“So we’ll bone.” He put his hand up when she would have talked. “The sex isn’t the problem. Yeah, what we were doing, our arrangement all those years, that was bad for both of us. We could make things healthier between us. No binging. Guilt-free, rules-free, two consenting adults who respect each other.”
She pressed her fingertips against the window, so tempted it hurt. Livvy could see the sense in what he was saying. That burden on her shoulders had eased a tiny bit every time they’d honestly engaged with each other.
“No one will know. This won’t hurt anyone,” he said quietly. “But it might help us.”
The second part of their long-standing agreement.One night. No one will know.
You can’t ever think anything will come of this.No dreaming of weddings or walking hand-in-hand next to a duck pond. He didn’t know everything about her, all the dark and messy things. She’d kept those from him even when they were young. A not-so-tiny, insecure part of her had always feared he wouldn’t want her if he saw it all.
Plus, if she took her heart out of the equation totally, she could say she didn’t want a relationship with him, not when it meant he’d have to fight his family. She also didn’t want to fight hers, not when she was here to rebuild those ties.
She was so tired of fighting. “Okay,” she murmured, tracing a circle on the window.
“Okay?”
“Okay.”
A smile split across his face, and her finger jerked. She’d forgotten how breathtakingly handsome Nicholas was when he smiled. “Now will you take off your shirt?”
Her lips twitched, and she acknowledged the dare in his eyes. He thought she wouldn’t? Shewasn’t sure what she’d ever done to give him the idea she was inhibited when it came to her body.
She tucked the phone between her shoulder and her ear so she could flick open the buttons, appreciating both the flare of heat in his eyes and his increased breathing. When the shirt was open, she ran her hand down the center of her chest, over her belly, and cupped her naked pussy.
“Come downstairs,” he murmured.
“I shouldn’t.”
“You should. What we did in the woods wasn’t enough for you. Come out here and let me take care of that wetness between your thighs.” He hung up before she could reply or agree.
Because he knew she wouldn’t not come, the bastard. She tossed her phone on the bed and buttoned her shirt as she left the room, creeping through the dark house.
She went out through the back door and padded barefoot over the grass, barely conscious of the chilly air or the goosebumps it left on her exposed skin. She didn’t see Nicholas at first, jumping when he spoke from the shadows closest to the house. “Come here.”
She drifted closer to him, the sense of danger making her wetter. “I take it back. Not bad at skulking.”
“I’ve graduated from lurking to skulking?”
“It’s a definite upgrade.”
He hooked his arm around her waist, and in two seconds had her pressed against the vinyl sidingof the house. Nicholas’s booted feet came between her bare ones as he crowded her. “Are you cold?”
“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “Warm me up.”
He hummed. “You smell so good.”
“That’s the flowers.” A trellis was right next to her, a few blooms of a fragrant flower from the last remnant of summer still clinging stubbornly to the vine.
He dipped his head and buried his face against her neck. “No, it’s you. Vanilla and sweetness.” His big fingers quickly manipulated the shirt, opening her to his touch. His hand went to her breasts, fondling the flesh, coaxing the nipples to tight, rigid points. When she reached for his belt buckle, he leaned back, grabbed her wrists, and brought both hands above her head. “Let me,” he whispered, and waited for her nod.
He kept her wrists up and away, and stroked his fingers down over her stomach, smiling when her muscles tensed. That teasing touch slipped between her legs. He hissed a curse when he found her slippery and wet.
He pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes trained on her face as she shivered and shook under his leisurely caresses. When she strained closer, he gave her a kiss, but his kisses were as shallow and teasing as the play of his fingers on her clit.
“Please,” she gasped into his mouth. She twisted her caught hands until they could grasp his, their fingers twining together.
He drew away, enough so he could speak, his breath puffing against her lips. “Please what?”
“Harder.”
