Dance Like Nobody's Watching (Summer Lake 3) (17 page)

She went back to the kitchen where he was setting
the timer on the oven.

“Do you like the place?”

She wrinkled her nose. “It's beautiful.”

“But you don't like it?”

“It's not that. It just doesn't feel like a
home.” Oh no. What was that look? She hadn't meant to offend
him. “But then what do I know?” she continued quickly.
“My home is furnished from the thrift store. It's full of
Scot's junk, and mine. I'm the wrong person to ask.”

“No, Miss, you're right. This is more like a
hotel room than a home. Your place is a real home, I just don't know
how to make that happen. I never really had one.”

Missy came to him and slipped her arms around his
waist. “You and Jack had it rough growing up, didn't you?”

He nodded. “Jack had the worst of it. He
shielded me. At home and at school. I was pretty clueless.” He
smiled. “Still am, I suppose. There was never any money. Mom
worked. Dad drank whatever she earned. Neither of them were around
much. Jack raised me and fed me. When Dad was there, he used to beat
whichever one of us got in his way. Usually it was Mom, but when she
wasn't around it was me. Jack tried to stop it whenever he could, but
he worked too. He couldn't always be around.”

Missy looked up at him. He was so matter of fact.
She could imagine him at Scot's age. So much like Scot—super-smart
in some ways, clueless in others. Her eyes filled with tears for the
boy he had been.

“Hey, I wasn't going for the sympathy vote.
Don't look so sad, it's all a long time ago. All I meant was that I
envy the home you've made for you and Scotty. A home isn't made from
a building, or the furniture inside it, it's made from the people and
the love that fill it. You and Scotty are both such amazing people,
and the way you love each other is so very special. Your home is such
a wonderful place because of that. It's something I've never known,
that's all.”

The tears brimmed now, ready to fall. Dan rubbed
his thumb under her eye. “Don't cry for me, beautiful, teach
me.” He lowered his face to her, big brown eyes open and
honest. They seemed to be pleading with her, but for what, she didn't
know. His lips met hers in a slow, deep exploration. She kissed him
back, hoping her lips could tell him that, whatever he was pleading
for, she'd willingly give—if she just knew what it was.

***

Dan held her tight against his chest. Standing
naked with Missy, kissing her in his kitchen, he was baring himself
to her in so many ways. He wasn't afraid, though. He trusted her
completely. He viewed trust a little differently than most people. In
his experience when people talked about trusting someone, it meant
they expected that someone to do what
they
wanted them to,
conform to what
they
believed was right. Dan didn't expect
anyone, especially not Missy, to conform to his ideas. For him, trust
meant seeing and admiring a person for who they really were, and
knowing that they would stand true to their own beliefs and what they
thought to be right.

When he lifted his head from that kiss, her eyes
still shone with tears. He rubbed his nose against hers and smiled.
He wanted her to smile again. Not to feel sad for the boy he had
been, but to feel happy with the man he was now. He held out his beer
bottle in a toast. “I'll be honest, Miss. I'm hoping this is
the first of many evenings we'll spend together. Perhaps over time
you can teach me, have a little of your ways rub off on me?”
She was so beautiful, smiling up at him as she touched her bottle to
his.

“I hope it's the first of many too, but I
think you've got more to teach me than I have you. I'm just a dumb
hick-chick that never even went to college, remember?”

It seemed to bother her that she hadn't gone to
college. “You didn't go because you were too busy doing
something much more important. You were raising your son, and doing
an awesome job of it. Do you know how many supposedly 'well-educated'
people ruin their kids’ lives because they fail miserably as
parents? College is just about a piece of paper. What you do is so
much more important, it's about shaping a life. Scotty is a fine
young man, and that's down to you.”

Missy shrugged. “He is a good kid. I think
it's more about nature than nurture, though. I got lucky. When I look
at some of his friends, I don't know how I would cope.”

Dan shuddered, some of Scot's friends baffled him.
“I think it's nature
and
nurture, and I think you know
it.” He brought his hand up to cup the back of her neck and
smiled when she let out a big sigh and relaxed against him. “So,
little kitten. No more false modesty. You are the best mom I've ever
known, but for this evening we don't need to talk about how good you
are with your boy. I want you to keep showing me how good you are
with your man.”

She looked into his eyes, searching, questioning.
He drew her closer, surprised how possessive he felt, how in control.
He
was
her man and she was all his. He closed his hands around
her waist and lifted her to sit on the island. Standing between her
legs he hugged her to him.

“
My
man?” she whispered.

Sitting up here her eyes were level with his. He
gazed into them as he rubbed his nose against hers. “I want to
be. What do you say?”

“I say I'd like that, too.” Her smile
didn't just light up her face, it lit up the whole room. Hell, it lit
him up! He was hard again, very hard.

“Hold that thought.” He practically
ran to the bedroom for a condom and had it on by the time he returned
to his position between her legs. He scooted her to the edge of the
counter-top and dipped his head to taste her. She was as ready as he
was. Her hands met in his hair and she tugged. He slid a finger into
her but she tugged again.

“
You
, Dan. I want
you.”

No way could he resist that. He stood and held her
to him, spreading her legs as he nudged at her, needing to be inside
her once more. Her skin was flushed, she was so wet and willing as he
thrust his hips, impaling her. She gasped as he plunged deep and
hard. Her arms came up around his neck and she wrapped her legs
around his. The feel of her full breasts against his chest spurred
him on, her warm soft body yielding to him, her inner muscles
tantalizing as they closed around him. She was so tight he'd feared
hurting her, but she was so wet he penetrated her easily, her heat
surrounding him, drawing him deeper. He felt her growing tighter,
increasing the delicious resistance. As he drove deeper she gave him
more of herself. He let himself go, needing to fill her, to possess
her. His own climax took her over the edge, she gasped and clenched
around him, their bodies becoming one in a blinding shower of pure
ecstasy that pulsed through them.

His legs were weak as they breathed hard on each
other’s shoulders. When he could finally speak he brought his
lips to her ear and whispered, “Your man, Miss. And you are my
lady, my beautiful, perfect, little lady.”

She brought her hand to his cheek and landed a
kiss on his lips. He wanted to be the hero that could chase away the
doubts that still lingered in her eyes.

Missy rubbed at her nose, it was tickling. Then it
was her cheek. She ran a hand across her face without opening her
eyes. She wanted to sleep on. Now her chin tickled. She swiped at it
then yawned and stretched; her bed felt so much more comfortable than
usual this morning. Oh! Now her nipples were tingling. That felt so
good. For a moment she enjoyed the sensations radiating out, settling
as heat between her legs. Then her eyes flew open. Dan was smiling
down at her, still rolling her nipples between his fingers and
thumbs. The heat between her legs intensified as she took in his
hard, naked body.

“I thought this might get your attention.”
He smiled and squeezed harder, drawing a gasp from her at the
exquisite discomfort.

“Morning,” she mumbled. “You
definitely got my attention. Now what are you going to do with it?”

He covered her body with his own, awakening every
nerve ending she had. She shivered in anticipation. He kissed her
lips, but she pressed them shut, horrified at the thought of her
morning breath. He grinned, seeming to understand and instead buried
his face in her hair as he buried his hand between her legs. He
stroked her, intensifying the tingling heat that filled her whenever
he was close. He slid a finger inside her and nibbled her neck. How
could she be this close to orgasm within seconds of waking?

“I want you, Dan.”

As soon as she breathed the words, his hand was
gone. She watched him stretch a condom over himself. There was no
question that he was awake and ready. He rested between her legs and
looked deep into her eyes.

“Ready?”

She nodded, then caught her breath when he guided
himself with his hand until he pressed into her. She spread her legs
wider as he slowly slid deeper and deeper. He was so thick and hard.
Last night his thrusts to plunge inside had been momentary pain that
filled her with pleasure. This slow, steady, building pressure was
something else. It felt impossible, yet it was happening, he was
stretching her, filling her. The tiny explosions around the place
where they joined threatened to combine into one. Once she'd taken
all of him, he lost his restraint, picked up his pace and she came
undone. The tiny explosions ignited a wild fire that tore through her
being, searing every part of her. When the fireworks behind her eyes
began to fade she felt him stiffen; his release demanded her response
and she was carried away again, clinging tightly to him as he clung
to her and moved her body with his own.

When they finally lay still she pressed her cheek
against his. “Way to say good morning, hero!” She felt
him shiver as an aftershock rolled through him and into her.

“I was hoping you'd like it. I think we
should start every day this way.”

If only. She'd already accepted she'd probably
only ever see him on the weekends he could come to the lake. Still,
she'd happily make the most of any days they could start this way.

***

While Missy was in the shower, Dan ran down to the
coffee shop to get them some breakfast. He knew she liked vanilla
cappuccino, but wasn't so sure about pastries. He'd seen her eat
Emma's muffins, so got some blueberry ones, and banana ones. He
needed to get it right though, so he had them fill up a box with more
muffins, and scones, and Danish. He had them add a couple of
chocolate croissants, just in case. He dashed back through the lobby.
He slipped into the elevator unnoticed, not wanting to waste any time
getting back to her.

He let himself in to find Missy sitting at the
island with a glass of water. She looked so tiny, sitting there. He
hated to admit it, but she was right about being a country mouse. Her
shoes were pretty, but well worn. There was a patch on her jeans
where he remembered her tearing them a few weeks back. She'd said
something at the time about needing new jeans anyway, but she'd fixed
these instead.

“Hey, hero!” Her smile really did
light him up. He felt like he
could
be a hero when she said
it. He wanted to take care of her, make life better for her, easier
for her, in so many ways.

“Hey, beautiful. I got us some breakfast.”

“Thanks.” He handed her the huge
cappuccino. She took a sip and grinned. “Have you been taking
notes on everything I like and don't like?”

He nodded. “Pretty much. I can't help but
notice. Though the notes are only mental ones.” He put the box
of pastries on the counter in front of her and opened it up. “I
didn't have enough data about your pastry preferences, though. So I
tried to cover all the options.”

Missy laughed. “Did you clean the place out?
Looks like you bought everything they had.”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry if it's
overkill. We can give the rest to Herb and the guys in the garage,
but I needed to make sure you get what you want.”

She held her arms out to him and hugged him tight.
“I already have what I want, and that's you. Plus you got my
breakfast favorites. These little chocolate thingies? I love them,
and I can only ever get them when I come here, or go to the city.”

Dan was thrilled by her response. He was also
intrigued. “I don't know why, but I assumed you hadn't been to
San Jose before.”

Her happy smile faded. “Oh, it's been a
couple of years now. I was looking at schools, but it never worked
out.”

“What kind of schools?”

She sighed and took a bite of her croissant. Dan
climbed on the stool beside her and sipped his coffee as he waited
for her to reply. She took a gulp of cappuccino, then said, “Don't
laugh, but for the longest time I was trying to figure out how I
could go to school to become a guidance counselor.” She laughed
as though the idea was silly somehow.

“I don't get it. Why would I laugh and why
didn't you do it?”

“I thought you might laugh, because you are
smart and logical, and I'm sure you can see how the logistics
wouldn't work.”

“What logistics are you factoring in? It
seems like a great idea to me. I think you'd be an awesome guidance
counselor.”

“Maybe, but first I'd need to get my
Bachelor's degree, then my Masters. I could do all my placements at
the high school in Summer Lake, I checked, but I could never find a
Masters program that didn't have an on-campus element. I could never
spend that kind of time away from Scotty, so eventually I let go of
the idea.”

The look on her face said she'd never really let
go of it, just resigned herself to the fact that she couldn't make it
happen. Dan's mind began working through the options. It seemed
logical and fairly straightforward to him. “So why don't you
work on your Bachelor's degree online for now? That would take a
couple of years. By the time Scot's ready to go off to college
himself, you'll be ready to do your Master's.”