As he came around to join her, she slid him a narrow look. Cole Stanton was seriously loaded. Nerves hit her then, hard and fast. His hand came up and touched her back. “You okay?”
She swallowed. Wondered if she should back out of this.
No
—
“I’m fine.”
Something had made her nervous. The way her eyes had tightened, gotten darker, the way she’d nervously glanced at him and Billy as he’d opened the door for her, all of it. Cole suspected he even knew what it was—some women just loved the fact that he had money. Some didn’t care. Others…well, it made them uncomfortable. He wasn’t going to worry about it now.
Not now, because it didn’t matter.
They
mattered. Everything else was small stuff as far as he was concerned.
He tossed his keys to Billy without another word. If they lingered too long, she might change her mind again. Damn it, he’d died of perpetual horniness if that happened. He didn’t think he’d been stuck in this state since high school.
It took sixty seconds to get her inside the elevator—the ride up to his floor would take another sixty. As the door closed behind them, he came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders, staring at her in the gold, mirrored reflection along the back wall of the small box lifting them higher and higher. “You ever made love in an elevator?”
Rocki stared at him for a split second and then she started to laugh. “No. Ah...no. Nor do I intend to.”
“Why not?” He slid his hands down a little lower, letting his fingers tease the very edge where her corset stopped, dipping inside. She shivered.
“Ah...elevators are public.”
He lowered his head and pressed his lips to her shoulder. “This one isn’t.”
She tensed. “You’re serious?”
“Nah.” He shrugged. The door opened behind him and he stepped back, waited for her to turn. “Shall we?”
“Oh, yes ...”
As the door closed behind her, Rocki told herself,
Don’t think. Relax. Don’t think. Relax…
Except she couldn’t stop thinking. She couldn’t relax. She hadn’t expected this…elegance. Or the obvious wealth that surrounded her. She’d grown up strictly middle class and this was…well, kind of unsettling. But not unsettling enough, because even as uncomfortable as she was, she couldn’t stop thinking about Cole.
Couldn’t stop thinking about how damn beautiful he was…that rumpled silk hair and those whiskey-gold eyes, about how he made her heart do the damnedest little flutter when he looked at her, his mouth quirking up at the corners.
But then he touched her. Breath lodged in her lungs and thought…stopped. It just stopped.
As he lowered his head, Rocki stared at him. Panic exploded through her. She licked her lips, tried to make herself breathe, at least
one
breath, before he kissed her so she didn’t pass out.
He didn’t kiss her mouth, though.
His lips came down on her shoulder, brushed against the skin left bare there, coming up against the strap of her corset where it hooked to the sleeve. “The way you smell,” he muttered. “It drives me nuts.”
Turning her face toward him, she breathed him in. “Hmm. I could say the same thing about you.” She couldn’t even define what it was about him...just musky. Male. She could smell whatever shampoo he used—it smelled expensive, she decided, but understated and subtle. Made sense, considering the lay of the land, she mused. The same for the aftershave. She rubbed her cheek against his and shivered a little at the roughness there. Damn it, Rocki loved that five o’clock shadow on a man.
A long-fingered hand stroked down her shoulder, toying with the laces that held her sleeves on before moving down. “You want a drink?” he murmured.
“No.” Rocki eased back, staring into his eyes. “I just want you.”
Those golden eyes could flash so hot, she thought. Her belly went tight and her knees weren’t feeling all that steady, either. Damn it. Licking her lips, she lifted her hands and gripped the front of his shirt. Hoarsely, she repeated, “I just want you.”
Cole closed his eyes.
His hand curled around the nape of her neck, warm and hard, calloused just enough. “You want to drive me insane, I think,” he whispered, pressing his brow to hers.
“Now why would I wanna do that?” She smiled, leaning close enough that their mouths touched.
“Because I suspect you enjoy driving people crazy.” Cole eased away. “Do I pretend interest in showing you around the place or do you care?”
“I don’t. Not in the least. You can do that later. Or on our second date.”
“The second?”
“Yes.” Rocki grinned at him. “I don’t sleep with guys on the first date. And this isn’t a date, remember, so it doesn’t count.”
Cole stared at her for a long moment and then started to laugh. “I think
you
might be insane.” Then he held out his hand, just like he had earlier—and also just like earlier...she accepted.
Not since the night of high school graduation had Cole been this nervous. It had been at Sandy Kempff’s beach party that he’d lost his virginity, in the pool house after everybody else had left. He’d been eighteen, a bit of a late bloomer compared with some of his friends, but he’d still been more geek than anything else.
And Rocki was going to blow that experience with Sandy out of the water, he already knew.
Shit. He shouldn’t be this nervous. He knew he shouldn’t. Trying not to let it show, he led her to his room, hitting just one panel of lights. They came on in a soft, warm glow. Along the eastern wall, the windows faced out over the city and he watched as she wandered over to it, a smile on her lips.
“Beautiful view,” she said quietly. “I love the city at night. It’s so peaceful.”
“Well, until you hear sirens wailing.”
Rocki made a face at him. “Pessimist.”
“Realist,” he corrected. He went over to the gas fireplace and hit the switch, watching the flames leap to life. “Screaming sirens don’t happen too often, but they do shatter the peace.”
Rocki laughed. “Well, there is that.” She turned and sauntered over to him. “We’ll just have to make sure we’re too preoccupied to notice them tonight.”
“I can handle that.” He had no problem blocking out the wail of a siren. The problem was he wasn’t so sure he could handle
her
. His throat was tight and dry, his hands sweating. And, damn it, he knew he needed to be talking, needed to be saying things—responsible things, adult things—but all he wanted to do was go to his knees and just stare at her.
No. Not right. He wanted to go to his knees after he’d stripped her naked and fucked her. But responsible—Damn it, he’d be responsible.
Swallowing, he turned away and moved away from her.
Not
toward the bed. The fireplace again. Safer. Wasn’t close to her, wasn’t close to the bed. Safer. Right.
Until he looked into the mirror that had come with the apartment and saw her coming closer. Aw, shit.
Get it over with—
Although it was hard to do without grabbing her, he made himself do it anyway. Turning, he looked Rocki square in the eye.
“I’ve got protection here,” he said, forcing the words out before he couldn’t speak at all. “Also had a blood workup done just a few weeks ago. Needed it for a life insurance policy I was doing for...well, something that’s not going to happen now.”
She stopped in front of him and touched his cheek. “It still makes you sad,” she murmured.
He caught her hand. “No.” Pressing his lips to her palm, he stared at her. “It really doesn’t. I just don’t want to be thinking about anything else now except you. The logical, adult part of me insists I be logical and adult, though.”
Rocki smiled at him. “Very responsible of you, Cole. I admire that. I’m healthy as a horse.” She sighed and gazed at herself in the mirror, although he doubted she saw her reflection or much of anything. “There’s been nobody since my husband died.”
He’d suspected that. Hearing it, though, left him rather floored.
Somehow, it managed to cool the fire in his blood...even as it made him that much more nervous. Reaching up, he cupped her cheek in his hand. “You sure you want to do this?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” Rocki covered his hand with hers. Her dark eyes stared into his, and a faint smiled curled her lips. “That may sound insane...but very often life is. So there you go.”
“Life’s insane?” He stroked his thumb over her lower lip. “Does that mean this is, too?”
“Oh, I’m quite certain this is insane.” She caught his thumb between her teeth and bit down gently.
“Seems rather right to me.”
Rocki leaned against him and Cole suspected the ability to think, to talk—hell, even
breathing—
might become difficult here in the next few minutes. “Most insane people think they are perfectly sane.” She hooked her fingers in his waistband. “Come on. Let’s go lose our minds together.”
It was, without a doubt, one of the most appealing invitations he’d ever received.
Without letting himself think about it another second, he caught one of her hands and twined their fingers, leading her to the bed. The black silk she wore glowed against her skin and unable to resist another second, he closed his hands around her waist, stroking up, then down. “You know, I still say I could easily develop a fetish for these things. As long as you’re the one wearing them.”
Rocki chuckled. “Well, I tend to wear them more for the store than anything else. But I have to say, I did like seeing the look in your eyes.” She caught her lip between her teeth and reached up, catching the dark wealth of her hair in her hands. Slowly, she turned around, baring her back.
Cole groaned as he caught a glimpse of the thin strip of her spine left bare by the laces.
“Think you can figure out how to undo it?” She let her hair fall over one shoulder, peering back at him over the other.
“Ah, maybe we shouldn’t do that yet. The second I get you naked, I’m going to lose any bit of control I’ve got.”
Rocki grinned. “Good.” Then she rolled her shoulders. “Come on, Cole. Either you do it, or I will.”
Well...since she put it that way.
He reached for the laces, taking his time as he studied them. It wasn’t a quick process either, he realized. The top and the bottom, all of it had to be loosened. And because he knew he hadn’t been exaggerating by much, he drew it out even more, pausing here and there to stroke his fingers along her spine, to brush a stray lock of hair out of the way.
He hadn’t quite finished loosening the laces all the way when she took a step away. As she turned to face him, he saw that she was trembling, her face flushed, and her eyes burning hot. Her hands shook as she reached up and tugged at the front of the corset.
It fell away and the air in his lungs all but exploded out of him.
Oh, hell, she was gorgeous. Big, full breasts, her nipples dark and rosy. Her waist dipped in before flaring out into full, round hips, still outlined by the jeans she wore. His hands itched, his mouth all but watered, and his cock was a burning, heavy ache.
Shoving upright, he reached out and hooked a hand in the front of her jeans, hauling her against him. She opened her mouth, but whatever she might have said, the words were muffled as he caught her mouth with his.
She was warmth. She was softness. She was strength.
Rocki twined her arms around his neck and rose up on her toes, meeting him touch for touch, kiss for kiss. Spinning them around, he tore at the button of her jeans, fumbling until he managed to get them open. He should find some finesse, some tenderness—a seduction, this should be a seduction, slow and gentle and sweet, he knew it.
Tearing his mouth away, he panted as he stared down at her. “Not a date, right?”
“No.” Her breathing was almost as ragged as his, and her eyes—those dark, mysterious eyes so full of heat and hunger—gleamed as she smiled at him. “Not a date.”
“If this were a date, then I’d probably try to make this gentle and slow. Should I worry about that right now?”
Rocki laid her hands on his chest. Then she pressed a kiss to his chin. “Today is Friday.” She closed her eyes, struggling to slow her breathing. “Tomorrow is Saturday. We should have our first date then. No sex. I don’t do sex on the first date. Sunday—you can pick me up Sunday and we’ll have our second date. You can do gentle and slow and seduce the hell out of me on Sunday. Right now...I just need you.”
Her eyes opened and she stared at him. “I just need you,” she said again.
He was shaking, he thought. Shaking, terrified. This was happening too fast, because he needed her, too. “Sunday, then. And Saturday.”
But first...
now
. He nudged her back onto the bed, easing her down until she lay on her back and he could strip her jeans and panties away—and her boots. Damn it, he hadn’t even gotten around to getting her damn boots off.
They fell to the floor with a thud and he finished fighting with the tangle of denim and lace, tossing it to the floor. When he straightened over her, his breath caught once more as he stared at her. She had on black stockings that went up just over her knee and stopped. Laying a hand on her calf, he stroked upward until he reached the top band. Rubbing his thumb along it, he shifted his gaze upward and muttered, “You’re a damn witch, I think. “
“I went a little overboard tonight, I’ll admit.” Rocki chuckled. She lay a hand on her belly and smiled at him. “You’re overdressed, baby.”
“Not for long.” He dealt with his own clothes, had them off in under a minute and then he stretched out next to her, all but ready to whimper in pleasure at the softness and warmth of her body. He covered her hip with his hand, kneading the ripe curve of her ass.
She arched against him, a move that had the weight of her breasts pressing against his chest. Groaning, he shifted on the bed and lifted up, catching one breast in his hand and flicking the nipple with his thumb, watching as it beaded, puckered and swelled. “Damn it, you’re gorgeous,” he rasped. He dipped his head and caught her swollen nipple in his mouth, sucking it with light pressure and watching her from under his lashes. She pressed against the back of his head as he increased the pressure and saw the flush spreading across the swells of her breasts, higher along her throat.