by Joanne Rock
She pried her eyes open to see him, to try and slow herself down. Nico stared at her with a mixture of intense heat and dark emotion in his gaze.
God, but he was gorgeous. The knowledge that he wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him…
The tight coil inside her snapped, held her paralyzed for one long, sensation-drenched second, before unfurling in an endless chain of delicious spasms. The contractions rocked her, jolted her. She cried out until her voice went hoarse, and even when she finally lay still, Nico would move his finger ever so slightly against her and more delicious spasms would squeeze deep inside her.
She was a mess. A total wreck. A candidate for love slavery if she didn’t snap out of it soon. But even as she yelled at herself in her mind, her body remained prone beneath him, sprawled and wanton and more than willing to give him more.
“See?” His voice hummed against her ear, stirring her. “You wouldn’t have wanted to miss the best part.”
A slow smile slid over her face even if she couldn’t manage to lift her eyelids again. “You’ve got it all wrong, Slick.” Her hand found the thick length of his cock pressed against her thigh. Stroked. “This is the best part.”
Nico closed his eyes and hoped he could survive more of Lainie’s touches. She’d nearly launched him into orbit with her sure grip and knowing fingers earlier. And now that he’d watched her unravel in his arms, he was already hanging by a thread. Never in his whole life had he seen anything sexier than Ms. Calm and Controlled shedding every last one of her inhibitions along with her clothes. He’d expected her to be aggressive in bed, but he hadn’t counted on the wildness, the ability to let go so completely.
Now she guided him to her sex, urged him inside when he wasn’t ready.
“Wait.” He scrambled for his pants, wishing he’d had the presence of mind to fish out the lone condom he carried when he first brought her out to the terrace.
“I can’t wait.” The longing in her voice mirrored every instinct he possessed, but the need to protect her was too strong. Too damn important.
“I just need to—” He found the condom just in time.
She was pressing him against the heated center of her, rubbing his cock all around her slick folds until he nearly lost his mind.
He nearly dropped the condom five different times thanks to his focus being divided between what he was trying to do and what she was trying so damn sweetly to do. But finally, he was ready to go, needing her so damn bad he thought he’d lose his mind.
Balancing himself over her, he nudged his way inside. The afternoon sun blistered his back, nothing in comparison to the heat emanating from Lainie Reynolds’s delectable body. She lifted herself up on her elbows, rising to meet his every thrust.
He’d brought her out into the light so he could see every bit of her, to see past her cool exterior to the woman she was beneath. Now that he had a glimpse, he knew he’d never look at her the same way. Would never be content to only see a part of her again.
He gripped the wooden slats along the back of the lounge chair and hauled himself higher against her. Pushed himself deeper inside. Lainie’s thighs followed his, her long legs wrapping around his and pulling him more tightly to her.
He bent to taste her, to kiss her lips, her neck. She arched her back, pushing her breasts up closer to his chest. He licked his finger, then twirled it around one taut nipple until another wild moan ripped from her throat and her body spasmed all around him.
Control wasn’t even an option.
With Lainie’s legs squeezing his waist and her sex pulsing around his, Nico hurtled over the edge in a free fall.
JUST AS THE LOUNGER TIPPED. Backward. Headfirst. They toppled down to the concrete in a tangle of arms and legs and damned if the solid thud of their landing didn’t even come close to halting the momentum of his release. Or hers.
He cradled her head even though the cushion slid right out of the upended chair along with them. And still they moaned. Cried out. Kissed as if they couldn’t possibly devour one another fast enough.
Nico knew he was being selfish to hold her there, savoring the scent of her hair in his nose as he absorbed the feel of her skin against his body. But he’d waited too damn long for this intimate connection to give her up easily. Even if she was probably uncomfortable as hell.
Ah damn.
Pulling away even though his hormones protested loudly, Nico rose to right the lounger and steady a teetering hibiscus in a terra-cotta pot. He reached to scoop up the cushion and the flushed, sexy-as-hell woman still reclining on it.
“That’s okay.” Lainie held him off with one manicured hand, the gesture reminding him of the Club Paradise CEO, the reigning South Beach diva.
Except that she was still naked.
Nico didn’t even blink as she rose, her lean hips and full breasts looking totally at home without clothes. But before he could salivate himself parched he realized maybe they should be a little more discreet. The shorn hairs at the back of his neck prickled, making him whirl around to make sure no one else was being treated to the show. He’d worked his ass off to put himself in Lainie’s line of sight. No way would he share the rewards of that effort with anyone else.
“Maybe we ought to go inside.” He blocked her body with the breadth of his, unable to shake the feeling of being watched. “I wouldn’t want to give the birds whiplash.”
She glanced down at his member and smiled. “Neither would I. You’d better bring that in here.”
Crooking her finger at him, she backed into the hotel suite, still full of that wild streak that had taken him by surprise. Hot damn.
His member was in the door before him.
She was already down the short corridor to the bedroom and he had to squint to see her. The sway of her hips snagged his eye as she turned the corner into the bedroom, pausing only to make sure he followed.
Her moves were like testosterone injections, fueling him on, even though he had the sneaking suspicion that sex with Lainie was only going to tie him up in knots and make everything more complicated.
He’d thought maybe great sex would be a good way to heal after the number her ex-husband had done on her. And hell, after the way Ashley had pulled the rug out from under him. He needed to get his head on straight and figure out what he wanted in a relationship eventually. But for right now, just sex had sounded safe. Therapeutic. And, because it was with Lainie, enticing as hell.
But already the sex was rocking his whole world. Tipping him on his ass faster than any upended deck lounger. Still, here he was, chasing her down the hallway and into her bedroom as fast as his feet could take him.
He caught her just beyond the door, banding his arms around her from behind. Her yelp of surprise didn’t faze him, but her wriggling her way out of his arms did.
Releasing her near the monochromatic white bed in the sleek white room, he wondered what he’d missed. “I don’t get it. Do you want me to stay?”
While he willed her to say yes, she sidestepped away from him. “Don’t you remember the scene we watched today? I don’t know about you, but the thought of playing cat and mouse sort of fired me up.” She twirled a lock of hair around her finger as if she had all the time in the world to think about her personal turn-ons.
Obviously she didn’t realize she’d already turned him on and he was very much ready to go.
“Cat and mouse, is it?” He went very still, calculating the number of steps between them. Planning his strategy of attack. “I hope you know which role I’m playing.”
She arched an eyebrow. Stretched up on her toes to stand taller. “It’s abundantly clear to me since I couldn’t be a mouse if my life depended on it.”
Stalking closer, he kept her in his sights as she backed around the bed. “Maybe you could say the same about me. Besides, I’m not the one running away right now.”
He had her cornered next to the bed and she had no choice but to stop. Face him.
“Maybe I didn’t leave enough
claw marks on you last time.” She traced her nails lightly over his shoulders, scraping them down his arms with a feathery caress. “Guess I’ll have to fix that in round two.”
He didn’t think it was possible to want a woman this much ten minutes after he’d had her the first time. Damn it, it hadn’t been possible since he was nineteen and perpetually horny. Yet here he was, ready, willing and eager as hell to have her all over him again.
“Don’t forget round two belongs to me.” He reached for her, ready to set aside any cat-and-mouse games so he could lose himself in her.
“Says who?” Scrambling away in a blur of naked limbs, she scooted across the bed and landed on her feet on the other side before he could touch her.
“Says me, damn it. I called it right up front in round one.” How the hell had she gotten by him? He shook off a fraction of the lust fog and reminded himself he’d have to be better prepared if he wanted to catch her next time. “That was a hell of a move, by the way.”
“Cats are quick.” She ran her hand through her hair, smoothing the strands that had become tousled out on the terrace. “And I don’t recall you claiming round two for your own.”
“It’s not just for me.” His muscles flexed and tightened, sliding into pounce position as he eased his way around the bed again. “It’s going to be very much for you.”
Her already taut, rosy nipples stiffened even more as he spoke. Damn but he loved that. He hastened his step, keeping his eye on the goal.
“For me?” She swallowed as she backed up another step. Collided with the wall behind her.
“Total, nonstop pleasure for the Club Paradise diva.” His hands itched to touch her again. To hold her still while his mouth roved all over her, discovered every sweet hollow and luscious curve.
“I’m no diva.” She shook her head, apparently familiar with her nickname. “I’ve always been more behind the scenes than in the spotlight.”
“But from what I gather, you’re the real power behind the operation.” He had her locked in his sights now. There would be no easy escape for her, which was a damn good thing considering he needed her again so badly he couldn’t think about anything else. “You know a lot of people think that kind of power is very sexy?”
“Yeah? A lot of guys think a woman with power equals a megabitch from hell.” She held her head high as she lobbed the verbal bomb, but Nico heard the hint of vulnerability behind the words.
“Only guys with overinflated egos who can’t handle the idea of a woman above them.” He was close enough to see the quick rise and fall of her chest, to smell her lightly exotic fragrance. His hands reached. Slowly. Carefully.
“What about a guy who can’t even stand to play mouse to her cat?”
Damn. His hands fell back to his sides. Time was of the essence in answering a loaded question like that, so he tried not to overthink it.
“Are you kidding? I’d love to have a woman above me.” He knew he’d probably failed the test when she rolled her eyes, but damn it, he’d given it his best shot. “Especially if the woman happens to be you.”
She stared up at him with bright green eyes that didn’t miss a trick. “Good. Then you won’t mind giving me a piece of round two.”
Hooking her foot around his ankle, she leaped on top of him in a pounce that would have done any cat proud.
And left him with an armful of naked woman.
Her breasts perched invitingly above his mouth, he arched up for a taste, licking a path down the valley of her cleavage.
“Honey, I might have been the victim of an overinflated ego a time or two, but I would never be stupid enough to turn down a gorgeous woman who wanted to jump me.” His hands ran over her hips, around her waist, up the creamy expanse of her back. “And did a damn good job of it, I might add.”
She stretched up over him and lifted herself off him until her breasts just barely skimmed his chest. Then, edging backward on her hands and knees she slid her body down the length of his, teasing his skin with those taut nipples of hers until her breasts straddled his cock.
Holy— She was killing him. He didn’t know if she was going to shock him into a heart attack with her unexpected wild side, or if she would simply screw his brains out.
He hoped for the latter.
“I’m so glad you’re giving me high marks on my moves.” She cupped her breasts around his cock, squeezing them against him. “You’ll have to let me know what you think of this.”
He couldn’t have answered her if his life depended on it. Thinking wasn’t even an option. In fact, any type of brain function seemed impossible when all his blood surged south in a tidal wave of pure lust.
She hovered above him, deliberately darting her pink tongue all around her lips.
Oh yes.
But before he could feel the damp thrill of her tongue on him, an explosion rocked through him so hard he feared he’d unmanned himself.
Even Lainie looked confused. Worried.
She was sliding off him just as a second explosion sounded in time with shouts and screams from all over the hotel.
8
LAINIE HAD NO MEMORY of how she put her clothes on. She had a vague impression of Nico handing her shoes to her and opening her front door for her, but other than that, she couldn’t say how she’d ended up in the red-linen sheath dress that she wore now as she and Nico pounded down four flights of stairs, following the scent of smoke.
Fear threatened to choke her faster than the gray haze wafting up the stairwell. Nico dialed 911 while they ran. She called Brianne while her fingers shook, her brain failing to remember the right combination of numbers three times over.
Hotel guests ran past them as they burst through the steel door onto the first floor. Smoke and dust floated in the air, clogging the lobby with an acrid gray cloud.
Sirens blared outside, probably only a few blocks away. A throng of people congregated around the coffee shop that opened out onto the lobby near one of the hotel’s three restaurants. Through the crowd, Lainie spied Brianne Wolcott’s distinctive auburn hair towering above the majority of people around her. At five foot eleven in bare feet, Brianne dwarfed the rest of her fellow owners.
Relieved, Lainie disconnected her cell-phone call that wasn’t going through anyhow. She tried to push her way through the mass of curious onlookers standing near the source of the drifting smoke, but she didn’t have any luck until Nico took up the charge. Those wide shoulders cleared a path for her instantly, plowing through rubberneckers and other assorted gawkers.
“Bri!” She shouted to her friend, not realizing until she was almost on top of her that ambience coordinator Summer Farnsworth was right there beside her, her kinky blond curls tied back in a blue ribbon, a smudge of ashes across one cheek. “Is everyone okay? What happened?”
“An explosion in the kitchen.” Summer answered while Brianne talked on her two-way radio, clearing an entrance for the firefighters who had just arrived on the scene.
“Explosion?” Could it have been a grease fire?
“I think the new chef candidate might have been hurt. One second I was standing next to her, handing her a bunch of bananas for bananas Foster, and the next second the whole kitchen blasted into pieces.” Summer’s eyes turned watery and red. “I haven’t seen her since then.”
The fear that had been tingling in Lainie’s belly rose up to tremble through her whole body. She would have beelined to the kitchen—or whatever remained of the kitchen—to find the woman herself, but Brianne was already directing a stream of firefighters to head that way. Even Brianne’s fiancé, an unconventional FBI agent who rode a Harley and had reportedly just had Bri’s name tattooed across his hip, emerged on the scene.
“I’m going back there.” Nico started to follow the trail of people headed to the kitchen when Lainie’s cell phone rang.
“Not without me you’re not. Wait up a minute.” She yanked his arm to hold him back while she answered her phone with the other hand. “Hello?”
“I hear you’re having some trouble over at the hotel today.” The blast-from-the-past voice of her ex-husband, Robert Flynn, chilled her despite the residual heat rolling into the lobby from the kitchen.
She kept herself steady by staring straight into Nico Cesare’s deep brown eyes. “And just what would you know about it, jailbird?”
“You should remember I have friends on the outside, Lainie.” His clipped tone and precise elocution reminded her what a superficial jerk he could be. “And since I have you to thank for putting me behind bars, I couldn’t help but gloat a little now that you’re running into a few problems of your own.”
The phone clicked in her ear and dead air took the place of his voice.
“Who was that?” Nico’s hands gripped her shoulders, tension radiating through his whole body and into hers.
As if she wasn’t tense enough already.
Fear knotted in her belly as Robert’s words echoed in her ears. Scavenging some composure on a day rapidly descending from terrible to hellacious, Lainie took a deep breath before she found the words. “It was my ex calling from jail to rub it in about my bad luck, apparently. Don’t they monitor phone calls from inmates or something so they don’t terrorize the general population?”
“How the hell does he know your kitchen exploded twenty minutes after it happened?” Nico’s eyebrows swooped down in a dark glare that would have been scary except that it was clearly anger on her behalf. Fists clenched and neck muscles flexing, he looked ready to take her ex-husband apart.
And for some reason, all that male anger soothed her just a little.
“I don’t know, but I’ll call my attorney after we find out what happened here.” Time to look into extra security for the hotel. She wouldn’t let Robert’s vindictiveness hurt anyone else—if he truly was behind this.
Her eyes searched the throng of firefighters and found the soot-covered South Beach fire chief striding her way.
