How could a fifteen-minute ride feel like eternity? Each brush of Dan's thumb over her calf telegraphed signals straight to Leigh's pussy. Wet spot imminent. Thank goodness, the seat wasn't cloth. Now all Leigh had to do was keep from sighing with contentment and groaning from need. Both were nearly impossible when her mind wandered to all the naughty delights of Dan slipping his hand under her skirt and into her panties to make her come here and now. That would give Hilary something to write in her diary tonight. Although they might wind up in the ER because Greg would sure as hell have a heart attack.
Leigh chuckled to herself. Dan glanced up, that lift of an eyebrow asking her to share the joke. How quickly they'd fallen into an easy rapport. Like they'd known each other for years. Well…they had.
She yanked the direction of her thoughts off that path. She didn't want to think about then, or the age difference, or anything. All she wanted was to explore the here and now. To have a great orgasm and a good fuck at the hands of someone other than herself.
No one said much. After the evening they'd all had, shock was setting in. Among the why and who, everyone would also be wondering if it would happen again and how to protect themselves and their property against it. Greg would be hard-pressed to hire security and upgrade their pitiful surveillance equipment. The sheriff, California Highway Patrol, and citizens' patrol from neighboring cities might offer drive-by checks as well. A determined vandal could work around that; so could vigilantes out for justice. She would hate to see it come to that, but Leigh also wasn't foolish enough to ignore the threat from either parties-vandals or vigilantes. Teachers would go to their cars in groups, be it day or night. She'd arrange it herself.
"There's my house. There's my house." Hilary jumped up, waving her hand. "Stop, Greg, stop!"
He slammed on the brake, nearly toppling her over the seat and people in front of her. Dan's quick reflexes saved her.
Hilary's thin lips formed a rarely seen smile. "A-plus, Mr. Jefferson." Then she crawled over them both and left the vehicle without a word of thanks to their chauffeur.
Dan slipped into the vacant seat and covered his hand over Leigh's. "My place is only about a mile or so," she said softly.
"Daisy, right?" Greg asked.
Leigh fought the urge to roll her eyes and bit off a smart-ass comment. "That's right." Then she spied Dan glowering holes through the back of Greg's head and giddiness welled up inside her once more.
Within a few minutes, Greg pulled to a stop in front of her house, an exact duplicate of every other house on the street with the exception of the house numbers-tan stucco, sand for a front yard. Yep, he'd given himself away with that small error. Leigh wondered how long it would take the three remaining teachers in the SUV to piece that together.
Greg barely let them clear the vehicle before he took off again, their thank yous swallowed by his exhaust.
"He been stalking you?" Dan asked.
"Let's just say he's been persistent," she said with a sigh, and pulled her keys from her tote. "You planning to kick his ass?"
"Thinking about it." He pulled in a breath and reached for her keys. "May I?"
Leigh relinquished the ring. "How do you know which one fits? Or were you going to keep poking until you got one in?"
He clutched his side in silent laughter. "You nailed me. That is my style."
"Thanks for the warning." She snagged the duffel strap around his shoulder and tugged him up the cement walk. "I'll make sure to provide you with a little extra guidance when we progress to that point."
"Which will be soon, right?" He let her lead him.
"Oh, yeah. Real soon."
"Isn't this the part where you play coy with me? Tell me you appreciate my help, but that I'm really not obligated any further and I can call a cab?"
Leigh stepped aside to give him access to the door. The motion-activated light overhead came to life. She'd yet to release his bag. "I would never play coy."
"I know. Me neither." Dan thrust the key into the lock on the first try.
"How-"
He dangled the keys. "It's the only Schlage key on the ring. I…deduced, based on the skills acquired in my many years as a criminal investigator."
"Well"-Leigh danced her fingers up to the nape of his neck-"then maybe you won't need any specialized guidance after all."
He slipped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her to her toes. "A friendly hand is always appreciated…and never refused," he finished in a whisper.
Leigh grinned. "Never say never."
"My feelings exactly." He pushed the door open and swung inside with Leigh firmly in his grasp. The man really knew how to take a woman's breath away.
He held her suspended for the space of too many heartbeats, watching her face, her lips. God, he was hard! Everywhere! Was he waiting for a signal from her? Mustering control? Debating the whole thing? What-
Hot lips cut off the rambling dissertation. Such a soft kiss, firm, determined, yet not intrusive. As if he knew she'd needed something to silence her thoughts. Who knew so simple a kiss could be so overwhelming? Leigh let go of the moan she'd intermittently fought all night.
Dan deepened the kiss, nibbling her lips this time…once, twice. Over and over again. Leigh kissed him back, hungry for more. He drew in a deep breath through his nose, grunted, then slipped his tongue between her welcoming lips. Her knees buckled. That arm locked around her waist kept her upright. When the kiss finally ended, her head buzzed, her body sang. Any other man would have had her panties off and be fucking her bent facedown over the couch by now.
Another breath pulled his shoulders back. He combed his fingers through her hair, and she could feel the energy shimmering from him. Feel the demanding pulse in the erection wedged between them. And yet he waited.
Dan adjusted the duffel strap on his shoulder and turned her toward the room. Leigh kept her gaze on his face, searching for clues and hints of what to do, or what might happen next. A broad smile momentarily scattered the lust banked in his eyes.
"I love this. It's absolutely beautiful!"
She could tell he meant it, too. She thrilled at the knowledge. "With all the beige houses surrounding me, I needed some color." It existed everywhere one looked-emerald greens, ruby reds, golden yellow, purples, and blue. Somehow, she'd made it all work.
"Looks homey and comfortable, too. Like the sofa and chairs are waiting for you to sink into them after a hard day. Welcoming and peaceful. Soothing."
"Not too soothing, I hope," she said.
Dan cocked his head to one side as if thinking it over. "Nope, still locked and loaded. Waiting for a cavewoman to club me and drag me off to her lair since she's already lured me away from the safety of my own village."
Leigh laughed. "And here I was waiting for you to storm my battlements."
"In that case…" He ducked and tossed her over his shoulder.
She squealed. "Not exactly what I had in mind."
"Oh?" He twisted his head her way. "You were going to carry me?"
"Very well." She feigned a beleaguered sigh. "Carry on. You can use your keen investigative skills to find my lair."
He skimmed his free hand over her ass. "Getting sassy now, are we?" Hard circles brought heat rushing to her pussy. "There's a cure for that you know."
Leigh's breath caught. "Are you offering me a friendly hand?"
"Perhaps? Do you need one?"
She couldn't answer. Too many doubts swarmed her head. A sharp swat shocked an "Oh" out of her and yanked her back to the moment.
"Answer, please," he said. "You never play coy, remember?"
"I remember," she replied breathlessly, all the while fighting the need to squirm against his rigid shoulder and find some relief for the growing ache between her thighs.
"Do you need a friendly hand?" he asked again.
God help her, she wanted another swat badly. "I need many things, Dan."
There was a beat of silence, then… "I know, sweetheart, and I'm going to do my best to see you get them all."
A thousand questions, a million doubts, fear and craving both gnawing at her gut. Indecision.
Dan eased Leigh to her feet, but his arms still held her close. They were at the threshold to her room and she'd never realized they'd been moving. He shifted and tossed his duffel into it. The bag landed with pinpoint accuracy at the foot of her queen-size bed, but Dan made no move to join it.
"Every journey begins with a single step, sweetheart. Every step you and I have made over these years has led us here, equals. Man and woman. Journeys are meant to be savored. They aren't a race."
Leigh slowly shook her head. "I…I don't know what that means."
Her palms rested on the mesas of his pecs. She could feel his heartbeat in sync with hers, his erection pounding with as much intensity as her clit.
Dan cupped her ass, rubbing circles briefly before girdling his hands around her waist. "Lead me in the direction you most want and need, and I'll take it from there. The decision must always be yours. Saying no won't drive me away…unless that's what you really want."
"Goldie's rule…when in doubt, retreat?"
He smiled and slid his hands to the sides of her breasts. "Yes. And don't forget, when all else fails, take a nap." His thumbs brushed over her breasts, calming and exciting her at the same time.
"Never miss an opportunity?"
"Never. Unless, of course, it's superseded by the when-in-doubt rule. But there's one more…" He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, then flicked his tongue around her ear. "Patience has its rewards."
Leigh bit her lower lip and arched her neck for more.
"I know you're scared." He nipped at her earlobe. "I am, too." Teeth gently scored down the tendon along her neck. "I know you want me and did even before you realized who I was. And, God knows, I want you." His tongue branded her collarbones, melding into a line of kisses right to her lips. He stopped there, a breath away from searing her mouth beneath his. "But consider this, Leigh… We haven't seen each other for over thirteen years. We could be strangers to each other and yet we fell into a rapport most couples would kill to have. You trust me, more than you trust someone you see every day. Trust me now, sweet Leigh. We take this step-by-step, but you have to show me the next step to take. Forward? Or back?"
Leigh shook inside. Her body was on fire. How could she take any steps at all when it meant leaving the comfort of his body wrapped around her? Unless…
She closed the gap between their lips, gliding her tongue over his. Dan's breath caught, then he deepened the kiss and tightened his arms around her. Her toes left the floor and Leigh slid her leg up. Dan grabbed it and pulled it to his hip, then yanked her skirt to her waist. Leigh rocked back and gasped at the feel of his cock nudging her pussy. Dan cradled her as he walked into the room.
He eased them to the mattress without breaking their hold. Leigh snapped her other leg around his hip and dug her heels into his ass. Dan pushed them more securely onto the bed, nudging his jeans-clad cock into the thin shield of her panty crotch. Leigh wiggled against him, driven by only one thing-her desperate need to orgasm.
Dan broke off the kiss. "That's it, baby. Come; come hard. Then I'm going to strip you bare and make you come all over again."
He dug his fingers into her ass, lifting her higher, rasping the denim right where she needed. She rocked with him, riding him now, feeling the rise, muscles tensing in anticipation…
"I want to see your beautiful body laid out for me. Want to suck your tits and bury my face in your hot, wet pussy. Feel you come around my fingers, around my dick."
Leigh pressed harder.
Dan's chuckle cut through the haze. "You don't like when I talk to you."
No, she didn't. It-
"It distracts you. You're focused on coming. Living a fantasy in your head, rather than what's here."
Truth bolted through Leigh. Shame made her try to crawl away. Dan kept her in place, grinding into her clit.
"I want that fantasy to include me. Everything we can be. Everything we will be. Think of me and you, me doing what you most desire. Making you come. Loving you the way no one ever has. Fucking you," he finished in a whisper.
He caught her wrists and pressed them to the mattress on either side of her head. Then he levered up and rode her to the peak. "Imagine how it'll feel when I'm inside you, baby. Hard, so hard. Like fire consuming us both."
"Oh God," she whimpered.
"Yes, baby," he whispered. "That's it. Come for me, only me."
Leigh clenched her thighs around him and shuddered with her release. He rode the wave with her, hard breaths matching hers.
She waited for his frantic fumble to undo his jeans and sink inside her. It never came. Instead, he unhooked her bra and captured her breasts, tweaking her now sensitive nipples until she whimpered a complaint. Then he unbuttoned her skirt. The zipper sliced down. Hot hands pushed the skirt down and her panties with it. Dan crawled down her body, following the descent of her clothing with kisses, tiny sucks, flashes of his tongue along her skin.
Leigh watched him stand, waiting for the first glimpse of skin. Dan peeled his shirt up and over his head. Her mouth watered for the chance to trace the well-defined planes of his smooth, tanned chest. His hard nipples made peaks for his brown areoles. Her gaze wandered to the trail of dark hair starting just below his navel. His fingers rested on the metal jeans button, as if he'd waited for her arrival to continue. Her eyes locked onto the huge ridge swelling his fly.
Dan pushed the button through its hole and eased the zipper down. A glimpse of white boxers peeked out, then he pushed jeans and boxers down. A good ten inches of thick, meaty cock surged to freedom. Leigh knew her eyes widened. She couldn't help it. What else could a woman do when the penis of her dreams appeared?
"In case you were wondering, we won't be having anal sex," she told him.
He grinned as he stepped out of his clothing. "Never say never, sweetheart. One step at a time."
She pushed up on her elbows. "Name one woman who let you put that glorious erection up her ass."
Dan grinned. "I don't kiss and tell, sweetheart."
The reassurance touched her heart.
He cupped his tight balls, then stroked his hand up the length of his cock, catching the pre-cum at the tip.
Leigh rolled to her knees and crawled to him. She grabbed his hand and licked the salty substance away. "Nice." Easing to her heels, she unbuttoned her shirt and slid it and the bra off her shoulders.
Dan's eyes glazed over. "Yes, very nice." He cleared his throat and reached for his duffel. "Might want to move that beautiful bedspread out of the line of fire. It'd be a shame to risk staining it."
It was a paisley design of burgundy, hunter green, and gold. Leigh loved it for the old world feel and had decorated her bedroom around it. Hearing Dan's approval… Well, the man knew more ways to turn a woman on.
She crawled back up to the spindle headboard and shoved the bedspread down. Dan grabbed the edge and pulled it the rest of the way. His cock was fully sheathed; hunger blazed from Dan's dark brown eyes. She knew it had to kill him to wait; she wanted him more than she could bear. He knelt on the bed, lips branding her ankle.
"No," she gasped out.
Dan glanced up.
Leigh shook her head. "It's very fine for you to give me what I want and need, but I also get to do that for you, too." And she knew he needed her badly.
She reached for him. He didn't hesitate, though he didn't hurry either. He glided over her body, taking time to draw her taut nipples between his lips when the head of his cock nudged her entrance. Leigh brushed her hands over his shoulders, silently begging for more, yet content to let Dan have his way with her. He suckled her breasts until she writhed, until her clit was hot, hard, and ready, then he eased his cock inside.
A moan of appreciation blessed his possession-a moan Dan answered with one of his own. She clenched her muscles around him, loving the shudder that rippled down his body.
Dan pulled her right arm from his shoulder until he could grasp her hand. He kissed her palm, sucked each digit between his lips, then braced himself on his forearm and guided her hand between them.
"Make yourself come while I fuck you, sweetheart." His voice rumbled over her, begging and ordering her at the same time.
Leigh slipped her fingers over her clit. His kiss rewarded her compliance. Then he plunged his tongue between her lips and really took her. Slow strokes built her up for what she knew was to come. Leigh savored every one, pushing her clit into each rake and letting him build her to the peak.
Strokes turned to hard, slow stabs. She locked her ankles around his waist and pivoted in time with him. "Give it to me, Dan. Don't hold back."
He froze, gaze locked on hers. Then he closed his eyes, clutched her to him and let go. He plunged into her with a speed and strength she'd dreamed of, growing harder and hotter with every stroke. Her clit needed no guidance now; his big dick dragged it with every thrust.
Leigh clutched his back, burrowed her face against his neck…and came. Dan tensed on a hard plunge, grunting, then groaning with force of his ejaculation. He pulled out and sank in again, grinding into her clitoris in its final throes. She thrashed against him, and he plunged again, then sagged with her in the aftermath.
She listened to their hard breaths, felt their pounding hearts gradually subside to normal. Bliss set in amid gentle kisses, caresses, and sexy glimmers that said they were definitely going to be doing this again.
"Ready for ice cream now?" she asked.
Dan brushed his fingers over her cheek. "It'd be a great way to pass the turnaround time before we go again."
She giggled. "Yes, I suppose it would. I understand ice cream's better than sex."
"Depends on who you're having sex with." His voice was raw and husky…sexy all by itself. "It's definitely not better than making love."
What did he mean? Leigh didn't want to ruin the moment by tearing it apart with questions. She treated it as a tease. "Oh? Is that what we've been doing?"
Dan stared into her eyes with an intensity that made her heart skip. "If I'd wanted sex, any woman would do and I'd be home in pajamas by now scratching my balls and watching TV. I wanted to make love. With you."
Now how was she supposed to respond when he had her all choked up?
She cupped his face. "You did. We did." She kissed him and pressed her forehead against his. The emotion was almost too much to bear.
Leigh drew back. "You wear pajamas?"
Dan laughed. "I do. And you if make fun of me, I'll turn you over my knee."
"Weren't you going to anyway?" she asked.
"In due time, sweetheart." He gave her a coveted smack on her thigh, then rolled out of bed. "Turnaround time, you know."
Leigh smirked. "So I hear." She admired his backside while he hauled on his boxers, then crawled from the bed.