Deadly Obsession (27 page)

After their dessert and tea, Nic and Lauren excused themselves to get ready for bed. Nic had been unable to cover up some jaw-cracking yawns. Between dealing with the residual weakness from the drugs, finding the bloody message, having sex with her, and working through a plan to find Summer, it had been a hell of a day for him. Nic’s normally tan face was pale and drawn with fatigue. But he still looked delicious enough to eat in the black silk boxers he wore instead of pajamas.

Lauren pulled back the covers and patted the mattress. “Come on, sweetie. Climb in. I won’t try to jump your bones tonight.” Nic looked crestfallen. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I was kind of counting on a little breakfast.”

“What are you talking about, Nic? We just finished supper.” She reached up to touch his forehead. Maybe he had a fever or was having some sort of hallucination. But before she could touch him, Nic grabbed her wrist and brought it to his lips.

“A midnight snack then?”

“Nic.” She was starting to get worried.

He released her wrist and fell onto the bed. “I’m kidding. When I saw you bite into the brownies, the face you made, all I could think about was having—” He cut himself off. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”

Lauren stilled. When he’d talked about brownies and coffee, her thoughts had definitely headed south. Had he been thinking the same thing? “Having what?” she whispered hoarsely.

He looked away and swallowed hard. “All I could think about was waking up and having
you
for breakfast. But I can’t wait that long.”

“Oh God.” She practically threw herself on top of him. “I was sure after everything you’d been through today, sex would be the last thing on your mind. I didn’t want you to feel pressured.” She shook her head and buried her face against his chest. It sounded so stupid when she said it out loud.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Do you doubt my stamina?”

“After this afternoon? How could I?”

“Okay, then.” She cracked up at the look on his face. “First you doubt my endurance and now you’re laughing at me? What is this, pick on Nic day?”

“I’m not laughing at you.” She grinned widely. “You just looked so cute, like a disgruntled little boy.”

In one swift move, he flipped her onto her back and leaned over her, covering her. With deliberate movements, he laced their fingers and locked her hands above her head. Slowly, he lowered his face to hers. “Do I still look
cute
?”

God, no. He looked devastatingly dark and dangerous, like in his camo pictures. He’d gone from cute little boy to deadly stranger in a matter of seconds. She didn’t know where the real Nic was in all of this, but she didn’t care. Todd had been nothing but gentle with her, and she’d never dared to tell him she wanted something a little rougher, a little harder. Instead, she’d explored all those feelings, all that excitement in her fantasies. Fantasies that featured Nic in the starring role. And here he was, in the flesh, in her hands. A shiver ran up her spine and seeing it, one corner of his mouth rose in a snarl.

“Like this, do you?”

Oh, yeah. Unable to resist the lure of his mouth so close to hers, she arched up to try to kiss him. He shook his head. “Uh-uh. Tonight, I’m in charge.” After letting go of her hands to tear off the long T-shirt she’d worn to bed, he reached down to remove her panties. When they got tangled in her legs, he ripped them apart and threw them over his shoulder. “I’ll get you a new pair. Hell, I’ll get you a dozen.”

Heat flared in his eyes as he grabbed her hands again and held them above her head. She gulped, but not in fear. Somehow he’d been handed the screenplay to one of her more hardcore fantasies—the one where he held her captive and at his mercy. Thrilled, she moaned and writhed on the smooth sheets. Every change in his eyes, every variation in his voice, had her catapulting through a myriad of emotions. How could she ever give him up at the end of the week?

He claimed her mouth in a deep, soul-searing kiss. This afternoon, she’d wanted to possess him, but now he was possessing her. And she was giving him everything she had, everything she was. An ache began deep inside her and soon she was begging him to be filled, claimed. “Nic! Please… take me.”

“No.”

Her brows popped. He couldn’t deny her now. His long hard erection pressed against her stomach, evidence he wanted her as much as she wanted him. “No?”

“No.”

“Have sex with me?”

“No.”

Sometimes Todd had liked dirty talk in bed. Maybe Nic wanted that? She met his piercing gaze and in her most seductive voice said, “Fuck me.”

He bared his teeth. “I will
never
fuck you.”

What the heck did he want her to say? “I’m dying here. I need you inside me.” His dark, lust-filled expression turned soft as his eyes lingered on hers. What did he see there? He didn’t want to fuck her, and he didn’t want to have sex. A lightbulb flickered on in her head. Pushing past the emotions strangling her, she whispered, “Make love to me.”

“Yes.”

Thank God
.

Screwing up her courage, she told him what she’d never dared say to Todd. “Hard and fast.”

Without a word, he flipped her over onto her stomach and pulled her hips up until she was on her knees, spread wide.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as he pulled out a condom and covered himself. His large hand pressed on her back until her face met the pillow that smelled of his cologne. She inhaled deeply, the scent flooding her with moisture. A shudder roared through her as his warm tongue took a long, slow swipe.

“Better than brownies,” he groaned, before gripping her hips tightly and plunging his cock into her. They moaned in unison. After holding still long enough for her to adjust to his size, he began to move. He pulled out so only the tip of his cock remained inside her, and then he pushed slowly until he was all the way inside, as far as he could go. His fingers on her hips held her in place, keeping her from pushing back and accelerating the rhythm. Then he began alternating long slow glides with short fast ones. Nine long, one short, eight long, two short….

She caught onto the pattern. In only a few more cycles, he’d be pounding into her. With each deep stroke, the sensations intensified and her anticipation ratcheted up a few notches. Oh God. She wasn’t sure she’d make it to the ten short, fast strokes.

Nic was giving her everything she wanted, what Todd had never given her. Gritting her teeth, she braced her arms and held on for the ride.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God!” As he pistoned into her, his fingers tightly gripping her hips, the meaning of the expression
balls deep
became perfectly, exquisitely clear. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t catch her breath; she’d already died and gone to heaven.

His strokes changed, deepening, filling her. “Feel me inside you. Feel how deep I am.”

“More.”

“Your wish is my command.” She gasped. Those words—they were straight out of her bar fantasy. Was she dreaming? A stinging smack on her butt brought her back to reality. At the same instant, he plunged deep inside her, deeper than ever before. The momentary flash of heat and the full-body pleasure of his penetration flung her over the edge, into a level of bliss she’d never before known.

As wave after wave of sensation reverberated throughout her entire body, he continued to hold her tight, pounding into her, never letting up on the speed or power of his strokes. Even before the contractions inside her completely subsided, his balls slapping against her swollen lips sent her over the edge again. This time he joined her. With a loud groan and a final tremendous push that sent her sprawling, he came too, collapsing on top of her, his lips pressed against her neck.

Without a doubt, this experience surpassed even her best Nic fantasy. As a smile curved her lips, she thought he’d be surprised to learn that he’d outdone himself.

Nic awoke to bright sun on his face, a warm body in his arms, silky hair tickling his chin, and the beautiful sound of Lauren’s soft snores in his ears. A slight twist of his body placed his nose in the crook of her neck, where the aroma of her apple-scented perfume caused him to harden. It had been clear from the start that Lauren was dangerous for him. But until last night, it had been only the danger of her discovering the secrets of his past. Now the danger was her discovering the secrets of his heart, where she was beginning to take more and more space.

His hand drifted over her waist, gently tugging her closer into the curve of his body. She had the best butt he’d ever seen, all round and tight. The sight of it made him want to… well, do exactly what he’d done last night. A wicked grin curved his lips. His hand moved higher until he was cupping one generous breast, the already hard nipple pressing against his palm as if begging to be squeezed. No problem. A gentle tweak had her wiggling, pushing her ass hard against his groin. His cock soon found a cozy spot between her butt cheeks. The heart-shaped birthmark below her ear was calling out to him. His lips surrounded it and his tongue was about to touch its goal when Lauren’s cell phone rang.

One sleepy eye opened and a smile spread across her face. “Are you going to answer your phone?” she asked him, her voice husky.

“It’s not mine, it’s yours.”

“Oh! I better get it. It might be Jason or my parents.” He reluctantly let her go but enjoyed the view as she got out of bed and bent over to retrieve the cell phone from her purse. Man, could he possibly get any harder? This had better be a short conversation, or he might die before she came back to bed.

“Vivian.” He arched a brow and she shrugged. “Did you like the photos?”

He couldn’t stand hearing only one side of the conversation so he motioned to her to come closer so he could listen in too. After climbing back onto the bed, she held the phone slightly away from her ear.

“I’m releasing your photos,” Vivian said. “The contest organizers want three for publicity and the festival people want one. You can choose which ones to give them.”

“I’ll do it today.” Nic smiled at the way Lauren’s eyes glittered.

“The rest are yours to sell. But, I think I should help you with that.” She paused. “I’d hate to see these end up in some paparazzi rag.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“I’ll send the proofs out to the editors of a few high-end magazines. I’m still not sold on the arena shots, but maybe Sports Illustrated or Men’s World will like them.”

“Thank you, Vivian. Do you want to talk to Nic?”

“Is he there?”

Taking the phone from Lauren, Nic brought it to his ear. “Thanks for helping Lauren.”

“Were you having breakfast?”

“No.”

“I see.” Her voice sounded flat.

“Vivian, what exactly do you see?”

“You’re involved with her.”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Of course not. If she makes you happy… that’s what matters. Just be careful. It’s better for your image if women think you’re still available.”

“Will do.”
Fuck my image
.

“Are you still determined to bring her to the fundraiser?”

“Yep.” Of course, he’d have to ask her first….

“Make sure she gets a gown. Dog tags and cargo pants won’t do.”

Shit. Vivian was right. “I’ll take care of it.” After meeting with Summer’s roommate, he’d take her shopping.

A flick of his thumb ended the call. At this point, having women think he was still available was the least of his worries.

“Everything okay?” Lauren’s big, beautiful blue-green eyes watched him with concern. Something tugged at his heart. He didn’t care anymore what Hollywood thought of him. The only person who mattered was lying next to him, her curls spread out on the pillow and her eyes round with worry.

After placing the phone on the nightstand, he stretched out beside her, circling her waist with his arms and laying his head on her chest. The regular beat of her heart and the gentle rise and fall of her breathing soothed him. “Everything’s okay, now,” he said as he feathered a kiss on her slightly curved stomach.

“I’ll say,” she answered and although he couldn’t see her smile, he could hear it in her voice. If he lived through the mess he’d made of his life, he’d do whatever he could to keep this woman who made him happier than anyone else ever had. Even in high school, he’d known she was the one for him, but he hadn’t known how to make it happen. All these years later, he still didn’t know how, but he’d be damned if he didn’t figure it out.

Lauren craned her neck toward his clock-radio. “What time is it, anyways?”

“Time for breakfast.” Peals of laughter filled the air as he nibbled her stomach, her ribs, the sensitive undersides of her breasts….

Oh yeah. Nothing like a little breakfast in bed to start the day right.

CHAPTER 14

Lauren watched with avid interest as Nic ate his breakfast of champions—brownies and coffee made with freshly ground Starbucks beans. The rapturous expression on his face had her wanting to drag him back to the bedroom. She could definitely get used to waking up with him.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “After we drop by Summer’s apartment, what do you say we go shopping?”