Текст книги "Truly Madly Yours "

Автор книги: Рэйчел Гибсон

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

“Do you want more?

Delaney closed her eyes and her head fell to one side. “Yes, she answered, and he drew her nipple into his mouth. His lips tugged and she felt the pull between her legs. It felt good. So good she didnt want him to stop. Ever. His mouth moved to her other breast and he sucked that nipple also. His tongue licked and stabbed and drove her fidgety for more. “Nick, she whispered and pulled her wrists free of his grasp. Her dress fell to the ground and pooled about her feet. She dug her fingers into his hair, holding him to her breast.

“More?

“Yes. She didnt really know exactly what she wanted, but she definitely wanted more of the hot ache pooling in her abdomen. She wanted more of him.

One of his big warm hands slid between her legs and he gently cupped her crotch. The thin cotton of her underwear was the only barrier separating his palm from her sensitive flesh. “Youre wet.

The hot ache intensified and she could hardly speak. “Im sorry, she managed.

“Dont be. Ive always wanted to make your panties wet. He stood once again and gave her a quick kiss. Then he grasped her waist and set her on the hood of the Mustang hed just vacated. He moved her feet to the chrome bumper and said, “Lie down, Delaney.

“Why? She put a hand on his chest then moved it to the front of his jeans. She pressed against the hard bulge beneath his zipper.

He sucked in his breath and pushed her shoulders until she lay with her back against the cool metal. “Because Im going to make you feel real good.

“I already feel good. She held out her arms for him as he stepped between her thighs.

“Then Im going to make you feel even better. He planted both of his palms by the sides of her head and kissed her like he wanted to consume her. When he raised his mouth again he said, “Im going to set you on fire.

Delaney looked up into his beautiful face and she wanted him to make love to her. She wanted to know what other young women her age knew. She wanted Nick to teach her. “Yes, she said to anything he wanted.

He smiled as his skillful hands eased her panties from her legs. She felt the cotton slide down her calves and then her underwear was gone. His palms drifted up the insides of her thighs, and one of his thumbs touched her where she was slick. The pleasure was indescribable. His fingers brushed her moist flesh until she wanted to scream.

“More?

“Yes, she murmured and her eyes slid shut. “More. His touch felt so good it was almost painful, the building pressure in her groin intense. She wanted it to end, yet at the same time continue forever. She wanted him naked and on top of her, filling her arms with his warm body. She opened her eyes and gazed up at him, standing there between her knees, looking down at her through heavy lids. “Make love to me, Nick.

“Ill give you something better than love. He knelt on one knee and softly kissed the inside of her thigh. “Im going to make you come. Delaney froze, extremely grateful she was surrounded by darkness. When shed said yes, she hadnt meant that . She would have clamped her legs together but Nick was in the way. She wasnt sure what he would do, but she was pretty sure he wouldnt do that .

But he did. He slid his hands beneath her behind, then raised her to his hot open mouth. Shock held her still. She couldnt believe what hed done. What he was doing. She wanted to tell him to stop, but she couldnt get the words past the warm pleasure swirling through her body. She couldnt control the shiver tingling up her spine and instead of pulling away, she arched her back. His tongue and mouth gently caressed between her legs in much the same way hed kissed her breasts.

“Nick, she moaned and touched her hands to the sides of his head. The pleasure grew and tightened and each touch of his tongue pushed her toward the peak of climax. He moved one of her heels to his shoulder and tilted her hips. He took her more fully into his mouth and drew on her sensitive flesh. The incredible sensations built and coiled in her body, then shoved her over the top.

The stars above her head blurred as she felt herself pulled under wave after hot wave of ecstasy. She called his name over and over as heat flushed her thighs and breasts. Involuntary contractions shook her, and when it was over she felt changed. She was shocked by what shed done and whod done it to her, but she wasnt sorry. Shed never felt so close to anyone else in her life, and she wanted him to hold her.

“Nick?

He gently kissed the inside of her thigh. “Mmm.

At the touch of his lips, she suddenly became very aware of her embarrassing position. She felt her cheeks burn as she slid her foot from his shoulder and sat up.

He stood and cupped her face in his hands. “More?

She was naive, not stupid, and she knew what he was asking. She wanted to give him the same awesome pleasure hed just given her. “More. She pulled his T-shirt from the waistband of his jeans and released the buttons of his fly. His hands wrapped around her wrists and stopped her.

“Be still a minute, he said right before a beam of light struck him full in the face. “Shit!

Delaney glanced over her shoulder and was blinded by two headlights gunning toward them. Pure adrenaline shot through her veins, and she pushed Nick and jumped off the hood at the same time. Her dress lay at his feet and she reached for it just as Henrys silver Lincoln slid to a stop beside the Mustang. She pulled the summer dress over her head but her hands shook so bad she couldnt button it. “Help me, she cried to no one in particular.

Nick turned, and he reached for the buttons at the waist of her dress. He whispered something to her, but she couldnt hear him over the pounding in her ears.

“Get away from her! Henry bellowed the second he opened the car door.

She managed the top two buttons but was helpless to control the panic welling within her. She glanced at the ground and saw Nicks big foot in the crotch of her panties. Distressed little sobs filled the top of her lungs.

“Get your filthy damn hands off her!

Delaney looked up just as Henry reached them. He shoved Nick and pushed her behind him. Both men were of the same height, same build, same flashing gray eyes. The Lincolns headlights lit every excruciating detail. The stripe on Henrys dress shirt, the silver in his hair.

“I never thought youd sink this low, Henry said as he pointed at Nick. “Ive always known you hated me, but I never thought youd sink this low just to get back at me.

“Maybe this has nothing to do with you, Nick said, his brows lowered on his forehead.

“My aching ass this has nothing to do with me. Youve hated me all your life, and youve been jealous of Delaney since the day I married her mother.

“Youre right. I have hated you all of my life. Youre a son of a bitch, and the biggest favor you ever did my mother was deny you ever slept with her.

“And you finally got your revenge. The only reason you screwed Delaney was to get back at me.

Nick folded his arms over his chest and rested his weight on one foot. “Maybe I screwed her because she makes me hard.

“I should beat the hell out of you.

“Give it your best shot, old man.

“Oh, God, Delaney groaned as she finished the buttons on her dress. “Henry, we didnt—

“Get in the car, Henry interrupted her.

She looked at Nick, and gone was the gentle lover whod made her feel beautiful. “Tell him! A few moments ago shed felt so close to him, now she didnt know him at all. He appeared relaxed, but it was an illusion. Or maybe she did know this Nick. This surly man before her was the Nick shed grown up with; the man whod picked her up earlier had been the illusion. “Please, tell him nothing happened, she pleaded with him to help her out of the worst of it. “Tell him we didnt do anything!

One knowing brow rose up his forehead. “What exactly do you want me to lie about, wild thing? he asked. “He saw you sitting on my car like a hood ornament. If hed been a few minutes earlier, he would have seen a hell of a lot more.

“You got your revenge, didnt you? Henry grabbed Delaneys arm and pushed her toward Nick. “You took an innocent girl and you made her dirty just to get even with me.

Delaney looked into Nicks hard gaze and she didnt know what to believe. She wanted him to care just a little bit, but the eyes that stared back at her were so cold. Several minutes ago she would have said Henry was mistaken, but she didnt know what to think now. “Is that true? she asked as one tear ran down her hot cheeks. “Did you use me to get back at Henry?

“Is that what you think?

What hed done to her was so private, so intimate, she didnt think she could bear knowing hed used her. She wanted him to tell Henry he was wrong, that hed kissed her and touched her because he wanted her, not because he hated Henry. “I dont know!

“Dont you?

“No.

He didnt speak for what seemed like an eternity, then he said, “Believe Henry then.

A sob caught in her throat and she stumbled toward the Lincoln. Her chest felt as if it were caving in on itself, and she managed to get into the car before the second tear slid down her cheek. The cold leather beneath her bare behind reminded her she was completely naked under her dress. She stared out the window at both men, and above the pounding of her heart, she heard Henry threaten Nick.

“You stay away from my daughter, he yelled. “You stay away or Ill make your life hell.

“You can try, Nick said, his words barely audible through the thick glass. “But there is nothing you can do to me.

“Well see about that. Henry moved to the drivers side of the Lincoln. “Stay away from Delaney, he warned one last time and slid into the front seat. He slipped the car into reverse, and the headlights shone on Nick for a few short seconds. And in those few seconds, his T-shirt glowed a bright white, the soft cotton untucked at his waist, and the top button on his jeans was undone. He leaned down to pick up something, but Henry cranked the wheel and the car turned toward the road before she could see what hed retrieved from the ground. But she didnt have to see, she already knew. Carefully, she tucked her dress beneath her bare behind.

“This is going to kill your mother, Henry seethed.

Probably, Delaney thought. She looked down at her hands and a tear fell on her thumb.

“She went to your room to tell you good night, but you werent there. The Lincoln turned onto the main road, and Henry gunned the big engine. “Shes worried sick. Shes afraid youve been kidnapped.

Delaney bit her lip to keep the customary apology inside. She didnt care that shed worried her mother.

“Just wait until she learns the truth is worse than anything she could have imagined.

“How did you find me?

“Not that it matters, but several people down at the market saw you crawl into Allegrezzas car. If you hadnt left the gate open at Angel Beach, it would have taken me a lot longer, but I would have found you.

Delaney didnt doubt him. She turned her gaze to the passenger window and stared out into the dark night. “I cant believe you hunted me down. Im eighteen and I cant believe you drove around town looking for me as if I were ten years old.

“And I cant believe I found you naked as a two-bit hooker, he said and kept up his verbal battering until he pulled the Lincoln into the garage.

As calm as possible under the circumstances, Delaney got out of the car and walked into the house. Her mother met her in the kitchen.

“Where have you been? Gwen asked, her gaze sliding from Delaneys face to her feet then back up again.

Delaney walked past without answering. Henry would tell her mother. He always did. Then together they would decide her fate. They would probably ground her as if she were a child. She moved up the stairs to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. She wasnt trying to hide. She knew better, and even if she hadnt, tonights lesson showed her the futility of independence.

She looked at her reflection in the cheval mirror. Mascara trailed down her cheeks, her eyes were red, and her face pale. Otherwise she looked as she always did. She didnt look as if her world had shifted beneath her feet and now she stood in a new place. Her room looked the same as it had hours ago when shed sneaked out the window. The pictures stuck to the mirror, and the roses on her bedspread were the same as theyd always been, but everything was different. She was different.

Shed let Nick do things to her that shed never imagined in her wildest dreams. Oh, shed heard about oral sex. A few girls in her math class had bragged about knowing how to give blow jobs, but until tonight, Delaney had never believed people actually did that sort of thing. Now she knew better. Now she knew a man didnt even have to like the girl he was with. Now she knew that a man could do incredibly intimate things to a woman for reasons other than passion or mutual attraction. Now she knew what it was like to be used.

When she thought of Nicks warm mouth pressed to the inside of her thigh, her pale cheeks turned red and she turned her gaze away from her reflection. What she saw embarrassed her. Shed wanted to feel free. Free from Henrys control. Free from her life.

She was a fool.

Delaney changed into a pair of jeans and T-shirt, then washed her face. When she was finished, she went to Henrys office, where she knew her parents would be waiting for her. They stood behind the mahogany desk, and by the look on Gwens face, Henry had filled her in on every excruciating detail.

Gwens blue eyes were wide as she looked at her daughter. “Well, I dont know what to say to you.

Delaney sat in one of the leather chairs opposite the desk. Not knowing what to say had never stopped her mother before. It didnt stop her now.

“Tell me Henry is mistaken. Tell me he didnt see you in a sexually compromising situation with that Allegrezza boy.

Delaney didnt say anything. She knew she wouldnt win. She never did.

“How could you? Gwen shook her head and placed a hand at her throat. “How could you do such a thing to this family? While you were crawling out your bedroom window did you give a thought to your fathers position in this community? While you were letting that Allegrezza boy put his hands on you, did you stop—for even one second—to think how your father would suffer for your actions?

“No, Delaney answered. When Nicks head had been between her thighs, she hadnt given a thought to her parents. Shed been busy humiliating herself.

“You know how this town loves to gossip. By ten oclock tomorrow, everyone in town will know about your shameful behavior. How could you do this?

“Youve hurt your mother deeply, Henry added. They were like tag team wrestlers, one ready to jump in when the other ran out of steam. “If your disgraceful behavior gets out, I dont know how shell hold her head up in this town. He pointed a finger at her. “We never expected this of you. You were always such a good girl. We never expected that you would do something so vulgar. I never thought youd bring shame on this family. I guess you arent the person we thought you were. I guess we dont even know you.

Delaneys hands clenched into fists. She knew better than to say anything. She knew defending herself only made things worse. She knew if she said anything, Henry would considered it arguing, and Henry hated for anyone to argue with him. But Delaney couldnt help it. “Thats because youve never wanted to know me. Youre only interested in how I make you look. You dont care how I feel.

“Laney, Gwen gasped.

“You dont care that I dont want to go to college right away. I told you I didnt want to go, and youre making me go anyway.

“So thats what tonight was all about, Henry said as if he were an omnipotent God. “You wanted to get back at me for knowing whats best for you.

“Tonight was about me, she said as she stood. “I wanted to go out and be a regular eighteen-year-old. I wanted to have a life. I wanted to feel free.

“You mean feel free to screw up your life.

“Yes! Free to screw up my life if I want to, just like everyone else. I never have the freedom to do anything. You choose everything for me. I never have a choice.

“And its a good thing, Gwen took over. “Youre immature and selfish, and tonight you chose the one boy who could hurt this family the most. You gave yourself to a person whose only interest in you was to get back at Henry.

What Nick had done was a hot lump of humiliation burning a hole in her stomach, but the despair choking the life out of her was worse. As she looked at both of her parents she knew it was no use. They would never understand. Never change. And she would never escape.

“Youve degraded yourself, and I can hardly stand to look at you, her mother continued.

“Then dont. You were going to take me to the University of Idaho in a week. Take me tomorrow instead. Delaney walked from the room, the weight of resignation settling about her shoulders. She moved up the stairs, her feet felt leaden, her heart empty, too drained to cry. She didnt bother to pull off her jeans before she crawled into bed. She stared up at the pink canopy above her head and knew she wouldnt be able to sleep, and she was right. Her mind raced with every dreadful detail of the past few hours. What her parents had said. What shed said, and how nothing ever changed. And no matter how hard she tried to avoid thoughts of Nick, her mind turned again and again to him. She remembered his hot touch, the cool silky texture of his hair through her fingers, and the taste of his skin. She closed her eyes and could practically feel his warm wet mouth on her breasts and lower. She didnt know why shed let him do those things to her. Shed had enough previous experience with him to know he could pass for pleasant one minute and turn mean as a snake the next. So why Nick Allegrezza of all people?

Delaney punched her pillow and turned on her side. Maybe because hed always been so free, and hed always fascinated her with his heavenly face and wild hellion ways. Maybe because he was so beautiful he took her breath away, and tonight hed made her feel like maybe she was beautiful too. Hed looked at her like a man who wanted to make love to a woman. Hed touched her as if he wanted her. But it had all been a lie. An illusion, and shed been a naive fool.

Ill give you something better than love , hed said. Im going to make you come . Why hed chosen that particular method she didnt know. But he couldnt have chosen anything more humiliating if hed had years to plan it. Hed stripped her naked while hed remained clothed. Hed touched her all over, and shed never even gotten a glimpse of his bare chest.

Her only consolation was that no one knew, not even Henry, exactly what had happened on the hood of Nicks Mustang. And unless Nick spoke of it, no one would ever know. Maybe her mother was wrong. Maybe no one would talk about it.

But Gwen had only been wrong about the amount of time it would take for the gossip to reach her. It was noon, not ten, the next day when Lisa called and told Delaney that someone had seen her and Nick at the Charm-Inn in the nearby city of Garden. Another had them running buck naked through Larkspur Park and having sex on the kiddie slide. And yet in a third, she and Nick had been sighted in the alley behind the liquor store, drinking tequila shooters and going at it in the backseat of his car.

Suddenly being sent away to college didnt seem so bad. The University of Idaho wasnt Delaneys first choice, but it was four hours from Truly. Four hours from her parents and their tight control. Four hours from the gossip blowing through town like a hurricane. Four hours from ever having to lay eyes on Nick or any member of his family.

No, maybe the U of I wouldnt be so horrible after all.

“If you get good grades and behave yourself, Henry told her on the drive to Moscow, “maybe well lighten your class load next year.

“That would really be great, shed said without enthusiasm. Next year was twelve months away, and she was sure shed do something in the interim to displease Henry. But she would try. Just like she always did.

She tried for one month, but her first taste of real freedom went straight to her head, and she pulled straight Ds her first semester. She lost her virginity to a wide receiver named Rex and got a job waitressing at Duckys Bar and Grill, which was more bar than actual grill.

The money from her job gave her even more freedom, and when she turned nineteen that February, she quit school all together. Her parents had been livid, but she didnt care anymore. She moved in with her first boyfriend, a weightlifter named Rocky Baroli. She sought higher education reading Rockys incredible pecs and adding up how many straight shots she could consume at the all-night parties she attended off campus. She learned the difference between a Tom Collins and a vodka Collins, between imported and home-grown.

Shed taken her new independence and shed run with it. Shed grabbed hold with both hands and taken a great big bite, and she was never going back. Shed lived as if she had to experience everything at once, before her freedom was snatched away from her. Whenever she thought back on those years, she knew she was lucky to be alive.

The last time shed seen Henry, hed tracked her down with the sole purpose of dragging her back home. By then shed dumped Rocky and had moved into a basement apartment in Spokane with two other girls. Henry had taken one look at the garage sale furniture, overflowing ash trays, and collection of empty booze bottles, and ordered her to pack her clothes. Shed refused and the confrontation had turned ugly. Hed told her if she didnt get in his car, he would disown her, forget she was his daughter. Shed called him a controlling pompous son of a bitch.

“I dont want to be your daughter anymore. Its too exhausting. You were always more dictator than father. Dont ever hunt me down again, were the last words shed spoken to Henry.

After that, whenever Gwen called her on the telephone, she made sure Henry was never home. Her mother visited Delaney occasionally in whichever city she happened to be living, but of course Henry never came with her. Hed been true to his word. Hed disowned Delaney completely, and shed never felt so free—free of his control, free to screw up her life with abandon. And sometimes she really screwed up, but in the process, she also grew up.

Shed been free to drift from state to state and job to job until she figured out what to do with her life. Shed finally figured it out six years ago when she enrolled in beauty school. After the first week, shed known shed found her niche. She loved the tactile sensations and the whole process of creating something wonderful right before her eyes. She had the freedom to dress outrageously if she wanted to, because there was always someone a little bolder than herself.

It may have taken Delaney longer than most to settle on a career, but at last shed found something she was good at and loved to do.

Being a stylist gave her the freedom to be creative. It also gave her the freedom to move when she began to feel trapped in one place, although she hadnt felt claustrophobic in a while.

Not until a few months ago when Henry had flexed his muscle one last time and left that appalling will, controlling her life once again.

Delaney picked up her boots and headed into the bedroom. She flipped on the light and tossed her boots toward the closet. What was wrong with her? What would make her kiss Nick out on a crowded dance floor in spite of their sordid past? There were other available men around. True, some were married or divorced with five kids, and none of them were as fine as Nick, but she didnt have a painful past with other men.

Nick the snake. Thats who he was, like that big python with the mesmerizing eyes in The Jungle Book , and she was just one more helpless victim.

Delaney looked at herself in the mirror above her dresser and frowned. Maybe if she werent so lonely and aimless she wouldnt be so susceptible to Nicks hypnotic charms. There had been a time in her life when aimlessness had been her goal. Not anymore. She was living in a town she didnt want to live in, working in a salon with no real intentions of success. Her only goals were to survive and aggravate Helen. Something had to change, and she had to change it.