Addicted to Love

by Deborah Cooke

  He had to ditch his clothes.

  He also had to lose the plan to seduce her slowly.

  Maybe next time.

  Kyle broke their kiss reluctantly, then ran his thumb over her swollen lips as he smiled down at her. “Don’t leave,” he said roughly and was rewarded by her smile.

  “I don’t think I can now.”

  He tugged off his T-shirt and cast it aside. When he reached for his buckle, her hands were there before his. She unfastened his belt and then his jeans, and his smile broadened when she looked down and blinked.

  “Still have doubts about my enthusiasm?” he teased, liking how she blushed just a little. Her eyes sparkled as she worked his jeans over his hips and she gave every indication of enjoying the view.

  “That’s more than I remembered.”

  “I’ll bet it still fits.”

  “I’ll bet it does.” Her eyes danced with welcome mischief. “Or maybe I should bet you that it doesn’t.”

  “You’re on,” Kyle said, ditching his briefs. He scooped Lauren up and carried her to the bedroom, more grateful for his housekeeper than usual. His place was pristine, the sheets changed, the dust banished and the fridge stocked with his weekly grocery order. Everything was perfect for a seduction.

  He stifled a shiver of dread. Usually, no one knew the state of his apartment except himself. He never brought women home.

  Lauren must have sensed something because she studied him for a moment when he put her on the bed. “You and my brother,” she teased. “The only two neat-freak men on the planet. No wonder you’re buddies.”

  Kyle didn’t want to talk about Ty, didn’t even want that man mentioned during this interval. “Except I do it with mirrors,” he said.

  “Everything in the closet?”

  “Housekeeper once a week.” He stole a kiss. “Good choice calling me on Wednesday. This is as good as it gets.”

  “This is as good as it gets,” she agreed. “And I don’t mean the clean sheets. I have those at home.” Kyle had no chance to argue because Lauren tugged him down over top of her, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. This time it was her tongue in his mouth. This time, it was her demanding more. This time it was her kiss that was greedy enough to send him to the moon.

  Kyle loved it. The feel of her nails scraping his shoulders, the way she rolled her hips beneath his weight and the softness of her skin was enough to make him concentrate on taking it slow. He eased one hand between her thighs and his heart skipped when she parted her legs wide to give him access. He heard himself groan a little when his fingers encountered her slick heat.

  “It’s so much better to not be in lust alone,” she whispered and he grinned.

  “Absolutely.” He caressed her, liking how she caught her breath, then slid a finger inside her. She rocked her hips, her gaze colliding with his, and he pressed his thumb against her clitoris so that she shivered. “How long since you’ve come?”

  “Not that long.”

  “Doesn’t count if you’ve done it yourself. Only full service.”

  She smiled. “Full service?”

  He pinched her clitoris, just a little and she shivered.

  “Months. Years. I don’t know.” Her words faded into a moan as he touched her, first gently and then more firmly, then more gently again. Lauren arched her back and closed her eyes, abandoning herself to the moment.

  “I think you’re due for the full treatment,” he mused and she opened one eye.

  “Why does that sound ominous?”

  “Because you’ve obviously been on a desert island, orgasmically speaking.”

  She laughed. “Have I?”

  “Mmm, I can tell.” He eased another finger inside her. “Just look how hungry this little mouth is.”

  “I can’t look. It’s the angle.”

  “Then I’ll have to look for you,” Kyle said and eased down the length of her in one smooth move. He closed his mouth over her and she actually cried out in pleasure when he flicked his tongue against her clitoris.

  Lauren gasped and shivered. “You’re going to kill me,” she protested and Kyle smiled.

  He lifted his head and she moaned that he’d stopped. “It is called ‘the little death’ in French.”

  She granted him a skeptical look. “Why am I not surprised that you know that?”

  “It’s more important to know the technique than the vocabulary.”

  “Go ahead,” she whispered, giving his head a push. “Prove to me that you do.”

  Kyle was only too happy to comply.

  * * *

  The man was dangerous. Maybe lethal.

  Kyle ate Lauren slowly, every move perfectly timed to drive her higher but deny her the ultimate satisfaction. She’d never had such attention lavished upon her. This was luxurious. Decadent. Addictive. She was sure she couldn’t stand it any longer and wanted her release so badly that she burned for it. At the same time, it felt so good that she never wanted him to stop.

  She was hot. She was agitated and flustered and so excited. Her heart was racing and her hands were trembling. Her blood was simmering. She could smell her own arousal and wondered if he was going to drown. Kyle was relentless. He built her up, then backed off so she could cool down, then he did it again. She was writhing on his bed and incoherent with need, but he showed no mercy. She would have done anything for him or with him—he had to know it and she didn’t care. The view of the city grew gradually darker, the room falling into shadows, and Lauren wondered if Kyle would finish before midnight.

  Or maybe she’d spontaneously combust first.

  She felt his hands roving over her and liked their weight. They were strong but gentle, his caress filled with admiration. She moved her legs and felt his erection against her thigh, huge and hard, more than ready for her. The realization that she wasn’t the only one so aroused started the quiver deep inside her.

  Kyle must have noticed the change because he gripped her butt, lifting her up as he feasted upon her. He used his tongue and lips and breath so that she was moaning aloud. She whispered his name and clutched his hand, feeling the tide rise within her. She felt his tooth touch her clitoris and came with a roar, clutching the sheets and shouting as the heat surged through her.

  Her heart was pounding so hard that she thought it might explode. She was panting and there was a patina of perspiration on her skin. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, licking the salt off her lip.

  “Let me do that,” Kyle growled beside her. He looked tousled and mischievous, his eyes gleaming with a satisfaction that echoed her own. He wiped his mouth then bent to lick her upper lip, reminding her of another night.

  “Tequila,” she whispered, her hand curling around his neck.

  “The salted rim is always the best part,” he said, just as he had once before.

  “No, it’s the lime,” she argued one more time.

  “What about the tequila?”

  “That’s how I ended up with this tattoo.”

  He kissed her then, silencing the debate, and she felt his need. He was tense, the way he had been all those years before, his own desire held in check with great effort as he satisfied her own. Lauren rolled him to his back and caressed him so that he was even harder.

  When he whispered her name, she kissed him to silence. Kyle pulled away abruptly and left the bed, grabbing his jeans and checking the pockets. He returned with a few condoms, which didn’t surprise her, and cast them on the nightstand. Lauren didn’t think about him having a supply at the ready, not much. He was who he was. She was here with no expectations, except one—and he was delivering on that. She eased a condom over his length, ensuring that she teased him even more. Then she sat astride him and kissed him again. She took him inside her in one smooth move, smiling into their kiss when he gasped.

  “What happened to foreplay?” he asked when she lifted her head.

  “Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?”

  “Kind of one-sided.�
��

  “You want me to tease you more?” she asked, moving as if she’d let him slide out of her.

  Kyle gripped her waist and there was tension in his words. “No, you’re right. It was good for me, too.”

  Lauren caught a glimpse of the sparkle in his eyes. “Maybe we should be sure...” she teased, but he caught her nape and pulled her down for a sweet kiss. She lowered herself so that he was completely inside her and felt him inhale with pleasure. “Guess I lose the bet,” she whispered, pretending to regret it.

  He gave her a very intent look. “Bet?”

  “That you wouldn’t fit,” she reminded him then rolled her hips as she nestled even lower. “Apparently, you do.”

  “Apparently,” he agreed, his voice strained in a wonderful way that hinted at her power over him. Lauren began to move very slowly and Kyle gritted his teeth. His hands locked on her waist again but this time he gripped her tightly, his fingers digging into her as if he’d never let her go. When he opened his eyes, they were vivid blue, his satisfaction was so clear that Lauren felt a surge of pleasure. He moved her up and down, his eyes darkening to indigo, and she felt power and satisfaction.

  He wanted her.

  Still.

  Or again.

  “I’m not going to last,” he murmured.

  “Maybe I’ll make you last.”

  “Can’t be done. Not now.”

  “Why not now? Have you been living like a monk again?” Lauren teased him but the truth did bother her a little.

  Kyle grinned. “That has nothing to do with it.” He lifted one hand to his nose and took a deep breath. “It’s you. The smell of you and the taste of you.” His gaze simmered. “The feel of you at orgasm.” She felt him get impossibly bigger inside her. He bared his teeth and lifted his hips, driving himself deeper inside her. “After that, after you, there’s no chance of me lasting.”

  She bent and kissed him, then touched her lips to his ear. “How do you want me?”

  He gave her a look. “Repeatedly.”

  “But how. Which way?”

  “Every way.”

  “Which one first? What’s your fantasy?”

  He stilled, watching her.

  “I aim to please,” Lauren whispered. “It seems only fair.”

  “I want you to come when I’m inside you.”

  “Not sure that will happen soon.”

  Kyle grinned. “I’ll take that as a challenge,” he warned, then rolled her beneath him. Lauren appreciated in that moment how much of his strength he’d been holding back. He was all muscle and power when he tucked her beneath him, though he braced his weight on his elbows. She felt surrounded and possessed. Lauren wrapped her legs around his waist, inviting him deeper and he whispered her name against her neck. His voice was hoarse, raw with need in a way that thrilled her.

  “Take me,” she whispered, nipping at his earlobe with her teeth. “Claim me now, any way you want.”

  “Not yet,” he growled and gripped her butt with one hand, his other arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders. He drove deep and hard, compulsively, and the fact that his control was slipping meant everything to Lauren. She held him close, digging her nails into his shoulders, nipping at his neck, gripping him tightly with her legs.

  He pulled back and rolled his hips, rubbing his hardness against her in a way that made her shiver. “How’s that?” he whispered in her ear.

  “More,” she entreated, and he did as she asked. It wasn’t long until she felt her desire build again, before she was slick and hot and simmering once more. She pulled his head down and kissed him, open-mouthed and hungry.

  “All of you,” she demanded against his mouth. “Rough and fast and hard. Don’t hold back.” She gripped a fistful of his hair, excited by the way he responded to her words. He was driving into her, taut with need, wanting her. “I want it all, Kyle. I want it all and I want it now.”

  “You first,” he insisted. He rubbed himself against Lauren in such a way that she cried out as the tide came a second time. He buried himself deep inside her, and she locked around him convulsively, shuddering in her release. She laughed aloud when he roared with pleasure, holding her tightly as he came.

  It was so good.

  It had been exactly what she needed.

  They clung together, his skin slick beneath her hands, the scent of their lovemaking making her want to purr. Lauren kept her eyes closed as her pulse and her breath returned to normal, holding fast to this new sense of wellbeing. She tingled inside and out. She had no illusions about a future with Kyle—he’d probably evict her before the sheets cooled—but she didn’t care.

  Surrendering to impulse on this day was one of the best things she’d ever done.

  She smiled at the realization that being with Kyle made her feel smart.

  Two

  Lauren would make him crazy.

  Or she might kill him.

  Either way, Kyle had no regrets.

  He remained entangled with Lauren for a long time, savoring the soft warmth of her and reluctant for the moment to end. When his pulse slowed and she hadn’t moved, he braced himself on his elbows and looked down at her. Her lips twitched as if she fought a smile, but she kept her eyes closed.

  He couldn’t resist. He bent to kiss her, then tickled her a little. “Awaken, sleeping beauty.”

  Lauren giggled. Her eyes were sparkling and she was smiling. Her hair was a glorious tangle, her lips were swollen from his kisses and there was color in her cheeks. She looked like a different woman than the one who’d met him in the lobby, the one he’d been sure was on the verge of walking out.

  “Okay?” she asked.

  “All-time best,” he said and wasn’t lying.

  Lauren rolled her eyes. “I’ll bet you say that to everyone.”

  “You’d lose that bet.”

  She didn’t argue the point but got out of the bed. She stretched luxuriously and he admired the view. She caught him looking and smiled. “We could do it again.” He could hear in her tone that she didn’t expect to, and he wondered why. Biology? Or something more?

  “Was it okay for you?” he asked, not accustomed to having any doubt.

  “Awesome. Just what I needed.” She bent down and kissed him quickly. “Thanks.”

  It was the kind of kiss a woman gave her brother, and Kyle couldn’t help thinking it was a bit dismissive, given what they’d done.

  Maybe they should do it again, so he could improve his performance. On that long-ago night, their lovemaking had been leisurely, but this time had been pretty quick, at least his part of it. Rougher, even. Maybe she liked it better slow.

  Kyle was competitive and he knew it, but still it bothered him that Mark might have done something that left a better impression than what he’d done.

  “Give me a few minutes,” he growled, then headed for the bathroom without waiting for a reply. He washed and shaved again, brushed his teeth and considered his reflection. Usually, this was the part when he and his lover went separate ways, but he didn’t want Lauren to leave yet.

  The first time hadn’t been enough.

  It was early evening. Kyle was starving. And from the way Lauren had lost weight, he didn’t trust her to have a good meal after she left. Although he didn’t like having other people in his cave, she was in it now—and she was Lauren. He felt protective of her.

  For one night, he could indulge his inclination.

  He glanced back and smiled to find her openly admiring him from the doorway to the bathroom. “Like the view?” he said and posed a bit.

  She laughed. “Very much, but maybe you like it more.” She came into the room and he offered her a new toothbrush. She thanked him with a smile.

  “What does that mean?”

  “That you’re the most vain man I know,” she said, holding his gaze in the mirror. She softened her words with a sweet kiss. “It’s not a problem. Your confidence is fun and kind of infectious.”

  “Don’t tell me that yo
u doubt your beauty.”

  Lauren shrugged. “All the time. I think it’s normal.”

  Kyle wrapped his arm around her shoulders and positioned her before the mirror. “Then we have a job to do.”

  “What kind of a job?” she asked with familiar suspicion.

  “Opening your eyes.” He stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Their gazes met in the reflection. “Look at this gorgeous woman,” he murmured, then kissed her beneath the ear. She smiled and swatted him away, but he cupped her breasts in his hands. She froze and caught her breath, her nipples tightening in a very attractive way.

  Kyle eased his thumbs over them and she sighed, then leaned back against him, smiling at his reflection.

  “Aren’t I blocking the view?”

  “You are the view.”

  “You’re full of it.”

  “You’re not looking.” He released one breast and lifted a fistful of her hair. “Like silk. Look at how it shimmers. I don’t know how you make it bounce like this, but I love it.”

  “Trade secret,” she said.

  “I’ll bet. Secret weapon, more like.” He tucked her beneath his chin. “Perfect height,” he mused, then swept his hands down the length of her. “Beautiful curves.” He caressed one nipple again and it tightened. “Responsive,” he whispered in her ear and felt her shiver when he rolled the taut peak between his finger and thumb. He kissed the nipple, flicking his tongue against it just to feel her tremble in his arms. “Killer smile,” he added. “And those eyes. Do you call that green or hazel?”

  She smiled at him, and that elusive dimple appeared before the corner of her mouth. Kyle always counted it a triumph when he made it show up. There was a particular smile that coaxed the dimple into view and it was his favorite. “Plain old green.”