Chapter 15
Delirium Is a State of Mind
Slowly, like a veil being lifted, Sam’s consciousness began crystallizing. He remained lodged inside Angie, awash in an afterglow of bliss, and he was content to float right where he was for the rest of his life.
“How’s your ankle?” Though delivered in a throaty, sexy tone, Angie’s question nonetheless jarred him from his pleasant drift.
He nuzzled her neck. “What ankle?” He couldn’t feel much of anything right now after the detonating climax that had nearly made him black out when he’d let go.
He lifted his torso and peered at her. She looked up at him as he hovered above her, her smile lazy and satisfied, her hair fanned across the pillow like fine golden threads. She was beautiful.
“I never did get our brownies,” she sighed.
He shook with a laugh. Who needed sweets—or anything else—when he had just been rocked like he’d never been rocked before?
What they’d done was on a level of its own, a next-level plane he never knew existed.
But the explosive experience they’d shared couldn’t have been just sex.
As single-minded as he was, even he knew this.
What he’d felt was a powerful connection, something beyond this dimension.
It was a … Words buzzed through his mind but failed him.
Maybe because most of the blood in his body was still rerouting itself to his brain.
Reluctant to leave the warm cradle of Angie’s body, Sam lowered his weight back onto her, pressing her into the mattress with a vague awareness that his upper back stung from where her fingernails had broken his skin. A prideful smile tugged at his mouth.
God, he already longed to earn fresh tracks in his skin. Drive her to that frenzied edge so he could feel the bite of her nails and hear her scream out his name.
Obviously, I am delirious.
He peppered kisses along her jaw, her cheek, across her eyes, mumbling, “I don’t want brownies.”
Her fingers plowed through his hair, adding another layer of tingles to the ones still circulating in his bloodstream. “No? What do you want?”
He raised his head once more, letting a sly smile form. “I want to do what we just did all over again.”
Her eyes widened. Had he gone too far? Yeah, maybe blurting out the truth wasn’t the smoothest move, but in his defense, he was still riding that high he’d climbed. Yep, delirious.
Her lips curled in a sexy smile, and relief flooded him. “You might need the carbs if you’re planning on a repeat performance.”
He lowered his head, inspecting the rosy splotches across her chest and breasts.
He softly kissed each of her beautiful pink peaks, eliciting a delightful giggle.
His dick twitched with interest. No, he wasn’t going to need the sugar.
Just a little recovery time and being able to touch her like this.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t kick him out of her bed before he could get his fill … if getting his fill was even possible.
He rose, chuckling when she complained. “I’m gonna clean up and be right back,” he assured, tucking the covers under her chin. “Keep my spot warm.”
As he padded into her bathroom, he ignored the throb in his ankle. After disposing of the condom, he inspected what he could of his back in the mirror. “Lucky devil,” he congratulated himself. Yeah, he’d gladly wear those marks like badges of honor.
When he returned, she lifted the covers. Pausing a moment, he reveled in the sight of his beautiful angel on display.
She frowned at him. “Are you going to climb in or stand there and gawk? All the cold air is getting in.”
Busted, but totally worth it. Sliding between the sheets, he pulled the covers over them. Lying half on her, he rested his closed fist on her chest and propped his chin on it. “Why did we wait so long to do that?”
Her eyes circled the ceiling, as though she was formulating an answer. “Oh, I don’t know. There was that little matter of your bum ankle.”
“The bum ankle is still there.”
“Then how about the fact that I resented you, and you didn’t like me?”
“Hey, who says I didn’t like you? Sure, I wasn’t crazy about the torture some days—I’m still not—but that doesn’t mean I disliked you.
” So what if he’d wanted to throw crap at her in the beginning?
That urge had grown less violent over the weeks until it finally ebbed.
And yeah, some days he hadn’t been able to decide if he hated her or loved her.
Hate was definitely not the emotion front of mind now.
He moved up her body until his mouth was level with hers, loving the slide of her smooth, warm skin against his. He stared at her perfect mouth for a beat before taking it in another slow, deep, wet kiss.
I could kiss this mouth for days, weeks, years and never get tired of it.
“Do you still resent me, angel?” he croaked.
She held her index finger and thumb about a half inch apart. “Maybe only a little now.”
“I guess I’ll have to turn that answer into a ‘not at all.’” He kissed her again, plunging into urgency that left them both desperate for air when they broke apart. “How am I doing so far?”
“Not bad,” she panted.
“Sounds like I’ve got my work cut out for me.” Settling himself on his back, he pulled her against his side. She molded to him, sliding a leg over his and resting her hand and cheek on his heart.
I could get used to this.
Tucked against Sam’s side, Angie ran a fingertip over the smooth surface of the locket. “I’d forgotten about this. Do you still have a picture of you and your mom inside?”
“Yep, still there, although it’s a little worse for wear now.” Covering her hand with his, he murmured, “I love that you remember it and what’s inside it.”
Angie kinda loved that too, sharing that part of his history.
She began to drift away on a cloud of satiation.
So much was familiar yet completely different from the last time.
This time she wasn’t drunk off her ass, so she actually remembered the tiny details, like the way his fingers stroked her skin or how his mouth moved over hers or the feel of him between her legs, hard and thick and heavy.
The grunts and growls and curses he emitted as he climaxed.
Had he been vocal before? She didn’t remember, nor did she care.
All that mattered was how those caveman noises drove her to the brink of ecstasy now.
She traced featherlight circles around his locket and moved to his flat nipple, teasing it when it turned into a tiny bead, giving it a flick of her tongue followed by a soft kiss.
His skin tasted like a sinful dessert that would very likely clog your arteries and kill you, but it also smelled like home.
“Keep that up, angel, and I’ll have you flat on your back again.” His voice slurred with sleepiness.
“Promises, promises,” she murmured.
A warm chuckle rumbled through his chest. “That is a promise. You can count on it.” With that, he slid his hand from her shoulder, snaking it beneath her upper arm to caress the side of her breast. Lying here, him touching her, her touching him, seemed like the most natural state in the world, as though they’d been intimate for years.
Her annoying brain chose that moment to wander to him with Brianna. Had they shared moments like this?
“Hey, Ange. Are you happy with your life right now?”
“Are you talking about right this minute, as in you’re fishing for compliments about your performance? You want to know what a beast you are?” she snarked.
“I’m not talking about right here, right now, although you looked pretty damn happy not too long ago,” he chortled. “And for the record, I’m always open to being called a beast and to compliments of any kind. Don’t get enough of those.”
“Even from your other women?”
“Huh. Interesting that you say ‘other.’ Does that mean you’re putting yourself in that general pool?”
A flush heated her face. “So there’s a pool?”
“Do you always answer a question with a question? And also for the record, the ‘pool’ is pretty small. Like, there’s one person in it, and I happen to be lying next to her.
As for lack of compliments, I was talking about fans, talking heads, my coach.
Even my PT. They can be brutal on a guy’s ego. Especially my PT.” He tickled her ribs.
She fizzed with laughter. “Probably because you deserve it.”
“Now you’re dodging so you don’t have to answer.”
“What was the question again?”
“Are you happy?” His tone softened yet carried some serious weight.
She flipped his locket over, then flipped it again. “Mostly, I guess. I’m not where I want to be, but I like the direction my life’s headed in. I’m certainly happier than when we were growing up together.”
“You weren’t happy back then?”
“Not especially. I always wanted to be Brianna, you know?” she confessed.
He seemed to flinch. “Why?”
“All she had to do was crook her pinkie, and the boys came running. She could have anyone she wanted.”
“Slight exaggeration, angel.” With his free hand, he picked up a lock of her hair and drew it across his upper lip.
“She had you.”
He chuffed. “You want to know something that’s really fucked up?”
“I’m not sure.”
He barreled ahead. “Guys would talk about their girlfriends, and when they asked about mine, I’d describe what Brianna looked like, but when it came to personality, I’d always describe you instead.
And when I came back to visit my billet family, I was more excited about seeing you than I was Brianna.
” He paused on a sigh. “Told you it was fucked up.”
Angie masked her surprise. “Why do you think that was?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe because Brianna was more looks than personality. Honestly, I can’t remember what her laugh was like or if she even did laugh. But you? I carried that sound around in my head and replayed it whenever I was down.”
“Um, that’s … unexpected.” And so very sweet.
“Yeah. I’d forgotten about it until just now.”