Can't Buy Me Love

by Rin Daniels

To the nude-colored lace thong she wore beneath her dress.

  The hunger that filled his features scored through Kat’s body like a physical caress. Her laughter died, drowned in a sea of intense longing.

  What did it say about her that she wanted him to make a move?

  That she wanted to pin him in this alley, against her own wall, and taste him?

  Five years ago, they’d flirted with that line in his car. It was night, the street had been empty, but it could have gone so badly. That should have been Adam’s first clue, she thought wildly. Good girls didn’t screw boys in the front seat of a car.

  And she thought she’d matured? The fact she’d let Adam put his mouth on her with only a trellis to separate them from the rest of Sulla Valley’s elite proved otherwise.

  Was she addicted to this? Or just to him?

  Adam crooked a finger at her. “C’mere.”

  “Maybe not so much,” she hedged, but it shook. One look, one windy revelation, and her knees wobbled.

  “Come here, Kat.”

  How could she not obey that silken command? Maybe it was the seductive promise inherent in his voice. Maybe it was the night, thick with sweet floral perfume.

  Maybe it was him.

  And her.

  His hands closed over her waist and pulled her against his body. Just like that, she knew he was as ready as she was. The hard ridge of his cock against her dragged a shuddering gasp from her chest, which felt too tight and hot.

  “Tell me no and I’ll stop,” he murmured against her ear. His wide hands mapped her back. Her ass. Delved into the material bunched around her thighs.

  Every touch, every squeeze and caress, sent another wave of longing through her—of outright arousal. Need.

  She wrapped her hands into the front of his shirt and licked at the cords outlined in his throat.

  He groaned roughly. “Sorry,” he said, a ragged edge of need tight in his voice. He bent, caught her in one arm, and lifted her. Before she could ask why he apologized, he’d turned and braced her shoulders against the ivy-softened brick.

  The way his hips fit into the cradle of her legs stole whatever was left of her common sense. His cock dragged against the center of her body and she forgot about the night, the air. The location.

  The cry she made muffled against his lips. His hands bracketed her hips, slid under her dress and burned against her bare skin. He kissed her slowly, thoroughly—not like a starving man, but a man who’d been made to wait too long for a delicacy he’d wanted forever.

  He made her feel like a five-star meal.

  She wrapped both hands around his head, locked her ankles at the small of his back, heels braced against the firm muscles of his ass. As if that was all the signal he’d been waiting for, he ground against her, fitted his cock to her sex so firmly that every fuse in her body lit to a vivid inferno of lust, of wickedly inappropriate want.

  The warm breeze slipped over her skin as she shuddered, already wet and, God, more than willing.

  Somewhere in the distance, a car alarm echoed from a far lot. Laughter drifted on the night, slipped into the darkened corridor.

  She didn’t care.

  His groan as he nipped at her lower lip, as he swept his tongue into her mouth and took her air, was all that mattered.

  The feel of him, hard and so deliciously good, wasn’t enough.

  She pulled at his hair.

  “What.” A hard sound.

  She licked her lower lip, damp from his kiss. “Pay attention,” she said hoarsely.

  His eyes glittered into hers. “Hell, yes, I am.”

  Another sharp tug made him flinch, and he tilted his hips, dragged himself along her sex in determined payback.

  She gasped. “Again.”

  He obliged.

  Kat’s head fell back against the wall, ivy leaves bending beneath her. Her fingernails dug into his nape.

  He growled, raw approval. “Damn it. Hotel. Bed. Kat—”

  “Fuck me.” Her voice shook, need and embarrassment and—whatever, she could admit it. She wanted him so much, she was ready to come just from the fit of him against her panties.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  The hand cradling her ass tightened, fingertips digging into her flesh. “Are you sure?” His voice deepened. Dark, barely in control. “There’s a bed... Privacy—”

  He couldn’t see her nod, so she added, “I’m sure. Adam, fuck me here. Right now.”

  “Jesus Christ.” And then, hoarsely, “Hold on to me.”

  She did. He braced her against the wall, swearing when the loss of his warmth against her throbbing, aching flesh made her suck in a hard breath.

  Fumbling in the dark turned into the sound of a zipper lowering, foil tearing. A condom.

  Then warm fingers slid into the lacy edge of her panties. Tugged it aside, exposing her bare flesh to the night.

  She arched her back, closing her eyes.

  Yes. Finally. Yes.

  “God,” Adam hissed between clenched teeth. His fingers smoothed over her shaven skin. “Kat.”

  “Now,” she gasped, and his fingers drew back, replaced by his cock as he drove into her so fast, so powerfully that her back flattened against the wall. Her wall. Her salon.

  Where anyone who came by could see them.

  Kat’s arms tightened around his shoulders as she sobbed out something she’d meant to be encouraging. He filled her, stretched her, stroked her in all the ways she was desperate for. His breath hitched. Locked.

  When he slid out, she tightened her thighs around him.

  He laughed, a knotted sound, and pushed into her again. Hard. Deliberate.

  Ivy rustled around her.

  She pressed her mouth to his throat, to his jaw, sobbing out her pleasure as he drove into her again, and again. “Show me, Kat,” he grunted. “Show me how beautiful you are.”

  She shook her head, one hand fisting into his collar. “You first,” she gasped. “I—Oh, God. More. More.”

  He gave her more, hips rocking her against the wall, arms holding her, straining with the effort. His breath washed hot and damp over her cheek, her neck.

  Her body clamped around him, her orgasm simmered so close—so far. It rippled out from the flesh he filled. So. Close.

  She laughed shakily, hitched in the middle of it as he cursed again.

  And then he caught her by the waist, took a small step back and helped her tilt her hips until every stroke of his cock dragged across the spot that sent fireworks through her vision, her senses. She flattened a hand against the wall, grabbed a handful of ivy when she couldn’t breathe for the force of her spiraling need.

  “There,” he groaned, and braced one hand just over her shoulder. His features tightened, eyes squeezed closed. “God. Kat, I...I’m going to—”

  Not alone. As a woman’s voice trickled through the corridor, as another answered her back in a shared joke, Kat’s body stiffened. Her mind snapped back into awareness, then promptly fractured into a thousand shards of glittering pleasure sharpened by sudden, intense alarm.

  Too much.

  She screamed.

  He wrapped a hand over her mouth, smothering her cry against his palm, and muffled the sound of his own shuddering groan against her shoulder. His hips drove hard against her, faltered. Lost the rhythm entirely.

  It didn’t matter.

  Her orgasm tore her fear of discovery from her, spun the insanity of what they did into a brilliant spike of pleasure. She clung to his wrist, wide-eyed and still blind as her body shuddered violently against his.

  Adam gasped into the curve of her neck. His heart slammed against hers, legs trembling. She could feel it.

  Feel him.

  Her knees ached. Hips throbbed. Her shoulders hurt from trying to help him support her weight, and from giving that up entirely to angle her body for his taking. The elastic from the underwear he’d pulled aside had etched a groove into her hip. It hurt faintly.

  And the breeze carried
with it a smattering of conversation from the people a mere storefront away.

  She couldn’t help it. Laughter bubbled up from her chest, spilled from her lips in a helpless fit. Of all the reckless, ridiculous things she could have done? This was up there. And for all the danger, the irresponsibility of it, she felt... free.

  Best. Date. Ever.

  Adam’s amusement merged with hers, shoulders shaking as he sagged against her, pressed her tighter against the wall. They laughed together, clinging to each other helplessly as the wind rustled through the ivy, slipped over her exposed flesh.

  Husky, voice still thick from lingering arousal, he said against her damp skin, “Tell me you don’t have to go home.”

  She unhooked her ankles, let her legs slide listlessly from his hips. The muscles in his arms went taut as he held her upright. Her knees wouldn’t lock.

  She was pretty sure her smile looked like it had been made out of silly string. She felt crazy. Utterly sated.

  With effort, she firmed her knees. “I... am hungry.” Not as cool as she’d hoped, but her stomach—now aware the show was over—grumbled in complaint. She was starving.

  For food. For more of him.

  Oh, she was in so much trouble.

  “I’ll feed you,” he promised. “Room service. Order in. Anything.” He took care of the condom, tucked himself away, half-angled away from her.

  “Anything?” she repeated.

  The shape of his jaw went taut. “Anything at all,” he promised hoarsely.

  Kat tugged her underwear back into place, hissing softly when the flesh between her legs throbbed. Not enough. Not nearly enough. She smoothed her dress into place. “I want that seafood Portofino,” she said huskily. “And then I want dessert.”

  “Name it,” Adam rasped, holding a hand out to her. “Anything.”

  She slid her fingers into his. Melted when his larger hand closed over hers, held on tight. “You. I want you again, Adam.”

  “Oh, God,” he groaned, and added tightly, “Walk fast, sweetheart.”

  She walked fast.

  CHAPTER SIX

  THE HOTEL WAS one of those boutique resorts, with enough charm to star in a fairy tale and all the modern courtesies to suit Adam’s taste. He kept a hold of Kat’s hand as the doors opened soundlessly for him.

  She tugged at his grip.

  His fingers tightened. “Where are you going?”

  “I can walk without holding hands,” she said, but her face remained tilted away.

  The curve of her cheek all but glowed red.

  He couldn’t help himself. He grinned, tugged her closer and wrapped an arm hard at her lower back. It bent her body into his, pressed her firmly against him—against the part of him already eager to have her again. He’d turned into a maniac.

  He didn’t question it.

  Her gasp echoed in the lobby. Her gaze slid to either side, but he caught her chin in one hand and tipped her face up to his. “Hey.”

  “The people,” she began.

  His thumb smoothed over her bottom lip. She’d gone without lipstick tonight. He’d liked the pink, loved the way it had looked around his finger that night, but this was better. This meant he could kiss her until he lost his goddamn mind.

  He nuzzled her lips with his, licked a long, slow line over her bottom lip. She shuddered against him.

  Maybe he wasn’t playing fair. So what? What was that saying? All was supposed to be fair in love and war, and while he didn’t know which side of things Kat Harris had entrenched on, he’d take what he could get.

  And then some.

  Her breath warmed his mouth as her lashes fluttered over hazy eyes. “Wow.”

  “There’s more of that where—” The phone in his interior jacket pocket thrummed. Adam stiffened.

  She shook her head faintly. “You okay?”

  Nobody he knew would bother calling him this late. Except... His jaw locked. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I have to—”

  “No, go ahead,” she said, disentangling herself with a fluid step back. Her dress swung around her thighs. Bare thighs, he thought. Warm and silky. His body ached for her. Still.

  Muttering a hard word, he checked the screen, swore somewhat less than under his breath and angled his body away as he answered the call. “This better be good, Jordan.”

  “Given the amount of menace in your tone,” his assistant replied, “I apologize for interrupting your date. We have a problem.”

  Adam nodded briefly to the concierge waiting patiently behind the registration desk, but couldn’t keep his gaze from straying to Kat. She waited a few steps away, either sincerely interested or faking interest in the colorful painting hanging on a large stone wall. The colors in the painting suited her dress.

  Suited her.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Make it fast.”

  His assistant complied. “Something went wrong in the server room. The technicians are working overtime, but half of today’s data is gone.”

  Adam’s fingers clamped on the phone. “The cloud?”

  “Only saved half.”

  He closed his eyes, a wash of icy resolve freezing out the remnants of heat Kat had left in him. “Glover’s work?”

  “All gone.” Jordan’s voice didn’t so much as crack, but it didn’t have to in order for Adam to get the scope of the problem. Most of what the employees did on an average day wasn’t usually the critical stuff, but Adam and his team had chosen today to compile most of their proposal.

  Kat turned, her hands smoothing down her skirt. When she realized he watched her, her head tilted, mouth curved in a smile that demanded nothing of him. Just a smile. For him.

  He closed his eyed, fighting the urge to groan. “What caused the surge?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Foul play?”

  “You watch too many procedurals,” Jordan replied. “No, the techs are sure it’s just a glitch.”

  Adam relaxed a fraction. “Compile the team,” he said grimly. “We’ll work all night if we have to.”

  “Already done,” Jordan said.

  “I’ll see you in ten.” Adam disconnected the line, frustration tight along his shoulders. Kat’s long legs closed the distance she’d created between them. He wanted nothing more than to grab her, caveman style, throw her over his shoulder, and vanish into a hotel room for at least two weeks.

  Life just wasn’t going to play nice.

  “Bad news?” she asked softly.

  He slipped his phone back into his pocket. “I have to go back to work. There was an accident.”

  Her eyes widened. “Is everyone okay?”

  “Data accident,” he clarified, but his chest warmed. He caught her cheek in his hand. Smoothed a thumb over her temple. “Can I rain check this?”

  “I don’t know.” She circled his wrist with long, delicate fingers. “It depends on how generous I’m feel—”

  Adam firmed his grip on the side of her head, jerked her another step close to fasten his mouth over hers. Her flippant response died on a muffled sound as he kissed her hard and hungry. The taste of her beneath his lips, the feel of her breath against his skin, wasn’t enough.

  “Another date,” he said tightly. “A complete one.”

  Kat flattened a hand against his chest, pushed him gently away. “Maybe.”

  He took two steps backwards. “Can you get home safe? I can drive you.”

  “My car is just across the center,” she replied, shaking her head. “I’ll be fine.”

  Damn it. None of this date had gone according to plan.

  He stopped at the door, turned to glare hard at her. “Tell me one thing,” he called. His voice clipped through the lobby.

  Two women milling through the gift shop paused to peer at him.

  Kat blushed like she was a natural redhead, chest to hairline. “What?”

  “Did you miss me?”

  Her head tilted. The corners of her hair swung at her chin. “Yes.”

&
nbsp; Victory surged through him like a lightning strike. She could be lying. That was a hard lesson he’d learned.

  Then again. Maybe she wasn’t.

  Adam let out a long, slow breath, shaking his head as his eyes trailed down the long length of her legs. “Rain check,” he said hoarsely.

  “Get to work,” she shot back. “Slacker.”

  The women in the gift shop murmured as he grinned and made his way back out of the doors.

  It was probably the shortest date in his history. Second only to the aborted attempt he’d made that night five years ago. That had begun and ended in his car.

  A sense of déjà vu dogged him as he made his way back to his office.

  * * *

  She’d never done a Walk of Shame before. Her sexual adventures happened far away from her own house, and never overnight. Even after she’d turned eighteen, there was always her family to worry about.

  When it came to boyfriend material, her father had two rules: nice boys were suckers and bad boys were assholes. Neither were suitable for his little girl.

  Unless she was in on the scam. Then she could draw them in with whatever hook she wanted.

  As Kat pulled up the cracked driveway less than three hours after her date, she couldn’t help but think that she’d lost her chance at her first Walk of Shame.

  And how easy it would be to hook Adam this time.

  If a man loses all common sense and engages in behaviors that will get him in trouble down the line, you’re on to a good thing.

  Jack Harris’s voice filled her head in the silence left by cutting the engine.

  Adam had lost his head all right.

  Problem was, so had she.

  Public indecency? Check. And how.

  The feel of him—warm, so very forbidden in so many ways—still made her pulse thrum.

  Her body ached in ways it hadn’t for too long.

  Kat rested her forehead against the wheel, closing her eyes. It was barely ten, but the house was dark. Maybe her mother had gone to bed—or her yoga class had turned into a night out with the people in it. Given the lack of her mother’s car, she’d guess Barbara would be out for a while.

  She couldn’t exactly complain. She’d lied about her date, after all.