She drew back only to breathe into his mouth a cry of desperation. “Daniel, I want you.”
She heard him suck in a sharp breath then felt her arm seized in a fierce grip before he spun her around and moved them quickly toward the exit. It seemed so far away. Particularly at a time when she desperately wanted to be out of that room and back in her apartment with Daniel in her arms and in her bed.
“It’s about time.”
His curt remark had her smooth forehead crease in puzzlement but she was far too distracted to care. As soon as they stepped outdoors and the cool evening air hit her face, he drew her back into his arms. Sonya went willingly and happily.
His kiss was hard and urgent and she knew he wanted her as desperately as she wanted him. Large arms came around and seized her tiny waist and crushed her body against his. Through the soft material of her dress she felt his male response and a shudder of excitement rippled throughout her body.
Her hands yearned to touch him in his most private area but settled for the feel of his chest as she delved below the hem of his black tuxedo and yanked out the crisp white shirt in order to sneak her hands beneath. His skin was soft and warm yet firm and on blazing fire. She heard him muffle a groan into her mouth as her hands explored his body for the first time.
As their lips were inseparable, her hands were left to explore blindly. A subconscious thought crossed her mind as she felt the taut muscles of his pecs. How in the world did this gorgeous body go unnoticed by her for so long? She wasn’t given much time to think for it was at that exact moment his own hands began their own exploring.
She let loose a long delighted sigh when his hand found the round swelling of her breast and her heart palpitated to an alarming rate. So shocked by her reaction, she took a deep steady breath and stepped back. The unbelievable truth was that it was Daniel who was making her feel this way.
“What are we doing?”
Disoriented, he stared down at her and blinked. It seemed that they were both taken aback by the sudden desire coursing through their bodies. Stimulated by the sole touch of the other. His breathing was heavy and he appeared to be trying to get it under control. A tiny flicker of worry found its way into the corner of his eye.
Sonya reacted quickly. Throwing herself back in his arms she pressed her mouth hard against his. One of her legs came up and hooked itself around his hip and drew him even closer. Their desire was undeniable. She wouldn’t let some silly apprehension come between them.
Between kisses, she uttered, “Daniel, let’s go to my apartment.”
He captured her face between his hands and forced her lips wide with his probing tongue. It lashed out and explored the warm texture of her mouth. She couldn’t prevent the animal hunger taking over her and knew if they didn’t find privacy soon, she would be unaccountable for her actions.
“Daniel, please.” Her hands roamed in fever, needing to touch him and draw him closer.
“I know, I know.” Large hands seized her head and pressed it against his chest as if to quail the wild emotions within. “Lord, you are so beautiful.”
A flutter of delight danced across her heart. “Do you really think I’m beautiful, Daniel?”
He drew back and captured her face between his hands. “There isn’t a more exquisite creature on earth. You’re beauty has taken my breath away from the moment I first laid eyes on you. But you probably already knew that.”
“No, not really.” She smiled with pure happiness up into his face.
He smiled in return then dropped his hands to seize one of hers. “I think we better get going before we put on quite a show right here in front of the banquet hall.”
She nodded and eagerly followed him to his car. The need to be alone with Daniel had taken her by complete surprise. It was an urge that hungered and burned deep within that could only be extinguished by him. She now recognized it for what it was, he had ignited a longing within some time ago but she had been too blind and stubborn to acknowledge it. Then out of utter gratitude her walls came tumbling down and her feelings were granted permission at last. It was such a powerful emotion, that it was almost scary.
He drove with care once more but this time with a bit more speed and Sonya tried to keep her hands to herself to help ensure a safe drive. However, at times she couldn’t prevent them sneaking over and run along the sinewy tissue of his arms. To his acclaim, he did wonderful in ignoring her touch, only occasionally reaching out to capture a hand and press it against the warmth of his lips.
Sonya’s toes tingled with desire and she was forever grateful when their apartment loomed in the skyline and Daniel drove the vehicle into his marked parking spot. After turning off the ignition he took no time in drawing her back into his arms and kissing her with such passion Sonya’s insides began to curl.
All at once, she knew she wanted this time with Daniel to be special. She didn’t want their uncontrollable lust fulfilled in the back seat of a car. She wanted it perfect and memorable so Daniel would never be able to forget.
Pulling out of his arms, she ignored the tiny voice that warned her that she too might find the experience one of her most unforgettable. “Not here. Let’s go upstairs.”
He nodded eagerly, his eyes burning of desire, then moved swiftly out of the vehicle. Sonya followed suit. Together they walked side by side into the building and boarded the elevator with remarkable calm and without touching. However, as soon as they were left alone in the private quarters of the small contraption they turned to each other in hunger.
Sonya attacked him with an urgency she didn’t even realize she possessed. They hit the back of the elevator with force, her mouth grinding kisses into his. It was only then that she realized he had lifted her off the ground and had her body pinned against his. She moaned and crushed her pelvis into his body and wondered if it would be just as spectacular right there on the elevator floor as it would in her bedroom.
The idea wasn’t given much thought before the doors slid open and Daniel moved through them and down the corridor, all the while grasping Sonya firmly in his embrace. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist and never once removed her lips from his mouth. Her hands came up and buried themselves within his thick locks.
“Sonya,” he groaned her name and pressed her back up against her apartment door. “I need you so bad.”
“Me too.” She rained kisses over his face as he blindly dug into her purse for her keys. “I never would have dreamed it could have been like this.”
He chuckled as his searching fingers were rewarded with the touch of cold metal. He retracted the keys then withdrew long enough to push up his glasses and look deeply into her eyes. “I promise you, Sonya, you won’t regret this.”
A small smirk lifted the one corner of her mouth as she reached up and grasped his glasses then pulled them off. “Like Robert Alto, I too trust your judgment completely.”
His eyes lit up and he couldn’t seem to get the key into the door fast enough. When at last it swung open they both nearly fell in and only were able to regain their balance at the last moment. Between giggles and kisses, Daniel kicked off his shoes and carried a passionate Sonya through the main living area down the hall to the back bedroom.
With one hand she leaned over and opened the door while the other remained clutched to his neck. At the sight of her room, his eyes lit with arousal and shot an automatic reaction to the pit of Sonya’s being. She licked suddenly parched lips and couldn’t wait for Daniel to toss her onto the bed and make mad and passionate love.
She didn’t have long to wait. The flow of the waterbed moved beneath her weight followed by his as he leaned over and covered her face in kisses. Her own hungry mouth sought out his lips as her hands were at last allowed to tear at the buttons of his tuxedo.
He chuckled and reached up to assist. “Careful. It’s a rental.”
Sonya could have cared less. As long as it ended up on her bedroom floor. He reached up and carefully assisted before he rem
oved the jacket and placed it neatly across her bedroom chair. With that obstacle now out of the way, Sonya’s fingers attacked his shirt. She gnawed at the obtrusive garment until she was successful at having it tossed into a heap on the floor.
Then she pushed against his shoulders and straddled his hips, pinning him to the bed. As she loomed over him and stared down at his breathtaking chest, she knew she had been right. He was absolutely perfect. Even so, she had no idea he was hiding such a glorious body. The need to feel him beneath her lips was overwhelming.
She leaned forward and pressed kisses slowly from one breast to the other, biting gently on his nipples and causing him to chuckle softly. Sonya grinned into his chest and allowed her fingers to trace the path her mouth led. He didn’t have a trace of hair on his chest, which greatly pleased Sonya. She was never particularly fond of hairy-chested men.
Her lips began a steamy trail south and a duplicate heat ignited within her pelvis and had her tiny bottom swaying above him. As her mouth moved lower yet, she felt him stiffen and used her fingers to relax him.
“Sonya?”
“Mmm.” She really wasn’t speaking to him, but rather enjoyed the taste of him. Her deft fingers found the button on his pants and with a swift flick undid them and the zipper and began the process of sliding them over his hips.
“Sonya.” He clutched her shoulders, but not overly tight. She wasn’t certain whether he was trying to stop her or was wrapped up in the heat of passion. She wasn’t waiting to find out.
Slithering down his form, she took his pants with her, then just as cleverly resumed her position however this time took his full arousal into the hungry depths of her mouth. She heard him moan, felt his pelvis lift as to press closer yet and Sonya responded with blunt hunger and greed. Her lips moved faster and fervently in response to the growing passion within her own genitals.
Then in one swift motion he reached down for her and pulled her hard up against him and rolled the two of them over onto the bed. The water filled mattress whooshed to one side in response to their sudden violent move then settled into a soft rocking motion as Daniel’s lips covered hers in a fiery kiss.
His hands began the zealous task of undressing her. She felt them as they caressed her thighs and slid the scanty material of her dress up and over her hips. His hands all the while feeling her soft skin and sending her body on a whirl of desire. She wanted him touching her everywhere. The need to be out of her dress and naked beneath him had a shocking revelation to a small back portion of her conscience.
This was Daniel. Her neighbor. Never to get involved. Mud and Oil. Worlds apart. It was inevitable that somebody would get hurt.
A pain pierced her heart and she knew in a flash that it wouldn’t be Daniel.
“Daniel, do you want me?” She grasped his head to her breast and pressed his lips urgently to her skin. “Tell me you want me.”
“Christ,” he breathed into her fiery skin. “Like I’ve never wanted anything more before in my life.”
She felt a shudder of joy and bit her lip with happiness giving herself to him with open lust and hunger. The pleasure his touch evoked was electrifying. Her body came alive like it never had before. Before long she was naked beneath him and he was ravishing her body with hungry kisses. His hands he could not keep still as they explored her body with passion.
Sonya was everything Daniel had imaged and dreamed. She was a goddess lying there in her satin and lace sheets with clouds of curtains billowing across her heavenly figure pale and exposed for the pleasure of his eyes and touch. His longing for her hungered deep within creating a noticeable ache. A small portion of his brain told him to be cautious, that this was Sonya. If she so desired, she could hurt him. There was no other woman on earth that could. The power she had over him was frightful but he craved this fear as if it would be his very last breath. He needed her more than he thought possible.
An incredible agony throbbed beneath his waist and he wanted desperately to be in her yet wanted it to last forever. He administered kisses from the crook of her neck over the swell of her breasts, then down and across the flat of her stomach. Her skin felt as soft as silk and tasted as sweet as fresh picked fruit. The desire he felt for her that he hid for so long, he no longer concealed. He wanted to please her like she never had been before and would never be able to forget.
Loving her the way he did his need raged on recklessly. For he knew that it was a reckless act to threaten what little he already had. However it was his greed that wanted more. More, he feared, than she would be willing to give.
* * *
Sonya stretched and felt a warmth stir in the pit of her stomach. A grin spread across her face as she lifted her head and looked toward the pillow where Daniel had slept holding her in his arms throughout the night. She hadn’t slept at first. Instead she had rested her head on his chest and listened to the steady rhythm of his breathing along with the rise and fall of his chest.
It was a stimulating and hypnotic feeling and surprisingly soothing. Below her ear she could hear the faint thump-thump of his heart and for no reason it caused her to smile and lure her into a blissful sleep.
Her arm outstretched to seek his body and came across empty air. She lifted her head and discovered the spot in which he slept was empty. Her shoulders drooped with disappointment as she stared at the indent in the pillow where his head had been and traced a finger along its outline.
Making love to Daniel had been the most wonderful experience Sonya had ever shared. He was the most devoted and loving partner and had a way of making Sonya’s own actions respond in a way she never had before and in doing so made the experience wonderful for both of them.
As she stared at the empty pillow, a dark shadow began to creep across her heart. For it was an experience that could never recur again. Their extraordinary night together was formed out of pretense. She knew it going into it, but her emotions were intoxicated with elation and she reacted without any thought. It was clear she had abused her gratitude toward Daniel. She closed her eyes and felt a horrible sensation sweep over her. What had she done?
She heard a sound coming from the outside of her bedroom and knew she couldn’t lie around in bed all day waiting for him to leave. She had to get up and face him. If she were lucky, maybe he wouldn’t have read anything into what happened last night.
With reluctance, she crawled out of bed and slid on her robe before she headed for the kitchen. The smell of frying bacon assaulted her senses first. Daniel was standing in front of the stove fully dressed and cooking bacon and scrambled eggs. A ridiculously happy lurch caught her off guard at the sight of him.
He glanced up, saw her and smiled. “Good morning. Hope you’re hungry?”
Actually, she was. Her stomach felt like she had done a day’s worth of exercise. She remembered what it was she had done that caused the sudden feel of hunger and hurriedly thrust thoughts of their love-making aside. “Yes, thank you.”
His eyes slanted to her suspiciously at the lack of spirit in her voice before filling a plate of food and placing it in front of her. He turned back to the stove and began shutting off the burners.
Sonya frowned at the single place setting. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’ve already eaten.” He ran his hands under the tap water and gave them a good wash to rid of the grease from the bacon. “I have to get going, my beeper went off earlier. The overnight batch failed. I’m expected down at the Institute.”
She nodded vaguely and stared down at her food. “All right.”
He headed toward the front entrance but stopped as he drew parallel to her, halting long enough to drop a kiss on her lips. Sonya instinctively drew back.
Daniel paused and frowned. “Is something wrong?”
She gave a huge sigh and got to her feet. “Daniel, about last night. We need to talk.”
His eyes never left her face. Then he began to nod his head slow and arched a brow as if contemplating her words. “I know what yo
u mean.”
Baffled, she looked at him. “You do?”
A silver set of eyes, close enough to be considered grey, held hers with intensity long enough to cause Sonya to fidget with discomfort. At last he turned on his heel and headed for the exit. Perplexed, she followed him.
“Last night was terrific, it really was,” he said as he gathered his leather jacket from her sofa. She hadn’t even noticed it there. The tux was missing as well. She assumed he had already been to his apartment that morning. The nagging realization that he could so easily slip out of her bed to rush over to his apartment to shower and get dressed, tugged on a nerve. “But,”
Sonya’s two well-shaped brows came together. “But?”
“We obviously have a problem.” He confirmed.
“Yes, I agree.” She admitted and wondered what he perceived the problem to be. “And it’s not you. I just want you to know that.”
“Oh, I know that.” Daniel looked relaxed as he slid his shoes on at the entrance.
She stared at him perturbed and thought a little compassion and understanding was in order. Last night was, after all, unforgettable. “So you agree, this is all my fault. I should never have taken advantage of you last night.”
“It’s definitely your fault.” He agreed, then grinned all at once as he reached for the door handle. “You’re in love with me.”
He shot her a wink then disappeared behind the door. Sonya sat there staring with an open mouth at the spot he vanished from. Was he out of his mind? Collecting herself, she ran toward the door and swung it open.
She had been right. Daniel had read too much into what had happened. Except instead of thinking he had fallen head over heels in love with her, he believed she had fallen in love with him!
He was a decent guy who didn’t believe in shameless sex outside of the marriage vows. Of course he would believe that love came with sex. She should have known he would have come to that conclusion. She just hadn’t imagined he would have thought it was she that had fallen in love.
Misunderstood: In Love with the Nerd (The Miss Series Book 2) Page 18