Licked by the Flame (5 page)

His lips.
How would they feel pressed against her skin? Hot, demanding…she could practically feel them now. The skin at the back of her neck prickled. It was as if she’d been touched there, caressed by unseen hands that stroked gently over her shoulders, down her arms, warming her along the way. A tremor of excitement trilled through her.

Something sizzled inside—her blood boiling in her veins, perhaps. Her eyes drooped shut and she leaned back in her chair. Exhaustion, that must be the explanation. Her body must be desperate to stay awake, inventing these crazy sensations and the wild images to go along with them.

She could see Nic. He was with her—but he wasn’t. She only saw him in her mind, and he loomed large, reaching for her and speaking her name softly, calling her to relax. How could she do anything else? Her limbs were beyond her control. A wave of scorching desire enveloped her and held her where she was, trembling in place as his touch roamed over her body.

The sensation was strong, almost as if he were right there in the room with her. She felt his demanding fingertips brush over her jawline, along her collarbone, and then slowly he was touching her breasts. She drew in a labored breath, begging him to continue but trying to remind herself this was not real.

Her arms moved of their own accord, her fingers moving to the pearl buttons on the thin blouse that she wore. Her shirt gaped open, her body begged for more of Nic’s touch. She waited, panting for air, alone with her imaginings, yet very much not alone. She could feel him, sense him as clearly as if he had been standing there over her, reaching to take her into his arms.

For a moment the empty air nearly pulled her out of the fantasy, but then his hands were on her. He cupped her breasts, exploring them as if he’d found rare treasure. She gasped as searing desire shot to her core. She was hot and she was wet and she’d never wanted a man so badly in her life.

She reached for his hands, but found nothing. Her eyes opened and she shuddered, suddenly chilled, glancing nervously around. Empty. The room was vacant, except for her. The files she’d been studying were still laid out on the table in front of her. No one was here. No one had been touching her but herself.

How had it felt so very real, though? How could she have imagined Nic so distinctly?
Why
had she imagined him, of all people?

Because she’d never met anyone like him. And she wanted him.

“You should be in bed.”

His voice.
Had she imagined that, too? No. She hadn’t. She whirled around to find him watching her from the doorway.

It took just a moment to catch her breath and begin fumbling with her blouse. “I’m working.”

“No you aren’t.”

“I was, until…”

“Until what?”

“Until I started feeling…too tired. What are you doing here? Why are you still up?”

“Apparently I was feeling too tired, as well.”

“Then you should go to bed.”

“Exactly what I was thinking about you.”

Instantly, bed was all she could think of.
Bed
, with him in it. Even with her eyes wide open and common sense screaming in her head, she still felt the heat of his touch and pictured herself ripping that shirt off his back. She wanted him as if she’d been starving for him all of her life. Thank God he had no idea she was feeling this way. Or did he? Hell. His smug smile and flashing eyes were just as cocky and annoying and damn tantalizing as she could have guessed they would be.

“I could tuck you in, if that’s what you need,” he offered.

Yes!
Or rather,
No!
She had to concentrate on work before she could play.

“I need to finish going over these reports,” she said, turning back to the pages laid out in front of her. “I’ve been looking over this data and comparing it to some of our start-up files.”

“And what are you finding?” he asked, his voice closer behind her.

“I keep seeing your name pop up, as a matter of fact. I was wondering if—”

His hands were on her shoulders. His real hands! She wasn’t just imagining his touch this time. He had come near to her and was now gently massaging her shoulders, his fingers kneading tenderly over her tight muscles. Her body responded immediately, her chest rising with a deep, halting breath and her tense shoulders sagging in welcome relief.

“You work harder than you should,” he said softly into her ear. “It’s time for you to rest now.”

“I can’t,” she replied without any real conviction. “There’s too much to do.”

“And you’ll be much better equipped to do it tomorrow, after you’ve gone to bed.”

“No, I can’t,” she protested again. It was, of course, true. Her body was on fire right now and sleep was the last thing she could think of. “I’m not tired.”

“You will be,” he said.

He turned her chair around so she was facing him. Her skin still tingled from where he had touched her, but now he leaned in to take her hands. She let him and wondered when she’d lost control of her arms. It seemed her mind had gone numb, unaware of anything but the desire building inside her.

He loomed before her, the one crystal clear object in a world gone fuzzy and warm.

“Come, Lianne. Let me take you to your room and take care of you tonight.”

Her room.
That sounded good. His voice was so smooth, his words reassuring. He seemed to want to lull her into blindly trusting him, but he didn’t need to do that. She knew who he was and just how far she could trust him. He was an asshole, but he wouldn’t harm her. He might lie about the job, and he sure as hell wouldn’t be someone to rely on for the future, but this had nothing to do with any of that.

She was smart enough to figure out the job with or without his help. And the future? Well, there was no way he would figure into that, so he was totally off the hook there. All she wanted right now was his hot body making her feel good. There was no doubt he could do that. She rose from her chair and he led her toward the door.

“Which one of these buildings are you staying in?” he asked as they stepped out into the chilled night air.

His touch was light as he helped her down the wooden steps onto the chipped gravel pathway that connected this modular to the others. It was late and the windows around them were dark. Aside from the wind, the only sound she could hear was the droning hum of generators and heating units.

And now their footsteps as she led him toward the boxlike building where she was staying. Would anyone see them? She hoped not. Maybe common sense would tell her to stop, to send Nic off and ignore the burning want in her core or the smoldering promise in his eyes.

She paused on the pathway and gave common sense about three seconds to chime in.

“What is it?” Nic asked. His voice was deep and hot and as intimate as if he breathed into her ear.

“Nothing,” she replied. “Come on.”

She reached the steps leading up to the main door of her modular. A porch had been constructed there to give the place a homey, welcoming feel. She took a heady breath and Nic’s scent filled her senses. Her legs felt like jelly and she stumbled a bit on the stairs. He put his hands on her waist to steady her. She nearly melted under his touch.

“I’m okay, thanks,” she said, steadying herself and realizing that she’d never before actually felt dizzy from pure desire. His hands practically burned through her clothes, yet she couldn’t wait to get even closer to him.

She fumbled with the key card they’d assigned her. Finally the lock clicked and she pushed the door open. Nic was at her side, but he didn’t follow as she stepped in. She held the door, confused by his hesitation.

“You coming in?” she asked.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked.

Hell. Her heart pounded and her body threatened to burst into flame at any moment now. Yes, it was what she wanted! The fact that he asked made her remember how serious this was, though. She’d come to do an important job, not get herself tangled up with the resident bad boy. Would she be jeopardizing her ability to get things done? Would she lose the team’s respect if they found out about this? Would she ever forgive herself if she sent him back to his room now?

She contemplated the answer. When she finally spoke, her reply hung like a mist in the crisp air between them. She couldn’t take it back if she wanted to. Which she didn’t.

“Yeah. It’s what I want.”

He smiled at her. Those damn eyes were black and fiery all at the same time. She fell into them, trapped by his intensity and aching for something to quench the heat burning inside her.

“I know what you need, Lianne,” he said as he reached for her.

She pulled him into the homey modular and practically slammed the door behind him. “Good. Then you aren’t going pretend this has anything to do with the job or any kind of relationship or fluffy rainbow dreams for the future, right?”

He gave her another of those boiling-hot grins just before he pulled her into his arms. “I was hoping it was about really hot sex.”

Yeah, she was damn sure hoping that, too. She felt good, pressed up against him as his body literally sucked the cold night chill out of her. She’d left her sweater back in the computer room, but the way she was heating up now, she’d never need it again.

The man might be an ass, but he certainly knew how to give the right answers. From his cocky attitude to his smoldering eyes, broad shoulders, and tight, grabbable ass, he seemed to have everything that she wanted. At least for one night. She was getting really good at taking life one night at a time.

They were making out in the lounge area of the VIP guesthouse. There was a small kitchenette behind them, plus two bedroom suites, one at each end of the building. She was the only VIP staying here right now, so they’d have the whole place to themselves. Not that she expected they’d use much of it. The way he was touching her now, pressing his lips to her neck and murmuring in—she guessed—Russian, they might not even make it to the bedroom.

“Just be sure you’re out of here long before anyone on-site wakes up and sees you,” she admonished, knowing she’d better talk now before his kisses turned her brain to complete mush.

He scooped her up into his arms. “Which bedroom is yours?”

As if that really mattered. She’d settle for any place with a flat surface right now. But for the sake of propriety she pointed to the door at the east end of the modular, where she’d stowed her suitcase and freshened up after arriving. He marched forward like a man on a mission. Maybe she’d regret it in the morning, but right now she was perfectly content that
she
was his mission.

H
e dropped her onto the bed. She was clinging to him so tightly that he followed her right down into the fresh linens and downy spread. He’d thought her persistent refusal of his attentions all day had made him more interested in her, but right now her overwhelming willingness was twice as tantalizing as her coy disdain had been. It was nearly enough to send him out of control. She was so open to his touch, so demanding with her desire, that he had to struggle to close off his mind. He needed to focus on the physical now, ignore the waves of sensation that assaulted him mentally.

The woman was a rampant torrent of emotion. He didn’t want that—couldn’t deal with that now. She claimed this was about nothing other than sex, yet her emotions whorled with much more.

Her raging mind and ragged passions were tantalizing. He wanted to reach deep inside her and discern what was at their core, what fueled such strong emotions. He wouldn’t dare let himself, though. This was supposed to be about the physical, about him using her to feed into his need and to regain control over himself and his situation.

She was even hotter and more vigorous than he was right now. If he didn’t slow her down just a bit, this wouldn’t take any time at all. Although that would still certainly suit his purpose, it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun. Lianne McGowan was the sort of woman a man wanted to take his time with.

And he sure as hell wanted her to take some time with him. He had plans for them tonight and they definitely involved more than just a few minutes of panting and sweating. He was counting on a few
hours
of panting and sweating.

She was clearly going for minutes though, the way she tore at his clothes and started fumbling with his belt buckle. Feeling her hands working him there certainly did put him in the mood for being agreeable to her accelerated pace. His cock was as hard as a boulder and straining at his clothing. He could hardly wait to get it inside her, feel the heat of her tender opening, the wet muscles tensing around him as he stroked her over and over again.

She suddenly went rigid underneath him, her hands clutching at the fabric of his shirt, and she moaned, arching up to grind herself against him. He ached with need, but he tried to push himself away from her, to get control of himself long enough to think straight. Hell, he realized he’d been so distracted that he’d allowed his mind to slip back inside hers. She’d felt his thoughts, felt him planning his onslaught, and she’d begun to climax already.

“Slow down,” he soothed, shifting to lie next to her and stroke her wild, vibrant hair. “There’s no reason to hurry.”

“I want to hurry,” she said, not meeting his eyes but instead turning her focus onto the buttons of his shirt. “Before I change my mind here.”

“I promise I won’t give you any reason to do that.”

“Good. Then take off your damn shirt.”

He had to laugh at her tone, not that it made his raging hard-on any less raging. No, in fact it made him all the more eager to get out of his shirt and strip her out of every scrap of her clothing. With that red hair, he was imaging a sprinkling of freckles over her shoulders and lily-white skin where the sun never shone. He loved the feel, the look of willing female flesh. He could hardly wait to have her laid out before him so he could take in every inch of her.

He leaned back on his elbow and slowly undid the top button of his shirt. He watched as she chewed her lip, mesmerized by his movements. Slowly, he moved on to the next button and then carefully to the next. Her eyes followed. The desire was so thick around them that he was careful not to breathe it in too deeply. He would maintain his control, stay in command of their actions here tonight. It was damn near impossible, though, to rein in his wandering thoughts.

He could feel her approval, the raw lust surging in her as he tantalized her one button at a time. By the Fires, he could feel his own flesh singeing where her eyes lingered on him. She was holding herself back from touching him, from running fingers over his chest or gliding over his skin, across his abdomen clenched tight. Her thoughts were having their way with him and he throbbed for the actual feel of her, for the hands he knew were just itching to get beyond his clothing and explore him in detail. He studied her lips and gave out a groan when the image of them moving over his flesh, devouring him, taking the full size of him into her mouth entered his mind. He’d never experienced this with a human before. Usually his was the mind that did the teasing, using his thoughts to increase the sensual need within his partner. This was the first time he’d encountered it working the other way around.

He liked it.

She startled him out of the fantasy, though, as she shoved him back down onto his back, brushing his hands away and taking over the buttons for herself.

“Hell, let me do it,” she said.

She ripped his shirt open the rest of the way and yanked it out from his pants. She’d already gotten the belt undone and now immediately went for his zipper. The woman was nothing if not efficient, and before he could remind her to slow down, she had him exposed. His cock practically leaped out of its confinement, and she grabbed it as if she’d been stalking a wild animal.

He half expected her to exclaim, to make some randy comments about his size or the obvious state of his arousal—he was fairly used to those reactions—but she said nothing. She simply wrapped her hands around him and purred as if she’d won some sort of prize. He had to draw in a slow breath and remember why he was doing this or he would have been lost already. She was stroking him carefully now.

“So far I’m not changing my mind,” she said softly.

“Good.” He liked her mind the way it was, focused on him.

He needed to be a little bit more careful of his own mind, however. He kept forgetting to keep his dragon senses checked. This was a simple coupling, just another night of physical pleasure that his human body needed to engage in, but his very essence would not be a part of it. He could not let Lianne touch more than just his human body. She could never know about the parts of him that had gone untouched so long…no matter how much he might wish her to. He could not allow her into his soul. Slaking his desire with Lianne tonight would give him back some of the energy he used to maintain this human form, but he could not let it change who he truly was.

He was not a man, no matter how long he had lived in this form. He was from the Forbidden Realm; Lianne would never even have known he existed if he’d not chosen to appear as a human, to step through the Veil and reveal himself to her. His soul was not a part of her mundane world, despite his being ruled by the carnal desires this frail human form needed so often. He was a being of magic. He lived behind the Veil that separated humans from magic and kept him and all of his kind carefully hidden. And safe.

He couldn’t allow himself to become involved here on any other level but the physical. He’d used his dragon senses to reach into Lianne’s mind simply because it served his purpose. But now that he knew she was willing and eager for their joining, he could withdraw that part of him, give over to the physical and enjoy the purely human sensations they’d share together tonight. Human passions served a useful purpose. He took pleasure in them and drew energy from them, but he wouldn’t involve his soul, despite how tempting it would be. That part of him must remain safely hidden, shuttered up behind the Veil.

Lianne’s alluring little body, however, did not need to remain safely behind anything. He gritted his teeth as she stroked his cock and he went to unfasten the rest of the buttons on her delicate blouse. He was desperate for them to be skin-to-skin. Thankfully her cardigan had been left in the computer room when he’d seduced her out of that building. It was a simple matter of undoing her blouse and pulling her close as he reached around to unfasten her bra.

He had those perky breasts in his hands almost as quickly as she’d gotten into his pants. By the Fires, she was firm and full. Her nipples peaked for him as he brushed his thumbs over them. He toyed with them, loving the feel of her silky skin and the bounce of her tender flesh.

She liked it, too, cooing from his touch, and matching his vigor with her own as she played at pleasuring him. Her fist clenched around him, gliding up the full length of his cock while she watched him. He shifted uncomfortably. Damn, his body was eager to give in, but his sheer willpower would not yet allow it. He needed to benefit from her pleasure, not merely his own.

It seemed that would not be a problem, however. She was more than enjoying the moment. Pleasure came easily for Lianne, it would seem. Excellent. He could feel the passion radiating off her already. She was giving in and opening herself to the heat of their encounter. He was feeding from that energy already.

It would take hardly any effort at all to bring her to further climax. She sure as hell had thawed once she put her mind to it. He’d been prepared to use much more of his persuasive powers, but she’d not needed that. Having decided to pursue pleasure, her cast-iron persona had faded away to reveal a deeply passionate woman. The transition was captivating.

Nic was glad for the moonlight pouring in through the window—he was entranced by the pleasure and passion displayed in her features, her actions, the way she let her long auburn curls fall every which way around her. She was all about the physical right now and responding with full force to every caress, every brush of skin against skin. He cupped one of her velvety breasts and took the tantalizing nipple into his mouth.

Her eyes drooped shut and she let out a contented sigh. Yes, she would come so very easily for him. He would fill her, glide into her and share some of his heat. She’d climax in his arms and he’d watch her, experience the pleasure with her. He’d draw from her the energy he needed to continue in this human form. Then, if he’d done the thing well, she’d welcome him into her body again. And again. They had a very long night ahead and he was looking forward to every minute of it.

As he ran his hands over her flesh, pushing the light fabric of her blouse off her shoulders and breathing kisses on the delightful spatter of freckles he found there, he felt her body slightly tense. Was she beginning to regret her decision to invite him into her room? He hadn’t pegged Lianne to be one of those women who let misplaced common sense creep in and douse the flames that wanted to burn inside them. No, she seemed far more sure of herself, confident and decisive. When she opened that door to let him inside, he’d known she meant it. He could feel that she needed this release nearly as much as he did.

“Just relax,” he murmured into her ear. “I’ll take care of you.”

But her eyes were wide open now, and dark with an intensity he hadn’t expected to find. Under his fingers, her muscles grew taut and she suddenly sat up. There was nothing he could do but fall back onto the bed and wait for some sort of explanation.

“No,” she said defiantly. “You’re not going to take care of me.
I’m
going to take care of
you
.”

And she very nearly did. Her sudden shift in position, as well as demeanor, surprised him and he was caught off guard. She moved like a cat, practically pouncing so that she ended up straddling him, her blouse hanging off her and her luscious breasts taunting him. He had no choice but to lie back and let her do as she would.

His engorged cock rose valiantly before her and she smiled as she studied it. Her movements were fluid, but calculated as she positioned herself just right. He watched, eager for what she might choose to do to him. He wasn’t disappointed.

She leaned in to press a hot, wet kiss right on the very tip of his throbbing cock. Then she arched her back as she slid up until she was sitting right atop him. He groaned from the pleasure of it as she ground herself against him, smiling as his length pressed against her sensitive area, even though the slacks she still wore prevented anything more dramatic from happening. She leaned toward him and must have known he would instinctively nip at her nipple. She rewarded him with a purr.

He grabbed her curvy little butt and pulled her more tightly against him. By the Fires, she was even more than he’d bargained for. Her hair fell over her shoulders, and the moonlight made her skin fairly glow. He rocked under her, watching her smile. The light abrasion from the fabric of her slacks was very likely making him smile, too.

“See, now isn’t this better?” she asked.

She wanted him so badly her body practically ached. But she’d hold off just a bit longer. It wasn’t as if the man was going anywhere. He was into this just as much as she was.

Lianne tossed her hair back and shifted position, bearing down on him so that he groaned under her. She’d purposely not taken her slacks off yet, even though she’d had him hard and ready and out in the open for some time now. God, but he was big. And solid like a rock.

It had seemed he’d been interested in some foreplay, too, but that was out of the question for her. None of that mushy, emotional snuggling. If she was going to do this—and she sure as hell intended to—she was going to be extra careful to leave her heart and any of her more vulnerable parts out of it. This was just about her body, nothing more.

Things would be better that way. For both of them. This would just be sex—really hot, spur-of-the-moment sex. That’s what she wanted right now. The thought of giving in to such uninhibited passion was a little bit intoxicating, really. She’d never been the one-night-stand type in the past but now…well, this seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.

Of course, it was probably exactly the opposite of what her doctor really would order for her, given the circumstances, but she was going with a second opinion: her own. And her opinion was to prescribe a whole night of sweaty, steamy sex with the hottest man she’d met in a long time. Okay, the hottest man she’d
ever
met, actually. And she didn’t have to care if he called her back or even liked her in the morning.

All he had to do was give her what she needed now, then show up to work tomorrow, which would be kind of hard for him
not
to do since they were pretty much stranded between a glacier and a big, barren mountain in Iceland. The helicopter that brought her out here had dropped off a week’s worth of supplies and wasn’t due back for another week. Until then, Nic was more or less stuck working with her. And making her nights a little more entertaining, if he lived up to expectations. Which it seemed like he would.