by Jo McNally
“I’m the motor. Don’t worry about it. You sit up front and I’ll have us back to my place in no time.”
“Will it hold both of us without sinking?”
“It won’t sink, trust me.”
“But it’s pitch-black out there! No one will see us if we drown. Will it tip over?”
“Not if you behave yourself. Come on, slip your shoes off and I’ll help you get in.”
That effort was a little tricky between her dress and alcohol consumption, but he finally got her settled and pushed off the beach, hopping in behind her. She squealed when the kayak rocked, and made a move to jump out.
“Sit!” He barked out the word, and she froze. “Stay still and trust me, okay?”
She didn’t answer, but she did settle back into her seat, tense but curious.
“So you’ve done this before? Kayaked in the dark?” She hesitated. “With a girl?”
“I’ve competed in white-water kayak races, and I’ve kayaked in four different countries. And yes, I have been out on some waters with just the light of the moon to guide me.”
She turned so quickly he had to steady the craft with the paddle. “But have you been with a girl after dark?”
Was shy little Cassie flirting with him right now? He needed to get her tipsy more often.
“I’ve been with plenty of girls after dark.”
“But in a kayak?”
“No, sweetie, you’re my first.”
She did a fist pump that had him resting the paddle in the water again to steady the vessel.
“Yes! I’m your first!” A weird something fluttered in his chest.
“Turn around and sit still, will you? I’m trying to keep this thing upright.”
She turned as requested, dropping her hand to run her fingertips through the moonlit water. But she wasn’t done being playful.
“Are you really worried you can’t keep it upright, Nick?”
He swallowed hard and didn’t answer. This woman would have no problem keeping him “upright.” He was almost there now. He put a little more effort into paddling, and the kayak started slicing through the water. The light on the back of his rental house was glowing bright. He angled them toward shore.
Cassie sat back, looking up at the moon as her fingers traced in and out of the water. Her voice was low and soft, as if she was talking to herself.
“It’s beautiful out here.”
Another big swallow for Nick, his eyes never leaving her. “Yes, it is.”
She was so quiet the rest of the way that he thought she might be nodding off. The alcohol was probably catching up to her. He wasn’t prepared when, as he was nearing the shoreline, she sat up and moved to leave the kayak.
“Oh! We’re here! I’ll help pull the boat in...”
“No! Cassie!”
She didn’t do a bad job of holding her body up and swinging her legs over the kayak before dropping into the water. The problem was, even though they were only fifteen feet offshore, the water was still over four feet deep. Cassie’s eyes went wide as she kept going, not hitting bottom until the cold water was up to her chest. She grabbed at the kayak, tilting it wildly. He struggled for a moment to keep it steady, then realized he had no choice but to get wet if he was going to get her safely out of the water without flipping the boat. He emptied his pockets and dived in, grabbing the kayak line with one hand when he came up and Cassie with the other.
“Come on, you goofball. Out of the lake and inside the house.”
She was sputtering and starting to shiver.
“I thought you were driving me home?”
“Yeah, well, that was before you decided to take us for a chilly swim. We both need to get warm and dry first.” She didn’t argue, the night air cold on their wet skin. He pulled the kayak up and onto the lawn, then took her arm and led her inside.
Chapter Eleven
Most of Cassie’s alcohol-induced glow popped like a bubble when she hit the cold water of Gallant Lake. She’d watched Nick wade several yards offshore at the resort in knee-deep water. When she saw how close to shore they were at his place, she figured she’d be helpful—the level of her helpful ability probably inflated by cocktails—and bring the kayak in. It wasn’t as much the cold as it was that moment of terror as she kept going and wondered if she’d ever hit bottom that sobered her up in a hurry. By the time her feet hit bottom, she was soaked up to her breasts, the gold dress clinging to her and turning nearly transparent.
She followed Nick up the steps to the deck behind his cute little rental house. As soon as they were inside, he grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it tightly around her.
“Hang on and I’ll get some towels.” He saw her head-to-toe shiver and frowned. “On second thought, maybe you should go take a hot shower to warm up. I’ve got a shirt you can put on after, and some sweats.”
She shook her head sharply. “I can shower at home.”
“I know that.” He took her shoulders and turned her toward the hall. “But you’re cold and wet now, and we’re not heading to your place right away because I am also cold and wet. Go on, and I’ll bring you dry things. I’ll shower in my room.” He gave her a light push toward the bathroom door, reaching in front of her to turn on the light.
And just like that, she was alone in the bathroom. She waited for him to return with dry clothes before peeling off her cold dress, then locked the door and stepped into the shower. The blast of hot water killed any remaining intoxication, but she still felt...something. To be here in his house, naked, even if it was behind a locked door, felt exciting. Which was silly. But she couldn’t deny what she felt. It was the same sensation she’d had on the mountain last weekend. It was desire. She moved the washcloth slowly over her skin, closing her eyes and pretending it was Nick’s hands she felt. And really... What harm was there in that? She’d been without male company for a long time now, and her own fingers could do only so much. She was ready for more. And maybe a little sexy time with a player like Nick West was the solution. He’d just bragged about how many women he’d been with after dark. Why couldn’t she be one of them? And then this itch would be scratched and maybe then they could be just friends.
She lost track of time as she let the hot steam seep into her skin. It was after midnight, but she felt wide awake. Maybe she could come up with a plan to keep Nick from taking her home tonight. Eventually she turned off the water and dried off. She slipped into Nick’s sweats and shirt, both woefully too big on her, and stepped out of the bathroom. The house was quiet, and she had no sense of where Nick might be. She checked the kitchen and living area first, but it was empty. She headed farther down the hall, finding an empty guest bedroom and then Nick’s room.
The only light was from the attached bathroom. Nick was on the bed, as if he’d stretched out there to wait for her. He’d showered, because his hair was rumpled and wet. He was sound asleep, one arm behind his head, the other resting on his bare chest, rising and falling in slow, deep breaths. She shook her head and sighed. So much for her big plans. He’d had a long day, and it had clearly caught up with him. She pulled his blanket up to cover him, but not before admiring his chest, cut with muscle and highlighted with a fine layer of dark hair that trailed down to vanish beneath his shorts. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she was afraid of waking him, so she covered him and went to stretch out on the sofa to sleep.
Nick woke her two hours later. “Cass, what are you doing? Are you okay?”
“Uh...yeah. I was sleeping. Are you okay?”
He ran his fingers through his dark hair, leaving it standing even more on end than it was to start with. “Did I fall asleep while you were showering? Damn, I’m sorry. Why don’t you use the spare room and I’ll run you home in the morning. Or I can take you now if you want...”
Cassie shrugged off the blanket and stood
. She’d been dreaming about Nick and now he was there in front of her. The hum she’d felt before was still moving under her skin. She put her hand on Nick’s chest, sad that he’d slipped on a T-shirt before coming to find her. He sucked in a sharp breath.
“What are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing?” She moved closer, and his eyes darkened. “Let’s face it, Nick. The whole ‘just friends’ thing isn’t going to work if we’re both wondering what we’d be like together. That kiss last Saturday promised some things that don’t fit in the friend zone.”
He set his hand over hers. “Cassie, you’ve been drinking, and...”
“That was hours ago, and the dunk in the cold lake pretty much took care of it. Any liquor left in my system after that was washed away in the shower. I’m perfectly sober.” She was also tired, and steadfastly ignoring that ever-present “be careful” voice in her head. If she woke up too much...if she thought about this too much... She’d never go through with it. She pushed onto her toes and pressed her lips against his. He didn’t react at first, but it wasn’t long before he let out a low sound and slid his arm around her, pulling her tight as he took over the kiss, pushing his way into her mouth to let her know he was on board with this plan of hers.
“Are you sure?” he asked softly as he left her mouth and trailed kisses along her jawline.
She made a sound of some kind. It wasn’t a word, really, but he understood it was her assent. He looked down at her with a crooked smile. “Here or in my bed?”
The sofa had been fine for sleeping, but she wanted something a little more special than a thirty-year-old pine-and-plaid sofa that had clearly been included in the lease. She took his hand and started down the hall with him obediently behind her. She could feel his amused smile, and who could blame him? It was pretty rare for her to take charge of anything, especially sex. After all, with Don...
She stopped so fast in the doorway that Nick brushed up against her, resting his hands on her shoulders. Her bravado was fading fast. If tonight was just an attempt to erase Don’s hold on her, it wouldn’t be fair to Nick. Could something ever be good if it was done for the wrong reason? Doubts started a whispering campaign in her head. What if it wasn’t good at all? What if she couldn’t please him?
Her mind was racing and blank all at the same time. This was it. The moment of truth. She focused on the electricity she felt through Nick’s fingertips on the bare skin at the base of her neck and took a deep breath, still staring straight ahead.
“Nick, I want this. I really do. It’s just that...” Her shoulders sagged as she felt her confidence waning. “I’m not exactly experienced... I mean, I’ve only been with two men in my whole life.” She gave a short laugh. “The first was my college boyfriend, which was hardly memorable. The second was...well...memorable for all the wrong reasons... I’m not very good at this sex stuff. I don’t want to disappoint you...”
Before she could continue, Nick kissed the back of her neck, setting her body on fire.
“My beautiful Cassandra...” She tensed at the name. Nick didn’t know it wasn’t really hers. There was so much he didn’t know. He continued to softly kiss her neck and shoulders as he spoke. “I have two important things to say to you. First, nothing that’s happened before tonight—before right this instant—matters at all. Second...” Nick’s kisses moved up her neck and toward her left ear. Cassie tilted her head to expose more of her skin to his lips as he continued. “Second... We are very definitely not having ‘sex stuff’ tonight. That’s what teenagers do the in the back seat of their dad’s Buick. If you walk through that door, I am going to give you a night like you’ve never experienced before.”
With that, Nick gently turned Cassie so they were facing each other. He rested his forehead on hers and spoke again, staring straight into her wide eyes. “But Cassie, you’re going to have to walk through that door on your own.”
She felt every cell in her body singing to her to make the move.
...nothing that’s happened before tonight matters at all...
She smiled and turned, lifting her chin and stepping through the doorway with determination. She walked to the center of the room, near the foot of the bed, and turned to face Nick. He was still in the doorway, with his hands resting on each side of the door frame. His coffee-colored hair fell across his forehead. His gaze was intense, his eyes so dark they were nearly black. He looked so damned sexy she thought she’d swoon right then and there.
Cassie didn’t flinch from the desire she saw in his eyes. When he stepped into the room, Cassie let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. He walked to her slowly, and she didn’t back away. She felt no fear, had no second thoughts. She wanted this.
He folded her into his arms and kissed her. She gave as good as she got, standing on tiptoe to push against him as their tongues teased and danced together. Nick reached down and lifted the hem of her borrowed sweatshirt. She stepped away to allow him to pull it over her head, shimmying out of the loose sweatpants at the same time.
Maybe she should have felt insecure as she stood naked before him for the first time, but...no. She felt self-assured. She felt beautiful. Nick made her feel beautiful, with his dark stare and the upward curve at the edge of his mouth. He was already making love to her with his eyes, and she reveled in it.
With one smooth motion, he peeled his shirt off over his head. Cassie was more than happy to have another chance to admire his broad shoulders and the sharply defined six-pack. He was one fine specimen of a man.
He lifted her into his arms. She embraced his neck and placed her lips on his. The kiss was full of lust and need. He laid her on top of the sheets, then stepped away to shed his shorts. Nick walked to the bed and placed one knee on the edge of the mattress. He looked into her eyes and she knew he was looking for permission. She granted it with a barely perceptible nod.
She could feel his gaze sweeping across her skin, and it made her blood burn with need. When his eyes reached hers, he fell on her like a starving man falls on an all-you-can-eat buffet.
They were consumed by the heat of their desire. Their hands ran over each other’s bodies frantically. Nick’s kisses began on her forehead and ran down her neck and chest. He paused along the way to trace her breasts with his lips, as light as a whisper, before he went across her abdomen, then ever lower. Cassie’s nervous anticipation of everything that was to come had her writhing in excitement before he even reached his goal. His fingertips were tracing the same trail around her breasts that his lips had just followed. She moaned, her eyes closed as his mouth settled on her most private and sensitive place. She tried to resist letting herself go too soon, but failed. Loudly. He was too damned good at what he was doing, and she fell hard.
Now it was Nick’s turn to moan as he continued, ignoring Cassie’s pleas for mercy as she continued to move under his onslaught. He stopped only to tear open a condom wrapper grabbed from the nightstand, then he followed his own trail of kisses back up to her lips. Her legs curled around his torso, and she cried out his name when he entered her. She dug her fingernails into his back, causing him to grunt in response. His muscles rippled under her fingers.
They both felt a driving sense of urgency. The sheets wrapped around them as they moved across the bed. At one point, Nick grasped Cassie tightly and rolled so that she was astride him. She braced herself with her arms beside his shoulders. They stopped moving momentarily and she looked down at him. Her hair fell wildly around her face. She felt giddy with power.
Nick smiled up at her. “You seem pleased with yourself, ma’am.”
Cassie gave a throaty laugh. “Oh, I am very pleased indeed. I’m even more pleased to see that I’m pleasing you.”
“Oh, you are definitely doing that, babe.”
They smiled slyly at each other as if they were both in on some very special secret. Nick put his hand securely on he
r back and rolled so that she was lying under him again, without breaking their bond. He kissed her gently and began to press into her at an increasing pace. Cassie felt the room spinning as her body responded yet again. She closed her eyes and arched her back. As she did, Nick slid his arm under her and lifted her lower body up into the air as he rose to his knees. And that was it for her. She cried out and let herself fly.
Nick shouted her name roughly and dropped her back to the bed, setting his teeth on the tender skin at the base of her throat as he drove on to his own release. His face dropped over her shoulder into the pillow beneath her. They lay in that position for several minutes, their deep breaths the only sound in the room.
As Nick’s body weight pressed down on Cassie, she finally had to react. She tapped the front of his shoulder and softly said, “Nick, you have to move.”
“No.” He muttered it into her hair without flinching. “You destroyed me. I can’t move.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t breathe, so you’re going to have to move or listen to me suffocate.”
Nick groaned loudly and rolled to lie at her side, with one arm draped over her ribs as he got rid of the condom with the other. Cassie put her hand on her chest and felt the sheen of sweat on her skin. Her heart was pounding.
Nick covered her hand with his. She turned away from him, pressing her back against his chest. He pulled her tight and kissed the base of her neck.
“I’m a shell of a man right now. I knew we had a physical attraction going on, but...damn, girl! That was some wickedly world-class sex.”
Cassie smiled in contentment. “I didn’t even know there could be sex like that, Nick. If this house were on fire right now, I wouldn’t have the strength to move, much less stand or run.”
Nick laughed softly, his mouth near her ear. “Then we’d burn together, babe, because I can’t move, either. Now go to sleep. You’re safe in my arms. Just go to sleep...” His voice was fading as he spoke.
When she woke, the digital clock on the side of the bed read 4:28 a.m. She’d rolled over onto her stomach in her sleep, and someone’s fingers were lightly tracing up and down her spine. She lifted her head and Nick, propped up on one elbow, smiled down at her softly.