Coming Home(110)

And that voice.

She wanted to hear it again. She wanted to fall asleep listening to it every night. She wanted him to wake her up with it every morning.

Leah took a step forward, closing the tiny distance between them and pressing her body against his, and he dropped his head slightly and exhaled. The warm rush of his breath danced over the side of her neck, causing goose bumps to prickle over her skin, and Leah turned her head slightly, breathing him in as they moved to the music.

She had wanted this for so long—to feel his body up against hers again. She’d imagined it so many times, but those daydreams were pitiful echoes of the reality.

All at once she realized she was trembling, and Leah tightened her arm around his back, trying to steady herself against him. She knew what she wanted, why she had asked him to come in, and now that he was right in front of her, she could feel the apprehension beginning to swirl with the growing desire in her belly.

Danny’s hand moved on her back, his fingertips teasing the sliver of exposed skin above the waist of her jeans.

“You’re shaking,” he whispered, slipping his hand up the back of her shirt and tracing soothing circles on her overheated skin. Leah’s eyes fell closed as she dropped her forehead to his shoulder. With every pass of his fingers, a tingling sensation rippled over her skin, making her feel almost dizzy.

She had never in her entire life physically responded to someone the way she did to Danny, and it was as terrifying to her as it was thrilling.

Leah gripped the back of his shirt, her forehead still pressed to his shoulder, and the solid steadiness of his body made her trembling that much more obvious.

Danny lowered his chin so that the only thing separating his lips from her ear was the delicate veil of her hair. “Are you okay?” he asked softly, and she nodded against him, not trusting her voice.

He flattened his hand against her lower back, pressing her closer to him, and that was all it took for her mind to completely surrender to her body.

Leah turned her head slightly, nuzzling his neck before she placed a soft kiss just under his jaw, and their swaying came to a halt as he froze. She stilled instantly, her lips unmoving on his neck.

Danny took a deep breath before he gently removed his hand from hers, and Leah’s stomach dropped.

And then he wrapped his arm around her waist with the other and pulled her against him, so that any measure of space between them was completely forsaken. She exhaled against his skin as he started swaying them again, his movements fluid and carnal and intoxicating and perfect.

Her free hand came up to cup the back of his neck, and when she resumed kissing his jaw, he tilted his head up slightly, his fingertips digging into her lower back. Emboldened by his reaction, she trailed her kisses upward, pressing her mouth just below his ear before lightly grazing her teeth over his skin.

He made a tiny sound in the back of his throat, and she kissed him there before trailing her fingers down the back of his neck.

“Danny?” she whispered, and he pulled back just enough to look down at her. She wet her lips before tentatively lifting her eyes to his. “Will you kiss me?”

His eyes fell closed, and Leah saw his throat bob as he swallowed. And then his hold on her loosened as his hands came to her sides, slowly trailing up the length of her body and over her shoulders. His fingertips ghosted along the sides of her neck, making her shiver.

He used his thumbs under her jaw to tilt her face up before he ran them over her cheeks.

And then he nodded, slowly closing the distance between them.

He kissed her carefully, his lips gentle, and Leah tried to keep hers pliant as she responded, but it was like trying to stop a cresting wave from breaking. She could feel the swell of it rising with every touch of his lips, building and building until finally she tightened her hold around his neck and deepened the kiss with a sigh.