Mercy's Angels Box Set (84 page)

“I just want to understand what’s going on, Annie. I want your trust. You are nervous as hell tonight and you were exactly the same yesterday.” Her eyes held mine and I could tell she was deciding how much she would give me.

“I need to get ahold of Phillip.”

While it wasn’t exactly the type of news I wanted to hear, my body sagged with relief, she was going to tell me, she was trusting me. “Why?”

“I think he’s in some sort of financial trouble.”

Our steps slowed until we were standing amongst the other dancers, frozen in each other’s arms. “What makes you say that?”

“Just a hunch.”

That was a lie. I could have called her out on it, but this was progress, and I didn’t want to damage it. “I can try and find a number for him.”

“You would do that for me?”

“Of course I would. I’m not sure how you think you can help him if he is in some sort of trouble, but we’ll cross that path when we come to it.”

Her eyes twinkled as tears gathered. “Thank you,” she whispered.

I rested my forehead against hers. “I’d do anything for you, Annie, but remember, that includes doing anything to protect you. You aren’t responsible for Phillip anymore.” I felt her nod. My hands traced a soothing path up and down her back, and before I knew it, Annie had melted against me, her entire body like a wet noodle.

“Let’s get out of here,” I suggested, and at her imperceptible nod, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to her forehead before pulling her away from the dance floor.

The drive back to her apartment was quiet; Annie lost in her thoughts, me buried in my own. I wondered how Annie came to the conclusion that Phillip was in financial trouble and I wondered why she felt it was her job to fix it for him. Perhaps she still felt a sense of responsibility towards Phillip; perhaps somewhere under the layers of hurt and fear, she still loved him. That thought almost drew a jealous rumble from my chest. It made me want to reach out and grab her, strip her bare, and make love to her until she knew she belonged to me, her body and her heart. Instead, I gripped the steering wheel tighter and kept my jealous driven thoughts to myself. By the time we had reached her door, my hands were buried deep in my pockets in an attempt to rein in my out of control lust.

Annie unlocked the door and turned towards me with a shy smile. “Thank you for tonight. I really did have a good time, minus the panic attack.” A wisp of hair had fallen from behind her ear, and I wanted to reach out and tuck it back where it had fallen from. Instead, I clenched my fists harder in my pockets.

“I’m proud of you,” I confessed, and the surprised look on Annie’s face made me laugh. “You drew the eye of almost every man in that room. You’re beautiful, smart, kind, and gentle. People gravitate towards you, and you are so humble you don’t even realize it.” She blushed under my compliment. “I’ll wait until you lock the door.” I nodded towards the death grip she had on the door frame. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” She nodded, her gaze dropping to my lips for a split second. I almost groaned out loud but held steady in my resolve to be the perfect gentleman. She glanced up and down the hallway nervously before her gaze settled back on me, and we stood there in silence, which led to an awkward shuffle of her feet before she finally stepped into her apartment.

“Goodnight, Dillon.”

“Goodnight, Sunshine,” I murmured as she shut the door.

As soon as I heard the lock click into place, I reluctantly dragged myself away from her apartment. At my car parked in the street out front, I paused, leaning against the driver’s door. I gently banged my head against the door frame. “Fuck, you should have at least kissed her,” I admonished myself, groaning. “She’ll think something’s wrong.” I turned and leaned against the side of my Chevy, my eyes rising automatically to the window of her second floor apartment. Annie was still hiding something, something she feared, but she had at least offered me an olive branch tonight with her confession she was seeking out her husband. “And if I kiss her, I won’t be able to stop,” I thought out loud. “Shit, I can’t believe I’m talking to myself.” I finally chuckled. The light to her apartment went out, and my head fell back. There was a right thing to do here, and suddenly, I wasn’t sure what that was anymore.

I stared at the door I had quietly shut with a resonating ‘click’, separating Dillon and me. It was only a panel of wood between us, but for some reason, it felt like an entire continent. I was going to ask him in for coffee, and yes, it would have been a double entendre, because I didn’t actually want coffee. I wanted Dillon. For the entire ride back to my apartment, I had been lost in a storm of thoughts and a torrent of emotions. I was so scared, and I wanted nothing more than to tell Dillon about the phone call, but I was nervous he would be mad I hadn’t told him sooner. I was also fearful of the repercussions over telling Dillon. I couldn’t risk Eli being put in danger. But my want for Dillon never changed. Under the security I felt when he was around was also womanly desire. It had always been there. Ever since the first time I laid eyes on him, a place inside me unlocked. A place that had long ago been sealed off in an attempt to protect myself and Eli, and now I realized that denying my heart from Dillon protected no one.

But he hadn’t made a move towards me; his eyes didn’t even drop to my lips, his feet had remained firmly planted in the hallway outside my apartment, and his hands were shoved stiffly in his pockets. He hadn’t kissed me. Now, I was confused. Maybe he was having second thoughts, maybe he had a sharp realization that my baggage was bulkier than he first assumed. Maybe my confession about Phillip tonight had made him mad. Perhaps he was just trying to be a gentleman, but surely even a lady deserved a goodnight kiss. I huffed out a frustrated sigh before turning to face the cold, lonely apartment at my back. Perhaps now wasn’t the time to be wondering whether or not the man wanted me. What I really needed to do was figure out how to dig my way out of the hole Phillip had shoved me down. God, I felt so alone and frightened. So fearful it made me nauseated. Eli was safe, probably safer than he would be with me, because at least he had Charlie who was some sort of prize fighting king. This was the first night I’d ever been alone in this apartment, and I hated it. The silence was so all consuming that I flicked on my small secondhand stereo and allowed music to fill the space. Flicking off the light switch, I moved towards my bedroom, stopping at Eli’s darkened room for a brief moment. I hated not having him here. With another deep sigh, I stepped into my bedroom, moving with a slow dejected shuffle until a loud knock on my door made me scream. I shoved my hand over my mouth and stood frozen in the middle of my bedroom.

“Annie?” I just about collapsed with relief at the sound of Dillon’s voice. Racing down the short hall, I unlocked the door and threw it open. Dillon stood leaning against the doorframe, his tie pulled loose, his hair messed as if he had run his fingers through it like he always did when stressed. His troubled eyes rose to mine as his hands clenched the door frame tighter. “I can’t leave,” he said.

“Is something wrong with your car?” I wondered breathlessly, my heart still pounding like a freight train from the scare.

Dillon quietly laughed and shook his head. “Sweetheart, I can’t walk away from you. I just can’t do it. I wanted to be the gentleman, I wanted to give you time and space, but I can’t even get in my damn car to leave.”

We stared at each other for a moment, the realization of what he was saying wrapping around my heart and making it pound for something other than fear. The way he looked at me with those steel grey eyes, the hunger, the desperation, it made me shiver with awareness. Unable and unwilling to deny him, or myself, what he was offering, I stepped aside, a silent invitation. Dillon’s eyes closed for a moment before he let go of the door frame and stepped into my home. I shut the door behind him and locked it. Having him here with me felt right. I immediately felt safer, the emptiness suddenly replaced with a warm glow. “I can sleep on the couch if you want. I just don’t want to leave. I promise I won’t touch you.”

I stood before him and frowned. “Firstly, the couch is too small for you, and secondly, of all the promises you’ve ever made me, I really don’t like that one. Why won’t you touch me?” I glanced down at my body, still wrapped in the exquisite dress I knew he liked; I had seen the approval in his eyes when he first saw me in it. What about me made him promise such a thing?

“Sunshine,” he breathed, “once I start touching you, I won’t be able to stop. I want you, not just your heart, but that beautiful body under me, those perfect pink lips on me, and those stunning eyes watching me while I take you.” A shiver raced across my skin, and my heart flipped with excitement.

Taking a deep breath, I boldly stepped forward and ran my hand down his loosened, silver tie. “Then promise me that,” I softly begged him.

His hands rose to my face and he held me steady, searching my eyes for no more than a moment. Obviously satisfied with whatever he saw there, his lips descended on mine, soft, gentle, and teasing at first, before becoming more demanding. There were no fireworks, the world around us simply ceased to exist. There was nothing more than me and Dillon, his soft warm lips caressing mine. It wasn’t tender or sweet; it was a kiss born out of desperation for all the right reasons, and just like Dillon had assured me, my knees went weak. His tongue demanded entrance and my lips parted to gladly invite him in, and just as the kiss deepened, Dillon suddenly pulled away.

“I promise,” he managed with a deep, lust filled voice. “Hell, yes, I promise.” He turned and just about dragged me down the short hallway to my room. Kicking the door shut behind us, we were cast into darkness until Dillon flicked on the light switch. He prowled towards me, desire and need clearly evident in his hungry gaze.

“Where is the zipper for this?” he asked as his eyes looked over my dress. I raised an arm and slid the hidden zipper down, my gaze nervously darting to the light switch. I didn’t want him undressing me in the light, I didn’t want him to see all my flaws. “Don’t be shy, Sunshine, I’ve been dreaming of this moment.” When I held the dress tight, stopping him from peeling it from my body, he paused. With his intense gaze on mine, he finally spoke. “Don’t move,” he ordered before leaving the room.

I didn’t move, couldn’t move. My entire body was frozen in a state of perpetual need which warred violently with anxiety. Dillon reappeared a moment later, carrying Eli’s Spiderman night light. He found a vacant socket behind the bedside table and quickly flicked the lamp on before turning the switch on the wall off. Shutting the door he turned to face me once more. The room was now shrouded in a subtle red and blue hue, plenty of thick shadows to hide my insecurities.

“Better?” he whispered, as he approached me again. I nodded, unable to speak. “We’ll work up to lights on, because, Annie, I need to see this beautiful body I’ve been dreaming about for so long.”

Dillon gently pried my hands away from my dress, squeezing my wrists as he placed them at my side. Then he nudged the dress off my shoulders, the weight of the rhinestones pulling it to the floor. I was left standing in a simple black lace bra and matching panties, one of my only matching sets, mind you, and a pair of strappy black heels that Rebecca had loaned me. Dillon’s hungry gaze took me in.

“You’re fucking stunning, sweetheart. The real thing is even better than my vivid imagination could dream up.”

The honest awe in his face and words blew away some of my insecurities. Standing almost naked before Dillon while he still wore his suit felt sensual and erotic. I reached up to loosen his tie further, dragging it from his neck. Then I shoved his jacket from his shoulders before I began working on the buttons of his shirt. Distracted by Dillon’s hands, which began to trace the lines and curves of my body, I fumbled with the last button. I sighed as I finally pulled the dress shirt from his pants and he thankfully shrugged it off his body. That immaculate, smooth chest I had seen in the hotel bathroom only two short weeks ago was now mine to touch. And touch I did, my hands reveling in the warmth that radiated from his skin. Dillon leaned forward and kissed my shoulder before crossing to the opposite shoulder and did the same before deftly reaching around my back and unclasping the hook. The lacy fabric fell to the floor, leaving me more exposed than I had been a long time. When I would have brought my hands up to cover myself, Dillon held them steady at my side and leaned forward to take my lips in a passionate kiss. The kiss vanquished all nerves and a rough, calloused hand at my buttocks drew me up against the hard length of his body. His erection pressed unashamedly through his pants against my stomach. Dillon began to walk me backwards, and I could do nothing but obey. When his hand gently pressed me to the bed, I went willingly, our lips breaking apart as Dillon’s hand urged me down to the soft mattress.

Dillon stood at the end of the bed and simply watched me as I lay there, my forearms holding me up so I could see him clearly. Just when I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with his study of me, Dillon’s hands dropped to his belt buckle and began slowly removing it. I had never experienced anything so erotic. Intimacy with Phillip had always been fast and furious, almost desperate. Dillon’s slow and careful seduction was so passionate and intense it had my lady parts throbbing with need. I pressed my thighs together in an attempt to give that warm part of me some reprieve.

“Allow me,” Dillon murmured with a smile, his pants dropping to the floor. No underwear. I swallowed the groan that threatened to escape and watched as he knelt on the bed. One big, warm hand rested on my knee and gently nudged it aside. I felt the heat flare in my cheeks as Dillon spread me until his much larger body was able to fit between my thighs. “I’m gonna try and go slow,” he said roughly. “But, to be honest, sweetheart, if I don’t get inside you soon, I am going to unman myself in front of you.” That dragged a small smile from me, my nerves pushed aside for a moment. “You like that thought?” Dillon wondered with a grin.

“Stop playing with me. You made a promise.”

Desire flared in his eyes. “Damn straight I did. Just lie back and let me love you, Annie.”

With a breathless sigh, mostly over the mention of the ‘L’ word, I lay back. Long fingers curled under the sides of my panties, and with an agonizing and deliberate slowness, he dragged them down my legs, carefully removing my heels before throwing the scrap of material aside. Pushing my legs further apart, Dillon’s gaze dropped to the triangle of hair between my thighs, and I silently thanked Rebecca and Ella’s first date gift at the waxing salon. Before I had a chance to be embarrassed, Dillon leaned forward and kissed my soft stomach, while long skilful fingers slid through the wet heat between my legs. Open mouthed kisses trailed up my stomach and eventually his lips slid over one nipple, sucking it deep into his mouth while his fingers rubbed slow, leisurely circles around my clit before sliding down into my wetness and then dragging it back up to the tight bundle of nerves. I couldn’t stop my back from arching, thrusting my breasts forward into Dillon’s greedy mouth. Moving to the other breast, he sucked and licked at the nipple, one long finger now slipping inside my body until it was buried to the knuckle. With one last kiss, he moved from my breast and trailed more kisses along my collarbone, neck, and finally to one corner of my lips.

“You’re so fucking wet and smooth, so hot.” His finger slipped in and out of me, and my hips moved hungrily for more.

With a hand behind his neck, I pulled him down for a kiss. Dillon obliged, his tongue slipping in and out of my mouth, mimicking the movement of his wicked finger. When I reached one hand down to grab his thick, firm cock, we both groaned at the contact. He was so large and smooth. My thumb gathered a small bead of wetness from the tip and massaged it into the velvety head. Dillon only allowed me a few firm strokes before he pulled away. The loss of his body over mine and the fullness of his fingers inside me drew a groan of protest from my lips. Dillon ignored me as he leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed his discarded dress pants. When reappeared, he was tearing a condom wrapper open with his teeth.

“Presumptuous much,” I panted with a small smile.

“A guy can only hope, and I can’t wait any longer,” he practically growled as he rolled the condom down his impressive length. “I’ve waited too damn long. I need to be inside you.” Moving with a little desperation now, Dillon’s body was soon covering mine again, his big hand pushing my thighs wider to allow him entry to my body. “I promise to go slow, so I don’t hurt you,” he whispered.

His words chipped away a little more of the wall I’d built up around my heart and tears gathered in my eyes. Dillon’s gaze didn’t stray from mine as he began to carefully thrust and retreat from my body, a hypnotic rhythm that dragged my wetness along the length of him, making his careful entry into my neglected central loving station smooth and pain free. I smiled a little at the thought of my central loving station, an affectionate term Rebecca had coined for our lady parts.

“What’s that smile for?” Dillon whispered.

Not wanting to bring attention to the fact I was thinking of a friend during one of the single most erotic moments of my life, I shook my head and raised my lips to his. Dillon obliged, kissing me soundly. His relentless, slow movement bordered on torturous and sent my thoughts into a chaotic mess. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so full and tight. Once Dillon was fully seated inside me, we both breathed out a long sigh and laughed at the simultaneous response the intimate connection drew from us.

Dillon’s forehead rested against mine. “This is where I fantasized about being, right here, on you, in you.”

My eyes fluttered shut, the feeling and emotion sweeping through my body caused the walls within my damp heat to inadvertently squeeze him. Dillon groaned loudly before pressing a kiss to my eyelids, then he began to move. In and out, long, slow, sure strokes that stoked the fire within me. My heart hammered hard and fast, and my skin prickled with awareness. I wrapped my legs around Dillon’s waist, a silent command for more and he didn’t disappoint. Pushing himself onto his arms, Dillon began to thrust a little harder, jarring me with a sensual force that drew a whimper from my lips. For a split second, I was conscious of my untoned body moving under him, but all insecurities were thrown out the door the moment he leaned down and sucked my nipple into the warm confines of his mouth. His strong hands lifted my thighs a little higher, and he began moving faster and deeper. Crossing to my neglected nipple, he drew it into his mouth and sucked hard, his teeth barely capturing the taut bud which began to push me towards a climax.