“Hey. It’s okay.” She changed tactics, pushing against his shoulder until he relented and rolled onto his back, letting her go, re-closing his eyes.
He was clearly exhausted. She wondered if he had gotten any sleep the night before. Stil , he remained full of tricks. She had no sooner stretched out, unencumbered, than he rolled back onto his side and grabbed her with both arms before returning to his back, taking her with him this time.
“Hey!” she hissed.
“Ssh, sleeping.” His iron bars for arms held her to him. No, tree roots, thick and stubborn. She braced her elbows on either side of his head, and set her knees to the mattress beside his hips for leverage.
“Aah, man. Stay put, babe. Pander to me a little, please? That was a hell of a long day.”
“Daniel, open your eyes. Look at me.”
Sighing, he did, a scowl on his face, expecting trouble, obviously.
The wise words set to appease died on her tongue. She had no intention of going anywhere. He didn’t need to worry. That was al she had been going to tel him, and it wasn’t good enough … Not by half.
She wanted more for him. Wanted more for herself.
When she pushed against his hold, trying to sit up, his arms fell away from her, fal ing back onto the thin mattress. He made a noise of weary resignation. “Fine. Better?”
“Yes.” Before she could wuss out or lose her nerve entirely she whipped her shirt off over her head, tossed it out of reach.
There. Done. No turning back. She could control this. He was putty in her hands. The ultimate power of whipping out your tits, it got them every time. As ancient as Adam and Eve with her dropping the fig leaf. Absolutely perfect. There would be no heartbreak. No losses. She felt powerful sitting astride him, safe. Shoulders back, breasts thrust forth.
Perfect.
And Daniel’s eyes bugged out of his head in a most gratifying way.
You would have thought she was in French cut lace, as opposed to some nice sensible dark cotton that had been washed a hundred times.
His hands flew to her hips and held tight, not in an
“I have to have my hands on you ” fashion. It felt closer to a “don’t you dare
disappear on me” grip. The look he gave her was mostly lust, but desperation tinged the edges. Shit, she couldn’t be anybody’s world.
Handing over her heart to him couldn’t happen, certainly not yet. When he looked at her like that, though, how could she hold back?
Emotions were slippery things. Her grip on them might be more tenuous than she had imagined.
Maybe this could have waited for a better time.
No.
“I’m sick of being afraid. Daniel …” All of a sudden the world tumbled. It happened so fast her head went woozy. Her back was against the mattress and Daniel loomed over her, his big body shaking with tension. Those blue eyes of his blazed with some internal fire.
Her heart stuttered in her chest.
Maybe, just maybe, she had well and truly bitten off more than she could chew.
CHAPTER TEN
Holy shit, he was blowing it.
Ali blinked rapidly, eyes vague and confused. Daniel held himself perfectly still, resisting the urge to grind himself against her. Almost.
“You okay?” he enquired, heart racing, sweat beading on his forehead, running down his spine. Fuck. He would shake himself apart at this rate.
And he had scared her when she was being so damn brave. It made his teeth hurt. Shove a gun in his face, no problem, but risk herself with him? There was real fear, directly beneath him, skin gleaming in the moonlight, pupils dilated. “Babe?”
She gave a tight nod and shifted beneath him. In his great and mighty quest to get close and closer he was probably squishing her.
Maybe she couldn’t answer him because he wasn’t letting her breathe.
He took more weight onto his elbows but remained plastered against her. He couldn’t deny himself. The press of her breasts against his chest and the way her hips cradled him blew what remained of his mind. No one else got to him this way. Every smooth move in him had left the building.
The way her thighs were willingly spread to take his body sent a fresh surge of blood heading straight for his dick. He was a goner.
And again with the no grinding rule. No matter how tempting. God help him if she changed her mind now. “Tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.”
She did not convince him.
Shit, if he said the wrong thing, she might put her shirt back on. He didn’t know if he could take it. He might cry, and have his very own panic attack. “I’m an idiot. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to flip you like that.”
She swallowed, relaxed a bit beneath him. “You, ah … kind of took me by surprise.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I know. Sorry.”
“I only took off my shirt, Daniel. The bra isn’t even all that revealing,” she replied, cool as can be, plush mouth set all prim and proper. “If al it takes for you to lose your cool is the hint of hard nipples then I’m concerned on your behalf.”
“Shit. Say hard nipples again.”