by Nicole James
The doors opened, and they stepped inside. She punched the button for the eighteenth floor as the doors slid closed.
“You got a room to yourself?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied, not looking at him, keeping her eyes on the flashing numbers above the door as the elevator ascended.
“You gonna look at me?”
“I’m trying not to,” she replied tersely.
“This how it’s gonna be?”
“Apparently.” She heard him give out an aggravated sigh. Too bad. Let him be aggravated. She owed him nothing. But even as she tried to keep up the cold exterior, she could feel her insides turning to jelly. She fiddled nervously with the big silver cuffs she wore on both wrists. He affected her still. Hell, he probably always would. She wasn’t sure what his intention was or what he wanted to talk about, she just prayed she had the strength to get through it. Maybe if they had a discussion, he’d leave her alone. Perhaps he just needed closure. Perhaps, if she was being honest, they both did.
The elevator dinged as the doors opened. She stepped out, and he followed her as she led him down the hall to her room. She slid her keycard in the slot and opened the door. Tossing her things on the bed, she turned to face him as the door clicked shut.
His eyes scanned the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that provided an excellent view of the sun setting over the Spring Mountains in the west. He moved to stand in front of them.
“Nice view.”
“Thank you. So what did you want to talk about?”
With his hands shoved in his pockets, he turned back to look at her. “Why’d you leave? Why didn’t you say goodbye? Why wouldn’t you pick up my goddamn phone calls? Take your pick, Crystal. Where do you want to start?”
She moved to the small bar and cracked open a bottle of water. “Do we really need to do this? What’s done is done.”
“Yeah, babe, we really need to do this.”
“Fine. I left because I overheard Cole say Mack wanted me gone. I left because there obviously was nothing there for me anymore.”
“And the leaving without saying goodbye part?”
She let out a breath. “What would be the point?”
His brows shot up. “What would be the point? You’re seriously standin’ there askin’ me that?”
“Wolf—”
“Don’t you think maybe I should have be included in this decision of yours? You think maybe we should have talked about it before you just up and left?”
“What would that have changed?” she snapped at him. “Huh, Wolf? Tell me that!”
“You wouldn’t have been leaving town, that’s for sure. That’s what that would have changed!”
“Did you ever think that maybe I needed to leave? That I couldn’t take it anymore? Did you really expect me to stay and continue as we were?”
He yanked his shades off his head, tossed them on the bed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Look, I didn’t come up here to argue.”
“Fine. Leave.”
“Crystal, stop. Can’t we just talk?”
“We are talking. This is you and me talking. So say what you need to say. If I had come and told you goodbye, what would you have said to me? Huh?”
He advanced on her. “I never would have let you go. That’s what I would have told you!”
“That would have been pretty selfish of you, wouldn’t it?”
Stopping in front of her, he towered over her. “Yeah, babe. I’m a selfish guy. You’re right. But that doesn’t mean you leaving was the right thing either.”
“I had to, Wolf. Why can’t you understand that?” she said in a deflated voice.
“I’ll never understand that, Crystal. Never.”
She turned away. “It’s done. We can’t go back. Too much has happened.”
“It’s not done. Not for me.” He pulled her around to face him as he stared down into her eyes. “Not for me, Crystal. It won’t ever be done.”
“Wolf.” She stared up at him and felt her heart breaking all over again. “Don’t do this. Please. I can’t take it.”
His hands lifted to cup her cheeks. “One thing I know about you, babe. Your kisses don’t lie. They never have.”
With that his mouth came down on hers. Not rough and demanding, like she expected, but gentle, testing, seeking entry, coaxing her to open for him. It was her undoing. And so she did. Because she couldn’t lie, he was right. She couldn’t deny the way he made her feel. The way he always made her feel.
When her mouth opened and his tongue delved inside, his hold tightened as he pulled her close, flush against his body. Her hands landed on his waist, and then slid up under his tee shirt to find the heat of his bare skin. She heard him groan at her touch, one arm dropping to the small of her back to pull her tighter against him.
The long months they’d been apart, the miles she’d put between them, none of it mattered, none of it could dim the feelings they had for each other. It was as if they hadn’t been separated. The rightness of being in his arms engulfed her just like it always did when he held her.
A moment later, she found herself flat on her back on the bed, with Wolf on top of her, kissing her like he’d never stop.
The weight of his muscular body pinned her to the bed, his heat surrounding her. His fingers threaded through her hair, tilting her head back, holding her just where he wanted her while his mouth plundered deep. When he finally came up for air and let her breathe, he murmured, “God, how I missed you, baby.”
She sucked in several gulping breaths, the feelings she had for him rising up to engulf her.
His mouth pressed soft kisses around her jaw, moving to her ear to whisper, “Tell me you missed me, too.”
She swallowed as he continued to nuzzle.
When she didn’t reply, he nipped at her earlobe. “Say it.”
Her arms strayed around his torso, her palms sliding under his tee shirt to the bare muscles of his back. He groaned at her touch, but then pulled back, hovering above her to stare down into her face.
“Say it, Crystal.”
She looked up at the intensity of his expression, the raw need in his eyes. And she couldn’t lie.
“I missed you, Wolf. So much.”
At her response, his mouth came down on hers again as his body slid up, his knee forcing her thighs apart. When she moved to accommodate his body, he groaned his approval, the sound captured by her mouth.
He lifted again to stare down at her, one hand moving to tenderly brush her hair back from her face again and again as his eyes moved over her face. Then they locked with hers. “I’ve missed this.”
“This?”
“You under me. You’re arms and legs wrapped around me, holding me close, making me feel the way only you do. I’ve missed us.”
“Shut up and kiss me, Wolf.” She didn’t want to think about what his words might mean. If they changed anything, or if they changed nothing at all. She didn’t want to know that answer right now. She just wanted to feel. To remember what it was like between them. How she’d never felt with anyone what she felt with this man.
She pulled his head down to hers, lifting to meet his mouth half way. He didn’t stop her. It seemed less talk and more action suited him fine, too.
Then he rolled them until he was on the bottom, and she was astride him. His hands ran up her thighs as they snuggled tight against his ribs. She watched as his hungry eyes skated up her body, taking in the sheer cover up she wore that was open and gaping in the front revealing the black string bikini underneath.
One hand slid up over her hip to the curve of her waist and then behind her, his fingers going straight for the ties. One pull and they came free. Then that hand was reaching up to the strings at the nape of her neck. Another tug and her breasts were bared to him. He wasted no time pushing the cover-up off her shoulders to pool at her elbows. Then his hand at her back was pressing her down, bringing her breasts down to meet his hungry mouth. He lifted his head, closing the la
st few inches to latch onto one nipple with a strong tugging pull that had her arching her back to bring him closer. She moaned at the exquisite jolt that zinged through her.
He let go of her nipple with a popping sound, and stared up at her. “My baby likes that.”
She moaned her agreement as he moved to the other breast, treating it to the same torment until she was writhing on top of him. She felt his hands stray to her hips to yank the strings of her bikini bottom free. And then his hands were moving all over her ass as he moaned, the sound vibrating through her nipple. She lowered down on top of him, the soft bare skin of her naked body brushing up against the cool leather of his cut and the cold metal of his belt buckle. She writhed, brushing against the roughness of his jeans and felt the sensation between her thighs.
She rubbed against him like a cat in heat as his hands roamed over her. He let loose of her nipple and dragged her mouth down to his, kissing her with a hunger that took her by surprise. There was an intensity to him tonight. She pushed back, straddling his hips and began to pull his tee shirt free.
“I want you naked, too.”
****
I want you naked, too.
As Crystal’s words stole through him, Wolf sat up, more than willing to obey. Her hands slid over his shoulders, helping to rid him of his cut and shirt. Once he’d tossed them aside, he rolled them again, putting her back under him. Then he lifted off her, bearing his weight with one hand in the bed while with the other he fumbled with his pants, barely getting them down far enough before he plunged inside her. Not willing to wait another second before feeling her tight around him as he sank inside her.
Her head went back in the pillow as he drove into her, and his mouth latched onto her exposed neck as one of his forearms hooked under her knee and pressed her leg up, spreading her wide for him. He began moving, slowly at first. In and out. In and out. He lifted his head. His eyes never leaving her face as he moved inside her. He watched every emotion as they stole across her face. Awe. Hunger. Want. Need.
They flitted across her face one after another as he moved over her in deep, long strokes. Making her feel every inch, every rubbing thrusting sensation as a thousand nerve endings skated across each other, flaring to life.
“Do you feel me, Crystal? Do you feel us?”
She could barely do more than nod her head as she stared up into his eyes, as if hypnotized by them.
“Say it,” he demanded, not about to settle for a nod.
“Yes,” she panted as her body undulated beneath him.
He changed angles and her head went back again, her eyes sliding closed at the new sensation took her higher and higher.
His mouth came down on hers as his body picked up the pace, his thrusts gaining momentum. He wanted to make it last, but it’d been so long since they’d been together, and he knew his control was hanging on by a thread. This first time was going to be hard and fast, but he swore to himself he’d make it up to her. He’d spend the rest of the night making it up to her.
“Baby,” he growled through gritted teeth.
As if she understood, as if she knew what he was feeling, she nodded, clutching at him.
“Yes,” she panted.
Hell, he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised she understood his need. She’d always understood his needs. They were always so in sync with each other, so attuned to each other. That and she probably could feel the tremors in his arms as he fought back the urge to finish so soon.
“Oh, Wolf,” she panted as he reached around her leg, his hand searching out her clit, stroking over her as he continued to drive into her.
“I need you to get there, baby.”
And then he watched as her head went back, and she moaned out a long wailing sound as she slid over the edge, her inner walls contracted around him, milking a response from him.
He groaned, dipping his head as his release exploded, and his arms locked around her. His body going solid, every muscle flexing as the aftershocks shuddered through him. And then, as if every drop of energy had been drained out of him, he sank down on top of her soft welcoming body.
He felt her hands stroking over his back, one hand lifting to thread her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. And then he felt her lips pressing soft kisses along the side of his neck. He made a move to slide off her, and her arms tightened, keeping him there.
“Stay,” she whispered, and he could feel the fear in her. Was she afraid he was leaving her? Like there was a chance in hell of that happening.
“I’m not going anywhere. I just don’t want to crush you.”
He moved off her then, and this time she let him go. But he pulled her close, tucking her against his side. He only meant to rest for a minute to regain some strength, but he soon felt the miles catching up with him and his body felt heavy with exhaustion. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Just give me a minute to rest.” His hand hooked behind her knee, pulling her thigh across his lower abdomen, needing her body plastered to him. He moaned into the top of her head as she snuggled up to him, and that was the last thing he remembered as he slipped into oblivion.
CHAPTER NINE
Wolf heard a banging at the door. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and squinted, glancing around the hotel room. Crystal was nowhere in sight. The pounding on the door continued.
Shit.
Tossing the sheets back, he stood and pulled his jeans on, calling out, “Who is it?” As he strode toward the door he heard a muffled voice respond through the door.
“Narcotics officer.”
He pulled the door open to find a grinning Red Dog.
“Very funny. You’re hilarious.”
Dog strode in. “I thought so.”
Wolf watched him glance around the room.
“You get your note?”
“My note?” Wolf frowned, scratching his chest. He didn’t have a clue what the fuck Dog was talking about.
“We all got one. Girls got dressed up and snuck out while we were sleeping.”
Wolf glanced around. There was no note. Dog stepped into the bathroom doorway, flipping on the light, and Wolf could hear him chuckle.
“Leave it to Crystal to make a statement.”
“What are you talking about?” Wolf stepped beside him. There scrawled across the mirror in red lipstick was his note.
Hey, Sleeping Beauty—
Come find me in the club downstairs when you awaken!
--Crystal
“They’re all down there?” Wolf asked Dog.
“Yeah. Get dressed. We’re going to find ‘em. The guys are waiting by the elevator.”
****
“Mack had to take a call about The Pony. He’ll be down in a minute. He was pretty pissed the girls snuck out on us.” Cole mused as they made their way through the crowded club.
“Oh, and you’re not?” Wolf asked with a grin.
“Where the hell are they? You see ‘em anywhere?” Crash asked, his eyes scanning the crowd.
“Fuck, this place is packed,” Cole replied with a shake of his head.
Wolf’s eyes surveyed the crowd. The place was filled with a young party crowd. The women were all dressed to the nines in short dresses and towering heels. There was a light show going on like nothing he’d ever seen before. Strobe lights and colored spotlights flashing in perfect time with the music.
“Let’s get a drink,” Cole shouted, nodding toward one of the bars.
They pushed their way to the front, or more aptly the crowd parted like the Red Sea when people turned to see their cuts. The bouncer had made a noise about them wearing them inside, but a hundred dollar bill from Cole, and a look of death from Red Dog, and he’d waived them in.
A few minutes later, drinks in hand, the men turned to survey the crowd again.
Dog looked around like he’d never seen anything like this place. He turned to Wolf and yelled in his ear over the driving dance beat. “None of this is real, right?” When Wolf shook his
head, he continued, “Okay, good. Just checking.”
Wolf grinned over at him. “I thought you were going to deck that bouncer.”
Dog growled back sarcastically, “How to become a bouncer. One, be an asshole. Two, stand by a door.”
“Hey, we’re in. Don’t worry about that guy,” Cole told him.
“Do I look worried? I just hate in when you have to be nice to someone you really want to throw through a window.”
****
Crystal leaned toward the mirror in the club’s swanky ladies room and retouched her lipstick. Her eyes swept over her reflection. She’d straightened her long dark hair, and it hung in a glossy sheet. She’d put a rhinestone headband in and teased it up in a subtle lift behind the band, a la sixties style. Her dress was a strapless black lace mini dress that showed a lot of skin. Shannon had loaned her some sparkly lotion that gave her bare shoulders and cleavage a subtle sheen. She’d finished off the look with long dangling jet beaded earrings and matching cuff bracelets on both wrists. Her heels were sky-high, accentuating her legs.
Her eyes moved down the mirrored wall, taking in all her dear friends that had made this evening possible. Shannon was dressed in an ice blue sheath that really made her blue eyes pop. Mary was in red satin that looked hot with her long black hair. Angel was in a stunning gold cocktail dress that matched her hair perfectly. And Natalie was in a sexy white and silver sequined dress, her red hair pulled up in a sexy twist.
Finishing off her touch-up, Crystal popped her lipstick back into her tiny beaded clutch, and watched while Shannon touched her own lips up. Their eyes met in the mirror.
“You having a good time, birthday girl?” Shannon smiled at her.
Crystal grinned back. “I’m having a wonderful time.”
“Wolf in your bed for the night. That’s got to be a little birthday bonus, huh?”
Crystal gave her a sly smile.
“Come on girls, I want to dance!” Angel pleaded, her arm looped through Mary’s, pulling her towards the door.
They all headed back out into the crowded club.
