by V. K. Sykes
Sadie wrapped her arms around him from behind. As she laced her hands together against his broad chest, he drained his wine in one swallow. For a long moment they stood there, silent comfort flowing between them. Eventually, he turned to face her. With one index finger, he lifted her chin and bent to kiss her gently on the lips. No tongues this time. It was sweet and sad, and it practically broke her heart.
“I should apologize for dumping that on you,” he murmured, “but that hug really hit the spot.”
She gave him her best schoolteacher’s frown. “I asked, so don’t you dare apologize to me. You’re a good man, Nick Saxon. Your mother must be so very proud of you.”
His mouth curved in a warm smile. “I hope you get a chance to ask her about that yourself.”
Her breath caught in her throat. Had she heard him right? It sounded like he was saying that there might actually be a future for them beyond the next few days she would be in Vegas. “I’d absolutely love to meet her,” she breathed, trying to keep her voice steady.
“Let’s drink to that, then.” He refilled his glass and held it up for her to clink.
“To your mom,” Sadie said, touching her goblet to his.
“To Mom,” he echoed. They drank, but then he seemed to give himself some kind of mental shake, as if things had gotten too heavy. He opened the fridge and grabbed a plate stacked with several enormous cuts of meat. “I’d better get the steaks on.”
After Nick rubbed salt, pepper and a few other mysterious seasonings into the two-inch thick filets, he disappeared into the back yard. Sadie peeled and chopped the rest of the vegetables as she sipped her wine, pondering the short but intense conversation that had produced a whole raft of conflicting emotions and thoughts in her heart and head.
She ached with sympathy for Nick, both for losing his father at fourteen and for seeing his mom slip away into the agonizing fog of Alzheimer’s. And the fact that he’d trusted Sadie enough to share those painful revelations touched her more than she could say. Even more surprising was his intimation that their relationship could go beyond a hot but brief Vegas fling.
Did he really want her to meet his mother? She didn’t think Nick was the kind of guy to throw that kind of statement out on a casual basis, not given everything it implied. Like a relationship—one that might eventually involve a genuine commitment, and making decisions about a life together. Until a few moments ago, she hadn’t even been sure she’d want such a thing. But as soon as Nick had articulated those words, Sadie knew without a doubt that she wanted those possibilities to exist.
She finished up the salad, covering it with paper towels to keep it fresh. Nick had only been gone a few minutes, but she missed him anyway. Stupid, when he wasn’t far away, but she had to resist the temptation to follow him out to the backyard. Hints of possibilities were a good thing. Being clingy was not. Whatever her faults, she had never been clingy.
Finally, Nick shoved the backdoor open with his foot, his hands full with two platters of steak, grilled zucchini and yellow peppers. She rushed to help him set the food down on the kitchen counter. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and neck, and his shirt clung to his muscled chest and arms. Endearingly, his hair was mussed and a jet black lock had fallen across his brow, making him look younger and a lot less worried than the man of a few minutes ago.
“Man, it’s got to be a hundred fifty degrees near that barbecue,” he said.
She could believe it. Though it was already dark, the temperature was probably still in the eighties, with more humidity than she’d expected to find in Las Vegas. She grabbed a tea towel and ran it under cool water as Nick arranged the grilled veggies on a serving plate. “Here,” she said, holding the damp cloth to his forehead. “We don’t want you collapsing into your dinner with heatstroke.”
Nick scoffed. “Not likely. This isn’t all that hot. Iraq in July, wearing a helmet and body armor—now, that’s hot. But thanks for this,” he said, covering her hand with his own, and pressing it harder against his forehead. “You’re a sweetheart.”
Sadie stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips across his cheek. “Thank you, sir. You’re not so bad for a hardass sheriff, either.”
Instantly, Nick reached around her waist and pulled her against him. The heat and now-musky scent of his body took her breath away. Who would have ever thought that a hot, sweaty man would turn her on? But it did, in a heartbeat.
As he tugged her tight against his groin, the evidence of his arousal couldn’t have been clearer. The hard, full length of him pressed insistently against her belly. Before she could react, he tossed away the wet cloth and tilted her face up, his mouth taking hers in a fierce, possessive kiss. With a pounding heart, Sadie fumbled to open his jeans and reached inside the waistband of his briefs. As her fingers found the hard heat of his erection, Nick moaned and broke the kiss.
“I guess we’re both hungrier than we thought,” he said, his voice thick with wanting.
She knew exactly what kind of hunger he was talking about. “Why don’t we put the plates in a warm oven? Right now I want something else for dinner.”
Nick grinned. In seconds, he had the oven on low and the steaks and vegetables stowed inside. Sadie shoved the salad into the fridge. When she turned to face him, he put both hands on her hips and kissed her on the forehead. He seemed to breathe in her scent as if it somehow revitalized him. “You smell fantastic, and I must smell like some disgusting combination of sweat and smoke.”
“Nonsense,” she blurted out. “You smell good enough to eat, and I have every intention of doing exactly that.” Then her mouth dropped open. Did she actually say something that earthy? What the heck was happening to her?
He laughed. “Amen to that, but I’d feel better if that happened after a shower,” he demurred. “Care to join me?”
“You have extraordinarily lascivious appetites, Sheriff,” she said, trying unsuccessfully not to grin. “But then again, I suppose that should have been self-evident after last night’s exploration of erotic fantasies, shouldn’t it?”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Is that a yes?”
“I should say so. What is it you military people say? Roger that. One hundred per cent affirmative.”
* * *
A low, ugly voice in Nick’s head whispered that he’d made a mistake. They should be having a quiet dinner, and then he should be talking to her straight about what she’d been doing at the blackjack tables. That had been his plan. He really couldn’t let the evening fly by in a sexual haze without confronting her—for both their sakes. As reluctant as he might be to admit it, he was beginning to like her too much for this not to mean anything to him.
The thought that Sadie might be disguising a blackjack pro underneath that innocent exterior had driven him crazy since the moment he saw her raising her bets like a seasoned card counter. Even worse, it had crossed his mind that she might even be playing him for a sucker. Maybe she figured the best way to keep casino security off her back was to get on her back for casino security.
His mind skittered away from that idea, every instinct revolting against it. But in his business—and in the Marines—he’d learned not to let his guard down and never trust anything based on its surface appearance.
But when Sadie, her eyes brimming with concern, had rushed to put a cold cloth to his forehead, he couldn’t help himself. He had to give in to the overwhelming compulsion to kiss her, a compulsion to seek escape from all the obstacles piling up around him. And once he’d started kissing her lush mouth, so warm and welcoming to his invasion, he knew he didn’t want to stop. And when she slid her fingers into his jeans, he couldn’t stop.
The interrogation would happen, but it would have to wait. Maybe it would even go better when her defenses were down after another session of steamy sex. She would be pissed at him, but if she was lying sated and naked in his arms, he had every confidence he could deal with that.
Yeah, asshole. Keep telling yourself that.
Nick silenced the ugly voice and deepened the kiss, backing Sadie out of the kitchen. They stumbled across the living room toward the bathroom, unbuttoning and pulling at each other’s clothes. As she freed the last button on his shirt, he yanked her skimpy top up over her head. For a moment, he stopped moving and gazed down at the lacy black bra that pushed her breasts into perfect, creamy mounds. When he unhooked the clasp they spilled out, the nipples already rosy and taut. His cock throbbed even harder.
Nick tossed his shirt to the floor and took a breast in each hand, circling his thumb around each flushed nipple with increasing pressure. The sweet, hard peaks drew his mouth with an irresistible lure. He kissed and suckled and teased them with his tongue, gently scraping his teeth across one and then the other as Sadie squirmed in his arms, moaning in pleasure. The contrast of the delicate, satiny skin of her breasts with the pebbled hardness of her nipples sent a blazing fury through his body and straight to his cock.
Somehow, in the midst of her moans and sighs, Sadie had managed to push his jeans down and slide her hands inside the back of his briefs. Cupping his butt with her small hands, she stood on her tiptoes and pulled him close, nudging his throbbing cock into the tempting vee of her thighs as she undulated against him. At the same time, she sucked his tongue into her mouth, tasting him with an innocent enthusiasm that made him crazy.
He could hardly believe it. He was the one who was supposed to grab ass and take control, not this little slip of a thing he cradled in his arms. Sadie might be a relative sexual novice, but she had amazing instincts for what turned him on. And she wasn’t faking how turned on she was, either. He was sure of that. Whatever else she might be, every instinct told him her eagerness to be with him was real.
Nick kissed her hard and deep, his hands pushing her jeans down her rounded hips and smooth thighs. He needed to get her naked—now. Clearly sensing his urgency, she wriggled the denim down her legs until she could step out of the jeans. Her hot little panties, of course, matched her bra. When he leaned back to enjoy the view, she pulled the bra’s straps from her shoulders and let it fall, leaving her naked except for the little triangle of black lace that barely covered the silky curls hiding her sex. All creamy white skin and lush, natural curves, and naked except for that scrap of tantalizing fabric, Sadie was the most erotic thing he had ever seen.
His throat went dry. When she reached to pull down her panties, he stopped her. “I think we’ll leave them on. For now,” he said hoarsely.
She looked startled, but then shrugged, giving him a whatever smile. He chuckled. Yep, she was eager, but she couldn’t help dropping unconscious hints about how tame her sex life must have been. Not that it mattered, but he had to admit he kept looking forward to expanding her horizons.
He stepped out of his jeans, pushed open the bathroom door and reached inside the shower enclosure to turn on the water. In an instant, Sadie had his briefs down around his ankles and had reached around to cup his balls in her hand. He arched his back and sucked in a deep breath as she squeezed him in an oh-so-gentle grip.
Impatient now, he stuck his arm inside the shower stall again. The water temperature was perfect—good and hot, but not scalding. Sadie stroked his cock, gliding her fingers from the straining head to the base. That hot little hand and the perfect pressure of her touch threatened to blow away his already tenuous control.
Pausing only to pluck a condom from one of the bathroom drawers and roll it on, he guided her into the shower, closing the door behind them. Sadie arched her back as the water cascaded over her face and down her slim shoulders and lush breasts. She turned into the water, letting the stream flatten those crazy curls against her head. For a long moment, Nick let his gaze wander over her glistening back and butt. Some men might think she was too short and her hips were a bit too wide, but her skin was smooth and her muscles toned. When he massaged her last night at the spa, he’d felt strength and resilience in the beautiful planes of her petite body.
But it was that scrap of black lace that his eyes lingered on. Little more than a thong, it covered almost nothing, and certainly not the pretty globes of her ass. Now soaked, it was an erotic reminder of the delights it barely concealed. Delights he fully intended to sample, starting right now.
Sadie gasped as Nick slipped his hands between her cheeks, opening her just enough to press the head of his cock up against her panties, tracing the full length of the material from back to front. The soaked lace, slightly rough against his skin, rubbed him with an erotic friction that had him clenching his teeth. He had to resist the urge to rip it aside and surge into her, fucking her in long, hard strokes. But he held back, wanting her to be as ready for him as he was for her.
But Sadie knew exactly what he wanted. She widened her stance and braced herself, palms flat against the side of the shower, a clear invitation for him to take whatever he wanted.
** *
Sadie knew what Nick wanted, and it was exactly what she wanted, too. She wanted him to take her from behind in a hot, blinding rush. Foreplay was overrated—at least at certain times—and this was definitely one of them. Sometimes a woman needed to be filled up, and fast. Just thinking about him doing that, and the power of his body sliding into hers, had turned her soft, slick, and more than ready.
By spreading her legs and bracing herself, she might as well have issued him an engraved invitation. As if he needed one. The way he’d gazed at her, the way he’d almost devoured her with his lips and tongue, demonstrated an overpowering hunger that needed to be fed. Their sexual desire for each other was evident enough, but their talk in the kitchen and Nick’s emotional honesty had brought another powerful element into the equation. Now there was an intensity of feeling growing between them that could no longer be denied.
But this moment was all about the erotic, just like last night had been. Nick had surprised her—almost shocked her—with his insistence that she leave her panties on. It felt weird to have them on in the shower. Weird but also disarmingly naughty. Clearly, the idea had turned Nick on, too.
And even now, with only a bit of sheer fabric separating his big erection from her sex, he still didn’t seem to want to remove her panties. She’d thought maybe he want to rip them from her body in a single hard and dominating gesture before thrusting into her—which would have been just fine with her—but no. He was content to leisurely rub through the lace with his cock while he slid his fingers inside the triangle in front, brushing down over her wet curls and sending tendrils of fire to settle low in her belly and between her soft inner lips.
She let her head drop back against his shoulder, luxuriating in the thrum of water over her nipples and breasts while his hands teased and tantalized down below. His cock and fingers were close together now, pressing hard between her legs from behind and stroking in front, both so maddeningly close to her throbbing clit. And then his index finger found the hard little bud and her body involuntarily arched away from him. He pressed his hand over her mound and pulled her back to ride the hard ridge of flesh between her thighs.
“Nick,” she gasped, barely able to stand upright on her trembling legs. “Honestly, as wonderful as it is, I don’t think I can tolerate any extended foreplay right now. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I need you to thrust your penis into my pussy. Immediately.”
Oh, dear. She wasn’t sure she’d ever said the word pussy before in her life, but if he kept this up who knew what would come out of her mouth.
He gave a choked chuckle that soon turned into a low growl.
“Your wish is my command, ma’am.” He teased her clit while he pulled the little strip of panties aside and gently thrust two fingers into her swollen sheath. She felt her inner muscles clench, wanting so much more, wanting all of him inside her. He stroked her for a bit, driving her crazy, then he withdrew his fingers and pressed the head of his cock through her soft folds.
“This is what you want, baby, isn’t it?” His voice rumbled against her neck.
“God, yes,�
�� she breathed, almost overcome with the both the steam of the shower and the heat flooding her body as he slowly parted her. With one smooth stroke, he pushed all the way in, stretching and filling her with raw, vivid sensation. He was so deep inside her it felt like his shaft had penetrated all the way to her heart. She felt wonderfully and completely stuffed.
“Oooh. Your penis is quite extraordinary, you know,” she gasped, her brain melting under the sensual onslaught. He stroked in and out, bringing her up on her toes. “Unhhh. Not that I’ve had all that much to compare it to, of course. But it really is…ooof…delightfully rampant.”
Nick made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a pant. “I love it when you talk dirty like that.”
Sadie didn’t know whether to giggle or wince at her own idiotic commentary. “Now you’re mocking me, you ravaging beast.”
“I would never mock you,” he said, suddenly sounding dead serious. “Not when we’re in this position, anyway.”
He moved his calloused hands up to her breasts, alternately pulling then gently squeezing her stiff, aching nipples. Pinned against the shower wall, Sadie felt completely at his mercy, captive of his strong body and his driving cock. He was every bit the sheriff now, and the hard-as-nails Marine. In control, dominating, overpowering. She loved every second of it.
She pressed her hands against the wet tile wall, gasping with pleasure as he pounded into her. Never could she have imagined something like this happening to her. Being so dominated, so constrained as a big, hard man ravished her. But with Nick Saxon, it was all good, all safe, and yet wildly exciting.
And unbearably intense. If she didn’t climax soon, she just might dissolve into liquid and disappear down the drain.
Sadie could hardly believe the next words that popped out of her mouth. “Um, I don’t mean to complain, but could you do it a little harder and faster, Nick?” Her voice wobbled with the force of his thrusts, but it still wasn’t quite enough to make her come. “I know you’re trying to be gentle, but I won’t break, you know.”
