Authors: Cassidy Browning
Tags: #Romance
There was a stiff resistance at first, as if she couldn’t stand him seeing her face tearstained and smudged. Unable to stop himself, he bent slightly and kissed her. She went completely still
,
and after a moment she responded, her body relaxing into him. An arm wound around his neck
,
and she pulled herself eagerly into his embrace. Her mouth opened slightly
,
and he allowed his tongue to enter and explore as his hand moved around her torso and found her breast.
Images began flashing through his mind. He saw again his first time with Sharon and the years they’d had together. He hadn’t been with anyone else since her death. It had been impossible for him to even consider it. Now he was kissing someone totally inappropriate, someone who would never embrace the quiet life they’d shared. Why was he allowing this to happen? It was disloyal of him.
But his body wasn’t listening. His cock was throbbing with need for this young, scruffy singer that Sharon would never have approved of. He tried to fight off the need for her, but somehow instead he found himself lowering her onto the bed and tugging at the bottom of her T-shirt. She leaned away and held up her arms so he could pull it over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra, which wasn’t a surprise, but the sight of her erect nipples sent him over the edge. He took one in his mouth, a hand reaching down to find her zipper. He had to get her naked.
She twisted and moaned, trying to unbutton his shirt as he thrust a hand into her shorts, pushing them halfway down, just enough to give him access to her warm, wet pussy. He thrust one finger into her, biting gently on her nipple as she gasped and clutched at him.
“Yes, yes,” she whispered, reaching down to help him remove her thong. The sound of her voice brought Decker back to his senses. He forced himself off her, although it took every ounce of strength he had.
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” he asked, placing his hand on her stomach so that she wouldn’t think he was going away completely.
“What do you mean?”
He ignored the panicked look on her face and concentrated on being sensible. “What about Finn?”
Daphne stared at him for a moment then yanked herself away from his hand and pulled her clothes back on, struggling to her feet. He watched her helplessly, feeling like a complete asshole. When she started to turn toward the door, he caught her arm.
“Don’t run away.” He made his voice deep and commanding, pulling her back to sit down on the bed. “It’s a legitimate question, and something we should consider before—doing what we were about to do.”
Her face flushed bright red. “Finn doesn’t want me. Why would he care if we fuck?”
“Are you nuts, girl? Of course he wants you. Why would you think he doesn’t?”
Her voice caught. “He doesn’t. I’ve tried everything I can think of to—”
“To seduce him?”
“Yes!” Daphne wiped her eyes with a fist and gave him a defiant look. “Why shouldn’t we?”
“Don’t ask me. I think it would be the best thing that could happen. So does everyone else, by the way.”
“I meant you and me.”
“Oh.” He hesitated, trying to decide what to say to that.
“Then you don’t want me either.” It was the statement of a fact, one that she seemed to have expected.
“I do want you. So does Finn, believe me. The two of you need to decide what your relationship is before you start another one with me. Are you interested in being polyamorous?”
She looked startled, as if he had veered away from the script she’d been anticipating. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Do you think Finn is open to it?”
A sigh. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him about it because he refuses to discuss what our relationship is or could be. Doesn’t that make it kind of a moot point?”
“Okay, then what if Finn is interested in you, but not in polyamory?”
She frowned, considering his words.
“You need to talk to him. Tell him how you feel. If he really thinks he can’t manage both a physical and a professional relationship, then he will have to choose. If he wants both, then talk to him about polyamory. You’re a very passionate girl, and if it’s something you need, then you won’t be satisfied without it.”
“What if he can’t deal with it?”
“Then it’s your choice. Either you try to be monogamous with him, or be polyamorous without him. But I think you’ll be surprised.”
There was a flash of hope in her eyes, but she frowned and shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Their eyes met. He could almost hear her thinking that it was better to fuck someone that you knew was into you than to risk being rejected by someone who might not be, even if you loved them. He wanted to agree with her and get her back out of her clothes, but he knew it wasn’t right. It wouldn’t be fair to Finn. He stood up.
“You have things to work out,” he told her, turning her toward the door. “If it doesn’t work out with Finn and you’re still interested, come back and I’ll rock your world. But if he’s willing to try, either with or without polyamory, you know that’s what you need to do.”
Her shoulders slumped a little. “I suppose you’re right. But did you really—”
“Absolutely.” He gave her a little shove. “I’ll be waiting. But give Finn a fair chance. Talk to the man. Don’t just flirt with him. Talk.”
As she went, he wondered why he’d said that. Was it just to protect her feelings? He had wanted to fuck her, it was true. Desperately. But he’d been stopped by thoughts of Sharon just as much as Finn. He went back to lie on the bed, groaning in frustration. He picked up his book but then tossed it to the side. There was no way he was going to be able to read. If he was going to get any sleep tonight, he knew he would have to take matters into his own hand. He reached for the tissues.
Finn was sitting on his bed as well. His laptop was open in front of him, but he hadn’t been doing any actual work for at least ten or fifteen minutes. He was trying to take stock of how he felt about Daphne. He’d always thought of himself as her protector, the one who was going to lead her from obscurity into riches and fame. It wasn’t as easy as he’d imagined. Sure, she had the talent and the presence to be famous. But did she have the drive? There was something about the conversation
yesterday
afternoon that unsettled him. It may have been the fact that it had been Decker, not him, that had gotten her to admit that she had motivation issues. Maybe he wasn’t as good a manager as he’d thought.
There was a knock at the door
,
and he automatically called out an invitation to enter.
Daphne came in, more hesitantly than usual. Her face was slightly red and puffy, as if she’d been crying. But her voice was normal, although it had an almost false note of cheerfulness. “Whatcha doin
’
?”
“Taking care of business.” He tried not to seem like a grumpy old man.
“Takin’ care of business, and working overtime—” She began to sing the old song, dancing for him, trying to make him smile. He closed the computer, determined to look amused for her sake. She hadn’t done anything wrong. This black mood was his problem. They had actually made a lot of progress in several different areas.
“So did I do okay today?” Daphne finally stopped singing and sat on the floor next to the bed, peering up at him through the bangs that flopped over her eyes. Her black hair was an unkempt, sexy mess and the shorts and sliced-up
T
-shirt she had changed into before dinner gave her the appearance of a homeless sex goddess. He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her that she was the most wonderful girl in the world, but that seemed horribly unprofessional. Not at all like the authoritative Dominant he was supposed to be.
“You did great, sweetie.” He hoped the customary endearment wasn’t too informal for their new arrangement. But he wanted her to feel at ease.
She squinted at him. “So what’s wrong, then?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m very happy with today’s results. We should go down and watch the video.”
Daphne groaned, dragging a pillow to her and burying her face in it. After a moment she lifted it back up just enough to say, “I hate that part.”
“Why? It’s my favorite part. You were fantastic today. Pure electricity. You’re going to blow them away.”
The pillow was shoved aside
,
and a radiant smile lit up her face. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
She scooted closer and began tracing a finger along his thigh. “In that case,” she
murmured
, “maybe we should celebrate by doing something more fun.”
It took every ounce of willpower he had, but he pushed her hand away. “Now is not the time for that. We have work to do.”
With a huge, exasperated sigh, Daphne stood facing him. “So were you lying this afternoon?”
He began gathering up his papers, trying not to look at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean when you said you cared about me. You said you loved me, remember?”
“Yes.”
And you said you loved me, too. But he’s the one you want, the one with the passion and authority.
“But we have a job to do. It wouldn’t be appropriate to start that kind of relationship right now.”
Not until you decide.
His thoughts were a confused medley of jealousy, pride
,
and hurt feelings, although he didn’t completely understand the reasons for any of them.
Her eyes narrowed. “What if that’s the reward I want for a good job? What I need to feel valued and appreciated, like Decker was talking about?”
“Quit joking around, Daph,” Finn snapped, feeling like a hopeless schmuck. He couldn’t say that he was perfectly willing to start a physical relationship with her
,
but he was terrified she was going to dump him for Decker. The man was obviously much better at the dominant thing. Decker was probably a much better choice for her, anyway. He should do the noble thing and get out of the way. Maybe Decker could take his place as her manager
,
too.
There was no playfulness now. “I’m not joking around,” she said. “We need to talk about this, and you need to make a decision.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed her arms. After a minute, Finn joined her there with a sigh. “What decision do I need to make?”
“First, you need to decide whether you want me or not.” Her face went bright red, but her eyes were glittering steel.
“Daphne, is this really the time—”
“You’re goddamn right this is the time. This is the last chance you’re going to get. If you want to be with me, then we are going to give it a try, video or no video. If you don’t, we can still try to work together, but I’m going to start seeing other people. I want a relationship, a real one. I need one, damn it! I’m through partying with Blaze because he’s the only one around who’s willing to have some fun. No more waiting. Yes or no.”
She was panting a little when she finished her speech, as if she’d rushed to get it out before she lost her nerve and hadn’t stopped to breathe.
Finn stared at her, his mind racing. “Do you mean that you want to be with me?”
She swatted at his head. “Of course I do, you idiot. What do you think I’ve been waiting for?”
“What about the whole BDSM thing? There are lots of other guys who can do that dominant stuff way better than I can.”
She flushed a little, and he knew they were thinking of the same thing. The same person. “I have faith that you can learn it. If you’re willing to.” She leaned closer in, looking into his eyes. “Are you interested?”
For an answer, Finn did something he’d always dreamed of doing. He took her in his arms and kissed her. She had kissed him before, usually when she was drunk or overly tired, but he had never actually pulled her to him and shown her how he felt about
her
. He didn’t know if it was a good time or a bad time, and frankly didn’t care. It had to be done
,
and he couldn’t wait any more.
It was like a dam bursting. All of the passion he’d shoved under the surface came up in an overwhelming flood. He couldn’t believe it was actually happening. Daphne—his Daphne—was kissing him back, was offering herself to him. Very gently he lowered her to the bed and took her face in his hands.
“Really? You really want me?”
She nodded, her eyes glowing. “Really.”
Then they were kissing again, and his hands were all over her. He’d seen her naked hundreds of times
,
but actually touching her, running his hand under her shirt to her breasts, made him feel as if he were being reborn. Her skin was warm, almost hot, and the nipple hardened under his palm. He pulled away long enough to rip the slashed-up T-shirt off her, marveling at the fact that she was taking off her shorts and panties
,
too.
She lay on his bed looking up at him, naked, waiting for him to take her. He didn’t allow himself to hesitate or to wonder whether she wouldn’t rather be doing this with Decker. He pulled off his own clothes and knelt between her knees.