- Where did you leave it? - asked Daniel
- "What thing? -
- The shame...
- Ah, yes... I lost it around when Susan told me she was taking the kids because you asked her to... When did you find it? -
- Found what? -
- The nerve...
- The day I met you...
Daniel leaned against the desk, his desire to touch her burning him. But since she had taken the first step, he wanted to know how far she was willing to go.
- You purposely chose the dress - Deanna said.
- Yes, so I could see you... -
Deanna turned and looked back over her shoulder at him. Her face had an expression he had never seen before.
- Like that? -
- Yes, like this...
- Always surrounded by women... How shameless, you're a married man- She looked him straight in the eye again.
- And you surrounded by those guys who steal my time with you... -
Daniel stood up and walked to the chair behind the desk. If he didn't put some distance he was going to react like an animal. He sat down.
- Ah, but you're my favorite gentleman... - She walked to the other side of the table.
- All night long you've been teasing me -
- Did it work? -
- Of course it worked.
- Well -
Deanna made the final determination and went to stand in front of him on the chair. With one hand she stroked his temple, watching as his hair slipped through her fingers and Daniel tentatively placed his hand on her thigh. He looked at her in wonder, she radiated a confidence and assurance he had never seen before.
-You are so beautiful... -
She took hold of the edges of her dress and pulled them up just enough so that she could straddle his lap. It was a bold and swift move, she didn't give him time to react. And she was still looking at him from above. Daniel's hands instinctively gripped her hips, expectant of what she would do next. She lowered her face to kiss him and as she did so their bodies came into contact.
In Daniel's head something clouded all his reasoning, he could feel all of her and her mouth kissing him patiently, but full of desire. He stood up violently, sitting her down on the desk and settling himself between her legs. The sudden movement caused Deanna to lose contact with his lips. She could feel it now, too. He held her back and leaned forward, Deanna had to rest her elbows on the desk.
-You know if you do those things to me I can't hold back anymore, right? - He told her in a rough, husky voice.
-I don't want you to hold back," she whispered in his ear.
Daniel let out a sort of growl and attacked her mouth. Deanna confirmed her suspicions: he had the same aggressive temperament. One of her legs began to pull him closer and closer, insisting. With his free hand he grabbed her by the nape of her neck and imprisoned her hair causing her head to give way backwards. And this time it was Deanna who released a sound of satisfaction.
He dipped his face between her bare shoulder and neck and kissed his way down to under her chin. He had that whole expanse of her skin to himself and had been wanting to taste her that way forever. He knew he would become addicted to the taste of her. He knew this woman underneath him was going to drive him insane by blowing his mind. Deanna reacted to his attacks by writhing and emitting unintelligible sounds laden with delight. He followed the line as far as he could without losing contact until above the neckline of her dress. Her skin was warm and soft, delicate, perfect for him to put his mark on her.
The sensations were escalating more and more; their skin burned, they fed on each other's sounds, on the little echoes of satisfaction or approval they gave each other as they touched. Deanna couldn't remember ever feeling this way with any man, so desired with an almost animalistic desperation. He claimed her with an instinctive male arousal, as if she was the only thing in the universe that mattered to him.
And suddenly, a dull thud of breaking glass. Something had come through one of the library windows. The bang brought them back to reality, they stood up and tried to find out what had happened. Near a chair they found a stone the size of a golf ball and the path of the glass to the floor. Someone had done that on purpose. Daniel tried to see who had done it, but saw no one outside. His breathing was labored, his hair disheveled and his mouth smeared with lipstick.
Deanna looked at him, biting her mouth. How could he look even sexier in that state?
-I'll send someone to find out who's playing target practice with the windows," Deanna approached him and pulled the handkerchief out of her coat pocket.
-You've got all over your face," she said.
He smiled and let her wipe it off. Two more minutes and they would have made a mess on Charles' desk.
-We should go back..." Deanna told him.
- Yes... - But he didn't want to leave.
Someone knocked on the door, they had heard the sound of the window shattering. They hurried to get ready as best they could before going out again. And they did it very discreetly. They smiled at each other like two children who had played a prank and got away with it.
Their pulses were still pounding and they had to calm their breathing. Apparently no one had noticed their short absence, they thought. Actually, Beverly had been quietly watching them all night. She had seen everything: the looks, the gestures, the intentions and finally their "mischief" in sneaking into the library. She had mixed feelings, on the one hand, she was fascinated by the faces Daniel made without realizing it when he looked at Deanna or looked for her around the place. And on the other, a little black bug gnawed at his insides, how easily that young woman made the most eligible bachelor fall was insulting.
Did it all come down to carnal desire? That was what she interpreted. All it took was a pair of firm legs and a soft mouth for Daniel to give himself up in such a... vulgar way? She was unaware that he was a man so rooted to his baser instincts; his temperament and constant stiffness said otherwise. And yet there he was, running after a skirt. If that was all it took then she was sure she could give him what he wanted and more as well.
Outside, on the other side of the garden, a drunken Harry was crying holding his head in both hands. It was the end of his love for Deanna, Daniel had buried him completely. He saw a figure behind the windows as he wandered with a drink in his hand and he knew that figure. When he heard his voice he knew he wasn't wrong, but who was she talking to? He could barely make out anything because the room was dark.
His curiosity made him witness everything: her Dean seducing his brother, him kissing her lying on top of her on the desk. His drunkenness and anger didn't let him think, he only reacted by throwing the stone against the glass, as if he was throwing his heart at them. He finally fell unconscious on the wet grass; Laura found him when most of the guests had already left. She wondered if this was what her married life would be like: finding her husband passed out, drowned in alcohol, at every family gathering.
She sought out some of Harry's cousins to help her get him into the house without being seen by the people who still remained. He wasn't even there when they sang happy birthday to his mother, nor during the toast, or Deanna's performance; nor when she left holding hands with Daniel, smiling complicitly. He could not see her face full of anticipation, nor her eyes shining with excitement as her brother spoke to her before they left. Nor could he witness Daniel's open and frank smiles, the smirk on his mouth or the expression of happiness he wore. And it was just as well, he had witnessed more than enough to understand that it was time to let her go completely. Deanna would end up leaving Daniel anyway, because no matter how much they did to make it work it was doomed to fail. Thinking that was the only thing that managed to bring a smile to his face that night.