“Go? You just got here.” She struggled to her feet as he scooped up Ollie and started around the back of the house. Hope cursed under her breath, muttering about insane men, and hurried after him. The ground was too uneven to actually catch up with him, but she rounded the corner almost on his heels. Which was right about the time that her ankle wobbled, twisting her weak knee and sending her sprawling.
She hit the ground with bruising force, but that was nothing compared to the embarrassment making her wish the dirt would just part and suck her under. Stupid rookie mistake. You know better than to run around over uneven ground. But then, her common sense had always had the nasty habit of taking a backseat when Daniel was around.
Strong hands grabbed her under her armpits and pulled her to her feet. “Christ, Hope, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Daniel patted her down, brushing the dirt from her shoulders and sides and chest. He froze when his hands touched her breasts, and the heat of her blush from her embarrassment turned into something else entirely. She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath that pressed her against his palms more firmly. The fabric of her shirt was thin enough that she could feel the calluses on his palms, and her nipples budded from the contact, her body going soft and warm as if she was some twisted sort of Pavlov’s dog and Daniel was her bell.
When he spoke again, his voice was deeper. “Are you hurt?”
Not in the way you mean. “I don’t think so.” Her knee throbbed like the dickens, but she wasn’t about to admit that to him. And, to be fair, it hurt the majority of the time to one degree or another. But admitting that meant he might stop touching her. She leaned into him and licked her lips, her gaze dropping to his mouth. “Danny…”
“When you look at me like that, I forget all the reasons I promised to leave you alone.”
Why the hell would he promise to leave her alone? That was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard. She clenched her teeth together to keep from telling him so and ruining the moment. There would be plenty of time to rip Daniel a new one…later. “Then don’t.” She grabbed the front of his T-shirt and pulled him against her, stretching up to kiss him. He resisted for a grand total of one second.
And then he took control.
Daniel brought his hand up to yank her ponytail holder out and tangle in her hair, simultaneously picking her up and backing them up against the house. And then he was there, his body pinning her in place, his thigh wedging between her legs, providing a delicious pressure against where she felt most empty. He took possession of her mouth, his tongue teasing her lips open and stroking against hers in a way that had to be designed to make the top of her head explode.
He used his grip on her hair to tilt her head back and kiss down her neck. “If I was a better man, I’d leave you alone.”
She didn’t have words to respond, not with him tracing her nipple through her shirt with his thumb. Hope moaned and pulled him closer, trying to think clearly enough to know what to say—or not to say—that would ensure this didn’t stop. Then his free hand slid beneath her shirt and she forgot about talking at all.
“No goddamn bra.” He cupped her breast, his calluses creating delicious friction against her nipple. “What the hell were you thinking, showing up here with no bra?”
This, at least, she knew how to deal with, even if she was out of practice. Hope lifted her chin and met his gaze, half sure she was imagining the possessive look she found there. “I’m not wearing panties, either.”
“What. The. Fuck?” Immediately, he fisted the fabric of her skirt, lifting it high against her thighs and sliding his hand between her legs. “Christ, darling, you really know how to send a man to his knees.” He cupped her, his fingers sliding through her wetness but not penetrating her. It felt so good, but not nearly good enough, all at the same time. “But then, you always did.”
At their feet, Ollie yipped, breaking the spell. Daniel exhaled a harsh breath. “This is a mistake.”
It was. She knew that, and she didn’t care. This would never happen again, and knowing that made her feel totally and completely out of control. Here in this moment, nothing seemed real but them, and she wasn’t ready for it to end. Not yet. She covered his hand with her own, holding him in place. “Danny, please.” She licked her lips. “Please don’t stop.”
…
Daniel couldn’t deny her if he wanted to—and he sure as fuck didn’t want to. He ignored the pup at his feet and pushed a finger into her, watching her face. She clenched around him, her inhaled breath the sweetest thing he’d ever heard. He pumped gently, feeling anything but, trying to remember to take it slow. She was hot and tight and already drenched, her breasts rising and falling with each exhale.