Be All, End All

“That’s the guy?”

Darynn and Rome were having a sloppy lunch of burgers and fries at a roadside stop. No way was either going to trash an interior by trying to eat in the car. Usually through a mouthful of food Darynn had forced him to tell her of the circumstances of getting off of house arrest, which had been part of his parole. No surprise that the FBI had hunted down Brian to use to their own ends. And if Rome was right, by doing their task they’d both walked away from their criminal records.

Rome stopped chewing when she let on that the very guy Bri had let go was the one she was working for and had caught them in her trailer.

“One and the same. I didn’t hear his whole name till I was already working for him.”

“Bri told you his name?” Rome sounded a bit hurt that he hadn’t been let in on the same info.

Darynn shrugged, “That was back when he first left California, when it all went down. Course, I’m a girl, prolly liked talkin’ to me about that kind of stuff,” she teased.

His look was playfully suspicious, “What kinda stuff?”

She just shrugged and smiled, occupying her mouth with a bite of her burger.

They hung out all afternoon in her trailer, having a couple more goes. When the smell of grilling meat drifted through the open windows she urged him up and dressed. Everyone but Dom greeted them loudly as they crossed the lawn to where the table was set up in the shadow of the house. That she was carrying food helped. Dom turned where he stood at the grill and watched, but said nothing.

Darynn had told Rome which one Dom would be, though it hadn’t been necessary. Before she separated from Rome he gave her a meaningful look and then headed over to Dom with his normal ebullience.

She headed inside with her meal donation. It had become customary for her to organize the side dishes. Since she was always eating there she’d always made sure to bring something to add to the meal. One time she had gone inside to get a spoon or something and from then on she’d been pushed into getting all the paraphernalia ready, from silverware to sauce for the meat. At least someone in the house shopped. There were always supplies in the house. Chips, pickles, pork’n’beans, a big deli container of potato salad, barbecue sauce. Darynn hated all of it, sticking to whatever she brought and the meat. She usually brought the same things, a veggie tray, a fresh vegetable, and a stack of thick napkins. Today she’d brought corn on the cob. She put it on to cook in a big pot and took everything else outside.

The meal went like usual. Dom was a little more quiet than normal, but no one seemed to notice with Rome talking non-stop. Darynn enjoyed just listening to him. It had been a while since she’d seen him. They’d had a short visit when he’d gotten out of prison, and nothing but phone calls since. She’d made sure to warn him about mentioning Brian. None of the team was aware that she knew him and that was how she’d like to keep it for now.

They all helped to clean up the meal. Low and Gregg left soon after, she and Rome headed back to her trailer. Rome was gone within an hour.

Darynn sat on her tailgate, four feet off the ground and looked after him, missing him already. The four of them had always been okay with the way their lives had taken different directions. Stop in whenever possible, but basically they were all free to make other attachments. But sometimes she just missed the old days of them all being together.

“Got room for one more up there?”

She’d been lost in thought and hadn’t heard Dom approach. Now he was standing at her bumper looking up at her. For a minute she just looked at him. What could he possibly want now? Ridicule her some more? But the look on his face didn’t make her think that was his plan.

“Sure.” She scooted down a bit and then had to grab his arm. Climbing onto her truck wasn’t easy and he was almost all the way up when he started to tip back. She pulled to help and then smiled when he was sitting beside her. “Shoulda let you fall on your fat ass. It’s what you deserve.”

He frowned and leaned away to look down at his ass. When she just lifted a brow he sat back up, hands on edge of the gate. “Yeah. I was surprised you didn’t push me.”

She smiled, but didn’t respond. If he thought some light humor was going to fix all the bullshit he was dead wrong.

Silence held for long minutes. Darynn was starting to wonder why the hell he’d come out at all. She had been content to sit in silence alone. Yeah, she was still sitting in silence, but with him there her whole train of thought had changed. No longer the heavy thoughts of missing friends and a life that had long since passed. Now she was just aware of the man sitting beside her. Every sound, every move, his smell, the way he breathed. She couldn’t get past him to think about anything else.

Calling herself a big chicken motivated her to speak. “Did you have a purpose with your visit?”

“I like Roman,” he said suddenly, almost cutting her off.

She shrugged, not getting any point he may have intended, “That’s nice.”

He shook his head smiling, “You never quit.”

“Quit what?”

He was looking at her now, with a sort of fond smile that made her nervous, “Being yourself.”

Darynn rolled her eyes, “Whatever. I won’t apologize for not catering to your delicate sensibilities.”

A soft laugh rumbled in his chest, “See.”

She sighed and prepared to dismount. “Whatever, Dom. I was fine by myself, I don’t need to hear your shitty opinion of me. To be fuckin’ honest I don’t care what you think.”

His big hand wrapped around her arm stopped her from hopping to the ground below. She raised a brow at his touch.

“You’re so damn quick to jump on shit. Can’t you just sit there for a minute?” His voice was rising. Aww, he was getting pissed.

“I’m jumpin’ on shit? If you beat around the bush much more I’m gonna think you’re having sex with it. You got a point, say it, otherwise I have better shit to do than sit here and wait for you to get the courage to speak.”

His mouth was actually hanging open a bit. “Courage isn’t what’s missing. I was trying to be polite. You should take notes.”

She huffed, “I don’t have time, I fell asleep waiting.” Her voice couldn’t have gotten any more disparaging.

His jaw worked itself. Oh, yeah, he was gettin’ worked up now. “The only time you aren’t running your mouth of is when there’s somethin’ in it.”

Ouch! But she had to smile even as she was nearly yelling at him, “Yeah, well, that’s the only time you seem to know how to use yours.”

Had she done it on purpose? She couldn’t answer honestly. No man would take such a challenge without retaliating. Shit, she’d nearly insulted his manhood.

Purposeful or not, the result was the same. One second she was facing off with him, the next she was being pulled and pushed at the same time. He grabbed her and they went down in the bed of her truck as he showed her exactly what he could do with his mouth.

Darynn met his fervor fully this time, no holding back. The question ‘what about Brian?’ normally kept her holding him at bay, but now it went ignored.

The bed of her truck was far from comfortable, but it went unnoticed as he rolled half over her. Head cushioned on his bicep, mouth ravaged, legs parted by his thick one between hers. She gripped him, holding him in place, holding him to her.

Now the only sounds were their soft panting breaths and the wet sounds their mouths made on one another. Dom’s hand found the edge of her top and then his palm was against her stomach. She gripped his arm, forcing his hand to still and just loved the sensation. Hot and rough, yet the contact wasn’t abrasive, her softer skin gentling his touch.

When her fingers strayed upward, tempted by the flexing bicep poised for her to fondle his hand slid higher. Over ribs, his thumb came to rest against the underside of her breast. His pause registered, but not the meaning, not at first. Through his demanding kisses she finally caught on that despite his reckless pace he was being respectful.

She kissed him with renewed energy, loving that he was giving her the chance to stop this peacefully. But at the back of her brain the warning had been activated. Ignorable at first, but each kiss and touch seemed to snowball the tiny bit of reservation. As much as she wanted him, this wasn’t how she wanted it, and there was still the issue of Brian’s involvement.

As the last bits of reality fell into place she opened her eyes to see a close-up view of her boss kissing her with the night sky above them. Pulling away wouldn’t be fair. He hadn’t forced her into this, and in truth she’d gladly participated.

She brushed her hand over his stubble-rough head and then laid it against his cheek. He’d been slowing, obviously noticing her lack of participation. When she urged his head away from hers he willingly pulled back, sucking at his lips for a second in a display she just had to watch, then was looking down at her.

Darynn smiled, liking their proximity a little too much for her own peace of mind. He was pinning her and had only stopped at her request out of respect, chivalry, nobility, what have you. Despite the verbal battles he was showing her with their every exchange that he was a good man.

“So did I prove you wrong?” His voice was lower, rougher than usual, but she wasn’t complaining. They were, after all, in a bed.

She shook her head, “No, you proved my point.”

He smiled, rubbing down her side as he pulled his hand free. “Next time just tell me to shut up and kiss you.”

They sat up, carefully pulling limbs from the tangle. “I did.”

His smile seemed almost sad, resigned, but he paused and nodded to himself before he hopped down. When he turned and held his hands up to her she didn’t hesitate to slide off into his arms.

No fool there. He used the opportunity to its greatest advantage, sliding their bodies together until her feet touched the ground. He was grinning, not in the least remorseful. She didn’t take offense for once.

His lips brushed hers for the briefest moment and they stepped away still smiling.

“Night, Rynn.”

“G’night, Dom.”

She dreamt of him, not for the first time. Only this time, with her body still tingling from his touch, she didn’t stop him.