by Misty Evans
“You want real? Okay, here it is. I grew up with loving, if nutty, parents, breezed through school, decided I like helping people, and here I am. Working for the 3 Wishes Foundation and enjoying life. No skeletons in my closet, no weird fetishes—unless you count the one about black lace tights and heels—and I’ve never done Pilates in my entire life, although I do enjoy watching women do it.”
Her cheek did this little tick and the corner of her lips moved.
“Wait, was that a smile?” He nudged her with his elbow. “Did I just get the ice queen to smirk?”
Her eyes widened in mock protest. “Ice queen? So now I’m a Disney princess? Nice, Alex. Real nice.”
Oh, she was indeed an ice queen, with a volcano of heat underneath waiting to explode. He wanted to widen the crack in her facade and let that molten lava out to play. “Are you sure you won’t have a drink? Or we could dance. Listen, it’s Shakira. You could show me some moves. Preferably ones that go along with the cardio strip tease. I hear the hips don’t lie.”
She smacked his arm. Contact.
The A-man was back on his game.
Alex smiled, loving that her shoulders were a bit looser, her face softer.
“I don’t dance,” she said, still trying to sound like the ice queen but failing, “with Boy Scouts.”
“That’s a shame. I have moves that other Boy Scouts never dreamt of.”
“I bet you do.” She slid off her stool, grabbed her credit card and slipped it into the cleavage of the dress. Then she picked up the heels setting on the floor and swung them around her fingers. “Or at least you think you do. I’m off to bed.”
Bed…Van. His cock twitched, already riled up after the talk about strip teases. He jumped up. “I’ll walk you to your room.”
She stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Thanks, but I know the way.”
He was about to argue when Liam’s father sidled up next to him. “Liam told me about your race Saturday. Congratulations. Best time yet.”
Van was walking away and Alex really didn’t want to discuss his racing. It was his hobby. A hobby he liked to keep secret from his family, who, thank God, weren’t here.
His gaze followed Van and her sexy legs walking away from him. He wanted to run after her, but he couldn’t be rude to Liam’s dad. He shook the man’s hand and patted him on the back. “Thanks.”
The guy didn’t let go. “Keep that up and the big guys will be coming after you, you know. I have a friend whose son is sponsored by Red Bull. Started out the same as you, sprint racing on the weekends. Now he’s doing Formula 1 as a career. He’s pulling in the sponsors, having the time of his life.”
Racing with a sponsor. Alex’s dream since he was a kid racing karts around a dirt track. A dream he would never follow. His work with 3 Wishes was his career. An important job where a lot of people counted on him, from the volunteers all the way to the board of directors. His mother and father would stroke out if they discovered he’d taken up racing again.
Van had disappeared out the door. Alex gave Liam’s dad another pat. “That’s great. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to call it a night.”
He didn’t wait for s response, but by the time he hit the hallway where the elevators were located, Van was gone.
Chapter Two
Why did she let that man get to her like this? Van leaned against the hotel room door and banged her head against it. He was infuriating. And sexy. Obstinate. But that kind of focus was hot. What would it be like to be the object of his focus for more than one bored night? She knew why he flirted with her so outrageously. He couldn’t stand the fact that she said no to him.
That made it all the more fun for her to say no.
Every time he tried, she could see the determined set of his jaw. She was the only person on earth that wasn’t ready to canonize his behind. So apparently, that made her instantly appealing. One thing was for sure, she had to find a way of ignoring the insane attraction to him. Not only was it unhealthy, but their best friends were now married. If anything happened between her and Alex, it could throw off the dynamic of the group. Thank God, she rarely had to see him back home in San Diego.
Because if she’d spent more time with him pre-engagement, she’d have known what a giant pain in the ass he was and would have warned Becca not to marry Liam.
She sighed and pressed into the door. Who was she kidding? She never would have done that. She loved Becca, and Liam clearly adored her bestie. She could and would put up with Mr. Charm Offensive. The things she would do for her friend.
Tossing her shoes in the corner, she checked the time on the clock. She needed to finish packing her last minute items before her flight back to San Diego in the morning.
Ten o’clock. Damn, had she really only lasted one hour after Becca and Liam left? Maybe Alex was right and she was a party pooper. It wasn’t that she didn’t like having fun, but crowds of people made her anxious. Especially a crowd of people where she barely knew anyone. Once the bride and groom had departed for some wedded bliss, the only person left whom she’d shared more than a couple of pleasant exchanges with was Alex. All the bridesmaids were from Becca’s previous life here in Princeton. Van didn’t really know any of them, and there was no way she’d cling to Alex for support.
When she’d agreed to be Becca’s maid of honor, she’d known how it would be. She’d been preparing for this moment for months. She’d given herself her buck up speech and it had helped through most of the wedding and reception. Totally easy with Becca around. Once she left, all of a sudden, Van was the new kid in school again, willing someone nice to come and talk to her. Unfortunately, Alex was the only one who seemed to be on the same frequency.
She couldn’t help thinking about what Alex had said about stockings and heels. Her body warmed from the inside. With a groan she tossed her clutch and credit card on the bureau. Indulging the little fantasy would only make her toss and turn for the rest of the night, and since she was on the six-hour flight with him back to San Diego tomorrow, it would be a recipe for disaster. There was no way she could dream about how he planned to make use of stockings and stilettos, then sit next to him for that long without jumping him.
Relax. All she needed was some separation and she’d be back to normal.
Because even though she didn’t actually like him, her body responded to whatever depraved mating call he put out.
Half the women at the reception had responded to that damn mating call. Okay, more than half, but the majority of them were with partners or were too old to take full advantage. She wasn’t.
She was pulling down her zipper when she noticed that instead of the cobalt blue of her Chase credit card sitting on the bureau, it was a clear card with American Express printed on the front. Thanks to laser eye surgery, she could read the name clearly. Alex McIntyre.
Damn it. She couldn’t even go to bed in peace. She jammed her feet back into her shoes and snatched up the card, along with her key, and stomped out of her room. There was no way she was spending the night with his card sitting there taunting her. She was going to get rid of it, and then she was going to get some sleep. Alone.
Then, she was going to forget all about Alex McIntyre.
Taking the stairs, she hoped to work off some of that frustration, but by the time she knocked on his door, panting, she was more annoyed, not less. Heels and stairs did not mix, and if he hadn’t distracted her at the bar, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
He didn’t answer for a minute. As she stood there, she refused to give in to irrational annoyance and kick his door. No doubt he’d picked up a willing participant from the reception crowd and was currently occupado. Fabulous.
She bent down and balanced herself against the door with one hand as she used the other to shove the card under the door. She was not sleeping with the thing in her room.
This is irrational.
Yes it was, but she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was forget him. Get back to center.
Go on with her life as if she’d never met him. Why did that have to be so difficult?
Suddenly the door swung open and she lost her balance. Tumbling forward, she landed at his feet.
Damn it. As she got her feet, heels, and all back under her and untangled herself from her dress, she slid her gaze up his body. His feet, big and bare. Like really big. Do not think about correlations between feet and—
Too late, because immediately she wondered what kind of equipment he was working with under his pants. Rookie mistake. As she continued to rise, her eyes locked on just where her imagination wanted to take her. And…
Wow.
That couldn’t be right.
Though she wouldn’t put it above him to stuff his boxers. Just one more thing to enhance the perfect package.
“You keep looking at him like that, he’s going to want an introduction.”
His deep voice startled her and she straightened too quickly, losing her balance and stumbling backwards. He snapped out a hand and steadied her elbow.
Two things happened at once: electricity shot through her body at contact with him and her brain and body simultaneously realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt.
Holy shit.
Forget ripped, or cut. The man looked like he was carved from stone. Wide shoulders were packed with muscle. His chest looked like it belonged on the cover of Men’s Health…or a romance novel. A few scattered freckles.
And those abs. Was an eight pack the new six pack?
He worked at a non-profit. When the hell did he have time to work out so much? Like an engraved invitation with her name on it, a russet colored trail of hair led into his slacks. It beckoned her, as if saying, “Come on in, the water’s fine.”
“Like what you see?” His voice was low, sexy like warm whiskey on a cold night.
For the first time in a long time, Van had no instant retort. As if his hotness had wiped her mind clean of anything but dirty thoughts.
And man, were there dirty thoughts.
Since she couldn’t force her mouth to speak or her brain to think, all she managed was a wide-eyed stare as she waved the card in his face. All the while, her eyes refused to focus on anything but those abs.
For some reason she kept losing count at four. She’d get distracted by the happy trail and have to start all over again.
He tugged her inside and shut the door, snapping her out of it.
She yanked her arm back. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Ah, she speaks. Tell me, Van how many abs did you manage to count?”
What the fuck? How did he know? “I was not counting your abs,” she lied smoothly. “I was just surprised that the carpet matched the drapes so perfectly.”
Alex’s head fell back in a full unabashed laugh. The motion and contraction of his muscles did wonderful things to his upper body. She almost started counting again.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had someone say that to me before.”
Damn her tongue. She really shouldn’t be allowed out without a mouth chaperone.
He went to his nightstand. “I have something for you in my wallet.”
Something for her? In his wallet?
Condom. Oh, God, no. Why did her brain automatically go there?
“Your card,” he said. “I didn’t even look when I grabbed it.”
She frowned. What was he talking about? Card. Wallet. Oh yeah, the whole reason she came down here. He was not getting condoms out of his wallet. He was getting her card. The mere thought of a condom and Alex made her heat from the inside. Despite the blasting air-conditioning, she was suddenly too hot.
When they exchanged cards, she was careful not to let their fingers brush. “Well,” she said, unsure of what to say now that she’d ogled the top half of him and wondered more than a dozen times what he looked like naked. “Goodnight.”
As she turned for the door, he stayed her in the doorway with another hand on her elbow. “No fair, you stared at my chest. Turnabout’s fair play.”
The man should come with a Danger label. “You already did or don’t you remember?”
His brows snapped down. “When?”
She grinned. “Oh, only every single time you’ve seen me.”
His responding smile was unabashed. “Oh, that was nothing. I can’t do proper justice if you’re not shirtless. Or in this case dress-less.”
“What, and feed into that stockings and stilettos kink of yours? Really, I’m doing you a favor. I’d ruin you for all other women, and you’d never sleep again.”
His gaze dipped, but not to her chest. It went to her lips. Before she could step back, he moved into her space. “I’ll never sleep again if I don’t do this just once.”
He slid his hands into the loose braids at the nape of her neck and wound an arm around her waist, bringing her flush against his body. With her shoes on, they were the same height, bringing her core directly in contact with his cock. The hard length of him pressed against her and she ached.
The slide of his lips over hers was surprisingly soft, but the emotions that came with it hit her with a force strong enough to knock her over. Hunger, need, desperation, loneliness. Of all of them, desire reigned supreme.
She spent so much of her life focused on her career goals. Her life goals, her father’s goals. For one night, what if she threw caution to the wind? What if she did what she wanted and didn’t think about the consequences?
Alex sucked at her lips softly as if waiting for permission. Waiting for her to respond.
Van made her decision.
She parted her lips and sighed, dropping the credit card and sliding her hands up and over his shoulders into his hair.
The moment she raked his skin with her nails, the tone of the kiss changed. He growled low and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth. He tasted like mint and vodka and something spicy and hot.
Yes, this was what she wanted. For one night, she could let go.
Chapter Three
Alex McIntyre knew how to kiss. There was no question about who was in control, and it wasn’t Van. All she could do was surrender as he licked into her mouth and made her body weak and pliable.
That wasn’t to say she was a slouch. He muttered curses between kisses as she tugged on the russet strands of his hair. His lips sent fire down the electrical lines of her veins as he turned her into a human torch.
Against her belly, his cock twitched, the pulsing throb matching the tempo of her own rapid, irregular heartbeat. The hand at her waist tightened as his hips jerked lightly against hers.
Alex tore his lips away, and for one long moment, they stared at each other, heavy lidded and breathing hard. Neither moved.
Screw the consequences, she wanted him. Needed him. She tried to lean in for another kiss, but he held her in place. His blue eyes were hot, intense. His gaze was always focused, but he’d never looked at her like that before. Like he would die if he didn’t consume her.
Yet, there was a hint of hesitation as if he were at war with himself. He might be stronger than her, but she knew a way to take matters into her own hands.
Still teasing his scalp with one hand, she let the other gently score over his nape. The moment the shudder rolled through his body, she knew his control had snapped.
Alex crushed his lips to hers. The kiss no longer exploratory, but desperate. One hand slid up her back for the zipper of the dress and the other skimmed her torso. The corset pressed into her ribs, and with every slow inch his hand traversed, she sucked in another puff of air.
With his thumb, Alex teased the underside of her breast. She moaned. Her breathing came in shallow breaths as he teased her.
Too hot and frustrated, Van arched her back in an effort to force his hand where she wanted it to go. Against her lips, she felt him smile, his fingers teasing the exposed flesh just under her nipple.
She tore her lips from his. “Damn, it, just—”
He shut her up with another soul-searing kiss. His thumb
traced over her nipple in slow deliberate circles.
Van’s knees shook and the foggy haze of lust clouded everything except where she needed his hands. Mentally willing him to hurry, she sent every subliminal message she could think of directing him to her erogenous zones. Other breast. My back. Behind my knee. Please, please, please, between my legs.
As he held her mouth captive, it was the best she could do. She tried tugging his head downward, but the stubborn fool wouldn’t budge. Instead, he kept sucking on her tongue and making her insane with need.
When he finally pulled away from the kiss, it was to nip at her jaw. “You can try to drive this train all you want, Vanessa, but I’m at the wheel and I plan on taking the long way around. I’ve been dreaming about this since I met you.”
“Alex, just—”
He interrupted her again, yanking the zipper the rest of the way down and shoving the fabric to her hips. Her heavy breasts were now free for his viewing pleasure. “Your body is unreal. Are you this sensitive all over?”
Gently he rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and she keened. Her center grew wet and slick as she involuntarily rocked her hips into him.
“Damn it, stop teasing me.”
“It’s only fair that I torture you half as much as you’ve been torturing me all these months.” He rolled her nipple again. “Fuck, you’re soft.”
Her brain tried to grasp for that ethereal thread. She hadn’t been torturing him on purpose. Had she? Had some part of her subconscious wanted this to happen and teased him?
As he trailed an open-mouthed kissed over her collarbone and down the center of her chest, she didn’t give a damn. All that mattered was getting his hot mouth on her breasts as quickly as humanly possible.
But true to his word, he was in the mood for teasing, kissing around her unoccupied nipple, plumping the breast. Never giving her what she craved, and all the while, plucking the other nipple and sending debilitating spears of lust through her body.
When his lips finally wrapped around the sensitive tip, sucking it deep, she threw her head back and groaned. She held his head in place, and he impatiently yanked at the fabric until it slid over her hips, leaving her in only her panties, stockings, and shoes.