Daniel held back as long as he could, savoring each intense wave of pleasure as it poured through his body, as intoxicating as alcohol but with far more physical impact. Cecily whimpered under him, her mouth whispering sweet things he didn’t half hear over the pounding of his heart and the roar of his blood. “Are you ready, querida?” he asked.
“Oh, God, oh Jesus! Yeah, sugar. Do it before I die from wanting it.”
Her eyes reminded him of a doe’s, dark and filled with secrets, beautiful and amazing. He locked his mouth onto hers, their gazes matched and rammed hard into her. He used his hips to make it the ultimate thrust and her already rapid breathing notched higher. Blind, near deaf, and consumed with erotic need, Daniel felt the fever tide sweep over him, turning his body into fire and ash with rippling pleasures so powerful they rocked him. In the moment of climax he knew he’d died, gone down into the darkness, but he didn’t care. If this was death, it nurtured and gave. His body shuddered and hers answered with a convulsing fit. Their outcries became one sound, louder than anything he’d ever heard, quieter than his heart.
“Te amo, querida,” he told her. She wouldn’t understand what he said, he thought, or realize he’d confessed he loved her. And Daniel didn’t want her to, not yet. Too much lay ahead before he could share his heart with her, darkness and trouble and fate.
But once he caught his breath, after they showered one at a time and crawled into the tangled nest of covers, he held Cecily in his arms and heard their heartbeats in tandem. And he thought before sleep pulled him down into the depths maybe she did know after all.
With any luck she might love him, too.
Time would tell.
Chapter Fifteen
Boneless, sated, and content as a cat sunning on a winter window ledge, Cecily let her heavy fatigue drag her into sleep. Hours later, she woke with an abrupt start. Something niggled at her brain that she couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but she knew it mattered. Think, girl, focus ‘cause I’m pretty sure it’s damn important whatever it is. Something Daniel said, she thought and glanced at him. In repose, his face lost the stern look he often wore and sleep eased some of the harsh lines the years cut into his features. A wave of affection rose within and she stroked his face, her touch so light she didn’t think he’d be aware, but his lips twitched into a small smile. Oh, wow. Touched by his unconscious response, she smiled too and remembered what he’d said at the height of their intimacy. Te amo, querida.
Oh, fuck me; I think it means ‘I love you’. Although she didn’t speak Spanish, didn’t know more than a few of the simplest words or phrases, ‘te ammo’ jangled a distant memory bell. Cecily knew—hell, he’d told her—querida meant something like ‘honey’ or ‘darling’, an endearment, but she hadn’t registered any significance. Some people peppered their conversations with such terms and she’d thought maybe it was just a Texas thing, but now she wondered. She could boot up the laptop and look up the phrase to see, but it might awaken Daniel. But she knew someone who would know and so she unwound out of his arms. Cecily grabbed her phone from the desk and slipped into the bathroom. She sat on the floor and texted Nia: What does te amo mean?
Since it was almost two in the morning, she figured she might have to wait for a response, but her cousin answered within a few moments: Means ‘I love you’. Y?
Daniel said it she texted back and Nia’s reply came back: OMG!!
Did he love her? Cecily pondered the question and reviewed everything between them, from the first day he strolled into Pink Neon to waking beside him at the Holiday Inn. There was no doubt the attraction between them possessed power, something on a scale like the moon and the tide. Sparks ignited into fire from the first, but it wasn’t just physical. Shared music played through her mind and she recalled so many moments of caring, of compassion, of connection beyond the sensual. He’d touched her soul too many times to count and she loved Daniel without any doubts. But Cecily hadn’t expected him to love her, too. Burned by a raunchy marriage, scarred by a decade of pain, she feared embracing love. Until she met Daniel, her jaded heart scoffed at the very notion love existed. She knew different, now, but tiny tendrils of fear tried to take root. What if it didn’t work? Or what if she ended up doing time for a murder she didn’t commit? Worry something might happen to Daniel before the situation could resolve reared up, ugly and potent. But greater than either dark emotion, an amazing burst of happiness surpassed it.
Wonder brighter than a noon sun, more vivid than the prettiest sunset she’d ever seen banished the shadows. It began as a warm spot somewhere around her tummy and spread to her heart. From her cornrows to the bottom of her bare feet gladness burst out with such force it overwhelmed her. Basic emotion in its most raw form brought tears, born not from sadness but from joy. And she wept aloud as tears rained down her cheeks. Sound burst from her mouth, giggles and sobs combined. In her celebration, she thought the closed bathroom door would contain the noise and she never dreamed it might wake Daniel. Nor did she know how long she’d cried when he pushed the unlocked door open and came in.
“What’s the matter, querida?” he asked, his voice so tender it brought more tears. “I heard you crying.”
Blinded by tears, she responded to his voice by raising her arms to him, the way a child would. Without hesitation, Daniel knelt before her and enveloped her in his arms. Cecily clung to him and wept without rhyme, restraint, or reason. He held her and crooned soft words of comfort, some in English, and others in Spanish. When she continued crying, he carried her into the hotel room and sat on the sofa. He rocked her back and forth and after a little while, he sang to her. At first she heard nothing but the sound of his voice, but as her sobs slacked Cecily realized he sang the Marty Robbins’ classic tune, El Paso. Although it wasn’t her style of music, she liked the easy rhythm and when she quit crying altogether Daniel wiped her face with tissues. “Tell me what’s wrong, querida,” he said in a voice husky with concern. “Are you afraid or did I offend you? Or don’t you feel well?”
Looking up into his worried face, his dark eyes, she wondered how she ever missed the reality of his emotions. “I’m fine, sugar,” she said with an effort to put some normal sass into her voice. He looked upset and very concerned. “And nothing’s wrong.”
Daniel shot her a skeptical look. “So you cried your eyes out for nothing?”
Cecily shook her head. “No, for something very important, but I wasn’t crying because I was sad, just overwhelmed but in a good way.”
His forehead frown deepened. “I don’t understand.”
“You’re worried,” she said as her fingers stretched to touch the concerned crease dividing his forehead.
“I am. So tell me.”
She almost hesitated but didn’t. “I understood what you said to me, a while ago. I didn’t then, but I remembered what it meant.”
As comprehension dawned, Daniel’s expression shifted and became more vulnerable. In a very quiet voice, almost too low to hear despite their close position, he said, “I didn’t think you would, querida, or I wouldn’t have said it.”
“Don’t you mean it?” He did and she knew it but slivers of hurt began to prick her heart. If he didn’t...
“I do, with all my heart,” he said. “But I didn’t want to complicate things, not now. I thought maybe you wouldn’t believe me. Maybe it’s not the best time to fall in love. You just got divorced after a hell of a marriage. We haven’t known each other very long and...”
“No, we haven’t,” Cecily said. “But it’s long enough to know.”
“What?”
“I love you, Daniel. I knew I did before you said it and Nia guessed before she even met you.”
His chest moved as he drew a long breath and released it. Back in Branson, she’d whispered she thought she did but the certainty meant far more. “Dios! Oh, querida,” he said in a hushed voice. Cecily thought she heard tears in it and understood how he felt, how the knowledge bowled through you with force. “So what do we d
o now?”
“We do the best we can, sugar,” she said. “And be happy.” Her head rested against his shoulder and she lifted her left hand to touch his face.
“Are you happy?” he asked.
No way could she keep from smiling. Everything else in her life might’ve gone to hell but loving Daniel made her very happy. Knowing he loved her too brought contentment and a rich joy. “Sugar, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier,” she said. “Not even with things the way they are. What about you?”
“Mi corazon,” Daniel said. “I’ve never had this before or felt like this about anyone. You’re mine and it’s like family but more, too. I never knew loving a woman could be so intense or strong. This connection with you, it reminds me of the way I used to feel after communion in church. I’ve got you inside of me now, querida. I’ve never been afraid of much, but the idea of anything happening to you or losing you scares the shit out of me. So, yeah, I’m happy but worried, too.”
Cecily moved her hand and he kissed it, his mouth tender against her skin. Although she grew up too fast in a hard neighborhood and understood how fast bad things happened to good people, knew the swiftness of danger and death, right now she didn’t believe any of it could be possible. For these moments she savored the cocoon of their newfound affection and basked in it. Nothing could happen to her or to Daniel because she couldn’t stand it. She hadn’t been on speaking terms with God for a long time and she’d gone far from the Baptist churches of her childhood, but Cecily decided no deity with any heart at all could let anything awful happen. They would be fine because they had to be and she willed it so.
“You’re not going to lose me, Daniel,” she said. “And I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Que sera, sera,” he replied and his arms around her tightened. “The future’s not ours to see, querida, but I’ll do the best I can to make it happy.”
The song he referenced floated through Cecily’s mind, not the old Doris Day classic but the haunting version by Pink Martini. His prosaic acceptance of fate irked her and birthed unease within. Whatever will be will be the way I want ‘cause I won’t accept anything else.
“That’s good enough for me,” she said. “You look tired, sugar. Let’s go back to bed.”
Daniel exhaled a long sigh. “Yeah, let’s do. We’ve still got a long way to drive tomorrow and God knows what to face over the next few days.”
Back in bed, snuggled up against him, Cecily asked, “How much farther to your mama’s?”
“Six hours or so,” he said with a yawn. “I want to get an early start if we can, maybe leave here at six or seven at the latest.”
They overslept, though. Worn out from their long trek from Branson, neither one woke until seven-thirty in the morning. Cecily awakened with slow somnolence and noticed the room wasn’t pitch dark but grey. Light seeped around the edges of the drapes and she sat up, searching for a clock. Beside her, Daniel still slept. “Shit!” she said when she located her cell phone to check the time. “Sugar, wake up!”
“What?” he asked, eyes shut.
“It’s after seven-thirty.”
“Shit!” His response echoed hers and she laughed.
“It’s not like we have to be on time, is it?” she asked.
He managed a fleeting grin as he bailed out of bed. “I guess not.”
Although neither dallied getting dressed, by the time they ate a quick breakfast downstairs and packed everything back into the truck, it was almost nine. After Daniel loaded the pickup, he climbed into the cab beside Cecily. He pulled out his cell. “I need to call my mom,” he said. “She’ll want to know what time to expect us.”
Curiosity overruled manners. “What did you tell her about me?” she asked.
Daniel smiled. “I told her I was bringing a friend with me because we needed to lay low for a few days. I haven’t told her your name yet or even if you’re a man or woman. Mama knows not to ask too many questions.”
“Sugar, I think you might want to mention it now,” Cecily said. “I don’t want to shock her socks off when I kiss you in front of her.”
His smile widened into a grin. “Yeah, I’ll say something about us. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“About what?”
“I’ve never brought a woman home to her before so she’s going to treat you like family,” he said.
Cecily met his gaze and smiled just as big. “I can deal with it, sugar, so start dialing.”
“Mama? It’s me,” he said after he placed the call. She noticed he spoke English, probably for her benefit. “We’ll be there this afternoon, three or after so plan on supper, okay? Yes. She’s very excited to meet you. Her name’s Cecily Brown. Yeah, she’s a girl, a woman, really, and very beautiful.”
She heard his mother’s voice and although she couldn’t make out the words, the woman sounded happy and eager for their arrival. Daniel listened and then said, “Yeah, she’s special. I call her querida. Si, mama. You’ll see her then. I’ll tell you all about it or she can. All right, Mama, we need to get on the highway.”
“So?” Cecily said as he pulled out of the hotel parking lot into traffic.
“She can’t wait to meet you,” Daniel said. “And she’s cooking so you’re in for a treat.”
They left Lubbock and headed west on an older highway, not the interstate. A blue sky smiled down on them as they traveled and Cecily sat beside Daniel, serene. She resisted an urge to giggle like a little girl, but happiness remained like a bright bubble within. Cecily found it difficult to remember they weren’t on a road trip but on the run. All the way to El Paso, they talked and chatted about everything from music to memories. The connection she’d felt from the first day he strolled into her shop seemed tighter now and Cecily enjoyed the closeness. For the moment she determined not to worry about the future but to enjoy Daniel’s company.
The route took them along a diagonal slant through the corner of New Mexico and through Carlsbad. Some of the scenery proved to be of the loveliest she’d seen so far although in the arid summer heat, it didn’t resemble some of the luscious scenes she recalled from magazine pictures. But she liked it and she could see Daniel appreciated the beauty, too.
As they passed through Carlsbad, she wondered if they’d grab a bite to eat but when she asked, Daniel shook his head. “I’ll buy you a soda and something small if you want but save your appetite for Mama’s cooking,” he said. “We’re probably halfway there. Are you hungry?”
She shrugged. “Just a little.”
“Then I’ll buy you a dollar sandwich somewhere,” he said. “I’m not trying to starve you. Mama won’t probably feed us till five or six tonight, anyway. Tell me what you want.”
Cecily picked a chicken sandwich and they rolled through the first fast food drive-thru offering a value menu to pick up a pair. He pulled into a small state park just outside of town and they ate in the truck. She stretched when they stepped out to toss their trash into a wastebasket and Daniel caught her from behind. “I’d like a kiss, querida.”
Although they lacked time for a long embrace, his mouth impacted hers and evoked an immediate thrill. No one had ever kissed her with such fire and Cecily didn’t think she’d ever have enough. Her arms strung around his neck and clasped behind his head to keep him close. His lips warmed hers and fused into one of the most tender kisses he’d ever delivered. Her fingers trespassed into his hair and ran through the black strands. “Your hair’s growing out,” she commented when they surfaced for air.
Daniel chuckled. “I need a haircut.”
“Oh, no, you don’t, sugar.” Cecily adored his thick yet silky hair. Although trimmed to near military precision when they first met, it’d grown out to be unruly and unkempt enough to be sexy. “I like it this way better.”
He blew air between his lips, but his grin alerted her he didn’t mind what she’d said. “It’s shaggy.”
“Uh-uh, sugar,” she said. “It’s a long damn way from there.”
His chuckle delighted her even when he put an arm across her shoulders and said, “We probably need to get on down the road. Right now, a haircut falls into the small shit category.”
Cecily leaned against him. “I suppose so. Once we get to El Paso, eat your mama’s good food, and rest, then what?”
“We try to figure out if we can tie Johnson Hamilton to your ex’s murder. If we can, we do and then we go from there.”
The dash of reality hit with the force of winter sleet. “Sounds hard.”
“It won’t be easy, chica, but it matters enough to try. For now, let’s go home.”
Home. The word represented a common theme, Cecily thought. Since one of the last things she’d said to him before leaving her place at Branson had been it’d been more of a home since he’d come than anywhere in years. Reflecting now, she found it true. With Daniel’s presence and Nia’s brief visit, the small house felt like home, not just where she lived but a place of refuge, somewhere she wanted to be, where she belonged. He’d told her he’d never lived in El Paso but he used the word. “Is it home?” she asked as they climbed into the truck.
Daniel shrugged his shoulders. “It’s where my mother lives,” he said. “I guess it’s as close as I’ve got.”
“But you live in Kansas City.”
Something she couldn’t quite define shadowed his features. “I work in KC but my place is in Raytown, a suburb,” he said in a low tone. “Or I did but my efficiency apartment’s not anywhere I’d consider a home. It’s just a place to sleep, that’s all.”
Another similarity between them because she felt the same way about the house she shared with Willard on Canal Street. They’d both drifted, solitary and lonesome for too long.
“I know the feeling,” she said.
Pink Neon Dreams Page 17