Chapter Thirty

The storm had finally abated, and Sophie reluctantly lifted her head from Daniel's shoulder, where she had been comfortably ensconced as the thunder drifted further and further away, the lightning no longer lighting the sky at odd intervals.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Daniel asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Sophie rolled her eyes in response, and then shifted her weight. "Are your legs completely paralyzed from supporting my weight? I should have moved off of you after about thirty seconds… sorry about that."

Daniel kept his arms around her waist, refusing to let her move until she looked at him. "You aren't heavy, Sophie, on the contrary. I… I liked the feeling of you there. And yes, I still have full use of my legs."

"Mm..." she said noncommittally, inwardly giddy from his compliment. Even so, she managed to wriggle out of his grasp and stood, stretching her back slightly as she looked up at the sky, which was now dark with night, rather than rain.

Daniel looked at her uncertainly, following her cue and stretching. She began to move towards the door, and Daniel picked up his now almost dry jacket from the chair and followed her towards the front door.

"I'm glad you came over," Sophie said, suddenly shy, looking down at her bare feet on the cool tiles. "That was much better than my first storm."

"My pleasure," Daniel said, his voice low, quiet. He shuffled his feet for a moment, and then looked up. "I should… you probably want me to… I should go."

Sophie said nothing, instead looking up at him, his strong features illuminated only by a single streetlight far outside the door. His eyes flashed in reflection as he watched her watching him, trying to read her mind.

She opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to speak.

Stay, she wanted to say. Stay the night… let's go upstairs and do all kinds of terrible stuff to each other, and then wake up tomorrow and do it all over again. Stay, and prove that you want me as much as I want you.

Stay, she wanted to say, but instead she remained silent, respecting his need for space, for time, for his own decisions.

"Good night," she whispered after a long moment, making no move to open the door for him.

"Good night," he whispered in return, still rooted to the spot.

And then he took a deep breath and jumped.

Dropping his jacket onto the floor, he grabbed first her right wrist, then her left, capturing them in his warm hands. Slowly, agonizingly, he shifted his body, maneuvering her backwards until her back bumped against the hallway wall behind her. His eyes searching hers, he tugged her wrists up, up the wall until they were above her head, captured in his firm grasp. His gaze shifted away from her eyes, and his bent his head, kissing first her right pulse point, then her left, his thumbs tracing circles when he lips lifted from the warm skin.

He continued to caress her wrists, even as he bent his head, capturing her mouth with his, kissing her deeply, one of his thighs pressed between her legs, planting her in place.

Sophie sighed into his mouth, the eroticism of being pinned to the wall by this powerful man making her knees shake and threaten to fail altogether.

His tongue danced with hers, his body pressing closer to her, expressing his need to touch every part of her…

"Danny…" she breathed as he continued to plunder her mouth, his desire for her becoming more and more apparent, his kiss threatening to steal her breath altogether.

"Tell me to stop…" he whispered, dragging his mouth away from hers after several long minutes, resting his forehead against hers, his breathing ragged and his eyes closed. "Sophie, tell me to stop."

"Oh god, don't stop," Sophie practically whimpered, shifting her hips to fit her body closer against his, further inflaming his obvious lust for her. "Danny, please…"

"Sophie…"

Sophie tilted her head up, up going up on tiptoe until her mouth was close to his ear. "I want you," she whispered, hardly daring to believe her bold request…

He pressed his hips to hers in answer to her movements, her words, her wrists still pinned, his mouth seeking hers again. Finally, he dropped both hands from hers, though she obediently kept her hands against the wall above her head. With his free hands, he tugged her shirt up and over her head, his mouth urgently seeking the soft skin underneath. She finally dropped her hands as he stripped her, struggling to undo his jeans button and zipper even as he undid hers.

Struggling slightly, they managed to shuck themselves of clothing altogether, even as they remained standing in the hallway, pressed against each other.

Sophie felt Daniel's shoulder and back muscles bunch beneath her hands as he pushed her firmly but not painfully against the wall again, his body following her and cupping her bottom with his hands, pressing her naked form against his, lifting her up off the floor.

With a gasp and a grunt from each of them, he was inside her, nailing her to the wall with his body, his mouth pressed eagerly to hers even as he claimed her body. They rose higher and higher until Sophie could take no more, gasping out his name as he grabbed her and pulled her in, satisfying his own need.

Sophie's hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, and she couldn't seem to catch her breath as Daniel slowly lowered her to the floor until her feet finally made contact with the cool tiles. She continued her downward movement, finally slumping on the floor at his feet, Daniel following only moments later.

"I've never done that before," Sophie said, then laughed at Daniel's startled and horrified expression. "Done it against a wall, I mean."

"That was a first for me, too," Daniel admitted, wiping his own brow and giving her a shaky smile. "I didn't mean to… I hadn't intended… did I hurt you?"

Sophie grinned, satisfied and smug. "No. That was very… therapeutic."

"It was meant to be ground shaking," Daniel said, his eyes closed as he leaned the back of his head against the wall, the sheen of sweat dancing on his warm skin, a small smile on his lips. "Therapeutic? Awe inspiring, more like."

"Oh, it was that too," Sophie amended with a grin. "But I'm still feeling a little… delicate from the storm. I think you should stay the night, in case it… comes back."

Daniel smiled, his eyes still closed. "That sounds like a good idea. Maybe we can do it right next time."

"Well, I'm no expert, but I thought we did it right this time," Sophie said, her voice teasing. "That was… unexpected."

"Unexpected?" Daniel ventured, and Sophie grinned to herself at his wondrous expression.

"Almost as unexpected as that riding crop I have in the closet," she teased, and he opened one eye to look at her, his desire for her becoming apparent again.

"Let's go," he said, standing in one fluid motion and grabbing her hand and pulling her upstairs, Sophie giggling the entire way to the bedroom.

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