A Taste Of Sin (12 page)

"It never occurred to me that you missed me." It was true. As much as she'd loved her big, gruff father, she'd always felt like he’d appreciated her only because she followed directions and stayed out of trouble.

Her father looked taken aback, even a little hurt by her bluntness. "Of course I missed you. You were my little girl, and you left when you were practically still a baby."

"You had Karen," she pointed out, "And even now she's only a couple of hours away."

"Ah, your sister's a pain in the ass and you know it."

"How can you say that about one of your children?" Kelly said with a startled laugh. And here she'd always thought both her parents were so much closer to Karen.

"I always wondered if we did the right thing, sending you away so young." Ryan paused and cleared his throat. "Look, I know I'm not always so good at showing it, but having you here these past weeks has been great. And it would make me very happy if you ended up closer to home."

Pressure built at the back of her eyes. She'd also enjoyed her time with her father and the chance to share an adult friendship with him. She was surprised but touched to hear him voice it. On an abstract level, she always knew her father loved her, but the fact that he actually enjoyed her company warmed her heart.

"Aw, Daddy," she said through a sniffle, and leaned over the bar to hug him.

He patted her back, and when he pulled away his blue eyes were suspiciously bright. "So you have to promise if you get this thing at Stanford, you'll come visit on a weekend sometime."

She squeezed him again and kissed his cheek. "I promise." And she would, even if it meant she would risk running into Nick.

She retrieved the pitchers off the bar, grabbed a plate of nachos, and delivered both to one of the long trestle tables occupied by three couples. She tucked her tray under her arm, turned, and slammed into what felt like a brick wall.

The wall was Nick, and he looked...determined. And, she thought as she studied the slight tic in his jaw, pissed off. He wrapped his hand around her bicep and pulled her through the maze of tables and chairs.

"Nick, what are you doing? People are watching."

The expressions ranged from avid curiosity to mild confusion. She looked wildly at her father, who frowned but didn't try to stop Nick.

He pulled her into the storeroom, clicked on the overhead light, and slammed the door behind him.

Nick's hands shook a little as he grabbed Kelly around the waist and set her down on a stack of cardboard boxes. He was out of his mind coming here like this, but it was like someone or something had taken over his body.

He couldn't stop himself. He was so angry—at her for rejecting him, at himself for being so out of control he couldn't stop himself from coming here. From proving to her how good it could be between them.

He leaned in and kissed her, savoring the sweet taste of her tongue against his. He groaned in relief and desire as her arms wrapped around his neck.

But a second later she was pushing him away. "No, Nick, stop it! We can't do this anymore."

"Why not?" He sank his teeth into the tender skin of her neck, loving the hot shudder that coursed through her.

"Because..." her breath hitched, "because I don't want—“

"Don't tell me you don't want me, Kelly," he said fiercely, ducking until his forehead rested against hers. He palmed her roughly through her jeans. "Don't lie to me. I can already feel how hot you are."

Her heat seeped through the denim fabric, and he ground the heel of his hand against her. "This is good between us, and I don't want to stop."

She grabbed his wrist in both her hands, shoving it away from her crotch. "Stop it! You can find another fuck buddy, Nick! I'm not going to do this anymore."

"I don't want another fuck buddy, as you so nicely put it." He stepped between her legs, planting his palms on her inner thighs to hold them open. "I only want you." He ground his erection against her crotch to prove how much.

His hands came up to hold her face still for his kiss. She tried to turn her face away, but he wouldn't let her. He squeezed her jaw, not hard enough to hurt, but enough that her mouth opened slightly, enough.

"Let me in," he growled. He felt like an animal, all brutal lust. He couldn't let her get away from him. Not tonight.

Not ever.

Somehow he got her jeans and panties off, and she was standing before him in nothing but her red Sullivan's T-shirt. She was no longer trying to get away, but responding to his rough, carnal kisses as though she wanted it as bad as he did.

He slipped his fingers between her legs, parting the wet curls, feeling the thick moisture slicking her labia. Her clit was a plump little point nudging eagerly against his probing hand, and Nick was going to die if he couldn't taste her in his mouth.

He got down on his knees in front of her, pulling one thigh over his shoulder as he burrowed his face between her legs. She leaned back against the boxes as he licked and sucked, his tongue thrusting inside in a rough tongue fuck. Nothing tasted better than Kelly, nothing drove him crazy like the way she smelled when she was aroused, her hot juices pouring over his tongue.

He lashed at her clit and almost burst in his pants as she came against his face. Before her contractions stopped, he had his cock out and pushed her back against the boxes. He bent his knees and drove impossibly deep. "How can you tell me this is over," he muttered into her shoulder, burying his mouth in the crook of her neck. "How can we stop this when it feels so good?"

She clung to him, muffling her soft groans and pants against his shoulder. Her fingers clawed at his back, her fingers twisted in the fabric of the shirt he hadn't bothered to remove. He hooked his elbow under one of her knees, pushing her leg up so he could grind even deeper.

"Nick." Her voice was a frantic whisper as suddenly her head reared back and her mouth opened wide. But only faint sobs escaped her as she pulsed and throbbed around him, urging him to a climax that nearly made his knees buckle.

He clung to her, pinning her against the boxes as he tried to catch his breath. "Kelly," he whispered, bending his head to kiss her face, her lips. He tasted her skin, the warm spiciness of her mouth, the

saltiness of...tears? It was then he realized that Kelly was trembling not only from the aftermath of orgasm but from the effort of holding back the sobs bubbling from her chest. Tears streamed down her face as she thrust herself away from him and frantically scrambled back into her panties and jeans.

A raw pit opened in his stomach. "Jesus, Kelly, did I hurt you?” He felt the back of his eyes burn as he realized he might have actually caused her pain. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say˗"

"You didn't h-hurt me, Nick," she sobbed, but she wouldn't look at him.

Before he could stop her she ran out of the storage room and slammed the door behind her. Nick pulled his pants up over his hips, realizing only as he tucked himself back in that he hadn't used a condom.

He buried his fists against his eyeballs, barely suppressing the scream of rage. Fuck! Not only had he just gone after her like an animal, he hadn't bothered to protect her against pregnancy.

He really was a goddamned idiot.

He needed to apologize.

He needed to stop acting like a caveman and tell her how he really felt about her. Her tears, while not exactly a positive response, were at least an indicator of some deeper emotion on her part, weren't they?

Clinging feebly to that hope, he gathered his car keys from the floor where he'd thrown them and let himself out of the storeroom. A quick detour to the men's room to wash the scent of sex from his hands and face and he was ready to face Kelly and beg for her forgiveness.

But when he got to the dining room, Kelly was nowhere to be found.

"She left"said she was sick," Kelly's father said.

Nick felt himself flushing under Ryan Sullivan's probing gaze. Now that was classy, he thought, doing a woman with her father in the next room. What woman wouldn't want that?

"Sick?" Nick knew he sounded like a moron, but the blood was taking its time getting back to his brain.

"Came running out and said she felt awful and was going home."

Ryan wiped down the counter as though Kelly's sudden illness was of no great concern. "She looked like she was crying. Know anything about that?"

Nick shook his head, knowing Ryan didn't believe him but unwilling to offer any other explanation. Somehow he didn't think Ryan would like the idea that he'd been secretly sleeping with his youngest daughter for the past few weeks, even if his intentions had recently become much more honorable.

Thud thud thud thud thud
. Kelly jumped as a hard fist slammed repeatedly into her front door forcefully enough to rattle the windowpanes on either side.

She uncurled from the couch where she'd sat, head on her knees, crying for the last half hour.

Oh God, please don't let it be Nick,
she thought, and felt another rush of tears. But if it wasn't Nick, it would be her father, and that would be even worse. How could she explain why his usually calm, cerebral daughter had so completely and publicly lost her cool?

"Kelly, I'm gonna use my key if you don't let me in," Nick's voice threatened through the heavy wood door before he resumed his pounding.

And if he didn't use his key, she thought as she shuffled to the door and wiped her eyes, the neighbors would have him busted for disturbing the peace.

"Go away, Nick," she said, opening the door a crack. "I don't want to see you anymore."

He ignored her, planting his palm against the door and shoving his way inside. Why had she never seen this pushy side of Nick before? She’d always thought he was so nice. Why couldn't he just leave well enough alone?

"Nick, please, I have work to do. I have to get up really early and drive to Palo Alto tomorrow." He blurred in front of her as tears threatened yet again. This was why she never cried. Once she started, she couldn't stem the flood.

He hugged her against him, which only made her want to cry more. "Kelly, honey, why are you crying? Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head mutely against his chest, wanting to cling to him, to let him hold her and comfort her and take care of her. But she was terrified that if she did, she was going to do something really embarrassing, like admit she was in love with him.

"I'm sorry about what happened," he was saying. "It's like I go kind of crazy when I get around you."

She sniffled and pushed away. "You didn't hurt me," she said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "I'm sorry I freaked out. I've been stressed lately, and like I said, I have to get up really early tomorrow."

"Why?"

"I have an interview, at Stanford. And I really need to prepare, so..."

But instead of taking her hint, he made himself comfortable on her couch. "You're leaving, then?"

"As soon as I line up a new position, yes."

He leaned back against the cushions, his broad shoulders spanning nearly half of the couch. "Then I don't see why we can't keep seeing each other until you leave." His tone was casual, but his gaze was intense.

Kelly twisted her fingers in the hem of her shirt, wanting to scream in frustration at his thick-headedness. He should be grateful that she was cutting him loose without any complications, for Christ's sake!

"If you're worried about a steady lay, I'm sure you won't have any trouble."

"I'm sure I won't," he said quietly.

Even though she knew she was expendable, that still stung.

"But like I said earlier, I don't want anyone else. And you seemed to enjoy it too up until recently. I don't get what changed."

He was up on his feet, moving toward her again, and Kelly fought the urge to run and lock herself in the bathroom. "I can't do this anymore. You're too much of a distraction for me, and I need to figure out what I'll be doing after I leave."

"Like move to Palo Alto?"

"Right. There's a staff position in their ER, and I'm a strong candidate."

"I don't see why you can't figure it out while still seeing me. I don't take up that much of your time."

"Look, I know you probably don't get rejected much, Nick, so I’ll try to use small words so you can understand. I. Do. Not. Want. To. See. You. Anymore."

"See, I could believe you if I hadn't made you come twice in the last hour."

"You're an asshole," she said, shoving him hard against his chest.

"And you're lying." He grabbed her by the shoulders, but gently.

His grip held none of the brute force that he'd exhibited earlier. The brute force that, though she hated to admit it, had excited her down to the tips of her red-painted toes.

His thumbs dipped beneath the crewneck of her T-shirt, sweeping against her collarbone in slow, seductive strokes. "Why can't you just accept the truth and leave me alone, Nick?" Her protest sounded feeble even to her own ears.

"Because I don't think that is the truth, Kelly." His hands slid down her arms to toy with her fingers that were clenched in tight fists at her sides. "The truth is that you still want me, but you're afraid of something and you're running away."

Something inside of her snapped. He wanted the truth? Fine, she’d give him the truth. The one thing guaranteed to send him running so fast he'd leave skid marks on her carpet.

"Fine. You win," she said. "I'm lying when I say I don't want to see you." She pulled her hands away from his, needing to put distance between them before she completely lost it. "The problem is that I’m falling in love with you, Nick. I thought I could do this, thought I could have fun, sleep with you, see what all the fuss was about." She laughed weakly. "But every time I'm with you, it just gets harder and harder to pretend it doesn't mean anything."

The words hung in the air and Kelly collapsed on the couch, deflated. She felt the cushions shift next to her. To her surprise, instead of running, Nick settled in beside her and gathered her tense form against his chest.

Why wouldn't he just leave? Typical Nick, she thought, always the nice guy, even when she wished, for once, he would just be a jerk and leave her to wallow.