35. Flynn
Chapter Thirty-Five
FLYNN
I had no sense of time. The cold drizzle had passed, and I could see the moon between the clouds as we drove. I had Daphne tucked against my good side and dozed off and on during the drive home. I came awake when Grant transitioned off the pavement to the gravel that was only a few miles away from home. A bump jolted my ribs, and it hurt like hell.
My breath hissed between my teeth, and I felt Daphne turn toward me. “Are you okay?”
“Completely fine,” I murmured. I was annoyed as hell at my physical state. I was fine, but cracked ribs hurt. This wasn’t my first go-round with them.
“He’s fine, Daphne. He’s just looking for some sympathy,” Grant teased from the front.
I felt myself start to laugh and caught it just in time. “Fuck you, man. Don’t try to make me laugh.”
Minutes later, Grant had parked, and Daphne was walking beside me. She somehow thought she needed to hold me up. She wrapped her arm around my waist and insisted Grant carry the bag that had my filthy clothes from the accident and the usual bag I carried in the plane.
Grant tossed my things inside the living room and then gave me an assessing look. “You okay? For real.”
“I’m sore, but I’m okay. For real. See you in the morning.”
“Oh sure, but you’re not flying anywhere. We’ve already rearranged everything.”
“The doctor said you needed to rest,” Daphne called from over in the kitchen.
Grant cast me a grin. “Daphne’ll make sure you stay put.” He winked and left.
Daphne approached me with something in her hand. “What do you have there?” I asked.
“Ice, for your shoulder.”
I took the ice wrapped in a towel out of her hands. Striding past her, I tossed the ice in the sink. “Princess,” I began as I turned back. “You’re staying with me tonight. I don’t need ice. I’ve been dosed with pain meds, and the only reason it hurt a little on the drive was because it was bumpy.”
I had other things on my mind, and none of them had to do with my injuries. Daphne’s hands started fluttering around me, so I stepped close and cupped her nape just before I fit my mouth over hers in a fierce kiss.
She gasped into my mouth, but her tongue glided against mine. I heard the soft catch in her throat when she sighed and softened against me.
I managed to walk her into my bedroom and close the door with my foot while I yanked at her clothes. I didn’t want her to remind me I was injured, so I just kept on kissing her.
She tore her lips from mine finally, trying to swat my hands away. “Flynn, you’re gonna hurt yourself,” she protested.
“I need you,” I said simply.
I didn’t know what she saw in my eyes, but she trailed her fingertips along my jaw. “Okay,” she whispered.
She efficiently got my clothes off and ordered me to lie down on the bed. I was all about that.
We hadn’t even turned on the lights, but the motion sensor lamp in the corner had come on at a dim setting when we came in. Her skin was golden in the shadowy light. My cock was already achy, and then she straddled me, and I felt the slick glide of her over the underside of my length. She held still for a moment. I couldn’t resist leaning up to catch one of her nipples with my lips. It hurt a little because my ribs hurt like hell, but I wasn’t about to let her know.
“Flynn…” She leaned forward. “Be careful.”
I let my head fall back onto the pillows, looking up into her face. There was a tender gravity in her expression, and it cinched tightly around my heart.
She gave me just what I needed, rising up and reaching between us so I could slide into her silky, clenching heat. I was instantly teetering on the edge of release when she rose up and sank down once again.
“I love you,” I gasped as I reached up and clumsily cradled her cheek in my hand. Her breasts were brushing against my chest, and I could feel the quickening in her body already.
“Love you…” Her words came out with a moan.
I adjusted the angle of my subtle rock into her to create a little more friction where we were joined. My hand slid between us, and I teased over her clit. Just as she bit her lip with a ragged moan, and her channel squeezed tightly, my release hit me and I cried out. The pleasure was intense, and trying to catch my breath was not fun.
“Flynn,” she murmured. She pressed a kiss to one corner of my mouth and then the other. “I gave you that one, but no more until the doctor says it’s okay.”
“She already did,” I insisted. I had actually asked the doctor about this. “She just said my breathing might hurt a little.”
Daphne's lips kicked up at one corner before her smile faded. On an exhalation, she dipped her head into my neck. “I was scared,” she said against my skin.
I stroked my hand over her hair as my heart kicked fast and hard. “I was too. I was afraid I wasn’t gonna get a chance to tell you how I felt.”
Daphne lifted her head, tears glittering in her green eyes. “Don’t you dare die on me.”
“Not planning on it, princess.”
* * *
The following morning, Cat wrinkled her nose as she stared at me, a sure sign that she was worrying about something.
“What’s up?” I asked as I spread some cream cheese on a fresh toasted bagel. Aside from everything else Daphne made in the kitchen, she baked homemade bagels. We had all discovered the sheer perfection of them and no bagel would ever do other than hers.
“Am I still grounded?” Cat asked.
I glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall beside the refrigerator in our private kitchen. “If I recall, you’re un-grounded officially tomorrow.”
Cat let out a dramatic sigh. “I was hoping you might shorten it by a day. After everything that happened.”
I took a bite of my bagel, closing my eyes and letting out a moan. After I finished chewing, I replied, “I realize we all had a scare yesterday, but my ribs are sore, and that’s about it. Is there a reason you’re asking other than the usual?”
“Well, you’re in love with Daphne, so I thought you might like the place to yourself tonight,” Cat said, trying and failing to keep from smiling.
I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “Ah, do you think I’m too distracted? Just tell me what you want to do tonight. Let’s cut to the chase.”
“Tara invited me to spend the night, and I’d really like to go.”
I knew I shouldn’t give in, but I seriously wanted to. For exactly the reason Cat said.
“Will Jonathon be there? Because that’s a hard no.”
Cat shook her head quickly. “No. It’s just girls. You can call Tara’s mom to confirm.”
“I will. I won’t agree until after I talk to her, okay?”
Cat nodded quickly.
After another bite of my bagel, I asked, “How are you with what happened? Any problems at school?”
“No. I mean, he talked a little shit, but I can deal with it.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to talk to his parents or the school?”
I tried to keep the anger out of my tone. The truth was, every time I thought about that little punk and him pressuring Cat, I wanted to bend a crowbar in half.
“I’m sure. It won’t happen again. Now, I just have to figure out how to not like guys who are stupid jerks.” She looked down, her cheeks flushing as she traced her finger in a meandering path on the countertop.
“Don’t beat yourself up. High school isn’t easy.”
Cat had already moved on. “Are you going to marry Daphne?” Her eyes lifted to meet mine again.
The hope contained in her gaze cracked my heart a little. Cat missed our mom. Nora tried, we all tried, but Cat had been so young when our mom died.
My heart kicked up a racket in my chest. Because I did want to marry Daphne, but everything was so fresh and fragile. I sure as hell didn’t know how Daphne felt about that right now.
So I gave Cat the truth. “I love Daphne, and I want to marry her. But you know she’s been through a lot, so it’ll happen when she’s ready.”
Cat bit her lip and nodded somberly. “I’ll talk her into it.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Please don’t.”