Her Best Mistake (Novella) (3 page)

Why did she not remember how good this could be, Lisa wondered?

When his mouth crushed hers hard and his eager tongue tangled with hers, she stopped thinking about the past to focus on the present. She had to remove her busy hands from the interesting parts to brace them on his shoulders as he took more and more control away from her. She gasped when he rolled until she was under him. The full force of his weight rested on her, and wow—did he feel good.
Thank God I found my nerve.

When Finn broke the kiss, he pulled back, his erection pressed against her navel. She shivered in his arms, and then he shivered in hers, pressing down on her more. He was about to follow his urges for both their sakes, but then remembered what had to be asked.

“I want this more than I want to breathe right now, but I have no protection,” he said regretfully. “Did you bring anything?”

He sighed along with her as she sighed loudly and shook her head sadly from side to side.

“Damn—that’s a shame,” he said slowly.

Crossing his fingers that Eric had for once really taken care of e
verything
, Finn rolled and pulled her over on top of him in one smooth motion as she laughed. Wrapping one arm around her to keep her from leaving, he leaned over and pulled out a drawer of the side table. In it was a strip of condoms.
Bless you, brother
. Finn pulled them out and handed them to her, needing her to make the choice.

Lisa took the packets, turning them over in her fingers. She tore one off and tossed the other two on the side table. She felt him shift his hardness and her in the process. He was very strong, she acknowledged with a thrill. Who would ever have thought that of an investment banker?

“Is that your way of saying this is okay? I need to hear it,” Finn entreated. He ran his hands down the curve of her back to her hip, stopping there to cup her bottom and pull her more tightly against him.

Instead of answering his question, Lisa tore the condom open with her teeth and slid down him. She ran her hand along his length, and then repeated the action with her tongue. He bucked, but she held him in place with one hand while she sheathed him in the condom with the other. No sooner had she done this than he rolled them again, this time pinning her under him with intent.

She moaned and scooted herself into a position that raised her knees alongside his hips and tilted her pelvis to receive him. His heart hammered against her. Thinking that this was a surprising heaven to discover, Lisa wondered why she had waited two years.

It was all Finn could do not to drive himself into her when she raised her knees. He could feel her arousal. He knew that she wanted him. In that moment, it was so tempting to take all he wanted, how he wanted, and in every way he wanted. Good lord, it had been a long time.

He had to hang onto his control, he thought, reminding himself that she deserved to be pleasured too.

Finn raised up on his elbows, looked down into her face. She was absolutely gorgeous. This was a woman, not a young girl with stars in her eyes, but instead a woman with both heat and demand in her. She was squirming under him, impatiently waiting for him to be in her. Her heart was beating fiercely against his chest.

His mind took a detour, suddenly wishing they had more time. He wished that he’d met her across a crowded room, had asked to go out with her, and had talked her into this. His body had other plans though, so he pressed a little forward, stopping at her moan. He was finally at that point where he knew this was going to happen and that he was going to let it. Maybe he should just pretend he was Eric for once and be grateful. She ran her hands up his back, across his shoulders, making him feel more masculine than he ever remembered feeling in his life.

“What are you wearing?” she asked, her voice husky, her body clenching. “You smell like sandy beaches. It’s amazing.”

“Hotel shower gel, I think,” Finn told her, but he was guessing. “Are you sure. . .”

The question died as she raised her hips and gripped his to pull him into her.

“Sorry,” she actually blushed. “I wanted. . .it’s been a while since I. . .”

“Sssh…” he said, pressing his lips softly to hers. Her eagerness for him was thrilling to say the least. “It’s been a while for me too.”

Finn withdrew slightly and then pressed forward again. He did this several times, each time feeling her body’s slight resistance to him give a little more. With each stroke, he grew harder and more anxious to have her completely, which complicated the process even more.

She moaned, arching her hips to give him all the access she could. “God, I want you, all of you. Please. . .” she begged.

Finn answered that simple demand by driving forward hard and all the way. She cried out in relief, and then wrapped herself around him. She followed his rhythm, matching him stroke for stroke. It wasn’t elegant or practiced. It was primal with every stroke only seeking the next one. He felt himself nearing the edge when his rational mind finally clicked off. Then he didn’t care who she was, or why she was there. He was only grateful, profoundly grateful that she held him, wanted him, seemed to need him back.

He devoured her mouth again, finding her tongue, absorbing her scream as she climaxed around him. His body shook like an earthquake while he pounded himself into her. He didn’t stop moving until every last shudder had passed for them both. Then they held each other as close as they could, hearts thudding from the exertion.

After a while, when the shock had faded some, Finn rolled them to their sides keeping their bodies connected. He smiled and smoothed her hair back from her face, kissing her eyes, her cheeks, her chin.

“Thank you,” he said softly, tracing her very responsive mouth. “That was amazing.”

Lisa shivered with pleasant aftershocks and kissed his closed eyes. Then she smiled as he put his face into the side of her neck and fell dead asleep. She inhaled him deeply, gratefully, equally amazed—both with herself and with him. How this much wonderful happened?

In no hurry to end the blissful connection of their bodies, Lisa enjoyed his lying next to hers. She waited until she was fairly sure he was not going to wake again before gently disengaging her body from his. The moment it was done, all she wanted was to wake him again and start all over until he was back inside her.

Great
, now her body was completely awake after two years of nothing, but the man who woke it was fast asleep.

Grinning at her giddiness, Lisa closed her eyes, reliving every second of his persistent lovemaking which had ended her dry spell in such a fantastic way. He had been gentle, taking his time, loving her thoroughly. Then he’d been lost in her, pounding away to pleasure both of them as much as possible.

Damn it
, Lisa thought. It was just supposed to be simple sex. It started out like that. Biting him on the rear and stroking him to make sure he was interested, well that was certainly simple. But somewhere in those minutes after they’d found the condom, it had became something else. It had felt so unexpectedly
nice
. He had been the perfect blend of consideration and aggressive need, she decided. In fact, he’d been nearly perfect at all of it.

Swearing at her sentimental female musings when her unexpected lover was already snoring, Lisa pulled far enough away to look at his peaceful face. Talk about romanticizing a quick tumble for relief. Sheesh, she was being as unsophisticated about sleeping with someone as a woman could get.

What was the matter with her?

Great sex was just that—nothing more.

The man now slept like someone who hadn’t slept in days, but she still looked longingly at his sleeping form as she slid from the bed.

Good for him for sleeping so soundly, Lisa decided, walking to her clothes. At least he was sated. She must have done something right. After great sex, men slept soundly and deeply. She remembered that.

She quietly picked up her clothes and dressed, fighting the urge to giggle about the twinges she felt in places that hadn’t ached in a very long time.

She had an early meeting the next day and really couldn’t wait for him to wake up again, but wow, it was shocking how much she really wanted to.

Maybe dating someone so much younger had been a good idea after all.

In the sitting area, she stopped by a large desk. Seeing a pad of paper and elegant pen next to it, she decided to leave him a note.

Maybe he would smile when he read it as much as she was smiling now.

***

The next day when Finn finally woke up, it was nearly lunchtime. He immediately looked at the empty bed, disappointed to find no one beside him. Must have been a dream after all, he thought. But wow, it had sure seemed real.

Then he felt something on his body and found the condom still attached even after all the thrashing he had done in his sleep. It had been a pretty snug fit—just like she had been.

Okay—enough of that
, Finn decided as he climbed out of bed, his body starting to twitch at the thought of her.
So it hadn’t been a dream. Now what?

Nothing probably. He was grateful he’d exercised enough common sense in the heat of the moment to at least use protection. God knew he was disgusted with himself in just about every other way.

He couldn’t remember her name at all, wasn’t even sure he’d asked her for it. As tired as he had been, it was doubtful that he’d stayed conscious long enough to say goodbye. The thought made him frown. He remembered she was beautiful . . . and nice. Yet evidently, he had fucked her and fallen dead asleep as soon as it was over, pretty much acting like Eric. And that wasn’t his style with women at all.

Finn decided that there was no use asking his brother for her name and number. By now the woman had probably concluded he was a world-class jerk. Or at least she probably thought Eric had been one. Finn snorted, remembering the note Eric had crafted to lure her to the room in the first place.
Okay—maybe the woman thinking he was his evil twin wasn’t such a bad thing after all
.

Finn laughed and shook his head, amused at the idea of worsening Eric’s reputation.

But remembering her welcoming smile, her yielding body, and the sheer desire in every kiss, he sighed at the magnitude of his loss as he headed to the bathroom.

When he came out, it was to find Eric waiting in the sitting area, answering email on his phone.

“Don’t you do anything but work?” Finn asked, surly to see Eric so calm and unconcerned.

“Hey, Finn. You certainly look better today. I came by this morning, but you were still out cold. I left and decided to check back at lunch. I heard the shower when I came through the door a few minutes ago and knew you had finally come back to life.”

“I do feel better today. Amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for a man,” Finn said. He ran a hand through his damp hair while thinking it hadn’t been just the shower that had revived him.

Eric jumped up from his seat. “Hey—let’s grab some lunch. If you have some time, I’d love to take you by to meet my new girlfriend. Her office is just a few blocks away.”

For once, Finn was relieved Eric was so absorbed in his email and text messaging. No embarrassing questions about last night were forthcoming. He had already decided that if Eric didn’t say anything, then he wasn’t going to either.

“What new girlfriend?” Finn asked as he removed a clean t-shirt from his duffle and pulled it over his head. “I thought you kept everything free and easy, no commitments.”

“Turning thirty shifted my thinking. We had our first real date last weekend and it went very well. Lisa is a graphic artist who works for several design companies, has her own business, and is somewhere between five to ten years older than me. She’s also just about the nicest woman I have ever met. I’m thinking about marrying her.”

“After one dinner date you decided to marry the woman? That’s kind of quick, don’t you think?” Finn asked, the question rolling off his tongue in shock. Eric was a take-what-he-wanted type of guy, which more often than not ended up meaning taking advantage of the woman he was dating. His brother definitely wouldn’t marry a woman just to sleep with her, but Finn also hoped Eric wasn’t planning to marry someone he didn’t love in his quest for the perfect business wife.

Even after his lousy marriage, Finn still hoped to do better next time around.

“Once you meet Lisa, I think you’ll understand why I’m acting so fast,” Eric assured his skeptical brother, sending a final text before putting the phone in his pocket. “I feel that way even though Lisa didn’t show up for our second date last night, which could have been my fault because I changed our meeting location after I tucked you in. I guess her cell was off because I tried for a couple of hours and couldn’t reach her.”

Finn snorted in disbelief. “Your new girlfriend stood you up? Doesn’t sound so perfect to me. Why didn’t you sleep at her place last night?”

“Lisa did not stand me up.” Eric denied.

“You just said she did,” Finn declared.

“No, I said Lisa didn’t show up for drinks. That’s how I know something was wrong. I’ve known her for several months. She’s not that kind of person.”

It didn’t escape Finn’s notice that Eric never revealed where he’d spent the night if not with his perfect girlfriend. His secrecy was not surprising and made him realize that even at thirty his brother hadn’t really changed much.

Finn watched Eric whip out his phone again and start typing like a fiend. When his brother finally lifted his head from his electronics it was to frown at Finn. “Don’t you have some real clothes?”

Finn looked down at his t-shirt, jeans, and sandals. “I have a jacket I can throw on over these if you’re offended by my lack of a suit. This is all I have. There’s not much use for dress clothes in the desert. I have a polo and one pair of khakis with me, which I plan to wear for my speaking engagement tomorrow at Harvard. Your fancy girlfriend will just have deal with my lack of fashion sense.”

Chapter 3