33. Dylan

33

DYLAN

T he sense of relief I felt holding Jessica in my arms was a cool breeze on a hot day. She was so fragile. The entire situation with Ryan had taken its toll on her in ways that weren't visible. My heart ached for the pain she was in. The pain in her feet, as well as the pain in her soul. She was doubting herself, doubting those around her.

I didn't want her to ever doubt me.

A flash of light followed by a distant tap-tap-tap. I looked over and saw the hotel clerk waving as if she was trying to get my attention. I eased Jessica forward so that I could get up. The clerk stepped out of the lobby, and I met her at the halfway point.

"I'm sorry for your wait, but your room is ready." She handed me a card key in a little paper envelope with the room number written on it.

"Oh, I should have canceled that. I'm sorry," Jessica said as I came back.

"Will you stop apologizing?" I slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back.

She squealed when I lifted her. "What are you doing?"

"Carrying you to our room. Do you think I would make you walk? Stop squirming. You're going to make me look bad," I teased.

"Dylan!" she protested, but not too much, and she stopped moving.

She took the card and slid it through the electronic lock. The room had that cool hotel smell to it. I set Jessica on the bed.

"Be right back," I said before dashing out to get her bag from the patio.

She was situating pillows and rolling the big blanket up when I stepped back in. She tucked the blanket under her knees and immediately looked more comfortable.

"Are you going to have to go back to work now?" she asked.

I shook my head. I picked up my phone and sent Sarah a quick text message. Not coming back today, send proposal to Robertson. Needed at home. I held the message up for Jessica to see.

"You're not at home," she said coyly, a small smile playing on her lips.

"I'm with you. You're my home." I tossed the phone onto one of the side chairs. I wasn't going to need it for a while.

She started blinking hard. Tears spilled from her eyes again.

Instantly, I was by her side, wiping away her tears with my thumb. "I didn't mean to make you cry again."

She sniffed and wiped her tears, brushing at my hand. When she was done, I took her hand, wrapping around her fingers. I brought them to my lips, kissing her knuckles.

"I'm glad you already had the room. It makes showing you how I feel easier," I confessed.

When she looked at me with some confusion, I clarified. "No hiding or explaining to Max why we are staying in bed all day."

She giggled. The sound was almost hesitant, as if she didn't believe me.

Closing the distance between us, I pressed my lips to hers. I claimed her mouth in a kiss that was instantly sizzling with passion. I had kept myself in check for the hour or so we had been waiting on the room. I was here to kiss away her fears and erase all doubt from her mind that I wanted her above everything else.

"Let me show you what you mean to me," I said as I broke the kiss.

She was breathless, her lips plump from the kiss. She nodded and reached out for the buttons of my shirt. I gently removed her hands from my clothes. Kissing her fingertips, I moved down the end of the bed.

Carefully, I took one booted foot in my hands. The Velcro straps ripped, making a sound much harsher than what fit the mood in our room. I held her bandaged foot gently but tossed the boot to the side with complete disregard. Lowering, I gently kissed the bandage over the top of her foot and then the exposed skin at the ankle.

Jessica hissed in an excited breath.

I repeated the action with her second foot, this time trailing kisses up her shin until I reached her knee.

She giggled and squirmed. "That tickles."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I asked.

"Right now, it's good," she practically purred.

"Good, because I plan on tickling you more," I stated with a low rumble in my voice.

"Where?

"Everywhere," I said.

I pushed the skirt of her dress high on her thighs and ran my lips over her skin. I scraped my teeth over the swell of her hip before I left her legs to pay attention to another body part. She had been running her hand over my head and playing with my hair. I claimed her hand in mine and pressed a kiss to her palm.

She whimpered when I ran my tongue around her hand and then circled her finger. I savored each of her fingers, sucking them into my mouth one at a time, licking and nibbling at her fingertips. She moaned and gasped as if I were paying attention to other, more sensitive, parts of her body.

Her reactions drove me mad. My cock was throbbing, pressing uncomfortably against the fly of my pants. It would have been too easy to strip down and claim her body. While that would feel amazing and Jessica would not be left with any complaints, that's not what this was about.

I loved this woman. I was lost when I thought she was gone. This was me showing her everything I didn't have words to convey. She was mine, and her skin and body would know only my touch. I would erase all memories and ruin her for any future lover.

I let my lips linger against her wrist. There would be no future lovers, only me. I smiled and chuckled.

"What?" she practically gasped.

"I like the taste of your skin," I said, my plan starting to form.

"But I…"

I placed small, sucking kisses up her arm to the crook of her elbow. I sucked on the tender skin, playing my tongue over the softness I found.

"I…" she tried again. But she never finished the thought, ending her words on a moan.

Her head fell back, and her chest rose with the quick pants of her breathing. A satisfied smirk played across my face. She was melting completely before me, and we were both fully dressed. I needed to remedy that situation.

Climbing onto the bed, I straddled her legs. Bunching the hem of her dress into my fists, I worked the dress—it was the kind of dress shaped like an oversized T-shirt with a skirt, so there were no buttons or zippers—over her hips and up her torso. She shifted and contorted her arms so that I could pull the entire garment off over her head.

Jessica lay back, her beautiful form on display before me. As I admired her, she blushed slightly and had the sensibility to reach behind her and unfasten her bra. She dropped it off the side of the bed.

A groan escaped my lips. She was amazing. I couldn't help myself. With her bountiful shape bared, I dove for her.

I palmed one large breast with one hand, the nipple tickling my palm. I was aware that my hand wasn't big enough to grab onto all of her. My mouth latched onto her other nipple. I began savoring the pink nub. Closing my eyes and pressing into her softness, I lost myself licking and sucking and adoring her.

She moaned and pressed her chest up to me. Her fingers tangled in my hair as she held me to her.

I had been a fool thinking I was capable of ruining her when the truth was, I was the one who would never be able to take another lover. I didn't want to, couldn't imagine ever finding nor wanting another pair of more perfect breasts.

No, I was going to have to marry her for self-preservation. Not to bind her to me forever, but because I was hers completely.

My cock protested its confinement as I continued to make love to her breasts. I devoured one nipple, and then the other, undecided as to which one was my favorite. I marked her where I sucked and pulled her soft skin into my mouth.

I wanted to mark her more, taste her more completely. The demands of my body to take her were growing, and I wasn't going to be able to ignore them for long if I wanted to be deep inside her and not embarrass myself.

Reluctant to abandon the gift of her breasts, I placed kisses down the center of her body, pausing long enough to suck and leave a trail of small marks. Later, when she looked in a mirror, Jessica would see those spots and know that she was mine.

I hooked my fingers into her panties and dragged them down her legs. I had to shift my position so that I didn't accidentally run into her bandaged feet. Carefully, against the better judgment of my desires and the demands of my body, I slipped her underwear over her feet before casting them away. I now had the woman I loved naked before me.

She looked up at me, and I knew she was mine forever. I may have had other intentions, but when our eyes locked and she mouthed the words, ‘I love you,' I couldn't get out of my clothes fast enough. I left everything discarded on the floor where it fell and crawled back onto the mattress, skimming my way up her body, feeling her skin glide against mine.

My balls tightened and my cock surged. Her body against mine was perfection. We had no need of acrobatics. We just needed each other. Mindful of her injuries, I spread her thighs and positioned myself so that my cock tickled and teased her pussy.

She moaned and rocked her hips up. I also let out a deep moan as I slid between her slick folds. This was where I needed to be. I needed to be in her, surrounded by her. I was so hard, and sliding into her was so easy.

I gasped as I settled all the way in, balls deep. She was so hot, so wet, so perfect. I pressed my hips against hers and reveled in the exquisite bliss of our bodies joined together. Part of me could have stayed right there like that forever, but the base need to take her urged me to begin thrusting back and forth.

Jessica's little mewls were an aphrodisiac to my ears and more potent than any words of encouragement could have been. Her hips lifted, and she met me thrust for thrust. Her inner walls squeezed me tight. The sensation drove me to work harder, faster. I pounded into her, and she fell apart in my arms. She was frenetic, thrashing and crying out. It was a glorious sight to behold. I could have watched her in the throes of orgasm forever. And then mine hit, and I couldn't see anything. I could barely hear. I didn't know if the roaring in my ears was in my head or coming from my throat.

I pressed against her, wanting her to consume me fully. When the clutches of my ecstasy released me, I felt wobbly. All strength was gone. I did my best to not fall into her as I lowered back to the bed and bundled her into my arms.