Chapter 20
We barely make it into his apartment before he pushes me up against the wall, caging me in with his arms on either side of my head. He towers over me, making me feel as if he can protect me from anything. Heart racing fast, my hands lie flat against the wall by my sides, trembling.
I want this more than anything, but now that I'm here, I'm terrified. Aside from only having sex with one other man, I’ve had a baby since the last time I had sex. My body was young, my muscles were firm and my skin was unscarred. Now I’m a nervous wreck and there’s nothing firm or unscarred, not anymore. Every flaw I have is glittering like a disco ball. I wanted to be perfect for him, but my diet and exercise plan went the way of the taco.
Mmmm. Tacos.
No wonder I have mommy thighs. We’re about to have sex and I’m thinking about tacos and cursing my big butt. Daniel’s lips pass over my throat in the perfect spot and I whimper. All thoughts of food and thighs vaporize.
"Hey," he whispers, after pressing his lips to my neck again and again, making me hotter and more lightheaded. "Whatever you're thinking, stop." Daniel says the last part looking me in the eye, and then trails his knuckles down my cheek, continuing to my neck. There’s no way he doesn’t feel the rapid fluttering of my pulse. He kisses my neck and lingers, moving slowly back up to my cheek, and then pecks my lips. When he backs away, his blue eyes wash over me, making me gasp for air. I see what he’s thinking, what he wants from me and I’m so nervous and excited. The only thing I know for certain is that I want to run, either straight into him or away from him.
Daniel speaks into my ear, his warm breath making my back arch and I try to clutch the wall. "We don't have to do anything, Gen. I'll wait until you’re ready. I’ll wait forever for you." He kisses my cheek and pulls away, watching me, and smiling softly. “I’m fine with things like this. Kissing you is like breathing in sunshine—it’s amazingly hot and fills me from head to toe. I feel like I can fly when I’m with you, Genevieve. There’s no rush.”
Meeting his gaze, I push him back and he drops his hands to his sides. He probably thinks it’s because I'm not ready, but that's not it. His words freed me. My guilt is gone and any hesitation I had flies away. My lips tug into a sexy smile. “Rushing into things sounds kind of nice, though, doesn’t it?” Keeping my eyes on his, I reach for the hem of my dress, lifting it up and over my head in one motion. My stomach flips as I toss it to the floor and stand there, letting his gaze rake over me.
I take a deep breath and turn toward him, wearing only my champagne-colored bra, matching panties and heels. I have no idea what he thinks at first, but the way his mouth forms a tiny O, the way he drinks me in makes me feel so alive, so sexual. I haven’t had anyone look at me this way in a very long time. A giggle bursts through my lips.
“You are…” His voice is breathy, like all the air has been crushed from his lungs. Daniel's eyes travel down my body like a tender caress. His gaze lingers first on the swell of my chest, then on the apex of my thighs, and finally wanders lazily down the entire length of my legs. His heated gaze moves back up my body, before settling on my face. I can barely breathe while he looks me over. "Damn, you’re beautiful!” His hands fist at his sides, as if it's taking all of his self-control not to strip me naked and jump me.
The thought makes me smile. Cowboys aren’t my thing, but I wouldn’t mind being ridden right about now. My lips part as I step closer, so that my chest brushes against his. The response is instant. He gasps and holds onto me while I run my hands up his chest and wrap my arms around his neck. His hands come up to grip my hips, barely touching my skin. The heat of his hands feels like a brand as I pull his head down to touch my lips to his.
Between kisses, I whisper against his mouth, "I want you, Daniel.”
His grip on me tightens at the words, as he melds our bodies together. His mouth moves over mine forcefully and he sweeps his tongue past my lips. This is a side of him that I've never seen before, and I'm reveling in his possession, the way he moves me and holds me—as if I’m his and always will be. Holding onto my hips while he continues the kiss, he walks backward, leading me over to the brown leather couch. It’s against the wall a few steps away. Taking a seat he pulls me down, so I'm straddling his thighs.
He kisses a trail across my jaw before moving his hot lips down my throat. I tip my head to the side as he reaches a spot just below my ear that makes me quiver. I gasp loudly and start to go limp in his arms, but I fight it.
“Let go, baby,” he urges me to give in to that feeling, but it frightens me. I don’t know what he’s like in bed or what he’ll want from me. It makes it exciting, but it scares me too. I want to be at least a little coherent, so I fight the lust that’s trying to consume the rest of my mind. It’s as if he knows, because he says, “I love you, Genevieve. I won’t hurt you, baby.” He tips my head and looks into my eyes. “Do you trust me?”
I’m smiling like a fool. “You love me?” He nods and kisses the tip of my nose, and then smiles at me, bashfully. “I love you, too.”
He smiles harder. “That is a very good thing.”
I kiss the tip of his nose and make a decision—one that makes my heart pound so loudly that I swear he can hear it. The smile fades from my lips as I whisper, “I trust you.”
Daniel holds me tight, pressing his body to mine and drops his mouth to my neck once more. When he finds that spot and feels my reaction, he concentrates all of his attention there, stroking his tongue firmly, nipping, and sucking lightly until I surrender every ounce of control with a breathy moan. I’m a puddle in his arms, a sexy doll that he can play with as he pleases. I can’t think anymore; I can only feel. Every inch of my skin is tingling, craving his touch. The spot between my legs is on fire. I want him there and I’ve lost any discretion I might have had, so I say how much I want him, where I want him, and how I want him.
Daniel gasps every time I say something, begging for him to take me. I want to feel every inch of him and I don’t hold back. Every thought, every desire spills over my lips and makes him devour me all the more.
Daniel's hands slide up and down my back, leaving a trail of heat in their wake. The feel of his palms cradling me and the wet heat from his mouth is my undoing. I grind my hips against his, wishing we were closer.
The fact that he's still wearing his fitted grey t-shirt and dark washed jeans while I'm almost naked is like an aphrodisiac. I feel like someone else, bold and sexy, as my fingers tangle in his hair and I pull him back to my lips. His mouth leaves a damp trail down my neck as he kisses from my ear to the spot where my pulse gallops. He groans low in his throat before moving his mouth lower, nibbling at my collarbone, and tracing the skin just above the cups of my bra with the tip of his tongue.
Arching my back, I bring my breasts closer to his mouth and feel his fingers working the clasp. The straps slide down my arms and leave me completely bare from the waist up. "Damn," he mutters, "you’re perfect, these are perfect." My face heats and I know I'm blushing to the tips of my toes when he takes me into his mouth and sucks... hard. I lose all coherent thought as every feeling in my body centers around the way he's making me feel and the pull of his mouth on my sensitive flesh. He gives my other breast the same treatment, but this time he bites down gently—slowly grazing my skin with his teeth—which makes me cry out. When I arch my back and press into him, Daniel thrusts his hips up against mine, teasing me.
Bringing my hands down to the hem of his shirt, I start pulling it up, desperate to feel his bare skin against mine. He releases me to help, pulling his shirt up and over his head and revealing his tan chest and lickable abs. Daniel laughs, saying, "If you keep looking at me like that, this is going to be over in about three seconds."
My eyes fly up to meet his, and the heat in them sets me on fire. "I'm okay with that.”
Daniel groans before placing his hands on my hips, slipping them down to my butt and standing abruptly. His actions leave me no choice but to wrap my legs around his waist. I'm still wearing my heels, but when I try to toe them off, he grips my butt harder.
"Don't. Leave them on," he commands. A thrill shoots through me.
He walks us into his room and lays me down on his bed, before covering me with his body. He presses a kiss to my nose, which makes me smile before he does more. “Keep going?” I nod. “Because we’re passing the point of no return. You’re too beautiful, and I’ve wanted you so much for so long. Gen, I don’t think I could stop if you asked me—”
Slamming my lips down on his, I silence him with a kiss. It’s all the affirmation he needs. Things become hotter with each passing moment and I love the feeling of being his, feeling him want me so badly he can’t control himself.
Taking my legs, he moves them so that they’re cradling his hips. Daniel pushes the bulge behind his zipper against my panty-covered core and I whimper. I manage to grab hold of him, scratching my nails into his shoulder, before he pulls back. Holding himself up with one arm, he trails his other hand down my throat and between my breasts, not stopping until he comes to the silky barrier. He traces the line across my stomach before pushing up so that he's kneeling between my thighs. Gripping the sides of my panties, he pulls them down my legs, dropping them off the side of the bed.
As he runs his hands up the backs of my legs to the swell of my hips, his hungry gaze travels up my body and lands on my eyes. He palms my curves and lifts me slightly, lowering his head. I gasp, realizing what he’s going to do and tangle my fingers in his hair, urging him on. Daniel groans before kissing a trail up the inside of my thigh. I tense as he slowly gets closer and closer to my core. I feel mad with lust. I pull at him, clawing him, breathing so fast that I might faint. I plead with him, begging him to do it, over and over again.
He lifts his eyes to mine as he teasingly drags his tongue across my flesh. The feeling is heaven and sin and sex. I’m ready to scream. Clutching the bed sheets, I hold on tight as his lips come into contact with mine. His tongue sweeps between, licking me. He circles the most sensitive part, once, then twice, before taking it between his lips and sucking gently. If he weren’t already holding me up, I would fall. The sensations shooting through my body are like an explosion. I can’t stand it and Daniel holds me so tightly that I can’t move. There’s no way to sate my lust, not until he allows me. I can't get away and I can't get any closer. The fact that he's staring into my eyes while he kisses me makes everything that much more intense, and it only takes a few more motions of his tongue before I'm exploding against his mouth, and screaming his name.