Whirlwind Romance: 10 Short Love Stories

by Alicia Hunter Pace

  “I don’t want to talk about speed dating or anything else,” he muttered as he started tapping his foot again.

  Damn she’d been doing so well at keeping his mind off being stuck in the elevator. If he didn’t want to talk, she would have to think of some other way to distract him. “Do you want to thumb wrestle?”

  His foot stopped moving. “I’m sorry? What did you say?”

  She chuckled, she’d gotten his mind off his fear, perhaps only for a moment but she’d done it. “I said, do you want to thumb wrestle?”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  “Well you don’t want to talk and I don’t want to sit here in silence, so what do you say,” she turned and rose up so that she was kneeling, her hand held out in a half-closed fist with her thumb sticking up in the air. It looked liked he wasn’t going to accept her offer. “Or maybe you’re too scared to thumb wrestle because you know I’m going to whip your butt.”

  She got the exact response she wanted. He turned and linked his fingers with her. Her nerve endings sizzled and she was almost sure she could hear them popping, like the fizzing of soda when it was poured into a glass.

  “So, how does this work,” he asked, his voice shook slightly; letting her know he still wasn’t comfortable with the situation. “Best of three rounds?”

  “Sure. We start on three, two, one. Go!” Lisa twisted her thumb around trying to get into a position so she could squish Noah’s thumb. He moved his thumb quickly out of the way. The tussled for a few moments, she almost had him too. She started laughing when his thumb squashed hers.

  “Victory!” He shouted. “Ready for round two?” He finished off with a wink.

  Lisa couldn’t believe the guy sitting on the ground next to her was the same guy who, just last week, was annoying her to the point of frustration. Perhaps she’d misjudged him. Perhaps his over-confidence was all a show he put on because people expected it of him due to who his father was.

  She wondered what would happen when they were finally freed from their tin can prison. Would he treat her any differently? She knew she would. Being in close confines with Noah, she’d seen him with new eyes and all her pre-conceived ideas and biases towards him had changed. How did he feel about her? Would he even be interested in getting to know her better like she wanted to get to know him better? She wasn’t the daughter of a society doyenne. She was a first-year nurse who was more comfortable at the recreation center than the sailing club.

  “Don’t tell me I scared you into submission with only one round?”

  Noah’s question pulled her out of her internal thoughts.

  She gave herself a mental shake to get her head back in the game. She’d beaten her brothers in thumb wrestling; she could beat Noah.

  “No way, get ready to go down. I gave you that one cause I felt sorry for you.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes it is. Now are you ready?”

  A glint entered Noah’s eyes and Lisa wondered what he was about to do next.

  “Sure am,” he replied. With one tug of their co-joined hands she fell forward against him. The momentum was enough to push Noah down from his sitting position so that his back was on the floor and she was lying over him.

  Lisa hoped the maintenance crew didn’t get the elevator working anytime soon.

  Chapter Four

  Lisa knew she should get up. Well, the sensible part of her knew that. But the romantic part of her—the part that yearned for someone to sweep her off her feet—encouraged her to stay right where she was.

  “Noah?” She whispered his name. Their hands were still clasped together, pressed in between their bodies. His heartbeat was pounding rhythmically under her fingers.

  He reached up with his free hand and cupped the back of her head. “How about we do this instead?”

  With the gentlest of touches, he lowered her head until their lips touched. She was unprepared for the red-hot energy that ripped through her. It was like her lips had touched a live wire. She freed her hand from in between their bodies and cupped the sides of his face, opening her mouth so that their tongues could dance a sensual dance.

  The longer they kissed the more apparent it became that Noah was enjoying it just as much as she was. His body was coming to life and she could feel him hardening and lengthening against her belly.

  Lisa had never felt anything like this before. They shouldn’t be doing this. The maintenance crew could be finalizing their repairs, and the elevator could start up any minute now and this brief, out of time, interlude would be all over.

  But she didn’t want to think about that. All she wanted was to feel more of Noah’s warm skin under her fingertips. She moved her hands from his face and travelled down his sides. His hands were doing the same; they’d roamed from her head to her waist and his fingers slipped under the edge of her top.

  She needed to breathe so she pulled her mouth away from his, laying her cheek against his. Her breath was coming in short gasps and his matched. The tendrils of her hair lifted with each puff of air coming from Noah. This time she knew his shortness of breath wasn’t from his claustrophobia.

  “I don’t think we should be doing this,” she whispered against his cheek. His spicy, musky scent was enveloping her, and she needed to taste more of him.

  “This is the best idea I’ve had since the elevator stopped,” he moved his lips in a sensuous line down her neck. She angled her head to give him better access, moaning when he nipped her soft flesh. “I only got into the damn thing because I knew you were in it. I always take the stairs.”

  He got into the elevator because of her? That didn’t make sense.

  “You take the stairs because of your issues with confined spaces?” She struggled to get the words out as his lips continued to create havoc on her senses. Soon she wouldn’t even be able to recite her own name.

  “Yes,” he sighed against the sensitive hollow where her neck met the top of her shoulder.

  “Then why did you do it?”

  “To spend time with you.”

  He didn’t give her an opportunity to question him anymore. He rolled her under him and it was her turn to sigh in pleasure at being enveloped by him. With a quick movement, he yanked his shirt off. Lisa moaned when she saw how ripped he was. She’d seen him leave work in his jogging gear before (his butt had always looked so sexy in his running shorts) and wondered what he would look like without his clothes on.

  Now she knew.

  Lisa ran her fingers over his hard, muscled torso. His skin was hot and smooth and he only had a light sprinkling of hair on his chest. She reached the waistband of his pants and traced the edge, then slowly ran her finger down his long length. He groaned under her touch.

  She’d never felt so bold or forward in any of the relationships she’d had before. Whether it was because they were stuck, she didn’t know. All she knew was that the thought of having sex with Noah in a grungy old elevator was becoming the top thing on today’s to-do list. Which was absolutely crazy considering at the beginning of the shift she hadn’t even really liked him, or did she? Had she disliked him only because she was attracted to him and hadn’t wanted to be like the other nurses falling all over themselves to get his attention?

  It didn’t matter; for once in her life she was going to go with the moment and not think about the consequences.

  Empowered by her thoughts, she moved her hands back to his chest and gave him a little push, so she could sit up and pull her top off. Good thing she’d decided to wear her new lingerie set this morning. Normally she went practical under her scrubs, but today, being Valentine’s Day, she’d wanted to feel a little sexy. Maybe Cupid had struck her with a mini-arrow today. Or maybe Cupid was still pulling the strings and her and Noah being caught in the elevator was all part of his master plan.

  “You are so beautiful,” Noah murmured, as his hands reached out and cupped her breasts. His finger followed the scalloped edging of the lace cup, and her nipple peaked beneath his
gentle exploration. His finger continued following the lacy path until his hand disappeared behind her back. With a quick, flick her bra was undone. Lisa slipped the straps off and let the satin and lace confection fall from her fingertips to the floor.

  Noah gathered her up in his arms as his lips took possession of hers again. Hunger evident in every movement of his lips over hers, he lowered her down once more. Excitement filled Lisa and pooled at the juncture between her thighs. She wanted his fingers and his mouth on her, bringing a release that she knew would be out of this world.

  Noah trailed his lips from hers to her jawline, before kissing a path down her neck until he reached her breasts. He placed a soft kiss on each one before taking a nipple into his mouth.

  Lisa couldn’t hold back the moan that had been building inside of her since he’d first touched her. Her hands went to the back of his head, holding him there. With his free hand, he slipped questing fingers beneath her scrub pants and found her matching lace panties.

  Noah stopped lavishing attention on her breast and lifted his gaze to hers. Desire had turned his bright green eyes dark and mysterious. “Do you always wear lingerie under your scrubs?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Today was the first time.”

  “Then today is my lucky day.”

  He shifted to her left breast, sucking her into his mouth as his fingers slipped beneath the lace trim of her panties. Lisa lifted her hips, eager for his touch, groaning with a mixture of pleasure and relief as his fingers slipped between her warm, wet folds.

  As his fingers stroked her, his tongue laved her nipple. Her desire swelled and grew with every stroke of his fingers and tongue. Lisa knew she was going to orgasm at any second, but she wanted him inside of her first. She wanted to feel him totally possess her in a way only a man could do.

  Her hands went to his pants, scrabbling to free his hot, hard length. She had almost succeeded when Noah increased the pace of his stroking fingers, and all thoughts of getting his pants off disintegrated as she flew apart under him.

  “Noah!” she called out as her body throbbed with release. If his fingers could work that kind of magic, she couldn’t wait to find out what his cock could do. “I want you inside of me.” She sighed against his lips as he placed a soft kiss on hers.

  “I do too, but… I don’t have any protection with me.”

  His words surprised her. She thought for sure Noah would be prepared for anything. But even though they couldn’t fully make love, she could definitely give him a good time too. It seemed only fair.

  “Oh well, I guess I’d better think of something else then,” she teased as she gripped his length through his pants.

  “I’m all for equal opportunities.” Noah’s hands went to loosen the tie on his scrub pants. Her hands joined his and together they loosened his pants, but the angle was awkward with him on top of her. Lisa turned her shoulders and gave him a shove so she was once again lying on top of him. He smiled up at her and her heart skipped a beat.

  Her hand went to the elastic waistband. She slowly pulled the soft material down, grazing the back of her hand against his hard length.

  “Hi there, we’ve fixed the issue and we’ll have the elevator moving again in a couple of minutes.”

  The voice boomed loudly in their quiet little chamber, and Lisa jumped. Her eyes flew to Noah’s.

  “Shit,” she said as she scrambled back and reached for her bra. “Oh my God, what if they hadn’t given us a warning? I could’ve been going down on you and the doors could’ve opened!” If that had happened, she would have probably never lived it down. She would always be known as that girl who was caught giving Dr. Collins head when they were stuck in an elevator. No one would respect her as a nurse, and every time she got into an elevator some other jerk would probably make a crack about wanting it to get stuck. Or worse.

  To her annoyance, Noah chuckled as he casually re-tied his pants. “Now that’s a sight I would love to see. But I’m not so sure about the maintenance crew.”

  She glared at him before pulling her top over her head, muffling her words. “It’s not funny, Noah. It would be mortifying.”

  Once her head popped out she saw that Noah had his shirt back on and was shrugging into jacket. He looked poised and in control. Anyone looking at him now wouldn’t believe that not one minute ago, he’d had a raging hard-on and his hands down her pants.

  She knew she probably looked a wreck and reeked of sex. How was she going to finish her shift like this? How could she have lost her head and gotten so carried away?

  She started pacing the small space, as if she was the one suffering from claustrophobia now. “This is bad, bad, bad.”

  Noah grabbed her hands and pulled her towards him. “Stop, Lisa. No one knows what happened between us in this elevator. I’m not going to say anything, and I bet you’re not going to say anything either.”

  For some reason, his words, delivered so coolly and rationally, hurt. She thought they’d shared something special, but for him it appeared it was just a way to pass the time. To keep his mind off the fact he was stuck in a confined space. What a jerk.

  “Fine, the last hour or so didn’t exist, and especially not the last half hour. I’ll never mention it again.”

  She stood and walked to the other side of the elevator, but it wasn’t far enough away from him. And Noah obviously didn’t get the message that she wanted to be alone because he stalked towards her.

  He stopped in front of her, leaning close, and planted his hands on the wall on either side of her head. “Don’t cheapen what just happened between us, Lisa. I want nothing more than to sink into you over and over and over again. I’ve wanted to ask you out since the first day I saw you, but you treated me with indifference, like I didn’t really exist in your world. I did tell you that the only reason I got into this godforsaken tin can was because you were in it.”

  Shock rendered her speechless. She’d had no idea Noah was even remotely interested in her. When she finally got her wits about her, she opened her mouth, but still nothing came out. She closed it and tried again. “Oh, I, umm, had no idea.”

  “Well, now you do. So Lisa Wheeler, before the doors open and our private little oasis is shattered, I’ve got a question for you.”

  “And what’s that, Noah Collins.” She said with a smile.

  “When our shift is over, will you have breakfast with me?”

  “Breakfast?”

  He smiled and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “And maybe…more?”

  The elevator whirred to life and Lisa knew she only had seconds to answer. “Yes. I would love to.”

  Noah smiled at her and moved away so that he stood next to her. As the doors slid open and the maintenance and security crew awaited them, Lisa knew that, against all odds and her misconceptions of Noah, Cupid hadn’t ignored her today. Cupid had fired its bow at the two of them, and it had landed truly.

  Who needed flower deliveries or Hugh Grant movies? She’d gotten the best present of all.

  About the Author

  Nicole is an Australian living in Houston. She writes contemporary romances and enjoys creating characters and situations unique to them. When she’s not writing romance, she is busy looking after her own personal hero, her husband, and two children. You can find out more about her at www.nicoleflockton.com.

  Check out Nicole’s Masquerade, Rescuing Dawn, and Seducing Phoebe.

  The Rebel’s Own

  M.O. Kenyan

  Avon, Massachusetts

  This edition published by

  Crimson Romance

  an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.

  10151 Carver Road, Suite 200

  Blue Ash, Ohio 45242

  www.crimsonromance.com

  Copyright © 2013 by M.O. Kenyan

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author's imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The r
esemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN 10: 1-4405-7237-2

  ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-7237-1

  eISBN 10: 1-4405-7238-0

  eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-7238-8

  Cover art © istock.com/Geber86

  Dedication

  To the brokenhearted . . .

  Acknowledgments

  I’d like to thank the Crimson Romance team and my readers.

  Contents

  Title page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  Charleston High, Spring 2006

  “It’s almost prom, superstar. Have you chosen your prom sacrifice?”

  Ryan Carville snickered obligingly at his best friend Matt’s question and looked around the crowded lunchroom. His target had to be someone none of his friends had been with, an untouched girl. The football team at Charleston High had a running game off the field. The United Tastes game awarded each football player points to “taste” a girl, the uglier the better. Fat girls, tall girls, black or Asian or Hispanic—any of the “different” girls who lurked on the fringes of the high school were fair game. And, most importantly they had to be virgins. Ryan knew he was stooping low by participating in the game, but felt weak against the expectations of his father and Mathew, and the pressure from his teammates.