Tatum

I want more of him. How much more, time will tell. I only know it’s been almost a week since we’ve been alone, and our stolen moments aren’t enough. Every time we’re together, the air crackles between us.

The conversation I had with Erica the other day didn’t stop at the store. We talked all the way to my house. Discussed how, as soon as my heart had healed, I had tried to get back into the dating scene by going out with her and other friends, but no man ever captured my eyes, held them, and made my pulse feel like it was jumping out of my skin, or left me with a tingling sensation from a simple touch that made me feel I was worth everything.

Dean does that and so much more.

I’ve never had a man tell me how much he wanted to get to know the person I am inside. I’m so used to catching the eye of a man, and when they talk to me, they aren’t paying one bit of attention to my face. It’s the thing that turns me off the most, one of the many reasons why I haven’t pushed myself to date. They think if they can feed your head full of compliments on how beautiful you are without looking you square in the eye and being sincere, that I’ll fall to their feet. I’m not that type of woman. When I fall to a man’s feet, I want it to be because they mean something to me. They’ve somehow tugged at the corner of my soul instead of trying to boost an ego I don’t even have. I want a man who will sacrifice for me and in return let me do the same for him.

In all honesty, no one has made me feel the truth behind the saying ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,’ and I mean ever. No one has come along and even tossed a spark my way either. Not even Sam lit up everything inside of me the way Dean has, and no one had me thinking about being the aggressor, wanting more and coming out from the rock I’ve been living under like Dean did.

I want to touch him, soothe him, talk to him, and find out everything there is to know about him, but I also want him to light that fire and keep it burning. I also want a man who seeks deep within me with his eyes as well as scorches me up with a kiss, a look from across the table, or a touch.

The night I had dinner at his house, I drove home, climbed into bed, slept a few hours, and decided to run with the idea already forming in my head. I lay there thinking the whole situation through, acknowledging these feelings he’s stirred inside me and how one passionate night could lead to something wonderful.

So, this morning I did something I’ve never done before. I called him instead of waiting for him to call me. We chatted briefly before I asked how things were going with Miles. When he told me they were working on a few things, I let it go, not wanting to push him into telling me. Then I sucked in a breath, dove in, and asked if he’d mind helping me with something. I felt my face flush when he asked me what that something was.

When I told him what I needed help with and that I’d never asked a man to sample the new chocolates my supplier sent, at first, Dean didn’t say a word; if I hadn't heard his breathing pick up, I would have thought he’d hung up.

Then suddenly, his voice went deep, and the way he asked me if I was trying to seduce him with seriousness laced in his dark tone had me practically ripping open the new finger vibrator I was holding in my hand.

I didn’t elaborate on what I was asking him to come sample. And now, as I sit in the middle of the floor, surrounded by an assortment of new chocolates and several sex toys I need to stash away before he gets here, I become aroused and nervous. “What if he thinks this is stupid?”

It didn’t feel like stupidity last week when his lips brushed against mine. His mouth pleasuring and stinging my nipples at the same time. When his rough hands touched my face and body, it felt like something else. Something serious. And my entire body jolted in desire. Dean is irresistible; he’s also damaged in a way I’ll never be able to heal, but he’s worth saving, and I can’t help it if I want to be the woman to try. I want him, and this time, I’m going to pull everything out of my hat to bring Dean Wagner back to life.

The chemistry shared with every kiss could be all there is. A heartbreak ready to happen before it even starts. Still, I can’t take my mind off him no matter how much I try, and I don’t want to stop thinking about him. So, if this doesn’t go according to plan, it will be the end of it. I’ll move on and remember the man who not only saved my life but also stirred up something inside of me that I thought was dead.

I should be scared to death and stay as far away from him as I can, but I’m not. I’m going with my heart, which tells me this man needs me as much as I do him. He is worth this slow burn that one day is going to roar.

Two broken souls can be sealed back together; they can both find a way to lock away the pain and allow it to surface while being happy at the same time.

And when the pain flares, you can let the whirlwind take over; perhaps it will last for minutes, possibly days. However, you don’t have to be alone and hold it all in. You can share and hope that by talking it out you feel that little bit of relief.

There’s a voice inside of me that’s filled with so much happiness that it’s bursting to be freed. To take a step forward even if the one I took by asking him into my domain, a place where I haven’t asked another man, is a giant leap for me. I’ve gone and done it, and I’ll have no regrets at all because I feel him deep in my gut already. If I didn’t, I would have never kissed him, and I definitely wouldn’t have let him touch me.

I don’t let men into my life for a very good reason, and Dean has come back into my life for more reasons than me thanking him for what he did.

I’ve been putting off asking him to do this since I worked it all out. Then again, if I didn’t ask, I’d be sitting here alone smearing this chocolate-caramel-flavored body paint on my arms and licking it off myself instead of watching his talented tongue dart out and tasting it on my overheated skin. “I’m a nervous wreck, that’s what I am.”

Taking a refreshing breath because my body is heating up thinking about him, I shove the vibrators in my bag, extend my arms to set it on top of the counter, and lift my head with a startled gasp when Dean walks through the door. His perceptiveness catches on quickly as his lips twitch while he scans the items scattered all around me.

The nerves in my stomach swirl when I take him in. Thick, muscular thighs beneath a pair of well-worn jeans. A button-up shirt I’d love to rip open, then smear chocolate all over his skin while my mouth waters to lick it off his chest, circle my tongue around those pierced nipples, and die a slow, happy death from the way he tastes.

Death by chocolate and Dean. Yes, please.

“Well, this could lead to a whole lot of trouble.” My nerves all lodge in my throat when he speaks. I suddenly lost my appetite for anything but him.

I swallow when he shuts the door and locks it behind him, confining me with curious brown eyes that have turned as dark as the violent sea after a storm, and yet they don’t release my face.

From them pulsates a force I can feel in my bones. The look hidden behind his stare is far from gentlemanly. His darkened gaze makes me want to stand up and press against him. Feel those lips move in a kiss while his hands roam all over the curves of my body. Those eyes of his touch me everywhere, and I like it so, so much that I don’t want to break away.

“That depends.” I lift a brow, my voice indicating confidence I surely don’t have.

“On what?” His low voice rumbles through my boiling blood and hits me between the legs. I welcome the stirring sensations that have been as dead as the woman they belong to.

“Whether you like chocolate mixed with caramel or not.”

One corner of his mouth lifts, followed by the other. There are many things I find attractive about Dean. His mouth is one of them. However, his mouth lifted in a smile that’s all for me is one of the sexiest things I’ve seen.

“I haven’t had the two together in years. Something tells me I’ll be eating it as often as I can after today.” His grin is so wicked it descends to the tips of my toes. Innuendo to a sexual plea that only I can fill or not; I’m taking it as one.

Right now, though, I want to find out if this man can fulfill all my needs. I won’t settle for anything less. As far as I’m concerned, I deserve someone who pleases me, makes me happy, listens to me, and will hold my hand through all aspects of life. For today, I’m putting my sexual needs above everything else.

His long legs bring him within a foot of me. I tilt my head back, my neck straining, throat bobbing when I take him in. He is so incredibly handsome I’m afraid if I reach out and touch him, he won’t be real. Yet he is. Towering over me, hands dangling at his sides, fingers bunched up in a fist as if he’s straining himself from pulling me into his arms, placing me on the counter, and ridding me of my clothes while he stands there deciding what part of my body he wants to spread the contents of the jar I’m clutching to my chest first.

“Have a seat.” I gesture to the floor, place the jar between us, and screw off the lid.

His big body meets the floor. He stretches out his legs until they’re a few inches from my hips. Then he does something that makes me sopping wet. He hooks his feet behind my backside and slides me a little closer all the while dropping a little deeper into my soul with eyes that embrace so much grief I want to leap into them and take it all away.

I’m so far out of my element that I swallow the lump in my throat, lodging it up against my heart that’s beating at an accelerated speed.

“Let me.” He takes the jar from my hands, draws in a deep breath, and starts to read the directions. The lid hits the wooden floor with an echoing clank. The bubble we’re in widens. Thank God it does; I was beginning to feel the dampness between my warm folds leak out of me. This man is going to drive me insane before he lays a hand on me. I’m suddenly frightened that when he does, I’m going to break apart from his touch.

What on earth was I thinking asking him to come here and test items that should be for lovers who are acquainted with each other, or ones who are a lot more promiscuous than I’ve only dreamed of being?

I mentally shake the fantasies I’ve had ever since I could remember away. I want this to be a slow, deliberate seduction. One that in the end will drive us both to our knees.

“I take it you haven’t done this before? Take off your shirt,” I ask with a sudden burst of boldness and position myself on my knees between his legs.

“No. Have you?”

I shake my head slightly as he exhales a deep breath. The resistance to hold back from kissing him just about snaps in half. He is so strikingly handsome there should be an eighth deadly sin named after him.

“That’s good to hear. Don’t mind taking off my shirt. I gotta ask, though. I thought I was the customer.”

“You can be when I’m done. If I’m going to sell this stuff, then I need to know how good it tastes. Take it off,” I demand as I dip my fingers into the gooey concoction. My mouth goes dry as he unbuttons his shirt and slips it off his muscular arms, providing me with a close-up of a chest that’s smooth, demanding, and well-defined.

“Oh, I plan on taking full advantage of trying this out. Fair warning, Miss Fields, if you put that on my chest, it’s only fair I put it on yours. I make no promises I’ll stop there.”

“What happened to you wanting to get to know my mind?” I ask. The thought of his mouth on my chest sways my body.

“I do. I recall saying I wanted to know everything about you. That includes your body. You have five seconds to get started, or I’m taking over.” Jesus Jenny of all things holy. His words alone are ruling my mind. It’s fighting with my body to let him take control.

His eyes are as dark as midnight when I finally skim back up to his face. No man has ever simply stared into my eyes the way he is. I feel daring from his sexual gaze as he shifts it to my finger, cocks his head to the side, and returns it to my face. He sits perfectly still until I touch his warm skin and circle around his nipple. His Adam’s apple moves up and down, his stomach ripples, and he sucks in a breath. I coat the brown circle with the sugary sweetness that has my mouth going bone dry, dip my finger back in, and do the same to the other.

The silence between us couldn’t cut through the sexual chemistry in this room if it begged to try. It’s as thick as the chocolate. Hotter than if I’d warmed it up. In fact, it’s scalding. Burning as badly as his flaming skin.

This level of intimacy is no longer stupid to me, and it has nothing to do with the growing need throbbing at a rapid rate inside of me. It’s the way he’s looking at me as if no one has ever touched him this way before. He’s speaking volumes with his eyes. Telling me how beautiful he thinks I am.

I’m being turned inside out by a man I want to get to know on every level. First things first, though. I need to taste him before I go absolutely crazy and give in to feel his mouth lapping this off places I’d lose all control if he reached out and touched me. My nipples are straining painfully in the tight confines of my bra. I also need to hurry up; this man’s restraint isn’t going to last much longer. He’s ready to burst at the seams and take over. Even so, I still find myself taking my time as I take another swipe down the center of his chest, set the jar down, and dip my head to within a half inch of his nipple. My eyes never leave his until I have no choice but to concentrate on the task before me. And what a delicious-looking task it is. A piercing coated in sensual chocolate in a nipple of a man whose breathing is as ragged as mine.

I dart my tongue out, and I swear to God, the dirty words that fly out of his mouth when I lick and suck warm my skin, send a strike of lightning that rushes through my arteries and leave a blaze trailing up my spine behind it.

“Jesus Christ. I haven’t had anyone touch me in a long time, and no one has pushed my patience as far as you are right now.” His gruff words are muffled by the sensation of pushing him to the brink ringing in my ears.

“Patience is a benefit of what’s to come,” I reply with my own impatience teetering on edge.

I lick all the remaining chocolate off and attend to the other. His muscles are fighting that patience underneath my tongue. He loses his battle when I conquer the line on his chest. One hand flies up to my hair, jerks my head back on what normally would be a painful manner, yet to me, it fuels the flame. His eyes are hungry, his mouth is parted, and just as I lean in to seal my mouth to his, I feel the stickiness along with the tingling sensation trail up my neck.

“I’m suddenly starving, Tatum, and since I really want to get to know you better before I spread your legs and eat this off the spot that has to be throbbing, I’m going for the pulse beating on your beautiful neck.”

Ohmigod.

When he tugs on my hair a little harder, I let out a whimper of pleasure, and the pull between my legs increases to a pulsating craving for him to put his mouth right where I ache.

I nearly shoot off the floor when his tongue touches my skin. I’m so heated up I could burst. He growls against my skin and shifts his hand so his palm holds me in place. The awareness his touch brings to my body has never felt this good.

The promise that shadows the intimate stroke of his tongue has my eyes closing; visions of him taking my hardened nipples in his mouth, sucking the sweetness off me rattle my brain. My body relaxes for the first time in years, and my mind tells me I was right about him and me. This could possibly lead to something more. Something so profound that I’d gladly let him sweep me out into the huge body of water that to this day scares the shit out of me.

What he’s doing to me is a seduction like nothing I’ve experienced before. He has completely taken over and captivated me. A ruthless hole in my life that I want him to seal, and an anxious form of an end goal that as he said was too early to achieve. But once we do, the promise of an explosion is bound to happen.