by Vanessa Dare
“Hey, lady. Is he messing with you?” A thirty-something man walked by, stopped. Figured, the one chivalrous guy left in the world had to be on the same street.
I loosened my hold on Anna just enough for her to turn her head toward him. I couldn’t do what I wanted and drag her by the hair back to her apartment caveman-style. This guy, and a few others, would probably do more than ask if she was okay.
Anna shook her head against my sweaty shirt, replied, “No. I’m fine. Thanks for checking.”
Mr. Chivalry gave me the once over, then nodded and went on his way.
“We’re going back to your apartment. We’ll talk about this there, without any straight punches or interfering bystanders.” I just held her for a minute until we’d both recovered. This time, I took her hand in mine, held it tight. As I searched for another taxi, I knew I wasn’t going to let go until we were safely back at her place.
***
Twenty minutes later, we walked into her apartment. We hadn’t spoken on the ride; Anna kept her gaze diverted out her window, with her hand still in mine. I’d been surprised she’d given in, but I’d proven my point. She couldn’t get away. I’d keep following her, keep finding her. This didn’t mean she wasn’t scheming, making plans in that genius brain of hers. Most likely, she was biding her time, which only meant I’d have to be extra vigilant. She was an exceptional opponent. If it weren’t life-or-death we were dealing with, I’d enjoy this battle of wills.
As I closed the apartment door behind us, flipped the lock, I looked around the small space, considering it with a completely different mindset. No wonder she kept it a mess. Boarding school, especially military academies, didn’t condone messiness. Her ex, the fucker, no doubt had a tight rein on her, even for the short time they’d been married. Being in charge of her own life, finally, she got to do what she wanted. In her own space, not shared with a roommate or two. Even all these years later, if she wanted to leave her dirty laundry scattered across the floor, what was the harm? No one was going to give her detention or make her do pushups or have her arrested.
Her personal appearance was a different story. She was always neat and tidy, her garments pressed with the precision of an expert dry cleaner. No hair out of place, makeup pristine.
She dropped her keys in a little dish on a table by the door, then moved into the kitchen and pulled a glass down from the cabinet.
There was a different Anna hidden away beneath all the layers of her façade she’d so carefully built. I’d seen a few quick glimpses of her. Enough to know I wanted to see more. Every time I kissed her, she participated a little more, became less wary. When I’d let her have control of our it, right here in her kitchen, it had been pure torture not touching her, keeping my hands tightly gripped against her counter. I’d wanted to grab her close, hold her right where I wanted her so I could kiss her in a way that imprinted her on my DNA. And vice versa.
She’d been tentative at first, skittish even, kissing and exploring my mouth, learning what she liked, what made me groan. She recognized the power she had over me, how she could take me to my knees with just a brush of her lips against my skin. I saw the flare of awareness of that fact in her eyes.
She wasn’t in control right now. She didn’t know it, but when she willingly sacrificed herself, her identity, to save me, I took it from her. Running off had shown me how serious she was. Sure, yelling at me made her point clear, but that hadn’t solidified it as much as watching her sprint down the sidewalk.
It was an invisible thing, something she didn’t even realize yet, but there was nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her. She’d crossed the line and there was no going back. I wanted her, in every way.
When she undid those two modest little buttons on her blouse in the restaurant, I almost lost it. The look on her face, nervousness and arousal combined, had me shaking. I’d hoped to bank my eagerness for her, my instinctual need to rip the blouse open, not caring if buttons flew across the hallway, to see her, to take her. It had been damn hard. Just nudging the edge of the delicate fabric over a few inches exposed a tantalizing glimpse of her collarbone, the very top soft swell of her full breast, a tiny glimpse of her lacy bra.
Standing here now, watching her simply drink a glass of water, made me rock hard. I knew what she wore beneath. Pale pink lace and satin. Would her panties match the bra? Knowing Anna, I had no doubt. Everything she had matched.
I had to go slowly, carefully. She wasn’t thinking clearly. Her first option—flight—was what she could see, could focus on. It wasn’t the answer. I had to come up with an alternative, a better way to save both of us. I had until Monday to do so. In the meantime, I had to prove to her that staying and fighting for what we had was the right thing.
The only thing.
Pushing her up against the counter, lifting her skirts and thrusting quickly and deeply into her from behind, wasn’t going to work. I couldn’t be rough. At least not now. I’d show her the pleasure to be had in that, too, but first, she needed to know I’d take care of her, treasure her like no one ever had. That what we had couldn’t be thrown away. I would teach her the chemistry between us was not common, that the feelings we had for each other didn’t just go away with a new identity. She couldn’t shed me like a skin and grow a new one, tougher and stronger.
We were weaker apart and I was going to prove it to her. Right now.
“You’ve been seducing me all night.” I couldn’t let my anger or frustration show. Couldn’t scold her for running off. That tact wouldn’t work. Somehow, I needed to play it cool. Calm. Now that we were back in the apartment, I could let my guard down—a little—and focus solely on Anna once again.
She looked at me, eyes big. “I have? How?”
“I know the color of your bra. Just that scrap of lace has me thinking thoughts. Things I want to do to you,” I murmured.
The way her eyes flared, I knew she could see the intensity on my face. I felt it, my gaze had her pinned like a butterfly on a display board. Her pulse fluttered at her neck, her tongue darted out to lick her lips. I groaned at the sight. “You just have to be in the same room and I want you. I don’t care what your name is, what you’ve done. I want you.”
She glanced down at her glass, her dark lashes shielding her thoughts from me. “If you walk away, we’ll both stay alive,” she said, her voice wilted and wounded.
Did she really think Moretti would let me live if I went back to Denver without killing her? That having her disappear would save me from ruthless repercussions? Moretti would see me as weak, being bested by a woman. Too weak to be useful to him, which meant I’d have a car trunk with my name on it. Telling her this would only make things worse.
“Walk away? For what, love? Will it be worth it? You’ll have a new identity but you’ll be alone. I can’t think about being without you.”
Saying those words surprised me. I’d never imagined I’d feel enough for a woman to utter them, let alone really mean it.
Her gaze flicked to mine as if she debated the truth of my words. She shook her head as she denied it. “No. No! You have to go. Please, Nick,” she pleaded.
“No.”
She rubbed her hand over her face. “This is happening too fast.”
“You want time?” I narrowed my gaze at her, assessing. “You can have time to figure out what this is between us. But I’m not leaving you and I’m damn well not going to keep my hands off you.”
She just closed her eyes, as if to block me out, and shook her head.
Stubborn woman! So fucking determined. “You don’t believe me when I say there’s something between us? Fine. I’ll show you instead.” I closed the space between us before she could react, pulled her into me roughly. Her eyes opened wide as my mouth claimed hers in a searing kiss. A kiss made to forget everything.
Anna tasted of red wine and vanilla ice cream, decadent and rich. How could I walk away from this? I angled my head, adjusting the kiss, letting myself sink even deeper and deeper unti
l I felt her fingers grip the front of my shirt, as a sigh slipped from her lips. I took advantage, my tongue plunging deep. The warmth from her body seeped into my belly, her scent swirled around us, making me dizzy with need.
I was being ruthless, I knew. Words weren’t working. I had to show her, make her feel what we had, what could be. From what I knew of her, she had no comparison, no idea the depth of our connection. What I felt for her wasn’t like anything I’d ever felt for any other woman, even Nadine. I’d been married to her and I’d felt less with her than I did just kissing Anna. It only proved how wrong Nadine and I had been for each other. I thought I’d never want a woman again, after Nadine’s cheating, but this, now, with Anna, was like a drug. I was addicted.
I walked her backwards out of the small kitchen, into her living room, never breaking the kiss. Her calves bumped the front of her couch. We lowered as one down its length, Anna on her back, our lips still fused. I propped myself up on my forearm with one knee wedged between hers, spreading her legs open, my other foot resting on the floor. I settled perfectly into the cradle of her hips, and when she moaned, I knew then she’d felt me, hard and thick with arousal, against her core. Shifting my hips ever so slightly, I rocked against her. Anna broke the kiss and tilted her head back, a cry of pleasure escaping.
Intense male satisfaction at the look on her face coursed through me. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open in surprise, her cheeks flushed a rosy red. Her breath escaped her swollen lips in little pants. I’d done this to her, made her lose control, forget everything but my touch and what it could do to her.
“Like that?” I asked, shifting my hips again to rub against her clit.
She licked her lips and nodded her head, but didn’t open her eyes, as if it were a dream and she didn’t want to wake up. I smiled to myself, knowing I could make it even better. Make her realize she couldn’t walk away.
“This is what you do to me, Anna. What I can do to you. Do you really want to leave this? Leave us?” My voice was rough like gravel, my words harsh. My body was gentle, but my intent wasn’t. She had to learn. Now.
Anna shook her head with abandon. I couldn’t be sure if she was fighting me or lost in her own pleasure. Both, perhaps. I was pushed now to show her, not for my own desire, but Anna’s. I had to make her come, to take her over the edge and watch her as I did. In this moment, it was only about her.
I ground against her, very slowly, very lightly. I was so hard for her, I knew I’d have a zipper imprint on my cock. Using my free arm, I undid the buttons on her blouse. It was slow going one handed, but I was enjoying the view, like unwrapping a present very, very carefully. Parting the two sides, I revealed her flat, toned belly, the rounded curve of her ribs, her pink lace bra. I ran the tip of my finger from the indent at the base of her neck, down over the soft skin between her collarbones, lower through the valley of her breasts, lower still to her belly button, ending at the top of her skirt. So warm, so smooth, so reactive. Her breath caught, her stomach sucked in as I brushed over it. I swear my hands could span her waist if I tried.
I was rough, hairy and angular. Anna was sweet curves and hidden delights. I wanted to know each spot on her body that made her gasp, that made a slight sheen of sweat break out across her fragrant skin, that made her forget.
Working my way back up the same path, I stopped at the front clasp of her bra, flicked it open. I lowered my head and used my teeth to push the lace aside, licked my way up the slope of one breast to the pert nipple. Sweet baby Jesus, it was just the shade of pink I’d imagined. Small, the tight little bud was very sensitive beneath my tongue. Just the slightest touch against the tip made her cry out. I closed my mouth over it, laved it, then sucked. Her back bowed as if I were pulling all of her body up with my mouth, a harsh cry escaping her lips.
I wasn’t going to let up on my assault on her senses. Not until she came.
I switched sides, nudging the rest of her bra aside, licking, nibbling. Fingers of my free hand worked a tip, wet from my mouth, gave it a gentle tug, as my hips continued their slow movement, mimicking how I’d move once I got inside her. Anna’s hands lifted to my head, sifted into my hair and on occasion, gave a little tug. I bet she had no idea she was holding my head to her breast. I loved that she was instinctively guiding me to where she found the most pleasure.
“Have you ever come this way before?” I asked, my voice soft as I moved up to her ear, nipped it, then soothed it with a lick.
She shook her head, licked her lips. “No. God, no…don’t stop.”
I smiled into her neck, sucked there gently, tasting her.
“What, this?” I asked, rocking my hips. Anna lifted up into me, our bodies rubbing together in a way that had my eyes practically rolling back in my head.
She nodded, her hair a shifting curtain around her.
“You’re so sensitive, so responsive.” I never stopped thrusting up over her. “Are you ready to come? Because I bet you can just by having your nipples played with. I’m going to watch you. You’re going to be so beautiful.” I plumped a breast, almost a handful, then rubbed my palm over the tip in a circle. She sucked in a deep breath, which pushed her more fully into me.
“I’ve never…I can’t—” She started to thrash beneath me, bucking me up, which only had us pressing together with more fervor than I’d intended. “It’s too much.”
“Shh. You can,” I insisted, driving her on, my breath ragged as much as hers. “I’ve got you. I’ll keep you safe. Just let go.”
I lowered my mouth back to one nipple and gave a long, deep pull.
Like plucking a bow, Anna’s body went taut. She cried out her pleasure as I looked up from her breast and watched her face, the sheer bliss of letting go moving through every fiber of her being. I continued to draw from her, rub over her mound until she finally slumped down, sated, content. Satisfied.
She was as stunning in her pleasure as I’d imagined. And that had been with most of our clothes on. The fact that she was so responsive made me ache to be buried deep. I gave her this pleasure, but at the same time, she’d given me something as well. When I settled in between her legs, setting her off like that, felt like coming home.
It was perfect, it was right.
She was mine, and I wasn’t going to let her walk away.
CHAPTER TEN
Anna
All the bones in my body dissolved. I was panting for breath, my skin slick with sweat, Nick pinning me into place. I couldn’t move, even if I wanted to. Minutes ago all I’d needed was to get as far away from Nick as possible. Now, with him on top of me, even with his solid weight pinning me in place, he was still too far away. I wanted him in me, a part of me. One.
I’d never felt anything like that orgasm. It was light years better than any I’d given myself with my trusty vibrator. I had no idea a male-induced orgasm could be so unbelievably amazing. I couldn’t help but grin. The endorphin rush was better than any exercise class. Holy shit, that had been incredible.
“You want to walk away from that?” Nick asked, his voice almost a taunt. I slowly opened my eyes, looked up at him. His gaze was heavy lidded, his brow furrowed. His cheeks had bright flags of color on them, a slight sheen of sweat coated his brow. He was tense, angry, aroused. I couldn’t miss his erection pressing hard against me. He’d made me forget. Forget that I shouldn’t want him. That I should just say goodbye.
“Nick, it’s not about sex.” I had to be reasonable. One of us did. When the lust faded, what would be left?
I was lying; the lust wouldn’t fade. Deep down, I knew this. This thing between us wasn’t normal.
“The hell it’s not.” He got a firm grip on my hair, gently tugged. Made me look into his dark eyes, where I was afraid I’d get lost forever. “It’s about sex, and chemistry, and everything else that draws you to me, like I’m drawn to you, yet you want to walk away from all of it.”
I wasn’t scared of him, of his intensity. His passion ruled him now and I had to be strong
enough to fight it. He swallowed and I watched the movement.
He lowered his head to my breast, pulled one nipple, now soft and pliant from my release into his mouth, gave a hard pull that had me crying out. Lifting his head, he watched me once more, those dark eyes gleaming.
“You can’t use sex to prove your point.” I was breathing hard once again, arching into him. The little wire that ran from the tips of my breasts to my very core pulled tight, reawakened my need for Nick.
“I’m not going to have sex with you,” he told me, although I knew that’s exactly what he wanted to do. “Not tonight. And I’m not doing this to prove a point. I’m showing you what we have, what we can be. We’ll figure out what to do about Moretti together. Your half-sister, too. No running away.”
He was so stubborn! Yes, God, yes what we had was incredible. Could we survive it? Could we survive Moretti? Nick’s life wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. “Moretti is dangerous. Nick, please—”
“So am I,” he said, his voice decisive. “And I won’t take no for an answer.”
He sat up, one foot still on the floor, and slid his hands slowly up my thighs, catching the cotton of my skirt in his fingers as he went.
I reached down to push at his hands, but he wasn’t to be deterred. “Nick, what are you doing?”
His thumbs brushed over my inner thighs, leaving a path of tingling skin only to stop inches away from exposing my panties. Everything about Nick, how he touched, how he pushed me, how he said he wanted me, was too much. What he was doing was working. I’d had an orgasm only minutes before, but I wanted another one. I wanted another Nick Malone-made orgasm. It was likely I always would. Was this what he was telling me?