His laugh sounded positively wicked. “I don’t think you’re in a position to make demands, do you?” He easily pried her legs apart and settled between them. The tip of his shaft pressed against her entrance.
She ached with erotic anticipation. A heavy pulse pounded in her sex. “Just fuck me.”
“Whoa. Now you like talking dirty, huh?” He pushed inside her, only a little.
“Please, Nick.” She opened her thighs wide.
He gave her more, torturously slow. “Sure you’re ready?”
“Nick!” She yanked her wrists and the headboard creaked.
He slid in deeper, deeper, slick and hot. Each advancing inch stretched her, filled her with intoxicating delight. Finally he started stroking, slowly rocking against her. She sighed at the blissful sensations.
Another climax built in her core. Each long thrust along her depths brought her closer. She tightened around him, then relaxed. And again.
His primal groan resonated between them. “That’s so good, darlin’.” His pace increased.
Her orgasm exploded in a crescendo of pleasure, pounding through her body, bathing her in ripples of unparalleled bliss. It went on and on and on.
Nick pumped into her harder and faster. His rhythmic rumble filled the air as he tunneled in and out of her, then suddenly let out a savage growl. He froze, panting.
She squeezed around him with all her might.
“Christ, April. That’s incredible.” His voice was hoarse and filled with emotion. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, her neck.
Finally, he peeled away her blindfold and she got to see those amazing blue eyes of his. “I’ve never…” But her words stuck in her throat. She had no clue how to describe what she felt. She’d never before come close to experiencing such intense pleasure, such pure bliss.
“What?” Another kiss.
“You make me feel so good.” She released a contented sigh.
He stroked his tongue along the valley between her breasts then sucked a peaked tip into his mouth. Breaking the contact, he rolled alongside her. “I should probably untie you.” He started working the rope off her wrists, but stopped. “Actually…” His gaze slid over her body. “Maybe you have one more orgasm in you.”
She shook her head. “I can’t take any more. Really.”
After he freed her hands, he moved off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.
“I said I can’t take any more, Nick. My backside is sore.” She rubbed her wrists, stiff from being in the same position for so long.
He appeared in the doorway and grinned at her. His amazing body stole her breath.
“Then I won’t touch you there.” He waggled his eyebrows as he approached the bed.
“I’ve never…you know, more than twice.” Why tell him she hadn’t come with Johnny at all? The only orgasms she’d ever had before Nick had been when she was alone.
He climbed onto the mattress near her feet. “Well then I guess the gauntlet has been thrown, huh?” He settled beside her, propped on one elbow and set his other hand on her thigh.
“Nick—”
“Shh.” He planted a gentle kiss on her breast and pushed her legs apart.
A protest was on the tip of her tongue, but the second he slid his fingers along her sex, she stilled. Was it even possible to come three times?
With the right man.
And Nick was the right man. She knew it as sure as she knew her name.
He licked her areola, swirled his tongue around and around, coming closer to her stiff bud with each pass. Desire roared back to life inside her.
He slid his hand over her belly, stopping at her mound. She swallowed hard, tried to subtly lift her hips to urge him closer to her entrance.
But he needed no coaxing. He dipped a finger inside her lips, moved it around. Then he raked his teeth over her nipple and pleasure came at her from everywhere.
Her breath hitched as he rolled her swollen clit between his fingers. She felt another orgasm building. Nick pushed a finger inside her then retreated, only a tease. He started rubbing her sensitized cleft and she couldn’t hold back a moan.
She gripped his back, sinking her fingernails into his flesh. He stroked her harder and faster. Tendrils of delight curled through her. She writhed with bliss as wave after euphoric wave rocked her to ecstasy.
Nick brushed his lips over hers. “Three times. A new record for you.”
She gave him a lazy, satisfied smile, wondering if she’d died and gone to heaven.
He rolled onto his back next to her. “I need a favor.”
As if she’d deny him anything now. “What’s that?”
“Several of my potential investors are flying into Miami next week. My secretary has arranged a small cocktail party at a restaurant in South Beach.” He threaded his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand. “I’d like you to be my date.”
She tumbled the idea around in her head. That awful man her mother ran off with never would have even known what a cocktail party was. Nick was nothing like him. Why not step out on a limb and take their relationship past the bedroom? “I’d love to.”
Snuggling against him, she knew she wouldn’t be able to walk away from this, from him. If the time came when she had to tell her father about him, well, she’d deal with it then. For now, she was exactly where she wanted to be.
Chapter Six
“Your girlfriend is quite a charmer.” Dave Connors, a balding investment company executive from Baltimore elbowed him. “A man could go places with a woman like that at his side. If I were fifteen years younger and single, I’d do my best to steal her away from you and put a ring on her finger.”
He chuckled at the older man’s comment and glanced at April across the bar as she said goodbye to one of his guests. He caught her eye and raised his glass to her. In a short, black strapless dress and spiked heels, she took his breath away. No one in the room could keep their eyes off her. “I’d like to see you try.” He slapped Dave’s back. But the notion of any man stealing her away cut through him like a switchblade to the gut.
Dave sipped his drink then set his glass down hard on the polished wood bar. “I have to tell you, Nick, I’m impressed with what I see here. Your dealership is more than ready for expansion. It’s profitable and obviously well run. And it looks as though you’ve found a good woman to stand by your side and keep you in line during that transition and beyond. I plan to let the board know my recommendation is to approve the purchase of shares in your company.”
Nick couldn’t hold back a smile. He shook the other man’s hand. “I don’t know how to thank you, Dave.”
“Just make us money.” He gestured toward April. “And hang on to her.”
“Yes, sir.” He watched Dave make his way over to April. But the other man’s words kept replaying in his head.
A man could go places with a woman like that at his side. Hang on to her.
Sure, the last two weeks had been amazing with April. But he wasn’t looking for something more permanent. He’d made a couple attempts at long-term relationships and it had bitten him in the ass. Women had stolen from him, tried to control him and tell him what to do.
Hell, there was a reason he loved to ride his bike. He was a free spirit and free spirits didn’t need a mate bogging them down.
Yet he’d had some of the best sex of his life with April. It was more than that though. He enjoyed all the time they spent together whether it was in bed or going to some overpriced home decorating store or hanging out watching a movie. Every moment with her felt right. The time she spent at his house with him was the only time the place had ever felt like a home.
God help him, he cared about her. Too much to lead her on. The thought of being without her made his chest tighten. But the longer he stayed with her, the harder it would be on both of them when he walked away. And she deserved more.
He swallowed the rest of his drink, wincing at the burn as it went down. Glancing at April as she charmed Dave and o
ne of his cronies, he felt something stab at his insides. As soon as the investors headed back home tomorrow, he’d figure out what he was going to do.
He couldn’t bear to allow himself fall any deeper.
* * * * *
April tried hard to keep a smile on her face while her client droned on about the antics of her three Pomeranian puppies.
“Peek-A-Boo is such a little devil, I swear,” the woman said. “She completely shredded my brand new bedroom slippers. And Pom-Pom ran through the entire house pulling toilet paper from the roll in the upstairs bathroom.” She huffed. “I don’t know what I was thinking to keep all three, but if you could have seen those adorable faces.”
April rolled a section of hair onto a perm rod. The roar of a motorcycle filtered in from the street and she froze. Could it be Nick? But the sound passed. She glanced at her cell phone on the counter, but it remained silent.
Where the heck could he be? He’d dropped her home after the party without a word. Three days without even a phone call? She’d left two messages on his cell, but he hadn’t returned them.
“Did you hear me, April?” her client said.
She met the woman’s eyes and pasted on a smile. “I’m sorry, Ellen. What’d you say?”
“I asked if I’d be out of here by four?”
She glanced at her watch. Two-thirty. “Probably. Depends how long it takes your hair to process.”
Ellen nodded. “You okay, hon?”
She finished rolling the rod then hooked the plastic end to secure it. “Fine. Great.”
Her client didn’t look convinced.
“Really. I’m okay.” But she couldn’t keep her stomach from clenching every time she thought about Nick. Things had been going so well, or so she thought. Maybe he was just busy with work. She had to find out what was going on. She finished rolling Ellen’s hair then led the woman to the waiting area and set her up with a magazine.
Returning to her station, she grabbed her phone then strode toward the backdoor. Once outside, she sucked in a calming breath and dialed his office.
A woman with a raspy voice answered. “Mr. Ramos’s office. How may I help you?”
“Is Nick in? This is April.”
“I’m sorry, he’s not here. Can I take a message?”
Disappointment settled over her like a heavy cape, weighing her down. “Will he be in tomorrow?”
“He’s out of town, miss. Left today. Half the staff’s gone up to Daytona Beach for Bike Week. The company is sponsoring several events. He’ll be gone for a few days.”
A few days? Why wouldn’t he have told about something like that?
Because I don’t matter to him anymore.
But what had changed? She thanked the secretary then hung up.
The back door flew open and Cassie, another hairdresser held up an envelope. “Mail for you, kiddo.”
“For me?” She never got any mail there. Taking the letter from Cassie, she noticed the return address—Nick’s. Her blood ran cold. Would he break up with her through the mail?
Cassie stepped toward her and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay? You look kind of pale suddenly.”
She schooled her expression. “I’m fine. I guess the fumes are getting to me.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. Some days you can get high off the perm solution and the hairspray fumes.”
She fixed a smile on her face and nodded. “I’ll be right in.”
Nodding, Cassie headed back inside leaving April alone with her letter. With trembling hands, she tore open the seal. Easing out a folded white paper, she opened it. A check fell out and the breeze carried it a few feet away. She chased after it, caught it almost immediately then tamped down a wave of sadness.
The check was made out to her in the amount of six thousand dollars. The paper it had been wrapped in was blank. Forcing back tears, she folded it all together and stuffed it into her pants pocket.
“Screw you, Nick Ramos.”
* * * * *
Nick parked his bike in front of Junior’s Saloon along US-1 in Daytona Beach. As long as he’d been coming to Bike Week, the solid line of motorcycles as far as the eye could see never failed to get his pulse racing.
If this didn’t get his mind off of April, nothing would. When he strode into the bar, he breathed in the scents of beer, sweat and leather. He started across the room but ducked out of the way when someone threw a beer bottle. It crashed against the wall amid shouts and a couple screams.
He shook his head, grinning. Bike Week never changed. He could always count on seeing fights, leather and plenty of loose women.
“Well I’ll be damned.”
He spun around to see the woman was speaking to him. The blonde waitress wore a skimpy pair of shorts and bikini top that barely contained her double Ds. But something seemed familiar about her voice and her brown eyes.
She set her tray on the bar then folded her arms over her chest. “Nick Ramos. Don’t you remember me?” She practically shouted to make herself heard over the din of the large crowd and the country music.
He nodded, but couldn’t be sure how he knew her.
“Pinky Ostermeyer. I worked at Ramos Motors for like a year.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe it was less than a year, I don’t know. Damn, you look great. When did you cut off all your hair?”
“A few weeks ago. Figured I should try to look like a respectable businessman.” He settled on to a recently vacated stool.
She slid her gaze over him then lifted one eyebrow in an unmistakable invitation. “What’ll you have?”
“Something cold in a bottle. Surprise me.”
“I’d love to surprise you, honey.” She winked then disappeared into the crowd.
He scanned the place for people he knew. A woman with sandy brown hair had her back to him.
April?
He swallowed hard and stood up, craning his neck to get a better look at her. But when she turned around, his gut clenched. The woman was a beauty, but she wasn’t his beauty.
Pinky returned with a beer from a local micro-brewery and set it in front of him. “It’s on me, honey. Just tell me you’ll wait for me at closing time.”
He glimpsed her deep cleavage. She was cute. More than cute. And a few weeks ago he’d have gone for her. But something inside him twisted. He didn’t want her, didn’t want anyone. Except April.
What the hell is wrong with me?
He reached into his pocket and fished out a twenty. “Sorry, Pinky. I have something I need to take care of.” Shoving the money into her hand, he grabbed the beer. He took a long pull on it then set it down hard on the bar. “Nice to see you again.”
Bristling, she set her hands on her hips. But he didn’t stick around to see if she’d say anything. He zigzagged through the crowd and finally made it out the door.
Sitting on his bike, he calculated he could make it back to Miami by eleven. But the slow moving traffic kept him at a crawl for almost two hours. He’d have to wait until morning to see April.
He just hoped she hadn’t gotten the check yet. No telling how she’d interpret the blank paper. He’d meant it as goodbye, but now he prayed he hadn’t shut the door for good.
* * * * *
April finally gave up on trying to sleep at four in the morning. She grabbed a pint of mint chip ice cream from the freezer then settled onto the daybed and watched a sad movie on a women’s network. After a good long cry, she took a shower then dressed for work.
At six-thirty she was ready to go. Only problem was she didn’t need to be at the salon for another two and a half hours. As she watched the morning news, she couldn’t help her mind from wandering to thoughts of Nick. Damn blues sneaked up on her again.
She’d told Devon and Cassie about her broken heart, but there was only one person who had the best shoulder to cry on. Glancing at the clock, she knew he’d be up.
“Something wrong, princess?” Her father’s voice instantly warmed her
insides.
She didn’t mean to burden him with her pain, but it all came pouring out, except the sex part, of course. “Are you upset with me for going out with a biker, Daddy?”
His heavy sigh filtered through the phone and cut deep into her heart. She prayed she hadn’t hurt him too badly.
“You think I don’t want you to have anything to do with a biker because your mother left me for one, hmm?”
She forced back her tears. “How could you not blame him?”
“Of course I blame him. And your mother too. But he was one man, April. I can hardly condemn every biker for the actions of one. That would be like hating every member of a certain race or religion because one of them wronged me. And you know how I feel about prejudice.”
“Yes, I do.” She’d heard her father give entire sermons blasting ant sort of racism.
“The fact that your fellow is a biker wouldn’t sour me on him, princess. What does, though is that he hurt my baby girl.”
Too bad she hadn’t understood his true feelings sooner. She sniffled. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too. Do you need to come home for a few days?”
She thought about his question. Running home was something she would have done in the past. But she was stronger now. She had a job and her clientele was steadily building. “Nope. I’ll be okay.” Eventually the hole in her heart would heal.
By the time she arrived at the salon, she’d had to touch up her eye makeup three times. She checked the appointment book and frowned at her nearly empty morning schedule. Trying to keep her mind occupied, she rearranged all the products at her station.
“Can you take a walk-in, April?” Devon called back to her from the reception desk.
“Absolutely.” Turning her service chair toward the mirror, she gave her station a final glance to be sure she’d put everything away.
When heavy footfalls sounded nearby, she looked up and all the air sucked out of her lungs.
Nick!
Stay calm.
He looked even more handsome than before. And he wore her favorite outfit she’d helped him pick out at the store—chinos and a polo shirt.
Shades of Sexy: Six Uber Hot Stories Page 20