Book Read Free

Rogue Diamond

Page 11

by Engels, Mary Tate


  "Beautiful?" She smiled faintly. "Even with my hair wet?"

  "Especially like this . . . and sexy." His dark eyes swept over her, taking in the bare, lengthy legs and the downy juncture that was scarcely covered by the towel. "Come here to me." With amazing ease and strength, he lifted her in his arms. The towel became a rumpled strip across her middle and he took full advantage of the moment to move heated kisses over the swell of her exposed breasts.

  Alex struggled, but he pinioned her against his chest. She could do nothing stronger than push futilely at him and kick the air. When he raised his head, Nick's dark eyes flickered with the passion she'd seen before. Only this time, she was completely vulnerable to him.

  "Nick, don't force this."

  "You want it, too, dammit."

  "No, I don't."

  "There's a phrase for a woman like you, Alex. I'm damned tired of your teasing."

  "Me? Why, you're the one who entered my room. I didn't invite you in here. You came of your own accord."

  He glared at her. She was right. "Alex—" The name tore from his lips in ragged agony. Oh, yes, he could take her right now. He could force himself on her. But was this what he wanted from her? No, he wanted her willing and eager for him. To cry out his name in ecstasy. "Dammit, Alex."

  The savage animal in him wanted to fling her from him, and his arms trembled with the beastly urges that threatened to possess him. Instead, he released her legs and let them dangle along his. One arm still held her securely to his chest, crushing her tender breasts. His eyes never left hers as he gradually released the pressure, letting her slither erotically down the full length of him. The seductive act forced her body over every inch of his muscular chest, his flat, hard belly, the aroused heat of his rigid manhood, to feel the unyielding power of his legs.

  When her toes finally reached the floor, she was weak-kneed and whipped into an inner frenzy. Her emotions were raw and jumbled, her desire soaring as never before. At that moment she thought she would be crazy to send Nick away. With hot, shaky fingers, she pulled the towel around her steamy body. She looked up at him, her defiant face glowing with a rosy flush.

  They stood gazing at each other for a long, somewhat turbulent minute. Both were thinking the same thing, and both knew it wouldn't happen. Not now. Nick's expression was filled with dark desire. And anger.

  "Tell me you don't want me."

  "That was crude." Alex clasped the towel to her breasts. There was precious little between them. "I'm all right now. No more hysterics, so you may leave. This is no way to calculate the enemy, is it?"

  "W-what?"

  "It's what you said earlier. We can't calculate the enemy by losing control."

  "I thought for a minute you considered me the enemy."

  Her blue eyes softened. "No, Nick. I can't believe you're the enemy. As little as I know about you, I think you're on my side."

  He stood rigidly, a man in turmoil. Strange emotions tore at his insides, threatening to explode. He knew only one thing. He wanted this woman with a desire so strong he wasn't sure if he could control it. It was something he'd never felt before and feared he couldn’t control. "Believe it, Alex. I care about you. And about finding Jenni."

  She took a deep breath and smiled. She had to go on trust with him, for he gave her nothing else. "You'd better leave, Nick." Even though she trusted him without really knowing why, she didn't trust herself. He was too virile and appealing. And she was essentially undressed, except for the towel.

  "I'm going to take a shower." He shifted away then turned back to catch her eyes. "A cold shower. You get some rest. After that, maybe we could go out for dinner."

  "Okay."

  He reached the door then turned around again. "The hotel owner's daughter is getting married tonight. We've been invited to the wedding celebration. It'll be quite an extravaganza. Dancing. Fireworks. It might help you . . . forget."

  Alex sat weakly on the corner of the bed. "I'd like that, Nick."

  If body language could speak, Nick's jerky motions as he bolted through the door roared of his anger and frustration with this woman. And with himself.

  It was a different Nick who knocked on Alex's door later. He looked the same—broad shoulders, tight jeans, dark, devil eyes. But in those eyes she saw a certain tenderness in place of the usual hardness.

  "Have you ever been to a Mexican wedding, Alex?"

  "No."

  "Lots of food and drink. And festivity."

  She smoothed a wrinkle from the skirt she'd worn all day. "I hope I'm dressed appropriately for such an occasion."

  After a brief once-over, Nick reached up and slid the scooped neckline of her embroidered peasant blouse off each shoulder. His hands stroked her bare forearms, then moved to tantalize her shoulders. "There, that's better." His eyes detected the small amount of cleavage now visible and nodded with masculine approval. "Much better."

  Alex's skin sizzled beneath his warm fingertips. She realized it was quite apparent that she hadn't worn a bra tonight. Did Nick consider it a come on? She wondered if the compelling passions between them were too strong to restrain. The expression on Nick's shadowed face told her there would be no resistance on his part. The feelings in her heart told Alex she could no longer deny this warm yearning she felt for Nick. "You don't think it's too . . . much?"

  "You're perfect. Ready to go celebrate?" He took her hand.

  She looked from their hands to his face and smiled. “Yes, I’m happy to be going with you.”

  "I know you think I planned this, but believe me, if I'd known we would be spending the night, things would have been different from the start."

  "Oh? How?"

  "Well, we could have brought along a change of clothes. And I would have reserved a room with hot water. One room."

  "I thought you wanted a cold shower, Nick."

  "I lied."

  "My shower has hot water. You're welcome to use it."

  "Only if we can share it."

  "Well, I don't know about that." She laughed nervously. He was certainly honest about his intentions.

  "Consider the shower, Alex. It could be rather . . . pleasurable." He moved closer and brushed her temple with his cool lips. "This celebration tonight is just for us, Alex." He tipped her face up to his and covered her lips with his before she could protest or move away. "Just for us. . . ."

  When they merged, the reaction was immediate and intense. Nick's lips covered hers, demanding, drinking, craving her as his body did. His tongue teased her lips until she opened to receive him, tentatively welcoming his invasion. His palm encased one thinly-clad breast, applying pressure to the aroused tip.

  The message was obvious. He wanted more. Overcome with reckless abandon, Alex wanted to give him more. Nick's desire for her was fierce and strong, a rugged longing that threatened to overwhelm them both.

  She moaned softly. "Nick, the fiesta."

  Finally, he moved. "To hell with the party."

  Alex felt slightly intoxicated from his kiss. "Yes. I'm starved. All I've had today was one tiny little-bitty fish."

  "I'm starved for you, Alex. Do you know how alluring you are in that blouse?"

  "I knew it. I was afraid it was too much."

  "You are too much," he said with a sigh of resignation. "I need you." He lifted her hand and gently sucked her finger. For a wild moment Alex wanted to feel that tongue all over her, to know the excitement only Nick could give her. She was tempted to tell him so, but music blared in the courtyard and they became aware of the merrymakers.

  “Later,” she promised.

  "Later is for us," he whispered and steered her downstairs.

  A huge table in the courtyard was piled high with food. As the music blared around them, Nick laughingly fed Alex guacamole with corn chips and galletas de bodas, Mexican wedding cookies.

  Nick held Alex close when they danced to the Mexican ranchera music, then joined in the usual wedding festivities and the Dollar Dance. Nick pinned money on th
e bride's veil and danced with her while Alex pinned money on the groom’s lapel and danced with him. Then they were both breathless and eager to return to each other’s arms.

  Later, when the strolling mariachi band played old Mexican favorites, he and Alex sang the Spanish words to the rousing "El Rancho Grande" and the sensitive "Volver, Volver."

  While the crowd was toasting the wedding couple, Alex and Nick tipped little shots of tequila, Mexican style.

  "To finding Jenni." She smiled hopefully.

  "To Jenni," he promised. To us, he vowed silently.

  He whirled her onto the dance floor and murmured in her ear, "Te quiero, te quiero, mi amor."

  Alex blushed and ducked her head to avoid looking into his sparkling dark eyes.

  "You do know what that means, Alex. I want you. Te quiero."

  "Nick, don't—" She tried to turn away from his grasp but he held her close, forcing their legs to move in tempo with the music. She gave him no answer, no more response. She couldn't be sure what she would do. Her mind said no but her will was weak when Nick Diamond's arms surrounded her.

  At the end of the evening's celebrations, they watched a spectacular fireworks display with the delight of two small children. Flashes of sparkling stars filled the black night. Brilliantly colored pinwheels made from exploding firecrackers rolled across the sky and a gigantic castle lit up the entire courtyard.

  When they had eaten all they could and drunk all they dared, Nick and Alex left the celebration, his arm securely tucked around her. In the hallway Nick unlocked her door. "Does the invitation for the warm shower still hold?"

  She stepped inside and held the door open for him.

  Nick moved beside her. His hands slipped beneath the weight of her hair to the heated part of her neck. "Alex, I want more than a shower. Te quiero." The door closed behind him.

  As his lips closed over hers, Alex realized with a mixture of excitement and fear that Nick was hers for the night. Her resistance melted like hot wax as the kiss deepened. Her lips parted, inviting more, and she moaned softly. Nick traced the sensitive inner circle of her lips with the tip of his tongue before plunging it into her mouth.

  His whispers of the promised pleasures muted any thoughts of objection and obliterated all but a delirious craving that swelled within her. His kisses danced over her face from her parted mouth to her flushed cheeks to the heat of her heaving bosom. Large hands reached inside the elasticized neckline of her blouse to lift her throbbing breasts to his eager lips.

  Alex arched her back, thrusting her breasts outward to receive Nick's caresses. He pressed the soft, warm globes to his face, teasing the nipples to hardness, before his tongue encircled the sensitive pink tips.

  "Oh—Nick!" Alex moaned.

  "Alex, oh, my Alex. I want to know you all over. To see you."

  With his help, she pulled feverishly at her clothes. Alex could hardly wait for Nick to discard his shirt and jeans. His caressing fingertips set her on fire. Then he bent to tease each breast with his tongue and blaze a moist trail to the most feminine part of her. He knelt before her, his tongue paying tribute to her beauty and arousing her inner frenzy to the shattering point.

  Theirs was a fierce loving kindling a fiery desire. The two had waited all evening, all week, all their lives, actually, for this moment. And the forbidden passion was released in a lusty and vigorous fashion.

  Alex stood before him, nude and trembling. With a slight shaking of his hand, Nick's fingers glazed every feminine niche, sending whorls of flames whipping through her. First one tentative hand then both caressed and traced her slender feminine form. He brushed over the soft mounds of her breasts with his mustache then his hands traveled around her waist and to the charming swell of her hips. His darkly passionate eyes devoured her, sweeping her length with masculine approval.

  "You're beautiful, Alex. So perfect. I've wanted you from the first moment I saw you. Touch me," he begged hoarsely.

  She complied, trailing one hand from his chest all the way down to his thigh, as he had done to her.

  His reaction was dramatic. With a sharp intake of breath, he pressed her hips to his, purposely forcing her to feel the strength of his arousal against her belly.

  "See what you do to me? I want you, Alex . . . now. . ." He fumbled with the condom.

  “Easy now,” she murmured as she helped him with the task. Then, with no holding back, Alex arched against his hardness, pressing her breasts to his chest and her belly to his. He kissed her fiercely, his tongue penetrating her mouth with merciless passion. In another frenzied moment they were on the bed, Nick plunging into her with the same fierceness he'd exhibited in his kisses.

  With a matching fervor, Alex eagerly accepted him. Her desire for this man was stronger than any she had ever known. Indeed, he elicited every emotion in her—anger, grief, happiness, excitement, and now a desire so desperate she couldn't get enough of him.

  "Don’t ... hold back. . . Nick. . ."

  And so he didn’t. His deep kiss muffled out further sound from either of them, except the soft moans of ecstasy.

  She moved with him in the ancient ritual of men and women since time began. Higher and higher she rode to the precipice, the craggy edge of obscurity that threatens complete oblivion. Then she was past the threshold of knowing, entering a suspension of time which she wanted to last forever. Only sensation mattered. Only she and Nick. Together they belonged, and together they swirled to the top.

  With a frantic exclamation of joy, she reached the peak. . . . "Nick! Oh, God, Nick!"

  He drove to his climax, plunging deeper and harder into her receptive body, unwilling to hold back any longer.

  When thought and time returned, Alex floated in a daze of heavenly gravity, only aware of the pleasure she felt with Nick. It was more than she ever dreamed possible.

  Nick's mouth rested against her neck. His voice was low, breaking into her euphoria. "Alex, that was amazing. Are you all right?"

  "Hmmm." She didn't move, couldn't bear the thought.

  "Hope it wasn’t," he sighed, "too barbaric. Too fast."

  "My payback ... for yelling at you and crying on your shirt and hating you and not trusting you . . . and wanting you."

  "All that?"

  She smoothed her hands lightly across his buttocks, then pressed him to her. "I think all that made me want you more. And it's never been better."

  "It'll be better next time." He sealed the promise with another kiss.

  Later, their lovemaking was slower, more exacting, an unselfish sharing of feelings. And, as he'd promised, it was better. He admired her body and touched her everywhere. She returned the favor with taunting hands and loving kisses.

  "Your breasts are beautiful. I love touching you. Alex."

  "They’re too small. I always wanted large boobs. I guess every flat-chested woman does."

  "No, you’re just right." His lips closed over each pert nipple and teased them to perfect erection.

  "You, too, Nick. I love to feel these muscles." Her hand rode along his back. "You are so strong."

  "Again, Alex—" It was a question.

  She murmured her answer with a smile.

  He was loving and gentle until passion overtook him. She was tempting and alluring, until she could wait no longer. Then she curved a leg over him and settled herself on him with an assertiveness she had withheld until now. She pinned his wrists above his head.

  "I've got you, Nick Diamond," she teased as she moved sensuously over him. "And you'll never be free."

  "Ahhh, is that a promise?" he groaned with some effort. "We may stay here all day. . . forever. Oh, Alex—"

  She discovered the satisfaction of bringing him to the brink, of knowing she had sensual power over Nick, of the ecstasy of feeling him inside her. Then the crest of her passion spilled over and she moved hypnotically until she fell in exhausted fulfillment against him.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Morning came too quickly for Nick. With sultry ey
es he watched Alex sleeping peacefully against him. Her blond curls spilled over his arm like silk strands. Long gold-tipped eyelashes edged her fair cheekbones. Her heart-shaped lips, slightly swollen from his vigorous kisses during the night, were curved into a faint smile. He wanted to kiss them again but didn’t want to disturb her sleep.

  What happened to the restraint he had pledged to himself the first time he saw her? He had been taken with her, even then. A man needed a woman, he rationalized. And this woman was beautiful and willing. Even as he considered it, he knew that wasn't the reason. Alex exerted some kind of power over him. And it wasn't just her sexual attraction. He was tied in knots by her anguish and wanted to relieve her pain, wanted to help her forget.

  She shifted and the sheet crumpled around her waist, revealing her breasts, creamy white and inviting. He couldn't resist their silent supplication and with one finger traced circles around the pink tip until the nipple became firm. Then he brought the other to matching perfection. Still, she slept.

  Unfair - he thought guiltily. Irresistible - the devil part of him insisted.

  His hand was lazy in its intent, finally resting on top of one soft mound. The taut pink tip puckered firmly between his thumb and forefinger.

  Alex moaned softly and shivered beneath his touch. "If you're trying to get my attention, you're succeeding," she mumbled without opening her eyes.

  "Your full attention is needed for what I have in mind." He took one of her pink nipples in his mouth and sucked on it.

  Inexorably, she arched in response to his actions. "And what is that?"

  "Wake up, Alex," he rasped, throwing a heavy leg over hers. "Nothing worse than a sleeping, unresponsive female."

  "Or an overly aggressive man who can’t wait for someone to wake up."

  "You didn't say that last night." His knee came up to separate her legs.

  "In the light of day, things look different." Her eyes betrayed her with their sparks of passion. "Relationships have a different meaning."

  "Does it have to have a meaning? Can't it just be for . . ." he paused to kiss her lips, "fun?"

 

‹ Prev