Part 16 (1/2)
”Will do. You coming back in?
”No. Ive got a dinner date with my dad.
”Lucky you. She meant it.
”Yeah. He didnt.
He hung up and joined Wy on the deck. ”Hey.
She looked up at him with a faint smile showing through the escaped wisps of hair. ”Hey, yourself.
”How was your day, dear?
She laughed, as hed meant her to. ”Not bad. Got a flight from the U.S. Air Force, a thing that hardly ever happens, since they prefer to fly their own. Not to mention the FBI. We small-time air-taxi outfits just love federal expense accounts.
He grinned. ”I should start taking a commission.
”Right after you take your first flying lesson.
”Thatll happen.
”I can hardly wait.
A gust of wind whistled overhead and tugged at their clothes. She was in a blue plaid s.h.i.+rt tucked into blue jeans cinched down by a wide leather belt. Her hiking boots were stained with salt, mud and wax, held together by a new pair of shoelaces, red-and-white-striped like a barber pole. It didnt vary much from what she had been wearing the day before, or three years before. It had to be one of the most unseductive outfits hed ever seen on a woman of his acquaintance, and he didnt understand why his first, last and only inclination was to rip it off.
As if he had spoken his need out loud she looked up and met his eyes.
”Wheres Tim?
Her eyes widened. ”Basketball practice.
”When will he be back?
”Theyre going out for pizza after. Her knees were shaking. She wasnt sure how much longer theyd hold her up.
His eyes narrow and intent, he reached out a hand and unb.u.t.toned the top b.u.t.ton of her s.h.i.+rt.
”Not out here, she said, her voice weak, her head falling back.
”Why not? He unb.u.t.toned the second b.u.t.ton.
”In the wind, and the snow, and the cold?
”Ill keep you warm. He lowered his mouth to her throat.
”Someone will see.
”Let them, he said, and bit her.
Liam Campbell was a civilized man and an intuitive and generous lover, but that evening something feral had gotten off the chain. He took her down to the deck with hands that were rough and impatient, and he knew it and didnt seem to be able to control it. He ripped open her s.h.i.+rt and pushed up the T-s.h.i.+rt and bra beneath it and put his mouth on her breast, sucking hard. She made a sound deep in her throat, her own hands fumbling with his clothes, but he would have none of it. He didnt want her partic.i.p.ation; he wanted her submission, and he pulled at her jeans until they tangled around her feet, unzipped his, and pushed inside.
”Liam! The word was almost a scream.
He managed to hold it together for one frantic, heart-thumping moment. ”Dont let me hurt you.
”You arent. You wont. You couldnt. She pulled one foot free of her jeans and hooked it around the small of his back, tilting up and pulling him deeper. ”Do it.
She screamed for real this time, a sound swallowed up by the wind and the snow and the dark. For a split second he could feel everything as if with a separate sense. The sudden quick flush of heat rising up from her torso. The kiss of snowflakes on his a.s.s. The long, lovely line of her throat as she arched up into him, like she couldnt bear an inch of s.p.a.ce between them.
”Do it again, he muttered.
Her eyelids fluttered. ”What? Her voice was slurred.
He thrust again. ”Come on, he said, ”come again for me, baby.
”No, Liam, I cant ”Sure, you can.
And she could.
And then he followed her into the dark.
Neither of them moved for long moments afterward, lying in a stupor of s.e.xual satisfaction on the deck, the wind gusting to twenty-five knots, the temperature dropping another degree every minute, the snow moving from a snow flurry to a snowfall. Liam thought he could stay there, in that position, on top of that woman, forever, and he might have, if she didnt eventually exhibit some signs of being unable to breathe.
”Im sorry, he said, and s.h.i.+fted his weight to his elbows.
She smiled without opening her eyes. ”Dont be.
”Okay. He nuzzled her neck.
He felt a laugh catch in her breast.
”The only time a man is sane, he said, belatedly going for a little foreplay with her ear, which he knew she loved, ”is the first ten minutes after o.r.g.a.s.m.
She laughed out loud this time.
He raised his head and smiled down at her. ”Its true.
”Says who?
”Says Dapper Dan.
”And who, may I ask, is Dapper Dan? Not that Im contesting his thesis. She raised her hips and exercised a muscle or two.
”Oh, man, Ill give you a week to quit that. He gave her a hickey, just to reestablish his supremacy. ”Dapper Dan was a friend of Damon Runyons.
”Whyd they call him Dapper Dan?