by Kim Karr
Grabbing my bag, I head inside. The lobby is magnificent with its white marble floors and cherry hardwood walls. I glance down at my phone before stopping at the security desk to see what floor Nick texted to me.
“You must be Miss Winters,” the older man says.
I look up. “Yes.”
“Mr. Carrington told me you’d be arriving and he asked me to send you right up.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Please follow me.”
“Okay,” I smile.
He leads me to the furthest elevator bank, ushers me in, steps in himself, presses a button, and then steps back out.
“Oh, which way do I go when I exit the car?”
He looks confused.
“Never mind. I’ll figure it out. Have a good night.”
“You too,” he calls just as the doors close.
The elevator rises and I suddenly feel nervous. This isn’t a date or anything, so I have no idea why.
As soon as the elevator doors open, I suddenly know why.
And his name is Nick.
As always when I first look at him, I get a little flutter in the pit of my stomach, and my skin tingles. This time though the sight of him causes my breath to hiccup and stick in my throat.
With his thick, dark hair and great body, he’s standing at the edge of the stairs that lead to his living room with a glass of wine in each hand. He’s showered, I can tell by the wet ends of his hair. He’s wearing track pants and a t-shirt. And he looks really sexy.
Just behind him is Max, who is on the couch in his pajamas with wet hair too. He’s eating pizza and watching television.
“Hi,” I wave, setting the overnight bag down.
“Hi,” he says back, stopping mid-step.
“Sorry it took me so long,” I blurt out, my nerves still aflutter.
Nick’s gaze burns over me from head to toe. “You look fantastic, so don’t apologize. And besides, the pizza arrived less than five minutes ago.”
Good, I’m glad I picked out what I did to wear. I’d hoped it wasn’t too much, but by the twinkle in Nick’s eyes, I’d say it is just right. “Thank you,” I tell him, and I can’t stop the shiver that runs down my spine as our gazes hold.
Nick seems to break out of his daze and continues striding toward me. First he hands me a glass of wine. “For you.”
I accept it. “Thank you.”
And then he leans over and kisses me. Max’s back is too us, but still I’m surprised by the gesture, and a heated rush takes my breath away.
The kiss, although intense, is short, and soon he pulls away. “How about a quick tour before dinner?”
I take a sip of my wine, wondering if my beating heart will continue to thump at this elevated pace all night. “Sounds great. Let me just say hi to Max.”
Nick nods and picks up the bag I brought.
On shaky legs, I walk toward the little tyke, who completely ignores me because he is too caught up in television show.
While in the living room, I take a minute to look around. Everything is warm and inviting in dark woods offset by light colored walls and furniture. The walls are covered in architectural-like prints. They look to be buildings, both old and new, throughout Chicago. His place looks more like a home than a bachelor pad. Drawn to the view, I walk over to the wall of windows. “I love your view.”
Nick is behind me now, and his warm breath caresses the skin of my bare shoulder. “It’s not bad.”
“You’re always so modest,” I mock.
He steps a little closer and the back of my legs graze the front of his. “I’m just being honest.”
I shake my head.
Nick points a finger out the window, using the opportunity to step even closer. “See that building over there,” he says.
With the pitter-patter spasms of my heart something I know I need to get used to, I dart my eyes to where he is directing. “The old abandoned plant?”
“That’s the one. I want to buy it from the city and build my first residential living complex.”
The excitement in his voice has me looking over my shoulder. “Would you tear it down or renovate it?”
“If at all possible, I’d like to renovate it, but it’s in bad shape, so it depends on the building’s integrity.”
“I’ve seen you at work. I bet you can do just about anything you put your mind to.”
There’s a gleam of appreciation in his eyes, and where I thought this would be the point he’d turn cocky, he appears humble. “Thank you, I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
I give him a warm smile.
Nick grabs my hand. “Come on, I owe you a tour.”
The contact causes arousal to hum low in my belly.
Oh, boy.
But Nick is surprisingly a gentleman as he shows me around his place. There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, and the living room/kitchen combo. It is luxurious and warm and inviting, and I kind of fall in love with the place.
Back in the living room, Max is now vertical on the sofa, but still entrenched in his television program. After checking on him, Nick leads me toward the kitchen island.
“How long have you lived here?” I ask.
He pulls out a barstool for me to sit. “Four years. I got the place for a steal.”
I look at him. “It’s really nice.”
Before taking a seat himself, he covers his heart with his hand. “Is that two compliments in one night?”
I bite my lip. “Yes, and enjoy it. I don’t give many, so your quota is almost up.”
“I figured,” he grins. “Pepperoni or cheese?” he asks pointing to the pizza box.
“Cheese, please.”
He puts a slice on my plate. “Ahhh…please. That is a word I intend for you to repeat many times tonight.”
Once I chew my first bite, I lean in a little closer. “Like you, I don’t beg.”
He gives me a wicked smile. “We’ll see.”
I roll my eyes and take a sip of wine. This is going to be a fun night, I can already tell.
By the time we finish eating, we’ve each drank two glasses of wine and talked in depth about the various buildings along the river, which I’ve been to, which he’s been inside of, and how the city has changed since I moved away.
After wiping my mouth, I set my napkin down beside my plate and look over toward Max. To my surprise, he is out cold. “I can’t believe he fell asleep,” I say to Nick, “just five minutes ago he asked for another slice and more milk.”
Nick stands and clears our plates. “I guess school tired him out today. While I move him into Lucas’s room, feel free to take a closer look at my bedroom.”
Picking up my wine glass, I look over at Nick. “Just like that? You aren’t going to use any of your arsenal of romance tricks on me first?”
His gaze narrows and he takes a step closer. “Arsenal of romance tricks? What the hell are those?”
I sigh. “You know, your game. Your technique. Bring a woman up here, show her the view, give her a night cap, light a fire outside, talk about shallow things, and seduce her into your bed, or—”
He brushes his thumb over my lips to silence me. “First of all, I don’t have an arsenal of romance tricks, and even if I did, I would never use them here. I’m not in the habit of bringing women back to my place.”
My head spins with this information. This really isn’t his bachelor pad then. At least not in the traditional sense of the word. Still, I don’t falter. “Why not?”
“I don’t like things to get too messy.”
“You mean, you like to be able to cut and run when you’re ready.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
I set my glass down and stand up. “And yet I’m here.”
He looks down at me. “You’re different.”
“Why?” I ask breathily.
“I don’t know.”
“What if I don’t want to be different?”
Nick runs his fingers over my
bare shoulder. I opted for braless tonight, to make my sweater look sexier. His fingertips coast lightly down the slope, and then he draws them down the center of my off-the-shoulder sweater, stopping just below my belly button. The move thrills me. “We don’t always get what we want, baby. Like right now what I want is you naked in my bed, but you want to go round for round.”
This time I step toward him and bring my mouth close to his. “I don’t want to go round for round. In fact, I’m really glad you invited me over,” I concede.
He takes my mouth with his and suddenly his hands are tangled in my hair, yanking me closer so there is no space between us. After a long while, he breaks away and sucks in air to catch up from his kiss. “I’ll accept that as an I’m sorry and forgo any punishment…this time.”
Gasping for my own breath, my jaw drops open. “That wasn’t, I didn’t, I’m not into.”
He raises a brow. “You’re not into…what, Tess?”
“That kind of stuff,” I say meekly, hating the taste of the fib on my tongue.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed, Tess. I know you like it. I know how much it turns you on when I talk dirty or when I tell you to get on your knees.”
Words won’t form, so I say the one word that will come out. “Jerk.”
He smiles in amusement. “You can deny it all you want. The truth doesn’t lie.”
I cross my arms over my chest.
“Oh, come on, don’t be mad. Someday you’ll be able to admit it, but for now, we’ll pretend you’re appalled by my vulgar behavior.”
My eyes drift over him in mild irritation, but in the end, I can’t stop from allowing my lips to turn up, just a little.
At that he swats my ass. “I’ll grab us a brandy as soon as I tuck Max in, and we can…talk.”
Not entirely certain I want to have the conversation about kinky sex, I think about what it is we should talk about. In the end, I decide to let it be, and ask, “Do you want some help?”
Nick gives me a sly grin. “No, I got it. You just make yourself at home.”
I watch him pick Max up, all six-foot-two, or maybe three inches of him, and think he’s right.
I do like it dirty.
I do like it when he commands me.
I do like it when he takes control.
Actually, it thrills me.
The twins come to mind, and the precariousness I was feeling when I was seventeen that I thought I had buried. Maybe it was under the surface, but perhaps it could never really be suppressed.
The truth very well could be that I’m just a dirty, dirty, girl.
And I’ve never been willing to admit it…
Until now.
19
Tess
With each step I take, his words echo in my head, ‘You’re different.’
I want to know why.
How?
But at the same time, I don’t want to know. The thought of what the answer might be terrifies me. He terrifies me. Am I like him? Is he like me? Is he different too?
With way too many unanswered questions in my head, I find myself in the doorway to his bedroom, staring at his luxurious bed with its masculine wooden bed frame and majestic four posts.
I want what he wants.
So why am I fighting it?
My bag is beside me, and I grab it. Once I walk to the bathroom, I set it down, and open it. That’s when I pull out both pieces of lingerie.
Red or black?
I can’t decide.
I hold the red one up and look in the mirror, and then I set it down and hold the black one up.
“Did you change your mind about the drink?” His husky voice fills the large space.
Startled, I jump a little and slowly turn toward him. “No. I just thought I’d slip into something more comfortable before we…talk.”
Leaning against the doorframe, he stares at the item in my hand. “Having a hard time deciding?”
I stare at him through the reflection in the mirror, and for some reason, another flutter of nerves awakes in my belly. “As a matter of fact, yes, I am.”
“Would you like my opinion?”
I shake my head. “No, I think I can decide which one to wear.”
He crosses the distance between us rather quickly. And then he’s behind me. The heat of him presses against my back, and his hot breath whispers across the back of my neck. “I like the black one.”
Wadding the fabric up into a small ball, I fist it in my hand, and look at him in the mirror once again. “I’ll take that into account.”
Nick slowly slides his hands under my sweater. “Good,” he breathes and then even slower he pulls my sweater over my head. “I like when you have an open mind.”
As soon as the cool air hits me, my breasts swell and my nipples peak.
Nick isn’t done yet though. His hands slide down to my hips, and he grips them, gently pulling me back against him so I can feel the hard, rigid length of his arousal against my bottom.
Our eyes are locked in the mirror and I watch him as he sweeps my hair off one side of my neck to allow his hot lips to brush over my ear. “You’re driving me crazy,” he confesses.
His words elicit a moan of pleasure from me, and I grind myself against his erection. “Maybe I like driving you crazy.”
Still looking at me, he trails light kisses down my neck. “I’m sure you do.”
His touch sends a thrill coursing through my body.
Slowly, he slides his hands down to the zipper of my jeans, and even more slowly he unzips them, and pulls them down.
I step out of them, goose bumps rising all over me as I stand in nothing but a pair of frilly old panties.
His hands move to my hips, and cool air whispers between us as he steps back a little. I follow his sizzling gaze and watch the fire burn in his eyes, as he slides those deep blues down my body and then back up. “You’re so sexy.”
Anticipation and arousal are all I can feel, and I don’t say a word in a response.
He steps closer again, and his heat now blazes against my back. With his hard-on prodding against me, he cups my naked breasts.
I sigh, and rest my head against his shoulder. Ripples of desire unfurl low in my belly as he plays with my breasts, kneading them, stroking them, and pinching them into hard points. I thrust into his touch, his name falling from my lips in a breathless whisper while he pumps his hips in rhythm with my own movements.
“Your mouth,” he growls.
I turn my head at his demand and my lips instantly meet his. Wrapping an arm around his neck, I open my mouth, inviting his tongue inside. He kisses me with deep, slow abandon. I gasp as he pinches my nipples. His growl of satisfaction rumbles into my mouth and he coasts a hand down my stomach and over my panties. And then he rubs his fingers over them, and I think I’m the one who will surely go crazy.
When Nick discovers they are soaked with evidence of my arousal, he pulls back from our kiss. His eyes are low lidded with his own desire. “Follow me,” he orders.
I swallow. “Okay,” I reply, and that’s when I realize I’m still holding the lingerie pieces in my hand. I drop them to the ground. I think I’ll save that for another day when my indecisiveness can be cleared up much easier.
Step by step we go, him back, me forward. We move like this—a predator and his prey. He is close. So close. He takes one last step to the foot of the bed and his expression shifts from amusement to something more lustful, darker. When he stops, he tugs me to him. We are chest-to-chest, hip-to-hip and when he presses into me, his cock nudges the naked flesh of my lower belly.
I gasp, trying to catch my breath.
His lips part when he stares down.
I stare up, my own lips parting in their own breathless anticipation.
And then he kisses me again. His warm, sensual mouth working exquisitely over mine. This kiss is fierce. Demanding. Coaxing. Light flecks of his tongue wisp against mine but become harder with each passing moment. Sparks ignite and I swe
ar my leg kicks up. I urge him for more, pushing my body so far into his we might become one.
Breathing hard, he lets me go and steps back.
I watch him with curiosity.
Across the room, he pushes a button and the fireplace flares to life. “Would you prefer wine or brandy?” he asks, still so very far away.
I stare at him in utter disbelief. “How do you do that?”
He dims the lights, but only slightly. “Do what?”
“Go from hot to cold?”
He turns on some soft music. “I take my cue from you, Tess.”
“I don’t do that.”
He throws me a look. “Maybe not with your words, but with your body language you do it all the time.”
I draw in a breath of defeat. “If I do, I don’t mean to.”
After a long-suffering sigh surely meant for show, he says, “It’s something for us both to work on. Now, do you prefer wine or brandy?”
Hoping his little lesson is over, and he’s ready to resume what he started, I answer his question. “Nothing, thank you.” My voice is nothing more than a rasp. “I think I’m good.”
And still, he keeps his distance. “Anything else I can get you?”
I consider covering myself, but that would only give him satisfaction. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, what is going on, Nick?” I ask.
“I just want to make certain I get this right. Is this enough romance? Enough game?”
I get it now, and I ignore the teasing taunt in his voice. “Yes,” I sigh, and then add, “And I’m sorry about that.”
His gaze darkens. “You’re sorry?”
“Yes, I am. Now please come back here.”
Nick tosses me a wicked grin, and finally he moves closer, but still he doesn’t touch me.
“Please.”
At that, he takes my head in his palms and his lips make their way down my throat. “See how easy things can be when you’re nice?”
I make a noise of irritation mixed with passion.
Nick gives a huff of laughter, and I laugh along with him.
Seemingly moving past our control issues, he silences me with a deep, drugging kiss. When he slides his tongue to my ear, he whispers, “I’ve been waiting for this all day.”