She stared at him, wanting desperately to know more about this licking thing.
He tossed up his hands. “Or, I guess, there’s option number three, where we take it slow and—”
She jumped him, like literally, wrapping her legs around his torso. To his credit, he caught her, not missing a beat. They kissed as he walked them into the bedroom where he lay her down, his hands roaming over her body, and then he pulled away, tugging at the bottom of her shirt. “Can I take this thing off?”
“Oh, sure,” she said, sitting up, freaking forgetting how sex worked. Clothes didn’t melt off, apparently, though her body was hot enough to do that.
She lifted her arms as he pulled the shirt off, and then reached around to her back and unhooked her bra. He threaded his fingers into the straps and pulled it off slowly like he was unveiling a piece of art.
“There’s not much there to look at,” she said.
His answer was to cover one with his hand and the other with his mouth. He certainly didn’t seem disappointed.
She relaxed back and let him do his thing, switching from breast to breast like he couldn’t get enough of either. God, why had she wanted to rush through this before? Finally, lifting off of her, he pulled his own shirt off, giving her the first real look at his chest. Running her hands over his shoulders and down his biceps, she realized how much she’d missed the feel of a man’s skin.
“There’s not much there to look at,” he said, mimicking her.
She met his gaze. “Oh, yes there is.”
As he moved back down on top of her, her core lit up as his hardness pressed against her. She let out a heavy breath, her body needing some sort of release.
He lifted off of her. “Am I crushing you?”
“No,” she said, pulling him back down on top of her. His body on hers was like the best weighted blanket on the planet. She ran her hands through his hair, pulling back from his kiss just to look at him and make sure this was all real.
“What?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
He smiled at her, so cute, all tousled and red-faced. “Thanks for coming over.”
“Thanks for having me,” she said.
He moved against her, and she wrapped her legs around him, her skirt having conveniently ridden all the way up. He tugged at the sides. “Can I take this off?”
“Please,” she breathed.
He pulled himself back from her and hooked his fingers into the waistband. “Does it just slide off?” he asked.
“Oh yeah, baby,” she said with a grin.
He grinned back and worked his fingers inside of her underwear’s waistband. “Do these just slide off, too?”
She nodded. “Mmm hmm.”
He pulled her skirt and underwear off, his eyes trained on her naked body as he went. “Now that’s something to look at.”
She tugged at his waistband. “No fair.”
He stood up off the bed and pulled his shorts down to the floor, stepping out of them. She almost gasped at his naked penis right there in front of her, practically having forgotten what they looked like.
“You okay?” he asked, one knee on the bed, poised to climb back on top of her.
“Oh, for sure. Totally okay.” She motioned with her fingers. “Come here.”
As he climbed onto her, she wanted desperately to grip it, but after she’d come on so strong last time, she wanted to play chill and let him do all those things he’d promised when she’d walked in the door.
He started a trail of kisses down her neck and her arms, staying true to his word of kissing her whole body. By the time he got to her torso, her body was so hot she was afraid she would scald him.
He ran his hand over her hip and then to the inside of her thigh, scooting down further and then nudging her thighs apart. She slid her hands under either side of the pillow behind her head and then covered her face with both sides of it as he licked and sucked on her inner thigh. “Fuck,” she said into the pillow as her body went into electrical overload, buzzers and flashing lights going off all over the place.
He cupped her sex with his hand, and just the idea of him getting ready to touch her was practically enough to make her abandoned vagina sing an opera.
“You’re going to smother yourself,” he said, rounding both hands over her hips and then squeezing her ass.
She pulled the pillow off her face. “Sorry, I’m just doing what I’ve got to do to stay still.”
He slid his hand around to her front and his thumb made its way to her clit. She inhaled a sharp breath, gripping the sides of the pillow.
“Don’t stay still on my account. You can squirm all you want.”
She’d had all the teasing she could take. She gripped his shoulders. “Just, continue, please.”
On cue, his tongue made sweet contact, leaving her breathless for a moment as she settled in. It’d been so long since she’d done this. She’d way underestimated her need for it.
Moving with him, she cupped the back of his head. He had her all over the place, lifting up off the bed and wriggling for release. No surprise that it didn’t take long at all. A girl who had not had an orgasm outside of her own touch in years could only take so much. She let out a huge breath of air as the crescendo hit its peak and her body filled with sweet, heated release.
He kissed his way back up her body, his cock brushing her thighs. “Mmm,” she said, her body mushy.
He collapsed beside her, and she opened her eyes, meeting his gaze. “Where are you going?”
He chuckled. “Right here. I thought you might need a minute.”
“No, I need more.”
“You want me to go back in?” he asked.
She gripped his cock. “I’m ready when you are.”
He smiled. “That works, too.” He reached over her for the nightstand, his cock teasing her thigh as he pulled out a condom.
“Can I put it on you?” she asked. “I’ve never gotten to do that.”
“Sure,” he said, ripping open the package and handing it to her.
She smiled as she pulled it out, fascinated with this whole process for the first time. “I just roll it on?” she asked, already doing it.
“Squeeze the tip so there’s no air bubble.”
“Wow, you’re an expert at this, aren’t you?”
“Damn straight,” he said with a grin.
“All right, soldier,” she said, looking at his penis. “You’re ready for battle.”
His smile was so wide, dimples she’d never noticed before were dimpling. He hovered above her looking like he wanted to say something, his smile fading into another expression she tried to pinpoint.
“What?” she asked.
He bit his lip. “Nothing. You ready?”
“Mmm hmm,” she said, refraining from further joking, though it was difficult.
She held onto his back as he slid inside of her, the pain of intercourse after a long sabbatical biting through her core up to her chest.
“Should I stop?” he asked.
“No, keep going,” she said, gripping his shoulders.
He moved inside of her, filling her up, reminding her of what an amazing thing sex was, but especially outstanding when the man doing it with her was someone she trusted. That had been the missing piece with all of the others. They seduced her, just like his friend Jesse had tried, but when they’d made it this far she’d felt the disconnect from them before it even began. With Dane, the connection felt real and like it wasn’t going anywhere.
She could have it all wrong. He could be using her and planning to pull the plug on this thing they had going as soon as the hotel bidding was done, or even as soon as they were finished tonight. But for now, she had to go with her gut and trust that he was on this ride with her.
He dropped down closer to her so their bodies were melded together, the energy they were putting off so hot they could warm Alaska. He slowed and kissed her, smoothing her hair back. “Are you good?”
/>
“Yeah,” she said, and then kissed him back.
He kept going, his face contorting in a way that made her feel ridiculously proud. “Let yourself go, gorgeous,” she whispered, making sure he knew not to wait for her. She’d already gone once, and she’d never had an orgasm through intercourse, so she wasn’t holding her breath for round two.
He collapsed onto her, burying his face into her neck. She smiled up at the ceiling as she ran her fingers through his hair, so happy she had come.
Dane lay on top of Marigold, his whole body relaxed in a way he hadn’t felt in years. He kissed her neck, damp with sweat from their workout. He pulled back and met her gaze. “Did I screw it up?”
“How?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling a damp hair off her cheek. “I couldn’t wait any longer.”
“You shouldn’t have. I don’t usually…not through intercourse.”
“Oh,” he said.
“Don’t look so worried,” she said with a giggle. “As you can see, I have no problem with it in other ways.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Hey, you’re welcome to knock yourself out next time.” She winced. “I mean, later or whatever.”
“I definitely want there to be a next time if you do.”
She nodded, and he kissed her on her sweet, perfect lips. The last thing in the world he wanted was to remove his body from hers, but the condom had to be taken care of. Goddamn condoms.
As he rolled off of her and walked to the bathroom, she whistled at him, making him smile. Everything about her made him smile. When he got back to the bed, she had the sheet pulled up to her neck, covering up her beautiful body, which was such a shame. But he was more than happy to snuggle up with her underneath it.
After he settled in beside her, she took his hand and held it between their chests. “Do you know that I’ve never had condom-less sex?”
Being the caveman he was, his first reaction was pure satisfaction. Maybe he could be the first. “Are you serious?”
“Mmm hmm. I’m paranoid about getting pregnant.”
“Have you ever been on birth control?”
“I’m on it now. I’ve got an implant. The thing lasts for years.”
He really needed to contain his excitement. There was a good reason she hadn’t stopped him from using that condom. “I thought you said you hadn’t been with anyone in a while.”
“Oh, I haven’t.” She let go of his hand and played with the patch of hair on his chest. “But it doesn’t mean I wasn’t hopeful. I thought if I ever got off birth control that I’d be throwing in the towel, and I just never wanted to do that.”
He put his hand on her hip, letting it roam over her ass and then back into place, in disbelief that he finally had free rein to touch her body at will. “You know, you could have had sex any time you wanted over the years.”
“I know.” She met his gaze, smiling at him. “Your friend Jesse was willing.”
He practically growled. “You’re not allowed to go back there without me.”
She lifted an eyebrow, and he realized she didn’t know him well enough to know he wasn’t serious about that.
“I’m kidding, of course. Sort of.”
“If I would have wanted to have sex with him, I would have done it that night or any subsequent night after that.”
“But you didn’t trust yourself to,” he said, repeating the words she’d told him when they ate at Jesse’s bar.
“I just didn’t want to have it with some guy who I didn’t trust.”
His chest warmed. “Does that mean you trust me?”
“I’m letting you play with my ass right now, aren’t I?”
He realized his hand had automatically gravitated back to her ass cheek, his finger lightly outlining the curves. “I can’t help myself. Your ass is perfection.”
She did a slow blink ending in lazy eyes. “Dane, please.”
He stilled. “What?”
“Come on, man.”
“Seriously, what?”
She sat up, tucking the sheet around her chest, covering her body. “I saw Erin.”
He winced at the sound of Erin’s name in this warm, wonderful space. “So?”
“So, she’s nothing like me. You know it.”
“Thank God.”
“No, I mean her body. She’s got one of those trendy, voluptuous bodies that all the girls are rocking these days.”
He couldn’t help a smile. “Her body is trendy?”
“Yes, it absolutely is. All the girls want big boobs and beautiful round asses.” She motioned at her body. “Look at me. I’m like if a twelve-year-old boy turned thirty and started getting saggy.”
He reached for her leg, hiding his face in the pillow so he could laugh.
“I’m serious.”
“You’re nuts,” he said, coming up for air.
She pointed at him. “I’ve been totally robbed, you know. There was a time when skinny was sheik. The Kate Moss era. Why couldn’t I have been around back then?”
“Come here,” he said, pulling her over on top of him. She sat straddling him, holding the sheet to her chest. He peeled it off of her, letting it puddle on his stomach. “Your body is perfect in every single way imaginable.” He ran his hands over her bare breasts and then up to her shoulders and down her arms. He wanted to say more, but he didn’t know her well enough. He couldn’t confuse sex—especially sex after a year of abstinence—with something more serious. Not yet.
“You know I totally set you up for that, right?” she asked.
He smiled at her. “That’s okay. You deserve to be told how beautiful you are.”
She collapsed on top of him, and then rolled off. “You are really spoiling me here, Dane Knight. You better watch doing that. I can be a handful.”
“I’m aware.”
She pouted at him, her lips so kissable it was all he could do to restrain himself. “I guess I deserve that.”
He leaned in and kissed her, his hand roaming again of its own volition.
She pulled away. “What about you? Have you ever had condom-less sex?”
He deflated and rolled over onto his back. “Yeah.”
“With Erin?” she asked.
He covered his eyes with the back of his hand. He supposed these were fair enough questions. “Mmm hmm.”
“Okay,” she said. “So have you been tested since then?”
He moved his hand off his eyes. “Yes,” he said, with a little more gusto than he’d meant to. He’d forgotten about that.
“Did you think you needed a reason to be tested?”
He let out an irritated breath. “Actually, yes. I suspected she was cheating on me.”
She sat up again, this time without the sheet, which he appreciated. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
While he liked her outrage, he wasn’t sure he understood it. “No, I mean, I never got any proof, but I didn’t look that hard. At that point, we had stopped having sex and I was pretty much just her unpaid driver and babysitter. I probably shouldn’t admit how long that went on, but…” He trailed off, unable to get into it again.
“I know. The boys.”
He just nodded. That was all he could do.
“I don’t get it,” she said.
“I know. I’m a total sucker.”
“No, not you, her. I just can’t imagine having you and throwing it away for sex with some other guy. I mean, you’re good at sex.”
His whole body heated up. “Thanks.”
She covered her eyes. “Oh, God. I’ve done that thing where I don’t filter the words before they come out.”
He pulled her over on top of him again, but this time, there was no sheet between them. “I like your unfiltered words.”
She ran her hands over his chest, squeezing both of his nipples between her fingers with a grin. “So, how did that test work out for you?”
“Negative.”
She scooted back a little and reached b
etween his legs, pulling out his cock, which was already halfway there. “I don’t know if I’m brave enough tonight, but if there’s a next time…”
“I’m definitely up for a next time,” he said, and then closed his eyes as she worked her hand up and down his cock, bringing it right back to attention.
She scooted down further. “Until next time…” He gripped the sheets as she made his whole body quake.
21
Dane woke up in the warmest, most stellar way, his body plastered to Marigold’s backside. If he didn’t have to piss, he could have lain like that for the entire day.
She stirred, and he kissed her shoulders. “Mmm,” she said. “Morning.”
“Morning,” he said, pulling her hair aside to kiss the back of her neck. His phone, which was on her side of the bed, rang and she passed it to him.
He took it and winced. Erin.
“I wasn’t trying to look, I promise,” she said, getting up.
“Don’t get up,” he said.
She waved him off. “I’ve got to pee, anyway.”
He tossed the phone onto the nightstand next to him. As she left his bed, he stared at the ceiling for a moment, the contentment he’d felt at the start of the morning temporarily squashed by Erin. He couldn’t let her do that to him. This was too much of a perfect moment to be trashed.
He went to the hallway bathroom, and when he got back, Marigold was grabbing her clothes off the floor.
He went to her. “No, no, no. Please don’t do that.”
“I need to go. I’ve got to open the shop at ten.”
He glanced at his alarm clock. “It’s only eight. You’ve got a little while, don’t you?”
She let out a sigh, staring at him. “I don’t have a good history of this.”
“History of what?”
“I don’t want to overstay.”
WATERCOLOR WISHES: Love Along Hwy 30A, Book Four Page 17
