Kitabı oku: «Secrets Of The Night», sayfa 6

Eight

Conner was reluctant to agree to anything with Nichole, but at this point she’d become such an obsession that he had no choice but to figure out a way to have her. He knew nothing else would satisfy him. He stood up and walked away from her chair.

Her apartment revealed a woman who had deep roots and connections to the people in her life. Every photo was genuine. No staged smiles, no fake emotions. He wanted to trust her, but the desire he felt for her made it harder for him to do it.

Was he giving her a free pass because he wanted her in his bed or was he seeing the signs of a woman he could truly trust? He just didn’t know, and he was afraid to make the wrong choice.

He had no problems acknowledging his own fears. He knew that he had weaknesses; if you pretended you didn’t, you were only fooling yourself and headed for a big fall.

He turned to look over his shoulder at her. She chewed her lower lip and stared pensively at him. He should just let go of the mistress thing, but he couldn’t. He wanted her to be his completely and only as his mistress would he have the freedom to make their every meeting about sex.

In his head it seemed like sex was the way to go. The one thing that would make a relationship with her manageable. Otherwise, he’d be tempted … hell, he already was tempted by everything about her. And he knew that he didn’t want to allow her to mean too much to him.

“You haven’t answered my question,” he said.

She shook her pretty head, the red hair brushing over her shoulders and her bangs falling forward to cover one eye before she tucked the hair back behind her ear again.

“I’ll do it,” she said, “but only if you agree to let me capture my own observations about your family and that dynamic. I think that will add a personal touch and that’s what my readers expect.”

He turned back to look at the wall of photos in her apartment. If he agreed to let her observe his family, he’d leave them all vulnerable. That wasn’t acceptable. How could he manage it?

He was so close to having Nichole and everything he wanted. And he was a damn smart man at the bargaining table, no matter who sat on the other side of it. He knew there had to be a way to make this work.

“How would you observe my family? With me present?” he asked.

“Yes, when we went to functions they were also attending. I assume you’d bring your …”

“Mistress,” he said. “If you can’t say it, how can you agree to be it?”

“I’m going to say girlfriend. We can both pretend it means mistress.”

“Don’t do that, Nichole,” he said. “Make sure you know that what we are going to have will be temporary. It’s stamped with an end date.”

She nibbled her lip again.

“You’re going to chew your lip raw,” he said.

She stopped. “You’re right. Why does it matter what I think about our arrangement?”

“Despite what you might think of me,” he said, “the last thing I want is to see you hurt.”

“That makes two of us,” she admitted.

“Good,” he said.

“So you’ll do it?”

He would be able to control the amount of access that Nichole had to his family. He didn’t know for sure if that would be sufficient, but in the end he knew he was going to agree to this. He would manage her and her access to his life. He’d been doing that with the media since he’d turned seventeen, so he wasn’t too worried about that.

“Yes,” he said.

“Okay … now what?”

He laughed at the way she said it.

“Well, we have to seal our deal.”

“In writing?”

“I don’t think so. That kind of document could end up in the wrong hands,” he said. “How about with a kiss?”

“A kiss … just one kiss?” she asked, standing up and walking over to him. “One kiss is never enough.”

“No, it’s not. So let’s say a kiss, but take whatever we get,” he said.

She nibbled her bottom lip again when he opened his arms to her. She just stood there staring at him and he wondered if now that he’d agreed she was going to back out.

“Second thoughts?”

“Yes,” she said softly. “And third and fourth thoughts. It all comes back to you and the story. I want you both. But a part of me is sure I’m going to regret this.”

He closed the gap between the two of them and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her gently, trying to reassure her, yet he honestly had no idea how this would turn out. He hoped by making her his mistress he’d be able to control the influence she had over his life and ensure that his emotions didn’t get engaged. But this was Nichole and nothing had gone according to plan since she’d shown up uninvited at his family’s Fourth of July party.

“I will do my best to make sure you have nothing to regret,” he said.

She tipped her head back and stared up at him with that pretty gaze of hers. “That’s the worst part. I know your intent isn’t to hurt me, just as mine isn’t to do any damage to you, but I’m not sure that as much as we are trying to make this a business arrangement that we’ll succeed.”

She had a point, but he’d made up his mind and she’d agreed to his terms. He wasn’t letting her go or giving her a chance to back out.

“We’ll both just have to do our best,” he said, lowering his head and taking the kiss he’d wanted all evening.

Nichole was glad to stop thinking and just enjoy Conner’s embrace. Tonight hadn’t gone exactly the way she thought it would but she’d gotten the one thing she’d set her mind on. Why, then, wasn’t she happier?

She was in Conner’s arms, enjoying his ravishing kiss, but her mind was reluctant to let her relax and just enjoy it.

“I can tell you’re still thinking,” he said. “I’m insulted that my kiss hasn’t distracted you.”

“You shouldn’t be. I’m just … oh, I don’t know. This is crazy. I spent my entire adult life building my career and trying very had to expose the truth, and I’ve just agreed to do something that feels like a back-alley deal.”

“There’s nothing back alley about it. It’s inevitable that you and I are going to have an affair. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel this kind of chemistry with every woman I meet.”

She had to admit that was true. “I guess that’s part of why I’m so shy about seeing this through. I know you said by making it a business agreement we could mitigate the possibility of both of us getting hurt, but I don’t know—”

“You can’t worry about the ending right now when we are just at the beginning,” he said.

He’d kept his arms around her and his words were dissolving her fears. She tipped her head back and he lowered his mouth to hers once again. This time, as their lips met, she let her fears melt away.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, as his hands slid down to her hips, drawing her closer to him. They were pressed chest to chest, hip to hip, and she wished they were even closer.

His tongue thrust into her mouth. She sucked on it and then let her hands find the buttons of his shirt. First she loosened his tie and then she undid the first few buttons so she could slip her hand under the cloth and touch his warm flesh. There was a faint dusting of hair on his chest and it tickled her fingers as she caressed him.

His hands were busy cupping her butt and drawing her closer to his groin. She felt him hardening against her as he thrust his hips into the notch at the top of her legs. She moaned in the back of her throat.

He tore his mouth from hers and she felt his lips against the side of her neck. He dropped nibbling kisses down the column of her neck, lingering to suckle the spot at the base where her pulse raced.

She tugged his shirttails from his pants and wrapped her arms around his bare torso. She wished she was bare-chested as well, wondered what it would feel like to have him pressed against her right now. She lightly scratched a pattern down his back along the line of his spine, touching him with growing passion as his mouth found hers again.

She let him control her. As if there was any other reaction she could have toward him. He was dominant and that came through in his embrace. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and gently rubbed his tongue over it. She was trembling with passion. Sensations radiated from the kiss to the tips of her breasts and then lower as moisture pooled between her legs.

“I want you,” he said, in a husky whisper into her ear.

“Me, too,” she said.

He lifted her in his arms and carried her toward the couch. He sat down and set her on his lap. Her legs were to one side, one hand on his stomach, her other hand on his shoulder. He tipped her head up and kissed her again.

His hands swept over her body, pulling her blouse up until he’d exposed her midriff. His hands were warm as he rubbed them over her lightly. She shifted around so that she was reclining on his lap like some kind of sexual offering. Then he shifted their position on the couch until she was lying beneath him and he straddled her hips.

His shirt swung free, both sides falling away from his long, lean chest. She massaged his pectorals before she traced the light line of hair that tapered across his stomach to where it disappeared into his pants.

He moaned her name in a way that made it sound like ecstasy. She felt an answering tingle deep inside her own body. She shifted her legs until she could sprawl them open and then grabbed his hips to draw him down toward her. But he held fast.

“Not yet,” he said. “There is still so much of you I haven’t explored.”

She didn’t want this first time to last forever. She wanted him to continue overwhelming her senses until she came hard and repeatedly.

“I don’t want to wait.”

“Too bad,” he said. “You’re my mistress. What I say goes.”

He leaned down and bit lightly at the flesh just above her left breast. She glanced down to see that he’d left a tiny mark.

“I don’t want you to forget you’re mine,” he said.

“There’s not a chance of that happening,” she said. She reached between them for his belt and started to undo it. But he stopped her by wrapping his hands around her wrists. He drew them up above her head and held them there.

“Not yet,” he said, firmly. He pushed her blouse farther up her body until her breasts were revealed encased in a flesh-colored bra. It was more practical than sexy, but the way that Conner looked at her told her he didn’t need lace to be turned on by her.

Her nipples were hard and beaded against the material. Conner plucked at her right nipple with his free hand then lowered his head to put his mouth over her left one. She felt everything inside her clench at that touch. Her hips arched up toward his and, as he continued to suck on her nipple through the fabric of her bra, she arched her hips. Desperately trying to reach his.

She tugged on her arms, trying to free her wrists, but Conner held her firmly without hurting her. There was such decadence in the way he held her and touched her. She was shivering on the edge of an orgasm and she wasn’t sure what she wanted at this point.

One thing she wanted was to feel his erection pressing against her, but she knew he wasn’t going to lower his hips until he was good and ready.

“Conner …”

“Yes …”

“I’m going to come.”

“Not until I tell you to,” he said.

“I can’t wait,” she said, her words gasped out as she kept lifting her hips. He lowered his mouth to her breast again and let go of her hands as he thrust his hips against hers. Even through their clothing, the tip of his erection hit her clitoris and she shuddered as her orgasm washed over her.

Conner hadn’t meant for the kiss to go as far as it had, but he’d been wanting her for so long it was all he could do not to open his pants and thrust himself deep inside her straight away. Holding her while she came was a double-edged sword that made his desire even stronger.

But he hadn’t come to her house prepared to make love to her and he wasn’t about to chance accidentally getting her pregnant. He wasn’t thinking too clearly when he felt her hands between his legs and her fingers moving over his fly. She’d undone his belt and the next thing he knew her hands were on his hard-on.

She slid her fingers over the tip and his hips jerked forward, a bead of moisture slipping out. She rubbed her finger over it and then brought it to her lips to lick it away.

Her other hand pushed his pants and underwear over his hips and then he felt her cupping him. She squeezed gently as she rose up and found his mouth with hers. She kissed long and slow and deeply.

He leaned down over her, letting his bare chest brush over her bra. He reached underneath her body and undid the catch and then pushed the fabric off her breasts. Her skin was lightly freckled and he leaned down to kiss each of the freckles before slowly making his way to her strawberry-colored nipples.

He tongued them as she continued to caress his erection. He wanted her and could think of nothing but getting inside her silky-smooth body.

He let his hands skim lower to the waistband of her skirt and unzipped the side fastening before pushing it down her legs. She shifted underneath him until the skirt was completely off.

He thrust his hips forward and felt the smoothness of her skin underneath him. She felt so soft and womanly and as he stared down into those chocolate-brown eyes of hers, he felt something else change inside of him. Something more emotional, and that jarred him. Nichole was the one woman he’d met who made him react this way. This strongly. And he didn’t know if making love to her was such a smart decision after all.

But his body wouldn’t let him back down now. Wise or not, he wanted her. He wasn’t going to be able to breathe again until he was buried hilt-deep in her curvy body with those long legs of hers wrapped around his waist.

He also knew he didn’t want to rush this first time with her. He stood up, toed off his shoes and stepped out of his pants and underwear.

Before he reached down to lift her in his arms, he asked, “Where’s your bedroom?”

“Down the hall,” she said, gesturing to the left. He held her high in his arms and walked the short distance to her room. “In here.” She reached out and hit the light switch as he entered the room. It was flooded with soft light from two bedside lamps. Her bed was queen-sized with an aqua-blue comforter on it. He set her on her feet and slowly finished undressing her, taking his time to enjoy each new patch of skin revealed.

“Do you have a condom?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Thank God,” she said.

Once she was naked, he lifted her onto the bed and laid her back against the pillows. The aqua comforter was the perfect backdrop for her red hair and her creamy freckled skin. She kept her knees bent, but he saw the red hair that covered her most intimate secrets. He shrugged out of his shirt and stood there looking down at her.

He took her ankles in his hands and drew her legs down and apart from each other. She bit her lower lip.

“You can’t be nervous now,” he said, slowly drawing both hands up her legs, caressing her soft, smooth skin. He lingered on her knees and watched as gooseflesh spread up her legs as he moved his touch slowly higher toward her center.

“I’m not,” she said. “I just expected you to be on me quicker.”

“I don’t like to rush things, even pleasure,” he said.

He took a moment to put on the condom, then crawled onto the bed between her spread legs. He put his hands on either side of her chest and leaned down over her. He kissed her softly on the side of her neck and then moved his mouth lower to trace the globes of her breasts, first with his kisses and then with his tongue.

Her hands came up and tunneled through his hair, holding his head to each breast as he tongued one nipple then the other. Supporting his weight on just his right elbow, he used his left hand to draw a line down between her breasts over her ribs to her belly button.

He traced a circle around and around it, watching the red flush to her skin deepen. Her own hands were busy caressing him and he enjoyed every pulse of desire that she drew from him seemingly effortlessly.

He was on the knife’s edge and he knew that no matter how much he wanted to prolong the moment until he entered her, he was fighting his own instincts. He wanted her with a red-hot desire that was hard to contain.

It was only the fact that he also wanted to taste every inch of her that allowed him a modicum of control. He lowered his head and traced the circle of her belly button with his tongue.

Her hands were back on his head as her hips rose on the bed.

“I need you,” she said, her words raspy and drawn out.

They sent a shiver down his spine. She writhed underneath him as he shifted his position so he lay between her legs, his elbows on either side of her body.

He slid one hand up to caress her shoulder and neck before pushing his fingers into that thick red hair of hers. He kissed her deeply, pushing his tongue into her mouth as he pulled his hips back and then slowly thrust his hips forward.

He slipped slowly into her. Inch by inch, he went as slowly as he could and it felt so good. Finally his willpower gave way to his body’s demands and he pushed himself all the way in. He was buried in her silky-hot body and it wasn’t enough. He needed more. He started thrusting harder and deeper, urged on by her cries for more.

Her legs came up and wrapped around his hips. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades and she cried out his name as he felt her tightening around him. His own guttural cry of release followed a second later.

He kept thrusting, spilling himself inside her until he was spent. He collapsed against her chest, careful to keep her from bearing his full weight. Sweat covered both their bodies and he felt the minute kisses she dropped on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and, keeping their bodies together, rolled to his side so he could hold her properly.

He kept his eyes closed, knowing he was hiding, but at this moment he didn’t want to see her face or talk to her. He needed the silence to pretend that nothing had changed between them when he knew that everything had.

Nine

Nichole slept restlessly. She wanted to blame it on not being used to having someone else in her bed. But what weighed on her mind was the fact that Conner had only agreed to be her lover because of their bargain. She had vivid dreams of her boss finding out how she got Conner’s story and firing her.

She finally got out of bed at six, just before her alarm went off. Conner appeared to be sleeping. She slowly went to the bathroom, trying to be extra quiet so as not to wake him. She didn’t want to face him this morning. She knew she shouldn’t leave without waking him, but she wanted to.

Part of her was very afraid of what he’d say to her. Of what she’d say … Last night had been more intense than she’d expected. But then nothing with Conner had gone exactly according to plan since the moment she’d met him.

She carefully closed the door to her tiny bathroom and reached over to turn the shower on to get the water hot. She glanced at herself in the mirror and shook her head. She didn’t look any different.

Maybe she was overthinking the entire arrangement with Conner. There was nothing tawdry about having slept with him. She’d had one-night stands before and she knew that as long as both she and her partner were on the same page, no one would get hurt. So why then was this bothering her so much?

Steam started to fill the tiny room and she pulled back the shower curtain and got inside. She started to wash when she heard the bathroom door open.

“Morning, Nichole,” Conner said, his voice sounding raspy with sleep. She stood there frozen with her loofah in one hand and the shower gel in the other.

She shook her head. He knew she was in there and probably had guessed that she was naked. Why was she being so silly?

“Morning,” she said. “Sorry if I woke you. I have an early meeting.”

“Not a problem. I would normally leave you in peace in here, but this is the only bathroom and I, too, have an early meeting so I need to wash up.”

“That’s fine,” she said. Oh, man, she’d come in here to hide from him and now he was here. But at least she didn’t have to face him. Not yet.

“What’s your day like?” he asked.

“Just the usual … Do you even know what a reporter does?” she asked.

“Meddle in other people’s lives and make trouble for them?” His tone was light. She pulled the shower curtain back to peek out at him. He was bent over the sink washing his face. He was naked and his body looked good, with tan lines on his legs and arms.

He straightened up and she closed the curtain so he didn’t catch her peeking at him. “Ha! No, that’s not what I do. Mostly I spend my time doing research and making calls trying to get recalcitrant people to talk to me.”

“And if that doesn’t work, then you crash their parties.”

She shook her head. His easy banter was making her relax. She’d been worrying about what was going on between them, but Conner wasn’t treating her any differently than he had before.

“That was only for you,” she said. She finished washing her body and though it was an odd-numbered day of the month and normally she didn’t wash her hair on those days, she went ahead and did it anyway.

“I’m honored,” he said. “Would it bother you if I joined you in the shower?”

She hesitated. She’d been hiding in here so that she wouldn’t have to face him, but now she didn’t want to anymore.

“Not at all,” she said. “In fact, I’m almost finished.”

“Good. I’ll be quick.”

He opened the shower curtain and stepped in. She couldn’t resist reaching out to touch him. He gave her a sexy smile.

“I can’t make love this morning,” she blurted out.

He shook his head. “Okay.”

She handed him her loofah and the shower gel and then switched places with him. “I’m going to leave you to it.”

“Are you nervous?” he asked.

“Of course not,” she said. But she knew she was acting like a ninny. She never let anyone shake her, but Conner was. “I just don’t want to tempt you when I know there isn’t time to do anything about it.”

“I’m always tempted by you,” he said, and leaned against her, putting his hand on the wall behind her head and kissing her.

She closed her eyes and tipped her head back. His mouth on hers was soothing and arousing. It made most of her doubts fade away, and she was suddenly very glad that Conner was here with her this morning.

He canted his hips forward and she felt his erection nudge her stomach. Then his hands slid down her body to caress her breasts.

She ran her hands over his wet body as well, finding his hard-on and caressing the entire length of him. He continued kissing her and then put his hands on her waist to lift her off her feet. He leaned back against the wall and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.

“I thought you didn’t have time,” he said.

“Stop gloating,” she said.

She shifted until she felt him poised at the entrance of her body. She slowly took all of him and then rocked her hips against him. He kissed her deeply, driving her on, the tips of her breasts brushing against his chest.

He thrust up into her hard and deep until she felt her orgasm wash over her. She pulled her mouth from his and lowered her head to his shoulder as she felt him jetting his own completion into her body.

She slowly let one leg fall to the floor of the shower. She was dazed by the passion that seemed to flare so effortlessly between them. He pulled himself from her and kissed her softly on the forehead before he gently washed her body and then his own.

She opened the shower curtain and grabbed her towel from the rack, drying off quickly. Then she went back into the bedroom, leaving Conner alone in the bathroom.

She could no longer pretend that last night hadn’t changed everything.

Conner knew she’d been hiding from him in the bathroom. All night long she’d tossed and turned next to him. Neither of them had had a good night’s sleep. He knew that, for him, it was second thoughts about what he’d agreed to let her write about him and his family.

But he hadn’t made a success out of all his business ventures by backing down once a decision had been made. He’d see it through and manage it so that he was in control.

And that was what this morning had been about for him. Making sure that she didn’t have too much time to think about her story. He meant to ensure that she kept her focus on Conner as her lover, not the subject of an interview.

He turned off the shower and realized that he smelled sweet. Glancing down at the bottle of shower gel she’d given him, he groaned when he saw it was “birthday cake”–scented. Damn, he didn’t want to walk around all day smelling like this.

He got out of the shower and found a clean towel in the small closet. He dried off and then wrapped it around his waist. He needed a shave and didn’t have deodorant or a change of clothes, but that was okay—he’d already sent a text to Randall asking him to pick up those items and bring them over.

The telephone rang and he hesitated for a moment before leaving the bedroom. He heard the muffled sound of Nichole’s voice.

When he entered the bedroom, he found Nichole standing in front of her closet with a cordless phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear.

“Yes, Mom, I’m doing fine. I’m sorry I didn’t call you last night,” she said.

Nichole listened again as she pulled a dark sapphire-blue sheath dress from her closet. She hung it on a hook and then turned, but stopped midstride when she saw him standing there.

“No, I wasn’t out on a date. I just went to a dinner party at Jane Macafee’s.”

She smiled at something her mother said.

“She’s just as charming in person as she appears on the show,” Nichole said. “I have to go. I’ll call you at lunchtime.”

Nichole listened again.

“Love you, too.”

She hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed. It seemed to Conner that she and her mother had a really good relationship. But how could that be, based on her past?

“My mom calls me if I don’t talk to her every day. Even though I’ve been living here for more than ten years, she’s still afraid something bad will happen to me,” Nichole said.

“My mom is the same way,” Conner said. “She pretends she’s calling to ask me about business or other things but she manages to talk to me every day.”

She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a matching bra-and-panty set. This one was cream-colored and had a lace trim on the edge. He knew he should be getting dressed as well, but he enjoyed the intimacy of watching Nichole slowly clothe herself.

“Are you going to keep staring at me?” she asked.

“I can’t help myself. You’re gorgeous,” he said.

She gave a quick curtsy. “I’m so glad you think so.”

She was funny and quirky and every second he spent with her made him want more.

And that made her dangerous.

Who would have thought that this woman would be able to rock his world the way she had? He was used to dealing with powerful, beautiful women, but Nichole was different.

She dressed quickly and he went over to his own clothes and began putting them on. When she was seated at her vanity table, he glanced over at her and noticed that she had been watching him in the mirror.

She quickly picked up a makeup brush and drew it across her face, refusing to meet his eyes in the mirror. He understood that she was a complicated woman and that no matter how much she’d enjoyed the sex with him, there were bound to be some heavy emotions inside her this morning.

“Are you okay?” he asked, thinking he probably sounded pretty inane. “I guess we can see that I’m definitely not a reporter given my lame questions.”

She gave him a sad half smile. “That’s for sure. And I’m fine. A little tired.”

“Tired sounds like an excuse,” he said as he buttoned his shirt. “Do you regret last night?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. Since the first moment we talked at the Fourth of July party, I’ve thought of nothing else but getting you into my bed.”

“Me, too. But that doesn’t mean that this morning you might feel differently. When I was first starting out in business, I set all these financial goals for myself and in my mind I thought once I have this amount of money I’ll feel secure. But the truth was the money didn’t make a difference.”

She turned on her vanity stool to face him. “What did make the difference?”

“A sense of confidence in myself. I had to trust that I would continue making the right decisions and that I didn’t need to stop at one good deal to ensure the future.”

She nodded. He’d told her something personal that he hadn’t meant to. Dammit, he needed to be more on his guard around her. And this wasn’t even her fault. He had to watch himself because she mattered to him.

He suddenly realized that he cared about her and not in the general way he’d thought he had. She mattered to him. Her happiness mattered to him.

“Thank you for sharing that,” she said.

“You’re welcome.” He finished dressing quickly. Now he was the one who felt awkward and that wasn’t like him. His cell phone beeped and he glanced down at the screen to see he had a text from Randall saying he was waiting downstairs.

“I’m going to get out of here. Are you free for lunch or drinks tonight?”

“Lunch would be better. I have to drop by the set of Sexy & Single.”

“Lunch it is—does the Big Apple Kiwi Klub at noon work for you?” he asked. “We can discuss the details of your moving in with me then.”

She nodded.

He stood up and walked over to her, pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly. “Have a good day, red.”