Chapter 14

“You’re afraid I’ll say no.”

There it was. A knot of fear tied around two little letters. N. O. No. The word had the power to take Rory’s breath away. His tongue felt like sandpaper against the roof of his mouth and he couldn’t work up enough spit to swallow. No words came. So he watched her, cop face in place, and said nothing.

Her hand smoothed the skin on his forehead before she cupped his cheek in her palm. “I’ve never been in charge before.”

“You’ve always been in charge.” The admission whispered across the distance between them.

Delaney tilted her head, a curious chickadee in search of a grain of truth to feed upon, and her hand dropped back to perch on her lap. “Why do I feel so out of control? So…reckless?”

“Don’t you want to feel that way?”

She glanced away to stare out the windshield. “I don’t know. I’ve…I’ve always been the responsible one. Mom and Dad are…old hippies. That’s the nicest way I can describe them. And you’ve met Nessa and Keegan. I’m the one who got up and made my lunch. But as often as not, I was late to school because everyone else was in charge. I couldn’t walk to school alone or I’d get in trouble. Then one day, I did it anyway. And nobody cared.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised, knowing her as he did, but he was anyway. “How old were you?”

“Six.” Delaney cut her eyes to glance at him before returning her stare to the traffic zipping past them. “I might be the youngest, but I’ve always felt like the oldest. The responsible one. I wanted to go to school. And I wanted college, so I worked my way through. But even then, I wasn’t in charge. I wasn’t in control of things.”

“Yes, you were, Doc. And you still are. You might not have felt like you were, but you’ve always been in charge. Being in control and being in charge are two different things, Delaney. You can be reckless and be in charge. All you have to do is let go.”

“I…” He watched her breasts rise and fall as she inhaled deeply and sighed. “I can’t let go. I’m too afraid.”

Rory reached for her hand. Her skin felt cold and smooth, like satin, to his calloused fingertips. “I’ll catch you.”

She turned to face him again, her eyes shining with unshed tears that glistened in the headlights flashing past. He tugged her closer and met her halfway.

“I’ll catch you.” He reiterated the promise. “I’ll always be there to catch you.”

Her lashes shuttered her eyes, dark lace shadowing her cheeks as she ducked her chin. “Why do I get the feeling that you’ve always been there to catch me when I fall?”

Rory brushed his lips across her forehead. “I’ll always keep you safe, Delaney.”

“You always have.”

“Will you come home with me?”

“Yes.”

The knot in his gut unraveled and he kissed her again, slow and sweet and filled with promises. “Home,” he agreed.

****

Delaney bathed in the pool of moonlight spilling across the floor of his bedroom. Rory’s hands shook as he tugged on the zipper of her dress. His fingers brushed the straps off her shoulders, and the silky material skimmed her skin. She crossed her arms over her breasts, trapping the dress’s bodice before it fell away. He circled her body with his arms, his hands cupping hers where they fisted against her shoulders, and he bent his head to kiss the nape of her neck. She sighed, her pleasure evident in the sound, and he smiled against her skin.

“I’ll catch you.”

She shivered at his words, but her fingers loosened on the material of her dress and it slipped away, caressing her body with silky touches. His palms itched to mimic the dress, but he kept them on her hands and continued to kiss her neck and shoulder.

“You are beautiful.” The words hitched as he uttered them. He released her and tore at the buttons of his shirt, the studs pinging against furniture as he ripped them free. He wanted to be naked so his skin could relish the touch of hers. He needed to feel her skin sliding against his with a desire so fierce he was choked by it. Rory peeled off the starched tux shirt, forgetting the cuff links at his wrists.

Delaney turned at his muffled curse and smiled. “Here. Let me.”

He held up an arm, helpless to do anything else. She unhooked the link with deft fingers, and he obediently offered her his other wrist. Her palms traced his chest and abdomen. “Oh. My.” She sounded full of awe, and he puffed up like a high school kid on his first date. He managed the fly of his trousers without incident and kicked them off. The moonlight painted Delaney’s skin a delicate shade of creamy silver, and his erection strained within his briefs.

“I want you.” He whispered his need into the dark. “I want to back you against the wall. I want your legs around my waist as I drive into you over and over.” He pushed her hand down from his chest until her palm cupped him She gasped and his erection throbbed. “But I’ve wanted this for so long, I can wait.”

Delaney shuddered, and he sensed the raw emotion in the action. “I don’t want to wait.” The words dragged out of her mouth, teasing his skin with the moist heat of her breath.

“Shhhh. Let me do this for you, baby. Let me show you how much I want you, how much I need you.”

She nodded, mute but for another sighing breath. He smiled and carefully picked her up to carry her to the bed. He’d never been a lingerie man, but in her bustier, panties, and stockings, Delaney could turn him into a lingerie kind of guy. He settled her against the pillows at the head of the bed and stood, simply staring at her, devouring every inch of her body. His shaft throbbed again, and he laughed, the sound not much more than a brief gust of summer wind. “I’ve never been known as a patient man, baby, but God I want to take my time with you.”

Every inch of her skin flushed with pleasure. Delaney started to cover her breasts, but he grabbed her hands, staying the gesture.

“Don’t. Please. I just want to look at you. So beautiful.”

He ran one palm down her side and hip and traced the outside of her leg. He brushed his fingers between her legs, stopping just short of the moist heat at the top of her thighs. With reverent fingers, he unhooked her stockings. Rory lifted one leg and rolled her stockings down the length of it. He paused to kiss her inner thigh, behind her knee, along her calf, and finally her ankle as his hands revealed each bit of bare skin. Then he did the same with her other leg. He hid his smile as her hips squiggled against the bed.

Sitting beside her hip, he examined her bustier with eyes and fingers both. That ribbon there was just decoration. Tugging it would get him no closer to his goal. But that lacing and the hooks hidden beneath—those would lead to paradise. Rory dipped his head and kissed first one breast and then the other through the lacy cups. Her breath whispered across the top of his head and then hitched in her chest as she inhaled sharply. Pride swelled inside him. He made her do that. Not Connor. Not any other man. Him. He ripped his briefs off, one less barrier between them.

Impatience made his fingers fumble, but he managed to get the lacing undone and the delicate hooks and eyes separated. His hands shook slightly as he parted the bustier and got his first look at her. He glanced up to meet her worried gaze. “You are so beautiful, Delaney. I…I want to kiss you and touch you but first, I just want to look at you and…damn, darlin’.” His admiration coated those last two words, thickening his voice.

Delaney offered a tentative smile, relief warring with pleasure in her expression. He dipped his head to kiss her lips—but only briefly. His lips trailed along her jaw, found soft skin and her pulse point. He left a lingering kiss there before following the arch of her throat so he could kiss his way across her collarbone. Her hands grabbed the coverlet on his bed, and she wrapped her fingers in the suede material as her chest swelled. Her nipples kissed his chest each time she inhaled, and he exhaled sharply as his shaft pulsed in time with her breaths.

He flicked his tongue over a nipple and Delaney moaned. She pressed her shoulders into the pillows and arched toward him. Rory smiled as he sucked her breast into his mouth. A perfect handful when he cupped the other in his palm. She moaned and her hips squirmed from side to side. His free hand roamed across her stomach and dove under the scrap of silk alleged to be her panties. Fingertips brushed through the soft curls at the vee of her thighs before one finger pushed between those lips and found her nub. She stiffened but he ignored her hesitancy and rubbed with gentle pressure. Delaney stiffened again, but this time, it was to push against him. His hand spread her thighs and, as his thumb continued to rub, his fingers sought the moist heat of her entrance. One finger dipped inside and then two. Her inner muscles clenched around him.

With swirling fingers, he pressed inside her before withdrawing over and over to set up a rhythm matched by the thrust of her hips. Rory suckled her breast, flicking his tongue in counterpoint to his thumb on her nub. Her hips arched off the bed and she gasped, her thighs shaking with tension.

“Come for me, baby. Just let go. I’ll catch you.” His words got lost against her creamy skin and the puckered nipple of her breast, but she obeyed him anyway. With a last frantic flutter of her inner muscles, her release coated his fingers. Hungry for her, he pounced, spreading her legs and settling between her thighs. With her knees over his shoulders, he could still tease and caress her breasts while his mouth devoured her core. His tongue replaced his finger, probing her channel as his teeth and lips teased her nub.

She let go of the coverlet and fastened her hands around his forearms, squeezing him with fierce need. “No…” The fervent denial trailed off.

“Yes.” He blew the word against her and she shivered. “Again, baby. Come for me again.”

He drove her higher and felt the growing tension in her muscles. He lapped at her, delved deep with his tongue, teasing her nipples and nub with his fingers and lips. And wound her up higher and higher. Tighter and tighter.

“No.” She moaned the word. “Please. No. I want you inside me this time. Please. Oh, please.”

Her whimpered plea stilled his hands and mouth. He raised his head, watching her. Delaney opened her eyes, closed them again as if the effort to look at him was too much. A deep breath made her breasts swell against his palms, and then she opened her eyes again.

“Kiss me.”

Rory crawled up her body and braced on his hands and knees. Her inner thighs brushed against his, and he was struck by the way his wiry hair felt against her smooth skin. With infinite care, he lowered his head and his lips brushed across hers. His gaze never left her face. She watched him in return, her eyes dark with need. He broke off the kiss and hovered above her, stiff and anxious.

“I feel like I’m made of glass. Like I’ll shatter if you touch me. Shatter if you don’t...”

He stilled, holding his body away from the welcome hers promised. Waiting. As much as he wanted her, he would not take her until she surrendered, until she felt ready to accept him. He winced as her fingers wrapped around his shaft and Rory called on everything within him to stop a shudder before it wrecked him and he lost all control. Brittle. He knew exactly how she felt. Breathing shallowly through his nose, he waited in agony for her verdict.

“I’ll catch you and put you back together again if you do.” His promise was reckless. If she shattered, he would break. And then who would make them whole?

Delaney spread her thighs wider and guided the head of his erection toward the hot, moist welcome her body offered. As soon as his tip touched her sweet spot, he was almost lost.

“No,” he said. Denying her was like being gutted. She whimpered as he pulled away from her.

He dragged open the drawer on the nightstand and grabbed a silver packet. Using his teeth, he ripped the package open with a savagery born of desire. He got the condom on despite his shaking hands and positioned his body between her thighs once more.

“I said I will always keep you safe,” he promised. With one surge of his hips he thrust into her, sliding deeper and deeper as hot silk greeted and cocooned him. And when he was buried as deep as he could go, he froze. Afraid he’d lose it. Afraid he would shatter into a million pieces before he could fulfill his promise to her.

A little moan wrapped around her breath as she exhaled. And she lay quietly beneath him except for the jump of her pulse in the hollow of her throat. He buried his face there, kissing her and wanting to laugh and cry in the same moment. But he did neither. Instead, he slowly moved his hips, withdrawing his shaft until only the tip remained surrounded by her warmth. Slowly this time, he pushed back inside and smiled as her inner muscles greeted him with silken caresses. He pulled out again, and Delaney matched his actions, surging to meet him as he thrust inside her.

This dance between man and woman, as old as time itself, needed no lessons. Rory knew exactly what to do, where to touch, when to kiss, speed up, slow down, how to lead them in this exquisite communion of bodies and hearts. Delaney’s arms circled him, her fingers clawing at his back and shoulders.

He drove her up and up, spiraling ever higher until neither of them could see or breathe, just feel. Lost in her passion, he surged into her time and again. And when she came in his arms, moaning and crying, her whole body shook with her orgasm. His body soon followed...his shaft throbbing and jetting his release into her tight, hot core.

Rory collapsed on top of her, panting and sweating, shudders racking his body as her inner muscles coaxed the last bit of life from his shaft. Delaney sniffled and he opened his eyes to find her face slick with tears. He kissed them away as her legs and arms held him cradled to her.

“Never,” she gasped, panting to get her breath back. “Never like that.”

His heart felt like it might burst. Pride. He was so damn proud he didn’t care he grinned like an idiot. He kissed her forehead. “No,” he agreed. “Never like that.”