TENSE - Volume One (The TENSE Duet Book 1)

by Deborah Bladon

  "Don't." He drops my hand and takes a measured step back. "Sophia, don't."

  "Adley is perfect for you," I say it even though he asked me not to. Adley is another of Crew's female friends. I've seen them together more than once and the chemistry that flows between the two of them is off the charts. "If you want me to give Nicholas a chance, I think you should agree to give Adley a chance."

  "She's too good of a friend to fuck around with." His tone is firm. "I love Ad. I'll always love her but only as a friend. She doesn't see me as anything other than a pal and I sure as fuck don't see her any other way either."

  "Time will tell." I brush a piece of lint off the skirt of my dress. "I'll drop the subject now. I promise."

  "You better." He points at the waiting open elevator. "Get on that and go talk to Nick. You won't regret it."

  "I hope not." I steal one last glance at Nicholas and the blonde bartender. "I think it's time I let him catch me. If I don't, I might lose my chance forever."

  Chapter 20

  Nicholas

  I've been sitting at the bar waiting for Sophia for almost fifteen minutes. I have no doubt that she'll come looking for me. I saw the heated look on her face when she first saw me upstairs. She can tell me that she doesn't want me until her throat is raw, but I see it in her eyes. I watch the way her body reacts when I'm in the room.

  I was angry earlier. I admit it, but there was more to it than that. I was fucking jealous. It's not an emotion I've had a lot of experience with, but I definitely felt it tonight when I watched her grinding on the guy on the dance floor.

  When I heard her say Trey Hale's name, I lost it. I found that picture of the two of them on a street corner when I did my initial search for her online. Her tweets about the exchange they shared were playful and light. She commented that she didn't know him and that he was simply kissing her hand to thank her for giving him directions.

  I haven't even fucked Sophia yet. If I get this torn up over seeing her with another man before I've touched her, I know there's no way in hell I'm going to be able to keep this thing between us casual.

  "Nick?" Penny, the bartender, calls out my name. "Refill?"

  I've downed two drinks already and although I don't feel the impact of either yet, I know from experience that I'm just a few sips away from falling over the edge into a light buzz. I have to stay grounded while I wait for Sophia. I don't want to lose my focus. There's shit I need to say. I'm tired of the goddamn games.

  "No." My hand floats over my empty glass as she holds the open bottle perched at the ready. "Thanks, but I reached my limit."

  "I have a break in fifteen." She taps the face of my watch with her index finger. "I'd love to show you the executive office. We could hang out in there. It's more private."

  I glance up at the concourse of the VIP level. I can't make out anyone through the dim lights of the club. "I'm waiting for someone."

  "You are?" Penny shoots me a look. "A woman?"

  I curse silently. The frustrated expression on her face says it all. She thinks I was leading her on when in reality, I was just sitting next to the bar nursing a glass of scotch while she tried to guess the plot for Action's Cause. "It's a woman."

  "That's one lucky bitch." Her gaze runs over me. "I have to say that she must be something special if you're turning me down."

  Here I thought I had the biggest ego in the room. "She is."

  I turn to face the private elevator that leads up to the VIP level. The doors fly open and I see Sophia when the man who was standing in front of her exits the lift. She pauses before she steps out, looks toward the bar and finally locks eyes with me.

  ***

  I take Sophia's coat from her after I lock the door of my apartment. We didn't say more than a few words to each other at the club. She approached me, introduced herself to Penny and then asked if we could come here. I didn't argue with her.

  We stopped at the coat check, three minutes later we slid into the backseat of one of the available taxis that had been waiting by the curb in front of the club. She stared out the window as we made our way here. I didn't push her to talk because I knew that the wheels were spinning in her head.

  Sophia Reese needs to feel cherished. She wants to know that the men she fucks value her beyond the act. I get that now. Some asshole must have treated her like shit at some point in the past. I'm not him. I can prove that to her starting tonight.

  "Do you want a glass of wine, Sophia?" I ask as she stands next to the piano. "You can play if you want. I won't stop you."

  "I'll pass on the wine." She looks down at the keys. "And the piano. I'm not in the mood to play tonight."

  I can't say I'm surprised. She's quieter than I've ever seen her before. "I'll skip the wine too."

  She exhales roughly, her chest heaving with the motion. "Were you jealous when you saw me dancing with Trey?"

  "Very." I stalk toward her, stopping just short of the piano bench that she's standing behind. "I didn't like it."

  She holds my gaze. "I had no intention of going home with him. I want you to know that."

  That thought hadn't crossed my mind until right this fucking minute. "Did he ask you to go home with him?"

  "Twice. Both times I told him I only wanted to dance."

  "Did you turn him down because of me?" My voice lowers. It's a loaded question, swollen with presumption but I want her to open up. I need her to be straight with me. We're wasting time edging around what we both feel. "Did you, Sophia?"

  She leans back slightly. "I've never had a one night stand. Emotionally, I don't think I can do it. I feel things when I sleep with a man."

  "Things?" I ask without thinking.

  "I don't get all crazy obsessive or anything." She huffs out a nervous laugh. "I have to feel a connection before sex, and I like knowing there's a chance for a connection after sex too."

  That's not how I view sex. I can sleep with a woman if I don't know her name and then never think about her again. I've done it dozens of times.

  Her hands focus on the belt of her dress. She tugs on the end, knotting it more firmly in place. "I know it's probably different for you. I get that. I'm not saying that I need a relationship if we sleep together, but I don't want you to ignore me. If you think that's what will happen, I'd rather we make an agreement now to just be friends."

  There's no way in hell I can just be friends with this woman. I'll always want more. "I don't want to be friends, Sophia. I want more."

  "Sex?" Her jaw tenses. "You want to have sex with me?"

  "Yes," I answer evenly. "I want to fuck you. I also want to take you out and spend time with you here and at your place. I want us to date."

  Her fingers nervously yank harder on her belt, but her eyes stay trained on my face.

  "You want it too." I sigh. "You feel the same things I do. You know this will be different. I'm not like the other men you've been with."

  "You don't know them." Her arms cross. "I don't know the other women you've been with and I don't want to know."

  "That suits me fine." I step closer. "We start tonight with a clean slate. Our pasts are just that. They're in the past. We agree to leave them there."

  She pauses for a breath. "Agreed."

  I take that as a cue and reach forward to touch her shoulders. She doesn't pull back. "You set the pace although I want to be clear that I've wanted to fuck you since you sat down next to me on the subway."

  Her hands leap to the front of my sweater. "I know."

  "It was the same for you," I state. It's not a question because we both know it's the truth.

  "You're right." Her head tilts back as she looks up and into my eyes. "The chase is over. You caught me."

  I close my eyes and move my lips to hers before I take her mouth in a deep, lush kiss.

  Chapter 21

  Sophia

  A grin spreads across his face as he pulls back from what was a toe-curling kiss. "I have one thing I need to say, Sophia. I don't want you to fig
ht me on this."

  "We have to use condoms," I blurt out without thinking.

  He cracks up. "I agree, but that's not what I was going to say. I didn't think using condoms was up for debate at this stage."

  "Oh," I say with mild embarrassment. This is an important discussion. I don't want there to be any question about what I'm comfortable with. I take the pill but I know it's not foolproof and my five-year plan has no place in it for an unexpected newborn. "It's just that the last guy I dated wanted to go without and I walked out on him right before we fucked."

  "You left him with a stiff dick?"

  "Technically, he had a sheet covering that area." I circle my finger in front of his jeans. "He told me he didn't have condoms and when I went to get my purse to get one, he insisted that I skip the trip to the other room."

  His eyebrow perks. "He sounds like an asshole."

  "I never saw him again after that night." I smile. "I won't compromise on certain things and protection is one."

  "Duly noted." He taps his forehead. "Condoms are mandatory. What else?"

  I gaze up at the vaulted ceiling as if I'm in deep thought. This is what money affords a person in Manhattan. It's my second time here and I'm still noticing all the little touches that make this space spectacular. "I think that's it for tonight."

  "Fair enough." He takes both my hands in his and rests them against the soft fabric that covers his chest. "I'll go back to what I was going to say originally."

  I cringe. "I'm sorry. I took over the conversation."

  "I'm glad you did." He lifts my hands and brings them to his lips for a gentle kiss. "I realize we haven't done anything beyond kissing; mind-blowing kissing."

  "It was mind-blowing." I lean forward on my toes and give him a chaste kiss on the lips.

  "If we're going to do this dating thing, I need something from you."

  I eye him suspiciously. We barely know each other. We may have paved the way for a dating relationship, but we don't even know if we're compatible in bed. "What do you need?"

  "I want us to be exclusive."

  The muscles in his jaw tick as he waits for me to respond. I swallow, trying to think of what to say.

  "Is that a problem?" He squares his shoulders as he squeezes my hands.

  I clear my throat to afford me an extra second before I speak. "Why would you want to be exclusive with me when we haven't even slept together yet?"

  He cocks his head to the side as he studies my face. "Fucking you is one part of the equation. I like hanging out with you. I want to cook for you and take you to the symphony. I'd like to wake up next to you on a lazy Saturday morning and then write while you work on sketching out a new design."

  It's more than I've ever imagined. In my mind, I got as far as falling asleep in his arms in my bed after we'd made love. I didn't want to think it could reach beyond that, at least not at this stage. "We just met, Nicholas. We barely know each other."

  "You're different than the other women I've known." He smiles down at me. "I know that I want to get to know you better without having to worry about Trey Hale getting in the way."

  "You don't have to worry about him." I scrunch my nose. "I don't even like baseball."

  "That's a start." He grips my waist and pulls me toward him. "If you want to go to a club, I'm always available."

  "I'll keep that in mind." I tap my fingertips against his chest.

  "Tell me what you want right now." He runs his nose along my jawbone, inhaling the scent of my skin. "I'll give you anything you want. I'll do anything you want."

  I reach to cup his face in my hands, drawing his mouth closer to mine. I press my lips to his just as I whisper, "Take me to bed. Show me how much you want me."

  ***

  His bedroom is just as imagined it would be in my mind's eye. The furniture is all crafted from a rich dark wood including the massive headboard. There's a small chest of drawers near the window and a larger, sleek cabinet that stands next to the door that leads into the room.

  The bed linens are masculine. The duvet is dark gray, the pillow cases and sheets a stark black. The only light in the room is escaping from the adjoined washroom which, from this vantage point, contains a claw foot tub and a quartz countertop atop a vanity that houses two sinks.

  It's a space any bachelor would crave, complete with a fireplace and a flat screen television hung above it.

  There's an open laptop on a desk near the window. Several notepads sit nearby stacked in an uneven pile. Next to them is a trio of pens, all of them are identical. They're silver, just like the one he pulled from his bag on the subway.

  "Is that where the magic happens?"

  He turns at the sound of my voice. "The magic? Is that what we're calling it now? I prefer to call it fucking or, depending on my mood, making love. I guess it could be considered magic, so the answer to your question is yes. The bed is where the magic is going to happen. Don’t consider yourself just an assistant though. I expect full participation in all tricks."

  I can't help but laugh. "I was asking about the desk, not the bed. Do you write at that desk?"

  He schools his expression to look more serious than he is. The slight smile on his lips hints at his amusement. "Any magic that happens in this room is on that bed. I sleep there, I write there and tonight, I'm going to make you come there."

  He pulls his sweater over his head to reveal a toned stomach and chest. It's obvious the man works out. His abs are evidence of his commitment to himself.

  "Your turn, Sophia." He gestures at my dress.

  "You have an unfair advantage." I slip off both of my heels. "I'm wearing a lot less clothing than you are."

  "You're not." He inches closer a few steps before he toes out of his shoes and removes his black socks. "Drop the dress and I'll lose the pants."

  "Is that an offer or an order?" I playfully pull on the sash of my dress.

  He unbuckles the black belt he's wearing before he slides it free from his pants. "Call it what you will. I want to see your body."

  I want to see his too. My eyes have been riveted to the light trail of dark hair that begins just below his belly button and disappears beneath the waistband of his pants. "Show me your body first."

  "Get on the bed."

  "What?" I look at the bed before I turn my attention back to him.

  He stalks toward me, his hands reaching for my forearms. "I want you on the bed, Sophia."

  "Don't you want me to strip?" I ask nervously. "You said you want to see my body."

  He pushes me back, each step inches us both closer to his bed. "I need to touch you more than I want to see."

  I let him guide me to the bed and when he pushes me back tenderly, I bend my knees and sit on the edge.

  "On your back." He's standing in front of me now, the front of his pants hovering next to my face. "I want you on your back. We'll take this slowly."

  I'm not sure that's what I want anymore. He's two seconds away from being completely nude and I've wondered, for days, what his cock looks like. I've imagined it based on what I've felt when he's pressed himself against me. I know he's thick. I can tell that he's going to be larger than any of the men I've been with before.

  I slide my ass back to the middle of the bed before I sprawl out on my back. I cross my legs at the ankles, trying desperately to keep my skirt in place.

  He crawls over me until his hands are splayed on the duvet on either side of my head. His legs bracket me. I can feel his swollen cock rubbing against my stomach through the fabric of my dress and his pants.

  "Will you kiss me now?" I ask breathlessly. I need him to touch me. I want that.

  He does. He lowers his face until his lips catch mine in a kiss. He takes it slowly, teasing me with his tongue. His licks are deep and leisurely. He moans when I try and bite his bottom lip.

  "I need to make you come." He whispers those heated words as he breaks the kiss.

  "Now?" I practically pant. I can feel my arousal pooling between
my legs. I know when he reaches down to touch my panties, they'll be sopping wet.

  He moves his lips lower until they're grazing over the soft skin of my neck.

  "Relax, Sophia." His breath tickles my chest. "I promise this won't hurt a bit."

  Chapter 22

  Nicholas

  I have no fucking idea why I'm not inside of her yet. As soon as she whispered that she wanted me to take her to bed, I could feel a drop of pre-cum already sitting on the crown of my dick. I'm still hard as a rod of steel, but this isn't going to be about me. I want tonight to be about Sophia.

  Before I seal my mouth over hers, I look down at her. She's prone on her back underneath me. I've felt her legs fidgeting since I straddled her. She may be trying to convey the demeanor of a woman who has fucked countless other men, but her body says otherwise.

  She moans softly into our kiss, her hands leaping to the back of my head. I lick deep into her mouth, coaxing her tongue to touch mine. I want her to enjoy this as much as she would if I was balls deep inside her beautiful body.

  I pull back so I can see what my touch does to her. I have to capture that second when she explodes around my hand and that starts now.

  I roll off of her and press my body against her side. Her chest is heaving; short, quick bursts of breath that reveal her need.

  "Are you going to undress me?" She turns her head to look at me. "If you are, be careful because this fabric rips easily."

  I chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind. For tonight, I think I'd rather see you come undone with your clothes on."

  She frowns. "You're going to fuck me while I'm dressed?"

  I slide my fingertip along her collarbone before I dip it down to the front of her dress. It's strapless and it's obvious that she didn't bother with a bra. Her nipples are pressing against the fabric, straining for attention. I circle the right one, through the fabric of her dress, my finger tracing a circular path around the hard nub. "Your tits are a perfect size."