“What—?” she began with confusion, than gasped when he caught her butt cheeks in each hand and pulled her forward. Mary cried out with surprise and grabbed at the wall, then cried out again as his mouth was suddenly between her spread legs, his tongue thrusting where she’d wanted his erection.
“No!” Mary cried with a dismay that quickly turned to need. “Oh God, yes . . . no . . . yes . . . Oh Dante,” she cried, bracing one hand on the wall behind the chair and tangling the other in his hair as he began to lick and suck at the nub of her excitement.
Apparently, the shared pleasure made it easy for him to know just exactly what to do to push them over that edge they’d been approaching before she’d stopped too. Dante didn’t stop, though, he just pushed until they both rode over the falls and dropped into the dark waters waiting below.
Mary was slumped in Dante’s lap on the chair, her legs on either side of his and her head on his shoulder, when she woke from their post-noncoital encounter. He was already awake, something she deduced from the fact that he was rubbing her back soothingly. Mary lay still for a moment, both enjoying the caress and avoiding having to face him. But it seemed she didn’t fool him. Dante knew she was awake, which she deduced when his hands stilled and he spoke.
“Do you want to explain what just happened?”
Mary reluctantly sat up, but feigned ignorance. “It’s usually referred to as oral sex. Although one of my patients said it’s called having a box lunch now, or alternately a Bikini Burger or a Cherry Flip.” She paused and grimaced before admitting, “He has a thing for looking up such words online and was always coming into his appointments with risqué lists of slang terms.”
“Was his name Bricker?” Dante asked, his eyes narrowing.
“No,” she answered, and frowned. “I can’t tell you the name of my patients, Dante, even if they aren’t my patients anymore. That would be unethic—”
“Never mind,” Dante interrupted. “Of course it was not him. You are from Winnipeg and he has not even been there that I know of.”
She tilted her head curiously at that, wondering who this Bricker was that he was talking about.
“Anyway,” he said, “that’s not what I meant when I asked you to explain. I do know it was oral sex, Mary,” he added dryly. “I meant why the sudden desire for a baby when less than an hour ago you were determined we should not have one and made me go out and find condoms?”
Mary’s mouth twitched with amusement at the complaint in his voice, and then she sighed and sat up a little straighter.
“I’ve changed my mind is all,” she responded. “I want a baby now.”
“Why?” he asked at once.
Mary shrugged and glanced unhappily away.
“They will not replace the children you already have,” he said solemnly.
Her lower lip trembled and she bit it, and then lowered her head. “I know, but—”
“Tesoro,” Dante interrupted. Catching her chin, he turned her to face him before saying, “I would be happy to give you a baby if you want.”
“You will?” she asked uncertainly.
He nodded solemnly. “You are my life now. My future. My love. I will give you anything you want if it is within my power.”
Mary stared at him, his words circling in her mind. The “my love” part really got her attention, but even it was not enough to distract her from her desire for a baby, and she asked plaintively, “Then why didn’t you—?”
“Because I will not do so until I am sure it is what you truly want and—”
“It is,” she interrupted impatiently.
“And,” he continued grimly, “That this sudden desire is not merely an emotional response to the realization that you can no longer be an active part of the lives of the children you already have.”
When she stared at him with frustration, Dante said gently, “It is not the right reason to bring a child into the world, Mary. And I do not ever want a child of mine thinking they are a substitute for your mortal children.”
Mary flinched at the words and then closed her eyes on a sigh. “No. I don’t either,” she agreed sadly.
They were both silent for a minute, and then she slipped off of his lap to go collect her nightgown from the floor. As she bent to pick it up, Mary decided she needed a change of subject to get her mind off this sad topic and asked, “What does tesoro mean?”
“Treasure,” Dante answered, standing to tuck himself away and do up his jeans.
“Really?” Mary asked, her expression softening.