As the pressure built, she rocked her hips in rhythm with his tongue strokes. Her movements grew more urgent, and then her whole body began to tremble. With a loud cry, she jerked and then stiffened as her climax roared through her. Cosby stayed with her, drawing out her orgasm until she melted into the bed.
Opening her eyes, she looked into his smiling face and tasted herself on his lips.
“That was absolutely incredible.” In fact, she’d never had better, although she had a pretty good idea the best was yet to come.
He grinned in a totally male way as if to say, “Yeah, I’m a stud and I know it.” But his words were all about her satisfaction. “It makes me happy to give you such pleasure.” Then he leaned over and kissed her with a gentleness that made her heart swell.
“Just as soon as I catch my breath,” she promised, “it’s your turn.”
“I’m fine right where I am. Besides, we’ve got all night.”
She surprised him by rolling him onto his back and licking her way down to where he twitched in anticipation. She took him in her mouth and very deliberately explored every inch of him until, his voice strained, he suggested she stop.
“I won’t be much good for the main event if you keep that up.”
She licked her lips and slid back up his body, rubbing herself against him along the way. Just as she closed in on his lips, he let loose a loud curse. Surprised and a more than a little indignant, she demanded to know what was wrong.
“The condoms are in my wallet, which is in the back pocket of my jeans—on the bathroom floor.”
“Is that all?” She laughed. This she could handle. “No biggie. Be right back.” Monica hopped off the bed and disappeared down the hallway.
Comfortable with her body, she hadn’t bothered to cover herself. She knew she looked good naked. She delighted in the way Cosby’s gaze stayed riveted on her as she walked back into the bedroom. She crawled onto the mattress with an unwrapped rubber in her hand and rolled it down his hard length. Then she positioned herself over him and took him into her body, embedding him inch by delicious inch.
She leaned over to kiss him as his hands roamed over her, and then she began to move, picking up speed to match her breathing. As their excitement swelled, they thrust so hard the headboard slammed against the wall. She started to say something, but then he distracted her by capturing one of her bouncing breasts in his mouth as she rose and fell above him.
Sounds of their ardor filled the room, but she barely heard them through her haze of pleasure. Moan. Slam. Groan. Slam. “Harder!” Slam. “Oh my God!” Slam.
Finally, with a cry just shy of a shriek, she fell over the edge and took him with her. She collapsed on his chest, and he wrapped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.
“Did we knock a hole in the wall?” Cosby asked.
“I’m not sure,” she replied, too sated to lift her head.
“Remind me to move the bed away from the wall before we do that again.”
Chapter 17
When Dani’s parents met her at the airport, she sensed their disapproval pouring off them in waves as she hugged them.
Her mother pursed her lips. “Evan didn’t come with you?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“He wanted to, but I told him no,” Dani replied in a challenging tone. “I didn’t want to spend the money, what with the wedding coming up and saving for a house. Every little bit counts.”
Great, she thought, just great. She’d walked off the plane at Columbia Regional Airport only minutes before and already she felt the need to defend herself. And they still had a thirty-plus-mile drive into Jefferson City. How awkward is this going to be?
“If you were worried about money, maybe you shouldn’t have come,” her father snapped.
That certainly answered her question. She’d never known her dad to be that blunt or insensitive. Her mother, either. What the hell is with them?
Rita Davidson apparently saw the hurt but defiant look on her daughter’s face because her expression softened, just a little.
“He didn’t mean that the way it sounded, right, Sam?” When he didn’t respond, Rita jabbed him with her elbow. “Right, Sam?”
“Uh, yeah, right.” Dani’s father rubbed his side and shot his wife a dark look.
Dani hadn’t checked any luggage, so they bypassed baggage claim and went straight to the car. As they headed home on U.S. 63 and their small talk became even more forced, she decided to clear the air.
“Go ahead and say what you need to say so we can get past it.”
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, dear,” Rita replied in a prim voice.
“Yes, you do. Dad, you, too. Come on, out with it.”
Sam mumbled something about respecting one’s elders and Dani said, “Speak up, please, I can’t hear you.”
“Seems to me if a young man wants to marry a girl, he’d come meet her parents so they can decide whether he’s good enough for her.”
Is he kidding? Dani didn’t know how to respond to that. Where had all this negativity come from? And why now, after she’d flown hundreds of miles to be with them and her grandmother lay in a hospital bed?
“I guess you’ll just have to trust my judgment.” Dani refused to give in to the emotions that knotted her stomach and caused her head to throb. “I assure you that Evan’s a very good guy and will be a wonderful husband and father.”
“You’re not pregnant, are you?” Rita blurted.
“What? No. We’re getting married because we love each other and want to be together. Why would you think differently?”
“Because you’ve known this man for less than a year, Danielle. What’s the rush?”
“There’s no rush. He proposed, I want to marry him, so I said yes. I don’t get this. Why so many questions? I thought you’d be happy for me.”
“We just don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“About what?”
“About not taking the time to see who else is out there. Marriage is forever, you know.”
Sam grumbled, “It’s more like an eternity,” and Rita stared daggers at him before she turned back to her daughter.
“Unless, of course, you’re thinking that if it doesn’t work out you can always get divorced.” She made a face as if she’d just bitten into a lemon. “Isn’t that the prevailing attitude these days?”
“You know that’s not how I think,” Dani retorted. “Look, I’m almost twenty-nine years old. I’ve waited a long time to find the right guy. And he is the perfect man for me.”
“No man is perfect, honey, trust me.” Rita smirked at her husband, who rolled his eyes.
“I didn’t say Evan’s perfect. I said he’s the perfect man for me. There’s a difference.” Dani’s brow furrowed as she wondered whether the tension might have less to do with her than she’d first thought. She plowed ahead, figuring the question she needed to ask wouldn’t get easier if she waited. “Is something going on between you two?”
Sam stiffened, her mother blanched, and Dani had her answer, although she could’ve gone a lifetime without knowing her parents were having marital problems.
“Why would you ask such a thing?” her mother demanded. Dani saw right through her indignation.
“Because it’s obvious, and because I’d rather not spend my entire visit walking on eggshells. So come on, tell me. Maybe I can help.”
“This is between your mother and me,” Sam answered with a stubborn tilt of his head.
“We haven’t been getting along so well lately,” Rita admitted.
He glared at her. “I thought we agreed to keep this private.”
“Why, so nobody else finds out we don’t have a perfect marriage? I have news for you. That ship sailed a long time ago.”
“What the holy hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t you raise your voice at me, Sam Davidson. It’s not my fault my mother fell ill and had to come live with us. It wasn’
t a picnic for me, either, you know. I’m the one who bathed her, wiped her bottom, and ran her all over town to her doctors’ appointments. You weren’t stuck at home with her day after day, listening to her complain about everything you did and said. No, you were at work, and then you came home, plopped your butt in your recliner, flipped on the TV, and asked when supper would be on the table.”
“That’s right, Rita, I was at work. That’s pretty much all I ever do is work, and we’re still struggling to pay off that home equity loan we took out because our piss-poor health insurance didn’t cover but a fraction of your medical bills. And on top of all that, I inherited another mouth to feed when your mother moved in with us, and did she appreciate it? Hell, no. All she ever did was bitch and run you ragged. No wonder Dani doesn’t want to get married here. I don’t blame her. I wish I lived more than a thousand miles away from all this, too.”
“Well, that can be arranged, Sam, if you think it’s so horrible here with me. It’s one thing to sit around all evening like you’re the king of the castle. I’m used to that. But every time I’ve needed you to listen while I poured out my frustrations, to give me even an inkling that you cared what I was going through, all I ever got was a grunt, an impatient look, or a terse, ‘Do we have to talk about this now?’”
Tears pooled in her eyes as Dani sat in stunned silence. How many years have these feelings festered? What happened to their quiet, contented life? Was that just an illusion?
“I’m sorry we dumped all this on you, Dani.” Her father’s wounded gaze met hers in the rearview mirror. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but your mother just had to bring it up.”
“Don’t you dare put it all on me,” Rita snapped. “I refuse to take all the blame. We wouldn’t be in the mess we are now if you’d been the least bit sensitive to what I was going through.”
“Sure, let’s talk about your needs again, Rita. Because I’ve haven’t heard nearly enough of your whining.”
“How dare you—”
“Mom, Dad, stop! Please! Pointing fingers never solves anything. I had no idea things were this bad. You two need to talk to somebody before it gets totally out of hand and you say things you can’t take back.”
“If you’re worried about us getting a divorce, don’t be,” Rita informed her. “We don’t believe in it and of course the church frowns on it, as you well know.”
“I’m worried about you being happy,” Dani countered. “That’s way more important to me than what your friends or Father Muldoon will say if you split up. I can’t believe this.”
“It’s obvious you don’t care about what the church teaches,” her father chastised. “So don’t be spouting off about things you don’t believe in anymore.”
Dani crossed her arms and slumped back in her seat. Her parents were at each other’s throats and still felt the need to lecture her. She’d known the subject of religion would come up, but she hadn’t expected it so soon and under these circumstances. She couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t prolong or escalate the argument.
She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and texted Evan. Landed safely. Parents arguing. Big mess. Caught in crossfire. Call u later. Miss u. XXXOOO!!!
After a few minutes later, he texted back. Stay strong. Don’t get pulled into their drama. Love you. Call anytime.
Dani smiled. He always knew how to make her feel better.
When they arrived at the house she’d grown up in, Dani went straight to her old room and flopped on the bed. She wanted to talk to Evan but decided to wait so she wouldn’t get all worked up again before dinner. Eating and a sour stomach never mixed well. As she stared at the ceiling, her mother appeared in the doorway.
“Dani, I’m sorry we put you in the middle of that…discussion in the car. Once everything started coming out, I just couldn’t hold it in any longer.”
Dani kept her gaze on the ceiling and replied without much conviction, “Don’t worry about it, Mom.”
Rita hesitated, then moved to the bed and sat on the edge. She brushed her daughter’s hair off her forehead, the gesture reminding Dani of the depth of her parents’ love for her.
“We shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You father and I haven’t been happy for a while. But that’s our cross to bear.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way. You can get help. There’s no shame in going to counseling.”
“I’d be too embarrassed to talk to any of our priests.”
“So talk to a psychologist. I saw one a while back and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Suddenly Dani wished she hadn’t shared that information. She held her breath for what she knew was coming next.
“You went to a psychologist? Whatever for? Did you complain about your father and me? You had a very good upbringing, and you know it.”
Yup, pretty predictable. Dani didn’t have the energy to get into this now. But she knew her mother wouldn’t drop it until she received a satisfactory answer.
“I had low self-esteem and needed to feel better about myself,” Dani explained. “I was afraid to let any man get too close, and I wouldn’t have had the confidence to get involved with Evan if not for those counseling sessions.”
“So what, this psychologist told you it was okay to have sex outside of marriage, even though it goes against everything we taught you?”
“No. He let me make up my own mind about that. And thanks to his help, I finally gave myself permission to have a healthy, loving, committed relationship with a man who accepts me for who I am and doesn’t try to change me. Who, when he tells me I’m beautiful, is talking not only about the way I look but also the person I am inside. I know you don’t approve of premarital sex, Mom, but I won’t apologize for showing Evan how much I love him. How many other twenty-eight-year-old women do you know in this day and age who truthfully can say they’ve slept with only one man in their life?”
Rita said nothing for a while and Dani let the silence stand between them. Finally, her mother cleared her throat.
“I should’ve complimented you more while you were growing up. I should’ve made sure you knew how wonderful you are. You shouldn’t have had to learn that from a stranger.”
“I know Grandma has always been very critical of you and that her own mother treated her the same way,” Dani replied. “It’s a learned behavior. Somebody had to break the cycle. I don’t blame you or Grandma or Great-Grandma or anyone else. I never doubted your love. I had a happy childhood. You and Dad taught me a lot of important lessons, like how to work hard, respect other people, be thankful for what I have, and to understand the world doesn’t revolve around me and that life isn’t always fair. Those are all things I want to instill in my own children. I know you don’t agree with some of the decisions I’ve made, but my life has never been better. Please, just be happy for me.”
“I am, honey, I really am.” Rita leaned over to kiss her daughter’s cheek. “So is your father. But we’re so wrapped up in our own problems right now that it’s soured our outlook on everything. Do you know how stressful it is to pretend everything’s marvelous? It’s not easy to admit that it’s not.”
Dani could see years of hurt in her mother’s eyes.
“And as much as you love Grandma, suddenly being forced to be her caretaker only made things worse, I’m sure,” Dani acknowledged. “You and Dad should take a vacation, get away from your troubles, and rediscover why you fell for each other in the first place.”
“We can’t afford that.”
“I’ll give you gas money so you can drive down and spend a week with me and Evan. You can stay at our condo, sit by the pool, tour the aquarium, walk the beach, whatever. It’ll cost you next to nothing. Plus, you’ll get to know your future son-in-law.”
“Oh, Dani, we couldn’t impose.”
“You’re not imposing, I’m inviting you. We’d be thrilled to have you both.”
“I’ll talk to your father about it.”
“Will you really?�
��
“Didn’t I just say I would?”
“Okay, that’s a start. But I won’t let this go, so don’t hold out on me. I’m giving you fair warning.”
Chapter 18
When the alarm on Cosby’s phone went off, he opened his eyes, and saw the woman lying beside him, everything that happened the night before played back in his mind with vivid detail. His brother’s ridiculous behavior. The sadness in Melanie’s eyes. And then making love with Monica. He’d never forget how she looked as their bodies joined and she rode him to a powerful climax. It had been one of the best experiences of his life. He refused to think of it as just great sex, although he had no idea how she felt about it.
And now he had to ruin his good mood by confronting Gavin. He wished he and Monica could stay in this bed all day, burrowed under the covers to shut out the rest of the world. As he envisioned all the things they could do with and to each other, she opened her eyes and smiled sleepily.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Seven-thirty.”
Monica groaned. “I don’t have to be at work until one. You can stay a little longer, can’t you?”
She snuggled back against him and closed her eyes again. Cosby’s body, already on alert because of the direction his thoughts had taken, screamed at him to take advantage of being so close to a beautiful, naked woman.
When he moved his hand to her breast, her breath hitched. He tweaked her nipple until it tightened and traced her generous curves with his fingertips. Then his hand slid down her body, circled her belly button, glided across the arc of her hip, and palmed her backside. She rolled to her back and spread her legs, and he rewarded her invitation with caresses that soon had her panting and pleading for more.
As his clever fingers kept up their sweet friction, he outlined her lips with his tongue and then delved inside. The kiss deepened and he let sensation take over, blocking out concerns about family, morning breath, or the grumbling in his empty belly.
Her first orgasm only made him want to give her a repeat performance. By the third one, she told him she’d promise him anything. But when he rolled on a condom, she wondered aloud if she had the energy to give back as good as she’d gotten.
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