by Nana Malone
I tilted my chin up. "It's not bad." I shrugged. "You seem to forget, I'm an actor and have seen better."
His gaze narrowed as he stalked toward me. I had a sudden urge to turn and flee. Not out of fear, but because my body went on red alert every time he took a step closer.
“Not this again. You need to stop dicking with me, Xander. Stop acting like you want me. It's not fair, and it's a shitty game. If you can’t play fair, I'm going back home to Fe's."
His slate-gray eyes scanned my face, and he sighed. "You're right. I'm not being fair. I'm being an ass, and I honestly have no idea why."
"Well, that's easy enough. Stop being an ass."
"I'm trying."
"Try harder." I inclined my head as my stomach grumbled. "What's all that?"
Xander's grin was impish. "I have a date tonight."
The bottom fell out of my stomach, and my body was poised to pitch forward, but I somehow managed to keep myself upright. "Oh. Uh, okay. I'll just grab a shower and get out of your hair. I'll stay at Fe's."
He took my hand and shook his head. "That came out wrong. Fuck, I'm out of practice. What I meant to say is I have a date with my fiancée if she'll have me."
"You want to have dinner with me?"
He nodded slowly. "Yes, please."
"But why?" I shook my head in confusion.
"Because I'm tired of trying to stay away from you. I'm tired of it being tense all the time." He held up his trembling hands. "It's been quite the effort trying to keep my distance.” He tugged me so close our noses touched.
He smelled like mint and spicy aftershave and him. Xander angled his head and softly slid his lips over mine in the lightest of brushes. Even the brief contact had my body swaying into him.
Xander leaned back and blinked several times. I dragged in a steadying breath, then another. In front of me, I watched as his control snapped.
With a growl, he dragged me closer and crushed his mouth to mine. I parted my lips on a shocked gasp, and he took full advantage, sliding his tongue against mine.
I moaned and slid my hands into his hair as he tucked my body against his. The thick ridge of his erection pressed into me, and need tugged low in my center.
But as suddenly as he'd kissed me, he released me again. He took a very deliberate step back from me and shoved his hands into the pockets of his apron. "Go on. Dinner will be ready in thirty."
Did he honestly expect me to be able to move after a kiss like that? Finally, my brain kicked in. "Yeah, okay." A little unsteady on my feet, I could have sworn I heard Xander chuckle when I stumbled by.
So, it was like that now? He wanted to tease me when I was already so strung out? That called for a little payback, and I knew just the outfit to wear. "I'll be ready in twenty."
Xander
My hands shook. I had never wanted anyone so badly. If I screwed this up, she'd be gone, and I'd never see her again after this deal was over. Just the thought of her made my head spin and my heart thunder against my breastplate. I knew that staying away from her was a futile effort, but I’d somehow convinced myself I could still protect us both. If we kept it casual, it didn’t have to be some big thing. I could hold back a little.
When she came out of her room, I nearly swallowed my tongue. She wore a scarlet jumpsuit. It looked soft and comfortable; the material moved with her and cascaded past her bare feet. She’d left her hair slightly damp, and her curls had started to plump and fly out in different directions. My fingers itched to touch them and tug on them… especially while fucking her.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Easy, boy. I needed to take my time. I wasn't going to lose control. I was going to be nice and not an asshole for once. This wasn’t just about me. I cared about her. I wanted her to stay.
"Are you hungry?"
She nodded, sending her curls into crazy bouncing springs around her shoulders and down her back. "Starved. I didn’t get a chance to eat between work and rehearsal."
I dished out the gnocchi and sauce, then placed them on the table. "You should eat better."
She popped a cherry tomato into her mouth and grinned. "Yes, I know. I swear you worry more about my eating than my dad does."
I had a sinking suspicion that was because I cared about her more than her father did.
"Dinner is served. Wine?"
She smiled sheepishly. "This is the part of the date where I tell you that I don’t actually like wine. I'll only drink it if it's really sweet."
I cocked my head. "What? You take me for some kind of amateur?"
I pulled out red Moscato from the fridge. "I noticed in Paris when you were asking the bartender for anything sweeter than the cabernet that went with dinner. I called and asked for the vintage."
Imani paused halfway into her seat. "You called them for me?"
"This is a date, right? And I want to impress you. And"— I cocked my head as I poured her a glass— "I have a lot to make up for."
She shook her head. "No, you don’t. I'm too nosy and too stubborn and really impetuous. It gets me in a lot of trouble sometimes. I shouldn’t have pried into your life."
I sighed and joined her at the table. If I wanted to actually have a chance with her, then I'd have to talk to her. If I told her and she ran, then she wasn't going to stay anyway. But to expose myself like that. She's done it for you.
I watched with interest as she popped some gnocchi into her mouth and moaned. The sexy groaning sound she made at the back of her throat made me instantly hard. The way she closed her eyes and licked her lips made my skin hum. And then she met my gaze and, words dripping with sex, she whispered, “I could really marry you. Why haven’t you been cooking for me this whole time?" She forked in another mouthful and proceeded to dance happily in her seat.
I couldn’t help but watch her, fascinated.
After several mouthfuls she looked up with a sheepish smile. "What?"
"I love watching you eat." I laughed. "Such gusto. Where do you put it all?"
She shrugged. "On my ass, but I don't care."
"Your arse looks just fine to me."
She turned red and did her best to swallow a smile as she turned back to her food. "I didn't think you noticed."
My laugh bubbled out of me before I could control it. "Oh, you know I noticed. You've been running around here in those short shorts for days driving me bloody insane."
She clamped a hand to her chest and gave me her best shocked impression. "I had no idea my shorts were bothering you. I'm so sorry. I'll cover up next time." She fluttered her eyelashes at me.
"You’re playing with fire, Imani."
She laughed. "What, are you gonna spank me?"
My cock throbbed in my jeans at the thought of my hand on her bare ass again. "Depends on if you’re asking me to?"
Imani leaned back in her seat and studied me over the rim of her wine glass. "Is that what you’re into? Spanking?"
I swallowed hard. Would she let me spank her? I’d never been into it. Handcuffs were the most BDSM-y I'd ever gotten, but if it would turn her on, I'd be willing to try. Tread lightly. I didn't answer her question. "Why don’t you go into the sitting room. The movie is already cued up."
She narrowed her gaze, letting me know she realized I’d evaded her question again. "Okay. What are we watching?"
I smiled to myself as I cleared the table. "You'll see." I'd called in a ridiculous amount of favors to get the screener for Mine. The book had been a huge sensation all over the globe. And they'd made it into a movie that didn’t come out for another month. The heroine was supposed to be some badass bounty hunter who they send in to catch an uncatchable thief. True to form, she falls in love with the hero who's really a bad boy trying to turn good. And they embark on a sexual exploration. I didn’t see what all the fuss was about, but women everywhere were losing their minds over it.
I didn’t know if she'd like it, but Lex had said go for romance, so I could do that.
I joined her on the couch and patted my
lap.
Imani’s brows went up. "You want me on your lap?"
Yes. Fuck me, yes. "No. We can get to that if you want, but for now I was going to give you a foot rub."
"You don't have to." She shook her head vehemently. And tucked her feet underneath her.
"What’s the matter, are you ticklish?"
She laughed and covered her feet with a pillow. "Yes. So ticklish."
"Oh, come on. Don’t you trust me?"
"Not by a mile."
I grinned. "You probably shouldn't. But I'm really good at this. I know how bad your feet hurt after your last rehearsal. Let me help."
"No, no, no, no."
I patted my lap again and waited patiently. "C’mon. I won't tickle you. I promise."
Slowly she pulled her feet out from under her and placed them in my lap. Carefully, I took one foot in my hands. She flinched at first, but I didn’t release her, just ran my thumbs over her arch in a deep roll.
She moaned and arched her foot into me. "Yeah, okay, don’t stop."
I smiled to myself. She'd be asleep in no time at this rate. Just my luck. "Go ahead. Start the movie."
When the opening credits rolled, her mouth dropped open. "How did you get this?"
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you, but not before having my way with you first." I winked at her.
Imani laughed and groaned at the same time as I rolled my thumb knuckles over her heel. "I loved this book." Judging by the look on her face, though, she wouldn't last past the beginning.
The moment the movie started, I knew I'd made a huge mistake. On the screen, a couple were engaged in an extremely intimate love scene. Imani tensed, and I gritted my teeth. This was going to be a long night.
Chapter Twenty
Imani
At some point, I had dozed off during the movie. When I woke, I lay against Xander’s chest and he was watching me closely. For several long moments, he stared at me from head to toe. His jeans did nothing to hide the impressive erection straining against the cotton, poking at my ass.
He leaned over me and brushed the tendrils of hair off my shoulder. “I was serious when I said I’d fucked up. I never meant to make you think I didn't want you. I thought it would be best if I kept you at arm’s length, but I really don’t think I can do that anymore. And it’s only making both of us crazy.”
“Y-yes. Crazy sounds like a good word for it.” Just about the only thing I was sure of was that I wanted him.
He shifted our positions so that he lay on top of me. But instead of kissing me, Xander trailed his lips over the skin of my shoulder. His warm breath mingled with the sensation, leaving a heated path on my flesh. He bit gently right in the crook of my neck, and I gasped as delicious shivers ran through my body. I closed my eyes as heat flooded me, making my muscles weak. With one kiss, he had me soft, ready and slick. When he bit down a little harder, goosebumps popped up on my flesh and I moaned.
With a low growl, Xander shifted me so I lay flat on my back against the pillows and he lay next to me, still nuzzling my neck. Slowly, he slid a hand over my stomach, up and over my ribcage to gently palm my breast. Through my jumpsuit, I could feel the heat of him, and I arched up into the caress, needing more from him.
“You are so soft.” His whispered caress against my flesh alone was enough to make me squirm as my clit throbbed. When he teased the tip with his thumb, I bit back a moan. Slowly he rolled his thumb over the peak as he nuzzled and nibbled along my collarbone.
“Xander.” He was barely even trying, and he made me feel like this? Back and forth, back and forth he teased me, making my body coil tight.
When he brought his head up, his eyes were a dark slate, stormy with desire. His gaze dropped to my lips as he said, “I wonder if you can come just from me touching your breasts.”
I never had before. But I was willing to bet he could get me there. He paid attention to everything my body was doing. He was so attuned he noticed my brief mental sojourn. “Hey.” The soft brush of his lips against mine was more of a question. “Where are you, Angel?”
I shook my head. “I’m right here.” Even if this was just for a night, I was going to make it count. Xander was someone who could blot out the past for me. “With you.” Feeling bolder, I kissed him, running my tongue over his bottom lip.
He had only a moment’s hesitation before he kissed me deep, his tongue sliding over mine in a possessive kiss that felt more like a brand. His hand tightened on my breast as he kneaded my flesh.
Desperate to feel more of him against me, I rolled into his big body and he growled low. He immediately slid his leg between mine and his hand fell away from my breast as he angled my head to kiss me deep. While our tongues danced, I rocked my hips into his, loving the feel of the delicious friction where I needed it most.
Xander broke the kiss, panting heavily. “What are you doing to me?”
He’d asked me the same thing that first night at his flat in Notting Hill, and the swell of feminine pride was quick. “The same thing you’re doing to me.”
His chuckle was partially muffled with a groan. “So you feel like you’re going to explode too.”
“Yes, Xander, please touch me.”
“Where do you want me to touch you?”
“Everywhere. Just—”
He palmed my breast again. “Here? You like the way I rubbed my thumb over your nipple?”
I arched my back. “God yes.”
“Hmmm, you think you’ll like it if I take that pretty nipple into my mouth?”
I squirmed underneath him. “Xander, please.”
He slid his hands up to my shoulders and slid first one strap down, then the other. Peeling them down slowly, he waited patiently until I’d freed both my hands from the top, then pulled the soft material all the way down my legs.
My panties went next. All the while, he looked at me like he’d never seen another naked woman in his life. Hunger and desperation were etched on his face. He yanked his t-shirt off his head as an apparent afterthought, then lowered himself back down. “Maybe there’s somewhere else you want me to touch? Somewhere else I can make you feel good?”
I raised my hips, giving him a direct hint. His chuckle was low. “I’ll get there, I promise. Since I only get one shot at this, I’m going to take my time.”
“Yes, please.”
Xander dropped his head and took a nipple into his mouth as I arched my back. As he sucked me deep, his thumb teased the other nipple, sending a spike of need directly to my core. He laved at me, teasing me with his teeth and tongue, worshipping me.
He released my breast and skimmed a hand down my torso and past my belly. I threaded my fingers into his hair, and he shifted my legs wider to give him access. Lifting his head from my breast, he watched me intently as he slid a finger inside me. “My God, you are so fucking wet.” With a shiver rolling through me, I let my lids flutter closed as he coaxed a response out of me. “No, sweetheart. You forget, I like you to look at me.”
I forced my lids open even as my body started to quake. With his eyes and his body and his fingers, he demanded I be present right there with him. There was no hiding my response. No hiding what he did to me. No hiding that I needed it. He rested his weight on his forearm and continued to tease my nipple, lightly plucking at it with his thumb and forefinger. The fingers on his other hand busied themselves by penetrating me slowly and steadily with a measured retreat. Only to dip back inside me, stretching me. He refused to break eye contact with me. Refused to let me hide from what he was doing to me. He insisted that I be vulnerable and gave me no less in return.
In his gaze, I saw the longing there, the desperation, the need. The fire driving him from the inside. With need making me quake, I pulsed as my orgasm rolled through me. But Xander didn’t let up. Instead, as I came, he nodded and continued to slide his thumb over my clit. Except now he rubbed circles inside me with his fingers, stimulating my G-spot. The walls of my core fisted around his fingers and I cried ou
t, unable to hold back anymore.
“Yes, that’s it, let go, and look at me when you do it.”
Before I knew what was happening, another orgasm slammed into me, making me weak. All I could manage was to whisper his name.
Gently, he slid his fingers from me and crawled back up my body to kiss me deep. “I fucking love to watch you come. It’s better than Christmas morning.”
“Oh my God.”
“If you say nothing else to me for the next two months, I’ll be a happy man.”
It wasn’t until he looped his hand around my waist and tucked me neatly against him that I realized he had no intention of making love to me. “Xander? I thought—”
His voice was low and tight when he spoke. “Go to sleep, Imani. I’m just going to hold you for a bit.”
I rolled in his arms to face him. “We’re not going to…”
He shook his head. “No.”
The stab of rejection sliced deep, and I tried to curl in on myself. “You don’t want to?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Fuck, Imani. I want to, you can bloody feel how much I want to. But—”
I laid a hand on his chest, my fingertips lightly brushing over the smooth skin down to his abs. He stopped talking. Looking down, I traced the light dusting of hair that disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans. His breaths came out labored and choppy, but he didn’t stop me.
Emboldened, I slid my hand beneath the waistband and palmed his thick erection. His low, deep curses were inventive. I stroked him from tip to root, using my thumb to rub the drop of precum that leaked over the tip. “Imani.” Xander fisted his hands and placed them on top of his head as he screwed his eyes shut tight.
“I’m going to have to insist you look at me.”
His chuckle was broken by a groan, then a low, deep growl. “If I look at you, I’m going to fuck you. And I’m trying—”
