Page 82 of Tripped By Love
He reached up and tucked a tendril of hair back behind my ear. “I’m here for you, Angel. Whatever you want to do.”
I slid my hand through his arm, leaning my head on his shoulder, and flames licked through my veins at just the simple touch.
“I’m sorry about last night…” I said, throat clogging with emotion. “Sometimes, I just need time to realize the only thing in my way is me.”
“At night, it’s easier for our fears to take hold and not let go.” My breath caught at his admission, as if he, too, regretted how we’d ended our evening.
We made our way out to the car, heading down the road just a few miles to where Marsha’s Muffins was located. The place was much smaller than Earth Paradise, taking up several suites in a business park. It hardly looked like a major food production facility. The receptionist took us directly to Marsha’s office. It was a cluttered mess, filled with books and papers that seemed to burst from the file cabinets. Marsha was a short, dark-haired woman who waved us into chairs, confirmed everything Lance had said, and then basically said she was actually grateful Lance had come into her life even if it had started under contentious circumstances.
We left almost as quickly as we’d arrived, with a basket full of treats, and a feeling that Lance was a white knight, offering golden apples to those who needed it most. Taking little people and little products and thrusting them into a limelight they never would have seen if it hadn’t been for him. I felt very grateful and fortunate that he’d stumbled into the café and liked my food enough to make this offer, but I was also proud of what I’d created, that he thought it was good enough to be sent out into the world.
As we left the building, the clouds that had been heavy all day finally opened up above us, sending a downpour in our direction. Marco and I fled for the car at a sprint. Rain, me, and slick pavement were never a good mix, and Marco automatically knew this. Before I could even object, he’d swept me into his arms, carrying me like a bride over the threshold. My first inclination was to grouse, but the truth was, I was apt to fall in this kind of situation. So, I gave in just as I had in the cafeteria, letting someone take care of me. I leaned my head against his chest, taking in his scent and reveling in the flex of his muscles as he held on to me and jogged the rest of the way.
He unlocked the car with a beep of the remote and set me down on the passenger seat. We were both drenched from the mere yards it had taken to get to the car. Water dripped from Marco’s thick lashes. The rain made them appear even longer and darker. They were beautiful lashes on a beautiful man. When he went to back away, I reached up, grabbed his neck, and pulled him in for a kiss. The sweet raindrops on his lips were cool against the heat of our mouths, and the contradictory sensations flamed the fire that was always ready to burst whenever Marco was near me.
He groaned against my mouth, opening to me and letting me taunt and tease him with my tongue and my teeth and my lips. His hand went to the back of my head and pushed me closer until our bodies were slammed up tight against one another, and the rain was once again pouring over me as I sat half in and half out of the vehicle. But we didn’t stop. Instead, we continued tasting and touching as the intensity grew in and around us, until my nipples were hard and aching, and I could feel the length of him pushing against my naked thigh from where my dress had risen.
It was Marco who eventually pulled back, taking in our clothes that clung to our bodies and the water dripping from my hair. A small, deep laugh broke from him. Pride filled me because I’d been the one to bring him this moment of happiness when he seemed to have so few. He looked up at the sky, closing his eyes as the rain continued to spread over him. His long neck was tantalizing and tempting. I wanted to kiss every inch of it. To slide my tongue down it. To nibble and nip and make him moan.
“Take me back to the hotel, Marco,” I said, as surprised to hear the deepness of my voice as I was the waver in it that had nothing to do with hesitation and everything to do with desire.
He drew his gaze back down from the sky to me, eyes flashing with the same yearning that raged in me. He nodded, shut the door, and came around to the driver’s seat. We were quiet on the drive, my body trembling with anticipation. My heart longed to be closer to his. To feel the sweet bliss that came from truly belonging to someone?a feeling I’d never had with anyone else. I wanted to finally give in and just accept the idea that we could be together.
