Chapter Nine
A woman wearing only a T-shirt and swaying her hips to “Shake It Off” while she flipped pancakes at the stove made for a nice Sunday morning visual.
Add that the woman was Liv, and Danny stood mesmerized, afraid to make the slightest movement for fear she’d stop. Her shoulders bounced in time to the beat, her back moved to and fro. She’d always loved to dance, and his fingers itched to wrap around her waist and bring her ass flush against his front so they could move together.
His gaze stayed there, on the generous curve of her rear end. The cotton material was clingy enough to give his imagination something very nice to work with. Slowly, like a present he wanted to savor opening, he let his eyes drift down her legs. Long and toned from her years of playing soccer and smooth like melted butterscotch, he once again wanted to lick his way up them.
After a restless night of thinking about nothing but her, he’d decided to hell with the consequences. He couldn’t go another day without having her.
Ignoring their feelings didn’t mean they’d go away. The kiss they’d shared made sure of that. And if they continued the way they’d been going, he feared the tension would ruin their relationship anyway. There was no one he trusted more than Liv. Maybe for right now all they needed was to trust these new feelings and worry about everything else later.
The attraction between them might be of-the-moment, but it was anchored to something much deeper. To Danny, that meant stop acting like a coward and go for it.
She sang along with the pop lyrics, and he was done for. Hearing and seeing her keep time to the rhythm turned on every hungry cell in his body.
She placed the cooked pancakes on a plate, put the spatula down, and ladled more batter onto the pan. Then she lifted her arms and spun around in a dance move that earned her a slow, appreciative smile from him.
Her hand flew to her chest. “Holy crap, you scared me.”
“Sorry.”
“How long have you been standing there?”
“A few minutes.” Salivating. I’ve been doing that, too. She was supposed to be Olivia, his best friend. Not Olivia, the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on. She could be both.
She stared so hard into his eyes that he knew her curiosity reached the right conclusion—he wanted her. Her chest rose and fell. “Danny,” she said breathlessly, like her defenses had finally crumbled.
“You seem happy this morning. I wasn’t expecting all this.” He lifted his chin toward the stovetop.
“Oh!” She twisted to tend to the pancakes.
He took advantage and stepped closer. She smelled fantastic, and as he reached around her to turn off the burner, he inhaled. The spatula slipped from her hand, landing with a clink on the floor. He picked it up, placed it on the counter, and shut off the music on her iPhone.
Liv turned and looked up at him. “I am happy. I decided this morning to go with the flow and pancakes seemed like a good place to start.”
“They are. There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re not wearing anything but a T-shirt.”
“So? You’ve seen me this way dozens of times.”
“No.” He brushed the hair off her shoulder. She shivered, making his heart pound even harder. “I’ve seen my best friend, not a woman whose legs I want wrapped around me while I make her scream my name.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. He’d never seen her do that before, and he let out a groan.
“I’m not supposed to be one of those women,” she said.
“You’re not. You’re in a class by yourself, Maybug.” He trailed his finger over her collarbone, down her chest, and between her breasts. Her nipples poked against the cotton material of her sleep shirt. He had something poking against the fabric of his boxers.
She put her palm on his chest and in slow methodical circles got to know his pec through his shirt. “You’re one of a kind, too.”
“Then I think the logical thing to do is act on what’s happening.” He rolled his thumb over her nipple and was rewarded with a slight arch in her back.
“I’m not sure logic has anything to do with this, but I don’t care anymore. I can’t stop thinking about you.” She slid her hand underneath his shirt. His stomach muscles tightened in pleasure.
“Rip apart the caution tape?”
“God, yes.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “You?”
“Positive. Are you wearing any underwear?”
Her fingers dipped inside the waistband of his sweatpants. “Why don’t you find out?”
The invitation shredded the last threads of his self-control. He gripped her waist and hoisted her up. With nothing but undisguised desire in a one-two punch from her emerald eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his middle.
He did a one-eighty, took two steps, and set her down atop the kitchen island. That’s as far as he could go. His need to taste her overwhelmed his senses.
He spread her legs and bent to kiss the inside of her thigh.
She gasped. Jesus, if one press of his lips made her breath catch, imagine what would happen when he used his tongue. He lifted his head.
“What?” she asked, like the pant never happened.
He grinned. “Just making sure you’re okay.”
“You’d better make me feel a lot more than okay, mister. This has got to be spectacular, understand?”
“Oh, it will be.” He lifted her left leg, dropped a kiss to her ankle. Soft and gentle, he kissed his way up her calf, taking it slow so he could savor every inch of her skin. When he reached the back of her knee, he took his first lick. She let out a whimper. “You have the sexiest legs, Liv.”
“Uhh-huhh,” she mumbled. He smiled against her skin.
His patience wearing thin, he kissed and tongued her inner thigh with shorter, quicker strokes. When he reached the hem of her shirt, he pushed it up. Liv wiggled her bottom and tugged the material to her waist.
The move made him so hot he tore his shirt off, tossed it to the side. Then he took a second to look his fill. She was swollen and glistening. And he was more turned on than ever knowing his innocent ministrations had aroused her to this extent.
“Please, Danny.”
She didn’t need to ask him twice. He’d been dreaming of this moment for weeks. But… “You’re absolutely sure about this, right?”
“Yes! I’m going to die if you don’t get on with it already.”
Hands on her hips, he buried his face between her legs. The second he made contact she jerked against his mouth, her fingers dug into his shoulders. He danced his tongue over her folds, took his time circling around the spot he knew would get her off, and then he pulled back a fraction.
Her thighs clamped around his head to keep him in place. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Just want to make this last longer than two minutes.” He nipped at her inner thigh before returning to her curls and learning the rhythm that made her body quiver, her breaths hitch.
He ate her up, taking turns at light and soft, firm and vigorous. Her sexy sounds guided his attention, had him slipping one, then two fingers inside her.
“Yes, just like that,” she said in a strangled voice. She gripped the back of his head as he stroked her inside and out.
“Mmm,” he murmured, lapping her up like a man who hadn’t had a sip of water in days.
It took only one more swipe of his tongue over her sensitive flesh to make her come. Her body shuddered, convulsing in spasms as she cried out his name.
Danny brought her down slowly with gentle licks and an arm wrapped around her thigh as he eased his fingers out of her.
She let go of his head and leaned back on her elbows. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were parted, and her eyes were half closed in satisfaction. “That was…”
“Fantastic?”
“Yes.” Her eyes opened fully, her gaze diving into his before her stare went to his mouth. Two seconds later she threaded her fingers through his hair and brought him in for a kiss.
Open-mouthed. Hot. She kissed him like she wanted to taste herself, swirling her tongue around his as if she were licking her favorite frozen treat. Holy hell, he’d never imagined Liv being so uninhibited and taking possession of his entire mouth like this.
“God, Liv,” he groaned, kissing along her jawline, down the column of her neck. She tilted her head to give him better access. He splayed one hand over her thigh while the other slid under her shirt and roamed up her back.
“I need you inside me,” she whispered.
“Wrap your legs around me.” Part of him wanted to take her right here in the kitchen, but a bigger part of him wanted this to happen in his bed so he could keep her there all day.
She latched onto him and, nose-to-nose, he carried her upstairs to his bedroom. With every step the connection they’d always shared intensified.
The line they’d crossed downstairs nothing but chalk in the wind.
He placed her on the edge of the bed. Before he could make another move, she reached out and touched his stomach. Traced the pads of her fingers over his skin at the same time she licked her lips. He didn’t think she could make him any harder, but when her exploration moved lower and she took him in her hand, he swore his dick could cut through metal.
“Liv,” he growled.
“Yes?” She dropped her arm and, without breaking eye contact, lifted her T-shirt over her head. No hesitation. No modesty. She sat before him completely naked and entirely his.
What hit him the hardest wasn’t her voluptuous breasts or the ideal view of her sex, but the rounding of her belly. The bump of velvety, soft skin that housed her baby. He dropped to his knees and put his hands on her stomach. “You are so unbelievably beautiful.”
She covered his hands with hers. “It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
He kissed her knuckles. “Yeah.” He got it now. Got how Zane went batshit happy whenever he’d looked at Sophie’s pregnant stomach. To know Liv had a life growing inside her and he was the guy lucky enough to touch and observe all the changes made him damn happy. And put every possessive bone in his body on watch command.
Kisses to Liv’s stomach followed.
“One of us has too many clothes on,” she said.
It took him a second to leave her gorgeous belly before he got to his feet and remedied that, tugging down his sweats and boxers in one fell swoop. She took him in from head to toe and then gave him something else he’d never seen from her before—a coy look that had him ready to pounce.
…
Just like the two other times she’d seen Danny naked, it took effort not to stare there. But this time, she reminded herself, she could look all she wanted, because this time his nakedness was for her.
And oh, how she wanted everything he had to offer. He’d given her the best orgasm of her life in the kitchen and her girl parts were tingling with anticipation for another. He totally deserved the nickname Master Tongue.
“Scoot back,” he said, his voice growly. Sexy.
She scooted back. Incredibly, he didn’t need to be touching her to make her skin feel ablaze.
“Lie back with your arms above your head.” One knee, then the other, pressed into the bed as he came after her with a slow, deliberate pace.
She did as he said, loving that he wanted her to submit to his commands. She didn’t want to think or second-guess. She only wanted to feel. And Danny had her feeling hot, shivering sensations just by looking and talking to her. Imagine how her body would respond when he slid inside her.
“Good. Stay still.”
Yeah, like that was going to happen. But she’d try. For him.
He nudged her legs apart and kissed her belly again. The light touches were a stark contrast to his demanding tone. These turns between sweet and assertive had her sinking into a pool of aching desire.
As he skimmed his lips closer to her breasts, though, the pressure increased. She moaned and arched her back, hinting at exactly where she wanted his mouth next. Her nipples were so hard they were about to explode if he didn’t hurry up and suck them.
His ministrations stopped. He lifted his head and cocked an eyebrow at her.
She hissed out a sigh of frustration and he laughed, his breath warm against her skin. “I can’t not move. It’s impossible,” she said.
He gave her a wicked smile, one corner of his mouth lifting higher than the other.
“Do not look at me like that.” His knowing she wouldn’t be able to keep still only made him more appealing.
“Like what?”
“Just keep going.” She almost made a gesture to go along with her order before remembering to keep her arms in place.
“You know, all this sexy talk is really making me hot,” he said.
“Do you like to be talked to during sex?”
“I’m not opposed. What about you?” His mouth hovered over the aching nipple of her left breast. “Do you like hearing dirty things?”
“I think you could read a manual on carburetors to me right now and get me off.” She’d always loved the deep timbre of his voice, and naked Danny sounded a million times better.
“I’ve got one…” He lifted away from her.
She grabbed his shoulders. “Don’t you dare get off this bed.”
He smirked. A cocky tip of his lips that said, you moved. She lifted her arms back over her head and pressed the back of her hands into the bed, wiggled her hips. Then she made some foreign sex kitten sound she’d never sighed before, hoping he’d get the hint that she couldn’t take his teasing anymore.
It worked. He looked at her with something she couldn’t name before finally lowering his mouth to her breast. Super sensitive, she lifted off the bed as he sucked her. His hands were everywhere. At least it felt that way, her entire body quivering with pleasure.
When he lined their hips up, his muscled abdomen brushed her swollen one, and touching that way was so erotic and personal that emotion filled her eyes, her heart, her muscles, and her bones. Making love for the first time like this—and with Danny—was something she would never forget.
He moved his attention to her other breast, fingers found her wet and needy center.
“Danny, I want to touch you.”
The care he was taking with her, one arm holding his weight while his mouth and hand caressed with perfect pressure, sent vibrations through her body, love through her mind. He rained kisses up her neck, to a little spot behind her ear that made her shiver.
When his mouth crushed against hers, she kissed him back with equal intensity. He positioned himself at her center, thick and hard. His fingers laced with hers above her head and they both squeezed, as if they never wanted to let go.
“Wrap your free hand around my cock and guide me inside you,” he said against her cheek as his lips skimmed over her chin, under her jawline.
She bent her legs at the knees and reached down, taking him in her hand. He was by far bigger than anyone else she’d been with and she wondered how he’d fit in her mouth. Later, Miss BJ. Sheesh.
“Wait.” Danny raised his head. “Let me grab a condom.”
“You don’t need one. In case you haven’t noticed I’m already knocked up”—she grinned—“and I’m in good health. I trust you are, too.”
He let out a hiss as she stroked him. “I am. And I’ve never not used—”
“Okay, then.”
With eyes on one another, Liv slowly brought him inside her. Her hand immediately fell away when her interior muscles gripped him, taking him inside her body like he belonged there. The intensity in his gaze told her maybe he felt the same way. And then he started to move and she was lost. Gone in a sea of sensations that felt so good she never wanted him to stop.
He sank into her again and again, setting a steady rhythm that matched her own desire. She ran her fingers through his hair, loving the soft texture, the way his gaze went heavy lidded. He moved in a particularly intoxicating way, and holy shit did it arouse her. She rushed up and sank her teeth into his shoulder. “God, Danny. Just like that.” She soothed the bite mark by passing her tongue over the blemish.
She continued to meet him thrust for thrust, getting deliciously close to a second orgasm. He hooked his arm under her thigh, rocked in that perfect way of his, and she felt him even deeper.
Tucked beneath him, feeling everything, she tossed her head back and gasped his name as she climaxed.
Danny’s breathing grew ragged, his body constricted, and he followed her over the edge, “Olivia” on his lips. She loved the sound of his husky voice. When finished, he kept them together as one, his handsome face inches from hers. She was too blissed out to speak, but oh, how she wanted to hear what was going on in his head.
He’d rocked her world, and she hoped she had done the same to him. Because she wanted to do this again. Like maybe in an hour. She stared up into the brilliant rings of brown and green around his pupils and smiled.
A sunrise over the bluest water and whitest sand on the planet had nothing on the potency of the smile he gave back. He pulled out of her and rolled onto his back.
She missed the physical contact immediately. When he put his arm around her and brought her against his side, her heart squeezed. She snuggled against him, her arm across his middle, her leg hooked over his. “So…” she said.
“So,” he mimicked.
Okay, so they probably needed some time to digest what had just happened before they talked about it. There was no going back now. No rewinding to platonic Liv and Danny. Lying with her cheek pressed against his chest, the past fifteen years of their friendship played through her mind. He’d always held the title best. She didn’t make good friends easily, especially not with the same sex, for some reason. There were a few girls she could count on to meet for coffee or dinner, a couple from her work life and college. And, most recently, Sienna. Sienna had been the shoulder Liv cried on before she left London. Sienna also worked with Will.
“So…” She pushed up onto her elbow. “I’m thinking the pancakes will taste awful now, but I can whip up some new ones.”
“How about I whip them up and you stay right here?”
“In your bed?” Her pulse did a tap dance.
He twirled a piece of her hair around his finger. “That is right here.” He sounded so calm. So cool. So sexy. Would he mind if she asked him to chain her to his bed?
“Okay,” she said, a little breathless.
“Okay,” he parroted again before kissing her on the mouth and standing. He made a quick stop in the bathroom before heading downstairs. Naked. Her tongue might have rolled out of her mouth as she watched him go. His butt should win awards.
Liv had only been inside Danny’s bedroom a few times and all had been brief, so with a request to stay put, and her sexy as sin best friend busy for the next fifteen minutes or so, she slipped her shirt back on and took a good look around.
Of course there wasn’t a thing out of place among the sparse furnishings. And not a speck of dust on his big, manly cherry wood dresser. She stepped toward shelves built into an alcove in the wall beside a high-back chair. Hard covered sporting books, paperback novels, and sports memorabilia took up most of the space, but centered on the second shelf sat a framed picture that drew her closer.
She remembered that day with perfect clarity. The photo of her and Danny outside their favorite seafood restaurant had been taken by a passerby the day before he started grad school at UCLA. She’d wanted to treat him to his last good meal before classes and studying became his life and he lived off eggs and pasta—the two things he knew how to cook. She’d worn her favorite black cardigan over a form-fitting white T-shirt with jeans.
Just before the photo was taken, Danny had bent to whisper in her ear and she’d hunched her shoulder in response, his warm breath tickling her neck. “Thanks for making me look like the luckiest guy in there tonight,” he’d said.
She’d been so stunned and pleased by his compliment that she’d gone totally still and mute, flummoxed by happiness.
Lifting the photo off the shelf, she studied the expression on her face and wondered if Danny saw the same thing she did when he looked at the picture. A couple.
Funny how she’d thought nothing of the sort back then. Only that Danny had noticed she’d taken care to look her best that night. But now she couldn’t stop wondering if maybe there had always been some underlying attraction neither of them had been willing to acknowledge.
She put the picture back and walked to the window. The sun had yet to break through the marine layer, dew clung to the leaves on the tree a few feet away. Down below, the garden bloomed fall flowers, and verdant foliage needed a trim. Next month she and Danny would be married standing on a patch of grass near the far fence.
Married.
To her best friend.
And now her lover.
Quivers competed with tingles in a race down her back and arms. She hurried to the bed, pulled back the comforter, and slid in between the sheets. She lifted the covers over her face, feeling like she needed to hide. From the delight making her cheeks warm. From the thrill of making love for the first time to a man she adored. From the fact that Danny had seen her naked!
He’d liked what he saw.
She was pretty sure he’d liked it a lot.
“I hope you’re not asleep under there because these are my best pancakes yet.”
His voice had her grinning into the soft cotton blend before she whipped the sheets down to her shoulders and peeked at him. She suddenly felt shy—until she saw what he had on, and she burst into laughter.
Tears leaked out of her eyes as she pushed up into a sitting position. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, giggled harder.
Danny put the food tray on the bed, his hands on his hips. “What?” he asked with a mischievous smile.
He was too cute.
He wore a blue apron over his naked body. That alone would be a fun sight, but this apron had words on it along with a big red lip stain. Kiss the Cock.
“Typos happen,” he said with a shrug. “Especially when your friends are drunk off their ass when they order it online.”
“You sure it’s a typo?” Liv managed to ask. She’d been with Zane and Bryce when they’d ordered the gag gift and yes, beer had been involved, but they knew exactly what they’d ordered.
Danny narrowed his eyes. “This is on purpose?”
Liv nodded.
Danny cracked up. “Of course those boneheads meant to do this.” He sat on the bed and handed her a plate. Their fingers brushed, and the simple touch sent sweet pressure building between her hips again. Maybe they could stay in bed all day. “So?” he said.
“So?”
“After breakfast, do you want to kiss my—”
“Yes. I do. I really do.”
The wicked gleam in his eyes, combined with his dimples, guaranteed they weren’t close to being done with each other. “Looks like we better eat up then. We’re going to need our strength.” He took off the apron before grabbing his plate and joining her under the covers, their backs against the headboard, legs straight out in front of them.
“These look amazing,” she said, cutting into a fluffy pancake with her fork.
“I added a new ingredient. Let me know what you think.”
Danny watched her as she put the bite in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “That. Was. The most delicious bite of pancake ever.” She turned to kiss his cheek. “You put honey in them.”
“I did.”
“Best Sunday morning ever.” She quickly took another bite. Not only because she was hungry, but because it really was the best morning ever and she didn’t want her emotions showing all over her face. No guy had ever made her feel the way Danny did. Like she mattered more than anything else. Will, she realized, had never made her breakfast in bed or asked what her favorite cookie was or rubbed her feet. Not that he didn’t do nice things. But they were the kind of things she imagined he did for any female, like open the door or pull out her chair.
Blinking away thoughts of Will, she bumped Danny’s shoulder. “Thanks for cooking these.”
“My pleasure.”
She imagined it truly was. Danny liked taking care of others. That was the main reason he was so adamant about forgoing a family and children. Once his eyesight failed, he hated the idea of not being able to dote on those he loved. She forced the thought away. They were talking years from now. His feelings would change now that they were together.
They ate in comfortable silence until Liv licked her fork clean. Danny took their empty plates and put them on the tray. “Be right back,” he said, and she inwardly smiled. No doubt Mr. Neat didn’t like the idea of dirty dishes in his bedroom.
When he walked—no stalked—back through the doorway with a predatory gleam in his eye, all sorts of dirty ideas flitted through her imagination. “You look like a man with something on his mind,” she said.
He marched to her side of the bed. “I do. And it starts with getting you naked again.” He took hold of the bottom of her shirt. She lifted her arms up, and the T-shirt hit the floor a second later. “Step two involves the shower.”
Liv took his outstretched hand and slipped out of bed. “I love the shower.”
The heated look he gave her over his shoulder on the way to the bathroom made her pulse speed up. “You’re going to love it more after today.”
“You think?”
“I know.”
“I guess you’ll have to prove it to me then.”
“Plan to.” He let go of her hand to turn on the water. The clear glass enclosure had plenty of room for two.
“Before you do anything, I believe I promised you some kisses in a key area.” He could stand or sit on the tiled bench under the sprays of water. She didn’t care which as long as she got to have him in her mouth.
He palmed her cheek, his thumb lightly brushing across her lips, a look of pure affection sparkling in his eyes. “Far be it for me to stand in the way of your promise.”
She took his wrist and little by little sucked his thumb into her mouth until it was all the way in. He groaned.
Pulling his hand away, he tugged her into the shower and shut the door. The warm water felt so good against her sensitized skin. With Danny’s hard body pressed against her soft one, it felt even better. “I promise to make you come at least three more times today,” he murmured into her ear before sealing the vow with a kiss that made her toes curl.
He kept his word and then some.