Dangerous to Know & Love (62 page)

“Are you wet, baby doll? Are you soaking for me?”

She nodded, her eyes wide and full of longing.

He peeled her jeans down her legs and used his teeth to tug her panties to her thighs.

She kicked them free and he knelt between her legs, pushing her knees up and wide apart.

“You look so beautiful, all wet for me, baby doll. Do you know how much I want you?” He glanced down at his cock, showing the truth of his words. Her small hand wrapped around his length and he had to take a deep breath to stop himself from slamming into her and pumping hard.

He grinned as he forced her to let go, blinking as she flicked his tip as she conceded the contest.

“Bad ass!” he murmured against her stomach.

He felt her shiver, as he kissed his way up each thigh, before burying his face deep inside her. Fuck, he loved to do this to her, fucking her with his tongue and his fingers. He knew she still didn’t get why he liked doing it, but she enjoyed it too much to stop him.

Her orgasm came quickly, the stress and tension of the first day back at school relieved, as her body pulsed around him.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she leaned up on her elbows as he pumped himself three or four times. It was such a fucking turn on to know that she liked to watch as he pleasured himself.

“You still want me, Lis?”

“I’ll always want you,” she said, echoing the words he said to her so often.

Her face was so serious, so full of love, that Daniel felt that same sharp pain in his chest. His breath caught in his throat.

“Make love to me, Daniel,” she said, watching his face carefully.

She lifted her feet and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer. Unable to resist any longer, Daniel pushed inside her, a low groan swelling out of him as her warm, wet body enclosed him completely.

She tightened her legs until her heels were digging into his ass, gripping him tightly.

Daniel shuddered, feeling another notch of control slip away. He took their combined weight on his forearms as her body lifted off the bed with each vigorous thrust.

He felt the flutter of another orgasm begin to build inside her, the movement sending him into a frenzy as he lost the battle to control his body.

Sounds vibrated through her so strongly, he could feel them in his own chest. He was confused, could he feel them or could he hear them? His brain was too deluged with sensation to analyze what he felt.

Her hands scrabbled at his shoulders, her short nails digging into his skin. Sweat broke out on his forehead and on his back, and he felt the tensing in his balls and stomach that told him he had about five seconds before he came.

“I’m close,” he gasped in a strangled voice. “Lis? Lis?”

Lisanne gripped tighter, her face contorted and she screamed. “Daniel!”

His orgasm erupted from him, jets of heat passing from his body into hers, his heart hammering, breath squeezed from his lungs.

He collapsed onto the bed, momentarily crushing her.

He felt Lisanne push his shoulder gently and he pulled out of her, his brain a chaos of confusion. He lay on this back, his arm thrown over his face.

He couldn’t catch his breath, he couldn’t think. He was gasping, drowning.

Lisanne’s soft hands pulled at his arm. He resisted, afraid to look at her. She pulled again and this time he let her.

Her warm hands were on his face and her fingers were sweeping gently across his cheeks.

He opened his eyes and saw her, so full of love, concerned now.

“Daniel! Why are you crying? Daniel! Talk to me!”

He struggled to sit up, his beautiful face torn with emotion.

“I heard you.”

“What do you mean?”

He rubbed his eyes, surprised to find them wet with tears.

“I heard you. You… you called my name.”

Lisanne stared at him, then understanding warmed her eyes.

“Of course. I always call your name. I love you, Daniel.”

He choked back the fear as he looked into her soul, and for the first time he believed her.

“I heard you,” he said again, those three small words expressing a world of wonder.

“I know,” she said with a soft smile.

“Baby doll… I… I love you.”

Chapter 25

Lisanne was in a fury.

How dare he! How absolutely fucking dare he!

Daniel had come to her dorm room with a torn t-shirt and bruised knuckles to
inform
her, no less, that he’d told Roy to stay away from her. Consequently, Roy had quit the band – and they had a gig in less than a week but no lead guitarist.

When she asked him what had happened, he’d simply said that ‘Roy had it coming’. That was it.
He had it coming?
What the hell did that mean? Like that was supposed to explain everything! And obviously the whole ‘telling’ situation had involved fists rather than words. She was slightly awestruck that Daniel had taken on a mountain of a man like Roy, who had at least forty pounds and a couple of inches on him – not that she was going to admit that. Not even for one second.

She’d yelled at him, called him on his macho bullshit, told him he was an asshole, and then kicked him out.

It was a shame – they’d been getting along so well lately.

Ever since Daniel had said the words, had admitted that he loved her, their relationship had changed. It was more intense, it was more relaxed. It was more adventurous, it was less strained. He was playful and loving, and every day they discovered something new about each other.

He’d talked about his parents, telling her stories from when he was a kid. He’d opened up about how he felt a little more, although there was still so much he kept back. He’d even admitted some of his fears about how well the implant would work. She tried to reassure him and pointed out the small improvements that had already happened.

She smiled to herself as she thought about that amazing, special moment – when he’d heard her call out his name as they made love. It had been huge for both of them.

He was embarrassed that he’d cried but she loved it, because it told her everything that she needed to know, and everything that he found so hard to say.

And then, two weeks later, after yet another tuning session at the hospital, came the miracle moment.

The scene was so perfect in her mind, so ordinary in location, but she kept it like a jewel – a special memory that she took out when she needed to smile.

She was standing in Daniel’s kitchen, washing dishes, while he leaned against the counter next to her and dried. It was an uncomplicated, everyday piece of drudgery. Not that she minded – she loved those quiet domestic moments when it was just the two of them.

And she’d started to sing – one of Daniel’s songs – her favorite song. It seemed to describe her relationship with him perfectly.

When I hear that song
Feeling every note
It’s a special kind of place
Singing words we wrote.

Sounds fade away
Every mile signed
But first thing in the morning
You’re always on my mind.

And then at her side, she’d heard his soft voice singing along with her.

Wish I was that man
Touching every void
It’s a special kind of place
Music we enjoyed.

Her voice shuddered into silence, and she stared at Daniel as he continued by himself.

Words that don’t last
And feelings not always kind
But last thing every night
You’re always on my mind.

She dropped the plate she’d been washing, making the suds leap into the air, and turned her eyes toward him, throat cracking.

“You… you could hear me! You heard what I was singing!”

He nodded, his face serious.

“You didn’t say anything! How long? How long have you been able to…?”

“I thought once before… maybe… and then today… after the tuning session… I wanted to be sure, baby doll.”

They held each other for so long, the simple act meaning so much.

“I always liked that song,” he said, quietly.

It gave them hope. Daniel still found that listening to recorded music was impossible, a fact that frustrated him inordinately, but he could hear Lisanne, and his most basic wish was fulfilled.

In some ways it made things easier, but in others, it was harder for him.

Rodney, in particular, was prone to forgetting that Daniel was deaf. He’d turn away during conversations, or cover up his mouth, or talk while eating – all things that made it impossible for Daniel to understand him. He bore it with more stoicism than Lisanne, who would flare up at the slightest infraction.

She could tell when Daniel didn’t understand, when he was getting left out of the conversation. He couldn’t hear children at all, their high pitch inaudible to him. He had a similar reaction to Shawna’s continual shrieking, but that was no loss. He couldn’t hear whispers and he still relied on lip reading. But Lisanne could see that the balance was beginning to shift.

He was stubborn and independent and she loved him more than breathing – and he drove her completely crazy.

He still refused to let any more of his classmates know that he was deaf, and he sat in lectures with his beanie pulled down low. Some days he said he couldn’t wait to rip the device from his head, but other days he seemed to tolerate it better.

He was still ill at ease with the knowledge that his skull contained a piece of titanium, but they were working through his issues together. She’d asked him if he thought it was worth it. He’d nodded but not really answered her. Lisanne was disappointed inside, but she hadn’t pushed him. She was learning, too.

She tolerated his moods, and he put up with her monthly sulks. She was also beginning to spot the signs that told her when he needed to be by himself. She sighed, thinking how alone he’d been for the last four years in one way or another. He was doing better now – going out more, taking more chances at being social. Vin had been working on getting Daniel to try out for the college football team, even to the extent of looking online for specialist helmets. Daniel hadn’t agreed so far, but Lisanne was hopeful. And sharing the house with Rodney had been good for Daniel, too. Even so – and Lisanne scrunched up her face – when Daniel hit overload, he still clammed up.

But if he thought for one damn second that he could control her life by fighting with Roy, he had another thing coming.

Lisanne had worked up quite a head of steam before she decided to go to the auto repair shop where he was working, and confront him. She grabbed her jacket – and stopped.

Lying on the bed, hidden under her coat, was an envelope, her name written in Daniel’s spidery scrawl.

Lisanne’s heart squeezed painfully. The last time he’d written her, it had been about his operation.

She pulled out a single sheet of paper and began to read.

Baby Doll,

You asked me if it was worth it, having the CI. I know you feel like you pushed me into it, but that’s not true.

Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Getting the CI so I could hear you was the next best thing.

So, was it worth it?

It’s worth it because:

* I can hear you sing

* I can hear you talk

* I can hear you laugh

* I can hear the wind in the trees and the sound of the ocean

* I can hear my music

* It makes me want to discover the world with you.

And when we make love, I can hear you call my name.

I love you, so much.

Daniel x

She sat down on the bed, holding the letter in her hands. How did he do that? How did he utterly floor her with just a few words – words that he couldn’t even say out loud?

She realized he must have brought it with him to give to her before they’d had their fight. God, he was infuriating! A beautiful, brilliant, complex man – really damned annoying – and she loved him.

She loved that he’d thought about her question instead of dismissing it. She loved that he’d written down what he couldn’t say out loud. And she loved that he’d left it behind for her to find, even though they’d been yelling at each other.

Lisanne pulled on her jacket and made the trek across town to the auto repair shop. The bus ride gave her a good 40 minutes to decide what she wanted to say to him, but as she walked toward the faded entrance, she still had no clue how she was going to start.

Daniel was leaning over the hood of a V6 Mustang, doing something manly and macho with a torque wrench, his very fine ass on display, despite the work overalls.

The V6 Mustang was bright yellow, not a color Lisanne liked on cars, but he’d been working on it for a couple of days, saying he needed the overtime. Lisanne suspected it was more because the car was ‘a classic’ and Daniel couldn’t resist a sexy piece of automobile. To Lisanne, now she’d seen it, it still looked like a box on wheels, but she was amused by the reverence with which Daniel talked about the car. It was ‘she’, of course, although Lisanne managed not to be too jealous, despite
her awesome lines
and
her great body
.