by Jan Meredith
“Calendar?”
He nodded.
“What month?”
“December. And yes, I wore a Santa hat.”
“And a wreath?”
“Yep.”
Her brows lifted.
“Around my neck. You have a dirty mind, Ms. Roberts.” The gleam in his eyes said he approved. “Back to my question. What drew you to nursing?”
“Nothing as dramatic as you, I’m afraid.”
“Ever pose for a ‘naughty nurse’ photo?”
A laugh slipped out. “Okay, I deserved that.”
“Does that mean…?”
“No.”
His gaze drifted over her. “Pity.”
She cut him a look, took a sip of her drink and set it back down. “After Drew was born, I took a job as an ER tech and knew I’d found my niche. The hospital offered a tuition reimbursement program, and I went for it.” She shrugged. “There’s no other field I’d want to work in. Where else can you feel good that you’ve made a difference, be frustrated out of your mind and entertained all at the same time, and get paid for it?”
“I hear you.” He reached for her hand. “Or meet an incredibly sexy woman while doing CPR on a wedding guest.” The rough pad of his thumb skated over the soft flesh of her inner wrist. “A woman I’d very much like to spend more time with.”
She stared wordlessly across at him, unable to deny the spark of excitement that curled low in her belly at the prospect of extending their evening together. He had turned their conversation around so easily, taken them full circle back to this invisible web of attraction building between them. An attraction she was eager to explore to the fullest.
“Will you show me some more of your moves?” Connie would be so proud of her bold, flirtatious behavior.
“Yeah, but right now, I’d really like a repeat of yours.” His gaze dropped to her mouth.
“So, what’s stopping you?”
It was all the invitation he needed. With a low curse, Gabe scraped his chair over, moved closer until he left her no room at all. His mouth took hers, claimed it for his own, not giving her a chance to recant the invitation. Not that she would. Not when she could taste the sweet, almond-flavored liquor of his drink as his tongue plunged inside, tangled with hers, only to retreat and plunge again.
“God, you taste good,” he murmured against her lips, before diving in for another taste. “Like wine and woman and sin.” His left arm slid over the back of her chair, circled her shoulders and pulled her close. His right hand moved over her stomach, the tip of his thumb brushing the soft underside of her breast. She arched up, offering him more. A soft moan rose up from her throat when he took it, encompassing her breast in the warmth of his palm.
Desire, dark and rich as the most potent wine, flowed with a fevered rush through her veins. Heat flooded her sex. The soft murmur of voices barely penetrated the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.
Pulling back, Beth broke the seal of their lips. Her lids drifted up. His eyes blazed back at her.
The maître d’ breezed past them, seating another couple a few tables away. Gabe’s eyes tracked her progress, and then swung back to Beth. “This isn’t the place…”
The unfinished comment hung between them like bait dangling on a hook. The implication was clear—the choice was hers. She could rise up, take the bait and all it offered. Or she could cut and run. She took a breath, made the plunge.
“No, it isn’t.”
A muscle ticked in Gabe’s jaw. “Let’s go.”
He tossed a couple of bills on the table, took her hand, and led her out of the lounge.
Beth settled deeper into the car seat and watched the streetlights glide past her window as they drove back to her hotel, the silence broken only by the song playing on the radio.
Her body continued to thrum with feelings, sensations she’d thought long dead. She’d never had a one night stand, had never even contemplated having one…with any man, especially one she’d only known for a few hours, but that’s exactly what she was doing.
Thank you, Connie, for planting that seed in my head.
Who was she kidding? Placing the blame on her well-meaning friend wasn’t fair. She was human, after all. Had the same fantasies, desires, and needs that most women had. She had the secret toy—and a couple of its cousins—with all the bells and whistles tucked in the back of her lingerie drawer that served an immediate purpose, but a quick fix wasn’t what she wanted, what she needed tonight. She needed strong arms holding her against a long, muscled body, rough hands skimming over her skin…the smooth glide of a hard cock inside her.
She slid a sidelong glance at Gabe and watched the city lights play across his face. Yeah, she knew exactly what she needed, what she wanted, and who she wanted giving it to her. But he was quiet now, his elbow resting on the car door and his thumb absently tapping his mouth, a thoughtful frown worrying his brow as he concentrated on the traffic. The silence was killing her.
“Talk to me. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Gabe pulled into the hotel parking lot and cut the engine. Hooking his wrist over the steering wheel, he turned and looked at her. “I’m not ready to end this, and I think…hope we’re on the same track. If not, then I apologize, but I think you should invite me up so we see where this goes.”
She was surprised and so very relieved to hear his words echo her own thoughts. There was no second-guessing what he was suggesting, no point in pretending otherwise. The anticipation sent a shimmer of excitement through her. Adrenaline raced through her veins at what she was about to say, what she was about to do.
“Yes, I’d like that,” she murmured, her voice a little shaky. When Gabe heaved out a sigh of relief and reached for her, she held up her hand. “But I have a stipulation.”
The expression on his face would have been comical if the situation wasn’t so emotionally charged, and Beth almost smiled. She’d bet her new stethoscope he was expecting her to say, no sex. Well, he couldn’t be further off the track. She wanted everything he could give her…and more.
“I have no room for romance or a relationship in my life, nor do I want it. I want no complications, and you can expect the same from me. This is for one night only,” she said.
Gabe nodded. The relief on his face told her they were of the same mindset where emotional involvement was concerned. Good.
“You should know that I’m free of any sexually transmitted disease. I was tested after my husband died.” She continued when he nodded again. “What we’re considering is sex, pure and simple, between two consenting adults, nothing more. Are we agreed?”
“No.”
For a moment, Beth wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “No?”
“No. I have a couple of stipulations of my own.”
Well, she certainly hadn’t expected this. Beth shifted in her seat. Wary and more than a little apprehensive, she said, “Please, go on.”
“First off, you should also know that I’ve never had an STD in my life. Secondly, I agree with the no romance, no relationship, no complications part and that we’re considering consensual—emphasis on the sensual—sex,” he corrected.
Gabe leaned across the seat, drove his fingers in her hair, took her mouth and her breath along with it. It was quick and thorough, a little rough with urgency. “Now, my stipulations.” He looked at her, his eyes grave. “You set the comfort level in everything we do. I want you to know you’re safe with me. I’ve been hard for you since the moment I first saw you. I want you easy and slow, hard and fast.” His gaze dropped to her mouth, the rough pad of his thumb skimmed over her bottom lip, and what he said next took her breath away. “I want to feel you come around my cock and against my mouth, and more than anything, I want to feel you swallow me deeper than I’ve ever been swallowed before. I want you on your back, straddling my hips, and on your hands and knees. It can be sweet and innocent or I can flat out fuck you until you can’t walk if that’s the way you want it, but
there will be nothing pure or simple about it. Are we agreed?”
Heat rippled over her sex. Her nipples tightened until even the soft satin of her bra felt abrasive. She couldn’t form a response, could only nod as she stared into his heavy-lidded, lust-filled eyes. His words were dark and erotic, his voice deep and rich with promise, and she wanted it all. She’d never been so turned on in her life.
“Are we agreed?” he repeated.
“Yes, we’re agreed.”
He held her gaze a moment longer, and then slid out of the car. There were no words of praise for her vehicle this time when he helped her to stand. His focus remained solely on her.
She felt the power, the hunger within Gabe as he adjusted his long stride to match hers. They crossed the hotel lobby and stepped into the elevator.
“What floor are you on?” Gabe asked, studying the numbered panel on the wall. He slid his arm around her waist, holding her to his side with a possessiveness she found both soothing and arousing.
“Eleven.” Now, having made the decision to spend the night with Gabe, Beth fully intended to take Connie’s advice to set her inner vixen free. Tonight was about sex. About dropping her insecurities and inhibitions for one night with the first man she’d wanted to go to bed with in years. A man she would walk away from in the morning and never see again. He wanted her, no doubt about that. The things he’d said to her in the car made his intentions explicitly clear, his voice, rough and deep as he told her in no uncertain terms what he wanted to do to her…and for her to do for him. A shiver of anticipation moved through her.
Chapter Six
Following Beth into her room, Gabe closed the door and blew out a silent whistle of appreciation. Spacious and decorated in shades of cream and white, there was a small sitting area with a pair of overstuffed chairs and a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall over a fully stocked wet bar. Tucked in a corner, a compact office area was already in use, a laptop and several open folders occupying the desk.
To his right, an open door revealed a bathroom, but the focal point of the room was the California King.
She set her purse on the entry table, looked around, and ran her hands down her hips. Her teeth worried her lower lip and he could almost see the wheels turning, thoughts swimming in her pretty head, thinking, Now what?
“Do you, um…want something to drink?”
Just you. From your luscious lips and that sweet, wet spot between your legs. “No, I’m fine, thanks.”
She looked away, running her fingers through her hair. “I’ve never done anything like this.” She drew in a shaky breath and it seemed her whole body trembled when she blew it out. “I…think you should know there hasn’t been anyone since Jamie, my husband…and no one else before him.” Her hands came up, fell back at her sides. “I have no idea where to begin.”
It was the uncertainty that slayed him.
Gabe hadn’t thought it possible to be so filled with wanting and so humbled in the same moment. Four years. He’d tasted the desire on her lips, felt her body vibrate with it. Had she held all that passion in check for four years, or given in to what nature had gifted her with and pleasured herself? He opted for the latter and the mental image that thought evoked sent a spear of lust straight to his cock.
“I’m honored you chose me.” He pushed away from the door and took her hand, brought it to his lips, and held it there with his eyes closed, absorbing her warmth and accepting her precious gift. “Why don’t we start with this?” He skimmed his hands up her arms and over her shoulders to tunnel them through the heavy curtain of her hair. He tipped her face up and took her mouth. He wanted to go slow, but when she bowed her body into his, made that soft sound in the back of her throat…damn!
Dragging his mouth from hers, Gabriel hesitated, giving her the opportunity to change her mind, and praying she wouldn’t.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“I’m sure.”
“Thank God. I was ready to beg.” He grazed his fingers along her jaw. “Would you have liked me to?”
The corners of her mouth, moist from his kiss, lifted. “Maybe later.”
Gabe swallowed, found his mouth dry after all, and cursed himself for not taking her up on the offer for a drink.
Taking her hand, he brought her to stand closer to the bed. When she turned to him, he pulled her in. “Tell me what you like.”
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “Kissing. I like the way you kiss.”
“My pleasure.” He nudged her lips open, slid his tongue in to rub against hers in a way that was blatantly sexual, purely carnal. When she gave it a small, quick suck, he dragged his mouth from hers, gulped in air.
“You’re killing me,” he groaned. He rested his forehead against hers, which gave him an enticing view of her cleavage. “I’d like a slow death, please.”
Gabe ran his finger along the inside of the lapel of her jacket. He could see the faint cleft of her breasts, then flicked open the top button to reveal a little more. When she reached up and began to work at the buttons, he stopped her. “Let me,” he murmured. “It’s been driving me mad all day, wondering what you’re wearing under there, and how to talk you out of it.” Her mouth formed a surprised little “o”. Had no one ever told her how damned sexy she was? He’d take care of that tonight.
He was a man who appreciated the total woman, her mind as well as her body, but now, with Beth all warm and pliant, all he could think about was peeling her out of that little blue suit and getting her naked.
Unwrapping her like the gift she was, Gabe slowly peeled away each layer with fingers that trembled with the need to rush, with the want to savor. Her jacket fell from her shoulders, revealing lavender silk and black lace designed to tease and torment a man to insanity. Reaching around, Gabe unhooked her bra and slid it down her arms. The lace clung to the tips of her breasts, as if reluctant to give up such a precious prize, then joined the jacket on the floor. Her nipples stood high, swollen and needy. He ducked his head and licked one before sucking it into his mouth, then gave equal care to its twin. A soft moan of pleasure rose from her throat and almost robbed him of his resolve to go slow. With a final flick of his tongue, he released the soft mound.
Kneeling, Gabe ran his hand over the firm curve of her ass. He found the zipper at the back of her skirt, slid it down. Beth shimmied her hips and the fabric pooled at her feet. Resting her hand on his shoulder to steady herself, she kicked the fabric aside.
He sat back on his heels, drank in the sight of her. There was nothing more erotic on earth than a curvaceous woman, her breasts bare and peaked, wearing nothing but a scrap of satin and lace between her legs, thigh highs, and sexy as hell heels. Then again, his opinion was subject to change, he thought, reaching for the scrap of lace.
“Ah-ah…my turn.” Beth stepped back and urged him to stand. She tugged his shirt from the waistband of his jeans and pushed it up, but the difference in their heights prevented her from taking it any farther. Gabe grasped the collar and yanked it over his head, letting it drop to the floor.
For a moment, Beth simply looked, and then her hands were on him. His breath came out in a hiss of pleasure as she smoothed her palms over his chest, her fingernails scoring over his nipples. His muscles quivered and jumped beneath her fingers as they smoothed over his abdomen. He stood perfectly still, gave her the time she needed to explore his body. Soon, it would be his turn.
Behind his fly, his cock thickened and elongated. When she reached down and gently stroked him through his jeans, a groan of appreciation rumbled from deep within his chest.
“I just want to drag my tongue all over you.”
“Then do it.”
Her head snapped up, eyes wide, as if she’d been unaware she’d spoken her wish out loud. The pink stain that brightened her cheeks testified to the fact, and because he desperately wanted to feel her mouth on him, Gabe tunneled his fingers through her hair and brought her in.
She dragged her tongue up his abdomen
, a wet swipe that seared a trail of liquid heat across his skin. Lifting her head, she pressed her lips over his nipple and sucked. His fingers tightened around her skull and moved her mouth over him, showing her what he wanted, what he craved. She glanced up at him, eyes shimmering with heat, and gave his nipple a sharp little bite. Lust gripped his cock. His hands tightened before slipping free of her hair.
Kneeling, Gabe slid his fingers inside the barely there scrap of lace at the juncture of her thighs and peeled it down, revealing a strawberry shaped freckle just above the small patch of dark curls. His balls tightened. He had to get his mouth on her and soon. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to the freckle.
It’s true what they said about the little things in life that made you happy, and at this moment, with the rich heady scent of aroused woman filling his nostrils, he was a very happy man indeed.
As much as he hated it, the shoes had to go. His fantasy of sinking into her with those sinful heels clamped over his ass wasn’t going to hold up with what he had in mind for her at the moment. Lifting one foot, then the other, Gabe worked the buckles free, slid her shoes off, and set them aside. He skimmed his hand over the curve of her calf, hooked it under her knee, and draped it over his shoulder. The smooth silk of her thigh highs was an erotic contrast to the soft, tanned flesh of her inner thighs. He nudged her knee to the side with his cheek, pressing a soft kiss there. Yeah, he’d give up the shoes for this. Her pussy glistened, tempting and wet. Her clit beckoned and teased…taste me. His mouth watered in anticipation.
He glanced up, found her watching him with languid eyes. Her breasts rose and fell with each erratic breath.
“Do you know how you feel against my fingers?” He gently grazed the back of his fingers over her silky flesh. “Soft and wet.” He dragged his finger along her folds. “Will you be juicy and sweet against my tongue?”
Her breath rushed out, a shuddering sigh. Slowly, she tilted her hips. “Taste me and see.”
With a groan, Gabe dipped his head and licked her, catching her sweet nectar on his tongue. A moan of sheer pleasure ripped from Beth’s throat. She braced one hand on his shoulder, fisted the fingers of the other in his hair and held him there between her trembling thighs.
