“Chris coming home tonight?”
“Probably not for a while.” He kissed her again as he unbuttoned her jeans.
“Don’t you guys have to leave early tomorrow?”
“We do.” He pulled back to lift her shirt over her head.
The silky material slithered over her skin in a delicious caress, revealing her simple black bra, which he wasted no time in removing and tossing across the foot of the bed. His hands replaced the material as he cupped her. “Beautiful,” he said. And took one of her nipples into his mouth.
She held his head in place because she had never felt anything quite so sexy. He was still dressed, she still had her jeans on, and they were standing beside the bed in a room she’d barely glanced at while he took control of her body. She’d never wanted a man more.
“You need to be more naked,” she groaned as she dropped her head back and savored the feel of his mouth sucking her other nipple.
“Yes. You too.”
“Absolutely.”
She went to work on her jeans and shoes while he shucked first his dress shirt, shoes then his pants. Despite the fact that she’d seen a good deal of his body before, seeing him completely naked took her breath. He was all hard, lean muscle and bone. His stomach muscles tensed and flexed as she stared. The thick corded muscle over his hip drew her attention and she reached out to stroke her fingers lightly along the line. He shuddered and closed his eyes.
His cock was thick and full and perfect, and she had to stroke that next. Even his many scars turned an already beautiful body into a work of art.
“You’re not naked yet,” he growled.
She was nearly naked, only her panties were still in place. “I got distracted,” she said as she played with his length, spreading the moisture that beaded at the tip up and down his shaft.
His breathing sped up as she worked him and she smiled, watching The Wall lose control.
“God, your hand is hot,” he muttered.
“Does this feel good?”
“Too good.” He finally stopped her, gripping her wrist. “My turn.”
He stripped her panties down her legs, dropping to his knees in front of her as he did so. She was the one breathing hard as he leaned forward and licked along her hot, slick entrance. A sound somewhere between a groan and a squeak escaped and she fell backward onto the bed. He followed, spreading her thighs to make more room before continuing to lick over and into her.
The tension in her core tightened until she no longer felt in control of her own body. Thrashing and moaning, she fisted the sheets with one hand and gripped his hair with the other, knowing she’d scream if he moved away now.
When he took her clit into his mouth and sucked hard, Nathalie came, her back arching off the mattress. She thought she might have screamed.
He continued to lick her gently as she came down, then he crawled up over her. She opened her eyes to look up at him. “I think I made that too easy on you.” Her voice was breathy and deeper than usual.
“I like that about you.”
She snorted and pulled him down for a kiss. He moved them farther up on the mattress without relinquishing his hold on her mouth. He rolled away long enough to pull a condom out of his bedside table and slip it on before returning to her. Stretching over her, he settled himself between her bent legs, his cock nudging gently at her entrance. He fingered her, rubbing moisture around her as well as onto his erection, then he slipped a finger inside as if testing.
“You are so damned hot. Sweet and hot and wet.”
She actually purred under his touch, her nerves sparking with tension and excitement. “Alex, if you were to fuck me right this very minute, it would make me a very happy woman.”
“You want my cock right here?” He rubbed over that hard-to-reach spot on the top of her passage and her hips jerked.
“Yes.”
“More than you wanted that Scotch earlier?”
“Infinitely more. Please.”
He replaced his fingers with his cock in one long, solid stroke that filled her completely. She couldn’t form a coherent word after that, not even to tease him. He set a rhythm that was slow, steady and pounding, doing more to make her body sing than a frantic pace ever could have. He went deep and hard but measured, and she went moaning into another, longer orgasm that left her limp and shaking.
She clenched and shuddered around him as he moved a few strokes faster, harder until he threw his head back and groaned her name.
She cradled him close as he rested his full weight on her for a few minutes. Her brain was content and quiet, her body tired and sated. She kissed his temple and hugged him.
“Stay the night,” he murmured into her neck.
“You have to get up too early. And I have work tomorrow.” She would love to spend the night with him, to hold on to this peace for a bit longer, but she didn’t want to send him on his road trip exhausted. “Do you know how much flak I’ll get if The Wall is too tired to play well Wednesday night?”
“I can sleep on Tuesday. Stay.”
“No. But if you don’t mind, I will stay for a little bit longer.”
“Good. That’ll give me time to convince you to stay the night.”
She shook her head. “Stubborn man.”
“Obstinate woman.” He rose up onto one elbow and traced her cheek with his free hand before kissing her. Then he rolled out of bed and left for the bathroom to clean up.
She admired his beautiful ass on the way out of the room and his full frontal nudity on the way back in. When he climbed back into bed next to her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
“Can I call you while I’m away?”
“You want to?”
He nodded.
“Sure.” She couldn’t fool herself into thinking this wasn’t real anymore, not when they were still naked and the room around them smelled like sweat and sex. This wasn’t pretending or playacting. This was serious, whatever was happening between them. Everything had changed.
And she had no idea where to go from here.
But she knew one thing. She couldn’t let things go any farther without being completely honest with him.
She never told the men she dated the full truth about herself, even the couple of pagan men she’d gone out with. Alex was different, though. The way she felt about him, the life he lived, everything. If whatever was happening between them had a hope of continuing past tonight, he needed to know the full truth.
A truth she was sure would put an end to things anyway.
Chapter Twelve
Alex watched her eyes grow distant as she pulled out of his arms. He knew he was going to hate the next words out of her mouth so he tried to distract her with another kiss. She refused to be diverted, though.
“I need to tell you something. The real reason I can’t afford public attention. The reason my mother left us. The truth.”
He sat up against the headboard and nodded. Truth between them was good. It proved she’d started to trust him. Finally. He doubted there was anything she could tell him that would change his mind about what he wanted from her, but laying all their cards on the table would only help things between them.
“Go ahead.” He gestured for her to continue.
Sitting up next to him, she pulled a sheet up to her chest, covering her breasts, which was a damn shame. She took a deep breath and set her palm against his shoulder.
“Feel this?”
“Very much so. Though I’d prefer if you moved your hand a little lower.” He waggled his brows, trying to draw her out of her seriousness. His attempts failed.
“Just wait. Feel that now?”
The heat coming from her hands had actually increased, warming against his shoulder in a very pleasant way. “Your hand is getting hotter.” At first he thought it was just the physical contact making her palm feel warmer. But then the heat increased more and more. Enough that he noticed. “Your hand is getting a lot hotter. How are you d
oing that?”
She didn’t answer and, after another moment, the temperature of her hand was hot enough to hurt. He sucked in a hissing breath and she pulled away. Holding it up in front of them, she stared at her hand rather than looking at him. As he watched, bright blue flames erupted along her skin, engulfing her entire hand.
“Fuck!” He pressed back against the headboard, his heart slamming against his chest.
She closed her hand into a fist and the flame went out, leaving her skin unmarred. “It’s called pyrokinesis,” she said. “It was the final straw for my mother. She left when she saw what I could do. Called me devil spawn and never looked back.”
He watched her throat work as she swallowed hard. He looked back at her hand, afraid to get too close to her. His brain couldn’t comprehend what she’d just done right there in front of him.
When he didn’t speak, she nodded and climbed out of bed. He didn’t stop her. But he watched as she got dressed and slowly his brain started working again.
“What are you doing?”
“Going home. You have an early morning.” She met his gaze. “And I’ve given you a lot to think about.”
“Does that hurt? The fire?”
“No. And I have a lot of control over it. It’s been with me since I was four. Don’t worry, I won’t accidentally burn your house down on the way out.”
“That’s not what I was thinking.”
She paused after finishing with her jeans. “Alex, this is why we can’t work. You can’t afford to have people find out about this.”
He started to shake his head but she held up a hand for silence.
“Listen, tonight was wonderful. Fantastic. But this thing between us… If it has any hope, you need to take some time to think about what I’ve just shown you. To really consider if you can deal with this. With me.”
She sat down on a chair near his closet and pulled on her shoes. “I don’t expect declarations of love or promises of forever. But we’ve been honest with each other up to now. I can’t continue without being honest about why I didn’t want to start this to begin with.”
“This is what you think will get out.” He understood now. Why she’d been so resistant, why she’d made this so difficult, why she’d been pretending the attraction between them wasn’t powerful and serious.
“Don’t feel bad if you can’t see me anymore. I understand. I do.”
When he didn’t say anything because he didn’t have any idea what to say, she headed for the door.
“Have a good trip.”
“Nathalie, wait.”
She paused without turning.
He still didn’t know what to say, though. He wasn’t even sure why he’d stopped her except that he couldn’t stand to watch her walk out his door. Even after what she’d revealed. But she was right. He needed to think about this more, to really decide if he could take this risk. He’d never shied away from risks before. The fact that he was hesitating now didn’t make him happy. He just didn’t know what else to do.
When he didn’t say anything, he watched her shoulders rise and fall as if she’d sighed, then she opened the door and walked out without another word.
He only realized he’d left her to find her own way home ten minutes after he heard the front door close. More than anything else, that left him feeling like an ass.
Chapter Thirteen
Nathalie tried not to regret telling Alex the truth. She spent the time he was out of town convincing herself she wasn’t waiting for a phone call and moving through her days as if nothing was bothering her. She knew, deep down, she’d had to be honest with him, just as she’d known she had to warn him about her vision even though she risked a lot to do it.
She didn’t regret either decision. But she missed him. More than she ever thought she should. And by Thursday she knew her heart was the problem. She’d fallen hard for Alex, and it was going to take a long time to get over him. Accepting that she had to get over him because he wasn’t going to be in touch ever again was a given. He hadn’t made a scene and told her boss, so she would probably keep her job. But she doubted he’d let her touch him again.
Knowing he’d be back in town on Friday, and she’d have to truly face his rejection when he didn’t get in touch, she made plans to have drinks with a girlfriend that night. And she turned her cell phone off after work. Less temptation to keep checking for a message if the phone wasn’t on to check.
She kept the phone off after she got home, too, because she wasn’t sure she’d sleep well knowing there was no message waiting for her. She didn’t have voicemail on her landline, so she didn’t have to worry about ignoring that phone.
At least until early the next morning when it started ringing. She was sure it wasn’t her grandmother or dad because they were doing a special pre-spring sale at the nursery this weekend and would be too busy to call. None of her friends were likely to phone this early, and her boss never called on the weekends.
She lay in bed and listened to the phone ring ten times before it stopped. Telesales, she assured herself. Some poor person trying to get her to buy something she didn’t want or need. Not him. Because he wasn’t going to call her again. He’d asked to call her during the week and then hadn’t. He’d made his decision clear.
The phone rang again at ten, twelve and two. She continued to ignore it as she tidy her apartment and did some laundry. At three, she finally decided to turn on her cell phone. Ten waiting voicemails made her stomach dance and her heart pound. Hope and dread tightened her throat. She checked who had called and each message was from Alex. More of that hope and dread snaked through her gut. She was about to play the first message when her cell phone rang again, surprising her so much she almost dropped it.
The caller id confirmed it was Alex. Sucking in a deep breath, she answered.
“Where the hell have you been?” he asked, not even attempting to start with friendly conversation.
“Around. Why?”
“I’ve been trying to reach you since last night.”
“I was out.”
There was a pause. “A date?”
She considered lying but decided there was no reason. It would only complicate things. “Drinks with a girlfriend.”
Another pause had her staring at the phone to make sure it was still connected. Finally, he said, “Why have you been avoiding my call?”
“Why didn’t you call during the week like you said you would?”
“You told me to think about what you’d shown me. I was thinking.”
“Uh-oh.”
She heard humor in his voice when he said, “Just doing what you told me to.”
She waited for him to say more, and when he didn’t, she flopped down on the couch in frustration. “Listen, Alex, you didn’t have to call to tell me we couldn’t see each other again. I would have gotten the hint. It’s okay. Really.”
“No. No, it’s not. That’s not why I’m calling.”
“Then just spit it out. I have things to do today.”
“What?”
She rubbed her hand over her forehead. “Alex, you’re stalling.”
“I want to see you. Now. As soon as you can get here.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“Damn it.” She made a face at the empty room. “It’s not fair. You should really have to beg more after not calling.”
“Please is begging.” Again humor threaded through his voice, which had also deepened.
“Not nearly enough begging. A couple of ‘pleases’ and I jump to do as you asked. That’s just wrong.”
“You have never jumped to do as I asked.”
She didn’t say anything because she didn’t know how to respond.
“Come over,” he said quietly into the silence. “We have a lot to talk about.”
“I’d rather you dumped me over the phone.”
“I’m not dumping you. Come over. Please. I need to see you.”
Her jaw tightened as she
tried to stomp down on her unruly emotions.
“If you don’t come to me, I’ll come out to you.”
“Fine. Fine.”
“I’ll see you in an hour. Nathalie. I’ve missed you.”
She hung up before she blurted out something ridiculously inappropriate like “I love you.” Then hurried to her bedroom to decide what to wear.
*****
Two hours after hanging up with Nathalie, Alex paced his kitchen like a caged animal, trying to decide if he was more pissed or worried. Had she changed her mind and decided not to come? If so, she had to know he’d come to her place and find her. Or he’d corner her at the Center, which was exactly what she didn’t want him to do.
He checked the clock again. She should have been here by now. Even if she had trouble on the subway, it wouldn’t take this long. He continued to pace, barely acknowledging when Chris waved goodbye on the way out to meet his lady.
When another forty-five minutes ticked by and she still hadn’t arrived or even called to explain, he cursed and went to get his wallet and coat. Damn the woman anyway. If she wouldn’t come to him, he’d go to her. He was hunting for his keys when his cell phone rang.
“Damn it, Nathalie,” he barked as he answered her call. “Where the hell are you?”
A male voice said, “She’s taken a little detour.”
“Johnson? Where is she? What have you done?” Alex’s palm hurt, and he looked down to see he was gripping his keys so tightly, one had cut him.
“She’s safe,” the bastard said, his tone managing to be both whiney and mean. “For now. But if you don’t want to see this pretty face get messed up, you need to meet me. I tried to be nice. I just needed your help. But you, you can’t even help an old friend? You’re too high and mighty? Well, you’ll help me now or your lady’s gonna get hurt.”
“How do I know you didn’t just steal her phone?”
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