’t stand to be around all my babbling and facts. But you? You’re beautiful, smart, and a hero. But I don’t see you with anyone.”
“I’m not beautiful. Women are beautiful, men are handsome.”
“Nope. You’re beautiful. You’re all like,” Bryn waved her hand in front of him, encompassing his entire body, “hard where you should be hard and scruffy and…simply beautiful.”
Dane wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to that, so he let it go. “I have friends, Br
yn. Just not here. Truck calls me when he can.”
“Who else? You have to have more than one friend.”
“Yeah. The group of men who died in the same explosion that took my arm were my friends. I hadn’t realized how much I’d miss them. But then Truck and his close-knit team kinda browbeat me into life again. So now they’re my friends too.”
“Do they have fun names like Truck?” Bryn asked.
“I’m not sure ‘fun’ is the word, but yeah, they have nicknames. Ghost, Fletch, Coach, Hollywood, Beatle, and Blade.”
“Cool. Do you?”
“Do I what, Smalls?”
“Have a nickname?”
“Yeah. It’s Fish.”
“Fish…hmmm, you a good swimmer?” Bryn asked.
With no conceit, Dane said, “The best.”
“I’d like to see that sometime.”
“When the weather gets warmer, I’d be happy to go swimming with you, Smalls.”
“Me too.”
“And getting back to the topic, you’re my friend now too. Aren’t you?”
Bryn didn’t respond right away, merely kept her intense gaze on his for a beat. Then she smiled. One so big that Dane almost flinched from the brightness of it. “Yeah. I’m your friend.”
“Good. And Bryn. You’re not weird. I thought we’ve been over this.”
“Different then.”
“Different maybe. But anyone who can’t see past your differences to the amazing woman you are underneath, doesn’t deserve to have a friend like you. You’re the kind of friend who only comes along once in a blue moon. The kind of friend who would drop everything if someone called for help. Unselfish, caring, kind, and interesting. I’ve learned more being around you than anyone else I know. I love that about you.”
Bryn bit her lip, then smiled shyly. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. How long have we known each other?”
“Thirty-seven days.”
Dane smiled. He should’ve guessed Bryn would know to the day how long it’d been. “Right. And in all that time, through all the time we’ve spent together, has there been anything you’ve wanted to ask me, but haven’t?”
Dane loved the way Bryn always spoke whatever she was thinking about, but lately he had a feeling she was holding something back. And he hated it. It was getting harder and harder to go slow with her, but he’d promised himself he wasn’t going to rush their relationship…but with every day that passed, he wanted her more and more.
When she continued to stare at him, he coaxed, “Come on, Smalls. We’re friends. I want you to be honest with me.”
“Whyhaven’tyoukissedme?” The words were all jumbled together, so it came out as one word. Then she went on. “I mean, I see the way you look at me sometimes, and that one morning on the phone…I thought maybe…” Her voice trailed off and she lowered her head and picked at a thread on the bottom of her jeans.
“Look at me, Smalls,” Dane ordered. When she didn’t lift her head, he put a finger under her chin and pressed upward lightly. When she finally met his eyes, he continued, “I haven’t kissed you because I don’t trust myself.”
“What?”
“I don’t trust myself,” he repeated. “You are so amazing and I’ve never been attracted to someone as much as I am to you.”
“Then why?”
“Because I know once I get a taste of your lips, I’m not going to be able to hold back any longer. I’ll want more. I’ll want you under me, over me, and I’ll want to lose myself in you. I’m trying to go slowly. I’ve enjoyed hanging out with you. Watching TV, shopping, sitting in the library, watching you work.”
“How’s that working? Is it helping you be more comfortable in public?”
Dane smiled at her change in subject. It was typical of her. She was always worried more about him than herself. “Yeah, Smalls. When I have you to concentrate on, it helps keeps me grounded.”
“I’m glad.”
“So, to answer your question straight out, I want to kiss you. And I will. And so you know, once I finally have your lips on mine, it’s only a matter of time before I’ll take you to bed.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Dane?”
“Yeah, Bryn?”
“I don’t want to rush you or anything, but I’m ready for that. As soon as you are, I am too.”
Dane smiled, picked her hand up and kissed her palm. “Good to know. Want to start another episode?”
“Yeah. Next up is the steam cannon episode…where they try to figure out if Archimedes could’ve made one. I love how they make sure the shows aren’t too deep for people by mixing the more science-y myths with funny ones. I can’t wait to see the results of whether the cardboard the cereal box is made of is more nutritious than the sugar crap that’s inside it.”
Dane chuckled and leaned back into the corner of the couch and picked up the remote. “Come ’ere, Bryn.”
She scooted over and leaned against him, pulling his left arm around her until his stump rested on her hip. Her eyes were fixated on the screen as the opening credits of the show rolled.
Dane sighed in contentment and ignored his hard-as-nails dick. He lowered his head to inhale her unique scent and smiled when his cock twitched once more. One sniff of her coconut shampoo and he was up and rarin’ to go.
Paying more attention to the woman at his side and how she felt against him rather than the television, Dane thanked his lucky stars that he was sitting there with Bryn. He knew as well as anyone that if he hadn’t met her, his life could’ve been very different. She’d helped him deal with his post-traumatic stress and made him feel like a man again. The fact that she didn’t see him as less than a man was a miracle. One he wasn’t going to let slip out of his hands.
Chapter Thirteen
Bryn picked up the phone absently, her mind still on the math problem she was trying to solve. She’d found it online in a chat room where everyone was talking about how it was impossible. Saying that had been like waving a red cape in front of a bull.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Smalls. What are you up to?”
“Math.”
Dane chuckled in her ear. “Can you take a break?”
“I’m able to. But don’t really want to.”
“Truck and his friends are coming over. They’ll be here in about twenty minutes or so.”
Bryn’s mind suddenly snapped to Dane. “What? Here? As in here, here?”
“Yeah. Here in Rathdrum. They’ll only be here for a day and a half. So I’m having a cookout tonight to celebrate. Want to come over and meet them?”
Bryn’s first thought was to say yes immediately, but a part of her was still very scared that his Army buddies wouldn’t like her. That she’d say something totally off the wall and alienate them. And if his friends didn’t like her, then maybe Dane would have second thoughts.
As if he could read her mind, Dane said in a soft voice, “Bryn. Trust me.”
“Okay. What time?”
“I’ll come get you.”
“I can drive out there.”
“I know. But I’ll come get you anyway.”
“Dane, seriously, your friends are on their way, it’s not cool to leave them there while you come into town to get me.”
“Smalls. They’re adults. The Army trusts them with multimillion-dollar equipment and they’re responsible for the lives of hundreds of other men and women they fight with. I think they’ll be okay in my house for the thirty minutes it might take for me to come into town, get you, and return.”
She heard the smile in his voice and gave in. “Okay. Now’s good. Because if you give me time, I’ll get lost in this equation I’m trying to solve again and then I’ll be grumpy if you interrupt me.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Dane?”
“Yeah, Smalls?”
“What should I wear?”
He didn’t make fun of her for asking. “Jeans, sneakers, T-shirt with
a sweater, or sweat-shirt, or something. It’s chilly outside.”
“Okay. I can do that. See you soon?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”
“Drive safe.”
“Always.”
“Bye.”
“Bye, Bryn.”
Bryn hung up the phone and sat at the table, looking off into space. She didn’t know much about Truck or his friends, because she simply hadn’t asked. She wanted to know all about them, but was afraid if she knew too much, and they ended up not liking her, it would hurt knowing what she was missing out on.
Pushing back from the computer, Bryn hurried to get changed. She wanted to be ready when Dane got there.
Twenty minutes later, she was in Dane’s truck and they were headed back to his house.
“Tell me their names again,” Bryn demanded. “And a little about each one.”
Without seeming to get irritated with her, Dane said, “Ghost is the leader of the group. He’s the most watchful out of all the guys, but he’s also not afraid to jump in when the shit hits the fan. Fletch recently got married to a woman he met because she was living in the garage over his apartment. They have a six-going-on-eighteen little girl, Annie. She reminds me of you in a lot of ways.”
“She does?”
“Yeah. She’s smart. Really smart. And quirky. She wants to be a professional soldier when she grows up, just like her daddy. Everyone she meets loves her on sight.”
“I love that for her,” Bryn said a little wistfully. When she was growing up, people just seemed to be irritated and weirded out when they met her.
As if he could read her mind, Dane reached over and squeezed the back of her neck briefly, then put his hand back on the stick shift. “Then there’s Coach. He’s tall, slender, and almost had his face bashed in by a bird when he was parachuting with the woman who would become his girlfriend.”
“God. He’s okay though?” Bryn asked.
“Yup. He and Harley are doing great. Solid. Then there’s Hollywood. He’ll be the one who looks like a fucking movie star. But don’t say anything about it. He’s kinda sensitive.”
