Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Diego braced his weight over Daisy, hands on either side of her face, which was turned up to his. The look in her eyes whipped the smoldering heat between them to a raging, zero-percent-contained wildfire.
And maybe…maybe he still could’ve resisted if she hadn’t kissed him like he was literally her salvation. Maybe. But probably not. He’d never been able to deny her. “Daisy—”
“Don’t say no,” she murmured and rocked that sweet body up against his, all those warm curves he’d dreamed about more than he cared to admit. Say no? He didn’t have that kind of willpower.
So, he lowered himself to her and let their desire collide, chest to chest, hips to hips, one of his thighs nestled between hers.
He had no idea what he thought he was doing.
None. All he knew was that he had to have her.
Even knowing this was a one-night thing, even knowing how much it would hurt afterwards, he didn’t care about anything but this, tonight, and he intended to make it last as long as possible.
With that being his last rational thought, he dipped his head.
Her mouth trembled open, but he went for the hollow of her throat instead, kissing the soft skin there, then tracing his tongue over the spot before making his way to the crook of her neck.
When she moaned, he scraped his teeth over her, and she gasped out his name as he sucked the patch of flesh into his mouth, fighting a burning desire to mark her as his.
But she wasn’t.
So, instead, he gently kissed that same spot again, slipping a hand under her shirt, running his palm up her stomach to just below her breasts.
With another whimper of wanting, she arched into his hand—a silent demand if he’d ever heard one.
So, he obeyed and cupped her breast, his thumb gliding over the already hardened peak.
She looked at him with those see-all gray eyes, and he couldn’t think beyond the fact that he needed to kiss her, which he did, deeply. She had her hands beneath his shirt now too, one over his heart, which was threatening to pound right out of his chest. Could she feel how out of control he was?
But then she got into his jeans and wrapped her fingers around him, and if he’d thought he was in trouble before… “Daisy.” His voice was practically a growl. “Babe. I don’t think—”
She stroked.
He groaned and dropped his forehead to hers. “You sure?”
She stroked him again.
Okay, she was sure.
She was trying to shove his jeans down and get his shirt off all at the same time when he again caught her hands and waited until her gaze met his.
“I’m sure!” She sounded slightly crazy and maybe a little exasperated, and he smiled.
“Now,” she demanded, arching into him. “Here.”
“Now,” he agreed and rose to his feet. “But not here.”
He took her below deck. They landed on his bed in a tangle of sheets. The only light came from the moonlight slanting in through the high, narrow windows, but it was enough to see.
She looked as beautiful in his bed as he remembered.
He wanted to go slow and easy, but his good intentions vanished once he stripped and crawled up the bed to assist her in doing the same.
One kiss plus the glide of her arms and legs around him as if she were trying to claim him as her own, and he was lost. Lost in her. Lost in them.
Just like always.
He’d always thought if he ever got lucky enough to be with her again, that it might be awkward, like a first time. But it didn’t feel awkward or like a first time. It felt more like finding a missing piece.
Like coming home.
He slipped a hand between her thighs. Good thing they were already lying down, or he’d have probably dropped to his knees. In his dreams, he’d had to work hard to make her want him again.
But she was hot and slick and ready.
Her eyes were big but bold on his. “I want you,” she whispered. “I’ve…always wanted you.”
It wasn’t a declaration of love, so why did it feel like one? Because his own feelings were far too close to the surface, dangerously close in fact. “I’ve always wanted you too, Daisy.”
They reached for each other at the same time, the kiss intense and lingering. “Now,” she murmured. “Please, Diego.”
Like he could deny that breathy plea. Shifting, he kissed and nibbled and licked, and then nibbled some more as he made his way down her body, absorbing her soft sighs, smiling against her skin when he slowed, and she writhed for more.
“Don’t tease me…” she panted out.
But that’s exactly what he was going to do. He kissed the inside of one thigh and then turned his head to kiss the other. She quivered. “Diego.”
The breathless demand in her voice along with ten fingernails digging into his shoulders made him smile.
“You’d laugh at me after getting me to this…this state?”
He lowered his head and took a leisurely lick at her.
Her eyes practically rolled back in her head as she rocked up into his mouth, her fingers fisted in his hair now.
She was probably going to make him bald before he hit thirty-one, but he didn’t care.
Instead, he did it again, and she cried out.
So, he repeated it. Over and over until she came for him, her body damp and trembling as he reached for his nightstand and grabbed a condom.
She sat up and insisted on rolling it on, which had him sweating because her hands felt so good. And the way she’d gotten up close and personal on her knees, the tip of her tongue out as she concentrated, he had to close his eyes to try and avoid finishing before he’d even barely gotten started.
He slowly pushed into her, stopping immediately when her nails dug into his ass. He didn’t want to hurt her, he never wanted to hurt her.
“Oh my God, don’t stop.” Her voice was soft and throaty. “Please, don’t stop.”
“I’m not hurting you?”
“No!” She made a little movement with her hips, making him lose what little restraint he had. He sank into her completely. She wrapped her legs around him, holding him as close as she possibly could, her hands roaming his shoulders and back, everywhere she could reach.
Her nails dug into his ass, and he didn’t care. Lifting his head, he met her gaze.
She smiled.
And, damn, he was a dead man, because he loved her smile. When he began to move, she moaned and rocked in sync with him. In less than a minute, he was breathing in ragged pants. A guy who ran five miles every morning should not be breathless this fast, but it wasn’t the exertion.
It was finally being with her again and discovering that their magic still existed.
Her fingers slid back up to tangle in his hair, and she pulled him down for another kiss.
Her breathing was quick and shallow, her cheeks flushed.
When she opened her eyes, he could see they were stormy gray and filled with desire and hunger.
For him.
She was so beautiful, she made his throat hurt.
She kept her eyes open, and they stared at each other as they moved together, her hips rising to meet his thrusts. So beautiful… And then he couldn’t think anymore because she was coming again, gripping him so tightly, he couldn’t breathe—not that he needed air when he had her.
Was there a sweeter sound than hearing his name on her lips, knowing that he’d satisfied her?
No.
He buried his face in the curve of her neck as he came, biting his lip to keep from telling her what he wanted so badly to say.
I love you…still, again…always.
He had no idea how much later it was when he came awake, violently aroused.
The reason for that was slowly lowering herself onto his body.
The moan that escaped his lips tugged a whimper from hers.
Going from dead-asleep to wide-awake in a single blink, he rolled, tucking Daisy beneath him, his hands tangling with hers, raising them above her head as he filled her inch by delicious inch until it felt like they were one.
Looking into his eyes, she rocked her hips for more. “Hey,” she whispered playfully.
With one hard thrust, he proved that he wasn’t feeling playful. But he was most definitely feeling something because he held her to him and growled out, “Hey yourself,” before letting her take him places he’d never been with anyone but her.
They fell asleep again, entangled, hearts thumping against each other’s chests. The next time Diego woke was different than the time before. Very different.
Because he was alone.
He stared up at the ceiling, replaying the night before in his head. On repeat. He had no idea what any of it meant, except that if he was being honest with himself, nothing had felt so right as being wrapped up in Daisy’s arms again. It was as if he belonged there.
His cell vibrated across his nightstand, and he glanced over at it.
Rocco.
With a deep breath, he answered. “Hey.”
“It’s Tyler. I’m sorry, I didn’t have your number so I borrowed Rocco’s phone.”
What Diego knew about Tyler had come mostly from Instagram. The guy was an interior decorator, loved cats and traveling and…Rocco. Which, no matter how complicated Diego’s feelings for Daisy were, what he’d seen of Tyler was enough for Diego to like him.
“I know this is probably odd for you,” Tyler said into the silence.
“Getting a phone call?”
“Talking to the man who’s going to marry your brother.”
Diego let out a low laugh and scrubbed a hand down his face. “One of the few things that isn’t odd at all, actually. What’s up?”
“I’m hoping to talk you into forgiving Rocco. He’s been anxious about this, about seeing you again, and I’d like to see him be able to enjoy this week for what it is. His wedding. His only wedding.”
Tyler’s tone was light, easy. Casual. But there was an undertone of protection. For Rocco.
And that, more than anything else, reached Diego. “I can appreciate that. But this thing between Rocco and I…it goes back a whole hell of a long time. You know that.”
“I do know that,” Tyler said. “I lost my own brother last year.”
That single sentence, uttered so quietly, was like a punch to the throat. Diego sat up in bed. “I’m…Christ. Sorry doesn’t cover it.”
“I know. And thank you,” Tyler said. “He was a bit of a dick, but he was my brother. And I’d do anything, anything to have Ian at this wedding stuff. That isn’t going to happen.”
“Are you saying that this dick is alive and therefore should get himself an attitude adjustment?” Diego asked with a small smile.
“I try very hard not to tell heteros what to do. They don’t seem to appreciate it.”
Diego had to laugh. Hell if he didn’t admire the guy. “Noted.”