Page 27

Lizzie—

I snuggle in the coats and eventually doze off under the warmth of the fire and the effects of the whiskey.

When I blink awake, the lounger beside me is empty, and the fire in the stove has burned to glowing embers. I can feel the chill in the room.

“Darko?” I call.

“I’m here,” he calls from the front of the building.

Throwing off his coat, I shrug into mine and move to find him staring out the windows in the lobby. I pass him his coat, and he shrugs into it.

“The snow’s let up, and the wind’s died down. I checked with Rock, and he says the weather reports say it won’t last long before it gets bad again.” His gaze locks with mine. “I think we need to take advantage of it and get to the house. I’ve got a fireplace and lots of wood in the yard. Plus food and plenty of blankets. And the house has a lot more insulation than this old garage.”

“Okay,” I reply.

“You sure you’re up for it?”

“We don’t have a choice.”

He glances at my sneakers. “We’re gonna have to wrap your feet in garbage bags. Probably wouldn’t hurt to put one over your body, too.”

“Then let’s do it.”

“They plowed that side street, so the snow’s not as deep in the middle of the lane. Hopefully, they got it all the way to the house.”

“We’ll make it,” I say, trying to be positive.

An hour later, we stomp through the back door and shake the snow off in the laundry room. I pull the plastic bags from my feet and my body, then kick my shoes off and shrug out of my coat.

Darko does the same.

The house is cold.

“Come on, I’ll start a fire.” We move through the kitchen and into the living room where he kneels and builds a fire. “There are some candles in the hutch over there. Should be some matches.”

I move to it and pull out every candle he has, setting them around the living room, kitchen, and dining room. They give the place a warm glow, and when the fire gets burning, it adds even more light.

We get cozy on the couch and snuggle together. Darko tosses a couple of throw blankets over us and rubs my hands.

“Warm yet?”

“Getting there.” By the time we got to the house, the calm wind had picked up, and it was biting cold.

After about thirty minutes, the fire has warmed the room.

“I’m sorry, Lizzie,” Darko murmurs. “I should have kept track of the storm. We should have gone home when Rob left.”

“You didn’t know. You didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Still. I had an employee to think about.”

“Is that all I am? An employee?” I whisper, wanting an answer I’m afraid I won’t receive.

He doesn’t say anything. Maybe he’s afraid to say the wrong thing. Maybe because, though he may desire me, I’m sure it would just be casual for him.

I’ve been afraid to trust my heart to anyone again, so maybe casual is best. Maybe casual is all I need right now.

I study the side of his face.

“Lizzie,” he begins, but now I don’t want to hear his answer, so I reach a hand and turn his face to mine, capturing his lips.

If he’s startled, he covers it well, responding immediately and deepening the kiss. His hand guides mine to his jeans, cupping it there so I feel the bulge beneath.

“You feel that, Lizzie? That’s how much I want you. So, no, you’re not just an employee to me. You are so much more.”

I make my decision, surprising him by standing and holding my hand out to him. “Take me to your bedroom.”

He towers over me, but his eyes flare with hunger. “You sure, Lizzie?”

“Yes. It’s what I want.”

“I’m not a one-night stand, sweetheart.” He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, then lifts my chin. “We start this, it’s gonna be much more than that.”

God, I hope so. I’m not sure how I’ll feel tomorrow, but tonight, I’m certain. “I want you, Darko.”

He sweeps me into his arms, and it’s my turn to be shocked. He carries me down the hall like I weigh nothing and kicks his door open.

I’ve never seen his room, and it's dark, so there’s just a large looming shadow that must be the bed.

He sets me down on it. “Hang on a second.”

He returns a moment later with a lit candle and sets it on his dresser where it reflects in the mirror. Then he moves to the bed and begins stripping off his t-shirt and thermal.

A muscular, tattooed chest meets my hungry gaze. He’s every bit the badass biker now, with all his club ink on display. When his hands move to his belt and begin unbuckling it, I lick my lips in anticipation.

His dark eyes lock with mine, and I feel a thrill shoot through me all the way to my toes.

I instinctively know this isn’t going to be like with the bartender or tattoo artist or even Matt.

Darko oozes confidence, and I don’t have a doubt he knows how to satisfy a woman. He’s in no rush; in fact, he’s taking his time.

I writhe on the bedcover, eager for his hands on my body.

“Not gonna rush this, angel. Been thinking about this way too long for that.” It’s like he can read my thoughts.

Finally, he shoves his jeans down, and his dick is revealed. It’s large and erect, and I know soon it will be inside me.

Darko moves to the foot of the bed and grabs my ankles, pulling me to the end of the mattress, my body sliding across the bedding. There’s something thrilling about the way he takes control.

His hands go to the fastenings of my jeans, and soon he’s yanking them down my legs and off with a whoosh, tossing them aside. Next, he hooks his fingers in my panties and dispenses with the thin silk.

Grabbing my hands, he pulls me to a seated position and takes the hem of my sweater. A moment later, it’s over my head.

I quickly undo my bra and toss it aside.

His eyes glaze with heat. He lifts one breast to his mouth, and his eyes lock with mine.

It’s erotic as hell, and my lips part. I can’t drag my gaze away from his. He watches every flicker of sensation reflected there. He tugs hard, and my head drops, eyes closing, totally giving myself to the moment, and a deep moan rumbles up my throat. The sensation is exquisite.

His palm closes over my other breast and squeezes. I love having his hands on me. I can’t get enough, and I thrust my chest forward. As he sucks on one nipple, a thumb brushes over the other, teasing and rousing it to attention.

I crave more and thread my fingers through his hair. That inflames him, and he rises, dragging his mouth from my nipple to my lips. His strong arm wraps around my waist, and he puts a knee in the bed, then drags me to the pillows, never losing the kiss.

His warm, hard body settles over mine, and I love the feeling of his weight on me. He goes up on his elbows, breaking the kiss to stroke the hair from my face and study my eyes.

“You okay, Lizzie?” he whispers.

I’m lost in the heated depths of his eyes, and in this moment, I want to give him anything, everything.

My fingertips trail along his ribs, then sink into his ass cheeks, letting him know how much I want him.

A groan rumbles from his chest, and I feel it vibrate through his body to mine. It’s erotic and animalistic, and it drives me even higher with desire—with the need to have him take me the way males have taken females since the beginning of time.

I’m his. In this moment, I’m his.

Just when I think he’s going to spread my legs with his knees and plunge inside my wet pussy, claiming what in my mind I’ve already given him, he slides down my body to spread my legs with his shoulders instead.

His head dips, and I feel the first long, slow stroke of his tongue. My breath shudders in, and my thighs tighten, but are blocked by his shoulders. I’m spread wide and at his mercy to do what he pleases.

“Easy, baby. Easy. This is all about you.”

I relax and force every stray thought of betraying Matt’s memory from my mind, and concentrate only on the sensations of Darko’s tongue on me. I focus on just this moment, pushing all else aside, and it’s glorious.

The man is skilled, knowing just how to touch me, how much pressure to use, how to slowly ramp me up until I feel the first tingle of an orgasm rising. It grows in waves, climbing higher and higher, until I’m lifting my hips to urge him on.

Two long fingers tunnel into my pussy, and the sensation of being totally in his control washes over me. His fingertips stroke and search until he finds that magical spot that has me gasping and bucking.

“There it is,” he whispers, as his mouth is replaced by his thumb. The combination of his fingertips stroking my g-spot and his thumb rubbing my clit has me gasping and clutching at him.

“Oh, God. Yes.”

He keeps his pace, not slowing and not increasing, and it’s the best feeling in the world. I climb higher with each stroke until I’m barreling toward orgasm, and it explodes in shimmering sparkles of ecstasy.

I gasp for breath, my chest rising and falling, my body melting as I sink to earth.

Darko laps at my release, licking every drop.

When he rises over my body to settle on top of me, his mouth is wet, and when he kisses me, I taste myself on his lips. He groans, then breaks the kiss.

“Gotta grab a condom, sweetheart,” he says, stretching for the nightstand.

“You don’t need one,” I say, my words stopping him.

He stares at me. “You sure?”

I nod. He doesn’t know all of it. Perhaps he thinks I’m on the pill, and I’m not going to explain it here and now. The struggle I’ve had to conceive is painful, and I won’t think about that in this moment.

Accepting my assurance, he takes his hard dick in his hand and circles the head around my opening, lubricating before he thrusts inside me.

There’s something about the first time a man slides inside you, and how he treats you that reveals everything about him.

Darko is gentle, and his eyes on mine are filled with tenderness. He gets how special this is, and how this moment—this first time—will never happen again. There’s only one first time between two people, and it deserves to be treated with all the reverence it warrants.

He fills me completely, and the sensation is like nothing else on this earth. He varies from staring into my eyes and dipping his head to capture my lips in quick kisses, his big body rolling, his hips thrusting, and picking up that age-old rhythm as he begins to fuck me, slowly at first. He takes his time, not rushing anything about this, but dragging out every sensation. It gives me the time to recover from my last orgasm and begin to ramp up again.

I can tell he’s holding back, and it’s costing him something. The tightness in his muscles and the way he clenches his jaw… it all reveals I’m important to him—that my enjoyment is important to him.

I take his face in my hands and deepen our kiss, trying to communicate the same depth of feeling.

He’s waiting for me to catch up and when I do, I let him know by wrapping my legs around his waist.

And suddenly, it’s like I’ve let him off his leash, and he takes full advantage, going up on his palms, his hips bucking against me with such power and drive that my mouth falls open.

He’s incredible, moving over me in that timeless beat until our skin becomes slick and our breaths pant, mixing together in the small space.

His body slaps against mine, his hips against my inner thighs, and I know I’ll be sore tomorrow. I also know I’ll relish every ache because it will remind me of this moment when he was driving into me, his eyes locked with mine, and we were one.

“I want to fuck you hard, baby,” he murmurs. “You okay with that?”

I nod, unable to speak.

He wastes no time going up on his knees, his large hands clasping me behind my knees and pressing my legs forward, spreading me even further. His eyes latch onto where his slick dick is sliding in and out of my wet pussy.

I feel owned. I feel like his. Completely. I’m his to use however he wants. But it’s more than that. He’s taking care of me in the most intimate way a man can take care of his woman—giving pleasure and taking what’s freely given.

His eyes shift. “Is this mine, Lizzie? Is this sweet pussy all mine?”

I nod again. “Yes. It’s yours.”

“And no one else?”

Thoughts of Matt flash before my eyes, but I push them aside. He’s gone, and he’s not coming back.

“No one else. Just yours.”

That spurs him on, and he pounds into me, his face tight with his building orgasm. My own is building fast, and when he brings one hand to strum his thumb over my clit, I fly over the edge, the orgasm coming so much faster this second time.

I cry out, my fists tightening in the bedding at my hips.

Darko drives into me again and again, then goes rock hard and stills, filling me with his ejaculate.

The energy drains out of him, and he collapses on the bed next to me, his slick tattooed chest heaving.

I immediately miss his heat and weight and curl against him. His strong tattooed arm wraps around me and drags me against his side. His warm palm strokes over my back from shoulder to ass, again and again until I’m drifting in the most delicious afterglow.

My head presses to his chest, and the reassuring rhythm of his beating heart lulls me. I feel at absolute peace for the first time in almost a year.

He presses a soft kiss on my forehead. “You hungry?”

I grin at his switch from sex to food. “I’m starved.”

“Let me see what I can whip up.”

I reluctantly lift my head to meet his gaze. “There’s no power.”

“I’ve got some camping equipment in the garage. Let me see if I can dig out my sterno cans. Maybe I can make us a can of soup, or I might be able to fry up some hamburgers. I could boil some water for hot chocolate.”

“That sounds fantastic. I’ll help.”

Darko climbs from the bed and pulls his jeans on, then tosses me one of his flannel shirts hanging on the bedpost. I slip it on and am immediately enveloped by his masculine scent. The soft plaid fabric hangs to my mid-thigh.

I go to grab up my panties, but he snatches them and shoves them in his hip pocket. “Nope. You go commando. I want that pussy easily accessible.”

“Oh, you do, do you?” I grin in the dim candlelight.

“Um hmm.” He smacks me on the ass. “Come on, pretty girl.”

We move to the kitchen, taking a couple of candles with us, and Darko goes through the connecting door into the garage, using his phone flashlight to see. After a few moments, he returns with the needed supplies and gets started heating some water for hot chocolate.

While we wait, he lifts me onto the counter, grabs the tails of the shirt I’m wearing, and yanks all the pearl snaps open. He tugs it off my shoulders to fall just to my elbows, then ties the tails in a knot at the small of my back, keeping my arms restrained to some degree.

“Beautiful. Look at those tits thrust out so firm and high. I should make you walk around naked.”

I giggle. He can’t be serious.

“You think I’m kidding? If we had heat, you’d see how serious I am.”

He pinches both my nipples, and I moan at the exquisite sensation, part pain and part pleasure.

“Are these pretty little nipples sensitive, Lizzie?”

“Yes,” I gasp as he continues tormenting them. “They’ll ache all day tomorrow from this.”

“Good. I want you to think about me with every brush against them. I want you to remember my fingers pinching them, my mouth sucking them.” He dips his head to suck hard, then pulls back to stare at them. Even in the dim light, they’re bright red and swollen. “Isn’t that a pretty sight?”

He spreads my knees and steps between them, pinning me open for his pleasure.

A thrill shoots through me at being totally exposed and waiting in eager expectation of his next touch. His palms press to the counter on either side of my hips, and he slowly takes me in with a once over, drawing out my anticipation.

“What a pretty gift you are, Lizzie.” His thumb circles my clit, and he sinks his fingers inside my pussy.

I gasp, my head leaning against the upper cabinet, and my lids dropping. My skin flushes, my pussy still tender.

“Still so wet, baby.” He keeps at me, stroke after stroke, until he works me into a frenzy, and I buck against his hand.

“Come all over my hand like a good girl.”

His words do their magic, and my body obeys. I come hard.

Darko wraps his arms around me, and I lean against him, my head resting on his shoulder. I don’t even have words to tell him how I feel, how he’s making me feel.

There’s a niggling thought in the back of my brain that warns me to be careful. What if this is only casual sex for him? What if he does this all the time? What if that stripper at the Cherry Bomb was right? Kiki called me the flavor-of-the-month. Maybe that’s all I am.

He loosens the knot in the flannel shirt and refastens it around me. “Enough distraction, woman. I have to cook.”