“Yep. Turns you on, doesn’t it?”
“No, it does not!”
“Liar,” he said without heat. He closed the book and offered it to her. “Here you go. Thanks for the very…um…
stimulating
reading material.”
She reached for the book. Nick, the fiend, waited until her fingers brushed the cover, then grabbed her wrist with his other hand and hauled her up against his chest.
The Kama Sutra fell with a thud.
She didn’t even care.
Because Nick was kissing her. He cradled the back of her head in his big hand and captured her mouth, stroking and teasing with his tongue. Slowly. Thoroughly. She made a sound in her throat and all but inhaled him.
His hands followed the curve of her spine to her bottom and squeezed. Deftly, he maneuvered her past the bookshelves and through the open door to her living quarters.
He pressed her up against a bare patch of wall in her sitting room, pinning her in place with his hips as he kissed a line from the corner of her mouth to her ear. He swirled his tongue around the delicate shell. Blew gently.
She shuddered, her head lolling to one side. He kissed his way down her neck, pausing every now and then to nip with his teeth. His hand brushed the side of her breast. She arched toward him and he flicked the peak with his thumb.
“You’re not wearing a bra,” he said thickly.
“No.”
He teased her through the thin cotton. She tilted her hips. He was rock hard; she was aching for him. She rubbed against him, wishing their clothes were already gone.
Then a thought hit her hard, and she broke away with a gasp. “Oh, God! We can’t do this! We don’t have time!”
“Sure we do. Give me twenty minutes. Hell, give me ten. Five, even. I want to show you what I dream about every night.”
“You dream of me?” The thought made her giddy.
“Are you crazy? Trust me: We’re going to be fantastic together. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes.” She gasped as he did something very clever between her legs with his fingers. “But not right now—”
“No buts, Tori. No thinking at all. Just feel. I know you want this as much as I do.”
Before she could answer, he bent his head and sucked her nipple, and the fabric covering it, into his mouth. Lust sliced through her belly. She gripped his head as he suckled ruthlessly, his tongue moistening the cotton and rubbing it against her tender skin. She moaned again, deeper this time. Liquid heat, like hot honey, poured through her.
Her fingers tangled in his hair. He found the hem of her shirt and tugged it up. His palm skated over her abdomen, rising to cup one bare breast. He teased one nipple beneath her shirt while continuing his torture of the other through the wet fabric.
The pleasure was intense, but it didn’t quite obliterate her rising panic. “No, Nick. Stop! We can’t.”
“Aw, come on, Tori. I’m dying here. Take pity on me.” He straightened, lifting her away from the wall and turning her toward the bedroom. “You’ll thank me afterward. I promise.”
“No, I won’t! The—”
The doorbell cut off her protest. The screen door rattled. “Yo!” a man’s voice yelled.
Nick’s head came up. “Christ. Who the hell is that?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! It’s the man from the sign shop. You should know. You made the appointment.”
“Christ,” he said again. He ran a hand over his face. “I forgot. Shit. I never forget stuff like that.” He cursed again, then looked at his watch. “Wasn’t he supposed to be here an hour ago?”
“Yes, but he called and said he’d be late.”
“Hey! Anyone in there?”
“Just a minute,” Tori called out, heading for the shop.
Nick caught her by the arm. “Hold on.”
She sighed. “Nick, he’s waiting. I’ve got to go let him in.”
His eyes flicked to her chest, his lips lifting. “Not like that, I hope.”
“Like what?” She looked down.
And saw a perfectly round, wet circle of T-shirt, obscenely plastered to her erect left nipple.
“Oh, my God.”
“Go change,” Nick said, chuckling. “I’ll take care of the sign guy.”
Ninety minutes later, Tori was standing on the sidewalk with Nick and the sign guy, admiring her new sign. Sparkling silver letters spelled out DESTINY’S GATE on an indigo background. The sign hung in the peak above the front door, set off perfectly by the pink stucco.
“It’s wonderful,” she told the installer. “What do I owe you?”
“I’ll send the bill to Nick here. He’s got an account.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll write you a check.”
She didn’t like the way he exchanged a glance with Nick before answering.
“No need. Too late to cash it today, anyway.” He moved off to load his tools into his van.
She frowned after him as he drove away. “Let me see the paperwork,” she told Nick. “I’ll write the check out to you.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll square it away later.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know, this job is almost done and you haven’t sent a single bill.”
He shrugged. “Been busy getting the work done.”
“Well, I don’t like it. I’m calling Doris tomorrow and asking her for the full invoice.”
He looked at her for a second, then suddenly grinned. “You know, I’ve never had a client beg for a bill before. It’s kinda sexy.” His voice dipped. “Bet I could make you beg for something else.”
Honestly, the man had an ego the size of the Atlantic Ocean. And a one-track mind. “That is so unromantic.”
He laughed. “Can’t say anyone’s ever accused me of being romantic.”
She shook her head, exasperated. “Will everything really be done by the time the building inspector gets here, do you think?”
“Should be. There’s not much left to do now that the sign’s up.”
She started to smile. “So my candle magic worked. I’m going to open on time. On the solstice.”
Nick snorted. “Magic had nothing to do with it.”
“It certainly did,” she said. “But don’t think I haven’t noticed how hard you worked to meet my deadline. Thank you so much.”
He brushed the hair off her shoulder and nibbled her neck. “Thank me inside, Tori.”
Sometimes, family is the last thing on a guy’s mind.
“All right,” Tori whispered.
Nick locked the front door before leading her through the shop and into the sitting room. He eased her onto the first cushioned surface he could find—a threadbare sofa she’d picked up at Goodwill. He followed her down, kissing her. She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
The stubble on his chin intrigued her. She turned her head and nuzzled his jaw, loving the sandpapery feel of it. It was so male. His thumbs found her breasts and circled. He avoided her nipples at first, but when she arched in encouragement, he caught them between his fingers through the silky blouse that had replaced her wet tie-dyed tee.
Liquid fire streaked through her, igniting every cell in her body. She clutched his shoulders and pressed her hips forward. She could feel how urgent his arousal was. She loved that she had done that to him.
He took her taut nipple in his teeth, catching her shirt in the pro cess.
“Here,” she said, reaching for the buttons. “Let me get out of this.”
He rumbled a laugh. “Eager, huh?”
“You are so conceited! If you have to know, I just don’t want to ruin another shirt.”
She watched his face as she slipped off the blouse.
His dark gaze flicked to her breasts. “God, you’re beautiful.”
She let herself believe it. He certainly seemed to. He nibbled and licked as if she were the finest feast. She threaded her fingers through his hair and let exquisite sensations wash over her. Her eyes fluttered closed.
He suckled one breast, then the other, then went down on his knees on the floor. He tugged her upright, positioning her bottom on the edge of the sofa, easing her legs open, and moving between them. He bent his head and his tongue found her navel. He licked a circle around it, then sucked on the crystal stud. His hands spanned her waist, the rough pads of his thumbs stroking the bare skin just above the waistband of her shorts.
She moved against him, her body undulating. She desperately wanted him to unsnap her shorts and slide them over her hips. But he didn’t seem to be in a hurry.
He cupped the mound of her sex, rubbing the faded denim against her hidden nub. She moaned with the intensity of it, closing her eyes and riding the wave of pleasure to a needy plateau.
“That’s it,” he coaxed. “Make another sexy sound. I love when you do that.” His fingers continued teasing between her legs.
Another helpless sound escaped her throat.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “Just like that.”
He looked up at her with an almost reverent expression. She felt like some kind of treasure. He unsnapped her shorts and touched her more intimately. Only her panties separated his fingers from her exquisitely sensitive skin. She moaned again, arching toward his soft words of praise. What ever he wanted, her body wanted to give it to him. Was she losing herself? Maybe so. She’d forgotten the future. Forgotten her plans to be a single mother. All she wanted was Nick, here and now.
He bit her hip gently, just above her panties, sucking a little before he let go. Her nerves tingled. He gave another nip, then another, working his way up her body to the side of her breast, creating a long path of stinging delight. She clung to him, awash with pleasure and tingling pain.
The love bites continued all the way to her shoulder. “A Line of Jewels,” he murmured in her ear.
She was so dazed it took a couple seconds for the words to sink in. “That’s…that’s from the Kama Sutra.”
He gave her his slow smile. “Yeah.”
She blushed. “So what else did you learn from my book?”
“Well, now, I’m glad you asked.” His teeth tugged at her earlobe. “I’d love to show you. Not here, though.” He slid his arms under her. An instant later, she was in the air, clutching his shoulders.
“I can walk, you know.”
“And your point is?” He moved unerringly toward her bedroom, sidestepping boxes as he went.
She smiled against his chest. “Nothing.”
Being carried felt ridiculous—and wonderful. He nudged the bedroom door open with his shoulder, took two strides across the room, and lowered her onto her futon.
“I don’t know how you sleep on this thing.” He stretched out beside her on rumpled sheets. “It’s worse than camping out.”
“It’s good for your back.”
“
Your
back, maybe.” He tugged her shorts over her legs, taking her panties with them. “Not mine.”
She lay naked under his dark gaze, arms raised over her head. He was still fully clothed. A stream of light from the window painted her breasts and stomach. He looked at her, not speaking, for what seemed an eternity.
“Take off your shirt,” she urged. “I want to see you.”
He obliged, tugging the garment over his head in one smooth motion, muscles flexing. The white cotton slid down his arm to land partly on the sheets, partly on her bare stomach. He whisked it over the side of the bed, then covered her with his body.
She touched his chest, teasing the springy curls of dark hair, running her hands over his shoulders, touching the hard line of his collarbone. She splayed her fingers on his back. His skin was hot, as if he had some kind of internal furnace running full tilt. A faint sheen of moisture quickened the glide of her skin over his.
She wanted this—wanted him—so badly. She reached for his belt, but he shifted out of reach, forcing her to raise her shoulders off the bed. When she did, he caught her waist and flipped her smoothly onto her stomach.
Stunned by the unexpected move, she pushed herself up on her hands and knees, legs splayed, laughing. “What are you doing?”
He nudged her legs apart. “Right now? Enjoying the view.”
She craned her neck and met his gaze. The intense expression in his dark eyes made her shiver.
He ran one hand down her back, then lower, over the curve of her bottom. He stroked one finger along the crease of skin at the top of her thigh, then between her legs. She shifted encouragingly.
But he didn’t go where she wanted him to. Instead, his hand moved to the outside of her hip. She dropped her head and groaned.
Nick chuckled. “Ready so soon?”
“Ha. Like you’re not.”
“You got that right.” He did more interesting things between her legs. Then, abruptly, he brought his hand back to neutral territory.
“You’re a tease,” she gasped. She tried to turn over, but he caged her with his body, keeping her on her hands and knees.
His khaki-clad erection bulged against her bottom. His bare chest slid over her back, hair tickling and teasing. Damp skin clung to hers; musky-hot scent surrounded her. He was breathing fast, almost as fast as she was.
She wriggled her bottom. At the same time, she tried to work her hands out from under his. He responded by shifting both her hands to one of his, and his head to nip her shoulder. A sharp current raced through her. His now-free hand slid around to her breasts. His clever fingers found their goal.
“Oh, please. Nick—”
“Shhh.” He nipped her neck, then soothed with his tongue, tightening the frenzy inside her. “I love how you taste.”
“I want to turn over. I want to touch you.”
He didn’t answer, just slid his hand down over her stomach and into her curls, teasing again. She arched her back and rocked her hips, trying to break him. “Nick, I think—”
“Let me think. You feel.” The tempo of his fingers quickened. She dropped her forehead to the bed and let the waves of arousal wash over her. His mouth was on her back, raining kisses up and down her spin. One finger, then two, slipped inside her.
“God, I love you like this,” he whispered. “You’re so sexy.”
“Let me turn around. I need to kiss you.” She twisted her head and managed to brush her lips along his jaw.
He released her then, easing her onto her back and claiming her lips, tasting, his tongue dancing with erotic rhythm. She fumbled with his belt. She wanted him as naked as she was.
He knelt upright, watching her with an almost pained expression as she tugged down his zipper and slid his boxers over his hips. Blue silk this time, with little silver emblems that looked like stars. They reminded her of her shop.
She watched his eyes as she touched him. They flared dark. She wrapped her legs around his thighs and let herself fall back on the bed. His balance was hampered by his shorts; he couldn’t help but follow her down. She laughed as he disentangled their limbs and stripped off the rest of his clothes. Then he was back, his gloriously naked body stretched out over hers.
The sensation of his weight, his sweat-slicked skin sliding and catching on hers, the rasp of his stubble scraping her breasts, blended into one long, dizzying caress. His erection lay hot and insistent against her thigh. She slid her hand over his shaft and lifted her hips, ready to guide him inside.
“Wait.” He eased out of her grip, turning away as he rooted through her sheets.
“Now,” she said, urging him back.
He came willingly, a smile tugging at his lips. He caught her hand and pressed something into her palm.
A condom.
“Oh. I forgot.” She rolled it on him, trying desperately not to think about how much she didn’t want to be using one.
“No need for you to remember.” He stretched out over her again. “I told you I’d do the thinking, remember?”
She gasped as he entered her. It was just a slight invasion at first, stretching but not filling. She wanted more. She angled her hips to give him better access, but instead of surging forward, he withdrew almost completely.
He began a slow rhythm, easing in and out. His strokes were maddeningly gentle.
She gripped his hips and tried to pull him in. “Harder.”
“You’re a menace,” he said. “You know that? You want it to be all over in thirty seconds? Relax, or my ego’s going to be toast.”
“Right. Like that would ever happen.”
He grinned and entered her again, sliding in deep, but without the force she craved. On the next thrust, she anchored her hands on his hips and tried to pull him in.
He laughed and tugged her hands over her head. He held them there as he rocked at that leisurely, frustrating pace.
“Stop teasing,” she gasped as he left her again.
“Ah, come on.” He returned on an unhurried glide, then retreated just as slowly. “It was your book. I thought you’d enjoy it.”
She blinked up at him, confused. “What?”
“Eight,” he counted. He thrust in, then out. “Nine. Get ready.” He released her hands, bracing his arms on either side of her head.
Oh.
That
book.
He plunged deep and hard on ten, lifting her hips right off the bed. A sweet burst of bliss exploded in her body. She clutched Nick’s shoulders as he left her again. But when she arched to welcome a second satisfying plunge, all she got was more teasing.
“One,” he said.
She glared up at him. “When did you ever find the time to read the chapter on tantra?”
He dropped to his elbows and pressed his forehead against hers. “Two. While you were bonding with the sign guy.” His hips flexed. “Three. Ninety Strokes to Ecstasy. This rhythm is supposed to make me last all night.”
Her hips twisted beneath him. “Nick. I can’t take this all night. Don’t do this to me.”
He only chuckled.
“Faster,” she said, panting. “It’s supposed to get faster with each cycle.”
“Four. Did I ever tell you how impatient you are? Impatient
and
demanding?”
He picked up the pace, but not by much.
“You like it,” she whispered, echoing his own words.
He grinned. “Six. You’re right. I do like it. I like you, Tori. A lot.”
He kissed her nose, her cheek, her chin. She arched beneath him, trying to get the most out of each thrust. It was like being adrift on the ocean, rising and falling on each small swell, waiting for the big one to hit. Nick was her raft, her anchor, the only solid refuge in a sea of pleasure.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He was trembling, his arms rigid against the mattress.
“Eight,” he said.
She nipped his lower lip and arched her hips. He groaned and thrust deeply, twice this time, harder than before, bringing the pattern full circle. It drove her close the edge, but not quite over.
He started the next cycle.
She moaned her frustration. “I’ll go crazy if this lasts much longer.”
“I want you crazy,” he murmured against her mouth. His shallow thrusts were quick and steady now. Only seven this time, followed by three gloriously deep thrusts. “I want to watch you go insane. Come for me, Tori.”
“Soon,” she gasped, clinging to him as the next cycle began. Six shallow, four deep. Faster than before. The sweet, wet sound of their bodies blended with the rhythm of Nick’s thrusts. Sensations scattered—she felt his body, slick with sweat. Heard his gasps. She shivered as the hair on his chest abraded her skin.
The rhythm quickened and she forgot to count. Almost all the thrusts were deep now, only two, then one, gentle moves separating the stronger ones. The peak rushed at her.
“I’m…Oh,
Nick
.”
She pulled him into her, hard, at the same moment he dove. She rose on a tsunami swell of pleasure. A million sparkling fragments shattered, tossing her high. Her anchor was Nick, his body, his scent, his feel.
Him.
His arms wrapped tight, clenching as his own orgasm hit.
“Tori…” Her name rasped in his throat. His mouth sought hers and he kissed her, deeply, as a shudder rippled through him.
And as the bliss receded, her heart’s last defenses washed away like a castle in the sand.
They ate midnight Chinese takeout in her kitchen.
“Have you ever thought about remarrying?” she asked as she spooned Szechuan tofu over her brown rice.
As soon as the words were out, she wanted to bite off her tongue. She wasn’t an idiot. She
knew
marriage wasn’t something a guy wanted to talk about right after having sex with a woman for the first time. But sex with Nick had left her feeling so lazy and comfortable, it had just slipped out.
Nick went very still. Tori wanted to crawl under the table and die.