Samantha Hunter - Hide and Seek

Or maybe she wasn’t being so noble, really; the truth was that if she told him everything, he might change his mind about her, and she needed to be with him. At least for tonight, she needed to forget all the reasons she shouldn’t do this. She wanted something special, something for her that might create a memory she could hold close no matter what the future was. Looking up into his eyes, she took the leap.

“Nathan, I don’t kiss a man like we just kissed because I feel pressured into it—I’m way too old for that in case you haven’t noticed.”

Five years didn’t seem like much, but with everything that had happened in her life, she sometimes felt as if she was decades older. Not right now; not with Nathan. He made her feel…young. New. Happy .

But shouldn’t he want some woman his own age, with no past, no baggage? She held his gaze as the boat slowed. The way he looked at her…she had no doubts that he wanted her, and she was determined to focus on that for now. It was enough.

“I’m glad tomorrow’s Saturday,” she whispered, leaning in, giving in to the impulse to move her hands over the well-defined muscles of his back. He was slim and strong. A shudder of desire flooded her as she allowed herself to feel things she’d been fighting for a while.

“Why’s that?” His voice was husky with desire as he asked the question, her touch affecting him. The knowledge made her smile as she answered.

“So we can sleep in.”

She lifted her mouth to his again, and felt him relax and harden all at once, his body hot against hers as he kissed the breath from her all the way back to the pier. She hadn’t met any men her own age or older who could kiss half as well. She preferred to think he’d come by the talent naturally, rather than having had too much practice.

By the time the boat docked, they were both overcome with the need to find somewhere private, and Nathan hastily squared things with the waiter and took Jennie’s hand, hurrying her gently from the boat and back to his car.

Once inside the sleek little Mustang, they combated the small space over the gearshift, all over each other again until laughingly, they parted, but never stopped touching completely as Nathan raced back to Jennie’s apartment. She smiled, anticipation buzzing through her in a way she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Appreciation welled with desire as he pulled up into a parking spot in front of her building and cut the engine. He was willing to come to her place, to go where she felt familiar and comfortable. She had a feeling she’d only discovered the tip of the iceberg when it came to finding out how special Nathan Reilly really was.

3

IMAGES OF THEM FALLING in the door and tearing at each other’s clothes raced through Nathan’s brain as he tried to keep to the speed limit, but Jennie’s hand tracing erotic messages on his upper thigh made it hard to hold back. He needed out of this car, and out of his clothes, soon .

After the frantic rush to the apartment, as soon as they stepped inside the door, breathless and laughing, everything slowed down. They stood, facing each other, saying nothing, and he crossed, taking her hands in his.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

The simple response was all he needed. With a gentle tug she was in his arms again, and the passion lit even more brightly than before. Now that they were alone, now that Nathan was where he’d dreamed of being for months on end, he found he didn’t want to rush, as urgent as the need was.

He’d always preferred hard, fast sex, reveling in the urgency and the energy of the act, yet there was something about Jennie that made him hold back and savor every move, each touch. It was a new kind of intensity, born of waiting so long for her, he supposed. He slipped a finger beneath the shoulder of her soft sweater, sliding it under the bra strap, and eased it down, smoothing the tender skin of her shoulder. She was so soft.

Leaning in, he buried his face in her neck and inhaled her scent, then darted his tongue out for a taste, loving the way her head fell back and how she seemed to purr as he nuzzled her, investigating all those secret spots he’d wondered about for so long. The hidden silk behind her ear. The visible pulse at the base of her throat that hammered as he lifted his other hand to her waist, sliding it up and down her spine, causing her to bow her body into his, issuing an erotic invitation when she pressed against him just so. They fit perfectly, as if they were made to be this way. The idea moved him profoundly.

When she began her own exploration, yanking his shirt free and sliding over the skin of his lower back and then up, he momentarily closed his eyes, reminding himself he wanted to go slow, though his body was starting to disagree with that plan. Her seductive touch, still somewhat tentative, as if she hadn’t quite made up her mind, convinced him that slow was the right choice.

The bulge in Nathan’s pants that nestled so sweetly against her abdomen made Jennie’s imagination spike with images of driving him over the edge. A part of her held back, still feeling, for the first time in a long time, like a liar. It didn’t seem to matter that the lies were to protect herself, to protect others. Would he still be here if he knew the secrets she kept?

Now wasn’t the moment to worry about it. She felt more aroused than she ever had, and yet her worries were not quite quenched.

“Jennie, you can change your mind if you want. I don’t want you doing anything you don’t want to,” Nathan said. His breathing was labored and she smiled, lifting her hand to slide the pad of her fingers over the fine film of sweat that had formed on his brow.

Nathan had some serious self-control, another plus, in her book. But she wanted him to go wild with her. And she knew just how to make him do it.

“I don’t want to stop, Nathan. It’s just that I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect to feel so much so fast and, well, I’m a little worried about the fact that we work together. Sex complicates things.”

That much was true, she thought, though it was becoming less and less important as he touched her in all the right places.

“Let’s not think about work tonight.”

She nodded, agreeing, glad at least to be able to tell the truth to him about some things, “It’s also been a while for me.”

“Then we need to make this extra special, don’t we?”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. It feels pretty special to me already.”

She could have kicked herself for her impulsive response as an answering flicker of passion, and some deeper emotion, passed over his expression. She couldn’t lead him along, she cautioned herself; she didn’t know how much she could give to him. Though the crazy thudding of her heart was urging her to give him everything. She’d wanted something special, right? Something more? Well, this was it.

Nathan was special, she could feel it in her bones, and not being a woman of half measures or tepid emotions, she couldn’t deny her response to him. Permitting this to mean more than just sex was a risk. Her entire life was about risk, so what was she waiting for?

“Where’s your bedroom?” His question was posed on a hushed breath, but she had other ideas. She wanted to let him know she was in this, one hundred percent.

“I want you now, Nate. Here.”

The comment was filled with such sexy promise he didn’t argue, but dived in to obey her command with a gusto that nearly dropped her to her knees as he kissed her with the full force of masculine desire, holding nothing back. She answered him with equal fervor, and they moved across the small living room toward the sofa.

When his hands slipped up underneath her sweater and massaged her nipples, tweaking and pinching the tender nubs, she wondered if she would even make it to the couch. She gasped as her body coiled inside at the sharp sensations his touch created, feeling a spill of release quickly approaching.