Shades of Sexy (14 page)

* * * * *

Nick Ramos parked in his regular spot at Ramos Motorcycles of Miami. He climbed off his bike then removed his helmet. His head felt strangely light without all his hair.

One of the mechanics strode past and did a double take. “Holy cow. Is that you, boss?”

“It’s me.” He grinned at the shock on the man’s face.

“You look like a million bucks.”

Nick chuckled. He hoped the investors he’d lined up felt the same way. Entering his office, he strode past his assistant.

“Excuse me, sir,” Betty said. “Can I help you?”

When he faced her, she gasped.

“Nick! Oh my god. You look…like a new man.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for.” He closed himself in his office and scrubbed a hand over his smooth face. The foreign feeling jarred him. He’d had facial hair since he was a teenager. Sitting at his desk, he stared down at his clothes. If he planned to impress a group of stuffy bankers enough to sink money into his business, he’d have to do better than his ripped jeans and faded T-shirt. But nothing he owned seemed appropriate for the events he’d planned to woo them and he had less than two weeks to prepare.

He glanced through the window at Betty as she pulled a file from the metal cabinet. Her dark hair was twisted into a pretzel-like configuration she’d secured with a big white plastic clip. She wore a denim jumper that fit her about as well as a potato sack would. He didn’t have to see her feet to know she had on those same ratty slide sandals she always wore.

Shit. She doesn’t dress any better than I do.

He needed someone to take him shopping. Someone who had an eye for tasteful clothes that would make him look more the part of the successful entrepreneur. But who?

He stood and paced the floor. That sexy hairdresser kept popping into his head. Those pretty green eyes and full red lips. The sandy hair that shone in the light. And that hot body. She hid it under the conservative chinos and polo shirt, but not enough that he didn’t catch a glimpse of her enticing curves.

An epiphany slapped him upside the head. She’d be the perfect person to outfit him with the right clothes. She had the look down perfectly. Casual yet professional. And it gave him an excuse to go see her again.

He’d thought about her the entire ride back to work. Even considered going back to ask her out. But someone like her would never agree to date a guy like him. She probably went for the lawyer or accountant type. And she was practically shoving him away with the cold vibes she sent out. But damn, he’d love to get close to her, to smell her sweet strawberry scent again. To listen to her soft voice.

Betty burst into his office, ripping him back to reality. “Tire shipment just got here, Nick. And it’s all wrong. They screwed it up again.”

He switched into work mode. “Tell Ollie I’ll be right there.” As Betty called the shop manager on the intercom, Nick sorted through his inbox to find the paperwork for the order he’d placed last week. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off the headache he felt approaching. As usual, correcting his supplier’s mistake would probably take the rest of the day.

* * * * *

Nick lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. The grandfather clock in the living room chimed three times.

Damn it.

Only three hours until he had to get up. He should be fast asleep after such a long, stressful day, but he couldn’t get that girl off his mind.

April. Her name described her perfectly. Like a warm spring day—with the possibility of a cool wind left over from winter. He shut his eyes and pictured her pretty face. Her dangerous curves.

His cock stirred, grew at the mere thought of her. He imagined her standing before him in a grassy meadow, wearing a sheer nightgown with nothing underneath.

Wisps of her brown-and-gold hair lifted in the cool breeze. Her nipples puckered and hardened under his gaze. His mouth went dry as she stepped closer. He could smell her scent and it curled around his senses, drawing him to her like a moth to the brightest beacon of light.

She sat on a patchwork quilt then patted the spot next to her as she stared into his eyes. “Come,” she said.

He kneeled beside her. Her peaches-and-cream complexion flushed. Taking her face in his hands, he touched his lips to hers. She purred softly, opened to him and he tasted her tongue, like the sweetest candy. He explored her delicious mouth, swirled his tongue around hers, glided over her teeth.

Lust built inside him, but he had to go slow. She was like a fine wine, to be savored. Still, his cock grew heavy with need, but he kept his building lust in check. For the moment.

She whimpered softly as she broke the kiss. As he watched, mesmerized, she unbuttoned her gown and revealed her naked breasts to him. Then she lifted one in her hand, offering it.

His breath hitched. Staring at her pink nipple, he licked his lips. Desire coiled tighter inside him. Unable to resist, he strummed the peaked point, hard as a little marble. Then he swiped his tongue over it, scraped it with his teeth. He cupped the other breast and she let out a deliciously desperate moan. Moving his focus to that one, he gave it the same treatment, licking and nipping. He stopped a moment and stared at her beautiful breasts, incredulous she was allowing him to touch her. Him!

He’d left her areolas swollen and glossy from his attention and the sight ratcheted up his libido. Her skin was supple and soft as satin. He pinched and laved and played and she leaned her head back and bit her lip.

He needed more. He had to have all of her.

Naked.

Now.

Reading his thoughts, she shrugged off her nightgown and lay back on the blanket. Need quickened his pulse. He slid his gaze over her round breasts, the plane of her belly, the thatch of pale brown curls shielding her sex, her long, lovely legs.

He stretched out, propping himself on his elbow, feasting on her beauty. “Open your legs,” he commanded.

She did as he asked and his temperature spiked when he gazed upon her glistening red folds. She was soaked with her cream, slicked and ready for him.

He touched a finger to her pussy and nearly burned himself on her heat. She spread her legs wider, gave him a glimpse of her bud, engorged and ready. He couldn’t resist a taste.

Just a taste, although if he let go, he’d devour her. He moved lower and gave her pussy a hungry swipe of his tongue. Just as he thought. She was sweet as heaven.

“But I want to taste you,” she insisted. “Lay back.”

Reluctantly, he did. He nearly came off the blanket when he felt that first long stroke of her tongue, like warm velvet on his cock.

Her pale lids shuttered over those emerald eyes as she closed her fist around his shaft. Then she licked a drop of his seed off the tip. Meeting his gaze, she moistened her lips.

Heat flooded his entire body. A seductive grin lifted one corner of her mouth. He threaded his fingers through her hair, just as silky as he’d imagined.

She tightened her grip on his cock, then took the head into her mouth and circled her tongue around it. Delight wrapped around his senses, made him hungrier for more. For her.

Moving her hand lower, she cupped his balls and that hot, sweet mouth engulfed him, all the way to the root.

Christ, that feels good.

She scraped her teeth over his length, drew him in and out, suckled and licked. He couldn’t take much more. Hot, heavenly need built in his balls, constricted them. He hung onto his control by a thread as she sucked him in and out. Just when he thought he’d explode any second, she stilled and sat up.

Without releasing her hold on his shaft, she climbed over him and slid her sweet sex over him. She was still good and wet.

“I need you. Now,” she said softly. Then she took him inside, gave him a glimpse of the delight yet to come. She eased him deeper, deeper. His cock pushed farther into the tantalizingly tight confines of her pussy.

Oh god. She was better—hotter, wetter, tighter—than he could have ever imagined. She pivoted her hips over him and he rose to meet her stroke for stroke, still allowing her the power she seemed to crave. A low moan broke from her lips. Then a desperate whimper. He caught her breasts in his hands and kneaded them as she shook and twisted and arched against his driving thrusts. He couldn’t help himself. As if they had a mind of their own, his hips pistoned against her strokes, but now she wanted to let him take control.

She squeezed her eyes shut and her head lolled this way and that. Her climax took her like a tornado—lifting her, tumbling her, then dropping her to the ground in a heap. Chest heaving, she slowly calmed.

She splayed her hands over his chest and purred. He sank his fingers into her hips and pulled her down hard on his cock. Harder and harder he thrust into her. Faster. His control finally shredded and he detonated in a rhapsody of bliss.

She tightened around him, milking him, loving him.

He opened his eyes and blew out a long breath. Her face evaporated from his mind in a wisp of white smoke.

April.

His bed suddenly felt empty and cold. He wanted her. Bad. And today, he’d set the ball in motion to get her.

Chapter Two

“Phone, April.” Cassie handed her the handset at the reception counter.

Hoping for an appointment, she answered. “This is April.”

“You staying out of trouble, princess?” Her father’s raspy voice both soothed and unnerved her.

Good as it was to hear from him, it also reminded her that he was always watching, insisting she live up to his stringent standards. “Yes, sir. How are you, Daddy?”

“Fine. Just missing my little girl.”

Her heart squeezed at his words. “I miss you too.”

“I know this is for the best, though. Ain’t no jobs in Oakville, no way for a young woman to make a living or to meet a man who can take care of you like you deserve.”

She thought about her paltry income. It had gotten better, week by week, but she was still digging into her savings to pay the rent. “I’m building my clientele here, but it takes time.”

“You need me to send you more money?”

A giant lump formed in her throat. He barely had enough to get by himself. “No, no. I’ll be fine. Maybe I’ll be able to repay the money you gave me soon. Are the boys behaving? I bet Andrew’s room is a wreck without me there to light a fire under him.”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about us, you hear? We’re all so tickled that you insisted on going off on your own. The boys are finally learning how to cook. Well, at least they’re getting better at using the microwave. We just all miss you. Billy says we have no boss now that there’s not a woman in the house.” She thought she heard his voice crack. “But you’re more like your mama. Well, before…you know. God rest her soul. You got something your brothers don’t have, April. You got drive. Ambition. Only thing I worry about is all the trouble you could find in a city like Miami.”

“I’ll steer clear of trouble, Daddy. I promise. I’ll make you proud.”

“You already do, princess.”

But when the glass door swung open and Nick strode through, she wondered if she’d be able to keep that promise. The man was trouble personified.

After saying goodbye to her father, she hung up and tried to keep her cool as she pulled in a breath of Nick’s pine scent.

“Just the lady I was hoping to see.” He gave her a smile that melted her insides.

She grasped the edge of the counter to steady herself. “Oh?”

He glanced around the room. “Can we talk? Somewhere private?”

Her heart pounded against her ribcage. “Um, sure.” She circled around the desk then led him through the shop, feeling his eyes upon her back. That thought heated her skin and unexpectedly hardened her nipples.

I will not fall under his spell.

She pushed open the backdoor and gestured toward the picnic table the staff sometimes used for breaks and small parties, weather permitting. “Will this work?”

“Sure.” He waited until she’d sat on the wooden bench before straddling the seat facing her.

She folded her arms over her chest, suddenly self-conscious. “What’s up?” Lord, but he was handsome. His beard had hidden not only strong cheekbones, but dimples as well.

“I have a proposition for you.”

She gulped and her pulse quickened. What exactly did he want from her?

“I told you yesterday the reason for my haircut was the first step in making myself more…palatable to a group of bankers I want to loan me money.”

She nodded and her curiosity piqued. “What does that have to do with me?”

“You seem like a nice lady.” His gaze swept over her, sending a quiver of awareness through her body. “And you have this together, professional look, which is what I’m missing.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Sorry, I still don’t understand.”

“I need you to help me pick out the right clothes, professional outfits that’ll pass muster with a bunch of stodgy money men.” He glanced down at his faded jeans. “This has always been fine for work. I run a casual operation. But I’m asking these investors for a whole lot of cash. I want them to look at me and see someone they can trust with their money, someone they can put their faith in.”

She slid her gaze over his torso. The threadbare T-shirt wasn’t what she noticed, but rather the sexy vee from muscled shoulders to slim waist. And his jeans didn’t bother her but the long, lean legs they hugged sure held her attention. For all the wrong reasons. She could easily follow Nick down the road to temptation. Clearing her throat, she met his stare. She could get lost in those pale blue eyes.

“So what do you think? Will you come shopping with me? Make a respectable man of me?”

Oh, Lord. Between the sexy smile and the dimples, how in the world could she refuse this man anything? As long as her father didn’t find out. But how would he? “Well, I have a job you know. When were you thinking about going?”

“How about tonight?” He lifted a hopeful eyebrow.

She didn’t trust herself to be alone with him. “I don’t know, Nick.”

When he took her hand an instant jolt of desire took Nick’s breath away. He looked into her eyes wondering if she’d felt it too, but she averted her gaze. Her lips flattened into a thin line and he feared a no was on the tip of her tongue. She eased her hand away and he immediately mourned the loss.

“Please, April. I’ll pay you well for your time, of course.”

That caught her attention. She narrowed her stare but remained silent.

“How does a thousand bucks sound?” Way more than he should pay for something like this, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t bear to let her slip away.

The delicate arches of her eyebrows shot higher. “A thousand?”

The moment he saw her reaction, he knew he had her. He held back a grin. “Is that a yes?”

She schooled her expression. “I suppose it is.”

Inwardly, he did a happy dance. “What if I pick you up here after work? Say five-thirty? We can grab a bite then head to…whatever store you think will have what I need.”

“Tonight it is.” She stood and offered her hand stiffly.

He shook with her, resisting the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her.

Maybe later.

She walked him back inside then through the shop to the front door. “I’ll see you later.” Clasping her hands behind her back, she emitted about as much warmth as a witch’s tit. But he suspected under that cool exterior, a hot little vixen existed. And he planned to coax that vixen out to play.

* * * * *

April could hardly concentrate on her work. For a change, she wasn’t tuning out the clients’ naughty chit-chat. The salacious banter didn’t seem quite so offensive today. In fact, she found herself paying more attention, to distraction, actually.

She’d rolled a new client’s perm on the wrong size rods and had to undo the entire thing and start from the beginning. Thankfully, Devon caught her mistake before it was too late to correct.

By the time five o’clock rolled around, April had bitten off nearly all her fingernails, a habit she’d been trying to break for weeks. She took a full half hour fixing her hair, touching up her makeup and practicing her smile in front of the mirror.

I am being so beyond ridiculous.

Wasn’t as if this counted as a date or anything. She’d agreed to help Nick buy clothes was all. But when he strode through the door, all tall and broad shouldered and sexy, she had to remind herself to breathe. Every set of female eyes followed him to April’s station. Didn’t matter that he wore jeans and a T-shirt and an ancient pair of boots. She had a feeling he’d be sexy as heck in just about anything.

Or nothing. Her cheeks burned at the thought.

“Ready?” He lifted an eyebrow and she had to remind herself that he was all wrong for her.

All wrong.

But he sure looked right. And smelled right. Even made her insides heat up just right.

Wrong.

She had to keep telling herself that she wasn’t that kind of woman. Johnny, her ex, had that same effect on her and look at how badly that had turned out. “Let me grab my purse.” With shaking hands, she reached into a lower cabinet and fished out her bag.

All the chatter stopped in the salon as she accompanied Nick to the door. “I’ll be right with you,” she said as she practically shoved him outside. The instant the door shut, she turned her back to it and swept her gaze over the clients and staff. “I’m only taking him shopping. So y’all can forget about gossiping about us as soon as we leave.”

“Gossip? Us?” Cassie said over the chorus of chuckles and wolf whistles.

“Hmph.” Who cared what they thought? She wasn’t that sort of girl. Spinning on her heels, she yanked open the door. “Good night.” She glanced around the lot for Nick and gasped when she found him standing next to his motorcycle. Didn’t he have a car?

“Everything okay?” He held up a black helmet by the strap. “Here’s yours. Safety first and all that.”

She shook her head. “I don’t do motorcycles. Anyway, how would you get all your purchases home? Let’s just take my car.”

“No, ma’am. We’re going to a great little Italian place right up the street from my shop. After dinner, we’ll switch to my truck.”

Jeez, he was bossy. But she supposed it came with the territory. He’d promised to pay her well for her time. She could at least let him decide which vehicle to take. Eying his motorcycle, her stomach lurched. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never—”

“Exactly. You don’t know because you’ve never ridden a bike.” He stepped closer then fixed the helmet on her head. And destroyed the hairdo she’d spent all that time perfecting.

This reminded her too much of the last time she’d seen her mother. Fading into the horizon on the back of a bike. “But—”

He touched a finger to her lips, silencing her. “It’s fun, April. Just relax.”

Relax? How in the world could she relax at the prospect of riding behind him, their bodies touching, her arms around him? She tried to tamp down her apprehension. “Okay, fine.”

He straddled the black leather seat. Drawing a wary breath, she climbed on behind him, trying to leave a little space between them. But it was no use. If she slid back at all, she’d fall off. Instantly, his pine scent surrounded her. She tried to block it out, but how could she? The man smelled heavenly.

“How’s that?” He started the engine and she flinched against the loud roar.

“Fine, I guess,” she shouted.

“Trust me. You’ll love this. But you’d better put your arms around me if you want to get there in one piece.”

Her heart caught in her throat but she did as he said and set her hands on his waist.

“Hang on tight. Here we go.”

The instant they started moving, she slid her arms forward, along the hard contours of his muscled abdomen. She felt the power of his body as the bike leaned left, then right. Her pulse raced as they picked up speed.

The rumble of the engine, the wind in her hair and the warmth of Nick’s back against her dissipated her fear. She immediately understood the draw of motorcycling. Had she ever felt so free?

Is this how Momma felt?

In the years since her mother had left, she’d been tethered to grown-up responsibilities—cooking and cleaning for her father and brothers, making good grades in school, being the sort of daughter her father would be proud of. All the pressure had weighed her down.

Until this moment.

She hugged Nick tighter and thought she felt a quiver roll over him. He turned the bike into a parking lot and unexpected disappointment flooded her veins. When he parked in front of a restaurant, she wished he’d ask her to scrap the plan for dinner and shopping. All she wanted to do was ride.

With him.

He shut off the engine, but her ears continued buzzing. Reluctantly, she let go of him and got off the bike.

He lowered the kickstand then climbed off and faced her. “That wasn’t too awful, was it?”

She shrugged as she removed her helmet then handed it to him. “I lived.” Why tell him he’d been right? She had loved it.

He led her inside the restaurant. Strains of Italian music drifted to her ears. The scents of garlic and oregano filled the air. Nick set his hand low on her back and a zing of desire ricocheted through her.

“I hope you like Italian.” His aquamarine eyes sparkled in the dim light.

They stepped to the hostess stand.

“Buonasera,
Signore Ramos.” A voluptuous brunette swooped in front of them and eyed Nick like a hungry vulture circling for carrion. “So nice to see you.” She raked a cool gaze over April, then returned her attention to Nick. “Two this evening?”

“Yes. Thanks, Maria.” He took April’s hand and they followed the woman to a linen-covered table in the corner. A votive burned inside a glass jar next to a bottle of Chianti. Nick held April’s chair and she sat.

After he sat opposite April, Maria handed them each a menu. “The Eggplant Miguel is to die for,” she said as she retreated.

April’s mouth watered as she scanned the menu. Her limited budget forced her to stick with basics and eat at home every night. After long days at the salon all she had the energy for was frozen dinners. But here, each menu entrée sounded more delicious than the next. “I can’t decide what I want.”