Then again, maybe the enforced closeness could work to her advantage.
She shifted on the couch, noting the pain in her hip had already receded to a faint throb due to the ice and the ibuprofen. “I may be persuaded to allow you to stay the night. But I want something in return.”
His gaze narrowed, cautious. Good. He deserved to be a little off balance. “And what’s that?”
“A little honesty.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want? It might be more than you’re ready to hear.”
True. But she was sick of waiting.
“Do you want me?”
He didn’t answer right away, his gaze locked on hers. “I’ve wanted you since you were eighteen. I felt like scum.”
Yes, she could see how he would feel that way. Just the fact that he’d admitted it made her flush from head to toe.
“And there was no way I was going to do anything about it,” he continued. “A few years after Nino died, yeah, I thought about Mags. But nothing ever happened. She knew I had feelings for someone else. One night when I was so drunk I couldn’t see straight, I told her about you. I was thirty and looking at the rest of my life. You were twenty-one and just starting yours, starting to date seriously—”
“I never dated anyone seriously.” She couldn’t bring herself to say she’d never wanted to date anyone but him.
He closed his eyes, expression tightening. “Christ, you think I don’t know that? You went through men like water. It drove me nuts. And it started right after you kissed me in college.” He shook his head. “You don’t know how badly I wanted you then, how much it hurt to walk away. It’s been hell having you in the office, every single day, close enough to touch and so damn antagonistic I knew you still had feelings for me.
“You don’t need me, Annie. You, of all people, know my faults. I’m judgmental and unwilling to bend. Sometimes I act before I think things through.”
He paused and she thought maybe it was her turn but he continued before she could formulate the right response, looking straight into her eyes again.
“You’re so damn beautiful, you mess with my head.”
Her breath caught and she couldn’t swallow past the knot in her throat. The heat in his eyes slayed her.
He wanted her. He’d admitted it.
And she wasn’t about to let him find another excuse to push her away.
Rising from the couch, thankful her hip didn’t twinge at all, she closed the few feet between them.
Nick didn’t move. She’d almost expected him to evade her.
Instead he sat there and watched her every movement with that steady gaze.
“Annie—”
“Nic, don’t think. Just shut up and kiss me.”
Leaning forward, she pressed her mouth against his.
Firm and warm, his lips yielded to hers almost immediately, allowed her entrance as her fingers slid into his hair to keep him from getting away.
Which he didn’t seem want to do.
His arms wrapped around her, lifting her onto his lap without breaking the kiss.
She had a brief moment to thrill to the fact that he wasn’t pushing her away before she lost herself in his taste. In tangling her tongue with his and letting her fingernails scrape against his scalp. She felt his body tighten beneath hers, felt the hard ridge of his erection press against her thigh.
She wanted to twist around, plant her knees on either side of his hips and sink down onto him, feel the heat of his erection pressing against her sex. But he held her too tightly. As if he didn’t want her to get away.
So she wriggled against him.
And was rewarded with a deep groan…just before he took over.
His hands tightened on her shoulder and her hip then began to roam, as if he couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t touch her enough. She felt each of his fingers as they caressed from her hip up her stomach to between her breasts. She wanted him to cup her breasts, pluck at her aching nipples. Instead, he reached for the knot tying the two halves of her sweater together.
He tugged and worked until finally it released. Pushing back both sides, he stopped, breaking the kiss to pull back and stare down at her.
She froze, not wanting to risk having him come to his senses and pull away. But when she opened her eyes, she realized his expression was far from senseless.
His attention was locked on her with laser precision. His gaze narrowed as he watched his hand brush against the thin material of her t-shirt. She wasn’t wearing a bra so when his fingers slid beneath the material, he encountered bare skin.
It was her turn to gasp as he pulled up her shirt to expose her breasts.
“You’re so beautiful.”
His words rasped against her skin, making her nipples pebble. And when his fingers brushed against the sensitive flesh, she shivered.
His arm tightened around her shoulders, as if he thought she’d try to get away. She had no idea why he’d ever think such a thing when right here was where she’d always wanted to be.
Instead, she arched her back, offering herself up to him, wanting him to take her in his mouth.
He didn’t give her what she wanted. Instead, he stroked his thumbs over her taut nipples. Melting heat washed through her. She trembled, her hands clenching into his biceps as her eyelids flickered but didn’t close, maintaining the intense bond between them.
Nic felt like he’d been waiting for this moment for years. To have her in his arms, at his mercy.
Begging him to strip her and take her.
They hadn’t gotten to the begging yet but, if he didn’t ease at least a little of the raging desire he had for her, he would be soon enough.
His thumb brushed against her nipple, her flesh like velvet. His mouth watered to taste her but he restrained himself, knowing when he put his mouth on her breast it wouldn’t be long before he dragged it down that flat stomach to the juncture between her legs.
And after that… Well, he wouldn’t be satisfied until he made her come with his tongue.
He needed her closer. He sat up, pulled his shirt off then dragged the t-shirt over her head. He had to bite back a groan as she lay back in his arms, naked from the waist up.
Jesus, she was beautiful. Pale skin. High, firm breasts that fit in his palms. So fucking beautiful.
Unable to wait any longer, he crushed her against him. He closed his eyes, enjoying her warm skin against his, her breasts pressed to his chest. Dipping his head, he nuzzled his nose into her hair and breathed in her scent. Her arms wound around his neck as her mouth sought his again, but he had other plans.
With his hands under her arms, he lifted her until her breasts were at just the right height for him to draw them into his mouth. The sound she made caused his pulse to skyrocket and the sweet taste of her skin made his already throbbing erection tighten even more.
Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she tried to force him back into the cushions, so he obeyed. But he refused to release her, pulling her along with him. When she resisted, he lifted her arms, causing her breasts to shift higher, quivering.
He put his mouth on her again. He could feast on her forever and never die of starvation. Every sound she made, every whimper, every shudder fed a deep-seated need that made him want more.
When her whimpers turned to moans, he released her hands and cupped her breasts before stroking from her ribcage to her navel. He wanted to follow with his mouth but she tangled her fingers in his hair and stopped his downward motion.
She tugged until he looked into her eyes.
When she made sure she had his attention, she slipped one small hand down to cup his erection through his jeans. He wasn’t prepared for the shock that ran through him and his groan echoed loud and untamed through the room.
Their gazes connected, she held him, watching his reaction.
He wanted to thrust into her hand or, better yet, rip her hand away and rub his erection against her mound. He did neither. He waited to see what she would do.
And when he didn’t think she was going to do anything but hold him, she released him to slip the button on his jeans free.
His lungs contracted, his stomach muscles painfully taut as he finally allowed his gaze to fall to where her hand worked at his jeans. Her fingers looked slim and pale and erotic as all hell on the tented denim of his jeans.
“Annie.”
She placed her free hand over his lips to shut him up and began pulling down his zipper, one tooth at a time.
Christ, he couldn’t breathe. Opening his mouth to draw in air, he caught her middle finger between his lips and sucked on it. He heard her gasp and bit down gently before he drew back.
“Annie, you’ve got to be certain this is what you want.”
She looked straight into his eyes, her gaze steady. “I’ve always been certain, Nic. You’re the one who couldn’t let all the other stuff go.”
Damn but she was right. And now all that other stuff wanted to press in on him.
As if she’d read his thoughts, she grabbed his chin and kissed him, hard, sweeping her tongue into his mouth and sweeping away his inhibitions until he was panting like a teenager.
All the gut-churning need, the emotion he’d kept locked away for so long… It was all there, burning a hole straight through him.
Seduce her. Take her. Stay and keep her safe.
Yes.
But not like this. Not in this heavy rush mixed with guilt and fear.
When he finally got her into his bed and under him for the first time, he wanted to be sure they were both on the same page.
But he wasn’t ready to stop just yet.
He soaked in the scent of her, the feel of her tongue in his mouth, the taste of her mouth when he licked into it.
Her arms locked around his neck and the bare skin of their upper bodies melded together. Her hips shifted and she brushed her sex against his, making him even harder.
She moved to do it again but he grabbed her hips, drawing back until he broke their kiss.
“Annie, slow down.”
Her eyes opened to a slit of vibrant green. “I don’t want to slow down. I know you, Dominic. You’ll overthink this and I’ll never see you again.”
His lips quirked in a smile that widened her eyes. “That won’t happen this time. But I don’t want to rush this. And I’m not going anywhere.”
She considered that, her head tilting to the side. “Will you sleep with me tonight? I want you in my bed.”
Lust nearly swamped him at the image in his mind. He nearly choked on it. But he also saw the blush that rose in her cheeks. Was she embarrassed by her desire for him? Or simply unused to use such explicit language?
Whichever, it reinforced his resolve to go slow.
“Yes, but it’ll just be to sleep, Annie. We don’t need to rush into anything.”
“And we certainly don’t need time to get to know one another,” she countered. “I’ve know you almost all my life, Nic. I’ve wanted you since I knew what the words meant.”
“Then another night won’t make a difference but it will allow you to become more comfortable with me.” And give him the chance to temper his response to her.
He wanted her. But he needed to keep his head on straight to keep her safe. He’d need some time to adjust.