Chapter Fourteen

Dell didn’t know how Mia had managed to flip the shit day on its head. He’d felt screwed six ways to Sunday before talking to her, but she’d reminded him what he was fighting for. And why. Maybe he would have gotten there on his own, but right now, walking down the hill hand in hand with her, he owed her some debt of gratitude.

Scared the bejesus out of him.

“Thought any more about it?”

He studied her profile in the dim light. He didn’t want her pity. He didn’t want Dad to know he’d had help to keep afloat, if he did in fact keep afloat, if Dad didn’t sell before he could…

But Mia’s offer would help, and could he turn that down? It was just a little help. A little mutual help. Like sharing a ride and splitting gas money. It didn’t make him look incapable. Long as no one found out about it. And she didn’t think he was incapable. She really didn’t.

“Guess if we’re buying the same seeds, wouldn’t be a terrible idea.” Dell let go of her hand, stepped onto the porch. It didn’t sit right. It just didn’t, but common sense overruled the shame of accepting her offer.

“Great! Do you want to make a list and figure out how we’re going to do it?” She babbled on about her ideas as they stepped inside, but he tuned it out. One step at a time. Accepting the help was one step, details and specifics would be another. For another time and place. A time and place when Mia wasn’t wearing a skirt. In his house. Alone.

“We can figure all that out later. Let’s change the subject.”

She blinked, cocked her head. “To what?”

“How about we pick up where we left off last night?” He plopped himself on the couch, then folded his arms behind his head and sent her a cocky grin.

She shook her head, clucked her tongue, but in the end she took a few steps toward him, pausing just within reach.

“And where did we leave off?”

“Hmm. I think we were about…” Dell pulled her to the couch, onto his lap, until they were in about the same position as last night. Except she was wearing a skirt, which rode up on her thighs but didn’t allow the same flexibility. Since she was wearing something on her legs under the skirt, tights or leggings or whatever nonsense, he edged the skirt up farther until her legs were free to press on either side of his. Even better, it allowed her to press against him. “Seems about right.”

“Actually, it was more like this.” She took his hands and put them on her waist, then with just a hint of pink to her cheeks and a moment of hesitation, she edged her shirt up a little so his fingers brushed the bare skin of her back.

Yeah, that’s exactly where they’d been. And it was exactly where he wanted to be. He smoothed his hands up her back. Soft, delicate. She was both those things, but underneath was lean muscle and a core of something he couldn’t identify. He’d think it confidence, but she was nervous, unsure.

Maybe it was just a clear sense of self, and acceptance of that. Whatever it was, it impressed him. Struck a chord with him. Something akin to affection and care and all the complicated things that went along with something more than fun.

But this was supposed to be fun. Fun until it wasn’t, because they weren’t right for each other. Eventually they were going to trip over the fact that they were competitors. They could ignore it for a while, but not forever.

Mia pressed a fingertip to his forehead, smoothing across the line there. “Thinking awfully hard for a man with a woman on his lap.”

Truer words never spoken. Dell forced himself to smile. “Trying not to press my luck.”

Her fingertip moved down the side of his face, across his jaw, and because he was kind of a screwed-up moron, he wanted to lean into the touch like a cat, nuzzle against her so she’d keep touching him like that.

“I think your luck is just fine.”

“You know, for someone who blurted out she was a virgin the first time I tried to kiss her, you sure have figured out the right things to say tonight.”

Her finger trailed down his neck. One damn finger making him just about crazy. “You caught me off guard that night. I prepared for tonight.”

He rubbed his palms across her back, down her sides. Though they itched to move farther forward, to touch cotton or lace or whatever fabric her bra would be made of, he wanted her to make the first move. Maybe it was a safeguard to make sure she was ready, willing…or maybe he just needed someone to show him they wanted him.

That thought bothered him enough to act instead of waiting for her. He traced a finger over the outline of the back band of her bra, then worked to unclasp it. She didn’t say anything, just pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

“You know, I read once biting your lip is a sign of sexual frustration.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “If that were true, I’d have a permanent bite make there at this point.” She toyed with the top button if his shirt, then unbuttoned it. Just one button.

Her hands rested there, at the small space one undone button created, and Dell rubbed a palm up and down her spine, enjoying the feel of soft skin and the warmth of her body on his.

What was he doing? Usually it was jump ahead as quickly as his partner let him, but…he couldn’t. He didn’t want to. And he didn’t know what to do about that.

“Sometimes it’s surreal to stop and think, here I am,” she said, her voice low as she toyed with another button, released it. “Sitting in Dell Wainwright’s lap.” She smiled shyly, her fingers slowly, hesitantly making their way down the column of buttons.

Because this moment was strange and intense and foreign, he felt the need to make a joke. “The Santa thing again?”

“No! I just…this, you, weren’t exactly something I’d considered for myself. It’s a strange feeling to be so far from what I thought was possible.”

He wasn’t sure what to make of that. She kept her eyes fixed on his mouth, unmoving, then she lifted a finger and traced it across his bottom lip, a slow, exploratory journey that was way sexier than it should have been.

And then she kissed him. Screw good, bad, whatever. Didn’t matter with her mouth on his. Her hands traveled his chest, pushing apart his shirt. She was all bold moves followed by hesitation.

There was something irresistible about that mix of nerves on top of a drive and determination that didn’t seem to falter.

He trailed his fingertips over her skin, smoothed his palms around to her abdomen and then up to move her bra out of the way. He cupped her breasts, took his time exploring the curves, the weight, then brushed his thumbs across each nipple.

Her breath caught against his mouth, her hands slowly traveling down his stomach. The slow path of her fingers was both agonizing and amazing. He broke the kiss enough to pull off her shirt, exposing pale, gorgeous skin. Some flowery scent filled the room, her soap or perfume, whatever. It would stick with him long beyond this minute.

She moved against him and he pulled her closer, using his mouth to travel the column of her neck, down until he found her nipple with his tongue.

He lingered, tasting her, teasing her until her fingers moved through his hair and held him there.

He tried to keep the desperation out of his movements, but the more she rubbed against him, the farther down her fingers inched, the less control he had over the need to push up against her, to dig fingers into her hips and move her at his rhythm.

There were a million ways she could undo him. One more touch, one more kiss, and it’d all be over. “Want to go to the bedroom?” His breathing wasn’t remotely even.

She swiped her tongue across her bottom lip, eyes focused straight on him. After a moment, she nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

“Are you su—”

“Don’t ask me if I’m sure. I said yes. I’m sure.”

Best damn answer he’d ever heard.

Oh, God. She was really going to do this. She was going to have sex. With Dell. She was going to have sex with Dell.

She hadn’t been lying when she said she’d prepared. She’d spent the day going over and over in her head how this might happen. What she should say. How she should act. Of course, it wasn’t quite following the script, but that was okay.

She was shirtless and so was he. His hand was in hers and he was leading her to his bedroom. Everything wasn’t just okay, it was fantastic.

They stepped into his bedroom and Dell flipped on the light. Mia got the overall impression it was messy and cluttered, but mainly she looked at his big, unmade bed and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Jeez, it’s freezing in here.”

“I can fix that.” He pointed to the bed.

She chuckled, and instead of taking the hint, she crawled under the covers, pulling them up to her chin.

He stood at the end of the bed, his mouth twitching into a smile. “Not quite what I meant.”

“Oh?” She had to swallow back a nervous giggle. She was in Dell Wainwright’s bed. His bed. Half-naked. And he was standing at the end of it, half-naked. She really had to stop letting that make her giddy.

Sex couldn’t be all that different than the idea in her mind. It wasn’t like she’d never seen a sex scene in a movie or read one in a book. An orgasm with somebody couldn’t be that different than doing it herself. She knew a lot about sex. She just hadn’t done it yet.

He unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. All confidence and swagger, he pushed them down and stepped out of them, then moved onto the bed, pulling the covers off her before he covered her with his body.

Oh. Wow.

“Better?” he asked, his voice husky in her ear.

Cold was no longer an option. She was heated inside and out. Her breasts pressed against the bare skin of his chest, his breath was on her neck, and she had to bite her lip to keep from squeaking out something silly.

Focus. She wanted this to happen. Oh, God, she wanted this to happen. So, she needed to focus on what would get her there. “I should probably take off my skirt.”

“You read my mind.” But instead of moving out of the way so she could, he unbuttoned and unzipped it for her, his fingers brushing the hem of her leggings. “Can I take these off, too?”

Mia swallowed. She still didn’t trust her voice, so she nodded and Dell pulled her leggings off her. His hand traveled the length of her leg, ending at her hip. Now on their sides facing one another, they were both naked except for their underwear.

Holy moly.

Okay. She could do this. She could totally do this. She knew what to expect, mostly, and it wasn’t like she’d never pleasured herself before. This couldn’t be that different. You know, aside from the human being next to her. The really hot human being next to her who had certain equipment she’d never been anywhere near.

Mia took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut. Wouldn’t help to think about that. One step at a time.

“We can stop anytime. I mean it. If you’re uncomfortable, you just tell me, okay?”

It was sweet. Really sweet. But it wasn’t necessary. She’d waited twenty-six years to do this. It wasn’t like she was some teenage girl being talked into it by her hormone-crazed boyfriend. “I’m nervous, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to. Nerves and not sure are two separate things. I’m sure.”

He smiled, cupped her chin and rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. There was something affectionate about the gesture, something that wasn’t just about sex. That was nice. Oh, scary as hell, but nice.

“Um, do you have a condom?” Look at her sounding all adult and normal. Of course, she’d practiced the line about eight million times.

He nodded.

“Okay. Good. That’s good. I mean—” He cut off her babbling with a kiss. Thank God for that.

His hands slid into her underwear, cupping her butt and pulling her against him. She could feel the hard length of him through the cotton of his boxers. She tried to keep her imagination from galloping ahead because then she would lose all the good parts of this moment.

Like him slowly pushing her panties farther and farther down until she was completely naked. He caressed her inner thigh, inching up as his mouth explored her neck and everything inside her vibrated with nerves and desperate excitement.

When his fingertips brushed her sex she almost jumped. His finger stroked her, and the butterflies in her stomach slowed, overrun by a warm cascade of need.

“D-Dell.”

“Want me to stop?”

“Not on your life.”

His smiling mouth hovered just an inch from hers and he kept his eyes steady on her face as he slid his finger inside. The only sound that came out of her mouth was a kind of squeaky sigh. He kissed her, soft and languid, and it matched the slow rhythm of his caress.

He was so close to bringing her to the brink, some of her hesitation and worry evaporated enough that she grew bolder. She moved against him, letting her own hands explore him. Ridges and dips, soft skin and coarse hair.

His mouth grew more demanding on hers and she whimpered against it, so close to orgasm she couldn’t even think about being nervous as her hand dipped into his boxers.

She closed her hand around him. Hard, hot to the touch, and when she stroked him, he groaned. That was just as exciting as what he was doing to her—knowing she was giving pleasure to him, too.

It wasn’t all that different than bringing herself to orgasm, except it had been Dell’s hand inside her and his mouth on her and him in her hands and that somehow made everything way more fantastic.

Yeah, way better than taking care of herself.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.” It came out breathless and not totally confident, but she was. Confident she wanted to do this with him. Now.

Mia watched as he rolled the condom on. She pressed her legs together, completely excited and also a little bit freaked.

He moved on top of her again and rested himself between her legs, but didn’t get right to it. Instead he touched her, gently stroking. When he entered her, it was with his finger. She hitched in a breath as he rubbed her closer and closer to climax again.

When she was close, the thick tip of his penis replaced his finger. Mia bit her lip, ordered herself to relax as he entered her slowly. He continued to touch her, even as he inched deeper inside. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable feeling. Not quite painful, but not really all that enjoyable, either.

His thumb brushed her. Oh, well, that felt good. Really good. She sighed against his neck, holding on. His strokes were slow, each one easier than the last. He said her name in a hushed whisper that made her heart turn to absolute jelly.

It was strange. Both physical and emotional. Both perfect and uncomfortable. She wondered if she was doing it right, if it was okay, but then his thumb found the exact right spot and she was able to forget about nerves and concentrate on arousal.

His breathing quickened, and so did his hand moving against her. Mia closed her eyes, let the sensation of him bringing her to climax by hand wash over her until the orgasm built again, falling over the edge with an intensity different than she’d ever felt before.

Dell pushed inside her one last time, teasing out those last jolts of pleasure, then stilled and kissed her jaw. He buried his head in her neck.

Was he done? He had to be, right? And she wasn’t a virgin anymore! She had half a mind to get up and do a little dance.

His hand smoothed up the curve of her hip, and his mouth nibbled kisses against her throat.

Silly to think it was perfect, but it so was.

He pulled up, resting his weight on his elbows, then chuckled. “You’re grinning.”

“Of course I am. I just had sex. Finally. What else would I be doing?”

He laughed, pulling out of her. It was such a strange sensation. Being filled and then not. He kissed her forehead. “Good point. Be right back.” He disappeared into the bathroom.

Was she supposed to go? Weird, in all her prep, she hadn’t really thought about the after part. Crap. Mia searched the room, remembered her shirt had been discarded in the living room. So had his.

She took a break from worrying to do a little booty shake. She sat up, holding the sheet up to her chest. Maybe she could just take it with her to the other room. Put on her skirt, which was somewhere at the end of the bed, grab her tights, shirt. Give him a kiss and say “see you later” like a mature adult woman.

That’s what they did, right?

“Going somewhere?”

Mia practically jumped, one leg off the bed and one still on. “Oh, well, I just wasn’t sure what the protocol was in this kind of situation.” Probably didn’t include using words like protocol. She pulled her leg back onto the bed, feeling weirdly self-conscious. He’d already seen her naked. He had quite expertly taken her virginity. What was there to be self-conscious about?

He frowned, studying her and she felt heat rush into her cheeks. How did he not look ridiculous standing next to the bed completely naked with a thoughtful frown? So not fair.

“The protocol is you’re supposed to stay. If you want.” He said it with a nod, then returned to bed, his arm sliding under her neck in one fluid, easy movement.

Her cheek was pressed to his arm and going home seemed silly. Why would she leave when he wanted her to stay and she wanted to stay? What was the point in safeguarding her heart when it had never been broken before?

“That…sounds good.” She snuggled in, closed her eyes, and reminded herself to live in the moment rather than dwell on something that couldn’t be changed.

Falling for Dell was as inevitable as things ending between them, but well, that was life. And she really liked living if it meant even a little more of this.