“Shit. How many times can I drop this thing?” She picked it up and inspected it for damage. Finding none, she set it on the counter as the knock came again.
“I’m coming!” she called as she walked to the door. Sliding it open, she was stunned by his appearance.
“Hi, Bright Eyes.”
“Nick!” His hair was dishevelled, his face flushed, and the intensity in his eyes worried her. “Are you okay?”
Without a word he pulled her against his strong body and crashed his mouth against hers. He lifted her off her feet and stepped forward, sliding the door shut behind him.
They were in for the night.
Chapter Thirteen
With Kelsey locked in his arms, Nick crossed the room on a mission. She felt better than he remembered when she wrapped her legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck. He didn’t want to stop kissing her, and struggled to see where he was walking.
He stopped in front of the fireplace, never easing the intensity of his kisses while dropping to his knees. Her arms and legs held firm when he released his hold and bent forward, catching himself on his locked arms before lowering her to the floor, pinning her body beneath his.
Both were breathless when she finally broke the kiss. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Don’t stop,” he whispered, again capturing her lips with his. “Kiss me, baby. Just kiss me.”
“Let’s go upstairs.” She lifted her shoulders as he tugged off her sweatshirt.
He groaned when he saw she wasn’t wearing a bra. “No. I want you right here…by the fire.” He trailed his kisses down her neck.
Before reaching his target, she pushed him away. “Strip,” she demanded.
“What?” He chuckled while forcing his gaze from her naked tits to the determination on her face.
“Get your clothes off.”
“Can’t wait, can you, baby?” He happily obeyed, rising to a kneeling position in order to remove his shirt.
As he fumbled with his belt, he paused to watch her slithering out of her baggy sweatpants. Such a simple move, but so sexy. Seeing her bask in the glow of the firelight, wearing nothing but a skimpy pair of black lace panties that accentuated her curves brilliantly, his cock hardened like steel. She was perfection.
She waited for him while he impatiently tried to divest himself of his remaining clothes. He stayed on his knees, leaning back to yank his motorcycle boots from his feet.
Damn, these boots.
“My, you’re a handsome man,” she whispered as she reached up and ran her hands along the ridges of his abdominal wall.
His second boot finally hit the ground with a thud when he felt the gentle silkiness of her fingertips brushing along his skin. Her touch was like magic, and in itself would have been enough to mesmerise him, as if the sight of her nearly naked body splayed out for his enjoyment wasn’t already enough.
Apparently not pleased with his progress, she hurried him by opening his pants and tugging them down, allowing his cock to break free of its constraints. With a sly smile, she looked at him briefly before rising up and taking as much of it into her mouth as she could.
As soon as her lips had hit his skin, all the negative emotions of the day melted away and he lost himself in her touch. His head fell back in ecstasy as she devoured him, giving him the pleasure he needed so desperately.
He’d been with other women. He always seemed to have a charismatic way that drew them to him, but she was different. She was a woman he never would have approached or had a chance with. But here he was, in her apartment, and she obviously wanted him. The intensity of her sucking told him he excited her, and in his mind that made him powerful.
“My turn, baby,” he huffed, suddenly bracing her shoulders in order to pull himself free. Although the feeling was incredible, he wasn’t ready to finish. A few more minutes in the heat of her mouth would leave him little choice but to come. It felt too damned good.
Standing for only a moment to remove his jeans, he then knelt between her legs and spread them apart with his hands. “Oh, look at you,” he groaned, eying up his impending feast.
Her breathing increased when he dipped his head down, wrapped his arms around her thighs and attached his mouth to her pussy, leaving her panties in place. He had to focus to keep his eyes on her face, but he was so enthralled with her expressions of pleasure, he didn’t want to tear them away.
She tugged on the barrier, fumbling to remove the small piece of fabric separating his mouth from direct contact with her most sensitive flesh, but he wasn’t finished teasing her. When he removed her hands and pinned them by her sides, she arched her chest from the floor and grunted, “More. God, Nick, more!”
As much as he loved the feel of the satin and lace against his lips, the aroma of her pussy combined with her lustful pleas had him hungry for more. He pulled up when she lifted her head.
That look on her face… Damn.
“Nick?”
The desperation that had led him to her door was gone. When he looked in her eyes, a lifetime of pain, isolation and despair seemed a distant memory. In their place was a contentment he’d never known. He could do little but stare at her beautiful face and allow the feelings to comfort him.
“Nick?” she whispered between breaths. “Are you okay?”
“Never better, baby,” he said with a smile. When she licked her lips, his need increased. He had to have her.
Now.
In one fell swoop, he removed the last scrap of clothing separating them, and returned to his position between her legs. This time, he wasn’t going to stop until he made her come.
Once he’d got a taste, he struggled for control. Her body was gorgeous, her scent better than any aphrodisiac, and her increasing moans had him on the cusp of coming himself. She was simply the hottest woman he’d ever imagined.
Rewrapping his arms around her thighs, he used his entire mouth to savour as much as he could. She tasted so sweet, and he knew he’d hit the perfect spot when she began to thrash beneath him. He flicked his tongue repeatedly across her clit, knowing it would put her over the edge.
After weaving her fingers through his long blond hair, she pulled herself up when her climax hit, and moaned loudly into the hollows of the loft. Once the waves had passed, she hastily collapsed against the rug, her body appearing spent.
Unable to resist, he kissed his way up her body, pausing only to give each of her tits brief attention while she tried to catch her breath. “Feeling good?”
She shook her head while looking at him with a passion he couldn’t remember from her before. “I want more,” she whispered, pulling his head up to meet hers. “I want you.”
He returned her kiss while sliding into her, groaning at the tight sensation. She was warm and wet, and he could feel the lingering quiver of her orgasm. “You feel so good, baby.” As he began his slow thrusts, he rose onto locked arms, awestruck by the beauty lying beneath him.
The firelight gave her an ethereal glow, an echo of the heat from her pussy as he increased his pace. It was intoxicating to watch her head lolling from side to side and her face painted with pleasure.
“Kelsey,” he whispered, closing his eyes to the sensation that was quickly building. His speed increased and he groaned, signalling his impending release.
“Oh, my…” she began, but then her whole body froze. Her muscles flexed and she clamped her hands on his arms. Already teetering on the edge, the spasms surrounding his cock were more than he could take, and he exploded inside her with a growl of pleasure.
No longer able to support his weight, he lowered himself to her side and pulled her against his chest as he tried to slow his erratic breathing. In turn, she rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her leg over his. The apartment was quiet, save for the crackling of the fire, coupled with the soft puffs that signalled Nick and Kelsey's desperate need for air.
“I missed you,” she finally whispered as she rubbed his chest.
“You did?”
“Yes. In fact,” she said lifting her head and propping herself on her elbow, “I was just debating whether to call you or not.”
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t want to wait until Friday to talk to you,” she said, lowering her eyes.
He placed his fingers under her chin to guide her face towards his. “Does that embarrass you?”
“I just don’t want you to think I’m one of those girls.”
“Those girls?”
“You know, the clingy, needy type. The kind that can’t live without a boyfriend.”
He looked into her clear blue eyes and spoke before thinking. “What if I wanted you to be clingy?”
“What do you mean?”
He hadn’t planned on having this conversation when he’d shown up on her doorstep, but as it was out there, he may as well go for it. “What… What if I asked you to be exclusive? What would you say?”
“Are you asking?”
He gave her a small chuckle. One thing about this woman—she was always unexpected. “Yes, baby, I’m asking. I want us to be exclusive.”
“You mean you want me to be your girlfriend?”
“Yeah.” He smiled at her innocence while watching the flames flicker in her eyes.
“Then I’d have to say yes.” She lowered her head, kissing him tenderly before lying down on his chest.
“I missed you too, baby,” he whispered, holding her tight. “So from now on, no wondering if you should call me or not, okay?”
“Okay.”
Nick closed his eyes and enjoyed the peace he finally felt after an emotional day. After a few minutes, she popped her head up.
“What happened to you? You seemed so upset when you arrived here.”
“I really don’t feel like talking about it, okay? I just had a bad day. I wanted to see you because I knew you’d make me smile. And you certainly did.”
She nodded in acceptance as she shivered, the warmth from the fire not enough to counter the slight chill in the air. After grabbing the shirt he’d discarded beside them, she wrapped it around herself. “Can I get you a beer?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” He sat up and grabbed his jeans. He slid them on, enjoying the way his shirt swayed against her ass as she glided first towards the bathroom then to the kitchen. He was sure she had no idea of the power she held, and that made her irresistible.
“Here ya go.” She handed him a bottle of beer before settling into the couch with her own.
He sat beside her and stared at the small patch of skin peeking through the trail of unfastened buttons running the length of the shirt. “Do you have any idea how sexy you are?”
“You think so?”
“Absolutely.” He trailed his finger lightly over the exposed skin.
She mimicked his actions, running her fingers along the black lines of his tattoo. “Can I ask you something?”
He saw the change in her expression and became nervous. “Sure.”
“I noticed this the night we met, but I was too afraid to ask.” She cleared her throat and brushed her hand along the masked scars on his shoulder. “How were you hurt?”
Her question didn’t surprise him. As she’d said, why beat around the bush? Since she’d been open and honest from the moment they’d met, he wanted to be just as open, and this was one area where he could be.
“I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it…”
“No,” he said, grasping her hand firmly, “it’s okay. I, uh… I just haven’t talked about it for a long time.”
“When did it happen?”
“Six years ago. I went to a bar with some buddies of mine. We were just looking to blow off some steam after work. You know, typical guy stuff. We had some beer, shot some pool, had some more beer, and we started to get friendly with some women.”
She folded her legs beneath her and slid closer as he continued his story. She held his hand firmly as if she knew how difficult a memory this was for him.
“When their dates showed up, they apparently didn’t like us speaking to their girlfriends and a fight broke out. It was almost over before it started, but not before one of the guys…”
“What?”
“One of the guys smashed a bottle over my shoulder,” he said as she audibly gasped. “Ripped through it pretty good. But the doctors said I was lucky. A few inches lower and the shards could have worked their way into my heart. I underwent five different surgeries, one to remove the glass and the others to repair the muscle, tendon and ligament damage. Then months of rehab.”
She looked at the bottle in her hand, immediately setting it down on the coffee table. “That’s horrible. I can’t imagine what you went through.”
“It wasn’t so much the injury. That night changed my whole life. If you’d asked me years ago where I’d be and what I’d be doing right now…” He shook his head and laughed, leaving his statement unfinished.
“Is that why you got the tattoo?”
“Yeah. I wanted something to try to cover the scars and I saw this design in a tattoo shop one night.”
She rubbed her fingers along his ink, but this time tracing the fading scars it camouflaged. “I think you’re pretty amazing, you know that?” she whispered sincerely.
“Why? Because I can take a beating?”
“No, because you got back up and kept going. That takes an incredibly strong person.” Kelsey took the beer from Nick’s hand and set it beside hers on the table. She slid onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him and gently caressing his healed injury. “Thank you for telling me the story… For trusting me with it.”
She had no idea what she stirred inside him with such a simple gesture. He wasn’t sure if he was ready, but even if he wasn’t, he had no choice.
He was falling for her—and he was falling hard.
Chapter Fourteen
Nick was somewhere between sleep and consciousness when he realised the incessant beeping in his dream was real. He groaned and lolled his head slowly from side to side, feeling every ache and pain run down the length of his spine. His eyes fluttered open, immediately followed by confusion when he didn’t recognise his surroundings. The light tickle of Kelsey’s breath as she slept allowed him to relax with memories of the previous night. After sliding his left hand between the firmness of the couch and the softness of her skin, he pulled her closer and she snuggled deeper into his chest.