Good Time Bad Boy (22 page)

Wade wrapped his arms around her and she wanted to melt into him. He took control of the kiss, slowing her down, tempering her passion with that damnable restraint of his that made her crazy. A frustrated noise escaped her throat and he chuckled. Then, damn him, he stepped away, leaving her cold and hungry for his touch. He took her hand and tugged, an invitation in his smile. She let him lead her upstairs, down a hallway filled with framed photos she ignored because she couldn’t stop looking at him. Only two things about the bedroom warranted her notice: the bed itself, a king size covered with a marbled blue comforter, and the candles. A half dozen candles were arrayed around the room. Burn the candles down, she remembered him saying. He went around the room now lighting them.

Once he stood in front of her again, he wasted no time. He grabbed the hem of her blouse and pulled it over her head. She shook her hair out of its loose braid. He tangled one hand in the strands and drew her to him. His mouth came down on hers, hard and demanding. Daisy gave him what he wanted, holding onto his shoulders as he took. His tongue slicked against hers in blatant promise. His hands roamed down her body slowly, mapping her lines and curves. She arched against him, trying to urge him on. He broke the kiss and settled his hands at the top of her jeans, stroking the sensitive bare skin of her belly with his fingertips.

Daisy swayed, drunk on his touch. “More,” she whispered.

Wade pressed a tender kiss to her forehead as he unsnapped her jeans. She started to push them down but he stayed her hands and did it himself, slow, deliberate. Careful not to let her fall as he helped her step out of them. Wearing a wicked grin, he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed. Daisy laughed. She crooked her index finger at him. “Right here.”

He pulled off his boots and knelt on the end of the bed, capturing her ankle in his hand. He leaned over and kissed a path from the top of her foot to her knee on her left leg. She rubbed his back with her right foot, teasing. He grabbed her right ankle and pushed her legs apart gently to make room for himself, then kissed his way up her right calf to her knee. Daisy bit her lip and tried not to squirm. Soon he had her writhing and gasping as he explored her body with soft kisses and featherlight touches. A kiss to the crease of her hip, his teeth tugging at her panties to tease but not remove. His fingers stroked the back of her knee, and she was surprised at the coil of pleasure his touch there opened. Across her belly and up and down her sides and then he lifted her to unhook her bra. He kissed his way to her bare breasts, taking his sweet time and nearly killing her in the process. Finally his lips touched the underside of one breast. With agonizing slowness, he kissed all around her breast before taking the nipple in his mouth. The wet rasp of his tongue on the hard bead wrung a strangled cry from her. He sucked and licked until sensation overload threatened to reduce her to begging. She’d never begged a man in her life but she was close to begging Wade. He sucked harder on her nipple and it pulled on a cord of sensation that went right to the wet, aching core of her arousal.

“Please.” The word fell from her lips without conscious thought.

“Mmm.” Wade released her nipple with a slight pop. “That’s a word I forgot to put on the list. You can say please all you want.”

“Please.” She said it stronger this time as she reached for the placket of his shirt. “I want skin.” Her hands shook as she yanked the snaps apart.

Wade eased her hands away and pinned her arms to the bed. “It’s not your turn yet.” He lowered his body to half cover hers, keeping his weight on the bed. His shirt hung open, revealing soft chest hair and hard muscle. She struggled against his restraint, wanting to touch him, needing skin on skin. The fact that he denied her drove her crazy, and made her want him even more.

Time lost all meaning as he lavished attention on her neglected breast. From there he moved up to her throat. He followed the lines of each collar bone, alternating soft kisses with the sharp bite of his teeth. She hissed and arched her body at that first little taste of pain. Wade raised his head to meet her eyes. His were full of concern. Daisy nodded. “More.” The single word was all she could muster.

She’d watched his fingers dance over the strings of his guitar and conjure music like magic. Now he composed a melody on her body with those fingers. He mixed soft featherlight strokes with the pads of his fingertips and swirling, scoring patterns with his nails. His lips and tongue set the rhythm with steady kisses and licks. He caressed and teased and petted every part of her, front and back and head to toe, until he’d found sweet spots even she didn’t know she had. When she arched her back and gave a breathless gasp, he said, “This is what I like.”

Daisy reached for him. This time he didn’t deny her. Quickly he stripped and turned himself over to her eager hands and mouth. She kissed him with a desperate hunger and let her hands roam over every inch of his skin she could reach. He broke away long enough to retrieve a condom from the nightstand. When he returned, he covered her completely, blocking out all but the faintest candlelight. Nothing but the feel of him existed, the warm cocoon of his body and the heat he stoked in the most intimate parts of her body and her heart.

“This is what I want,” he said as he entered her with agonizing slowness. “You’re what I want.”

Daisy raised her hips to meet him. He dropped his head to the curve of her neck and she tangled her hands in his hair. Their bodies found a rhythm, a slow, steady bliss that she never wanted to end. A deep hungry need for more rose in her. As if he could sense it, Wade rocked harder into her. She cried out, sounds of intense pleasure she’d never heard herself make before. He answered with a gradually increased pace that left her breathless and panting. When he slipped one hand between their bodies and set his fingers to work, all thought ceased. She hovered on the edge of orgasm for long minutes, her body tight with need. Finally the need was answered as a wave of pure erotic sensation flooded her body. She couldn’t hold back a scream.

Wade stopped holding back too. All signs of the courtly lover disappeared as he gave in to his own need with rough driving thrusts. Daisy brought her legs up to wrap around his lower back and welcomed his wildness as much as she had his sensuality. It’s okay to want both, he’d said days ago. For the first time she really believed it.

“This is what I want,” she said. “Yes. More. Oh God, right there.” She tried to remember what else he’d said was okay to say tonight but talking just didn’t seem all that important.

He drove her to another orgasm and followed quickly with his own. As aftershocks made her body tremble, Daisy cradled him in her arms. She stroked the back of his neck and he shivered. He rolled off of her with a satisfied sigh, one hand brushing her shoulder lightly.

Reality began to return and Daisy wondered how long he would let her stay. Before she had a chance to ask, he sat up and ran a hand through his wrecked hair.

“I need a shower,” he said.

That answered that. She moved to the edge of the bed. “Okay, I’ll just-”

Wade dragged her back to his side. “You’ll just take a shower with me, is what you’ll do.” He kissed her, a little sweet, a little wild, and everything she wanted. “I’d like you to stay.”

Daisy’s heart thundered in her chest. “Okay.”

He curled his body around hers and nuzzled her neck. She closed her eyes. This was too much, too good. It couldn’t be real. She rested her hand on his chest. His heart beat under her palm, his flesh warm and solid. He drew her closer, kissed her cheeks, her forehead, the tip of her nose and finally her waiting lips.

Daisy wouldn’t have been surprised to find she glowed brighter than the candles, she was so happy to be in his arms.

W
ade stood on his back deck with a cup of coffee, enjoying the view of the lake. Daisy was upstairs getting dressed. They’d slept late enough that he’d missed church with his family but he was too happy to care. He’d woken with a clarity of mind and direction that he hadn’t had in years. He didn’t have every answer he needed yet, but he had ideas. Hope. And it wasn’t just about the beautiful woman he’d spent the night loving.

Good Time Bad Boy
was unfinished, but for the first time in a long time, he felt confident he could finish a song. And there was more where that came from. He could feel the songs, the stories he wanted to tell, building up and taking on weight in the back of his head and the depths of his heart. While making coffee, he’d used the back of a grocery list, the sides of a gas receipt, and an envelope from some junk mail to make notes on three new songs. His notebook was upstairs and he’d been too desperate to get the words down to take the time to go retrieve it. That was a good feeling, one of the best someone like him could have.

The glass door opened and he turned to see Daisy step out onto the deck. He set his cup on the table and greeted her with a kiss, folding her into his arms. “Good morning.”

“Hi,” she said nervously, not quite meeting his eyes.

He tipped her chin up so she couldn’t avoid his gaze. “Okay, let’s have it.”

“What?” She tried to back out of his embrace but he wouldn’t let her.

“You’re no good at playing coy. Just speak your mind, it’s okay.”

Daisy was quiet for a moment before answering. “I don’t know if I should leave or stay. I don’t know what you want. This isn’t like anything I’ve done before. Nothing with you has been like anything I’m used to when it comes to dating.”

“I want you to stay,” he said. “If you think you want to leave, I’ll try to talk you into staying but I’m not going to beg or force the issue. I want you to want to be here.” And he wanted that a hell of a lot, more than he was really comfortable admitting, but he didn’t want to pressure her, especially with her already nervous.

This time when she pulled out of his arms he let her go. “I want to stay,” she said. “I just think maybe it’s not a good idea.”

His spirits soared and sank from one sentence to the next. He pulled out a chair for her. “Talk to me.”

She stared at the chair and crossed her arms over her front in a manner that seemed more self-protective than anything else. “I think it’s best I go.”

“I wish you would talk to me. No matter what it is, just tell me what you’re thinking.”

Daisy opened her mouth to speak. His cell phone rang, cutting her off. Wade cursed as he picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID. It was Becky. He pressed ignore and faced Daisy. “Will you tell me why you don’t want to stay?”

“I need to walk away before it gets too hard. Before it hurts too much.”

He stepped toward her and she moved back. “I can’t be cool about this,” she said. “Last night I thought I could, and be okay with just a night or two. But this morning everything feels different and I don’t like that.”

“Daisy.”

“I don’t expect anything from you. We didn’t talk about this until now. I’m not mad and I don’t think you led me on or anything like that. I just need to get out before I get in over my head.”

Wade froze, because he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what he wanted past this summer. Even if he did have an inkling, he didn’t know if he could be that man again. He’d screwed it up so badly the first time. So he stood frozen in place while some deep instinct screamed at him that he should have been talking, should have been taking her in his arms and kissing her. He ignored that instinct, and felt the moment and all of its possibility pass by.

A knock loud enough to reach the deck came from the front door. Daisy took it as her chance to flee. “I’ll see you around, Wade.” She hurried down the steps and to the side of the house where she’d parked her car.

Run. Go get her. That instinct screamed again but Wade only stood there. Finally the pounding from the door got to be too much and he stalked into the house. His mother and Chris were on the other side of the door.

Great. Just what he needed.

***

D
aisy did her best to focus on groceries and chores and her usual Sunday routine, but it didn’t work. All she could think about was Wade. She tried to convince herself that the amazing sex was the only reason, but in the privacy of her own thoughts she couldn’t lie. Everything about him was amazing, even the things he thought were faults. He’d gotten under her skin when she wasn’t looking. Though, if she had to pinpoint a likely time when she’d fallen hard and fast for him, she’d point to that night under the stars.

Wade had blown her expectations out of the water that night. Two years of celibacy and a wild attraction to him had finally broken down her resolve, and she went with him expecting a hot one night stand. Instead, he’d given her the most romantic night of her life. She smiled now at the thought of his guitar shaped constellations, and how the music he loved so dearly served as guideposts for his life.

What kind of song would he write about their time together? Something bittersweet and fleeting, perhaps. Daisy would never regret their short time together but she knew that would be all they had. He was far too talented to give up performing. If that song last night was any indication, he’d started writing again and that had to mean he wanted to record again. Wade wasn’t going to walk away from his career for her, and she’d never ask him to do that. But she didn’t want a long distance relationship. She didn’t want to be the girlfriend left back at home while he went out on the road. She didn’t want to go out on the road with him, either. She wanted a real home, and stability. After the chaotic way she grew up, she needed that. It was what she’d been working toward since the first day she signed up for college classes.

That was without even considering telling him about her past. Every time she thought of
Empty Rooms
and what it must cost him to have that kind of pain exposed to the world, her heart ached for him. She didn’t know how she could ever tell him of her decision to give a child up for adoption. He’d wanted his child. She gave hers away. How could she ask him to understand that? Her own mother couldn’t understand it. If her own mother couldn’t love and respect her, because of that decision she’d made at eighteen, how could anyone else?