* * *

Four hours later I was standing outside my old family home. It was just after one in the morning. The street was peaceful and just as I remembered it. Cookie-cutter houses lined either side of the street. Their lawns were pristine—trimmed to perfection. My parent’s house was a split-foyer with gray siding and a concrete path leading to a wrap-around porch. Rebekah and I stood in the driveway while Dorian waited in our rented car.

“They talk about you, you know?” My sister said. “Mom and dad,” she supplied. “I think they miss you.”

I smiled to keep from crying. For ten years, I wondered if they regretted their decision to send me away. After not hearing from them, I assumed they didn’t.

“Maybe they’ll allow me to visit you sometime,” I said.

“I hope so.”

“Me too,” I embraced my sister in a tight hug. “You have my address, phone number and email, right?”

She nodded. “Yes and you have mine.”

“I love you, Rebekah.”

After another round of hugging, I watched my sister disappear into the house.

Chapter Twenty-Six

It was late when Dorian and I got back to Flora. He had been unusually quiet on the drive home, and I let him. My mind was full of thoughts of my own. When I unlocked the door to my apartment, we both stepped inside without saying a word to each other. Dorian shrugged out of his leather coat and I headed toward the bathroom.

“I’m taking a shower,” I called over my shoulder.

No response. Weird.

I shut the door and began to strip off my clothes. I had been wearing them for two days now. Fiona offered some of hers, but there was no way I could squeeze into her size fours. I clasped the brush and ran it through my hair a couple of times to get the knots out before getting it wet. My naked body reflected back at me through the large mirror over the sink. A couple bruises dotted my shoulder and leg from where Holly had thrown me.

I turned the water on and waited for it to warm up. I leaned against the wall, my eyes on the door. I thought about being in the tub at Dorian’s house and the way he had trailed the washcloth over my skin. My imagination began to run wild. If I could go back in time and do things differently, I would have seduced him into joining me in his tub. Knowing Dorian… It wouldn’t have taken much. His strong hands would have roamed over my soft skin eliciting moans from my mouth. My tongue rolled over my lips before I bit the upper one softly. My fantasy continued to manifest itself behind my closed eyelids. I saw Dorian lifting his shirt over his head, exposing the hard muscle beneath. I itched to run my tongue over each valley and taste every inch of him. A strong ache built between my legs as I fantasized about where he’d taste me. I used my hands, pretending they were his, and trailed a path up my stomach and to my breasts. My thighs pressed together and my head lolled to the side as I thought about his mouth on my erect nipples. An involuntary moan escaped my lips.

I opened my eyes, worried Dorian had heard me. The bathroom was foggy with steam. Abandoning my daydream, I stepped into the tub. As the hot water poured over me, I imagined Dorian was in here with me. I wondered what the tile would feel like against my back so I turned and leaned against it. It was nice, but I imagined it would be better if Dorian was the one holding me against it. I would succumb to his dominance and let him claim my body the way he wanted to.

I shook my head, snorting to myself. I was making up a fantasy when I could have the real thing. Dorian was just outside the bathroom door. I washed my hair and body in a rush, running the razor over my legs as quickly as I could without cutting myself. The entire time all I could think about was how stupid I’d been where he was concerned. I let my emotions over Aiden get in the way of my feelings for Dorian. Well, now Aiden is gone and I have been denying what I want for too long. For all of his faults, Dorian stayed beside me when he could have just walked away. He’d put up with my stubbornness, immaturity and whining. Now that I was thinking clearly, I wanted to make it up to him.

I was smiling when I shut the water off and wrapped a towel around my body. My hand only hesitated on the door handle for a fraction of a second before I opened it. Fiona’s bedroom door was open so that meant Dorian was probably in the living room. I paused in the hallway, wondering if I should change into some lingerie. I looked down, observing the towel. Though not made of skimpy lace, it was sexy too. It hit just below my butt and a good amount of cleavage showed against the tight hold. My wet hair was brushed back to expose my chest.

No more thinking.

I padded down the hall and rounded the corner to the living room. Dorian was lying back against the sofa, one leg on the floor. His eyes were closed and his sunglasses on the coffee table. Was he sleeping already? I didn’t care; I would wake him up.

The floor squeaked as I moved into the room. My body trembled with my anxiousness. I eyed his hands and a shiver jolted through my body at the thought of feeling them on my skin.

“Dorian,” I said softly.

He didn’t move.

I moved closer to the sofa. Strands of hair fell against his face and the shadow of stubble lining his jaw enticed me further. I wanted to feel the scrape of it against my breasts. His lips were full: made for kissing. Without another thought, I bent over and placed my mouth over his, just a soft brush of lips.

“This better not be a dream,” he said opening one eye.

“Not a dream.”

He sat up and I took a step back to give him a little bit of room. He stared up at me, a smile playing on his lips. There was something about the way he sat that turned me on. His legs were spaced far apart, his hands resting at his sides—so inviting.

“What are you up to?”

I smiled to myself. “I was just thinking…we never got the opportunity to finish what we started in New Orleans.”

His hand came up to rub the side of his jaw. “Is that so?”

Why isn’t he ripping the towel off my body already?

“Hmm,” I said in agreement.

“Wasn’t it you who told me that I needed to stop kissing and touching you?” He tilted his head to the side, no amusement on his face now.

“It was,” I agreed, “but wasn’t it you who said you did not agree to those terms?”

“Gwen,” he breathed heavily, “I can’t do this…this hot and cold shit. Either you want to be with me or you don’t. There is no middle ground.”

Crap, he was angry with me. I didn’t blame him. In fact, I would have tossed me to the curb a long time ago. The point that he was still here was a testament to his character. I couldn’t tell him that I was serious this time; I had to show him.

I stepped between his legs and knelt down on my knees. I grinned when Dorian’s eyebrows rose slightly. The clouds in his eyes sped up and twirled showing me he was anxious to see what I would do next... I brought my hands up to rest on his legs and lifted myself up so that I could reach his mouth.

“This is me wanting to be with you, Dorian,” I said against his mouth before I kissed him. I sucked on his bottom lip first and then ran my tongue over it. When he didn’t return my kiss I leaned back and looked at his face. My stomach dropped at the thought of him turning me down. He was silent for so long I thought for sure some long speech was coming that would result in my humiliation. The earlier heat coursing through my veins turned to ice as seconds ticked by.

“Say something,” I finally snapped.

“Say it again,” he replied. His mouth opened slightly as his tongue rolled over his bottom lip. The rasp of his voice was dominant and hungry.

“I want you, Dorian.”

“How much do you want me?” A ghost of a smile teased his mouth and chased away my unease. Okay, so he wanted to make me work for it. I was up for the challenge.

“So much that my thighs tremble at the thought of having you.”

He sucked in a deep breath and gripped the edge of the sofa tight. “I’m not convinced,” he lied, but I allowed it. I had turned him away so many times. I deserved a little payback.

“It’s true,” I smiled. “When I think about your hands…” I lifted one of them from the death grip he had on the couch and brought it toward my mouth.“On my body, the sweetest ache burns through me.” I kissed his forefinger, nipping the flesh softly before twirling my tongue around it. I kept eye contact with him the entire time, urging him to give in to me. When I took his entire finger into my mouth, a harsh intake of air hissed between his lips.

“And when I think about your lips,” I continued as I stood up in front of him, “on my breasts…hmmm.” My hands roamed over the towel, coming up to said breasts. Dorian stared at me in awe. His mouth was slightly open. His chest rose and fell heavily and, if I wasn’t mistaken, a bulge grew beneath the zipper of his jeans.

“Do you believe me now?”

“Perhaps,” he said, standing up. He towered over me, powerful and desirous. The air around him cooled a little bit and licked against my body. Goosebumps pebbled my heated skin. “But I’m warning you right now, there will be no distraction that will stop me from taking you hard and fast.”

Holy shit. Heat pooled between my legs at the thought.

“Do you understand?” He tucked a finger beneath my chin and tipped my head up. “No more running. No more excuses. No more thinking. If you say you want me then you better be prepared for what that means.”

“Understood,” my voice came out breathy. He was a lot better at seducing than I was. In a few short sentences, he was able to own me. I quivered like an excited puppy at the promise of his words.

“Good,” he said, “now let’s get rid of this pesky thing.” With a hard tug, he ripped away my towel and threw it across the room. It crashed against the pictures hanging on the wall and fell to the floor. The anticipation running through my body left me breathless.

I stood before him naked, but he did not seize me. Instead, he tugged his t-shirt up and over his head, discarding it. I devoured him with my eyes; starting at his broad shoulders, to his strong chest and down to the ripples of his stomach. His jeans hung low on his hips. A path of dark hair started at his navel and disappeared beneath the hem of his boxer briefs.