“Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’ve got nothing,” Tim said, as if he’d won that round. “You might have a billion dollars to your name, but you still don’t have the guts to throw a punch, do you, nerd?”
Will said nothing, but as he glanced around at the people who were watching the encounter unfold, he realized that most everyone was looking at Tim with disappointment and pity. Tim, once a golden linebacker with a promising future, was nothing more than a washed-up alcoholic football player who still felt the need to put down others in order to build up his own self-esteem. It was pathetic, really.
“Tim, stop it,” Ali said, her voice low and furious.
“Stop it?” Tim mocked, his expression turning mean. “Are you kidding me? I’m just getting started. In fact, I think you and I ought to have a prom night do-over.” He grabbed Ali’s arm and tugged her closer. “And maybe this time you won’t be so uptight about putting out. Or are you just putting out for him?”
Livid that Tim would dare to even touch Ali, Will didn’t think, just reacted. His fist flew out, slamming into Tim’s jaw and snapping his head back. The strength and momentum behind the punch sent the other man stumbling backward and flat on his ass. The crowd gasped in shock and awe, but no one bothered to help Tim up. The man lay prone, trying to gather his bearings.
“He’s had that coming to him for a long time,” Will heard someone around him say.
“Man, that was priceless,” another person said, their tone gleeful. “This is the best reunion ever.”
Will stepped up to where Tim was still on the ground and pointed a harsh finger at him. “You touch Ali again, Delgado, and I personally guarantee you’ll regret it.”
Will turned back to Ali, who was staring wide-eyed at him in bewildered admiration, of all things. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, and he had to admit he was feeling like quite the badass at the moment.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he said, grabbing Ali’s hand. He started toward the entrance and their classmates parted the way for them, issuing verbal support and accolades for giving the high school bully exactly what he deserved.
Once they were inside the elevator, Will leaned against the wall and Ali pressed her body flush to the length of his, tilting her smiling, radiant face up to his.
“Oh, my God, you hit him,” she said, laughing joyously as her hands rubbed against his chest. “I can’t believe you hit him.”
Will grinned as he wrapped one arm around her waist and shook the sting out of the hand that had punched Tim. “Not one of my finer moments, but nobody touches you like that and gets away with it.”
The adoration in her eyes made him feel like a superhero. “Seeing you deck Tim on my behalf… Oh, wow, that was so hot.” She buried her face in his neck and started kissing his throat. “Would it shock you if I told you that seeing you get all barbaric and aggressive turned me on?”
Heat shot straight to Will’s groin, hardening him in a flash. “Yeah, well, how’s this for barbaric?” he teased, and gave in to the urge to heft her over his shoulder just as the elevator doors opened on his floor.
He carried her down to his room, her bright, infectious squeals and giggles echoing throughout the hallway. She might be laughing now, but by the time he was done with her, the only thing he’d be hearing would be moans of pleasure.
6
AS SOON AS THEY WERE INSIDE Will’s hotel room, he gently set Ali on her feet. She barely had a moment to gain her equilibrium after being carried upside down before he backed her against the nearest wall and kissed her like a starving man. She kissed him back with just as much greed. His hands eagerly worked the zipper at the back of her dress while she shoved his coat off and attacked the buttons on his shirt, nearly tearing them off in her haste to get him naked.
Once the material was unfastened, he shrugged out of the garment, enabling her to finally touch him. She splayed her hands on his bare chest, reveling in the heat of his skin and the firm muscles bunching beneath her palms. She rubbed her thumbs over his nipples and he groaned into their still-fused mouths.
He finally managed to completely unzip her dress, and the loosened fabric slithered down the length of her body and pooled around her feet, leaving her in just her bra, panties and designer heels. She skimmed her fingers down his flat stomach to the waistband of his slacks, then lower, caressing the thick length of his erection through his pants before fumbling with the opening to his trousers.
To her surprise, he grasped her wrists and pulled her hands away. Breaking their kiss, he pulled back slightly to look at her, his eyes burning with lust and need. “Not yet, Ali,” he said, his tone low and rough. “I want you so damn badly that if you so much as touch me, I’m done. And there’s way too much I want to do to you first.”
Seeing Will so close to losing control, a delicious shiver of anticipation coursed through Ali. Knowing they had all night together, that she’d get her chance to have her way with him later, she gladly indulged his request. “I’m all yours.”
He released her hands, and she let them fall back to her sides. He stood a small step back, just enough so that he could look his fill of her. He ran a finger from her collarbone down to the swells of her breasts above the cups of her pale pink satin-and-lace bra. With a deliberate slowness that made her a little bit crazy, he traced the strap back up to her shoulder, then pulled both of them down her arms, all the way to her elbows, until the pretty piece of lingerie peeled away to reveal her full breasts to his worshipful gaze.
“So gorgeous,” he said, his tone reverent.
She bit her bottom lip. Her breasts were large, but still firm and high, and he pressed his palms to both of the aching mounds, caressing and squeezing the plump flesh. She made a small, wordless approving noise in the back of her throat as he gently pinched her sensitive nipples. And when he dipped his head and pulled a taut peak into his mouth and sucked her deep, she gasped and plunged all ten of her fingers into his hair for something to hold on to.
His tongue licked and laved, teased and tormented, and the scrape of his teeth added another dimension of pleasure that shot liquid heat straight between her thighs. One of his hands slid down her stomach, stopped briefly to play with her belly ring, then continued south. Finding the waistband of her panties, he slipped his fingers beneath the elastic edge and in the next instant he was touching her exactly where she needed him the most.
Shuddering against him, she spread her legs wider, giving him every bit of access as he explored her delicate folds with seductive caresses and deep, penetrating strokes that pushed her straight toward the promise of a sweet, hot release. Coupled with the wet, suctioning warmth of his mouth on her breast, and she was so done. Clutching his hair in her fists, she gave herself over to the experience, moaning as the intense need took her and her climax rolled through her in a huge, pulsating wave of pure ecstasy that left every part of her body quivering in the aftermath.
His mouth found hers again and he kissed her deeply, hungrily. Then he swept her up in his arms and carried her to the big king-size bed, placing her in the middle. As she looked up at him, waiting for him to get undressed and join her, she saw a moment of clarity darken his eyes.
“Condom,” he said gruffly. “I’ll be right back.”
Will hadn’t come to the reunion expecting to have sex, but lucky for him, he did have a few spare condoms in his shaving bag. He grabbed them quickly from the bathroom and returned to find that Ali had removed her bra, panties and shoes, and now lay against the cool sheets and fluffy pillows, gloriously, breathtakingly naked, except for the sunflower jewel glittering so very invitingly in her navel. His mouth went dry as dust.
Then she gave him a come-hither smile, crooked her finger seductively at him, and he didn’t hesitate a moment longer. In record time he had the rest of his clothes stripped off and protection on. Starting at the foot of the bed, he moved toward her, skimming his hands up her calves. When he reached her knees, he pushed her legs wide apart and dipp
ed his head to kiss and nibble his way up the inside of her thighs, until he reached the heart of her. Settling in, he draped her legs over his shoulders, tilting her even closer to his hungry mouth.
A moan of anticipation escaped her. Her hands fisted in the sheets, and when he finally slid his tongue between the lips of her sex and swirled it around her clit, she went wild, lifting her hips off the bed for more pressure, more friction. Wetting his finger in her body’s slick moisture, he pushed it into her, then another, stroking slowly, deeply, making her gasp and writhe and finally beg with the need to come again.
He gave her the orgasm she craved, reveling in the tight grip of her body around his fingers and her soft, ragged cries of rapture as she rode the surging swell of her climax. Desperately wanting to share in the moment, to be a part of her pleasure before it completely ebbed, he moved over her, tangling his fingers in her hair and pulling her head back to kiss her with possessive heat and a need so intense it superseded anything he’d ever felt before. And he knew that this woman, that Ali, was the reason.
She wrapped her legs around his hips, urging him to take her, and he did, driving into her lush body with a hard, demanding thrust that had him sliding all the way home. She was warm and pliant and still pulsing from her powerful orgasm, and it took him a moment to gain control again before he could move inside her without things ending before they really had the chance to begin.
He lifted his mouth from hers, his harsh breathing fanning against her cheek as he slowly withdrew, then just as gradually pushed back inside her. He did it again, and again, controlling every tantalizing thrust, every deliberate move, while building sensation upon sensation. Her fingers dug into the taut muscles along his back, and her hips circled against his in a slow, provocative mating dance.
“Will,” she whispered, arching into him, clearly seeking a harder, faster pace.
He heard the impatience in her voice, but wasn’t ready to pick up his stride just yet. He wanted this first time to be memorable and perfect. He nuzzled and kissed her neck, then dragged his mouth up to the lobe of her ear. “What do you feel, Ali?”
“You,” she moaned as he filled her up again. “Deep inside me.”
Oh, yeah. She squeezed him from within, holding on to his cock so tightly he felt wrapped in a glove of the softest, smoothest velvet. Raising his head to look at her flushed face, he met and held her desire infused gaze as he stretched into her once more, grinding just a bit harder, a bit deeper than before, wringing a startled gasp from her lips. “What else do you feel?”
She smiled at him then, leaving no doubt in Will’s mind that she was experiencing the same things he was. “Passion,” she said as her hands traveled down the slope of his back to his buttocks, which she grabbed to pull him tighter against her. “So. Much. Passion.”
Now he was ready to finish, to give them both what they wanted. He crushed his mouth to hers and took her the way he’d been dying to…steadily, relentlessly, without an ounce of restraint holding him back. He plunged harder, faster and then he was coming, groaning raggedly against her lips as she contracted around him, milking the last of his orgasm and leaving him completely and thoroughly spent.
* * *
FEELING THE SUN STREAMING through the window, Ali rolled onto her back and stretched her naked body beneath the covers, her muscles delightfully sore after a night spent making love with Will. Numerous times and numerous ways. Lord, the man had been insatiable and so incredibly inventive.
Smiling to herself, she opened her eyes and turned her head on her pillow to find that she was completely alone in bed. Another glance toward the open bathroom door confirmed that Will wasn’t in the hotel room with her. There wasn’t a note anywhere from what she could see, causing a sense of dread to settle in the pit of her stomach.
She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Unbidden, the past and the present collided in her mind, sending her first thoughts in the direction of how it felt to be rejected, to put her heart out there only to have those emotions not be reciprocated. And oh, Lord, she’d definitely let her emotions run rampant last night. Will was exactly the kind of man she could fall in love with—if she wasn’t already halfway there. But there was no telling what last night had meant to him.
Unfortunately, old fears died hard, and it was all she could do not to let her doubts overwhelm her. What she needed to do was get up, get dressed and wait for Will to return and go from there.
She started to move, but before she had the chance to even toss back the comforter, the door opened and Will walked inside, carrying two paper cups. Since she was still naked, she remained exactly where she was.
“Morning,” he greeted her cheerfully.
“Morning,” she replied a bit more quietly.
“Coffee is a necessity for me in the morning,” he said, explaining his absence as he set the cups on the table in the corner. “You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you.”
She was relieved that he’d returned, that he’d only left for coffee, but that meant nothing in terms of their future together.
He’d changed into a pair of faded jeans and plain T-shirt for his quick errand. He started toward her side of the bed, and it was really no fair that he looked so damned gorgeous after a night of debauchery with his tousled hair, shadowed jaw and bright blue eyes while she probably looked hideously disheveled.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she tugged the sheet higher on her chest and attempted to run her fingers through her wild curls, wincing as she hit a series of tangles, confirming her worst fears.
He sat down on the mattress right beside her. “You look beautiful,” he said huskily, as if reading her mind, then leaned down to kiss her lips. “Passion agrees with you, sweetheart.”
Her face bloomed with warmth at his compliment. Relaxing, she touched her fingers to his stubbled cheek, enjoying the slight scrape against her skin and thinking about how it would feel rubbing against her breasts, or between her thighs. “There certainly was a lot of that happening last night,” she agreed.
His wicked grin slowly faded away, and his expression turned more pensive. “It’s the last day of the reunion, and I think we need to talk about us.”
“Okay.” Her hand fell away from his jaw and a familiar twinge of uneasiness settled in her belly at his serious tone. For all they’d shared over the past few days, there had been no discussion about the two of them beyond the weekend. And even though they both lived in Chicago, assuming that Will wanted anything more than just a fling was awfully presumptuous of her.
He frowned at her. “You went there, didn’t you?”
She blinked at him, startled by the question. “Went where?” But she knew exactly what he was referring to, because her first line of defense in this kind of situation was to kick up walls to protect her from the potential hurt of rejection.
“Ali, I don’t want to end things,” he said gently, sincerely—the way the Will she knew him to be would do. “For me, this is just the beginning of something really great and lasting. And…oh, hell, I’m falling for you, big-time.”
He shocked her again, and while she was momentarily speechless, her heart was doing a big happy dance.
When she didn’t immediately reply, it was his turn to look a bit nervous. “Unless you feel differently?”
“No. No, of course not!” She laughed, shaking her head at their miscommunication, feeling a huge wave of delight wash over her. “I feel the same way about you. I was so infatuated with you in high school, and now, well…I want this, and I want you.”
He exhaled a deep breath, his relief evident. “In that case, I have something very special for you.”
He left the bed and went to his suitcase. After pulling out a small black velvet-lined box, he returned to Ali, and she sat up on the mattress, curious to know what was in the jewelry box.
He met her gaze, grinning a bit wickedly. “So, at the end of our senior year, you were voted the Girl Most Likely to Become a Playboy Bunny.”
“Obviously, that didn’t happen,” she said, and laughed.
His fingers played with the box in his hand. “And we both know that Tim got all his friends to vote me the Guy Most Likely to Date a Playboy Bunny, NOT, because you and I weren’t ever going to be an item. Not in high school, anyway.”
“And now?” she asked, knowing things had changed in a big way.
“Well, now, I’m one helluva lucky man, because I’m dating that Playboy Bunny,” he said with a wicked grin. “And I want everyone to know it.”
He opened the box, and what she saw made her breath catch at first, then she laughed out loud because the necklace he’d bought for her was perfect and priceless. At the end of a silver chain was a small pendant of the Playboy rabbit logo, encrusted in diamonds. Judging by the name of the jewelers inscribed inside the box, there was no doubt in Ali’s mind that those sparkling gems were the real deal. The significance of the necklace wasn’t lost on her, and spoke of Will’s feelings for her back then, and now.
With her heart racing in her chest, she lifted an amused brow at Will. “You were a little confident in buying this, don’t you think?” she asked cheekily.
“Not confident, but very hopeful.” He took the necklace out and held it up for her. “Will you wear it?”
“Oh, yeah. I love it and what it means. It’s our own personal, private joke.” She lifted her hair off her neck and let him secure the chain for her. When he was done, the pendant nestled just below the hallow of her throat. “I can’t wait for everyone at the reunion brunch today to see it and know that you got lucky, in more ways than one.” She waggled her brows at him.
He chuckled and made quick work of removing his clothes, then pulled the covers away from her body and gently tumbled her back down to the bed, his already aroused body nestling into hers in all the right places. “Well, you’re about to get lucky, Ali Seaver.”
“We’ll be late for brunch.” The protest had no backing to it, not when he was already pushing inside her and she was melting around him, moaning with the pleasure to come.
The Guy Most Likely To...: Underneath It AllCan't Get You Out of My HeadA Moment Like This Page 12
