“No. And I won’t let it happen to me again.” She blew out a breath. Closed her eyes. Then she smiled. “It feels good to get that out, you know. Not too many people know.”
He remained silent, his hand stroking her back. Rocki stared at her hand on his thigh and tried to tell herself she needed to just finish up her meal. Have him take her home. They could set up their real date and then see what happened.
Except she couldn’t think about anything but the feel of his hand on her back, of his thigh under her hand. His warmth. The way his mouth pressed against her brow.
“Cole?” She tipped her head back, studying him. “You know, I should probably just get this out. It’s been a while since I’ve dated and all. But I don’t sleep with men on the first date.”
“Ah...” A muscle jerked in his jaw. “Well, I don’t think we’d really even gotten to that point, right? This isn’t a real date.”
“Right. So when you take me home—to either your place or mine—and we sleep together tonight? Just to be clear...we haven’t had a date.”
He hadn’t heard her clearly.
Cole closed his eyes, replaying her words in his head, but they still sounded the same. Lust did bad, bad things to a man’s ability to think clearly, that was all he could figure out.
“Okay, at the risk of sounding like an idiot...what did you just say?”
That smile of hers—oh, hell, it did bad, bad things to his ability to think at all. She tightened her fingers on his thigh, her nails biting lightly into his skin, even through the sturdy denim of his jeans. “Oh, come on now, Counselor...that’s what they call lawyers, right? I think you heard me.”
“I heard you.” He dropped his gaze to her mouth—that wide, sexy mouth—and thought he just might die if he didn’t get to kiss her, seriously kiss her, and soon. “The problem is I think I heard something completely different from what you just said.”
“And what do you think I just said?”
“It had something to do with the two of us going back to your place, or my place. But that couldn’t be what you said.”
Rocki scraped her nails along his jeans. “But it was.” She curled her free hand around his neck. “So. Which one sounds better to you?”
In reply, Cole reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Blindly, he pulled out some money and glanced at it. Without bothering to do another thing, he threw it down on the table. “Please tell me you’re ready to go now.”
The smile on her face had nerve endings exploding. Cole stood up and hoped to heaven, hell and every place in between that his hands weren’t shaking as he offered one to her. She uncoiled from the seat, placing her hand in his. The firelight danced off the pale skin displayed by the unbelievably fucking sexy top...corset...whatever it was that she wore. Unable to keep from touching her, he reached out and trailed his fingers along the smooth skin that rose in a swell above the gleaming black silk.
“You are so damn beautiful,” he muttered.
Rocki reached out and curled her hands around his waist. “You’re not so bad yourself.” She swayed closer, pressing her mouth close to his ear. “Can we go?”
“Hell, yes.”
Chapter Seven
Earlier, she’d been cold.
So cold.
But now, even the heavier fall of snow couldn’t manage to cool the burning in her blood. Part of her brain was whispering, This isn’t smart. You need to just go home.
The rest of her, heart, soul, and body—oh, damn, her body—demanded, Go home? To that empty, lonely bed...again?
After five years of being alone, she’d met somebody who made her not want to be alone. That was what she’d been hoping for. Brant hadn’t wanted her to live the rest of her life missing him. She didn’t want to grow old alone. But nobody had ever reached inside her soul.
Until now.
“Second thoughts?”
They’d reached Cole’s car. And he was staring at her. Looking over at him, she smiled slowly. “Not on your life.” Toying with the lapel of his coat, she studied him in the dim, silvery light. It was a strange light, one that appeared only on snowy winter nights. “Your place? Mine?”
“Mine. If that’s okay. It’s only four minutes from here, and I’m going to die if I wait much longer than that,” he said flatly.
Rocki chuckled, but the laugh ended abruptly as he caught the back of her head and pulled her against him. His tongue pushed between her lips and she gasped, caught off guard. The sheer hunger in his kiss had her shaking, left her head spinning—oh, damn. Oh, oh, damn. This was...this. Just this. She’d missed this.
Desperately for more, she moved closer only to have him pull away. “Damn it, now. We’re leaving now,” he growled. He jerked open the door for her and she stared at him, a little bemused, still dazed from that kiss.
“You’re making my head spin.” Groaning, she slid into the car. She wanted to wilt back into the plush leather, but the bad thing about the corset she wore—there was no wilting. She settled for closing her eyes and resting her hands on her thighs to keep from reaching for him. She was afraid if she did that she might end up trying to crawl all over him in the damn car—with her luck, somebody would see them and word would get all over. She’d never live it down.
Even with the snow, Cole made it in good time, although it took longer than four minutes. Close to six, she decided. Six long minutes. The entire six minutes, she was reliving that kiss, the way he’d looked at her, the way her skin buzzed when he touched her. Her body was all but vibrating with arousal by the time his car came to a halt.
She opened her eyes, but the soft, golden glow of lights distracted her before she could look over at him. She did a double-take. “Ah...you live here?”
“For the time being.”
She stared. He lived at the Centre. It was like...well, hell, the rich lived there. The young rich, generally. Once upon a time, she’d daydreamed about having the money to live someplace that nice. But that had been before reality and life had intruded.
She couldn’t help but stare as a uniformed doorman came out to open the door for her. Oooo-kay.
As he came around to join her, she slid him a narrow look. Cole Stanton was seriously loaded. Nerves hit her then, hard and fast. His hand came up and touched her back. “You okay?”
She swallowed. Wondered if she should back out of this.
No—
“I’m fine.”
Something had made her nervous. The way her eyes had tightened, gotten darker, the way she’d nervously glanced at him and Billy as he’d opened the door for her, all of it. Cole suspected he even knew what it was—some women just loved the fact that he had money. Some didn’t care. Others…well, it made them uncomfortable. He wasn’t going to worry about it now.
Not now, because it didn’t matter.
They mattered. Everything else was small stuff as far as he was concerned.
He tossed his keys to Billy without another word. If they lingered too long, she might change her mind again. Damn it, he’d died of perpetual horniness if that happened. He didn’t think he’d been stuck in this state since high school.
It took sixty seconds to get her inside the elevator—the ride up to his floor would take another sixty. As the door closed behind them, he came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders, staring at her in the gold, mirrored reflection along the back wall of the small box lifting them higher and higher. “You ever made love in an elevator?”
Rocki stared at him for a split second and then she started to laugh. “No. Ah...no. Nor do I intend to.”
“Why not?” He slid his hands down a little lower, letting his fingers tease the very edge where her corset stopped, dipping inside. She shivered.
“Ah...elevators are public.”
He lowered his head and pressed his lips to her shoulder. “This one isn’t.”
She tensed. “You’re serious?”
“Nah.” He shrugged. The door opened behind him and he
stepped back, waited for her to turn. “Shall we?”
“Oh, yes ...”
As the door closed behind her, Rocki told herself, Don’t think. Relax. Don’t think. Relax…
Except she couldn’t stop thinking. She couldn’t relax. She hadn’t expected this…elegance. Or the obvious wealth that surrounded her. She’d grown up strictly middle class and this was…well, kind of unsettling. But not unsettling enough, because even as uncomfortable as she was, she couldn’t stop thinking about Cole.
Couldn’t stop thinking about how damn beautiful he was…that rumpled silk hair and those whiskey-gold eyes, about how he made her heart do the damnedest little flutter when he looked at her, his mouth quirking up at the corners.
But then he touched her. Breath lodged in her lungs and thought…stopped. It just stopped.
As he lowered his head, Rocki stared at him. Panic exploded through her. She licked her lips, tried to make herself breathe, at least one breath, before he kissed her so she didn’t pass out.
He didn’t kiss her mouth, though.
His lips came down on her shoulder, brushed against the skin left bare there, coming up against the strap of her corset where it hooked to the sleeve. “The way you smell,” he muttered. “It drives me nuts.”
Turning her face toward him, she breathed him in. “Hmm. I could say the same thing about you.” She couldn’t even define what it was about him...just musky. Male. She could smell whatever shampoo he used—it smelled expensive, she decided, but understated and subtle. Made sense, considering the lay of the land, she mused. The same for the aftershave. She rubbed her cheek against his and shivered a little at the roughness there. Damn it, Rocki loved that five o’clock shadow on a man.
A long-fingered hand stroked down her shoulder, toying with the laces that held her sleeves on before moving down. “You want a drink?” he murmured.
“No.” Rocki eased back, staring into his eyes. “I just want you.”
Those golden eyes could flash so hot, she thought. Her belly went tight and her knees weren’t feeling all that steady, either. Damn it. Licking her lips, she lifted her hands and gripped the front of his shirt. Hoarsely, she repeated, “I just want you.”
Cole closed his eyes.
His hand curled around the nape of her neck, warm and hard, calloused just enough. “You want to drive me insane, I think,” he whispered, pressing his brow to hers.
“Now why would I wanna do that?” She smiled, leaning close enough that their mouths touched.
“Because I suspect you enjoy driving people crazy.” Cole eased away. “Do I pretend interest in showing you around the place or do you care?”
“I don’t. Not in the least. You can do that later. Or on our second date.”
“The second?”
“Yes.” Rocki grinned at him. “I don’t sleep with guys on the first date. And this isn’t a date, remember, so it doesn’t count.”
Cole stared at her for a long moment and then started to laugh. “I think you might be insane.” Then he held out his hand, just like he had earlier—and also just like earlier...she accepted.
Not since the night of high school graduation had Cole been this nervous. It had been at Sandy Kempff’s beach party that he’d lost his virginity, in the pool house after everybody else had left. He’d been eighteen, a bit of a late bloomer compared with some of his friends, but he’d still been more geek than anything else.
And Rocki was going to blow that experience with Sandy out of the water, he already knew.
Shit. He shouldn’t be this nervous. He knew he shouldn’t. Trying not to let it show, he led her to his room, hitting just one panel of lights. They came on in a soft, warm glow. Along the eastern wall, the windows faced out over the city and he watched as she wandered over to it, a smile on her lips.
“Beautiful view,” she said quietly. “I love the city at night. It’s so peaceful.”
“Well, until you hear sirens wailing.”
Rocki made a face at him. “Pessimist.”
“Realist,” he corrected. He went over to the gas fireplace and hit the switch, watching the flames leap to life. “Screaming sirens don’t happen too often, but they do shatter the peace.”
Rocki laughed. “Well, there is that.” She turned and sauntered over to him. “We’ll just have to make sure we’re too preoccupied to notice them tonight.”
“I can handle that.” He had no problem blocking out the wail of a siren. The problem was he wasn’t so sure he could handle her. His throat was tight and dry, his hands sweating. And, damn it, he knew he needed to be talking, needed to be saying things—responsible things, adult things—but all he wanted to do was go to his knees and just stare at her.
No. Not right. He wanted to go to his knees after he’d stripped her naked and fucked her. But responsible—Damn it, he’d be responsible.
Swallowing, he turned away and moved away from her. Not toward the bed. The fireplace again. Safer. Wasn’t close to her, wasn’t close to the bed. Safer. Right.
Until he looked into the mirror that had come with the apartment and saw her coming closer. Aw, shit.
Get it over with—
Although it was hard to do without grabbing her, he made himself do it anyway. Turning, he looked Rocki square in the eye.
“I’ve got protection here,” he said, forcing the words out before he couldn’t speak at all. “Also had a blood workup done just a few weeks ago. Needed it for a life insurance policy I was doing for...well, something that’s not going to happen now.”
She stopped in front of him and touched his cheek. “It still makes you sad,” she murmured.
He caught her hand. “No.” Pressing his lips to her palm, he stared at her. “It really doesn’t. I just don’t want to be thinking about anything else now except you. The logical, adult part of me insists I be logical and adult, though.”
Rocki smiled at him. “Very responsible of you, Cole. I admire that. I’m healthy as a horse.” She sighed and gazed at herself in the mirror, although he doubted she saw her reflection or much of anything. “There’s been nobody since my husband died.”
He’d suspected that. Hearing it, though, left him rather floored.
Somehow, it managed to cool the fire in his blood...even as it made him that much more nervous. Reaching up, he cupped her cheek in his hand. “You sure you want to do this?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” Rocki covered his hand with hers. Her dark eyes stared into his, and a faint smiled curled her lips. “That may sound insane...but very often life is. So there you go.”
“Life’s insane?” He stroked his thumb over her lower lip. “Does that mean this is, too?”
“Oh, I’m quite certain this is insane.” She caught his thumb between her teeth and bit down gently.
“Seems rather right to me.”
Rocki leaned against him and Cole suspected the ability to think, to talk—hell, even breathing—might become difficult here in the next few minutes. “Most insane people think they are perfectly sane.” She hooked her fingers in his waistband. “Come on. Let’s go lose our minds together.”
It was, without a doubt, one of the most appealing invitations he’d ever received.
Without letting himself think about it another second, he caught one of her hands and twined their fingers, leading her to the bed. The black silk she wore glowed against her skin and unable to resist another second, he closed his hands around her waist, stroking up, then down. “You know, I still say I could easily develop a fetish for these things. As long as you’re the one wearing them.”
Rocki chuckled. “Well, I tend to wear them more for the store than anything else. But I have to say, I did like seeing the look in your eyes.” She caught her lip between her teeth and reached up, catching the dark wealth of her hair in her hands. Slowly, she turned around, baring her back.
Cole groaned as he caught a glimpse of the thin strip of her spine left bare by the laces.
&nbs
p; “Think you can figure out how to undo it?” She let her hair fall over one shoulder, peering back at him over the other.
“Ah, maybe we shouldn’t do that yet. The second I get you naked, I’m going to lose any bit of control I’ve got.”
Rocki grinned. “Good.” Then she rolled her shoulders. “Come on, Cole. Either you do it, or I will.”
Well...since she put it that way. He reached for the laces, taking his time as he studied them. It wasn’t a quick process either, he realized. The top and the bottom, all of it had to be loosened. And because he knew he hadn’t been exaggerating by much, he drew it out even more, pausing here and there to stroke his fingers along her spine, to brush a stray lock of hair out of the way.
He hadn’t quite finished loosening the laces all the way when she took a step away. As she turned to face him, he saw that she was trembling, her face flushed, and her eyes burning hot. Her hands shook as she reached up and tugged at the front of the corset.
It fell away and the air in his lungs all but exploded out of him.
Oh, hell, she was gorgeous. Big, full breasts, her nipples dark and rosy. Her waist dipped in before flaring out into full, round hips, still outlined by the jeans she wore. His hands itched, his mouth all but watered, and his cock was a burning, heavy ache.
Shoving upright, he reached out and hooked a hand in the front of her jeans, hauling her against him. She opened her mouth, but whatever she might have said, the words were muffled as he caught her mouth with his.
She was warmth. She was softness. She was strength.
Rocki twined her arms around his neck and rose up on her toes, meeting him touch for touch, kiss for kiss. Spinning them around, he tore at the button of her jeans, fumbling until he managed to get them open. He should find some finesse, some tenderness—a seduction, this should be a seduction, slow and gentle and sweet, he knew it.
Tearing his mouth away, he panted as he stared down at her. “Not a date, right?”
Virgin's Night Out Page 21