Page 18 of Falling for the Delta
Chapter 5
Dash still felt off-kilter.The day before had been long and extremely stressful.
The man who’d decided to make a murderous statement had been an American Army officer, with distant family members who were Muslim. He claimed his actions were retaliation for the US wars in the Muslim world. He’d ended up killing three people and injuring fourteen. It could’ve been a lot worse if it hadn’t been for some very brave soldiers who’d literally tackled the man and stopped his massacre.
Magic and Stella had been in his direct path as he’d fled from the military police hot on his tail, but luckily neither had been injured.
Holly had taken years off his life when she’d burst out of the PX and confronted the shooter. She could so easily have been hurt, but he couldn’t deny that she’d probably saved both him and the mother and child he’d been with from being injured or killed.
They’d spent the rest of the day talking with the authorities and the evening in each other’s arms. Neither could seem to let go of the other. They didn’t make love; Dash couldn’t even think about passion. All he could think about was how bereft he’d be without her…and that certainly wasn’t conducive to making love.
That morning, Valentine’s Day, he’d woken up to the feel of Holly between his legs, giving him the best blow job he’d ever received. He’d tried to hold back, but it was no use. She’d insisted on finishing him off with her mouth, but afterward, he’d been sure to reciprocate.
He’d planned a full day of romantic gestures for her, but after yesterday, all he wanted to do was stay holed-up inside his house, keeping her all to himself.
After showering, they had breakfast, and Dash was attempting to muster up the enthusiasm to give Holly the best Valentine’s Day she’d ever had, when he spied a worried look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing’s wrong, really,” she said. “I was just thinking about today. I know you’ve planned something elaborate…and I don’t want you to think I’m not appreciative of whatever it is.”
“But?” Dash asked, walking toward her, not able to keep his hands off her. He pulled her into him, lacing his fingers together at the small of her back. She fiddled with a button on the front of his shirt and wouldn’t look at him as she spoke.
“I was just thinking that I’d like to hang out here with you today. Just the two of us. I’m not sure I’m ready to head out into the big bad world so soon after what happened.”
Dash sighed in relief. God, she was perfect for him. “Look at me, Hol.”
She lifted her chin and met his gaze.
“I was trying to find a way to say the same thing, but I didn’t want to let you down after the way I talked up how amazing today was going to be for you.”
“You don’t need to go out of your way to do stuff for me, Dash. Just being with you is enough.”
“I love you,” he told her.
Holly smiled. “And I love you.”
“You’re really okay with staying in?”
“Yes.”
New plans began to swirl in Dash’s head. “Okay. We’ll hang out here. But I do still want to do something special for you later. I’m going to need you to hang out in our bedroom while I get stuff ready.”
“Our bedroom?” she asked.
Dash grinned. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s ours.”
“I like that,” Holly said, blushing.
“Me too.” Dash couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss her. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands or lips off her. He could’ve lost her, and he knew down to the tips of his toes that if that had happened, he wouldn’t have recovered.
For the rest of the afternoon, they snuggled together on the couch, watched a rom-com that Holly had said she’d always wanted to see, had lunch. Holly talked to Stella on the phone, he texted Magic, and as the sun was setting, Dash sent Holly in to take a long, relaxing bath while he set the scene in the living room.
Satisfied that he’d done all he could to make the room as romantic as possible, Dash went and got Holly. He made her close her eyes as he led her out into the living room.
“Open them,” he told her.
She opened her eyes and gasped. “Holy crap, Dash, it’s beautiful!”
