Indelibly Intimate

by Cole, Regina

  The wheels of her suitcase clack-clacked over the metal edge of the elevator on the seventh floor. Quinn blew a breath out, trying to slow her pulse before finding her way to Hammer’s room. It didn’t work. Her body remembered how good it felt to be near him. She’d have three nights of that temptation to live through.

  She froze in front of the door marked 795. Three nights? Why hadn’t she asked the woman at the desk if it was a king room or a double? Why hadn’t she gotten in her car and hauled ass back home? And then the door swung open.

  Why’d he have to be so goddamn gorgeous?

  “Hi, Sparky. Glad you could make it.”

  She swallowed. He leaned against the doorjamb, not quite smiling but his face was relaxed, pleasant.

  “Hi. Do I have the right place?” She stood her suitcase upright, only to rake her bangs out of the way. They flopped back instantly.

  “Yep,” he said, one corner of his mouth curling upward. “Home sweet home for the next few days. Here, let me get your suitcase.”

  “That’s okay,” she protested, but he’d already picked up her bag as if it didn’t weigh anything, and he took it into the room.

  She held her breath as she followed him inside, deathly afraid of the sleeping arrangements. When the two double beds met her gaze, she sighed aloud in relief.

  “Everything all right?” He set her suitcase atop the luggage rack and turned at the sound of her sigh.

  “Oh yeah, fine,” she said with a nervous nod. “No problem at all.”

  He snorted in obvious disbelief. “Okay. Well, if you want to get settled, I need to go get the booth set up downstairs. I picked up the registration packet already. Your badge is on the dresser.”

  She looked over to where he pointed. An ID badge lay atop a manila envelope.

  “If you want to come check out the floor, we’re booth number sixty-five.”

  She nodded, swallowing hard as he walked past her to get to the door. He smelled good, as if he’d just showered. Her eyes slid shut.

  “And Sparky?”

  Her lids flew open. “Yeah?”

  He gave a positively evil grin. “I’m in the bed on the right. You can sleep wherever you want.”

  The door shut with a clang and it took Quinn’s strength with it. She sank on the end of a bed. His words echoed in the empty hotel room.

  Sleep wherever you want…

  She knew exactly where she wanted to sleep. And it sure as hell wasn’t alone. Shaking her head, she crossed over to the suitcase he’d so thoughtfully placed for her. He was really going to have to stop being so damn wonderful if she was going to have a shot at coming out of this weekend unscathed. Fear that she stood in imminent danger of losing more than her head with Hammer refused to let her relax. Talented, gorgeous, considerate bastard.

  Hammer’s tension eased as he left the hotel room. He hadn’t believed she’d actually show up. When she did, it had been all he could do to keep from kissing her. But her nervous expression had stopped him cold. He had to move slow. She was still spooked from what happened before.

  Once the doors of the elevator closed, he allowed himself a victory sigh. He’d move slow but he’d be damned if he let an opportunity like this pass them by. As time went on, he was more and more sure he wanted to see more of Quinn. A whole lot more.

  The elevator descended slowly, soft dings for each floor. The solitude left him time to think. About her, about him, then about the past, about Lora…

  Thankfully, the doors opened. His brother’s mistake-turned-Hammer’s-burden wasn’t what he wanted on his mind this weekend. What happened with Lora was a long, long time ago. Quinn was here and now, and he had every intention of keeping his mind—and his body—firmly in the present.

  The mindless job of unloading his gear from his Jeep numbed his memories and helped him focus on the here and now. The parking lot was filling rapidly, other artists and exhibitors competing for the same space to unload their own equipment. Nodding greetings to acquaintances and giving his signature half-smile to old friends, Hammer made his way to his assigned booth space.

  The huge ballroom was marked off with typical convention aisles, pipes with black and white drapes cordoning off each individual booth. With a critical eye, Hammer scanned the layout of the room as he approached his booth. Traffic should flow to the right and that meant customers would be seeing his booth relatively early in their visit to the convention. Good news for someone who needed the exposure as desperately as Hammer did at this point in his career.

  His black duffle made a dull thud as he dropped it on the table at the front of his booth. Leaving his tattoo kit beside it and propping the rolled-up sign against the draped-and-skirted table, he stepped back, crossing his arms as he examined his space and made his plan of attack.

  Privacy screen there, portfolios with table up front. Sparky can sit there and greet people. I’ll put the big banner across the right side, canvas pieces on the left…

  Something big caught Hammer in the small of his back. Stumbling in surprise, he righted himself then pivoted to see what the hell had knocked him.

  A Jersey Shore wannabe apologized insincerely at him from behind a massive cart laden with large boxes. “Sorry man. Just passing through.” The overly tanned guy wore a bright green tank top, revealing a mixture of both good and bad ink on his arms. He wheeled his overloaded dolly down the aisle without a second glance.

  Hammer let it go and got to work unpacking his gear and preparing his space. Some so-called “artists” had more balls than brains.

  Several minutes later, he bent over, struggling to attach the banner he’d had specially printed for the convention to the stand.

  “Do you want some help with that?” The soft feminine voice brought his attention around.

  “Hey, Sparky,” he said, straightening. “I thought you were settling in.”

  She shoved her hands in the pockets of her denim shorts and shrugged. “I promised to help you so here I am. I’ve got to work off a pretty epic tattoo.” She pointed a toe and flexed her leg muscles, making the newly healed phoenix catch the light.

  Hammer nodded. “It is pretty damn epic. I won’t turn you down a second time. Lend me a hand with this sign.”

  They worked well together, which didn’t surprise Hammer at all. But it was a chore to keep his mind on what he was doing. When she stood on a chair, reaching high to adjust the corner of his “Tattoo Hammer” sign, her shirt rode up, revealing the curve of her hip and that beautiful sun tattoo. The sight brought back memories of the first time he’d seen that ink, shadowed in a dim bedroom after some of the best sex he could remember. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and brushing her leg with his fingers.

  “Steady there,” he said, increasing the pressure, moving his body closer to hers. When he looked up, she smiled. The sign was already straight but she stayed there anyway.

  “Thanks,” she said, shifting her weight back to the balls of her feet. He steadied her with one hand on her hip, the other around her knee.

  “What can I say? I’m a selfless and caring individual.” His grin spread at her genuine laughter.

  “I’m not going to be able to get down if you don’t let go.” She crossed her arms and mock-scowled at him. He didn’t tell her that from his vantage point the expression was wasted. He only had eyes for the breasts defined so perfectly by her crossed arms.

  “Is that a problem?” He let his palm trail down, following the curve of her ass.

  She squeaked and whacked at his hand. “Do you mind? This isn’t exactly private.”

  “I don’t see what the issue is,” he groused good-naturedly. With a regretful sigh, he lifted her by the legs, setting that pert bottom on his shoulder.

  She grabbed hold of his head. “What are you doing? Put me down, put me down!”

  “But you make such a great accessory,” he said, turning her this way and that as if modeling. Her laughs didn’t stop. The happy sounds wrapped all the way around him
, giving his soul a lightness he hadn’t known was missing.

  “I’m not your freaking accessory, you jerk. I mean it. Put me down now.” She tried her best to smother her giggles but she couldn’t stop them completely. She kicked her heels against him.

  “Whoa there, easy. Fine,” he sighed and put her gently down in front of him. She loosed her grip but her hands ran down his neck to his shoulders as she faced him.

  “Thanks,” she said. God, that wicked twinkle. It made his whole body throb to be near her.

  “No problem.” He bent to her. He intended to keep it brief, only a brushing of the lips, but he didn’t miss her trembling in response. The fire he’d kept under careful control suddenly blazed up, heating his blood and stirring his lust.

  What the hell was she doing to him?

  The kiss deepened without his conscious effort, his tongue sliding into her willing mouth, plundering the planes of her tongue and soft lips. He drew her close, her pliant body melding effortlessly to his, as if she was wax and he was flame. Her ass was so soft as he cupped it, bringing her higher and tighter against him. His erection hardened at the press of her belly against him, at her willing response to his kisses. The memory of her silky skin was almost too damn much to take.

  He reluctantly lifted his head. Her eyes were hazy. He framed her hips as he stepped back.

  “Sorry,” he said, nearly losing the ability to speak when her tongue darted out to taste her damp lips. “I got a little carried away.”

  She nodded and drew back slightly, looking at the ground as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “It’s okay, really.”

  “Good,” he said, running a finger along her cheek. “Because I can pretty much guarantee that it’ll happen again, Sparky.”

  Uncertainty flitted across her face but then her lids fluttered closed. She lifted a hand to catch his against her cheek. She didn’t say a word.

  Chapter Eight

  Quinn’s blood sang hotly through her veins even though Hammer’s kiss had been over for almost sixty seconds now. She stood silent, holding his large hand against her cheek. It felt good. Right, even. How the hell was this happening?

  Her brain had short-circuited. That was the only explanation for it. She must have an aneurism, or an early onset of Alzheimer’s. This was what had happened with Guy, right? She’d fallen way too hard, way too fast.

  You can’t know enough about a person after such a short time in their company, can you? But you were only a teenager when you met Guy and fell in love. You’re not a kid anymore, Quinn.

  Her beleaguered brain shut up again when Hammer’s breath brushed by her ear. “Come on. Want to get out of here? Go get some dinner?”

  She opened her lids and nodded, shaking the confusion off. Why did it matter anyway? This wasn’t going anywhere. It was only for fun. Like Kim had said, maybe Hammer would be a great rebound guy. That’s what she’d do. She’d lay it all out for him. Explain what she could and couldn’t give to him. Draw a clear line in the sand so he’d understand this was pure chemistry and not anything Hallmark stocked a card for.

  The idea had merit and as she led the way back to their hotel room to gather her purse, she smiled, feeling lighter and more carefree than she had in the last year or so. Fun. She could have fun with Hammer and as long as he was cool with it, nobody would get hurt. What a novel idea.

  “What are you grinning about?” Hammer stood beside her as they waited for the elevator. “You look like you just found a hundred-dollar bill.”

  “I’m feeling good, that’s all.” Quinn didn’t bother to dim her cheer as she stepped into the elevator. “I’ve got an idea I want to float by you.”

  “Okay,” he said, leaning against the rail in the elevator, crossing his arms and his ankles like a cowboy lazing on a break. “Shoot.”

  “Well,” she started, but at that moment a woman and two small children rounded the corner.

  “Can you hold the elevator, please?” the woman called.

  Hammer punched the door open and Quinn sighed. “I’ll tell you upstairs.”

  The youngest kid spent the trip from the ground floor to the fifth bawling her cute little eyes out. The sound rubbed at Quinn like a cheese grater on burned flesh. Her prepared proposal to Hammer floated right out of her head as she tried to dig her nails into the brass rail behind her. But she kept a pleasant expression pinned as the wails bounced off the walls of the elevator around her. It wasn’t the kid’s fault she’d picked the worst moment to have a temper tantrum ever.

  When the car arrived on floor five, Quinn’s cheeks were numb, she’d broken two nails and her spine ached from retained tension. She nearly collapsed when the door closed behind the little family.

  Hammer’s laugh echoed in the small moving room.

  “What?” Quinn griped, pulling herself upright again. Her temples throbbed from the little girl’s shrieks.

  “Not a huge fan of kids, are you, Sparky?” He wiped away tears of mirth. “I thought you were going to climb the damn wall to get away from that kid.”

  “If I thought she’d stop crying, I’d have done fricking cartwheels in here.”

  “Now that, I’d pay to see.”

  The elevator arrived at their floor. Quinn led the way back to their room. She waited beside the door as Hammer pulled his keycard from his wallet and inserted it into the electronic lock.

  “So what was this idea you were mentioning before?” he asked as the light above the handle flipped to green and he pushed the door open.

  “Well…” Quinn trailed off as she followed him into the dim room. What to say now? The impetuous idea had had some simmering time now and it sounded less good than it had before. What if it offended him? Maybe she’d better hedge her bets. A little buttering up never hurt anybody.

  She reached out, grabbing his arm. He stopped and turned to her, exactly as she’d hoped. Rising on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. Her fingers delighted in the smooth skin of his shaved head. The brush of their lips together kindled a slow burn low in her belly.

  She stepped into him, aligning their bodies closer. Her breath came quicker as the kiss deepened, Hammer’s tongue delving into her mouth. He traced her lips, her teeth, her tongue. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her in close to him. His cock lay hard and heavy against her belly, the stiff heat stoking the small fire in her to a straight-up blaze.

  She moaned deep in her throat. He tore his mouth from hers, only to press his lips to her cheek, her jaw then the tender flesh of her neck. His licking, nipping kisses shot bolts of lust through her entire body.

  Her fingers grew minds of their own, smoothing down to his shoulders, clutching at the muscles there, rubbing at his rounded biceps, which flexed as his hands moved on her back.

  “Hammer.” She gasped his name as he palmed her ass, bringing her as close to him as they could get while still clothed. He dragged them toward the bed, lifting her slightly as they fell backward.

  He rolled them over, trapping her body beneath his as he continued his assault on her neck and collarbone. One hand remained on her ass while the other rubbed the skin of her thigh, which he’d hitched up on his hip, bringing his cock in direct contact with the crotch of her denim shorts.

  She gasped as he kissed the flesh of her breasts, barely visible above the scooped neck of her shirt. It was too much. She couldn’t think. There was something she’d meant to say, something important…

  The thought went flying from the room as soon as Hammer delved beneath her shirt to touch her breasts.

  “I was watching you,” he whispered between kisses. “Up on that chair, your ass nearly in my face, your shirt riding up. You make me crazy, Sparky.”

  He lifted her shirt. The front clasp of her bra melted beneath his fingers, baring her breasts beneath his starving gaze. He didn’t look for long. He picked up kissing her where he’d left off, not stopping until every part of her breasts had been tasted, kissed or softl
y nipped. When his mouth finally closed on her nipples, she surrendered to the feelings swamping her. Whatever the hell she’d been trying to think of before could wait. She and Hammer couldn’t.

  She pulled at his shirt, her palms tingling with the need to touch him as he touched her. He rose from her breasts long enough to pull his shirt off and toss it aside.

  The last time they’d been together, it had been fast, hazy and wild. She wanted to enjoy herself this time.

  His back was as toned as his arms, lean muscles defined under smooth, tanned skin. She arched as he sucked on her nipples, digging her fingers into him. He felt too damn good, pressing her down into the soft bed. They moved together, both of them needing to be closer. Her shorts and his jeans were too much between them. Her pussy ached to feel him against her.

  She pulled her hands between them, bringing her breasts higher as he continued to play with her nipples. His tongue swirled around one hardened tip, nipping it before moving to its twin to continue the sweet torture.

  She squeezed her own flesh as lust emanated from every pore. His hands were everywhere, down the skin of her ribs, to her hips, to her ass, between her legs. He seemed to know where he’d do the most damage to her walls and his assault was relentless. She was ready to deny him nothing.

  “Please,” she whimpered, raising her body against him, hard. “Please.”

  He lifted his head. “What do you want, Sparky?”

  “Fuck me. Please.” She fumbled on the button and zipper of her shorts. They had to go, now. She needed him.

  With a nod, he saved her. Taking over for her useless fingers, he made quick work of removing her shorts, tossing them aside. Her thong was next, the scrap of black lace disappearing in a blink. He unfastened his own jeans next, pushing them quickly down his legs and removing them and his boxers together in one quick motion.

  Quinn pulled her shirt and bra the rest of the way off and scooted up to the head of the bed. Her hand went to her clit as if magnetized when she saw his stiff cock standing proudly as Hammer pulled a condom and a bottle of something from his duffle. His eyes were hungry as he rolled the condom on. He watched her, and her fingers moved quicker in response.