They’d watched movies well into the night, eating that unbelievably delicious macaroni and cheese that she’d made and snacked on candy and popcorn until about a half-hour ago when she’d snuggled up against him and fallen asleep. He’d thought about waking her up so that he could walk her to her door and get that goodnight kiss that he’d been dreaming about for the past two days, but he wasn’t ready to let her go yet.
He closed his eyes and settled back, savoring the feel of her in his arms. He felt his body begin to relax and tried to fight it, but it just felt too good to fight. It had been years since he’d been able to let his guard down. Just a few minutes and he’d wake Tinkerbelle up and walk her home.
Just a few minutes…
“Ow!” Jodi muttered just as Danny groaned, “Shit!”
For a minute, she could only lay there as she struggled to catch her breath, but it was kind of difficult with a man who had to weigh at least two-hundred-and-fifty pounds lying on top of her. She wasn’t exactly sure how this happened. One minute, she’d been dreaming of Danny doing…umm, what he was doing in her dream wasn’t important, and the next minute, she was falling off the couch and hitting the floor with Danny landing on top of her.
“Are you okay?” Danny asked, shifting some of his weight off her and onto his elbows.
“I t-think so,” Jodi said in a daze.
“I must have dozed off. I’m sorry, Tinkerbelle,” Danny said, sighing softly as he reached over and pushed her hair out of her face.
“Uh-huh,” she mumbled absently, not really hearing him as all of her attention zeroed in on the fact that Danny’s body had settled between her legs.
Now, when Jerry had been in this same position, she’d barely felt anything except for discomfort and well, that was it. With Danny, she felt comforted by his weight, but that wasn’t all. Right now, there was a very large and very hard part of his body that was pressing insistently against her. She had to resist the urge to shift beneath him, curious to see just how big he was, but once again, that seemed kind of rude, so she forced herself to lay still.
“God, you’re beautiful,” Danny whispered hoarsely.
She looked up and met his intense gaze and felt herself melt. He was so handsome, sweet, funny, and kind. She could quickly see herself falling for him and that scared her, but not enough to fight this. It seemed as though every time she saw him or thought about him, this attraction grew stronger. She’d never wanted a man the way that she wanted Danny and for once in her life, she was going to take what she wanted.
She reached up with a trembling hand and cupped the back of his neck. Licking her lips, she leaned up and pressed her lips against his. With a soft groan, he moved his lips against hers, slowly, tenderly as though he was savoring her lips. She’d never enjoyed kissing, never thought a kiss could feel so good, and God, did this feel good.
She moved back until she felt her head touch the plush carpet, pleased when Danny followed. Praying that this wouldn’t end up being like one of Jerry’s kisses, she parted her lips. Danny instantly moved to deepen the kiss. His tongue invaded and she felt herself stiffen, prepared for the revulsion that used to hit her when Jerry did that, but it never came.
Instead, she found herself moaning into his mouth as his tongue slid sensuously against hers, teasing and tempting her into giving him more. With a sigh, she did just that. She moved her tongue against his, loving the little groan that he made, so she did it again. Jerry hadn’t been big on kissing, something that she’d always been thankful for because even with her limited experience, she’d been able to tell that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He’d never kissed her like he’d enjoyed it, enjoyed being with her, touching her, or wanted her. Jerry had never really wanted her, but at the time, she’d hadn’t cared.
Right now, she cared.
She didn’t want Danny kissing her the way that Jerry used to. She didn’t want to be kissed like he couldn’t stomach touching her. She wanted him to kiss her like he couldn’t get enough of her, the way that he was kissing her now.
Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she lost herself in the kiss. She moved her tongue around his, loving the way kissing him made her feel, the way it made her body come alive. When he gently suckled on her tongue, she whimpered, her back arched, pressing her breasts against his chest as the move caused him to settle more deeply between her legs. He felt so good, so damn good, and she wanted to-
Kill him when he suddenly moved away.
“I’m sorry,” Danny said, panting slightly as he sat on the edge of the couch and held his hand out to her.
Biting back a groan that would either make her look pathetic or like a slut, Jodi took his hand and allowed him to help her up. She sat on the couch next to him, trying to catch her breath even as she contemplated tackling him to the floor and picking up where they’d left off.
“I promised you that we’d take things slowly. I want to do this right,” Danny said, shooting her a tight smile as he took her hand in his. He raised their hands and pressed a kiss against the back of her hand. “Let me walk you home.”
For a goodnight kiss? Jodi thought hopefully, perking up at the idea even as she continued struggling to catch her breath. She stood up, hoping that she didn’t look too eager. As he walked her to his door and then across the hall, she couldn’t help but wonder how long she could stretch out this kiss.
Not very long, it would seem.
He walked her to her door, leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. Before she could respond, or throw herself at him, he was wishing her goodnight and walking away, leaving her standing there, frustrated beyond belief and contemplating killing the bastard for leaving her this way.
“Shit!” Danny hissed as he lowered himself into the tub filled with ice-cold water.
He was a fucking moron. That was the only explanation that he could come up with that would explain why he was freezing his balls off instead of across the hall burying himself between his neighbor’s beautiful, short legs.
She’d felt so good beneath him as he’d explored her surprisingly talented mouth. He’d almost lost himself in that kiss and given in to every fantasy that he’d had about her, but somehow, he’d found the willpower to slow down and pull back. He had a game plan and he was going to stick to it. He wanted to do this right. He wanted to make sure that she forgot what an asshole he was. He wanted…
He wanted what his cousins had, Danny realized with a groan. He wanted Jodi to look at him the way that his cousins’ wives looked at them. He wanted someone waiting for him when he came home at the end of the day, someone to hold in his arms at night to fight off memories that were better left forgotten, and he wanted that someone to be his Tinkerbelle.
As tempted as he was to go back across the hallway and finish what they’d started, he knew better. This wasn’t just sex for him. He was sick and tired of watching his cousins and his old friends from high school getting married, raising families, and finding some semblance of peace in their lives. He wanted that more than anything, needed it more than his next breath and would do anything to get it.
