Dance Like Nobody's Watching (Summer Lake 3) (20 page)

It appeared she felt the same. She tugged at his
hand. “Take me home?”

Her gaze was soft. Almost pleading. It aroused him
even more to know she wanted him that badly. They set a brisk pace
back to her place.

Missy fumbled with the key as she tried to open
the door. Dan was right behind her on the step. She could feel him so
close, his musky scent invading her senses. She managed to turn the
key and stumbled inside. Dan followed and closed the door behind him.
He took her hand and led her up the stairs. Her mind was a mad
jumble. He wanted to move here? Buy the DeWinters place? He wanted
more than weekends?

He led her into her bedroom. She closed the door.
It felt strange, even though Scot wasn't here. She turned to find
herself trapped between Dan and the door. He leaned his weight
against her, pinning her there. He kissed her deeply, a sensuous
exploration of her mouth, while his hands seemed to be everywhere at
once. In seconds she stood naked, while he was still fully dressed.
She tried to unbutton his shirt but he caught her hands and led her
to the bed. He pushed her down on it and held her waist in his hands
as he kissed her stomach. The now familiar tingles filled her. His
hot, wet mouth working its way up over her body had her moaning. She
gasped as his grip on her waist tightened and he laved at her
sensitive nipples. She tried again to undo his shirt, but he moved
away, trailing his tongue back down over her stomach. Her breath
caught in her throat when his mouth closed over her heat and his hot
tongue snaked inside.

“I want you, Dan.” His mouth felt
wonderful, but she wanted to feel all of him, his body moving with
hers as he entered her. This time though, he didn't comply. His hands
left her waist to spread her thighs. “You'll have to wait,”
he said, rolling her nub between his finger and thumb. She writhed as
the first tiny explosions began. When his tongue returned to its
work, she grasped the sheets beneath her as it thrust deeper.

“Please, Dan,” she begged. She wanted
him to make love to her. “You're going to make me come.”

He lifted his head and gave her a predatory smile.
“I am. I'm going to make you come, and come, and come.”

Just the look on his face took her closer to the
edge. Then his mouth was on her again and she felt her muscles tense
as the explosions began. “Daaan!” she screamed as he slid
his fingers deep. Only her heels and her shoulders remained on the
bed as he worked her mercilessly; true to his word he carried her
through wave after wave of an orgasm that she thought might never
end. When he let her catch her breath she sagged back down onto the
bed, ragged breaths still coming fast. She knew it was only a small
respite as he knelt above her, unfastening his shirt and throwing it
to the floor. There was something incredibly sexy about watching him
unbuckle his belt and unfasten his jeans. She felt that little shiver
of trepidation when he freed his cock from his pants and kicked them
off. That tattoo ran down his side, over hard muscle down past his
hipbone.

He took his cock in his hand and held her open,
stroking himself against her swollen flesh, tormenting her. She
didn't need him to tease her, she needed him to make love to her. She
grasped his ass in her hands and lifted herself up to him. She moaned
as he plunged deep. He was so hard, he felt so good, better than
ever, and different somehow. He rocked his hips in an insistent
rhythm that carried her inevitably towards another mind-blowing
orgasm. She moved with him, giving herself up to him. He felt so
damned good! She could feel him straining, his cock pulsing as he
grew hotter and harder with each thrust.

“Missy!” he cried as he let himself
go. She felt him explode, his release shooting hot and deep inside
her. Even as her body trembled and the fireworks exploded behind her
eyes, she finally understood what felt so different—they'd
forgotten the condom!

As they lay recovering, her mind raced. It had
only been a week since Doc Morgan had given her the pills, was that
enough?

Dan wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close.
“I hope that was as good for you as it was for me, beautiful?”

“Unbelievable!” It was true. She
couldn't believe they'd forgotten.

He pressed his face into her hair. “Good,
then I get to keep working on making you a believer.” He
propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at her. “Would
you really have a problem if I moved up here to work on it? You
seemed upset back there.”

His expression was troubled. He looked so earnest,
she pulled his face down so she could kiss him. “Who said I had
a problem with it, hero? I was surprised, not upset. How could I be
upset at the thought of having you around more?”

He cocked his head to one side, his beautiful
smile returning. “You like the idea?”

“I just told you. I love it!”

“Then will you come with me tomorrow?”

“Of course. I'll help you figure out you can
make it feel like a home of your own.”

His smile faltered at that. Why, though? That was
what he'd asked, wasn't it? That she help him make it into a home. He
nodded, but said nothing.

“Want to sneak downstairs for a glass of
wine?” She had a feeling she wasn't going to get much rest
tonight. She wanted to take a break, to try to get her head around
the forgotten condom, before he was ready to go again.

He pressed himself against her, he was already
hard. “Want a glass after?” He nibbled her ear, sending
shivers down her back. She jumped up from the bed. “Yes, but
let's have one before too.”

He looked puzzled, but got up from the bed and
pulled his pants on.

***

Dan opened the wine while Missy got two glasses
from the cabinet. This whole evening, since they'd left the
restaurant, had him confused. He poured the wine and looked at her.
She said she liked the idea of him moving up here, but she seemed ill
at ease. Something was bothering her and he had no clue what it was.
Normally she was so forthright about everything. He didn't like this.
She'd even wanted to come down here and drink wine rather than stay
in bed with him. Right now he was too confused. There were too many
emotions and he didn't know what they were. For once she wasn't
making it easy for him to understand. His head filled with white
noise, like it got when he was overloaded with people; he'd never
felt that way around her. He put his glass down.

“I just remembered something in the RV, I'll
be back.” He escaped to the coach and sat down in front of the
computer, feeling like a shit as he thought of the stunned look on
her face when he'd walked out of the kitchen. He was angry with
himself. He tapped on his keyboard and let out a big sigh. She
deserved more than this. He had to go back in.

She was sitting at the kitchen table, fiddling
with her wine glass. He couldn't read the expression on her face when
she looked up, but he knew it wasn't good.

“Please forgive me, Miss. When I don't
understand people, I walk away. That's what I just did, but I don't
want to walk away from you. I want to understand. What's wrong,
Miss?”

She sipped her wine and looked away.

“Please tell me? I'm no good at working
these things out. I don't usually need to with you. Did I do
something wrong? I'm sorry if I did. I didn't mean to.”

She took hold of his hand. “No, honey. I'm
sorry.” This couldn't be good. She called everyone honey. It
didn't feel like when she called him hero.

“Why?”

“You didn't do something wrong, we both did.
We forgot the condom and I'm a little worried.”

Oh! That was all? He put an arm around her
shoulders and drew her to him. “That's nothing to worry about,
beautiful.”

She pulled away and scowled at him. “It is
for me! You might want a baby, but I damned well don't!”

That shocked him. “What the hell makes you
think I would want a baby?” He couldn't think of anything
worse.

“Sorry.” She visibly relaxed a little.
“I've just got it in my head that that's where you are in life.
You're at the stage where you should be getting married, sharing your
life with someone, and having babies. I can't give you that, I've
already been there. I don't want it.”

Wow! He would never have guessed that was what she
was thinking. “I don't want that. Well, not the babies part
anyway, and you don't need to worry about getting pregnant. I can't
have kids.”

She looked at him, shocked. “You can't? Why
not?”

“I had mumps when I was a kid. It's a rare
complication, but it happens in a tiny percentage of cases. I was one
of what they call the unfortunate few. I consider myself fortunate
though. Can you imagine me with a baby?” He grimaced at the
thought and was glad when she laughed.

“You should see your face. They're not that
bad. Scotty was a little sweetheart.”

“I'm sure he was, but most of them aren't.
They're scary, demanding little creatures, constantly wet and noisy
at both ends!”

She laughed again. She looked so very relieved
that a thought hit him. “Did you really think that I would want
to start a family?”

She met his eyes and nodded.

“But you don't want to?”

She nodded again.

“So, Miss, where did you think this was
going?”

She shrugged, but still didn't speak.

“Please tell me?”

“I thought you were just coming up here on
the weekends, that we'd date for a while. That you'd eventually meet
someone more like you in San Jose who you wanted to start a family
with. That you'd go off and start your life and we'd be over.”

He took hold of her hands and cocked his head to
one side as he looked deep into her eyes. “I have met someone I
want to have a family with.” She looked shocked. “Miss, I
don't want to
start
a family. I want to become part of yours.
You and Scotty, and me.”

She just stared at him. He didn't know what that
meant, so he pushed on. “I don't want to
go off
to start
a life. I want to come here and start one. With you. I know it's too
soon to be talking like this, and you don't have to say anything. But
it's how I feel, it's what I want, and it's not going to change. So I
need you to know. We can take our time getting there, if you want. I
didn't mean to lay it on you like this. But honestly, if it were up
to me, I'd have you both move in that house with me as soon as I can
close on it. That's what I meant when I asked you to help me make it
home, I meant by living there, with me. Like I said, a home is made
from the people and the love that live there.” He pulled her
closer. “And I love you, Missy.” He hadn't actually meant
to pour all that out. Had intended to wait a while, build up to it,
but saying it too soon didn't make it any less true.

Her eyes sparkled with tears. One big fat drop
escaped and rolled down her cheek. Was that a good thing? He didn't
know. She squeezed his hands as she smiled through the tears that
followed the first down her face.

“It is too soon, hero.” He sucked his
breath in sharply. Of course it was, but he couldn't take it back,
wouldn't want to anyway. “It is too soon, but I love you too.”

His heart leapt and a huge grin spread across his
face. “You do?”

“I do! How could I not love you? On paper
we're all wrong for each other, but something about us just works.
You're perfect, perfect for me and I do love you.” Her hands
tangled in his hair as he she pulled him down to kiss her.

When he eventually lifted his head, he held her
tight. “I love you, little Miss Missy. I don't know how love
works, I might not be very good at it. It's not something I thought I
was capable of, but then I met you.”

She smiled up at him, her eyes such a light gray,
they looked like liquid silver. “I didn't think I was capable
of it either, hero. I'm so glad we've proved each other wrong.”

***

Missy lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Dan slept
on beside her. She'd never had a man spend the night in all the years
she'd owned this house. It just hadn't seemed right. Whenever she'd
dated a guy, she'd tried to keep them separate from her home, from
Scot. No one had ever come close to being good enough for her to have
them around her son. Dan was different. Completely different. He'd
gotten close to Scot in his own right. Now she wondered if
she
was
good enough. Dan shared a bond with Scotty that she didn't—they
were both so damned smart. She'd always felt a little guilty that
Scot didn't have a guy in his life. She believed a boy needed a male
influence. Ben had always been so good with him, hanging with him and
taking him fishing when he could. Pete too, spent time with him
whenever he could, but it wasn't the same as Scotty having someone of
his own. She hesitated to even think it out loud, but what he had
needed was a father figure. Dan fit the bill perfectly. He was the
only person she had ever known who could talk to Scot on his level,
and not just about his computers. Not only did Dan understand the
kid, he was even smarter than him and could teach him, challenge him,
help him along. She turned to look at his sleeping face, long dark
lashes rested on his cheeks. His full lips turned up at the corners,
smiling as he slept. In some ways she couldn't have asked for a more
perfect match. He was everything Scotty needed. Damn, he was
everything
she
needed! He was gorgeous, thoughtful, fun, he
cared about her. Last night he'd told her that he loved her! That had
come as a surprise, but not as big a surprise as hearing herself tell
him that she loved him too.

It was true though. Despite the fact that they
were so different, they gelled perfectly. Their differences
complemented each other and, as Ben had said, they brought out each
other’s hidden qualities. It was all so much to take in. This
time yesterday, she'd been thinking that all she could do was make
the most of dating him for a while. Now he was saying he wanted to
move up here. Buy a house, which just happened to be her dream house,
and he wanted her and Scotty to move in with him! It was a lot to
take in, for sure. On the one hand it was perfect. Perfect for Scot,
and for her. But was it all just a little too perfect? Would the
differences between them become more apparent over time? Would she
drive him nuts if they did move in together? Would he be able to
stand having her and Scotty around
all
the time? He was a
loner, he needed his solitude. She was no fool. She believed he did
love her, she knew she'd fallen for him, in a big way. But she also
knew that might not be enough. Not when cold, hard, everyday reality
set in.