Heiress for Hire (Cuttersville #2)(62)
Author: Erin McCarthy

"I love you, Danny." Amanda found the strength to wrap her legs around him, to lift herself toward him and meet his movements so they were joined as tightly as they could be. "I… I…"

Had lost the ability to speak. But she wanted to say that she didn’t want to leave, that she wanted to stay right there, with him, for as long as he wanted her to. That she could learn to be the kind of wife he needed.

But nothing came out, and he covered her mouth with his, hot tongue pushing into her urgently. Then he lifted his head and stared straight into her eyes as he exploded with tight, raw moans.

No man had ever locked wide-open eyes like that with her while he had an orgasm, and the intimacy, the vulnerability of it, sent her body into shivering spasms, a mini-climax to match his.

They thrust, locked in pleasure with each other, until Danny relaxed all his muscles with a shudder and dropped down onto her. He was crushing the very life out of her, but she was so limp, so satiated, she didn’t care if she suffocated. She’d die happy.

But he lifted his chest and dusted little kisses all over her

Erin McCarthy mouth, her cheeks, her nose, her forehead in a way that made her giggle. Truly. Giggling. It was weird, but there it was, and Danny laughed with her.

"Why are we laughing?" he asked.

"I don’t know. But I just feel so good, so alive, so exhausted."

Danny rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. Naked man was such a nice, warm, hard bed.

Amanda yawned. "You wore me out, and I didn’t even do any of the work."

He gave a soft chuckle. "I’m used to manual labor."

"You’re very good at it."

Danny patted her butt. "You’re not so bad yourself. Now go to sleep."

"Okay." He didn’t have to tell her twice. She was semiconscious already.

As Danny’s hand stroked along the small of her back, she drifted off into sleep with a contentment she hadn’t felt since she was five years old.

Willie pushed her rocker back and forth on the front porch and wished the damn thing creaked. If it did, maybe she wouldn’t hear the soft moans punctuating the air, drifting over to her from Danny’s house.

Sure, she’d known that by taking Piper for the night, Danny and Amanda were more likely than not to end up in bed together. It had been part of her and Daniel’s strategy. But Lord, she hadn’t wanted to hear it.

"I never realized quite how much the sound carries on a clear night," Willie said to Daniel, who was drinking a beer and reading the paper under the porch light.

"Me either." Daniel folded his paper. "You, ah, close Piper’s window?"

"Yep. Got the fan running." On the other hand, obviously Danny’s windows were wide open. "You think they realize their window’s open?"

"Willie, I don’t think they’d realize if the house was burning down around them." Daniel stuck his paper under his arm and lifted his beer. "Maybe we ought to head into the house. The ‘squi-tos are biting anyway."

Fine by her. Willie stood up. "She’s a nice girl, isn’t she? Underneath all that money. I wouldn’t have thought it, but it’s true."

"Yep. He loves her, you know."

Willie knew that. She saw it every time her son looked at Amanda. It made her happy at the same time it scared the bejeezus out of her. Little Shelby had hurt Danny, more than he’d ever admit, and she didn’t want to see him go through that kind of pain again.

She had to trust that if Amanda Delmar stayed, it would be for good. Part of her was certain Amanda would, which was why she’d agreed to Daniel’s idea to take Piper for the night, but a small piece of her was scared for her son.

Daniel put his hand on her back as he moved around the wicker chair toward the front door. "Quit worrying. He’s a grown man, Willie."

"Yeah, well, a mother never stops worrying about her child. It’s written in the rule book."

"You know what else is written in the rule book?"

Willie stared across the yard at Danny’s house, thinking, worrying. "What?" she asked in distraction.

"That a man never stops wanting his wife."

Daniel had octopus hands when he was in a mood, and clearly he was tonight, because suddenly he was everywhere. "Daniel James Tucker, your granddaughter is in the house."

But she was already turning toward him a little. She was only fifty, after all, right in her prime. They had a good twenty-five years of passion ahead of them still.

"Exactly. She’s in the house, and we’re out here."

Well, he had a damn good point.

Danny woke up just like he always did, when the sun started creeping through the blinds on his window and Rudy started his daily speech. Rudy bleated every morning, and Danny woke at dawn every day alone.

His life had a pattern, a familiar one, that he liked, but an empty bed wouldn’t be something he would miss. But today might be the only chance he had to wake up next to Amanda, so he was going to enjoy it.

She was still sleeping, her hair falling in her eyes, mouth open a bit. No snoring, just soft, soundless breaths in and out, her eyelids twitching like she was dreaming. Sometime during the night, she had slid off of him, but she was still tucked up against his hip and chest.

Her fingers splayed over his stomach, and he liked that they fit together so well, that making love to Amanda was exciting and easy and intimate, with no awkwardness between them. They had both brought issues to the bedroom—doubts and insecurities—but with a little trust between them, those problems had been laid to rest. And then some.

"Good morning." He kissed the top of her head, hoping she’d wake up, but not willing to really shake her awake. That would be selfish, though he was sorely tempted.

Fortunately, she stirred and gave a little mewling sound. "Morning." Her eyes opened and she smiled up at him, nuzzling into his chest. "Did I really do what I think I did in the middle of the night, or was that just a really hot dream?"

Danny had woken her up at two A.M. and been pleasantly surprised that she wanted to work out some more issues and insecurities about performing o**l s*x. By performing it on him. He had been happy to comply and had nearly ripped the sheet in the process. "No dream, Princess. And after that, I think I’m going to have to promote you to queen. You were amazing."

It had him hard all over again just thinking about it.

Amanda grinned. "Glad you liked it." Her hand started roaming south. "And let’s see… we already established you’re Mr. Honest and Mr. Unselfish. Last night showed you’re Mr. Exciting too."

She found him and squeezed the length of him in her hand. Danny bit back a moan. "Now you’re clearly Mr. Dependable."