by Sandy James
She’d left.
Throwing his legs over the side, he ran his fingers through his mussed hair and glanced at the clock. Five minutes before they usually went for their Sunday morning run. He scrambled to find something to wear, hoping she would be waiting for him out front—hoping that she hadn’t run away because she was upset about something.
Last night had been the best sex of his life, but women could get a little… weird afterward. While she had been very vocal about enjoying herself, he couldn’t help but worry that something he’d said or done had made her go.
Grabbing a hoodie from a hook on his way through the mudroom, he breathed a sigh of relief when he found her stretching in her typical spot on the driveway.
He jerked on the hoodie. Instead of asking her why she hadn’t stayed in his bed, he made chitchat. “Kinda chilly this morning.”
Dani gifted him with a smile. “Yep. Autumn is definitely here.”
Thankfully, there was nothing awkward in the exchange. “What made you decide to run this morning?”
Subtle one, jerk. Why not come out and ask why she was gone when you woke up?
They were still the same people they were before last night. Or at least he hoped so. That had been his goal—that they’d know each other well enough that sex wouldn’t change things.
She shrugged. “You were snoring like a chainsaw, and I was wide awake. Besides, I’m a creature of habit.”
“That you are, sweetheart.” When he lunged forward to stretch, a yawn made his whole body shake. He hadn’t slept well, unaccustomed to having someone else in his bed. Dani was a restless sleeper, her constant movement something he’d have to get used to if they’d be sleeping together often.
As though reading his mind, she stepped closer, mimicking his lunge. “Last night was great. Sorry if I kept you up after, though. I’ve been told I flip and flop a lot.”
He thought about lying to her. “Just a little.” Damn if he didn’t yawn again.
“A helluva lot more than that. Beth won’t even share a hotel room with me anymore. None of the Ladies will. Of course, that always means I have privacy on our trips.”
“You were fine, Dani. But I am a little punchy.”
“I’m tired, too.” She stood and yawned as well. “I’m not sure if I’m up for a run this morning or not.”
Since Dani was an animal when it came to long runs, Nate frowned. “Something wrong?”
“Nope,” she replied sweetly. Then she moved closer and took his hand. “I was just thinking… Maybe we could try a little different kind of workout this morning. An indoor workout.”
Arching an eyebrow, he waited for her to explain.
“I thought we’d go up to my room, get hot and sweaty, and then share a shower. Might be a nice change of pace.”
As if he needed to be asked twice. He took her hand and dragged her back to the house.
They worked their way upstairs, discarding pieces of clothing along the way. By the time they reached her bedroom, he was down to his briefs while she fumbled her way out of her tight jog bra.
He’d seen the pink ribbon tattoo under her breast last night. He moved to her and traced it gently, then looked up. “Ink?”
“Beth, Jules, and I all got one to show support for Mallory a while back.”
Just one more reminder of the caring woman Dani truly was. Nate bent his head and briefly pressed his lips against the ribbon. “It’s beautiful,” he murmured.
A thought sobered him. “Shit. I need to run downstairs real quick and grab a condom.”
She grasped his arm when he tried to go. “Before you do that, maybe we should have a quick talk about… things.”
“Things?”
“You don’t need a condom. I’m on the pill.”
His heart skipped at the thought of enjoying Dani’s body without a condom between him and her wet heat, a pleasure he’d never known before. “I got tested for you.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “When I figured… when I hoped… things would get serious between us, I went to get tested. I wanted to be able to tell you that I was clean. Got a great report card, too.” He winked at her.
“After my last… um… Anyway, I had a test, too. Aced mine as well.” She put his hand on her breast.
Nate’s cock twitched in response.
“I’m fine with no condom if you are,” Dani whispered.
He answered her by swooping down to draw her nipple between his teeth, loving how she arched into him and held his head. After lavishing one breast with his attention, he shifted to the other, trying to be just as thorough. A soft purr rose from her chest.
She’d been so daring last night, and he was ready to return the favor. That, and he had such an overwhelming need to know all of her. Lifting her by the waist, he walked to the bed and set her down. Then he fell to his knees and roughly forced her thighs apart before burying his face against her core.
* * *
Dani let out a throaty moan and held on to Nate’s hair to keep herself grounded. The sensations he sent ripping through her—his tongue sliding between her folds, tickling her sensitive nub, delving into her—were almost more than she could bear. She drew her knees up, not even trying to stop the feral sounds spilling from her lips.
This pleasure was one she’d seldom been able to enjoy. The men she’d slept with had acted as though gifting her with this kind of intimate kiss was costing them dearly. Not Nate. No, he loved her so thoroughly she quickly found herself rising to a crescendo. Everything inside her tightened into a knot that was ready to unravel.
“C’mere, Nate. Please…” She tugged hard on his hair. “I want you.”
He stopped long enough to say, “No. Like this.” Then he became more intense, more insistent as he sucked gently on her bundle of nerves.
Dani gave him what he wanted, letting the waves of pleasure wash over her.
Nate kissed his way up her body, running his tongue around her navel and laving each nipple.
When she could finally draw a decent breath, she sat up on her elbows, her face close to his as he leaned over her. “That was amazing.”
“You’re amazing.” After a quick kiss, he took her hand and helped her to her feet.
Her legs trembled as she whipped back the quilt. “My turn to have fun. On your back, mister.”
“Anything the lady wants.” He crawled to the center of the mattress and flopped on his back. “What next?”
Crawling toward him, she smiled. “Now I’m going to make love to you.” She wrapped her fingers around his cock and stroked him.
His head fell back against the pillows. “That sounds like a wonderful plan.”
She loved his teasing and how easily they’d become comfortable with each other. He’d been right in insisting they develop the relationship first. She would never have felt so free with a man she didn’t know as well as she knew Nate.
“Thank you,” Dani said before she gave him a slow, lazy kiss.
When she finally pulled back to look into his eyes, he had a bemused expression on his face. “What are you thanking me for?”
“For caring enough about me to insist we wait to do this.” After she straddled his hips, she eased herself down on his erection until she’d taken him inside her.
“You’re wel—” His word turned into a growl when she squeezed her inner muscles tight. He settled his hands on her hips and thrust deeply, setting a fast and rather rough pace.
She caught his rhythm, loving how quickly her body responded to the feel of him deep inside her. It wasn’t long before she found herself again on the precipice of release, but she wanted him there with her.
Capturing his lips, she thrust her tongue into his mouth. When he squeezed her hips and groaned into her mouth, she let the feel of his hot seed spilling into her sweep her into another overwhelming orgasm.
Sated and happy, Dani made a quick trip to the bathroom and returned to the bed to wait while Nate made his own foray. Wh
en he crawled back into bed, she pulled the sheet over them and snuggled up against his side.
He brushed a kiss over her forehead. “I’m not sure there are any words to describe how great that was.”
She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “Ditto.”
“That was a helluva lot more fun than a run.”
“I guess we’ll have to make it a new Sunday habit.”
“Fine with me.” He let out a yawn. “Fantastic sex followed by a nap. When we wake up, I’ll take you to Yia Yia’s Pancake House.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Dani decided to follow his lead and be as honest with him as he always was with her. “I’d like you to start staying up here now. With me—that is, if you can stand me being a whirling dervish in bed.”
He chuckled. “Was that supposed to sound dirty?”
She made a fist and gently tapped his chin. “I’m being serious. I’ve got this king-size bed, and if we’re going to be doing this—”
“Making love?”
“Yeah. Then you might as well move upstairs. With me.”
“Are you sure you’re ready for that?” he asked.
“The only time you head to the basement is to sleep, right?”
“Right.”
“Then let’s make it official and really move in together.”
He thought it over longer than she’d expected. “I want to, sweetheart. But are you sure? Jules is waiting to start a search for a fixer-upper for me.” He shrugged. “I kinda put that on hold since I like your basement so much.”
“Then I’ll save her some work.”
“You’ve got to be sure,” he insisted. “I mean… now we each at least have a place to retreat for privacy.”
“We still will.”
“I will, since I’ll still have the basement. But if we share this bedroom…”
She leaned up on one elbow. “I don’t mind. We practically live together anyway. This really isn’t that big a change. Unless you don’t want to.”
“I want to… if I can have a bathroom drawer?”
“You can have your own vanity. There are two, after all. And there’s plenty of room in the closet.”
Nate cupped her neck and pressed his lips to hers. “If you’re sure this is what you want…”
Dani nodded.
“Then I’ll move a few things up later. After a good nap.”
“But remember the cardinal rule.”
“I know. No one can know. Only us.”
Chapter Eighteen
Dani shoved her empty containers into her thermal lunch bag. “Anyone have any big plans for the second week of fall break?”
Beth shook her head. “I’ll need every minute of that time to recover from our Chicago trip.”
“This year will be epic,” Mallory said. “Four of us, three days, two musicals, and a crap-ton of shopping.”
“And sheer exhaustion since I have to share a room with Dani.” Beth softened the rebuke with a wink.
“Sorry,” Dani couldn’t help but say. Since they’d decided to stay downtown for this year’s installment of their annual trip to the Windy City, the hotel costs were much higher than if they’d stayed in the suburbs like they usually did. Beth had reluctantly agreed to share a room with Dani. “I’ll try to behave.”
“I was teasing,” Beth said, picking up the remnants of her lunch. “There are two beds instead of us sharing a king. I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m really looking forward to this trip. You know how much I love Wicked.” She sealed her plastic bag full of crackers.
“Will this be the fifth or sixth time we’ve seen it?” Jules asked, wadding her fast-food bag into a ball and shooting it at the trash like a basketball. It banked off the wall and sank into the basket. “Swish.”
“The sixth for me,” Dani replied before knitting her brows at Beth. “Just crackers and peanut butter?” Since that was all Beth had eaten at lunch this week, Dani was worried her friend was trying yet another fad diet.
Beth just shrugged. “It’s all I had here, and I keep forgetting my lunch. Emma’s still such a handful in the mornings. I’m lucky to get her dropped off at day care and make it here on time.”
“If you’re like me,” Jules said, “your lunch is probably still sitting on the kitchen island. Mornings with kids can be such a joy.”
“Amen,” Beth said. “I might not have plans for the second week, but do any of you?”
“Ben and I are going to spend a couple of nights in Nashville,” Mallory said. “Indiana, not Tennessee.”
Jules smiled. “Connor and I did that last year.”
“Which is why I’m going this year.” Mallory dropped her silverware into her lunch container. “You raved about all the little shops and how beautiful the leaves were this time of year. I need to see it all for myself.”
“Is Amber going?” Dani asked.
Mallory shook her head. “She’s heading to stay with her mother.”
“I thought she hated Theresa.”
“They’ve come to a sort of truce,” Mallory explained. “I think Amber can stand a couple of days. So how about you, Jules?”
“Connor and I are taking the twins to Holiday World while it’s still fairly warm, at least jacket weather. Maybe we’ll get extra lucky and Indian summer will roll around while we’re there.” Jules settled her startling green eyes on Dani. “And how about you?”
Although Dani had mentioned to Beth that she might go on a mini-vacation with Nate, plans had changed. “Nate’s taking me to stay with his mom and stepdad for a couple of days.”
“Good thing you already know his mom. Shouldn’t be a big deal to meet her husband.” Jules’s tone was reassuring, which meant she’d picked up on Dani’s anxiety.
While Dani felt as if she and Nate were on solid ground in their relationship, she also worried about how Jackie, Mark, and Patrick were going to react when he finally told them that she and Nate were an official couple. She knew exactly how close he was to his family, and their reactions to his living in the basement suite hadn’t been good.
How would Jackie feel when she found out Nate had moved upstairs and was sleeping with his landlady—his older landlady, who also happened to be his boss?
Exactly as they’d promised each other, they had kept their relationship low-key and private. The Ladies and their men knew, but not too many other people. Oh, they might speculate. Douglas High ran on gossip, and Dani feared being the latest grease for those gears. They’d been very careful not to show too much affection in public, especially at school, which sometimes made her day difficult.
There were so many times she wanted to take his hand, to give him a quick kiss, or to see that sexy smile. She wanted to shout to the whole world that he was hers, to tell the young women on the faculty making goo-goo eyes at him that he was taken. The barely leashed jealousy was hard for Dani to admit, even to herself, because she knew exactly what it meant.
She was falling in love with him.
His patience in teaching her that their relationship was every bit as important as sex had kept her moving swiftly down the path to handing him her heart. Each day, he showed her that she mattered to him in a way no one ever had—except for the Ladies. They were sisters in Dani’s heart.
But Nate? Could he become her partner, her mate, the better half of her?
Since when had she started being so damned sappy?
“Dani?”
Beth’s concerned tone was sobering. “Sorry. A little lost in thought.”
“You’re nervous about spending time with Nate’s family.”
So like Beth to state the fact rather than pretend to ask. “Yeah, I am.”
“Just be yourself,” Beth advised. “They’ll love you just as much as Nate does.”
There was that word again. Love. Seemed to be hanging over her head like a storm cloud.
Dani thought about denying it, figuring if he hadn’t said he loved her, he obviously didn’t feel it. But his actions showed otherwise. The
way he worried as much about her pleasure as he did his own. The way he helped around the house without being asked. The way he always touched her whenever they were together—a quick kiss as he passed her in the kitchen or a shoulder rub after they ran together.
Could he really love her?
“Beth’s right,” Mallory said right before the tone ending lunch sounded. “Just be yourself. You’re a wonderful person.”
Jules hefted the strap of her heavy tote over her shoulder. “You’ve got a killer sense of humor. I’m sure they’ll love you.”
“See you,” Dani said, hanging behind, hoping for a quick moment alone with Beth.
Jules and Mallory left the lunchroom, talking to each other and not even looking back.
“What’s wrong?” Beth asked.
“You know me too well,” Dani said, a bit frustrated that she sounded so pitiful.
“Tell me. We’ve only got a few minutes, and I need to pee.” Her sweet smile belied her strict tone.
“Afraid I’ll need more than a few minutes,” Dani replied. “We’ll have tons of time to talk in Chicago.” She needed to sit down and think. Hard. She needed to decide what she should do now that she’d admitted how she felt about Nate.
“Are you sure?” Despite the sincerity in Beth’s voice, she quickly checked her watch.
“I’m sure. Let’s head to class.”
* * *
“Thanks for coming down, Dani,” Jim Reinhardt said. “I won’t keep you long.” He inclined his head at the door as he sat down behind his desk. “Could you please close the door?”
Dani’s heart skipped a beat. In her years at Douglas, there had been only one time she’d been summoned to a meeting in the principal’s office and asked to shut the door—and that had been bad news.
With a hand that trembled slightly, she pulled the door closed and took a seat across the desk from her boss, hoping he wouldn’t notice how nervous she felt.
“First, I wanted to give you a ‘that-a-girl.’ You’ve done a great job with the English department. The kids were more than ready for state testing, and I sure hope the numbers reflect the effort you and your teachers put into preparing.”
