Chapter 55

55

STERLING

W aking up with Daphne in bed with me had fast become one of my favorite things ever—and this was probably going to be the last time it happened. Today was the fall parade and tomorrow was D-day, the day of my departure.

Holding her in my arms now with her back pressed to my front, her head resting on my arm and my lips pressed to her shoulder blade, I wondered for the umpteenth time if I'd made a mistake. I'd never been as happy as I was when I was with her.

She made me feel like I didn't have to be a guarded asshole, and yet, her brother would never forgive me if I stayed. I let out a soft sigh, inhaling the sweet vanilla scent of her body lotion on her skin with my next breath.

Everything in me wanted to stay exactly where I was, except for my brain, which was telling me that it was about time to go. I didn't move, though. I couldn't. My dick was as hard as concrete, nestled against her lower back and ass.

It throbbed to slide into her in this position, to wake her up with me inside her and my fingers playing with her clit. I groaned quietly as my heartrate skyrocketed at the thought. My cheeks got hot, my breathing suddenly shaky.

As if she'd sensed the change in me, she stirred, her butt brushing against my shaft as she let out a sleepy moan. My cock twitched and my heart soared when she did a half turn to smile at me. Her eyes were only just beginning to open, but she reached for me lazily, nodding as I became aware of my hips rolling gently into her.

"Do it," she encouraged on a quiet whisper. "I want you."

I looked into her sleepy eyes and leaned forward, kissing her hard and fast as my breathing became completely ragged and my hand traveled down to her hip. I didn't know what it was with her, but it was like she spoke directly to that primal instinct to claim. To mate.

Flexing my fingers on her hip, I felt her upper body move away from mine for a beat as she reached for a condom on her nightstand. She handed it over and I groaned again as I rolled it on, dropping the wrapper somewhere on her bed.

Once it was securely in place, I kissed her again, sliding in between her legs and feeling her wet heat radiating into me. My heartbeat was out of control, my very bones feeling like they would crack if I didn't get inside her right away.

Daphne moaned into my mouth as I thrust into her, reaching around to slide my hand between her legs as well. Immediately, she started rocking, letting out soft whimpers of my name into the kiss as I took her hard and fast.

As always, she was ready for me, though. Her inner muscles constricted just as I started losing control, and as my orgasm thundered through me, I felt her going over the edge as well. I came so hard that my heart felt like it was about to explode as I emerged on the other side, my fingers still flying across her clit as I saw her through.

Daphne sagged against me when she was done, panting and trembling in my arms. Without saying a word, I pulled her closer, just holding her as our bodies fought to regain basic function. We stayed just like that until my phone rang, the ringtone shrill and loud in the quiet air.

I frowned. "I should probably check who that is."

She nodded against my chest, her eyes closed when I rolled away from her to grab my phone from her nightstand. When I saw her brother's name on the screen, I cursed. "Shit, it's Eric. I have to take it."

"Take it," she murmured, her voice lazy and thick with sleep. "I'll be here. Don't mind me."

I chuckled, sat up in bed, and slid my thumb across the green bar before pressing the device against my ear. "Eric? Is everything okay?"

"No," he muttered, sounding like he'd made the call begrudgingly. "I need your help with the football float. Jake is on his way too. Double time it, Sterling. I don't like this and we're going to have to ride this damn thing later."

"I'll be right there," I said, grimacing, and glanced down at Daphne naked beside me. "I hate that I have to do this, but I need to go."

She blinked her eyes open, and to my surprise, they were filled with understanding and she nodded. "Go. I heard a bit of that. If there's a problem with a float and it's big enough that he's calling for reinforcements, then he must really be worried. I need to get going soon myself anyway. I'll see you later?"

I bent over, sliding my hand into her hair and kissing her deeply before I straightened up again. "Okay. Yes, I'll see you later. Bye, baby."

I nearly added an I love you , but I caught myself just in time, deciding against opening that particular can of worms this morning. Frowning as soon as I was faced away from her, I wondered what the hell those words had been doing on my tongue, but I shook my head and got up. I pulled on my clothes and raced back to the farm to change before I met Eric at the high school.

Daphne was front and center in my mind, but I needed to get my head straight. I was leaving tomorrow and we hadn't talked about what that meant for us. I wanted us to be together, but practically, I just didn't know if it was possible and the last thing I wanted was to give her—or myself—false hope.

Focusing on the floats, I climbed out of my truck and weaved between them and all the people around until I found Eric. He was standing next to a float that appeared to be having engine problems, smoking a bit as it took off for a practice run around the parking lot.

"What's going on?" I asked as I went to join him, deliberately choosing to ignore that we were on the outs and not really speaking.

"I don't know," he grumbled, dragging a hand through his hair as he watched the float through narrowed eyes. "I fucking told them to let me check the engines over the last few weeks, but some idiot decided they knew better. Do you see that smoke? That smoke is not good, North. Especially not since we need to ride that thing in a little while."

"We'll check it out," I said confidently, watching as it made its way back to us.

Once it stopped again, I rolled up my sleeves and went with Eric to inspect the engine. It'd been years since I'd done any work on a vehicle of any kind, but I'd done enough of it growing up that it came back to me as I leaned over it with him.

With the thick scent of oil and something charred in my nostrils, I looked over the parts I could see and glanced up at my friend. "What do you think?"

He shook his head, exasperation tightening his features. "I really don't know. If I had time to strip it, I would've found the problem. Guaranteed, but we don't have that kind of time."

"Should we try changing the oil?" I asked.

"I already have," he said, looking up at me from across the compartment. "At this point, the best we can do is pray."

"Let's do that, then," I said. "What's the worst that can happen? We're only going to be riding it in the enormously crowded area downtown."

He grimaced. "I really don't like this."

"Same," I agreed. "Where's Jake? Maybe he has an idea?"

"He doesn't," Eric said. "I called him before I called you and he was already on his way. He checked it out, but he didn't see anything obvious either. He thinks that maybe it's just old."

I sighed and slid my hands into my pockets. "Maybe he's right."

"Maybe." He didn't look at all convinced though, and neither was I, but we made our way down the line of floats to the football one, helping to get it ready for the parade.

Eric's team was there, and I even got a high-five from Asher, who grinned like a loon as he winked at me. "Thanks for all your help, Sterling. You were right. I just needed to get out of my head."

I dipped my chin in a nod. "No problem, bud. Next time, listen to Eric when he tells you something, okay? I'm not going to be around, but Eric knows what he's doing. You just need to trust him."

My friend was standing nearby with his arms crossed tight over his chest as he chatted to a couple of his other players, but as his gaze met mine, I knew he'd heard me. He gave me a slight nod, then he turned when another player called him over.

The morning passed in a blur of final touches to the floats, all the volunteers swirling around to make sure everything was in place for us to get started. I didn't see Daphne, though. My heart gave a pang when I was told to take my place and I still hadn't seen her.

I missed her, which I was loathe to admit. The woman had gotten under my skin and into my head, and I couldn't seem to shake her.

Eric climbed onto the smoky float with me, taking his place beside me at the railing. Jake was supposed to have been with us, but he'd begged off on account of it being Lizzy's first parade. He'd wanted to watch it with her and his wife.

A buffer between Eric and me would've been nice, though. As we took off, waving at the crowd once we left the parking lot, I decided I may as well use this opportunity when he couldn't get away from me to talk to him.

"I'm not using her, you know," I said with a giant smile on my face aimed at the crowd, but my insides felt like they were in a cement mixer. "I wish there was a way to let you see into my head right now, but I really do mean it, Eric. I wouldn't have touched her if I didn't have actual feelings for her."

"You sure about that?" he ground out, also grinning and waving at the crowd, but I could hear the resentment in his voice. "Tell me something, Sterling. Why are you still single?"

"I've never found anyone I wanted to get serious with," I said. "I also spend most of my time working and I didn't make it a priority to get out there and meet people. I don't think I was ready before. How about you?"

"Pretty much the same," he said. "Except that I've known that I'm ready for a while now. I just haven't met anyone I've wanted to settle down with, but that's the difference between us. I know I'm ready. You just think you are."

"What I said was that I didn't think I was ready before ." I emphasized the word. "I was too focused on my career, and if I'm being brutally honest, I've never felt the way I feel about Daphne about anyone else. I know you don't want to hear it, but when I'm with her, I know it's right."

He scoffed. "So right that you're taking off tomorrow."

"Going back to New York doesn't change how I feel about her, Eric," I said emphatically. "She and I are going to be together."

"We'll see," he grumbled. "We will see, Sterling. Forgive me if I'm not going to start helping her plan the wedding just yet."

"You will see," I replied easily, but my heart was bucking in my chest at the idea of a wedding. I just wasn't sure if it was because I wanted it to be a possibility or because I was so shit scared of the fact that, for the first time in my life, I had someone I could imagine being married to. "And I will forgive you, Eric, but there is no wedding to plan just yet . Mark my words though, there might be one day. I just hope you'll be able to get onboard if there is."