Page 61 of Dark Memories
His hands clamped down on her when she tried to turn over. “You’re thinking about throwing me off and storming out. If that’s what you want to do, I’ll let you walk away… After you tell me how messed up your head is tonight.” He flattened against her, covering her like a blanket. “Talk to me, Laney. Let it out.”
What she wanted to do was pretend this afternoon had never happened, but that seemed impossible when every time she closed her eyes, she saw Davidson’s dead stare. No, she didn’t want to talk about it. But this was Zach, the man who could not only read her every thought, but who somehow understood that even if she’d never admit it, she needed the protective blanket of his body surrounding her.
Harry would have pushed him off and done exactly as he’d said… stormed off in a huff that anyone would think her weak. Would she really come across as weak if she shared the turmoil happening in her head with Zach? And even if it did, she was Delaney, the woman who’d once shared her dreams and fears with him. She wanted that again, so she talked, told him how she was seeing Davidson’s dead eyes, their accusing stare directed at her. She confessed that she was afraid she’d never be able to sleep for fear of the nightmares that would come. And although Harry would never have cried, Delaney did while the man she loved held her in his strong arms.
It was only the second time Delaney had cried while he held her. The first had been when she’d told him about her sister and how her family had fallen apart. He wondered if there had been other times when he hadn’t been there to hold her when she’d needed him. Although he wasn’t sure the Harry person she’d become in the intervening years was a person who cried.
When her tears were spent, he wiped them away with the edge of the towel. “You didn’t have a choice, love. It was him or Robbie.” He rolled to the side and pulled her against him.
Still on her stomach, she turned her face to him. “I know.”
“But that doesn’t stop you from wishing it didn’t have to go down that way. And if you have nightmares, I’ll be here to hold you. What happens next with your job? Don’t they suspend you or something?”
“No, I’ll be placed on administrative duty until I’m cleared, and I’ll be required to talk to the department’s therapist.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“I guess not.” She sniffed. “They took away my gun. I feel naked.”
He lifted onto his elbow, grinning as his gaze roamed over her. “That might be because youarenaked, darlin’.”
A smile teased her lips. “You always were observant.”
“Especially when my girl is in my bed without a stitch on.” He trailed his hand down her back and over the silky skin of her ass.
“Your girl, huh?”
“I’m hoping.”
She turned onto her side and put her hands on the waist of his pants. “Off.”
“Thought you’d never ask.” He glanced at the clock. They had an hour before James would have their pizza ready. From the moment she’d walked back into his life, he’d had to put his need for her on a tight leash. Finally she was in his bed, and it was going to take every ounce of his willpower to go slow and easy. Tonight was for her, and she needed gentle, no matter how wild she made him feel.
After he had his pants off, he stretched out next to her. “I’m the boss tonight, and my first command is for you to kiss me.”
“Why aren’t you kissing me?”
He chuckled. “That’s really been bugging you, hasn’t it?”
“A little.”
“Hm, I think more than a little. I decided you had to want to kiss me.”
“If you’re ordering me to kiss you, then how do you know I want to?”
He shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “Then don’t.”
The words were no sooner out than she was attacking his mouth. When her tongue traced the seam of his lips, he opened, and when she delved inside, her tongue tangling with his, every thought in his head was obliterated.
She was kissing him because she wanted to, and nothing in his life had ever felt so right. He reminded himself that tonight was for her, and he rolled them over until he was covering her. As he peppered kisses along her jawline, she danced her fingers down his back, then up his sides, exploring him. He gathered her hands and brought them above her head.
“Hold on to the pillow. Don’t let go.” He was going to lose control if she didn’t keep her hands to herself.
“But I want to touch you.”
He lifted up and stared down at her. “Have you forgotten that I’m the boss tonight? If you let go, I’ll stop.” Damn, he loved that fire in her eyes. “I mean it, Laney.”
Returning his attention to his mission, he kissed his way along her shoulder, then down to her breasts. He’d loved on these breasts a hundred or more times during the three months they’d been together, and to have them back, his hands and mouth on them, felt like a miracle. And God, how he’d missed the sounds she made, the sighs and moans that made his blood burn hot under his skin.
