His warm hand rested on her upper arm. “I know you’re not asleep that quickly.”
She looked at him over her shoulder. “I’m supertired from all that driving. You are too. Eight hours is a long day of traveling. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight? That’s it?”
She fake snored again.
He let out a noisy breath.
She scrunched her eyes shut tight and tried to think soothing thoughts because having him so close, the heat of his superhot body warming her back, was making her a nervous wreck. She’d never get to sleep with him next to her. She was about to ask him to move when he stroked her hair.
“Am I not smoking hot anymore?” he asked.
She giggled at that ridiculous question and looked at him over her shoulder. There was just enough light from the streetlight outside that she could see his smile. “You’re still smoking hot, and you know it.”
“How about a goodnight kiss?”
Her whole body vibrated with nerves and anticipation. A kiss. She could handle a kiss. She rolled over. “I’ll kiss you.”
“Okay.”
He lay flat on his back, waiting. Oh. So she was the aggressor here. Her nerves vanished in light of this new unexpected situation. He did have very kissable lips. She leaned over him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. He tasted minty, his lips like warm velvet. He didn’t grab her or anything, so she kept going, deepening the kiss, darting her tongue in to touch his. His large hand slid into her hair, holding her there. It felt so good that she forgot about being nervous and kept going. So much deliciousness, so much beautiful chest. Her hand stroked over his chest hair, his pecs, across his ribs. A soft moan came out. Hers. His hand left her hair and stroked lower, down her back. She broke the kiss and quickly scooted away.
“Goodnight,” she said, turning on her side away from him.
“Are you really that tired?” he asked, his voice rumbling close in her ear.
She could feel the heat of him again, so close she felt like a live wire, all jittery and electric. Crazy nerves and an overpowering lust battled it out within her. Her heart raced.
“Yes,” she said. “Very, very tired.”
His voice was gentle now. “Sure you’re not just…I dunno…nervous for some reason?”
She snored.
“Lil?”
More snoring.
“How many guys have you been with?” he asked.
Omigod, she was not answering that question. One guy sounded so pathetic. He would definitely think something was wrong with her.
“How many?” he pressed.
“You really don’t want to know,” she replied. “Goodnight.”
“I really do.”
Snore.
“Am I your first?” he asked.
She snorted. “No.” At least she could proudly claim she wasn’t a twenty-five-year-old virgin. If one could be proud of that.
“Second?” he asked.
Snore.
“I take that as a yes,” he said. “That’s okay. I told you I’d go slow.”
She rolled over and met his deep brown eyes that were full of sympathy and understanding, which made her feel ten times worse. “For your information, I’ve been with lots of guys. Way more than one.” In her imagination. “So don’t act all superior. We both know you’ve had your share of women.” She flopped back over, miffed at the reminder.
“Are you seriously mad right now?” he asked. “I wasn’t acting superior at all.”
“Yes, you were, with all your questions and your sympathy eyes.” Her throat got tight. “So just think about all those other women if it makes you feel better.”
He groaned. “It doesn’t make me feel better at all. Lil, come on. I don’t have sympathy eyes. They’re just regular.”
“Goodnight,” she said with a tone of finality.
He flopped onto his back with a groan, making the mattress bounce. She blinked rapidly, feeling like a complete and total loser, but unable to make things better. She just couldn’t compete with all those women. A short while later, he left the bed, and she heard the shower running.
Having the bed to herself didn’t make her feel any better. What was she doing? This was supposed to be her big sex tutorial. The new Lily. But somehow the old Lily was stomping all over her confidence. She couldn’t sleep. She had to fix this somehow. Be brave and forward. Maybe they should’ve ordered some wine. Something to get over this awkward, nervous tension that made her feel frozen.
She heard the shower turn off and a short while later Nico got into the other bed. She told herself to move. Just get up, walk over, and join him. It wasn’t that hard to do. He’d said he’d go slow. But would he think she was too big, too solid, too Godzilla-like? Would he recoil from her soft poochy stomach?
She bit her lip. Stop it, she told herself. This is why you’re here. Get up!
She slipped out of bed, crossed the short distance between the two beds and looked down at him. He was sprawled out on his stomach, lightly snoring.
She couldn’t wake him. Not after he’d driven all day today. She slipped back into bed, torn between relief and disappointment. Tomorrow night, she promised herself.
Chapter Eight
Nico left Cleveland determined that today would end in a much better situation than blue balls for him. He knew Lily must be inexperienced, but he didn’t care about that. He just wanted to be with her so bad. When she’d come out of the bathroom last night in that skimpy red lingerie, it took everything he had not to just grab her and take her against the wall. She was sexy as all hell, and the fact that she didn’t know it made her even more appealing. She wasn’t playing games with him or putting on a performance like a lot of his past lovers. She was just genuine. And she’d been just as into that kiss as he was. He could do slow. What he absolutely could not do was nothing.
He’d sooner drive back to Connecticut than spend another night with her prancing around in that tiny satin thing, her breasts nearly popping out the top, while he tossed and turned. That kind of torture was too much to ask any man. He’d had to sleep in the other bed, for crying out loud. He couldn’t take being that close and not touching.
He glanced over at her in a V-neck T-shirt that showed off her cleavage and her shorts that showed plenty of curvy, smooth leg. He liked this outfit even better than the dress she had on yesterday because there was so much more leg. She always had her cleavage on display. He liked that about her. She wore large round shades, so he couldn’t read her expression at all. Was she still mad about his questions last night? Embarrassed? He wished he knew so he could smooth things over. Hooking up wasn’t a big deal at all, and if he could just get her past her nerves, he was sure they’d have a lot of fun together.
He waved a hand near her face to get her attention since she had the headphones on, already listening to the bar exam lecture. At least he didn’t have that torture.
She pulled one side of the headphones away from her ear. “What?”
“You want coffee and donuts?”
“Just coffee.”
“This’ll be a short drive today,” he told her. “Just five hours to Chicago. I don’t want you tired out tonight.”
“Oh,” she chirped. “I don’t mind a long drive. We can go further than that.”
“Chicago,” he said firmly. Besides, he was supposed to meet Luke for dinner. His brother traveled to Chicago and London a lot on business.
She put her headphones back in place and sank lower in the seat. Was it really so awful to be with him? Geez, he was starting to feel like the Big Bad Wolf. He never had to work this hard to get a woman naked.
A short while later, he had two coffees and a couple of glazed donuts. Both the donuts were for him. He was hungry after spending an hour in the hotel’s workout room this morning, trying to get rid of some of the tension from his restless night. He’d woken up off and on all night, listening to Lily sighing and breathing heavy in her sleep, thinking about her soft skin and sweet sce
nt. He took a sip of coffee and then a big bite of donut.
Lily watched him hungrily. He held out the donut. “Wanna bite?”
She shook her head and sipped her coffee. He took another bite, and she still watched. He handed it to her, and she ate it quickly, like she was starving. Now why did she say no to a donut in the first place? He shook his head and pulled the second donut from the bag and ate that one.
She pulled the headphones off and stopped the recording. “Thanks.”
“Sure,” he replied. “Anything special you want to do in Chicago? We’ll have all afternoon and night. I heard the Navy Pier is supposed to be cool.”
She licked the glaze from the donut off her fingers—that pink tongue through those plump pink lips—kill him now. He really wished he hadn’t seen that. She smiled over at him.
He grimaced.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yup.”
“I really want to see President Obama’s barber’s chair. It’s preserved in Plexiglas at the place he used to get his haircut.”
Of course it was. “Really? No shopping, no museums, no Navy Pier? Just a barber chair?”
“It was the president’s, Nico. That’s special.” And with that, she put her headphones on and started listening to that awful droning voice again.
He turned on the radio, thankful for the music that was so much better than studying for the bar exam. He glanced at her cleavage again, her soft legs stretched out in front of her, and restrained himself mightily from touching. Soon. He could wait a little longer. A short drive, a quick look at a barber chair, and then she’d be all his.
~ ~ ~
Lily had been to Chicago before, but Nico hadn’t, so after they checked out the barber chair, which looked exactly like a regular barber chair (in Plexiglas), but was extra special for being the president’s, she made sure they did a long walking tour, where she pointed out famous sights in an effort to wear him out. She pointed and talked a lot without stopping anywhere. Museum of Science and Industry! Millennium Park! Lake Michigan! Nico listened attentively, frequently asking if she wanted to stop and look at any of the sights, which, of course, she didn’t, she had to keep him moving. After that, she took him shopping at the department stores on Michigan Avenue, which would wear most men out.
Nico held her purse while she tried on tons of outfits. Guilt over her nefarious intentions and terrible nerves kept her from buying anything. Because how could she enjoy herself when her sole purpose was to wear Nico out?
It wasn’t that he wasn’t the most gorgeous sexy man on the planet. He was, he definitely was. And he was being so nice and patient with her. It was her. She was the problem. She knew it and was embarrassed by it, but there was nothing she could do. She simply had to put him off until Las Vegas, where she hoped they’d both get so drunk it would be easy. He wouldn’t remember anything except that they’d done the deed. Once they got over that hurdle, she could finally relax. Maybe.
She emerged from the Bloomingdale’s dressing room empty-handed. It was the third department store she’d toured in four hours.
“I’m beginning to suspect you’re not planning on buying anything,” he said.
“I didn’t like the fit,” she said. “You want to go to a bar?”
He handed over her purse, settling the strap over her shoulder. “We should have dinner first.”
“Let’s just get crazy and get drunk,” she said. Because she could get drunk in Chicago just as easily as Las Vegas. Why wait?
He slung an arm over her shoulders and tapped her nose with one finger. “Now why would I do that? I want to remember everything about our night.”
She swallowed hard. “Oh.”
“We have to get deep-dish pizza in Chicago, right?”
She nodded, unable to speak when he was this close, smiling down at her. He was breathtaking.
“My stepbrother Luke's in town,” he said, guiding her out the door. “He texted me he knows a place not far from here. Follow me.”
"We're meeting your brother?"
"Yeah. Is that a problem?"
"I guess not. I just didn't think we'd be meeting each other's families."
“Just Luke.”
He walked with his arm around her shoulders like it was the most natural thing in the world. She was burning up with the closeness, the casualness of the gesture at odds with the fact that she, Lily Spencer, had the most amazing man right here interested in her. At least temporarily. Two weeks, no strings. That was their deal.
"Luke's the one that set me up with the redheaded Tiffany," he said.
She grimaced. "Only you got me."
"I got you."
"Do you wish you were here with Tiffany?"
He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "I thought I was with Tiffany. Who are you again?"
She smacked his chest, and he laughed. A short walk later, they stopped in front of the restaurant, Gino’s East. A man with dirty blond hair leaned against the brick building, staring at his cell phone.
Nico stopped in front of him. “Hey.”
The man looked up and smiled, almost a smirk as he took them both in. Her breath caught. Was Nico’s entire family this gorgeous? That face would’ve been more than enough to make any woman swoon—dirty blond hair cropped short, dark blue eyes, neatly trimmed beard and mustache, and a sexy smirk. But he was also tall and muscular and radiated confidence.
“You must be Lily,” he said. “I’m Luke.”
“So nice to meet you,” she breathed. “I’m Lily Spencer.”
Nico gave her a look, eyes narrowed. “Maybe we should go in.”
“Spencer,” Luke said. “Is your dad George Spencer?”
She cringed. He knew her family. Now he’d treat her differently, no casual joking around or fun. “Yup.”
Luke turned to Nico. “She’s the Spencer heiress. Did you know? You just said the redhead.”
She turned to Nico. “Just the redhead? Couldn’t remember my name?”
Nico scowled at Luke. “I told you her name. Of course I know her dad. He’s my client. Can we eat?”
Luke held the door open and gestured for them to go inside. She’d never been here before. The walls and booths and even some of the chairs were covered in graffiti. The tables were covered with red and white checked tablecloths. So fun!
After a short wait, they were shown to a booth. Nico grabbed her hand and pulled her into the booth next to him. They ordered a deep-dish Gino’s supreme with sausage that the server said would take forty-five minutes to cook. The brothers each got a beer. Lily got a glass of Chianti. Nico and Luke talked about their other brother Vince’s upcoming wedding, the Red Sox, and a long complicated analysis of Luke’s Porsche, which he said was making a strange noise at idle. Lily didn’t mind. She loved the easy banter and conversation between the brothers. Like they were best friends. She’d longed for a family bond like that her whole life.
“So, Lily, sorry to blather on about my car,” Luke said after they’d been served the pizza. “Let’s talk about you. What are your intentions toward my brother?”
She laughed, and Nico scowled. “Honorable, sir.”
Luke smiled. “Good, good. I hope you intend to make an honest man out of him after your two-week—” he lowered his voice to a husky tone “—road trip.”
“Shut up,” Nico told Luke. “What’re you doing in town anyway?”
“My company’s moving a department from Chicago to New York, and they want me to help with the transition,” he said. “I’m a financial planner,” he told Lily. “You ever need someone to help you invest—”
“Drop it,” Nico snapped.
Luke inclined his head. “So what’ve you two been up to today?”
“Shopping,” Lily said.
Luke raised a brow and took a bite of pizza.
“Among other things,” Nico said. “Just the usual touristy stuff.”
“You do Navy Pier?” Luke asked. “The Ferris wheel gives
you a fantastic view of the skyline and the lake. You should check it out.”
“Maybe we will,” Nico said.
“We might be too busy,” Lily said. She kinda had a thing about Ferris wheels.
Nico smiled widely and put his arm around her. “We might be too busy.”
“Or not,” Lily added, suddenly realizing a trip to the pier could prolong the night and his inevitable disappointment with her in bed later.
Luke just took a long pull on his beer, watching them both. She had a feeling he was as sharp as Nico. She just hoped he didn’t bring up anything embarrassing like the fact that Nico couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel, and she could wait forever.
After a delicious dinner, where she managed not to spill any sauce, Lily got a pen from her purse and added her initials to the small bit of back booth that hadn’t been graffitied.
“Don’t forget to put Nico’s initials,” Luke said. “And a little four. You know, for-ever.”
“You’re asking for it,” Nico growled.
Lily flushed. “You want me to add your initials?” she asked Nico.
Nico glanced at her, his gaze dropping to her mouth. “Don’t worry about it,” he said in a low voice. A stab of disappointment went through her, but then he took her hand and held it, which made her feel a little better.
Luke insisted on paying, putting it on his corporate account, and they headed outside. Luke still had to check into his hotel and said he had some work he needed to do before tomorrow, so they said their goodbyes.
“Well, Lily Spencer, it was wonderful to meet you,” Luke said as he took her hand and held it between both of his. “I hope we see you at Sunday family dinner. My mom would love you. She makes these delicious cookies.”
She flushed. “Oh! Well. That’s very nice—”
“No Sunday dinner,” Nico said as he put a palm on Luke’s face and pushed him back. “No cookies either.”
Lily’s cheeks burned. It was like Nico had just told Luke they were hooking up and nothing more. “Nice to meet you,” she said, backing away from both men.
“Until we meet again,” Luke said with a sly smile.
Nico socked him in the shoulder. The brothers traded some low words she couldn’t quite hear, and then Luke left with a laugh.
Rev Me Up Page 7