Love Script (16 page)

“What the hel is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not sleeping with you, Nick.”

“You’ve already done that. What you failed to do is cooperate in other activities.”

“I’m not doing that, either.”

“Why? Am I too white for you? Do you need some big black guy to get you off?”

Laney yanked her hand out of his hold. “Don’t play that card with me, Nick. Let’s not pretend you’ve dated black women before. In fact, you wouldn’t even be here with me if it weren’t for Vivian being black.

I’m just part of your scheme to get over on the Zelmans, remember? And right now they aren’t here, so step away from me.”

“There is more going on here and you know it, Laney.”

“Maybe for you but not for me. I’m not going to let you use me like that. Al I want is the money you promised me and my promotion. Whatever else you have in mind is absolutely out of the question.”

“Fine.” His rage could barely be contained. “Then you won’t mind if I find a more obliging companion tonight.”

“Have it your way.” Her eyes brimmed with tears.

“After dinner, you can go hunt down some stupid bimbo. You can even have free range of the suite.

Just get rid of her by midnight. I’l be ready for bed by then.” She used her finger to flick away angry tears.

“How could you upset me on our anniversary night?”

“What the hel are you talking about?”

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

Nick grabbed her arm. “Careful, Laney. Don’t lose it in front of the Zelmans.”

She slapped his hand away and stomped off to the restroom.

Nick returned to their table, his hard-on long gone. He arrived just in time to bear witness to Wil iam and Vivian concluding another playful argument. Cooper and Heidi were engaged in a humorous conversation with the couple at the next table. Nick noticed Cooper cast a curious look his way, probably wondering where Laney was. It only pissed him off further.

Laney returned while Wil iam was tel ing an amusing story about his first year of marriage. Laney stepped into her role with no hint of earlier distress.

Her cheeks glowed as she laughed with the Zelmans. She was upbeat and fun-loving to everyone at the table, except Nick.

He sat back quietly, smiling when someone made a joke and pretending to listen when someone was speaking. Inwardly, he was fuming. He was almost convinced she felt some element of attraction for him but apparently he was wrong. He’d always been able to draw the attention of the opposite sex without much effort, but Laney was proving to be difficult. It was infuriating.

He was no longer surprised by his attraction to her. She was a gorgeous woman, her slender yet natural curves were intoxicating to watch. The golden glow of her skin was irresistibly touchable. His body reacted to her in the simplest way, yet she was completely cold to him. Every advance toward her had been cool y rejected. Perhaps it was the chal enge that drove him mad. At any rate, he was absolutely pissed off with the situation and desperately needed to get laid. Screw her and her frosty demeanor.

“Wel , it’s past our bedtime.” Wil iam Zelman stood and stretched. “We wish you both congratulations.” He clapped Nick on the back while Vivian hugged Laney. And then they were gone.

As soon as the Zelmans were out of sight, Laney slid out of her seat and exited the dinner hal without a second look. Nick didn’t pay the Wrights any mind.

He stood and headed in the opposition direction. Let Cooper think whatever he wanted. Laney was a headache he could do without tonight.

It didn’t take long to catch the attention of a woman. Nick had learned years ago that beautiful women hated to be ignored; it was the ultimate insult to their vanity. Within minutes of leaning against the bar, women were throwing themselves at him. He selected the prettiest amongst them and engaged in heavy flirtation. She went on and on about being on some retreat with her best friend—or was it her sister? He paid little attention to what she was saying, only interested in the fact that she was openly offering herself to his exploring hands.

They went back to her room, where before long, she was naked and on her knees, giving him a blowjob. She had a fantastic mouth; however, to his frustration, he couldn’t stay hard long enough to have sex. After several tries to get aroused, Nick gave up and excused himself. She had wanted to keep trying but he was becoming bored. He had no idea what was wrong with him. The woman had been pretty, al long legs and ful breasts but he couldn’t keep it up.

Annoyed, he returned to the bar. He welcomed the flirtation of more attractive women; however, none of them sparked any great level of desire. After a while, he migrated to one of the nightclubs. The music was decent and the females present were cute, but again he didn’t see anyone worth sleeping with. After his first incident, he had to make sure he chose a spectacular individual, capable of making and keeping him horny. He couldn’t risk embarrassing himself again. He moved on to another club, but again didn’t discover anyone special.

Aggravated and sexual y frustrated, he made his way to the casino area. The sound of Laney’s musical laughter immediately caught his attention.

He spotted her at the craps table standing next to John, who was currently the shooter. Natalie and their friends were standing nearby, laughing loudly.

John leaned toward Laney and held the dice up to her lips. Laney blew on the dice, offering her luck.

The man winked at her and threw the dice down the table. The players watched the dice land, then everyone clapped and shouted victory. Laney was beaming from ear to ear. Nick rol ed his eyes; he couldn’t be in the same room with Laney while he was scoping the room for sex. He decided to go to the lounge next door.

The music in here was slower, sexier, the dimly lit room a nice place to find a one-night stand. Nick spotted an attractive woman across the room. They fel into easy conversation. She had some sil y name like Candy. Nick welcomed her fondling him. They did some light kissing before she agreed to accompany him back to his room. As they were leaving, Nick spotted Laney. She was leaving the casino with Cooper. His arm was around her shoulders, and he was whispering something into her ear. Nick snapped.

Al but forgetting the woman at his side, he charged at Cooper. Laney yelped when he pushed Cooper up against the wal . Cooper was too shocked to respond.

“Have you lost your mind?” Laney hit him on the back. “Let go of him, Nick.”

Nick glared at Cooper. “Don’t ever touch her.” Cooper regained his composure and pushed Nick off of him. Nick was about to lunge at him again, but Laney jumped between them, placing a firm hand against each chest.

“Don’t!” She tried to push them further away from each other but neither would budge. “Please don’t do this. Let’s al calm down.”

They were creating a crowd of onlookers. Nick and Cooper glowered at each other. Nick clamped his hand around Laney’s wrist. “You’re coming with me.”

Cooper grabbed her arm. “You’re not going anywhere with him.”

Nick saw red. He stepped toward Cooper. “I told you not to touch her.”

Laney turned to Nick. “Okay, I’l go.” She turned to Cooper. “It’s al right, I’l be fine. Real y.” Her expression was pleading for him not to provoke Nick. She pul ed Nick toward the exit.

They didn’t speak until they were safely in the privacy of their room. Then, Nick blew up. “Exactly what did you plan on doing with Cooper?”

“Not what you planned on doing with that woman you were with.”

“Were you going to let him fuck you?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Like hel it isn’t! You’re not going to sleep with Cooper, Laney.”

“And what about you? You’re the one who made it very clear that you intended on screwing somebody tonight.”

“Only because you’ve locked your legs against me.”

“It’s my right. You have no authority to dictate who I’m intimate with.”

Nick advanced on her. “The only person you’re going to be intimate with on this ship is me.” Cupping her face, he crushed her lips with his own.

She pushed at him, but as the kiss deepened her fight weakened. He gathered her in his arms, his hands caressing the smooth skin of her back.

Determined, his tongue swept into her mouth, making a slow exploration, enjoying the sweet taste of her. He was aroused, and try as she might, he could tel she was joining him. Sucking on the tender skin of her neck, his hands searched for the zipper of her dress.

She halfheartedly pushed him away when the fastener was undone. The shimmering fabric floated to the floor around her feet. Nick stood back to look at her, and his breath caught in his throat. She had beautiful breasts, heavy in weight yet amazingly perky, her nipples large, dark, and erect. His heated stare flowed down her flat stomach, past the elegant flare of her hips to the junction of her legs. She was wearing a white lace thong. She was everything he had hoped she would be, absolutely stunning.

Under his intense stare, she became nervous.

She tried to cover her breasts with her hands, but Nick grabbed her hands and slowly pul ed them away. “You’re breathtaking, Laney.” He kissed her lightly on the mouth. “I’m quickly turning into an addict for you.” He lowered his head to her breast. Cupping it, he raised the orb to his mouth, his lips wrapping around her nipple. His tongue toyed with the erect nub, while he fondled her other breast. She held onto his broad shoulders. Her head fel back. He sucked on her nipple until she moaned with pleasure.

Moving to the other, he gave it the same treatment.

Her moans alone made him harder than any of those women earlier tonight had.

Nick abruptly threw her over his shoulder and carried her to the bed. Laying her down gently, he quickly undressed, his jacket and shirt tossed to the floor. Unzipping his pants, he let them drop to the floor. Laney’s eyes grew the size of saucers when he reached for the waistband of his briefs. He pul ed them off, giving Laney her first look at him ful y aroused. He was long, thick, and throbbing.

Watching her with intense interest, he pushed her legs apart. The thin fabric of her thong the only thing obstructing his view from seeing her sex, he hooked his finger into the lace and pul ed it away.

“Nick,” she whispered in a shaky voice. “I don’t know if we should.”

His finger slid into her pussy. “It’s okay, Laney.” He pul ed his finger out and licked it clean. “You taste wonderful.” Seeing the trembling look in her eyes, he meant to soothe her. “Don’t be afraid. You’l love it.

Trust me.” Crawling between her legs, he lay on top of her, sucking in a breath at the joyous feeling of her breasts touching his chest. He traced slow hot kisses along her neck. With his cock in hand he eased the tip against the entrance of her pussy.

“Nick, stop.”

“Shh, this is going to feel amazing.”

“No, Nick, stop.” She rol ed out from under him and crossed her legs. “I’m sorry, I just can’t.” Nick blinked. His desire was so great that he considered pul ing her back under him and sinking bal s-deep inside her with or without her permission.

When she turned her back to him, his anger took charge. “What the hel is going on here?” She didn’t turn around. “Nick, I’m sorry. It’s just that I can’t put myself out there so easily for you.”

“You think this is easy for me?”

“How many women did you sleep with tonight?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I saw you leave the bar with a woman earlier this evening, and just now when we saw each other, you were with a completely different woman. And you would turn around and have unprotected sex with me? Did you sleep with Heidi, too?”

“Who?”

“Oh, forget it!”

“I didn’t sleep with anyone, Laney.”

“That wasn’t your plan earlier tonight.”

“And what about you and Cooper? He was ready to fight me to keep you at his side. Guys don’t do that unless they intend to get laid.”

“He was only walking me back to the room. He was being polite.”

“Yeah, I bet he was,” he said with a snort. “And he was probably going to politely fuck you on the couch.

Tel me, would you have put up this much of a fight with him?”

Her eyes flamed. “My morals aren’t as loose as yours, Nick.”

“Loose morals? Let’s talk about the leopard bikini that hides nothing. While we’re at it, let’s talk about the golfing shorts.”

“You’re impossible!” She jumped off the bed and headed for the bathroom. He captured her arm to stop her.

“I’l let you run away this time, Laney, but know this; you and I are going to fuck very soon, so you had better prepare yourself.” He cupped her cunt.

“I’m going to make you feel so good you’l be begging me for more.”

She shivered at his touch. Goosebumps spread across her skin, and she stepped away from him.

“I’m taking a shower.” The bathroom door shut—and locked—behind her.

Both got very little sleep. Nick slept in the center of the bed clad only in his briefs. Laney was forced to sleep on the edge of the bed in order to not touch him. Of course, by morning Nick had wrapped himself around her. Her nightshirt was pul ed up, baring her stomach. He was again spooning her and his hands were everywhere. She had to wake him up when his sleep-induced humping bordered on actual sexual interaction. Lying in bed while he dressed, she had never been so happy to see him leave the room for the gym.