Her expression was a mixture of sympathy and anxiety, most likely over his reaction. “I know…I know what the nightmares are about. The morning after you had the nightmare, Jack made a comment about your childhood preparing you for hostage negotiation…and I was curious, after the things you said in your sleep. It’s not Jack’s fault. I shouldn’t have pried like that.”

He zeroed in on one thing she’d said. “What did I say in my sleep?”

Story hesitated, looked away. “Nora. You kept repeating the name Nora.”

As always, the mention of his foster sister sent a jolt through his nervous system. He still thought of Nora every day, but it felt different somehow to have her name was spoken aloud. It made his life’s biggest failure feel that much more real. And now Story knew. Or had known for days. The final piece of himself he’d been capable of hiding from her melted away until he stood in front of her completely defenseless. She knew about his past with women, his horrible upbringing. He had nothing left to hide from her. Yet, knowing all his flaws and shortcomings, she was still there with him.

Daniel had one more question. He hated asking it, but her answer would be exceedingly important to him. The knot in his throat had returned, but he tried to speak around it. “Do you pity me, Story?”

For the second time that night, she surprised him. “No. I pity the sixteen-year-old boy. Of course I do. How could I not?” Story rose from the windowsill and placed her hands on his chest. She waited until he met her eyes to continue. “But I don’t pity the man. The man took a tragedy and used it to give himself purpose. The man is magnificent.”

Story’s pronouncement burned in his chest. Unable to respond or face the rush of emotions, he sank his hands in her hair and kissed her. Her head fell back, lips parting on a sigh that he savored on his tongue. He plastered her body against his, molding her curves to his contrasting hardness, the driving urge to pleasure her swaying him on his feet. His hands traced down her sides to grasp her hips, his intention to lift her against him and carry her to the bedroom, but he froze as her hands began working his belt buckle.

He tore his mouth away. “No. I need to have you in my bed.”

“You will.” She kissed his jaw as her hand slid inside the opening of his pants. Daniel groaned as her hand found his erection, her fingers gripping him firmly. Perfectly. “But I need something first.”

When Story sank to her knees in front of him, Daniel stopped breathing. Even as he tried to capture in his memory the image of her looking up at him with a swollen mouth and heavy-lidded eyes, he tried to stop her. “Baby, you don’t have to—”

His protest died a quick death when she slowly licked the underside of his straining cock from root to tip, eyes closed in enjoyment as she did so. Every intention he’d had of stopping her evaporated from his mind and he gave himself over to the pleasure. When her mouth closed around him, a growl erupted from his throat and sweat broke out along his skin. He commanded himself to stay still and take whatever she gave him, but he couldn’t stop his hips from undulating ever so slightly toward the suction of her mouth.

Daniel’s thoughts bled together, blurring his plans to go slow and communicate his feelings, if not with words then through actions. He’d wanted to show her a different side of himself. Make love to her. Prove he wasn’t completely ruled by the demands of his body. But her mouth was driving him wild. Every intention to hold back receded each time she drew on him with her lips and tongue.

Reaching down, he fisted her hair in one hand. “Goddamn, you have an eager little mouth.”

In response to his words, she hummed in the back of her throat, sending vibrations over his hard flesh. Daniel had to grit his teeth at the sensation. He watched as she squeezed her thighs together from her position at his feet and knew how wet she would be when it came time to slide inside her. Knowing she got that way by sucking him off would make it twice as sweet.

Daniel felt the familiar tightening in his stomach. Muscles clenched, breath harshened. Coming in her mouth would be heaven, but it would be selfish and he wouldn’t allow himself the honor. Not as long as an ounce of need existed in her body. He released her hair and slipped from her mouth, mourning the loss so badly, he struggled with the urge to push himself back between her pink lips. But somehow, he found the willpower to help her to her feet and sweep her up into his arms. Then he turned and strode purposefully toward the bedroom.

“I wanted to keep going,” she murmured against his neck, kissing and nipping the sensitive skin with her teeth. “Why did you make me stop?”

Daniel bit back a groan and kicked open the door to his bedroom. “I’ll tell you why, gorgeous. Because I’m finally going to taste your pussy and I want to fucking ache while I do it. When I’m inside you tonight, I need to know I earned it.”

When he reached the foot of his bed, he set her on her feet, then quickly undressed as she watched. She bit her bottom lip as he stripped, blue-green eyes heavy with want. Finally naked, he reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it off over her head until she stood before him in nothing but that white wisp of fabric she called panties.

“Take them off.” He hooked a finger in the elastic and let it snap against her hip, making her whimper. “I’m keeping them.”

Story slid the material down her legs before dutifully placing them in Daniel’s outstretched hand. She watched through glazed eyes as he walked to his dresser and placed them in the top drawer. Before he returned to her, he removed a condom from a box on the dresser and rolled it on.

Daniel’s heart pounded noisily in his ears. He flashed back to the night before, when he’d lain in bed picturing her just like this, naked at the foot of his bed, desperate for him to satisfy her. The reality far outshined any fantasy. With moonlight spilling across her beautiful body, she looked like she’d stepped straight from his dreams. Except this time she was real and waiting for him to please her. The need to possess roared through him. She would remember tonight for the rest of her life if it killed him.

He leaned forward and brushed his mouth against hers, trailing his fingers up her arms. She shivered and sank into the kiss, melting for him in the way he craved. He continued teasing her with featherlight caresses of her naked body until she moved closer, pressing into his hands and wordlessly asking for more.

Daniel placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down onto the edge of the bed before dropping to the floor between her thighs. Anticipation rushed through him. Since that very first day at the hospital, he’d been yearning to taste her. He wanted to memorize every shiver, every cry of pleasure. With firm hands, he parted her knees wide.

She gasped.

With an effort, he dragged his gaze up from the juncture of her thighs, over her perfect, pink-tipped breasts to meet her eyes. “What is it?”

Story’s hands clenched and unclenched on his comforter. “Nothing. I’ve just…I’ve never…”

“Never?” Daniel’s mind reeled a second before desire, even more potent than before, slammed through him. Knowing he could claim her with his mouth, mark her in a way that no one else ever had, humbled and empowered him at the same time. For the first time in the last week, he actually felt grateful for his ample ex

perience.

Daniel dipped his head and kissed the inside of her knee. At the same time, his hands skimmed up her belly to her breasts, where he teased her stiff nipples with his thumbs. He continued his methodical motions until he felt the tension ebb from her body, her thighs relaxing open once more. Savoring the taste of her skin, he licked up the inside of one thigh before giving the other side the same treatment. When her hips began shifting on the bed, he knew she was ready for more.

He hooked his hands beneath her knees and draped them over his shoulders. “Baby, you’re going to want to lie back for this.”

…

Story watched, nervous and impatient all at once, as Daniel’s dark head dipped between her thighs. She’d always wondered what this level of physical intimacy would feel like. Now she would finally find out. With Daniel. Her head tipped back on a sigh when his rough beard scraped the delicate skin just beneath her belly button, causing her stomach to quiver involuntarily.

His mouth moved to her hip bone, scraping her skin with his teeth. “Knowing these tan lines are hiding underneath your clothes drives me fucking crazy.” His parted her with his fingers. “The sun has touched you everywhere else. But only I get to touch you here.”

At the very first touch of his tongue, Story collapsed backward on the bed with a throaty moan. She felt a laugh vibrate in his throat before he continued circling her clitoris with small, circular strokes of his tongue. Mindlessly, she arched her hips off the bed, trying desperately to relieve the building pressure. Her hands sank into his hair, pulling him closer, pushing him away. She couldn’t form a decent thought to decide.

When he pulled away, she shouted her denial. “Watch me. Open your eyes and watch me pleasure you, gorgeous.”