by Diana Nixon
“What? We haven’t talked about it, yet.”
“You know what your mother said when I asked her to marry me? She said I was the only man she ever wanted to have kids with.”
“Then, why did you leave her and marry that… I don’t even know what to call her.”
“Time changes everything, Sweetheart. But in your and Daniel’s case I think it has already done its magic to get the two of you back together.”
I looked at Daniel again. He was talking to Angela, and even thought he tried to be nice, I knew he didn’t do it to impress her. I imagined him proposing to me, and a new feeling crept under my skin: fear.
Last night changed so much. The walls of ice that Daniel and I had been building around us for years came crashing down and now we needed to learn how to be together again. Did he even want to be with me again? I hoped he did, because for the first time in my life I didn’t want to run away anymore. I wanted to stay with him, and yes, I was sure he would be a perfect father for my children.
“I guess I know the answer to your question, Daddy.”
“Whatever it is, I hope it will make you happy.”
“Amen.” I smiled, giving my father a tight hug. “Thank you for everything, Dad.”
“You are always welcome.”
Chapter 26
As soon as Angela and my father left, Daniel and I went back to the kitchen to have breakfast that this time wasn’t going to be ruined by anyone.
“What did my mom and you talk about after you left the bar?”
“Nothing interesting,” Daniel shrugged. “Why?”
“I was wondering… What did you do to make her fall in love with you?”
“What? My goodness,” Daniel laughed, “she told you she’s in love with me, now?”
“No, but I guess she is.”
“Well, women rarely can resist my charm.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s a given.”
“Why don’t you finish your coffee and we will get back to where I left you this morning? You owe me a proper morning kiss, remember?”
“I don’t owe you anything. Something must be wrong with your memory.”
“Hmm… Will you help me refresh it?” he said, wrapping both arms around my waist.
And, why the hell did he always have that effect on me? One touch and I melted like snow in the sun.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked.
I took a step back and leaned against the table, still looking at him. “Are you sure this is what you want?” I didn’t mean only going back to the bedroom.
“Of course, Baby. Being with you is all I ever wanted.” He cupped my face in his palms and kissed me softly.
Somehow, it didn’t feel convincing. “Prove it,” I said, meeting his puzzled stare.
He hesitated for a moment, trying to understand what my words meant. Then he leaned closer and kissed me again, slowly and teasingly. Smart bastard...
Smiling, I leaned into his embrace, enjoying the way our bodies were touching. He chuckled at my silent response, taking my bottom lip between his teeth.
“Sometimes I can’t decide who’s the naughtiest of us,” he said, lifting me to wrap my legs around his waist.
“Let’s check it out.”
The distance between kitchen and bedroom was crossed in no time. Was he going to set a new time record? Apparently, not.
As soon as he put me on the sheets, I realized I was hopelessly lost. And I can’t say that I didn’t like it.
Daniel took his time undressing me. Who would have thought that taking off one single shirt would last that long. He ran his fingers through my hair, then down my arms and hips, covering my body with soft kisses, relishing every inch of my nakedness. When his lips found mine again and I felt our hips rubbing against each other, my heart missed a beat.
“I still remember your request,” he said, caressing my lower lip with his fingertip. “I will make you forget yourself.”
With those words, he bent to give me a deep kiss that took my breath away; waterfalls of sensations overwhelmed me. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer; my back arched in response to his hips rocking against mine.
The temperature in the room rose by several degrees. I felt like I was burning alive, dying and coming back to life, again and again. It was the most sensual torture ever.
I closed my eyes and gave myself over to the sweet pleasure coursing through my body. My muscles clenched as I felt Daniel’s palm caressing my naked thigh. Then, his lips moved to my breast and I almost exploded the moment his tongue encircled one of my nipples. Instinctively, I reached out my hands and buried my fingers in his silky strands while his lips kept working their way down to my belly, softly nibbling my skin.
He stopped only for a moment to look up at me, but I immediately felt cold without his palms and lips touching me. A mischievous smile curved the corners of his mouth as he wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me up, making me sit on his lap, with my legs around his hips.
“Always loved seeing you like this,” he said, running his hands up and down my back; our faces only inches apart. “The way your breasts rub my chest,” he whispered, pressing me harder against him, “The way your hair brushes my shoulders, and the way you move up and down on me.”
My breath caught at the power of desire and love pooling in his eyes, I wanted to lock the memory of the moment in my head forever. Slowly, I leaned into him and placed my lips against his, trying to give him so much more than just a kiss; I wanted him to feel my love.
Breaking the kiss, I looked into his eyes, and lowered myself onto him. The moment our bodies became one was so intense, neither of us could suppress the moans of pleasure escaping out throats. Their echoes filled the room, making everything around us look even more surreal.
“If feels so good,” he breathed into the curve of my neck. “You feel so good, so warm and so perfect for me.” Then, he brought his hands to rest on my hips, lifting me up and pushing me down, speeding up and slowing down just to get to the heights that we both were dying to reach.
My head fell back and I felt Daniel’s lips on my shoulder again. Nothing but the sound of our heavy breathing was separating us.
“I love you so much,” he whispered, guiding himself deeper inside me. My eyes closed tight as I tried to prolong the feeling of a new sensation building in my belly. It was so hard to think about anything but our bodies being one.
“I want you to be mine forever,” he said, running his hands up my sides.
“I am yours,” I said, looking into his eyes.
“Say it again.”
I smiled and repeated the words, “I. Am. Yours.”
A victorious smile played on his lips as he shifted a little, only to push me against the sheets. “I will never get tired of loving you,” he said, entering me again in one fast motion that took my breath away.
Never in my life had I felt so good and complete. I didn’t want this moment to end. It wasn’t the first time that we were making love, but somehow, this time was different. We were different and I didn’t want to change a thing.
I wanted to make him happy, I wanted to hear his laughter that always made pleasant shivers run down my spine; I wanted to spend my every morning like this: waking up and making love with the most amazing man in the world. And, maybe for someone else he wasn’t a picture of perfection, but for me, he was the one.
I felt his muscles clenching inside me. “God, Baby, I’m so close.”
Instinctively, my back arched to meet his motions, and I brought my hands to pull his lips to mine. “I love you,” I said, feeling his movements becoming more frantic and uncontrollable.
“You own my heart and my soul,” he said softly.
My muscles tightened around him and we both gasped at how good the bliss ripping through our bodies felt. I shut my eyes, trying to memorize the feeling. But then, I looked at Daniel again and realized that now there was no reason to be afraid. He was mine and I was his…
Our bodies were still pressed to each other, my legs wrapped around his. This is what we used to call our heaven, a place where nothing but the two of us existed.
Daniel moved to lie down beside me with my head resting on his chest; the steady beat of his heart was so calming.
“I’m sorry,” suddenly he said, placing a kiss on my forehead.
“For what?” I asked, drawing small circles on his arm.
“For making you go through the hell of losing Adrian alone. I never wanted to leave you.”
“I thought we already made it clear: it wasn’t your fault.”
“Still… I could have explained things so much earlier.”
I leaned on one elbow and looked down at him, saying, “What we have now is the only thing that matters.”
He smiled up at me. “I know. And I’m so grateful for your understanding and love. Never in my life have I been so happy. You make everything that’s wrong, right. I doubt anyone but you would ever be able to stand me. So… How about spending the rest of our lives together?”
I laughed quietly in response. “I always imagined you proposing to me a little differently.”
“Answer the question, Kas.”
“Even if I ever regret it, I don’t want to be with anyone but you.”
“Good.”
“Good? Is that all you are going to say?”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “Yes. I will tell you the rest later.”
“When?”
“Later.”
“Uh, seriously?” I leaned back against the pillow, sighing. “I can’t believe I just said I need only you.”
“You can never get back what you’ve said.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did I tell you that you are impossible?”
“Many times,” he replied, caressing my jaw with his fingertips.
“God, you will never change.”
“I thought my impossible temper was what you loved me for.”
I smirked, shaking my head. “How could I have fallen for someone like you?”
“You didn’t stand a chance at resisting me,” he said, sliding his fingers down my collarbone, in between my breasts and belly; his joyful eyes never left mine.
“You bring nothing but trouble for a woman.”
“I only want to be your trouble,” he breathed into my ear, “sweet and irresistible.”
I closed my eyes and smiled. A new game was about to begin…
I don’t know how many hours passed before we remembered about food and the reality that neither of us wanted to get back to. I put on Daniel’s shirt again and went to the kitchen, intending to make something special for what turned out to be a late dinner. The sound of the doorbell caught my attention.
“Daniel, would you open the door, please?” Whoever was standing behind it, I didn’t want to be seen almost naked.
“A delivery for Ms. Benson,” I heard someone saying. Curious, I looked out of the kitchen and saw a courier standing at the threshold. He was holding a huge bouquet of red tulips and a card in his hands.
“Who are these from?” Daniel asked in a cold voice.
“From Dr. Matthew Robinson,” the guy replied.
“Son of a bitch,” Daniel snapped, signing the delivery card. “Thanks,” he said, taking the flowers and slamming the door shut behind him.
I smiled, watching him. “Don’t tell me you are jealous.”
“The asshole seems to be too damn stupid to understand that no flowers can take you away from me. How many times do I have to toss them away to make it clear?”
“Wait, what? Isn’t it the first time I received flowers from him?”
Daniel lowered his eyes, staring blankly at the bouquet in his hands. “No. Last time he sent red roses.”
“And, why didn’t I know anything about that?”
“Because if you’re going to receive flowers from anyone, it will be me,” he snapped, tossing the bouquet into a trash can.
I shook my head, watching him walk down the hall. He entered my bedroom and shut the door, almost making the walls shatter from his anger. Apparently, now I had to get used to his mood swings.
Men; it was unbelievable how selfish they became after one proper morning kiss. I took the flowers out of the trash can and went to find a vase to put them into.
Chapter 27
Half an hour later, I heard the sound of footsteps.
“Good; you finally managed to get over that insult, or whatever it was,” I said, seeing Daniel, leaning against the kitchen doorframe.
“You think it’s funny?”
“Actually, no. I think it’s ridiculous.”
He looked at the flowers and back at me with his eyebrows raised questioningly. “What’s this?”
“Tulips,” I said, making vanilla cream for the chocolate cookies I made waiting for Daniel to man up.
“I can see that. But last I checked they were in the trash can.”
“I thought it was unfair to leave them there. These are just flowers!”
I heard Daniel taking a deep breath. “Okay, I need to go to work now. I’ll call you later.”
“Seriously?” I stared at his back in disbelief.
He stopped and turned around slowly. “Listen, Kas-”
The doorbell rang again.
“Now, who the hell is that?” Daniel cursed and headed for the door, turned the doorknob and letting it fly open.
Thank God, there wasn’t another courier, I doubted he would get out of here alive.
“Hey,” Emily said, smiling uneasily. “May I talk to Kassie?”
“Sure, come in,” I said.
“Oh, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything,” she said, looking at my outfit.
“No, we finished here,” I said, ignoring Daniel’s furious look.
“Unbelievable,” he muttered, leaving.
I giggled, and closed the door behind him.
“What happened?” Emily asked.
“Just a small misunderstanding. Not a big deal. I’m sure Daniel will get over it.”
She nodded, shifting uneasily from one foot to another.
“I’m starving,” I said, taking her by the hand. “What about you?”
She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly. “Haven’t eaten anything since last night.”
Now I had at least one volunteer to try the cookies I made from a new recipe.
It had always been the same with Emily. We couldn’t go without talking to each other for too long. Even after her brother left me crying in my pillow, we didn’t stop being best friends.
“I’m sorry for lying to you,” she said, taking the cup of tea I made for her.
“And, I’m sorry for being such a stubborn bitch,” I said, taking a seat next to her. “If only I were not so self-assured and blind, everything would be so different. I didn’t want you or Daniel to suffer from keeping secrets from me. I also never wanted my brother to lie to me, but… That’s not what we are talking about now.”
“You do realize that he did everything for our own good, don’t you?” she asked, squeezing my hand slightly.
“Of course I do. I just need more time to accept what he did.”
“We all need it, I guess.”
“So, what about our plans for Rio?”
“I doubt Daniel will let you out if his sight, any time soon.” Emily smirked. “He’s kind of obsessed with making up for the time you spent apart.”
“Well, we both are,” I said, feeling my cheeks blushing.
“You know… A few days ago, I met someone.”
“Really? Wow, that’s great news. Who is he?”
“One of Daniel’s new employees.”
“Oh, no-”
“Exactly.” We both knew how much Daniel cared about his sister. We both knew, also, that all of his employees were walking trouble in a very irresistible way. They were young, reckless and didn’t care much about serious relationships. In other words, they were so much like their boss.
>
“Well, now that Daniel and you are back together, I hope he wouldn’t mind giving me a chance to have some fun.”
“Do you want to tell him about that guy? What’s his name, by the way?”
“It’s Nick, and I don’t think that telling Daniel is a good idea.”
“Do you like him?”
Emily smiled. “A lot.”
“What does he look like?”
“Tall, broad shouldered, with incredible green eyes and dimples to die for.”
“Sounds like your favorite type.”
Emily’s smile faded a little. “You are not angry at me, are you?”
“Why would I be angry? If it’s about Adrian again, I think we have already discussed that. Life goes on, Ems, and I truly wish to see you happy.”
“That’s what I needed to hear,” she said. A small tear ran down her cheek.
“Oh, come here,” I said, hugging her. I could barely hold back my own tears, but for the first time ever, the pain from thinking about my brother didn’t get stronger. Rather on the contrary, I think we all were finally ready to move on.
We talked for a little longer before Emily said she needed to leave. She had a date with Nick, and I mentally wished the two of them good luck, hoping Daniel would accept his sister’s choice, no matter how bad or good it was. I was sure that it would never be bad, though. I knew my friend well enough to know that she would never start dating a murderer or a drug dealer. Everything else could be accepted, shaved and brushed up.
Almost five hours, twenty cookies and four cups of tea later, I was ready to kill Daniel with my bare hands. He didn’t call, and I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean.
I got dressed and went to his workshop, since it was the only place I was sure I would find him dealing with his jealousy, or whatever it was.
And, I was right. His car was parked near the entrance, but the doors were locked. I went to the back door and fortunately found it open. The moment I entered the workshop, I heard the sounds of one of my favorite songs. It was By Your Side by The Bees. Just as I supposed, Daniel was working on a new bike. He was wearing a pair of old jeans, hanging dangerously low on his hips, a few buttons on his dark-blue shirt were missing and I couldn’t help but admit that even with sweat and dirt covering his face and hands, he still looked so damn gorgeous. I crossed my arms, leaning against one of the walls. He didn’t notice my presence. One thing didn’t change: when Daniel was working the world outside of his work disappeared. That made two of us, actually.
