Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Dennis
“This is the first time I’ve been with anyone since you, in January,” she said, making him smile.
“Same here.”
Her body tensed. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
“I just assumed you moved on. Put yourself out there.”
“No. I wanted you. When days turned into weeks, I still wanted you.”
“Sure, but… months?”
“By the time we ran into each other, I’d resigned myself to your rejection.”
“Ouch.”
“Hey. Telling truths here.”
“I can take it.” She brushed away the hair over his eyebrows, her touch sending him deeper in love.
“I guess I’d have started dating. The pool in my hometown is pretty shallow, but…”
“Women must hit on you a lot.”
“Some. I keep to myself.” He wasn’t about to try to explain Annabeth.
“I’m so sorry I ghosted.”
“I understand why.”
“I wish it were different.”
“Ana, do you have any idea how much this feels like a dream?” He stroked her hair, then kissed her neck.
“A dream I always knew was possible, but felt unattainable? Two decades in the field meant I could push it aside. Tell myself it wasn’t time yet.
Circumstances weren’t right. And then I met you my first night back in the states, ready to start a new life that had nothing to do with you–until it did. ”
“I feel the dreamlike quality, too. Except it’s firmly grounded in reality.”
“Yes!” He sighed. “And that night in the alley at the hotel. Then the bar. Then my room. Waking up to an empty bed made me doubt myself.”
“It did?”
“I assumed you’d be there. But you weren’t. And then… you were. At the elevator.”
“My panic attack was half phobia, half embarrassment.”
“We made it through, though. By talking. By being who we are unabashedly. No bullshit. No games.”
“That’s right.” She kissed the back of his hand, the brush of her lips so tantalizing. “We just are who we are. Baby included.”
“I really wish I could turn back time and make it clear that I care for you regardless of the baby. Damn, that sounds wrong, because I care about the baby, too.”
As if he heard Dennis’s words, the little guy let out an enormous kick.
They laughed together.
“I love your body,” he said, owning the words, enjoying how it felt to say them to her. She blushed, her cheeks red even in the low light, and as she looked down, her eyelashes fluttered.
“I mean it,” he added. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful body before. You’re giving life and love to your baby,” he said as his hand slid along her leg, up her hip, cupping her breast as she caught her breath.
“This might be the only time to see me this way.”
He paused. “Is this it for you? No more children?”
“This one is a miracle.” She faltered a bit. “Are you–do you want children?”
“Do you want more?”
“I… I haven’t really let myself think about that. I guess I didn’t want to get my hopes up? In a perfect world, sure. I’d love more.” Her shy look made something in him crack a bit. “You really want kids?”
“I do,” he replied, moving his hand to her belly, splaying it as wide as possible, rubbing along the rounded curve. “You really are a goddess.”
“No one has ever called me that before.”
“Then every person you’ve ever been with is an idiot who didn’t see you for who you really are.”
“When you put it that way, my entire romantic life suddenly makes so much more sense.”
“It’s not a problem anymore.” He kissed her then, both hands around her fullness, his tongue dancing with her, his body needing to be as close to her as possible. Her hands went under his sweater and shirt, crawling up his back, the touch on bare skin driving him into a frenzy.
That night in January, at the hotel, he’d had her naked for hours, sex fueled by release and change. Now, though, this was softer, gentler.
It had to be.
She needed him to be.
“I love your body, too,” she said as her hands roamed his back. “You’re so muscular. So big.” Her finger worried a spot on his scapula. “Is that a scar?”
“Mmm hmm.” His fingers played with her breast, the nipple tightening under his attentions. She shifted, her throat fluttering, and he watched her becoming aroused. “Gunshot.”
“What?”
“Gunshot wound.”
“Oh, my. When we slept together before, I remember feeling lots of scars on you. Wondering what they were.”
“You could have asked.”
“I was a bit preoccupied.”
“By what?”
“Your tongue.”
“Mmmmmm. My tongue would like to preoccupy you again.” His hand slid over her waist, cupping her ass. Ana was a small woman, perhaps a foot shorter than he was, at least in bare feet. Her body was delicious, pregnant or not, but something about her ripeness right now was extra alluring.
As they kissed, he felt her hesitate, then pull away. Her eyes were shining as she looked up at him.
“Shall we move to my bed?”
“I would love to.”
“You’ll need a winch and your truck to get me off this couch.”
“I think one of my arms will do.”
After helping her up earlier, he knew that even pregnant, she wasn’t very heavy, and the pleasure of touching her made everything so much easier.
For years, he’d wanted to want someone this much. Wanted to crave a woman’s attention and focus. Wanted to lose himself in another person.
Now he had her.
And he wasn’t about to let her slip away again.
He kissed her, pulling her close as he walked her backwards down the hall, Ana laughing as they did it.
“On the left. Your left. First door,” she said. The door was open and a huge king bed beckoned, the coverlet folded back. Beautiful black-and-white photos covered the walls, most of them taken on beaches.
All of them with people laughing.
Happiness filled him like helium, lifting his heart the way he lifted her onto the bed, his mouth on her neck then kissing lower, dipping between her breasts as she reached under his sweater again, this time pulling up as if to take it off.
He obliged.
The pitter-patter of rain began on the roof, a cozy feeling that lent the room an air of privacy, of cocooning from the world. From his back, her hands moved forward to his chest as he found the hem of her dress and pulled it up, reaching behind her to unclasp her bra.
Hungry eyes met his, until she rotated to her side.
“Sorry,” she said with a smile. “I can’t lay on my back for too long.”
“We can do whatever we need to do. Be comfortable.”
“That’s a noble goal.”
He kissed her again, open mouthed and with purpose as his hands undressed her. Finding the strap of her thong, he slid it off, and she was naked. Gloriously, perfectly nude, her body deserved to be painted, the object of an artist's eye, preserved as an inspirational work of beauty.
“Now you,” she ordered, the words making Dennis finish the job in seconds, his body bare and on the bed with her.
“I’ve missed you,” he said, her smooth skin a contrast to his, the thick hair on his legs so different from her slim, soft calves. His hands found her breasts as he curled up next to her, Ana’s hand going between his legs, finding him hard.
“Mmm,” she said, stroking him until he damn near burst. Before he could come and ruin the moment, he stopped her with a kiss on her breast, then her ribs, and as he moved down her body, she let go of him.
“I want to taste you,” he murmured, and he did, her thighs next to his ears, his hands on her hips, every part of being this close to her better than he remembered. His tongue wanted to take her to a place where she could relax and release, to give her so much pleasure.
She gave him so much. Giving back was all he wanted.
The way she moved against his mouth, twisted slightly onto her side, gave him a new angle to work with, and soon he saw the telltale signs of her orgasm building.
“Oh, Dennis,” she whispered, her voice going tight, her hips finding a small rhythm that made him lose himself, too. As she came, he felt his soul soar. Victory came in many forms, and this was one of them.
As she ran her fingers through his hair, twitched, and sighed, he kissed her full on the mouth again, her taste lingering between them, her body going boneless.
“Creative, huh?” she said with a lopsided smile.
“That was nothing. Just wait.”
“There’s more?”
“We have all night, Ana. And it’s been too long.”
“Speaking of too long,” she said, reaching for his erection. “Whatever shall I do about this?”
The way she stroked him made him shiver with desire, but it was the methodical, purposeful journey she made down to his shaft, her breasts dragging along his chest, ribs, and upper thighs, that made him want her even more.
When that warm mouth covered his tip, he inhaled sharply, certain he would come in seconds, hoping he could hold out yet wondering why he would torture himself like that.
The way her tongue moved against him made him want to draw this pleasure out as much as possible, but it had also been a long time.
Too long.
One hand wrapped around him as her mouth deep-throated him, the coordination designed for maximum sensation, and damned if she wasn’t a master at this. All he could think about was her naked body, those beautiful breasts, and that heavenly mouth.
And soon, he couldn’t think about anything.
Ana took his orgasm full on, following him as he finished and then, to his delight, she swallowed.
He slumped against the bed, boneless, like she had been just minutes ago.
“Come here,” he said, and she curled up against him. They were naked, spent, and still on top of the covers.
She peeled herself away and stood.
“Let’s get under the covers.” A huge yawn escaped her. “I’m ready for bed.”
The clock said it was barely eight. Dennis didn’t care. If going to bed early meant sleeping naked with her all night, it worked for him.
Covers and sheets rearranged, they found the right balance of skin against skin, limbs entangled, her head in the crook of his shoulder, her belly supported by a long pillow.
“Oh, Dennis. What am I going to do with you?” she said with a long sigh, laughing.
“More of that, please.”
Her laughter was infectious. “Of course. But the baby’s coming in a few weeks, and we’re just getting started.”
“So?”