Take My Hand (21 page)

“This
is last chance saloon, doll. You need to know that if we do this – if you
let me have you, I won’t ever be able to let you go,” I warned gently through
gritted teeth.

“I
don’t want you to let me go. Not ever.”

I
thrust myself inside her before she’d even finished speaking – claiming
her in every way possible.

I
planned to go slow, ease myself in gently, but damn I was too fucking hungry
for her. She cried out as I drove into her, over and over again. Her
fingernails dug into the soft flesh of my ass and her hips met my every thrust,
pleading with me to go faster… harder. She tipped her head back, letting her
fiery curls fall in every direction across my white pillows as she moaned so
loudly she struggled to breathe.

I
was close.
She
was close. I could
feel her begin to tighten around my cock and in that moment I slowed down,
sliding myself out of her and hovering the tip of my dick just inside.

“Look
at me,” I ordered. She did. Her baby-blue eyes clouded over with pleasure
searched mine intently. “I’ve waited to say this to you because I wanted to
feel
you fall apart when you heard it. I
wanted you to
feel
me
giving myself to you while I said the
words.”

I
started to move again, slowly working us towards the point of no return.

“I
need you look into my eyes and
feel
how
true the words are when they pour from my mouth. And I need you to believe that
I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life when I say…” I drove into
her faster, harder. I pounded her until the bed started to shake and she
started to tighten and tremble beneath me.

“I
love you, Emily,” I declared, driving into her for the last time and feeling
like I would never recover from this intensity of pleasure.

Then,
breathing heavily, I collapsed onto her chest.

Emily

“
I
love you too,” I
said breathlessly. I was lying beneath Dexter’s body, still holding him inside
me, feeling altogether overwhelmed. I had just experienced the most intense,
beautiful, earth-shattering moment of my life and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be
able to come down from it.

“I mean it, doll. I
love
you.
I love you more than my own life and I’m just sorry it’s taking me this long to
pluck my stupid head out my ass and tell you.”

“You
know,” I said, smiling amusedly, “that’s probably the most romantic thing, said
in the most un-romantic way, anyone’s ever told me.”

“Don’t
tell me I’m not romantic after what I just did to you,” he teased with a wicked
smile. I was shivering all over again just thinking about it. I had never,
ever
experienced anything like it and I
can categorically say the S word is now
soooo
a big deal. There were no nerves, no boredom, no pain… none of the things I
felt the first time I ever tried it. It felt easy, and right, and altogether
bloody fantastic.

Don’t even
get me started on those rings…

“You’re
blushing,” Dexter noted, grinning at me.

“Am I?” I tried to sound casual but I suspected I failed big time.

“You can’t get all shy on me now. Not after the noises I’ve just heard
exploding from that pretty little mouth of yours. What are you thinking about?
Tell me.”

Damn.

“Your…um…”
Just say it. Say it
fast.
“Your rings.” Holy crap I felt the match strike against my cheeks.

“Hmmm,” he murmured against my throat. “Told you you’d like those.” He
kissed along my jaw, making me tremble again. “I’ve got so many more things I
know you’re gonna like too, doll.” He said it like a threat. A threat which I
couldn’t wait for him to carry out. “Wait there,” he said gently, sliding out
of me and making me moan as he rolled off the bed.

He disappeared into another room and I simply lay there staring at the
ceiling, reliving every touch and every word we’d just shared.

I had never been so happy.

Dexter returned to the bedroom with a damp flannel and settled himself
back down next to me on the bed.

“What are you-” I started to ask with a confused look sweeping over my
face but he cut me off. He hovered the wet towel over ‘
there
’ and then used his forearm to slowly prize my legs apart.
What the hell was he doing? More importantly, why the hell wasn’t I mortified?

He swept the damp cloth up and down, washing me gently while kissing my
breasts. If I looked down to watch I began to feel embarrassed, so I closed my
eyes and let myself enjoy the sensation. Bizarrely it wasn’t so much a sexual
feeling, it was… a sense of safety. A feeling of being cared for –
protected.

“This is mine now,” he said firmly, tossing the cloth to the floor and
then resting his hand over my freshly cleaned ‘area’. God, will I ever stop
feeling so embarrassed thinking about my hoohaa? “
You’re
mine, doll. I can’t bear the thought of anyone else hearing
you make those delicious noises.”

“They won’t,” was all I could say. Dexter had rendered me speechless.
And just as promised, I could barely remember my own name let alone say it out
loud.

“Come here.” Dexter rolled to his side and opened his arms for me to
fall into, which of course I did eagerly. I nestled myself into his chest,
smoothing my hand over the smattering of brown hair surrounding those cute
little nipple rings and sighed contentedly.

“Thank you, doll.” I gazed up at him, silently questioning him to elaborate.
“For making me feel again.” I think I just melted into an actual puddle of goo
all over his sheets. I smiled proudly – a smile so wide it conveyed every
emotion charging through my veins right now. Then I settled my head back onto
his toned chest and closed my eyes, relishing the thrum of his heartbeat
against my ear as it lulled me to sleep.

But then, just as my limbs grew heavy and my brain started to turn
foggy… I almost choked on what smelt like the stench of a decaying rat.

“Oh my God have you just farted?” I asked, jolting upright.

“Yeah. Sorry,” he muttered groggily, smiling devilishly with his eyes
still closed.

“Eww!” I grumbled, and then turned over, away from the revolting smell.
That
sure as hell didn’t happen in the
books. Seconds later I felt his arm drape over my waist and his naked body
mould into mine from behind.

“G’night, doll,” he whispered contentedly.

“Goodnight, Dexter,” I replied, squeezing his arm closer to my chest.

**********

The morning came too quickly, despite the lack of sleep, and I was sure
Rachel would be delighted to cross off Number 18 – the one with all the
S.E.X. Before I knew it I was sitting uncomfortably next to a guy labelled
throughout the halls as Pervy Pete in my humanities class. I could practically hear
his drool drip onto the desk as he openly gawped at me. Weirdo.

When that class was finished I had an assignment to drop off with my
English Language tutor and then I headed to Starbucks to meet Rachel for lunch.
I was half expecting her to cancel judging the state of her and Jared this
morning, yet there she was, sitting at the table by the window sporting her
freshly-dyed blue (Seriously!) hair and her full-sleeves in a cream vest top.

“You must be freezing,” I noted, pointing to her sleeveless attire as I
settled in at her table.

“I’m too hot to be freezing.” She winked at me and I laughed. My smile
was soon erased though when she put on her tell-me-everything face.

“
So?
Where’d you go last
night?” As if she didn’t know.

“Dexter’s
of course,” I answered flippantly. But then I was betrayed by the jaw-splitting
smile that crawled across my face.

“Oh my God
did you… you did! Didn’t you?” I knew exactly what she was referring to.

“Yeah,” I
answered coyly, blushing at the beautiful memory. “Yeah we did.”

“Hallefuckinglujah!
I was beginning to think he was born a woman and was scared to tell you!”

“
Oh no.
He’s most definitely a man,” I
assured proudly – going red in the face the second I closed my mouth.

“Tell. Me.
Everything
,” she ordered, folding her
arms across the table as she eagerly awaited the gossip.

After
grudgingly agreeing to let me buy a coffee first I went to the counter and
ordered a latte from Rachel 2. Then, because it was fresh in my mind I started
telling Rachel 1 why I hated Rachel 2 but she cut me off and told me to get
straight to the good stuff.

So I did.
I relived every wonderful moment of the night before in excruciating detail -
and amazingly, I only almost passed out from embarrassment twice. One of those
times being when I told her about the rings.

Oh dear God,
those rings…

Rachel and
I were just getting ready to leave Starbucks when David appeared from nowhere
and asked me to come in early tonight. To say I was gutted was an
understatement. The longer I was here the less time I could spend with Dexter.
Still, I didn’t have it in me to purposely let people down and so I agreed
without question.

I sent
Dexter a text when I got home, cancelling our plans to grab pizza before I was
supposed to start work. I didn’t call at first because I knew he’d be in class
but I missed his voice so I also called his voicemail and left a message. Yep,
soppy I know. Sometimes I almost make
myself
feel queasy by how much I love him.

After
showering for work I called Chris to make the long overdue announcement that
Dexter was my boyfriend. Obviously I didn’t divulge even a fraction of what I
spilled to Rachel before – I told him I had a boyfriend, who he was, and
that’s it. The grunt that sounded in my ear afterwards told me he wasn’t best
pleased about it. But I was beginning to think no one would ever be suitable for
me in Chris’ eyes. And I love him for that.

I didn’t
stay on the phone long because he sounded like crap. He mentioned these
migraines he’s been getting and is putting it down to all the extra
responsibilities he’s having thrust upon him at work. So, I jokingly told him
to man up and take some painkillers, before softening my voice and saying I
hoped he felt better soon.

“Where are
you going?” I asked Rachel, noticing her dragging her shoes on when I was
almost ready to leave.

“Jared’s,”
she said casually.

“You two
are so into each other,” I said out loud for the first time. She jolted upright
from putting her shoes on so quickly, for a second I thought the shock had
regained her ability to walk and she was going to charge at me.

“Don’t be
so fucking ridiculous!” she challenged. “Jared’s… Well… Jared’s
Jared
!”

“Whatever
you say,” I retorted, holding my hands in the air. Rachel shrank back in her
chair, eyeing me up as if she were deciding if I’d lost my mind.

“Catch you
later,” I said, still laughing at her fierce denial. Then I swung my bag over
my shoulder and left for work.

**********

My
extended shift passed pleasantly quickly – possibly because Rachel 2
wasn’t there, or maybe because I’d made over fifty quid in tips. Either way, I
breathed a contented sigh of relief come home time and then made my way
straight to The Blue Apple. Rachel had already text to say she was there with
Jared and it was only then I realised I hadn’t heard back from Dexter today.

Me: Is Dex there? Xxx

Rachel: Yeah. Looks a little weird tho x

Me: Weird??

Rachel: Yeah. Miserable I suppose. Kinda
like his cat died or something x

A fire of
panic instantly ignited in my stomach and I prayed the whole way to the pub
that I was overreacting. It only succeeded in burning hotter however when I
caught sight of Dexter the second I prized open the heavy doors.

Waving
briefly towards Rachel I headed straight for the bar and waited, drumming my
fingers against the walnut bar impatiently, for him to finish serving the bald
man in front of me.

“I’ve not
heard from you today,” I said as soon as I got the chance – sounding
every bit as desperate as I felt.

“I know.
I’m sorry,” he muttered dejectedly, ruffling his tousled brown hair between his
fingers. “I need to talk to you. Will you come in the back with me?” My heart
catapulted from my body and drowned itself in the half-empty glass of beer
adjacent to me. The look in his eyes told me whatever he had to say was serious
and so when Jared took over the bar, leaving us alone to go into the back room,
I prayed and wished and hoped and begged to God that he wasn’t going to push me
away again.

“Dexter?”
I prodded nervously.

“I might
have to go back home soon,” he answered. Turned out my heart hadn’t in fact
leapt from my body earlier. It was well and truly still there and beating so
hard against my throat it was choking me.

“By home…
you mean the States right?” I already knew the answer but the question flopped
out of my mouth anyway.

“Right.
I’m sorry, doll but it won’t be for long – few weeks max.”

“Oh,” I
breathed, relief flooding my veins and helping me to breathe again.

“I thought
you meant forever,” I said, my heart beginning to slow. He pressed himself
against me and cupped my face in his hands, tilting it upwards so I was looking
straight at him.

“Doll, I
won’t ever leave you. I meant everything I said last night.” The sincerity
oozing from his dark-blue eyes was impossible not to believe. Silently thanking
whoever was up there in the sky listening to me, I nestled myself into his
chest.

“So what’s
wrong? Why might you need to leave?” I whispered into his crisp white shirt. He
always wore a shirt to work and he looked more than a hell of a lot of sexy in
one.

“An, um…
an old friend of mine is pretty sick. It’s not looking too good.”

“That’s
terrible,” I said, pulling away from his chest to study his face. “I’m so
sorry.”

“I might
not need to go yet. They don’t know which way it’s gonna go. I’m just telling
you so you can be prepared if I have to leave last minute.”

“Of
course. I understand.” I nodded slowly, my heart aching for what he must be
feeling. “Maybe I could go with you?” I suggested the second the idea popped
into my head. “You shouldn’t be alone if the worst happens,” I added. It’s not
that I don’t trust Dexter when it comes to dealing with emotional situations,
because I do. I would want to be there to support him whether he had a history
of addiction or not.

“No, doll.
You’re not putting your life on hold for me,” he said quickly –
too
quickly. Did he not want me to go
with him or was I seeing things that weren’t there?