A Little Night Music (7 page)

Buns for breakfast, anyone?

He must have heard her giggle, because he turned his head to look at her sideways. A tiny smile lifted his mouth, and his left eyebrow rose slightly. “Good morning,” he said.

It was a snapshot straight from one of his videos, a moment she had drooled over repeatedly, hitting the VCR’s rewind button over and over again. Now, like a Pavlovian bimbo, her knees went weak in response.

Oh this was not good. He was supposed to be out of her system.

“Good morning,” she managed. “Nice, ah, apron.”

“You think so?” He turned to show her the front view. It was embossed with big red lips and the words “Kiss the Cook.”

Of course it was. Hannah fought the urge to laugh hysterically. Low blood sugar. Surely that was it.

“You know,” Nate said, “I thought you couldn’t look sexier than you did in your underwear, but seeing you in my shirt…well, damn.” He removed the frying pan of bacon from the heat. Already on the table sat what looked like eggs Benedict and hash browns. That was all Hannah managed to notice before he covered the distance between them with quick strides and swept her up into a kiss.

Chapter Four

His hands gripped her bottom as he pulled her hard against him. She slipped her arms around him, enjoying the feel of smooth hard muscle beneath warm skin. She returned the kiss, sliding her tongue between his lips, losing herself in the sensation of his body against hers. Nate’s low growl of approval made her dizzy. She thought she was going to pass out because her heart and lungs just didn’t seem to want to work in tempo anymore.

She hadn’t intended to get into another clinch, but his presence was just too intoxicating. Nate touched her, and everything but the thought of sex fled from her mind. And it wasn’t so much
thought
or
mind
that was involved, really. Just pure animalistic reaction.

Nate picked her up and bodily carried her a few steps to the counter, swiping some dishes into the sink before depositing her on the granite surface. She yelped as her butt hit the cold counter.

“Sorry,” he said. “Let me distract you.” His teeth grazed the side of her neck. His morning beard abraded her skin. She found it highly erotic. Her shirt fell away from one shoulder, and he nipped her collarbone. In response, she wrapped her legs around his waist. His hips were lean and hard between her thighs, and she slipped forward so that he pressed against her, only the cloth of the apron separating them. She was already wet with arousal.

His hands slid up her sides and onto her breasts. He rubbed the silk over her nipples. When they hardened against his palms, he teased them with his fingers, and Hannah moaned. The mesmerizing sensation was sending slow waves of pleasure through her, all of them ending up in the spot pressed so tightly against his erection.

Reaching up, she latched her hands onto the cupboard handles. Her breasts spilled out through the front of the half-buttoned shirt. Nate didn’t need any more invitation than that. His mouth captured one nipple while his fingers pinched the other. Hannah closed her eyes, her breath coming in short gasps. Each slow suckle pushed her closer and closer to the edge. She involuntarily moved her hips in a circular motion, giving in to her arousal. He was hard against her, and when she started grinding against him she felt his teeth clamp down. The flash of pain made her cry out.

“Too much?” he gasped.

“No,” she managed. Borderline, but not too much. The sharpness had intensified the need that pulsated in her clit.

He drew back slightly and slid a hand between them. She moaned again as his fingers found her wet core. He moved his hand lazily, teasing, not bringing her over the edge like she craved. “I guess so,” he said, displaying his now-glistening fingers. He ran them across her lips, then kissed her again so they could both taste her arousal.

Nate repeated the motion, dipping into her and this time tracing her moistness onto her nipples, then greedily sucking it off. The relentless attention to her breasts was bringing her close to a peak again, and she wondered if she would repeat last night’s incredible experience.

She didn’t get a chance to find out. Nate continued to nuzzle her breasts as he pulled a condom from his apron pocket. A moment later, the head of his cock nestled at her slick entrance.

She closed her eyes, but Nate’s husky “Look at me” caused her to open them again. They stared at each other as he slowly, steadily entered her, not breaking visual contact even when he was sheathed completely and deeply inside of her.

Was he the one throbbing, or was she? She flexed her muscles and was gratified to hear him gasp. So she did it again. And again.

He lost the staring contest. His eyes lost all focus as he began moving, plunging into her. Seconds later the world spiraled red as she came, and on the heels of that she heard him cry out as he did the same.

For a moment they rested, her arms around his neck, his head on her shoulder and his breath rasping in her ear.

Wow. Just…wow. She hadn’t made any plans beyond a one-night seduction. It thrilled her to know he was still so interested. Thrilled her—and scared her. She was in unplanned, uncharted territory now. She’d lost her chance to make a clean getaway.

And she still had the photo shoot this afternoon. And after that, the tour and her job as his publicist. Oh yeah. Her job.

“I’m sorry you had to wake up alone, but you were sleeping so peacefully,” he said. His eyes were the most mesmerizing blue. “I was going to bring you breakfast in bed. Room service.”

“I think the kitchen service has sufficed just fine,” she said. Her mouth sought his in a long, slow kiss before she slid off the counter. Amazingly, her knees managed to hold her up. Her fingers still trembled when she tried to button the shirt. He pushed her hands away, deftly slipping the buttons into each hole. Oh my. Amazing sex, breakfast, and he was still coordinated enough to help her dress.

She was in so much trouble.

*

Nate stood in the doorway and watched Hannah run lightly down the front steps to the waiting cab. Even though he knew he’d see her again in a few hours, at the photo shoot, he found himself missing her already.

When the cab pulled away, he closed the door. He needed to shower and change as well before the shoot, but that could wait. First he wanted to check out a very strong hunch.

He went into his study—a mess of papers in these final days of arrangements—and moved off the computer monitor a Post-it note reminder to call his accountant. A touch of the mouse and the Macintosh flared to life. A few keystrokes, a few Internet search queries, and his suspicions were confirmed.

When he’d first kissed Hannah Montgomery, something had stirred in his memory. There was something about the way her mouth moved on his, about the way that her hands clenched in his hair that triggered a recollection that wasn’t quite fully formed. At the time, he’d been distracted enough not to pursue the niggling memory, but it had continued to burn in the back of his mind the whole night. Then, when he woke up this morning and gazed down on her in something akin to wonder, the memory had surged back to the forefront.

In repose, with her hair sleep- and sex-tousled and her face mostly devoid of makeup, he’d caught a glimpse of what she’d looked like when she was younger.

Nine years ago, the awkward Hannah had surprised him with her boldness when she’d kissed him in the foyer of her parents’ Hollywood home. That kiss might have been spontaneous and clumsy, but the underlying emotion had affected him deeply, so much so that he’d never forgotten the kiss—or her.

She was so different now. Not just her looks—of course a coltish teenager would bear only a passing resemblance to the woman she was to become—but also her demeanor.

She wasn’t shy anymore.

It was a huge turn-on.

Nate shifted in the office chair as his jeans got tighter. No, she hadn’t displayed any shyness last night, or this morning. Now she was confident, bold. When she’d walked into the studio, all he could think about was peeling off her business suit. He’d always found a woman in a suit intriguing, always wondered what he’d find beneath the professional image.

He’d found a hot, fascinating woman.

It had been a long time since he’d allowed himself to get lost in a woman’s body. To totally forget everything but sensations and needs. Passion and pleasure.

The need to control everything about his life was all that kept him from picking up a bottle of beer, a handful of pills on those days when he was feeling stressed, overwhelmed. During the nights when he struggled so hard to make music, to spill the songs he felt bottled up inside of himself.

The thought of trying to keep his hands off of her while she toured with him was daunting.

He wanted her again.

With a groan, he headed for the shower. So much for getting the attraction out of his system.

*

The knock at the hotel-room door came before Hannah could even slip out of her shoes. She knew without asking who it was. Hannah flipped the safety lock and wordlessly ushered her friend into the room.

Gina threw herself down on the bed, bouncing once before pushing herself up on one elbow to stare at her friend. “So, how was the wine bar?” she asked. Her eyes were wide, feigning an innocence that Hannah didn’t buy into for a moment.

Hannah couldn’t help the completely goofy grin that curved her mouth.

Gina laughed. “That wine bar excuse was so lame I don’t know why you bothered.” She sat up, clasping her arms around drawn-up legs. She peered over the tops of her knees, her fey green eyes wide. “Okay, I want details, girl. I was the one you called when you vowed to have one night with Nate Fox, and I’m the one who gets to hear about it first. So, spill. How was he?”

How was he
? Hannah sank down onto the bed next to her friend. She closed her eyes, remembering the taste of the skin along his throat. The low husky groan she’d drawn from him time and again. She licked her lips unconsciously, reliving the pressure of his mouth on hers.

His mouth trailing downwards, seeking treasures….

How was he
? He’d been beyond words.

“Hello, remember me?” Gina waved her hand in front of Hannah’s face.

“It’s…strange,” Hannah said finally. “For nine years I’ve been obsessed with the idea of sleeping with him. You and I have plotted any number of schemes; I’ve fantasized about every detail. But I never gave a single thought to what might happen afterwards. It’s as if I just assumed my life would go on as normal…that achieving my goal was somehow separate from everything else.”

“That’s a hell of a mental block,” Gina agreed. She got up and helped herself to orange juice from the minibar. Further exploration revealed a wrapped Danish on another shelf.

“Isn’t it crazy?” Hannah got up and paced the room. Realizing she’d removed only one shoe, she stopped and bent down. “It’s not as if I’m a virgin or have never been in a relationship. I know there’s always a morning after.”

“How did the morning after go?” Gina asked.

Hannah felt the smile explode across her face. “Um, is it still a one-night stand if breakfast gets a little heated?”

Gina groaned. She swallowed the large bite of cheese Danish, and waved the wrapper. “You had a better breakfast than I did.” She peered at Hannah. “You’re not going to give details, are you?”

“No…” Hannah shook her head. “It’s still too fresh. And I still have to face him at the shoot today.” She sat down abruptly as fresh anxiety flooded through her. “What was I thinking, having sex with him first? I have to work with him now. How the hell am I supposed to see him all the time and not want to climb all over him? Last night was the most unprofessional thing I’ve ever done.”

Leaning forward, she rested her head on her knees. Dizziness washed over her, brought on by the mortifying feeling of guilt. “Oh god, I slept with a client.”

Gina sat up and put an arm around her. “You let nature take its course, sweetie. The sexual tension between the two of you at dinner was so thick I almost choked on it. You’re both adults; you can figure out how to work together. As long as you use your PR skills to rocket him to the top again, there’s shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’ve never slept with a client,” Hannah repeated. She looked up, catching a glimpse of herself in the dresser mirror. Did her mouth actually look swollen?

“Your client’s never been Nate Fox before, rock star fantasy and total hottie.”

Well, that was true, but it did little alleviate the guilt she felt about violating her personal work ethic.

 “Just ask yourself this—was it worth it?” Gina asked.

The smile came back, unbidden, as the memories flooded her brain and flushed her body with heat. “Oh, yeah.”

“Whoa,” Gina said, frowning. “I thought this was going to be just one night.”

“What makes you think it’s not?”

“That look on your face,” Gina said. “You’re practically licking your lips. Don’t you dare fall for him.”

“I’m not,” Hannah denied. “That’s ridiculous. Just because the sex was good—” Incredible. Stupendous. Mind-blowing.
“
—doesn’t mean I’m imagining white picket fences and children.”

“Sure,” Gina said dubiously. “So how are you going to make it through the shoot today?”

“Like the complete professional that I am,” Hannah said.

Like the basket case she was going to be the minute she saw him again, knowing that she was going to have to keep her hands to herself from now on.

The agreement had been one night to work the lust out of their system. It didn’t matter that she was still feeling incredibly lusty.

Gina laughed. “Yeah, and I’m going to capture every minute of your utter professionalism on film. You know, I’m really beginning to enjoy this assignment, even though I’m not the one getting hot sex.”

“I didn’t say the sex was hot.”

Gina burst out laughing. “Honey, the look on your face has told me almost everything! I still want details, but at least I know he blew your mind from here to next Tuesday.”