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

He nodded leaning in. “Our conversation isn’t over,” he reminded me, leaning in for another kiss.

I moaned when he pulled away then smiled. Dean returned it with a question in his eyes.

“U uu…sted tomó el tiempo sul…damn it…su…ficiente,” I sputtered out.

His eyebrow lifted with his grin. “Oh, baby, you butchered that.” He chuckled. “But you’re right, I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Yo también te quiero, Dean. I love you, too, always.”

I pulled the necklace from underneath my shirt and gave him a sheepish smile. He eyed it with shock, and I saw the emotion cover him as he brushed his fingers over the promise he had given me all those years ago.

More nervous sputtering came out of me as he looked up, full of emotion. “The first chain broke, I had to find a—” He cut me off, plastering his lips to mine with renewed passion. I gripped him firmly to me, returning his kiss with my whole heart.

“No more waiting, Dallas,” he murmured, refusing to let me out of his embrace. “I’m not leaving you again.”

I left Dean’s office with an overabundance of hope, for him, for us and what I hoped would be enough for Beatrice.

I was finally, finally ready to believe in the beautiful again.

“Very few people get a chance to spend their lives with their first love. It’s a gift.”—Laura (Room 212)

Dallas

Christmas Eve

“Oh, God, I’m coming,” I said, screaming as Dean lapped me up viciously on his stairs. We had barely made it home from a beautiful evening of wine perfectly paired with steak. I had shown him my garters half way through dinner and he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off me since. By the time we made it home, I had sucked him purple and stopped abruptly only to give chase as I burst through his garage door. He made it to me quickly, punishing me right back until I had to beg for my orgasm. I sat back on my forearms as he splintered my panties, diving right into me without mercy, fingering my garters as he plunged his tongue inside of me repeatedly. My heels dug into his sides, spurring him on as my entire body quaked with the gift he was giving me. When he pulled away, I pulled his soaked face into a fierce kiss, spreading my legs further as he sank between my thighs.

“You are so beautiful,” he rasped out as he pulled my shirt over my head. “I can’t get enough of you.” His mouth found my nipple through my bra, and I tilted my head back, praise passing through my lips.

“Please,” I begged as he wrapped his hands around me unclasping and taking the satin from me. “Let me taste you, Dean.” I pushed him down, switching our positions as he sat sprawled on his wide carpeted stairs. I dove for his beautiful dick, eager to please him, and heard his sharp hiss when I wrapped my lips around him as tightly as I could. He massaged my sides with his knuckles, drawing out my moans, touching me anywhere and everywhere without interrupting the workings of my hungry mouth.

“Dallas, ha no peuda mas. Joder!”

He grunted as his length thickened, letting me know he was close. I gripped him tighter, eager to give back as good as he gave. I took all of his erection in deep, laving him with my tongue and cupping his tight sac. I braced myself for his release when he gripped my hair and pulled me back.

“No,” he said. “I want to come inside you.” He lifted me, centering me over him and I protested, “But, Dean—”

“Please,” he asked without waiting for an answer, lifting me and pushing the large tip of himself inside. I took him into me slowly as our eyes locked. I was beyond my limit as I appraised his disheveled raven hair, hooded eyes, and breathtaking mouth. This man was beautiful and in love with me. That thought alone had me spiraling quickly toward the edge.

“I love you,” I said as I began to move on top o

f him, “so much.” My voice broke as the emotion took over. Being able to say what had been held so deep inside of me for so long was utterly freeing. The waiting, the longing for him, it was all over.

Once I had decided to let go, everything fell into an amazing rhythm between us. It took little to no effort for it to happen. Our love for each other unfolded so naturally, so easily. And the more time I spent with him, the more I realized it was a wasted effort to try to resist him. I cursed my stupidity daily. The fear of falling had almost ruined my chance at happiness with the one true love of my life.

I sped up, watching his reaction to me as he cupped my breasts, looking at me with a reverence so beautiful and so pure I gasped at its arrival. No matter how hot the sex was between us, it was always an act of love and reiterated what we meant to each other. It had always been that way.

Dean had made it that way.

When his body stiffened and he braced himself, he pulled up, moaning his release into my mouth with a fevered kiss. I let go as he emptied himself inside of me with whispered words. “La otra mitad de mi corazón . Puedo respirar de nuevo.”

“Dean,” I groaned, “I told you I only learned those two sentences. I still have no idea what you are saying.” He grinned up at me, still breathless.

“I guess you better get on Spanish lessons, love. You are missing out.”

I ran my fingers through his damp hair, reveling in his clean and salty mixed scent. “I almost ruined this,” I said as he pulled away from another sinful and deep kiss.

“I wasn’t going to give up,” he said quickly. “I knew the minute I saw you at fifteen that there was something about you. The second you opened that sassy mouth, I was done for. You’ve never been an easy woman to love. You gave me hell at every turn. You still do. But I always knew you were worth it.” He leaned in, planting soft kisses on my jaw. I wiggled at the feel of his softening erection. “He’s fine. He’s resting. Let him be,” he insisted, pushing himself in deeper. I grinned and leaned in again as he wrapped himself around me. He grinned up at me and took my breath away.