Hungry male.
She wanted more. She wanted him to kiss her forever. She wanted his hands to move and touch. Touch her everywhere.
His mouth was gone before she knew it. With a harsh breath, almost as if in pain, Nick rested his forehead on hers. Lightheaded, Alex opened her eyes. He was gazing at her with an unreadable expression, and she was unable to tear hers away.
Seconds passed.
“They’re gone,” he murmured, breathing warmly on her cheek. “Went the other way when they saw the...heated couple.”
She swallowed. “Yeah.”
“Let’s go.”
“...yeah.”
They were both silent on the way home.
Maybe it was for the best.
CHAPTER NINE
The party was a blur, and the night was a success. Rena lent Alex her sister’s black dress because there was no time to hunt for one, and it clung to every inch of her curves without exposing whatever it was that Alex thought was wrong with her – which was nothing, in Nick’s opinion. Nothing at all. She was bigger than most of the skinny women in the event, from news reporters and writers to socialites here and there – but to him, with those eyes made up to look bigger and those pearls on her neck, she stood out like a class act. There was some pink substance on her lips, and he kept trying to force himself to do something else, to stop looking and imagining what it would be like to feel them on his again.
He shouldn’t have kissed her. Now he couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her again – and perhaps touching her, and undressing her, and doing things to her—
Damn. What happened to not being his type?
With a sigh, Nick tried to mingle.
Ed was there, of course, looking like he couldn’t wait to oust the other bigwigs with his big news. Sam was looking sharp in a very fine tuxedo, talking to anyone who so much as gave him a smile and eyes drifting towards Rena every now and then.
Nick smiled at this discovery. He sidled up to Sam and listened to the guy prattle on and on about what a cool party this was. When he did, his blue eyes would follow the blond, a vision in white.
“You can go and introduce yourself, you know,” Nick suggested.
“I wasn’t looking at her,” Sam automatically countered.
“Her who?”
Sam scowled, realizing his slip. When Rena was just a few steps away, Nick happily called her attention.
Rena took one look at him, then one look at Sam. Her eyes lit up.
“Oh! You’re Sam!”
She rushed to shake Sam’s hand eagerly. Sam reddened slightly.
“Sam, Rena. Rena, Sam. Please be acquainted while I check for your sister.”
Sam didn’t seem to hear him, already enchanted with the woman still holding his hand.
Nick smirked and left them alone. Then, true to his word, he went to look for Alex.
---
The party was a blur, and Alex’s nerves were rattling in her stomach like crushed ice, threatening to make her blurt out the wrong thing at the wrong time. But Nick stayed at her side, sometimes disappearing when she was comfortable with the person she was speaking with and coming back when needed. They didn’t speak much, but she could feel his support like a warm blanket, and it was enough to slowly ease her into confidence.
When hers and Sam’s names were called by Ed, the huge man who welcomed them like a man would welcome a fortune, Nick didn’t follow but stayed where he was. When the hint that they had something big coming up spread through the crowd, Sam proudly put his arm around her shoulder. That arm stayed on her shoulder as support when moguls introduced themselves and tried to figure out what was up – but it was Nick’s presence, gaze never straying from hers, that steadied her.
Then there was drinking, and partying, and the hard part was over.
And Nick still didn’t take his eyes off hers.
----
It was almost midnight, the ride home comfortably quiet. Alex’s head rested on his shoulder as she nodded off, and he had to gently shake her awake when they finally stopped at their destination.
She yawned and blinked.
“Sam?”
“He and Rena hit it off,” was Nick’s only response before he nudged her to the front door of their building and steered her towards the elevator. When the elevator door shut, Alex leaned her head on the wall, closed her eyes, and smiled.
“That was so fun,” she declared. “I think I like dancing.”
“Hmm.”
“And I think I’m tipsy.” She giggled.
That, Nick couldn’t argue with. After the announcement, the drinks were endless, and the spiked juices were very delicious. Nick was good at holding his liquor, but Alex was tipsy, the color riding high on her cheeks.
She kept on talking. “You know, I really liked the chandeliers in that party. Colored crystals. They were so cool. I should tell Sam to add it in the game, if there’s still time. The cave, maybe. The cave was so dreadful.”
“Hmm.”
“What do you think, Nick?”
His thought involved positions. Thrusting into her against the wall. Turning her around, lifting that dress up and sliding inside her from behind.
Hearing her moan his name.
“Do you want to know what I think, Nick?”
“Hmm?”
“I think I need help with my zipper.”
Time froze at her soft words. Belatedly, Nick turned his head and found her staring at him with her mouth slightly open, tongue coming out to slowly lick her lips.
He hardened instantly.
Silent, she turned around and presented him a view of her smooth back, her hands settling on the elevator wall and her sleepy gray eyes watching him.
Like a man beckoned to the depths of sin itself, Nick did as she asked. His hands came up to trail on her zipper. It was similar to that of the red dress, but it wasn’t stuck, and down it went smoothly, smoothly—
Her dress came down, pooling at her waist. His hands remained at her back, and without thought, he let his palms touch. He bent down to put his mouth on a spot on her neck, a whisper away. Slowly, ever so slowly, he let himself kiss her skin. He could hear her sharp intake of breath, but she didn’t protest.
“You’re all done,” he said, gruffly.
“My bra,” she whispered. “I can’t—”
“Let me,” he interrupted before she could finish.
In seconds, her bra was on the elevator floor and her whole back was exposed. His hands roamed all over the silky warmth before he cupped her beautiful globes, feeling the heavy weight.
Beautiful.
When his thumbs rested on her stiff nipples, she arched against him and moaned. The action sent her butt right against his groin, and he felt his self-control tether to a point of no return as he ground against her, letting her feel his massive erection.
She moaned again and pushed back.
“Tell me what you want,” he breathed harshly, hands massaging her breasts.
“I can’t—”
“Tell me, Alex,” he repeated, teeth grazing her ear.
“I want—please—make me come.”
It was the only consent he needed as the last of his restraint shattered.
---
Alex could remember things, and most of them were this:
Nick kissing her again, and it was the most glorious feeling ever.
Nick sucking her breasts, teasing her stiffened nipples as she unashamedly cried out for more.
Nick removing her panties, his hands cupping her wetness.
Nick lifting her dress and licking her everywhere, then there at her core where she needed it most.
Nick’s fingers slickly sliding in, out, in, out, faster, faster—
Her orgasm sending a delicious tremor all through her body.
The last thing she remembered were strong hands carrying her, a low voice telling her to sleep tight and a soft, soft kiss. Alex yawned, burying her head in the warmth of his skin. Th
en she slept.
---
When she was very safely tucked in her bed, Nick resisted sliding beside her and went to his own unit instead. He walked straight to the bathroom, stripping his clothes off as he did so. He stared at his cock, an angry color as it jutted out proudly, waiting for relief.
Then he took the coldest shower of his life.
CHAPTER TEN
Alex woke up to the smell of bacon permeating the air, sunlight on her eyelids and the feeling that she just had the best night of her life. Out of habit, she headed straight for the bathroom and showered quickly, her mind muddled as she tried to organize last night’s events in her thoughts.
It wasn’t until she was already putting on a loose shirt and trudging barefoot in the living room that she realized one crucial thing – Sam.
Sam never cooked food.
Alex stared as she found Nick standing by the stove, wearing gray cotton pajama pants and exposing a great deal of his broad shoulders. Those shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist, before giving way to a very defined ass. Images of last night’s escapade finally fell into pieces, particularly how that ass fervently moved against her, over and over.
Her mouth went dry.
As if sensing her stare, Nick turned his head. Those brown eyes darkened at the sight of her before returning to normal. His hands deftly arranged food on a plate, and without another word, he was crossing the short distance and handing her the said plate, filled with bacon and fried green tomatoes.
Then he was hungrily kissing her breath away.
She responded automatically, unable to resist. It lasted only briefly before he gently pulled away.
“Good morning,” he whispered gruffly in her ear.
“Good morning,” she murmured back.
“Eat that up. You need your energy. For later.”
“Later?”
“We’ll finish what we started, Alex.”
The tone of his voice shot heat straight through her spine.
Nick nudged her to the couch, telling her to fill up and going back to the kitchen. He came back with a bowl of strawberries and cream and told her it was for dessert. Then he sat down on the couch’s other end and watched.
It was the most awkward and erotic thing, perhaps, to try to finish her food while a hot-blooded man gazed at her with obvious lust in his eyes. She ate fast, unable to concentrate and getting to dessert in record time. She dipped one strawberry in the cream and licked.
He followed her mouth’s every move.
Attempting to lighten the situation, Alex smiled.
“So do you do this to women often? Seduce them with strawberries and all that jazz?”
Returning his gaze to her eyes, Nick smiled and sidled closer.
“You want to learn a little secret?”
Alex shrugged, feigning indifference.
“One: I don’t seduce women. They seduce me.”
“Oh, you are such a conceitedjerk—”
In a move as quick as lighting, he pulled her until she was sitting at his lap, his mouth on her cheek.
“Two: I can’t stop wanting to seduce you.”
The second kiss that he gave her that day left her brains in short circuit, and she had to gather her wits again just to talk. “We agreed we’d – we’d – keep this professional…”
His hands trailed inside her shirt, caressing her skin and feathering over the edges of her breasts. He cupped one, thumb trailing on her nipple in circles. His other hand steadied her waist as he ground up, at the same time pulling her down.
His erection nudged at her core straight through her panties, and they both moaned.
“What I feel for you is the farthest thing from professional.”
She couldn’t speak, could only kiss him back at the sensation.
“Tell me if you want me to stop,” he rasped. “I will. Christ, I’d hate it, but I will.”
Did she want to stop?
In response, Alex raised her arms in the air, giving him silent consent to remove it.
There were no words after that as he put his mouth everywhere and sent her flying. When she came back down from the high, she gave him a sly smile.
It was time to return the favor.
---
Nick’s eyes devoured the sight of Alex writhing in pleasure. Then his hard-on poked out even higher when she gave him a smile straight from his fantasies, and whispered words he hadn’t expected to hear.
“I want to touch you, Nick.”
Her hands followed instinct, rubbing him through his pants before taking him out and pumping, her gray eyes watching his every reaction. She licked her lips again, and he had to fist his own hands on the couch. Then she whispered that she wanted to taste him.
Fuck.
Her mouth was shy as first, but she was a quick learner. The way her mouth took his cock, licking every inch and sucking him – and moaning like she enjoyed every bit of it – almost had him exploding, and he had to push her away before he could do so.
They removed the rest of their clothes and rubbed against each other, their kisses growing more desperate. When she was almost at the brink, he guided himself outside her opening, letting the tip touch.
He asked her once more if she wanted him to stop. She shook her head and nudged him on.
Then he was sliding inside her, slowly at first until he was buried to the hilt. Liquid heat, threatening to consume him. Wrapping her shapely legs around his waist, he positioned himself and thrust languidly, smug at the surprised oh that came out of her mouth. The murmur became a series of cries as he increased his pace – long, powerful strokes as she begged him to go faster, faster—
She exploded in a haze of lust and wonder. After a few seconds, he followed her with an almost-violent release.
---
Nick woke up to the scent of jasmine and the feeling of a soft, familiar woman in his arms.
He had taken her three times before they finally tumbled into bed: slowly making love on the couch, a quickie on the rug with her unreservedly riding him and another against the kitchen counter, when the cream fight became a cream fuck. They had kept on touching each other on the bed after, but they were already too sleepy to continue. He spooned her and promised they’d do it again in the morning.
He had never stayed in a woman’s bed overnight before. He found that he didn’t want to stay out of Alex’s.
Imagine that.
Said woman in his arms stirred, and he felt his arousal come to life again. Nick resumed touching her, loving the sweet sounds that came out of her mouth as he let his fingers play with her nipples, then dip her core. She was already wet and hot, clenching around him. Without further ado, he guided his cock from behind and slid inside her, groaning at the tightness. After adjusting, he lazily started thrusting in and out.
“Good morning,” he greeted.
“Good morn—Niiiicccck.”
With a wicked grin, Nick pumped faster.
“Want to play a game of StarCross later?” he asked, finger flicking her clit repeatedly. The fire in his belly was burning higher, higher—
“Yes. Pleaseeeee.”
It was a very pleasurable day indeed.
---
The feature article came out with relative success, and Axel was revealed with flair. Nick got his promotion immediately. The game went on the market, and while not as successful as others, it did well enough.
One year into their relationship, Nick proposed. Life was good.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The man stared at the sleeping dog, deep snores breezing out of its nostrils and white foam dripping from its half-open mouth.
It was of average size, innocent enough in slumber that the man had half a mind to just take out his sword and kill it in one vicious slice. But who knew what else the kill would bring?
Going against instinct, he silently crept past and went inside the castle’s treasure room.
It was filled to the brim and almost spilling from every cor
ner. Bronze trunks and gold coins, jewels of every color and size – a staggering wealth to last a thousand lifetimes, and more. Silently treading the marbled floor, careful not to let his bare feet touch anything, the man let his eyes sweep the room, looking for the one treasure he needed to steal. A clock chimed on a nearby wall, a large rectangular treasure frosted with brilliant crystals.
He had only one clue, and limited time.
Find the most precious. Touch nothing else.
What was the most precious in a room full of all things precious?
Diamonds would have been the most obvious answer. Or sapphires – this city’s official stone. The tick tock echoed in the room in time with his thoughts, and he siphoned his knowledge and past experiences trying to look for the answer.
Tick tock—
Black pearls. Emeralds.
Tick tock—
Gold was timeless. Gold was precious.
Tick tock tick tock tick tock—
And then it clicked. The man gazed at the clock as it chimed midnight, a loud booming sound.
Time. Time was more precious.
But the clock was too big to carry.
He scanned quickly, knowing that midnight has come and things were about to get nasty. Scan to the left, scan to the right, faster, faster—
There.
The man picked up the tiny pocket watch resting beside a bundle of rubies. It was made of pure gold, shining as bright as the gold coins. Without so much as a backward glance, he sprinted as fast as his feet would carry him, opening the door and slipping out—
And coming face to face with a wide awake dog – one with yellow eyes and big, sharp teeth, half of its face rotting.
The man slid the sword out of its sheath.
Smoke appeared out of nowhere, and the dog grew bigger in size – and began to attack.
He was no match for it, and he knew it. As the creature lunged for his extended arm and prepared itself to tear him to pieces, he could only regret one fatal mistake.
He should have killed it in its sleep.
---
Best Friends To Lovers Romance Series: Complete Series Boxed Set Romance Page 20
