by Jo Leigh
“A good toy, though,” he said. “The bed’s probably got a mattress that doesn’t try to swallow me every night.”
“I told you to switch rooms.”
He almost said exactly where he’d prefer to sleep.
“The management company here charges a slightly higher fee than most,” Aiko said, “but they have a sterling reputation. They screen everyone who works for them. Drug test, checkup on past employers. They’re worth it.”
“I like the layout,” Shannon said, opening the closet door. It was huge for New York. You could actually walk inside the thing, although you couldn’t walk far.
“If the bathrooms are as well-done as the kitchen, this place is a real contender.” She walked into the bath, and he could tell by her sigh that it had passed the test.
He joined her at the door and nodded when he saw where she was staring. “Whirlpool bath.”
“Look at the shower,” she said. Then she walked into the glass-enclosed stall and turned on the water.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking the pressure. We’re twelve floors up.”
“You’ll get soaked.”
Undaunted, she rolled up the sleeve of her white blouse and stuck her hand under the stream. “Oh, yeah. I like this one.”
“Aiko, are they getting action?”
“It only went on the market this morning. I was told we’d be the first to see it. I’m still not sure how she found out about it.”
“She?”
Aiko nodded at Shannon.
Nate was puzzled. “You found it?”
“I told you at the wedding I’d ask around.”
“Huh,” he said. “That doesn’t happen very often. I thought it was like ‘Have a nice day’ or ‘Welcome to Walmart.’”
Shannon laughed, drying her hand with one of the guest towels. The town house had been staged for sale, which was smart. It was easier for him to get a feel for the place with furniture in situ. In fact… “Can we see about buying it as is? I like the way it’s decorated.”
“I can ask,” Aiko said.
“Also,” Shannon said, stepping closer to the pedestal sink, “can you see if they’re amenable to a fast escrow?”
Aiko looked at the sheet she’d picked up from the seller earlier that morning. “Nate’s prequalified, so I don’t think they’ll object. But it all depends on what kind of offer you want to make.”
“Why don’t we adjourn for lunch,” Nate suggested. “We can discuss offers over food.”
Both women nodded, and he escorted them out of the building. He would make sure to sit across from Aiko at lunch so he could focus on the business at hand. He wanted it over with so he could make plans with Shannon about the night ahead.
* * *
SHANNON SLIPPED OFF HER shoes and curled her toes into her bedroom rug. Today had gone more smoothly than she’d ever expected, which worried the hell out of her. The Easter baskets had been finished, all hundred of them, by her mother’s book group. Shannon had thought it was hysterical when she’d heard the books they discussed were cookbooks, but then she’d been invited to a meeting and the lunch had been outrageously good. Her mom hadn’t let her forget it.
Nate’s offer had been submitted on that fantastic Bleeker Court co-op apartment. Her phone tree had come through in spades, and she owed Bree Kingston for that tip. Or maybe it was Bree’s boyfriend, Charlie, who’d gotten the inside scoop.
Shannon opened her purse and took out Nate’s trading card. She’d gotten it back from Ariel, who had been very disappointed. The pain hadn’t run too deep, though, seeing as how she’d talked nonstop about her lawyer friend David during lunch. They hadn’t gone out yet, but they had been meeting up after work for drinks. Other lawyers were there as well so it wasn’t too suspicious. Shannon gave it two weeks at the most before they broke down and did the deed. They were only human, and Ariel was clearly over the moon about this guy.
Shannon knew what that felt like. But at least David and Ariel lived in the same country.
It didn’t seem very fair that she’d finally found her perfect trading card man and she couldn’t have him. A cosmic joke on her, she supposed. She’d put her heart and soul into the trading cards, not to mention her skills, and while she was happy for everyone who had met their match, she felt cheated.
After Nate went back to Indonesia, she’d start dating again. Maybe now that she knew what she wanted she’d be able to find someone like Nate. Probably not as funny, though. Or as sweet.
She put the card away, then changed into her favorite pair of worn jeans and a cozy sweater she’d had for ages. Her folks were out for the evening at a play. Her father had grumbled, but every once in a while he just had to suck it up and take his wife someplace nice to eat before a Broadway show.
Brady was staying at his girlfriend Paula’s, as usual, and Danny had a work function so she knew he wouldn’t be popping in unexpectedly. Which left her and Nate alone for the evening. He’d wanted to take her out, to thank her for the day, but she was tired, and she hadn’t had a night to chill in a long while. They were going to order in Chinese food, then watch a movie.
It sounded great, but she wasn’t at all sure if she’d be better off locking herself in her bedroom right now. Being alone with Nate was a huge risk. She wanted to believe she wasn’t going to give in to her baser urges. After all, they were both adults. Responsible adults.
On the other hand, they probably wouldn’t be alone again before Nate had to leave the country, and who knew when or if the sale would go through, so maybe one time wouldn’t be all that terrible?
Oh. Damn.
* * *
NATE WASN’T USED TO THE house being so quiet. So empty. It had been the worst idea ever to stay in.
Now that they’d finished their dinner and were running through the pay-per-view movies, all he could think of was curling Shannon into his arms on the couch and making out like a couple of teenagers. As usual, his cock wasn’t looking at the bigger picture, but for tonight making out would be fantastic. Dangerous beyond words. Still, fantastic.
“I don’t want to see anything depressing,” Shannon said, from all the way at the other end of the couch.
“Definitely not. Hate depressing.”
She had her gaze on the LED TV above the fireplace, and her hand on the remote, clicking and clicking. She had socks on. Multicolored fuzzy socks. Under jeans that had been designed specifically to make her bottom look like the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. The sweater, however, was just mean. It was probably warm as all get-out, but it hid way too much. He could picture what was underneath, yes, but that wasn’t a good idea. His imagination was already going crazy without trying to guess the exact pink of her nipples.
He bit back a groan and shifted on his section of the couch, stealthily adjusting his jeans. “Sure you don’t want to take a walk over to Molly’s?”
“It’s karaoke night.” The look she gave him expressed her feelings about amateur vocalists quite succinctly.
“We could sit far away from the speakers.”
“We are sitting far away from the speakers.”
She had a point. His point kept pressing harder against his fly. “All right, how about we go to Café Lalo and get some dessert? I’ve heard they have over a hundred kinds of cakes. Jazz, too. Coffee and chocolate cake, huh? Yeah?”
“Oh, God, after eating all that lo mein? I’d burst.”
There had to be something in Manhattan that would convince Shannon to get up and go out, because he couldn’t take this much longer. Sitting close, but not close enough. The memory of their kiss was the elephant in the room. A very large, very insistent elephant.
“This is supposed to be funny,” she said.
He looked up at the TV. He’d seen the movie, hadn’t liked it. “Saw it.” Was she really that indifferent to their last kiss that she could flip through channels as if any movie on there was more interesting than the fact that the two of them were al
one in the house? Frankly, it was kind of pissing him off.
“Okay, then you choose,” she said, as she kept on clicking. Each time she paused, Nate said, “Saw it.”
When she cleared her throat, he looked up from where he’d been staring at the area of her breasts beneath the Evil Sweater of Shattered Dreams. He smiled as benignly as he could.
“So Bali has a ton of multiplexes? Because I thought you said you didn’t have a TV so you couldn’t have cable or satellite, right?”
He nodded. “Tons of multiplexes. Practically on every street corner.”
“For a man who travels the world and has seen countless amazing and wonderful things, you’re a ridiculously bad liar.”
“What do my travels have to do with it?”
She turned off the TV. “You don’t want to be here. With me. You don’t want to be here alone with me.”
He exhaled loudly. “No. I don’t.”
“Okay, then,” she said as she put down the remote. “I’ll just leave you here to spend the evening however you like.”
“Fine,” he said, but then she stood up. “Wait, wait. That’s not why. I want to be with you. I do. Come on, you didn’t think I meant I didn’t want to be with you.”
She grinned at him. “No. I understood exactly what you were implying.” She continued to smile as she walked toward him. But the closer she got, the more uncertain she appeared. Still, she kept on coming. “We could sit here and make out until someone comes home,” she said, and then she flicked her gorgeous hair back behind her shoulder.
His breathing was becoming problematic. “Okay. I can do that. I can do the hell out of that.”
She stopped slightly out of his reach. “But that’s it. Just kissing. Because doing more than that would be a huge mistake. A giant, horrifying mistake.”
“Horrifying?”
“No, I didn’t mean it that way. It wouldn’t be horrifying at all. Never. I’m so sorry. It wouldn’t even be a mistake. Certainly not a huge mistake, because you’re great. You’re really…really great.”
He took her hand. “And you’re amazing. Now stop talking so we can start kissing.”
She nodded. “Excellent advice.” Shannon sat down next to him and put her hand on his thigh. “Think we can do this without getting ourselves in trouble?”
Shit. He wasn’t about to lie. Besides, they both knew the answer to that question.
“There could be consequences.” Her voice was low and serious, but her hand had moved up his thigh. Not far enough up his thigh.
“Like going to your bedroom?” he asked. “Because no one else is home? And we have the house to ourselves? Alone?”
She grinned at him. “You must be smoother than this. It’s impossible for you to have lived your incredible life and been this dorky with women. Look at the way you dress.”
“You’re not just any woman.”
Her breath caught and he watched the beauty of her blush blossom across her pale, pale skin. He stared into eyes that had grown dark with want. He was hoping as hard as he’d ever hoped that she’d want to use that bed of hers right now. He had a condom…well, two condoms…in his wallet. And he wanted to take off her sweater more than he wanted to breathe.
“I’m pretty sure we’re about to make that mistake we were talking about,” she whispered as her hand moved one last inch.
* * *
HE LED HER UPSTAIRS, AND Shannon could hear his harsh breathing, but that wasn’t caused by the climb. Neither was her own thundering heartbeat. They were going up to her room, and she was being stupid, stupid, so stupid that it broke records for being stupid. Not that she cared. Because she wanted him, and this might be it. Her one chance.
Honestly, it wasn’t that much of a mistake. She was already going to go through hell when he left. At least now she’d have a sexy memory to keep her warm at night. Until she got over him, which she most definitely would.
They reached the second floor, and he walked so fast she was practically running to keep up with him. She liked that a lot. He pulled her inside her bedroom, then slammed the door so hard she jumped, and then he locked it. The next second she was in his arms and his mouth covered hers.
He slid his hands under her sweater and the first touch on her warm skin was electric. He moved quickly up to her bra and surprised her by passing right by her breasts.
“Off,” he whispered against her lips. “Off now.”
Ah. She stepped back and let him tug up the sweater and toss it away. Good thing she’d decided to wear one of her pretty bras and matching blue panties.
He stared, wide-eyed with wonder, as if he’d never seen such fabulous lingerie, which she knew couldn’t be true. If he liked the undergarment so much, she wondered what he’d look like when she reached behind and undid the clasp.
She stretched out the moment, the performer in her loving the standing ovation in his pants. When she finally let the bra fall to the floor, his lips parted and he slowly blinked.
“Pink,” he said.
“Pink?”
He nodded. “Perfect and pink. God.”
She wouldn’t have guessed she’d be this nervous, not with Nate, but the way he was staring at her…wow. With unsteady fingers she undid her jeans and let them drop, then toed off her socks.
He was unbuttoning his shirt so fast she thought he’d pop a button. She’d already seen his chest, but it was a welcome sight especially since she would get to touch it this time.
He ripped his wallet out of his pocket, took out two condoms and put them on the nightstand. Then he shook off his jeans the same way he danced. Adorably. Next it was shoes and socks, and he didn’t even try to pretend that he wasn’t hot and aching for her. When he stood up after slipping off his boxers, he was so hard his erection pressed against his stomach.
She swallowed thickly at the heat that filled her from the inside out. He was stunning, and, oh, the way he wanted her.
10
NATE TOOK HER HANDS AND pulled her back with him until he sat down on her bed. Her breasts were a most incredible sight, but not nearly enough.
He put his fingers underneath the edge of her panties and pushed them down, laying kisses on the soft, sweet, pale skin all the way down to the top of her red, red triangle. “Oh, God,” he said as her panties dropped and he sat back, needing some distance to see the total picture and also to slow down. It would be a shame to hurry through this. “You’re…”
“Thank you.”
He looked up at her. “You are.”
“So are you.”
He reached behind her, his large hands on her waist, and he drew her closer. He breathed in the scent of her as he bent to that incredible patch of brilliant red hair and he kissed her right there before he moved down. He nuzzled against her until his lips found her soft folds.
She gasped above him, her fingers snaking through his hair.
“Spread your legs,” he whispered.
Either the words or his breath did something for her, if her shiver was anything to go by. She parted her thighs, and he moaned as he kissed her, savoring her taste as he explored with his tongue.
He wasn’t able to reach everything, not in the position he was in, but that would be all right. He got far enough to make her squirm, to make her tug at his hair as he became more and more focused. God, she tasted so good, and his hands had moved down to her lush, round buttocks. He squeezed them none too gently. Her moan said she had no complaints.
He’d felt her tense. Her body had grown rigid, and dammit, he couldn’t stand the angle so he pushed her back until he could drop to his knees.
Now it was both hands on his head, and she quivered in his arms. He had that little nub of hers held between his lips and he sucked hard before he used his tongue once more.
Shannon cried out above him. She pulsed her hips forward, pressing herself down on his tongue, and then she froze, just froze as he felt her body spasm in release.
He didn’t stop until she made him. When
he stood, they were both panting, and her cheeks were as pink as her nipples. He kissed her, threw back the sheets and finally got them both horizontal.
The feel of her trembling from knee to chest was a full body rush. His hand went to her shoulder, then down. At the first hint of the curve of her breast, he paused, rolled over to grab a condom and sheath himself. When he came back to her, it was with a heartfelt sigh. “I want more,” he said. “I want everything.”
“Yes,” she whispered, her voice more breath than sound. She ran her palm down his chest, right to his nipple, which she proceeded to rub and tug between two of her fingers.
He moaned, and when he cupped her breast at last, she whispered, “Now, please.”
He moved his legs between her thighs, took hold of himself and entered her. Nothing in his life had ever felt better than that slow slide.
* * *
SHANNON TREMBLED ONCE he was flush inside her. Her head fell back on the pillow as she groaned her pleasure. He was made for her body, exactly the right everything that made her feel wonderful and wicked.
She’d already known his kisses fit her to a T, but she hadn’t known what his body would feel like as it rubbed against hers, and she hadn’t imagined how his hands would thrill her.
He rolled his tongue over her beaded nipple and she arched her back, pushing her breast into his mouth.
He caught her legs and pulled them around his hips, then ran his hand up the bottom of her thigh. Pushing with his palm, he encouraged her to bring her knees closer to her chest.
Nate moved in tighter, deeper. “Look at me,” he said, his voice as low as she’d ever heard it.
She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes. Staring into his gaze while they were so incredibly connected exaggerated every sensation. Not just the flush that was the beginning of yet another orgasm, but how his hard chest rubbed against her nipples and his breath brushed across her lips. Shuddering, she reached up to touch his face but she had no strength in her arm and it fell back against the sheets. He bent his head and kissed her right knee, his gaze never wavering from hers.
With a small controlled thrust, he drove in deeper, rocking against her, so deep, the pressure so unbearable that she gasped and jerked. Instinctively she clenched her muscles, squeezing him, and he tensed.
