Decisive Moments (In Time Series Book 2)

by Trinity Hanrahan

  He nodded, accepting the advice. “Thanks. So, I’ll see you two in a few hours?”

  “Yeah,” Teagan answered as he held out his hand to shake the older man’s. “I’ve got your number, so we’ll call when we’re on our way.”

  With a final round of goodbyes, Teagan turned and led me out of the waiting room in silence. By the time we made it to his truck, I was dead on my feet and could barely stand. Truth of the matter was I couldn’t even bring myself to think about complaining when Teagan helped me into the front seat, buckled me in, and closed the door. Before we even left the parking garage on our way home, I was asleep.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Five

  The sensation of strong arms around me and warm breath against my neck and shoulder woke me. I blinked in confusion against the soft light filtering in through the blinds and curtains of my bedroom. Despite recognizing where I was, I had no clue how I’d arrived there. The last memory was of being in Teagan’s vehicle as we left the parking garage. So, how did I…?

  I shifted a bit until I worked myself around in Teagan’s arms and took him in. His face was relaxed in sleep and a pang resonated through me. I’d missed this, the peace that came from being next to him when I slept. I reached a trembling hand out and lightly traced a finger down his nose, still not quite believing he was actually there.

  “Why are you awake?” he asked, his voice hoarse with sleep. “It’s too early to be up.”

  I quirked a smile. “I couldn’t sleep,” I replied.

  He tightened his arms around me and pulled me closer as he opened his eyes. “Oh? Why is that?”

  I shrugged. “Not sure.” I continued to trace the lines and planes of his face absently.

  “I’ve missed you, baby,” he whispered. “So much.”

  I sucked in a breath at his confession. Eyes searching his, I swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in my throat. “I missed you too.”

  His eyes darkened to a deep gray, and before I could react, he pulled me in and captured my lips with his. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss with a groan. His mouth opened and the tip of his tongue traced along the contours of my lips. Without hesitation, my lips parted and allowed entry. He plunged in with a sound that resonated through me.

  As our tongues tangled together, Teagan shifted his weight so I was on my back, him hovering over me. He broke the kiss with a ragged breath and buried his face in my shoulder. I sucked in a much-needed breath and stroked my hands along his back. I felt him shudder as he inhaled again.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked as I ran a hand through his hair. He breathed into my shoulder for a moment before he pushed back up onto his forearms and looked down at me.

  “I don’t know,” he admitted as he stared into my eyes. “Are we okay? Because I really need for us to be.”

  The vulnerability in his eyes and voice brought the walls I’d tried to build since we’d broken up tumbling down. Honestly, they’d never really stood a chance. In that moment, despite what might happen, I decided my place was beside Teagan. There were still things that needed to be discussed. I hadn’t forgotten what had brought us here. But I knew it could all be worked through.

  However, right now, in this moment, it was all about us.

  “We’re better than okay,” I whispered with a smile. I held my breath while he searched my face.

  “Yeah?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  A shiver worked through me at the fierce look that suddenly appeared on his face. “I’m not letting you go again,” he all but growled. “I was wrecked without you.”

  Not knowing how to respond and describe the intense emotions his words had just created within me, I pulled his head back for a kiss. This time there was no easy transition from sweet to heated. It was hot from the start. Eyes closed, I gave myself over to it.

  When our tongues met and wrapped around each other, Teagan shifted and his hand moved along my side. My heart began to pound harder than it already was. I felt the steady progress of his hand slide toward my breast. I knew I needed this connection with him. This needed to happen now.

  So when he paused, tensed, and pulled back from the kiss—again—I definitely took notice.

  His head tilted away and his eyes closed tight. Worried that I’d done something wrong, I touched his jaw. “Teagan? What’s wrong?”

  He inhaled sharply but didn’t look at me. “We need to stop.”

  I clenched my teeth and stared at him for a second. The frustration levels at that point were astronomical and I wanted to strangle him. I was done with the stopping thing. With a snort, I wrapped my legs around his waist. “No. There isn’t going to be any stopping this time.”

  His whole body became rigid and his startled gaze flew to mine. “What?”

  “I’m pretty sure you heard me.”

  The sudden gleam of interest and the hardness beginning to press against my hip told me I had his attention. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah, it is.” I licked dry lips and finished quietly, “It’s time, Teagan. I’m ready.”

  He was quiet for a moment before he reached up and traced his thumb along my jaw. “You sure?” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

  I nodded, more certain than I had ever been of anything in my life. He still looked uncertain, though. “What’s wrong?”

  He ducked his head then glanced up at me. “Maybe this isn’t a good time?”

  “What? Why?”

  “Aislinn, sweetheart…I really wasn’t expecting this. I’m kinda not, you know, prepared.”

  I stared at him in bemusement, not understanding what he was talking about. Suddenly, it clicked and the blush that formed felt like it covered my entire body. “Oh.”

  He let out a sighing laugh. “Yeah. Oh.”

  Then I remembered something, a rather important detail. “We’re okay, you know.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked as he shifted his weight, his muscles tightening under my hands.

  I flashed him a small grin. “I’m on the pill, remember? I never stopped taking it.”

  He looked at me in surprise. “You didn’t?”

  I didn’t even get to finish shaking my head before his mouth was back on mine. It seemed like his hands were everywhere at once and his kiss was ravenous. The heat swept me up and it barely registered that he had even worked my shirt up until he ripped his mouth from mine and lowered it to my breast.

  I gasped when he took the peak between his lips and started to suck. His tongue flicked my hardened nipple and I arched my back at the sensation, desperate for more. I threaded his hair through my fingers to hold him in place. His hand came up and began to toy with my other nipple, tugging and tweaking it, while he nipped at the one in his mouth. I didn’t even try to hold back the moan.

  Teagan pulled away and sat up, tugging me along with him. The look in his eyes was almost feral and a rush of warmth flowed through me and settled at the juncture of my thighs. He yanked my shirt up and over my head, my hair falling in a wild disarray of curls around my shoulders. He flung the shirt to the side without looking away from me and reached out to trace a finger along my collarbone. I shuddered at the light touch, goosebumps forming. His touch had always affected me, and now was no different.

  “You like that?” he asked, his voice rough. I nodded jerkily as he continued to run his finger down along the swell of my breast to circle around my nipple. “And this?”

  Before I could answer, he leaned forward and crushed his lips to mine again. An arm snaked around behind me and he let his weight carry us back down to the bed. We landed with a soft bounce and a giggle escaped before I could stop it. The look on his face, however, had all amusement fading into the background.

  Teagan began to kiss his way along my neck and down my chest. His mouth left a fiery trail behind that had me clutching at his shoulders and arching my back. He worked his way to my breasts, pausing to flick his tongue over each tip, before continuing down my body. He pressed open-mou
thed kisses over my stomach until he reached the edge of my cotton panties that stopped him from going any further.

  Shifting his body down the bed, he reached out and hooked his fingers into the edge of the fabric. He slowly pulled the piece of clothing down over my hips and along my legs, and they joined my shirt somewhere on the floor. He looked up and our eyes locked, not breaking as he trailed his hands up my legs, over my knees, stopping once he reached my thighs. He dropped his gaze from mine and took me in.

  “You’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, baby,” he told me in a gravelly voice. He looked back up at me. “I knew you would be.”

  I flushed, but smiled, then shyly gestured at him. “I think you’re a little overdressed, aren’t you?” I said, referencing that he still had on his sleep shorts.

  He gave me that cocky grin of his that always made my heart race. “We’re working on it, woman. Give me a minute.” His smile faded and he slid his hands along my inner thighs, closer to where I was desperate for him to touch. A soft sigh escaped at the feel of his rough thumbs sweeping along the creases where my thighs and pelvis met. My hips twisted in an effort to get him to touch me there.

  Despite being on edge for it, I was still startled when his fingers finally brushed against my folds. I gasped and arched my back in surprise as they parted through and found their way up to that sensitive bundle of nerves. Teagan leaned down and braced himself on one forearm and kissed me deeply. He worked my body in a way that quickly had me moaning into his mouth and grabbing the sheets, twisting them in a death grip. Just as the pressure began to coil tight within me, he stopped and pulled away.

  I was terrified he’d changed his mind and was going to stop us again. The relief I felt was overwhelming when instead he gave me an intense look and slid down to settle between my thighs. Again, the visual of him there in that position was almost too much for me. But I remembered what he’d said the last time and didn’t shy away. The gorgeous smile I got for that made the awkwardness I felt worth it.

  Before I could register, he dipped his head and I felt the smoothness of his tongue invade my overly sensitive flesh. My hands flew out and grasped his hair, and I cried out as he flicked over that small bundle of nerves again. With slow, long licks, he ran his tongue over me. I started to raise my hips up to him, desperate for more, and he obliged, taking that nub between his lips and sucking hard. My grip on his hair tightened and he growled against me, which only heightened everything.

  My body began to tense, coiling up and getting ready for that explosion. Teagan must have felt it too. He moved his arm, and then slowly one of his fingers entered me, filling me. My hips began moving against him and I felt another finger join the other one, stretching me.

  “Teagan!”

  He let out of a deep groan. The noise, its sound resonating with desire and the added vibration, put me right on the brink. I was so close, right there…

  Teagan twisted his fingers and flicked them against a spot deep inside me, and suddenly I was thrown over that edge. Crying out his name, I clung to him as everything tightened and then exploded. I rode it out and Teagan worked me through it, his mouth and fingers drawing out the moment.

  Slowly, the pleasure began to ease and I drifted back down. I opened eyes I hadn’t even realized had closed and saw Teagan now hovered over me, watching me. My arms wrapped around his neck while giving him a lazy, satisfied smile.

  “Did you like that, baby?” he asked with a cocky gleam in his eye.

  “I think you already know that answer, don’t you?”

  His lips twitched. “Maybe.”

  He leaned down and kissed me and I groaned as it quickly heated into a deeper one. His weight lowered down on me and I gasped into his mouth at the feel of him, naked, against me. At some point he’d managed to get his shorts off and I had not noticed. His hips settled between my thighs and he broke the kiss to look at me.

  “Are you sure, baby?” His eyes searched mine as he asked me again.

  I laid my hand against his jaw and smiled. “I love you, Teagan. But if you ask me again, I’m going to punch you.”

  “So, I guess you’re sure?”

  At my silence he flashed me a grin and gave me a deep kiss before he lifted himself up and reached down between us. I felt him position himself at my entrance and I couldn’t help but tense up, suddenly nervous. I could feel him, and he didn’t feel small by any means.

  “Relax, baby,” Teagan whispered as he ran his nose along my jaw and pressed a kiss against the corner of my mouth. Needing his reassurances, I turned my head, and he took my lips in a soul-searing kiss that curled my toes. I wrapped my arms around him, clutching his shoulders as tongues met and danced against each other. Lost in the moment, I forgot my nervousness and relaxed into him. That was what he’d been waiting for.

  Without warning, he moved forward and entered me in one deep thrust. I ripped my mouth from his in a gasp of shocked, burning pain. My body tensed as an overwhelming feeling of being full was forced over it. I gulped in a breath and tried desperately not to scream for him to just get out.

  “Oh my God!” I shifted my legs, seeking some relief but not finding anything.

  Teagan made a comforting sound and lifted a hand to push some hair back that had fallen over my forehead. “Just give it a second, baby. I promise you, this gets better.”

  I shot him a look that left no doubt as to my thoughts on the matter. There was no way this was getting better. All of those books and movies were lies. Lies!

  Teagan continued to stay still inside me, kissing me and giving me soft reassurances. I started to become more aware of the fullness of him and not of the burning pain. Curious, I slowly bent my leg up at the knee and felt him shift deeper in me. We both gasped at the sensation and my gaze locked to his as I bent my other knee. He must have found what he was looking for, because he flashed me a knowing smile before giving me a quick kiss.

  “Hold on, baby.”

  Before I could process what he was doing, he moved his hips back and thrust them forward into me again. I moaned in surprise and gripped his back while he repeated the action. I wrapped my legs around his waist and was pleased to find he went even deeper. Planting his hands beside my head on the mattress, he levered himself up and started moving with strong, smooth thrusts. While the pain was still there, burning, the pleasure was just as great. Apparently he liked it too, if his groan was any indication.

  He moved a hand to my jaw and tipped my head back to look at him, not breaking his rhythm. The look in his eyes caused what little breath I had left to rush out in a surprised sigh. Teagan was looking at me in a way that left no doubts in my mind as to how he felt anymore; this man loved me. The passion, desire, and emotion reflected in those gray eyes told me that I was the only one in his life.

  I was still processing the realization when he lowered his head and crushed his lips to mine in a heated kiss. That familiar feeling was building within me again and I wrapped my legs up higher around his waist. His hips moved faster and he broke the kiss to suck in a deep breath. He lowered himself onto his forearm and shifted a hand in between us.

  He watched me closely as his fingers worked me in tandem with his hips. That coil was getting tighter and tighter and all I could do was cling to him as he took me to the edge and over I went. This time the sensations were more intense and I cried out as I gripped him close to me. All sense of everything but Teagan and myself was lost as I rode out my release.

  I gradually came back to earth, panting and lightheaded. Teagan’s thrusts were erratic and his breathing was deep and heavy, but his eyes were locked on mine. Suddenly, he thrust deep inside me, stilled, and flung back his head.

  “Shit! Aislinn!” he growled out before he shuddered and then started relaxing into me.

  His arms wound around me, pulling me close, and his head dropped to my chest. We were both sweaty and sticky, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. I ran my fingers through his hair and sighed, my pulse f
inally starting to come back to normal. We lay there, in the cool quiet of the early morning, wrapped in each other’s arms for several minutes.

  “I love you,” he said softly from his spot on my chest, breaking the silence. “Please don’t ever leave me again.”

  My heart broke at his words and I knew then that I couldn’t ever leave him. “I won’t.” I stroked his cheek for a second and then whispered, “I love you too.”

  Chapter

  Twenty-Six

  The ringing of my cell phone broke the peaceful silence that had settled where Teagan and I lay in my bed. The sound was so unexpected that I jumped and he grumbled and tightened his arms around me in protest. I reached over and grabbed the offending phone and winced when I saw the number. We should probably be grateful his timing wasn’t as good as it usually was. With a sigh, I answered the call.

  “Hey, Connor.” Teagan tensed and I ran a hand along his shoulders to calm him. “How’s Mom? Has there been any change?”

  “All right, Ash. I’ve taken a couple of hours to think about this, I’ve calmed down a little…” He paused and took a breath. “Was there anything you felt I maybe should have been told before I walked into the hospital earlier?”

  I knew exactly what he was talking about. “Okay, so, while I should have told you about Logan, I couldn’t.”

  “And why would that be?”

  “Because Mom asked me not to.”

  There was a brief silence before Connor replied. “Ash?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Wasn’t Mom in surgery when you got here?”

  “Yes.” I frowned, not sure where he was going with this.

  “Huh. I gotta wonder, then, how did she tell you not to tell me?” he mused.

  I froze, realizing I’d just been busted. Teagan, sensing something wasn’t right, pushed himself up with a concerned frown. I shook my head and held a finger up to my lips indicating to keep quiet.