by Amy Andrews
‘Danny!’ she demanded again.
He didn’t usually operate this way. He always gave pleasure before he took it. Always. But the caveman in him was emerging with Sophie’s desperate urgings and he felt his desire surge to new heights. There was something passionate about a woman wanting you inside her this badly.
He pushed her pants aside impatiently and groaned into her mouth as he plunged his fingers into her heat.
She practically screamed into his mouth and he felt her legs buckle. He quickly shoved her further up the wall.
‘No. Please, Danny. This. I want this,’ she breathed, pushing him to her entrance, squirming and grinding her hips against his swollen erection.
He entered her in one swift movement, no longer able to deny his body or hers the thing they both wanted. He heard her cry out and almost roared in triumph as her tightness captured him and stroked him. He kissed her harshly, brutally almost, as her wild urgings and moans hurtled him close to his release.
There was something incredibly primitive and ardent about their act. Her head bumped against the glass as each thrust drove her against it. The silver butterfly moved in unison as he yanked her shirt aside and feasted on an engorged nipple.
Sophie was a whimpering mass of nerve endings. Her eyes rolled back as the pressure inside her was caressed by each masterstroke from Daniel. His wet mouth taunting her nipple was almost too much to bear and Sophie knew she was going to faint from the sheer sating of her need.
She cried out as the unbearable pressure ruptured and released inside her. The pleasure wave surged through her with all the power and force of a tornado. She heard and felt him as he joined her and together they rode the almighty heights as it took them to the stars and back.
It took an age to float back down to earth. Their ragged breathing was the only noise in the room. Daniel had slumped against Sophie, his chest heaving, his head burrowed into her shoulder as her sated body relaxed against him and he supported her weight.
They were still joined. He could still feel her internal muscles as they sporadically pulsed around him. It felt incredibly erotic and made it impossible for his erection to settle. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined it could be this good.
Their breathing took for ever to settle. Sophie could feel Daniel still hard inside her, the length of him teasing her already sensitive nerve endings. She could feel her arousal build again, her release of a few moments ago already not enough. It had been two long years and she didn’t want to let go of this moment. Not yet.
She moved against him and felt his instantaneous response.
‘Sophie,’ he moaned into her shoulder.
She kissed his head, her face caressed by the soft, fine hair, and moved again.
‘Sophie.’ His voice held a desperate strangled note and he raised his head to look at her.
‘More,’ she said huskily.
‘More?’
‘More,’ she said, and moved again as she lowered her head and gave him a deep lingering kiss.
‘Not like this,’ he said, releasing her and lowering her to the floor.
‘Please, Danny,’ she whispered. She needed him again.
‘My way this time,’ he whispered back, kissing her swollen mouth and swinging her up into his arms.
He placed her gently on his bed, kissing her deeply before pulling away and stripping off his clothes. He helped her off with hers and it was the most amazing feeling to be totally naked with her again. Just like old times. She was looking at him like she always had—with pure desire. And he felt the thrumming of his blood pound in anticipation.
He took his time, rediscovering every inch of her body. All the places that made her shiver, the ones that made her skin goosy and the ones that made her cry out loud. Her neck, her knees, her breasts and finally her moist centre.
When her orgasm arched her back and tore through her body it was his mouth that swallowed her cries and his mouth that kissed her eyes as tears fell on her cheeks and his mouth that covered hers with tiny butterfly kisses until the last whimper had left her lips.
And then, just as she was getting her head around the mind-blowing pleasure he had unleashed upon her, she felt his erection nudging her as he pushed himself into her. She took him to the hilt, kissing him, and a surge of moisture inside her caused him to groan into her mouth.
‘Sophie,’ he muttered, breaking away from her kiss.
‘Oh, yes, Danny,’ she whispered, opening her eyes to find him staring at her, his blue eyes glazed with passion.
‘Sophie,’ he muttered again, incredibly turned on by her flushed cheeks and the swollen moistness of her bottom lip and the look of complete abandonment.
‘Don’t stop,’ she begged, hypnotised by the passion in his stare.
His breathing became rough and unsteady again with each stroke into her tightness.
‘Oh, Danny. Yes. I’m—I’m…’
‘Me, too,’ he breathed, feeling his body start to tremble uncontrollably as he claimed her mouth and with one final thrust brought the sky shattering down around them.
Sophie felt like she’d left her body as the pleasure undulated through her. Sharp and intense at first and then deep and slow as the first manic surge ebbed. She could hear their mingled cries somewhere below her but her thundering heartbeat obliterated all other noises.
And somewhere between flying up into the stratosphere and floating back to the ground, Sophie realised the horrible truth. She still loved him. Nothing had changed. It was just like old times.
Making love to him was one thing but falling in love? That was going to be a lot harder to rationalise.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THEIR breathing settled more quickly this time and Sophie felt a malaise invade her bones. Daniel took a couple of deep breaths and slowly pushed himself away from her. They stared at each other wordlessly, their breathing almost normal.
‘What happens now?’ Daniel asked.
Sophie shrugged and licked her lips and noticed the flare in Daniel’s eyes as he followed the motion. What had they done? How were they ever going to be brother and sister-in-law again?
‘I don’t know, Daniel,’ she said, sitting up and dragging the sheet around her. ‘I don’t have a guide book about what to do after you’ve just had sex with your dead husband’s brother.’
She hadn’t meant it to sound so callous but she couldn’t remember ever feeling this confused. Not even after he had so suddenly rejected her all those years ago. How could they have done this again and how could she have been in love with him all these years and not realised it? But she knew without a doubt that she’d never stopped loving him.
He flinched at the harshness of her words. Wasn’t he more than that? He watched as she avoided looking at him—she regretted it already. He nodded slowly. ‘We shouldn’t have done it,’ he said matter-of-factly, massaging his temples.
She closed her eyes as his words wounded—he regretted it already. Oh, God! She couldn’t bear a repeat of the recriminations that had happened when they had succumbed to temptation hours after Michael’s funeral.
Sophie felt herself becoming angry. She wanted to yell, Of course we shouldn’t have done it, but I love you, you idiot, and it’s not how I loved your brother. It’s all-consuming, it’s in every cell of my body and every fibre of my being. It even hurts to breathe when I think about it.
‘Of course we shouldn’t have,’ she said into the silence because she’d be damned if he’d hurt her with his words again. She was getting in first this time. ‘Maybe if you hadn’t taken advantage of my vulnerability, it wouldn’t have happened at all.’
‘I’m sorry?’ Daniel’s fingers stilled. What exactly did she mean by that?
‘I was upset about Beryl…you knew that.’
‘No. Wait. I didn’t do anything that you didn’t want me to do. Begged me to do.’ His blue eyes glittered dangerously.
She had made him angry. Good! Maybe he could taste some of how she was feelin
g.
‘I was grieving, Daniel. No one thinks straight in that frame of mind.’
‘Grieving? That’s a bit strong, isn’t it? Upset, maybe. She was just a patient, Sophie. It wasn’t—’
‘Who? Michael? Hmm, yes, I’m seeing a pattern here. You pop up in my life at significant sad moments, have sex with me and then tell me you shouldn’t have done it.’
‘Sophie, it’s not like that.’
‘Really? Oh, no, that’s right. It’s usually my fault. How could I do it to you—et cetera, et cetera? That’s right. I’m remembering now.’
‘I think you’re being a little unfair. I’ve told you I was sorry for what I said to you after Michael’s funeral. And I don’t feel that what just happened now is the same thing. But, Sophie, we can’t keep doing this. It’s not right.’
‘Doing what, Daniel? What are we doing?’
‘Playing with fire. That’s what. You are my brother’s wife—’
‘No. I am your brother’s widow.’
‘It doesn’t matter. There can never be anything between us, Sophie. There’s too much history and too much angst. And it’s just too…complicated!’
They stared at each other for a few more moments. Sophie felt her body stirring again. She almost screamed out loud at the unfairness of it all. Here she was in bed with the person she loved and a dead man stood between them.
‘And what if I still love you, Daniel? What happens then?’ It was impossible. She couldn’t love him. She shouldn’t. Tears tracked down her face. And, funnily enough, she didn’t care. This situation was crazy and if they didn’t get some resolution, they’d need to send for the men in white coats.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Sophie. You don’t love me. You love Michael.’ He needed to hang onto that. That was how it was supposed to be. It was the only thing that had kept him away for four years. ‘We both love him and we can’t do this to him. He deserves our loyalty not our disrespect. What we just did, twice, is disrespectful to his memory.’
Daniel held onto his belief. He’d stuffed up his brother’s life and the guilt had never gone away. He owed him and he’d struggled with that obligation ever since. He’d even given up Sophie for Michael. And now he was dead, a death that wouldn’t have happened had he not been confined to that damned wheelchair. The wheelchair that he had put him in.
Had his death changed things? No. If anything, Daniel felt it demanded a greater commitment from him. Just because his brother was gone, it didn’t negate his obligation, and he was damned if he was going to let Michael down again.
Sophie was talking crazily. It was easy to confuse feelings from the past when the intimacies they had shared were still so fresh. But his feelings were exactly that—in the past.
‘Don’t tell me what I feel.’
‘You’ll feel differently tomorrow. You just need a bit of perspective.’
Was he mad? Did he really believe that? Sophie looked at him with fresh eyes. He did. She could see the almost zealous belief stamped on his face and she knew that nothing she could say to him tonight would make a blind bit of difference.
Well, that was fine, but she loved him and she didn’t want to sit around and have him talk her out of it. She had to get out of here. Daniel had broken her heart one too many times and she wasn’t about to start hitting her head against the wall, waiting for him to throw her some crumbs.
He had told her four years ago that he didn’t love her, and despite her utter devastation she had survived. And she would do it again.
She slid out of bed and walked out of the room. He let her go, quelling the urge to call her back. He wasn’t sure what had just happened but it was obvious she was upset. If he could start the night over he would, but what was done was done.
He loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and tidied the kitchen. His first instinct was to flee back to New York. But he’d promised John he would stay for as long as his recovery took and then there was the pledge he had made himself about being around for Max. Going back wasn’t an option.
‘I’m going.’
Sophie’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he focussed on her, noting her packed bag at her feet. ‘No, Soph. Please, don’t leave.’
‘I can’t stay,’ she said huskily, picking up the bag and walking away before she changed her mind and threw herself at his feet and begged him to love her.
Daniel stayed still, listening to the door shut and then, a few moments later, her car drive away. Damn! He’d handled that really badly. They’d been close tonight, before they’d ruined it by becoming physical. And while the intimacy had been fantastic, the feeling that they had been on the road to rebuilding their friendship had been better.
He didn’t want it to end like this. He threw down the teatowel he was holding, quickly switched out the lights and locked the door behind him. He didn’t have time to shut up properly and would have to remember to talk to Charlie about it in the morning. Right now all he cared about was catching up with Sophie and making her see sense.
He estimated he was maybe fifteen minutes behind her as he got into his car. It was nine p.m. so traffic wasn’t going to be a problem. He was glad when he reached the gate to the property and turned out onto the main road. He’d have a chance to really accelerate now.
He caught up with her yellow VW on the highway back to Brisbane and reduced his speed to sit behind her until the highway exit. There was really no where for them to pull over on the dual carriageway so he’d have to cool his heels for the next hour or so.
He didn’t want them to go back to their corners and prepare for the next round. He was tired of the continual undercurrent of blame and anger. Whether it had been wise or not, they had crossed a line tonight that neither of them could ignore. They had to find a way to accept their mistake and go on with their lives.
Because they were involved with each other, whether they liked it or not. They were family, and while it had been much easier when a whole world had separated them, that was no longer the case. He was going to be around a lot, for John and for Max, and they had to finally deal with it. Tonight.
Sophie didn’t realise it was Daniel’s car behind her and even if she had been aware of it her tears wouldn’t have allowed her a clear view. How many types of fool were there in the world? How many times was she bound to make the same mistake? When would she learn that falling in love with Daniel Monday was always doomed to fail?
Apart from a few brief happy months when they had been lovers and a son he didn’t realise he had, Daniel had caused her no end of heartache these last four years. She had thought her defences against him were rock solid and had been prepared for any new onslaught he could possibly unleash. But solid defences didn’t help you if the enemy lurked within!
Fresh tears fell as she berated herself for her foolishness. When she had told Daniel she was one hundred per cent over him she had genuinely meant it. How could she have lied to herself all these years? He had never truly left her heart, she’d just managed to move into a state of extreme denial. Damn it, she swore silently, and slammed one palm into the steering-wheel for good measure.
An ambulance flashed past her with its lights and sirens blazing, and it brought her out of her thoughts as she immediately eased her foot off the accelerator. She wondered where they were going and to what, and sent a little prayer heavenwards that no one was seriously ill or injured.
It became apparent a few minutes later as she rounded a bend that her prayer had been too late. She braked gently as a scene of total road carnage greeted her. Three cars, one turned over, the others smashed and twisted, lay scattered on the highway. Broken glass, car parts and walking wounded added to the scene of devastation. A lone policeman was controlling traffic and the ambulance that had passed her was the only one on the scene.
Sophie pulled to the side of the road, thinking she could help a little before reinforcements arrived. She got out of her car and was making her way towards the scene when a familiar voice called her n
ame.
‘Sophie.’
She turned and saw Daniel walking towards her. ‘Daniel?’ Despite the situation, she felt her stomach flip-flop. How had he got here? But now wasn’t the time for questions or to pick up where they had left off, and they both knew it. People needed them and that took priority.
The policeman tried to stop them as they walked quickly into the fray. ‘Step back, please,’ he ordered. ‘Go back to your vehicles.’
‘I’m a paramedic and Sophie’s an emergency nurse. We just thought the crew over there could do with a hand,’ said Daniel.
The young policeman hesitated for a second.
‘Come on, mate, they’re snowed under. At least let us help until some back-up arrives.’
The policeman waved them through and they raced over to one of the paramedics. It was Jane Carter, the ICP who had helped that night in the rain with Charlie.
‘Am I glad to see you guys,’ she said, recognising them instantly and giving them each a pop-over vest with AMBULANCE emblazoned in reflective lettering front and back. ‘There’s twelve victims from three cars as far as we’ve been able to assess. We’re trying to triage at the moment. There’s two entrapments, one in a bad way, the other negative. The rest appear to be relatively unscathed. If you guys could do some quick head to toes on them, that will free me and my partner up to deal with the girl who’s trapped in her vehicle.’
‘How far away is your back-up?’ asked Sophie.
‘Another fifteen minutes,’ Jane replied, before heading off to the flattened car where a human being’s life hung in the balance.
Daniel and Sophie worked as a team, organising those who could walk to sit by the ambulance where the light was best and they could assess them more easily. They put cervical collars on as many people as they could, checked neurological states and looked for broken bones and haemorrhages.
