Matching Mr. Right (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Series Book 1) (18 page)

Shelby hung upside down, struggling for air, staring at Nick’s fine rear end. “My heels slowed me down, but admit it. I outmaneuvered you, pal.”

“You play dirty. First a guy, then her? She laughed like a . . . braying donkey. I’ve never heard anything so obnoxious.”

“Some might call her laugh a unique trait.”

“Or, some might call it payback times ten.”

Yep. She’d asked the actress to be over the top obnoxious and it apparently worked. But since she was in no position to gloat at the moment, she kept her mouth shut and admired his butt.

He carried her back to the office and kicked the door closed behind them. His large hand lightly smacked her bottom before he righted her, then dropped her to her feet. What little breath she had slipped out of her lungs as Nick used his whole body to press her back against the wall.

He was damn sexy when he was mad.

Nick trapped her hands above her head with one of his, and pressed his body even closer. She should probably try to start breathing again.

“Now who’s outmaneuvered, Shelby? Say you’re sorry, and mean it, and I might let you off with just a kiss.” The raw lust in his gaze dampened her panties. She forgot all about her screaming lungs.

“Nope. What else you got?” She couldn’t help it, her lips tilted into a grin that was sure to piss him off even more. There was no one more fun to fight with than Nick.

He leaned down and whispered, “I might have to kiss you all over until you give in.”

Her heart leapt. “I’m pretty stubborn.”

“I know.” All his anger seemed to recede as his mouth formed a slow, sexy smile before starting his assault along the hollow at the base of her neck. She tilted her chin and moaned as his lips slowly traveled up to her earlobe and gave it a gentle bite.

He whispered, “Give in yet?”

She shook her head. “Not even close. Maybe it’d help if you let go of my hands?” She wanted to touch him so badly she ached for it.

“Nope. You’ll probably knock me over the head with something.” With his free hand, he unfastened the top two buttons of her blouse, and his mouth ventured south.

She shivered in delight.

“Are you sorry now?” he asked with his face buried in her chest.

“Not a bit.” She laid a soft kiss on the mark on his forehead. “Maybe you should kiss me like you did the other day. That was pretty annoying.”

He chuckled. “I want you, Shelby.”

Her heart pounded, sending even more heat downstairs. “Jo thinks I’ll always wonder if I don’t sleep with you.”

His head lifted and nipped her bottom lip. “I like Jo.”

Shelby sucked his full bottom lip into her mouth and nipped him back. “So do I. But I’m still mad at you. You don’t deserve it.”

Instead of arguing, he kissed her just like she’d asked him to. Slow, sweet, and deep.

Lust danced a jive within her belly again.

Jo’s voice interrupted their fun. “Good job, Nick. I bet Shelby’s learned her lesson good and proper now. But do you guys mind? I have work to do.”

His lips curved against Sheby’s as he released her hands, quickly buttoned her blouse, and took a step back. “I have to get back to work. Can I come over for dinner tonight and show you what I found? And then maybe we could discuss Jo’s theory some more.”

“Sure. But which theory? The one about brunettes being better in bed? Did you decide to sleep with Jordan after all?”

His eyes narrowed. “I’ll be there at seven, wiseass.” He gave her butt a pat. “I’ll bring a pizza.” He smirked as he strutted out the door.

Shelby called out to his big back, “You need to wipe that self-assured look off of your face, pal. We still have a lot of terms to discuss. It’s not a given that I’m going to sleep with you.”

Jo rolled her eyes and slipped behind her desk. “Really, Shelby?”

Okay, it was a given.

Shelby made her way out to her car and smiled all the way home.

After her long bubble bath, she donned her black push up bra and put on the new sexy low-cut blouse she’d just bought. For once in her life, she wanted to be the bad girl instead of the good one. Maybe she’d punished herself enough for her deeds as a child.

It was Nick’s struggles with his own issues that made her see her own behavior more clearly. Guilt controlled his life like she’d let her childhood mistake control hers.

Nick was just the one to unlock her bad girl’s bedroom door and let her out to play. She could be that woman who just wanted great sex, nothing more. Or at least she was going to try.

When she’d called Greg after her talk with Jo to explain how she wanted to keep things platonic between them, he’d said he totally agreed. She needed to see what was between her and Nick. Greg didn’t want to be with a woman who’d wonder what she’d missed. That was just so . . . Greg-like of him. Most guys would have told her to take a flying leap. But not sensible, reliable Greg the Prius. And he still wanted to have dinner, just as friends, because he’d missed her.

Perfect situation. Happiness all around.

When the doorbell rang at seven on the dot, her heart nearly stopped. She drew a deep breath, channeled her best bad girl, and told herself one more time that it was okay to have a fun fling.

She opened the door and there he was with a big smile, his briefcase, and a large pizza box.

“Hi, Pizza Boy. Come inside and we’ll figure out a way for you to earn a big tip.”

Maybe she should tone it down a bit. She didn’t want to appear
that
easy. Better to make him work for it. At least a little.

Nick grinned as he slipped past her. “I did this in college to earn extra money. You’re talking to a man who knows how to maximize his tips.”

“Really?” Shelby shut the door behind him. “You delivered pizzas?”

He crossed over to the kitchen and laid the box on the counter. “I did.”

“So, did you ever swap naughty acts for tips?”

Nick pulled her against him. “Define naughty.” He kissed her but she couldn’t concentrate, because she experienced a sudden overwhelming wave of writer’s curiosity and needed to know the truth. She leaned back and ended their kiss. “Seriously. Did you?”

“No. I kept it professional. Strictly dollar bills. But I have something I want to show you. Promise you won’t get mad at me for doing this without asking first.”

Warning bells went off. Shelby took a step back, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Okay . . . what?”

Nick led her to a chair in the kitchen and laid a file in front of her. “This is the report from the night of your fire.”

As he flipped a few pages, bile rose in Shelby’s throat. Slow burning rage seared the lining of her stomach. And to think she’d actually thought they’d become friends. Good friends.

“Why would you do this to me?”

When she started to rise from her chair, Nick’s strong arms held her in place. “Read it, Shelby. Please?”

“Dammit, Nick, no! Let me go.” Those muscles she once thought were sexy now held her prisoner. No matter how hard she struggled, his firm grip never faltered.

Anger, fear, and Nick’s betrayal conjured tears that all her efforts couldn’t stop from running down her cheeks. When a soft sob escaped her throat, Nick laid a gentle kiss on her cheek.

He whispered, “I’d never hurt you, Shelby. Please?” He pointed to a yellow highlighted sentence. “Right here.”

The truth in his voice seeped inside her chest and wrapped itself around her heart, giving it a warm hug. No, Nick wouldn’t be intentionally cruel. It was the fire and her mistake she didn’t want to face.

Her vision swam as she tried to focus. She blinked away her tears and suddenly the line became clear.
“The fire originated in the master bedroom in an ashtray by the bed.”

She couldn’t breathe. It was like when Nick threw her over his shoulder but ten times worse. She opened her mouth to suck in air and finally was able to whisper, “I didn’t kill them?”

“No. It wasn’t your fault. Your parents must’ve been partying like you said they often did. You did everything you could to save your sister, but it was your parents who killed her. Not you, Shelby. They found traces of drugs. It looks like your uncle paid someone to ensure this report stayed buried deep enough that the media wouldn’t taint your family’s name.”

“Thank you, Nick.” Shelby crossed her arms on the tabletop in front of her and laid her head down. All her years of guilt and frustration rose up like a tidal wave through her body, begging for release. She cried so hard, she could barely catch her breath between the sobs.

Nick stuck a paper towel in her hand, scooped her up, and then sat down in the chair and placed her on his lap, wrapping her up in his big arms. He tucked her head under his chin as the waterworks flowed.

It must’ve been fifteen minutes of bawling on him before she sat up, realizing she was absolutely free of guilt for the first time in twenty-two years. It felt fantastic and she wanted to celebrate. And after that, she’d kill her aunt and uncle for never telling her the truth. How could they have been so heartless? But then, she’d never told them how she felt about losing her family, and they’d never asked.

As she blew her nose on the scratchy paper towel, something occurred to her. She tilted her head up and stared into Nick’s pretty blue eyes. “If my uncle had the report buried, how did you get it?”

He swallowed hard. “My dad. When things didn’t add up, he called in a few favors from some powerful friends.”

Her eyes grew misty all over again.
She
was the friend Nick had done the favor for by asking his dad for help? If she wasn’t careful she was going to fall so hard, there’d be no return from Mr. One-Night Stand land.

Nope. She needed to take what she planned to share with him at face value. Just sex, nothing more. No more Miss Goody TwoÐShoes and no more obsessive worries about what happened next. It was oddly freeing.

“I know how hard that was to ask your dad, so I’m calling in that rain check. You’re getting lucky for your good deed. Let’s go.” She hopped off his lap and tugged on his hand.

Nick grinned, but didn’t budge. “That’s not why I did it, Shelby. So you’d sleep with me.” He slipped his hand from hers, then stood and wrapped her up in his arms. “You have a lot to process. I’d better go.” He laid a soft kiss on her forehead.

God he was sweet.

“No, you don’t understand, Nick. I’ve decided to try it your way. I
want
to expand my horizons and try a fun one-night stand. And I want it with you.”

His smile slowly bloomed. “You want to sleep with me?”

“Yes. I’ve got big plans for that body of yours. Let’s go.”

He stood in place as a frown canceled out his earlier sexy grin. “Wait. What if—”

She cut him off with a kiss. She was totally ready to have mindless, hot, no-strings-attached sex.

Probably.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Chester loved speed. Slapping his skateboard down at the top of a hill he’d never tried before, he jumped on, and then went faster than he ever had. It was fun trying something new.”

Chester Gets a New Skateboard

Shelby tugged Nick into her bedroom and closed the door. Then she backed him up against it and kissed him as she slipped his suit coat off his shoulders. She quickly unknotted his tie and threw it over her shoulder.

His hands wandered over her body, heating everywhere he touched as he tried to take charge, but she grabbed his wrists and held them tight. “Nope. It’s my victory party and you’ll just have to grin and bear it. I’m going to do all the things I’ve wanted to do to you since I saw the photos of those big muscles of yours on Facebook. You were right, they drive women crazy.”

“And yet you made me get rid of them.” He laughed and then gave her a hard kiss.

“I was doing my job.” As she unbuttoned his white, starched shirt, she laid kisses on the newly exposed skin, his low moans spurring her on. He had a fantastic body. Those pictures hadn’t done him justice. Her lips couldn’t help but linger and explore all the peaks and valleys of his beautiful chest.

Forcing herself to stay on track and get to the good stuff, she unbuckled Nick’s belt and threw it aside. Then she lowered his zipper. “And maybe I didn’t like the idea of those women sending you naked pictures.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you sent me some, but keep that up and this party’s going to end in about three seconds. It’s been awhile.” He leaned down and kissed her. “We’re doing this my way. The first time. After that, you can do anything to me your heart desires. Unless it involves that bat of yours.”

Before she could protest, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed.

Nick had them both stripped naked, with her under him, in less than thirty seconds. “I’m going to start with your toes and work my way up.”

Hot panic rushed through her at the thought of Nick’s mouth on her legs. It was one thing to get naked with him, but entirely another for him to actually focus on her damaged skin. Why couldn’t he be like the other guys she’d slept with who just sort of ignored her legs?

“I . . . won’t . . . be able to feel much. Why don’t you start at the top?”

“Nope.” He kissed her deeply before he whispered, “Relax and enjoy.”

Relax? That was the last thing she’d be able to do. When he slid to the bottom of the bed she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to see the look on his face when he got the up close and personal view of her skin. Why hadn’t she thought to kill the lights? Probably because she wanted to see him as much as he apparently wanted to see her. He’d change his mind about that soon enough.

When he’d seen her legs before, he’d said he wasn’t repulsed by them, but what if he was just being nice? Maybe sleeping with Nick had been a big mistake.

As he lifted her foot to his mouth, she fisted her hands in the sheets and prayed it’d be over quickly so they could just get to the good part.

Odd little licks of thrill running up her spine forced her eyes open in surprise. Nick sent her a knowing grin and then went back to work.

No one had ever kissed her toes before, she had no idea. Closing her eyes again, she drew a deep breath, released her death grip on the sheets, and tried to focus on the slight, sensual sparks that came and went. Who knew toe-kissing could be so sexy?