Before the Dawn(40)

"Tucker?" her husky voice whispered to him.

He didn't move. "Is something wrong?" His own voice came out far too rough.

"Yes." She shut the door behind her. Immediately, the room was plunged into darkness. "I missed you." He could hear the faint rustles of sound as she came toward the bed.

Baby, be careful. I warned you... "Stop." He sat up in bed. "My control isn't going to hold." He wouldn't lie to her. "I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone. I'm trying to do this right. Trying to keep my distance and keep you safe-"

She touched him. Her fingers trailed over his bare shoulder. "I am safe with you."

She hadn't always believed that.

His shades were down, the thick curtains in his room covering them and blocking the lights from the city. He could only see the vaguest outline of her body. And that meant she could only see the same when she looked at him.


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Did that make it better for her? Or worse?

"Is there someone else?" she asked as her fingers lingered against his skin. "If someone is waiting for you back in DC, tell me and I'll-"

"There is no one else." For him, there never was anyone else. She was the only one who'd gotten beneath his skin. Sure, he'd had other lovers. He had needs, and some nights he had to get relief. But in the dark...

They are always her.

And that made him feel even worse when he saw the dawn.

She leaned in closer to him and put her mouth to his. A light, tentative brush of her lips against his. His hands grabbed the bedding and fisted. "Dawn..."

Her tongue licked his lower lip. His mouth parted and she thrust her tongue inside. Baby, I missed you, too. His control was splintering. He should send her away. He was working on the case, pulling protective detail and-

It's her. I can't ever turn away from her. Not even if his damn job was on the line. She was the one dream he'd had all his life.

The one thing he wanted most.

The one fucking thing his brother had tried to take from him. And, now, finally, she was back in his arms. Kissing him, pressing her sweet mouth to his. Just like in his dreams, she wanted him again.

He wasn't going to stop. He tasted her. Explored her mouth. Got drunk on her the way he always had even as he kept his hands fisted at his sides. He'd swung his legs to the side of bed and she...she straddled them. Her body came closer to his, brushing against his chest, and that was when he realized that Dawn was naked.

She'd come to his room-naked.

He'd had that fantasy too many times. He'd woken up, without her, more nights than he could count.

Her knees slid toward his hips as her hands curled around his shoulders. Her breasts-her nipples tight-pushed against his chest. He wanted those nipples in his mouth. He'd always loved licking and sucking them and she'd been so responsive. She'd moan, choking out his name, and she'd get so wet for him when he sucked her sweet nipples.

I need her wet. I need her ready.

He wouldn't repeat the past. No way. "I want to...touch you," he rasped out. He wanted her to say it was okay. Needed those words. Because of their past.

Because of their present.

"Put your hands on me," she whispered. "Everywhere." 

Slowly, his hands lifted. They curved around her hips, carefully, lightly. Her head bent and she pressed a kiss to his throat, licking and then giving him a soft bite.

His teeth clenched. He'd always loved that one spot. His cock was rock hard beneath his sweats, so eager to sink into her the thing was about to start twitching. But she had to want him. Had to be desperate for him.

Because he wasn't going to have the same ending this time. They wouldn't end that way.

Her hands slid down his chest, her touch like silk. She reached the top of his sweats and she started to push down the cotton fabric-

"No."

Dawn froze.

"Not yet, baby. I'm already too close." And she wasn't. He lifted her up, turning his body and placing her on the bed. Then he moved on top of her, still slowly, waiting to hear her tell him to stop-

But in that darkness, in the dark where she couldn't see him, Dawn didn't tell him to stop. He stroked her breasts, teasing the nipples with his fingertips, then bending forward and licking her. She gave a quick gasp, one that just made him hungry for more, and he sucked her deeper. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, his muscles ached because they were clenched so tightly, but he moved carefully with her...

Don't fuck this up again. Can't fuck this up again.

He kissed a path down her body. When he got to the juncture of her legs, he hesitated.