It Started With a Kiss

by Melanie Moreland

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  I paused and glanced away.

  “What?”

  “Karen . . . what she said—about you being in love . . .”

  His face changed expression, his gaze becoming tender and filled with emotion. “I wondered if you noticed that.”

  I could only nod, not sure how to ask the question.

  “I am in love.”

  “With me?”

  “Yes, of course with you.” He cradled my face, his thumbs running small circles on my skin. “I didn’t mean for you to find out in a parking lot with my ex-girlfriend in the mix. I wanted to tell you in a romantic setting.”

  I shook my head, wrapping my hand around his wrist. “I don’t need romance, Daniel. I only need you. Because I feel the same way.”

  “Say it, Avery. I want your words.”

  “I love you, Daniel Spencer.”

  “I love you, Avery Connor.” He covered my mouth with his, kissing me hard, the passion simmering right on the surface of his caress.

  “Even though I’m a terrible driver? And I was so jealous watching her touch you, I wanted to rip her hand off?”

  “I love you more for both of those. It gives me something to do for you—drive you places so you’re comfortable, and as for the jealousy part, I feel the exact same way concerning you.”

  I gazed at him, a feeling of belonging washing through me. He loved me. This wonderful, incredible man loved me. I had never been loved by anyone, and I knew being loved by Daniel Spencer was going to be life-changing. He made me feel differently about the world, and myself. With him, I felt right. Accepted. Adored. It was a powerful emotion.

  “I need three, Avery.”

  I smiled, knowing the three he needed were about him. Us.

  “I love how it feels when you say my name.”

  “Sprite,” he breathed out.

  “I love how you treat me—as though I matter more than anything or anyone.”

  “You do.”

  “I love how it feels when you’re inside me, when we’re connected in every possible way.”

  With a hooded gaze, he lowered his mouth to my ear. “I fucked you against this truck this morning. Right now, I feel like fucking you in it, just so you remember you’re mine. How would you feel about that?” His lips trailed down my neck, grazing across my cheek, teasing the edge of my mouth.

  “It’s a parking lot,” I squeaked out.

  “The windows are tinted. My place is too far away right now.”

  “My apartment is ten minutes away.”

  He pulled back with a nod and traced his finger over my lips. “Only you, Avery. I’ve only ever felt all of these emotions, these reactions with you. You bring out something in me I don’t understand. I didn’t like the idea of Buck, or anyone else for that matter, touching you.”

  “I didn’t like the way she was touching you, either.”

  “Then let’s get somewhere alone, so you can fix that, yeah?”

  In a move he didn’t expect, I grabbed his shirt, yanked him to me, kissing him long and hard. “Yes.”

  His eyes crinkled as I released him. He pulled the seat belt over me, securing it with a click. “Hold tight, happy bum. Mario is about to take over.”

  I laughed as he slammed the door. I was okay with fast right now.

  Daniel

  We barely made it into her apartment before I had her tight to the wall, trapped with my body. Hearing her tell me she loved me made me wild. I had been holding back in order not to scare her by moving too quickly, but she was right there with me.

  I made short work of her skirt, pushing it past her hips along with her lacy underwear, and lifting her to wrap her legs around my hips.

  My pants hit the floor, the belt buckle making a loud thunk, and I was inside her. I surged deep and hard, needing the feel of her around me.

  Her fingers clutched at my hair, her body shaking as I slammed into her. Her moans and whimpers were a low echo of the roar in my head that built along with the orgasm building in my body.

  “Come with me, baby. I can’t hold on,” I pleaded, my mouth pressed on the soft skin of her shoulder.

  She tightened her legs, arching her body, letting me deeper inside. My arm shot out, a loud crash exploding in the room as the lamp fell over. I hit the table with my hip and the dish she kept her beloved mints in scuttled over the edge, hitting the floor, candies scattering everywhere. Papers and mail followed, the sounds small echoes in the room. It did nothing to stop me.

  “I’m fucking destroying your apartment.”

  “Destroy me, Daniel. Fuck me,” she begged, in a husky voice.

  Her words did me in. Hearing her curse and plead threw me over the edge, and with a low growl, I came so deep inside her, I knew she’d feel me for days. I wanted her to feel me—to know she was mine. Every part of her.

  Avery hid her face in my neck, crying out. Her fingers tugged on my hair as her tongue swirled on my skin, her lips drawing into a pucker.

  I pushed her face in harder as I felt the sting of her teeth sinking in. “Yeah, baby, mark me.”

  She shuddered, and her body became loose and heavy in my arms. She eased the sting of her bite with teasing caresses of her tongue, and I turned my head to drop a kiss to her hair. She lifted her face to mine, and minutes passed as we kissed, the intense passion draining into something softer—sweeter.

  Gathering her to me, I stumbled back to the sofa, sitting down heavily, holding her. I snagged the blanket behind me, wrapped it around us, and relaxed back with a sigh. She rested her head on my chest, nestled tight. We were quiet, letting the emotion pass and calm to settle.

  “Okay, Sprite?”

  She peeked up at me, her sleepy eyes shining. “I’m good.”

  “You bit me.”

  “You fucked me.”

  “Touché.”

  “What is it with you and walls? I feel like an Avery filling in a Daniel and wall sandwich these days.”

  “Best damn filling ever.” I ran my finger down her cheek, laughing. “And it’s not just walls. Any hard surface will do.”

  She rolled her eyes at my words.

  “I don’t know,” I confessed. “You bring out a passion in me I’ve never felt for anyone. I want you all the time. Besides,” I added, lowering my head to hers, “you feel so damn good pressed between me and the wall.”

  “Or the truck,” she quipped.

  “Or the truck. The shower. The barn is pretty awesome, too.”

  I was granted another bout of her giggles. I loved making her laugh. I tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “I can control myself if you want me to.”

  “No,” she admitted. “I like that you are so passionate with me. I’ve never had that until now.”

  “Get used to it, because I’m not going anywhere.” I tucked an errant curl behind her ear. “I love you.”

  Her smile was like sunshine. “I love you.”

  I held her to my chest, dropping a kiss to her head.

  She shifted a little and grimaced. “All this filling makes me a little messy, though.”

  I stood, taking her with me. “I think I hear another wall calling my name, Avery. I seem to remember a good non-slip mat in your shower.”

  “Yep,” she happily agreed, kissing my shoulder. “An extra-good one.”

  “Perfect.”

  I woke up, warm and entwined with Avery. We had spent the rest of the afternoon making love, fucking, napping, and talking. Mostly the first two. Her bed was a mess—blankets strewn around the floor, items knocked over on her dresser. I had also proven to her that kitchen counters were a great place for showing her how tasty of a filling she was, making her come with my mouth and fingers multiple times, until she was a shaking mass of nerves in front of me.

  I carried her to the bathroom for yet another shower. As I adjusted the temperature, she shocked me by pushing me against the wall, grinning wickedly. “My turn for a Daniel filling.”
>
  I groaned as she sank to her knees, taking me into her mouth, her hands pressing my back into the cold tile. It was unexpected and highly sexy. She stared up at me, her mouth filled with my cock, and began a tortuous circuit with her hands, cupping my balls, rubbing my thighs, and teasing me with her lips and tongue. The erotic sight of her doing that to me, the warm water raining down over us, and the intense pleasure of her mouth was too much. I came down her throat, throwing my arm out to steady myself as I roared her name. I brought the entire shower curtain and rod down around us, as the steam billowed and my orgasm raged.

  With mumbled promises of cleaning up all the damage, I tugged her back to her bed, found a blanket to cover us, then we fell asleep.

  I blinked in the early evening dusk and glanced down at Avery. She was watching me with a small smile curling the edge of her lips.

  “I don’t think I have ever spent this much time in bed on the weekend,” I rasped through my dry throat.

  She leaned over and offered me a bottle of water. I accepted gratefully, drinking down in long swallows.

  “We’ve been very lazy.”

  “We’ve been very destructive.”

  She laughed, the sound low in the dim light. “Nothing major. We’ll clean it up fast.” She frowned. “I am starving, though.”

  I finished the water. “Me, too. I’ll take you out?”

  “Don’t really want to.”

  “Pizza? I can order in.”

  “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  “You have a number?”

  She slipped out of bed and padded down the hall, returning a few minutes later with a menu. She laid my pants and shirt over the chair and handed me the menu. “I picked up the lamp, or at least what was left of it.”

  “What else broke?”

  “Nothing. I picked up the bowl and the papers.” She shrugged. “I sort of kicked all the mints under the table. I’ll deal with those and the messy papers later.”

  “I’ll fix the shower curtain.”

  “Okay.”

  “And replace the lamp.”

  She shook her head. “I was never overly fond of it. Luckily, it sort of broke in pieces.”

  I ordered the pizza, making sure to get plenty of olives on her half, and held out my arms. “Come here. I miss you.”

  She curled into my chest. “You’re crazy.”

  “I am about you.”

  She burrowed closer. We lay enjoying the quiet, both of us drifting off. The knock at the door roused us, and I stood, grabbing for my pants, pulling them on, not bothering to do them up. I didn’t plan to keep them on for long. “I’ll get the pizza.”

  She sat up. “Okay. I’ll get dressed.”

  I handed her my shirt. “This is all you need.”

  She laughed, accepting it. I bent low and kissed her, just as another knock, heavier this time, sounded.

  “Impatient pizza guy.” I huffed.

  “He always is.”

  “Stay here. We can eat in bed and watch a movie.” I plucked the shirt from her hand. “Actually, you won’t need this after all.”

  She beamed at me. “Okay.”

  I made my way to the door, digging out my wallet. Another knock sounded. I flung open the door, not looking up as I took out some money. “Sorry, man. Got here as fast as I could.”

  All I heard was a muffled gasp, followed by a low curse.

  Startled, I looked up and froze.

  Avery

  I curled up, holding my pillow. It smelled like Daniel. Fresh grass, citrus, something musky, and all him. I pushed the book teetering on the edge of the nightstand back into place. We had certainly left a trail of our lovemaking behind us. I knew the term fucking was more accurate, but every time Daniel touched me, every time he was inside me, no matter how frantic it was, it still felt as if he were making love to me.

  And he did love me. The way he said it in the truck, the emotion in his eyes, I could feel it everywhere. I could feel him everywhere. He filled up every corner of my mind—and my heart.

  I rolled over to study the few movies I had piled up by the TV, wondering if he would want to watch any of them, when I heard hurried footsteps.

  I sat up as Daniel came in, shutting the door behind him. I tried not to drool as I looked at him. His hair was disheveled, sticking up everywhere from my fingers. His torso was bare. His pants hung low on his hips, the button open. There were two marks on his neck and another on his chest from my passion earlier. He looked like sex. Walking sex. Then I met his gaze. His wide, panicked gaze.

  “Daniel, what’s wrong? Where’s the pizza?”

  He stepped forward, crouching down, holding my arms. When he spoke, his voice was low and intense. “That wasn’t the pizza, Avery.”

  “Oh Lord, was it Beth?” A chuckle escaped my lips. “She got an eyeful, didn’t she?”

  He shook his head wildly, and something in his expression made me realize he was being serious.

  “What is it? Who was at the door?”

  “Avery,” he began in a nervous tone, “your parents are in the living room.”

  I scrambled off the bed, staring at Daniel in shock.

  “What?” I prayed I hadn’t heard him correctly.

  “Your parents are here. In the living room.”

  I blinked, swallowed, then reached past him, grabbed a mint from the bowl and started chewing. Watching me fidget, he handed me another one.

  “Say something.”

  I indicated him with a wave of my hand. “They saw you—like that.”

  “Yes.”

  “My father.” I snagged another mint. “He saw you half-undressed and looking so . . .”

  “Recently fucked, yes.”

  I shut my eyes, drawing oxygen into my lungs slowly to remain calm. When I opened them, Daniel was still watching me, apprehension in his gaze.

  “You have to run.”

  His lips twitched. “Where would you like me to go, Sprite? Out the window?”

  “It’s only two stories. The worst that can happen is a broken leg.”

  “Ah, no. I don’t think so. That would leave you here to face them alone.”

  “He won’t kill me.”

  Leaning down, he picked up his shirt. “He won’t kill me either.”

  “What did they say?”

  “Your mother kinda gasped and your dad cursed and sputtered a lot. He thought he had the wrong apartment.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “I let them in and told them I would come get you.”

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  He smiled in reassurance. “You go and say hello to your parents, and properly introduce me.” He held up his hand. “After you get dressed that is.”

  I grabbed some yoga pants, and yanked them on, then I searched in the closet for a long-sleeved shirt, pulling it over my head.

  Daniel handed me a brush, and I impatiently tugged it through my hair. I added a spritz of perfume, hoping it covered the smell of sex I had all over me.

  Daniel was all over me.

  I looked up at Daniel in trepidation. “I take back that statement. He might kill us both.”

  Daniel wrapped his arms around me. “He won’t kill anyone. He—they both—are a little shocked, but they’re your parents and they love you. They came to surprise you.”

  I couldn’t help the hysterical giggle. “I think they got the surprise.”

  His chest rumbled with suppressed laughter. “They did.” He dropped a kiss on my head. “Go see your parents, baby. I’ll tidy up and be out in a minute.”

  “Do I look okay?”

  “You look too good for me to be alone with you much longer. I don’t think your parents would survive the shock.” He pushed me gently to the door. “Go see them.”

  I grabbed a final mint. “Okay.”

  I rounded the corner. My parents were sitting with their heads close together speaking quietly. I tried not to think about the fact Daniel and I had sex on the sofa only a few hou
rs ago. I stole a glance around the room, grateful I had picked up the lamp and bowl earlier. I only hoped my mother wouldn’t notice the mints.

  I sucked in a long breath. “Hi.”

  They looked up. My mom stood, opening her arms. “Avery!”

  She enveloped me in her embrace and I inhaled her scent. It was the same perfume I had known all my life—Elizabeth Arden’s Blue Grass. She never changed. She smelled like Mom and home. I hugged her hard. Drawing back, she cupped my face. “You look so good!”

  “I am,” I assured her. “I am.”

  My father cleared his throat, and I smiled tentatively at him. “Hi, Dad.”

  He tilted his head. “Cupcake.”

  I relaxed a little. If he was still calling me Cupcake, he wasn’t going to kill me.

  “I’m sorry we came unannounced, and ah, interrupted your weekend.” My mom patted my arm. “Your father wanted to surprise you.”

  “Actually, I wanted to find out why you never seem to be home when I call, and what was going on in your life,” my father interrupted. “I guess I got my answer.”

  Before I could say anything, Daniel’s voice broke in.

  “That would be my fault, Mr. Connor. I work such long hours in the week, I tend to kidnap Avery on the weekends to my place outside the city.”

  My father regarded him. “Is that so?”

  Daniel moved closer. His shirt was on, the collar hiding his neck. His hair was combed, his pants buttoned and when I looked down, even his socks were in place. He held out his hand to my father. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Daniel Spencer.” He added after a slight pause. “Avery’s boyfriend.”

  My father glowered at him. “I’ve never heard your name until now.”

  Daniel didn’t waver, his hand never moving. “I’ve heard a lot of great things about you and your wife, sir.”

  My father finally shook his hand.

  My mother smiled at him. “She mentioned you to me. A few times.”

  My father’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

  “It is nice to meet you, Daniel. Please, call me Janett.” Mom paused eyeing my father, who didn’t say anything. With a small shake of her head, she added, “And this is my husband, Doug.”