Truly Madly Yours

“What else?

“This. She unbuttoned his fly and shoved one hand beneath his briefs. When she wrapped her soft palm around his hard shaft and squeezed, he felt it in his gut. She stroked him from base to head, up and down, and he stood there and took it all in. The texture of her soft hair through his fingers, the feel of her wet mouth on his chest and throat. He could smell some sort of light powdery perfume on her skin, and when she kissed him, she tasted of whiskey and coffee and lust. He loved having her tongue in his mouth and her hand down his pants. He loved looking into her face as she touched him.

He took off her sweater and unhooked her beige bra and thought of the hundreds of fantasies hed had about this one woman. Combined, none of them could hold a candle to the real thing. He cupped her round white breasts in his hands, and caressed her perfect pink nipples.

“I told you I wanted to lick you all over, she whispered as she shoved his pants and briefs down his thighs. “Ive been thinking about that, too. She knelt before him in her jeans and socks and took him into her hot wet mouth. His breath left his lungs and he spread his feet shoulder width apart for balance. She kissed the head of his penis and gently caressed his testicles. He shuddered and held Delaneys fine hair away from her face as he looked down at her long eyelashes and soft cheeks.

Nick usually preferred oral sex to anything else. He didnt always wear a condom during, leaving the choice up to the woman. But he didnt want to get off in Delaneys mouth. He wanted to look in her eyes as he buried himself deep inside her. He wanted to know she felt him there. He wanted to feel her grip him deep within her body and feel her wild pulsations. He wanted to forget about using protection and leave something of himself deep inside her long after he was gone. Hed never felt that way with any other woman. He wanted more. He wanted those things he never dared think were possible. He wanted to make her his for more than just a night. For the first time in his life, he wanted more from a woman than she wanted from him.

In the end, he pulled her to her feet and retrieved a condom from the pocket of his jeans. He placed it in her palm. “Suit me up, wild thing, he said.

Chapter Seventeen

Delaney awoke to the soft brush of fingertips caressing her spine. She opened her eyes and stared at Nicks broad hairy chest less than an inch from her nose. She lay on her stomach, and a patch of bright morning sun streamed across his tan skin.

“Good morning.

She wasnt sure, but she thought she felt him kiss the top of her head. “What time is it?

“About eight-thirty.

“Crap. She rolled to her side and would have fallen to the floor if he hadnt grabbed the top of her arm and thrown a bare leg over her hips. A thin floral sheet was the only thing separating them. She raised her gaze to the same pink canopy shed awakened to most mornings as a girl. The twin-sized bed was small for one person, let alone one person and a guy Nicks size. “I have a nine oclock appointment. She gathered her courage and looked at him, her worst fear confirmed. He was gorgeous in the morning. His shoulder-length hair fell to one side and a shadow of a beard darkened his jaw. From beneath his thick lashes, his eyes were too intense and alert for eight-thirty in the morning.

“Can you cancel it?

She shook her head and glanced around for her clothes. “If I leave within the next ten minutes, I might make it on time. She returned her gaze to his face and caught him staring at her, looking as if he were either memorizing her features or inspecting for flaws. She could feel her cheeks grow warm, and she sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. “I know I look like shit, she said, but he didnt look at her as if she were half dead. Maybe for once in her life shed lucked out and didnt have dark circles. “Dont I?

“Do you want the truth?

“Yes.

“Okay. He reached for her hand and kissed her palm. “You look better than you did when you were a Smurf.

A wrinkle appeared in the corners of his eyes, and Delaney felt a rush of warm tingles tickle her fingertips and spread across her breasts. This was the Nick she loved. The Nick who teased as he kissed. The man who could make her laugh even as he made her want to cry. “I should have asked you to lie, she said and pulled her hand away before she forgot her nine oclock appointment. She spotted her clothes thrown on the floor beside her. With her back to him, she reached for them and got dressed as quickly as possible.

Behind her the bedsprings dipped as Nick rose to his feet. He moved about the room, retrieving his clothes from the floor, completely unconcerned by his nudity. With a sock in one hand, she watched him shove his legs into his Levis and button the fly. Beneath the harsh morning light, Nick Allegrezza was one hundred percent prime American beefcake. Life wasnt fair.

“Give me your keys, and Ill warm your car for you.

Delaney shoved her foot in her sock. No man had ever offered to warm up her car for her, and she was touched by the simple gesture. “In my coat pocket. After he left the bedroom, Delaney washed her face and brushed her teeth and hair. By the time she locked the house behind her, the windows of Henrys Cadillac were clear. No man had ever scraped her windows, either. Her new snow tires shined a polished black against the backdrop of silver and white. She felt like crying. No one had ever cared about her safety and well-being, except maybe her old boyfriend Eddy Castillo. Hed been an exercise freak, concerned about her diet. Hed given her a Salad Shooter for her birthday, but a kitchen appliance didnt compare to snow tires.

She didnt ask when shed see Nick again. He didnt offer. Theyd spent the night as lovers, yet neither of them mentioned love or even di

Delaney arrived at her salon moments before her first client, Gina Fisher, whod graduated a year behind Delaney in school and had three children under the age of five. Gina had worn her thick hair to her waist since the seventh grade. Delaney cut it to her shoulders and gave her long layers. She brushed in red highlights and made the young mother look youthful again. After Gina, she cut the hair of a girl who wanted to look like Claire Danes. She had a walk-in at eleven, then closed the salon at noon so she could finally take a shower. She told herself she wasnt waiting for Nicks call or the sound of his Jeep, but of course she was.

When she hadnt heard from him by six that evening, she jumped in the Cadillac to do a little Christmas shopping. She hadnt bought a gift yet for her mother and ended up at one of those high-priced tourist traps that catered to the Eddie Bauer crowd. She didnt find anything for her mother, but she did blow seventy bucks on a size fifteen and a half fla

She didnt hear from him the next day, and by Christmas morning, she was feeling more alone than she ever had in her life. She got up the nerve and dialed Nick to wish him Merry Christmas, but he didnt answer. She thought about driving by his house to see if he was home and avoiding her. In the end, she drove to her mothers to visit Duke and Dolores. At least the two Weimaraners were happy to see her.

By noon, shed fallen into a zombie state watching A Christmas Story , relating to Ralphie as never before. She knew what it was like to want something she wasnt likely to get. And she knew what it was like to have a mother who made a kid wear a horrid bu