Page 116 of Pick Me This Time

55

STERLING

Waking up with Daphne in bed with me had fast become one of my favorite things ever—and this was probably going to be the last time it happened. Today was the fall parade and tomorrow was D-day, the day of my departure.

Holding her in my arms now with her back pressed to my front, her head resting on my arm and my lips pressed to her shoulder blade, I wondered for the umpteenth time if I’d made a mistake. I’d never been as happy as I was when I was with her.

She made me feel like I didn’t have to be a guarded asshole, and yet, her brother would never forgive me if I stayed. I let out a soft sigh, inhaling the sweet vanilla scent of her body lotion on her skin with my next breath.

Everything in me wanted to stay exactly where I was, except for my brain, which was telling me that it was about time to go. I didn’t move, though. I couldn’t. My dick was as hard as concrete, nestled against her lower back and ass.

It throbbed to slide into her in this position, to wake her up with me inside her and my fingers playing with her clit. I groaned quietly as my heartrate skyrocketed at the thought. My cheeks got hot, my breathing suddenly shaky.

As if she’d sensed the change in me, she stirred, her butt brushing against my shaft as she let out a sleepy moan. My cock twitched and my heart soared when she did a half turn to smile at me. Her eyes were only just beginning to open, but she reached for me lazily, nodding as I became aware of my hips rolling gently into her.

“Do it,” she encouraged on a quiet whisper. “I want you.”

I looked into her sleepy eyes and leaned forward, kissing her hard and fast as my breathing became completely ragged and my hand traveled down to her hip. I didn’t know what it was with her, but it was like she spoke directly to that primal instinct to claim. To mate.

Flexing my fingers on her hip, I felt her upper body move away from mine for a beat as she reached for a condom on her nightstand. She handed it over and I groaned again as I rolled it on, dropping the wrapper somewhere on her bed.

Once it was securely in place, I kissed her again, sliding in between her legs and feeling her wet heat radiating into me. My heartbeat was out of control, my very bones feeling like they would crack if I didn’t get inside her right away.

Daphne moaned into my mouth as I thrust into her, reaching around to slide my hand between her legs as well. Immediately, she started rocking, letting out soft whimpers of my name into the kiss as I took her hard and fast.

As always, she was ready for me, though. Her inner muscles constricted just as I started losing control, and as my orgasm thundered through me, I felt her going over the edge as well. I came so hard that my heart felt like it was about to explode as I emerged on the other side, my fingers still flying across her clit as I saw her through.

Daphne sagged against me when she was done, panting and trembling in my arms. Without saying a word, I pulled her closer, just holding her as our bodies fought to regain basic function. We stayed just like that until my phone rang, the ringtone shrill and loud in the quiet air.

I frowned. “I should probably check who that is.”

She nodded against my chest, her eyes closed when I rolled away from her to grab my phone from her nightstand. When I saw her brother’s name on the screen, I cursed. “Shit, it’s Eric. I have to take it.”

“Take it,” she murmured, her voice lazy and thick with sleep. “I’ll be here. Don’t mind me.”

I chuckled, sat up in bed, and slid my thumb across the green bar before pressing the device against my ear. “Eric? Is everything okay?”

“No,” he muttered, sounding like he’d made the call begrudgingly. “I need your help with the football float. Jake is on his way too. Double time it, Sterling. I don’t like this and we’re going to have to ride this damn thing later.”

“I’ll be right there,” I said, grimacing, and glanced down at Daphne naked beside me. “I hate that I have to do this, but I need to go.”

She blinked her eyes open, and to my surprise, they were filled with understanding and she nodded. “Go. I heard a bit of that. If there’s a problem with a float and it’s big enough that he’s calling for reinforcements, then he must really be worried. I need to get going soon myself anyway. I’ll see you later?”

I bent over, sliding my hand into her hair and kissing her deeply before I straightened up again. “Okay. Yes, I’ll see you later. Bye, baby.”

I nearly added an I love you, but I caught myself just in time, deciding against opening that particular can of worms this morning. Frowning as soon as I was faced away from her, I wondered what the hell those words had been doing on my tongue, but I shook my head and got up. I pulled on my clothes and raced back to the farm to change before I met Eric at the high school.

Daphne was front and center in my mind, but I needed to get my head straight. I was leaving tomorrow and we hadn’t talked about what that meant for us. I wanted us to be together, but practically, I just didn’t know if it was possible and the last thing I wanted was to give her—or myself—false hope.

Focusing on the floats, I climbed out of my truck and weaved between them and all the people around until I found Eric. He was standing next to a float that appeared to be having engine problems, smoking a bit as it took off for a practice run around the parking lot.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I went to join him, deliberately choosing to ignore that we were on the outs and not really speaking.

“I don’t know,” he grumbled, dragging a hand through his hair as he watched the float through narrowed eyes. “I fucking told them to let me check the engines over the last few weeks, but some idiot decided they knew better. Do you see that smoke? That smoke is not good, North. Especially not since we need to ride that thing in a little while.”

“We’ll check it out,” I said confidently, watching as it made its way back to us.

Once it stopped again, I rolled up my sleeves and went with Eric to inspect the engine. It’d been years since I’d done any work on a vehicle of any kind, but I’d done enough of it growing up that it came back to me as I leaned over it with him.