by Beth Andrews
She stood transfixed by the hungry look on his face, the stiffness of his jaw as he skimmed his fingers over the swell of her breast. Her nipples tightened, straining against the fabric of her cream-colored bra.
“Will you take your hair down for me?” he asked.
Tugging the band off, she shook her head and combed her fingers through her locks so they settled across her shoulders. Then, before she could change her mind, she reached behind her back and undid her bra. It slithered down her arms to the floor between them.
He made a sound not unlike that of someone being punched in the stomach. “None of my fantasies even came close to this,” he admitted reverently. “You’re beautiful.”
During her life, she’d had countless men tell her that. Some meant it, some said it because it was expected. But for the first time, she believed it. She felt beautiful. Before she had time to revel in the feeling, to enjoy the thought of being intimate with someone she truly cared for and respected, Nick closed the distance between them. Wrapping one strong arm around her waist, he bent, took one nipple into his mouth and sucked.
Her head lolling back, she gripped his shoulders.
He released her breast and kissed his way to the other one, his stubble causing an erotic friction against her delicate skin. “Let go,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”
Nick brushed his lips up and down the slope of her breast. Her fingers dug into the solid muscles of his shoulders. “I…I can’t.”
“You can,” he said, looking up at her. “I won’t let you fall.”
Then he ran his tongue around her areola, causing the beaded tip to tighten further. She forced her arms down to her sides, her fingers curling into her palms. When he took her in his mouth again, she went boneless. He rubbed a work-roughened palm over her other breast until she panted and writhed against him.
He lifted his head and yanked her against him. A wave of dizziness rushed over her, intensifying when he took her mouth in another searing kiss. Breaking the kiss, he let go of her long enough to strip his shirt off. Her heart fluttered. He was all toned, golden skin, his chest covered in dark hair, his abs nicely defined.
He reached for her again, and when she shook her head, he froze. Faith could tell, from the muscle jumping in his jaw, the way his chest rose and fell with each rapid breath, and of course, the telltale bulge behind his zipper, that he wanted her.
Not the girl who’d grown up with all the wrong dreams, or the woman who’d made so many mistakes, who’d married for all the wrong reasons. Not the woman who’d lied, cheated and stole to keep her son safe. Nick, the most honorable, honest person she’d ever known wanted her. Faith Lewis.
Tears stung her eyes but she blinked them back before he could see. Lightly combing her fingers through the wiry curls on his chest, she smiled. “This is better than any of my fantasies.”
After tracing circular patterns over his shoulders and across his pecs, she went lower, down to his belly button, then to his sides. Still using her nails, she stroked the faint line of hair that ran from his navel into the waistband of his low-slung jeans. He inhaled sharply, creating a small gap between skin and denim, and she took advantage of it by dipping her fingers inside.
“Maybe I should rethink my idea of going first,” Nick growled. “After all, ladies first.”
“Why don’t we forget the fantasy stuff?” She kissed him, withdrawing her hand. “This is one case where I think reality may give fantasy a run for its money.”
Then she scratched her nails over his erection through his jeans. He jerked even as he pressed himself into her hand. Before she could do more than cup her palm around him, he lifted her off her feet. She squealed as she fell back onto the bed. Nick followed her down, his hard body pressing her into the mattress as he kissed her deeply.
His hands skimmed over her, down to her shorts. He made quick work of undoing the button and sliding down the zipper. She lifted her hips as he knelt beside her and yanked off both her shorts and her panties and tossed them aside. Her skin heated as his intense, dark gaze took her in.
“Did I mention you’re beautiful?” he asked, his voice rough.
All she could do was nod. She couldn’t worry about her stretch marks or those extra ten pounds on her hips. Or the fact that she hadn’t been with a man in more years than she cared to think about. All she could focus on was Nick. On the anticipation building within her over what he would do next. On what she wanted to do to him.
Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long. Starting at her hipbone, he smoothed his hand down her thigh, over her knee to her ankle. But instead of making a return trip as she’d hoped, he caressed the top of her foot. She squirmed.
“Ticklish?” he asked, giving her other foot the same treatment.
“No, it’s just…I don’t think anyone’s ever touched my feet before.”
His grin was hot and wicked. “Sweetheart, I’m going to touch you everywhere.”
His tone, along with the knowledge that Nick always kept his word, made her pelvis contract and moisture pool between her thighs. Gliding his hand up her leg, he leaned down and kissed her. Caressing her chest, her arms, even gently massaging her wrists and fingers. Her bones seemed to liquefy under his rough palms as he kneaded away the tension in her shoulders. As much as she wanted to touch him, to explore his body as he was exploring hers, it took all she had to muster enough strength to simply hold on to him.
But then his touch—and his kiss—changed. Both became more demanding as he stroked her rib cage and her stomach. Nudging her legs apart, he skimmed his knuckles up the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. Her tension began to build again, spiking when he flicked his thumb over her aching center. She whimpered into his mouth and lifted her hips, almost coming off the bed when he slipped one thick finger inside her.
Raising his head, he sat up. Faith dropped her hands to the mattress, curling them into the bedspread as he slowly worked her with his finger. His free hand went to her breast where he lightly pinched her nipple. Sweat beaded on her skin. She panted. Nick added a second finger, stretching her so completely, so wonderfully, she was surprised she didn’t burst into a million splintered pieces.
Instead, she kept climbing higher. “Please,” she gasped as he twisted his fingers inside her, creating the most delicious feeling. “Please, Nick.”
He stroked his thumb over her. Once. Twice. At the third touch, her climax ripped through her, scattering her thoughts, suffusing her with pleasure.
Her body tingling, her mind a hazy cloud, she pried open her eyes to find Nick watching her. A soft laugh burst out of her. “You’re looking awfully smug,” she said.
He raised his eyebrows. “Do I have reason to?”
“Oh, definitely.” She pushed herself onto her elbows and gave him a lingering kiss. “And now it’s my turn.”
“Your turn to be smug?”
“My turn to touch you. Everywhere.”
NICK’S BLOOD ROARED in his ears. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” he rasped—although his body would disagree.
Faith tipped her head so that her hair slid over her shoulder like a golden cloud. “Why not?”He tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry. Still supporting herself on her elbows, she was like some fantasy come to life with her milky skin flushed from her orgasm, her mouth red and glistening from his kisses. “I’m not sure how much I can handle,” he admitted, not giving a damn if she knew how much power she had over him. How much he cared for her. “I want you too much and I…I don’t want to lose control.”
She smiled slowly and sensually. Sitting up, she kissed him again, nipping his lower lip. He groaned and she eased back and met his eyes. “It’s okay,” she said, undoing the button of his jeans. For all of his good intentions, he didn’t have the will to stop her, especially when she pressed her hand against his straining erection as she pulled his zipper down. “I trust you. I think…I think you’re the first man I’ve ever trusted,” she added in a rush.
&nbs
p; Well, hell. How was he supposed to be all honorable and strong when she said something like that? When her soft hand dipped under the waistband of his briefs to brush against him?
Rolling off the bed, he pulled open the drawer of his nightstand and took out protection. With the condom between his teeth, he pushed off his pants and underwear, then tossed the condom onto the mattress as he climbed back on the bed. Faith got on her knees, wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head down for another mind-blowing kiss. The hard tips of her breasts rubbed against his chest and he pulled her against him. Lifted his hips so his arousal rode the incredibly soft skin of her lower stomach.
She ran her hands over his shoulders, down his arms and around his waist to his back. She kissed his jaw, his neck and then his upper chest while she did that incredible thing with her nails above his tailbone. His fingers squeezed the round globes of her rear as he thrust against her.
Her hands gripped his outer thighs, her mouth moving down his stomach. Lower. Lower until his lungs burned with his pent-up breath. “Faith,” he moaned, grasping her hair, unsure if he wanted to lift her head or beg her to keep going.
She looked up at him from under her lashes and his penis jumped. “It’s just a kiss, Nick,” she assured him, reminding him of when he’d said the same thing to her on her porch a few weeks ago.
Then she kissed him. His sigh turned into an almost soundless curse as she took the tip into her mouth and sucked. His head fell back, his fingers massaging her scalp. When she lightly scraped her nails up the length of him, he yanked her away before he exploded right then and there.
Gripping her behind her thighs, he pulled her legs out from underneath her and flipped her onto her back. Her laughter only served to inflame him as he ripped open the condom and covered himself. She was already reaching for him when he used his knee to nudge her legs apart and enter her.
He wanted to slow down, to take his time and show her what she meant to him. But she was so hot. So wet. And the surprise on her face, as if she’d never felt anything as good as what he was doing to her, was so raw, so honest, he couldn’t help but pump into her again and again.
His arms shook with the effort to hold himself off, but he wanted to see her face, wanted to watch her every second they were together. She bent her knees and took him in even farther, her heels pressing into the mattress by his hips as she matched his frenetic pace. Their bodies grew slick with sweat, their breathing ragged.
Her hands slid to his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. Sensing she was as close as he was, Nick reached between them. He’d no sooner rubbed his knuckle over her than she began to pant, her moans turning into whimpers as her orgasm coursed through her. She kept her eyes on his, let him see her pleasure as her body convulsed underneath his, contracted around him. Pushed him over the edge.
He gripped her hips and lifted her butt off the bed as he repeatedly thrust into her until his own climax broke over him. His arms gave out and he collapsed on top of her, gulping for air.
“I hope I’m not too heavy,” he said when he could speak, “because I seem to have lost the ability to move.”
“That’s okay. I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing about ten minutes ago.”
Nick stared down at Faith’s beautiful face. They shared a smile and then she laid her hand on his cheek. They kissed, a soft, sweet meeting of lips that about had his already full heart bursting.
She pulled back and sighed. “If you keep that up, I’m not going to want to leave.”
“You could stay.” The thought of Faith in his bed, of being able to make love to her again in the middle of the night, of waking next to her in the morning, tempted him more than he cared to admit.
“I can’t.” But at least she sounded disappointed. “I asked Kathleen to have Austin call me between movies, and since I don’t have a cell phone…”
“You need to get home,” he said, rolling off of her and grabbing his clothes. “Give me three minutes to get dressed and I’ll drive you.”
She sat up, her hair a wild tangle, beard burn marring the creamy skin of her neck and shoulders. He’d never seen anything so beautiful.
“Thanks,” she said, getting to her feet. She pulled her panties on and picked up her bra.
“Don’t thank me. I have an ulterior motive. I’m not ready to let you go yet.” She looked so startled—and scared—he silently cursed himself. Keeping his expression clear, he added, “I was hoping I could run a few scenarios by you.”
Hooking her bra behind her back, she frowned. “What kind of scenarios?”
He shrugged. “Just a few ideas I’ve had ever since the first time I kissed you.”
“If any of them involve me dressing up like a cheerleader or wearing your handcuffs, I’m not interested.”
“No costumes or accessories, I promise. But there is one that involves your salon chair and a bit of spinning.”
Her lips pursed, she raised her eyebrows. “In that case, I’m all ears.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
FAITH REFUSED TO CALL what happened between her and Nick a mistake. But that didn’t mean she had to make more out of it than it was, either. Actually, she thought as she leaned her head against the door frame and watched Nick and Austin play catch in her backyard, she didn’t know what to make of it. She wanted to enjoy being in a relationship with a kind, funny, sexy man, not spend all of her time worrying about what tomorrow would bring.
For once in her life, she was content with what she had—with who she was—and she wasn’t about to let anything spoil that.She pressed her hands to her warm cheeks as she remembered the things they’d done to each other. How she’d been so aroused simply by the thought of bringing him pleasure.
Before she got married she’d used sex as a way to keep men interested in her. During her marriage it’d been a way to keep ahold of the wealth she’d always longed for. She used to consider herself a sensual woman, one not afraid or embarrassed to use her body to get what she wanted.
But nothing had prepared her for being with Nick.
When he left her house that night, she’d been sated, exhausted and pleasantly sore. And so vulnerable that the moment she’d heard his car pull away, she’d slid to the floor and burst into tears.
Because she’d been so surprised by her response to Nick, she assured herself. She hadn’t considered how easy it would be for her to let go. To enjoy being with a man again. That she’d get so wrapped up in Nick, in making love to him, that she’d forget to play a part, and just…be herself. That she’d feel, as if for the first time, she finally knew who she was.
Great sex had a way of messing with your head that way.
But she was afraid it was more than that. It was also Nick. The way he listened when she told him about her past. His easy acceptance of her and Austin, despite her keeping the truth from him, made it almost impossible for her to continue to lie to him.
It also made her realize how desperately she wanted this life, to pretend the past had never happened, that she’d always been Faith Lewis. To do that, she needed to take care of any unfinished business she had as the woman she’d once been. She had to pay her last respects to her mother.
Since Faith and Austin were already on the run when Robin Hawley died of complications from heart disease, Faith hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye. This morning she did that the only way she knew how—by buying a headstone for her mother’s grave. She couldn’t afford much, but the small, flat tombstone she ordered over the Internet and paid for with money orders was better than continuing to allow her mother’s body to lie in an unmarked grave. It was a last sign of respect for the woman who’d raised her the best she knew how.
More importantly, it gave Faith a sense of closure.
Now she opened the screen door and called, “I’m home.”
“Hi, Mom,” Austin said, not even pausing in his windup.
Nick, wearing a snug white T-shirt and khaki cargo pants, grinned at her from his crouched positio
n, where he caught Austin’s pitch. “I promised him ten more pitches and he still has three to go. Is that okay?”
She shrugged as if his smile didn’t do funny things to her stomach. Well, what did she expect? This was the first time they were face-to-face since they’d had sex. From her experience, the morning after—or in this case, three days later—was bound to be awkward.
Not that she’d been avoiding him. Even if she’d wanted to see him before now, their schedules hadn’t allowed it. She’d worked Saturday and he’d covered a double shift over the weekend.
“While you two finish up,” she said, “I’m going to get something to drink.”
Nick didn’t even rise as he lobbed the ball back to Austin. “We stopped at Brown’s Deli after practice and picked up a couple of Italian sandwiches. There’s one in the fridge for you if you’re hungry.”
She slipped off her shoe. “I fed Austin supper before we left.”
“I was starving, Mom,” Austin claimed. “And Nick says we needed to refill—”
“Refuel,” Nick corrected.
Austin nodded so hard, the bill of his ball cap almost touched his chest. “Refuel after such a hard practice. Plus, I’m growing and I need the extra calories. Right, Nick?”
“We worked up a couple of manly appetites tonight,” Nick told her with a wink. But the way his eyes skimmed over her knee-length skirt, lingering on her bare legs, made her think he and Austin were talking about two different kinds of hunger.
Damn it. She was so out of her league with him, it took all of her pride not to run inside and hide in a closet.
After taking off her other shoe, she straightened. “Three more pitches and then you need to hit the shower, Austin. And don’t you let him talk you into staying out longer,” she warned Nick.