Chapter 39

39

STERLING

E ric was going to kill me and I was going straight to hell, but as I wrapped my fingers around Daphne's hips and kissed her like I was trying to pour a part of my soul into her, I didn't fucking care about any of that.

He could exile me from Allisburg and banish me to the seventh circle of hell for all eternity. As long as I got to be with her until all that happened, I would take the punishment coming my way.

The fact was that I'd always been attracted to her. Ever since her boobs had come in and her body had started taking the shape of a woman's, she'd turned my head. She'd been so different from us back in the day, so bookish and arty, and yet, I'd always felt intrigued by her.

That night of the party had been the first time I'd gotten a glimpse of who she really was underneath the curves and behind the books she always used to clutch so close to her chest. I'd learned that she had a core of steel and a strong belief system, and she was willing to stand up for herself regardless of how intimidated she was by whoever she was facing.

And I'd liked it.

Walking her home that night, we'd had our first real conversation and our chemistry had been off the charts. We'd known each other for a long time by then, but that night, I'd found out that talking to her was as easy as having an internal dialog with myself.

I'd never laughed as much with a woman in such a short period of time as I had with her on that walk home. For years after, I'd regretted not kissing her, but ultimately, I had still been with Fiona at the time and it would've amounted to cheating, so I'd refrained for many reasons, but that hadn't stopped me from wondering what might have been.

All through college, I'd focused on my studies. Getting the best grades possible so that I might have a life that meant something. Fiona had broken up with me and I hadn't even flinched. I'd barely even remembered her name by the next month.

But Daphne?

That name had never left my mind. Not through all those years when I'd spent all those long, lonely nights in the library or when I'd gone to parties to unwind as soon as our class schedule allowed it—and only then.

Not after I'd graduated from college and got a job in the city. Not ever.

Sure, at times, it'd faded into the background. The last few years, I'd hardly even thought about her at all, but I'd never forgotten her. Because through it all, she was the person it'd always come back to.

When I met a woman, the vibe I'd felt with Daphne that night had always been what I'd hoped to find again, but I hadn't. I'd never met anyone that I could speak to as naturally as I had spoken to her for just those few minutes on that walk home. I'd never met anyone who had made me laugh so very effortlessly as she had.

Eventually, I'd realized that kind of thing wasn't something a person found every day. I, myself, had found it only once and only for a few minutes when I'd been eighteen years old, and it'd gotten me wondering if it had even been all that I remembered it being.

So I'd moved on, carried on with my life knowing how rare that kind of interaction was, but also half convinced that it hadn't been all that. And then I'd come home.

To Allisburg. To Daphne .

As my tongue stroked hers and she let out a little moan, my heart went wild, beating so fast and so hard that I could hear it. My entire body felt like it'd been electrified, my muscles rippling with the energy ripping through me.

This was more than just a spark. This was a current. A whole fucking grid that could power an entire country.

So Eric could kill me and I would go to hell, and do it all with a smile on my face because I finally knew what had been missing all this time. I'd finally figured out why I'd never been truly happy and why I'd always felt like I needed to keep searching.

It was her. It was Daphne.

Running my hands along her sides, I cupped the backs of her thighs and lifted her against me, not breaking the kiss once as I carried her to her bed. Her house was small and there wasn't much clutter, so there was really nothing for it.

Not that I'd have minded buying a new lamp or whatever else I'd have had to replace. The only thing that mattered to me was her.

She clung to me as I carried her, her fingers toying with my hair and her lips curved into a smile against my own. My heart clenched when I realized it was because she was happy . Happy about what I had said and happy to be in my arms, and it made me feel like Superman.

All I wanted to do for the rest of my life was to keep making her happy. To keep putting a smile on her face. To protect her and to keep her safe from assholes like Peter—and from the fallout that would come once her brother found out.

As I lowered her to her bed, I laid her down gently, only breaking our kiss for a second to pull my shirt off over my head. The lights were off in her bedroom, but there was enough ambient light coming in from outside that I could see her looking at me, her eyes heated but also filled with something so much softer.

I didn't say a word as I kicked off my shoes, dropping my shirt on top of them. Staring into her eyes, I undid my pants and lifted them and my underwear over my achingly hard cock. Then I spread her legs with my knees and crawled onto the bed with her.

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around me again, moaning as I pressed my lips to hers. I licked the seam of her mouth, letting out a loud groan when she opened for me, her tongue darting out to play with my own.

As I kissed her, I heard her shoes when they thudded on the floor and I reached for the hem of her sweatshirt, our lips parting only for the time it took me to lift it off. She was naked underneath, obviously having gotten ready to get into bed before I'd arrived.

I growled and lowered my eyes away from hers to take in those full, round breasts and her hard pink nipples even as I pushed her pants and panties from her hips. She lifted for them to pass behind her butt, and as she did, her pelvis brushed against the tip of my dick.

I nearly lost it right then, slamming my mouth back to hers and drinking from her like I'd never get enough, but I was pretty sure I wouldn't. Daphne gasped under the force of my kisses, sliding her tongue into my mouth and kissing me back the exact same way.

With both of us now naked, the soft heat of her skin was driving me nuts, and I broke away from the kiss to press my lips to her eyes, her cheeks, and her chin. I moved down lower, peppering her throat with kisses next and sliding down the length of her body to give the rest of her the same treatment.

Soft moans and sighs from her filled the air, and my cock pulsed at the sound of them. I needed her so bad it literally hurt, and yet, I wasn't about to rush this. To me, this wasn't about fucking her.

It was about proving to her that I cared and how much. It was about us finally being together while knowing how long we'd both been wanting this. More than anything, it was about convincing her to just give me a fucking chance.

There was so much for me to figure out and I didn't have the brain power to come up with any answers right then, but I just needed a chance. As I spread her thighs apart and breathed her in, my lips pressing kisses to the insides of both of her legs, my heart was as desperate as my dick.

I'd never felt anything like it.

Licking through her folds, I wasn't interested in teasing her tonight. I sucked her clit into my mouth, drawing circles around the hard little bud with my tongue, and I pressed a finger into her slick channel. Her hips came off the bed, her body taut, and I kept going.

With her fingers in my hair and her moans in my ears, I almost came apart with her. Then her sweet release filled my mouth, my name a soft sigh falling from her lips. God, I really will never get enough of this.

Her body vibrated against me as the orgasm overtook her, but almost as soon as it was over, she reached for me. Wrapping her hands around my shoulders, she urged me up and I went willingly, so close to exploding that I felt the first frisson of pleasure as soon as she pressed her lips to my own.

"Fuck, Daph. I'm not going to last."

"Don't," she commanded, speaking quietly against my lips. She reached for the nightstand. Both of us had stocked up with condoms after that first time, but I took the package from her to roll it on my myself, scared that I was going to lose it if her fingers so much as brushed against me. "Why are you shaking?"

I blinked at her as I covered myself, getting into position with my tip against her entrance. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're shaking. Like shivering." She wrapped her legs around my hips and her arms around my neck, pressing her lips to mine and hanging onto me like she was hoping that completely surrounding me with her would bring me some kind of comfort.

I thrust into her, not really knowing why I was shivering, but I had a few guesses. Her body welcomed me home with soft, slick heat and fluttering muscles, and I groaned, kissing her hard as my hips fell into a steady rhythm. I lost all sense of self.

There was only her. This. Now.

I felt her spasming around me, and fireworks shot down my spine. I didn't even try to stop it. She'd wanted me to let go and I did, shooting my release deep inside and seriously wishing there hadn't been a condom between us.

I wanted it all with her. The life. The marriage. The babies. I screwed my eyes shut as I came and kept coming, moaning into her mouth as she followed me over the edge.

It took me a few minutes after before I even became aware enough again to know that I was still breathing, and I pulled back to look at her, even the elbow I was propped up on kind of numb.

"We'll figure it out, Daph," I promised on a breathless whisper. "Together, you and I are going to figure it all out."

I meant it too, and as she fell asleep in my arms a little while later, I realized that tomorrow was the start of a whole new chapter for me. For the first time in a long time, it was really one I could hardly fucking wait to get started on.