Simply Sinful (Simply Series Book 1)
Page 4
He’d crossed the line and there was no turning back.
He’d never have believed he’d be so tempted to compromise his principles for a woman, never have believed he needed one night so badly. She aroused him beyond sanity, beyond reason, and he needed to possess her, all of her.
He traced the line of her jaw, then held her face between his palms. “I want you.” His voice rasped in her ear, the words vibrating between them.
Her hands reached for his chest, curling into fists against the heavy jacket. “Why?”
Of all possible replies, that one took him by surprise. So did the fact that he knew exactly what to say. “Not because you’re beautiful, even though you are.”
Her cheeks turned a shade deeper than before, and he brushed his thumb over her reddened skin. “And not because your body would tempt a saint, even though it would.” His other hand brushed the underside of her breast, tracing the rounded, full contours hidden beneath the layers of clothes.
She tipped her head to the side. Her face fit perfectly in his hand. “Then why?” she asked.
“Because you’re smart and I respect that, because you’re gutsy and I admire that.” Her eyes sparkled, glowing with a life of their own at each word he spoke.
Kane shook his head, unable to believe he was taking everything he’d learned about Kayla in order to make his case, and using it to make her his instead.
One night. With every second that passed, he needed that more and more. The light in her eyes, the…acceptance, he thought, struggling for the correct word. He needed everything she possessed. After taking it, he’d deal with how badly he’d betrayed both his job and himself.
“I had fun with you tonight and everything about you intrigues me. Enough?” he asked too harshly.
A satisfied smile caught hold of her lips. He wanted a taste of that satisfaction but refrained for now. “More than enough.” Her arms slipped around his waist.
“I take it that’s a yes.” His heart beat faster at the thought.
“That’s a yes…for the right price,” she said coyly.
He froze in place, then forced a smile. He’d taken her out tonight to bait and trap her. He’d gotten temporarily distracted by a rush of hormones, but it seemed he was about to get what he came for.
He ignored the swell of disappointment that came when he looked into those fraudulent green eyes. “And what would that be, Ms. Luck?”
She touched her icicle-like hands to his face and grinned. “Hot chocolate, Kane.” She smoothed her fingertips over his brow, and her light laughter caught him by surprise. “What did you think I wanted?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but you could show me.”
Her eyes opened wide before she brushed a warm yet hesitant kiss over his lips. Arousal hit as fast as his sense of relief.
Before he could change his mind, he grabbed her hand and started back down the street. His hotel room, the hotel room paid for by the department, was a few blocks away.
He’d face himself and the repercussions of his actions tomorrow.
Tonight was about Kayla.
Chapter Three
Kayla walked into the recently decorated lobby of the hotel where Kane was staying, trying not to feel like a woman about to embark on a one-night stand. She glanced around at the potted, but obviously fake plants and the bored clerk yawning behind the desk. It was a respectable place, but she wondered how many men brought women to a hotel room for a quick fling?
She stopped halfway to the elevator and grabbed the hard leather of Kane’s jacket.
He turned toward her. “Second thoughts?” he asked.
“Just a reality check. I don’t know anything about you.”
“You know what’s important.” He brushed a fingertip down her cheek. Her skin tingled and her heart rate soared. “What more is there?” he asked.
“I don’t know, maybe you’re not really a salesman. Maybe you’re a…”
“Serial killer?” He jumped in with a disarming grin.
“Married or involved was more like what I had in mind,” she said on a nervous laugh. “But yours is a valid consideration, too.”
“Well, I can set your mind at ease on that score. No bodies buried anywhere in my past. No spouses, either, present, ex or intended.” He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. Well, it would have been comforting if not for her body’s immediate reaction. Her nipples tightened and dampness pooled between her thighs.
So much had pushed her to this moment. A lifetime of being treated as a sex object and not a person with feelings. Years of ignoring her own desires because she feared picking the wrong man, one who wanted her body but not the whole person. She glanced at Kane. There might never be another man who valued her. If he’d been vague about himself, that was okay. He’d be gone too soon for it to matter.
He was unattached and sexy, dynamic…and hers, for the night at least. She smiled at him. “Well, I guess that settles things.”
“Does it?” He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. Tight jeans that molded against muscular thighs and showcased his obvious erection.
She licked her dry lips. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
“You were quiet for so long I was about to ask you the same thing.”
Kayla drew a deep breath and extended her hand.
A sexy grin edged the corners of his mouth, and he intertwined his fingers in hers. “One stop first.” He crossed to the front desk. He handed something to the clerk, whispering too low for her to catch what he said. “Ready?” he asked, turning back toward her.
Her stomach felt as if it hit the floor. “Ready,” she murmured.
Everything that came next, the elevator ride and the walk down the dimly lit hall, all passed in a blur. Then she found herself alone with Kane in his hotel room. For a woman with limited experience, she wondered what had possessed her.
She swung around, taking in the clutter. An open briefcase sat on the table, clothes lay scattered around, and an unzipped suitcase had been shoved into the corner. The mess was so like a man…so like Kane.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re trembling.”
She glanced at her surroundings once more. The king-size mattress in the center of the room drew her focus. What awaited her in that bed sent her imagination soaring. Kayla, Kane, hot bodies, tangled sheets…To her shock, her case of nerves calmed as she realized this was exactly where she wanted to be.
She looked at him. “I’m okay now.”
“Kayla…”
“Yes?”
He cleared his throat. “Have you ever done this before?”
She raised her chin at the doubt in his tone. “Lots of times.”
“Bullshit.”
“Fine.” She made for the door before his embarrassing, on-target questions humiliated her further. If her inexperience showed now, how disappointed would he be later?
She didn’t get far. Two steps and he stopped her departure with a firm arm around her waist, yanking her against his lean, hard body. His masculine scent pummeled her nerve endings, enticing her physically, assaulting her already raw senses. Her breasts tingled, her skin sizzled with fire, and that wasn’t the worst part. This man had the power to affect her emotions, too.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“My mama always said if you can’t do something right, don’t bother doing it at all.”
“Did I say you did anything wrong?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes and threw the blame squarely on him. “Not me, you.”
“I did something wrong. What?”
“You questioned my experience. Not exactly the way to endear yourself to a woman, McDermott.” She forced herself to remain stiff and unyielding in his arms, even though she wanted to curl into him and feel his strength flow through her.
His heated breath fanned her neck. His cologne threatened to seduce her and make her forget common sens
e. She struggled against the seductive pull. “Let me go.”
“Not until you answer the question I asked a minute ago, and then I’ll explain. If you don’t like what you hear, I’ll take you home myself. Have you done this before?” he asked again.
“A one-night stand in a stranger’s hotel room? No. Happy now?”
“Not by a long shot. And that wasn’t the question I was asking, and you know it.”
“Okay,” she said, resigned. “Once in my senior year of high school and once more a few years ago.” The first time she’d been young and inexperienced, scared but seduced into believing the guy had wanted her, not just a quickie in the backseat of his car.
He’d gone to great lengths to convince her, and she’d bought his act. Then he’d gone bragging to his friends, and she’d never heard from him again. The second time had been years later. Another mistake, a futile effort to relieve the loneliness in her life.
She resented being forced to relive either time. “You want names and dates, too, Officer, or are the sketchy details enough?”
He jerked back but kept his hand firmly around her waist.
“Well?” she asked when he remained silent. “Are you going to keep grilling me like some cop or let me go home?”
“Neither.”
Kayla straightened as best she could, trying to ignore that her ass was now snuggled firmly against him, his cock hard and insistent.
“Why is this so important?” she asked him.
“You said years.” His hand brushed her hair off her face, and he lay a warm, comforting cheek next to hers. “I want you so badly I can barely stand.” His rough voice shook her body. The truth shook her soul. “If I didn’t ask, if I didn’t know, I’d have hurt you.”
Her cheek remained cushioned next to his. He felt so right. Her stiff muscles relaxed, even as her body remained strung tight and begged for sexual release.
Kane loosened his hold, apparently assured she wouldn’t run, just as someone knocked on the door.
He held her gaze for a long second with a hot look that pulled his features taut and put sparks of need in his eyes. Need she inspired. The notion awed her.
“I’ve got it.” He opened the door and waited as a man placed the items from the cart on the only free counterspace available in the room, leaving the cart for them to pull into the hall when they were finished.
Kane tipped him, the man said thank you, and walked out, leaving them alone.
Lifting the silver lid off the plate, Kane revealed two packages of instant hot cocoa mix. Beside them was a large carafe, obviously filled with water.
“You remembered,” she said, both pleased and impressed. This caring man had amazed her yet again.
“When an intelligent woman speaks, I listen. Besides, how could I deny such a simple request? Especially when it will get me everything I want.” His seductive smile caused her insides to twist into delicious knots only he could undo.
“Had for a cup of hot chocolate.” She couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess I’m easy,” she murmured, rubbing her still-chilled hands against her thighs for warmth. His gaze followed the movement, his eyes darkening with unmistakable need.
“Are you?” He walked to her slowly.
“For you I guess I am,” she murmured.
A pleased grin lifted his lips. His large hands pushed the jacket off her shoulders and it fell to the floor in a heap. He trailed his fingers over the scoop neck of her top and her nipples grew tight, pressing against the confines of her bra.
He slid his hands through her hair, gliding and touching in a soft whisper of movement that grew increasingly harder. The tug at her scalp felt erotic and zaps of need went straight to her core. He lifted the headband off and it landed beside the jacket on the floor, creating a pile of clothing destined to grow. Heat pounded between her thighs, and a trickling liquid warmth followed in its wake.
Being with this man wouldn’t be slow and easy. It wouldn’t be controlled and simple to understand. She didn’t want it to be. Her first step toward recognizing herself as a woman meant accepting what she’d believed impossible. A wild abandon existed in her soul, waiting for the opportunity to be set free.
Other men had touched—and they’d turned her ice-cold. No one else had inspired such gut-wrenching need. But Kane had seen beyond the packaging to the woman inside, and because he had, Kayla came together at last—body, heart, and soul. She didn’t care if she’d only know him one night; she felt so much more. She wanted him and she wouldn’t, couldn’t restrain the gnawing hunger any longer.
Standing on her tiptoes, she placed a full, openmouthed kiss on his lips.
His body shook, and the tremors vibrated through her as he grabbed her waist and pulled her roughly against him. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
Kayla gathered her courage and repeated his words of earlier that night. “No, but you could show me.”
* * *
Kane expelled a harsh breath. She’d brought him too close, too fast. He hadn’t held back tonight and looking into her clear gaze, he couldn’t start now.
He grabbed for her hand and placed it on the front placket of his jeans.
“Oh.” Her gasp of surprise was telling.
If she were as smart as she was supposed to be, she’d pull back before things got out of hand. The rational part of him hoped she would. Instead, she cupped him firmly in her palm and molded her fingers to the faded denim, tracing the weight of his arousal pushing restlessly against the restricting denim.
He closed his eyes and tried to think…of sports. Tonight’s game, that ought to keep his mind off sex while her hand explored and his body throbbed. Last thing he needed was to embarrass himself before things even got started. The weight and pressure of her fingers was driving him mad. And then she went to the button on his jeans. Baseball, he reminded himself. Bats, balls, stolen bases, and home runs…Damn, this was a bad idea.
He grabbed for her wrist. “Enough.”
“Why?”
He met her startled gaze. “Ever hear of too much too soon?”
Understanding lit her gaze while his traveled the length of her and back again. Large breasts rounded beneath the tight top and her rigid nipples pushed through the thin, white material despite the bra underneath. Her black jeans were fitted, accentuating full hips and generous curves. Kane had had his share of women, and they’d had one thing in common. They spent too much time at the gym trying to be model-thin, or had put themselves on ridiculous diets he’d never understand.
Kayla had eaten what she pleased tonight and enjoyed every mouthful. And he’d enjoyed watching her. He wondered if her sexual appetite was as unbridled.
Twice, and she hadn’t been thrilled at the admission. What had those experiences been like for her? His dick still ached from a touch that hadn’t been hesitant but…experimental. Despite the body made for sex and sin, this woman was fresh and new.
“I don’t really believe there’s such a thing as too much, do you?”
“Why don’t we find out?”
She touched a soft hand to his cheek, and he knew. She trusted him, yet everything about them was a lie. He’d known enough about her going in to wrap her around his finger, and he’d done it easily. He hadn’t counted on being floored himself.
Since she believed he’d be leaving the state after tonight, he could give them both a time to remember. No risk involved for either one. She was too good at chipping away at the rough exterior he’d built and relied upon to survive. If not for the softness in her, if not for the softness she brought out in him, they’d be in a sweaty tangle on the floor by now.
He held his hand toward her. Her fingers twisted in his, he led her to the oversize chair beside the table. He sat down and lowered her into his lap, facing him. “Still cold?”
She turned so she straddled his hips with her own and met his gaze head-on. “Not anymore.” He heard a smoldering heat in her voice. “Or should I say yes so you’ll warm me?”
He wrapped his hands around her waist. “How about you say nothing at all?” he asked and sealed his mouth to hers.
She tasted as good as before. She made him as hot as before—only faster this time. He pulled her top from her waistband, needing to feel, taste, and savor the sensations only she aroused. She raised her arms to make his job easier, and before he could blink, he was facing his fantasy.
Ever since stealing a glimpse of Kayla Luck through a glass storefront window, Kane had been waiting for this. He traced the edge of white lace surrounding her plump breasts, feeling her soft flesh beneath his fingertips.
Her chest rose and fell in time to her rapid breathing, but she held his gaze and didn’t say a word.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re beautiful,” he said.
Her smile lit up her face. “Don’t worry. If I let you get this far, I believe the compliment.”
“Unlike this morning.” He hated that she didn’t trust easily.
She shrugged. “I didn’t know you this morning.”
“And you do now.”
She laughed, and he discovered even her grin made him hard.
Reaching around her, he unhooked the clasps of her bra and pulled the garment off, exposing all of her for view. The blood in his veins pumped fast and furious and he placed a kiss on the distended tip of her nipple.
A strangled sound escaped her lips.
“I guess we’re saving the hot chocolate for later. But I am hungry. How about you?” Reaching to his side, he felt beneath the room service cart left by the hotel staff earlier and came up with a can of whipped cream. “Special request,” he said.
“You think of everything, don’t you?” she asked.
“I try.” He shook the can with one hand.
She was already willing. He also wanted her hot…and wet…and enjoying every moment. She hadn’t done much of that in the past, and he wanted her to remember him even after he was gone. He didn’t want her ever to forget.