One Reckless Night (21 page)

water jolted her. He climbed out offering his hand to her. Bayleigh took it, stepping out of the

Jacuzzi. Securing one fluffy towel around his waist, he wrapped her in the other. She watched him

bend over to gather up the leftover wine and wine glasses.

“Go ahead to the bedroom. Get comfortable while I put the wine away.”

Several minutes later, he joined her in the bedroom. Her skin began to sizzle and he hadn’t

even touched her. Bayleigh watched as he undid the towel from around his hips, tossing it aside.

Dane stepped near her, her body trembling in response. He hadn’t even touched her and she was on

the brink. Nearing her with an amused grin, he tugged at her towel playfully.

“Are you cold?”

She shivered even as she shook her head. “No.”

Dane tugged the towel again. “Then why do you still have this on?”

Tilting her head to the side, she smiled. “For the same reason you did.”

“You have a point, but I no longer have mine on so…”

This time when he pulled the towel, it loosened before pooling around her feet. His hands

came up, encircling her waist before easing her back toward the bed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you warm.”

If he kept touching her, she was likely to implode. When the bed prevented her from going

any further, he leaned closer.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

His entire body quivered as he murmured the words, so she had a pretty good idea. No

response was necessary. His mouth found hers and she showed him. She leaned into him, his lips

pulling at hers, his tongue demanding.

Dane ate at her mouth, ravenous, like it was his first taste of her of the night. Bayleigh

returned his kiss, stroke for stoke, devouring his mouth, sucking at his tongue, drawing his lips

between hers, first one, then the other. It was unbelievable how much she wanted this man. He had

just brought her to climax moments ago but one of that mattered right now.

Dane lifted her from the floor but before she could wrap her legs around his waist, he sat

her on the bed. Gently, he pushed her backwards, until she supported her upper body with her

elbows. Her head fell back when his hand found its way between her legs, a finger slipping beneath

the crotch of her swimsuit. Dane grazed the opening of her sex drawing upward to the hard knot of

pulsing nerves. She gasped when he pulled his hand away. Raising her head she looked at him. What

she saw almost made her come undone. He brought his hand to his nose, inhaling deeply.

“I love the way you smell, Bayleigh.”

When he sucked his finger into his mouth, she closed her eyes straining to keep her head up.

“You taste even better,” he said, before reaching down to raise her hips up to pull her bikini

bottoms off. Dane leaned down to place a kiss on her abdomen, the slid lower, catching her

completely caught off guard at the first caress of his tongue against the hood of her clit. Crying out

she arched upward and pulled back, leaving her burning, aching.

“Dane,
please
,” she begged.

The shadow of his stubble tickled when his face touched her inner thigh. Dane placed light

nips along the crevice of her thigh, giving her pleasure bordering on the side of pain. Bayleigh

wanted to reach down to guide his head to where she needed it most. Her arms wouldn’t cooperate.

She wanted the feel of his lips, tongue, and his fingers, on her, in her. When he pulled away

all together, she protested. He came up over her, tugging at the strings of her top. Bayleigh

maneuvered her body so she could remove the cumbersome item and get back to the matter at

hand. More than anything, she needed him to pleasure her.

His hands moved to the breast he uncovered and she moaned when Dane pinched her

nipples. They hardened even more at the touch of his hands. His mouth followed, nipping, teasing,

and sucking, while his hands rubbed and squeezed.

“Dane,
please
. I needed you
inside
me. Don’t make me wait.”

She arched into him, her sex rubbing up against the swim trunks, he still wore. Dane

groaned in response, sending a sharp tug of needed through her. Finally heeding her plea, she sighed

in relief when he pulled away from her, reaching for a condom, lying on top of the nightstand. Not

in the drawer where they normally were. He had expected for them to end up here like this before

the night was over and with good reason.

Bayleigh licked her lips when he sprung free after pushing his swim shorts over his hips. She

watched as he rolled the condom over his erection, wishing she could be the one doing it, but there

was always later. Dane quickly came back to her, sliding her closer to the edge of the bed, draping

her legs over his arms, leaving her wide and exposed to him. There was hardly any time to think

about it when he filled her with one long deep stroke. Crying out his name, she arched and he

pressed further. His thumb found her clit and her sex twitched, clenching him. Dane groaned, then

began to move, pressing his thumb against the swollen hood of her sex, while he moved in and out.

Bayleigh looked into his eyes, turned on by the struggle for control she saw there. His earlier teasing

had taken a toll on him as well. He leaned closer, changing the tilt of his hips, thrusting forward

again.

It became too much. Shudders roared through her body and she came on a fevered cry. Her

hands clenched the sheets, her head thrashing with each contraction of her orgasm. She took the

pleasure he gave her, knowing it was from him. No other man could take her to the heights he had.

His thrust slowed with her contractions, his face coming back into view. Pure male satisfaction was

there. He kept the tempo slow, allowing her to recover leisurely. Her eyes widened when she

realized he was going to take her over the edge again. When her body was relaxed, pliant, he picked

up the pace. Pressing forward, then withdrawing. Again and again.

Soon his hips were moving at a maddening pace. Bayleigh was helpless to do anything but

accept everything he gave her. With the smooth glide of his hard sex in and out of her body, her

arousal returned, increasing with each stroke.

“Come for me, Bayleigh.”

His thumb pressed against her and she shattered. She screamed his name, spasms ripping

through her as Dane continued to trust. A short breath later, he stiffened, shouting his own pleasure

as he came. Bayleigh arched up to meet him riding out her orgasm until the last contraction ended.

Dane leaned forward, kissing her, pulling at her mouth with the residual passion they both felt.

He released her legs, allowing them to fall back to the bed. When he lowered himself to her,

she sighed, burying his face into her neck, until the used protection could no longer be ignored.

Dane pulled away from her with a look of regret. The bathroom door closed and Bayleigh mustered

up the strength to crawl up to the top of the bed. Sliding underneath the covers, she tried not to

panic. The intimacy she and Dane just shared left her with the inability to find the words to describe

it. She knew she had put more of her heart into this than she planned to.

Her past relationships had taught her to use more of head and less of her heart when it came

to men. Bayleigh would have sworn she was doing just that, but somewhere along the way, her heart

had taken over. Just when she thought she was back in control of her life, Dane had to throw a

wrench into her well laid out plans. Well okay they weren’t well laid out but she was working on it or

trying to. It was hard enough to fathom the idea of being in a serious relationship with him. Now

she had to contemplate being in love with him as well? It was almost too much to handle.

Who was she kidding?

She was a thought away from a mental breakdown. One that would be worse than the one

she had after her relationship with Erwin ended. A low, hollow laugh bubbled to the surface from

deep within her throat. Had she really been trying to persuade herself she could carry on with Dane

and not get more serious? He was the ideal man. Dane didn’t leave the toilet seat up. Bayleigh knew

he could be picky about how things were done but not in anal-retentive way. They shared similar

taste in music. Whether it was staying home and watching a movie or being out around other, he

was comfortable. His favorite vegetable was carrots. Dane ate his French fries without ketchup. One

of his favorite foods was hamburger pizza. When it came to remembering important dates, he was a

wiz, even going as far to celebrate the anniversary of their friendship every year. She could hardly

imagine how he would be about a relationship anniversary. His keys sat in a bowl near the

coffeemaker because it was the last thing he picked up before he walked out the door. Bayleigh

wanted to cry when she realized she knew more about him than both of the last men she had been

in serious relationships with.

The urge to flee overwhelmed her. She was tempted to get dressed and go home. Too bad

she didn’t have her car or she just might. The bathroom door opened and she closed her eyes,

forcing her body to relax so she could feign sleep. In truth, it was hard to do because she felt wired.

Dane slipped into the bed behind her, snuggling up against her back. He placed a kiss on her

shoulder.

“Are you asleep?”

She wanted to pretend like she was, but there was no sense in torturing herself. Giving a

slight shake of her head she turned to look at him over her shoulder. Something in her expression

must have hinted at her inner turmoil for a concerned expression crossed his features.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

It was just a white lie. She was tired. However, it was related to the confusing thoughts

speeding through her brain, not the exhausting pleasure she just experience with him. Turning back

to the front, she resettled her head against the pillow. The problem was when he was near she

couldn’t think about anything but him.
Who
was she kidding?
Bayleigh thought about Dane constantly

during the day. It was a distraction she didn’t need—couldn’t afford. Other areas of her life were

starting to suffer. Instead of looking forward to work because she enjoyed it, her satisfaction now

came from wanting to see Dane, spend time with him, even if it was on a professional level. At work

she actually felt more comfortable because the focus was on work. No emotions were involved, no

intimacy, and no confusion.

His arms tightened around her causing her to smile. There was sensitivity and caring in his

action that made her feel cherished in the aftermath of what they just shared. She was surrounded by

his warmth and male scent. Closing her eyes she stifled a sigh. Bayleigh had to find other activities to

keep herself busy. The busier she was, the less likely she was to get herself in more trouble when it

came to Dane.

Maybe she should take Pilates with Lani, who went at least two times a week. Or she could

join Deidre’s belly dance class. Giselle taught a painting class she really seemed to enjoy. There was

also tennis. Maybe she could be the next
Venus
or
Serena Williams
.

Bayleigh bit back her laughter at the thought. Thirty might be young in relative terms but it

was ancient in tennis years. Instead of letting her thoughts run wild and get her more trouble than

she already was she needed to find a way to sort all of this out in a rational manner. She was too

vulnerable right now. Also, she knew better than to try to be something she wasn’t. Been there, done

that, crashed and burned badly. Bayleigh finally felt like she was breaking free of her mundane life. If

she stayed with Dane, she could slip back into it.

“What’s wrong, Bayleigh?”

She jumped at the sound of Dane’s voice. Her own thoughts consumed her to the point

where she hadn’t been aware that he was still awake.

“What makes you think something is wrong?”

“Two things. The first being you sighed. The second, you almost jumped out of bed when I

called your name just now. Which means you were thinking about something. So back to my original

question, what’s wrong?”

This was a delicate situation but she wasn’t going to be dishonest with him. If he wanted to

know her thoughts she would share them.

“Do you ever wonder if this…trial relationship between us is getting out of hand?”

Dane remained quiet for so long she wondered if he heard her. “Bayleigh, it seems like I

have known you forever, yet, I can’t figure out for the life of me why you won’t let me get close to

you. I’m trying really hard here. I have been patient with you, caring, hell even sensitive. Not that

I’m normally not, but even more so now. What is it about me—us—that scares you so much.”

Bayleigh tensed, even though she tried not to. She should have known Dane wouldn’t back

down. Thanks to her brashness she had worked herself into a neat little corner. Maybe she should

go back to being the boring, predictable person she used to be. At least then, she didn’t always feel