Danea (23 page)

Danea closed her eyes, her brain busily creating a long speech to explain to the men in her life why she had garter snakes and god knew what else on her head instead of simple, brown hair.

“There,”
Breanna’s voice was filled with triumph. She stared down into the basin at the brown coloring that pooled there. “That wasn’t even painful. Danea? Open your eyes,” she nudged her friend with her hip.

Danea opened one eye. Very slowly to peek into the mirror. It had been several years since she’d seen her natural color.
“Brea…it’s gorgeous…” she straightened up and twisted to the side, watching the long center parted hair curl at the ends that were now several inches past her shoulders. “It’s a bit longer…”

“Yeah…well…it’s the nature thing…” Breanna winced, one fingernail in between her teeth. “I’m working on that part. I’m actually thinking I should stick to coffees and teas…”

“Good idea, friend,” Danea hugged her tight. “Thanks for listening…”

“And why wouldn’t I? I know what the…I bet this last week was a little weird and I forgive you for not calling me,” she said regally.

“Oh, thank you, princess,” Danea giggled and looped her arm with Breanna’s. “We’d better go before they storm the bathroom.”

“Yeah…Jase isn’t the calm one,” Brea agreed with a chuckle.

“Isn’t it freaky how they’re so different and so similar at the same time?” Danea had dropped her voice.

Breanna began chuckling and fell into giggles, both of them a mess of
unmuffled laughter by the time they reached the deli area.

Danea looked over at Noah and felt the breath catch in her throat. His expression had begun amused
. This it meshed into that sexy crooked grin of his that always melted her insides and made her sensitive parts all hungry. Then the grin faded, a dark fire appearing deep in his eyes. His body seemed to straighten up a little more and his gaze was locked on her face.

“Nick just called. He’ll be here in about two hours,” Jase Charles told his mate, braced for the running jump against him, her arms around his neck.

“I gotta get moving! I have a cake to make! Bye, Danea! Bye, Noah!” Breanna bounced to the floor and grabbed Jase’s hand, dragging him off to the cart she left waiting at the edge of the deli floor.

“Noah?” Danea moved to stand in front of him. “Is something wrong?”

“Your hair…”

“Oh…Brea
is one of many after me to leave it natural,” she raked back one side of the long, thick strands. “Does it look that bad?”

“Bad?” Noah’s hands went to her waist, pulling her against him and trying to be subtle about it. “Does that feel like a bad reaction, babe?”

“I…oh…well…” Danea cleared her throat, the heat in her cheeks felt like she was sitting right in front of the fireplace. Noah chuckled and eased her back.

“Let’s get this done before I do something very
unsheriff like in public,” he murmured, kissing her and leading her to the cart they’d begun to fill.

It didn’t surprise her that his hand was always on her as they walked. Nor was she surprised when he found excuses to touch her hair, stroking over her head now and then as she found things she wanted. They made it to the register and were headed to the parking lot when she slowed him.

“Do you know her?”

Noah followed the casual glance toward the other set of entrance doors.

“The blonde kid in a short jean skirt?” Noah shrugged. “Nope. Should I?”

“She was at the house on Friday when I came home early,” Danea continued walking slowly toward the SUV. “She was naked…almost…”

“Seriously? I can’t see Wade…”

“Oh, he was in the book cubicle behind his desk, looking for a reference,” she waved a palm through the air while he opened the back and began loading the bags. “He came out with his head bent and the book open…he didn’t even know and was really upset when he looked, but the point is…”

“I bet he was scared shitless,” Noah commented, shaking his head. “I would have been then it would have rolled into completely pissed off.”

“She’s a kid…but…the point is…” she said again. “She’s going out of her way to inject herself the last few days. Today was the second time…she came into the bathroom…but never used the facilities…other than to make sure I knew I wasn’t his type…”

“The hell you’re not.”

“Kids like her don’t hang out at groceries, Noah,” she said quietly, turning and finding the tall blonde watching her from across the lot. She had a man with her this time, older and doing his best to keep his face hidden.

“She’s with her parents?” He looked and shrugged. “At that age they’re arrogant and think the only thing right in the world, is their opinion and their wants. And evidently, she wanted Wade. What’d he say?”

“After he finished sputtering?” She laughed with him. “He was angry and told her to contact his TA from now on…he also said she doesn’t have bad grades
, so he really wasn’t sure why she was there.”

“Know her name?” Noah closed the door after she climbed in. He was around the car and behind the wheel when she answered. “I’ll see what I can find on her…but she’s probably just a spoiled kid.”

“Yeah…Jessica Bently,” she glanced over at the couple as they drove out of the parking lot. “You’re probably right.”

“Did you have a good chat with Breanna?”

“She saw the mark on my shoulder,” Danea said.

“Did you want things kept private? I’m not sure it would have been possible,” Noah glanced over as he guided the SUV into the parking lot behind the daycare.

“I’m not much for sneaking around in corners,” She admitted with a little laugh. “I always got caught sneaking in from somewhere…always…” She hopped from SUV and pulled her keys from her bag. “But…no…no, I don’t want secrets and I don’t want to pretend. I don’t want either of you to…to have to be anything but genuine. I don’t want us to be anything but real.”

“My, my, Miss
Polnari…” Noah made sure the door was closed behind him when they entered the apartment. “So tell me what we’re after here?”

“Well...the girls cleaned out the fridge for me…and most of the food.”

“You didn’t have much here, Dani,” Noah chuckled.

She continued through the
apartment, sliding the light jacket off her shoulders and letting it and her purse fall to the chair. She went into the large closet and reached for the only suitcase she had. Her hands were up when she felt the warm palms glide beneath her t-shirt.

“If you’re here to help with the suitcase, you need to raise your hands just a little higher,” Danea worked to keep her voice steady. It was especially difficult when she felt his teeth on her throat, just below her ear. Then his hands slid higher, alright, but definitely not going towards the suitcase.

Noah cupped each breast and pulled her body against his.

“Like this?”

Chapter Twenty

“You’re sidetracking me,” she murmured, moaning softly when his mouth continued to the mark he’d placed there. His tongue was warm and scraped over the sensitive spot until she had to lower her arms and brace herself against the wall or crumple to the floor. “Noah…”

“That’s a sweet sound, Dani…and I’ll never get tired hearing it,” Noah pushed his hips against her behind, grinding the hard length of his cock against his jeans.

One hand slid over her stomach, flat and warm until it encountered the opening for her jeans. He nudged her head to the side, sinking his mouth hard against hers, driving his tongue between the surprised gulp she made as he opened her jeans.

“Kick your shoes off, baby…”

Sounds of clothing and thumping went ignored until he could shove his hand between her thighs, two fingers pressed against her clit while his thumb trailed over the moisture and into the tight opening.

“Beautiful…wet…sexy little noises…” Noah turned her against the wall. His laugh was low, husky when her hands went straight for his jeans. He quickly pulled the condom he’d stuck in his pocket free before letting her push them out of the way.

“You came prepared for this!” She groaned, his fingers teasing and stroking. “Oh…more…please…”

“A smart man with a gorgeous mate…always be prepared,” Noah quickly sheathed himself. “We decided we wanted you to ourselves before we start talking kids.”

“And neither of you included me in this discussion?” Danea felt the tiniest hint of annoyance seconds before the blunt head of his cock nudged at her opening. Sliding through the dampness and inside with a hard thrust that took her breath away.

Noah lifted her legs, groaning as his cock sunk inside until their bodies touched completely. “Oh, Danea…Christ…so good…”

Danea shoved her hands between them and higher, sinking her fingers into his hair and ignoring the slight growl when she pulled the leather strip free and tossed it aside. She closed her fingers tightly, pulling his mouth to hers with a hunger that sent spasms through to her pussy. She clenched him, flexed and repeated.

He filled her so completely; touching and stroking over parts that made her body scream for release. His body had her braced against the wall, one hand beneath her ass while the other spread the lace and nylon aside over her breast. He moved cautiously, thrusting and grinding against her clit. He pinched her nipple and felt her body clench down on him, her pulsing warmth pulling him into their own sensual world.

She pulled her mouth away, sucking in air and trying to move. Trying to rotate her hips for just the right spot. When his hips twisted slightly, she felt her body erupt around her. Her hands gripped his shoulders and his name left her lips in a long, sexy groan.

Hard, long thrusts. He only accomplished a few before her muscles clamped down on him from all sides. Massaging and pulsing until his hands held her hard against him, their hearts pounding as his body emptied. He buried a sweat coated face into the hollow of her throat, whispering and holding her close.

“Hold on,” Noah wasn’t all that sure his legs would work or his arms would hold. The woman had a way about her that created the most incredible sensations inside him from his toes on up and back again. He carried her from the closet, letting her down only when he got to the edge of the bed.

Danea groaned and laid back, her eyes closed after he’d withdrawn and gone into the bathroom.

Noah returned with his jeans and shirt in place. He found the strip of leather he used and tied his hair back before gathering her clothes and laying them on the bed at her side. She’d curled into a contented bundle, her arms wrapped around a thick pillow.

“You okay in there?”

“Oh…fine…give me a minute to stop the wild fantasies…” Danea pressed her behind back against the large palm that stroked over her ass. “You make me feel so amazingly beautiful…”

“
We make you realize you’re beautiful,” he corrected, watching as she stretched and sat up, hands straightening her bra and shirt before reaching for her panties. “I’ll get the case for you. Let’s make it quick and get home. You really don’t have much stuff here,” he commented, walking around the bedroom and into the living area.

“Not really
much stuff,” she agreed loudly, pulling things out of drawers and throwing them into the large case. When she moved to the few things hanging in the closet, something seemed to give out and she slid to the small foot stool, her head falling between her knees.

She didn’t hear him come into the closet or see him drop to his heels. But she felt his hand on the back of her neck, gently massaging.

“What’s wrong?”

She heard the concern in his voice
; felt the worry through the tender fingers that brushed the hair back from her face. And it wasn’t just him, she realized, thinking of Wade and the way he treated her.

Why did she suddenly get anxious? She felt her heart pounding rapidly and she could hear him talking to her, trying to soothe her. She knew that’s what it was, even if she couldn’t quite hear the words.

“Danea…baby, you’re scaring me…what’s wrong?” Two firm hands framed her face, lifting it until their eyes met.

“Could you…just hold me,” she whispered, a little part of her feeling silly while the other part wanted nothing more than to curl against him, or between them, she realized.

“Easy answer for that one,” Noah pushed his back against the wall and pulled her onto his lap. She curled toward him, her head snuggled into the crook of his arm and knees bent. He repositioned her and wrapped his arms tightly around her body. “Can’t tell me what it is?”

“Moving…I never thought I’d move again…and you and Wade…it feels like a whirlwind,” she
tried making sense of the feelings crashing around in her. “I think I’m afraid…” she whispered. “I…what if I mess this up? What if…”

“Shhh…first, you can’t mess it up alone,” Noah brushed his lips over her forehead. He’d talked to Jase for a while when she disappeared with Breanna. He figured he and Wade needed all the help they could get in making this right for her. “All you have to do is never stop talking to us, Danea. We’re far from perfect and I’m not sure how we got so lucky, but the last week…you make all the mixed up things inside me smooth out. I’m not the professor,” he said with a sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “He’s a lot better with the words than I am…maybe if we spent eons dissecting things, we could figure out why the three of us fit, why we work.”