Page 9 of Hidden By His Side

Some of her tension eased. She’d worn it for him, even though she didn’t feel comfortable in it. The skirt was shorter than she preferred, and the top was deeper cut, making a bra impossible. The dress was also solid blue. Summer preferred prints—the more floral, the better. Staring at all those flowers was a small happiness.

“Thank you,” she said again.

Derek pulled into his driveway. Wearing the dress had worked. Derek had agreed to let her spend the night, just as Ramiro had wanted. She’d made everyone happy.

The knot in her stomach eased as Derek walked around to open her door. He did things like that, opening her door, pulling out her chair. Derek could take care of her.

Her hand covering her stomach became trapped between their bodies as Derek pulled her against him. “I can’t wait to get inside that sexy mouth of yours.”

Inside her mouth? Oh…

His lips were on hers. The kiss was pleasant, not too much tongue or teeth, and she settled into it, her other hand coming up to his shoulder as he shuffled them backward to the front door.

He had to stop kissing her to get the key into the lock. He lifted her in his arms after. Doubts swirled in her head when he carried her straight to the bedroom.

Summer still hadn’t talked to him about the test. That was her fault. She’d been too unfocused, too distracted.

He lowered her onto the bed, moaning into her mouth as he settled over her body, pushing it into the bed.

She tensed beneath his weight, but she tried to ignore it. She’d learned that her nerves settled as long as she didn’t call attention to them. The worst experiences were when they noticed her tension and stopped. Stopping led to questions, questions she didn’t want to answer.

Derek had never been one to notice.

He lifted his head, giving her room to breathe as he stared down at her. “You’re so beautiful.”

The compliment eased something inside of her. She liked when they thought she looked nice. No, not nice. He’d said beautiful. She needed to stop—

His hands along her sides distracted her. Derek had found the side zipper of the dress and pulled it down, peeling her out of the clinging material. He’d already untied the neck strap. When had he done that? It must have been while they were kissing.

The brush of chilled air from the air conditioner made her nipples tighten, and she shivered. She was down to her underwear and heels. Derek had said he preferred heels.

He pinched her nipples, making her breath lock in her throat as she told herself not to shove his hands away. Her eyes flew to his. He hadn’t noticed, had he?

“God, your body,” Derek groaned, his eyes glazed with desire. Oh, good. She hadn’t ruined it for him.

His fingers stopped pinching, and instead of crawling over her again, he stood. His hands dragged her to the bottom edge of the bed.

Sudden excitement filled her. She’d done it like that once before. Without all that worrying weight, without the sense of being caged, she’d been able to let go. She’d enjoyed the way Ramiro had moved her body into his slow, delicious thrusts, then faster, harder, but still delicious.

Her mind shut down the memory. It was wrong to daydream about another man while she was with her boyfriend.

Derek didn’t spread her legs like she thought he would. Instead, he pulled her torso up and off the bed, the movement confusing her.

His mouth found hers again, warm and soft and intent. She enjoyed kissing and began to relax, her hands curling around his back. He was still fully clothed, the dress shirt rough under her fingers, nothing like the ones Ramiro wore. His were silky-smooth, clinging in all the best ways.

Her hands gripped Derek harder, her mouth returning every caress, all while thinking about someone else.

She needed to stop thinking about Ramiro. He’d been very clear about not wanting to have sex with her again. The one time had been difficult enough for him. He’d done it to help her heal, not out of any desire for her.

No, the desire had all been hers, and it had been a beautiful awakening into what sex could be. One she’d never been able to replicate, but then she’d never trusted anyone as much as she trusted Ramiro.

Derek broke the kiss, panting against her lips. “Damn, you’re getting hot just thinking about it, aren’t you?” His next kiss was a swift peck of sensation. “I love that.”

He loved her thinking about another man? No, that couldn’t be right. Summer’s mind fractured again. Why couldn’t she ever keep the pieces together around anyone but Ramiro?

Derek pressed down on her shoulders with his hands. “On your knees, baby.”

The endearment made her flinch even as she gave in to his urging, slipping off the bed and kneeling in front of him.

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