Fall To Pieces

by Jami Alden

  He shook off the crazy thoughts and pasted a smile on his face. "I'm thinking we better eat something so we'll have enough energy for round two."

  Chapter 11

  Sadie watched as he slipped from the bed, her eyes greedily taking in every tanned, muscled inch of him as he went to his dresser and retrieved a pair of shorts.

  "I'll be out in a second," she said, and waited for him to leave before she rose. Silly to be modest now, she realized, as he'd seen every inch of her up close and personal, but she'd never been terribly comfortable parading around in the nude.

  Speaking of... she bit her lip as she realized all of her clothes were scattered around the living room. She crossed to the small wooden dresser and rummaged through the drawers and pulled out a t-shirt. Olive green and emblazoned with the words "Army Strong," it hung halfway down her thighs.

  She went to the bathroom, mostly to freshen up, but also to gather herself before walking out into the bright lights of the kitchen. As she cleaned up she pushed back a niggle of disappointment at his glib response to her question about what he was thinking.

  Normally she cringed at asking a man that question, knowing how dreaded it was. But for a moment there, the look in his eyes had been so serious, so saturated with emotion. Once again, she'd gotten the feeling that he was on the verge of telling her something. Something important.

  Not that it was feeding time at the sex farm.

  She splashed cold water on her face and gave herself a mental shake. What, did you think he was going to confess his undying love? That the powers of your magic hoo-ha were enough to make him rethink his noncommittal ways?

  The smell of grilling meat and vegetables sautéeing greeted her as she walked down the short hallway to the kitchen. Her stomach growled, loudly.

  "Hungry?" He grinned over his shoulder as she padded into the kitchen.

  "Ravenous," she said, and reached over to the counter to tear off a hunk from the loaf of french bread resting there.

  His gaze ran over her t-shirt clad form from head to toe.

  "I hope you don't mind," she gestured to the t-shirt as she took a bite of the bread.

  "Not at all." His tongue flicked over his full lower lip as a hunger of an entirely different sort heated his gaze. "Looks a hell of a lot better on you than it does on me. So good I'm tempted to let this chicken burn to a crisp so I can remind myself how much better it looks off of you."

  Sadie chuckled and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "No way. You need to feed me or I'm likely to expire from all this exertion."

  He grinned and slid the chicken breasts from the grill pan onto two plates. "Can you think of a better way to go?"

  Sautéed peppers and broccoli joined the chicken breasts and they carried their plates over to the little table, where Dylan had already set out silverware, napkins, and a corked bottle of red wine.

  Fun. The word reverberated in her head as they ate their dinner, drank their wine, and talked about the day. And it was fun, sitting across from him, talking about things they'd discussed dozens of times over the past few weeks, but knowing that tonight was different.

  Knowing that tonight, after they finished their dinner and wrapped up their conversation, Dylan was going to take her back to that bedroom and rock her world all over again.

  And it was fun, catching his gaze, seeing the heat there, the desire he didn't bother to keep hidden.

  Had it been there all along?

  The thought sent a jolt of heat through her, and almost as quickly she reminded herself not to read anything into it. As much as she liked Dylan, she knew he lusted for a lot of women. His wanting to take her to bed didn't make her any more special than any of them.

  Fun. She knew for a fact he'd had a lot of fun with a lot of women.

  "You okay?" he paused with a bite of chicken halfway to his mouth.

  Sadie realized she must have been frowning. "I'm great," she said. And why shouldn't she be? She was sitting across from the most gorgeous man she'd ever met, her body still buzzing from the most amazing sex she'd ever had.

  And if she was reading his body language correctly, more of said sex would be happening very soon.

  So what if it would all end in a couple short weeks? she scolded herself. All the more reason to enjoy every second of this, however long it lasts.

  She drained the last of her wine and pushed away her empty plate. "That was delicious," she said and leaned back in her chair with a contented sigh.

  "Does this mean you're ready for dessert?" Something in the way his eyes glimmered told her he wasn't talking about ice cream.

  "Depends on what you're serving," she said with a grin.

  "I'm craving something hot, sweet, and juicy," he grinned back.

  "Sounds delicious."

  He reached around the small table, hooked his hand around one of the wooden slats in the back of her chair and pulled it around until it knocked into his. "Best thing I ever tasted."

  The flirty banter ended the second his mouth closed over hers. It didn't take much encouragement for her to crawl over onto his lap, her thighs splayed on either side of his hips as she rocked herself against the hard ridge of his cock tenting the front of his shorts. One big, callused palm stole under the hem of her shirt to cover her breast. Sadie moaned into his mouth as his thumb flicked over her nipple, making it harden even further.

  He shifted underneath her, and she gave a little cry at the friction of her bare, wet sex against the fabric of his shorts. He rocked again, sending a shock of heat rushing through her. And then, unbelievably...

  Her orgasm rippled through her, shocking her with its force and swiftness.

  He stilled against her. "Holy shit, did you just come?"

  She buried her face against his shoulder and gave a sheepish laugh. "Guilty." At his silence she lifted her head to look in his eyes, which held a slightly dazed expression. "I'm as surprised as you are, especially given how many times..." her voice trailed off before she started babbling about the fact that in the past, she'd had to work really hard, really concentrate to even have one orgasm a night.

  Much less... what was this? Three? Four?

  And hell, maybe he wasn't even surprised. Maybe big stud Dylan was used to handing out multiple orgasms like it was his job. Though his stunned exclamation seemed to counter that.

  As did what happened next.

  ###

  "Holy, fucking shit," Dylan said again, blood roaring in his ears as he sucked her tongue into his mouth, his cock straining so hard against his shorts it was a wonder he didn't rip through the fabric. He almost couldn't believe it, wouldn't have if he didn't still feel the lingering shudders rippling across her skin, couldn't feel the hot pulse of her sex.

  He loved the way her mouth opened so eagerly under his, hot and hungry like she couldn't get enough of him, even now. He couldn't ever remember being with someone so responsive, primed to go off like a rocket at his slightest touch.

  And the fact that she looked just as stunned at her own response... well didn't that just make him feel like king of the fucking universe.

  He scooped her into his arms and carried her back to the bedroom, need hitting him with such force it bordered on desperation. She stretched out against the rumpled sheets. The t-shirt had ridden up around her waist, offering him an unimpeded view of her pale, silky thighs and the slick, plump folds of her sex glistening in between.

  "God love Victoria's Secret," he muttered as he shoved his shorts down his legs, "but as far as I'm concerned you could gear yourself up in full push up bra and garter regalia and it wouldn't be half as sexy as you in that shirt."

  She grinned up at him and slid the hem of her t-shirt up further, until just the soft undercurves of her breasts were showing. "Care to test that theory? I'm pretty sure I have a push up bra and some thigh highs stashed somewhere."

  "Sounds like you need to dig them out," he said as he shoved his jeans down his legs and climbed onto the bed with her.

  "If
only for the purpose of research," she replied, her serious tone belied by the breathiness in her voice as he knelt between her legs.

  He wasted no time pulling the shirt the rest of the way over her head. He bent and sucked a nipple into his mouth, and her soft cry sent an electric current straight through to his cock.

  She rocked her hips against him, spreading her legs farther until he was nestled against her sex. He bit back a curse at the feel of her hot, slick folds against the bare skin of his cock. He thrust, sliding himself up and down, his groans echoing hers as his hard length skimmed the firm bud of her clit.

  He continued to move, bathing himself in her wetness, slowly driving them both insane as he slid against her in a caress that was so close and yet so far from what they both desperately needed.

  She lost patience first. "Dylan," she whispered hotly against his mouth. "I need more. I need you inside me."

  Before he could even answer with a hearty "hell yes," she was rolling out from underneath him and reaching for the bed side table, rummaging around until she found what she needed.

  He snatched the condom packet out of her hand, tore it open with his teeth and used one hand to roll it on with remarkable coordination given how much every inch of him was twitching with need.

  The other hand he flattened against the small of her back, stilling her when she would have rolled over onto her back.

  He urged her to her knees, mesmerized by the sight of her pale, firm ass tilted up, her legs parted just enough to give him a glimpse of the sweetness between, hot and wet and ready to receive him.

  He guided himself to her opening, his breath catching in his chest as he watched the thick head disappear inside her tight, pink flesh.

  They moaned in unison as he slid deep with one long stroke, burying himself to the hilt as she rocked her hips back to receive him.

  Then as though he hadn't already come twice, as though he had been without a woman for thirty years instead of thirty minutes, what little control he had crumbled.

  Gripping her hip so hard his fingers sank into the pale flesh, he took her in hard, deep strokes that had her moaning and clutching the sheets in her fists as her back arched to take him even deeper. It was raw, raunchy, and even hotter because he'd never expected it from Sadie.

  Never expected that her pussy would feel so tight, squeezing him hard as she slammed her hips back to take every stroke. Never imagined that she'd be on her knees, moaning for more, even as he gave her everything that he had. Never imagined he would reach between her legs as he thrust into her, making her come with one circle of his thumb.

  Never imagined that the feel of her pleasure pulsing around him, the knowledge that he made her come like no one else ever had, would send his own release crashing over him with the force of an RPG nailing him in the chest.

  Never imagined that after he came back down to earth, felt the pieces of himself fall back into place, he'd want to rain kisses over her shoulders, pull her tightly back against his chest so she wouldn't even think of slipping away like she had last night.

  Never imagined that the feel of her heartbeat against his chest, the sound of her breath as it slowed, would send him into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  He awoke, disoriented, hours later, trying to decipher what felt so off.

  The bedside lamp was still on, there was that, but that wasn't all of it.

  No nightmares. Though his brain was humming and his heart raced like it always did when he woke up in the middle of the night. But for the first time in he didn't know how long, he wasn't bombarded by blurry images and the feeling of dread that came from reliving those moments, always trying to change the outcome.

  Never succeeding.

  His fingers flexed, tingling at the sensation of the soft, giving flesh burrowing against his palm.

  And then, of course, there was Sadie. Still snuggled up against him, her back to his front, sleeping soundly even as he couldn't resist circling the pink bud of her nipple with his thumb.

  That was probably the most unusual thing in all of this. The fact that he was actually sleeping with a woman. He couldn't remember the last time that had happened.

  Even more unusual? That he didn't feel in the least bit horrified by it.

  Knowing sleep wouldn't return anytime soon, he slipped from the bed, careful not to disturb her. He couldn't help but smile at the sound of her sighing in her sleep as she stirred and buried her face more deeply in the pillow.

  He clicked off the light, closed the door softly behind him, padded down the hall, and set up his laptop on the kitchen table.

  Though the nightmares hadn't come to him tonight, he wanted to finish the journal entry he'd left unfinished the night before.

  Absorbed in his work, he lost track of time until he heard the sound of a door opening down the hall and soft footsteps in the hallway.

  Instinctively, he slapped his laptop shut, grabbed a book, and moved to the couch.

  "You couldn't sleep?" Sadie said.

  His lips curved as he took her in, her long legs once again sticking out from the hem of his t-shirt, her thick wavy hair mussed, her face soft and blurry looking from sleep. "Nah. I figured I might as well read."

  She walked a little closer. "I hope it wasn't because of me." Her fingers twisted nervously in front of her. "I didn't mean to crash like that."

  He set the book down, and rose from the couch. He walked over and took her hands in his, raised them to his lips and kissed the backs. "I've had problems sleeping since I got injured," he shrugged.

  "I've heard that happens to a lot of soldiers who spend a lot of time in combat. With everything you must have seen, I can imagine it makes it hard to sleep."

  As if on cue, a flurry of images flooded his brain. Bodies scattered on the ground, chests blown open, limbs blown off.

  "Dylan?" Her hand on his cheek snapped him back to reality. "What's going on in there?"

  Her dark eyes were wide, so full of concern he felt like he could lose himself in there for a lifetime. A rush of words surged in his throat as a crazy urge to tell her everything nearly overwhelmed him.

  He shoved it aside. It was his darkness to carry. Sadie hadn't signed up to help him shoulder the burden.

  "I'm fine," he said, forcing a smile. ""I think with me it started in the hospital, getting disturbed all the time. Besides," he said and bent to kiss her, "after the way I wore you out, it's no wonder you needed a nap."

  She smiled, her cheeks going bright red as her mind no doubt filled with the same images that were filling his. Heat pooled between his legs, and suddenly the only item on his agenda was getting her right back to bed.

  But before he could steer her back in that direction, she pulled her mouth from his and took a step away. "I should get back," she said reluctantly. "It's already after five, and June will be there at 6:30 to start breakfast."

  "Can't let anyone know you're fraternizing with the help," he teased as she went to gather her clothes off the floor.

  She gave him a sardonic look over her shoulder. "We're supposed to be having fun, right? Want to know what wouldn't be fun? My dad being privy to the details of my sex life."

  She retreated down the hall and it took all his willpower not to corner her in the bedroom and convince her to change her mind. The only thing that stopped him was the knowledge she was one hundred percent correct. Though Sadie was an adult and could make her own choices, the last thing he wanted was to be confronted by Jim Thornton and any potential questions he might have about Dylan's intentions toward his daughter.

  Especially when they mostly involved having sex with her as much as possible before he headed out for good.

  Sadie emerged a few minutes later, rumpled but fully clothed. He caught her on the way to the door and pulled her in for another kiss. "I'll see you later," he said, his tone leaving no question in later about his intentions.

  She coiled her arms around his neck, leaned up on her tiptoes and took his mouth in a kiss that had him going f
rom zero to sixty in about half a second. "You certainly will."

  ###

  The next couple of days were spent in much the same way. Dylan working in the hay meadows while Sadie stayed busy closer to the house. Though she was working her ass off, both on the final stages of Mary Derwin's project and tending to the horses, all on only a few hours of sleep, thanks to Dylan, she felt oddly energized.

  Like she'd been infused with light and boundless energy, capable of nearly anything.

  Who knew amazing sex could be such a miracle elixir?

  Even as her nights with Dylan quickly became the highlight of her days, she cautioned herself not to let herself get carried away. He'd been clear what this was—a little fun before he went back to his real life.

  Fun was all about the here and the now and reveling in the pleasure they could give each other. It wasn't about commitment, or questions about a future they wouldn't share.

  But damned if she didn't feel good. So good that even the prospect of meeting with Molly and untangling the headache that was the ranch's finances couldn't bring her down.

  Since Molly had to bartend in a couple hours, she'd told Sadie to meet her at Adele's. The strain in her friend's voice was enough to put Sadie on alert, but she reminded herself she'd already dealt with enough issues facing the ranch, surely she could handle whatever else got thrown at her.

  She walked through the dining room, empty this time of day after lunch service ended and before the bar opened. Molly was in the back, in the glorified closet that served as the restaurant's office.

  At Sadie’s greeting Molly turned from the computer and looked up at her with a strained smile as she reached for a stack of papers.

  "What are you so stressed about?" Sadie said and flopped down into a wooden dining chair in front of the desk.

  Molly opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it closed, her gaze narrowing on Sadie's face.