Her lips trembled as he eased off her and bent down for a soft kiss. He rolled over and drew her close, and she laid her cheek on his chest. Stretching her arm over his stomach, she gave an exhausted but contented sigh.
The best sex she’d ever had. Period. Not just because she’d had an orgasm for the first time in years. More important than that, she was amazed to learn that nothing was wrong with her after all; she was capable of making a connection. Granted, a purely sexual one, with someone she didn’t know on a personal level, but a connection all the same.
Madame Evangeline deserved so much more than Kimber’s credit limit offered.
“That was…nice,” she said, too weak to come up with a more eloquent word.
Nate gave a light laugh. “Yeah. It was.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry. I didn’t plan on this happening on the floor.”
Like she cared about that at this point. Lifting her head, her voice was wan as she said, “It’s okay. I didn’t notice.”
His lips curved and he sat up while she shifted from his hold. Pushing to his feet, he disappeared into the bedroom, switching on a small desk lamp along the way. Seconds later he returned, a comforter wrapped around his shoulders. He lay down on the plush sofa and opened his arms. “Come here.”
She smiled with approval and squeezed in next to him, her back to his front, admiring the view out the window of their suite as the sun began to set. When his strong, warm arms wrapped around her, she reveled in their delicious comfort, snuggling in. He kissed the back of her neck and she smiled. Sleepy, she reflected that her surroundings didn’t feel like a hotel room and Nate didn’t feel like a man she just met.
They felt like home.
Chapter Four
Nate opened his eyes in the muted light of the suite, the petite desk lamp’s gentle glow pushing darkness into the far corners.
Kimber’s hair tickled his cheek and he smiled, smoothing the silky locks away from the stubble on his chin, and burying his nose in the thick mass of waves. She gave a soft whimper and snuggled back closer to his body. The instinct to make her feel more secure sprang with natural ease as he adjusted his arm around her waist to hold her in.
He hadn’t known what to expect when he met his date, but he couldn’t have predicted he’d be tearing her bikini off and making love to her on the floor like a madman. Very unexpected.
Madame Eve had known what he wanted almost better than he did. Kimber was everything he needed and more. In bed, at least. Out of it, who knew if they had anything in common, if they would even get along for more than ten minutes in the outside world. Though based on their brief, anonymous camaraderie on the way to their room, he had a gut feeling they would be good together.
Wait. What was he doing thinking about them as a couple? Being well matched as lovers didn’t guarantee they were suited in other areas. To assume so would be easy, but very unwise. Madame Eve’s specialty centered on compatibility in the bedroom and he couldn’t call her anything less than brilliant, but she didn’t claim to be a relationship expert. The qualities that were needed for something more were irrelevant in this arrangement. Sex only. Nothing else.
He wasn’t an impulsive man, nor a lustful teenager who couldn’t manage his hormones. However, in the elevator, his baser needs had control of him. Man, how he’d wanted her. And his mind had been blank when he kissed her. It was an all instinctual, unmanageable, gotta-kiss-her-or-I’ll-lose-it impulse. Somehow, reason shot through his brain and he realized he wanted the wrong woman. He had felt like the biggest jerk on the planet when he’d thought about his one-night stand, and had forced himself to stop.
As they got off the elevator, the taste of the nameless woman’s skin and mouth still lingering on his lips and fingers, he’d planned to cancel his arrangement. Even knowing she had a blind date herself, he had known he wouldn’t be able to be with someone else for the night. His gut had burned at the news she had been committed to another. He didn’t know what to do about that inconvenient detail, but he planned to call off his own and talk the mystery woman into spending the evening with him. A chump thing to do to the blind date guy, and rude to rescind on his commitment, but…Nate would have it no other way.
As fate would have it, he didn’t have to do anything dishonorable to get his wish.
“Mmm,” she purred with a slight move of her hips. “You’re awake.”
He smiled into her hair. “How did you know?”
“I could tell. You stopped snoring.” With a soft laugh she maneuvered under the blanket to face him, kissing his chin. “Did we sleep long?”
He shook his head. “Maybe a couple of hours.”
“Good,” she said, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous light. She climbed on top of him and he shifted flat on the sofa as she straddled him, planting kisses on his chest, then gave him a crooked, wanton smile. Coming up, she massaged his chest, womanly admiration in her eyes and began tracing the feathers of his eagle tattoo with her fingertips. “How long have you had this?”
“Years,” he answered vaguely, too engrossed in her to think of numbers. Busy gazing at her faintly rosy mouth, her high, exotic cheekbones in a delicate face, her mussed mane giving her a thoroughly ravished appearance. All because of him.
“So you’ve been in the military…?”
He ran his palms over her thighs. So soft, so feminine. “Most of my life. I enlisted at seventeen.”
She studied the tattoo with quiet scrutiny. “I remember your profile said you were on your way back…did you just return from the Middle East?”
He nodded, hoping the innocent inquisition wouldn’t last long. “Afghanistan. My third tour. My last one.”
She arched a brow. “You sound almost sad it was your final go round.”
“What’s there to be sad about? I survived. I’ve got all my body parts, and I’m set to retire next year.” He didn’t want to elaborate further and hoped his short answers and dry tone would cut the conversation short.
Her mouth curved in a smile of understanding, then she pressed a long, sensual kiss to his lips. “Welcome home, Nate.”
With effort, he pushed sullen thoughts aside. There would be plenty of time for those after he returned home. Alone. Plenty of time to think about his next move in life, instead of the next assignment, the next fight. He had to concentrate on his future. But he hadn’t a damn clue where to begin.
To his relief, Kimber distracted him from thinking about anything but her delectable body. She rose up to stretch, her perky, naked breasts reminding him to enjoy the present. “I’m hungry,” she said.
He chuckled at her pouting tone. “For what? For food…or something else?”
Her lips curved in a slow, knowing smile. “Both, but I’m afraid the need for sustenance is winning.”
He gave her a light smack on the ass. “Chow time.”
She climbed off him. “Should we order in? The assistant manager said room service is complimentary for our harrowing experience in the elevator.”
“I know.” He pushed off the sofa, unable to take his eyes off her as she stood naked before the desk, flipping through a menu. A lot of women would have covered up in modesty, even after they’d been nude for hours. Not his Kimber. Er, not Kimber. “Why don’t we go downstairs and take advantage? They have a couple restaurants we could do some damage to.” He stealthily grabbed a condom from his bag.
She set the menu down, quirking her mouth as he came toward her. “Why? Don’t you like the idea of room service?”
He came up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist, bending to kiss her neck. She leaned into his hug, and he relished the ease of their mutual affection. “Because I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my hands off you while we’re in here. Have you ever tried to eat spaghetti while a man is trying to have his way with you? It can get messy.” His tone dropped to a low caress. “You’d get marinara sauce everywhere.”
She gave a soft laugh. “Hmm….”
He ran his hands over
her soft stomach and hips, coming up to support the light weight of her breasts in his palms, using his thumb and forefinger to awaken her nipples to hard, aroused nubs. In swift response, his dick swelled with urgent, iron-hard need.
She shook her head, protesting with mock helplessness. “No, no, no. You promised me food first.”
“I promised nothing.” He dipped his head and began dropping a trail of kisses from her shoulder to her ear, capturing her lobe in his teeth. His hand moved down to the folds of her sex, saturated with hot dew, and she groaned, as he strummed her pussy to make her ready to receive him. Her back arched.
Quicker than he’d ever done before, he tore the condom wrapper, sheathed his cock, and holding her hips, slid into her with considerable care. A guttural sound vibrated in his throat, jaw clenched, as he pushed his hardened cock into her tight center. She lifted her ass and pushed back as he began smooth thrusts, in and out. The knowledge she wanted him as much as he wanted her, accepting his reckless seduction, stirred a wild possessiveness. Planting her hands on the desk’s glossy surface, lifting a knee to the edge, she resembled an erotic, sultry goddess, a fantasy come true. Her golden tresses hung down her back as she turned her head to her shoulder, lashes lowered, biting her lower lip. The sight seized his pounding heart for one gasping second. The fire roared in his blood with such severity, he did not think he could bear it for long.
He buried his face in her neck as he fucked her with ruthless intent, her round ass bouncing off his hips as sweat trickled down the side of his face. Knowing he wouldn’t last long, he slid his finger to her folds, finding her clit, circling the fleshy pearl with slight pressure, feeling it harden under his skill. She threw her head back and cried out, begging him, not to stop.
“Oh, Nate, fuck me.” Her leg moved down from the edge and she bent over more on the desk, spreading her legs as he thrust harder, stroking her faster. Deeper and deeper he invaded her tender flesh, tireless, his muscles burning with exertion. She convulsed with another cry, shuddering at the impact of her orgasm, the sounds dying in her throat, hanging her head. He gripped her waist, bucking swollen with his rising desire, the head of his cock ready to erupt. He squeezed his eyes shut, tensing his rock-hard muscles, overtaken by the powerful intensity claiming every cell in his body and mind. Pulses of rapture pounded through his blood, and he roared as he shattered, lost in bliss, his vision fragmenting, releasing his climax with mindless relief. By degrees, he found sanity again, regaining his breath. He held her chin, forcing her lips to his for one long, breathless seal.
Breaking away, she shifted to face him and linked her arms behind his neck. Her captivating, mocha eyes met his. “Now I’m starving.”
He laughed, bent down, and tossed her over his shoulder, smacking her ass. She yelped but didn’t protest as he marched toward the bathroom. “All right, woman. Let’s shower.”
She kicked her feet and smacked his back in a playful manner, letting him handle her like the alpha male he was. “Do you promise to behave while we’re in there? I’m going to time us. We have three minutes!”
His mouth half-lifted, and he replied with a sly tone. “I promise nothing.”
***
The shower, which began innocently enough with soap and water, turned into a sensual and intimate encounter under the massive rain showerhead. Nate held her in his arms, kissing her while the water poured down their bodies. After lathering the washcloth, he circled it on her back while he nuzzled her ear and under her jaw. He tended to her with indulgent affection, with a slow hand and worshipful gaze, as if cleansing something delicate. The gentleness took Kimber’s breath away, something she wouldn’t have expected from a man like Nate. Then, to her absolute delight, he stood there with a provocative, lilting smile when the time came for her to return the favor. She caressed the bronzed skin overlaying his packed sinew of muscle, washing every dreamy inch of him at her leisure.
He didn’t make much conversation afterward, as they got ready to go downstairs for a late dinner. He dressed quickly and left her alone in the bedroom to do her hair. It gave her time to reflect on how the night had already exceeded her wildest dreams. She’d hoped to enjoy herself and to give as well as receive pleasure from her ideal sexual match. Anything more than that would be a bonus, to keep from being disappointed. Well, not only did she discover she could orgasm, multiple times, an undeniable and unexpected glow bloomed within her. As she slipped on the long, summer dress, it surprised her to realize that now that her goals had been met, her expectations had grown and reformed, and she frowned as she smoothed the silky fabric down her body. She should have known, once she got her way, she’d only want more.
More sex? That was a given.
More than sex? That was something else. Something more troublesome and complicated than fiery desire.
To her surprise, she wanted to get to know him, but maybe attempting that went against the rules, negated the whole purpose of the arrangement. Plus, she remembered in his profile he made it clear he wanted a woman who wouldn’t expect anything more from him once the morning came.
She wished to know how he came to be a client of Madame Eve’s. If his contract was some of sort of gift from his Army buddies to get laid after spending months overseas putting his life on the line, or if it was something he chose to do on his own. Without question, he wouldn’t need the help of a professional to find female companionship. In fact, she was a thousand percent sure every one of her single girlfriends—even a few of the married ones—would kill to spend the night with a man like Nate.
After their erotic encounter in the shower, while they dried each other off, she’d asked him why he signed up for 1Night Stand. He’d shrugged and said he’d done it for the same reasons she had.
No, he hadn’t. He didn’t suffer from a crippling inability to have a satisfying orgasm, nor did she think he couldn’t connect with the opposite sex. He’d been too attentive, too passionate, too giving as a lover to be all about sex, though she could be wrong. He could be a player…but why would he contact Madame Eve if that were the case? Madame had kept her promise and withheld Kimber’s true reasons for signing up and for now, she would, too. More curious than ever why he became a client but not wanting to push the topic, she decided not to ask twice. Because if he did the same…well…she was still reluctant to confess her reasons.
In the end, after the time they had shared, was this all about tonight and tonight only? One way or another, she’d find out. And maybe take the chance she could be setting herself up for heartbreak. When she emerged from the bedroom and found him waiting for her with a broad grin spreading across his rugged, handsome face, she couldn’t help but think that taking the chance would be worth it.
Chapter Five
Kimber hadn’t spoken a word to him since they started their walk on the beach after dinner. Although Nate appreciated silence rather than nonsensical chitchat, he wanted her to share more of herself. In his profile, he’d skipped most of the questions, and his few answers were ambiguous and short. He wanted to avoid giving out too much personal information because, well, what was the point of sharing details with a one-night stand? He’d read over Kimber’s profile, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember any of it other than the fact she worked as a professional mediator, and also lived in Atlanta. Those details said little about her life beyond a career and a location, gave no insight to what she liked to do for fun, her pet peeves, where she came from. At the time, he hadn’t thought any intimate facts about her mattered when all he’d get to know was her body, her fantasies…but now, things were different.
As they strolled along the resort’s private stretch of shoreline, he came to the conclusion he might actually care. Very inconvenient, since the whole reason he did this centered on avoiding anything complicated. The last thing he wanted to do was get caught up in something he had no intention of poking a stick at. God knew she was beautiful, easy to talk to, intelligent, and dynamite in bed but…could it be possible to star
t something when they had already done the dance?
When he was interested in a woman, he’d take her out, show her a good time, and let things progress from there. Never once, in the few one-night stands he’d started and finished, did he consider asking the woman out on a date or getting to know her past her first name. The women sometimes seemed hopeful it would turn into something else. They gave him their phone numbers with sly smiles, lingering in the doorway for a kiss when he made his exit, but he never called them.
Kimber made him think twice about his little rule.
They would say good-bye in the morning and part ways never to see each other again? Something inside him roared in violent rejection of that ending. Then again, the instinct could be a result of his hormones still raging from earlier. Already, as they walked side-by-side, his body stirred to have her near him again. Under him. Above him. The ache so deep, he stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching for her like a rutting beast and clenched his jaw to stop from saying something stupid.
“Tell me, Nate,” she said relieving him of his rampant thoughts, “are you some kind of adrenaline junkie?”
He thought about the question. “What makes you ask that?”
“In your profile, you said you’re in Special Ops for the Army.”
At least one of them had been paying attention to the details.
Nodding, a note of pride in his voice, he said, “101st Airborne Division.”
Hungry For Touch Page 3