Last week, I shared a short excerpt from this novel for I Love Dialogue. This picks up after that scene. Amanda
and Derrick go out for dinner and have an encounter with Jason, the
boy who threatened her at school. Jason and his friends jump Derrick,
who takes care of it with casual grace and ease. After a romantic
dinner, at a different restaurant, they end up back at her apartment,
where her cat, Muse, greets them.
Derrick
led her to the couch as she launched into a story about her cat. He
waited patiently for her to finish, then put one finger on her lips
as she started to say something else.
"Mandy,
love, much as I like cats, I don't really want to talk about them.
Point of fact, I don't especially want to talk at all."
His
lips brushed hers once more. She had enjoyed his first kisses, soft
and sultry as they were. This kiss took her breath away. He'd been
holding something back before, that he suddenly released. Had she
been standing, she'd have gone weak in the knees. Amanda clung to his
shoulders as if she were drowning. She felt like she was falling, but
it was a good fall. She knew that Derrick was there to pick her up.
Derrick's
heart pounded hard in his chest. Careful where he put his hands, he
kissed her with barely contained passion. He didn't want to frighten
her with the power of his emotions, but he was finding it hard. He'd
been attracted to her since seeing her the night before. She'd been
on his mind for hours during the night. Seeing her at the school was
like having a dream come true.
Now
that she was in his arms, kissing him, her full lips caressing his,
he wanted to carry that attraction to its logical, noisy, sweaty
conclusion. He sensed that Amanda wasn't the kind of girl to succumb
to his charms quite that rapidly. He'd overheard a bit of her
conversation with Evan. He had very good hearing and Evan didn't
exactly speak softly. He figured that she didn't date much, which
would explain the older man's caution. Naturally protective himself,
he could understand the concern.
Pushing
that from his mind, he concentrated on seducing her with his lips. He
felt the shivers run up and down her spine as his mouth explored
hers, moving to her neck and ears. Nibbling her ear, he allowed his
hands to travel the length of her back, feeling her shiver with
anticipation. His lips traveled to her neck, brushing the skin below
her ear, making her jump against him. He smiled, having found a
sensitive erogenous zone he planned to put to use later in their
relationship.
Of
their own will, his fingers found her waist, encircling gently,
moving upward toward her full, ripe breasts. He wanted so much to
touch them, chancing a brush of his thumbs across her nipples. She
shivered once more, pressing hard against him. She didn't yell or
pull away, so he tried once more, testing his boundaries. This time,
he brushed the nipple, cupping the right breast, his hand sliding
along the side.
Amanda
pulled away, confusion in her eyes. Did he really think she was going
to go to bed with him that fast? She was horrified.
Derrick
could see he'd stepped over the line. Backing off, he apologized,
holding his hands away from her body. "Sorry." He
whispered. "Sorry, sorry. Perhaps I should go."
Amanda
took his hand, holding it with both of hers. "Derrick, perhaps I
need to explain."
"This
isn't the part where you tell me you're studying to become a nun, is
it?"
Amanda's
eyes twinkled. "No. Nothing like that. I really like you and I
find you devilishly attractive. . . . "
"There's
a but hanging about in there. I can almost hear it."
"But—not
yet. I'm not in the habit of making that kind of commitment this
early on."
©
2014 Dellani Oakes
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