by Mia Carson
It was all the answer he needed. His mouth slanted across hers again, and his hands tugged her shirt up, lifting her up so he could pull it off. He stared down at her breasts, cupped perfectly in a blood-red bra. His eyes darkened as her breath quickened and his fingers slid one strap down her shoulder, followed by the other. Danny shivered at his touch, her nipples tightening like she’d never experienced before. His hand slid into one of the cups, and he held her gently. She drove her hands through his hair and pulled his mouth back to hers.
As he kissed her fiercely, deeply, pulling on her tongue with his mouth until she squirmed, his other hand snaked beneath her to unclasp her bra. After a few seconds of finagling, both of them laughing, it came free, and he pulled it away slowly. The chilly night air hit Danny’s chest, and her nipples hardened even more. His gaze locked on them, and before she knew what he was going to do, his lips closed around one, sucking hard. She cried out at the sudden sensation as his fingers tugged on the other one, and her vision blurred. It was crazy, the explosion of need happening between her legs, and her panties grew wet.
The look in his eyes told her he was only getting started. The promise of what was to come excited her, and she pushed his head closer to her chest as his fingers moved down her stomach to her jeans. His touch made her pant, and she worked her hips closer as he undid the button and slid the zipper down. His mouth left her breast, and she pouted.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll be back for more.”
His words sent chills of desire down her spine, and she watched his face as he slid down her body and tugged her jeans off. Her panties matched her bra, and he cursed under his breath. With her jeans gone, his mouth sucked and licked from her knee to her inner thighs until she desperately needed him to touch her in the one place she’d never been touched before.
A wicked grin spread across his face as his fingers reached up under the fabric. He yanked her panties down, and Danny thought she’d be embarrassed to be exposed. But the hungry look in his eyes chased that feeling away because she was with Jack, a man she was pretty sure she was falling in love with.
His eyes on her, his finger slid up to that wetness, spreading her lips before gliding in. She held her breath, and her head fell back as he moved inside her, stretching her. His mouth returned to the delicate skin of her inner thigh, caressing it with his tongue as his finger worked in and out, long pulls out and short bursts in.
“Jack,” she whispered, her hands grabbing the blanket beneath her in a need to grab something and hold on for dear life, as if her body was turned inside out.
When his finger vanished from her body, she looked up and saw Jack’s head between her legs a second before his tongue delved deep within her. Danny cried out, her slight moment of embarrassment gone as his mouth moved against her most intimate parts. Not sure what she was doing and not really caring as long as the pleasure didn’t stop, her hands buried in his hair and her hips rose with each thrust of his tongue. She groaned when his mouth moved to her clit, sucking hard on the nub of nerves. Danny didn’t know how much more she could take. Her back arched off the blanket and a cry was wrenched from her throat, but Jack didn’t stop. He, like her, wanted every last bit of her. And she was more than willing to let him have it.
As her inner muscles clenched and throbbed, Jack slid his finger inside her again, his thumb pressing and rubbing circles over her clit. Danny was being unmade in the bed of Jack’s truck, in his arms. Their month together stretched out before her into an eternity of bliss, knowing this was what she could have with him always. Needed to have with him. The pleasure increased in her body again, and every muscle cried out for release.
He nibbled her hip and raised himself up enough so his mouth could reach her breasts again. His lips covered one nipple, sucking hard, and Danny was lost again to his hungry demands for more. She shivered and grabbed his shoulders as the world spun around them.
“Danny?” he whispered, smoothing her hair from her face, his lips curled into a wicked smirk.
With him against her side, his erection was obvious, and Danny’s body clenched in anticipation of having him fill her. “I want you,” she whispered, licking her lips. “All of you.”
“You’re sure?”
She pulled his face down and captured his mouth with hers, stopping only long enough to say, “Yes,” against his lips.
Jack rose and undid his jeans. His eyes stayed on Danny’s. He bit his lip as if worried what she would think of him. He slid his jeans down and tossed them aside with his boxers. Danny’s eyes slid down his body, all lean muscle and a v-angle down to his waist. When her eyes moved lower, a smile flitted onto her face at the sight of his erection, his excitement, all for her.
Whatever he saw on her face caused a sigh of relief to escape his lips, and he lay back down beside her. He was warm against her thigh, and Danny quivered with the strong need continuing to blossom between her legs. His lips devoured hers hungrily, and she used her hands to tell him it was okay. His body lifted up over hers. His knee helped spread her legs, and he settled between them. When the tip of his member pressed against her folds, she lifted her hips to meet him. Gently, he slid inside, and Danny held her breath as she stretched for him. He moved slowly, giving her time to take him in as she breathed through the new sensation of being filled. When he was halfway in, she grew impatient and braced for the sharp pain as she moved forward, taking the rest of him in all at once.
She winced and cried out, pleasure and pain mingling as he froze over her. “Danny? Are you all right?”
The ache lingered for another few deep breaths and then subsided, and she turned her hooded gaze to him. “Perfect,” she whispered.
His face relaxed, and he moved his hips, pulling out and thrusting back in, but she could tell he was holding back. That was not what she wanted, not with a man who had given her so much already. Danny wrapped her legs around his waist, and when he thrust inside again, she pushed with her legs. They both groaned, her nails digging into his shoulders as she told him more, her breathing ragged as he listened.
Jack plunged into her, harder and deeper each time, and Danny moaned with the friction between their bodies… How he rubbed her clit, the way his brow furrowed as his speed increased. There was an underlying pain, but she absorbed it, and soon, the ecstatic pleasure overwhelmed her completely. His arms tightened around her, and he grunted, spilling inside her as she clenched and held him deep within. Their bodies shook together, and their gasping breaths mingled as one in the night air. Danny had never felt so loved in her life, lying there with him still inside her.
“That was incredible,” she whispered when she found her voice.
Jack grinned, and they both shivered as he pulled out and lay by her side. Then his eyes widened, and he cursed. “I didn’t wear a condom! Shit, Danny.”
“It’s fine; I’m on the pill,” she said with a laugh. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
He pulled her close, though she worried about the mess between them both—the little bit of blood from her first time—but he didn’t care. His arms were secure around her, safe as he breathed in her scent.
“This is how it should always be,” he said. “Just me and my Danny.”
Her body filled with warmth, and she snuggled closer against him. She’d never get enough of this.
CHAPTER 4
Jack was dying to get out of town, and it was only the end of June. Every day brought him closer to going to Texas and starting school, working his way onto the football team and, if he was lucky, getting drafted within a few years. It was what he’d hoped for since he started playing ball.
“I can’t believe she’s getting married! What the hell does she thinks she’s doing?”
He smirked at Danny lying across his bed, wrapped in the sheet, completely naked underneath. In her hands was a gaudy blue and yellow wedding invitation from her mother that had arrived in the mail earlier that afternoon. He flipped off his bathroom light and plopped down on t
he bed beside her, also naked, and kissed her fiercely before he took the invitation and leaned back against his bedroom wall.
For the past two weeks, his parents had been out of town, and they had taken full advantage of their absence. Since their first night together, they’d snuck out to the field as much as they could. Being with her, inside her, was a drug he couldn’t get enough of.
What the hell am I going to do when she goes to New York and I’m in Texas?
The thoughts had plagued him since she’d received her letter, but it was worse now that they’d built this connection. Shoving it aside, he focused on her body so close to his, her most tantalizing parts covered with his sheet.
“She found the right guy, I guess,” he said, forcing his eyes back to the invitation in his hands. “Still in New Orleans. I’m surprised.”
“Yeah, me too,” Danny muttered. “Dad’s going to be crushed.”
“You haven’t told him yet?” he asked with a frown.
“No, I can’t do that to him. You don’t see his face when someone brings Mom up. He still loves her despite everything she’s done to him,” she muttered bitterly.
Jack’s frown deepened, and he set the invitation aside. “It’s in a few weeks. Are you going?”
“I don’t have a choice. Damn, right at the end of the summer.” She sat up and leaned against his chest as his arms went instinctively around her. “I don’t want to lose any of our time together.”
“It’s only a week,” he placated, though his voice was wistful.
“The week before you have to leave,” she said against his shoulder. “You could come with me.”
“Can’t. Mom and Dad are forcing me on one last family vacation before I disappear forever,” he said with a laugh. “The reality is finally hitting Mom that I’ll be gone this fall.”
It was finally hitting him, too, and part of him didn’t want to go to Texas anymore. If it wasn’t for the damn scholarship and the way the coaches talked about how well he played, he’d go to NYU with Danny. It had crossed his mind more than once, but she would kill him if he gave up his chance at football, and his parents… They would think he had lost it. But he was worried, too, that he’d lose Danny to the big city and never see her again.
An alarm went off on her phone, and she groaned. “Time for work.”
“I don’t know why you haven’t quit yet,” he said as she pushed off the bed and let the sheet fall from her body. He cleared his throat, his gaze traveling from her bare shoulders to hips he’d held onto only minutes before, to those fine legs he loved wrapped around him. “You’re leaving soon enough.”
“Girl has to have some money,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t mind it so much. Tips are good.”
He watched her dress, which was nearly as attractive as watching her undress. “Want a lift?” he murmured, clearing his throat.
Danny winked at him, and he grunted in reply. “No, I’m on time today. I can make it to the diner. I’ll call you tonight when I get off and let you know how Dad takes the news.”
“If you need me, I’ll be there.” He stood to hug her. He kissed the top of her head and handed her purse over. Her hand snaked around his neck and brought his lips to hers for a kiss that left them both panting for more, but she had to go and they both knew it. “Later?”
“Promise,” she whispered with one final quick kiss and left.
Jack ran a hand through his hair as he went to the bathroom to take a shower.
What the hell am I going to do without her? He didn’t want to leave her, but he was moving across the country from her. Dread suddenly filled him, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t put it out of his mind.
***
By the time Danny got off at closing time, she was exhausted, her feet hurt, and she had no idea how she was going to tell her dad about her mom’s wedding in less than a month. Maybe she’d make him some dinner. She was hungry, even after stuffing her face all evening at work with pancakes, the only thing she actually liked at the diner. She knew she’d gained a little weight since school let out, which was weird since she spent more time on her feet at work now, but she’d been so hungry all night.
When she unlocked the front door, she called out for her dad. He was in the kitchen. “Hey, I’m going to shower real quick.”
“Good, you smell like fried food,” he said with a laugh.
“Funny, real funny, old man,” she called and hurried upstairs. She got to the bathroom and turned the water on when a box of tampons on the counter made her pause. It was unopened. When had she bought them? She should’ve gone through a whole box by now…
Danny gripped the countertop as the bathroom spun. Last month… She didn’t have her period last month, and this month? She counted days in her mind and cursed. It should’ve already happened. Two months and nothing.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered and sat down hard on the edge of the tub. “No… no… Oh, my God!”
Steps thundered up the stairs, and her dad knocked on the door. “Hon, are you all right? I heard you yell.”
“I’m a… I’m…” She couldn’t even get the words out.
“Danny? What’s wrong?”
When she didn’t answer, her dad asked if he could open the door. She reached over numbly and did it for him before sitting back down on the tub. She turned the water off and stared at the floor as her face grew hot.
“Danny? You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“Dad… I think, uh, I think I might be…” She couldn’t finish, but her hands went to her stomach.
Rick’s eyes followed the movement, and she waited for the explosion, for him to yell at her for being irresponsible and doing the exact same thing he and her mom had done. Instead, he sighed and sat down on the bathroom floor.
“Hon, things happen. We’ll figure it out.”
She frowned. “How? How is this okay?”
“Jack is a good guy. I’m pretty sure he loves you,” Rick shrugged. “It might be tough, but you two can make this work. Your mom and I did… for a while, at least.”
“You’re not mad?”
“No, disappointed a little… and worried, of course, but getting mad at you is not going to solve anything. You need to tell him.”
Danny stood quickly, shaking her head. “No, I can’t do that! He’s leaving for Texas in the fall, and if I tell him, he won’t go! I can’t have him give up everything for me… I won’t.”
“If you stay here, he’ll figure it out eventually.”
The truth hit her hard, and she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Her dad was on his feet and walking her to her room before she even realized what happened. What was she going to do? He was right. If she stayed in town, there’d be no hiding it from him, but NYU was out of the question now. She was worried enough about making it work there for herself, but her and a baby? It’d be impossible! There was no way out of this, and she sank down on her bed as her dad held her. Tears fell from her eyes at some point, though she didn’t remember crying.
Her dad couldn’t afford to move, and she wouldn’t ask him to do that. Her eyes moved around her room, watching her life with Jack slip out of reach… Her life of doing what she wanted was gone, and she’d bring him down with her… Unless… Danny frowned.
Could she do that? Would Karen take her pregnant daughter in?
She grabbed the wedding invitation from her purse. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about.”
***
Jack knew something was wrong, but Danny didn’t say anything. She was going to her mom’s three weeks early, and she wouldn’t tell him why.
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked finally. “Danny, just tell me.”
“You didn’t,” she laughed, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Mom just wants me to help her get things ready, that’s all.”
“But you’re going straight from there to New York?” It didn’t make sense to him, but she fed him the same line over and over again.
Jack stared at her tense shoulders and the way her dad paced behind her at the gate, waiting to see her off on the plane that would take her to New Orleans. “You’re sure everything is fine? You can tell me anything; you know that.”
A flicker of guilt passed through her eyes, but it was gone so fast, Jack wasn’t sure he really saw it. “I know. I have to go, Jack.”
He wrapped her up tightly in a hug, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll call you every day.”
A sheen of unshed tears filled her eyes. “I love you, Jack.”
His chest swelled with warmth at her words. “Love you, too.” His lips found hers in a need to be close, not caring that her dad was right there, or anyone else for that matter. It was just him and Danny. When the kiss ended and she slipped from his arms, Jack shoved his hands in his pocket to stop himself from grabbing her and finding a way—any way—to keep her there with him. He’d see her again soon enough. He was patient. He could wait.
***
Danny stepped off the plane, followed the crowd through the Louis Armstrong International Airport, and tried to brace herself for whatever her mom’s reaction would be. She had a fit over the phone the night Danny called with the news that she was pregnant. Danny had taken three tests just to be sure. She then decided to live with the mother who, only months ago, had warned her about this exact thing happening.
When she finally reached the main lobby and saw her mom waving frantically at her, Danny let the tears flow down her cheeks and her mom wrapped her in a hug.
“Oh, Danny, it’s fine. Everything’s going to be fine,” Karen said against her daughter’s hair.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I just… We didn’t mean to… And I didn’t know what to do.”
“I know, sweetie, but you’re here now, and we’ll get through it together,” she promised. “I’m not saying I won’t lecture you for this at some point, but today, you need to get settled into the new house. You can meet your soon-to-be stepsisters.”