The Perfect Play (4 page)

Now Tara, he’d definitely remember.

There was something about her that made him want to do more than just fuck her.

Except right now he really wanted to kiss her and touch her and get her naked so he could explore the rest of her skin and see if it was as soft as the parts he’d already touched.

Easy, man
. Not too fast. He didn’t want to scare her away. She wasn’t like any other woman he’d ever met. And for the first time in his life, he didn’t want to run the clock down too fast. He wanted this night to go into overtime.

 

 

MICK HADN’T SAID MUCH FOR THE PAST FEW MINUTES, just seemed content to stare out the window with her. Tara waited for discomfort to set in, but it hadn’t. There was something special about him, something she’d noticed from the start, and it had nothing to do with his career and everything to do with who he was as a man. She liked Mick, liked him more than she had any other man in a very long time. Since she had the entire weekend to herself, why not indulge?

“Would you like some champagne?” He motioned to the bucket sitting on ice. “They delivered it earlier. I think we all got one as a thanks from the owners.”

“I’d love a glass.”

He popped the top and poured some into a glass, handed it to her. She took a sip, the bubbles tickling her nose. “It’s very good. Aren’t you going to have any?”

“I’m more of a beer kind of guy.”

She laughed. “Me, too.”

“Yeah? You’re dressed like a champagne kind of woman. Your sparkly dress even matches.”

She looked down at her cocktail dress. Admittedly, she loved it. Tiny straps hung on her shoulders, the bodice dipped across the swell of her breasts, hugging them tight. It fit her well and was her favorite. “Only when I work events like this. Believe me, there’s no champagne stocked in my refrigerator at home. Only beer and soda.”

“Chips and hot dogs?”

She laughed. “Two of my favorites. I’m sorry to say the elegance only comes out as part of my job. You’ll typically find me barefoot, wearing jeans, with my hair up in a ponytail.”

He examined her near-perfect updo. “So that doo-dah hairstyle isn’t the norm for you?”

“Hardly. It’ll be hell getting all these pins out.”

“Want me to help?”

Heat swirled around her. “And shatter my Cinderella image? I don’t think so.”

“Okay, Cinderella. Your secret is safe with me.”

She sipped her champagne and tried not to openly stare at him, but it was damned difficult, considering it was just the two of them in this room with the lovely view of the city. She stared out the window, still wondering what the hell she was doing here with Mick Riley.

He came up behind her. “You’re a beautiful woman, Tara.”

She turned to face him, wishing he knew the real her. But he never would, because the real Tara was light-years away from his world. “I usually don’t follow strange men up to their hotel rooms.”

He smiled down at her. “You don’t? Damn, and I thought I’d found a sure thing in you.”

Everything he said either made her laugh or made her hot. Why hadn’t some woman grabbed him by the hair and dragged him back to her cave by now? There had to be some chink in this knight’s armor. “Sorry. You should have gone for one of the actresses or models.”

“Not interested in them. They have agendas.”

“What makes you think I don’t?”

“Because I came to you. You didn’t come to me.”

“Maybe that’s part of my evil plan.”

“Honey, I don’t think there’s a damn thing evil about you.”

“I’m hardly innocent, Mick.”

He took her glass and set it on the table, then grasped the lapels of the jacket and pulled her closer. “Is that right?”

Liquid heat rushed through her veins, opening her up to desires and emotions she hadn’t felt in far too long. She normally closed herself off to men. Too busy. Too many other priorities. Right now there was no other priority but the feel of him against her. She leaned into him and tilted her head back, giving him the green light. “That’s right.”

He shifted his fingers, and the fire he’d stoked began to burn even brighter. There was a sizzle of magic between them. She’d be a fool to walk away from that, even if it was only for one night. And that’s all it could ever be—just one night—so why not go for it when she had the chance? Who knew when something this good would come along again? With the way her life was structured, probably never. And she’d have this one hot night to look back on and remember forever.

“I didn’t bring you here to seduce you, Tara. I just wanted to spend more time with you.”

She covered his hands with hers. “Maybe I’m seducing you. You wouldn’t want to hurt my feelings by rejecting me, would you?”

His lips quirked. “I’d never do that.”

“Then kiss me.”

She saw the spark ignite in his eyes as he gathered her against him and pressed his lips to hers.

Ahh, contact. An explosion of heat and liquid fire melted her from the inside out. Oh wow, it was everything she imagined—and so much more. Tenderness as his lips brushed hers, and then the power of his mouth as he deepened the kiss. His tongue slid between her teeth to capture and slide and lick as his hands pressed in along the curves of her body.

Tara suddenly couldn’t breathe. It was like being kissed for the very first time, when her head and her emotions tangled with everything her body felt. Only she wasn’t a kid and neither was Mick. This was a man’s hands on her body, and a woman’s desires coursing through her. And what they were doing wasn’t going to stop with a kiss. She already knew this, already knew where she wanted this night to go.

Cinderella wasn’t going to make it home before she turned back into the dour scullery maid with bare feet and blue jeans.

And she didn’t care.

TWO

MICK HADN’T BEEN LYING ABOUT HIS REASONS FOR bringing Tara up to his room; he’d really wanted to spend some more time talking to her. But she obviously wanted more than that—or needed more than that—and he was damn happy to oblige. She tasted like champagne and mint, and sliding his tongue inside the heat of her mouth had tightened his balls into a painful knot.

She was as ramped up as he was, her mouth moving under his, her body one ball of energy as she reached up to undo the buttons of his shirt. His heart pounded against his chest. He wondered if she could feel it, if she’d laugh that he was so caught up in this. It wasn’t like this was a first for him. Women threw themselves at him. He should be kind of jaded about the whole thing. But she was so different from the other women he’d been with. Fresh and exciting and ... normal.

She lifted her lips from his. “Your heart is racing.” She laid her palm flat against his chest. “I thought it was just me who was supposed to be excited about this.”

He arched a brow. “You think I’m not affected by you kissing me?”

She shrugged. “Women probably kiss you every day.”

He laughed, then pulled her onto the sofa with him. “Not every day. And you aren’t just any woman.”

She slid her legs over his lap. “Oh, right. I’m special.”

“You are.”

“Really. In what way?”

“You’re not famous.”

She tilted her head back and laughed, then hitched her dress up, revealing her thighs as she straddled him. Just as he imagined, she had killer thighs.

“Gee, you sure know how to compliment a woman.”

She wound her arms around his neck and leaned in, her breasts brushing his chest.

He’d really wanted to spend more time talking to her, to show her that he wasn’t primarily interested in getting in her panties.

But with her body full-on against his, he inhaled the scent of her shampoo—something sweet that made him want to lick her skin, and he figured, screw it. He really did want to get in her panties. He swept his hand down her back, mapping his way through a mix of skin and the sparkly dress. He tucked his hand inside, definitely preferring the skin part.

Tara moaned and got closer, as if she wanted to crawl inside him.

Oh, yeah. This was the warm-up. He was ready to get in the game now. He reached up and started pulling pins from her hair. She tilted her head back and lifted her lips.

“Determined to destroy my Cinderella image, aren’t you?”

He dragged a pin from a golden strand and let it fall to the floor, then dove into the softness of her hair for another. “You get any more beautiful and I might drop dead.”

She arched her brows. “You’re very good at that.”

“My sister liked having her hair put up.”

“No, not that. The lines.”

He shook his head. “No line. Promise. You’re gorgeous.”

She looked like she didn’t believe him. Obviously no one had told her lately how stunning she really was. A damn shame, since the naked honesty in her eyes could make a man do anything she wanted. He pulled the last pin out of her hair and shook it loose, letting it tumble across her neck and cheeks.

“Amazing. Soft.” He inhaled. “Peaches.”

She giggled, and the sound vibrated against his chest.

“I don’t know any women who smell like peaches.”

“The shampoo was on sale at Walmart.”

Yeah, he could seriously like this woman.

 

 

TARA DRAGGED IN BREATHS AND LET THEM OUT IN rapid succession. Hyperventilating and passing out would be the most embarrassing thing she could do right now, but Mick’s face was buried in her neck, and it was a serious erogenous zone. If he licked her there, she’d rob a bank for him.

When she felt his tongue glide across her throat, she quivered all over. Mick tightened his hold on her, and then the bastard did it again. Goose bumps popped out along her flesh, desire roaring to an inferno inside her. Her nipples beaded, aching for his mouth to do to them what it was doing to her neck right now. She could already imagine him sweeping his tongue across her nipples while she watched. She’d lift her dress and slide her hand inside her panties and rub her throbbing clit until the orgasm she so desperately needed made her scream.

Damn, she’d been alone with her vibrator and late-night Cinemax for too long. But she wasn’t going to get herself off tonight. Tonight, Mick was going to make her come, and if she got her wish, it wasn’t going to be just once.

She almost laughed at her bold audacity. It just wasn’t her at all. But dammit, she wanted Mick, and she refused to apologize for being a woman in the prime of her sexual life who hadn’t been getting any for a very long time. And she was being held and kissed by one of the best specimens of male humanity she’d ever seen—a guy who for some reason seemed to really want her. No way was she going to second-guess herself or pass up this opportunity.

Mick held his hand in her hair, massaging her scalp in a way that wasn’t at all medicinal. It was sensual, designed to drive her half mad with lust. And oh, did she have the lust thing going in a big way.

His other hand rested at the small of her back, his fingers tapping along the top of her butt. Tara felt his erection as she shifted on his lap, and her panties dampened as if this were the first time she’d ever been close to a cock before.

It felt the like the first time—the first in a long, long time. She’d thought denying herself was a wise idea, all things considered. Right now it didn’t feel wise at all. It felt stupid, because she’d forgotten how utterly awesome it was to be close, to be kissed, to be touched by a man.

She held on to his shoulders and leaned back, searching his face, wanting to memorize how utterly beautiful he was. His eyes were a mesmerizing shade of blue, like some faraway ocean she’d likely never visit. No wonder women fell all over themselves to get close to him. He had rugged features and full soft lips that didn’t seem to belong on such a masculine face. His nose was a little crooked, making his impossibly faultless face just a little less perfect. She liked that. Too flawless and she’d feel inadequate.

“You’re staring.”

His breathing was hard. Just like his cock. She liked that, too. “Can’t help it. It’s the eyes. The face. The body. Hell, it’s the whole package, Mick. You’re gorgeous.”

He cocked his head to the side, frowning. “Men aren’t gorgeous. Women are. You are.”

She knew she wasn’t, but hey, she’d go along with the fantasy tonight. Especially when he stood, sliding his hands under her butt to lift her. She wrapped her legs around him, her dress inching higher up her thighs. The room got a few degrees warmer as he walked her down the hall, not once taking his gaze from hers.

He made her feel special, and no one had done that for her in a while.

He shoved the door open with his shoulder, and Tara got a glimpse of wide windows and cloudless night sky before Mick placed her in the center of one incredibly large, soft, king-sized bed. He moved on top of her, his hands positioned on either side of her shoulders, holding himself off her by just the barest of inches, making her lift to brush her breasts against his chest.

“Tease.”

“You’re the one teasing. Get down here and kiss me,” she said, needing to feel his body crushed against hers.

“I’m too big to be on top of you.”

Big. On top. Didn’t that conjure up images that made her wet. She palmed the back of his neck and drew his head down. “I think I can take it.”

Mick uttered a low growl and dropped down on top of her, his body pressed against hers. She realized the sheer size of him as he lay full on her, but she knew from the tension in his body that he held his weight from her. Still, the pressure of a man’s body on top of hers felt so damn good she could cry. His cock rubbed her thigh, and a rush of heat enveloped her, making her lift against him, arch toward what she wanted more than anything.

“You sure about this?”

She loved that he asked and framed his face with her hands. “Definitely, positively, absolutely sure.”