Cloud Walking (Find You in the Dark #1.5)(23)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

My mind was going a million miles a minute. “So he just left? After having a full on melt down like that?” I asked. I was getting a very bad feeling about all of this. Clay’s behavior was erratic and out of control and hit way too close to home for my liking. I had seen all of this once before and it was something I had never wanted to see again.

“Yeah. And I haven’t seen the dude since. I tell you, I’m really glad he’s away from our girl. She doesn’t need that drama. No one does. I do think he’s a good guy underneath all of that angst. But he’s just a little too much, you know. And obviously, he’s not good for Maggie. They self-destruct when they’re together. I told you, love shouldn’t make you feel like shit. It should make you feel like this.” He indicated between the two of us.

Did he just say what I thought he said? I watched as Daniel’s face turned red with the realization of what had come out of his mouth. He suddenly pulled me to him and held me tightly against his chest. His arms were a vice around me. His breathing was deep and heavy and I could tell he was struggling with something.

I leaned up and kissed the base of his throat, just below his Adam’s apple. His skin was slightly salty and warm under my lips. Daniel ran his hand down my back before it rested on my hip, squeezing my flesh.

“I love you, Rachel,” he whispered into my hair. My heart sputtered and I swear it stopped. I leaned back and looked up into his blue eyes.

“What?” I asked in a whisper, still not sure I heard him correctly.

Daniel smiled softly, his fingers running down the side of my face. His fingertips trailing across my skin, leaving prickles of awareness in their wake. His hand cupped my cheek and I leaned into him, closing my eyes for a brief moment with the overwhelming onslaught of emotion churning inside me.

“Rachel,” he said quietly. I opened my eyes and he leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on my mouth. “I love you. So damn much. I thank God every single day that we found our way to this place together. There is nowhere in this world I’d rather be than right here, right now. With you.”

Wow, Daniel Lowe, the poet. I never thought I’d see the day.

“I love you too, Danny,” I said just as quietly. His entire face lit up and his grin was infectious. I couldn’t give one of my own because he had crushed his mouth to mine, his fingers tangling in my hair, our chests pressed together.

He devoured me. From the inside out. He had taken a hold of every tiny piece of my heart, my soul, my life. And I never wanted him to give it back. This is what love was supposed to feel like. This perfect immersion of two people who were ready and willing to become a part of each other.

I pulled back and kissed his chin. Standing up, I pulled him by the hand. He looked at me questioningly. I picked up the remote and turned off the television, then motioning with my head toward the hallway, I headed in the direction of my bedroom.

Daniel finally got the hint and followed me. He hesitated before going inside, looking pointedly at my sister’s closed door. “She’d sleep through a nuclear bomb. Stop being so paranoid,” I teased, lacing my fingers with his and giving him a tug as he followed me into my bedroom.

Chapter Twelve

~ Daniel~

Rachel pulled me into her room and closed the door softly behind her. The only light was from the street lamp outside. I could barely make her out in the darkness. I reached down and flicked on the bedside lamp. I needed to see her.

We stood there staring at each other, both too afraid to move. I knew what was on her mind when she pulled me in here. But I didn’t want her to think that’s what I expected. I didn’t want to rush Rachel into anything. She was too special. Hell, I would wait as long as she needed to. It was important she understand that.

“Rach. We don’t have to…” I started, but I wasn’t able to finish. She had crossed the room and pulled my face down until her lips were pressed against mine. My body responded instantly. Her perfect form fit against me as though she were made to be there. Her br**sts were crushed against my chest and the smell of her hair was like a drug. I could get high on her scent. I know it’s weird but the way she smells does the most incredible and amazing things to me. It’s like a tranquilizer or something. I feel an instant calm when I get a whiff of her hair.

Okay, that came out really creepy. I didn’t mean it to sound like I was a perv. But it was true.

“I want to. Please,” Rachel said softly. I wanted to argue. That maybe this was too fast. After all, we had only been a couple for a short time. That we had all the time in the world to be together like that. That I wasn’t going anywhere. But then she kissed me again and it became about so much more than sex. It was about her and me and how much we loved each other. And that made it right.

I ran my hands through her thick hair, loving the feel of its weight through my fingers. She slowly pulled my T-shirt upwards, forcing me to lift my arms so she could peel it off my body. Once my shirt was on her bedroom floor, our lips sought each other out again. We were like two magnets pulled together. She was so damn sexy and she didn’t even know it. It was time I show her how beautiful she was.

I unbuttoned her shirt and she shrugged it off, showing me her white bra. My fingers itched to touch her. But I didn’t want to rush things. I didn’t want to come across like some sex starved animal, especially when all I wanted to do was worship every inch of her fantastic body.

“You can touch me, you know,” she teased, as though she were reading my mind. I was finding it really hard to breathe as I looked down at her full br**sts, barely covered by the thin piece of fabric. Her dark hair spilling around her shoulders and her eyes hooded with a heat that was meant only for me. Christ, she was hot.

“I just don’t want you to think that I’m a crazed maniac,” I joked, my pants feeling way too tight as my c**k pressed uncomfortably against my zipper. Rachel laughed and her hands rubbed up my chest, making me tremble. Dear god, I was freaking trembling! I had officially turned into a chick. But this girl made me feel things that were indescribable.

“I think you’re pretty darn wonderful,” she whispered before kissing me again. My tongue swept into her mouth and my worries were completely forgotten. This was just me and Rachel. Me and the girl I loved, who I was ready to take that next all important step with. There was no one before and there would be no one after who could possibly matter as much to me as this gorgeous, fantastic woman who was ready to give me that first and most important part of herself.

So I reached around her back and with a flick of my fingers, released the hooks of her bra. I took a hold of the straps and carefully drew them down her arms, my hands caressing her skin until I let it drop to the floor.