Your One True Love

by Layla Hagen

  “Stay. It feels good. It feels right. Let’s talk about us.”

  I forgot how direct he can be. I wish he’d have eased us into the conversation, give me time to warm up a little. On second thought, if I warm up more, I might end up on fire.

  “Caroline, I want a second chance for us. I’ve wanted this for years.”

  “Oh, Dan, I want it too.” My hands are shaking slightly, and I grip the ice tighter in one, resting the other on my belly. “I just don’t know if we should.”

  “I never said it would be easy.” He pulls me flush against him, knocking the breath out of my lungs. Our bodies aligned, I can feel the ridge of his obliques pushing against my pelvis. Or maybe that’s just my dirty imagination at work. Jesus, I’m going down fast. Daniel seems to be thinking along the same lines.

  “Look at you. You’re blushing and panting.”

  I don’t miss a beat. “Because you’re warm and I nearly lost my balance when you pulled me.”

  Daniel chuckles, but then the sound fades as he brings my hand to his lips, kissing the back of it, then my palm.

  “Caroline, I miss you. Us. This is our chance.”

  A soft thumping starts in my ears, intensifying by the second. My right knee weakens, then the left. Worst case of swooning if I ever had one.

  “I miss all of it too,” I murmur. He straightens up, looking directly at me. His eyes are full of their usual smolder (which adds a healthy dose of desire to the swooning), but also tenderness and emotion (which doesn’t help the swooning in the slightest).

  This man, I swear! He thinks he can just waltz back in my life, take over like this. I wish I could say his delicious promise or the heat in his eyes doesn’t sway me, but why pretend? I’m hanging on to his every word, but I need to make something clear.

  “We can’t just pick up where we left,” I say weakly.

  “That’s not my intention. We’ll start fresh, and it’ll be so much better than last time.”

  “Was pretty good last time too, except for the end.”

  His smile fades. “I can’t promise you forever before we even begin. It would be an empty promise. What I can promise is that I know how special this thing between us is. I didn’t last time, even though I suspected as soon as I lost it. But now I don’t suspect. I’m sure.”

  “I know too,” I assure him, heart pounding hard. Being here in his arms feels so good, so warm and perfect.

  He seals his lips to mine in a hot, hard kiss. Over my shirt and sports bra, he feathers his fingers around my nipples, turning them into tight, sensitive buds without even touching them. His gaze is molten, his breath rushed. Palming one ass cheek, he brings me flush against him. He’s hard already. Oh, I want this man. I want him so badly, my entire body is shaking. Daniel is all I see. All I want.

  Sliding out of his grasp, I hook my fingers in the waistband of his pants, pushing them down, then do the same with his boxers.

  Moving from the couch down on my knees, I stop when my mouth is right in front of his erection. I don’t attack him right away but tease him first, dragging my thumb from the base up to his tip, following the blue vein. The way he exhales between his teeth gives me immense satisfaction. I follow the same vein with my tongue, using just the tip. Daniel jerks his hips, fisting my hair with one hand. When I flatten my tongue against his heated skin, licking right up to the crease under his crown, circling it once, he tightens his grip. I love that I can make him lose control so fast.

  Greedy for more, I finally lower my mouth onto him slowly, watching his expression out of the corner of my eyes. With every inch I take in, his nostrils flare. He tastes so good. A little sweaty, a lot masculine.

  “You’re so good, baby. So, so good!”

  While I slide up and down, I bring one hand to the base, clasping what I can’t take in, squeezing tightly and then releasing, moving my hand lower, cupping the soft skin on his balls, sliding a finger down his perineum. He releases a loud, guttural groan that makes his entire chest quiver. To know I can undo this mountain of a man with one touch....

  “Oh, fuck. Caroline, you’re—”

  He never finishes that sentence. Instead, he pulls back, and before I realize what’s going on, he slides off the couch and onto the floor, shifting me until we’re both lying on the carpet, on our sides, my mouth in licking distance of his erection, his head level with my crotch.

  When he slides one palm between my thighs, I open up, desire soaking my thong. Any second now, he’ll lower my Lycra pants and thong—

  Rrrrrrrrip. He rips the pants right at my crotch. My thong is a thing of the past too.

  “Daniel!”

  “I’ll buy you new ones. I’ll buy you ten. But I want to lick you right now.”

  I’m sweaty, I want to protest, but the words die on my lips. We look at each other between our tangled limbs, and this moment holds so much tension and anticipation, I feel myself dripping.

  “I want to eat you out while you suck me off.”

  His dirty words fuel me like nothing else. I take him in my mouth as deep as I can.

  “I will make you come hard, Caroline. So hard your head will spin.”

  He buries his mouth between my legs, and I nearly bite him when I feel the lash of his tongue against my clit. He’s relentless and wild, and I match him every step of the way. Then he slips two fingers inside me, and I moan loudly around his erection. This is an assault on my senses. I’ve never opened myself intimately this way.

  Feeling his fingers inside me, his lips pulling my clit between them while I’m tasting him, is too much. I take him in deeper, feeling him at the back of my throat. Wetness rushes between my thighs when he starts moving his hips lightly, taking control, making love to my mouth at the same time his tongue draws maddening circles around my clit. Around and around he goes, coaxing pleasure from deep inside me until I explode.

  I pinch my eyes shut as we both climax, rocking and thrashing, lost in each other.

  Daniel shifts around until his eyes are level with mine.

  “You okay?” He smiles, pushing a few loose strands out of my face.

  “Thoroughly satisfied,” I inform him, returning the smile.

  “Oh, baby, but I’m not done with you tonight.”

  Even though my body is limp with pleasure, tingles of anticipation run through me. Daniel helps me to my feet, his hand warm and steady. Something feathers along my inner thigh. One look down and I want to hide my face in my hands. My ripped panties dangle down my inner thigh, the ripped pants leaving nothing to the imagination.

  “I need to shower,” I say.

  “That’s where we’re going. And stop overthinking. I loved your taste.”

  “I was sweaty!”

  “I loved it.”

  I lead him to my bathroom, still self-conscious of the thong hanging between my legs, the ripped pants. On the plus side, my ankle doesn’t hurt anymore. We drop our clothes on the tiled floor and step into my shower stall, which isn’t big enough for two. But my tub isn’t either, and we’d splash water everywhere if we used it because I don’t have a protective curtain. I only use it for lazy baths.

  “Cozy in here,” Daniel remarks as the spray of water rains down on us. We do a quick job of cleaning ourselves, but feeling him right behind me is distracting. Ah, what this man does to me. It should be illegal for him to be able to turn me on without even touching me.

  “Tonight I will take my time with you,” he whispers.

  “You did that in the marina hotel too.”

  “No. At the hotel I loved you like it would be the last time. This, tonight, is a new beginning.”

  I shudder in his arms, his words traveling over me like a caress. He pushes my hair to one side, kissing the the back of my neck, turning my knees weak.

  “Put your hands up and hold them there.”

  I immediately do as instructed.

  He trails kisses down my spine, skimming his fingers at my sides, over the roundness of my breasts, my rib c
age, and waist. By the time he is touching the curve of my hips, wetness rushes through my center. I press my hands on the tiles, clenching my teeth. He’s turning every inch of my skin into an erogenous zone.

  He kisses down one of my thighs, until he reaches the back of my knee, moving his tongue in small circles. I suck in a breath, dearly hoping my legs won’t give out again.

  When I feel his fingers trailing up my inner thighs, I open my legs wide without any shame or restraint, bracing myself.

  He lets out a rush of hot air right against my ass cheek as he slides one finger inside me.

  “Fuck, I love your sweet ass.” He gives it a little smack, then palms a cheek. I press my palms against the wall, but they skid a little on the wet tiles. My glutes are tensing. “Your pussy.” He slides in a second finger, and I lick my lips. “Every part of you.”

  He parts his fingers, forming a small V inside of me.

  “Daniel, oh.... Oh!” I pinch my eyes shut, biting my lower lip. He’s stretching me, getting me ready for him. I can’t stand it for one second longer. I need to kiss him, now that he’s mine again. Mine to touch, to love, to hold.

  As if reading my mind, he pulls his fingers out and commands, “Turn around.”

  I do just that. He’s on his knees on the shower floor, his head level with my navel. As I begin to lower my hands, itching to touch him, he shakes his head.

  “Put your hands above your head, against the tiles.”

  I pout. “But I want to touch you. Your hair is so damn sexy. Practically begs me to run my fingers through it, tug at it a little.”

  Daniel merely watches me, gaze hard and unflinching, as if saying, “I’m in charge here.” Wordlessly, I raise my hands. Daniel lifts one of my legs, hooking it on his shoulder, then pushes me against the cold tiles, kissing me intimately. Feeling the cold tiles against my back and his hot mouth on me at the same time is too much. And he’s just getting started. He licks and nips at my clit, using his fingers to spread open my folds, then push them together, driving me crazy. My vision clouds as pleasure ripples through me, starting from where his lips work on me and spreading everywhere. I’m so close to the edge. So close.

  “I want you to keep your hands there when you come. Do you understand?”

  Keep... what? Is he insane? I need to touch him right now. More than that, I need to ground myself, to hold on to something. I can’t protest, though. Words fail me as an orgasm blindsides me, sweeping through me with such force that the leg I’m standing on gives away. I feel Daniel’s hands, strong and steady, holding me up, keeping me from crumbling right onto his face.

  This isn’t just an orgasm. It’s a Danielgasm—the full-body kind of pleasure that leaves your skin zinging, your teeth clattering, and your mind spinning.

  He leaves me no time to breathe or recover. I barely make out his shape as he rises to his feet, palms each ass cheek in one hand, and lifts me off my feet. Instinctively, I wrap my legs around his middle, crossing them on the upper part of his ass.

  He lowers me onto his erection in a single, desperate thrust that knocks the breath out of my lungs. The size of him, fuck. I blink once, twice, trying to clear my vision. And Christ, what a vision this is. Now I can touch him. I run my hands over his shoulders, descending, feeling the way the muscles corded around his arms tense with the effort of lifting me up and down onto him.

  My breasts jolt on every thrust, my nipples grazing his chest as he leans in to pepper my face with kisses in between. Feeling him pull away and then fill me again so utterly and completely is so intense I can barely keep myself from falling apart. I want to wait for him to reach the cusp too, so we’ll fall off the edge together.

  “You’re beautiful. So perfect. So sexy,” he murmurs. “Oh, God, Caroline. You feel—”

  A crease appears on his brow, and the set of his mouth is tight. I come the moment I feel him widen inside of me. I cry out, my inner muscles clenching so tight, I’m afraid I’ll pass out.

  “Oh, fuck. That’s it. Come around my cock, beautiful.”

  Tremors ripple through my body, my orgasm intensifying as I feel him finish too, feel his pleasure spread throughout me. He tucks me into him as we rock against each other.

  Once we come back from cloud nine, he lowers me until my feet are on the shower floor. My thighs are quivering slightly. I’ll be sore tomorrow.

  “Are you okay?” he inquires, his eyes searching me. I swallow twice, clearing my throat and finally finding my voice.

  “Perfect.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Daniel

  She looks like a vision, walking around the kitchen in the early morning light wearing my shirt, unbuttoned. It reaches just below her ass, hiding it. I’ll remedy that in a second, but for now, I just want to enjoy this moment. She’s here. She’s mine.

  “Holy crap,” she exclaims, whirling around. “I didn’t see you. You scared me. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  Closing the distance to her, I wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against me. Her thighs rub against my jeans, her breasts against my bare chest. Her nipples feel like pebbles. I lean into her, intending to kiss her, but she turns her head, offering me her cheek. “Caroline?”

  “I have morning breath. I came straight to the kitchen to start the coffee machine. Didn’t shower or brush. You can’t kiss me like this.”

  “You’re fucking adorable.” I kiss down her neck, push the shirt off one shoulder, nip at her skin.

  “Dan... what are you doing?”

  “Kissing every other inch of you, since your mouth is off-limits.”

  She groans. “We can’t. Don’t tempt me. I have to leave for work in half an hour.”

  “Call in sick.”

  “I can’t take the day off. You can’t either. You run a company, remember? Go run one of ‘the most successful companies in the Bay.’”

  The words sound familiar. “You’ve read that article?”

  “Yeah, I did. Kept the magazine too. Though I found the article lacking. They didn’t mention your IQ, or that you were the best in our class, and at Stanford too. Blake told me. You’re the smartest person I’ve met.”

  Knowing she thinks so highly of me is the best damn way to start the day.

  “So go run your company. Go boss people around.”

  “Today I just want to boss you around.” I give her ass a little smack, and she shudders against me.

  With a shrug, she says, sounding a little nervous, “So you want to come by tonight? If you don’t have plans. Only if you want to. You don’t have to.”

  “I want to.” I tilt her chin up and cup her face with one hand. “I want to see you every night. Don’t be so nervous around me.”

  “I’m sorry. I guess... I’m just afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing.” A deep breath, another shy shrug. “I can’t believe you’re here, in my kitchen. That this is happening. That we’re happening.” She drops her head in her hands. “I’ll stop talking now. I’m embarrassing both of us.”

  I run my nose from the crook of her neck to her ear, bite at her earlobe. “We are happening. And I want to spend as much time with you as possible. Caroline, whatever you need, just say it, ask for it. I’ll do the same. We’ll work everything out.”

  “One awkward moment at a time.” She moans softly while I kiss back down her neck. “Dan, I need to go shower.”

  Instead of letting go, I wrap my arms around her.

  “In a minute. I just want to hold you for a minute.”

  She melts against me as I bury my nose in her hair, enjoying our togetherness as much as I do.

  ***

  Caroline

  Ten minutes later, I step out of my bedroom fully dressed. Hurrying back to the kitchen, I discover Daniel’s made sandwiches. I want to memorize everything about this moment: Daniel walking around my kitchen, wearing nothing but jeans. I’ve left his shirt here, but he didn’t put it on.

  “Looked through your fridge, hope you don’t
mind.”

  “Not at all. I’m starving. Thanks for making these.”

  “Dig in.”

  I don’t wait to be told twice; I grab a sandwich and bite into it. It’s delicious. When I down the last mouthful, two strong arms come around my waist, washboard abs pressing against my back.

  “For a second there, I thought you’d run off again when I woke up and you weren’t there.”

  I laugh. “Where would I run off to? It’s my apartment.”

  “So, you would have left if we weren’t at your place?”

  “No, no. Sorry, that came out wrong. Not what I meant.”

  He flips me around, placing his palms at the edge of the counter at my sides, caging me in. “You sure?”

  I nod, startled at the doubt in his eyes. “One hundred percent.” Standing on my toes, I place a quick kiss on his lips. Correction—I meant it to be quick. But Daniel takes charge the next second, slinging a hand at the back of my head, the other on my waist. He kisses me so hard and so hot that all my lady parts quiver. When he palms one of my breasts over the fabric of my blouse, I moan against his mouth. I smile ear to ear as we pull apart.

  “What’s with that smile?” he asks.

  “Nothing,” I answer quickly. He levels me with his gaze. I stubbornly hold it, and hold it... and lose. I never could win a staring contest against Daniel. In my defense, though, the man holds so much heat in his gaze, I’m sure he could melt glaciers. If ice doesn’t stand a chance against him, what chance does poor little me have?

  “Fine, if you must know, I was thinking that it was almost worth it to get you all worked up for that kiss. There, I said it.”

  I jut my chin forward in a challenge. Daniel’s lips curl in a smile, but his gaze loses none of the intensity. The disheveled morning hair and five o’clock shadow on his cheeks look good on him.

  “Want to put your shirt on?” I ask.

  “Why? Am I too distracting?”