Solitary Man(37)
Author: Carly Phillips

He groaned aloud. “You know how to start the day off right,” he said, pressing a kiss against her cheek.

The butterfly-light touch whispered against her skin, creating a tingling sensation she didn’t want to end. With his other hand, his fingers moved idly across her breast, sending a direct current flaring to life between her legs.

“I should get to work.” He made no move to leave but she braced herself for his withdrawal just the same.

“Are you happy working there?” Nikki asked, less as a stalling tactic and more because she really wanted to know.

He shrugged. “It’s a job.”

“That’s not how you felt about being on the force.”

“That was then.”

She sighed. If he wasn’t going to make himself happy at work, how could she hope to make them both happy at home?

He pulled her closer until she felt the weight of his erection hard against her thighs. “Do you really feel like talking?” he asked.

She felt his hand on her cheek, his thumb beneath her jaw, stroking and arousing. He really could affect her with the softest touch.

“Look at me, Nikki.”

She tilted her head back until she met his steady gaze, dark and filled with need. “I want you.”

“I…” His fingers touched her lips, stopping her from expressing her thoughts.

She’d allow him to silence her. For now. Their intimate moments were wonderful but they weren’t enough to compensate for the other times. Times when they needed to relate and connect on a deeper level.

She wanted the possibility of love… for them both. There had to be a beginning before there could be a middle or an end. He’d taken a risk by marrying her. She’d have to accept it as a start.

She tipped her head upward and he kissed her lips once before she pulled back, wanting her chance to view him as he’d viewed her last night. She took in the bronzed skin, the dark hair on his chest, and the well-muscled body around which she’d awakened. No wonder she’d been warm. No wonder she was burning up now.

He drew her finger into his mouth and she sucked in a startled gasp, cutting off what she’d been about to say. His teeth and lips grazed her finger, causing an answering pull low in her belly. Relaxing her head against the pillow, she closed her eyes and gave herself up to sensation. To his lips on her face and neck, to his hands on her br**sts and stomach. To whisper-soft kisses and gentle caresses that had her sighing with pleasure and moaning with need.

He wrapped his hands around her calves and began kneading the muscles in a firm circular motion, moving upward as he worked. When his strong fingers splayed across her thighs, she stiffened and her eyes opened wide.

“Not relaxed any more, huh?”

She glanced down to where his tanned hands rested against her lighter skin. His thumbs caressed the inside of her thighs, inching upward. “Not quite.”

“And after all that hard work,” he murmured. “I’ll have to do something about that.” Pulling himself up, he positioned himself over her, legs touching legs, her br**sts beneath his chest and his erection pulsing solidly against her stomach. Her hips jerked upward in response.

She trailed her fingers down his back, savoring the ripple of hard muscle and the contrast of his soft skin. Her hands followed around his waistline to the coarse trail of hair in front.

“God.” He exhaled a harsh groan and Nikki felt the strain in his body and the flex of his arms as he struggled to remain in control. And she hadn’t even touched him yet.

She’d wanted a chance. Maybe, just maybe she’d gotten one. She pressed a kiss against his throat and followed with a light lick of her tongue. With a harsh groan, he ground his hips against hers in a rough thrust that didn’t come near to satisfying the empty ache that had been building inside her. She shifted her legs, raising her hips, desperate to give him what he wanted, to find what she needed. That she’d lost control as well didn’t matter.

In the back of her mind came the realization that she’d lost something more, something she couldn’t possibly get back. She’d lost her heart

* * *

Kevin felt the sweat bead on his forehead. The muscles in his arms jerked with the strain of attempting to take things slow. His control hung by a fragile thread. She affected him on so many levels he couldn’t begin to count.

He didn’t want to think about what that meant and the only thing to do was bury himself deep inside her willing body. Her moist heat beckoned and blocked out all thoughts other than of the release they both sought.

Lose himself in her again. With Nikki, sex wasn’t an impersonal act because she had the ability to reach inside him. As much as he fought the notion, she wasn’t just some woman he’d taken to bed. She was his wife, as much by choice as by bargain.

If he let her, he had the feeling she’d be his friend as well as his lover. If he let himself be hers, he’d be setting her up for disappointment and a letdown once more.

“Kevin…”

“No talking. Not now.”

She nodded, but he caught the glimmer of disillusion in her eyes. But as he’d asked, there were no more words. No need for them. Their bodies spoke for them and with more meaning than anything they could say.

She wanted him. He felt it in her caress, heard it in the soft moans and contented sighs that escaped from her lips. Settling himself between her legs, he eased inside her bit by excruciating bit. She’d never know how difficult was his restraint.

He stroked a kiss across her lips, pausing to nibble and savor her sweet taste. As if to prove her words, she raised her hips a fraction, taking him ever deeper.

He groaned. Moist, warm, welcoming, and his. Kevin couldn’t say which thought drove him over the edge, but with one thrust, he edged firmly inside. An expression of pure ecstasy covered her flushed face and he’d put it there.

“Kevin.” Coming from her lips, his name sounded like the sweetest caress.

“Right here.”

She sighed and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like “mine,” before her muscles clenched around him. That’s all it took. He hadn’t realized he was so close to the edge, so ready to fall. He thrust in and eased out, each motion harder and deeper than the last. Caught up in the rhythm and beauty of Nikki, he came hard and fast. His climax not only caught him by surprise, but shook him to the depths of his soul.

Even as the aftershocks pulsed through him, Kevin knew he was in trouble. The only consolation he could find was knowing that Nikki was right there with him.