by Anne Rainey
Lacey lifted her other hand to Nick’s waist and began unbuttoning the fly of his jeans. “First, I don’t want a bed,” she popped the button free and leisurely slid down the zipper, “and I don’t want the table, either. Later maybe, but not yet.” She licked her lips in anticipation of seeing his warm, hard cock again. Of having him in the palm of her hand, literally. “I want the floor,” she said in a throaty voice, “and I want to be on top.”
“Damn.” He growled and leaned in to kiss her, but she turned and walked over to the couch, her breasts jiggling as she walked. Without missing a beat, she pushed the coffee table to one side of the room then smiled coyly at him.
She crooked her finger and motioned him over. “Come here.”
“Christ, I’ve created a monster,” Nick teased. Lacey was wickedly pleased by the tiny hint of uncertainty she detected in his voice.
“I don’t know if I’m capable of letting you be in control. But, damn I’m definitely ready to give it the old college try.”
In two long strides, Nick was standing directly in front of her, apparently ready to do anything and everything she wanted. He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned at her.
Lacey didn’t have a clue as to what she was doing, but decided to wing it. “Lie down, on your back,” she commanded. Excitement rose a notch when he started to do as she bid. But she stopped him quickly and ordered, “After you take off your clothes.”
Nick held her gaze while he slid his already unfastened jeans down his hips and legs. He tossed them to the couch, doing the same with his boxers. He lay down on the carpeted floor, crossed his arms under his head and smiled like the big jungle cat he was.
Lacey licked her lips at the sight of Nick’s impressive body spread out like a sexy offering. “Now, I’ve got you right where I want you,” she murmured.
Lacey undid her button-fly shorts, slithered them and her thong panties down the length of her legs. She stepped out of them and stood completely nude in front of Nick.
“Christ, you’re so fucking hot, Lacey. You take my breath away. I’d love to see you like this every morning.”
Lacey’s heart swelled at Nick’s romantic words. She hadn’t known that aspect of him and now she was wondering how she could have missed it. Her eyes were finally open and she saw everything for the first time.
She stared at Nick’s cock, turned on by the way it jutted proudly upward, hard and throbbing with vitality. As she watched, a pearly drop of come appeared on the bulbous head.
“I want you to fuck me. I want you inside of me so bad I’m actually burning from it,” she breathed. “But first I want your tongue on me. I liked what you did earlier and this time I don’t want anything in the way.”
Lacey stepped over his torso so she stood above his face, giving him an unhindered view of her pussy. Leisurely, she lowered herself onto him until her mound just barely touched his mouth, teasing him with the scent and nearness of her. She watched as Nick inhaled and let out a rough growl then grabbed her hips in both hands and pulled her down so hard she thought she’d topple. He used his fingers to spread her swollen sex lips apart and licked at her greedily.
Lacey thrust against him, her body wild at the first contact of his tongue on her clit. She anchored herself with her hands on the floor on either side of his head and ground into his face. A ragged breath escaped him as he licked and sucked at her with mad hunger. Lacey began to buck against him, quivering and shuddering. She lost it, flung her head back and cried out Nick’s name. The climax that ripped through her went on and on, the pleasure never-ending as she came into her lover’s hungry mouth.
Once her body calmed, Lacey started to scoot off Nick’s face, but he stopped her with his hands on her hips. He placed a soft kiss to her clitoris before letting her move down his torso.
“I need you, baby,” Nick said fiercely.
She needed him just as badly. Needed him in every way a woman needed the man she loved. Overwhelmed with emotion, Lacey had to look away before she embarrassed herself. She started to move down his body eager to straddle his hips, but Nick simply lifted her up and sat her down onto his waiting cock. His engorged length filled her completely in one smooth stroke. He was so big. Her body squeezed tight around him as if made for him.
“Oh God, Nick.”
“Yeah, me, too, baby,” he rasped, and he started moving.
His movements were slow at first then more urgent, until Lacey remembered she was supposed to be running the show. She clenched her inner muscles as a warning and Nick cursed from the pleasure of having his cock gripped by her silken flesh. He looked at her with curiosity, and she murmured, “Let me.”
One side of his mouth crooked up. “Ride me, cowgirl.”
And she did.
Lacey rotated her hips and moved up and down, fucking him the way she wanted. Raising her body up just high enough that his dick nearly came out of her then sliding slowly back down again.
She made love to him like that for what seemed like forever, enjoying the feel of him under her, inside of her, touching her everywhere at once. Her excitement began to mount once again and Nick reached between their bodies and rubbed her clit with his calloused thumb. The sweet friction sent her flying over the edge. Lacey began thrusting up and down, faster and harder. As she came a second time, she heard Nick moan her name and he was right there with her, filling her with his warm seed.
Chapter Nine
Lacey awoke several minutes later, her body heavy and sore. She lay on top of Nick. His cock was only semi-hard inside of her now. His arms were tight bands around her and his legs were entwined with hers. Lacey had never felt so comfortably surrounded. She started to move—there were things they needed to say to each other—but when she did, Nick only tightened his hold.
“Where are you going, baby?”
His eyes remained closed, his voice gravelly from sleep. She couldn’t imagine anything sexier. “I need to get up. Parts of me that I never even knew existed are sore.”
Lacey watched as he slowly opened his sweet brown eyes and that terribly talented mouth of his curved up into a boyish smile.
Captivated, Lacey asked, “What are you grinning at?”
Nick’s arms loosened and he began massaging down her back to her buttocks. “I’m grinning because I’ve got an incredibly sexy woman naked and on top of me.”
She smiled right back at him and whispered, “Well then,” and proceeded to moan as his fingers kneaded and worked at her thigh muscles. God, the man had great hands. She gave herself a mental shake. They needed to clear the air and she couldn’t let him sidetrack her. She wriggled and squirmed until he reluctantly dropped his hands away and scowled at her.
Lacey pulled herself up to a sitting position and felt his cock begin to swell inside of her. It felt deeply intimate to have him inside her body as he grew hard. She’d better get to talking, she thought, or they’d be right back at it again.
“We need to get a few things straight,” she said, trying to speak around her mounting desire.
“Oh?”
He was only partly paying attention, Lacey knew, because he’d started to fondle her breasts. And, oh my, it felt good. “Where do we go from here?” she asked tentatively, “What happens now?”
Nick’s eyes met hers instantly. At once, he was fully awake and alert. She loved him, but she couldn’t just toss that out there. She wasn’t sure he’d want her love.
“We’re good together,” he told her, letting his hands drift down her torso to her hips where he gripped her, keeping her from bolting like some scared rabbit.
“I think so, too, but what will that mean for our friendship?”
Nick moved her pelvis, rocking her back and forth on his cock, and muttered, “Why should it affect our friendship, baby?” He moaned, “Christ, I’ve never had such great sex, and I can’t see a single reason why that shouldn’t continue.”
All at once, Lacey grew cold, her body vibrating with anger. She slipped off him
and jumped to her feet. She moved out of his reach before he could even blink. Nick slowly stood. Lacey could feel his gaze on her as he tracked her frantic movements about the room to gather up her clothes.
“What the hell did I say?” Nick grumbled, shattering the moment further.
She glared daggers at him as she put her crop top back on and cursed a few times while she put on her jean shorts.
Nick walked over to her, grabbed her arms, and shook her. “Will you talk to me, damn it?” His voice rose with his temper.
Lacey couldn’t breathe, she was so mad. So hurt. She’d been a fool thinking he cared about her. When would she ever learn!
“Get your hands off.” Her voice was steady and deliberate, completely incongruent with her heart.
Nick’s eyes turned dark. “No.” His voice was a whip of command.
Lacey smiled a warning and relaxed her body. “I do know karate.”
A shadow of alarm crossed his face. She waited for him to loosen his hold. When he did, she took advantage and ran to his front door. She grabbed her purse and slammed out of the house.
Once outside, the sound of Nick’s angry voice calling her name drifted to her, but she ignored him. Her legs shook as she stepped off his porch and began walking down his driveway. With no way to get home and no shoes, Lacey was basically screwed. None of it mattered, not anymore. Losing her best friend and the only man she’d ever loved in one fell swoop eclipsed everything else.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and her stomach hurt so bad she thought she was going to throw up. Nothing had ever felt so horrible.
“Love sucks,” she mumbled on a quivery breath. She heard a wheezy cough and turned to see Nick striding after her. His hair was all over his head, and he only had on a pair of hastily donned jeans. He was bare-chested, barefoot and gorgeous as hell. He was also frowning something fierce.
She almost smiled. Almost. She turned back around and started moving faster when he called her name.
“Lacey, wait, please.”
She flipped her hair behind her shoulders and kept walking.
“I love you, Lace,” Nick said on a panting gasp.
She turned around and gaped at him. He came right up to her and took her chin in his hand, frowning when he saw her tears. “Oh, baby.”
He kissed her cheeks, her eyelids and her lips, before pulling away just a fraction of an inch. “Don’t cry, please. You never cry. I’m so damn sorry,” he said softly.
Lacey cried even harder. “You can’t mean it. You said it was great sex. What about that?” she tossed back at him around sniffles.
“I would have said anything to keep you with me. You’ve never given me a single hint that you wanted more than sex. I thought if I told you the truth I’d lose you.”
Lacey’s tears turned to wild, hiccupping sobs, only now it was from the joy filling her heart and soul.
Nick, the poor, misunderstood man, ground out, “Christ, if it will make you stop crying, you can use some of that karate on me.”
Lacey laughed and launched herself into Nick’s arms, nearly knocking them both to the ground. She grabbed handfuls of his hair and pulled him down for a scorching kiss. When she released him, he stared at her with so much love and tenderness it made her confess her own feelings.
“I love you, too, you crazy idiot.”
He grinned stupidly down at her and kissed her repeatedly.
When he finally came up for air, he looked at their surroundings, and chuckled. “Uh, maybe we should take this back inside. We seem to be creating quite a stir.”
Lacey glanced around Nick’s neighborhood. An elderly woman across the street squinted in her disapproval and a teenage boy mowing the lawn seemed rather rapt by their behavior. If they didn’t move off the street, the boy was liable to cut off his own foot.
Taking him by the hand, Lacey practically ran back to his house. Once she had him inside, she slammed him up against the back of the door and asked in breathless wonder, “Did you really mean what you said?”
He sobered instantly as he stroked her tangled hair away from her face with both hands. She wondered about his side, but if he was still in pain, it didn’t register on his face.
“I’ve loved you for awhile now, Lacey. I love you more than life itself.” His words were so soft she nearly missed them. “It’s killed me seeing you with other men.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I had no idea,” she uttered in shocked surprise.
“Why do you think I came up with this stupid plan to give you lessons?” His hands traveled down her back to her ass, cupping the round globes. “You wanted to be friends, and at first so did I. It didn’t take me long to figure out it wasn’t enough. I wanted a life with you. It was always only you. The way I was raised, it was cold and lonely. But from the first time I met you, I felt like I’d come home. I never really understood what I was missing until you walked into my life.”
Nick’s hands drifted around to her front where he deftly unbuttoned her shorts. Slipping them down her legs, he cupped her soft mound in one hand. Apparently, she’d forgotten her panties as well as her shoes. She heard Nick’s impatient groan.
“Tell me you want me, Lacey. And I don’t mean for just tonight. I want forever,” he demanded. “Nothing less will do anymore.”
Lacey’s heart raced and her body was on fire. She was wildly, madly in love. “Oh, I’ve been so incredibly blind. I wish I’d known the way you felt, but I’m just so glad you didn’t give up on me. I do want you, Nick, forever,” she moaned.
She stepped out of her shorts, reached between their bodies and swiftly undid his jeans. She wrenched them down his long, powerful legs. Without waiting another second, he lifted her up and shoved her down onto his waiting cock.
“Put your legs around me, baby,” he rasped, and when she did, he clutched her ass and began pumping into her warm, tight sheath. “Say it again. Tell me you love me.”
“I love you, Nick. Forever.” Lacey fairly screamed the words as she climaxed in his loving embrace.
Nick thrust into her hard one last time then he poured himself inside her. “I love you, too, baby. Forever.”
Epilogue
“Did you have to call both your brothers?”
Lacey patted Nick’s cheek and said soothingly, “Think of it this way. The sooner everything’s packed, the sooner we can be alone together.”
He glanced around Lacey’s apartment, now almost bare, and smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He frowned when he saw Blade staring at him, yet again. “Blade keeps looking at me as if he wants to do serious harm to my person.”
Lacey looked over at her oldest and most unruly brother and whispered, “Aw, he’s just trying to intimidate you. His bark is worse than his bite, believe me.”
Nick’s brow quirked up at her naïveté. “Yeah, to you maybe,” he said tenderly, “but he sees me as the guy who’s fucking his baby sister.”
Nick still wasn’t sure why he’d let Lacey talk him into calling not one, but both of her brothers in to help on moving day. It was their one-month anniversary, which was a special event and the perfect day for Lacey to move in with him since her lease was finally up.
He was thrilled he would finally be sharing his home with her. They’d no longer be going back and forth from place to place or from bed to bed, but he still felt like a bug in a jar with Lacey’s brothers staring at him.
He’d spoken to Merrick earlier in the week, wanting to prepare him for the fact Lacey wasn’t yet ready to marry, but she was willing to move in with him. Merrick had frowned and mumbled a lot, but he’d resigned himself to the fact Lacey was a woman with a mind of her own and no one, not even her brothers, was going to force her into marriage.
One at a time, Nick could have handled them, but both together made quite an intimidating pair. The doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts, and Lacey moved off to answer it. Nick was left alone. As if of one mind, both brothers walked toward him. Ah, tim
e for the much-anticipated interrogation, Nick thought as he accepted the unavoidable.
When they reached his side, Blade spoke first. “I have one question for you.” When Nick indicated for him to go on, Blade asked menacingly, “You planning on marrying her?”
“Lay off, Blade,” Merrick ground out—bless him—in a feeble attempt at defense. Blade stood there, silent and watchful. Both brothers looked so much alike it was eerie. They could have been twins, except for an inch or two in height and Merrick’s clean-shaven face, as Blade had a full mustache.
Nick rolled his eyes at Blade’s absurd question. “Of course, what the hell did you think I was going to do with her?”
Blade never got the chance to answer, as they became aware of Lacey’s raised voice. They turned toward her to see what had her in an uproar. Evan, the dickhead, was back. Nick’s face turned red with rage when Evan grabbed hold of Lacey. Blade started toward the two of them, no doubt ready kill Evan, but Nick stopped him with a hand on his forearm.
“Just wait a minute, Blade.”
Blade’s voice was low and deadly when he asked, “You’re going to stand here while that asshole puts his hands on my sister?”
“Trust me. She’s not a helpless little girl anymore,” Nick answered. He cringed as he saw the look on Lacey’s face. “Oh, shit, he’s in for it now. She’s smiling.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Blade snarled then turned to look at Lacey.
Both of the Vaughn men stood in silent shock as they watched Lacey’s leg come up and connect with Evan’s jaw, knocking him flat on his ass.
“Holy shit!” they exclaimed in shocked unison.
“Damn right.” Nick beamed, ridiculously proud and turned on at the same time. “That’s my girl.”
Blade and Merrick began talking at once, but Nick couldn’t take his eyes off Lacey. She was so damned beautiful standing there with her hair in a cute ponytail and her pert little ass encased in a pair of soft, tight, cotton shorts. He started walking toward her, but it was Blade’s turn to stop him.