Their eyes locked.
Dara grinned. “Let me guess…”
He pulled her closer. “Is that a no?”
“Of course not.”
“Good.” He kissed her lightly. “Because I’ve got something up my sleeve tonight.”
“Oh, do you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You going to tell me what it is?”
“Not while you’re dressed, no.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Now I’m definitely curious. Upstairs?”
“Upstairs.”
Dara took his hand and practically dragged him out of the kitchen. He laughed as he jogged up the stairs behind her. She had no idea what he had in mind, but evidently she wanted to find out sooner than later. He just hoped he didn’t disappoint.
In the bedroom, they didn’t waste any time. Before the last scrap of clothing had even hit the floor, he pulled her into a kiss, and they tumbled into bed together. Kissing, touching each other all over, his fully hard cock rubbing against her body—he was almost too turned on to be nervous about trying something new. But he’d promised himself he was going to do this tonight, and he’d already piqued her curiosity. No turning back now.
He gently rolled her onto her back, and couldn’t resist another moment of kissing her lips before he started down her neck. He paused at her collarbone, both to tease her and to keep his courage up. Then he continued, and as he trailed kisses downward, she tensed. With every soft kiss he planted on her skin, her breathing sped up. He flicked his tongue over her hip bone.
“Oh God…” Dara exhaled. He’d barely done a thing yet, and she was already trembling—now he really hoped he didn’t disappoint.
“You’ve been so focused on me.” He gently pushed her knees apart. “Seems like I should return the favor.” He settled between her legs and kissed the inside of her thigh, and her breath caught. When he glanced up, she was watching him, eyes wide. She bit her lip, and he thought she shivered as he pressed another soft kiss on her thigh, this one higher than the last.
Breaking eye contact, he continued upward. He was too nervous and too aroused to remember everything he’d read the other night, but he wasn’t about to stop.
Dara spread her legs a little wider, cursing so softly he barely heard her, but when he went down on her, the “holy shit” was loud and clear.
Tentatively, he explored her. The hair was slightly coarse, but he barely noticed it brushing his cheek or his lip. He was too busy teasing the lips of her pussy apart and working up the courage to focus on her clit. Her taste—a little sweet, a little tangy—sent electricity through him, as if his tongue were hard-wired straight to his balls. Why the hell had he been so intimidated by this?
Cautiously, he made a circle with the tip of his tongue.
She jumped. “Whoa, easy.”
Matt’s head snapped up. “You okay? Did I hurt you?”
“N-no. I’m fine.” She smiled. “Just sensitive. Be really gentle.”
“Noted.” He kissed the inside of her thigh, and then worked his way back to her pussy, in part to let her relax but also to rekindle his courage. There was a learning curve to all this. She hadn’t pushed him away and told him to forget it, so there was still time to get it right.
He explored her pussy all over again as if he’d never touched her like this before, driven by her soft little moans. Then he closed his lips around her clit, and with his tongue made an even softer circle than before.
“Oh, yeah,” she murmured. “Just like that.”
He kept the pressure the same but tried different things—circling one way, then the other. Figure-eights. Side to side. The circles, though, made her shake more than anything, so he stuck with that. Faster. Slower. Just a little bit harder.
“Fingers,” Dara murmured. “Use…use your fingers.”
Matt shifted onto one arm. It was awkward, especially while he was still trying to concentrate on what to do with his mouth, but as he slipped two fingers inside her, he was rewarded with a shudder and a low moan. Slowly, he moved them in and out, and once he had that motion down, he shifted his attention back to his tongue on her clit.
“Bend…”
He looked up, and she gestured in the air, crooking two fingers, so he did the same. Immediately, her pussy tightened around his fingers.
“Oh…my…God.” She rocked her hips, the same way she did when he fucked her, and he moved his hand in time with them, fucking her with his fingers while he kept working at her clit. His tongue and jaw were aching, but she was still enjoying the hell out of this, so he definitely wasn’t stopping.
Dara whimpered. Then her back arched, and her hips lifted off the bed as her pussy got even tighter, and as she cried out and thrashed, he was sure he was going to come right along with her.
With one last moan, she relaxed, sinking back onto the bed. She nudged his forehead. “S-stop.”
He stopped, and as soon as he’d sat up, she grabbed him by the neck and kissed him, dragging him back down onto the bed with her.
“Fuck me,” she panted, wrapping her legs around him. “Hard.”
She didn’t have to tell him twice—he was too damned turned on to think of anything other than being inside her. She’d also pulled him close enough that his cock was already in perfect position. He thrust into her—Jesus, she was soaked.
“Harder,” she begged, almost sobbing. “Please, harder.”
He sat up, held her hips in both hands and fucked her as hard as he could. Hard enough it had to hurt, but the cry she released was definitely not stop.
As he thrust, she worked at her clit with her fingers, and he was about to lose it—the second she touched herself, her pussy tightened around him.
Porn stars had nothing on the sounds she made—swearing, crying out, gasping. And the view was unbelievable. Dara, fully naked, eyes squeezed shut, her face and neck flushed, her breasts bouncing in time with his thrusts, her fingers working furiously on her clit while he fucked her.
And then her breath caught.
And her eyes flew open.
And she came.
Silently, but unmistakably, staring up at the ceiling with her lips apart but no air moving, she came, and the way she trembled and tightened and soundlessly fell to pieces drove Matt right over the edge. He forced himself all the way inside her and dropped into his arms, groaning and shaking right along with her.
Then he pulled out and dropped onto the bed.
Still panting, she turned to him. “Where…the hell…did you learn how to do that?”
“The Internet. Obviously.”
She laughed, and she sounded drunk. “The Google is strong in this one.”
Matt chuckled. “More educational than porn, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, and you helped too.”
She smiled, feeling around for his hand. As she clasped their fingers together, she said, “You’d be amazed how many people don’t listen. If a woman gives you a suggestion, and you take it? You’re golden.”
“So I see.”
“And for the record,” she slurred, “you were doing just fine on your own.”
“Really?”
“Oh, baby. Yes. You could be absolutely broke, unemployed and sleeping on your mom’s couch. If you can do what you just did?” She gave him a thumbs-up. “You won’t have any trouble with the ladies.”
“Is that what the trick is?” He shifted onto his side. “Damn. Someone should really tell people—”
“No, no. Shh.” She put her finger to his lips. “If you tell people, you’ll lose your advantage.”
Matt laughed. “Noted.”
She smiled. “And you have got to be the first man in the universe to make a girl come the very first time he did that.”
“Well, to be fair”—he kissed her finge
rs—“I did have some guidance.”
“Uh-huh.” She licked her lips and met his gaze. “Did you enjoy it?”
“Are you kidding?” He grinned. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Really?”
“Some guys are just”—she shrugged—“not into it. Or grossed out by it.”
“Uh, no. Not me.”
“Good. And you’re damn good at it, but any time you want to practice, just for the hell of it? You just say the word.”
Matt smirked. “How unselfish and altruistic of you.”
“Everything I do is unselfish and altruistic. Giving you the opportunity to make me come so hard you have to peel me off the ceiling is one of the many services I offer.”
He laughed.
She batted her eyes. “What?”
He just wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “Never change, Dara.” He kissed the top of her head. “Never, ever change.”
Chapter Twenty
“You don’t see skies like this over Los Angeles.”
“Ditto with Chicago.”
Dara smiled, gazing up at more stars than she’d seen in years. “All the more reason to leave those places behind.”
“Amen.”
They were lying back on a blanket in the bed of Matt’s truck, staring up at the star-scattered night sky.
She laced her fingers behind her head. “What was Chicago like, anyway?”
“Cold. Crowded. Windy as fuck.” He chuckled. “If I never have to sit in Chicago traffic again, it’ll be too soon.”
“Oh, tell me about it. When I first got back to Aspen Mill, I’d just drive around randomly because it was such a novelty to not get caught in some eight-hundred-mile backup.
Matt laughed. “Yeah, I may have done the same thing.”
“That wasn’t just to show off the Ferrari, was it?”
“No, no. I barely drive it out here, to be honest.” He tapped his knuckle on the side rail. “Nothing quite like a good old truck, you know?”
“That’s the Matt I know. I thought about getting one too, but… I don’t know, this was the first car I’ve had in years that my mother didn’t have anything negative to say about.”
“Lucky you. Mine thinks the Ferrari is just a sign that I refuse to grow up.”
“Refuse to grow up?” She rolled her eyes. “How much more grownup can you get than having enough money to buy a car like that?”
“No idea.” He paused. “And do you ever feel weird buying stuff like that?”
“I can’t say I’ve ever bought a car for a quarter million dollars.”
“No, no. I mean buying cars. Furniture. Houses.” He shook his head. “I bought a damned couch last year, and part of me was like, what the hell? Buying furniture is what adults do. When did I become an adult, and who the fuck let that happen?”
Dara laughed aloud. “Right?” She sobered, though, as she added, “Sitting down with a divorce attorney is a quick way to realize you’re an adult, though.”
“I can imagine.”
She shook herself. “And then I go straight from the divorce attorney’s office to the parking lot, call my mom and feel like I’m five years old again.”
Matt groaned, nodding in the low light. “I know exactly what you mean. I can buy all the couches and sports cars in the world, but a little disapproval from my mother puts me right back in my place.”
“Makes you wonder why we keep trying for approval.”
“Amen to that.”
Dara sighed. “Between you and me, if it weren’t for the baby, I would’ve stopped trying with my mom.” She cringed a little, loathing how pathetic she sounded. “But I’m kind of scared, you know? I’ve read all kinds of books on babies, and I still feel like I know nothing.”
Matt blew out a breath. “I know the feeling. Every time I finish one, I feel like I know even less.”
Dara turned to him, his profile barely visible in the darkness. “You’ve been reading too?”
“Yeah.” He laughed so softly, it would’ve been inaudible of there’d been even the slightest breeze. “Almost makes you wonder how we’ve survived all these generations without these stupid books.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” She looked up at the sky again. “Do you think we’re overthinking everything?”
“I’m sure we are. And that’s part of why I’ve been biting my tongue with my mom too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, it’s not just the will and all that bullshit anymore. As my sister pointed out, sometimes you need someone who’s been there, done that. Like when the baby’s got a fever at three in the morning and you don’t know if you should go to the ER.”
Dara shuddered. “She’s right.” She rubbed a hand over her face and sighed. “And I have no doubt that my folks would move heaven and earth to help with the baby.”
“Mine too,” he whispered.
“Honestly, I’d have told my mom to bite me a long time ago if things were different. But there’s the baby, and also…” She closed her eyes. “Coming back from LA, I was alone, you know? My marriage was over. Most of my friends in California were, well, I guess it’s true that you find out who your friends are when things go to shit.”
“Yeah, that’s very true.” Matt slipped his hand into hers and squeezed gently. “I managed to keep some distance from my parents before I came back to town too, but it was the same deal—I was going through some bad shit, and I needed that support.”
“Exactly. Me too.”
They both fell silent, and it lingered for a while.
Out of the blue, Matt said, “Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we’d dated back then?”
Dara looked at him in the darkness. “What?”
“I mean, let’s say hypothetically that we did date. And we were still dating after college. It probably wouldn’t have worked.” He lifted his head and scratched the back of his neck. “From the time I graduated college until I retired, I wasn’t somebody you wanted to be with.” Settling back onto the blanket, he added, “I wasn’t somebody anyone wanted to be with. And all I can think is that if we’d given it a shot…”
“We wouldn’t be speaking now?”
Matt sighed, and he nodded slowly. “I managed to lose you anyway, but we’re…” He met her gaze. “We’re more okay now than I think we would’ve been if we’d dated.”
She turned her attention back to the night sky. “I guess there’s really no way to know. Maybe we would’ve worked out. Maybe we wouldn’t have.” She paused. “Maybe we never would’ve had that stupid fight.”
He held her hand a little tighter. “Yeah. Maybe.”
The silence set in again, and it wasn’t as comfortable this time. She didn’t like being alone with thoughts of the last night she and Matt saw each other in their past lives.
She swept her tongue across her lips. “You were right about Charlie, by the way.”
His fingers twitched between hers. “What?”
“The night before I went to LA. When we had that stupid fight.” She sighed. “You were right about him. He was an asshole, and he—”
“I didn’t want to be right,” he said softly. “I just wanted you to be okay.”
“I know. I just wish I’d seen that back then.” She touched his arm and gazed at him, though she could still barely see him. “And I’m sorry. For disappearing completely.”
“It went both ways. I could’ve picked up the phone or sent an e-mail too.” He winced. “I don’t even know why I didn’t.”
“You were working.”
“That’s no excuse. I let a lot of things in my life slide during that time. I lost touch with friends. I didn’t take care of myself.” He put his hand over hers. “And I didn’t take the time to make one damned phone
call to my best friend. For that, I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “I guess we can’t go back and fix it, but I’m glad we’re friends again now.”
Matt squeezed her hand. “So am I.”
She turned toward the sky again. “It’s amazing how things have changed, isn’t it? After all that time, here we are. And it feels like we’ve been this way all along.”
“Yeah, it kind of has. Hard to believe it’s only been a couple of weeks.”
“Tell me about it.” Dara blew out a breath. “The last few months have gone by super fast, and it feels like forever at the same time. Less than four months ago, I was married and pretty damn sure the embryo transfer was going to turn out just like it had the last few times. And then within a week, Jon was out the door and I was pregnant and…” A lump rose in her throat. Wiping her eyes, she muttered, “Fuck.”
Matt ran his hand up her arm. “I think anyone would be overwhelmed. You’ve been handling it better than most people would.”
She sniffed, then exhaled slowly. “I don’t really have much choice.”
“Still.”
“Well, it is what it is.” She shrugged for no one’s benefit but her own. “And it’ll work out. Once everything calms down, I think it’ll be for the best anyway.”
“The divorce, you mean?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Can I ask you something personal?”
“Go ahead.”
“When your ex-husband…” Matt hesitated. Then, “How was your marriage before he left?”
She raised an eyebrow in the darkness. “Are you asking if it was really that much of a surprise that he left?”
“Uh, kind of. I guess.” He cringed. “It sounds a bit dickish like that, though.”
“Not really. And it wasn’t. We weren’t in a good spot. Hadn’t been for a long time. I stupidly thought it was just both of us being frustrated with getting pregnant, and with the stress of him being laid off.” She swallowed hard. “Looking back, though, the signs were there.”
“Really?”
Dara cringed. “He liked to be in control. Of everything. That’s why I couldn’t stay in LA after we split—I had no support system whatsoever in that town because all our friends were mutual friends. Or, I should say, I was ‘friends’ with the wives of his friends, but I didn’t have anyone of my own.”
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