Queen of Hearts: (Family Stone #6 Shelley) (Family Stone Romantic Suspense) (3 page)

Wanted him for herself.

“Everything okay?” His liquid dark eyes pierced her as if he could see inside her soul to the anticipation that fired her body.

“No problems.” She wasn’t about to confess that she was texting her adult daughter. This wasn’t about getting to know each other, about beginning a relationship, this was about mutual attraction. Mutual satisfaction. Distilled down to its elemental level, this night was about sex.

About him and her in a hot sweaty tangle of limbs and lips.

Bringing up the fact that her daughter was twenty-seven was a sure mood killer. He’d probably dated women younger than Jess.

That quickly, her confidence fizzled again. What was she doing?

“Hey. Where’d you go?”

Shelley pushed back her chair. “Nowhere.” She wasn’t about to share her mental journey into her sad, lonely history. Before she could stand, he grabbed her chair near her thigh and pulled it under the table. His bicep flexed as he easily moved her back into place.

“Don’t go.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” she confessed.

“Having a drink.” He smiled, but there was an edge to the smile that caused her pulse to speed and her heart to thunder. “And dinner.”

“I don’t do this kind of thing.”

“Eat?” he inquired with amusement.

“Eat with strange men.”

“Hey. I’m hardly strange.” His dark eyes glimmered, full of sensual intent, in the flickering candlelight. That focused regard set her off balance again. “But let’s change it so that we aren’t strangers anymore.”

Getting to know each other? Once he knew her, he wouldn’t want her.

As if he could sense her jittery need to run, he squeezed her fingers and said softly, “I don’t do this either. Not anymore. At the risk of being too honest, at least not in the last five or six years.”

Conversely his honesty calmed her. She liked that he waited for her to process his revelation. So she stayed. Settled.

Get to know each other. She could do that. In Monterey, she was the Queen of Small Talk.

“What do you do?” Shelley asked.

He answered, easily, vaguely. “Security.”

He didn’t hold himself with a military bearing and she should know, since all three of her boys had served. Jack and Riley in the Navy and Con in the Army. He had a casual slouch that in no way diminished his power or intensity. She didn’t want to bring up the military.

“How about you?”

There was another conversational topic she wasn’t going to touch. Since she spent most of her time in Monterey volunteering, serving on philanthropic boards, and now farming, she tended to forget that she was an extremely wealthy woman.

She didn’t get out much, so being a target for a con man or scam artist was usually not a concern. Except since the article in the paper that highlighted her wealth, instead of the ground breaking philanthropic farm she owned, she’d been the focus of several stalkerish emails and internet proposals. Now she was in Las Vegas and Jack seemed to think she needed to be extra careful. He’d warned her before they arrived. Because of the crazies who’d come out of the woodwork after that article, Jack had been concerned for her safety.

“I’m a farmer.” Which was true. She had been an avid contributor to the Food for Life food bank for years. And recently she’d bought land and begun a program to work farmland, not for profit, but specifically to supply fresh produce to the local food bank. She was very proud of Happy Tummy Farm. But she didn’t want to get into the specifics.

“Ah.” Ric still held her fingers in his. He lifted her hand and turned it over so that her palm was open and exposed. Then he kissed the sensitive hollow with a brief press of his firm lips. “That would explain the calluses.”

Lightheadedness swamped her.

Good lord, he’d only kissed her palm.

An unexpected moan escaped as he kissed her palm again, his lips lingering. She closed her eyes in a swell of embarrassment so acute she wasn’t sure if she’d recover.

“Damn, I want to hear that again.” This time he kissed her palm and caressed her with a barely there lick of his tongue against the already sensitized skin.

“Oh my God.”

Shelley tried to tug her hand away and squeezed her thighs together as if she could hold in the rush of arousal creaming her exquisite black lace panties.

“
Christos
. I want to hear you moan like that in my ear.” He nipped at the heel of her hand and another zing of arousal traveled through her body like a wildfire through a drought-ridden canyon.

Another rush of arousal flooded her. As if an alien had overtaken her body, she placed her hand on his thigh, and beneath her palm his muscles flexed. She leaned over so that her mouth was right next to his ear. Food was forgotten. Getting to know him better was forgotten. All she wanted to was to be alone with him.

“Let’s go.” Her lips skimmed the whorl of his ear. Her cheek brushed his and though he had obviously shaved earlier, the slightest scruff of stubble scraped against her softer skin.

Common sense reared its head. She needed to be clear. “Only for tonight.”

“That works.” His hand over hers squeezed tight. He pulled back just enough that an inch separated their noses as he stared into her eyes. His black gaze was like liquid sin. “You sure?”

There it was again. Chivalry.

So she gave him the only answer that she could. “Yes.”

Three

Ric followed Shelley into the elevator, admiring her from the backside while the mirrored walls reflected her from all angles. The look on her face was soft, luminous. Her eyelids were heavy and a subtle glow shined her skin.

She had gorgeous lines to her body. She had curves. Not too curvy but enough that no matter where he grabbed he’d have a handful. Which meant she was built for sex.

Dammit. His body was on fucking fire. His erection pressed against the zipper of his rarely worn khakis. He leaned back against the rail and pulled her in front of him, knowing the security guys in the booth just got a great shot of him sporting wood.

Ric slid his hands around her hips and rested his palms on the slightly rounded curve of her belly. The touch was less than sexual but as she relaxed into his embrace, she eased back against his chest.

“Oh.” She let out the surprised puff of sound as his dick nestled into the cleft of her ass. He started to try to put space between their bodies but her palms skimmed over his forearms to rest over his hands and effectively held him in place.

Ric nuzzled the sweet spot behind her ear with his nose. “The first time is going to be hard and fast. Is that a problem for you?” He sure as hell hoped not because he wasn’t sure he could go slow until he took the edge off this insane lust.

“The first time,” she said faintly. But as if his words flipped a switch, she melted further into his embrace.

He ran his tongue down her neck, until he hit her collarbone and then he nipped the thin skin over the delicate frame.

The elevator dinged.

“My floor.” One more time he worried she was going to change her mind. Not that he couldn’t deal with the extreme hard on himself if need be but he was literally dying to sink into her hot, wet, sex and discover her feminine secrets.

“Thank God.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him out of the elevator.

Ric grabbed his key card and shoved the key in the slot, desperate to get inside his room and inside her.

The heavy door swung open and they stumbled in. A soft glow cast light on the side of the bed but the rest of the room was bathed in shadows.

“I need you.” As the door slammed shut, Ric shoved Shelley up against the wall and devoured her mouth. He might have felt badly about the rough treatment except she was yanking his Polo from the waist of his pants as he eased down the zipper of her dress.

Her hands were insistent and hot on the skin of his back as she rubbed against the fucking pipe in his pants.

Her shoulders were pressed against the wall but she’d canted her hips so that the ridge of her pubic bone massaged his erection. He shoved the dress off her shoulders, and it dropped to the carpet.

Ric nipped at her lips as he took in her glory. She was perfect. High pert breasts, a mostly flat stomach with a just a hint of curve, and nicely rounded hips. The see through lace of her bra revealed as much as it concealed, and her nipples speared the delicate fabric broadcasting her arousal.

She wore boy cut, lace panties that matched her bra and a pair of spike-heeled pumps that made her almost as tall as he was.

The sight of Shelley in her sexy lingerie and her heels nearly brought him to his knees. “God damn, you’re beautiful.”

She ripped his shirt over his head and ran her hands over his stomach. His abs rippled in respond to the scratch of her nails against his six pack. Ric scraped his teeth down the cord of her neck and pressed sucking kisses along her collarbone. “Unbutton.” Sucking kiss. “My.” Sucking kiss. “Pants.”

She caressed his cock through the fabric and he groaned deep and husky in his throat. “Now,” he demanded gutturally.

She fumbled with his zipper as he cupped her breast and lifted the globe from the lace so he could suck her distended nipple into his mouth.

Her head thunked the foil-papered wall, while her fingers were busy shoving his pants to the floor. He toed out of his loafers as her hot palm curled around his thick, almost painful, erection.

Her breath caught as she pumped once, twice.

“Dios,
cariña.
Not going to last long.”

Ric slid his palms underneath the lace of her panties and curled his fingers over her ass, shoving the black lace down her toned thighs with impatient urgency.

He wanted nothing more than to push into her tight wet heat. But he’d never gone without a condom and he wasn’t about to start now. “Condom,” he muttered against her damp skin, his breath made her nipple pucker even harder.

But she still didn’t lessen her grip.

“Honey, you’ve got to let me go.”

Once she loosened her hold, Ric paused for a moment to study the picture of her. She leaned languidly against the hotel room wall. Her thick auburn hair tumbled around her shoulders, her breasts popped out of the lace cups, on display for his ardent gaze, and her panties puddled on the floor around her fuck me heels. A simple diamond pendant lay in the valley between her spectacular breasts. Her heavy lidded gaze met his openly and she smiled seductively like a temptress. Her nipples were wet from his mouth. Her legs were slightly apart and arousal glistened on her thighs.

Her heady musk scented the air and ramped him higher, harder.

“Hurry,” she whispered.

“Fuck. Don’t move.” He hustled to the bathroom and thanked God he’d unpacked before he’d gone to the bar. He ripped open the package as he strode back to her, then rolled the rubber over his aching cock.

He was back in a flash, and with one quick eager move he shifted his palms beneath her ass and lifted her up. With a jerky motion he impaled her on his cock.

They both groaned as she sank down, her pussy gripped him tight and to the hilt.

“Wrap your legs around me.” She was still wearing the stilettos. Damn if that image didn’t make him even harder.

She curled her arms around his shoulders and used her leg muscles to bounce up and down on his cock. Her heels dug into the flesh of his ass. Ric slanted his mouth over hers and inhaled her as he pounded up into her tight feminine sheath.

Every thrust rubbed the length of his cock against her clit and massaged her. Her breathing became more erratic. With a long lusty moan, she blew over the edge into orgasm. Her pussy convulsed around his cock, sucking, contracting, until he came with a shout, pumping into her with unrestrained fervor. Her breasts bounced with every thrust.

Fireworks exploded beneath his closed eyelids as he pumped and pumped, expelling his come in a burst so forceful his knees dipped and his mind fuzzed at the loss of cognizance. She was digging her nails into his shoulders so hard he’d have marks in the morning and he didn’t give a damn.

Her pussy continued to squeeze his erection. Sweat slicked his skin and heat rose from her body. Her nipples rubbed his pecs and her thighs still had a steely grip on his hips as her orgasm seemed to go on forever.

Ric’s heart tattooed a frantic rhythm in his chest, banging hard even as the beat slowed. Adrenaline and endorphins pinged through him in a cocktail of sexual satisfaction. God damn, he knew their attraction was off the charts but he still hadn’t expected this.

He stayed rooted inside her, as he came down from the intense orgasm.

Ric dropped his forehead to the curve of her neck. His breath heaved in and out as if he’d just finished a grueling PT session. He’d feel bad about attacking her like a pit bull except she’d been right there with him.

Now she was as wrecked as he was. Her thighs went lax and her hands were no longer trying to dig into his flesh, and instead rested lightly on his shoulders, while her back pressed up against the wall.

“Holy shit.” He licked her neck, savoring the slightly salty taste. He couldn’t wait to taste her in other more intimate places and smiled against her skin. “Told you round one was gonna be fast but, day-um, that likely set the ground speed record for orgasms.”

She giggled. The soft sough of her breath over his cheek bathed him with pleasure. He needed to get her in bed and start on round two before she had time to think.

Right now she was flushed and satisfied. A lazy smile curved her lips and her eyes sparkled with a hazy satisfaction. But he was pretty sure that once her brain started firing again she’d try to bolt. And no way was he going to let that happen.

***

Ric carried her over to the bed.
Carried
her.

A primeval thrill fizzed in her blood. She was in good shape for her age but she was not a lightweight. His biceps bulged as he strode toward the king sized bed but he wasn’t struggling at all.

He held her with one arm and yanked the sheets down the bed. Then he knelt on one knee and placed her gently on the cool, high thread count cotton.

She was wrapped around his torso like an octopus. Suddenly she realized that when she let go, he’d be able to see her in all her forty-five year old glory. With her not quite as tight skin, breasts that weren’t quite as perky as in her twenties, and the faint ripples of stretch marks on her tummy from Jess. A mother’s badge of honor but definitely not sexy.