by Alyssia Leon
Liquid desire pooled between her thighs and heat scorched her cheeks. She had to get out of here, and now. “I… I’ll wait outside for you.” She turned to leave.
“Fuck,” he muttered behind her.
She glanced back at him. His lips were twisted in a grimace as his long fingers fumbled impatiently with the small, neat buttons on his shirt.
She couldn’t just leave him to struggle.
With a huff of frustration, she went back to him. “Here, let me.” And reaching up, she undid the top button he’d been fighting with.
He jerked his hands back, stiffening at her touch, and for an awkward beat, it looked like he was going to swat her hands away.
She paused, her breath trapped in her throat.
But then he lowered his hands to his sides, silently allowing her to continue.
She bit her lip and moved to the next button down, her gaze glued to what her hands were doing, and not daring to look anywhere else. His steady breath warmed her face and his intoxicating scent surrounded her. She worked her way down the shirt, studiously averting her eyes from the sprinkling of dark hair on the muscular body being revealed inch by inch beneath the opening shirt. The heat from his skin flowed into her fingertips, and her hands trembled causing her nervous fingers to brush across his flat stomach.
He sucked in a breath, and grabbing her hand, stilled it against his hot skin.
She gasped, her gaze flying to his face. A small frown crossed his brow, and his nostrils flared as if breathing her in, but the chiseled contours of his lips were expressionless.
What had she just done? What must he be thinking of her? Cringing in embarrassment, she tugged to free her hand.
Instantly, he swooped down and with unerring accuracy captured her mouth with his. A surprised moan escaped her, and it was all the opening he needed to dip his tongue in between her parted lips and deepen the kiss. His tongue caressed her mouth, before taking hers in a demanding dance of passion that had her squirming against him. His hands came up on either side of her head and he twined his fingers into her curls, holding her still for his taking.
Her eyes fluttered shut and she swayed into him, splaying her hands against his hard chest for support, and curling her fingertips into the short hair there as she drowned in sensation.
This kiss was hard, demanding, nothing like the gentle experience she’d shared with Bill last night. But there was no anger this time, like there had been at the wedding. No punishment. Only raw primal need. Nathan was taking like he’d been starved of her too long, and she pressed herself into him, wanting to somehow meld with him, and painfully aware of the heat circling in her core, the build-up of something wild within her that begged for release.
The hard ridge of his arousal pushed into her belly through their clothes, and her eyes shot open.
Abruptly, he pulled away, his breath hard and rasping as he held her face steady between his hands.
She gulped for her own breath, staring up at him wide-eyed. What just happened?
His eyes were hidden from her, but deep strokes of colour rode high on his cheeks. He dropped his hands from her and stepped back as if needing to put immediate space between them. God, he was as thrown off balance as she was.
She glanced down at where the hardness of his erection was still visible in his trousers, and heat flooded her cheeks. Dragging her gaze away, she stared down at her fluffy slippers instead as embarrassment washed over her in hot waves. She could still taste him, but she wasn’t fool enough to think it had actually been her who caused such a reaction in him. He’d been hurt and in hospital, no doubt he was missing having his glamorous girlfriend around.
“I need to help Mum with the breakfast,” she mumbled, and without looking at him again, turned and almost ran from the room.
The door slammed shut and Nathan breathed out.
Hell! How did she have this effect on him?
One accidental touch and he’d exploded, almost embarrassing himself in his trousers. He scowled as he adjusted himself, his straining erection only now subsiding.
She’d been like sweet honey in his mouth, her full lips soft and yielding against his, and he’d barely held back from throwing her on the bed and tasting all of her.
Christ! He needed to have her, and soon. Otherwise every time he was around Aura, he’d be sporting a massive, burning hard-on like a sex-crazed teen.
With a grimace, he pulled his shirt free of his trousers, ripping it open in one tug, not caring if the remaining buttons scattered or not. A woman hadn’t made him lose all sense and control like this in a long time, and the feeling wasn’t sitting all that comfortably.
5
“Stay there. I’ll help you.”
Her mother’s voice came from near the kitchen door behind her, but Aura didn’t need to hear it or turn around to know Nathan had just walked into the kitchen. The hairs on the back of her neck had pricked up even before Mum spoke. She kept her attention cemented on the omelette cooking in front of her.
“Thank you,” Nathan said from the direction of the dining table.
His deep voice rumbled through her, but Aura blithely chose to ignore him. He couldn’t see her anyway, and after that kiss, the less they had to do with each other the better.
She heard the sound of a plate being placed on the table.
“Bacon and eggs,” Mum said cheerfully. “I cut them up already, so you just need to use a fork. Now, would you like tea or coffee?”
“Coffee. Black. Thanks.”
Mum came over to the kitchen counter to fill the kettle, and Aura flipped the omelette on to a plate. She grabbed a fork, and turning around, leaned back against the counter to eye Nathan belligerently as she ate.
He was eating quietly, head down, and she had no twinge of guilt about studying him so blatantly while he couldn’t see her. He looked younger in jeans and the wine-red t-shirt. His thick dark hair was ruffled, maybe from where he’d pulled on the t-shirt and hadn’t bothered to use a comb afterwards. Like this, he looked like the young man she remembered, rather than the aloof CEO who’d arrived at their home earlier today.
She sniffed. Mum might see him as the young Nathan of before and be taken in by the helpless act, but she knew better. He looked to be absorbed in his food, but no, he was thinking.
About what? About her? About how she’d kissed him back with abandon?
She speared a piece of omelette and stuck it in her mouth. He was probably used to desperate women jumping all over him, trying to get him into bed, and most likely, she’d just been lumped into that category as well.
Jeez! Lisa was right. She was already making an utter ass of herself around Nathan.
Mum placed a mug of steaming coffee beside his plate, and he smiled in her direction. “Thanks. This is good.” He indicated his plate with his fork. “Just what I needed.”
Mum beamed. “Oh, I’m glad. We’ll have you fit and well in no time.”
He reached for his mug, the slight hesitation in his movement disappearing as soon as his fingers touched the smooth white surface, and he grasped it.
Aura’s gaze stayed glued to the way his long fingers curled around the mug, following it up as he raised it to his lips and took a sip. She wetted her lips with the tip of her tongue, the firmness of his lips against hers only a short memory away. What would it be like to have those lips on other parts of her? What would it be like if he wanted her for herself and not as an unseen substitute for someone else?
She blinked. For goodness sake, what was she thinking? Lisa would have a fit if she saw her now.
The doorbell rang, and grateful for the intrusion she placed her plate on the counter and moved to answer it.
“No, you finish, love.” Mum was already at the kitchen door. “It’s probably just the postman.”
Nathan ate on, showing no sign of caring. Aura looked away to the kitchen window where several little birds were clinging and squabbling around the bird feeder in the spreading cherry tree. She w
as a bit like those birds when she was around Nathan, flustered senseless, her body shooting signals that terrified her, and her mind dancing off into wild daydreams without him even having to look at her, let alone say anything to her.
She shook her head. God, how pathetic. She was going to have to get a grip and fast.
“Bill! This is a nice surprise to see you so early.” Mum’s voice came from the front door.
Aura snapped her head around, and craned forward to see into the hallway.
Bill’s eyes met hers as he stepped into the house. “I was on my way to the station, but I thought I’d pop by and see Aura first.”
“Have you had breakfast?”
“Yeah, I’m good, Cathy.”
He followed Mum into the kitchen, not taking his gaze from Aura.
“Bill, this is my stepson, Nathan.”
Nathan cocked his head to the side and nodded slightly.
Bill did a double take on seeing the bandage. “Right… um… pleased to meet you.”
“Bill is Aura’s boyfriend, Nathan.”
Aura could have happily died on the spot.
Nathan’s lips curled in silent disdain and he bent over his nearly empty plate once more.
Bill grinned sheepishly at her over Mum’s head, and it was all Aura could do not to close her eyes and groan.
“Aura can I have a word?” Bill jerked his head towards the hallway.
She shot Nathan a glance, but he was absorbed in the remains of his coffee. Reluctantly pushing herself away from the counter, she followed Bill out into the hallway, and then the living room where he promptly closed the door behind them.
She edged towards the large bay window, placing distance between them.
“So, uh, Nathan’s like your brother, is he? Never heard you speak of him.”
Brother and sister? Not likely. Not with the way her body insisted on disintegrating into flaming bits in his presence.
“Not exactly a brother. He’s Ralph’s only son, but we hardly saw each other growing up. He was always at boarding school and then university.”
Bill nodded, his curiosity-filled expression relaxing at her words. “I’m only working till six today, Aura, and I was thinking we could go out. If you want to…” He stepped closer.
She bit her lip. This was it.
If she said yes, then she and Bill would become an item in everyone’s eyes, and especially in his, after what Mum had just said. But wasn’t that what she’d planned? Wasn’t Bill what she needed to get over Nathan?
She looked at him, the eagerness mingled with hesitation in his blue eyes pinging her conscience.
God! Who was she kidding? Had that kiss upstairs shown her nothing? This burning pull for Nathan wasn’t going to disappear just because she hooked up with Bill. It consumed her, always had. Maybe it was her fate to die an unfulfilled spinster with a huge crush on a man who didn’t care if she was dead or alive, but that was her problem to live with. No way was she going to drag poor Bill into it. Lisa was wrong about this. Bill couldn’t save her. No one could. But she could let him down gently, a bit at a time.
“Not tonight, Bill, I… with Nathan here…” Then the perfect excuse popped into her head. “I need to help mum pack. She’s leaving for Hawaii tomorrow.”
“Oh, yeah… yeah, I’d forgotten.” He rubbed a hand across his chin. “I’m working the night shift tomorrow, so… um… maybe Monday?”
“We’ll see. Just let things settle a bit first, hmm?”
“Right.” Smiling, he came and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
She didn’t pull away, grateful he hadn’t tried to develop it into anything more intimate.
“I’ll see you Monday then.” His look was lingering, as if he wanted something more, but when she showed no encouragement, he smiled wryly before opening the living room door and going and poking his head into the kitchen. “Enjoy your trip, Cathy, and nice meeting you, Nathan.”
Aura followed him to the front door.
“Monday,” he said, stepping outside.
She smiled, already grasping for excuses in her mind that she could use when that time came, and it was with guilty relief that she closed the door after him.
Damn Nathan. He might have just cost her the best thing that ever happened to her.
Mum was clearing Nathan’s empty plate and mug from the table when Aura returned to the kitchen. “Leave those in the sink, Mum. I’ll wash up. You go and get dressed.”
“Thanks, love. I need to call Dianne this morning to make sure I haven’t forgotten to buy anything for the trip.” She hurried out of the kitchen and her footsteps disappeared up the stairs.
Aura tore her gaze away from Nathan who was lounging back in his chair, arms folded across his chest in a way that made his toned physique stand out beneath his t-shirt.
Why on earth did he have to be so captivating? Bill was well-built too, but Nathan carried it off with a sophistication that screamed command, no matter what he wore.
Glowering, she pulled on yellow washing-up gloves. Maybe he’d go away if she ignored him long enough, perhaps disappear in a puff of dark smoke like the evil devil he was. Pulling a plate out of the soapy water in the sink, she attacked it with a dish brush.
“This Bill of yours, does he know you go around kissing other men behind his back?”
She nearly dropped the plate she was scrubbing. Carefully placing it back in the sudsy water, she turned and glared at him.
He was still lounging in the chair, looking like he’d fall asleep if he relaxed anymore, but the mocking tilt of his lips had her gritting her teeth. “You’re one to talk! What about your girlfriend? Or doesn’t she matter to you?”
His lips twitched into a small smile. “Oksana and I decided to take a break a couple of weeks ago. Unlike you, I don’t two-time the person I’m with. I’ve never needed to swoop that low.”
No, of course he didn’t need to. If he ever got bored with one woman, he could leave, knowing another pneumatic blonde was waiting in the wings eager to take her place. And what was all this about taking a break? Couples were either together or separated, weren’t they? It meant Oksana wasn’t gone from his life, just floating about in the periphery because he loved her too much to let her go.
Jealousy snuck up on Aura and she clamped down on it. Nope, not going there. It was none of her business who Nathan got it on with, and what she did was none of his business either, but…
“Bill isn’t my boyfriend. We had one date. Yesterday. He’s just a very good friend.”
He laughed. “Then does the poor chump know you’re eyeing him up to be another friend-with-benefits, like you might be with me? Is any man safe from you, Aura?”
And in that moment she hated him, but she hated herself far more for still wanting him. Even the urge to tear his mocking head from his shoulders did diddly-squat to quench the constant burn of arousal that thrummed in her at just being in the same room as him.
But she wasn’t going to let him win. “I must be very good at what I do then, Nathan,” she said sweetly. “Because, as I remember it, you were the one kissing me and standing to attention while doing it.”
Twin streaks of red striped his cheekbones like war paint. “Don’t kid yourself, sweetheart. It’s been a while since I’ve had a woman beneath me. Anything will do at this point.”
She barely held back a gasp. He could have slapped her and the result would have been the same. But hadn’t she already guessed this? He’d kissed her blindfolded. She could have been anyone. She’d learned from the parade of gorgeous, leggy blondes she’d watched him go through over the years as to what his real preferences were. Next to them, she was nothing more than a dark, squat, toadstool.
Nathan leaped up, sending his chair skittering back over the cream marble floor as he stumbled slightly.
Without thinking, she rushed forward and caught his arm to steady him.
He snatched his arm back as if burned and turned in her direction with an almighty s
cowl on his face.
She stepped back. But she’d felt it, that electric shock of awareness as soon as they touched, and from his reaction, she’d bet her life he’d felt it too.
“Don’t think I’m like all those losers chasing after you,” he said, stepping away from the table. “Your slut games don’t affect me. When I sleep with you, it’ll be on my damn terms, not yours.”
He stalked out of the kitchen as fluidly as if he could see, even as she stood there seething at his retreating back and willing him to trip and fall flat on his face.
Slut games? Really? That’s how he saw the awkward teenager she’d been and the woman she now was?
Then the reality of what he’d said hit her like ice water.
He wanted to sleep with her.
Her heart thumping in her chest, she leaned against the table to support her suddenly wobbly legs.
Nathan wanted her. Her.
He had to have felt what she did, this electric, irresistible pull, every time they touched, every time they came within speaking distance of each other. And it had only grown over the years. She licked dry lips. The idea hatching in her mind, and she quivered in anticipation.
Maybe she should play games. Games that could save her life by ridding him from her mind once and for all. She pulled out a chair and plopped down on it. But what on earth did she know about seducing someone?
Still, this was her one and only chance. It wasn’t about love, after all. It was only lust to be had while he was here. Better then to have tried than live in regret forever more.
Nathan may think things were going to be on his terms, but he had no idea she played for nothing less than the life and death of her sanity.
Now all she needed was a plan.
* * *
Sunday morning, and Aura placed her mother’s hand luggage on the coffee table in the living room and rummaged inside. “iPod, ebook reader, headphones, face wipes, lip balm, flight socks…”
“Is there anything else I’ll be needing?” Mum, who’d been watching over Aura’s shoulder, asked Dianne.