“Good to know."
She smiled slightly. "I thought so. And that made
me wonder, what with you leaving town at the end
of next week and all..."
He put the pieces together, rearranged them and
did it again. He came up with the same answer.
Which meant he was doing it wrong. No way his
luck was that good.
She stared at him. "You really need to talk now.”
“You want me to say it?" She nodded.
If he got it wrong, she would throw her coffee in
his face and he'd be forced to look for new quarters.
He could live with that. If this was going to be his
fantasy, too, he might as well just go for it and pre
pare himself to be shot down.
“You're not interested in a relationship," he said. "Right."
“You liked the kiss."
“Uh-huh."
“A lot." She grinned. "A lot works."
“
What you're looking for is something more
along those lines. An affair while I'm in town and
when I leave, it's over. No strings, no regrets, no
broken hearts. Until then, we keep each other com
pany at night. Am I close?"
Chapter Eight
H
e was close, Stephanie thought as embarrassment
and horror swirled in her throat. So close that he'd
grasped the concept in one seemingly easy try.
It was one thing to
think
about hot monkey sex
with a virtual stranger who happened to be hand
some, hunky and heart-poundingly erotic, it was an
other to have the object of her desire figure it all out
and say it back to her. Out loud.
In the light of day, the idea sounded sleazy and off-putting and completely improbable.
Without thinking, she pushed herself to her feet
and bolted from the room. She had no particular
destination in mind just a need to be away from
Nash.
As she raced along the hall, she tried to tell herself that she hadn't done anything wrong. She was
an adult, Nash was an adult. He'd kissed her and they'd both liked it. So what was the big deal about
suggesting taking things to the next level? Didn't
people do that all the time? Maybe, she thought frantically. But not her. She'd been with exactly one man in her life—her husband.
The rules and social mores of the modern dating
world were completely beyond her. She had never
asked a man to hold her hand before, much less ask
him to have an affair.
She reached the bottom stair, but before she could
put her foot on it, someone grabbed her arm.
She stopped and sucked in a breath. Okay—not
someone. Nash. She ducked her head because she
could feel heat on her cheeks. Not only from what
he'd figured out about what she wanted, but because running hadn't exactly been mature.
Silence stretched between them, lengthening like
taffy. Finally it snapped with an almost-audible
crack and he spoke.
“
I apologize," he said quietly. "Apparently I
misread the situation and insulted you." His words were so at odds with what she'd been
thinking, she couldn't help turning around and star
ing at him. His dark gaze settled on her face as he shrugged.
“
Wishful thinking on my part," he said. "I pro
jected what I wanted onto you."
He was taking the fall for this? She couldn't be
lieve it. "I... You..." She blinked. "Projecting?"
“The kiss was hot. It made me want more." She processed the statement. The ripples of horror
changed to tingles of excitement as she considered
the possibilities. "You don't mind that I'm inter
ested in a no-strings affair? You don't think that's
tacky and cheap and sleazy of me?"
His mouth curved into a slow smile as fire flared
in his irises. "Do I look like I mind?" He released
her arm and reached up to stroke her cheek. "You're
attractive, sexy and you kiss like a wet-dream fan
tasy come to life."
Oh, my. Speaking of wet, his words made her go
all squishy inside. An ache began between her thighs and spread out in every direction. She felt both weak
and incredibly powerful. Desire swept through her—
the kind of desire she'd hadn't felt in what seemed
like a lifetime.
“
Why don't you ask your question again," she
said. "I'll try not to run this time."
His expression tightened and grew more intense.
Around them, the air thickened as tension crackled.
She could feel the hairs on her arms and the back
of her neck standing up. Her gaze locked with his.
“
Are you interested in an affair?" he asked, his
voice low and heavy with what she was pretty sure
was sexual need. "Sex, fun and when my time in
town is up, we both walk away. No regrets. No expectations." It sounded wicked. It sounded perfect.
“
Yes," she whispered. "That's exactly what I
want."
She couldn't believe she'd spoken the words
aloud, but before she could give in to self-doubt, he pulled her close.
“It's what I want, too," he murmured. "I've been
hearing rumors for years, and I finally get to find
out if they're true."
Rumors? "About me?"
He pressed his mouth against her neck. Delicious tingles tiptoed down her spine, making it nearly impossible to think.
“
Not you specifically," he told her. "Older
women."
Stephanie had already placed her hands on his
shoulders and if his thick muscles didn't feel so
good as she pressed her fingers against him, she
would have snatched them back. Instead she shifted
a little, without actually breaking contact with his
hard body.
“
Older women?"
He raised his head and grinned. "You said you're
thirty-three. I'm thirty-one. Ever since I first figured
out the possibilities between a man and a woman,
I've been hearing stories about how great it is to be
with an older woman. All that experience. All that
latent desire as they reach their sexual peak. I've
always wondered if everything they say is true."
She supposed there were two ways to respond to
his challenge. Duck and run, or challenge him back.
While her first inclination was to do the former,
something told her there was more fun to be had in
the latter.
“
Of course it's true," she said as she leaned
close. "I hope you can keep up."
He gave a low, throaty laugh right before he
claimed her mouth.
The hot, hungry kiss took her breath away. His
lips pressed against hers with enough pressure to
make her a hundred percent sure he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She parted instantly and
he swept inside.
He tasted of coffee and sin. She shivered in
delight at the first brush of intimate contact. Heat
poured through her, making her legs weak and her
breathing catch. Need exploded, surrounding her, crashing over her, making her want with a desper
ation that left her ravenous and achingly alive.
As she tilted her head to deepen the kiss, he
pulled her closer still. They touched everywhere.
Her breasts flattened against his chest, his arousal
throbbed along her belly.
His
hands roamed her
back, moving up and down in a rhythm that matched
the pounding of her heart.
While she traced the breadth of his shoulders, he
explored her waist, then her hips. One hand slipped
to her rear and squeezed. His fingertips just grazed
the very top of the back of her thigh. The light con
tact shouldn't have been anything special, yet it
burned through her clothes and singed her skin.
Unexpectedly Nash bit down on her lower lip.
She gasped. When he drew the sensitized skin into
his mouth and gently sucked, the gasp turned into a moan.
They had to get closer, she thought, need turning
frantic. Closer and naked and touching. Now. This
instant.
The message traveled from her brain to her hands.
Even as he shifted so that his fingers grazed her
nipples and jolts of wanting arrowed down to the
thick swollen dampness between her legs, she
tugged at his shirt. The fabric pulled free of his
waistband. She fumbled with buttons, unfastening
the first two. He slipped his hands under her sweater.
She caught her breath in anticipation. His large,
warm hands cupped her breasts.
Her thin bra felt like a steel barrier keeping him
from touching bare skin. Torn between wanting to
get his shirt off him and wanting to feel his skin on
hers, she tried to shimmy out of her sweater while
still unbuttoning his shirt. At the same time, she
turned and bumped the bottom stair with her foot.
Nash caught her as she started to fall. His strong
arms held her upright.
“
We need to take this upstairs," he murmured as
he kissed along her jaw to her left ear.
“Okay."
Her head fell back in supplication. She silently
begged him never to stop. His hands returned to her
breasts and she couldn't think...couldn't do any
thing but feel. It was all too good, too amazing, too
incredible. The wet heat of his mouth, the way he
flicked his tongue against the sensitive skin below
her ear. Then there were his fingers and the way they
teased and played and pressed against her nipples.
Not hard, not soft. Just right. Very right.
“Stephanie?"
“Uh-huh?"
“Hang on." He swept her up in his arms, just like Rhett Butler carrying Scarlett. After an initial moment of being
disconcerted, she felt light and feminine and too
sexy for words.
“I wish I was naked right now," she said.
His dark eyes brightened with need. "Me, too.
My room's closer. Is that all right?"
She couldn't answer because he was kissing her, but she tried to tell him "yes" with her lips and her
tongue. Apparently he got the message because the
next thing she knew, they were on the second floor
and heading down the hall.
He pushed open his door and stepped inside. The
blinds were open and sunlight filtered through the
lacy curtains. The door bumped closed behind them,
then they were next to the bed and she was sliding
to her feet.
The second she felt firm footing beneath her, she
wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned
against him. He hauled her close and deepened the
kiss.
Every part of her body screamed for his touch,
for nakedness, for release. She tried to kick off her
shoes, but her brain wouldn't focus on anything but
the feel of his mouth against hers and refused to
send messages to muscles. Nash fumbled with his
shirt, then chuckled.
“
We're not making progress," he said as he
broke the kiss and took a half step back.
He finished unfastening buttons and shrugged out
of his shirt. She managed to slip off her shoes and
reach for the hem of her sweater. But before she could pull it off, he bent low and kissed the bare
skin below her bra band. Soft, damp kisses tickled
along her ribs. Savoring the delicate caress, she
froze with her hands clutching her sweater, her arms
half-above her head. He cupped her breasts, then
reached for her sweater and finished the job.