Her Kind of Hero Page 13

  “That’s the bravest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Well, I didn’t know he had a gun.”

  “I didn’t either until he was heading for the front door,” I said.

  “You were pretty brave yourself, you know. Your tripping him up saved me from a serious injury. So I guess we’re even.”

  “No, I don’t think so. I owe you.” I took a deep breath. “It might take a lifetime to pay you back. I’d like to do that.”

  The porch swing stopped moving. To my shock, Derek stood up and strode to the other end of the porch. “Absolutely not.”

  “Derek! What’s wrong?”

  He spun to face me. “I won’t be with a woman because she feels obligated to be with me.”

  “I don’t feel obligated! I was trying to say—”

  “And I certainly won’t be with someone I love unless the love is returned. Equally, with the same intensity. No, don’t interrupt.” He held up his hand. I subsided, biting my lip. “I have waited all my life to be with one special woman. I thought that woman was you. I didn’t set out to save myself for you, but that’s how it happened and I have no regrets. But speaking of no regrets, I’ll tell you this. Having waited this long, I will not waste my life on someone who loves me, but isn’t in love with me.”

  “Please listen—”

  “I will not, Vanessa.”

  This was not the tentative, awkward man of a few weeks ago. There was no stammering, no panicked bolting from the room. He stood his ground, tall and proud. Only the tic on his forehead betrayed how he felt inside.

  I stood up. He turned away from me, but I went toward him anyway. I reached out and put my left hand on his arm. “Derek. I was an idiot. I was blind for so long. I knew you were my friend, but I was still blind. Even after I realized I was attracted to you as a man, I still couldn’t see what you really meant to me until I chased you off.”

  “Until you…”

  “Derek, I swear that I was coming to my senses before you came charging in on your big white horse. I was dumb, and I was wrong. All I can tell you is that I’m sorry.”

  He put his hand on mine, and he spoke. “You loved Luke. I swear I understand if you’d rather be with a man like him.”

  “You’re right about one thing. I want to be with a man like him. Someone who loves me for who I am. Someone who isn’t afraid to show his love. Someone who is strong when I’m weak, someone who knows himself, someone who wants me and someone brave enough to come to my rescue.”

  He didn’t answer. After a moment, he looked down. “You took off your wedding ring.”

  “Luke’s gone. I loved him, and I’ve mourned him. I’m ready to love again,” I whispered.

  He turned around and held my shoulders in a firm grip. “Are you ready to do more than that? Are you ready to be in love with someone?”

  “I already am.” I tried not to cry, but my eyes still watered.

  With the edge of his hand, he wiped away my tears. He leaned in for a kiss, one that felt like we were sealing a bargain with a solemn oath. I got as close to him as I could. My leg against his, our hips touching, our stomachs and chests pressed close together.

  We broke apart. The intensity of the moment passed, but before I could feel sorry about that, he grinned at me. “Then I have a surprise for you. One I’d planned out before you brought up the idea of paying me back.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “Come inside. It’s getting chilly out here.”

  He opened the door and turned on the lights. The perfume of dozens of roses filled my nose, but there was no bouquet to be seen. Instead, there was a trail of rose petals leading through the living room in front of the fireplace, back into the hall and disappearing up the stairs.

  In a flash I knew where they’d come from. “Derek! You salvaged my roses!”

  “It wouldn’t do to waste them.”

  He took my hand and led me inside. Our feet crushed the petals and released more scent into the air. “So where does the trail lead?”

  “Follow it and see.”

  The trail led to the fireplace. I looked up to see more rose petals on the mantel, scattered around a note.

  Dear Vanessa,

  I’m only good with words when I’m agitated, I’m afraid. After this many years alone, tender speeches don’t come easily to me. I’ve tried to show my love for you with chores and companionship. But I was always holding back from coming straight out and asking for more. That was a mistake, and it’s one I’ll never make again. I still have trouble with words despite the last two weeks, and so, my sweet girl, my love, will you please turn around?

  I turned around in confusion. Derek was on one knee. In his hand was a ring that glittered and caught the lamplight, but his eyes were even brighter.

  “Derek. Oh, Derek…”

  “I love you. I want you to be my wife.”

  I held out my hand, the tears from earlier falling again. “I want to be your wife.”

  He slipped the ring on my finger and kissed my hand. He got to his feet. We stood there staring at each other in stunned amazement. I recovered first, however weakly. “Did we just—”

  He grabbed me around the waist and spun me in circles. “We sure did!”

  At first I was laughing, and then I was kissing him. I kept his mouth on mine by holding his head tightly between my hands, my fingers buried in his hair. He lowered me down until my feet were on the floor. Our tongues danced together, faster and faster. I could feel his heart speeding up. Mine was already thumping against my ribcage.

  One of his hands slid into the back pocket of my jeans. He cupped my ass and pulled me even closer to his body. I was entirely willing to press against him. I shifted my hips in a slow, sinuous pattern just to feel his penis stiffen. The hand on my ass squeezed and rubbed while his other hand held me close to his chest.

  I came up for air. “I have noticed that the rose petals seem to be leading somewhere else besides the fireplace.”

  “You don’t like the fireplace?”

  “I love the fireplace.” I tried to pull him down to the floor.

  He laughed. “Sometime soon, but not tonight. Come on.” He took my hand and led me up the petal-strewn stairs.

  The trail took us into his bedroom. I gasped. Enormous pillar candles had been burning for some time, it seemed, and the scent of vanilla mixed with the smell of the rose petals for an intoxicating mixture. His old, practical bedspread was gone, with a fluffy, navy blue duvet in its place. More rose petals were heaped over the bed. Soft trance music came from the speakers on his dresser.

  “This is amazing.”

  “Show me how much you like it,” he said in a husky voice.

  I put my arms around his waist and pulled him close. His eyes were open, watching me. I rose onto my tiptoes, rubbing along his body, until I reached his lips. Instead of kissing him, I sucked his lower lip into my mouth, darting my tongue over the tender skin. I dropped down, running my tongue over his jaw and onto his neck. I nibbled and licked, rubbing my hands across his broad, strong back in the meantime. When I brought my hands down to his hips, he reached for my hands.

  He leaned forward and put his lips next to my right ear. His warm breath gave me a delicious shudder. “How about we do things my way tonight?” he said.

  “I thought I let you lead last time,” I said, pretending to pout.

  “No ‘let’ about it this time, woman. I am leading.” He knelt at my side, and untied my left sneaker. He pulled it off and tugged off my sock. I kept my balance with my hand on his shoulder. He placed a kiss on my instep and on the bone of my ankle. Then he put the tip of his tongue on my Achilles tendon and licked up the back of my leg, following the curve of my calf until he reached the back of my knee. He sucked on the soft, delicate skin, and that caused a tingle deep in the pit of my stomach.

  He looked up and smiled. Starting from the outside of my knee, he licked another line to the hem of my shorts. He reached over and undid the
button and the zipper, and drew the shorts down with agonizing slowness. His fingers dragged down over the top of my thighs, over my knees and down my shins. He left my shorts around my ankles, hobbling me. I hadn’t realized that I’d been spreading my legs until that moment, and I moaned.

  His tongue started back at my knee and up to my hips. When he got to my panties, he nipped the elastic between his teeth and gave it a snap.

  I giggled. “Silly man.”

  “Silly, huh? I’d better show you I can be serious.” He kissed his way up my side, raising my shirt ahead of his questing lips, until he had to stand. In one smooth motion he pulled off my shirt. He bent down to kiss the top of my left breast and then my left shoulder. He moved around, pausing directly behind my back. Without fumbling, he unhooked my bra. I lifted my arms to help him get it off.

  “It’s easier when you can see the clasp,” he said before I could tease him.

  “Now that you know…”

  “Knowing is half the battle.”

  I started to laugh, but Derek took hold of my hips and pulled me firmly against him. My amusement turned into a shudder when I felt his hard cock against my ass. The heat of him, even through his pants, brought answering heat from my pussy. His mouth was on my neck, nibbling and licking. I squirmed against him.

  “Der, take your pants off, too.”

  “Not yet.” He moved around to my right side. He traced my right ear with his tongue and dragged gentle teeth across my earlobe. When I shivered, he did it again. Then he moved down my neck, over my shoulder and down the side of my right breast. I stood as still as possible, feeling the light brush of his mouth, so incongruous with the heat of his breath.

  Just when I thought he was about to move to my ribs, he sucked my nipple into his mouth in one hard pull. I cried out. His mouth was working furiously, his tongue flipping the hard nub back and forth. He was devouring my breast, and I was pushing forward to help him.

  As suddenly as he began, he stopped. With a devilish smile, he returned to the gentle kisses, working his way down my right side.

  When he reached my panties, he didn’t stop to play games with the elastic. Still with the tormenting slowness, he peeled the thin cotton off my ass and then off my mound.

  I wriggled, trying to hurry him. He slapped my ass, much harder than I expected. I squealed and jumped.

  “Slow down, you. I’m going to take all night with this.”

  “Beast. Sadist. You just spanked me.”

  “And you liked it.”

  “Did not.”

  “Yeah?” He tugged my panties further down. “These look awfully wet to me.”

  I’d been hot and slick nearly from the moment we’d reached the bedroom. I’d felt my pussy clench when his hand smacked my soft flesh. I had not been spanked before, and I wasn’t sure what to say.

  Fortunately, I didn’t have to say anything. Derek was bringing my panties down to my ankles, further restricting my movements. Starting at my right hip, he returned his lips and tongue to the task of outlining my body. When he finally reached my ankle, he untied and removed my other shoe and sock.

  He stood up and moved back a few steps. His face showed all the desire he was feeling, as he repeated with his eyes the tracing he’d just made.

  “Derek, please at least take your shirt off.”

  He did, slowly enough that watching him was nearly as good as touching him. I reached out, and he shook his finger at me. “You’re a slow learner, Van. I’m still not done.”

  He knelt again at my feet. He freed my legs from the temporary hobble. He replaced their restraint with his own hands, moving my feet apart the distance he wanted. His soft hair brushed against the inside of my thighs. I thought the teasing touch was going to be too much. Then he started tracing my leg on the inside.

  Higher and higher he went, in one long sweep of his tongue. The inside of my thigh tingled in delight, a sensation only exceeded by the feeling of his mouth moving along my bikini line. When he reached my other thigh to begin the descent, I groaned in agony. I was holding on to his powerful shoulders, my hands too small to grip all of his muscle.

  “I can’t stand up anymore, Derek. You’ve got me going too hard.”

  He didn’t stop until he was back at my ankle. He gave it a punctuating kiss and got to his feet. “We can’t have you falling over.”

  “So pick me up.” My heart skipped a beat, thinking of how he did just that near our waterfall.

  He grinned, obviously thinking the same thing. He scooped me up, and I put my arms around his neck. “No, don’t get comfy, Van. I’m about to put you back down.”

  He set me down on top of the rose petals. I smiled and stretched, inviting him to come closer. He did, but not in the way I expected. He took a double handful of the loose petals, and rubbed them over my body. Their fragrant silk was cool against my hot skin. Derek never let them get too crumpled. Instead he grabbed a new handful for each pass. Sometimes he took a single petal and brushed my eyelids, my lips, or the hollow of my throat.

  Soon he moved to more sensitive skin. He placed a petal on each nipple, and rubbed very gently. It was like being touched through delicate cloth. When my breath came in short, hot gasps, he stopped rubbing. He took fistfuls of bruised petals and rained them over me until I smiled. Then he nudged my legs apart.

  I moaned my encouragement. He spread my tender folds apart, and dragged petals along my wet groove until I was panting again. He blew gently on my exposed and swollen clit.

  “Aaaaaah, Derek. Derek, please.”

  “Please what?”

  “Please take me.”

  “Tell me what you want, exactly. I want to hear it from you.”

  “I want you, Derek. I want you inside me. I want you bare and sliding all the way in to fill me.”

  His eyes were glassy from wanting me, but I saw him shake it off for a moment. “I should have asked sooner, but—”

  “You can’t get me pregnant today, either. Last Sunday I got my—”

  “I looked it up. Maybe I’ll make a spreadsheet later.”

  He winked at me, and I burst out laughing. “Derek, there is no man on earth I’d rather be with than you.”

  “That’s good, because I’ve already proposed. Even if you have second thoughts, I’m going to do my best to be…persuasive.” He ducked his head and put his mouth firmly over my clit, batting at it with his tongue.

  All of my blood seemed to slam down into my pussy. I was shaking and calling his name while my hips rocked back and forth of their own accord. My fists clenched convulsively against the duvet, and my toes were curled. He put his strong hands on my thighs to control my thrashing, even as he licked harder and faster.

  I screamed his name over and over. The orgasm sparked at my clit and grew and grew to encompass my aching pussy, and then down my legs and up into my belly. My nipples tightened, and my arms flung wide. Tears rolled down my face at the intensity of my peak, and my screams turned to low moans.

  “Vanessa, honey girl, sweetheart, what’s the matter?” I opened my eyes to see him staring in concern.

  I tried to explain. “Nothing. God, nothing, you’re perfect, it was so perfect.”

  “Then why—”

  “Stop talking and get inside me, dammit.” I felt aftershocks racing through me. My entire body was screaming for his weight, for him to sink his cock into my shuddering cunt. I shut my eyes and moaned, arms and legs open to welcome him.

  He got his pants off while I wasn’t watching and climbed onto the bed. The concern was gone from his face, replaced by a look of desire. “Look at me, Van,” he ordered.

  I stared at him in wonder. He smiled. He was kneeling between my legs, and as soon as our eyes met, he pulled my legs up toward him until the smooth, hard head of his cock was right against my pussy. Watching me, he pushed himself in a few inches. He pulled out, and I felt the ridge of his head scrape along the top of my opening.

  With our gazes locked, he repeated this dance, g
oing a little further every time. I rocked toward him, but he controlled everything from the speed to the depth.

  Every time he entered me, I squeezed myself tightly around him. I saw him bite his lip, trying to keep from moving any faster. When I moaned from how good it felt, being filled and moved in his authoritative grasp, I saw him swallow hard. But he kept the pace slow, even after each stroke went all the way in and out.

  I was beyond thinking, or knowing anything but how much I wanted him. “Please, take it. Come for me, Derek. Let me feel you come.”