**A/N: MATURE CHAPTER AVAILABLE
Hello again! Just to let everyone know in case anyone was wondering, the last chapter highlighted the events in my AU after the events of GOTG Vol. 2. As is such, the budding romance of Gamora and Peter clearly did not happen in this story. The events just occurred per canon bits just with the sexual and emotional tension between Gamora and Peter being omitted. So, with no blossoming relationship to explore, that's why Gamora went off with Nebula, just for a short bit mind you.
Anyway, I do hope you all are enjoying the story, it's getting close to the end with only a few more chapters to go. I won't say how many but I don't want to drag it out to the point of boredom. Enjoy!
Song Inserts:
The Jackson 5- I'll Be There (don't worry, you'll see it, LOL)
Janis Joplin- Piece of My Heart
Lynryd Skynyrd- Free Bird
The Ronettes- Be My Baby (This and the two above it are just passing themes, you'll see them.)
Chapter Twenty Six: Did You Miss Me?
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There was not much to do in the little farm town of St. Charles, Missouri on a Saturday night. The weekend night usually constituted of teenagers hanging out in the back-parking lot of the local grocery store, their various makes of cars and trucks clustered together in packs of clichés while the youngsters goofed off and behaved, well, like teenagers.
The only real hangout for the adults of St. Charles was one of two bars, Stella's Tavern and its competition, The Watering Hole.
The latter of the two was where Dani found herself on that night. Amelia, officially fed up with Dani's recluse behavior, dragged her out for a night of drinks and low-end karaoke.
Once again, karaoke.
The true testament of one's character, especially on self-control.
Still, Dani promised to Amelia, and herself, that things needed to change. Her biological family was gone but life kept moving forward. As for the love of her life, Peter was no longer apart of the grand scheme and she couldn't wallow away in exile any longer.
So here she is, leaning against the glossy wood of the bar counter, attempting to hail down the busy bartender, Jessa from the other end of the bustling bar. Marcus, the other bartender, was nowhere to be seen, most likely he snuck off into the stock room with a cute little brunette that had been making goo goo eyes at him all night.
Sighing quietly, Dani leaned forward more against the counter, in dire need of a mojito if she was to continue enduring the nerve-wracking noise radiating from the front end of the establishment. Blessedly, there was a break in songs as the bar pa system played Janis Joplin's 'Piece of My Heart'. Dani hummed thoughtfully to the tune, it was one of her favorites and always Zened her out.
The break was short lived though as the DJ called up one of the locals, Eric Lahey, who began belting out a mediocre rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Free Bird', a bottle of beer in one hand and microphone in the other as he drunkenly crooned the classic off time. The lyrics hadn't even started yet.
Dani groaned.
She glanced over again to Jessa, finally catching the younger blonde's attention. She held her hand up, a desperate smile on her face and she signaled her need of a drink. Jessa held a finger up for her to wait a moment as she finished another customer's beverage.
Dani nodded, glancing back around the packed bar to occupy herself while she waited. Her green eyes widened when her gaze moved behind her to the back of the bar. Her brain must be playing tricks on her. For the briefest moment, she could have sworn that she spotted Peter amid the many faces moving through the bar. Her body moved on its own, taking a tentative step from her spot, craning her neck past a couple that had walked in front of her towards the door that led outside. She searched frantically once they passed but the illusion had disappeared as quickly as it started.
Dani's heart squeezed painfully as she swallowed back a lump of sadness and disappointment that lodged itself in her throat. Giving her head a quick shake to get her thoughts in order, she turned back to the bar just in time for Jessa to move over to serve her next.
"Another Sprite, Dani?" She asked, her voice conveying the rush that she was in.
"No, a mojito actually. I wasn't planning on drinking, but karaoke calls for a drink. Where did Marcus run off to?"
Jessa gave her a short but comical glare, shaking her head in annoyance.
"He said he was going to get another case of beer but I'm not naïve. He's back in the stock room having a quickie with that damn Merrick girl. That kid can't keep it in his pants for a single shift. He keeps that up, Isaac is going to can his ass." The bartender sneered angrily, putting excessive force into crushing up the mint leaves for her drink. Dani noticed this but chose to play oblivious, the poor girl was stressed enough.
"Not like Isaac is here to catch him." Dani observed, gesturing to the crowd, pointing out to the lack of the bar owner. This comment brought a vindictive smile to Jessa's face.
"Oh, he has his coming. Marcus doesn't know it, but Isaac finally fixed that busted surveillance camera in the stock room. He is in for one helluva show."
Dani smiled widely, chuckling to herself as she paid for her drink with her card. "Poor little horndog Marcus."
Jessa shrugged indifferently, thanking Dani for the tip she added. "His fault. Maybe I can finally get someone worthwhile here to help."
A thought occurred to Dani.
"Well, not to be crude, but if that does happen, you should put in a good word for Amelia. She's been looking for a gig since she's no longer at the coffee shop." Dani suggested, receiving a thoughtful nod from Jessa.
"In a heartbeat. I think Amelia would be a good fit. Tell her to call Isaac in a few days."
"Will do. Thanks, Jessa."
Making her way back to her table, Dani carefully moved and dodged around the many patrons. Spotting Amelia, she gave her an exasperated look as she settled back into her seat at the small square table.
"About damn time. I thought I was going to need to send out Search and Rescue." Amelia bantered, lifting her drink to her face to take a sip. Feeling a little buzzed, the redhead comically chased the miniature straw around with her mouth. Dani snorted, her mood lightening considerably.
"Maybe you have had enough. You're being bested by a plastic straw."
Amelia rubbed at a pretend itch on her cheek with her middle finger, directing the gesture towards her friend causing her to laugh loudly in amusement.
"Wow, really. That's an oldie. I hope you dusted that off before you used it." Dani shot back playfully, taking a small sip of her mojito.
The wailing voice of an older woman singing 'Be My Baby' by The Ronettes who shouldn't be trusted with a turned-on microphone permeated the room, making a cringe rip through both Dani and Amelia.
Groaning, Dani rubbed her forehead with her hand, working hard on her left temple. "Please tell me why I allowed you to drag me here. I hate karaoke, you hate karaoke. This makes no sense. Why torture ourselves willingly?"
Her friend lifted her glass of Long Island Iced Tea. "We came for the booze or at least, I did.' She looked down at the alcoholic beverage in Dani's hand. 'And it looks like Karaoke Night finally wore you down, prude."
"We can have drinks at home without the ear-splitting noise." She remarked, pointing out the obvious.
"YOU needed to get out of the house. Besides, it's entertainment!"
"It's cruel and unusual punishment. The equivalent of waterboarding."
Amelia gave her a pointed stare that didn't reach the rest of her face. The stare melted into a knowing smile that threw Dani for a loop.
"What's that about?"
Her friend shrugged, casting an aloof air as she casually took another sip.
"Nothing. Am I not allowed to express any emotion?" Amelia responded indifferently but Dani knew her too well.
"What are you keeping to yourself? I know that look." She dug, curious now. Amelia's eyes scanned the room, seeming to search for something or someone.
"So, where's Marcus? I haven't seen him in a hot minute." The redhead observed, obviously attempting to change the topic.
About a half hour later, Dani finished the last of her mojito, stretching her stiff arms up. She pulled her cell out of her jacket pocket from the back of her chair, seeing the time.
"It's 11:00, Amelia and I'm just not feeling the atmosphere anymore. I'm going to call for a taxi and head home. I've had enough." Dani said as she pulled open her phone's contacts, searching for the local taxi service number. Amelia had drove them here and her friend was most certainly not driving anytime soon. Moving at a speed that startled Dani to the point where she jumped in her chair, Amelia snatched Dani's phone out of her hand and shoved it into her jacket, zipping said pocket shut.
Dani watched her actions, completely bewildered. "What the actual hell, Amelia?!' She extended her arm out with a firm look. 'Give me my phone back."
"You can't leave, not yet.' Amelia paused, glancing at the phone quickly. 'Just stay a little longer. Pretty please?"
She raised a questioning eyebrow, silently asking why she should.
"Just trust me please."
Relenting, Dani popped her neck, her gaze flitting to the karaoke set up briefly before landing on her friend. "Okay, a little longer but next round on you, mooch."
Smiling brightly, Amelia snatched their glasses off the table, popped up and all but ran towards the bar, nearly taking out Mr. Watkins-err- Allan- to be correct, as he made his way to the men's room. Allan had been the high school principal when they were teenagers, having since retired and Dani still tripped up and called him Mr. or Sir sometimes.
"Sorry, Allan, my bad!" Amelia called over her shoulder as she continued rushing away. He shot her a disapproving glare.
"Slow down, Mitchell, I see some things never change." He called back then resumed his original course to relieve himself.
She was back in record time with their drinks, still grinning madly as she settled back into her seat. Her behavior had Dani full blown curious at this point.
"You are in high spirits. Care to clue me in?"
Amelia shook her head, taking a sip of her spiked tea, nearly giddy as she fidgeted in her seat.
"Nope."
Dani absently heard the karaoke DJ call up the next victim—singer—for the next song as the crowd gave the typical light applause that was to be expected. The DJ was speaking, saying something along the lines of the song choice was a dedication to someone but Dani was too invested in finding out what was going on with Amelia to fully pay attention. She was staring wide eyed over Dani's shoulder, glee filling out her face at whatever she was seeing.
"Why don't you just tell me? You know I don't like being out of the loop on—"
"Would you shut up and just listen for once in your life!?" Amelia squeaked out, physically leaning forward and turning Dani's face towards the karaoke table at the front end of the establishment.
Dani meant to snap off at Amelia until she heard the next singer speak; it was a voice that she could pick out of a crowd of millions, one she had been longing to hear once again. The singer had said two words that stopped her heart.
(Sun Ray.)
Whipping her head back around at a breakneck speed, Dani searched for the voice's owner in the dimly lit and smoke-filled bar. Her stomach leapt up into her throat and her heart squeezed painfully again as her eyes landed on the most handsome face in all the stars. She white knuckle clenched the edge of the table, grounding herself because there was no way that her eyes could be right. No way that her Peter was standing not even a hundred feet away in front of the karaoke table, microphone in hand, as he looked directly at her. With a longing on his face that surely paled in comparison to what was surely on her own as her mouth dropped open in stunned surprise. Her perverse and desperate mind was simply torturing Dani, procuring an image of the one person in all of creation that she wanted, needed to see the most.
A strangled sob tore from her throat when the hallucination smiled that crooked smirk that set her heart fluttering. He lifted the microphone to his lips.
"Yes, I'm talking to you, Dani, my little Sun Ray. I just found out you were trying to reach out to me; I wasn't ignoring you and I'm sorry for not getting here sooner. We've known each other since birth. You've always been there for me, even when you weren't physically there when I was 'abroad'. Even when I couldn't be there for you. You're my best friend, my rock, the love of my life."
He paused, gathering his emotions before continuing.
"Whatever you want to do, wherever you want to be, I'll be there. Whether it's here or 'travelling', I'm never leaving your side as long as that's what you want."
Peter glanced around the crowd, swallowing thickly as he took in the many, many eyes on him. "Which I'm hoping, praying actually, is for quite a long time since I'm embarrassing the hell out of myself right now in a room full of strangers." He joked, receiving a mild amount of laughter and applause from the crowd.
He smiled briefly, feeling slightly more confidant from the praise, his eyes finding Dani once again. "I'm singing this for you, love, because I'll always be there."
A slow piano opening began, filling the spacious room. Dani, unable to believe what was happening, slowly slid her eyes shut, tremendous joy enveloping her soul at Peter's declaration as The Jackson 5's 'I'll Be There' played.
You and I must make a pact
We must bring salvation back
Dani's eyes flew open; she had never heard Peter sing before.
"WOW! Who knew that Hot Pants could sing?" She faintly heard Amelia say through the swelling of appreciation of the crowd around them, obviously thrilled by someone who could sing well. His voice was steady and pleasing to the ear, a faint twang of his Midwest accent from his younger years evident as he sang.
All the noise, the people, everything else faded away for Dani as she listened to Peter, his gaze acting as magnet for her own.
And oh- I'll be there to comfort you
Build my world of dreams around you, I'm so glad that I found you
I'll be there with a love that's strong
I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on- yes, I will, yes, I will
Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, well that's all I'm after
Whenever you need me
I'll be there
Halfway through the song, Peter paused in his singing, watching her intently from across the room, taking in the joyful tears streaming down her face. He mouthed 'I Love You', cracking all of Dani's grounded resolve.
Shoving her chair back as she stood, Dani found herself moving forward, moving gently at first then breaking out into a gait that bordered running towards him. All thoughts that there were others in the room were gone, she only had eyes for Peter.
As for Peter, seeing Dani rushing towards him, he purposely dropped the microphone onto the table behind him, no longer caring about the rest of the song and took a few steps forward. He stopped, bracing himself as Dani closed the distance between them, flinging herself into his open arms, wrapping tightly around him like a coil. He crushed her against him, never wanting her out of his embrace again. Peter hoisted her up into his arms, her legs wrapping around his. Dani incessantly kissed his neck, face, mouth and anywhere she could reach.
"Oh, Peter. I love you! I love you, I'm sorry. I was such an idiot. I'm so, so sorry." She apologized profusely over and over; her voice muffled every time she kissed him. Peter shushed her with his lips, pulling a moan from both. The gaping hole in Dani's chest quickly filled itself in with everything that was Peter.
"It's all right, love, it's all right. You're back in my arms right where you belong, that's all that matters. All I care about."
His words sent an electric shock through her system, like a jump start to her dormant heart. Peter pulled her back to him, not being able to stand not kissing Dani in the numerous months of emotional hell.
It was then that they remembered where they were as a growing applause sounded around them, pulling them out of their reconciliation bubble.
"Well, they won't be needing me anymore. My congratulations to the two of you.' The DJ spoke up into his microphone, a smile on his face as he ended the Jackson 5 song. 'There will be another short break and then next up is Lorrie."
Completely ignoring the DJ, Peter placed Dani back down to her feet.
"How did you—how did you know I was here? You were amazing by the way." She stuttered in wonderment at the spectacle she just witnessed.
Peter chuckled, holding her tight around her waist while his other hand ran through her curly, loose hair.
"That's a long story. Let's just say that you have a dear friend who cares about you and wanted to surprise you. A dear friend who answered the door when I stopped by your house earlier and you weren't home. She filled me in on where you two were headed tonight and said that I should surprise. 'It'll be so epic' were her words. It was all Amelia's idea." He replied, pointing behind her.
Amelia stepped over to them, smiling enormously as she held out Dani's jacket, phone and the keys to her own Ford Focus.
"Get out of here, you crazy kids." She pushed the keys and Dani's belongings into her trembling hands.
"YOU! I don't know whether to kiss you or punch you, Miss Mitchell." Dani said, still shaken up, causing Amelia to laugh jovially.
"I think a simple 'thank you' would suffice. Hot Pants might enjoy the show too much if we start necking. Save the getting hot and bothered for at home."
Dani then noticed the keys in her hand. "How are you getting back?"
Amelia shrugged, waving dismissively.
"Sera's coming by to pick me up later. I'm staying at her place tonight so you two can be alone and, catch up." She said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Dani reached for her, pulling her into a tight hug.
"You sure?"
"YES! Now go and have lots of unbridled, passionate sex. The kinkier, the better."
Dani's face flushed as she snagged Peter's hand, pulling him away.
"And not in my car! I just had it cleaned." Amelia hollered quite loudly after them.
"I mean it! Nothing past second base, Dee!"
Dani tightened her grip on his hand, pulling him away even quicker, ignoring the knowing looks they received by some of the bar patrons as they scurried away.
"My god! Is it possible to love and hate someone as equally as I do the Unsinkable Amelia Mitchell?" She exclaimed, mostly to herself as they exited the building, making their way through the parking lot. Peter chuckled as he walked alongside her, hugging her closely around the shoulders as they went.
"She is a loud character but her heart's in the right place and she loves you dearly."
"Yeah. Yeah. I know." She added, unlocking the dark blue car.
Before she could open the driver's door, Peter spun her around, kissing her deeply and catching her off guard as he pressed against her, pushing her back against the car.
Slowly pulling back, he tenderly brushed her cheeks with his thumbs as he stroked her face. His smiling widening as he moved his gaze over her.
"God, I missed doing that." He whispered, his warm breath tickling her cheeks.
"Doing what?" She breathlessly asked as he slowly caressed her cheekbones once more.
"Making you blush.' He replied, his low, silky voice sending shivers up her spine. 'I love you."
Dani opened her mouth to repeat the same but paused, a sly smile developing as she bit her bottom lip in order not to laugh.
"I know." She responded, giving him some payback from the first time she declared her love and he said the same thing, even though she had jokingly begged him not to.
Peter narrowed his eyes playfully, a smirk tugging on those gorgeous lips of his.
"Oh, you…. You're going to regret that, missy."
She leaned up, skimming her mouth against his in a teasing motion before pulling back slightly, her lips brushing his as she spoke. "Sounds promising."
Peter leaned forward to capture her in another kiss, but Dani dodged him, laughing playfully. "Nope, later. Now get your sweet ass in the car."
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As Dani drove, Peter filled her in on how everyone was doing in her absence and what they had been up to. He explained about how he met his father, who turned out to be a genocidal god hell bent on destroying all life in the universe. About how he had to kill him in order to stop him. She stayed silent as she listened staring intently out the windshield. Her stomach felt unsettled by hearing the story; she didn't like how close of a call it had been for him and their friends.
"I can't believe that Ego put his extension here in St. Charles. I honestly didn't even think about that after the matter." He observed, looking out the window as they drove.
Dani swallowed uncomfortably. It had been a few weeks since the incident had occurred in St. Charles before she even knew about it. At the time, Dani had been pissed at Amelia for keeping Terry's illness a secret, so she had ignored her first few 'wellness' phone calls. She only answered once after the tenth phone call to yell into the phone that she didn't want to talk to her and to quit calling then hung up. Dani was not proud of that, looking back on the whole situation in hindsight. Not to mention, she rarely left her house for anything, so she received one hell of a surprise when she was driving down main street one day to pick up supplies.
"Yeah, took me a while to find out about it. I was going through a self-hating funk and barely left the house. Amelia and I weren't speaking at the time as well. I didn't really care about what was going on around me or for myself, to be honest." Dani admitted, feeling shameful.
She caught Peter glaring angrily at her from the corner of her eye. She sighed dejectedly, knowing already what was going on in his head.
"I had just lost my brother and on impulse, nearly destroyed 'us' so yes, I was in a bad place for a while."
"Still—"
"So, did I miss anything else?" She cut him off, desperate for a change of subject. Peter watched her quietly before deciding to let it go. As much as it pissed him off to hear how little Dani thought of herself during that time, it was in the past. Her and Amelia had made amends and now, he was here with her. That's all that mattered now. He moved on, telling her about Gamora taking off with her sister after the Ego incident. Saying that she needed to keep an eye on Nebula and ensure that she didn't get herself killed on her quest of getting revenge on their father, Thanos. He then filled her in on the death of Yondu and how badly it had shaken him which only confused her.
"So, let me get this straight. This is the guy that kidnapped you and you expect me to believe that you loved him?" Disbelief evident in her tone as Dani asked.
"Yes, he did but Yondu did raise me after all. It wasn't ideal. He had no clue as to what he was doing. But I know he cared; he also saved my ass more times than I care to count." Peter tried explaining the odd dynamic the two of them shared.
"Trouble that I'm sure he put you into." She rebuffed, anger creeping into her voice.
"Dani, I never had a father. Looking back now with a clear mind, he did the best he could. I couldn't see it before, but I do now. He was my father when I needed one."
Dani could hear the emotion building inside of him as he spoke of the dead man. Reaching over, she grasped his hand tightly in hers while she drove.
"He was your Hasselhoff. I get it. I may not like it, but I get it."
He smiled sadly, squeezing her hand with his. "Yeah, I guess so. You remembered."
Dani only nodded as they passed through St. Charles' city limits.
"I don't care how many times he 'saved your ass', Yondu still took you away from me but for your sake, I'll keep my opinion on him to myself from now on, baby."
Peter lifted her hand, brushing his lips softly on her knuckles in a tender kiss.
"Thank you."
They drove on in silence for a few minutes until Dani made a left turn, taking the longer way back to her home.
"I know it's been a while for me but isn't it faster the other way?" He inquired, pointing the opposite direction they were going.
"Yes, but the clean up from the 'Ego Goo' is still ongoing. It's a dead end further up."
Peter watched the landscape out his window, finally making out the devastation left behind by his real father as they drove by. He went deathly quiet as they passed the edge of the hardened mass, swallowing thickly as he surveyed where they were, mumbling incoherently.
"What was that?" She asked, not making out what he had said. Peter watched the farmland pass by them.
"I said two miles." He replied tightly.
"Um, ok. Two miles what?"
"Two miles from your house."
She was still lost as to what he was talking about.
"You're gonna need to explain your—"
"Two miles, Dani. That's how close I came to killing you."
She sighed heavily as she made the turn onto her road, the long driveway visible in the distance.
"Peter, that wasn't you, it was Ego. You said he was using you as some sort of battery. And I'm fine, I'm right here. Don't beat yourself up for something you couldn't control and that didn't happen anyway. You're not allowed to wallow in self-hatred, that's my bag." She tried to joke, hopefully to lighten the mood.
He didn't reply.
Pulling into the driveway of the guest house, she turned the car off and turned in her seat to give him her full attention.
"Oh, by the way, I'm not referring to you as a god just so you know. I doubt that the Earth's axis could withstand the weight of your ego if I did that."
The brooding expression slowly melted away, his eyes lighting up mischievously as he turned towards her. Dani reached up, placing her index finger to his lips, shushing him.
"I swear, if you make a sexual innuendo right now, I can't legally be held liable for what I may do." She teased.
She climbed out of the car, leading him towards the backdoor into the kitchen. A shrill shriek flew out of her as Peter ran up behind, scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder.
"I'll take these." He snatched her keys out of her hand mid lift. Laughing, Dani playfully swatted at his back, kicking her legs.
"Put me down."
"Not a chance. There are naughty deeds to be done and I'm not letting you out of my sight."
Peter opened the door, stepped inside and kicked it closed, locking it behind him. He tossed the keys on the marble counter, his eyes quickly surveying the area. He had never been inside the guest house. Dani's parents built it sometime during his absence.
"Bedroom?" Peter asked.
"Not a chance, caveman. Put me down!" She giggled, her head swimming from being upside down as she squirmed.
Still standing in the kitchen, his gaze locked on to Dani's backside which was right next to his face. His blood heating up when he caught sight of the black ruffled lace panties peeking out under her hiked up tangerine colored floral skirt. Unable to stop himself, he placed a gentle love bite on her exposed back side. A small startled yelp resounded through the room, followed by her slapping the back of his head lightly.
"Peter Jason Quill! That's no way to treat a lady." She admonished him in a scandalized tone.
"Oh, you haven't seen nothing yet, sweet cheeks. If you're not going to tell me where your bedroom is, I'm going to be forced to get creative. There's always the kitchen counter, the dining table, the breakfast nook." He moved forward, stepping into the living room as Dani continued giggling at his antics.
"There's the couch. Oh, you have a chaise by the bay window, how quaint! Or the floor, I don't care at this point."
Dani gasped, nearly hyperventilating from laughter. She hadn't done much of that in quite a while.
"Or there's always Amelia's car. I'm curious to see how big that back seat is." Peter observed, giving Dani's back side a firm slap. Her green eyes shot open, nearly bugging out.
"Upstairs. Second door on the right." She damn near shouted, eliciting a victorious smile from him that she couldn't see anyway.
"There. That wasn't so difficult, was it?" He asked, taking the carpeted steps two at a time.
"She's a bad-tempered redhead who knows where I sleep at night. I don't want smothered with a pillow."
Peter chuckled, stealthily making his way to the landing and moved down the hall.
"And now I know, too. Not that we'll be doing much sleeping."
Dani rolled her eyes as he opened the door to her bedroom. "If making sexual innuendoes was an Olympic Event, you'd be the Michael Phelps of perversion."
"I'm not offended because I don't know who that is anyway."
Closing the door, Peter carefully surveyed the soft teal wallpaper, the cream-colored carpet before his eyes landed on its target, her king-sized bed. Stepping over to it, he carefully tossed her onto the oversized bed as she squealed from her sudden altitude change. Not giving her a second to adjust, Peter snatched her ankle, pulling off her white high heel then quickly removed its mate. Once they were off, he slid his hands up her bare leg, massaging her calf muscles, causing Dani to moan deep in her throat.
"That feels so good. I hate those shoes." She whimpered, unconsciously licking her lips from the sensation of Peter's hands working away at her aching calf. The subconscious action causing Peter's blood to ignite even more so.
He moved his hands away from their task, stripping off his red leather jacket and kicking off his boots. He crawled onto the bed as she scooted up. Her blood pounded loudly in her ears at the hungry expression on his face.
Dani still couldn't believe he was here, in her house, in her bed. Everything felt surreal, part of her wondering if this was all a dream. A very, very vivid dream.
Not wasting a moment longer on these musings, she grasped his shirt, pulling him down to her, kissing him fiercely. Her other hand roamed under the shirt, her body desperately needing to touch his warm skin.
Peter leaned back, pulling his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. He moved to leaned back down to capture her lips with his again but paused upon seeing the sudden hardness in Dani's eyes.
"What?"
She didn't respond, only allowed her fingertips to carefully trace the scarred tissue of his shoulder where he had been stabbed that night on Zakkar. She swallowed the lump in her throat, also pushing down the terror of that night, the night she thought she would lose him forever.
Peter was right here and there was no way in hell she was letting him go again.
"Nothing." She gently whispered before leaning up, tenderly pressing her lips to the red, puffy reminder then pulled Peter down on top of her. Seeing whatever hardness melt away from her eyes, Peter moved his head down, kissing the tender spot below her ear on her neck.
Getting frustrated at his slow pace, Dani grabbed the blouse's hem, yanking the top over her head, exposing her matching black lace bra to his hungry gaze.
A soft, rumbling laugh escaped him. "You're in a hurry. Hot date later?"
"I have the infamous outlaw, Star Lord, in my bed. That's about as hot as it can get but he is moving at a maddeningly slow pace though."
Peter smiled that oh so tempting smirk, brushing his lips slowly along her jaw towards her ear. "Well, we'll just have to do something about that."
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Laying in Dani's bed, both completely out of breath, she chuckled in utter satisfaction.
"I most definitely missed this.' She paused, glancing up into his face as they both panted heavily. 'I don't care how old we get, this,' Dani gestured between them, 'is still happening."
Peter heartily laughed, kissing her temple then her cheek, moving to her mouth for a tender kiss. "You won't have any arguments from me."
Yeah, he definitely missed this, too.
Rolling up onto her elbow, Dani smiled down at him, her hand gliding gently up his stomach to his chest and back down a couple times.
"Alright, I'll say it but only in these circumstances."
He furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at her perplexed. "Say what?"
Her smiled turned devious.
"You're most definitely a god."
He stared blankly up a her for a moment, her words sinking in before bursting into laughter. Once he calmed down, he wiped at his eyes, looking around the room searchingly.
"Well, we're not hurtling towards the sun, so that's a start."
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