Part 14 (1/2)

”Absolutely still,” she stressed. ”Or I stop.”

Dan thought about that. ”Okay, yeah, that's going to be harder than I thought.”

The last time they'd had s.e.x in this very apartment, in this very bed, they'd come close to putting her furniture through the floor. It was one of the things he loved about making love to Jenni. She was pa.s.sionate and hot-blooded and into being completely physical-and he could be equally ardent, with no fear of hurting her. She was no fragile, tiny thing that could be broken if he didn't watch his every move. Instead he could d.a.m.n near body-slam her and she would cling to him and moan for more.

And Jesus save him, but just thinking about it was turning his uncomfortable and annoyingly ever-present semi-woodie into a hard-on of epic proportions.

”Maybe it's better if we just...Hmm,” she said as he lay back on her bed, as she saw his body in full salute. ”Don't, I was going to say, but...”

He looked up at her. ”I missed you.”

He meant it as a whole lot more than just I missed f.u.c.king you I missed f.u.c.king you, but it was easier to say in the impossible-to-ignore presence of this particular visual aid, because it was always easier for him to frame any romantic relations.h.i.+p around the s.e.x.

And she smiled at his implied joke, but her smile was sad. ”Did you?” she asked. But then she shook her head as if it was a stupid question.

”Very much,” he said, but he'd done the damage by bringing up this topic in the context of s.e.x, and he knew she was thinking he still meant it as a joke, like Check out this awesome measurement device that demonstrates from its ma.s.sive length, tree-trunk-like thickness, and rocksolid hardness, exactly how long it's been since I've had s.e.x of the nonsolo variety... Check out this awesome measurement device that demonstrates from its ma.s.sive length, tree-trunk-like thickness, and rocksolid hardness, exactly how long it's been since I've had s.e.x of the nonsolo variety...

He pushed himself up on his elbows. ”Jenn-”

She sat beside him on the bed, gently pus.h.i.+ng him back down, and then running the decadent softness of her hands down his chest, across his abs, and then even lower...

”Ah, G.o.d...”

”Shh,” she said. ”Lie still.”

”I thought it went ma.s.sage, then then happy ending.” happy ending.”

”Oh, come on, Gillman, haven't you ever had dessert first?”

”I wasn't complaining, LeMay,” he said, because he loved the way she laughed when he, too, called her by her last name. ”Just wondering if I'd just had the world's shortest ma.s.sage.”

She laughed again. ”Sounds to me like you're complaining.”

”Nope,” he said. ”Just trying to figure out how to ask for it again.”

”Lie still,” she warned. ”Or I'll stop...”

It felt unbelievably good, the way she was touching him, and he had to close his eyes and fight the urge to reach for her, too, because Jesus, he didn't want her to stop. He wanted...He needed...

He felt her s.h.i.+ft as she took off her gla.s.ses and put them on the end table. Then he felt the softness of her mouth as she kissed him, licked him, and he opened his eyes because he wanted to watch. And-s.h.i.+t-he'd inadvertently lifted his hips because he wanted more of what she was doing-more in every capacity.

She pulled back to look at him.

”I'm trying,” he said. ”I love this-I do, but what I really want is...G.o.d, remember when we did it in the kitchen?”

”Kind of hard to forget,” she said, still stroking him with her hands as she smiled into his eyes.

”One second we were having a conversation,” he said. ”And the next...”

”Trust me, I remember.”

”I want to do that again,” he said as she lowered her head and licked him with the very tip of her tongue. ”It was crazy, like I couldn't tell where you ended and I began.”

”I was the one with the face pressed up against the toaster,” Jenn said, quickly adding, ”I'm not complaining. It was actually...really hot. Not the toaster. The s.e.x.”

She was so beautiful-the soft curve of her cheek, the graceful shape of a mouth that seemed always on the verge of quirking into a smile, those incredible far-from-average light brown eyes...

The look she was giving him was admonis.h.i.+ng again, which was s.e.xy as h.e.l.l combined with what she was doing with her mouth-shades of dominatrix. And he could feel his impending release building. All she'd have to keep doing was...oh G.o.d, that... that... And he knew he just needed to say the word-she loved open communication of all kinds, but there was more he wanted to say besides And he knew he just needed to say the word-she loved open communication of all kinds, but there was more he wanted to say besides yes, please, yes... yes, please, yes...

”No, baby,” he told her. ”I'm not talking about the s.e.x, although that was crazy, too. I'm talking about looking into your eyes and, I don't know, knowing knowing what you were feeling, because I was feeling it, too. And then...just letting it explode like that.” what you were feeling, because I was feeling it, too. And then...just letting it explode like that.”

It had scared the s.h.i.+t out of him at the time, and he'd told himself that it was just rocking great s.e.x, when in truth there'd been a connection between them almost right from the start.

Not right right from the start, because their relations.h.i.+p had begun with his intention to have a short-term fling. It hadn't taken all that much to worm his way into her bed-he was a master when it came to seduction, and, for a wide variety of reasons, she was undeniably up for being seduced. from the start, because their relations.h.i.+p had begun with his intention to have a short-term fling. It hadn't taken all that much to worm his way into her bed-he was a master when it came to seduction, and, for a wide variety of reasons, she was undeniably up for being seduced.

What he hadn't counted on was liking her so d.a.m.n much. Liking, and then falling in love...

”I missed you,” Dan breathed again, suddenly desperate for her to understand. ”Jenni, I missed you... you...”

It was maybe the most romantic moment of his life, because she looked at him again and met his gaze, and he could tell that she believed him-believed him and loved him, and his heart actually lurched in his chest. He was just about to use the dreaded L-word-dreaded because the last time he'd told her he loved her, she'd accused him of overreacting to emotions caused only by her near-death experience.

But instead of saying it-I love you-when he opened his mouth he said, ”Gahhh...”

Because, Jesus, he was coming, just like that, just wham wham-and he forced himself to remain relaxed, because the last thing he wanted was for Jenn to argue that they couldn't risk doing this again, because he didn't lie still. But she wasn't going to, because he didn't move at all and it was unreal the way his release blasted and roared through him in an overwhelmingly powerful sensation. He didn't fight it, he didn't try to ride it or steer it-he just let it be.

It was. He was.

And when it was over, it wasn't really completely gone. It just changed into something calm and warm and he floated in a lovely place between waking and sleep.

But then he felt Jenn s.h.i.+ft, felt the mattress give and then bounce back into place as she flipped a blanket up and over them both, as she stretched out beside him on the bed.

He opened his eyes and turned his head and...

Jenn smiled at him from where she lay, her head on the other pillow. And the feeling of calm intensified, and for the first time since Dan could remember, he felt completely at peace.

”I missed you, too,” she whispered, and reached an arm out from beneath that blanket to gently cover his eyes and force them to close-not that she needed to try very hard. ”Go to sleep.”

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2009.

LAS V VEGAS.

Ben's heart sank as the police car he was riding in approached his house.

Eden was nowhere to be seen. She must not have gotten his message.

Greg's ancient car was in the driveway, however, which meant that he he was home. was home.