She shuddered at the touch, but a frown creased the skin between her eyebrows. “I forgot to grab a condom from the pile.”
“I’ve been tested and I’m clean. It’s your call.” Arousal was hazing over his better judgment, but he would trek all the way back upstairs and retrieve the little foil packet if that was what she wanted.
“I’m on the pill.” He could see the indecision warring on her face.
Before he could do the responsible thing and go on a quest for prophylactics, she lowered herself onto his erect cock in one agonizing slide.
The sensation of her liquid heat against his skin was exquisite. No barrier between them, and his cock buried balls-deep in her wet pussy. He threw his head back and cursed. Her lips brushed his throat, her tongue tickling his collarbone as she worked her way down to his nipple. She took the piercing in her mouth, setting her teeth to his sensitive tip and suckling.
His balls convulsed with the need to climax. Her juices soaked his shaft, making her slide like silk upon his skin. She rocked her hips, grinding his cock against her channel with unbearable friction. He cupped her round ass cheeks and pushed into her thrusts. She made a high-pitched noise of pleasure and let go of his nipple.
The bench squeaked as they fucked. She scored the skin of his shoulders with her nails as she rode his cock toward orgasm. Spreading her cheeks, he thrust until the head of his cock slid farther inside. The depth of his penetration sent her spiraling into climax. The tighter the muscles in her channel gripped him, the more his seed burned for release.
He’d never been so utterly aware of his climax. The vein in his shaft pulsed as semen exploded from the tip of his cock into her pussy. He held her tight, straining to give her every last drop of his essence. She quivered, and the spread hood of her clit pressed against his pelvic bone until he felt her shudder and cry out with a second orgasm.
He wrapped his arms around her body. They were both damp with sweat in the cool air of the bar. She rested her face in the hollow of his throat and sighed. It felt good just to hold her there, to hear her soft breath and know that for the moment she belonged to him.
She yawned. He picked up the sheet still draped over a corner of the piano bench and pulled it around her shoulders.
“I don’t want to sleep alone, Nicolai.”
“Then you won’t.”
He slid his cock free of her pussy. Standing up, he used one hand to hike his jeans back up over his hips. Her legs wrapped automatically around his waist, and he locked his arms beneath her delectable ass before carrying her back upstairs to his bed.
It hit him when he was halfway up that he still didn’t know her name. Looking down into her sleepy eyes, he asked the question that probably should’ve been first on his mind. “What’s your name, wild girl?”
“Desiree Aasen.”
His heart did a double thud inside his chest. Of all the wild girls in the world, how had he ended up with Erik’s sister in his bed? Karma wasn’t just playing dirty. She was fucking with his heart.
Chapter Seven
Desiree was alone in the bed when the sun brushed across her cheek, warming her enough to demand she get up. She sat up and pushed back the sheet. She was naked and blissfully relaxed. A slight tenderness between her legs was worth it for a night spent in Nicolai’s bed. Anything was worth a night in his bed, even the hell she was going to catch when she finally headed back to home and reality.
Stretching her sore muscles, she got out of bed and touched her hair. It was hopelessly tangled. After the impromptu shower and a night of great sex, she was definitely sporting the freshly fucked look. The thought made her smile.
There was nothing to wear but her sassy white dress. It was still on the sofa where Nicolai had put it the night before. Feeling more than a little brazen, she made the bed and tucked her panties beneath a pillow. She dressed and scooped the remainder of her condom collection back into her evening bag. Hopping a few steps, she pulled her heels back on and headed downstairs to the bar.
The kitchen was empty, but she heard the clink of glasses out in the bar. Taking a deep breath, she remembered Nicolai’s words from the night before. She wanted to be there. So there she was. No apology necessary.
“Good morning, sunshine!” Flynn popped up from behind the counter like a jack-in-the-box. “I don’t think we’ve ever actually been introduced. I’m Flynn Shaunnessy.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Flynn. I’m Desiree.” He was tall and lean with unruly black hair and the prettiest brown eyes she’d ever seen on a man. His smile was infectious. If he used his charm on the bar patrons, the man probably made a good living from tips alone.
“It’s damn nice to finally get a good look at you.” He was filling a coffeepot with water from the sink. “I’ve never seen Nicky so tongue-tied over a woman. It’s refreshing.”
“I guess that’s a good thing.”
He removed a full pot of steaming coffee from the maker, refilled the container with water, and replaced the pot to make more. “Want a cup?”
Her mouth watered at the rich coffee smell. “That would be fantastic.”
“Better drink up and grab a muffin or something before the group gets here and sucks it all down.”
“Group?” For the first time she noticed the bar was loaded with muffins, bagels, and pastries. Carafes of orange juice sat beside the steaming coffeepots.
Flynn’s expression sobered. “He didn’t tell you?”
“I haven’t seen Nicolai this morning.”
“Every Sunday morning there’s a Gamblers Anonymous meeting here at the bar.”
She lifted the coffee mug to her lips to give her brain time to process Flynn’s announcement. “That’s nice of him to let them use his building, I guess.”
Flynn’s guarded expression didn’t instill confidence.
“So why do they meet here?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. “Well, love…”
“Because I’m part of the group.” Nicolai strode into the bar from the front entrance. “I’m a recovering gambling addict.”
This wasn’t the same man she’d spent the night with. This wasn’t the man she’d straddled on the piano bench after he’d played such a beautiful melody on the keys. This Nicolai was cold and hard. She wanted to go to him, wrap her arms around his neck, and kiss his lips, but she knew instinctively it wouldn’t be welcomed.
“There’s a cab waiting outside, Desiree.” His words were like ice water. “It’ll take you wherever you need to go.”
Years of perfecting her debutante face kept her from showing him just how much his words tore her apart. She set the mug on the bar and walked away. The sun threw brilliant patterns of light and shadows on the stone floor as she walked with her head held high. She might not be well versed in the world of casual sex, but she damn well knew when she was being dismissed.
“ARE YOU OUT of your mind, Nicolai?”
He had to give Flynn credit. The guy had managed to wait until the front door closed behind her.
“Women like that one do not walk through that door every night. I mean, she’s sexy as hell, but she’s more than just tits and an ass. You’ve been mooning after her like some kind of lovesick teenager.”
“That’s not a flattering description.”
Flynn threw the towel in his hands to the bar top. “You know what I mean, dammit!”
“She’s Erik’s sister.”
“Erik who?” Nicolai knew the precise moment it sank in. Flynn deflated, looking just a tad shell-shocked. “Well, shit, it took you two days to figure that out?”
“She never told me her name, remember? Until last night.”
“But you didn’t send her packing until this morning.”
Oh, he should have. He knew he should’ve called Erik right at that moment and asked him to come down and pick her up. But he hadn’t. He’d wanted just a little more time. Even if it meant he was putting off the inevitable, he wanted to pretend there was
some kind of future possible for the two of them.
“Erik isn’t one of those high society guys, Nicolai. He loves you like a brother.”
“I slept with his sister. Hell, you gave him a play-by-play of that first meeting. One word of this and he’ll probably keep the bar and throw me out on my ass.”
Flynn swept his hand wide, encompassing the food on the bar and the tables arranged for the meeting. “Is that why you let her stumble down here without even explaining what was going on? You were trying to chase her away by convincing her that you’re less than you are?”
“Less than I am? That’s a load of shit. I am less.” He turned away, staring at the piano. Now covered, it was a reminder that good only served to disguise the bad. “Even without her family ties, I can’t take the chance of dragging someone like her into all this. I’m recovering. There’s no cure. When I was gambling, I destroyed whatever I touched. I hurt the only people in my life who meant anything. I damn near lost everything.”
“But you’ve changed.”
“Have I?” He thought about Desiree’s sharp wit and wild abandon. “Erik saved me from myself. And even after all this time, I managed to repay him by sleeping with his sister.”
* * * *
Desiree had always heard people use the term “walk of shame” without really understanding what it meant. Getting out of the cab beneath the portico, obviously still wearing her evening clothes, while two delivery vans unloaded a shipment of folding chairs gave her a whole new perspective. When her sister’s fiancé pulled up in his Audi, she began to wonder if it was possible for her cheeks to catch fire.
“Desiree?” Jackson’s gaze raked her outfit from head to toe. “I suppose I should wish you good morning, but I think it would be more appropriate to say you had a good night.”
There was a certain leer in her future brother-in-law’s eyes that set her alarm bells ringing, but there was no time to think about that. Erik was striding toward her with an expression that brooked no argument.
Her brother put one hand in the small of her back and steered her toward one of the courtyards around the side of the house. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Out.” She could have said more, but her heart hurt. She didn’t want to talk about it. She wanted to go upstairs, take a shower, and lick her wounds in the privacy of her own room.
“Mother called me last night after the alarm had been set off and you’d disappeared. She was frantic.” He shoved his fingers through his dark hair. “Look, I know you’re a grown woman, but you should’ve at least called or texted to let me know you were okay last night. This isn’t the best time to lose your head.”
“Why? Because Selena’s getting married and we all have to put our best foot forward?” He probably didn’t deserve her emotional backlash, but he was a handy receptacle. “You’ve got a lot of balls going after me when you didn’t bother to call or show up last night! You ditched me with a roomful of douche bags.”
“I’m sorry, Des. I am. Talia hasn’t been feeling well, so we stayed home and ordered in.”
Desiree got the distinct feeling there was something he wasn’t telling her. Growing up, it’d been the two of them against the world. At one time she’d have said she knew her brother better than anyone else. Lately she’d started to wonder. First he’d gone crazy and mired himself in one of the most complicated romantic entanglements possible, and then he’d left Boston altogether.
“This isn’t like you, Desiree.”
She was so sick of people telling her that! “Maybe you just don’t know me anymore, Erik. Hell, maybe you never knew me to begin with.”
“Desiree, wait!”
She didn’t like being on the outs with her brother, but it seemed like there was nothing but friction between them these days. She knew he had her best interests in mind. Sometimes he just forgot she was a grown woman who could make her own choices. His expression was troubled. If things had been normal, she’d have stopped to go back and talk it out. But she was sick of playing peacemaker, doing constant damage control, and living her life in the tiny box society deemed appropriate.
Slipping into the house through the morning room, she was glad to note the place had a certain deserted feel. She looked both ways before dashing across the foyer and up the left side of the gracefully curved central staircase. From there it was just a short hop, skip, and jump to her room.
She’d hardly managed to lock her door and exhale with relief when someone knocked. There were three painfully polite raps, leaving no doubt in her mind as to who was on the other side.
“Yes, Mama?”
“Where have you been all morning? I’ve been looking for you everywhere, and now I see you duck back into your room. Care to explain yourself?”
Desiree cast about for something, anything, to say. Her gaze landed on a swimsuit she’d picked up at a little boutique she’d come across while waiting for Selena to finish her endless dress fittings. She ripped off her dress and pulled the suit half on. Dancing around, she tried to yank it the rest of the way up. “I’m sorry about that. I had drinks with Harmon last night”—which was true—“and slept late this morning.” Also true. “I was headed out to the pool to even up my tan, but I forgot my sunglasses.”
“Well, let me in, would you? We need to chat about a few things.”
Desiree tucked her cleavage into the suit—thank God the thing actually fit—and turned her doorknob to unlock it. There was no use putting it off. Annaline marched into the room, her eagle vision sweeping the minimal clutter and landing on the dress Desiree had just taken off.
“What. Is this?” She picked it up with one finger.
“Swimsuit cover-up, of course.” Desiree snatched it away. “What was it you needed?”
“I noticed this morning that you’ve hardly touched the correspondence in the last few days. Are you feeling all right? That’s not at all like you, Desiree. You know Jackie cannot get the responses out and update the calendar until you go through the invites.”
This was about the social calendar? Desiree applied all of her self-control to smooth her expression into a perfect poker face. “I’m so sorry, Mama. With all these dress fittings and arrangements for Selena’s wedding, it must’ve slipped my mind. I’ll take care of that right away.”
“No need to forgo a trip down to the pool. You should take a swim while you’re there. It’s a great way to tone those flabby areas.” Mama examined her manicure for several moments before looking up and catching the expression on Desiree’s face. “I don’t mean to be rude, Dee Dee. Toned bodies are healthy bodies, and I want you to be healthy and happy.”
The insinuation that she was fat didn’t sting as much as the childhood nickname Erik had given her when they were little. They weren’t little anymore, and Desiree would never be built like her willowy mother or her slender sister. No amount of dieting, exercise, or even liposuction had been able to change that. Still, at some point she wanted to stop feeling this tug-of-war between childhood and growing up. “I’m sure you’re right about the pool, especially since the weather has been abnormally mild for September.”
“If Selena is lucky, which she usually is, the weather will continue like this for her wedding. God knows it would be a nightmare to cram three hundred guests into the house for the ceremony.”
Desiree answered without thinking. “We’ve made provisions for the ballroom just in case. With some tents on the patios for overflow seating, we would still be able to put on a beautiful ceremony.”
“I’ve hired a wedding planner for all of this.”
“Isabel doesn’t know the estate or the staff like I do.”
“I suppose that’s true. It’s sweet of you to want your baby sister’s big day to be perfect. You’ve always had such a talent for event planning. You’re going to make a wonderful wife and mother someday.”
Yes, how sweet. Desiree would’ve been happier to see Selena elope and save everyone the trouble.
“It’ll be
your turn to walk down that aisle soon enough, Desiree.” Mama’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. “How was your evening with Harmon? Should I ask Mr. Breckinridge to draft up a prenup for you just in case? He’ll be here this afternoon to get a final signature from Jackson.”
Kill me first. “I don’t think we’re there just yet.”
“Oh, I forgot to mention it, but you need to fill in for your sister this evening at the Endangered Friends Charity Auction.”
“What happened to Selena? She’s never missed this event.”
“She’s been so stressed. I’ve sent her to Echoes for a night of spa treatments. Some yoga, a massage, and a nice body buff will put her back to rights. I was going to go to the auction with Jackson, but I’ve got a date with a guy I met at the club last week. He’s a landscape architect from Italy.”
A date? Great. At this rate her mother was going to walk down the aisle to marry groom number six before Desiree even met Mr. Right. Except…she had met Mr. Right. Sort of. She wondered what expression her mother would wear if it was Nicolai waiting at the altar instead of the Prince Charming Annaline had been waiting for since Desiree was out of diapers.
“Jackson mentioned he’d like to leave around seven for the auction.”
It had somehow escaped Desiree’s attention until that second that she was going to have to go as her future brother-in-law’s pseudodate. Not an appealing prospect on the best of days. “I’ll make sure and be ready on time, then.”
“You’re such a good girl.” Mama patted her arm. “Now go have your swim, and then get to that correspondence so Jackie can update my calendar. If things keep up like they are, I may have to schedule in some time for a romantic getaway. Federico has a villa in Tuscany.”
Ick. Nothing like picturing your mother having sex with a guy young enough to be her son to make you gag. Not that Desiree had anything against the MILF/cougar population; she just didn’t like to imagine her mother having sex. Period. “Mama, please be careful this time.”
“Dee Dee, sometimes you think like such an old woman. Federico is a perfect gentleman.” Which was more or less the same way she’d described her last three husbands before they’d turned into pricks and broken her heart.
Boston Avant-Garde: Impetuous Page 6