While she waited and debated, however, Alec’s hands fell away from her skin.
“I should let you get some sleep.” He pointed to a door on the opposite wall, his broad, masculine hands catching her eye far more than his words caught her attention. “If you want to shower, there’s a bathroom through there.”
She didn’t want him to leave.
Couldn’t
let him leave. Not now when he might be her only chance to pull herself off a ledge she’d been perched on for five years.
“What about you?” She blurted the question without thinking. But when you were on the ledge, you didn’t much care about framing your words.
If she’d surprised him with the edge of desperation in her voice, he did a credible job of not showing it. “I’m too wired to sleep.”
“Wait.” Her emotions too raw to sift through exactly what she needed from him, Vanessa stuck with the basics of it so there could be no misunderstanding. “Stay with me.”
She could tell she’d surprised him. Shocked him even. For a man who’d had plenty of experience staying in hiding, he didn’t know how to cloak his emotions worth a damn.
And if he wanted to think all she wanted was sex, that settled just fine with her.
Better that he think her insatiable than ever to guess she was scared.
“I know you had your doubts about bunking in with me, and I don’t blame you since I’ve obviously come onto the NYPD radar this week.” He knew he wasn’t really addressing her unexpected request, but he’d been on the receiving end of enough sticky questions in his life to know how to dance around an issue. “But I’m going to prove to you that even a wanted man can be a gentleman.”
Hell, now she looked even more panicked than before.
“Maybe I don’t have any use for a gentleman after what we’ve just been through.” Her fingers, so slender and strong, crept over his shoulders. And although her touch remained light and silky, Alec felt himself being pulled down to her. Closer.
Heat slogged through his veins, fiery and fierce, as anger at the carjackers, at his worthless uncle, mingled with hunger for Vanessa. What would it be like to stay with her, to let loose the blaze roaring inside him?
“You can’t be saying what I think you’re saying.” Although, as she skimmed her hands down his chest to the coiled muscles of his abs, he began to change his mind about that.
“I can.” Flexing her fingers, she wielded the short length of her nails to scrape lightly along the cotton of his T-shirt. She might as well be scoring his back raw considering the effect her touch had on him. “And I am.”
In his mind’s eye, he made plans to close his fingers around her wrist and move her hand gently away from the heated path she traced. But in reality, he gritted his teeth against the pleasure and hoped he could steel himself long enough to tell her this was a bad idea. An idea destined to wreak havoc with their tenuous connection and come back to bite them both in the ass.
Before he could say any of it, she leaned close to kiss the corner of his mouth. So gentle. So sweet. Right up until she licked an erotic trail from his mouth to his cheek, her tongue undulating up and down in a teasing motion as if to goad him into action.
Hell.
“You’d better know, I could have been a gentleman if I wanted to be.” Sliding his hands around her back, he braced her shoulders so she could hear his message firsthand.
A small smile played over her lips, the cool perfection of her aloof features finally transforming to amusement. “I’m sure you could have.”
Alec guessed he had about five seconds of restraint left in him. He damn well hoped Vanessa understood that. God knows he was trying to do the right thing.
Hands a little unsteady, he used the last semblance of calm to help her slide her gun from its inconspicuous holster and settle the weapon at the foot of the bed. Then, breathing easier now that they were both unarmed for the night, he sifted his hands through the silky mass of her hair.
“Beautiful.” The word stuck in his throat while he let the satiny locks slide over his skin.
Pivoting a few degrees on the chest where they sat, Alec positioned himself slightly in front of her. The room remained dim except for the light of the foyer filtering through the open door. The lone window remained covered by heavy blinds.
Still, it wasn’t too dark to see her creamy skin in stark relief to the wealth of shadows surrounding her. Long brown hair, black clothes and the ebony satin bedspread behind her gave her smooth skin an ethereal glow, sort of like the images of the moon in the prints covering the living room walls.
Would Vanessa prove just as cool and distant, the way she’d seemed when she’d first taken her place on the gym mat in front of him? Or did her plea for him to stay with her indicate a fire burning somewhere deep inside her?
With one final prayer of forgiveness for lustful thoughts about a traumatized woman, Alec covered her lips with his own. She remained utterly still for a handful of seconds, her spine straight and unyielding. And then her arms twined around his neck as she leaned back, pulling him down to the satin-covered bed with her.
All at once, his body stretched out over hers. She sank lightly into the rich softness of the feather bed that lay on top of the regular mattress, her curves pressed hungrily to the hard length of him. Her heart fluttered wildly against his chest, the rhythm erratic and furious. Just like when he’d touched her at the gym.
Tunneling his hands between her jacket and her close-fitting T-shirt, he molded his touch to the lean strength of her, admiring the way she took care of her body like a top-of-the-line machine. Every square inch showcased superb maintenance, lean muscle precisely exercised for maximum performance. But did she ever give this prime figure free rein? Allow herself to see how many orgasms she could have in one night?
Alec had the distinct impression this was a woman unaccustomed to using her body for fun. Pleasure.
Or hell, maybe he still harbored teenage fantasies about strong females like Detective Torres and he hadn’t come close to seeing her real needs.
Shutting off his clueless brain, he simply gave himself over to the pleasure of touching her. Slipping his hand beneath the loosened hem of her shirt, he roved his fingers over the soft skin of her belly, dipping into the smooth depression of her navel. He couldn’t wait to trace his tongue over that same path. Except that, when he went that route with his mouth, he’d be going down instead of coming up.
For now, his fingers rose up to the smooth satin cups of her bra, a rigid contraption complete with underwire and foam padding. Only, the breasts beneath weren’t the sort that needed uplifting. If anything, Alec imagined they’d have all the more bounce and expanse once she freed them from the prison of hooks and latex.
Reaching around behind her, he pressed her closer to his chest. Tasted deeper. She was smooth on his tongue like aged wine. Nothing sweet about this woman except maybe her rose perfume. And that, he began to recognize as more traditional and clean than exactly sweet.
If he hadn’t been on the run and trying to hide out, he would have loved to surround her exotic beauty with rose petals on this endlessly black bedspread. Her scrubbed skin didn’t need any makeup to catch the male eye, but he’d be willing to bet she’d make a visual feast with a little decoration spread around her unadorned body.
Sliding her jacket off her shoulders with one hand, he unlatched her bra with the other. Amazing how swiftly a man could work if given incentive. Her T-shirt followed in quick succession.
And then he couldn’t do anything but stare.
A lush, made-for-sex body lurked under her athletic-style bra and layers of clothing. Full, eye-popping breasts spilled into his hands, soft and warm and tipped with tight pink crests. He moved to taste them when she stopped him.
“I want you naked, too.” Her words were as clipped and functional as the rest of her, only Alec was slowly realizing that a wealth of passion slept beneath the surface of this lean, mean, martial-arts pro who didn’t embellish her words or her body.
“You’re sure?” God, he hoped she was sure. Still, he didn’t let her pull off his T-shirt yet, even though her hands wandered purposefully over the cotton. “This is going to change everything with us. If we do this, there won’t be any going back to how things were before.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Bending her knee along the outside of his leg, she shifted her thigh against him and stroked his ache for her into painful proportions. “When all this is over, I’ll still have my job to do.”
“Do you really think you’ll be able to arrest a man you’ve slept with?” He wrapped his hand around her leg, fingers dipping into the tender hollow behind her knee. He should have known a few kisses wouldn’t erase that cool, aloof streak of hers.
“I don’t think there’s going to be much sleeping happening in this bed tonight.” She arched her back, just enough to press the warmth of her sex to his groin. Not even her jeans could mask the heat of her. “But if there comes a time I have evidence you committed a crime, it won’t matter how good the sex is between us, I’ll still come after you.”
“Ever the tender-hearted detective.” Convinced she wouldn’t change her mind now, he peeled his shirt over his head and prepared to fan the heat between them as high as it would go. “And I think you’ve got it backward, Vanessa, since you’ll definitely be coming before me.”
That is, unless Alec stopped kissing her. Touching her.
She remedied that by arching up to brush her lips over his again. Dropping light kisses along his cheek, she carefully avoided the dried wound along the stark angle of his jaw.
Smoothing her hands down his torso, she savored his exposed flesh as he stripped off his T-shirt. The lines were all male, tapering down from wide shoulders to a narrow waist, the same mouthwatering cut that football players achieved with exaggerated padding. Alec’s leaner muscles might be less pronounced and more fluid, but in her mind, they were just right on a man. The kind of physique that combined speed with power.
As her hands molded to the solid strength of him, he moved lower to unzip her jeans. Ribbons of sensation fanned out from her belly where his thumb grazed her skin as he parted the fabric. The tingling response inside her warmed her from within the same way his touch heated her from without.
Her memories of sex before tonight were vague and unhappy. This was vivid, and growing more intense by the moment.
Yes.
Memories of the carjacking dulled and softened, shoved firmly to the back of her mind so she might give herself over to the moment. She wriggled her hips to free herself of the jeans Alec tugged off her, the satin comforter sliding sensually beneath her skin.
He left her panties in place, and for a moment she mourned that barrier between them, especially since he shed the rest of his clothes in a blink. She barely got a good look at him since he moved too quickly. Besides, he turned away as he peeled off his jeans, digging into the nightstand drawer for what she assumed must be a condom.
A wild, wanton noise escaped her lips, effectively calling him back to her side. He dropped a small, fabric-covered box next to her on the bed, but she hardly gave it a glance in her hurry to get a peek at him.
She’d felt him before, back at the gym, when she’d thought for sure he must be fully aroused. But apparently he’d only been warming up.
“Very impressive piece.” She whispered the words in his ear as he lay down beside her, rolling her up on her hip so they faced one another. “That’s a lot of firepower you’re carrying.”
His teeth flashed white in the shadows as he traced the curve of her breasts with his fingertip. “You’ve been driving me crazy ever since you strutted your fine self into the rec center. Anyone ever tell you that you’re too brazen by half?”
Reaching between them, she skimmed a light touch up the length of him and swirled her finger around the dark head of his cock. “Sure. But nobody’s ever suggested that was a bad thing.”
A thrill tripped through her as she watched his eyes roll back just a little before he took a deep breath and restrained her hand.
“Not bad.” He held her there for a long moment. “Definitely not bad. But when do you ever let someone else be brazen with you?”
Never.
But she didn’t have the guts to tell him he’d touched more of her already than any man in her past. She’d worked so hard to develop an impenetrable facade, she couldn’t just write it all off to a man. She’d always had to maintain some little piece of herself.
Maybe that had been half her problem all those years ago when she’d hoped sex would provide an escape from the guilt for her sister’s shooting.
“Seems to me you’re not having any trouble making free with my person.” And that was so incredibly fine with her since she didn’t want to think about anything but what happened in this bed right now. Heat simmered slowly between her hips, her thighs twitching with new longing. “Why don’t I put myself in your capable hands just for tonight?”
He answered by dragging her closer, pulling her body to his across the small stretch of satin between them. His hand ran from shoulder to hip before skimming around to her back. She gasped when he touched the abrasions on her spine and his searching fingers stopped abruptly.
“You should put something on that.” The stern look in his eyes warned her not to argue.
“You should put something inside me instead.” She didn’t want to move away from him for a second and risk losing this connection. She’d tried and failed at sex too often in the past to mess this up now.
To emphasize her point, she ground her hips into his, cradling his cock against her belly. His eyes closed for a scant few seconds before they flew open again.
“Then you’ll take care of those scrapes right afterward, you hear?”
Once she nodded, he reached into the box behind her, coming back with a tall, thin bottle of pink liquid. The sole word on the label said…
“Hot?” She snaked one leg between the warmth of his.
“I thought maybe it would help you warm up.” Flicking open the top, he poured some out on his fingers and then smeared the thick liquid over one of her breasts, circling around the peaked nipple.
“Who needs warming up?” She’d never wanted a man this way. Couldn’t wait for him to take her.
“You’re still shivering.” Edging his way down the bed, he painted more of the substance down her abs, pooling a drop into the dip of her belly as he pushed her to her back.
She’d shivered and hadn’t even realized it? A shadow of worry clouded her thoughts for a moment until the full impact of the tingling lotion hit her.
“Oh!” Ripples of pleasant sensation skittered through her, drawing all her attention to her body and not her screwed-up mind. “It’s sort of sizzle-y.”
“And good?” He licked a path around her nipple, heightening the erotic burning sensation even more.
“Very good.” Her breath escaped her. Her whole body felt suspended in pleasure, the trail of heat igniting from breasts to belly and slightly beyond. “So good.”
Her hips rocked against his chest as he lowered his mouth to her navel and swirled his tongue inside. Heat pooled between her legs in a sharp, hungry ache.
And this heat didn’t have anything to do with his magic potion.
Tongue flicking lazily over her taut, eager flesh, Alec took his time to fan the flames igniting all over her. She twisted against the satin comforter, angling her body beneath him to help his mouth land where she needed it.
By the time he reached for the bottle again, she thought she would come right out of her skin. Nerves she hadn’t known she possessed quivered in anticipation of his kiss. His touch.
The bedroom became her whole universe and Alec her world. She wanted nothing more than to breathe in the damp heat of his skin, their scents mingled together along with the sticky cinnamon fragrance of the pink liquid.
She didn’t need to ask what he planned to do with his wicked bottle this time. He already tucked a finger into the waistline of her panties, yanking them slowly south. She welcomed the retreat of the cotton from her skin. She wanted to give herself over to a world of black satin and dark pleasures. Alec’s world.
“Unbelievable.” The raw scratch of his voice called her from her seductive thoughts long enough to realize his gaze remained pinned on her exposed skin.
Her
very
exposed skin.
“It’s hard to go back after you get started on Brazilian waxes.” She ran her fingers through his dark hair, savoring the silky texture. “It gets itchy otherwise.”
She’d never had any reason to explain as much before since no man had seen her naked once she’d started full-scale waxes in an attempt to take charge of her own body.
“Sounds painful.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her pubic bone, the fleeting contact not nearly enough to satisfy. “But I have to say it looks incredible.”
Holding the narrow plastic bottle above her, he poured a few drops of the potion down the center of her cleft. The glide of liquid over her sensitive places ignited a sensuous tremor, right up until the sizzle started.
Body jerking in delicious torment, she practically convulsed from the sumptuous thrill snaking through her. Dimly aware of Alec laying aside the bottle and rolling on a condom from his box of tricks, she reached for him to drag him back down to the bed, desperate for the relief he could provide.
Flames licked over her skin, lingering on the delicate flesh between her legs. Her hair twined seductively around her arms and shoulders as she writhed against the satin bedspread, all trace of self-consciousness sacrificed to consuming sexual need. Even her own hands felt like a lascivious indulgence as she cupped her breasts with greedy fingers.
An animal-like growl hummed through the room, reverberating in her ears and trembling right through her skin as Alec watched. Stretching long, muscular arms up either side of her body, he finally planted himself between her legs, his breath teasing the plump flesh of her clit. Desire swelled inside her, the tingling of the hot liquid fading in comparison to the spiraling vortex of her own need.
With his elbows he pushed her thighs wider, opening her to the swipe of his long, luscious tongue. The slick stroke nearly undid her. Or so she thought until he pushed that tongue inside her, swirling deeper until a climax crashed over her with wave after wave of heady sensation. Her womb rocked and contracted, feminine muscles trembling with lush response.
She cried out in a combination of sexual frenzy and delight since she’d never even come close to an orgasm before, but holy hell,
this
was definitely
it.
She suspected the sensations might have ripped through her all night if Alec hadn’t gently steadied her hips and nudged his way inside her. And yet, amazingly, that felt even better. The thick, heavy weight of him inside her filled up all those empty places that seemed to cry out with need when she’d hit that erotic high note.
This man…this awesome, amazing man she was supposed to have dragged into the police station…understood her body a hundred times better than she ever had. Vaguely frustrated with herself since she couldn’t offer him the same kind of experience in return, she settled for gripping his shoulders and holding on for the ride. Every woman deserved a chance to watch and learn, right? Or better yet, to
feel
and learn.
“So good. So good. So amazingly good.” She chanted her pleasure in his ear, her whole body silently singing the same song as she clung to him.
He slid away from her slightly, only to thrust deeper, his body discovering more and more of her every time. The scent of sex and cinnamon and patchouli drifted around her, giving her a sort of sex-high each time she inhaled.
Fingers twining in his hair, she spread hungry kisses and gentle bites along his neck and down to his shoulder. The salty taste of him could have fed her for days. She could live on this.
He stared down at her through the shadows, eyes glittering and intense before he gave her a crushing kiss that tasted like sex and candy.
“Wrap your legs around me.” The harsh order rasped over her lips when he paused.
Responding automatically, she locked her ankles behind him, clamping herself to him as he lifted her up and off the bed. His muscles bunched and stretched as he walked her over to a dresser by the window and shoved aside everything sitting on the surface. Knickknacks and trinkets clattered to the carpeted floor.
The sound registered as little more than white noise to senses consumed with Alec. Thighs splayed on the polished ebony surface, she let her legs dangle against the drawers while her arms still looped about his neck. She’d barely found her balance when he nudged her closer to the edge, positioning her right where he wanted.
She watched him shift her, his long, sinewy torso stationed in the narrow shaft of light from the hallway filtering through the door. The golden wash of color gave him a fantasy quality, heightening the sensation that the night was a seductive dream.
Scoring her nails lightly over his back, she held on tight as he pushed deep inside her. Again. Pleasure rolled over her, the heat thick and fierce. The drawers rattled in their compartments, the wood banging lightly with every new thrust. Vanessa shook inside and out, body responding to the delicious, rhythmic slide of his.
Planting her palms on the wooden dresser top behind her, she pressed her hands into the grain and arched back. Drove herself down the hard ridge of his cock.
Over and over.
So good.
She didn’t understand why she’d never been able to really enjoy sex before—and she definitely didn’t understand why the man to show her what she’d been missing had to be connected to organized crime—but right now, none of it mattered. The pure chemistry was irrefutable.
She’d climbed her way up to that treacherous sensual peak again, the swell of warm desire building to overwhelming heights. Just when she thought she’d hurtle over the edge, Alec hooked an elbow beneath her knee and lifted her thigh. Pressed himself home even deeper.
Heat blossomed inside her like gasoline on a fire, the whoosh of blood through her veins so intense her body stilled from the force of it. For long moments she remained frozen there, hypnotized by the sweet pulse of pleasure, until at last she slumped forward, exhausted.