She loved seeing that expression on his face, the one that said she could keep her fingers wrapped around him forever and he’d never grow tired. The tension in his skin tightened with every pass of her hand until finally he groaned and pushed her back on the bed. Lela stretched out, her breasts full and heavy, and a fire between her legs. She needed him. She needed him to touch every delicate spot on her body. Every inch that only made her want him more.
He shucked his jeans and boxers, planted a knee on the bed, then tugged her panties past her hips and tossed them on the floor. She was about to remind him where the condoms were when he spread her legs apart and parked himself between them. It wasn’t like she was super concerned with pregnancy. It was only a remote possibility at this point in her life, but for now, where he was headed, no birth control was necessary. He glazed his mouth along her inner thigh with wet kisses while the scratchiness of his facial hair left a lingering burn. Every step closer to her center drove her a little more wild, but he was teasing her, too, drawing out the anticipation when he switched to her other leg and started again at her knee.
When he settled his head between her legs, Lela arched her back if only to fight the buck of her hips. The tip of his tongue circled and dammit, she might have to start calling him Johnny-on-the-spot. Her thighs quivered, her knees fell farther apart and she closed her eyes, digging her fingers into his thick hair and drawing breaths in through her nose. For a split second she wondered where he’d been all her life, but she knew the answer—for most of it, he’d been out there, walking around just as aimless as she’d been. But thinking about the past wasn’t going to be part of tonight. Not now.
As the pressure coiled, low in her belly and at the tops of her thighs, she realized that she didn’t want this to be a one-woman show, even if it was only the opening act. So, she tapped him on the head.
He popped right up, half of his hair hanging in his eyes. “Yes?”
She wanted to laugh. And smile. And have more of him. “You are amazing. But I want all of you.”
A heart-melting grin crossed his face. “Okay, then. Condom?”
“Just to be safe. Yes.”
She rolled to her stomach, scooted across the mattress so she could open the bedside table and grab the box. Donovan climbed up on the bed, kissing the small of her back then following the chain of her spine. When he got to her neck, he pulled her hair aside, dotting her skin with his soft lips. She eased to her back and handed him the packet. He tore it open, handed the condom to her, then it was his turn to stretch out on his back. She figured out his plan and rolled it on him, then shifted to her knees and straddled his hips. Taking him in her hand, she guided him inside. As she sank down, she studied the look on his face. Every little happy twitch of his lips or flutter of his eyelids reflected what she was feeling—pleasure, relief, and anticipation. She lowered her upper body until her stomach rested on his and her breasts rubbed against his chest. Her elbows went on either side of his head and she kissed him deeply again as they moved together.
She’d already been so close before that this felt like it might be a quick trip, no matter how slowly they were taking things. Donovan raked his fingers up and down her back, and she ground her center against him, feeling every subtle move he made to please her. And all the while, her mind was a happy place, where nothing less than pure contentment lived.
The pressure was building, quickly approaching, and the second she hit the wall, the rhapsody started. Angels sang. There were golden harps and cherubs. Donovan knocked his head back on the pillow and his entire body froze beneath her. His breaths were short and choppy and desperate, slowly growing longer like satisfied sighs of relief.
She collapsed at his side and curled into him, burying her face in his chest and drinking in his smell. She loved having him at her house. In her bed. In her life.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“So much better than okay.”
He let out a breathy laugh and kissed her forehead. “That was great.”
“I like not being friends.”
She heard the dreamy quality of her own voice, felt the way contentment was threatening to turn her into a big old truth-teller again.Easy, Lela. Easy.She needed to spend some time living with her feelings before she put a label on them, and definitely before she let them spill from her mouth. She’d made the mistake of making love-laced confessions to Donovan in a post-orgasm haze before. She wasn’t going to make it again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Donovan hated going backon a promise, especially to Lela. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. He didn’t see a way out of his familial obligations. He also didn’t really want an out. His mom needed him.
He walked over to Lela’s bed and sat on the edge of the mattress, gently caressing her shoulder. Early morning strains of sun were streaming through the windows, casting beams across the hardwood floor and Lela in a soft glow.
“Good morning,” she murmured.
“Good morning.” He watched as she cracked open one eye then witnessed the split-second when she realized he was dressed.
She bolted out of bed, naked as the day she was born. “No. You are not doing this.” She grabbed a pillow and disappointingly shielded her body from view. “You’re leaving?”
“Shh. It’s okay. Please. Sit down. We need to talk.”
“What now?” Lela asked in a heartrending tone. Donovan couldn’t blame her. She’d probably been expecting the worst of him, and from all available visual evidence, that was exactly what he was delivering.
“Just sit.”
Lela crawled back under the covers, sitting with her back against the headboard and the sheet pulled up to her chin.
“You don’t have to hide from me,” he said.
“I’m not. I’m protecting myself. What in the hell is going on?”
“I got a call from Stuart…”
