Part 12 (1/2)

She cut him off with a shake of her head. ”G.o.d, I'm so nave, thinking I could help her. Just another clueless adult, trying to get into her business.” She laughed humorlessly. ”So now I guess we go back home and start all over,” she said, as the elevator doors slid open. ”Or h.e.l.l, who knows. Maybe everyone is right and she's back home already.”

He took in the defeated slump of her shoulders and the tired eyes that mirrored his own.

”We can't leave tonight,” he said, starting for the registration desk as he felt her tension ratchet up about fifty notches.

”We're spending the night? But I need to get home.”

He turned to look at her. She s.h.i.+fted her weight from one foot to the other and licked her lips. Her gaze flicked nervously over his body, his face, snagging on his mouth. She licked her lips again.

He wondered if she was thinking what he was thinking. About the way her lips had parted so easily under his. About the way her nipples had gone rock hard against his tongue. His gaze slid down her chest, saw the firm peaks beaded against the bodice of her dress.

No f.u.c.king way was that the air-conditioning.

”I'm too tired to fly. It wouldn't be safe, even if we could get the plane ready to go this late. We'll crash here and leave in the morning. It'll be fine.” Said the spider to the fly.

He ignored her sputtered protests as he walked up to the registration desk. She was a ball of nervous energy, about to start pinging around the room in her s.h.i.+ny heels. Fine. He'd give her one last chance for an out. He smiled at the desk clerk. ”Two rooms, just for tonight please.”

”I can't afford a room here,” Toni whispered through clenched teeth.

”Jerry's paying. And if he doesn't I've got it. But I can't fly when I'm this tired.” Not to mention that he needed more blood in his brain than her dress would allow.

The desk clerk affected a disappointed look. ”I'm sorry, sir, but we have only one room available.”

And the G.o.ds of getting laid smiled down on Ethan from heaven.

Toni's breath caught and held.

”It's a suite, though,” the woman behind the desk said. ”There should be plenty of room for both of you.”

Toni's posture was ramrod stiff as they retrieved their bags from the bell station and rode the elevator up to the suite. The walls were slamming into place, her guard going up as clear to him as though she were girding herself for battle.

He unlocked the door, ushered her inside. She tossed her backpack on the couch and took a leisurely tour of the room. ”You can have the bedroom,” she said, ”since you're paying.” She stopped in front of the suite's ma.s.sive window and stared down at the lights of the strip. But he could tell from the tension in her muscles, the way she fingered her skirt, that she wasn't taking in the view.

”Why are you so nervous?” Like he didn't know. But it was fun playing with her.

He tried to remember the last time he'd had to chase a woman, and couldn't. His world had been full of lots of women like Gillian. Beautiful women. Bold, s.e.xually confident, not afraid to go after what they wanted. And a lot of them wanted him.

But he'd never met anyone like Toni, with her brainy beauty and stealth s.e.xiness. A s.e.x G.o.ddess in a computer nerd's clothing.

He liked her, a lot more than he'd liked a woman in a while. The way she gave him s.h.i.+t, her brash confidence and unexpected vulnerability.

Like now, sneaking nervous glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking. Something tight gripped his chest, a sudden urge to pull her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay, that he'd never let anyone or anything hurt her.

He shoved the thought away. He was no woman's hero, no knight in s.h.i.+ning armor. Not in this lifetime.

”Did you know there are nearly fifteen thousand miles of neon tubing that make up the lights in downtown Vegas?” she said and looked at him over one bare shoulder.

He moved next to her, not looking at her as his hand curved around her waist. His palm slid over smooth skin and metal warmed by the heat of her body. The unfamiliar protective instincts melted away in the face of l.u.s.t. Ethan seized on it. l.u.s.t was good. Desire, he could deal with. This was his territory. s.e.x and l.u.s.t and bodies coming together in mutual satisfaction.

It shouldn't be any different with Toni, even if he wanted her with an intensity that danced a little too close to the edge of need.

Her body was stiff as he pulled her to him, but she didn't resist as he turned her to face him and tilted her chin up. Her cheek was baby soft as he cupped it, her cherry-red lips soft and hot as he closed his mouth over hers. That first taste, and he went right over the edge, needing her, feeling like he would die if he didn't kiss her, touch her, taste her, get inside her.

It was too much, too strong, too soon, but he couldn't stop the floodgates now that they'd been opened. Toni Crawford did something to him, made him feel things he wasn't supposed to feel.

But he wasn't about to pull over now and examine the reasons why.

His tongue slid into her mouth, tangling with hers as he drank in her soft sighs, her rich taste. Turning her, he used his body weight to pin her against the cool gla.s.s of the window. He bent his knees so his c.o.c.k was aligned with the V of her thighs and rubbed against her, leaving no question about how much he wanted her.

His fingers tangled in her hair, tugging until she was at just the angle he wanted. He could feel her shaking as her lips sucked at his tongue, the pounding of her heart as he slid his hand over her rib cage, down the side of her dress. His mouth opened wide over hers, taking it in hot, hungry open-mouthed kisses, and he molded his hand over the curve of her hip. It was a short trip to find the hem of her skirt and tug it up to reveal the sweet curve of her a.s.s.

He filled his hands with the firm, smooth cheeks, his thumbs brus.h.i.+ng against a silky sc.r.a.p of fabric riding the upper curve. ”You are wearing underwear,” he whispered, grinning.

”Barely.” Her voice was a breathless whisper. ”But no bra.”

”Yeah, I noticed.” And he sure as h.e.l.l noticed now when her tight little nipples were burning holes into his chest. He wanted to feel her, skin on skin. He fumbled with the b.u.t.tons of his s.h.i.+rt, heard a few ping against the window as he ripped it open so he could feel her, silky and hot and barely dressed, against his naked chest.

”This dress has been driving me insane all night.” He hooked a thumb in the strap of her thong, pulling it tight until she gasped. He wanted her naked. Now. Wanted to feel every inch of her long, sleek body against his. His hand went to the straps holding her dress up and pushed them off her shoulders. Silvery fabric pooled at her waist, and he felt the soft weight of her t.i.ts nuzzle against his chest.

His palms came up to cup her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and he slid his mouth down her throat as his thumbs teased the bullet-hard peaks. He nipped a path across her shoulders and chest, reveling in the soft gasps and moans that came with every pinch and roll of his fingers.

He felt her s.h.i.+ft, wriggle, and the dress slid off her hips, down her thighs to pool at her feet. Ethan stepped back and looked at her, all long legs and soft curves, naked except for a pair of four-inch heels and thong panties that barely covered the sweet mound of her p.u.s.s.y.

He was so gone, any control he might have had was shot to h.e.l.l as he pulled her against him, yanking off his s.h.i.+rt and fumbling with his pants so he could be naked, too, breaking off here and there to kiss her and stroke her because he couldn't keep his hands off her for another second. Finally he was down to his boxers. He slid his hand down her thigh and hitched it over her hip. Her heels-those sanity-killing, l.u.s.t-inducing heels-made her almost as tall as he was, the exact right position to cradle his c.o.c.k against her hot core.

He was shaking, running hot, trying to cling to the control he took for granted. Failing.

Toni could barely think, barely breathe in the face of Ethan's onslaught. It was like before, when he'd kissed her, but more. More raw. More out of control. And as much as she knew she'd regret it as soon as it was over, more irresistible. She couldn't get enough of the taste, the feel of him. She'd never been this close to a man as beautiful as Ethan. Probably never would be again.

He was gorgeous, true, but that didn't account for the total loss of common sense. There was the chemistry that popped and crackled like dry wood on a flame. There was something about Ethan, indefinable, that called to the wild, impulsive part of her that she kept so well hidden. The part of her that urged her to cast aside the rules and to do something for the pure pleasure of it, good, well-thought-out decision making be d.a.m.ned.

He was pressed hard against her, taking away all logic and coordination as his hands teased and pinched at her nipples in a way that had her wet, pulsing, craving the feel of him inside her. The hard ridge of his c.o.c.k rode between her thighs, making her throb and clench with the need to feel him thick and hard inside her.

Common sense urged her to push him away, warning her that getting involved with Ethan was dangerous. But she wasn't looking to get involved, she reminded herself. Why not indulge her craving for what he offered? Mindless hot s.e.x, guaranteed to blot out the stress and worry and bad memories she could never run away from.

Her hands gripped his hips, one reaching down to trace the outline of his erection through his boxers. Marveling at the size, the raging heat, she pressed her palm against him and stroked him through the soft cotton of his underwear.

Ethan groaned, a harsh, almost plaintive noise as he stepped back. ”Don't,” he said, stumbling a little as he lifted a shaky hand and raked it through his thick, dark hair. Toni's mouth went dry, as for the first time she got to see his nearly naked body. His chest was thick with muscle, nearly twice as wide as hers. Smooth, tanned skin stretched tight over the muscles of his shoulders and arms. Her eyes eagerly devoured every inch of bared flesh, raking down his six-pack abs and lower.

Her breath caught at the sight of his c.o.c.k, rock hard and tenting out the front of his boxers. She swallowed hard, nearly overcome with the urge to tug his boxers down his leg and suck him deep into her throat.

”You keep looking at me like that, and in about five seconds you're gonna find yourself pinned up against the wall with me buried ten inches inside you.”

She drew back, startled. Intimidated. ”Ten inches?”

His wicked grin made everything inside her go b.u.t.tery soft. ”Give or take a millimeter.”