Lead Me Home: Home is Where the Heat Is, Book 2 (2 page)

“Your aunt?” Chloe slid off his lap and pulled her thong on with a quick glance at the door. She’d just put her skirt on when the knock came again. She slipped her bra into place and cast him a quick glance. “Snicker doodle?”

He groaned and finished buttoning his shirt. “You’re going to pay for that later.”

Chloe smiled. She hoped so.

Chapter Three

“Oh, Nick. She’s beautiful.”

Nick rolled his eyes and hugged Aunt Betty as he met Chloe’s sympathetic smile. “Yes, she is, isn’t she? Aunt Betty, this is Chloe. Chloe, my aunt Betty.”

Chloe walked over to shake his aunt’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” She turned to him then. “I’ll just call a cab, Nick.”

He shook his head, but his aunt interrupted before he could say anything. “Oh no. Did I butt in on something naughty?”

Well, that was the death of that hard-on. There should be a law against elderly female relatives saying anything remotely sexual. He glanced at Chloe, wondering what she was thinking. “No, Auntie, we were just—”

“Finishing a movie,” Chloe supplied. “I was just getting ready to leave.”

“Please, don’t go on my account.” Betty took her hands. “I’ve got fleas. Well not me, my cat. I was supposed to be staying at my sister’s house, but she’s such a bitch.” Aunt Betty crossed the room and slumped down on the couch. “I just need a place to stay until tomorrow when the deadly gasses are clear from the house. You know, fumigating.”

Nick glanced at the ceiling, praying for patience. Of all the rotten luck… “Auntie, you know you always have a place here.”

Chloe’s smile was huge as she drew her arms around his waist for a quick hug. “Your snicker doodle is just the sweetest thing, Betty.”

“He sure is.” Aunt Betty sighed. “Thanks, snick. You’re a doll. Now you two don’t mind me.”

When she yawned, Nick grabbed Chloe’s hand and pulled her toward the kitchen. He called back to his aunt. “Can I get you anything, Auntie?”

“A cup of tea would be nice.”

The moment they were in the kitchen, he pushed Chloe back against the wall and slid his hand under her shirt. Her nipple tightened beneath his fingers and he called back to his aunt. “Coming right up. I recorded the game earlier. Why don’t you turn it on?”

He moved away to set a kettle on the stove to warm, then walked back to Chloe. The T.V. blared almost immediately, and he skimmed his hand beneath her skirt.

“What are you doing?” She grabbed his hand before he could slide his fingers all the way up her thigh. “Your aunt—”

He nodded against her neck and pushed his hand higher. Her thong slid aside easily as he parted her damp curls. Rubbing his finger over her clit, he nipped at her neck, enjoying her shiver. “Yeah, she’ll never know.”

Her head fell back as he moved his hand quicker. She gripped the counter, spreading her legs a bit to give him more access. The damp folds of her body clamped around his finger, and he rocked his hand against her, exhilarated by the breathy moans she tried to contain.

She was so hot, so wet. The brief tease he’d had of her hot pussy wrapped around his cock burst through his mind, creating more pressure in his jeans. When she tucked her mouth against his neck, whispering for more, he thrust deeper. Her shattered breath caught on a sob.

The heat in the kitchen increased, drummed up a notch by her passionate response and the kettle hissing softly behind him. Shit. “Come for me, baby.”

She urged him on, her body taut, breaths shallow. “Yes, Nick. Faster.”

He smiled, ignoring the increasing insistence of the kettle’s warning whistle. “That’s it, baby. Let me feel it.”

“Want me to get that tea?” Auntie’s voice traveled through the room and Nick groaned.

“I can handle it, Auntie.”

He kept his pace, exhilarating in Chloe’s reactions. Her body shook, stiffened, drenching his fingers before the walls of her pussy tightened in deep spasms around him. Precome slid from his cock at her excitement. She jerked her hips, swallowing a deep, throaty moan before collapsing against him with a heavy sigh. Her light chuckle rumbled through him. “That was—nice.”

“Nice?” He slid his hand from her body, resisting the temptation to taste her on his finger and walked over to grab a couple towels from the cupboard. Handing her one, he washed his hands quickly. Serving his aunt tea with Chloe’s scent on his fingers just sat wrong. “We’ll have to try for better than nice again later.”

“Take that damn kettle off.”

Flipping the switch on the stove, he hauled the kettle aside. “Nothing like having a timer.”

“I’ll say. Good thing you had me so wound up or that wouldn’t have been near enough time.” Her furrowed brows showed her annoyance. “I really should get going.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. You’re mine for twenty-four hours, doll.”

“That was before. An aunt’s invasion should nullify the deal.”

He searched the cupboard for tea bags, glad he still had some left from his aunt’s last visit. Then he turned back with a shrug. “She’ll be asleep in no time. We could just be—inventive, until then.”

“Inventive?” Her lips pursed on the thought. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just take a rain check.”

He couldn’t blame her. Really, the thought of having sex in the same house his aunt was in did little for his own excitement. He dropped a tea bag into a coffee mug and walked over. Bracing a hand against the counter on either side of her body, he pressed close. “Give me a couple minutes, and I’ll give you a ride home.”

She nodded, her eyes wandering over his mouth. “We could walk instead. I’m staying at Miya’s, and if I remember right, she’s just up the road.”

Actually, her idea sounded good. “Give me ten minutes?”

A saucy smile tilted her lips. “Whatever you say, snicker doodle.”

Nick groaned. He needed to speak to his aunt about that childhood nickname.

Chloe leaned back against the tree. Texas dirt roads were quiet at o’dark thirty at night.

Dead End, Texas was such a different animal than New York City. Here a body could find a spot of ground where no one else would crash, congregate or pass by. Public displays of affection weren’t her thing, but with no car or foot traffic, no lights and only a few grazing cows beyond a wooden fence, she wasn’t about to stall this cowboy.

Invigorated by the warm evening air, she wasn’t quite ready to call it a night. Especially not with Nick’s warm hands wrapped around her waist.

Neither of them had found quite the satisfaction they’d hoped for, but there was always tomorrow. Or tonight. “It was nice of you to offer your aunt a place to stay—considering. I actually know guys who would have let her sleep in her car rather than interrupt what we were doing.”

He scowled. “Must not be very many decent men in New York.”

There were some—few and far between. “New York is a place where you have to look out for yourself. No one else will, that’s for sure.”

His eyes met hers. “How long have you lived there?”

Too long. It had become a part of her. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d done something just to be nice. “Since I was seventeen, so eight years.”

“What about your folks. They around?”

Folks? She really liked the way he talked. “Nope. I left home when I was sixteen and never looked back.”

“So you were by yourself, in New York, that young?”

What a scary time it had been too. She’d had to eat or be eaten, and she’d kicked and clawed her way to the top. “It was better than home, actually. My dad died when I was little and Mom had a revolving door on her bedroom in her search for the next husband. Four in all after Dad died. When the guys started noticing her pretty daughter, I got the hell out.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Honest concern softened his eyes. “Explains a lot about the way you act, though.”

“The way I act?” That threw her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged. “You’re distant. Reserved. I wasn’t saying anything bad about you. You’re just not as open and welcoming as the people I’m used to. You’ve got pretty manners, and this great smile, but you hold back from anything past cordial.”

Distant? Well, maybe. But reserved? “I don’t know about that. I’ve always been considered an extrovert.”

“You are,” he agreed. “But that ain’t the same as showing the real you. I got to see who you really are because you can’t hide how much Miya means to you.”

She shrugged. He was right. “I’ve found that the louder and more fun I am, the less people try to get to know me. Being the crowd’s feel-good girl has its perks. It keeps the eyes on me, but the questions about me at a minimum.”

She’d learned quickly that true friends were a rarity and opening up gave the not-great friends ammunition.

But not Nick. Hell, he’d take a friend’s secret to the grave. She just knew it somehow. He was also the type that probably trusted first and hurt for it later. No matter what, she’d make sure she didn’t hurt him. Not that the possibility would arise. She wasn’t there to get to know him or let him know her. At least not to the personal extent he was leaning towards.

“Sounds lonely at the top.”

“I’m happy with who I am,” she offered honestly. “Some like it, some don’t.”

“See. Closed off.” His crooked smile sent a wave of heat through her body. “But I like you just the same.”

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she gave him a little tug closer. “You do, huh? And what is it you like?”

“I like your strength.”

She scrunched her nose. “Strength? Not my ass? My sexy smile?”

“Oh, those too. I really liked you a little while ago. Hot, wet and naked.”

The rough bark of the tree scratched her back as he pressed closer, but she didn’t mind. The sensation was exciting, reminding her of the wide-open country around them. His body felt good tucked close. She wrapped a leg around his and eased closer. “Are you in a hurry to get back to your aunt?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Whatcha got in mind?”

“Let me show you.” She reached down to tug at the buckle on his belt.

Shifting it free, she stroked his cock through the fabric of his jeans before slipping the buttons open. When he moved to help her push the jeans aside, she smiled. His cock fell free, semi-hard and warm in her hands. Stroking him, she smoothed her leg higher until it reached midway up his thigh.

His eyes narrowed. Warm fingers tugged her damp thong aside. “Finish what we started?”

“That’s the general idea—”

She didn’t get a chance to finish. The hard press of his cock settled at her opening, the head just breaching her. “I don’t have any condoms with me.”

“My purse,” she breathed.

It was only seconds between him letting go and pressing her back to the tree again. Then he thrust deep with a low moan.

The feel of his cock caressing her inner walls, the heat of him, took her breath away. He moved deep before pulling out almost completely. “So. Fucking. Good.”

Holding her leg over his hip, he set a delicious pace. Each deep stroke fueled the need already coursing through her in staggering ribbons. He played, his hips rocking from side to side as he penetrated, touching every inch of her. His other hand roamed over her body to pluck at her nipples before sliding lower to grip her bottom and pull her closer.

When he reached between them to manipulate her clit, she cried out. Her ragged moans drifted away on the warm evening air, and she unbuttoned his shirt, needing to touch hard, warm muscle. The scents of fresh-cut grass and clean air enveloped her to mingle with the heated aroma of his desire-soaked skin. Moonlight glistened off the planes of his chest and rigid stomach.

Every move and breath that he took pierced her senses, shattering her reserves as an overwhelming need pulsed down through her body. She rocked into him, taking him deeper as his groans became heavier, fractured in the open silence of the night.

“More,” she cried, urging him on with her fingers gripped tight to his firm ass. “Yes, Nick, yes.”

And he responded with deeper, harder thrusts that took her breath, stroking her clit with each sweet penetration until the world tilted around her and she trembled, perched at the precipice of a delicious orgasm.

He bit gently at her neck, growling as his thrusts became sharper, frantic. “Come for me, baby. Can you feel my cock swelling? You’re so hot, so tight.”

With a deep thrust, he slid his hand up over her stomach, pushing her back into the tree. His hand moved farther to grip at her breast as his cock moved in and out of her with a quickening pace. Hot fingers molded to the sensitive curve of her neck; his thumb brushed the pulse at her throat. A slight tightening of his fingers drew her last strand of control, and she shattered around him.

Pulses of deep pleasure streaked up through her clit, shivering in slick waves down through the walls of her pussy before gripping at her muscles. Her back stiffened as he thrust quicker, each breath labored with the force of his demands.

Her wet response smoothed over his cock as he jerked into her body with a deep, muffled yell, his body going rigid with his release.

He leaned forward, his voice raspy and thick. “Damn, doll.”

Sweat from their bodies cooled in the night air, the scent of their sex heavy on the breeze. Her breathing slowed, and she slid her hands along the lines of his back. With a quick nip at the bristly turn of his jaw, she sighed, her body languid now from his expert handling. “Oh, yeah. I feel much better now.”

It felt so good, so free to be away from New York. From the pressures of work and the constant noise. Out here, there was nothing but the night air, the feel of Nick’s skin beneath her fingers, his touch. She burrowed into his arms, wanting to savor the moment. There was something to be said for easy living.

When he slid from her body, stark reality returned. Somehow, for a brief moment, she could have stayed that way—forever. The thought jolted her. What the hell was she thinking? This was fun, sure. But there was no room in her life for sappy shit like what she’d just been thinking. Those types of thoughts led to indecision. It made a person question what they really wanted. And there was no way she was letting herself fall into that trap.

With quick movements, she tugged her clothes back to rights and smiled. “Walk me home?”

He nodded slowly, leaning close. Before she could react, his lips touched hers softly. The air left her lungs. Smooth and warm, his mouth moved over hers with light pressure, his hands moving up to cup her face.

“I want to see you again.” His mouth brushed hers as he spoke, and a shudder ripped through her. So did she, but she shouldn’t. Actually enjoying his company, and craving more time together, wasn’t supposed to be part of this vacation package.