Page 64 of Try Me

Dancing in the Rain

Declan

Declan lovedthe feel of Pearl underneath him, the sheath of her sex still clenched around him. Her body was soft and hot. They were slick with sweat, and the scent of sex was in the air.

Pearl stirred beneath him. Declan leaned on his hands, taking his weight off her tiny frame. He looked down at her and felt a jolt of lust strike him like a crashing wave.

It had only been a minute, but he was hungry for her again.

Her dark eyes flashed open, meeting his with a teasing gaze. His heart skipped, and he couldn’t breathe. This was more than lust. This was magic.

Her smoldering black eyes slanted with an air of mystery. Her skin was smooth and creamy, like buttered caramel, and she tasted sinfully sweet.

Declan thought about tasting her, and his body stiffened. He leaned down to kiss her swollen lips, wondering if it was too soon to have sex again. He wanted her like he wanted one last wave.

“Declan?” she murmured.

“Hmm?”

“We’re all sweaty.”

He reluctantly pulled away. “You want up?”

“Yeah, I do.” But her arms and legs belied her words. They wound around him and tightened. “Take me outside,” she said. “I want to feel the rain.”

Under her spell, Declan did as Pearl commanded. Scooping her up from the bed, he carried her outside.

Darkness cloaked the night. The stars peeked through the black blanket of clouds, shining points of light in the thick canopy of trees.

The wet forest reminded Declan of one of the folktales his nanny had recited at bedtime about the trees becoming restless and roaming the woods at night. He smiled, remembering how he had lain awake at night worrying about the trees and running to inspect them first thing in the morning to see if they’d moved.

Declan carried Pearl down the porch steps and into the clearing where fat drops of rain cleansed their sweat-soaked skin. Pearl cinched her legs around Declan’s waist and threw her head back, laughing with wicked abandon.

Something stirred in Declan at the delightful sound of Pearl’s laughter. He recognized it as the unfamiliar feeling of joy. He felt happy for the first time in years, and he’d gone nearly all day without wishing for a shot of whiskey. For once he wasn’t just going through the motions of what he knew he should be doing. He was actually living.

Declan set Pearl on her feet and slid his hands down her back. She wrapped her arms around him and lifted her face to his for a kiss. Declan obliged her.

He’d never felt this close to a woman before. He’d never moved in sync with a woman the way he did with Pearl. On and off the waves, they were a perfect match.

The radio crackled from inside the cabin, and the disc jockey announced the last song of the night. Then, the doo-wop hit “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” crackled through the air.

“Miss Sunn?”

“Yes?”

“Would you care to dance?”

Pearl’s eyes twinkled, creasing in the corners. “Look at you,” she said.

“What?”

“You really are a romantic.”

Declan raised an eyebrow at her. Maybe he was. With her. It was a side of him he’d never known. Pearl brought it out in him, along with the need to protect her in every way.

Tightening his arms around her, he spun her in a circle, then slid his hand to her shoulder to cup her back. Stepping into him, Pearl curled her fingers around his neck. Their free hands clasped, and Declan swept her around the soggy ground.

Pearl settled against his chest, the top of her head fitting right under his chin. He rubbed his cheek over her hair and breathed in the mango soap clinging to her skin. When the song ended, he wasn’t ready to let her go. He’d broken his rule for her, and now it lay smashed between them, never to be repaired. This was so much more than just a night of sex. Pearl had to feel that, too. Didn’t she?

---