“I’m not supposed to fear, though.” Danica put down the glass and brought Alicia closer to her. Alicia rested her cheek upon Danica’s chest and let her hands languidly work the buttons on her shirt. “From as far back as I can remember, I trained myself not to give in to fear. I couldn’t fear losing another parent. Icouldn’t fear what other kids thought of me. I sure as hell could not fear for my future. I have spent much of my life numbing myself to the world. One day after another passes. Nothing remarkable happens. I make tens of millions of dollars… so what? What does that mean? I lose tens of millions of dollars… so what? I’ll make it back again next week with a better investment. My life is so sterile.”
She kissed Alicia, pushing her head against the back of the couch as that tongue delved deep into Alicia’s mouth, caressing the roof and the frenulum beneath her tongue.Yeah, this woman makes my frenulum sexy.When Danica moved far enough away to speak, Alicia remained beneath her erotic spell.
“Then I met you.”
“Fate, right?” Alicia whispered.
“You were there. You tell me.”
Alicia relaxed against the couch. Her body, as Danica teased her with kisses and fervent touches, responded with such alacrity that she almost swore she was the easiest woman in the world. After all, it had taken all of three encounters in one night to get her to sleep with Danica. Two so-called dates to get her to be her girlfriend. One week in Chicago to make her seriously consider marriage, let alone what their children would be like.
“I felt something, too,” Alicia confessed. “I thought it was mere attraction.”
“So did I.”
“If you had never pursued me like you did, I would have considered you a fond memory and gone on my way.”
“I could not have done that.”
“But I would have compared every person after that to you.”
That satisfied the ego bruising beneath her grip. “What a coincidence. I was prepared to compare every woman in the world to you, to convince myself that you weren’t worth throwing my life out of sorts over.”
“And?”
Alicia fell against the couch, Danica’s breath teasing her breasts. Her nipples wouldn’t be able to stand it at this rate. “Every woman paled in comparison. It must be you, Alicia. I don’t care if you don’t love me half as much as I love you. Even a drop of your love is enough to satisfy me for the rest of my life.”
Too much! How was she supposed to believe something like that?
Nevertheless, she giggled when Danica pulled her off the couch and stole a key to a private room. That key was probably reserved for another guest. Not that the owner cared.
“Go sit on the bed.” Danica secured the door. “Think about what you’ve done.”
Alicia flopped down onto the bed, mask sliding across her face and leash jingling into a coil beside her. “Think about what, ma’am?”
Danica leaned against the door. “What you’ve done to me.”
One breast threatened to fall out of her bra as she hurried to sit up. “What have I done?”
“Exist.” The light wasn’t bright enough to illuminate the look on Danica’s face. What did she look like? Devoted? Distracted? Annoyed that someone like Alicia had stolen her otherwise impervious and frozen heart? “You existed in my presence. For that, I both thank and resent you.”
“Why do you resent me?”
“Because now I have to restrain myself from making love to you.”
“No, you don’t.” Legs dangling over the side of the sparse bed, Alicia continued, “You can do whatever you want to me.”
“You’re mistaken, my love.” Danica’s hands were fists of channeled frustration. “I can’t do a damn thing until I’m convinced that you love me at all.”
“What?”
Danica kicked herself off the door, but only met Alicia halfway across the small private room. “You’re going to convince me that you need me. I’ve spent this whole night acting like a fool in love. Now you’re going to drive us both crazy with love and desire.”
“Just me!”
“Just you, Alicia.” Danica stood inches out of reach. “I refuse to touch you until you’re begging for me… and I believe every word of desperation coming out of your mouth.”
She trembled. Not from fear or discomfort, but from the way Danica’s voice growled in the depths of her throat. “Is that an order, ma’am?”
