Nina stopped in the middle of the floor, releasing his hand. She took a small step back, wagging her finger at him with come-hither eyes.
He licked his lips and held her gaze.
When he didn’t come, she stretched her hands high over her head. She took in his eyes, nearly gold under the flashing lights, as they moved down her body, her arms, her pert breasts, and her belly button, which was stretched into a tight line.
Nina bit her bottom lip and swayed her hips in time with the low bass pounding off the walls, holding Jack’s gaze the entire time.
He stepped closer, moving slowly until the tip of his nose had brushed hers. His strong arms snaked around her waist, lingered at the small of her back, and tugged her in.
She gasped when his arousal hit her stomach. Her lips swelled as they fell open in shock. They swelled for more of him, his lips, maybe even a little taste of the hardness he’d just pressed against her.
They began a gentle sway to the hip-hop music, finding the slower—more sensuous beat—the beat that was hidden a few layers deeper than the one everyone else in the club was dancing to.
They matched smiles, and Nina circled her arms around his neck. The desire in his hooded eyes seemed to climb inside her and take over, becoming a part of her and taking the reins. In seconds, her panties were wet, and she could feel the soft sweep of her wetness every time she swirled her hips. She clenched her thighs together and gasped when she caught her clit in a vise, beginning a torturous climb to her peak from just the wag of her hips, and the heat in his eyes.
Never breaking their gaze, she turned her back. He followed her as she moved, his body never disconnecting from hers.
She pressed her backside into his, brushing her ass to his hard column the moment she had her back to him, ravished by need. When his fingers tightened around her hips, a blast of shock went through her, and she covered his hands with hers and began the slow sway again. Her pussy hummed back to life, growing warmer and fuller with each second, begging for the hardness grinding against her.
His breath cooled her collarbone as he cuddled his face into her neck.
Being without their everyday necessities had left them with no scented products to carry or guide their attraction. As they moved together, breathing each other in, delving into their natural musk, they gasped with a need so natural and innate, it was impossible to deny.
Even to the people around them.
“You’re so sexy!”
Nina’s eyes popped open--she hadn’t even realized she’d closed them—and she caught eyes with a leggy blonde in a red dress, who was wobbling in a pair of sky-high heels. Her blue eyes were hooded and drunken, along with her Cheshire-cat smile.
Nina blinked at her, having forgotten that there was still a world spinning outside of the man curled in close behind her, who she could still hear panting gruffly next to her ear, warming her neck with his gasps and yanking her into his erection, which was growing stronger by the minute.
When Nina didn’t respond, the blonde leaned in, attempting to project her slurred words over the music. “I love the way you dance. You’re sexy!”
“Thank you.” Nina beamed as the blonde was pulled away. She watched her go, waiting until her blonde head vanished in the thick crowd. She reached over her head and wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck.
He encircled her in his arms completely, and when she looked up and saw his eyes closed tight and his lips sealed to her neck, she nearly came undone. The blonde had barely managed to pull Nina out of the warm dance bundle they’d wrapped themselves into, but it was clear Jack was still gone. Any hint of arrogance had vanished, leaving a man who was just a man, so taken by the woman in his arms that he had nothing left to give but his deepest need, his deepest truths.
When he opened his mouth against the skin of her neck, sucking and lapping at the sweaty skin with his tongue, Nina finally rejoined him in that honest world—and she was gone again. Her nipples tightened at the mixture of heat and wetness he placed on her neck and down her shoulders, his eyes still closed tight with his desire, his face serious with intent, eyebrows pulling tighter with each new expanse of skin he sucked, ravenous as he savored her like she was the last bite of food he’d ever eat.
Only after he’d tasted every patch of skin he could reach did he come back to her ear, taking the lobe between his teeth. “You feel so good, Nina.”
His knee came between her legs, and she pushed against his strong thigh, tightening her arms around his neck as their sways grew into grinds. She pressed into the rock solid swell of his leg, nearly gasping when it occurred to her that she could easily finish herself off doing just that. As she ground against him, aching to fulfill a torturous need, seeking the kind of relief only he could give, she realized that it still wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be enough until she had him in bed.
In an instant, they were far past dancing, struggling to satiate the kind of carnal call that could never be answered in public. The hold he had on her waist had grown in fervor, displaying his strength and control in a way he never had before.
“I’ve never met anyone like you,” he whispered, licking softly at the skin along the edge of her ear. Clawing his fingers into her belly, he tried to pull her closer, but every inch of their bodies was already sealed tight. “I want to be inside you.”
She craned her neck and kissed the bottom of his chin, brushing her nails through the hair at the base of his neck as her wet kisses traveled up his jaw and to his ear. Her arms came from around his neck, and she reached back to circle them around his waist, tucking her hands into the back pocket of his jeans and pulling him into her swirling lips harder. Tighter. They gasped together.
“You’re making me so wet, Jack. There’s nothing I wouldn’t let you do to me.” She sucked the skin at the valley between his neck and his chin. “What do you want to do to me?”
“I want to eat you until you come,” he moaned, his hand traveling across her belly button, going flush before moving up, dangerously close to her heaving breasts. “I want your cum all over my dick.”
“Have you always wanted that, Jack?”
“Yes.”
His hooded eyes opened just a sliver, just enough to give her a view of the raw animal emotion gleaming. Their hungry hands traveled and clawed for more as their lips met slowly. The gentle kiss set off a spark that rolled through them, from their head to their feet and back again, deepening every time it reached their lips until their mouths were open as wide as they could go, sealed together as their tongues swept, wet and soft, in time with the music, taking the place of their previously rocking hips in need and fervor.
Soon, they weren’t dancing at all, unable to give a sliver of their attention to anything but that desperate kiss, the passionate smacks of their lips so relentless that it nearly took over the room and boomed over the music.
They broke away, foreheads pressed together and opened their eyes.
“Upstairs,” Jack said, waiting for her to nod her agreement. “Now.”
With their breathing labored, and their fingers entwined, just as Jack went to pull her off the dance floor, he came face to face with a pair of wide hazel eyes, acne-prone chipmunk cheeks, and a snaggletooth smile. He didn’t know how long the young girl had been standing behind him, but after accidentally bumping into her, he could see in her eyes she’d been there for a while.
She pushed her red hair behind her ear and squealed, hopping up and down on her toes; her sparkly gold minidress hiking dangerously high on her milky thighs as she did.
“Oh my god, Sarah, it is! It’s him!”
Jack frowned when the girl reached out and clutched his arms. Two more young girls appeared next to her out of nowhere, a blonde and a brunette, looking at him with equally wide and amazed eyes.
When all three girls squealed in delight, Jack tightened his hand around Nina’s and turned to her. She shrugged with an expression just as confused as his own. When he looked back to the young girls, a ce
ll phone screen awaited him, and he moaned at the sight of his face on what looked to be a gossip website.
“You’re the runaway groom!” the redhead cried, shaking the phone.
“For God’s sake, he’s even more handsome in person,” the blonde said. “How is that possible?”
“Are you real?” the brunette slurred. Clearly a few stiff drinks ahead of her friends, she reached out and caressed Jack’s arm.
His gaze fell to her fingers as she stroked him and then jumped between all three girls as they began talking a mile a minute.
“You’ve gone viral!”
“You’re all over the news!”
“Everybody wants to know about the Runaway Groom!”
“What’s your name, Runaway Groom?”
“How old are you, Runaway Groom?”
“What happened to your eye, Runaway Groom?”
“Jack,” he said. “Please. It’s Jack.”
“You have to have a drink with us!”
“That’s really not necessary.”
“We have a table!”
“And a bottle!”
Jack turned to Nina, annoyed to find that she had a hand clapped tight over her mouth in an attempt to hide her amusement. He looked back to the girls. “We were just on our way out—” He couldn’t even finish before three hands locked tight around his arm.
“One drink!” the redhead begged.
“Pleeease?”
“We have to have a drink with the Runaway Groom.”
“Jack,” he begged.
All three girls clapped their hands together, pleading. Every bottom lip poked out, looking up at him with eyes so big and full of wonder it confirmed they were all barely legal. Squeezing Nina’s hand, Jack turned and met her eyes. The moment he did, he knew he couldn’t wait to have her.
Not another minute.
Jack turned back to the girls to decline their offer.
Their attention, however, had moved to Nina.
“Are you guys together?” the redhead asked Nina. “Is this a steamy, torrid love affair that finally came to a head, right before he was meant to say ‘I do?’ ”
“Are you his mistress?”
“It’s just like Scandal!” the blonde beamed.
“She even looks like Olivia Pope!”
“Oh my god, she totally does!”
The squealing commenced.
“I’m not his mistress,” Nina said, stepping in front of Jack and raising her voice so they could hear her over the music. “I had nothing to do with him running out on his wedding. Hell, I didn’t even know there was a wedding until I saw it on the news a few days after I met him. We’re just trying to get home to New York. That’s all.”
When she saw the bored gleam painted across all their faces, she almost wanted to go ahead and play along with the slutty mistress narrative they’d concocted for her, just to make them happy.
The moment Nina confirmed she was not Jack’s mistress, the brunette shot him a come-hither grin, massaging his arm in slow strokes.
Nina turned to Jack, watched him bob and weave to dodge the wandering hands of the brunette, before looking back to the other girls with a laugh.
“I wanted you to be his Olivia Pope.” The redhead reached out and played Nina’s curls between her fingers. “How could you friend-zone a guy that hot?”
The blonde’s eyes went big. “We saw the way he was looking at you on the dance floor—”
“He was under a total spell—”
“Like he wanted to swallow you whole.”
Nina chuckled, looking back to Jack. He was bending his spine to avoid the feather soft kisses the brunette was placing along the edge of his jaw, never moving his horrified eyes from Nina. He raised his eyebrows and gave an indiscernible nod toward the exit doors.
Just as Nina was fixing to say goodbye to the girls, one of them clapped her hands around her arm, so tightly she nearly cut off circulation.
“Amy!” the redhead cried, meeting eyes with the blonde. “They should come with us. There’s room for two on the bus since Becky and Kale couldn’t make it.”
Amy’s eyes widened. “Sarah,” she deadpanned. “That’s genius!”
Nina looked back and forth between them, both fearful and curious. “What’s genius?”
“You say you need to get to New York, right?” Amy asked. “We’re with a tour group driving cross country, and there are a couple that dropped out last minute, so there’re two open seats. We’re scheduled to be back in New York by the end of the week!”
“That’s really not necessary,” Nina said. “We actually had a pretty big win at the blackjack tables earlier today. So we’ll probably catch a flight instead.”
“Haven’t you heard? ATC is on strike,” Amy said.
“They’re saying it could go on for weeks,” Sarah added. “At least with us, you guys would be moving in the right direction. The seats are non-refundable, Becky and Kale would feel so much better knowing they weren’t a total waste.”
Nina thought on it and glanced at Jack again. He was still screaming ‘no’ with his gaze, and she nearly burst into laughter.
“You ladies are so incredibly sweet,” Nina said. “And we really appreciate the offer, but we really couldn’t impose.”
“The bus leaves at 3 pm tomorrow,” Amy said as if she hadn’t heard a single word.
“You’re very sweet.” Nina looked at Jack, and he nodded toward the door again, nearly toppling over in his attempt to escape the persistent brunette, whose name Nina still hadn’t learned.
In a well-timed fake-out, Jack sidestepped the brunette and offered Nina his outstretched hand. She took it, letting him tug her in.
Their chests smashed together, and she looked up, meeting his hooded eyes.
“They’re with a tour group driving cross country,” Nina said. “Offered us a ride.”
“I would kill myself before we even made it to the central time zone,” Jack said.
“I’ll take that as a no then,” she laughed. “And I’m glad we agree.”
“We have money now. Let’s just rent our own car, and make our own trip.” He took a deep breath. “Our own memories.”
“Four days ago, you didn’t even want me in the airplane seat next to you; now you want to make memories with me?”
His eyes fell to her lips. “I already have,” he said. “And I want more.”
“More memories?”
“More you.”
“How much more?”
His hand snaked around her waist, and he pulled her in close, letting her feel his hardness. “Upstairs,” he said.
A pair of hot pink nails appeared, sliding up Jack’s chest from behind.
Nina threw her head back, bursting into laughter. This brunette was persistent.
Jack’s declawed the hot pink nails from his chest, meeting eyes with the redhead and blonde. “Sorry, ladies. We appreciate the offer, but we’re going to have to call it a night.”
He met Nina’s eyes, licked his lips and took her hand, dragging her out of the booming nightclub.
15
Minutes after saying goodbye to their new barely legal friends, Jack and Nina stumbled into the penthouse, laughing and tripping over each other’s feet, and slamming into walls.
“You’re an overnight celebrity,” Nina beamed. “You’ve already got legions of fans who’ve fallen in love with one viral photo of you. You’re famous, Jack!”
Jack frowned, looking pained as he kicked the door closed, arm locked around her waist. “If I ever find out who took that photo of me, I’m personally suing them for every dime they’re worth.”
Bobbing from one foot to the other, Nina stopped in the middle of the room, pulling his cell phone from her pocket and unlocking it with shaking fingers. A moment later, she laughed out loud and turned the screen toward him.
He groaned at the sight of the photo. It had made it all the way to TMZ.
“Ridiculous,” he whispered.
&
nbsp; Nina turned the screen back toward her with a laugh. She took in the picture for a while, shaking her head.
“You really are just a breathtaking man.” She showed him the picture, again, as if he hadn’t seen it the first time. “It’s really amazing.”
He held her eyes. “Take off your clothes.”
Nina dropped her phone-clad hand to her side, photo forgotten. For a moment, she was silent. Then, the phone slipped from her fingers, clanking on the marble floor. She trapped her bottom lip under smiling teeth, bringing her fingers to the button of her pants.
“Slowly,” Jack whispered, taking a deep breath when she heeded his request, popping the button of her leather pants open with languid, patient fingers, giving just a hint of the blue panties that had driven him into another world on the marina days earlier. It occurred to him right then, as the sight of those panties sent blood surging to his dick, that she’d had him then. Standing on the marina in her bra and panties, giving him that come-hither smile, she’d had him even then.
“I don’t usually get this drunk, this easily.” Nina eased her zipper down, her smile broadening as she watched Jack follow her fingers with his eyes. “I think those sorority sisters may have slipped something into our drinks. Thank god I was there, or the brunette might’ve taken full advantage of you.” She tucked her fingers into the waistband of her pants and went to pull them down.
“Slow…” Jack’s eyes grew more hooded. He took in the flash of blue peeking through the V of her zipper before raising his eyes to hers. He licked his lips.
She licked hers too, bending over slowly, taking the pants down her brown thighs, inch by inch. “I hope you’re not waiting for a striptease,” she whispered, stepping out of the pants one torrid foot at a time. “Because I don’t know how to be sexy.”
“You are very sexy.” His gaze stayed on her toes, then rose up, inch by inch. “You have no idea the things I’ve done to you in my mind.” His breathing grew labored as their eyes met. “Over and over…”
Lightning Strikes (The Almeida Brothers Trilogy #3) Page 19