The Reluctant Romantics Box Set (The Fall, The Mind, The Heart)

“Let go,” he said gently. “I want to watch you come.” He thrust upward, hitting me so deeply that I burst around him in complete ecstasy. “Oh, God, Dean,” I cried, my tears impossible to hold back as he picked my bottom half up and stroked me exquisitely slow until I had no choice but let go again.

He sat up with us still connected and guided my arms around his neck. I moaned as I tightened my legs around his waist, pulling him in deeper. He picked me up by my hips and pulled me back down, slowly grinding every hard inch of himself inside me. “You’re everything to me, Dallas,” he declared before claiming my lips in a slow kiss as he pumped out his orgasm, filling me. “Everything.”

We lay curled up, neither of us speaking. I could tell he wanted to say something, but I didn’t utter a word to encourage him. He stroked my back with his skilled hands as I tilted my head up to study his face. I traced his jaw with my fingertips and trailed them down to his chest as I tucked in closer, breathing him in. It felt so natural to hold him this way and I felt completely comfortable and sated in his arms.

“Dallas…anything I say won’t be good enough. I got caught up in the life I was living. I never forgot.”

“Don’t,” I protested, immediately pulling myself away then grabbing his shirt off of the floor before slipping it on.

“Dallas…please talk to me,” he pleaded as I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I stood looking in the mirror and turned away quickly, wondering if I would ever keep a promise to myself. I’d made the decision to be intimate with him, and now I felt obligated to answer the underlying question of where it could lead. I wanted to believe that I could handle the physical touch I’d craved from him in the present without dragging in the hurtful past, but I knew better. I showered quickly then opened the door, unsure of where he would be. He was still naked and in bed. His eyes flew to me immediately.

“I figured it would be important to stay where I was,” he grinned at me. I sucked in my lips pressing them into a line to stifle my smile.

“You are smiling,” he noted.

“No, I’m not.”

“Well, if you can’t get that stick out of your ass, please allow me to inspect.” He flew from the bed an

d captured me as I yelped. He tossed my still damp body over his shoulder and onto the soft mattress as I cursed his good name while he pinned me down. Burying his head between my thighs, I pulled his hair hard.

“Mmmhmm, mmmhmm,” he said, pretending to inspect my derriere.

“How do you do that?” I asked as he looked up at me with a grin.

“Do what?”

“You know, stare at those all damn day.” He nuzzled my skin and placed a small kiss on my thigh. “First of all, I don’t stare. That’s just rude. And second, I do more than pap smears. I deliver babies and help parents who can’t have babies make them. I was specializing in IVF before I left New York.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to bag on your specialty, vag man.”

“Nice,” he said, rolling his eyes and positioning himself on top of me. He kissed me deeply then pulled away, searching my face.

“I’m going to help Paul and Hilary.” I jerked my head back in question as he explained. “They are having a hard time conceiving. Paul came to me at the engagement party.”

“I had no idea. Oh no! I joked about their failure to produce an heir. God, I feel terrible.”

“Dally, this isn’t something couples openly discuss at the dinner table. It’s painful, but I’m sure they didn’t take offense. They came to me for help, and it’s a good first step. I had my first consultation with them last Monday. I’m pretty confident about it.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m…happy they came to you.”

I lay beneath him as he scanned my face with a worried look.

“I’m fine,” I said forcefully.

“No, you aren’t. You don’t trust me not to hurt you and you’re doing your damndest to make sure I don’t. Dallas, I’m not leaving.” He kissed me deeply as I sighed into him.

I nodded once. He shook his head with slight irritation then took my lower lip between his teeth.

“I didn’t break up with him for you,” I said adamantly.

“Okay,” he mumbled as he kissed my throat.

“We have to take things slow. I have a lot going on,” I warned, nudging his head with my shoulder so he looked at me.

“Too late for that. What else,” he said, moving down my body with his kiss.

“I—oh God!” I gasped as his tongue flattened between my legs. He laid his hand on my stomach to hold me down while he devoured me with long slow licks. I writhed in gratitude as he slid his tongue down my aching slit, finding purchase in the sensitive tissues.