“You’d better watch it or they’ll hear you.” He slid his left arm around her, his fingers skimming her rib cage as he caught her other nipple. Now both hands plucked and rolled the sensitive tips until her knees went weak.
“So?” she managed a split second before he thrust into her. Still she caught the cry that curled up her throat and clamped her mouth shut as he started to move.
In and out. Back and forth.
The backseat action going on nearby soon faded into the beat of her own heart as she arched against Cole. She drew him deeper, held him longer, until the pressure between her legs reached the breaking point. Sensation drenched her and she exploded around him. Her head fell back into the curve of his neck and a groan worked its way up her throat.
Before she could bite her lip against the sound, his mouth covered hers as he moved faster and plunged harder, deeper, stronger. Convulsions gripped him. She milked him, her slick folds clenching around his throbbing penis until a growl sizzled across her nerve endings.
He buried himself one last time and leaned into her. His body flattened hers against the brick wall. The rough slab rasped her overly sensitive nipples and desire speared her again. Every nerve in her body sizzled. She closed her eyes, relishing the aftershocks of her release which swept through her and kept the fear at bay for the next several moments. Until reality washed back in and she became aware of the skirt up around her waist and the chill night air slithering over her bare skin, and the grumble of a car engine a few feet away.
Close.
So close.
And she was back to trembling again, desperate to curl up against him, to cuddle.
“I really need to go,” she blurted. “It’s getting late and I need to study.” She ducked underneath the arm to her left and put a few safe inches between them as she struggled with her clothes. “I had a good time. Thanks.” And then she walked away because the last thing she needed was for Cole Chisholm to see the gratitude blazing in her eyes. The wonder. The damned happiness.
Because Nikki Barbie had had her first orgasm. And her second. And they’d both been fan-friggin’-tastic.
Of all the rotten luck.
16
NO WAY DID she just rock his world and then just ditch him like he was last week’s leftovers.
Good?
Was she delusional?
It hadn’t been good. It had been great. It had been awesome. Phenomenal.
For him, but she obviously didn’t share the feeling because she’d already climbed into the rental car and pulled out of the parking lot.
G’bye.
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and fought the urge to follow her back to the RV. A crazy feeling because Cole Chisholm didn’t chase after women. They chased after him.
And he could damn well prove it.
There was an entire bar full of females who would have been damned happy to leave here with him. Damned happy.
He tried to remember the half dozen or so women who’d hit on him. Prime candidates for his Southern charm. All he had to do was walk back inside. Smile. And bam, he would move on to the next and forget all about Nikki.
That’s what he told himself, but damned if he believed it.
Cole didn’t want another woman.
He wanted Nikki Barbie.
You had her, bud.
But he didn’t just want a quickie out behind the bar. He wanted to lay her down on a soft mattress and plunge fast and sure and deep. He wanted to pull her close and fall asleep to the steady beat of her heart. And then he wanted to wake up next to her and do it all over again.
And again.
Forever? Like hell. The last thing Cole wanted was to tie himself down for the rest of his life. He didn’t do commitment.
Just sex.
Lots of sex.
Not that he was going to go after her and say as much. No, she’d been the one to walk away, so she would have to be the one to make the first move next time.
If there was a next time.
Maybe. Maybe not.
For the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure.
But while he had no intention of making the first move, he had no problem dangling the bait.
She might mean to resist him from here on out, but he wasn’t going to make it easy on her.
Not by a long shot.
* * *
HE WAS DRIVING her crazy.
Nikki came to that conclusion several hours later after returning to the RV. Cole came in a short while after her, and it had been constant contact ever since.
She’d run into him coming out of the shower. And scooted by him while he stood half-naked in the kitchen. And tried to whip up a cream sauce while he sat sprawled in a nearby chair, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and a smile.
As if he knew that his closeness chipped away at her defenses.
The next day went much the same way.
He walked around the RV half-dressed and made it a point to touch her whenever she got a little too close. And he talked to her...about what she was making and what he liked to eat and how much he really enjoyed a home-cooked meal.
So?
She didn’t care because she wasn’t into home cooking. She wasn’t into him, even if she had experienced a temporary loss of sanity at the bar. She’d given in to her sexual frustration, but she didn’t intend to make that mistake again.
She’d hoped to work him out of her system, but she’d failed miserably. And now she was miserable.
He was close enough to touch, to stroke, to taste, yet she couldn’t do any of it because that meant forgetting her objective—get through the next few days and get on with her life without falling for Cole Chisholm.
And that’s what she feared would happen.
She was too naive when it came to doing the deed, which explained the crazy feelings pushing and pulling inside of her. Like how much she liked him. And how she wished with all of her heart that he liked her.
Like, of all things.
But their relationship wasn’t about like. It was strictly business. Platonic.
Which was exactly what she told her sister Crystal when the woman finally called from her honeymoon after getting word of Nikki’s sudden marriage.
She’d known the phone call would come eventually. She’d just hoped to go as long as possible first.
“Platonic? You married Cole Chisholm and the relationship is strictly platonic?”
“Exactly.” Crystal actually laughed and Nikki rushed on, “I’m serious. He needed to get the women in town off his back and I needed to get Mom off mine. We faked a ceremony and bam, everyone thinks we’re together so they leave us alone.”
“And there’s nothing going on?”
She thought of Cole pressed up against her outside of the bar. “No,” she managed, despite the sudden lump in her throat. “Nothing. Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but it worked. I had to do something when you and April jumped ship.” She didn’t mention the manhunt across Texas. The last thing she wanted was to ruin her sister’s honeymoon and make her feel guilty because she’d followed her heart to marry the man of her dreams. “I supported you guys. Please understand about this.”
“Oh, I understand. I understand that you’re fake married to the hottest hunk and it’s strictly platonic. What I don’t understand is why? Aren’t you the least bit attracted to him?”
“It’s not about that.”
“Maybe it should be.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That for the first time in your life, you’ve actually done something wild and crazy. You should lighten up and enjoy yourself. You’re there. He’s there. You don’t want any strings. He doesn’t want any strings. Sounds like the perfect situation to wo
rk off a little sexual frustration, and heaven knows you need that. How long has it been since that last guy you went out with?”
“A while.”
“Months?” Crystal pressed.
“Give or take a few years.”
“Seriously?” Crystal let loose a low whistle. “Nikki, you need to go after Cole right now, jump his bones and have a little fun.”
“I think it will complicate things.” Forget think. She knew it would complicate things. She’d jumped his bones and now she could barely look him in the eye without desperately wanting to do it again. Talk about a major complication.
“Put on your big-girl panties and stop acting like a naive kid. Sex is the most uncomplicated thing there is. It’s relationships that get complicated. Just keep things physical and enjoy yourself. You’re only young once.”
“I’ll think about it.” Not. “I miss you. Tell April I said hi.”
“You’re not changing the subject that easily.”
Nikki smiled. “Oh, yes, I am. So how’s Hawaii?”
17
HER SISTER WAS right.
Nikki came to that conclusion a half hour after she’d said goodbye to Crystal. She’d taken a cold shower, pulled on her soft cotton Hell’s Kitchen T-shirt and sweats, and stretched out on the bed. This was her time to be young and she should be enjoying it.
Instead, she was channel surfing and eating a cold slice of pizza.
Granted, it was a homemade gourmet pizza she’d made herself and her taste buds were singing, but still.
She glanced at the remote in one hand and the half-eaten pepperoni in the other. It was her Friday night fantasy come to life. The chance to buck her reputation and simply be herself. This was what she wanted.
Okay, so this was what she’d wanted before Cole Chisholm had rolled into her life in his big rig and screwed up her priorities. Now she wanted him. And he wanted her.
Want.
It didn’t have to go beyond that if she didn’t let it. If she cut herself off emotionally from the sex and kept her feelings locked up tight.
Then she could enjoy herself for the next day or so before she caught up to her mother and the shit hit the fan. Couldn’t she?
She could.
She would.
She was tired of fantasizing. She wanted the real thing. The real man. Just for a little while. Deep down, she knew no matter where she went, or how many five-star restaurants she cooked at or how many award-winning chefs she learned from, she would never meet another man like Cole Chisholm.
He was one of a kind.
Her first love.
Her last.
She ignored the thought and threw her legs over the side of the bed. This wasn’t about love. It was all about sex. About having sex.
Nikki peeled off her clothes, pulled on her sundress—minus the undies—and reached for her sandals. She glanced at the clock and entertained a rush of anxiety that quickly fed her determination.
Gathering her courage, she left the room and went looking for Cole.
* * *
SHE FOUND HIM stretched out in a lounge chair on the top deck of his RV. A full moon hung overhead, the sky a blanket of stars that twinkled and cast an ethereal light on the cowboy who’d been starring in her most provocative fantasies.
He wore only his cowboy hat and a pair of jeans. His chest was bare, his shoulders broad. His shirt lay in a heap next to his boots. Muscles rippled as he stuffed his hands under his head and gazed up at the sky overhead.
The faint sound of music drifted from inside the RV, joining with the buzz of crickets and the pounding of Nikki’s heart as she cleared the top step of the ladder and stepped up onto the roof. The bus creaked ever so slightly and Cole’s head snapped up. His gaze collided with hers.
She braced herself against any lingering doubts, cleared her suddenly dry throat and murmured, “What are you doing up here?”
He tipped the brim of his hat back, lifting the veil of shadow from his face. His gaze glittered hot and bright in the moonlight. “I hate being cooped up sometimes.”
“I thought you said you weren’t claustrophobic.”
“I’m not. It’s just that me and my brothers spent one night too many sleeping in our dad’s old Chevywhen he was on a drinking binge. Sometimes being inside the RV reminds me of it, so I climb up here to catch my breath.” He settled back down and gazed back up at the moon. “What about you? Can’t sleep?”
“Actually—” She swallowed and gathered the courage that had brought her this far. “I’m too busy thinking to sleep.” Her gaze caught and held his. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” She stepped toward him. “About us.” She dropped to her knees. “This.” She leaned over and kissed him long and slow and deep, leaving no doubt how much she wanted him.
He returned her kiss, but he made no move to reach out. She leaned back just enough to murmur, “I want you, Cole,” and then she took his lips in another deep, purposeful kiss. “I always did, I just didn’t think you’d want me back. Not if you knew the truth.”
“Which is?”
“That I wasn’t half the good-time girl everyone thought.” Her gaze caught and held his. “I didn’t turn away from you that night because you weren’t experienced enough for me. I turned away because I wasn’t experienced enough. That’s why I ran away. Not because I didn’t want you. Because I didn’t want this.”
Nikki fought against one last wave of fear and then she straddled him.
18
COLE BLINKED, BUT Nikki didn’t fade and disappear the way she did in his fantasies.
Because this wasn’t a fantasy.
She was real. Warm. Here.
She sat astride him, her skin pale and silky in the moonlight. She shimmied her body and hiked her dress to her waist to give her legs some breathing room. With the material out of her way, she spread wider and settled more fully over him. Her bare sex rested atop his cock that throbbed beneath his jeans. She gripped his shoulders, stared deep into his eyes and rubbed herself against him.
She flung her head back and went wild for the next few moments and it was all he could do not to touch her smooth thighs or knead her sweet, round ass or slide his fingers into her wet heat.
But Cole had been waiting for this moment since the night of the wedding. He’d dreamed of it. He wasn’t about to hurry things up. He balled his hands into fists, braced himself and let her work herself up.
“You feel so good.” She hesitated then and her gaze met his. It was all he could do not to take her in his arms and chase away the doubt. “Do you like it, too?”
“Baby, you have no idea.” His words reassured her and she smiled, a brilliant slash of white in the moonlit darkness. His chest hitched and his breath caught. “You’re so beautiful, Nikki.”
“So are you,” she murmured, her smile fading into something more primitive and determined.
She kept riding him, rubbing herself up and down, creating a delicious friction before she finally leaned back and reached for the waistband of his shorts. He was already so hard that the zipper caught and refused to budge until his hand closed over hers.
He lifted his pelvis and together they slid his zipper the rest of the way down. He pushed his jeans down, hooking his underwear along with it, until his erection sprang thick and heavy toward her. Her fingertip was hot and arousing as she traced a throbbing vein up his rock-hard length, until she reached the silky-smooth head.
Nikki had seen a few male members in her time, but none of them had been near as impressive as Cole. Bold and beautiful, his penis jutted tall, throbbing beneath her tentative touch. She circled the engorged purple head and he sucked in a breath. The sound fed her confidence and she wrapped her hand around him. Heat scorched her fingertips and he arched into her grasp. But he d
idn’t touch her.
Not yet.
Her gaze trailed up over a ridged abdomen, a broad chest sprinkled with dark, silky hair, a corded neck, to the chiseled perfection of his face partially hidden in the shadow of his cowboy hat.
She took his hat off, set it aside and stared into his deep violet eyes. There was no mistaking the raw, aching need that gripped him.
And the uncertainty.
And the regret.
Because he’d wanted her back then.
Unlike the other boys, he hadn’t been anxious to add a notch to his belt. He’d really and truly wanted her, and she’d turned her back on him.
Before she could draw another breath, his mouth covered hers and his tongue thrust between her parted lips. The kiss seemed to go on forever and when he finally pulled away, Nikki couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
She fought for air while he reached down into the pocket of his jeans and retrieved a foil packet. A few seconds later, he slid the condom onto his erection, gripped her waist and pulled her closer.
He pressed his hard sex between her legs. The plump head pushed into her just a fraction until she felt her body pulse around his thick shaft. A shiver ripped through her and she slid her hands around his neck and threaded her fingers into his hair. Her nipples tightened, pressing against the thin material of her dress, and her thighs trembled.
He kissed her slowly, deeply, before he finally drew away. His heated gaze held hers as he lifted her hips again, pushing into her a fraction more. But it wasn’t enough. There was still too much between them.
She braced her hands against his chest and climbed to her feet. She backed up just a few steps and reached for the edge of her dress. Bunching the hem, she pulled it up and over her head. Her nipples hardened against the sudden breeze blowing in off the water and she trembled.
Cole’s gaze swept the length of her. Fire flared in his eyes, chasing away the sudden chill of self-consciousness that suddenly gripped her. There was no mistaking the emotion in his gaze as it met hers—a mixture of open hunger and fierce possessiveness that told her he wouldn’t dream of walking away from her.
Texas Outlaws: Cole Page 11