Page 36 of Peak of Love
Three startling knocks before Dane’s voice called behind the door. “Celina, I promised you I wouldn’t use my key uninvited. But you open this door right fucking now and repeat what you saidto my face.”
The quality of his demand—barely repressed urgency that sounded like overwrought passion—wasn’t something she had ever heard before. She should probably make amends now, before things got worse. Before they said anything irreversibly harmful. It wasn’t too late to appease reckless words.
Except there would be no appeasing tonight. Not from her anyway.
She opened the door brusquely and stepped back at the sight. He was wearing jeans with a scuffed leather jacket and weathered boots. By his side was a helmet that matched Asher’s because they had ordered them together. That’s how he got here in record time. Jumped on a motorcycle the same model as the one Asher had crashed.
Celina was livid in a way she never allowed herself to experience.
“I have no use for your pity, Dane,” she sneered. “You say you wanna be better? You wannado more? How about not killing yourself the same way my husband died you goddamn jerk!” Her fists were balls of fury, her body so strained with tension she was shaking.
He stepped forward and kicked the door shut behind him. He kept walking toward her. She took one step back before stalling. No. This was her house. No one was putting her in a corner in her own house. When he came closer, she held her ground and looked up.
She didn’t expect it. The heat. The longing. The possessiveness.
“Do you think it’s pity keeping me up at night, obsessing about that mouth of yours? You think it’s pity that makes me so fucking hard it actuallyhurtswhen I think of you?” He reached over and pressed their bodies till his hard ridge indented her yielding flesh.
His face was so close, she could feel the chill of the night on his cheeks. Yet his breath was scorching hot. “Does this feel like pity to you, sexy girl?”
“Fuck you, Dane,” she choked even as her traitorous body welcomed the embrace. One of her legs rubbed up against his and her center wept for more pressure.
His voice softened, even as his jaw clenched and a muscle in his temple twitched. “I haven’t used that bike in years. I pay the dealership to keep it in shape because I can’t part with it. There are too many good memories of Asher with that bike, baby. I… I couldn’t get rid of it. I’m sorry.” He sounded truly miserable and Celina was on the verge of breaking down.
Dane continued his torturous confession. “Tonight, it was the fastest way for me to get here. It was the fastest way to get to you.”
The words forced a crack in her armor of anger.
“Well, you’re here now.” She meant for the words to sound sarcastic and aloof. Instead, they betrayed her aching realization.
She wanted him here. She wanted him now.
“I am,” he rasped. “Heaven help me, Celina, I’m here and I never want to leave.”
Her body leaned closer and Dane was scared to say more or to take a full breath. Having her yield to his greedy hands was more than he expected.
Her breathing was shallow, too. That slight clue gave him the courage to ask,“Do you still want me? In Whistler, when you said you wanted me, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know how to be sure.”
“Yes, I—I can’t stop wanting you. I tried and I can’t.” She slid her hands up his back and pressed her breasts against his chest. It was difficult to think, yet he realized that if he removed his jacket, they would be closer.
So that’s what he did. Ripped off his jacket and t-shirt—because why stop with outerwear—and held her tight where she belonged.
As their bodies entwined, Dane let go of every doubt and hesitation that prevented him from taking and giving everything. Becauseshewas everything. He kissed her harder than he should, grabbed her rougher than ever, and squeezed her ass till she moaned.
“These leggings are ridiculous, Celina. So damn sexy. Do you wear them to drive me crazy?” He was talking nonsense because what he really wanted to say wasseeing you in tight black pants makes me want to bend you over the closest table.
He slid a hand down the front of her pants and found the seam of her underwear. “My sexy girl is fucking wet.” He sounded like a depraved man. Probably since he was. “Is this all for me, Celina?”
“Ye—yes. For you. All fo-for you,” she stuttered and moaned.
He ravished her mouth. She matched his hungry lips with her own sucking and licking. Their tongues found a rhythm that anticipated their bodies in harmony. And he understood, like he knew his own name, that kissing Celina was no longer enough.
Dane led Celina to the edge of the sectional, where the lounging chair allowed her to fully lay back. Over her pants, he pressed tight, delicate circles onto her center. He watched as Celina wiggled to get more pressure. Her chest rose and fell erratically, her head pressed back in ecstasy.
“Look at me, Celina,” he murmured. “Eyes on me, sweet, sexy girl.”
Her heavily lashed eyes held his gaze while he pulled her pants down. Dane’s breathing stalled when he saw her glossy folds. He groaned in approval as he savored the aroma of her arousal: lightly floral and pure honey, distilled in a sweetness distinctly hers. He bent her knees and rubbed his hands up and down her thighs, gaining closer and closer access to her apex.
“I’m starving for you, Celina. Starving.” He scooped her bottom, leaned in, and licked his lips in anticipation of the feast ahead. Dane lapped his tongue along her folds and mumbled what seemed like mind-blowing revelations.
