like the Pussycat Dolls, chocolate pudding and playing solitaire on my computer. And I’m forever in search of new highlight colors.”
And then she kissed him.
4
THE MOMENT NIKKI touched her lips to his, Jake felt a wave of heat unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Her lips were so warm, so hungry, so damned different from any female he’d ever been with.
He was always the aggressor.
The predator.
Not this time. She backed him up into the hotel room and kicked the door shut with her foot. Her tongue tangled with his and she slid her arms around his neck. Her small fingers splayed in his hair, and heat shimmered down his spine from the point of contact.
His gut clenched and his body throbbed and suddenly he was back in the driver’s seat. He slid his arms around her waist, shoved his hands beneath her T-shirt and felt her bare skin. She was soft and warm and his body trembled. He steered her around toward the bed and urged her down. He pulled back, his hands going to the button on his jeans. He made quick work of them, shoving the denim down his legs so fast that it was a wonder he didn’t fall flat on his ass.
Her gaze fell to his massive erection and she hesitated. She was having second thoughts, damning herself for being so impulsive.
Jake fought for his control and steeled himself against the delicious heat coming off her body. Because he didn’t just want to take from her. He wanted her to give.
The notion stuck. A crazy, insane notion, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d spent a century taking, drinking, feeding, and for once he wanted to know what it felt like for a woman to give herself. Not because he demanded but because she wanted to.
He closed his hands over her shoulders, guiding her down onto the mattress. His fingers skittered over the soft material of her T-shirt, molding the cotton to her full breasts.
Easy…
The warning sounded in his head, and he managed to move his hands away before he could stroke her perfectly outlined nipples.
He scooted down to pull off her sneakers and toss them to the floor. Then his fingers went to the button on her jeans. His heart pounded and his pulse raced and an ache gripped him from the inside out. He stiffened, fighting the urge that roared inside of him.
Slow…
He smoothed the denim down her legs. His fingertips brushed her bare skin, grazing and stirring. The friction ripped through him, testing his control with each delicious inch. Finally, finally, he stood near the foot of the bed and pulled the jeans free of her long legs.
Clad only in the thin cotton shirt and lace panties, she looked so damned sweet and innocent. So opposite of any of the women he usually kept company with. He grew harder, hotter, and anticipation zipped up and down his spine.
His gaze traveled from her calves, up her lush thighs, to the wispy lace barely covering the soft strip of blond silk between her legs.
He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. With a sweep of his tongue he licked his lips. The urge to feel her pressed against his mouth nearly sent him over the edge. He wanted to part her with his tongue and taste all of her secrets. Need pounded, steady, demanding, and sent the blood jolting through his veins at an alarming rate.
The hunger roared inside of him and made him think crazy-ass thoughts. Like how she was just about the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and how he wanted her more than any other woman in his past.
Because she was different from every woman.
He stared deep into her eyes. Gone was the glimmer of loneliness he’d glimpsed earlier. He saw only uncertainty now. And anticipation.
His hands started to tremble and he felt a driving force wrap around him, propel him toward her. He dropped to the bed beside her and reached out. His fingers brushed the velvet of one hip.
It wasn’t enough.
His hands seemed to move of their own accord, traveling the length of her body, exploring every curve, every dip, lingering at the lace covering her moist heat.
He traced the pattern with his fingertip, moving lower until he could feel the slit between her legs. She gasped and her legs opened. She wanted more and he wanted to give it to her. He followed the edge of her panties and barely resisted the need to dip his fingers beneath and plunge one deep into her lush body.
Not yet. She was still too stiff. Too wary. Despite the growing desire that flushed her skin a bright, delicious pink.
Jake tamped down on his hunger and forced his hand up over her flat belly. Her soft flesh quivered beneath his palm as he moved higher, pushing her T-shirt up until he uncovered one creamy breast.
His fingertips circled the rose-colored nipple, and he inhaled sharply when the already turgid peak ripened even more.
Leaning over, he touched his lips to her navel, dipped his tongue inside and swirled. She whimpered, the sound urging him on. He licked a path up her fragrant skin, teasing and nibbling, until he reached one full breast. Closing his lips over her swollen nipple, he pulled and tugged.
He swept his hands downward, cupping her heat through the scanty lace of her panties. Wisps of silky hair brushed his palm like licks of fire, stoking the hunger that already raged inside of him.
She gasped and arched toward him. But despite her reaction, there was something inside of her that still held back.
“Jake McCann,” he murmured, his lips grazing her nipple. “I was born and raised in a hole-in-the-wall town called Junction. My favorite color is blue and I like horses.”
THE DEEP, HUSKY VOICE echoed in Nikki’s ears, and she opened her eyes to stare up at the man leaning over. His hand stilled between her legs, his palm pressed tightly to her sex.
“C-can you ride?” She wasn’t sure how she managed the question. The heat from his touch seeped into her, making her head spin. But she managed anyway, her curiosity getting the best of her.
His gaze glittered hot and bright, like liquid silver. “Darlin’, I can ride better than I can walk.”
He hooked one finger under the edge of her panties and pushed the lace to the side. He trailed his fingertips over her moist flesh, his gaze never leaving hers. As if he knew how wound up she was. As if he knew his effect on her.
He knew her.
Inside and out.
She stiffened at the unsettling thought. But then he pushed a finger deep inside and she stopped thinking altogether.
She gasped, her lips parting, her eyes drifting closed at the intimate caress.
“Open your eyes,” Jake demanded, his voice raw with savage lust. “I want to look at you. I want to see what’s in your eyes when you come apart for me.”
Nikki obeyed and he caught her gaze. He slipped another finger inside her.
Her
