My body twitches at the lightest brush of his calloused fingertips, and he draws back and snaps his hips in a way that forces a throaty moan from deep inside me.

“Does that feel good? Like that?”

He does it again, and I practically choke on my breath but manage to nod.

Dalton may not have a lot of experience where women are concerned, but what he lacks there, he makes up for with absolute, unbridled passion and attention to detail.

His commitment to ensuring this is good for me, to giving me the release I know he’s also chasing before he finds his own is so damn sweet.

It only makes me want him more.

And the longer he strokes and glides his fingers over my clit, the harder he thrusts into me, the more I want this to continue.

I want it for more than just last night and today.

I know he does, too.

Even if he’s afraid to say it, even if he’s scared that I’ll run away if he does.

We want the same thing.

All this time, I’ve been relying on him. I had to give myself over and trust him to take care of us and fix what had become broken. And he has, time and time again.

He’s been there for me, for Davey, the same way he is for Pops.

And now he’s taking care of me again, making absolutely sure I get exactly what I need so expertly that my body is primed and ready for it when he pinches my clit slightly.

I explode, that scalding heat of release rippling across my skin and out through every nerve in my body.

Dalton keeps working me over. Pumping his hips. His hand tightening on top of mine on the table as his ministrations with the other drag my release on and on.

By the time it finally ebbs and my body is nothing but a twitchy, Jell-O-y mass, I can tell he is close.

His movements become erratic.

Frantic.

Desperate.

He lifts his hand from between my legs and uses it to tilt my head back until he can take my mouth with a soul-wrenching kiss.

Were you really going to fight this?

Were you really going to deny what this man has made you feel?

In only a handful of months, he has brought me back from the brink of disaster, when I thought I couldn’t go on without Dave. And now, I can’t imagine my life withouthim, withoutthis. Without waking up with him beside me like I did this morning. Without him kissing me like his very life depends on securing the oxygen from my lungs.

I can’t imagine living without Davey’s laughter as they play in the rain, or when Dalton takes him on a ride on Apollo, or chases chickens around the yard with him.

Dave may have been the love of my life, but Dalton has slowly become the center of it without me even realizing it was happening.

He is the cornerstone, what has kept me strong and allowed Davey and me time to heal, time to process.

And no matter what comes, I know he’ll keep me safe in his arms like this. He won’t let go.

Never.

He finally plunges deep, his gasp falling from his lips into mine as he comes, and I squeeze around him, dragging on his orgasm the same way he did mine until he finally groans.