It Might Be You

by Jennifer Gracen

  “Could you bring me a glass of water when you come back?” she called out.

  “Absolutely,” he called back.

  She took a deep, cleansing breath and stretched her limbs. All her muscles burned and throbbed in the best ways and she knew she’d feel it tomorrow. The thought of that made her smile . . . but then the smile faltered. He was leaving tomorrow.

  And she wished he wasn’t.

  Shit. She didn’t want to think of that now. They still had a few hours ahead of them, and she wanted to just enjoy every minute they had together. She didn’t want to think of her life, which veered between dark sadness at work and too much quiet when she got home. Or to think of him going back to work, where his job put him in danger on a daily basis. Or to think of him back in sunny Miami, where scantily clad women probably threw themselves at him every damn day. He may have said otherwise, but he was too handsome, too appealing, too off-the-charts hot for her to believe that wasn’t the case. Just thinking about that made her a little jealous, and she knew she was being ridiculous. She had no right to be—she wasn’t his girlfriend. She wasn’t his anything.

  Mi reina. Her eyes slipped closed. When he called her that, all sexy and wanting, she melted inside. Between the warmth in his eyes when he said it, and the sweetness in his voice when he purred it at her, she absolutely melted. She knew it didn’t really mean anything, was just a term of endearment; that she shouldn’t read too much into it or add significance that didn’t exist. But that one little word, that one tiny gesture . . . the way his voice pitched low when he whispered it against her skin . . . had tipped the scales and helped to make her come undone.

  Goddamn it. This was supposed to be casual. He’d warned her of that from their very first date. And she wanted the same. She wasn’t looking for anything, and since he was leaving, and a cop, and hotter than hell, he’d been a perfect candidate for a fling and then a good-bye.

  So why did she feel something more now? Yes, the sex had been mind-blowing, the best she’d ever had, but this . . . this emotion welling inside her, unwelcome and unwise, was something else. Frowning, she burrowed under her blanket and tried to swat it away, but these sudden feelings weren’t letting go. She shivered as that realization washed over her.

  One round with him hadn’t made things better, but worse. Because she knew now one night wasn’t going to be enough. She wanted more. More of his body, more of his thoughts, more of . . . oh, God. She wanted more of him, all of him.

  And that wasn’t going to happen. Their lives were in different places. This connection she felt, no matter how real it felt, was temporary. He was in emotional flux and grabbing on to her as a distraction from his problems. She had to remember that. She had to keep her heart out of this.

  Nick walked back in then, gloriously naked, the white plastic bag in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “Here, beautiful.” He leaned down to drop a light kiss on her lips as he handed her the glass. “Careful. Don’t spill.”

  As she took it from him, she felt her heart slip deeper into his hold. She swigged down water as she cursed herself.

  Oblivious to her turmoil, grinning leisurely, he got into bed beside her and made himself comfortable. He smelled of soap, sweat, and sex, a devastatingly masculine combination that made her head swim. His body was magnificent and the grin on his face was playful, but it was the warm and sated look in his deep brown eyes that did her in. Like there was nowhere in the world he’d rather be. It made her senses reel.

  “So,” he said jauntily, reaching into the bag, “what do we have here?” He pulled out the opened box of condoms first and offered it to her. “Ah, yes. Want that within reach.” He winked.

  Smiling, she took it from him and set it on her nightstand beside the half-empty glass.

  He pulled out a big bag of cheddar popcorn, two small bags of peanut M&M’s, and a bottle of orange Gatorade. “Gotta replace my electrolytes, you know.” He handed her one bag of M&M’s, gulped down a third of the bottle before recapping it, then tore open the second bag of candy for himself. As he popped three into his mouth, he gave a little moan of satisfaction. “Mmm. I haven’t had these in a long time. Good call.”

  “They’re my favorite.”

  “Cool. Now I’ll think of you whenever I see them.” He flashed another grin.

  God, you’re delicious. She leaned in, took his square jaw in her hand, and pulled his mouth to hers for a kiss. “Thanks for all this.”

  “You’re welcome. Thanks for inviting me over.” He gave yet another grin, making the dimple reappear. “Hope you’re not tired yet. I’m far from done with you. Still have what . . . seven or eight ways to go?” He waggled his brows, making her laugh.

  Yeah, she was a goner. She couldn’t fight it, couldn’t deny it to herself. . . . These were real feelings she was feeling now. And that would lead to disaster, and she knew it, because it would only end. And there was nothing to be done. Did she have to fall for someone who not only lived too far away to be a real possibility but also broke a bunch of her personal rules at the same time? Apparently so. The Universe was laughing at her.

  Swallowing the rush of emotion down, she decided to feed her sticky new feelings. She opened her bag of M&M’s and shoved a few into her mouth as she snuggled into his side. He was warm and solid, and felt like heaven. His arm wrapped around her and pulled her closer. He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, and her heart sighed in surrender.

  Enjoy tonight, she told herself as she breathed him in, her fingertips playing along the ridges of his abs. Enjoy what you can. He doesn’t need to know you just broke the rules, both yours and his. He’s got enough of his own stuff to deal with. He never needs to know that despite all your bravado and wiseass talk, you went and fell for him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Nick woke slowly, disoriented for a few seconds as his eyes adjusted and focused. In his haze, the unfamiliar room threw him. The walls were pale green, sunlight streamed through gauzy, feminine curtains . . . and there was a warm, soft, naked female body tucked against his back. Ahhh, yes. Smiling, he rolled over to look at Amanda, careful not to wake her. She slept soundly, her dark blond hair tangled and hiding half her face. Tenderly, with delicate care, he swept her hair back so he could gaze at her.

  She wasn’t a typical cookie-cutter beauty, but he thought she was absolutely beautiful. Something about her just hit him in a sweet spot. She’d told him she was an “Irish-Polish-Russian combo plate,” which had made him laugh. Now that he had a chance to openly study her face, he did so with pleasure.

  She looked so peaceful, and that made him happy. Not just because he knew his taking her all night long was the main reason she was sleeping so well, but because she’d been so tense for the past few days. He knew she’d been stressed about her work. Now, her features were relaxed; there was no little crease between her brows like he’d seen, or troubled look in her eyes. Seeing her at peace like this soothed and pleased him.

  He pressed a featherlight kiss to her forehead. He suspected her job, though she loved it and rarely complained, brought her satisfaction and fulfillment but very little peace. He knew what that was like. All too well. It made him want to pamper her.

  Her creamy skin was so soft, and so pale next to his. Her long lashes fanned out and her lips were slightly parted as she breathed slow and deep. Those lips . . . those gorgeous pink lips had wreaked havoc on him all night long. Memories of what she’d done to him with that mouth made his cock twitch and rise.

  He trailed his fingers gently along her silky hair, the arch of her brows, her cheek, her neck, down her arm and back up again. Unable to help himself, he pulled the blanket down just enough to expose her breasts.... His mouth watered. He wanted to close his lips over her nipples and suck and lick them until she woke up. He wanted to hear her sigh, whimper, and moan. Just thinking about it had his morning hard-on ready to rock. He pressed his lips to the hollow of her throat and kissed her skin lightly.

  Shit, did he even h
ave time to wake her the way he wanted? He lifted his head to glance at the clock on her nightstand. It was a few minutes before seven. He worked backward mentally. His flight was at two, which meant he had to be at the airport at noon, which meant he had to leave his hotel at eleven-thirty, which meant he had to have the rental car back . . . shit. He had to leave her apartment by nine at the latest if he was going to get his act together.

  He didn’t want to leave her bed. He wasn’t ready for this to end just yet.

  His eyes drank her in as she slept. She was so damn pretty, even with bedhead after a long night of hot, crazy sex. Flashes of their night together went through his mind. How they’d talked in bed and ate M&M’s as they cuddled . . . how he’d been unable to keep his hands or his mouth off of her and gone down on her until she screamed his name, then pulled her on top of him. . . . She’d ridden him, looking down at him all gorgeous and sexy and taking control until he’d exploded.... They’d kissed and chatted and kissed some more until they drifted off to sleep sometime around midnight.

  It’d been the best night he’d had since . . . God, really, had he ever had a night like that? Amanda was amazing. Yes, she was great in bed. So responsive, so passionate, willing to let him be in control or eager to take control herself, depending on the minute. She was right there with him at every beat, open and lusty, just plain fun.

  His breath hitched. It was more than those things.

  It was the way she’d looked into his eyes when she’d been on top . . . meeting his gaze directly as she moved like a fluid, seductive goddess, grinding into him and drawing him deep. He’d been unable to look away. Like she’d hypnotized him. Like she could see into his soul and felt the same connection he did. He wondered if she felt that too.

  And not only could he talk to her with ease, but they laughed a lot, something he hadn’t even realized he needed until he started spending time with her. His job was serious, his personal life had been blown apart and become serious . . . and she was really funny. She was a quick-witted smartass; it was like trading wisecracks with Darin or the guys at the station, but better, because he found her sexier with every comeback. She was also caring and grounded. She grounded him whenever he was with her. That was it—that was the draw. His life had become a swirl of chaos, but she made him feel steadier, supported, understood.

  Finding her was like a lifeline, and he didn’t want to let go.

  But he had to. His flight left in just a few hours. Back to his real life.

  He lowered his head to rain gentle kisses along her face, her jaw, down the side of her neck. His greedy hands skated possessively over her body. Damn it all, he’d have her for as long as he could, as much as he could get, down to the last minute.

  She stirred slightly and her hand lifted to sift through his hair. So he kept going, kissing his way down her throat, over her chest, until his mouth closed over her nipple. She let out a little whimper as his teeth scraped the bud and his arm slid beneath her, around her, pulling her closer and holding her in place.

  “Good morning,” she whispered as her hands smoothed over his shoulders.

  He hummed a response against her skin, making her suck in a sharp breath.

  Her leg inched up so her thigh could brush his erection, sending heat through his whole body. “Mmmm.” Her morning voice was deliciously ragged. “Is that for me?”

  He lifted his head to look at her and grin. “Hell yes.”

  “Oh, good.”

  He moved to her other breast to lavish it with equal attention. Catching the tip in his mouth, he swept his tongue over her nipple before scraping his teeth gently and sucking. She arched her back and purred with satisfaction. He loved the erotic sounds she made, loved that she wasn’t shy with him.

  He shifted his position, rolling slightly to hold her with both arms. She sighed with pleasure as her hands traveled along his body. “You have more muscles than I know what to do with,” she murmured. “It’s fabulous. It’s also . . . a little intimidating. There, I said it out loud.”

  That made his head snap up. “What? You’re not intimidated by me. Come on.”

  “I’m not intimidated by you as a person, no,” she said. “But your body is a goddamn work of art. You’re ridiculously cut. I’ve never been with such a gym rat before. Makes me feel soft in all the wrong places.”

  “Not true.” He squeezed her breast and smiled. “You’re soft in all the right places. Believe me.”

  She smiled and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Captain Beefcake.”

  He barked out a laugh. “Look, I need to stay strong and fit for my job.”

  “I’m sure you do. But you’re freakin’ ripped, dude. Which means you also do it because you’re one of those freaks who actually gets off on exercise.”

  He laughed again. “Guilty as charged. Uhh . . . I’m sorry?”

  “You’re not sorry,” she accused, grinning back. “And I’m sure not sorry. I get this hot bod in my bed. You look like a Greek god, and you damn well know it.”

  “Whaaat?” He couldn’t help but smile. “You think I look like a Greek god?”

  “You know you do. Knock it off, don’t be coy.”

  “Hmm. A Puerto Rican god, more like. Are there any of those?”

  She pinched his ass, making him yelp and laugh.

  He kissed her mouth. “What you said is very flattering. Thank you.”

  “I should be thanking you. I get to use your body like a theme park. I win.”

  He laughed again, then lowered his head to kiss the top, rounded, fleshier part of her breast. “I love looking at you too, you know. And touching you. You’re beautiful, Amanda. You really are.”

  She smiled but didn’t say anything, just pushed his head back down to her breast with soft insistence.

  His arms held her tighter as he sucked on her nipples for a while, one then the other. His hands ran along the sides of her breasts, down to the curve of her waist and back again.... She writhed against him sinuously, clearly enjoying him. Together, they slowly brought the heat from a simmer to a bubbling boiling point.

  He savored the feel of their naked bodies aligned . . . she felt so right against him. Desire coursed through him, needy and insistent in his blood. But when he finally moved to kiss her mouth, she turned her face away.

  “Ack!” she yelped. “No! I haven’t brushed my teeth!”

  “I don’t care,” he said on a chuckle.

  “I do. Ick. Let me just—”

  She tried to roll away to get out of bed and he locked her in his embrace. “No way. Don’t even think of getting out of this bed.”

  “But I—”

  “Nope.” His hands gripped her at the waist and flipped her over onto her stomach, bringing a shocked gasp from her. He swept her hair aside to kiss the back of her neck as he repositioned himself over her, pressing the length of his front along her back. He ground his hard-on into the back of her thigh, right below the soft curve of her ass, and growled softly into her ear, “Now you don’t have to worry about morning breath. I’m gonna take you this way instead. Yes?”

  “Yessss.” Her moan made his whole body pulse. It was a guttural, passionate moan, wicked and wanting, firing his blood through his veins with a rush. She wriggled her ass against him and said, “God, yes.”

  His mind reeled, red-hot lust overtaking his senses. He kissed and licked and bit at her neck, her shoulders, her back, running his hands all over her as he ground his erection against her thigh, whispering dirty things in her ear that made her whimper and moan. Fueled by sensation, he reached over to grab the strip of condoms, tore another from the strip, and rolled it over his cock, already rock hard and straining.

  She moved up to her hands and knees, and he let out a little groan at the sight of her. Wanting to make sure she was ready to take him, he slipped a finger inside her. Hell yes, she was ready, so wet and warm; she moaned and dropped her head.

  Jesus, he needed to be inside her, all over her, now.

  With a low
growl, he gripped her legs and pulled her back further, pushing her thighs wider apart with his knee. Then he rose up and slid into her with one easy thrust. His eyes closed at the incredible feel of her and they groaned together.

  He started to move, gripping her hips as he thrust in and out of her. She pushed back against him, meeting him stroke for stroke. Her erotic sighs and moans drove him crazy. He couldn’t get enough of her. He leaned over her, his chest against her back, so he could reach around and squeeze her breasts as his hips pumped faster. Her fingers twisted in the sheets, grabbing at them.

  “God,” she panted, “you feel so good, Nick. Soooo good.”

  “So do you, mi reina.”

  He thrust harder, faster, the sounds of their heavy breathing and skin slapping filling the room. With one hand still on her breast, he moved the other down to rub her clit as he moved inside her. Her moans turned into wild cries, letting him know how close she was.

  “That’s right,” he growled in her ear. “Give it to me, all of it.”

  “Take it,” she breathed. “Oh, God, take it. . . .”

  He pounded into her, no holding back, and her steady cries let him know she loved it. He felt his whole body surge with heat, close to the edge. He couldn’t hold back much longer.

  “Let go now, baby,” he said, voice thick. “Let it all go. Come with me.”

  Her body obeyed his gruff command. She grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it to scream out her release. The sound and feel of her pushed him right over the edge along with her. He thrust as deep as he could one last time and his climax hit, making him buck and grunt like an animal. His fingers dug hard into her skin, holding on fiercely as his body quaked and emptied inside her. The sensations slammed him, flooding him, bringing ecstasy and relief.

  They collapsed onto the bed together in a panting, sweaty tangle. He rolled onto his side, still holding her close, spooning her as they fought to catch their breath. She was limp in his arms, slick with sweat, eyes closed. He nudged her hair aside with his chin and licked her skin, lapping at the curve of her neck with possessive sweeps of his tongue, sipping with his lips. She pressed her back into him, her hands on his forearms, and smiled. Her smile made him smile too.