Vanishing Dreams: Vanishing Dreams (Devil's Bend #2) (7 page)

“I missed you,” Dalton whispered, his gaze traveling from her eyes to
her mouth.

Instinctively, Katie slid her tongue out over her lips, watching his
eyes flare. She kept her gaze locked with his as she reached for him, sliding
her hands over his scruffy jaw, rubbing her thumbs over his cheeks. He really
was beautiful.

Ever so slowly, Dalton leaned down until their mouths touched. Katie
didn’t waste any time as she met him, coaxing his lips open with her tongue,
slipping inside his mouth. He tasted like beer and masculinity, morphed
together in one sinfully delicious concoction.

The kiss ignited instantly, the gentleness she’d expected from him
dissipating, leaving a hunger the likes of which she’d never known in its wake.
She wanted him, but she feared she would never get enough. Giving in to him was
second nature, something she didn’t even have to think about. When his hand
moved beneath her T-shirt, her skin tingled and the muscles in her belly
fluttered. It was too much, but not enough.

Katie pulled him closer, causing him to lose his balance briefly, his
big body coming down on top of hers. She held him to her, refusing to let him
go, needing to feel every inch of him against every inch of her.

“I need to feel you,” she whispered against his mouth. “I need to feel
you now.”

“Slow, baby,” Dalton crooned, his sexy voice caressing her as much as
his hand was.

“I can’t wait, Dalton,” she pleaded. She didn’t want to wait. Didn’t
want to waste one single second in his arms. The few days they’d been apart had
been hell. More so than she wanted to admit, and now that he was there with
her, alone, she felt rushed, desperate to have him.

Dalton managed to ease off her, breaking the kiss and kneeling between
her splayed thighs. He pushed her T-shirt up over her stomach, his eyes grazing
her exposed skin. She could feel the warmth of his gaze as it touched her,
leaving her breathless and needy.

Wanting to speed him along because the aching need that had settled in
her core was too much to bear, Katie gripped her shirt, arched her back, and
pulled it over her head, tossing it to the floor at the end of the bed. And
then, when she was lying there in her bra, she reached for his shirt, her
fingers grazing the warm skin beneath. She could feel the hard slabs of muscle beneath
her fingertips.

Dalton offered her one of his signature smirks and then relieved
himself of his T-shirt in one easy move. She looked her fill, taking her time
to admire every tanned, toned inch of him, admiring the muscles as they flexed
and bunched with every move he made. His stomach was a series of ripples, his
chest two smooth, hard planes. “You’re…” She couldn’t even finish the
statement, wasn’t sure what she was trying to say, but he took her breath away.

The night in his truck held nothing on this moment. That had been fast
and dirty, intense. And this… This was so different, yet her hunger for him was
still the same.

Thankfully, Dalton must’ve been on the same page, because he hopped off
the bed, toeing off his boots as he unbuttoned his jeans, lowering the zipper
and then forcing them down his narrow hips. His cock was thick and hard,
slightly curved and jutting out from his flat stomach. He was the embodiment of
sex, all lean, delicious male.

Unable to resist, Katie forced herself off the bed, coming to stand
directly in front of him. While he watched her, he wrangled his socks off his
feet, kneeling as he did. And then she was looking down at him, while he was
staring up at her. His fingers went to the button on her jeans. Without
breaking eye contact, he quickly slid them down her hips, leaving her standing
there in her bra and panties. She’d chosen the black lace just for this moment,
just for this man.

He crawled closer, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to her stomach
while his hands slid up the outsides of her thighs, coming to rest on her hips.
While he lowered her panties down her legs, she reached behind her back and
unhooked her bra, allowing it to slide down her arms and drop to the floor
beside where they stood.

His tongue laved her belly, dipping into her belly button and sending a
shiver racing down her spine. He continued to kiss her, moving down her hip,
the outside of her thigh, while his hands mirrored his movements on the other
leg. As he stood back up, his hand slipped between her legs, and she widened
her stance just a little to give him better access. His fingers slipped between
her folds, and she cried out, the touch so intimate, so sweet.

“Dalton.”

“Tell me, darlin’,” Dalton said. “Tell me how it feels.”

He didn’t falter, sliding the tip of his finger inside her slowly.

“Oh, God. So good.”

“I’ve been dying to touch you again, love.” He nuzzled his face against
the crook of her neck, his breath teasing her while his tongue blazed a trail
of fiery heat along her oversensitive skin.

He continued to finger her, his other hand coming up to cup her head as
his lips made their way to her mouth.

Katie reached between them, wrapping her hands around his cock,
stroking him slowly, gently. The hunger that urged her to hurry took a backseat
to the reverence that she felt. She needed to go slow, to savor the moment. As
far as she knew, this was the last time they’d be together, and as much as she
hated the thought of never being with him again, she wanted to remember this
moment for the rest of her life.

“Katie.” Dalton groaned her name as he pulled his mouth from hers, his
finger stilling inside her. “Baby, that feels so good.”

Swallowing hard, Katie lowered herself to her knees in front of him,
looking up to meet his eyes as she did.

“Damn, baby. I’m not sure I’ll survive your mouth on me.”

Well, he was going to have to try, because Katie wanted to taste him,
to pleasure him in a way that she’d never pleasured another man.

Men had never been part of her plan, which was the only reason she’d
remained a virgin until the night in Dalton’s truck. It wasn’t because she
hadn’t had the desire, she just had refused to lose focus. Her life was a mess
without men interrupting the natural course.

But Dalton was her exception to the rule. He was the one man who had
caused her to deviate from her well-thought-out plan.

Curling her fingers around his shaft, Katie licked the head
tentatively, using his groans of pleasure to spur her on. When his fingers
slipped into her hair, holding her to him, she took him completely in her
mouth, sucking him. She tried to keep her urgency at bay, but the more he
groaned, the more she wanted to please him, to send him higher, to allow him to
feel even a fraction of what he made her feel when he touched her.

“Katie.”

Her name on his lips sounded like a warning, but she continued to suck
him, taking him deeper, sliding her tongue over and around the engorged shaft.
She allowed him to control the movements, loving the way he flexed his hips,
thrusting into her mouth, his fingers tangled in her hair as he continued to
pant her name.

“Darlin’,” Dalton said harshly, “you’re gonna have to stop doing that.”

Funny how he said that, but he didn’t stop thrusting into her mouth.
Until he stopped, she wasn’t going to.

Not until she sent him over.

Dalton was doing his damnedest to keep from exploding in Katie’s lush
mouth, but the woman was making it damn hard to focus. The way her tongue laved
his dick, sliding underneath, teasing the tip. She was slowly blowing his
fucking mind, and he wasn’t going to be able to control himself if she didn’t
stop.

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to pull away. The warmth of her mouth
felt so damn good. Her tentative movements, the hesitancy in the way her tongue
caressed his cock… If he had to guess, the woman had never done this before.

It made sense, and it set off something intensely possessive inside of
him, as well.

“Fuck, darlin’,” he growled. “You’ve gotta stop.”

This time he did tighten his hold on her hair, pulling his cock from
between her lips. He wanted to be buried deep in her pussy when he came; he
wanted to send her soaring long before he found his release, which meant he had
to rein himself in.

Reaching for her arm, he helped her to her feet, backing her up until
her knees touched the mattress.

“My turn, darlin’. Sit down.” He wasn’t trying to be forceful, but the
grip he had on his control was shaky at best.

Urging her onto the bed, Dalton eased between her legs, leaning over
her and sucking her nipple into his mouth. He wasn’t gentle, unable to control
the debilitating hunger that had infused him the instant they’d stepped into
his bedroom.

He wanted to savor this moment, but he knew he wasn’t going to make it
that far. He wanted her too damn much. She pushed every button he had, and not
in a bad way.

Even knowing how inexperienced she was, he didn’t care. He wanted to be
the one to teach her, to show her just how a man pleasured a woman.

After teasing her nipple with his tongue, he gently nipped it with his
teeth, loving the way her back arched and she cried out his name.

While he focused his attention on her breasts, he parted her slick
folds, using the tip of his finger to flick her clit gently until she was
writhing on the bed, her hands grabbing the comforter tightly.

“That’s it, baby,” he encouraged. “Let it feel good.”

He trailed his mouth down her stomach, then over her smooth mound.

Pausing momentarily, he instructed her to move up on the bed while he
retrieved a condom from the box he’d placed in the nightstand when he’d arrived
earlier. If he didn’t make preparations now, he feared his brain would be too
overloaded to worry about it later, and that was the last thing he wanted. As
much as he wanted to slide his dick into the warm, wet depths of her pussy,
feeling her skin to skin, he knew now wasn’t the time. They had to work up to
that.

Which he fully intended to do, just not tonight.

Tossing the foil package onto the comforter beside her, Dalton knelt on
the bed, leaning forward and sliding his tongue through her swollen pussy lips,
not giving her a chance to stop him. He eased between her thighs, forcing her
legs over his shoulders as he ate her like the starving man he was. He devoured
her, licking, sucking, using two fingers to penetrate her. He couldn’t stop
himself. She tasted so fucking good, the musky scent of her sex driving him
forward, making him crazy with lust.

“Dalton,” Katie cried out. “Oh… Oh, my… Dalton, I’m gonna come.”

He wanted to urge her to come, but he didn’t remove his mouth from her
pussy, flicking her clit relentlessly while thrusting his fingers into her,
feeling her muscles clamp down on him. Fuck.

He had no idea how much time passed while he continued to finger fuck
her, teasing her clit. Her body went rigid beneath him, her clit pulsing
against his tongue as she cried out. He wanted her to scream his name, and he
would get there, but at the moment, the way she screamed was enough.

While she came down from her climax, Dalton rolled the condom over his
rigid cock, his eyes never leaving her. And when he was suited up, he spread
her legs with his knees, aligning their bodies as he came down over her. Using
one hand to guide himself, he pushed inside, her tight pussy sheathing him.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he held himself back, not wanting to
hurt her. When he was balls deep, he held himself above her, their eyes linked
together.

“You’re so tight. Wet. Damn, Katie. You feel so fucking good.”

Her hands came up and wreathed his neck, her arms pulling him to her.
His lips hovered above hers.

“Lick my lips,” he instructed. “Taste yourself.”

Katie did as he commanded, her little pink tongue darting out and
sliding over his bottom lip, then his top. He met her tongue with his own
before crushing his mouth to hers and thrusting deeper. Deeper than he thought
possible.

Her legs came up and wrapped around his hips, holding him to her. His
dick throbbed and pulsed, the vicelike grip of her pussy testing his restraint.

Needing air, he pulled back, studying her face.

“I’m gonna fuck you, Katie.”

She nodded.

He took that as permission and resituated himself so that he was on his
knees. He gripped her hips, pulling her to him until her ass was off the bed as
he began tunneling in and out of her. He drove his hips forward, slamming into
her and retreating just as quickly. He couldn’t help himself. His sole
objective was to possess her, making sure she knew just who she belonged to.
Because even if she hadn’t realized it yet, she did belong to him.

Dalton had never felt like this with a woman. Sure, he’d had rough sex,
crazy sex, but never had he wanted to claim a woman. Not the way he wanted to
claim Katie.

“Fuck, you feel so good.” Lifting her hips higher, he changed the
angle, driving into her over and over, faster. “Come for me, Katie.”

Katie’s fingernails dug into his forearms as she held on. “Yes. Oh,
God, Dalton. It feels so good. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

Every muscle in his body tensed as he tried to hold back, needing to
send her over before he lost it. Watching the way her beautiful tits bounced
with every jarring thrust, the way her back bowed, her head tilted back as he
pounded into her.

He would never forget this moment. Not in a million years.

Letting go of her with one hand, he found her clit with his thumb,
circling the little bundle of nerves, pressing firmly until the muscles in her
neck tensed.

“Fuck yes,” he growled. “Come on my dick, baby. That’s it, darlin’.
Come for me.”

“Make me come,” Katie pleaded.

Dalton thrust forward hard, slamming into her as he continued to press
his thumb against her clit.

“Say my name, Katie. When you come on my cock, say my name.”

He needed to hear it, needed her to acknowledge just who was fucking
her. Who owned her.

Driving into her over and over, Dalton felt the telltale tingle erupt
in the base of his spine, taking him by surprise. He couldn’t hold back. “Come
for me, Katie. Oh, God, baby. I can’t hold on. You feel too fucking good.”

Katie’s fingernails dug deeper into his arms as he thrust into her
again and again, his body coated in perspiration as he tried to control his
release.

“Oh, God, Dalton. Fuck. Yes! I’m coming. Dalton, I’m coming!”

Dalton’s hips jerked forward one last time, his release detonating at
the sound of his name. He fell forward, trying not to land on her, but the
orgasm brutally gripped him.

Katie’s arms wrapped around his neck, holding him to her as his cock
pulsed.

And when he finally found the strength to move, Dalton pulled out and
dropped to his side, wrapping his arms around Katie. He buried his face in her
neck, trying to catch his breath.

Several minutes passed before his heart rate returned to normal, his
breaths no longer soughing in and out of his lungs.

He looked up at Katie, noticing she was watching him. She pressed her
lips to the corner of his mouth, the move so unexpected he felt a strange
swelling in his chest. It was a combination of the feelings the woman invoked
in him and something else…

The look in Katie’s eyes wasn’t one of promise. No, what he saw in the
stormy gray depths was something else. Something that scared him on more than
one level.

No, Katie wasn’t looking at him as though she were looking forward to
spending a lifetime with him. She was looking at him as though their time
together was about to come to an end.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Lying in the dark, wrapped in Dalton’s arms, Katie couldn’t bring
herself to give in to sleep. Although her body was completely sated, her brain
was working overtime.

She didn’t want to leave, but she needed to go.

What she wouldn’t give to spend the night in his bed, letting the
feeling of safety and security wrap around her. It was a feeling she’d never
felt before. She’d spent her life hoping to one day find it, never truly
believing she would, but now that she was here, she was scared.

Scared that the truth would come out.

Scared that Dalton would figure out she was a fraud.

She couldn’t be with him. It wasn’t in the cards, no matter how much
she wished it were.

Her life was too complicated. It also wasn’t her own. Whatever control
she thought she had over the decisions she made, she knew it was a lie. Every
thought, every decision she made was to survive. To survive in a world she
hadn’t wanted to be a part of but hadn’t been able to escape.

And there was someone else who depended on her. Someone whose needs
came before her own.

Dalton stirred, his arms tightening around her as though he were trying
to make sure she was still there. She was. For now.

But she did have to leave. She had to get back to her life, had to
leave this man behind, because the secrets she kept would only hurt him. And
that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Dalton made her feel special; he made her feel whole for the first time
in her entire life, yet she knew it was too good to be true.

“Don’t leave me, Katie,” Dalton whispered, his voice rough from sleep.

She wished she could tell him that she wouldn’t, but that would just be
another lie. And up to this point, she hadn’t lied to him. She’d merely kept
him in the dark. Where she needed him to stay.

“Stay with me, darlin’.”

“I wish I could,” she told him. “You don’t know how much I wish I
could.”

Dalton’s lips pressed against the back of her neck, gentle and warm.
She categorized the feeling, tucking it away with all the others, because even
when she wasn’t with him, she would always remember.

No. There was no way Katie would ever forget the only man she had ever
loved.

And that was what this was. The feeling that filled her chest. Love.

It was overwhelming with its intensity, and she wished she could spend
the rest of her life with him. But it wasn’t in the cards.

“Tonight,” Dalton whispered. “Just stay with me tonight. Please.”

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye, sliding down her cheek and
falling onto the pillow. Another followed and then another. “Tonight,” she
agreed.

Just for tonight.

That was all they could have, so she’d stay.

And tomorrow she would go back to her version of normal.

Unfortunately, there was no room for him in her life.

No matter how much she wished there was.

When Dalton’s breathing evened out again, his arms relaxing around her,
Katie swallowed hard, fighting the tears. And as exhaustion finally took her,
Katie closed her eyes, snuggled against Dalton, and whispered into the
darkness, “I love you, Dalton.”