“I’ve known him forever. He was my high school sweetheart. I thought I knew him.” Her exhale shuddered out of her. “I wanted to vomit when he said he slept with Darcy as a substitute for me. It’s so sick.”
“How far would he go to keep you from finding out about it? Especially if he’s the one who got her pregnant?”
She twisted to look into his eyes. Her gaze was so haunted it gored him like a dull knife.
“I hate that I was thinking the same thing,” she whispered. “He was important to me at one time. How could I be so wrong about two people I thought I was close to? The Dani I know couldn’t stomach casual sex. She always became emotionally attached when things got physical. And Chris…he’s a sheriff, for chrissakes.”
Jared brushed his fingertips over her cheek. “It’s killing me that you’re hurting and I can’t do a damn thing about it.”
“You’re here. That’s what I need more than anything.” Leaning into his palm, she sighed. “The answers will come later. We’ll find them.”
“Did she have a bad breakup shortly before her involvement with Miller?”
Her gaze softened. “You really do pay attention when your sister talks, don’t you? Yes, she met a fellow vet at a conference, and it was hot and heavy for a while. Then she found out he was married and that she was just a piece of ass on the side. She took it hard. I thought she’d sworn off men.”
“Or became determined to prove she didn’t give a shit about them.”
Darcy sat up, the throw falling to pool in her lap. “And I’m her example for that? What the fuck does that mean?”
“That she had issues,” he said calmly, “and she didn’t know you all that well. You like men just fine. You just hadn’t met one you liked enough to get serious about.”
“Until you.”
He inhaled deeply at the admission, knowing how important it was to her. And to him.
She stood, gloriously naked, agitation pouring off her in waves.
Straightening, he tossed the throw aside and held her gaze. “None of this is your fault, Darcy.”
“Right.” She paced, her lithe muscles flexing through her thighs and buttocks. “You know, you say ‘commitment’ and I get butterflies.”
“You’ve had commitments before. This one scares you because it’s the last one you’ll have.” He set his elbows on his knees and linked his fingers together. Between his spread legs, his cock was hard and thick, thrusting upward hungrily in appreciation of the sight of his woman. “Even I find that scary.”
She paused midstride, staring at him. He saw her chest expand on a slow breath and her eyes darken with both grief and longing. Her turmoil was tangible, and unable to bear it, he pushed to his feet. She plowed into him, nearly knocking him back into the couch. Catching him by the nape, she yanked his mouth down to hers. His teeth cut his inner lip and the sharp metallic flavor of blood stirred him violently.
Lightning in a bottle. It had struck the moment they’d laid eyes on each other. Sexual creatures that they were, they’d both mistaken it as lust at first, and certainly that was a major part of what they knew about each other so far. But lust could be appeased. Sated. What they had ran much deeper, was more voracious than mere desire.
Gripping her by the elbows, Jared lifted her to her tiptoes and took over the kiss. His lips sealed over hers, his head tilting to find the perfect fit. The stroking of her tongue along his was as arousing as if she’d licked his cock.
She reached down and grabbed his ass, grinding against him, massaging his dick with the soft firmness of her lower belly. “Fuck me.”
“Darcy.” There’s nothing he wanted to do more, but the rapid-fire switch in her mood gave him pause. He couldn’t afford to screw things up with her. As fragile as she was at the moment, the intensity of their lovemaking could be too much. “Easy, sweetheart. I’ll take care of you.”
“I need you inside me, Jared.”
He caught her face in his hands. “Let me set the pace. I know how to give you what you need, when you need it.”
Her nails dug into his flesh. “I need it now.”
She dropped to her knees and took him in her mouth. The drenching heat, followed by powerful sucking, nearly sucked the cum right out of him. Her tongue fluttered. Her cheeks hollowed with deep, drawing pulls. Maddened by her greed for his body, his balls drew up tight, the urge to blow his load almost too great to resist.
Catching her beneath the arms, Jared yanked her up. If he didn’t get a handle on her, she’d have him so spiked he’d bang her on the couch again, rutting on the woman he was falling in love with like an animal in heat. On any other day there’d be no problem with that, but not today. Today they both needed more than a quick, furious orgasm.
“We’re doing this in a bed this go-round,” he muttered, lifting her feet from the floor and carrying her to the bedroom. She wrapped her legs around his hips, wiggling, trying to align their bodies. When the satiny soft lips of her cunt slid across the crown of his dick, his step faltered, his chest vibrating with a groan.
Darcy caught his mouth, latching on to his tongue and sucking. His knees buckled and he cursed, leaning heavily into the wall to keep them both upright. “Behave, damn it. Before I nail you on the floor.”
“Yes…Do it.”