Loving Her Crazy (10 page)

Chapter Ten

Nash waited for Iris by the coat-check area, his arms full of their makeshift snow gear, and Clyde and the Sloane Ranger tucked between his legs and the wall. He silently swore and put his phone back in his pocket. He’d called every hotel within a twenty mile radius of the airport, and everything was booked solid or only had rooms way out of his price range. He could probably find some seedy motel that rented out rooms by the hour, but that seemed worse somehow than a spontaneous semi-sex session in the hallway of a club. He wasn’t going to take her somewhere like that.

In the meantime, they needed to find someplace to hang out, preferably a location a little less apt to put them in the mood to tear each other’s clothes off. He leaned on the counter of the coat-check cubicle and got the woman’s attention.

“Is there someplace near here that is indoors and still open?”

The woman frowned, then pointed at the bulletin board by the door where seemingly hundreds of flyers and business cards were thumbtacked. “Check that. All the local stuff gets posted.”

Nash perused the offerings for a minute, finally seeing something that might not be exactly what he was looking for, but it would work.

“Adler Planetarium is doing a midnight show every Wednesday this month. Is that near here?”

“Yeah, not too far away.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “If you hurry you can probably catch it.”

“Great, thanks,” he said with a grateful smile.

It was someplace warm and quiet at least. A little more sedate. He needed something to help him decompress if he wasn’t going to be able to take Iris somewhere he could properly make love to her. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed their interlude in the hallway. But he wanted to be able to take his time.

He glanced at the clock and frowned. She’d been gone more than fifteen minutes already. He’d made his own pit stop and had still had made all the calls. Where was she? Another five minutes later and he was ready to go in after her. Just as he decided to make sure she was okay, she rounded the corner from the main body of the club.

“Sorry,” she said, before he could say a word. “The line was insane. So?” she asked, hopefully.

The eagerness in her face sent another jolt straight to his groin, and he nearly groaned. He wouldn’t survive a whole night of this.

“Everything is booked or insanely expensive.”

Her face fell, and he smiled, an overwhelming tenderness for her rising in his chest. “I did find us someplace to hang out, though.”

She perked up a little while he explained. The coat-check woman called them a cab, and they went through the arduous process of re-layering. By the time they were as adequately covered as possible, their cab was waiting out front and they hurried to it, pulling their luggage in after them. Nash told the driver where they wanted to go, and they cuddled back against the seat.

The drive took them along Lake Shore Drive, and Iris watched as the spectacular winter scenery flowed past their windows. Snow still covered everything in a glittering blanket of white, but it looked like the storm had passed. The clouds were dissipating, leaving the moon to shine brightly over the lake, reflecting off the water and the snow surrounding it.

“It’s so beautiful,” Iris murmured.

“Yes, it is,” Nash agreed. Only he wasn’t looking at the lake. He was looking at her.

She glanced at him, giving him a smile so sweet his chest tightened.

“Here we are,” the driver said.

They pulled everything out of the cab and hurried inside the building, joining the few other people who’d decided to brave both the weather and the late hour for the midnight star show. They followed the directions to the big domed room where the show would take place and by unspoken agreement chose seats in the very back row, stowing Clyde and the Sloane Ranger on the seats next to them. Jackets, sweaters, and Iris’s chaps followed. It was nice to be able to move again without all the layers hampering him.

Iris leaned over with an excited smile. “I haven’t been to the planetarium since I was little. I loved it, though.”

“I’ve never been to one before,” Nash said.

Iris’s eyes widened. “Never?”

He shrugged. “Never had the time, really.”

“Do they even have planetariums in Montana?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah. One.”

“Ah,” she said, with a slow nod, obviously teasing him.

He had to resist the urge to stick his tongue out at her like a six-year-old. Something about her made him feel like a total kid again. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, he was enjoying himself.

He kept his tongue in his mouth but elaborated a bit. “I was always working or had something else going on. Besides, I had an incredible star show every night. I only had to go outside and look up.”

Iris laughed quietly. “I guess you’ve got a point there. It’s not so bad in North Carolina, either. Though I’m sure it’s nothing like what you’ve got.”

“I’ve never been to North Carolina.”

Her eyes widened again, only this time her eyes had a speculative gleam to them that had him grinning. “Well, maybe we’ll have to remedy that. I think you’d love it.”

“Oh, really?”

“Definitely. Lots of things to see, people to do. Oh wait, reverse that.”

Nash burst out laughing, and Iris grinned up at him. He leaned down to kiss her, and she responded eagerly. Too eagerly. He’d only meant to give her a quick kiss but, the moment her lips touched his, his body burned for her all over again. She grabbed his shirt to pull him closer, and he leaned over her, pressing her back in her seat.

Someone groaned from a few rows away. “God, get a room.”

“I’d love to,” Iris muttered.

Nash laughed again and sat up, resolving to keep his hands and lips to himself until they could be alone. He obviously couldn’t be trusted where she was concerned.

Iris pouted a bit but settled against him with a sigh when he draped his arm around her shoulders.

The lights dimmed, and a voice came over the sound system announcing the start of the show and explaining in a booming voice what they were about to see. Iris leaned the chair back as far as it would go and squeezed his hand, her body nearly jumping with eager anticipation. Nash grinned in the dark. She was so full of enthusiasm. It made everything more enjoyable.

He wondered, not for the first time, how that enthusiasm would translate in the bedroom. He’d already had a taste of it. Of her. The thought of her eager and excited in his bed had his dick so hard again it bordered on pain. He counted to ten, trying to concentrate on the show.

It wasn’t as hard to focus, on the show, that is, as he thought it might be, even with Iris cuddled next to him in the dark. The stars and planets and galaxies moving across the vast ceiling in a dazzling show set to beautifully ethereal music was incredible. Every time he glanced over at Iris she was gazing in wonder at the spectacle overhead. Her passion for everything was contagious. It was impossible not to be affected by her. His plane being grounded might just have been the luckiest thing that had ever happened to him.

Nash had thought he might be sleepy, seeing as how it was the middle of the night and he was currently sitting in the dark watching the stars. But he was still wide awake…and horny as hell. Try as he might, he couldn’t clear his mind of visions of Iris, naked beneath him, shouting his name as he made her come, over and over again.

Her hand wandered over to his thigh and started making a slow trek upward. He grabbed her wrist, halting her progress. She glared at him but took her hand away, and he released the breath he’d been holding. Not that he didn’t want her hands on him, on
all
of him, but if she touched him again he was going to lose his very weak hold on his control.

He laid his head back on the seat and tried to concentrate on the amazing display above him. He jerked and nearly swore when her hand slipped under his shirt and played along the edge of his jeans. She froze, blinking in surprise at his reaction.

“Why do I feel like I’m trying to molest a blushing virgin at the drive-in?” she whispered to him.

He snorted. “Believe me, I’m no blushing virgin.”

“Then why don’t you want to play?” she asked, sidling closer so she could kiss his neck. “I owe you for the club hallway.”

Oh God. All the blood in his body shot straight to his dick, and he tensed his muscles, trying to will the damn thing back into submission. He leaned away so her lips slipped from his skin.

Her eyes lost their playful twinkle, and she sat back, her expression wounded and confused. Damn. He didn’t want to hurt her but he couldn’t handle any more foreplay, no matter how innocent.

One look at her, though, and he almost laughed. Was she seriously pouting? He leaned over, cupped her face, and kissed her until she gasped for air. He dragged himself away to whisper in her ear. “I want to play, Iris. You have no idea how badly I want to play. But it’s not the right time or place. I’m not letting you touch me because every time you do I want to rip your clothes off and fuck you right here on the floor.”

Her quick intake of breath just made him want her more. He kissed her neck, letting his lips linger on her silky skin. “I want you so badly I can barely stand to be near you without touching you. You touching me makes it that much more impossible for me to keep my hands off you. Makes it that much harder to keep things under control. Don’t mistake that control for lack of wanting you. Because God, you have no idea how much I want you.”

He released her and sat back, expecting her to be shocked. To sit back and behave. To give him some breathing room so he could calm the hell down.

He should have realized that she would never do the expected.

She leaned back over him and took his face in her hands. “Did it ever occur to you that I don’t want you to be controlled?” She kissed him, her soft lips greedily moving over his. “I want you to rip my clothes off.” She grabbed the neck of his shirt and pulled it down so she could trail her hot little mouth over his skin. “I want you to throw me down on the floor and fuck me till I scream.”

He grabbed her and hauled her against him, crushing her to him. “We can’t do this right now,” he said, even as his lips trailed over her neck, his palms cupping her breasts.

“We’re alone.”

“What?” He looked around. She was right. The other few groups had trickled out, leaving Nash and Iris nearly invisible in the back row. All alone. In the dark. With an incredible star show projecting all around them.

“The guy running the computer is probably some college kid who is asleep or zoned out on his phone,” she said, kissing his neck. “And everyone else is gone.” She trailed her lips up to his ear. “We have the whole place to ourselves.”

Nash sucked in a ragged breath. “Get over here.”

Chapter Eleven

Iris didn’t think Nash would agree. He was definitely more straightlaced than she was. But he seemed more than up for it, pun totally intended. Excitement flooded her system, making her head swim and her belly tighten with anticipation. She wanted him so badly she almost cried.

She’d never expected someone like Nash Wallace to walk into her life. She hadn’t expected him to be anything more than an interesting diversion for the night. But she already knew, even if nothing else happened between them, she’d never forget him.

Then he kissed her, and all thoughts disappeared in a haze of desire and heat that made her tremble in his arms. The short stubble from earlier in the day had grown and rubbed against her face. She’d never kissed a man with even a hint of facial hair before. The thought of how that friction might feel a little farther south had her body begging for his in zero seconds flat.

She managed to get his plaid shirt unbuttoned and pulled it off his shoulders, her lips not leaving his until he was down to his T-shirt and her hands had found their way to the solid abs beneath it. Her fingers skimmed across his stomach, reveling in the muscles that bunched beneath her touch. She dragged her hands upward, bringing his shirt with them, and caught a tantalizing glimpse of the rock-hard paradise that had laid hidden.

It was a damn crime that the man had to wear clothing, that’s all there was to it. He should walk around naked all day, every day, so she could do nothing but feast on the delicious perfection of his body. She leaned over and trailed her lips across his bare chest, her tongue flicking his nipples until he stopped her with a groan.

“You keep doing that, darlin’, and this will be over before it even gets started.”

“Can’t blame a girl for wanting to get her hands on you.”

He laughed, the sound low, deep, and male.

The armrest between their chairs needed to go. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips moving against his as she tried to maneuver over it to climb into his lap. One leg got hooked up on the armrest, her other knee landed perilously close to the hard ridge that strained against his jeans.

He grunted and jerked back enough to say, “Careful, Cookie. We’re going to need that later.” And then his lips found her neck, his hands slipping beneath the two layers of shirts she still wore, to skim against her stomach.

Her muscles clenched at the featherlight touch, and she tried to press closer to him. But, with one leg still in her own seat, her balance was precarious. It did put her in a rather interesting position though, leaving her wide open for his roving hands. Something he seemed to realize the same time she did.

“
Hmm
,” he said against her throat. The vibrations carried straight to her core. “I think I like you like this. Open and waiting for me.”

His hand skimmed up her inner thigh, his nails pressing just hard enough that she could feel them through her jeans. She strained closer to him, but with her leg hung up she couldn’t move.

“Is this what you want?” he murmured, his fingers tracing the waistband of her jeans.

She moaned. “Ah! Yes.”

She lunged at him, her lips consuming his with frustrated intensity. He dragged her against him, holding her close as he slipped to the floor. While she’d been lost in the sensations he’d been sparking throughout her body, he’d dropped their coats on the floor, creating a soft bed of sorts.

She’d lost her ugly Christmas sweater at some point, and she yanked off the tiny princess thermal, leaving only the thin T-shirt she’d started with. He pushed her shirt up and tugged her bra down, freeing her breasts to his gaze.

“God, you are so beautiful,” he murmured, leaning over her to suck one hard nipple. He rolled his tongue over it, drawing it deeper into the searing depths of his mouth until she whimpered, desire curling hot and low in her belly.

She tugged at his shirt, desperate to see more of him. He wasn’t very helpful, though.

“As much as I’d love to see every gorgeous inch of you,” he said, kissing his way down her taut belly, “someone might come in here. We should keep some clothing on, in case we need to make a quick getaway.”

She swore, totally forgetting where they were.

“Well then, we’ll just have to make sure we come before they do,” she said.

It was crazy, probably stupid, certainly not ethical, if not illegal. And she absolutely loved it. It wasn’t a gorgeous hotel room. But a bed of their clothes, with the incredible star show going on over their heads, wasn’t so bad. It would be almost as good as really being outside. Minus the possibility of being arrested for indecent exposure or public fornication or whatever they’d get charged with. Well, those might actually still stick. If they got caught. And damn, but didn’t that hint of danger make it even hotter.

His hands found the button of her jeans and, before she could prepare herself, he had them open and dragged them down. He sucked in a breath, his fingers lightly stroking her thighs.

“There it is,” he said.

She squinted at him, confused until he ran his finger over the tattoo that sat low on the right side of her abdomen, just a few inches above her pubic bone. He traced the lines of the staff, snakes, and wings that made up the nursing symbol, with the letters
R
and
N
on either side of the staff.

“I wondered where you were hiding this baby.” He continued to stroke it, his fingers trailing lower with every pass. His eyes focused on her, capturing every reaction she had to his touch.

She shivered under the faint caress. He leaned over and lightly scraped his teeth across her tattoo. The unexpected sensation made her buck beneath him, her breath catching in her throat. If he repeated that move a few inches in the other direction, she’d be in paradise.

“God help me, but I don’t care if we get arrested. I want to see all of you,” he said, tugging at her boots so he could work her pants completely off her. He froze for a moment, drinking in the sight of her, and then Iris couldn’t take it anymore.

She sat up, pushing his shirt out of the way so she could lick a trail across his stomach, her tongue tracing the hard ridges and planes of his body. Her fingers worked feverishly to get his jeans undone and, when she finally succeeded, freeing the full, hard length of him, she didn’t hesitate before closing her mouth over him, sucking him down into the hot recesses of her mouth.

He groaned, his hands threading through her hair, not guiding her but just holding on. She took him as deeply as she could, her tongue rolling over him as she moved up. His breathing grew ragged, his hands tightening in her hair, and the rush running through her at the power she held over him was like a live current through her system. Before she could go too far, he pulled away with a growl, hauling her up to kiss her, long and deep, his tongue stroking the inside of her mouth.

His fingers found her opening and slipped inside. “God, you’re so wet,” he groaned against her.

She was beyond speech, moving against his fingers in a frantic effort to find some relief from the burning pleasure that his fingers wrung from her.

“Nash,” she begged, wanting him to fill her, needing him inside her.

He laid her back down…and then froze. “We can’t,” he said, his voice strained. “I don’t have…”

Iris frowned for a second and then realized what he was talking about. “Sloane, in the front zipper pocket.”

He didn’t hesitate, grabbing the bag and delving inside, chuckling when he retrieved a handful of condoms. “Where did you get these?” He grabbed one and dropped the rest back in her bag.

She gave him a wicked little grin, her body trembling with anticipation as she watched him roll it on. “The club. They had a bowl of them in the ladies’ room. After what happened in the hallway, I wanted to be prepared.”

He hovered over her and nudged at her entrance, safely gloved and more than ready for her. “
Hmm
, was I that much of a sure thing?” he asked, driving himself in to the hilt.

She gasped, pulling her legs up to take him deeper. “Yes. No…I mean…ah, God!”

He slowly retreated before driving back in, and whatever powers of speech she possessed disappeared on the endless rising tide of pleasure that built with each stroke. She wished they could take their time, make love slowly, over and over again. But the pressure building to a crescendo within her begged for release. She clawed at his back, grateful his shirt protected his skin because she couldn’t control the frenzy gripping her.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her hips rising to meet his thrust for thrust. He dipped down to recapture her mouth, their tongues mimicking their bodies, mouths fused together to mute the sounds she couldn’t contain. He plunged inside her, again and again, until her orgasm exploded around him with such intensity she swore she saw stars. Then she realized she really was seeing stars. Thousands of them, larger than life, projected on the domed screen above them. Her inner walls still clenched around him, stroking him as he tensed and pulsed inside her with his own release.

He lowered himself on shaking arms to give her a long, thorough kiss before rolling to the side, bringing her with him. She snuggled in to his chest, electric aftershocks still shooting through her body every time she moved.

“You made me see stars,” she murmured.

He gave a low chuckle. “I think the show might have had something more to do with that than me.”

Iris shook her head. “No way. The show has nothing on you.”

He leaned over to kiss her again, and she wiggled against him, already hungry for more.

Nash sighed and leaned his forehead against her. “I would love to lie here all night and keep up the repeat performances until we run out of condoms but…”

“I know,” she said, echoing his regretful sigh. “We need to get dressed before someone comes.”

The realization that they had just made love on the floor of the planetarium had Iris nearly laughing out loud with gleeful pleasure before she frantically fumbled for her clothes. The naughty escapade had been thrilling, to say the least, but she really didn’t want whoever was running the midnight show to walk in on them.

She dug a pack of tissues out of Sloane and handed them to Nash to wrap up the knotted condom, and they both yanked their clothes on as fast as they could. Within five minutes they were back in their seats, proper and presentable, though still cuddled as close to each other as they could get. Nash pressed several kisses to her temple and Iris laid her head on his shoulder, a sigh of utter contentment leaving her lips as the stars rotated above them in the fake sky.

…

Nash pulled Iris closer to him, nuzzling her neck. She sighed sleepily and blinked up at him.

“Hi there,” he said.

“Hi,” she said, smiling up at him. She glanced around. “Did we fall asleep?”

“Yeah, for a bit.” It was a slight lie. She’d slept. He’d been wide awake, holding her, wondering how he was going to walk away from her in just a few short hours.

The smile she gave him would be worth anything that happened. Even jail time for indecent exposure. The woman had no idea how stunningly beautiful she was. That smile would be ingrained in his heart for the rest of his life, even if he never saw her again after tonight.

He shied away from that thought and focused on the amazing woman who was looking at him like he owned the world. Seeing himself through her eyes, for the first time in his life he almost felt like he did.

“Wow,” she said. “What time is it?”

Nash pulled out his phone and looked. “Almost three in the morning. We still have several hours to kill.” The show had stopped at some point, and the room was dim, running lights along the walls casting the only glow in the room. No one had come to kick them out, and Nash wondered if the technician had fallen asleep, as well.

“
Hmm
,” she said, snuggling into him, “I can think of a few amazing ways to spend those hours.”

He chuckled. “Oh, you can, can you?”

“Definitely.” She pulled him down for a kiss.

Their lips had barely met when the doors opened and a security guard came in, his flashlight sweeping the room.

Nash made sure they were both put together, then muttered, “Now what?”

Iris winked at him and then popped up so the guard could see her.

“What the…” the guard said.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Iris exclaimed. “We thought we’d be stuck in here all night! I can’t believe you guys locked us in here.”

“What?” The poor guard was totally taken by surprise but seemed determined to regain the upper hand. “Look here, ma’am, you can’t be in here. I’m going to have to call the cops.”

“Good, you do that! I’d have called them myself if my stupid phone hadn’t died. I mean, my husband and I come in here to have a romantic night and watch the show and okay, yes, we may have fallen asleep. But when we woke up the place was empty, and the show was still playing so we didn’t know what was going on. But then we tried the doors and they were closed and I was terrified. I mean, I don’t know what your hours are. What if you weren’t open tomorrow? Then what would we have done? Aren’t you guys supposed to check and make sure the place is empty before you leave? I can’t believe you just locked us in here.”

The guard stared at her, stunned. Nash had to bite his lip to keep from laughing his ass off. Wow, the woman had a set of big brass balls that would terrify the biggest steer on his ranch. And better yet, she was actually getting away with it.

“Well…sorry, ma’am. We didn’t realize anyone was still in here. The doors weren’t locked, though. Why didn’t you just leave?”

Iris folded her arms and huffed. “Don’t you think we tried the doors? If they weren’t locked then they need to be oiled or something, because they didn’t budge when we pulled on them. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got to get to the airport. We’ve got a plane to catch. Come on, honey.”

Oh. Honey. That’s me.
Nash jumped to his feet and quickly gathered their coats. A few condoms lay on the ground under the seat, and he quickly snagged them and shoved them in his pocket. Damn things must have fallen out when he’d been fumbling around earlier. He glanced up, but the security guard hadn’t noticed anything. Nash grabbed Clyde and the Sloane Ranger and hurried after Iris who had already huffed her way out the door. He nodded to the guard on the way out.