Nightfall (8 page)

His expression held pain and regret. “I knew she’d left in time to escape the initial blast. I’d warned her and she’d already made plans to leave. Even though I knew she was on her way, I wanted to race across the country to get to her. I wanted to snatch my baby girl out of danger and I couldn’t. It was two weeks of going out of my mind.”

Alexander’s eyes clouded with memories, and her heart ached for him. When they’d chatted at her bakery they’d never spoken in this much detail about what he’d endured when Penny had crossed the country.

“That must have been horrible,” she said. “The worry…I never had children. Dominic didn’t want any and truthfully I didn’t feel I should bring any children into this world with Dominic as a father. But I can imagine what you felt.”

“It was damned acute. I thought some days I’d go out of my mind. When I realized she’d made it to Bangor, to her mother’s old condo that I still owned…” He shrugged. “I sat in my office and just stared at the wall for an hour. The relief was overwhelming. I bawled for the first time since I was a boy.”

She took a bigger swallow of whiskey. “I’m so glad she made it. She’s a wonderful woman.”

His smile was full of pride. “Yeah, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to her for what I didn’t do when she was a child. I’m lucky she turned out so well.”

Patty decided to push a bit. “You can stop beating yourself up. You’re an excellent father now. You love her, she loves you and she’s forgiven you. Enjoy what you have in the present.”

He grinned again. “Good advice. I sometimes think the biggest mistake I made was what happened before she went to California.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’d moved to California after her mother committed suicide. I was out of town on work when her mother died.”

“Oh, my God. You were already divorced, right?”

“Yes. Penny tried to get me on the cell phone and I was in meetings and didn’t answer. She rushed to Sentry Security to see if I was here. She found Ian. I came back about that time and caught them in the storage closet downstairs.”

Her mouth opened. She didn’t know what to say at first. “Caught them? As in…?”

“Not quite, but they were going to.” He reached for his whiskey, looked into the glass and slugged the rest down. “Anyway, she explained to me that she grabbed Ian for comfort and things got out of hand. I was pissed at them both and fired Ian. Penny split after that. She wouldn’t have been in California if I’d acted like a sane man and just let it be. Just let Penny and Ian be together.”

“Right.” She knew the latter part of the story, partly from rumors floating around town. “But you were trying to protect Penny initially. I can understand that. And here’s another thought. If they’d done things right they would have gotten together after that despite your approval.”

“True. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“So,” she said, “they needed the break even if it was a long one to get their…I’ll just say it…their shit together.”

He shook his head and closed his eyes a minute. “You’ve got things figured out. You’re absolutely right.”

“My guess is even if Penny hadn’t moved to California, she and Ian might not have gotten together because they were putting too much effort into denying what they felt.”

“Right again. When Ian went to Bangor to rescue Penny from those thugs, that cemented their relationship. When they returned here, I could tell he loved her and she loved him.”

They went quiet, and she felt the comfort of that silence envelop her. Never in her life had she experienced such a sweet connection with a man. A gentle thread pulled tight between them, and the idea of that bridge breaking in any way filled her heart with sadness.

She broke the silence. “This world is so different. So fragile. Our country has a long, long way to go before we’re anything like we used to be. Before we’re strong enough to be that way again.”

“We’ll do it. I’ve got that confidence.” She knew he was right. Some things had worsened over the year while others had improved.

His gaze moved over her in a way that concealed nothing. He was eating her up. Part of her didn’t understand why. A ratty, baggy old green sweatshirt with a moth-eaten hole at the neckline and equally large matching sweatpants did not a Victoria’s Secret model make. Alexander had looked at her like this before, especially in the last couple of days. Yet every time he did, that male intent seemed stronger.

She was tired of it. Yeah, she’d grown cautious over the last year. Alpha males were heavy on the ground in Buckleport. A surge of soldiers and law enforcement had been activated after the disaster. Some of them were a bit predatory. She still hadn’t noted any of them looking at her like this. She was so done with wondering what he was thinking, and decided right there and then to call him on it and see where the chips fell.

“What is this between us, Alexander? Are we just friends?”

His chest heaved up and down, and she saw something serious blossom in his eyes. “Patty, I feel like what you and I have…I don’t want to lose that. Ever. I’ve never felt like this around another woman.”

Her heart cracked wide open, the softness, the tenderness in his words blew her away. “Alexander, that’s…I feel that way, too.”

So she made a move. A brave decision she hoped would bring them even closer together. She scooted across the couch until they were side by side. She reached to cup the side of his face. He leaned in, his gorgeous eyes telling her with heat how much he liked what she’d done. He gathered her in his arms and drew her close and she melted. He felt so delicious, so good. His mouth found hers, this time not at all tentative. A rush of heat flooded her center as she met his kiss with passion. In his embrace there was heat, hardness and power. Sheltering in his arms was a haven where a different danger resided. One that guaranteed once she’d tasted him she could never escape the memory of how it felt. Delicious need gripped her. Warmth built in her loins, her nipples going hard. She hadn’t been this turned on in she couldn’t remember when. She palmed his cheeks and the bristle of his five-o’clock shadow teased her skin. Everything feminine in her appreciated this incredible man.

He broke from the kiss only long enough to tease the side of her neck with kisses, sending a tingle dancing over her sensitive skin. She shivered in delight as he tasted her earlobe. He was so damned gentle, tracking a tender path over her face, placing bit by bit kisses over her forehead, her cheeks and chin. She ached, that tender area between her legs moist and already wanting him. An agonizing stretch of time seemed to flow by as he took her on a sensual journey. Every movement, every touch took her to another level. One kiss melded into another and another.

His tongue met hers, and the zap of desire made her move and moan. As if someone had thrown gasoline on the fire, he moved and before she knew it, she straddled his lap. His palms slipped into her baggy sweats and under her panties to cup her naked butt cheeks. He squeezed.

Oh. Oh.

His hard thighs spread her legs just enough, and she settled firmly on the rock-hard erection under his jeans. Her eyes flew open and stared into his. Before she could say a word he brought her back into a kiss. Moments dissolved into minutes, their kisses fervent. With small movements she rode him, rubbing her clit against his hardness. Her breathing came faster, her body eager to reach a peak.

He broke from their kisses long enough to gasp out, “Easy, darlin’, or this will go too fast.”

With a smile, she eased off his lap. He rose to his feet, the blaze in his eyes telling her they hadn’t finished. He reached out and she took his hand.

“Tell me to stop and I’ll stop,” he said. “You never have to be afraid of me.”

Throat tight with emotion, she said, “I’m not afraid.”

“Good.”

He drew her toward the hallway. When he pushed open the bedroom door, he flipped on the light. A low glow came from a lamp near the bed.

Feeling more sexually daring than she’d ever felt in her life, she stopped by the bed. He drew her into his arms and to another kiss, hotter and deeper. Every stroke of his tongue against hers sent a new firestorm into her blood. Allowing her body to take over, she tugged at the bottom of his sweater and urged it upwards. He left their kiss and drew the sweater over his head.

She gobbled up the sight of finely-honed male flesh. Everything said he’d spent many years working out, his body that of a younger man. His arms were powerful, his chest sculpted, his stomach ridged and delineated. Dark hair lightly dusted over his chest, down his stomach and into the waistband of his jeans. She spread her hands over all that glorious maleness. When her fingers touched his nipples he gasped and closed his eyes. His hands flew to her waist and tugged her to him. She palmed his arms and chest, eagerness eating her alive.

She leaned over and took off her athletic shoes and socks and he did the same. She drew her sweatshirt over her head and unsnapped her bra. He helped her slide it down her arms. She felt the heat of his appreciative gaze on her breasts, but he didn’t touch them. Instead he pushed his hands into the waistband of her sweatpants and urged them down along with her panties.

She felt a little exposed, unused to a man staring at her in such naked admiration. With Dominic it had been going through the motions, but the hunger in Alexander’s eyes eased her self-consciousness. He obviously loved what the saw.

“You next,” she said softly and boldly.

He grinned and undid the button and zipper on his jeans. He drew them down and off. He stood for a moment, his obvious arousal outlined in black cotton. He was big, and the very idea heightened the arousal between her legs. She couldn’t recall ever being this hungry to please and be pleased. She allowed instinct to take over; she would deny herself nothing tonight.

She stepped up to him and then around to his back. She circled his waist with her arms, pressing her hands to his tight stomach and her breasts to his broad back. He gasped. She allowed her hands to caress and explore, wandering down until she could squeeze his muscled backside. She peeled his black briefs down his rear and thighs. He took over and discarded them to the side.

“Damn, woman,” he whispered. “That’s…”

“Like that?”

“Yes.”

She teased as she became bolder. She slid down to her knees and placed two kisses, one on each naked butt cheek. He jerked and moaned. Pleased by his obvious enjoyment, she moved around until his erection was practically at face level.

His fingers slid into her hair and she looked up at him. His eyes had taken on a feral quality, an obvious need that said he was thinking about how her mouth would feel on him. Instead of giving him that pleasure, she stood with a smile. Pillows were propped up on the bed and he slid onto surface and leaned against the headboard. She reached for his hand and she straddled him again. She pressed the long length of his cock against her, and the feeling was exquisite.

He hissed in a breath. “Let’s take it slow. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“How could you hurt me?”

“I haven’t been with a woman in years.” He cupped her face, his eyes blazing into hers. “Plain speaking, if I get on top of you I’ll be inside you in seconds.”

The very idea actually fired her up. “You have no idea how hot that makes me.”

He laughed softly. “God, you’re amazing.”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

His big hands palmed her back as he brought their lips together for a deep kiss.

When she drew back, she put her index finger over his lips. “Before this goes farther, I’m on birth control pills and I’m safe.”

She didn’t say why she took pills. She hadn’t gone through menopause, and with the rapes that had occurred in the town over the last year she didn’t take chances. In case something might happen, God forbid.

“I’m safe. Company policy is we all get tested,” he said.

She smiled and kissed him softly. “Well, then…”

She eased up and came down, teasing the head of his cock. He cupped her left breast and flicked his tongue over the nipple. She gasped as the hot, wet touch sent a streamer of heat straight to her loins. He thumbed her other nipple, teasing it as he suckled gently on her left nipple. For long moments he tantalized her, moving between each breast, feasting with tenderness. She lifted from his grasp and poised with the head of this cock against her vaginal lips.

“Take what you want.” His voice was low, a rumble filled with need. “For as long as you want.”

When she hesitated, he touched her softly between the legs. His hot fingers slid against her wetness, teasing with a touch so light she shivered at the sensation. He caressed her clit. She was almost too sensitive, too tight with need. She had to finish it.
Now. Now.

She lifted up, came down, and sank onto his cock slow and easy. He stretched her, but she was so wet it felt nothing but incredible. Down, down she eased him inside until she settled all the way.
Oh, oh yes.
She clenched around him, holding his thick length within. He groaned and his hips shifted upwards. His jaw tightened and his fingers gripped her hips. Alexander looked tortured, wanting to thrust, but trying valiantly to give her every pleasure first.

She’d never had this before. This overwhelming desire for a man mixed with tenderness. Never had a man given everything he had to please her sexually. When had she ever felt this powerful in bed? Maybe never.

She moved, lifting and falling. His hips joined the beat, small pumps that didn’t overwhelm. They found a rhythm and she closed her eyes. His cock caressed sensitive places she’d never noticed before, never even knew she had. Her breath came in gasps as she lifted and fell, riding him with gentle waves. Slow. Slow. Excitement rose as their breaths grew faster. Tiny moans left her mouth as she climbed. Each beat of her heart punctuated the movements, a drugging and erotic song. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, his fingers dug into her waist. A tingling started in her core, heightened as his cock brushed over a place high inside her. The sensation tormented and greedy need escalated inside her. She rode him faster, eager to reach ecstasy. Her body clenched and with a cry she let go. Her flesh fluttered and trembled around his cock as she soared straight into a mind-melting orgasm. She cried out as he pressed deep. She shook in his arms as pleasure rocked her. When she returned to her senses, she opened her eyes. The flush on his cheeks, the eagerness in his eyes told her he wasn’t finished.