Open Life (Open Skies #5) (14 page)

Chapter Fourteen

A couple of hours later, Jake and Julie had their first dance, opening up the floor for the other couples. Soon, the restaurant was full of couples slowly rotating on the dance floor. Julie looked around at her guests, wondering at what she saw.

Phil and Vicky were dancing with Sonia and she was giggling like mad at the differences in their heights. Mattie was dancing with Lyle Hawkins, the lawyer who had first told Julie about inheriting Open Skies from her absentee father; Lyle’s wife had passed away just six months earlier and she was still touched and stunned that he’d chosen to come to the wedding after all.

Annabeth and Eric were clutching each other tightly, barely moving and Julie smiled. They looked like two people who shared one heart – and in so many ways, she supposed they did. Tammy and Rob were kissing as they moved, totally in to one another and probably barely aware that anyone else existed in the world. But the most interesting couple of all was Maria and Dillon: he was holding her in his huge arms like she was the most precious thing he’d ever touched and she was just glowing with happiness.

“Well, Mrs. Weston,” Jake whispered. “We’ve got to get to our Hawaii honeymoon.”

“Yeah, we do.” She sighed. “I’m so ready to lie down on a beach.”

“Oh, are we actually going to the
beach
?” Jake said. “I was planning to keep you in the hotel room for the whole week.”

“Oooh. I was totally planning that too,” she said. “But I
did
buy a new bikini to accommodate the tummy, so I think we need to use it at least once.”

“You can model it for me in our room,” Jake suggested. “That way you’ll have it on and I can rip it off you without shocking the general public.”

She giggled. “We’ll see.”

“Shall we do the rounds then? Say goodbye?”

“OK.” Julie looked up at her husband, unable to believe that this tender, tough man was all hers. It amazed her that they’d once actively disliked each other, so much so that she’d contemplated leaving the ranch and never gave him a second thought when she did so. Now she couldn’t imagine her world without him. “Let’s go, Mr. Weston. Let’s get on with our life together.”

Let’s get on with a life that’s wide open… open to joy and love and endless possibilities. A life that I never thought I wanted, let alone I’d ever have. Jake’s given it to me – and thank God I can give it back to him.

**

As soon as Jake and Julie’s taxi had disappeared down the road from Open Skies, Dillon grabbed Maria’s hand.

“Come on,” he said. “I’m taking you home… and then I’m
taking
you.”

Her knees almost gave out beneath her but she nodded. Without a word, they slipped out quietly but Mattie watched them go and she grinned to herself. She took a sip of wine and resolved to stay at the party for a few hours longer. Let the kids have the place to themselves; after all, love was in the air tonight.

When they reached their apartment, Dillon didn’t even bother to turn on the light. He kicked the door closed behind them, picked Maria up without a word and kissed her.

She gasped in shock at his easy strength, then kicked off her high heels and wrapped her legs around his waist, returning his kisses wildly. She had no hesitation or fear about this, despite the fact that she'd never been totally satisfied after sex. With her ex, it had always been pleasant, she supposed, but certainly not mind-blowing in the way that she'd heard it was supposed to be. She was sure that if anyone was going to show her the
real
joy of sex, it was Dillon Saunders.

He carried her through the apartment, never leaving her sweet lips, occasionally bumping in to a wall. She giggled when he kicked open the bedroom door like a caveman, then gave a small scream when he threw her on the bed. He stood over her now, shedding his clothes at roughly the speed of light. When she reached for her zipper, he shook his head.

"No." His voice was thick with desire. "
I
undress you."

Her hands fell away and she watched, breathless, as the last of his clothing hit the floor. There he was, his cock reaching for her, the moonlight playing on the ripples of his muscles. She licked her lips, sure that no man had ever looked better than Dillon did right this second.

He came to her now, flipped her over on to her stomach. Slowly, he lowered the zipper at the back of her dress. Her smooth skin was revealed one tantalizing inch at a time, and he mouthed hot kisses on her until she was wriggling with need. But still he made her wait, his control perfect. His tongue traced the curve of her spine, nuzzled her lower back, nipped her generous ass. When his hand slid under her body and stroked her pussy through her scrap of lace, she lifted her hips off the bed.

"Ah! Dillon!"

"You're so delicious," he murmured against her neck. "I've been dying to taste you all night."

He turned her over to face him, pulling the dress off her shoulders. He lowered the cups of her bra to expose her full breasts and she moaned in anticipation. His hot breath was everywhere all of a sudden: on her stomach, her cheeks, her collarbone, her nipples. The man's mouth was nothing short of miraculous and Maria seriously wondered if anything had ever felt so good.

Gently, Dillon tugged her dress over her hips, down her legs and threw it on a chair. Her bra and panties soon followed and then she was naked under him, all welcoming and soft.

"You looked so beautiful tonight," he said. "That color was perfect for you... your hair, your eyes, your skin. You were like a sunset over the desert, baby. All orange and gold and hot."

She blushed and lowered her eyes.

"Nuh-uh. No way you don't accept a compliment from me now." He forced her chin up and held her eyes. "I'm about to be inside you for the first time... you need to believe what I'm telling you in this moment. You need to trust me."

"I do," she whispered. "I trust you with my life."

He took her in his strong arms and held her tight and close, just let their hearts beat at the same time. He kissed her forehead and ran his hands over her shoulders.

"You sure you want this with me, Maria? You sure I'm a man you want to let in to your body?"

"Yes, I'm sure." She pulled back to see his face. "I feel like..."

Her hesitation worried him. "What?"

"Like you're
meant
to be inside my body... like my body
wants
yours there." She blushed. "I know it's stupid."

"No, it ain't." He was staring down at her with his usual blazing intensity. "I feel the same way, baby. God, you feel like home to me."

Suddenly, tears were in her eyes. His words hit her deep, touched on that part of her that was always searching for a place to call home. Open Skies was her home, no doubt about that – but so was Dillon. She belonged with him and to him, and she longed for him to belong with her and to her, too.

He saw the sparkle of tears and his face softened in that way that brought her to her knees every single time she saw it. The fact that she could make this tough, lethal man look like this was nothing short of astounding.

"Maria," he said. "Don't cry."

"I'm not crying."

He cocked his head. "No?"

"Not really." She wiped the tears away. "I'm actually happy."

"Yeah, me too." He moved her on to her back now and loomed above her, his upper body massive. "I like making you feel good."

Maria smiled at him now. "You want to make me feel even better?"

"Hell, yeah. Will you let me?"

"Yes." She arched against him. "You know I will."

He kissed the length of her body, listening to her breathing change as he worked his way down. Her first orgasm was on his finger and tongue, and he smiled when her nails dug in to his upper back as she called his name, over and over. She was still recovering when he grabbed a condom from the bedside table and rolled it on, his hands stroking her soaked pussy. Gently, he parted her lips and watched her face to see if she winced.

"You're not too sore?" he asked.

"No." She gasped as his fingers slid inside her again. "No, I'm OK now."

"I don't want to hurt you. Not ever."

"You won't, Dillon. I don't think you even have the first idea how to hurt me."

He paused, her words settling in his heart. He had no clue how all of this was going to go once he left Open Skies, but he did know one thing: he was going to fight like hell to keep her with him. He'd do damn near
anything
now to hold on to this woman and her tough vulnerability. Without her, his life just wasn't complete – he needed her by his side to feel whole.

Dillon lay on his back, pulling her up and on to him. She came willingly, even eagerly, not the slightest bit self-conscious about her body anymore. Dillon's unquestioning adoration of every single one of her curves had made her look at herself in a whole new light; she now saw herself as unabashedly sexy. It was funny what pure desire could do and every time she saw that hungry look in his eyes, she knew that she was beautiful to Dillon.

When she lowered herself on him and took him in to her body, they both gasped. Dillon's hands were on her hips, guiding and steadying her and she sank down slowly, an inch at a time. When he was inside her all the way, she shut her eyes to savor it. His cock felt incredible: its hot length pushing in to her deeper and farther than anyone ever had. Maria had never understood before now just what it meant to be
taken
, to be
filled
... but Dillon did both and she was shaken by how much she needed both from him.

He looked up at her, loving the way her curls cascaded over her shoulders and breasts. She was like a dark angel, pure and innocent, but also wicked, mouthwatering temptation. When she opened her eyes and gazed down at him, he felt a wave of tenderness threaten to wash him away. She made him want things that he'd never even thought about before: marriage and kids, a mortgage and a minivan. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"You feel so damn good, baby," he said. "I could stay right here like this forever."

"Yeah?" She rolled her hips and he exhaled, hard. "Forever, huh?"

"Not if you keep doing that," he said through gritted teeth.

"Really?" She moved faster. "Why not?"

He growled deep in his throat and without a word, he sat up, flipped her over. She gasped in shock, amazed at how quickly a man Dillon's size could move. Then right away, she forgot her surprise, awash in the sensation of having him even deeper inside of her. He pulled out, slid back in, his one hand holding her in place, the other above her head, taking his weight. He was gorgeous and wild and he was inside
her
body. She gave a sharp cry as he nipped her breast and thrust again, loving the combination of pleasure and pain.

"You ready for me?" he ground out. "I said I'd take you, baby, and that's what I intend to do."

"Yes." The word ended on a moan as he sucked her nipple in to his mouth. "Take me, Dillon... please take me hard."

Her words sent his desire straight in to overdrive. He did as she begged and took her hard, so hard that the bed banged against the wall, over and over. His face was buried in her delicate throat and he inhaled her scent, pulled it deep in to his pores, trying to make her sweetness an actual, physical part of himself.

Maria couldn't believe how he moved on her, in her. She had a crashing orgasm within seconds and when he groaned and raised her legs above her head, she felt another one start to build. He closed his eyes and threw his head back, and the look of rapture on that handsome face was dazzling. She gripped the bed sheets under her straining, writhing body, moving with him again and again, his rhythm perfect and amazing. Their pace increased; increased again. They were both breathless, panting, moaning, out of control.

Dillon was almost crazed with the need to come, to make her come once more. When she arched up off the bed and shook like a leaf in a gale-force wind, he knew she was there. That was when he let himself go. He slammed in to her like a man possessed, not stopping until he erupted.

His climax stole the breath and bones right out of him and he collapsed on top of her, catching himself just in time. She was still convulsing under him and all around his cock, and her passionate cries were the most beautiful things he'd ever heard. She was totally undone and abandoned and it made her all that more stunning to him.

Slowly, they relaxed. They didn't speak, didn't even move for a long time. Dillon actually
couldn't
move; all he could do was hold her and try to breathe. She was clutching him close, her face in his chest, her legs wrapped around his waist. When he pulled out of her heated body, she made a small sound of protest.

"I thought you were going to stay right here forever," Maria said.

Dillon laughed and kissed her nose. "Fuck, I wish I could." He stood up now and blinked at the dizziness that passed over him. God, he was actually
light-headed
from that orgasm. That had never happened to him before and he grinned down at her.

"One sec, baby, OK?"

"Mmmm-hmmmm." She managed to roll over on to her side, exhausted in ways that she'd never been before. She had no idea how Dillon was walking; if someone asked her to get to her feet now, she'd surely go crashing to the ground.

He came back from the bathroom with a wet cloth and cleaned her tenderly. She smiled at the look on his face, committing it to memory. It was hands-down the sweetest that Dillon had ever looked, and it was something to cherish after he was gone.

They cuddled for a while, then Dillon got up to grab them some water and fruit. While she was alone, Maria made the mistake of starting to think. This was dangerous and she knew it, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. In the aftermath of sex that had shaken her both physically and emotionally, insecurities were rearing their ugly heads, and worries about what was going to happen after Dillon went back to Denver began to nag at her.

OK, yeah, he'd decided to stay up at Open Skies for a few extra days to be with her. He'd been nothing but tender and considerate in bed with her. He'd whispered sweet nothings in to her ear and made her feel sexy and desirable. But that was all there was, right? All there could be? This was fun and this was temporary and she'd known that from the start. The fact that she now felt and wanted
more
was a goddamn problem... but it was
her
problem.