Page 106 of Pick Me This Time

50

DAPHNE

My heart was racing a million miles a minute, my body already raring to go. The adrenaline from my argument with Peter and Sterling’s sudden appearance was still coursing through me like lava, making me feel like I was on fire for him.

It spurred me on even though I knew I should pump the brakes. The simple fact was that I didn’t want to stop. Sterling pulled me into his lap and I went eagerly.

Whatever issues we had, it wasn’t that we weren’t compatible. It wasn’t that there were no feelings involved or that we’d gotten each other out of our systems.

If anything, I wanted him now more than ever, this man who kept showing up exactly when I didn’t even know I needed him. He seemed to have an uncanny ability to be there for me, whether I wanted him to be or not.

It made me feel more supported than I ever had been by anyone, like he was the wind I needed in my sails. No matter how annoyed I was with him, that didn’t change the way he—and what he’d done—made me feel.

Not even to mention what it did to me when he said things like “there’s only one woman who’s perfect for me, and that’s you.” What was more was that as his tongue slid into my mouth and he pulled me into his lap, lowering his seat back with his free hand to give us more space to move, I felt like he genuinely meant it.

I’d never felt as out of control while knowing that I had all the power I needed. If I said stop, there was no doubt in my mind that he would, but I didn’t say it and he didn’t do it. The fact was that things between us were a mess, and yet, I needed to be with him.

Sterling grounded me while he also gave me wings to fly. He made me feel safe even when faced with an ex who I knew had been about to take a swing at me. All the bravado in the world couldn’t change how much I appreciated that he’d intervened when he had.

I didn’t want to care, but I did. Peter had been the biggest threat I’d ever faced, not only tonight, but for all the years we’d been together. I wanted to be strong and independent and I was, but standing on that sidewalk with our argument coming to a head and not knowing if anyone would ever even know what had happened to me if Peter took things too far?

My heart lurched and I wound my arms around Sterling’s neck, allowing myself to take comfort in his passionate embrace. I moaned into his mouth as his tongue swept into mine once more, giving myself over to that moment instead of worrying about what had come before.

I’d finally stood up to Peter and Fiona had been making moves on Sterling, but he and I were here. Together. With neither of them anywhere close by. Even Eric couldn’t come between us here, and I recognized that we needed to take advantage of this opportunity, possibly our last to be together.

Breaking the kiss, I slid my nose along the length of his and closed my eyes, just taking a moment to breathe it in. Outside, the storm was still raging, rain coming down in sheets that made me feel like we were in our own little bubble in here.

In here, nothing could touch us. With that thought in mind, I kissed him again, but deeper this time, slowing it down even as I pushed his jacket off his shoulders. Sterling moved with me, drawing his arms out of his sleeves before starting on my clothes in turn.

Elbows bumped against the emergency brake and the side of the truck, everything seemingly in our way but none of it stopped us. Getting him out of his pants with me still on top of him proved to be a challenge, but we managed.

As I lifted myself up on my knees to peel off my own pants, he turned up the heat in the cab, jets of hot air washing over the naked skin of my back and making goosebumps rise all over me. Sterling’s eyelids were heavy, his gaze hooded as he watched me kick my jeans aside. He pulled me back to him, capturing one of my nipples in his hot mouth.

“God, Daph. I missed you,” he groaned as he nibbled on my sensitive flesh.

Sparks of pleasure shot through me and I shifted forward, sliding his hard shaft through my folds and moaning again at the sensation of having him there. “I missed you too.”

I ran my fingers through his hair. Raising his chin, he looked into my eyes and leaned into my touch. Then he slanted his lips over mine once more and only stopped what he was doing when he reached for a condom. I watched as he covered himself, my muscles already spasming with the anticipation of it all.

I tucked my hair behind my ears and lifted myself over him, almost banging my head against the roof. Sterling’s gaze caught mine. His lips parted as he moved his hands to my hips, gripping them and guiding me down.

With his smoldering eyes burning into mine, he thrust into me and I sank onto him at the same time. His breath caught in his chest. I pushed my fingers into his hair again, my breathing ragged. I stared at him, still for just a beat, and adjusted to having him inside me.

My body pulsed around his shaft, my heart hammered, and my cheeks flushed with heat. Sterling’s fingers flexed on my hips and he started moving again, slowly rolling his hips. He kept looking into my eyes.

Neither of us said a word but we sped up. Our mouths crashed together as our bodies fused and did the talking for us. We might not have known what to do about these feelings we had for each other, but it was clear in each furious, passionate kiss and every desperate moan and thrust that they existed—and that neither of us wanted it to end.

Inevitably though, it did end—in spectacular fashion. Pleasure pooled in my core, tightening my muscles until it erupted. The orgasm raced through me like the lightning streaking across the sky outside. Sterling’s thrusts became less rhythmic and more urgent, and he crushed me to him when I felt him swell deep inside me.

“I lied earlier,” he murmured against my hair, his chest still heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

Still trembling in the aftermath, I rested my head on his shoulder and waited for my heartrate to return to normal. My lips curled into a smile against the crook of his neck. “Yeah? About what?”

“I’m not taking you home. When I said it, it wasn’t a lie. I really was planning on driving you back there, but the only place I want to drive you right now is to my house.”

“What about your dad?” I whispered, my voice barely audible against the rain thundering against the roof. “Isn’t he there?”

“I’m sure he is, but he’ll be sleeping by now. Besides, I don’t care if he knows you’re there. I want you in my bed tonight.”