Incidental Happenstance (27 page)

            The kisses drove deeper, and Dylan’s hands were everywhere at once, sliding up the t to stroke her tensed nipples with the rough pad of his thumb, skimming down her back, grazing up her throat where her pulse hammered to tangle his fingers in her hair, pulling her in deeper still until the heat that was rising in her threatened to explode. Suddenly, Dylan pulled away and his gaze burned into hers, the heavy lids betraying the passion that consumed him.           

            “Oh God, Tia,” he murmured. “If you don’t want this, you need to walk away right now and lock the door, because I’m all out of self-control.”

            She looked into his burning eyes, fiery flakes of amber sprinkled amongst the blue. She couldn’t walk away now, she knew that, and if this was all she could have of him, she would take it, gratefully, and worry about the rest later. “I want this,” she whispered. “I
need
this,” she added in a voice that sounded nothing like her own, and he responded in an instant, sliding his hand beneath the panties to find her wet, willing, and ready. She cried out the instant his finger slid into her, pushing herself against his hand to drive him deeper. He moaned deep in his throat and she responded with a low growl that seemed to vibrate through her entire being. Her body was responding too fast, too naturally, and she tried to rein back the intensity as she clung to him, sliding her hand down to his core to feel his own need, stroking him without inhibition, wanting nothing more than to feel him inside of her to fill her with what she’d been missing for so long.

            “I want you in my bed,” he growled against her ear as he scooped her up and carried her into his room. She cried out softly, “Yes, Dylan,” as he tossed her on the bed and crushed against her, his weight both a comforting warmth and a frantic fever pitch against her own skin. He peeled off her t-shirt and pressed himself against her naked breasts, kissing her deeply and causing her to cry out in purrs and moans; and she was lost to everything but the sensation of his hands, his mouth, his hunger. His lips moved to her neck, and then he kissed his way down and suckled her nipples, taut and sensitive to every touch and swipe of his tongue. She tugged at the string of his pants, wanting to feel him against her and inside of her, and he reached back and tugged them off, laying his full length against her inner thigh. He shifted and his lips and tongue moved lower, swirling between her breasts then around her belly and reaching the top of her panties as he slid them slowly down her legs and dropped them to the floor. There was nothing between them now, except skin, and she lost herself completely when he took her with his mouth and swirled his tongue in slow, delicious circles, luxuriating in the exchange, and moaning his own desire/font>

            When she came it was like the ocean, wave after wave of pleasure pitching and rolling over her entire being; every nerve in her body fully alert as she fisted her hands in the sheets and cried out his name. He made his way back to her lips, and kissed her again. “Are you sure, Tia?” he growled insistently against her ear, “I need you to be sure, and to know that you are not a notch in anything.” 

            She responded in the only way she could, pushing herself against him and whispering, “I’m so sure, Dylan, I need you inside me,” and then he was, effortlessly sliding into her and bringing her to instant climax with a groan that could only be described as pure bliss. He moved with her, into her, matching her rhythm as she ran her hands through his hair, dug her nails into his back and called out his name until they both fell breathless into the soft pillows and he lay against her, entirely spent and breathing as if they’d just been drowning in the deep sea that was their desire. 

            He pulled her into his arms and kissed her head, her cheeks, her lips, muttering all the while, “Oh my God, oh my God,” and she could only respond in turn, whispering into his ear, “That was so incredible. You are so incredible.”

            They lay for a while against each other, each holding desperately to their own needs, and to something that could be taken from them both in just a few short hours. Finally, he pulled back enough to bring his lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. He stroked her cheek, and then ran his fingers along her back, over her breasts, and back down her body. She had always thought he had bedroom eyes, the kind that, at half mast, looked incredibly sexy and desirable. And his lips, God his lips, full and perfectly shaped and beckoning…she reached up to kiss them again, and he responded fully.

            “I can’t say goodbye to you,” he whispered. “I just can’t. You’ve gotten inside of me, and I haven’t gotten enough.”

            “I know,” she whispered, stroking his face. “I just found you, and you’ll be gone too soon. I don’t know how I can just go back to my life like this never happened.”

            He sat up and looked down at her, staring deep into her eyes. “I don’t want this to end, Tia, not when we’re just getting started. When are you done with school?”

            The question took her by surprise; work was the furthest thing from her mind as she lay in his arms, but she realized that she’d be going back tomorrow, and that this weekend would be just a memory. “Umm,” she stammered, trying to gain control of her brain, “we go until next Wednesday with the kids. I have to work a half-day on Thursday to get grades done, and then that’s it.”

            “So you’re off the whole summer then?” he asked.

            She nodded her head.

            He took both her hands in his, and pulled her close, mesmerizing her with the intensity of his gaze. “Come with me, Tia. Come with me to Europe on the tour. I’ll have to work, but we’ve planned it out so we have some free time to spend in a lot of the places we play. We could spend the summer together, and see where this takes us…I’m just not ready to say goodbye to you.”

            Her heart started dancing in her chest—he wanted her to spend the summer with him! She could think of nothing that would be better than that, and she smiled and kissed him. “Oh Dylan,” she whispered, barely able to find her voice. “You mean it? There’s nothing in the world I want more than time with you.”

            “Listen,” he whispered. “I know this has been a whirlwind for both of us. I don’t know where this’ll go, but I know I want to find out.” He released a sigh. “We’ll take it day by day, and if at any time things don’t feel right and you want to go home, you can go…anytime you want.”

            She squealed in excitement as her brain processed his proposal and pulled him closer, her smile taking over her face. “But I can stay the whole time with you?” she asked, kissing his cheeks and running her fingers through his hair, down his back, “because I can’t imagine that I’m going to want anything else but that!”

            He smiled back at her and kissed her lips. “That’s what I’m hoping for too,” he said. “I’ll have Jessa get with you to take care of all of the arrangements.” He pulled her down to lie on his chest and stroked her hair. “Oh God, I don’t know where this is going to lead, Tia, but I know that right now I want it to lead somewhere. I can’t let you go.”

            She rose up to kiss him full on the mouth. “I can’t wait to see where it goes,” she whispered against his chest. “It’s been in the back of mind since the first night—I didn’t know how I could bear saying goodbye to you, Dylan. Not when I just found you.”

            He responded by rolling on top of her. He was ready again, and she was ready still. They took it slow and sensual this time, kissing and fondling and staring into each other’s eyes. Finally, spent, she curled into the warm and protective cocoon of his body and they slept, both finally dreaming happily of what tomorrow could bring.

            Too soon a knock at the door woke them both, and they looked into each other’s eyes, limbs still entangled, acknowledging all that had happened and all that was yet to come. They smiled at each other, and he rolled over in the huge bed.

            “I ordered breakfast,” he croaked, circling her nipple with the tip of his finger. “But I think I’m hungry for something else at the moment.” He kissed the top of her head and rolled over, climbing out of the bed and slipping into his pants. “I’ll just have them leave it in the foyer.” She rolled over too and went into the bathroom, splashing some cold water on her face. Her image in the mirror gave her momentary pause—she was flushed and healthy looking, and even the complete lack of sleep the night before did nothing to diminish the glow. She looked happy—was happy, and it was reflected back to her and made her heart sing. Dylan was already waiting for her in the bed, and stared at her intensely as she glided naked back to his arms.

            “You are so beautiful,” he whispered, patting the bed next to him. She slipped in beside him, and he handed her a cup of steaming coffee. “I don’t know about you, but I definitely need some caffeine this morning,” he smiled. “What did we sleep, maybe an hour or two?”

            “At best,” she said with a smile. “I kept having this delicious dream, but then I realized that I was awake and in your arms. I was afraid to sleep and then find out that you weust a dream.”

            He took her coffee cup from her hands and set in on the nightstand next to the bed. Then they satisfied one hunger before moving on to the breakfast that sat cooling in the foyer.

            When the phone rang in the room, Tia’s heart sank. She knew it was the call that would take Dylan from her, and although she’d see him again in less than two weeks, it suddenly seemed like an eternity. It was just one o’clock, but expected holiday traffic in the city meant he needed to allow extra travel time—he was cutting it very close to the wire and needed to be in the air by three. He pulled her close and held her tightly in his arms. “I’ll see you soon,” he whispered against her ear. “And I’ll call you.”

            “OK,” she whispered, unable to trust her voice to say more without cracking. He kissed her deeply, and then grabbed his bag, waving as he walked out the door. She went back into the bedroom and lay on his side of the bed, inhaling the scent of him and their lovemaking, trying to hold on to something that would last until she saw him again. Emotion rocked her—joy, elation, emptiness, anticipation—and she lay on his pillow, going over it all in her mind. Had it really been just three days ago that she was taking the first steps toward getting her life back? Meeting someone had been completely out of the realm of possibility, and now here she was, anticipating spending the entire summer with Dylan.  She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous—they still had so much to learn about each other—but the excitement of the prospect well outweighed the apprehension. She rolled over in the bed and smiled, inhaling Dylan’s scent once more from the pillow, and said aloud, “I’m going to spend the summer with Dylan in Europe!” It was still hard for her to believe that it was true.

            Another knock at the door of the suite pulled her back to reality, and she rushed to open it, hoping that he’d come back for one more embrace. Instead, sitting on a silver cart in the hall was an enormous bouquet; tropical flowers in impressive shapes and beautiful vivid colors. The card read simply, “Miss you already, D.”

            “Oh, you got me flowers,” she whined, and then the tears started. She held the flowers to her face and breathed in the exotic scent. It was another half hour before she managed to get herself together and head toward home.

            She called Lexi as soon as she sat in the car, and she picked up on the first ring. She didn’t say hello, just started shooting questions in rapid fire in a frantic whisper. “Oh my God, tell me everything! Did you do it? How was it? How was he? Holy crap. Please, can I tell people now? You know I’m dying here!”

            Hearing the excitement in Lexi’s voice helped to pull Tia out of her fog. There was a lot to do in the next two weeks, plenty to keep her busy until she saw Dylan again.  She leaned back in the seat and smiled to herself, answering Lexi very simply. “Yes, incredible, amazing, no.”

            “Yes, incredible, amazing, no, what?” Lexi barked “Yes you did it? Start right there, and spare me no details!”

            “Oh shit, Lex. I just had the most amazing night of my life,” she crooned. “I have to drive home, but I can’t seem to get my head out of the clouds.”

            Tia heard voices in the backgrounhe heard Lexi tell Ryan that she was on the line and said, “Ryan says ‘hi.’”

            “Hi back.”

            Tia heard Ryan’s muffled voice, and then Lexi returned to the phone. “He just said Jace was looking for you. He called Ryan a little bit ago and asked if you were here.”

            She remembered her last conversation with Jace and scowled. He was the furthest thing from her mind, and she wanted it to stay that way. “That’s just what I don’t need right now. If he calls again, just say I’m out for the day and you have no idea where I am. And don’t give him my cell number.”

            “Got it. Hold on a sec. Let me get somewhere quieter.” Tia heard her relay the information to Ryan in case he got another call from Jace, and then heard the smack of the kiss she planted on him. Lexi came back on the line after a minute, breathing heavily. “OK, I’m all ears and uninterrupted. Best night of your life, huh? Please, please, tell me quick!”

            “There’s nothing quick about it. Where are you, anyway?” She looked at her watch and saw it was just past two o’clock. “It sounds like a party.”

            “I’m at the damned Memorial Day picnic. At the club? Are you coming? Then you could tell me all about it, and we could tell everyone here about your weekend. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces…”