Seducing Cinderella

by Gina L. Maxwell

  Hard.

  This time she gasped and planted her hands on his pecs in a feeble attempt to keep some semblance of space in the equation. Lucky for him, that wasn’t the half he was concerned with obliterating everything between them but their clothes. And even those weren’t a safe bet at this point. To prove it, he ground his pelvis forward, letting the hard length of his cock rub against the nerve-sensitive juncture between her legs.

  “Feel that, Lucie? That’s not how I react to women I’m not into. Believe me, there are other ways of teaching you these things. Less intimate ways.” Ways that he should damn well be using. But instead he trailed one of his hands up her side and swept his thumb over her nipple, eliciting a wanton moan from her kiss-swollen lips. Even through the material of her sports bra and tank top he could see her nipple pucker and harden from his touch. He hissed in appreciation. “I just can’t seem to leave myself out of this.”

  “Why not?” she said with just a hint of trembling.

  Why not? That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? Why couldn’t he step back from her? Why was it that every time he pictured her doing anything with another guy, much less that asshole of a doctor she was so hung up on, his gut clenched like he’d just been sucker punched by a heavyweight?

  “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “All I know is I’m tired of fighting myself when I’m near you like this. So maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe starting right now we come up with a new plan.”

  He wasn’t sure if she realized it or not, but Lucie’s hands left his chest and slid up behind his neck, allowing her breasts to mold themselves against him. Damn, he loved the way her softness gave way to his harder body.

  “What are you suggesting?”

  He dipped his head until they were so close they were sharing breaths, their noses lightly brushing as they danced around their overwhelming desire to fuse their mouths. “Maybe the best way to teach you how to seduce, is to let you feel what it’s like to be seduced. And then let you try it out on someone who’s not your eventual target. So you get any nerves out of the way.”

  “Like a trial run.”

  “Right. In the end I go back to reclaim my title like I want, and you bag what’s-his-nuts, just like you want. No strings, no hard feelings. But in the meantime, we blow off some steam and get whatever the hell this is out of our systems.”

  “I suppose that makes sense. It’s definitely a plan with merits.” Her long fingers at his nape slipped up into the hair at the base of his skull as she tipped her head back, exposing the smooth expanse of her neck for his nibbling pleasure. “Oh, God.” The prayer was a breathy whisper, just barely loud enough for him to hear, and made him grin with base satisfaction as he moved up to the space just behind her ear. She tasted like salted caramel, a combination it seemed he couldn’t get enough of.

  “So what do you say, Luce?” He nipped at her earlobe and then soothed it with a gentle suction in his mouth.

  “I say—” Her answer was cut off by a gasp as he pushed her back the few inches to press her up against the wall.

  “You were saying?” Reid prompted her to start her sentence again, knowing damn well he wasn’t going to let her finish. It was too much fun interrupting her.

  “I was saying that— uhn!” That time he ground himself over where he knew that sensitive little bundle was swollen and aching for some contact. “Damn it, Reid, yes, okay? I say yes to the new plan!”

  “About damn time you spit that out.” And with that, he attacked.

  Chapter Nine

  Lucie felt like she just sold her soul to the devil, and she couldn’t care less. In all her life she’d never felt so wanted, so desired. Reid was setting her on fire and she was more than happy to go down in flames.

  The air surrounding them was humid with an eclectic array of scents. Sweat, both old and new, carried undertones of her jasmine shampoo and something of his that reminded her of ocean foam and sunshine.

  He buried his face in her neck. She had no idea so many wonderful things could be done to one’s neck. Kissing, suckling, biting, licking. Each was more erotic than the last and took with it another fraction of her sanity.

  The man moved like he’d been training to do this his whole life instead of fight. She certainly never experienced anything close to this with her ex-husband. Reid consumed her with what should logically be considered basic moves, and all she could think to do was wrap her arms around his shoulders, dig her fingers into his strong back, and hold on for dear life.

  With one hand he grabbed her thigh and held it on his hip as he performed another of those magical pelvic thrusts. The new position opened her up, allowing the hard length of him to cause delicious friction at her very center. Suddenly she wished their clothing would spontaneously combust. There were way too many barriers between them.

  “I want inside of you so damn bad,” he breathed against her jaw. “I can’t remember the last time I was this hard.”

  “That’s a good thing, though, right?”

  He pulled back just enough to look down at her as he answered. And lucky her, it also provided him with room to trace, pluck, and torture a nipple with his free hand, eliciting an Oh, God and a few accompanying moans. “Good and bad. Good, because it means I’m extremely turned on by you. Bad, because it means I’m going to embarrass the hell out of myself when I don’t last longer than a few minutes.”

  “Really?” Lucie tried to remember the act of sex ever lasting more than a few minutes and came up blank. She’d sort of assumed that was the norm, but she wasn’t telling him that. Trying to look nonchalant, she asked, “So, how long would you say is your average?”

  Reid laughed as he hoisted her up with her legs around his waist and his weight pressing her into the wall. She was almost at eye level with him now, making it impossible not to be transfixed by the amusement dancing in his mossy-brown irises. “I think that’s the male equivalent of asking a woman her weight. But it doesn’t matter because I think, with a little practice, we’re going to leave my average in the dust.”

  That didn’t really tell her much, but it sounded promising. Only, he didn’t give her a chance to ponder it for more than a second before he took her mouth in a heated kiss. His tongue delved between her lips and massaged hers. He tasted faintly of an Andes chocolate mint, which was likely from his toothpaste and protein shake, but made her want to suck on him until he melted in her mouth.

  With his hips holding her up against the wall, his hands were free to roam. As he continued his plundering kiss, the fingers of one hand traced the crease of her ass and down to stroke her swollen folds, while the other worked under her shirt and pushed up one side of her bra to gain access to a taut breast.

  Her mind was wrapped in cotton, unable to conjure the simplest of thoughts. Her only possible function right now was to focus on every stroke, every touch, and await the moment when he would finally sink inside her. The image made her sex clench, but there was nothing to hold onto. She was empty, achingly so, and it made her whimper with need and squeeze his waist in frustration.

  “I know, baby. I know what you need. Whaddya say we take this into your bedroom so I can satisfy you right?”

  It should’ve been a question. It was posed as one. But it wasn’t asked like one. There was no need for it to be. No woman in her right mind would have said no. But just as he held her to him and turned to walk from the room, they heard the front door slam shut and Reid froze mid-turn.

  “Lucie? Where are ya, girl?”

  Her eyes stretched wide and she muttered “Macaroni Matinee!” behind the hand now covering her mouth.

  Reid mouthed What? but there was no time to explain. The apartment wasn’t that big and it wouldn’t be long before Vanessa found her in a very compromising position. Lucie put weight into her legs, forcing him to put her down, but her legs were about as steady as cooked pasta and she was forced to sink onto the weight bench behind her.

  While trying to adjust her bra and tank top she
called out to her best friend. “I’m in the workout room, Nessie! Can you grab me a bottle of water from the fridge?” That should buy them a few extra seconds. Once she was sure she was sufficiently put together, Lucie breathed a sigh of relief.

  Then she looked at Reid and had a mini-panic attack.

  Was he even wearing underwear? His shorts were tented like Barnum & Bailey’s big top. Snatching his discarded shirt at her feet she threw it at him and whispered, “Quick! Put it on.”

  When all he did was quirk a brow in her direction she very pointedly looked at his crotch. After glancing down and probably realizing he couldn’t see the floor between his feet, he caught on and pulled it over his head just as Vanessa was rounding the corner.

  “I know I’m a little early, but—Whoa.” Vanessa stopped in the doorway, a water bottle in one hand and a Diet Mountain Dew in the other from the stockpile Lucie kept on hand specifically for her addict of a friend. “Who’s your guest?” Before Lucie had the opportunity to make the introductions, Vanessa moved forward, handed off the bottle of water without sparing a glance in her direction, and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Vanessa MacGregor. And you are?”

  Reid responded with a handshake and one of his killer smiles. “Reid Andrews.”

  “Very nice to meet you, Reid. You’ll have to forgive me for being so surprised, but I didn’t realize Lucie had company.”

  Lucie cracked open the bottle of water and drank nearly its entire contents in one shot. She loved Vanessa like a sister and had never once been jealous of the attention her friend garnered everywhere they went. Until now. No doubt Reid was undressing her in his mind this very moment. She was stunningly beautiful from her tight, curly strawberry hair to her legs-up-to-her-neck model figure. Lucie didn’t think of herself as ugly by any means, but she was mature enough to be comfortable with her “unremarkable” features. Everything about her was just sort of…well, ordinary.

  She’d watched countless men at Fritz’s hang on Vanessa’s every word and drool over every sway of her hips. It was practically a spectator sport on dart league nights and Vanessa never reacted to any of it. Lucie wasn’t sure if she was just that oblivious or just that modest. She doubted it was the former since she had the reputation of being one of the shrewdest attorneys in the area. Plus, to even be considered potential dating material with Vanessa, a man had to pass a whole battery of tests. It was socially acceptable to sell used cars to the public if they passed checklists a fraction the size of Vanessa’s. Lucie didn’t think there was a man alive who could pass them all yet.

  “He’s a patient of mine, Ness.”

  “Ah,” Vanessa said with a wink and a smile, “then in this case I can see why you’d want to bring your work home with you.”

  Reid chuckled in a too-adorable flattered manner as he crossed his arms over his chest, stretching the cotton over his shoulders and biceps. “Actually, I’ve known Lucie most of my life; I’m best friends with her brother.”

  “Oh, you’re from Sun Valley! That’s great; I’ve never met anyone from before Lucie and I were roomies as freshmen. I hope you’ll share some embarrassing stories I can use for ammo. The girl has an entire blackmail portfolio on me and I’ve got absolutely nothing on her. It’s seriously unfair.”

  “Sorry, Ness, but I’ve told you before there are no skeletons in my closet. I was just as boring before college as I am now.”

  “And I’ve told you before, you’re not boring. You’re conservative to my crazy, which is why we’re so good together. We balance each other out.” Vanessa popped the top of her soda and held her can out toward Lucie who then touched her water bottle to it before they said, “Salut,” and drank.

  Vanessa walked the few feet to sit next to Lucie on the weight bench. “So are you done with your session? You have to hurry up and get ready if we’re going to make our Macaroni Matinee.”

  “Oh, um…” Crap, her throat was dry. Why did nerves make her throat so damn dry? It was such a ridiculous physiological reaction. She stalled while taking another swig of water.

  “What’s a Macaroni Matinee? Sounds like the lunch special at a senior center.”

  Vanessa barked out a laugh as Lucie almost spit out the water in her mouth and then sputtered a second before she could safely swallow. Thankfully Vanessa answered so she could finish coughing in peace. “It’s our monthly girl date. The first Saturday of every month we see a movie and eat lunch at the Macaroni Grill and gorge ourselves on heart-attack-sized portions of carbs.”

  “Ness, I can’t go for a while.”

  “What?” Somehow she managed to make those gorgeous green eyes grow twice as big. Whenever Vanessa wanted something, she had a way of looking like Puss in Boots from Shrek when he used his pathetic kitty face. “But I’ve had a really shitty week in court and I need some major girl time where we do nothing but make horrible, judgy comments about other women and scope out guys’ asses in tight jeans.”

  “But I can’t just leave Reid…” Lucie looked over at him with a look that said, Forgive me for what I’m about to suggest, but I don’t know what to do here. “Unless, you want to come with us?”

  He laughed and held out his hands in resignation. “That’s okay, Lu. As much as I’d love the opportunity to scope out other guys’ asses, I’ll have to pass. Unfortunately, I can’t afford the carb overload right now. And speaking of that, I need to do some more grocery shopping for the house. Is there anything specific you want me to get?”

  “No, what you picked up last week was great. It’s going to be hard to get used to my pathetic microwave dinners again after you’re gone. Who knew health food could be so tasty?”

  “Whoa! I need a recess here.”

  “This isn’t a courtroom, Nessie.”

  “Are you living here?”

  Lucie spoke quickly to keep any required damage control to a minimum. “Just for a couple of months until he’s recovered from his torn rotator cuff. I’ve taken my vacation weeks to work with Reid on a vigorous recovery and training program.”

  “Wow, Luce, that’s really something else. I’m speechless.”

  No you’re not, but you’re holding your tongue—albeit only temporarily—and I love you for it. “Well, I suppose I’d better go shower then.”

  “Yeah, get a move on. You know how I hate getting bad seats in the theater.” Vanessa got up and crossed the room, adding, “I’ll be in the living room thumbing through your latest issue of Boring Medical Magazine hoping there’s a piece on the male gluteus maximus, complete with pictures.”

  Once they heard her plop on the couch and set her soda on the table they looked at each other and quietly laughed in relief.

  “She’s a trip,” he said.

  Lucie stood, grateful her legs worked again. “You have no idea.”

  “She’s very protective of you. She didn’t like it when you called yourself boring.” He took a step toward her, the playfulness gone. “Neither did I, by the way.”

  “It’s the truth, though. I’ve never done anything wild or crazy or, God forbid, illegal.” She shrugged and picked imaginary lint from her new pants. “I’m a rule player.”

  Another step. Now he was so close she could feel his breath on her skin. Lucie glanced at the doorway. What if Vanessa decided to walk back in? Fingers to her chin brought her attention up to him. “The only time I follow the rules is in the cage,” he said in a low voice.

  “That mentality can get you into a lot of trouble.”

  “I happen to like trouble.” His lopsided grin was so wicked. And delectable. Which was a weird way to describe a grin, but there it was. She wanted to lick it from one side to the other. “Go get ready and enjoy your girl outing. I’ll finish my stretches and exercises after I go to the store. Then later…” He dropped his gaze to her mouth and trailed a thumb over her lower lip. “…we’ll finish the other thing we started.”

  “You still want to?” Lucie barely prevented herself from clapping a hand over her mouth. Sometimes she sw
ore her ability to keep her internal monologues internal was faulty. It seemed she was forever trying to extract her size nine from her mouth.

  His eyes narrowed slightly. “Don’t you?”

  Shit. Was he asking because he hoped she still wanted to or because he hoped she didn’t, giving him the opportunity to bow out gracefully? And why did she insist on always overthinking these things? Because you’re in way over your head with this one, girlie.

  “Yes?” A single brow arched, challenging her to take the damn question mark off her answer. “Yes. I mean yes.” She sighed in exasperation and wished for the thousandth time for the grace and calm Vanessa had. “I thought maybe you were just caught up in the heat of the moment, but now that you’ve had time to think, maybe you had second thoughts about getting involved.”

  When his brows pulled together she quickly added, “Not involved involved. I mean, I know it’s only temporary and solely for instructional purposes.”

  Reid moved so fast she didn’t have time to register his intentions before she found herself drowning in the heat of his mouth, his tongue lashing and coaxing. Her body was pressed to his with one hand in the center of her back, and his other hand—holy, God, his other hand—was tucked between her thighs, his fingers pushing between her folds as his thumb worked over her clit. The material of her pants only heightened the friction and the sense that they couldn’t take things too far for fear of being caught was exciting.

  It was a fierce and risky move, but he didn’t hesitate to execute it to the fullest extent, just like the kind of thing he did in his fights. It’s what she loved most about his style in the cage.

  The trembling deep in her belly tightened and spread out in ripples. As the sensations mounted she dug her fingers into his triceps to anchor herself for the coming tidal wave. He broke the kiss causing a whine of protest to fall from her lips, and when his fingers stopped their magical caresses her pelvis automatically tried following them to beg for more as they retreated.

  “Did that put your concerns about me reconsidering to rest?” She nodded. “Good. Then we’ll continue this later.”