“According to this, I’m your newest conquest.”
“Paparazzi is my worst enemy and frankly, I thought I was forgotten. Apparently not.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I wanted to. But, when you told me about your past, how Todd-fucking-Meyers hurt you—”
“I never told you his last name.” She cuts me off. “Brody?”
Fuck! Open mouth, insert foot.
I step closer, dragging my fingers through my hair, and my eyes never leaving hers. “When you ran off, that night, on our first date. I needed to know what triggered you to be so frightened. So I looked you up.”
“You looked me up?”
“Please don’t be mad. I needed to know so I could make it better.”
“Make what better? Me? You had no right. I trusted you.”
“And you still can.” My hand reaches out to her as a plea. “The moment I met you, Dee, all I thought about was you.” My hand is on her arm, testing to see if she’ll flinch, and she doesn’t. I take her hand and pull her to the bed to sit next to me.
“The article about flings and conquests, they’re not lies. I was a spoiled punk kid. It’s not something I’m proud of. My mom had enough. After Gina dropped the charges, Mom gave me an ultimatum. Work at Saint Clair Investments or move in with my dad in San Diego. I took the latter, enlisted in the navy and I’m glad I did. I needed to get away, start fresh. And now that my mother’s anniversary is approaching, and I’m back in town, these articles are conjuring up the old me.”
“And there are no other women?” There’s a jealous tinge to her tone as she rises from the bed and stares out the dark window.
I wait for a beat before I come up behind her. My chest to her back and I can feel her breathing. My hands slide up and down her arms.
“I’m falling for you, Delilah. And as much as I tried to hide from my past, I knew this day would bite me in the ass. I just didn’t think it would be a day I’m trying to romance you with sunflowers, wine, and a candlelit room.”
She turns to face me, and I can see she’s forcing her smile down. “I’m sorry, Brody. I assumed you were—”
“Shhh . . . I should be the one who’s apologizing. I’m the one who left you hanging. I’m the one who should have told you everything.”
“So, the reason I haven’t heard from you is because you were scared of us?” Her warm hands are on my chest and our foreheads touch.
“I have never been in a serious relationship, Dee. I don’t know how to act.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, I’m scared of us too. My last relationship left me frightened of men, but then you came along and . . .” Her words taper off and she turns her head. With my two fingers, I pull her chin back to me.
“And what, sweetheart?”
“You saved me, healed me, and broke down my walls.”
“When you asked me to come with you this weekend, I didn’t forget. I just want to make our first time together to be right. Perfect. Because from the moment I met you at the club, all I thought about was burying myself in you.”
She looks around the room. “This is as perfect as it will get.”
My mouth grazes her soft lips. “I want you.” A kiss. “All of you.” Another kiss, this time it lingers as I pull her in tighter. My hard chest against her softness.
She moans softly as my mouth moves, caressing her skin down the column of her neck to her collarbone and the red spaghetti strap of her dress falls off her shoulder. The voice in my head tells me to pull her strap back up as I’m licking and nipping her skin where it left a crease.
“Brody, please.” Her sultry voice sends a bolt of lightning straight to my boxer briefs.
“Please what, baby? Tell me what you want me to do next,” I say as my cock presses against the confines of my jeans.
“Take me, all of me.” She wraps her fingers around my neck and her nails scrape my skin, sending goose bumps down my spine. I lift her up as she wraps her legs around my waist.
Thank fucking Christ.
I wasn’t sure if it would be a cold shower and sleep in my cotton plaid bottoms kind of night.
Not that I would complain, I’ll take what I can get.
But my skin on hers is all I have been dreaming about. She’s what has been driving away the night terrors, and makes me want to be a better man and give her what she deserves. Soft moans escape her throat as I taste her tongue.
My shins hit the side of the bed and I place her back on her feet. She slowly slips out of her dress and it pools at her feet.
Holy-sweet-Jesus, I take her all in.
My eyes go straight to the lace that barely covers her skin. My balls are heavy, and my dick craves to fill her. But first, I want to please her, worship her, adore her.
My mouth touches hers with soft brushes. Not a second passes when her lips part and I’m accepting the invitation. Our tongues intertwine and dance to the soft music that has been playing in the background since she walked in the room.
My fingers frame her delicate face as a desirous groan sounds in the back of my throat. I lace a row of kisses from her neck, to her shoulders, over her breasts, down her cleavage, against the skin of her stomach.
I open my eyes and feel a scar with the pads of my fingers on the side of her ribs.
“What happened?” I whisper, and I know she hears me. Her breath hitches as my thumb grazes over the smooth ridge of her scar.
Her eyes tell me the answer and anger boils at how much pain she must have endured. Some scars are visible like the one I’m looking at and others I know haunt her underneath all the tough bravado she displays and all I want to do is kiss away any uncertainty she has.
I give in to the sudden need to show her I’m nothing like that asshole. To trust I would never hurt her the way he did. To let her know she is so damn beautiful to me.
I use my teeth to pull down her panties. Once off, she sits on the bed and I gently spread her legs, then kiss and lick my way back up to the center of her warm thighs. The scent of her pussy fills my nose as my tongue strokes the seam. I make my way to the small bundle of nerves as I hold her inner thighs apart despite her bucking and writhing.
Lust, greed, want, and need overwhelm me.
“You taste so fucking good, baby,” I say between licks and kisses.
Another sexy as hell moan escapes from her throat.
“Brody,” she pleads and the sound of my name from her mouth turns me the fuck on and I can’t stop savoring her, nor do I want to.
My fingers press into her skin as her nails scrape my scalp, sending tingles down my spine.
Her breathing is rapid and my heart thumps in my chest. Each stroke, lick, and touch of her sears into my memory. Her moans fuel me as my tongue fondles her sex and I drink her in as she fills my mouth with her sweet wetness.
I pull my shirt over my head and she unclips her bra. I rise to my feet, toe off my shoes, unbutton, unzip and with one swoop, my boxers and jeans come off and my dick springs forward. I grab the condom from my pocket and sheath myself.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful,” I say as I look down at her, chestnut hair mussed on the mattress and the bisque of her skin calling to me.
I lose all my senses in her. She possesses my body, mind, soul, and especially my heart.