Down With Cupid Shorts Bundle (2 page)

“You’re safe from me,” she said. Nicole would not consider what her mind kept trying to wander to. This was a friendly nightcap with a man who was sexy as fuck. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Sebastian.”

She laughed, again, at the horribly obvious segue. “I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but now I’m convinced—you’re hitting on me.”

Chapter Two

Sebastian Clark’s intentions had started off good, above reproach. The woman had looked lonely, tense. He’d intended to make her smile, buy her a drink and walk the hell away. He had to get up buttfuck-early in the morning, but then she laughed. His ass became rooted to the barstool, and then he touched her and the dumbest thing would have been walking out of this bar without her.

“It may
feel
like I’m hitting on you…because I am.”

She played with the shot glass. “How many unsuspecting, lonely women have you picked up in a bar and tried to sleep with? Because I think we’ve passed innocent conversation a while back.”

“None actually. Not my thing.”

Her leg grew tense against his. Maybe she’d read him wrong and this was nothing but polite, flirty conversation. He smiled in a way that let her know she’d been right. Nicole chuckled, still charmed. “Bar hook ups aren’t my thing either, but sex can be just sex.”

He nodded, conceding to the truth. “Until it gets awkward and complicated.”

“Ah.” Her head tilted back, and she began to nod. “The morning after. Or after the deed is done, things change and you’re considering jumping out the window to make an escape.”

“Exactly. I’d rather date and be clear it’s not going anywhere.”

She gave him a dubious once over. “How does that work for you?”

He laughed at her insight. “Not well after the six month marker.”

He shifted on the barstool and her leg brushed his. The heat of her touch invaded his space. Damn, a single touch, an innocent touch and he wanted her. It’s why he hadn’t stood up and left for his room. Common sense told him picking up a woman in a bar who looked lonely would end badly. No, he didn’t get the clingy vibe from her, but that didn’t matter.

He should be calling his clients to remind them not to get too trashed. It was Friday night, and most of his clients would be in clubs doing their best to act like they didn’t want their pictures taken while having a wild night out. Yet, making sure the photographer captured their good side.

Snapshot, the PR company Sebastian worked for, had sent him out to make sure his clients fulfilled their obligations to go to each and every one of their press junkets. Almost Christmas, his top actors had movies rolling out. Nothing as insane as summer blockbusters, but close enough when he counted the charity events.

It’s why his intentions had started off good. Sebastian needed sleep after the long day. He‘d wanted solitude and a stiff drink, but now he was too busy listening to what his cock wanted to do.

From the word go she’d called him on his bullshit and kept up with him, unfazed by the charm he threw at her by the truckload. She made it so much worse when she forced her lips into a pout, poking out a soft and succulent bottom lip. “Oh, poor handsome devil. Women want to be with you.”

Sebastian’s gaze zeroed in on her lips. He didn’t mind being called handsome as long as the words were formed on that mouth. Hell. She could have called him a stunted dickwad and he probably still wouldn’t have minded, not when her lips, full and pink, mesmerizing…Sebastian blinked and met her gaze. It was clear what they should do next—go their separate ways and end this.

She slid from the chair. “I’m going to call it a night.”

He let out a relieved sigh and moved his hand so she could go. She chose the right option for them, because at this point Sebastian could not be trusted to do the same. Another moment with her mouth pouted and he’d cross their clear boundary—nothing would come out of this meeting. They both had to get up early for work. One night stands weren’t their thing. It was crystalline clear what they both should do.

But, he didn’t want her to leave just yet. How many women brushed aside his charm and demanded a real interaction, no matter how meaningless and short? Not many.

“It was nice meeting you,” he said. “Though, I don’t know your name.”

She tsked. “Good night, Sebastian,” she said but didn’t move.

She stood right there between his legs, supple and warm. It made sense to reach out, cup her chin with his forefinger and thumb.

“Let me get one last good look.” He ran a finger over the jut of her delicate jawline, and she trembled beneath the touch.

A no-brainer really to slide his hand to the nape of her neck and lean down. She let out a soft sigh when his lips touched hers. Her fingers curled around his shirt collar, but she didn’t push him back. Sebastian deepened the kiss, delving his tongue into her mouth to taste her and the treble of her moan.

It was a light and searching kiss, testing the passion between them. A first and last kiss rolled into one, except she brushed her tongue against his. A spark of need set fire to any lasting hold on common sense, or what he should do once the kiss ended. She moaned again, but sank her teeth into his bottom lip. The clear solution muddied in his mind. His cock hardened, leaving no question what it wanted to do.

Her grip loosened from around the collar of his shirt. Good. She’d finally push him away. Fuck, he hoped she’d do the right thing because the wrong one was just too damn appealing. Her hands strayed down his chest, to his buckle, farther down until her fingers rested against his cock.

Fuck. Yes.

She let out a soft sigh and let her fingers glide down the length of him. “I think you should know…my name is Nicole.”

He fought the need to press closer to her hand. Damn hard, as her fingers continued their up and down stroke. “I want you to know…I don’t normally do this.”

She shook her head and chuckled. “Your lines need work.”

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I want you in my bed.” It was the truth and there was nothing charming about the need stretching his cock. A need for her. A stranger.

Nicole shivered. “Lucky for you, that’s where I want to be.”

Chapter Three

Deciding to rent a room had made complete sense moments after Sebastian’s mouth had stopped all rational thought. He wouldn’t know her hotel room number and Nicole wouldn’t know his. She wouldn’t know his last name and vice versa.

Celebrities had descended on all the high class hotels, so there wasn’t a facial twitch when Sebastian paid with his credit card under a false name. He had the looks to pass for an actor or male model. With her cheeks still flushed, Nicole had the look of a woman he’d planned to take to bed. Rational thought flooded back in when the elevator doors dinged on the floor of their hotel room.

Respectively, so unlike the way he’d pressed her between his legs and tried to kiss her face off, he settled his hand on her back and led her down the hall to their room. He stopped at the door and turned, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“You know, I always had this fantasy.”

Oh, God. What had she gotten herself into? She knew it. Knew it. This was why you didn’t pick up strange, handsome men in the bar. They turned out to be perverts, and not in a good way.

Sebastian laughed. “Now tell me what you think I’m about to say, because I have to know with that expression you’re wearing.”

She bit the inside of her lip. “You want me to wear a diaper and a baby bonnet.”

“Oh, I fucking love it, but no.” He chuckled and handed over the key card. “I always wanted to kiss someone and fall through the door in a tangle of limbs.” He motioned for her to come closer. “Give me your best shot.”

“You’re kidding,” Nicole said but laughed at the boyish grin.

“It was either make you laugh or throw you over my shoulder to get you through the door.”

He’d read her. That was a rare experience for. At work, her position forced her to keep up the appearance of being a hard ass, a shark. Sebastian didn’t know her, but he could see straight through the facade. So, of course, he could see the nerves. They didn’t go away, but it felt ok to show them. And to play. She hadn’t played in months, years. Wagging a finger, she said, “I’m not going to let you off that easy.”

“Dirty talk, so soon?”

Nicole wasn’t ready yet for the big time, so she placed a hand on his chest and closed the space between them. A frisson sizzled in the air. Hard muscle warmed her palm. This was hers; he was hers for the night. To do with him all the things she wanted to do. The thought put a crack in her controlled facade.

She ignored the jump in her stomach and tilted her chin to meet his gaze. “No, I was talking about your fantasy. Was it another line?”

“Not anymore.” His arms slid around her waist, and he tucked her closer. “Are you going to seduce me?”

Nicole had plenty fantasies of her own, but his intrigued her. “Is that your fantasy, too?” Her breasts felt heavy and full against his chest.

“Well…
now
it is.” He didn’t chuckle or smile as he spoke. “Show me how you’d seduce a handsome devil.”

The need to show him just that washed over her. And maybe it was because, finally, she could let go. Nicole lifted on the tips of her toes and captured his bottom lip between her teeth, she lightly grazed the flesh. The way Sebastian groaned let her know it wasn’t too soon to introduce biting. She kissed away any possible sting and did it again when he tried to change the tone of the kiss with his tongue.

Again and again, she kissed him like this and he let her. The control he handed over should have turned her off. All day, at work, she made decisions for people. How to look, where to stand, what words to say and the tone they should speak in. The reward was more publicity and a stellar reputation.

Control over everything was necessary or she’d lose hold of her reputation. Having Sebastian pressed against the door, making him groan—a sound filled with need—was pure pleasure. There was no outcome other than
pleasure
, but they couldn’t stand in the hallway all night.

She pulled back and inserted the key card into the door. He lifted her when the door beeped and cracked opened. “You should hold on.”

“What?”

He grinned, scuttled back and tumbled to the floor with her on top of him. His breath whooshed out and he coughed for a few seconds. “Good God, that hurt.”

A laugh sprang out of her, because it was the most ridiculous thing to have witnessed. “Gravity’s a bitch.”

His blue eyes gleamed with mischief. “Yeah, but I have you on top of me. So it’s not completely a lost cause.”

He brought his mouth up to hers. No. It wasn’t a lost cause and she could only smile. The exchange between them wasn’t what she imagined. This wasn’t simply sex or something light and fun, but slow. She was getting too comfortable with him. She’d learned the hard way not to romanticize a man. Her heart broken in the process the last time she had and Nicole hadn’t made the same mistake since. They needed to get down to business, instead of laughing and joking with each other.

“Unzip my dress.” Nicole leaned closer to him so he could reach around her.

Sebastian kissed her again. He used everything in his arsenal and made her forget about comfort, so that all she could think was heat. How it pooled in her stomach and at her core. She was damn near soaking wet from a kiss.

Finally, he unzipped her dress, trailing his fingers down her spine. Nicole was supposed to seduce him but his touch coaxed her into submission. He lifted the hem of the dress and pulled it up to her waist. Without a command, she rose to straddle him. There. Right there, hard and snug against her apex, is what she wanted. It’s what he wanted too, so why in the hell was Sebastian taking his time? She tugged the hem of the dress from his grasp and dragged it over her head.

“You seem impatient,” he said.

“You’re too patient.”

He shook his head, gripping her waist and lifting just the slightest against her core. “I’m letting the lady go first.”

“We’re taking turns?” Her skin heated from the sudden flush.

His tongue skated across her bottom lip. “No pressure. I’m easily impressed.”

“Easily impressed sounds like I can do well enough and skate by. And that
you
won’t. This is a competition, too?” Her heart beat thumped in her ears.

“Oh, you have a competitive streak?” His voice deepened, sounding completely aroused. “This should be interesting. The moment I said competitive you looked more turned on than when I touched you.”

He probably wasn’t exaggerating. In her line of business you had to be the best of the best. Knowing she could win, even a contest without a prize—it revved her engine to say the least. But that would mean taking things slow again. She bit her lip and weighed her options. Losing wouldn’t be losing. She’d get what she wanted—him for the night. Nicole winced. It would still be losing.

He had the nerve to laugh at her pained expression. It rolled out of him, slick and charming. The kind of a laugh a man shared with his lover. To pay him back for it, and because the intimacy hardened her nipples, Nicole ground against him, her panties obstructing all the pleasure that could be derived from the action. The sensation sparked a delicious need anyway, so she did it again. Maybe if they hadn’t started kissing down in the bar or in the hallway, she would have been able to hold out and give him a run for his money. But she was too tense and tight and wet to wait any longer.

“Let’s get more comfortable,” she murmured, voice husky with desire. She stood, undressing as she headed to the bed.

He’d paid a pretty penny for the suite. It looked more like a chic apartment than a hotel room. There wasn’t a kitchenette, but a kitchen, along with a ‘fridge and dining table. There was more, but all she could focus on was the down comforter covering the expansive bed. She glanced over her shoulder and his gaze watched each movement. Far from rail thin, there was plenty for him to watch as she climbed onto the soft mattress and knelt on the edge of the bed, facing him.

Sebastian stood, never letting his gaze leave hers as he undressed with methodical precision. What could she say about the sight of him naked? The hard muscles sculpted him into something that looked hard and unyielding, so unlike his personality. From head to toe she couldn’t question his masculinity. The weight of the proof that he was all man hung heavy with need. No, she couldn’t wait, not even to win a competition.