Chapter Seventeen

Dallas

Christmas Eve

"Oh, God, I'm coming," I said, screaming as Dean lapped me up viciously on his stairs. We had barely made it home from a beautiful evening of wine perfectly paired with steak. I had shown him my garters halfway through dinner, and he hadn't been able to keep his hands off me since. By the time we made it home, I had sucked him purple and stopped abruptly, only to give chase as I burst through his garage door. He made it to me quickly, punishing me right back until I had to beg for my orgasm. I sat back on my forearms as he splintered my panties, diving right into me without mercy, fingering my garters as he plunged his tongue inside of me repeatedly. My heels dug into his sides, spurring him on as my entire body quaked with the gift he was giving me. When he pulled away, I pulled his soaked face into a fierce kiss, spreading my legs further as he sank between my thighs.

"You are so beautiful," he rasped, pulling my shirt over my head. "I can't get enough of you." His mouth found my nipple through my bra, and I tilted my head back, praise passing through my lips.

"Please," I begged as he wrapped his hands around me, unclasping and taking the satin from me. "Let me taste you, Dean." I pushed him down, switching positions as he sat sprawled on his wide carpeted stairs. I dove for his beautiful dick, eager to please him, and heard his sharp hiss when I wrapped my lips around him as tightly as I could. He massaged my sides with his knuckles, drawing out my moans, touching me anywhere and everywhere without interrupting the ministrations of my hungry mouth.

"Dallas, ya no puedo hacerlo. Joder!"

He grunted as his length thickened, letting me know he was close. I gripped him tighter, eager to give back as good as he gave. I took all of his erection in deep, laving him with my tongue and cupping his tight sac. I braced myself for his release when he gripped my hair and pulled me back.

"No," he said. "I want to come inside you." He lifted me, centering me over him and I protested, "But, Dean—"

"Please," he asked without waiting for an answer, lifting me and pushing the large tip of himself inside. I took him into me slowly as our eyes locked. I was beyond my limit as I appraised his disheveled raven hair, hooded eyes, and breathtaking mouth. This man was beautiful and in love with me. That thought alone had me spiraling quickly toward the edge.

"I love you," I said as I began to move on top of him, "so much." My voice broke as the emotion took over. Being able to say what had been held so deep inside me for so long was utterly freeing. The waiting, the longing for him, it was all over.

Once I had decided to let go, everything fell into an amazing rhythm between us. It took little to no effort for it to happen. Our love for each other unfolded so naturally, so easily. And the more time I spent with him, the more I realized it was a wasted effort to try to resist him. I cursed my stupidity daily. The fear of falling had almost ruined my chance at happiness with the one true love of my life.

I sped up, watching his reaction as he cupped my breasts, looking at me with a reverence so beautiful and so pure I gasped at its arrival. No matter how hot the sex was between us, it was always an act of love and reiterated what we meant to each other. It had always been that way.

Dean had made it that way.

When his body stiffened, and he braced himself, he pulled up, moaning his release into my mouth with a fevered kiss. I let go as he emptied himself inside of me with whispered words. "La otra mitad de mi corazón . Ahora puedo respirar nuevamente."

"Dean," I groaned, "I told you, I only learned those two sentences. I still have no idea what you are saying." He grinned up at me, still breathless.

"I guess you better get on Spanish lessons, love. You're missing out."

I ran my fingers through his damp hair, reveling in his clean and salty mixed scent. "I almost ruined this," I said as he pulled away from another sinful and deep kiss.

"I wasn't going to give up," he said quickly. "I knew the minute I saw you at fifteen that there was something about you. The second you opened that sassy mouth, I was done for. You've never been an easy woman to love. You gave me hell at every turn. You still do. But I always knew you were worth it." He leaned in, planting soft kisses on my jaw. I wiggled at the feel of his softening erection. "He's fine. He's resting. Let him be," he insisted, pushing himself in deeper. I grinned and leaned in again as he wrapped himself around me. He grinned up at me and took my breath away.

"I fell in love with you the day you cooked crunchy enchiladas and rice soup for my eighteenth birthday. "

"That wasn't soup," I scolded with a laugh.

"I know it wasn't supposed to be," he said, playing offended when I slapped his chest.

"But, oh God, it was the worst," he chuckled. "You were so brokenhearted when your entire family took a bite of crunchy enchiladas."

"I didn't know I had to soften the shells in oil," I said. "It was a beginner's mistake."

"You looked so beautiful in your white sundress, damn near in tears. You were trying so hard. My heart broke for you."

"You ate every bite and asked for seconds," I murmured.

"I loved you then, Dallas. Maybe even before. I would eat crunchy enchiladas and soupy rice my entire life if it meant I got to do it with you. But I'm hoping you got a little better at it by now." He chuckled, nipping at my neck. He pulled back again to make sure he had my attention as I looked at him in question. "You're a lot of sass and bite, Dallas, and I love it. Maybe it's the Spaniard in me. But what I love most is that heart you try so hard to hide. It's so easy to see, and when you love, you love me so well." He cupped my face in his hands as he spoke next. "Dallas, the greatest gift you've ever given me was a piece of your heart. I'm going to have to ask for that back now. I need it."

"You already have it," I whispered, pressing my lips against his.

"I know," he whispered back.

"Dean?" I questioned, getting lost in his kiss.

"Te amo"

"I've really been blind, but I think I always knew how much you loved me. It was so hard to be in love with the most beautiful and wanted man in school. I still can't handle the way they look at you at work now. I know I haven't been an easy woman to love, but you seemed like an impossible man to keep. I just never really believed you were really mine. You were always so much larger than life. I always felt like I wasn't enough."

"I'll never give you a reason to worry about that, Dallas. You place too much importance on that stuff, and I never have. You forget how beautiful you are and how much I want you." He lifted my chin. "The best I have ever felt in my life is when I lose myself in my love for you. No other woman can compare with that. And then there's always the fact that I'm going to marry you."

I smiled broadly. "Well, I mean, it is a consensual thing. You may want to ask first," I said, lifting a brow.

"I can be very persuasive, baby." He ground his hips into mine, his length hardening again. "Tell me what you want now, and let me give it to you."

"Being a doctor wasn't the only dream I've ever had."

"I know."

"It's so simple, isn't it? Just to be with you, be yours. How the hell did we screw this up so badly?"

"We fell in love at an age when I couldn't act on it. And then…we fell deeper in love at an age when we were only meant to cross paths. It wasn't really our fault. It was the workings of fate."

"And now?"

He smiled broadly. "I made fate my enemy and took matters into my own hands."

"Way to go, Martin."

He stood up with us still connected and his pants at his ankles, then awkwardly carried us up the stairs. I heard my phone vibrate in my purse and made him stop.

"Come on, it's Christmas Eve," he started to fuss, but I silenced him.

"Beatrice," I reminded him. He quickly conceded but refused to take himself out of me. I laughed as he made his way back down the steps, tightening his hold on me as he grabbed my purse and then made his way back up the stairs. I was laughing hysterically as he mummied his way to his room, victory in his face when we landed on the bed, and he thrust deep inside me. I relished in the feel of him as I heard my phone again.

I lifted it from my purse to glance at it as he cupped my breast and raised his eyebrow. I shook my head to discourage him. He reluctantly pulled out of me, and I sat up quickly, noticing the number of missed calls.

"Oh God, I have ten missed calls from my mom!" I pressed redial and held my breath. My dad was all I could think of.

Please, God, don't let anything be wrong with my dad.

"Dallas," my mom sobbed into the phone.

"Mom," I said, terrified, as Dean leaned in and rubbed his hand down my back, straining to hear.

"Dallas, I'm at the hospital. You need to come right now."

"Mom, what is it?"

"It's Grant. Dallas, he's been in a terrible accident." Dread coursed through me, and though I knew the answer to the question, I had to ask. Before I could get the words out, she answered me.

"He's gone."