Unwrapped (11 page)

But there was a flaw in this plan. Probably several, but one
thing at a time.

"Oh, professor," she said sweetly, raising her
hand and drawing his scowl.

"Don't call me that."

"Then don't lecture me," she shot back, still
struggling to squelch that tiny flicker of excitement sparked by the picture
his words had painted. "I want to know how this is any different from a
friends-with-benefits deal."

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "It's exactly the
opposite. That's just about sex. We're talking about a
boyfriend-girlfriend-style dating relationship here. It's like friends with,
uh. . ." He trailed off.

"No benefits?" She couldn't quite stop the smirky
quirk to her lips.

Now his brows lowered, his lips thinning in irritation. His
voice deepened, making her shiver. "There will be plenty of benefits,
believe me."

"And when it's done? What then? Earlier you
said—"

"I know what I said, but we're both adults, right?
We're going into this with our eyes wide open. We won't let it ruin our
friendship."

Mia kept her gaze skeptical. "What's in it for
you?"

"The joy of knowing my best friend's first time was
something special." His tone was carefree, flippant. Too carefree. It raised
her suspicions. What was he really after?

"Uh-huh."

"It'll be like my Christmas gift to you."

That sidetracked her. "Wow, you think a lot of
yourself."

"Christ. That came out wrong." Derrick stopped
pacing to stare out her window at the black night, apparently deep in thought.
In the waiting stillness, the crash of the ocean against the shore seemed
suddenly loud. Dangerous. "Rewind."

Turning, he crossed the small space and knelt on the floor
before her, taking her hands in his.

"We're best friends. You know you can trust me. I'll
treat you the way you should be treated, romance you and build up to that night
the way all those old boyfriends should have." His circling thumbs on the
backs of her hands had answering spirals coiling deep in her center, drawing
her back into his heat and dissolving her hurt and anger, her resistance,
against her will. "I'll be gentle with you, and make it as special as I
can. I'll do everything in my power to make you quiver and yearn and drive you
crazy with desire. When we finally share that moment together, it will be every
bit as amazing as you've hoped all along."

"Why?" she whispered, as her body shivered under
the onslaught of his words. Quaked. Went damp.

"Because I care, Mia. Isn't that enough? I respect the
way you've stayed true to yourself all this time, and I don't want to see you
throw that away on a whim."

Mouth dry, Mia stared, entranced by the molten lava glow of
his eyes, the sensual fullness of his lips a mere whisper from hers. His big,
muscular body called for her hands to stroke. He was so strong, so masculine,
he made her feel eminently feminine. Precious.

With words alone, he'd brought her to the brink of need, and
her imagination was about to send her hurtling over that edge. Picturing his
naked body, sweat-soaked, hovering above her own, sinking into her welcoming
embrace, taking her through the rituals of love, this man she trusted and cared
for beyond all others. . . Her breath clogged in her lungs.

Derrick lifted a hand to brush the hair back from her face,
studying her expression intently. "So what do you say," he asked, a
rogue's grin tracing his mouth, though something else moved in his eyes, an
intensity she didn't understand. "Mia Patterson, will you be my
three-month girlfriend?"

This was insane. Ridiculous. A mistake. But. . .

He had no idea of the lustful feelings she'd had for him for
years, feelings she'd forced herself to forget until that very afternoon. She'd
buried them so deep, and she could never risk their friendship by letting him
know the truth. He'd never feel comfortable around her again.

But she could grab this gift he was offering, take it for
herself, and for one night she'd let those feelings run wild. She'd gift
herself with the most amazing introduction to sex any woman could ask
for—a hot, sexy, caring man who knew his way around a bed, a man she
trusted, who was committed to making it incredible, with no false promises on
either side. No risk of later regretting the man who was her first.

A three-month memory, and one magical night to look back on
for all the nights of her life.

The tribal drumbeat in her chest raised its tempo, a nearly
painful slamming against her ribs. What better way to finally have that first
time. She couldn't lose.

"I will," she said, and watched his smile spread
as her heart's racing speed hit a brand new gear, full of need. Full of hunger.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. . .

"All right," he said, that strange intensity
deepening in his eyes. He gave her a celebratory fist bump. "So,
girlfriend of mine. What should we do first?"

Why did they have to wait? Mia sighed mentally. Somehow,
knowing she'd be sliding naked beneath his big, sexy body in three-month's
time, finally dancing the oldest dance, made it even harder to wait. This might
prove to be the longest three months of her life.

But in the meantime. . .

"A little ritual to seal the deal?" she asked,
trying for some levity while that hungering heart continued to pound and her
pulse to race. "Cut our palms by the light of the moon and dance naked
around the bonfire?"

"I can live without the bloodshed," he said, his
voice going low and husky, "but the naked part sounds intriguing."

It wasn't so much a blush as a wildfire that swept over her
skin, blazing red, searing heat.

"N-now?"

Could he see the shudders wracking her body? Maybe she
hadn't really thought this through. To be naked in front of Derrick, that final
barrier between friendship and intimacy removed, changing their relationship
forever. What had she just agreed to? No, hungered for. She couldn't lay the
blame for this at his feet. He might have come back to her with his little
plan, but she was the instigator. She was the one who would see it through. Or
not.

"Maybe a little now," he said, still in that deep
timbre, his voice running down her spine like sinfully-dark melted chocolate.

One half of her mind, the sane half, whispered, "This
is such a bad idea." The other half was too busy squeeing with glee to
listen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Derrick pulled her to her feet. Just a little taste, a small
bite to get her mind and heart working in the right direction. Lover mode.

Step one.

Moving slowly, he ran his hands from the tops of her tensed
shoulders, down her arms in the soft-as-a-cloud bathrobe. He took her delicate
hands in his, one at a time, bringing them to his lips for a kiss on each
tender knuckle. Her eyes, swimming pools of deep sea-green, shimmered in the
warm glow of the overhead light. What he wouldn't give to tumble with her to
the bed at her back, to make her his, once and for all. Now. But that moment
would have to wait.

He'd make the anticipation worth every second.

The closing of her eyes when he leaned in for a kiss was a
tiny surrender, a tiny victory. They were moving into new territory now.
Together, as he'd dreamed for years. No turning back. From this moment on,
nothing would be the same.

Brushing aside the fall of her hair, the collar of her robe,
he pressed his lips to the base of her throat where her pulse beat erratically.
She held perfectly still, yet her body vibrated head to toe, a livewire ready
to spark.

"You smell like a sugar cookie," he murmured.
"Delicious."

With his hands, he stroked the length of her robe's lapels,
over the mounds of her breasts, making her gasp, and down to the tie at her
waist. His fingers undid the belt, slowly, deliberately. Her hand moved to his
wrist, one hesitant touch to halt his progress, and he raised his head to find
her eyes on him. Questioning. Nervous.

Shy.

"Trust me," he whispered, stroking a thumb across
her bottom lip, then kissing her there. Her mouth, pliant, sweet, gave beneath
his with a sigh, and her hands dropped back to her sides.

The belt fell free beneath his touch. With aching slowness,
he spread the robe wide, baring Mia to his eyes for the first time, nude.

"Beautiful," he whispered, his voice gone hoarse
with desire.

Like a candle flame, she glowed. Satin skin in pale honey
slid upon delicate bones, full, rounded curves, a deeply indented waist. Her
breasts were a temptation it took all his willpower to resist, proud and firm,
tipped with exquisite nipples in deep rose, drawn taut beneath his questing
gaze.

Derrick struggled to control his breath, passion riding hard
in his blood. Likewise, Mia's breaths caught and shuddered, quickening every
moment, telegraphing her awareness of him, her response to his glance. Her need
for his touch.

But not yet.

Continuing his visual exploration, Derrick's eyes trailed
over her quivering stomach, to the darkly shadowed V between her legs. He
wanted his mouth there, to nuzzle into her curls and part those rosy lips with
his tongue, to taste and stroke and suckle her to shattering climax.

Three long months stretched to eternity before him.

"Derrick. . ." His name was a sigh falling from
her lips, bringing him back.

He retied the robe, then with a burst of speed that drew
another gasp from her, he yanked her to her tiptoes by its furry pink lapels
and crushed her lips with his, plundering the sweet recesses of her mouth,
tangling their tongues. He kissed her until he felt her knees give, until his own
were ready to collapse.

Still holding the lapels, he broke the kiss and stared into
her eyes, gone blind with passion. He said, "Day one."

And fled, before he forgot every promise, every ideal, his
ultimate plan, and his care for her virginal state. Before he tossed it all out
her darkened window and ravished her there on the bed of her innocence until
neither of them could stand, or think, or breathe.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Outside in the cool night air, Derrick sucked air like a man
drowning. Hands at his waist, he leaned back, his head tipped to the stars,
struggling for oxygen. All his years of wondering, daydreaming, hoping, and
nothing had come close to the reality of Mia, naked and willing in his arms.

He foresaw a lower heating bill in his future with the
number of cold showers he'd be taking between now and Christmas.

She just. . . Wow.

Gradually, the nighttime temperature reduced the boiling in
his blood. The stars shone in a cloudless sky above a midnight sea. The calm of
the ocean and the quiet beach soothed the last of his tension.

He was going to ensnare her with lust, with emotion, with
need, until she could do nothing but fall in love with him. He'd weave his web
around her so carefully, she wouldn't even know she was caught until it was too
late. And if he failed? If he ended up a prisoner in his own cell? Well, he'd
be no worse off than he was now, and she would have gotten the one thing she
said she wanted—de-virginized.

But he wasn't going to fail.

He'd started out a little shaky, he thought, but damn, he'd
finished just right. He'd enjoy spending the next three months driving her
crazy with passion, until she was practically begging for him, and so madly in
love with him she would leap to accept his proposal.

Congratulating himself on a successful first strike, Derrick
made his way to his car doing an end-zone victory dance in his head.

This plan was brilliant.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You're an idiot," Jeff said in disgust the
following afternoon, shaking his head as though he'd never seen anything more
pathetic than Derrick's sheepish face. "Did you really say you'd be her
Christmas present?"

Derrick hunched his shoulders. "I know, it was stupid.
I was flying blind, trying to convince her, and I got carried away."

Jeff snorted. "I'll say."

The two of them perused the rows of glass cases, sparkling
engagement rings winking in an overwhelming display beneath tasteful
chandeliers. Who knew there were so many ways to set a diamond? Sales staff
helped other customers or stood at a discreet distance, but Derrick thought he
heard one of the women snicker.

"Yeah, well, I closed the deal. That's all that
matters."

"Son, you haven't come close to closing that
deal," Jeff countered, "you've just made the first cut. You've got
three months left to fuck it up."

Jeff meandered toward the next case, and Derrick followed
behind, frowning at his friend. "Thanks for the vote of confidence,"
he said.

Waving a dismissive hand above his shoulder without turning
around, Jeff said, "Sorry. This is happening pretty fast. You made your
first move last night, and now here we are looking at rings. Are you sure you
want to do this already? Don't count your chickens and all that."

"I'm sure."

His expression turning serious, Jeff considered him, tapping
one hand on the side of his thigh. "I have to say something, and I don't
want you to take this the wrong way, but. . ."

"What?" Derrick asked when the pause dragged out.

"It's just—you're my best friend, you know that.
And I love you. But I love Mia, too. I don't want to see her get hurt again,
and I'm worried about this. What happens if it falls apart?"

Derrick placed a hand on Jeff's shoulder and met his
friend's eyes squarely. "It won't. I won't let her be hurt, Jeff. I love
her."

"What did Allison say?"

"To go get her. You know Alli."

Jeff studied him another moment, much like Allison had.
"All right then. If you're sure."

Derrick merely looked at him.