Unexpectedly His Read online

  She wriggled the dress away from her hips and let the fabric fall to the floor in a blue pool at her feet. Naked. His sexy-sweet cake girl stood before him naked. He’d been expecting a glimpse of lacy panty, but his woman had stepped it up a notch, and he was freaking speechless. He wanted to move. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her but remained rooted to the spot, his back pressed hard against the back of the door.

  Jesus, she was perfect. He’d already touched her, enjoyed every inch of her body, but to see her trembling and naked, gorgeous and wanting, Nick felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

  Her flushed skin glowed in the dim lamplight, and a shadow fell across the delicate collarbone that framed her lush breasts. Rosy nipples beaded in the night air, begging to be warmed by his tongue. Her waist and hips curved in a bombshell figure straight from an old-time movie, and he wanted to grab on and plunge into her depths as she wrapped those killer legs around him. Oh yeah, they were going on a ride tonight, a long, sexy ride that would make her cry out in desperate pleasure.

  She crooked a finger at him, and he had to fight the urge not to run across the room.

  Nick walked toward her in an even stride that left no room for objection. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. Slowly. Deeply. Then he fell to his knees at her feet. She stepped out of her dress and he moved to slip off her sexy, open-toed shoes, but her whispered words stopped him mid-motion.

  “Leave them on.”

  Sweet mother of God.

  That hot command falling from her sweet lips was more than he could take. He gazed up at her as his palms skimmed the back of her calves and her thighs, gliding over her silky skin to cup her gorgeous ass. He stood and dragged her body against his. He wanted to be gentle, to take it slow, but he was damned if he could control his response to her adorable little striptease. This woman was driving him crazy. Hot. Did. Not. Begin. To. Cover. It. Nick was on fire for her.

  He wanted her. All of her and he wanted her now. Off-limits had skipped town days ago. And in this moment, he didn’t care about potential career pitfalls or secrets.

  He bent his head and captured her lips with his, kissing her, nipping at the fullness of her bottom lip, tasting the sweetness of her, reveling in her innocent temptation. His hands caressed the line of her naked back as his mouth ravaged her lips. There was something so naughty and erotic about her standing there, with nothing on but her sexy shoes, while his mouth roamed her skin. But he wanted more.

  As if sensing his need, her hands fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. But he couldn’t wait another second. He needed her now.

  “Tear the damn thing open,” he said in a low, desperate voice he almost failed to recognize as his own.

  She gave him no reason to ask twice as her fingers tore at the buttons and ripped open the shirt in one swift move. Small hands pressed the fabric away from his shoulders and down his back. The linen hit the floor. Her body arched toward him, easing up against his half-naked body, and a soft sigh fell from her lips. Her eyes darkened as her gaze raked over him, filled with a wonder and need that sent his blood pressure skyrocketing. With his fingers buried in the golden hair at her nape, he kissed her temples and her jaw and her lips. Her palms slid across his shoulders and down his chest. He pressed a little closer, his need to feel her beneath him growing intense. In answer, her fingertips burned a trail along his ribcage, moving low across his abs before moving to the waistband of his pants.

  She undid the button and lowered the zipper with a soft sigh. Something about her wild, pleading moans and her agonizing sighs spoke straight to the man in him. A secret smile crossed her pretty face as she dragged the soft cotton pants over his ass and down his thighs, letting her fingers skim along his muscles in a not-so-innocent game of seduction. He kicked off his leather shoes, hustled his pants from his ankles, and looked down at her. She was on the floor on her knees, and the sight of her gazing up at him, her blue eyes filled with longing, sent him reeling

  His body shook as she ran her tongue along his erection, hardening him further—a feat he hadn’t thought possible—as she took him into her mouth. God, he’d never known he could feel so powerless at a woman’s touch. He bore her ministrations for as long as he could, savoring every caress of her mouth and hands on his cock, then he reached for her and dragged her up his body. No more teasing. No more aching touches. Tonight he planned to bury himself deep within her, starting right freaking now.

  “Marianne,” he said in a husky voice, “I plan to show you how sexy you are, prove how much you turn me on, and when I’m finished, you are going to cry out my name in absolute need. Can you promise me that? Because I want to hear you say my name when you come. Promise me.”

  “I promise,” she whispered.

  He nodded. “Make good on that promise, Marianne, and we’ll do it again.”

  She ran her tongue over her lips and reached back for the condom she’d left on the nightstand. “We will?”

  Nick lifted her into his arms, his hands cupping her ass. “Oh honey, we will. Because I promise you…I can last all night long.”

  Cradling her against him, he bent his lips to kiss her, enjoying the cotton candy and vodka mix, letting his tongue intertwine with hers, as they fell back against the bed in a hot, playful tangle. Nick reached for her hips and she straddled him, her take-me-now shoes dangling off the edge of the bed.

  “You are beautiful.”

  She bit down on her bottom lip and looked away, but he couldn’t let her doubt for a moment that she was spectacular. His palms ran along the hourglass curve of her waist to the side swells of her breasts. “Marianne, look at me.” Her gaze slid back to him. “Beautiful.”

  He raised his lips to her right breast and took her rosy nipple into his mouth, tasting her skin, sucking on her flesh until her body arched and bucked against him. He could feel her wet, slick core against his skin. She felt so good, he wanted to plunge inside her and make her cry out his name, but he wanted more. He wanted her to feel desperate and hungry for him. He wanted her to know what it felt like to feel utterly desired. To feel bewitched. Because that was how he felt.

  Nick eased back and let her restless body move against him. He murmured his encouragement, letting his thumbs graze the tips of her breasts. God, he loved seeing her this way, vulnerable to his heated touch, responding to his every caress. Her eyes drifted shut, and he continued to stroke and tease until she threw back her head and let go a husky whimper. He grabbed hold of her hips.

  Another moan escaped her lips. Her body grew more impatient, and he ached to fill her, to drive home the depth of his need for her. He raised her hips, positioning her heat above his throbbing erection. She ripped open the condom with her teeth and slid it on him before slowly lowering her hips, taking him inside her inch by inch. He rocked her gently, increasing the rhythm as her breath grew ragged. Hands on her hips, he coaxed her closer, driving upward as she slammed against him searching for a climax. She ran her hands up her ribcage to cup her breasts. His dick responded to the sight of her touching herself, holding and tweaking her nipples to bring her closer. Fuck. He drove her harder.

  “That’s right, honey, show me,” he groaned. “Show me what you want.”

  “I want you, Nick.” She cupped both her breasts in her hands and gazed down at him. “I want you.”

  She bucked against him, her legs wrapped around him, the click of the high heels meeting with each thrust. The sound drove him wild. He ran his free hand down the length of her legs, following the trail back upward to gently knead her ass, desperate to be closer to the heart of her.

  “Marianne, you feel so good. I want to hear you come for me.”

  She threw her head back, crying out as she reached a shattering orgasm. “Oh God, Nick, I’m coming, I’m coming.”

  He felt the waves of pleasure crash through her body and he pressed his lips to hers. Softly. Gratefully.

  He took in the quiet beauty of her flushed face, lost in the pleasure of her blu
e eyes, the hush of her shallow breathing, the slight tremble of her bottom lip. The feeling of being surrounded by this gentle, tender woman was so exquisite he couldn’t bear for it to end. Not yet. Maybe not ever. His hands found her face, his fingers sinking into her silky hair. Breathing in the provocative scent of her skin, he eased all the way out of her until they were still barely connected and thrust back inside slowly. Once. Twice. His gaze measured her response as her body rose to meet each of his deliberate, unhurried strokes. Her lips parted in an invitation he could not turn down, and he kissed her, caressing her with his tongue, intensifying the spark of desire reigniting between them. Slow and steady, he built her up again.

  “Oh please,” she begged, her eyes wild.

  And the sounds she made…damn. He felt the tension ramp up inside her body. Felt her reach for him. Felt her need. He slammed against her, his body shaking, holding firm and fast, waiting for her next release. He moved faster, his fingers curled into her hair, his gaze locked onto her face as she shattered into a thousand beautiful pieces.

  “Oh, God, Nick, I’m coming,” she cried out.

  Damn, he loved his name on her lips. He rode her through it, then eased back, waiting—praying—she could come apart in his arms yet again.

  It was a while before her breathing slowed. When she finally came back to herself, she touched his face. “I didn’t know it could be like this.”

  Yeah. Neither did he.

  Oh, he was good. But this insane need to feel her body rise and demand and tremble, it was insatiable. Primal. The hottest fucking thing he’d ever experienced.

  He kissed her softly, reverently, and began to thrust deep inside her. He wanted to hear her cry out his name again and again, until she understood that she belonged to him. And when her arms came around him, tugging him to her, chest to chest, heart to heart, her lips pressed to his throat in a sweet, desperate kiss, he finally followed her over the edge.

  A soft ocean breeze drifted in from the open window. Cool. Sweet. Sounds of the carnival filtered in from far away, but there was nowhere else in the world Nick would rather be than here, right now, in this moment of pure sensual satisfaction. Marianne curled against him, her body supple and warm. His fingers skimmed her hip as she gazed up at him. “So…that was kind of incredible,” she said, her glasses all off-kilter.

  He smiled and pulled the frames away from her face so he could look at her. She was so crazy-beautiful. And there definitely was something about the glasses—the process of stripping them away, revealing her sweet blue eyes, as clear and intoxicating as a summer sky.

  He twisted around and set her glasses on the nightstand and turned back to kiss her again. “Damned incredible if you ask me.”

  Marianne looked up at him through her lashes. “Only another twelve hours or so before we have to pack up your environmentally challenged car and drive back to Manhattan.”

  “Only twelve hours? What should we do with twelve hours?”

  “Well…we could sleep…” She ran a peep-toe heel along the inside of his calf. “Unless you have a better idea.”

  “Honey, I have all kinds of better ideas.” Nick reached out and pulled her on top of him, all hard and ready for another chance to live out his cake girl fantasy. “No sleep required.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Whatever happened, don’t let your fear of the past control your plans for the future.”

  —mantelligence.com

  Every minute of the weekend with Marianne was fantastic, but now Nick was back at work with a shitload of issues to deal with and a few worries about John McBride’s legal issues potentially blowing up in his face. Worries he placed at the feet of his little sister.

  “Jesus, Jane, don’t you get it? I’m an attorney.” He punched up the volume on his cell and walked to the far side of his office with half a mind to strangle her. Slowly. With his bare hands. “You are the matchmaker who set me up with a woman who is potential career kryptonite.” And he was too deep in the relationship to back out now.

  He thrust his free hand into his hair and tried to stay calm. While it was true his sister had set him up with his temporary fiancée, if he was honest, the shitstorm he was in now was entirely his fault. He was the guy who’d promised his boss he could deliver the perfect fiancée. He was the guy who’d been arrogant enough to fall into a relationship with his sister’s off-limits friend, and then cross way over the off-limits line.

  “Nick, you’re not a criminal attorney, you’re a finance guy.” His sister’s impatient sigh echoed through the fiber optics.

  “Yes, that’s right.” Frustration tightened his jaw and paced across his office, practically wearing a groove in the corporate industrial carpet. “A financial attorney who deals with a truckload of private equity, and my fiancée’s father is a felon convicted of insider trading.”

  “A small white-collar crime.”

  Like a white-collar crime amounted to nothing. Jesus, reputation was everything in his business. He lowered his voice and cupped the cell in his hand. “Not a small deal over at Morgan Wealth & Trust. Much closer to money laundering than a bank error.”

  Goddammit. He balled his hand into a fist and strode over to the window, looking for something to hit. He was far from perfect. Hell, it’s not like he hadn’t boosted a lawn chair or two or scammed pizza slices out the back door of Salvatore’s back in Brooklyn, but insider trading was no kid’s misdemeanor. If the firm caught wind of the fact that he was marrying into a family with a felony conviction, his partnership bid would evaporate in a cloud of legal smoke. Not that he was really marrying Marianne, but hell…she’d made him actually consider that his work-centric life was empty. She made him feel…damn, all the clichés…she made him feel complete. God, just having that thought made him want to punch something.

  But was he really willing to blow his dream job and everything he’d worked for? And if he did take a stab at a relationship that lasted longer than a weekend, would he be capable of honoring a commitment? He’d seen his father gamble and drink himself out of his marriage. Why the hell did he think he’d be any different? Sure, he’d always tried to be, but…

  “Nick? Are you there?” His sister’s voice interrupted his internal tirade. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would create a problem for you, and yes, okay, maybe I should have thought it through more, but…”

  Nick ran a hand along his jaw, his patience wearing way past thin. “Maybe?”

  “But I know you. I know what will make you happy.”

  “Can you please cut me some slack here, Cupid?” Since becoming engaged, his sister saw love-despite-all-obstacles on every street corner. She was driving him insane. “Your latest matchmaking stunt could cost me my damned career.” Jane started to protest, but a knock on his door demanded his attention. “Don’t bother to deny it. I know everything. I gotta go. I’ll call you later.”

  “Promise?”

  Nick sighed. No matter how crazy she made him, Jane was his little sister, the one he’d managed to put through college and keep out of serious trouble. Yeah, no matter how much trouble she caused or havoc she wreaked, he’d always be there for her. “Promise.” He ended the call and looked over at his boss.

  “Nick, sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to let you know I’m about to meet with the board about your partnership. Given the way everything is shaping up, my guess is you’re a shoo-in. Another week or two and your name will be embossed on the letterhead.” Dan walked into the office extended his hand. “I’m proud of you, kid. You deserve it.”

  “Thanks, Dan.” A not-so-small measure of guilt bled into his pleasure at finally nailing down the partnership he’d worked so hard to win. Yes, he’d earned it through hard work and a successful run of legal and investment advice for his clients, but his fake engagement—his lie—had been the thing to push him over the goal line. A fact that merited no celebration.

  “Can’t happen fast enough, either. I got a call from a new client this morning requesti
ng you manage his portfolio. I need you to get to work on it right away, so we can secure his business.” Dan tapped through the confidential screen on his tablet. “Transferring the data now,” he said, striding to the door. “And Nick?”

  “Yes?” Nick verified receipt of the financials and looked over at his boss.

  “Between now and your confirmation, can you do me a favor?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Dan gave him a meaningful look. “Try not to screw up.”

  Nick waved his phone in response as a tight smile formed on his face while he watched his boss stride away. He was tired of everyone expecting the worst of him and often being right. The time had come to get his shit together and grow up. He wasn’t just some Brooklyn scholarship kid hustling a good job, lucky to be at the party. He was a partner at Morgan Wealth Management & Trust. He’d made it. Or at least, he was a confirmation away.

  And he owed it all to Marianne.

  With his partnership practically secured, he’d be engaged another four or five weeks, after which he’d be a free man again. Ironically, and despite its nuclear potential, her father’s conviction offered him an ironclad reason to break off the engagement, a perfect alibi. But he’d never use it. Their breakup would be quiet and painless. If he steered clear of complications for the next few weeks, he’d have everything he’d ever wanted.

  So why did he feel so restless?

  Nick grabbed the tablet, settled behind his desk, and punched in the codes required to open the transferred portfolio. As the financials filled the screen, Nick’s jaw tightened. Son of a bitch. This. Was. Not. Happening. Nick pushed the tablet aside and tore both hands through his hair. His breakthrough client, the one who’d gone to such great lengths this morning to request him personally, belonged to none other than his fiancée’s ex. So much for avoiding complications.