Stiletto Secrets (15 page)

He quickly glanced her way and then focused on the road again. “Then why did you pull away from me earlier?”

Emma turned her head away from him, playing nervously with her fingers on her lap. “Like I said before, I’m not your kind of woman, that’s all.”

“Are you kidding me? Again with this bullshit? You don’t know me well enough to know what my type is.”

“I saw the girls that morning.”

“What girls?”

“The girls you referred to as Tweedledee and Tweedledum.”

Nicholas cursed under his breath and roughed his hand through his hair. “That’s different.”

Emma turned in her seat to face him. “How is that different exactly?”

“It just is.”

“So you bringing home two girls, and having them spend the night is somehow
different
?”

Nicholas remained silent for a few seconds, before taking a deep breath. Emma was also pretty sure she heard the words “fuck” and “me” coming out of his mouth.

“Okay, so I’m an asshole. But I made those girls no promises. Every woman I’ve…” She noticed him struggle to find the right word, and Emma snorted.

“I believe the word you are looking for is
fucked
.”

Nicholas jerked his head to the side and stared at her all bug-eyed. “Fine,
fucked
. They knew it was nothing more than sex. I never made them think otherwise.”

Emma didn’t like it. She didn’t like it at all hearing this, about every woman he had
fucked.
Is that what it would be with her? Would he just fuck her, or make love to her as he said she deserved back at the bar?

As if he could read her mind, he reached out and placed a soft hand on her leg.

“I know what you’re thinking, and don’t. Don’t ever think that it would be like that with you.”

“And why is that, Nicholas? You hardly know me. How do you know it would be different with me?”

Nicholas stopped the car in front of the mansion and switched off the ignition while they both still remained seated. Emma didn’t know why she had the need to know, but she did. She wanted to get a glimpse into his head when it came to her. She wished she could see herself through his eyes even for just two seconds.

He shifted in his seat and stared at her with a pensive look in his eyes. “It will be different, because you’re different, Emma. Good different.” He reached out and tucked a curl behind her ear. “And being around you makes me feel
different
.”

And there it was again, his big blue eyes sucking her in like a damn Hoover vacuum. She could feel her resolve melting away by the second and she was being lured in like prey. But then he turned away.

“I do understand your reservations about me. But do not for one second think you’re doing us both a favor by denying whatever this is between us because you feel you’re inferior to me, because you’re not. You’re a Tremaine, a name to be proud of. I’m a Blake. I’m a selfish bastard, just like my father.” And then he got out of the car, walked around to her side and held the door open for her avoiding making eye contact.

He didn’t seem angry, just despondent, and she felt sorry for him all of a sudden. She didn’t mean to make him feel like he wasn’t any better than his father.

“Nicholas, I didn’t—”

“It’s okay. I should apologize to you for, you know, back there at the bar. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.” He shut the car door when she got out and they both walked side by side up the stairs. The closer they came to the front door, the more she started to hate the idea of them ending their evening like this. Even though Nicholas tried to act like everything was okay, it wasn’t.

When they stepped into the foyer Emma noticed that all the guests had already gone. The house was quiet and all Emma heard was the sound of her heart pounding away inside her chest.

Nicholas turned to her and he reached out, but then stopped and pulled back.

She didn’t like that one little bit. She wanted him to touch her. She never wanted him to stop touching her.

“Nicholas.” She looked up and met his eyes. “You are not your father.”

He placed his hands in his jeans pockets. “How can you say that?”

“Because I know. You proved you weren’t him the day you got on your knees next to me and took care of my bleeding hand.” She held out her palm where a tiny red scar remained. “You were concerned about me, a maid, a woman you didn’t know when all your father cared about was his carpets.”

Nicholas shrugged. “Maybe that was my game. Pretend to care so that I can seduce you.”

“Don’t. Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Try to pretend that you’re an asshole.” She moved toward him. “That day, you didn’t look at me the way you’re looking at me now.”

Nicholas also gave a step forward and stared down at her with those mesmerizing blue sapphires. “And how am I looking at you now?”

Emma knew that what she was about to do was probably the craziest, most reckless and stupid thing she would ever do. But she desperately wanted to do what she couldn’t in Cinderella’s Booth—be with him as Emma.

She placed her hands on his chest. “You look at me like you care.”

Emma reached up, wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him closer, down toward her lips. Whether she kissed him, or he kissed her didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were kissing, and she never wanted it to stop.

It felt like she was dying and being reborn at the same time. Lips so demanding, so unyielding, moved against hers. His kiss had the power to disarm her, igniting and exhausting her all at once.

His arms encircled her waist and he pulled her against him, molding her body to his. “Emma…” He breathed against her lips and the warmth of his breath caused chills to spread throughout her body. “You shouldn’t be letting me kiss you right now.”

“I like you kissing me.”

Strong hands cupped her behind and squeezed tight, allowing her to feel just how hard he was, just how much he wanted her.

She weaved her fingers through his hair while he gently brushed his lips across her jaw.

“I like it too…and that’s the problem.”

Emma leaned her head to the side, loving the feather light kisses he was placing down her neck. “I really don’t see the problem with that.”

He moved back up to her jaw, over her chin until he barely touched his lips against hers.

“The problem is that I’m good at a lot of things, Emma, but stopping myself from taking what I want isn’t one of them.”

Ah hell, there was no way she would have been able stop him from taking what he wanted.

“I don’t want you to stop. Not this time.”

Tightening her grip in his hair, she tugged him closer, kissing him hard.

There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding them, a lot of what ifs. But right now she didn’t want to think of that. She wanted to get lost in this moment with him, because it might be the last time she would be able to. Whether she would regret it in the morning was not something she wanted to think about now. All she wanted was the here and now, giving in to the need and the desire that possessed her.

Abruptly he pulled her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Then they were moving. He carried her up the stairs, but she hardly noticed her surroundings. All she focused on was his lips, his kiss, his taste—tequila and mint.

A breath escaped her when he slammed her into his bedroom door. Their kisses had turned from tender and slow, to hard and heady. Their tongues danced with desire, their bodies moving in search of what both of them knew would come.

Nicholas held her firmly with one hand while he opened the door with the other. He carried her in and kicked the door shut behind them.

Their lips never parted for a second, like they were afraid to let go in case they might never find one another again.

Nicholas put her down in front of the bed, and reached for her shirt, pulling it over her head. Slowly, he started to unbutton her jeans while keeping his gaze locked on hers. His knuckles brushed against her skin causing her to suck in a breath. He paused.

“Emma, if you’re not sure about this, you gotta tell me now.”

She wasn’t sure—she wasn’t sure at all. But she knew there was no way she would have been able to walk away from him now. Not while her body and soul was screaming for him to take her.

Emma reached down and slowly pushed her jeans over her waist until she stood in front of him in nothing but her plain white panties and matching bra. She loved the way he gaped at her, the way his eyes moved, his gaze taking in every inch of her. He stared at her like she was the most exquisite thing he had ever seen, making love to her with his eyes.

“Can anyone ever be sure about anything, Nicholas?”

“I suppose not.”

Their eyes met and she saw every ounce of her own desire reflected in his eyes. Whatever it was between them felt so powerful and intense, Emma had to focus on taking a breath, afraid that she might suffocate since she wasn’t even sure she was breathing anymore.

With a swift move he pulled his shirt over his head, tossed it to the floor and then reached for her, tugging her closer.

“But one thing I’m damn sure of is that I’ve never wanted anyone as badly as I want you right now.”

Nicholas lowered his lips, kissing her collarbone with soft delicate strokes of his tongue, and Emma was sure he left a trail of burning flesh while he continued over her shoulder.

He reached back and unclasped her bra before slowly pulling it off her arms. For a second he stopped kissing her, and glanced down at her chest before he moved his hand to firmly cup her breast in his palm. Emma gasped at his touch.

“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are, Emma?”

His gaze was still on her chest, watching as he continued to touch her, kneading the soft flesh in his palms. “I want to make every inch of your body mine.” He lowered his lips to her shoulder and kissed along her skin, causing her to shudder, her body turning into liquid beneath his touch.

“I want to touch you, kiss you…play with you until my name is the only thing on your lips.”

Emma’s mind was reeling, her body burning with heat that he so expertly and easily evoked inside of her.

“When I’m done with you, I want there to be no doubt in your mind whatsoever as to who you belong to. And believe me, after tonight you will belong to me in every way.”

He pulled her harder against him, letting her feel just how badly he wanted her, craved her.

She gasped when she felt his warmth spread through her, her breasts firmly pressed against his chest. If Emma ever thought she had a chance of walking away from him, that chance no longer existed.

Emma let her hands travel down his strong, brawny arms and she felt his muscles move beneath her palms. Touching him, feeling him, kissing him—it felt almost too surreal, yet there was no mistaking the burning desire pulsing deep inside her.

Grabbing hold of all her courage, she reached down and started to unbutton his pants wanting to touch him like she knew he needed to be touched. But then he reached for her hands and stopped her.

“I’m not ready for you to touch me yet.” He lifted her hand away from his pants. “If you touch me now, this is going to be over much quicker than I want it to be.”

Emma couldn’t help but smile. It felt amazing to know that she affected him in such a way, the same way he affected her.

With great anticipation she watched as he busied himself loosening his pants. He moved so slow, taunting her and teasing her, like he knew she was barely holding on to her last thread of control.

When he finally popped that last button on his jeans, he cocked his head to the side.

“Lie down, Emma.”

She was frozen. Her legs wouldn’t move. She was completely mesmerized by the man in front of her.

He stepped forward and came within inches from her. “I said, lie down, Emma.”

Finally able to move, she got onto the bed, her eyes never leaving his.

She was nervous and excited; hesitant, yet utterly enthralled. Never had she experienced this much electricity, such intense anticipation before. Even all those nights dancing, stirring lust in all those other men, it never felt this way, this intoxicating.

Emma watched in awe as Nicholas pulled off his pants, leaving him gloriously naked in front of her. It was obvious why all the women loved his body. It was perfect, begging to be touched and stroked. Every ripple of firm, toned muscle was flawless and she gawked appreciatively at his tight, well defined abs and the fine trail of dark hair that went from his navel down…down…down…

Nicholas got onto the bed, stalking toward her on his knees. Her heart beat wildly, her body aching, demanding to be sated by no one else but him.

His gaze swept over every inch of her naked body as he continued to move.

“I meant what I said.” He stopped just above her chest, leaned his head down and took a nipple gently between his lips.

Emma gasped and arched her back. “And what was that?”

“That you deserve to be made love to between silk sheets. You should be worshipped.” He spoke every word like it was foreplay, creating the most powerful sense of need deep within her which spread all the way down to her hips.

He slowly glided his hand up her leg, his fingers brushing gently against her inner thigh…and she gasped when she felt his hand reach her panties, shooting a strong current of undiluted sexual desire all the way up her spine, crashing against every corner of her body.

His fingers moved, and the fabric strained as it pulled tight around her waist. Emma moaned while Nicholas pulled harder until finally the sound of her panties being ripped and torn off her body made her gasp.

“And that’s what I plan to do, all night long.”

Emma started to writhe beneath him, searching, wanting everything right at that moment. There were no more barriers between them and his warm skin felt exquisite against hers. He was only barely touching her and it already felt like she was going to burn to ash beneath him.

She moved again, desperately wanting so much more, but he placed his hand on her hips, stilling her. “Emma, you need to let me do what I want to do. If you keep on moving like this I won’t be able to control myself.”