Hope

Chapter Fifteen

Sorry this chapter is so short. Splitting apart a story into chapters is harder than I thought it would be :) Hope you are enjoying the story.

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I must have passed out, because I woke up as Danny was carrying me into the house. "Hey Danny," I managed to say, only slurring slightly. His eyes were full of disappointment but he didn't voice it, "Sorry I'm such a baby."

He sat down on the couch, keeping me in his arms. I felt safe in his arms, the only place I seemed to feel truly safe anymore, "Don't talk about yourself like that babe. You are a strong, vibrant, beautiful, and sexy woman who has had some horrible things happen to her recently. Don't denigrate yourself like that." He placed a soft kiss to my head, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you got off work."

"Where were you?" I asked, not really wanting to know the answer. But, I needed to know the answer for my own sanity.

"I was getting something ready here at the house. I just lost track of time and didn't realize it was time to pick you up until it was too late. When I called Gerry's, you were already gone." I could hear the strain in his voice, "I was so worried that something had happened to you when you didn't get home. When Daisy called me, I was about five minutes away from calling the cops and having them look for your dead body on the side of the road."

His chest was so warm, I was starting to drift off. Cracking open my eyes, I looked up at his face. Even being drunk, I could plainly see the grief etched onto his face. He had truly been worried about me. Instantly, I was fully awake, "I'm sorry." I turned so I was straddling his lap and cupped his face in my hands, "I promise to wait next time, or to at least call you and tell you what my plan is. I wasn't thinking when I left Gerry's, just that I wanted to get back home to you."

Hands resting on my hips, he looked at me, as if trying to figure out what I was doing. The sad part was, I didn't even know what I was doing. "Just please, don't ever scare me like that again," he voice sounded strangled. "I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you."

The depth of the pain in his words hit me and I leaned forward, wrapping myself around him, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were going to worry. I promise you that if I had known, I never would have left the grill. But when you didn't show up, I just got so upset that I decided to leave and walk home. If I hadn't seen Daisy's car at the bar, I wouldn't have stopped in." He didn't say anything to me, just kept his face pressed against my shoulder.

We sat like that for a while, wrapped in each other's arms. The funny thing was, even though I was drunk and he had been so distraught over not being able to find me, my body was still starting to respond to being so close to him. Involuntarily, my hips moved and I let out a groan. I leaned back a little and cupped his face in my hands again. I kissed him with everything I had, trying to erase the hurt in his eyes. Eventually, he started to kiss me back and I could feel him hardening and pressing against me through our jeans. His hands moved under my shirt, lifting it over my head. Next went my bra and his lips found my nipple. A loud moan escaped my lips, turning to a shriek when he picked me up.

We kissed as he carried me to the bedroom until he dropped me on the bed and took off his clothes. He helped me get out of mine and then our bodies collided, writhing against one another. In the back of my mind, I realized that I was lying on top of rose petals and that there were candles set up everywhere, just waiting to be lit. The thought fled my head when he entered me, slowly, almost as if he couldn't believe that we were doing this. He thrust in and out of me, staring down as our two bodies became one.

I growled and grabbed his hips, pulling him hard against me. In that instance, the look in his eyes became savage. He pulled out of me and turned me over, putting me on my knees. Grabbing my hair in one hand, he steadied my hips with the other and then thrust back into me, fucking me hard. It seemed like hours before we collapsed onto the bed, too spent to do anything other than cuddle in one another's arms.

As I fell asleep I thought I heard him whisper, "I love you."