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The expression on her face was dazed, the look in her eyes glazed with bewilderment. He understood her confusion and hoped he was doing the right thing as he explained, “I think we should stop.”
Immediately, everything about her turned to complete compassion and concern. “Oh. I’m so sorry,” she apologized anxiously. “Are you in pain? Did I hurt you?”
He smiled tenderly and ran his fingers down the side of her beautiful face. She continually amazed him. Was there any situation in the entire world where she wouldn’t think of everyone else before herself? He doubted it.
“No, that’s not why. I feel fine. Better than fine, actually. I just…I don’t want things to be…I want to do this right. I want to take you to dinner.”
She didn’t quite look convinced so he figured now was the time to ante up and put his cards on the table. “I want more than this. I want dinners and dancing. And breakfasts and lunches. I want all of it, with you. Binge watching Netflix. Going to the grocery store. Waiting in line at the DMV.”
She laughed. “Ah, yes. The classic three pillars of a great relationship. Dinners, Netflix, DMV.”
He didn’t know if her reaction was a deflection or if she was generally amused. But he wasn’t going to let either stop him from trying to make her see that he was completely serious about this and about her. “I just need you to know that I want to be with you. I want us to be together. Not just for this. For everything.”
At that, she exhaled, her body language resigned to this not continuing and rose up so she was sitting beside him. As much as he wished she’d thrown her arms around his neck and declared her undying love for him, he realized that this was actually a good sign. At least she was really considering what he said. She was taking him seriously.
He carefully pushed to a seated position and waited for the jury to come back with a verdict. He was already coming up with arguments to counter what he assumed her objections would be as to why they couldn’t be together. Objections such as they barely knew each other and that his job wasn’t really conducive for a stable relationship.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then set her hands on her lap. “I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, or next week, or next year and honestly, I don’t want to think about it. My life is…complicated. And it has been for a long time. I’m tired of trying to plan and control things and then everything blowing up in my face. I don’t want to overthink this like I’ve done with everything else in my life. I don’t want you to make me promises that I depend on, it’s just setting me up for disappointment. I just want to enjoy this.” She waved her hand between them. “To be in the moment right now and not worry about the rest.”
And again she proved that he never knew what she was going to say and do.
He nodded, giving that some thought. As much as he wished he could convince her that he wasn’t going anywhere and she could depend on him, he knew that the only way he could do that was to show her. His Grandma Lulu had raised him to take people at their word and if she said that she wanted to just take it day by day, then it wasn’t his place to tell her that was wrong. She wanted stability and he could give it to her, he just had to show, not tell.
“Okay,” he agreed. “We can do it your way on one condition. You agree to go on something, with me, that starts with a D.”
She glanced down between his legs and raised her eyebrows. “Wow, someone has a dirty mind,” he teased. “I’m talking about a date. Agree to go on one date with me.”
She hesitated, and he wasn’t sure if even that level of commitment was too much for her. In all honesty, if she wouldn’t agree, then he would cave. He would take her any way he could get her.
“All right,” she finally agreed. “I can do that. One date. I’ll agree to that.”
Relief washed over him. He leaned back against the pillows as a smile slowly spread across his face. She definitely didn’t make things easy for him, but it made the small victories that much sweeter.
“Wow.” Her eyes were cast down at the now rather large tent that his erection had turned the sheet into, “it looks like I’m not the only one with a dirty mind. I would ask you if you feel up to this, but I think I know the answer.”
He chuckled as her fingers brushed his abs and traced the line of his bandage. His chest rose and fell in shorter breaths as he watched her hand as it dipped beneath the sheet. Her fingers grazed his waistline and hip.
“Come here,” his voice was raw with desire.
She leaned forward, but instead of kissing his mouth her lips pressed to his cheek. She began trailing kisses across his jaw and down his neck and cheekbone. Even though the touch was so much gentler than their kiss just a few moments before had been, in a way he found it even more sensual. It was so much more intentional, and because of that, so much more seductive.
It may have been just light, gentle kisses in the moment, but it was clear they were heading down an erotic path that he was all too happy to travel with her.
As she continued to move her mouth down lower over his torso, she started using her tongue as well as her lips, tracing slow and lazy circles over his skin that drove him crazy. They made him want to buck his hips and writhe, to sit up and pull her into his arms, crush her to him, throw her down on the bed, make love to her, claim her, possess her. But, he didn’t. For a few reasons. First—and he hated to admit this—no matter how invincible she made him feel, he just wasn’t in a place to do that with his injury. Second, he could sense that that wasn’t what she wanted or needed. She was in control. She was setting the pace and clearly enjoying it. Third…well, hell, it just felt so. Damn. Good.
He watched, captivated by her. He was totally mesmerized as she trailed her fingertips gently all over his chest, torso and arms—being careful to avoid anywhere that might cause him pain. Not that he could feel any, with the anesthetic effect of adrenaline and arousal coursing through him.
When her provocative kisses had reached the edge of the sheet, she inched the covering down over his erection and helped him pull his boxers down his legs, as well. The entire time she kept peppering his abdomen in kisses.
After he was fully naked, she continued her mouth’s inexorable but oh-so-torturously slow journey downward. She paid special attention to the muscles that lined his hips and made a V down to his groin. As she placed open-mouth kisses along the heated skin that surrounded his shaft she wrapped her fingers around it and he sucked in a hiss of pleasure. When it was firmly in her grip she started to rhythmically stroke him up and down sending hot lust whipping through him.
“Fuck,” he whispered in a strangled cry as his hands fisted in the sheet beside him.
“Later,” she teased, her eyes looking up at him with a wicked gleam. “First, this.”
With that, she enclosed the engorged head of his dick between her luscious, full lips and swirled her tongue around the tip. God, he thought he would pop right then. It took everything in him to control his physical reaction.
He hadn’t had to consciously struggle to keep himself from coming early since he was…hell, fourteen. His first time. Everything about Stephanie felt like the first time. It felt new and exciting.
