Dustin's Gamble (7 page)
Dustin bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don't go."
Her eyelids fluttered closed. The last time she'd heard those words had been right before she'd driven off to New York. “What if we're making a mistake?"
He closed the gap, still holding her tight. To create a barrier, but more to keep her head on straight, she flattened her palms on his chest. Heat seared her skin. His heart thudded against her palm, each beat faster than the last.
"We've been given a second chance, Shay.” He slid his lips over her temple and breathed over her sore eye. “I'm not giving up this time."
With slow precision, he skimmed his hands up her waist, barely brushing her breasts, and cupped her jaw. His words sent a thrill through her. God, she hoped he wasn't going to give up. Mesmerized by the green in his eyes, she watched as his lips descended and captured her mouth.
His lips were firm and warm, coaxing a reaction. He nibbled and nipped and traced her lower lip with his cinnamon-flavored tongue. Shannon moaned and sucked his tongue into her mouth. He gripped the backs of her thighs and lifted her legs around his waist where she locked her ankles together, holding her in place. His hard, hot cock teased her pussy through the rough denim. Her clit twitched.
I love you
. Had she said the words out loud? What did it matter? She wasn't going to continue lying about her feelings. She loved Dustin Dumen, and she needed him in her life.
Wrenching her head away, she fumbled with the fasteners of his jeans. “I want you inside me...now."
Fusing their mouths together, he helped her open his jeans and tugged his cock free. He fumbled in his pocket and produced a condom.
"You carry condoms all the time?"
He grinned and licked the corner of her mouth. “Figured I'd be prepared tonight. I never know what to expect with you."
His finger traced her sopping slit, and then trailed back to her ass. He rimmed the hole and eased a finger inside her. The tight muscles squeezed his digit, begging for more. Even though they'd had anal sex, he'd never fingered her ass before. It didn't matter what hole he touched, he left her burning and begging for more.
His thumb traced the material of the panties, skimming over her pussy lips. “Case in point, crotchless panties."
She moaned and arched into him. “Put the damn thing on, now."
He ripped open the foil packet, and in a quick motion, slipped the rubber on. Then, like a homing beacon, the head of his cock found her slick entrance. Impatient, she wriggled, trying to get him inside her.
He gave a wicked grin and pulled away, not allowing her the satisfaction of feeling him inside her. He shoved her T-shirt over her breasts and pulled the material of her bra down. Her breasts popped free, her nipples hard and long and begging for his touch. Dustin leaned down and sucked hard on one bud, circling it with his tongue, grazing with his teeth.
Her breath escaped in a hiss. “Dustin,” she begged, reaching between them to fist his hard shaft. Pumping her hand over the steely length, she gyrated against him. Her body ached. “Are you going to make me beg?"
His eyes smoldered, and he nipped her lower lip. Keeping their gazes locked, he slid his callused hands under her skirt and up her thighs. Friction from the roughness of his palms against her smooth skin went straight to her pussy and her muscles clenched. Circling her hips, she tried again to bring him in.
He brushed her engorged nub with the pad of his thumb. She gasped and arched again.
"Hmm, sexy panties.” The tip of his thumb pressed against her wet slit and returned to her clit. “You're nice and ready for me, aren't you?"
"Dustin...” Her head dropped back on the sigh. “You are such a tease."
He huffed, then in one motion, slid into her pussy and buried his cock to the hilt. “Is that what you want?"
She braced her hands on his shoulders and ground her hips into his pelvis, the coarse pubic hairs teasing her already sensitive clit. Her thigh muscles tightened, and she pumped back and forth. “I want all of you."
His long fingers splayed over her ass cheeks, holding her in place. “Do you now?"
Shannon thrust her fingers into his thick hair and dragged his mouth to hers. Tightening her muscles, she squeezed him with every inch of her body. Her legs locked around his waist, her pussy muscles clenching his cock, not wanting to let him ever go. Thank God she'd kept her nerve and hadn't run away again.
Braced against the door, they rocked together, Dustin thrusting harder and faster. The minty scent of toothpaste swirled around her head with each ragged breath he puffed out.
A familiar tingling built from the pit of her stomach to her clit. She panted. “God, Dustin, I'm gonna come."
He locked his hands on her hips and pumped faster, each thrust hitting her G-spot. Her stomach muscles tightened, her breath came out in quick, short gasps. The orgasm hit and she screamed his name. Dustin buried his face in her neck, and with a final thrust, he groaned against her skin, his own release complete.
Her heart thudded in her chest. Sex with Dustin was as explosive as it had been when they were younger. This time, it was sweeter for her knowing she didn't have to let him go ever again.
After a minute, he carried her, still buried inside her, to his bedroom and lay on his back on the bed.
Shannon straddled his hips and smiled down at him. “Do you think we're stuck together?"
He bounced his hips and wiggled his eyebrows. “One could only hope."
She bent down and pressed a kiss to his lips, then slid off. He pulled off the condom and tossed it in the garbage can. He returned to the bed and tucked her in the curve of his body.
A rare feeling of contentment stole through her. He was so warm and solid against her. She felt safe. “Other than keeping an eye on Gran, what have you been doing all these years, Dustin?"
His chest rose and fell in a deep breath, his expression peaceful. His jeans hung open, his cock exposed, and she wanted to see the rest of him. She needed to touch the steely muscles of his chest. Her fingers toyed with the buttons of his shirt, slipping each one free.
He lay still, watching her as he let her have her way. “I stayed here with my family. Dad taught us the business, made us go to college, and we all came back."
She trailed a finger over his hard pecs. “Did you work anywhere else? Date, get married?” Gran had been mysteriously tight-lipped about Dustin's personal life. Gran had known she never stopped loving Dustin, even if it took Shannon forever to admit it to herself.
He ran his fingers through her hair, lifting the strands and dropping them, repeating the motion. “I got my degree and worked in California for a few years, met a girl, broke up with her and came home."
Her chest tightened. Stupid as it might be, it hurt that he had found another woman. Though, she had dated, so why couldn't he? Did she expect he'd just wait for her to change her mind and come back to Texas? Should he have put his entire life on hold for her? Of course not.
She toyed with his fingers, interweaving and sliding them, flattening their palms together. “You could have come to New York."
"And you could have come back to Texas to visit."
She frowned. It surprised her that Gran hadn't told him about her visits. “I did. I just didn't come to the Double D. I didn't think you'd want to see me."
He sighed, still stroking her hair with gentle fingers. “It's probably for the best. You had your career, but right after college graduation, I was ready to settle down and have a family."
"You don't think a woman can have a career
and
a family?” Of course, based on Carolyn's example of a mother, she understood his hesitation. But, that had been
her
childhood, not his. His mother raised four boys
and
ran a successful ranch. Sure, she'd been working alongside her husband, but she still worked.
He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Sure, but I want my wife to be able to come home at night and not worry that I won't see her for weeks or months at a time because she's jet-setting to Paris for a fashion show."
His words hit her in the gut. He didn't want a wife who traveled for long periods of time, which meant if she still worked for the New York house, they wouldn't be together. The design house in San Antonio gave her more freedom, but there were no guarantees she wouldn't have to travel occasionally, and that travel could include being away for a week or two during the various fashion weeks around the world.
"What if her job required her to do some type of travel?"
"I guess it would depend. Are we talking frequent trips to Europe, or one to two days out of the quarter to New York?"
She met his stare. “What if it were both? Sometimes a trip is required to Europe and at other times the trips could be day trips."
"I think the person needs to consider carefully what is more important—the family or her career."
"Why can't she have both?"
He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “She could, but I know some women who don't know how to juggle a career. I want my woman to
want
to be with me. I don't want to have to worry about if she is going to walk out on me the second her job comes calling."
Did he really think she'd bolt the second the job asked her to? Of course, he did. She'd done it before at the first opportunity of her career.
Looking back, she regretted the decision to leave Dustin, but at the time, she'd needed to go. What could she have offered him at nineteen? Carolyn had only shown her how mothers ran away, and his mother had been such a perfect wife and mother, she made Shannon feel inferior as a woman. Her career had helped her learn about herself, and she'd grown up emotionally.
After this weekend, Shannon knew she wanted to be with Dustin, but after years of guarding her heart, she didn't know if she could fully let go and give in to him.
She needed some space to think and process so she pushed off the bed. “I'm going to take a shower."
"Shannon, wait."
Repressed tears clogged her throat, making it impossible to answer. Once inside the bathroom, she closed the door with a soft click. After all this time, they finally had another chance together, and it was crumbling right before her eyes. He was right there within arms’ reach, and as panic welled in her chest, she worried she was going to pull a Carolyn and bolt. Why, all of a sudden, when they were talking about family and serious relationships, did she feel trapped? Maybe she really
was
like her mother.
Would his opinion change if he knew she wasn't going back to New York? With her taking the job in San Antonio, he'd probably still hate the idea of a career wife. But why couldn't she have both the job and the man she loved? Probably because neither of them trusted she was strong enough to stay.
In the master bathroom, Shannon fiddled with the dials until the water temperature was just right. She slipped out of her clothes and stepped under the spray, cool water sluicing over her body. Finally the tears came. Tears for Gran, tears for her broken heart.
The glass door opened with a pop and Dustin climbed in. “Shannon, we should talk."
She shook her head, keeping her gaze on the dials. She didn't want him to see her red, puffy eyes. “There's no need. You want a forever family, and I've got my career. I don't know that I'm the type to be a forever person."
He sighed and ran his wet hands down the curve of her spine. “Can we not think about the future right now?” He palmed her ass, gently caressing the flesh before letting one finger slip between her cheeks to tease the puckered hole.
Despite her mental torment, her breasts ached with desire and her clit twitched. She wanted Dustin, wanted to experience every tasty bit of him—again.
"Ignoring it won't do us any good, Dusty. You know it and so do I."
Heat emanated from his body as he stepped closer, fitting the length of his cock between her ass cheeks and along her now sopping slit. “I'm not going to lie and say I don't still have feelings for you, Shay, but I don't want to spend our last night together arguing. I know I said I don't want a weekend fling, but I will take whatever time I can get with you. Even if that means just tonight.” His lips pressed to the nape of her neck. “Let me love you just for tonight."
She nodded. With her head and heart in turmoil, maybe one night was all she could handle right now. She, too, would take what she could get of him. Later, she'd figure out how to deal with the hurt of seeing him around town, knowing she couldn't have that future. “Just for tonight."
Shannon, wanting to experience every solitary inch of the man who'd always rocked her world, braced her hands flat against the tiled shower wall on either side of the dials. The water ran over her head and down her back. She imagined the liquid was Dustin's caress, fingers stroking the skin of her back, down her thighs and calves. The heat of his gaze on her back burned. Inhibitions out the window, she tilted her head back, giving the stream access to her breasts.
A moan rumbled from his chest against her back. He wanted her, and he could enjoy the show for a minute. She cupped her breasts, lifting them to the water, and pinched her nipples. A softer moan escaped her lips, and her hands slid lower over her body. One hand dipped to her mound, rubbing ever so softly over the engorged nub. Her hips jerked forward, and she pressed harder against her clit.
"Damn, woman, you're driving me crazy.” Dustin's lips teased a tender earlobe, his hips ground against her backside.
With two fingers, she spread her pussy lips and toyed with the velvety flesh between. His hand followed her every movement, mimicking, adding to the sensation—calloused and smooth skin teasing. One of his long fingers pressed past hers and into her slick folds. She bit her bottom lip, holding back a cry of pleasure. Her hips bucked toward his hand, wanting more, wanting a stronger, faster motion.
"What do you want, Shannon? Tell me,” he whispered against her neck. Teeth nipped and tugged at the delicate flesh of her nape.