Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
A mixture of nerves and excitement bubbled through Steff as she looked at Dalton standing by the bed. Not once, over the last couple of years, did she ever think she would find herself in this position. Naked with a man. Not after all she’d been through, but Dalton made everything special.
He got back into bed and pulled her close; his lips finding hers. She could feel his erection against her belly. Her mouth had dried when she saw him without clothes for the first time.
When she’d been captive, her other encoun—no! She wasn’t going to destroy what was about to happen with thoughts of the past.
Was she a little scared?
Yes, but the man currently trailing his hot mouth down her body wasn’t anything like those pigs who’d touched her.
Deliberately, she blanked her mind, closed the door on those thoughts, and focused on the present. The feel of Dalton’s lips on her. The way his teeth nipped a little, then his tongue soothed the spot.
His mouth closed over her clit, sucking gently. She jolted, and Dalton lifted his head, his eyes finding hers.
“You good?”
God, this man. Stopping when some guys would just power through and ignore what her body was doing. “Yes. It was just unexpected.”
“Do you trust me?”
He was so earnest, as if he was worried that anything he said would set her off.
If it had been anyone other than Dalton, perhaps that would’ve been the case.
Over the course of the time they’d been together, he’d done nothing but show her that he was someone she could count on.
He’d helped her through so much. “With my life.”
His fingers tightened on her thighs, and his nostrils flared at her declaration. “Thank you.”
He lowered his head, and she closed her eyes as he licked and sucked her.
Heat enveloped her, and her breaths came out short and loud in the room.
Sensations built in her, ones she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
“Yes,” she hissed as he slowly inserted one finger in her, as though he was checking to see if she was okay with his touch.
She was more than okay, and wanted more. Every doubt she’d had that she wouldn’t be able to enjoy making love again was being obliterated. She’d done work with Donelle, but it was all the man between her legs making her feel safe and protected.
Dalton slowly pumped his finger in and out of her while simultaneously pulling on her clit.
Steff moaned loud when he added another finger and increased the pace of his movements.
Her legs were beginning to shake as tension built in her.
She was almost afraid to let go, but Dalton would be there to help her come down, and so she gave herself over to what her body demanded, and cried out as she came.
Dalton slowed his movements, drawing out her orgasm until the tremors lessened, and her limbs were heavy, and her heartbeat had slowed.
He kissed his way up and nuzzled her neck. Another shiver rippled through her.
“Thank you.” She turned her head so that she could look at him.
“You’re welcome, and believe me when I say I enjoyed that as much as you did.”
The shackles that had bound her after her experience weren’t entirely gone, but they were extremely loose.
Nothing about this moment scared her. If anything, she was empowered by knowing that throughout it all, she was in control.
She could ask him to stop and he would’ve.
She asked for more, and he gave her more. Not once did Dalton try and take over.
Steff was aware of his hardness resting against her leg. When she’d touched him earlier, she hadn’t been scared, and she wanted to touch him again. Reaching between them, she found him and ran a finger from tip to base and back again, smearing the drop of liquid across the top of his cock.
Dalton moaned and jerked in her touch. “I want you,” he kissed her cheek, the gesture sweet when he could’ve done something more.
“I want you too.” And she did. This was another hurdle she had to get over. Having him buried deep inside of her. His body over hers.
“We can go as slow as you need. There’s no rush.” He brushed her hair off her forehead. “Do you want to be on top?”
Did she? It would give her more control. It would make sense if she wanted that. “No. I know you’ll take care of me. You won’t do anything that will freak me out. I know you’ll stop if I ask you to.”
“You’re amazing,” he whispered as he shifted so only their lower bodies were touching. His cock rested at her entrance. Excitement welled up inside of her again. “Fuck.”
“What?! What’s wrong?” Had she done something wrong? Had a look crossed her face? She didn’t think so, but anything was possible.
“Nothing. You did nothing wrong. I just forgot protection.” He didn’t roll off her but shifted a little so that he could reach one of the condoms he’d placed on the table. In quick, economic movements, he had the protection on and was back nestled between her legs.
For endless seconds he didn’t move. Was he having second thoughts? No, that was a ridiculous thought. If he had second thoughts he would’ve walked away. Now it was her turn to ask. “You good?”
He smiled and lightly brushed her lips with his. “I’m more than good.”
She curled her arms around his broad shoulders and tugged him down. “Me too.”
It was as though he needed that final confirmation from her that this was what she wanted. “I promise to be gentle.” He reached between them and notched his cock at her entrance.
Her breath caught in anticipation of what was to come next. “I know you will.”
Slowly, as though not to frighten her, Dalton pushed inside her. Her body was ready for him, and so was her mind. She wanted this so much. Wanted the intimacy between them.
She sighed when he was buried deep. She drew her fingers down his back, tracing the ridges of his spine, until she found his tight ass. Steff dug her fingers into the flesh, encouraging him to move.
Dalton took the silent request and ran with it. He slid in and out, slowly, as if to see how much she could take before increasing his pace.
Everything about this moment was magical for Steff. Dalton was being gentle, but also firm at the same time. He wasn’t pounding into her like a jackrabbit. Warmth spread through her, chasing away the coldness from the past.
Tingles built at the base of her spine as Dalton moved faster. Her head fell back, and, once again, she gave herself over to the man in her arms and all the feelings he was generating inside of her.
“I’m so close, hon,” he groaned.
“Let go, I’ve got you and you’ve got me.” She peppered kisses over his chest.
As if she’d given him the key to release the passion he’d kept locked away, Dalton’s motions became more erratic, which only increased how good he was making her feel.
Her second release slammed into her, and she threw her head back and cried out his name, as Dalton pumped into her once more before tensing and shouting out her name.
He collapsed on top of her, and before she could register it, he rolled them so that she was on top of him. Their ragged breathing the only sound in the room. Steff snuggled into him, not caring that they were both sweaty.
They lay there, each holding each other, not saying anything just enjoying the aftermath of an incredible moment.
Being intimate with Dalton was the biggest step in reclaiming her life back. Nothing could stop her from living her life now. Not even the threat that the person who’d sent the box and trashed her apartment was still out there.
With Dalton by her side, she could face anything.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Dalton asked for the fourth time as they parked beneath her apartment building.
“Yes.” After what they’d shared that morning, and the closeness that had forged between them, Steff knew she was prepared to face the disaster that was once her home.
“Okay. If you find you can’t handle it, we’ll turn around and go back to my place.”
Dalton hadn’t been too happy when she told him she wanted to go clean up her home. To go see if there was anything that could be salvaged from the destruction.
“I know, but it’s got to be cleaned up at some stage. And as it’s all my stuff, it’s my responsibility.”
Dalton sighed. “I know.”
She leaned across the center console and kissed him. “Thank you for being concerned. Thank you for everything. I’m so lucky that you came into my life.”
Various emotions swam through Steff. The most prominent one was love. As much as she wanted to blurt out that she loved him, she held back because—was it too soon to be feeling something as strong as love?
All she knew was she didn’t want to be apart from the man in the vehicle next to her. He’d proven time and time again that he cared for her. That nothing he did was out of a sense of obligation.
The situation she currently found herself in was fraught with danger and change, things that weren’t ideal circumstances for falling in love, but here she was.
“I think I already told you I’m the lucky one. You’re special Steff, and I don’t take for granted everything you’ve given me.” This time Dalton initiated the kiss, and unlike her quick brush of lips, this one was deeper. Full of emotions that both of them were too afraid to voice out loud.
Breathless, they broke apart. Steff’s body tingled, enticing her to change her mind so they could go back to Dalton’s place and pick up where they’d left off.
“Don’t tempt me, Steffanie Price,” Dalton lightly scolded.
Steff laughed. “Can’t stop a girl for trying.”
“Well, the sooner we get up to your place, the sooner we can get back to mine.” He waggled his eyebrows as he got out of the car.
Together, they made their way to the elevator, and a rush of indecision hit her. Was this the right thing to do? Was seeing the devastation again a good thing for her, or would it send her into a PTSD attack?
There was only one way to find out, and that was to do it.
She wasn’t going to shy away from the hard things now.
There was no way she was cured, but she’d taken lots of forward steps.
The therapy sessions were more productive this time around, and that was because she was more open to them.
Of course, explaining what had gone on over the last twenty-four hours with her therapist was going to be intense, but she was ready for it.
The ride to her floor didn’t take long, and as the doors slid open, Steff took a deep breath and stepped out, aware of Dalton’s presence beside her.
How different would things have been if he hadn’t been in her life?
If they hadn’t been out to dinner, she would’ve been home when the person had come into her apartment and trashed it. The possibilities about what could’ve happened were endless, but they hadn’t, and she was with Dalton.
“Let me go in first,” Dalton said, as they approached her door.
“Okay.” Now that they were standing out the front of it, the indecision she’d thought she’d conquered, returned. Steff closed her eyes and took a couple of deep, cleansing breaths.
“Again, we can leave if this is too much.” Dalton placed his hand on her lower back.
Time for total honesty. “I won’t lie, I am having second thoughts, but” –she turned in his hold, placed her hand over his heart, and looked up at him– “I have to do this. I have to go in there. If I don’t, they win. And I’m done with letting people think they can win against me.”
“You amaze me, so much.” Dalton dropped a kiss on her lips. It seemed, after their love making, that they couldn’t get enough of kissing each other, and Steff was totally okay with it.
“Right back at ya, Jag.”
He chuckled, and took the key she’d given him when he started staying with her out of his pocket and inserted it in the lock.
Dalton may have told her that he was going to go in first, but now that it was open, she wanted to go in with him.
“It’s not any better in the light of day,” she murmured as she surveyed the room.
“No, it’s not. Stay here while I check out the rest of the place.”
Steff nodded, and wondered if she had enough trash bags to put everything in. She glanced over to the one chair that had remained unbroken.
Why hadn’t they broken it?
Was there a reason?
A message?
She didn’t know the answer to the questions, and she probably would never find out why. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter.
“Oh my goodness, Steffanie, what a mess!”
Steff whirled around, her heart pounding fiercely. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard her neighbor approaching. “Mrs. Baker, yeah, it’s a mess.”
“I heard all the commotion last night and poked my head out to see the police entering. I wanted to come over, but thought it might be best if I stayed where I was. Considering how loud you had your music playing—which shocked me—I wasn’t surprised to see them.
” There was a hint of censure in her neighbor’s voice, but she ignored it because of what she said.
“There was music playing?” Dalton asked the question, and she leaned against him when he came up behind her. “Dalton Jaeger, I’m a friend of Steffanie’s.”
Dalton’s tone was firm, but not in a way that would put the older lady off.
“Were you here last night partying with her, young man? Or should I say, having a wrecking party? Although that doesn’t make sense, because I can’t see you doing anything like this Steffanie,” Mrs. Baker rambled on, looking thoughtful at the same time.
“That answers why no one heard what was going on?” Steff muttered. The mystery of why the police hadn’t been called earlier was solved.
“Seems that way.” Dalton turned to Mrs. Baker. “Do you know if anyone else may have knocked on Steff’s door while the music was playing?”
“I don’t think so. I just took my hearing aids out. That’s one advantage of having bad hearing.” She laughed at her own joke. “I popped them back in when I got up to go to the bathroom. By then it was all quiet, until I heard the police, that is.”
Mrs. Baker had been helpful, but if they hoped to get more information out of her, then they were shit out of luck, because she hadn’t heard anything, apart from the loud music.
“I’m sorry that the music disturbed you, but it wasn’t me,” Steff stated.
Mrs. Baker patted her hand. “I know dear, I should’ve realized that you wouldn’t do anything like that. I’m sorry I didn’t do something earlier, like knock on your door and find out what was going on.”
“It’s just as well you didn’t do that, ma’am,” Dalton said. “You could’ve been hurt.”
“Maybe, but I might’ve been able to prevent all this destruction.”
Steff pulled her into a hug. “They’re only things. They can be replaced. You can’t.”
If the person who did this to Steff thought she was going to crumble, they were much mistaken. A few months ago, it would’ve been another story, but she was different now.
Stronger.
And whoever did this to her, was going to pay.