My Double Life: Wild and Wicked (7 page)

Leaving me alone with my hypercritical, perfectionist mom. I often wondered how he’d envisioned me dealing with her as a kid when he’d been scared of her as a grown man.

Trey slanted a sideways glance at me as he turned into the driveway of a private estate that sat far back from the road. Ivy covered the gray stone walls of a home that looked like something out of an English gardening book. Shrubs and landscaping partially hid a facade that was both romantic and charming, not at all what I’d expected from the hyper-masculine man in the driver’s seat.

“My mom did the same.” Trey hit a button on the dashboard and the polished wood garage door tilted upward. “I think she was so tired of battling with my old man about their marriage that she had no fight left in her when it came time to settle custody of the kids. So we got stuck with my dad.”

“She was young, right?” I remembered pictures of his mother, the actress his father allegedly seduced when she was still a teen. “Maybe she thought your dad would provide better for you.”

We pulled into the dark garage and the door lowered silently behind us. I suddenly became very aware of Trey and what I had signed on for by asking to go home with him. My heartbeat quickened.

“It’s tough to forgive a parent who ditches you though, isn’t it?” He switched off the ignition and turned toward me, giving me his full attention.

It was a heady thing.

I shrugged. “Having dealt with my mom, I can’t completely blame my dad.”

“That’s really...” He looked off into space for a minute as if searching for the right word. “...kind. A very kind way to look at it.”

The warmth in his dark gaze was almost a caress and I was tempted to lean toward him. Into him. I knew things were moving way too fast, but I didn’t care. No one had ever paid attention to me the way Trey did. No one had ever looked at me with that predatory heat that made my toes curl.

“I d-d-don’t know about that.” Oh, God. Who knew I would stutter from being turned on? I took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. “I tried being bitter about the whole situation at first.” I felt like I should own up to the truth. “But it was too exhausting and nonproductive.”

“Courtney.” He covered my hand with his. “I don’t want you to be nervous.”

He referred to my stutter. He’d heard me trip over my words and interpreted it as nervousness. I wasn’t sure what to say.

“If you have any doubts—”

“I don’t.” I was emphatic about this much. I squeezed his hand where it covered mind. “I’m not nervous.”

He didn’t make a move to go inside. Or ask me about my speech issues. In the short, awkward silence that followed, I bit my lip. Then blurted out the truth.

“I have speech issues. A disorder.” I was never sure how to label my condition in a way that made people understand. I hated the word “stutter.” “It’s dysphemia. A kind of speech disfluency,” I clarified. Then, even as I realized I was babbling, I added, “A problem with my coarticulators.”

“Oh.” He nodded, trying to take it all in. “I didn’t mean to pry—”

“No.” I shook my head. “You’ve been very nice about it. It can intensify when I’m nervous or emotional, but right now, I’m honestly not nervous.”

“Okay.” He reached across his body to cup my chin in his hand. “That’s good.”

“Actually, it causes no end of problems for me even now, long after extensive speech therapy.”

A smile hitched one side of his lips. “I’m glad you aren’t nervous.”

“Oh.” I felt a little light-headed now that he actually touched me. My skin buzzed with new sensitivity. “I am a bit...twitchy. Anxious, I guess.”

The wolf’s grin he unfurled showed a row of perfect white teeth. I liked making him smile like that. It made my temperature spike and my breath quicken.

“Me too.” He leaned closer, his breath warm on my lips as his nose brushed mine. “How about we go inside?”

I looked around the front seat, remembering how I’d pictured us together in it. I’d concocted elaborate fantasies after I’d left Backstage, imagining what might have happened if I’d met him in the parking lot that night. My legs straddling his thighs. The seat reclining to accommodate us.

Was it silly of me to still be thinking about that?

“How about a kiss first?” I became a different woman with Trey. Bolder. Sexier.

And very turned-on.

He shook his head slowly, his thumb brushing over my jaw in a gentle swipe. “Once I start kissing you, Courtney, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”

7

H
E
WAS
A
GROWN
MAN
. That meant he should be able to make it into the house before he touched her. He would
not
undress her in the garage.

At least, that was the mantra he kept repeating as they stared at each other in the dim light of the enclosed space. But watching the way her T-shirt rose and fell with each breath she took, he wondered if he could deliver on those good intentions. There was something irresistible about her complete lack of awareness of her own appeal. The more he got to know her, the more amazed he was that she’d ever set foot in front of the crowd at Backstage.

“Let’s go inside,” she whispered, her words mesmerizing him no matter how unconventionally she spoke them—fast, slow, soft. “Lead the way.”

Trey levered open the driver’s side door and moved around the hood to help Courtney out. He took her hand, not trusting himself to touch any other part of her. He was doomed to be forever turned-on by the scent of motor oil since it would always remind him of this moment.

“I can’t believe I invited myself here,” she murmured behind him while he disarmed the security alarm on the door into the kitchen.

“Are you kidding me?” He turned to gauge her expression, needing to reassure her. “I’ve been sending you mental telepathy messages to come home with me ever since we first met.” When she smiled, he ushered her inside and locked the door behind her, sealing them in the kitchen together. “Seriously. You’re probably brainwashed from the force of all that mental manipulation.”

She shook her head and laughed, her gray eyes sparkling with humor through those long bangs.

“Is that right?” She set her purse on a chair with shaky hands, her eyes darting around nervously.

“Absolutely.” He pitched his keys on the black granite countertop and then forced himself to rein himself in. Take his time. He carefully placed his fingertips to her temples. “I’m sending a new message now.”

“Well you’re not very good at this,” she teased. “I can’t hear a damn thing.”

“That’s why it took you so long to come home with me.” He tapped his forehead. “Not enough brainpower behind my coercion.”

“So what’s the new message?” She shifted from foot to foot, possibly uneasy.

Possibly feeling the same heat he did.

“You want me to just tell you?” He stepped out of his shoes and kicked them aside. Her smile faded as she tilted her head up to look at him.

“Yeah. Just...say what you want.”

His heart rapped out a heavy beat, his whole body attuned to her. Her breath. Her heat.

“I’d like that kiss now. The one you suggested in the garage.”

He saw a flash of awareness in her eyes, a darkening maybe, right before her hands landed softly on his chest.

“You can’t be real,” she said, shaking her head. A furrow creased her forehead. “I don’t have this kind of luck.”

He wondered vaguely who had stolen this sexy, smart woman’s confidence and he had an urge to pummel the party responsible. But for right now, he covered her hands with his and lifted them higher, onto his shoulders, before twining them around his neck.

She stumbled into him, her body flush against his, and she let out a soft gasp at the contact.

“We’re both getting lucky, Courtney. It goes both ways.” He ran his hands down her arms, down her sides, the heels of his palms grazing the fullness of her breasts before they caressed her ribs through her T-shirt.

Beneath half-lowered lashes, she studied him. He was keenly aware of her body against his, from the taut peaks of her breasts to the slight shift of her hips.

“In that case...” She stretched up on her toes, her clean scent teasing his nose until he inhaled deeply. “Here you go.”

Her lips brushed his, cushiony plump and slightly sweet. A spark jumped somewhere inside him, igniting a current that went through his bloodstream at lightning speed. His body responded instantly. Fully.

He wrapped his arms around her back and held her close, pinning her tight, creating delicious friction that made his pulse pound. He backed her against the kitchen island, his hand protecting her spine from the granite. Deepening the kiss, he took her mouth, claiming it for himself. Her tongue played over his, and he wanted to savor every sensual gift she was willing to give him. But right now he needed more. Much, much more.

Using all his willpower, he pulled back and stared down into her passion-filled eyes. They were blue-gray now. Her cheeks glowed pink and her lips glistened, even more bee-stung than normal. All that from his kiss.

“I don’t want to rush you.” Yet he really, really needed to rush her.

A wicked, knowing grin curled her lips. “Trust me, you’re not.”

She leaned in to finish the kiss, misunderstanding him. He gripped her shoulders, holding her steady for three long heartbeats while he battled for control of himself.

“Good. But I don’t know how much finesse I’ve got to offer right now.” Which ticked him off, because he’d like nothing better than to take his time with her. To seduce her, mind and body, so she’d come back to him for more. “Ever since that dance you did...” He shook his head, knowing it made no sense. “It’s like I’ve been hypnotized. You’re all I’ve thought about.”

He lifted a hand to brush aside her bangs, to see her fully without a domino mask or the barrier of brunette fringe.

“I’m not Natalie,” she clarified. Straightforward. Honest.

And dead wrong.

“You are the only Natalie I know.” Yeah, he understood the owner of Naughty by Night went by that name. That didn’t mean a damn thing to him. “It’s you that’s been driving me crazy night and day.”

A new understanding lit her gaze. She nodded.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about that night, too.” Her hand went for the snap on her khaki skirt. “I think I know what you need.”

His brain seemed to flatline as he stared at her shimmying out of the twill cloth. She wore pale cotton panties trimmed in lace underneath it.

“What—” His mouth went dry when he tried to croak out a word. He licked his lips and made another attempt. “What are you doing?”

“A command performance. I think the resurrection of my Natalie side will help us both.” She stepped out of her skirt and took him by the hand. “Come with me.”

“You don’t have to.” His gait was as stiff as the rest of him but he followed her into the living area, a room visible from the kitchen. “But then again, if you really want to...”

She put her hands on his shoulders and gently urged him to sit on the dark leather sofa.

“I can’t promise you the same level of performance without a stage,” she admitted, her hands twisting the hem of her T-shirt. “But I never got around to trying out my lap dance skills, so maybe I can give you a different kind of show.”

Trey couldn’t hold back another second.

“I don’t think I have the stamina to wait any longer.” He reached for her, one hand on each of her knees to draw her down onto his thighs. Spreading her legs wide, he cupped the curve of her butt, tucking the heat of her sex against the straining erection that tested the strength of his fly. “Maybe you can dance for me some other time?”

“Mmm.” Her soft gasp echoed the hiss of air between his teeth at the feel of her. Since she seemed to agree, he wasted no time hiking up her T-shirt and tossing it aside. Her full, high breasts were even more impressive in simple cotton than they’d been encased in formfitting white sequins. He raked down her bra strap with his teeth, inhaling the scent of her skin. When the delicate fabric of the cup fell away from the soft fullness of one peak, he fastened his mouth around the crest and suckled hard. His joints damn near turned to water at the taste of her combined with her delicate moan of approval.

Courtney’s fingers slid under his shirt, tracing his abs and smoothing over his pecs. She was so soft and feminine, her whole body curving into him. Heat ratcheted up in the living room, the air turning sultry. His skin had a light sheen of sweat from the effort to hold back.

As she tugged his shirt higher, he broke the kiss long enough for her to pull the fabric over his head. Her gray eyes ate him up, and his muscles twitched under that hungry gaze. Something had shifted in her since that first time they’d met. It was as if that dance at Backstage had lit her up from the inside.

“Washboard abs.” She smiled and traced the ridges on his stomach. “Fawn wasn’t kidding.”

He had no idea what she was talking about, but having her hand so close to the waistband of his jeans was practically making him delirious so maybe he hadn’t heard her right.

“I need us naked,” he muttered, past the point where he could filter his thoughts. Heat throbbed through him so hard he couldn’t do anything but touch her. Give her pleasure.

She was right there with him though, her hands already going to work on the buttons of his fly. He saved her the trouble, lifting her up and settling her on the sofa next to him. Her dark hair spilled around her shoulders, her finger twisting idly around one lock as she stared up at him like his personal sex goddess. He was about to shed his clothes when he remembered the only condoms in the house were upstairs.

Damn it.

“Come on.” He urged her to her feet, careful not to look at her directly. The sight of her mostly undressed would only slow him down when he needed to move fast. “We have to get to my bedroom.”

“That’s okay—” she began.

“Condoms,” he shot back, knowing that explained everything.

“Right.” She was on his heels as he reached the top of the stairs, her bare breasts brushing his back until he had no choice but to stop and pin her to the nearest wall. Fill his hands with those gorgeous breasts and trace circles around the taut crests with his tongue. He teased one and then the other until she gasped for air. Only then did he let her go, leading her into the master suite.

He crossed the bedroom floor and released her hand as they neared the bed. He dug in the nightstand drawer. Finally, he had the box in his hand and then a foil packet ready. He laid it on the pillow before he turned back to her.

Gave in to the temptation to look at her.

She had her arms crossed over her breasts, a half-hearted effort to cover herself. Instead, the gesture framed the creamy lushness, making his mouth water.

“You were about to get naked, remember?” she prompted, her eyes wandering over him. Lingering at hip-level.

“Right.” He slid off his jeans and boxers, freeing himself from the strangle of denim.

Not a second too soon. He pulled Courtney into his arms, slanting a kiss over her lips that quickly turned carnal. She flexed her fingers into his back, nails lightly scoring his skin as she met each thrust of his tongue. Soft mewls in the back of her throat were his undoing, the needy sound echoing everything he felt. Everything he wanted.

He unfastened the front clasp of her bra and let the material fall away completely. In the rays of late-afternoon sunlight slanting through wooden blinds, she looked like a film noir heroine, her curvy body pale and perfect.

“Please,” she gasped with a quiet desperation he hadn’t expected. “I don’t want time to think. I just want to feel.”

She sealed her soft curves against him and kissed him with an abandon he recognized from her dancing. For a split second, he wondered if he should wait. Explore that comment. But he was so far beyond waiting that the thought evaporated under the play of her mouth on his.

He hooked a finger in the lace trim of her underwear and tugged it down long, lean legs. She stepped out of the panties and quickly returned to his arms, her forehead bowed into his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He tipped her chin up, scanning her face for clues to her mood.

She was a dizzying mix of that spunky dancer he’d seen on stage and the hesitant financial researcher with smoldering eyes. Which woman was real?

“Today is like a dream,” she whispered. “I don’t want it to end.”

He cupped her cheek, her delicate jaw fitting in his hand. Suddenly he wanted to wrap her up and take care of her. She’d gotten under his skin so fast it scared him, but he wasn’t quitting this now.

“So we’ll keep on dreaming,” he whispered back to her, brushing his thumb over her cheek and back down to her full lower lip. “This is just the beginning.”

A half smile kicked up one side of her lips.

Lifting her off her feet, he laid her on his bed, her dark hair spilling across the white pillow. He kissed his way down from her mouth to the soft hollow of her throat, the elegant arch of her neck and shoulder.

When he reached the valley between her breasts, he licked a path south. Stalled around her navel so he could trace the indent with his tongue. She smelled so clean. Like soap and lemons, maybe.

And then the condom passed from her hand to his. But she tasted too good to stop what he was doing, her hips rocking into the bed, her head tossing from side to side the closer he got to her sex. Setting aside the condom packet, he kept on kissing her. The tops of her thighs. The slick folds between them.

Her ragged cry filled his ears as he tasted her, his tongue flicking deeper and deeper.

She orgasmed in seconds, a surprised gasp his only warning before she twisted beneath him, her whole body undulating with the force of her response. He kept on going, absorbing every shudder, her thighs shifting restlessly over his shoulders until his whole body screamed with the need to take her.

By the time he found the condom and rolled it on, her eyes were wide and unfocused.

“Wow,” she murmured, her hands running over his chest as he stretched over her. “Just...wow.”

“I could say the same about you. Seeing you this way?” He shook his head, at a loss for words. “You blow my mind.”

Stretching over her, he nudged her thighs wider with his knee, stroked back her hair from her damp forehead, and eased inside her. Fully. Deeply.

The hot clamp of her around him was perfect, with the aftershocks of her release gently pulsing around him. She locked her arms around his neck, her gaze focused on him while her body let him know how much he pleasured her. That soft squeeze had to be the most incredible aphrodisiac ever. She was so ready for him he thought he’d lose it then and there. He had to close his eyes and wait a second.