Lucky Break (11 page)

“What?” How? She was too turned-on to look at him any other way.

“Your eyes are talking for you, and they’re telling me you can’t get enough of me, which is something I can understand because I sure as hell can’t get enough of you.”

She blinked, hoped her mind came back to working order, and glanced at his lips. Her nipples ached, her pussy throbbed, and her panties had gone from soaked to dripping.

“I—”

“Relax, sweetheart. This isn’t a race to anywhere. We have plenty of time to get to know each other better.” He dropped his head, nuzzled her lips, and she sighed. She held on to him for a moment before he let go and opened her door.

* * *

“Where are you going looking like that?”

Lucky turned to grin at her sister. Kaylani was watching her with a smile.

“To dinner with Jared.”

“Oooh, the bad boy player and security genius also known as Mr. Sexy?”

She laughed. “Has Jazz been talking?”

Kay rolled her eyes. “He’s always talking. Tell me more about him.”

She did a final appraisal in the mirror. The spaghetti-strap black dress was one of her favorites and very lightweight which was her first priority with the heat of the summer. She didn’t want to be sweating bullets when Jared picked her up.

Sitting on the bed next to Kay, she gathered her belongings and scooped them into the small clutch. “Well, Jared is…”

“Hot, yeah I know.” Kay giggled. “What I mean is, what are your thoughts? You’ve seen him a few times.” She frowned, concern taking over her features. “L, you were never this excited to be anywhere near Nick the Dick before. Even when you guys were first dating.”

Cold water would’ve had the same effect. She moved back, not wanting to admit that she hoped for things to go further with Jared. “You’re being silly. Besides, he and I have been very casual about this.”

The corners of Kay’s mouth tipped downward. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you on the defensive. I’m just worried about you. What Nick did was awful, and you have been shying away from men until now.” She placed her hand over Lucky’s and squeezed. “I’m worried about you, big sis.”

She gulped, wincing at the dryness taking over her throat. Her heart ached for her sister. She didn’t need to be stressing over the sad state of Lucky’s love life. Or lack thereof. “You don’t have to be. He and I are just seeing how things go. I’ve got no plans.”

Liar. She was lying to her sister and herself. She knew that. Spending time with Jared had been an eye-opener. He was sweet, he listened, he actually seemed to care, and it all scared the living daylights out of her.

“Don’t make any hasty decisions because of your past.” Kay handed her the half-filled clutch. “Not all men are like Nick the Dick.”

She sat there for long minutes after Kay had left and debated whether to cancel their dinner date or not. In the end, her need to see him won out. She wanted to be with him, found him interesting, and enjoyed spending time talking to him. What she needed to do was keep herself from letting emotions rule her actions. Tonight she’d focus on enjoying herself.

Chapter Nine

Air pounded hard in Jared’s chest. Jesus, he was like a goddamned teenager counting the seconds before she opened the door. His knuckles had just grazed the wood on the door before it opened. Luciana filled the entryway. She looked amazing. Fucking hell, she looked gorgeous. How was he going to keep his hands off her and get to know her when all he wanted was to get her out of her dress? She was smiling, her sexy lips covered in glossy red, showing off their plumpness even more. A black dress caressed all her curves in an almost sensual hold.

“You look…amazing.” He was used to complimenting women, but he didn’t want to sound like an idiot by saying what he really wanted to, that she looked damn hot and he was having a hard time thinking of eating food versus eating
her
for dinner.

Her smile widened and her eyes sparkled with joy. “Thank you. You look pretty hot yourself.”

Women told him that before…all the time. But none of them had that soft look in their eyes.

“Are you ready to go?”

“I am.” She stepped out into the hallway and shut the door behind her. “So…you’re cooking, huh?”

“I did promise to show you that I can be Martha Stewart.”

She laughed. The husky sound played havoc with his concentration. “I can’t wait to see what you have in store.”

Their drive was filled with wedding planning conversation. He listened while she explained why Alex was upset she had to wear a dress that made her look like a beached whale with a bad tan, while Nina had tried to reassure her—without much success—that she looked great. He studied her while she spoke. She was so animated retelling the bridal party dramas that he couldn’t help but smile. When they arrived at his home, she peeked around as if looking for other people. “It’s just me and you.”

She grinned. “Why didn’t you say this was your house? And I bet that’s your yacht too!” She pursed her lips. “You let me think we were on private property.”

“We were on private property. Mine.”

Her eyes twinkled with mirth. “I’ve been on many nice boats, but none hold the fond memories of that one.”

“There’s other areas of this property where we can create memorable moments later.”

Her eyes darkened, and she glanced down at his mouth before meeting his gaze. Dinner. He needed to keep his mind out of the bedroom and on making sure she enjoyed their date.

“You know, without all those poker tables and the extra couple hundred people, this house is huge. Why would you live here all by yourself?”

He shrugged, walked to the bar and opened some wine. “It’s been in my family for generations. When my parents decided to travel the world, I bought it from them.”

“It’s beautiful. Huge, but beautiful.”

He handed her a glass of wine and led her to the kitchen area. It was one of his favorite spots because it opened into the smaller of two dining areas. He had so many memories of his family eating breakfast while his mom ran back and forth to the kitchen to get stuff.

“Now this…is a kitchen.” She sighed. “I think I’m in love.”

He chuckled. “Here, I thought you would be saying that once I got you out of that dress.”

She lifted her brows and gave him a haughty look. “You clearly have never lived in an apartment with a tiny kitchen or bathroom. Those are the two worst things to have small in any household. Right now, I am in love with this kitchen, and, if your bathroom is anything like this, I may try to buy this place from you.”

She sipped her wine and slid her finger over the pristine marble top of the kitchen island.

“What do I get if the bathroom is better?”

Her laughter was quick and filled him with pleasure. “I bet I can think of something.”

“Come on. Let’s get you some food before you start saying I’m an ungracious host trying to starve you.”

She grinned. “Has Jazz been talking about how I love food again?”

“Your Jazz is always talking, but no, I just want to know what you think of my food.”

“Oooh, I can’t wait.” She sat at the pre-set dining room table.

He’d been more careful than ever and had even gone as far as to call Max to find out what her preferences were. He’d never taken so much trouble to make a first impression on a first date with a woman he’d already been with. He picked his mother’s favorite china and got his housekeeper to fill a vase with pink peonies.

“I love these.” She caressed one of the flower petals with so much care you’d think it was a newborn. “They’re so pretty and different.”

Just like her. It finally dawned on him that while he’d been obsessing over what his ex-fiancée had done, Lucky hadn’t asked him how much money he made, what his net worth was, or anything related to his finances. She’d just been getting to know him.

Dinner started backward. It was his own fault—he’d put cookies in to bake while he’d handed her some wine.

“What is that smell?” She groaned. “Is that chocolate?”

He watched her eyes go wide.

“I’m baking cookies.”

“You’re what?”

He grinned. “For dessert.”

She visibly gulped. “What’s the rest of dessert?”

“Fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies with vanilla bean ice cream.”

She bit her lip and groaned. “OK, we’re going to have to eat that first. It sounds amazing, and I don’t think the smell will let me eat anything else right now.”

He grinned, pleased that she seemed so willing to eat whatever he made. “Aren’t you worried they’ll taste bad or be undercooked, overcooked, or something?”

She looked at him as though he’d said something stupid. “It’s chocolate. Chocolate is perfect in every way, shape, or form.”

Laughing all the way to the oven, he pulled the cookie tray out and put them on a cooling rack while he served the ice cream. He’d been told she loved cinnamon, so he sprinkled some over her ice cream and placed a fresh-baked cookie next to it. Topping the concoction with some whipped cream, which he couldn’t take the credit for because his housekeeper made it for him, he brought the dessert bowls to the table.

She licked her lips, her gaze stuck on the bowls with the ice cream.

“You sure you want to eat this before dinner?” he asked.

Her nod was so fast he couldn’t help but enjoy the fact that she was in his home. With him. Spending time together. She was moaning the moment a spoonful of ice cream and cookie went into her mouth.

“Oh God…this is…so…good!”

His cock jerked. Hell, his balls were aching from her moaning. He cleared his throat, hoping she’d get the hint that it was a cruel and unusual punishment for her to moan like she was getting ready to come, without him being able to do anything.

Her gaze lifted and met his. Arousal filled her brown eyes. “This is really good, but I know something that tastes even better.”

Holding the spoon dripping ice cream midway to his mouth, he stared at her. She licked the front of the spoon, running her tongue over the indentation and then circling around to the curved side.

“I find that hard to believe, with the way you’re licking that spoon.” He dropped a hand to his lap and gripped his cock over his pants. His shaft ached with the need to be inside her.

She smiled—a flirty little grin—and stood. “Oh, I know exactly what tastes better than this ice cream.”

He tensed, watching her come closer to him. After shoving his chair back, he inhaled sharply when she straddled his lap.

“You,” she said, twining her arms around his neck, her nails raking the back of his head, “are much better tasting than ice cream.”

He slid his hands behind her back, gripped her ass, and groaned when she wiggled over his cock. She kissed his jaw—soft, light kisses that only helped to harden his cock some more. The heady mix of her sexy perfume and her own scent made it difficult to keep desire under control. She gripped his hair and kissed him. Hard. Fire raced down his spine and straight to his cock. He squeezed her cheeks harder. Rougher. She moaned and rocked over him, ratcheting up the passion running rampant in his veins. Mindless need enveloped them. He wanted to devour her every time she mewled into their kiss.

Their tongues rubbed and glided sensually over each other. He turned dominant with the kiss, shoving his tongue further into her mouth, possessing every crevice and exploring her sweet depths.

She tore away from him and immediately brushed tiny kisses over his jaw and down to his neck. His shirt buttons popped open. Finally. Next he needed to get her naked. His chest was naked for her touch.

“Sweetheart…I thought we were taking things slow.” He groaned. She sucked his collarbone and flicked her tongue over his nipple.

“Slow…later…want…you…now.” She moaned into his chest.

She licked his nipple, twirled her tongue in circles over his tiny bud, and bit.

“Fuck!”

She chuckled and slid off his lap to kneel in front of his chair. He watched her unbuckle his pants, his zipper hissing on its decent. She glanced up at him. Her eyes turned into opaque pools of need, entrancing him with their dark brown depths.

“Lift up, Mr. Sexy.”

He’d have grinned if she didn’t look so damn hot saying that while yanking his pants down. His aching cock sprang free a moment later.

“Mmm.”

He choked on a breath. She gripped the base of his cock and, wasting no time, lapped at him from root to tip. Pre-cum oozed out of his slit. She licked at his mushroomed head, laving him with her saliva before popping it into her hot mouth. Slick heat enveloped his dick in a tight caress when she sucked, dancing her tongue in swift, juicy circles. She pulled his cock out of her mouth, shiny, coated with her saliva. Their gazes met the minute she peered up at him.

“I knew you’d taste better.”

She jerked him in her small grip, which didn’t go all the way around his girth, making more moisture drip from his slit. His body tensed tighter. Need gathered inside him, urging him to get inside her tight, wet sex. She used the moisture from her saliva to jerk him faster and returned to sucking him deep into her mouth. She took him farther this time, pulled back and shoved him down her throat again. It was dirty, sexy, and so fucking hot; he knew if she kept it up he was going to come. And was he a bastard or what? The thought of coming all over her dress turned him on even more.

Pricks of electricity gathered in his spine, readying his cock for climax. He pulled her off him. She licked her lips, and he yanked her up for a kiss. It was rougher than he’d wanted. He couldn’t control the basic urges riding him. He bit her lips, sucked, and overpowered her with his kisses. Her response only served to inflame him some more. She moaned, jerked him with one hand and dug the nails of the other into his shoulder.

He pulled her up to her feet. Her dress came off in two seconds flat, the soft material pooling on the floor with a soft whoosh. He toed off his shoes and pants, uncaring where anything landed. Clothes were strewn and shoes kicked out of the way, their lips still locked in a kiss so hungry he felt consumed by the fire she lit in his veins. Caressing her naked body was the highlight of his day. She was soft, smooth, caramel perfection. Her curves enticed him to taste every single inch of her. When their lips parted, she was panting, her face flushed and her lips swollen from his kisses. He wanted to roar and tell the world she belonged to him.