Sucker Bet (Vegas Vampires #4)(12)
Author: Erin McCarthy

"Because I don’t want to be alone," she said simply. "And neither do you."

Then she lifted her mouth and kissed him.

Nate hadn’t expected her to do it, not really, even when he’d been considering the same damn thing, but Gwenna didn’t hesitate. She just covered his mouth with hers and kissed him with a hell of a lot of passion. She tasted as good as she smelled, and her lips were tiny and soft, maybe a little lacking in finesse, but taking him with confidence and enthusiasm. It was a damn good kiss, one that ended too soon.

When she pulled back, he lifted an eyebrow. "What exactly are we doing here?"

"We’re being alive, that’s what we’re doing."

A part of his brain, the small bit that was still functioning, wondered if she were conning him. If she knew more about the murder than she’d let on, this could be just a way to distract him. Nate thought he was damn good at reading people, though, and he got a different vibe from Gwenna. She didn’t come off as savvy enough to be a con or a liar, and that pain in her eyes when she talked about her daughter had been real, and so had her horror when discussing the victim’s condition. He’d stake his badge on it that she was legit.

Not that he really cared much at the moment. He suspected he’d take what she was offering anyway, even if she was a boldfaced lying user. It felt too damn good to have her body up against his.

Let it go. That’s what he really needed. He just had to let it all go so he didn’t completely and totally lose it, and that’s what Gwenna was offering him.

Nate buried his hands in her hair on either side of her temples, letting the silky wheat-colored strands slip over his rough, callused skin. "Are you sure?" he asked, giving her a chance to back out. Because he wasn’t playing around. If they started, they were damn well going to finish.

Her hands slid around his neck, and she shifted her leg so they had below-the-belt contact. "Absolutely positive."

Good enough for him. Nate gripped her hair tighter and drew her face to him, letting his lips collide with hers in a crushing, take-it-or-leave-it kind of kiss, wanting to touch and taste her with a pounding urgency. Her breath came hot and fast, mouth opening for him with little coaxing. His tongue slid inside, thrusting and dominating, and he pushed his swollen dick against her, frustrated that the awkward shove only made her bounce away from him, breaking contact.

They needed a bed. Or a couch. The wall was closer still, so Nate turned Gwenna and walked her back three feet, pinning her against the wall next to the reception desk. Better. He could get a firm hold on her hair, and grind his hips against hers while he kissed the daylights out of her. It occurred to him that maybe he should ease up, since she was petite, kind of delicate-looking, and a total stranger, but he dismissed that idea. He wasn’t being rough, just aggressive, and she was taking it. Her eyes were rolled back, fingernails digging into his back, hips rising up to collide with his in a hard, desperate thrust.

Which was f**king hot. Nate disregarded all thoughts that had logic or caution attached to them and dove in, yanking Gwenna’s T-shirt off over her head, messing her hair up. The shirt hit the floor and she made a futile effort to swipe stray hanks of hair off her face before giving up with a moan, while he bent over and sucked the peak of her breast. Her flesh was smooth and firm, her chest small and proportionate to the rest of her body, and Nate wanted all of it. With grappling fingers, he undid the clasp on her back and just ripped the bra off, barely noting that it was red as it followed her shirt to the carpet.

"Oh, yes," she said in a ragged voice when his mouth closed over her tight nipple. "Wow. That’s really very pleasant."

He was thinking the same thing. She tasted delicious. He moved all over, from one nipple to the other and back again, loving the way his tongue slid easily across her smooth skin. Shifting downward, he traced over her ribs, dipped his tongue into her bellybutton, which made her jump, and since her jeans were so loose, managing to probe beneath the waistband in a brutal tease for both of them. Nate wanted at all of her, patience for the day completely wiped out.

Everything felt sharp and fast and hot, and he popped her snap with his right hand, while reaching into his back pocket with his left. He was almost positive he had a condom in his wallet since he’d made a habit of always keeping one on hand after a pregnancy scare with a girlfriend in college. He was good about replacing it when he used one, and he pulled the wallet out with jerky motions, determined to shoot himself if there wasn’t one in there.

But there was, and he worked it out, letting the wallet fall from his fingers as he brought his attention back to Gwenna. She was holding on to the belt loops of his jeans, her chest heaving up and down in arousal, her cheeks pink, hair tousled. Her pants had slid down a little, undone and half-zipped, and there were red panties peeking up at him. She had her eyes closed, looking like without the support of the wall she’d be on the floor in a puddle.

Good.

Nate went down on his knees and tugged her jeans and panties down with one shift motion. A glance up showed her eyes flying open in surprise. He didn’t give her time to speak, just closed the distance between them and kissed between her thighs, coaxing her legs apart with his thumbs. She was a true blond, skin flawless, body arching toward him. Nate buried his tongue into her, finding her clitoris and tasting it with bold, demanding strokes.

Gwenna was making rapid sounds of distress, her moans growing louder, frantic, hands burrowing into his hair and clamping down. Her arousal turned him on, made him so hard he ached with it, his whole body hot and tight, ready for release. He was light-headed, like he wasn’t taking in enough oxygen, the room silent and dark around them, his control skittering and escaping. He stroked harder, deeper, possessively, wanting to taste her everywhere, sucking on the flesh of her thighs, and scraping his teeth across her swollen and slick clitoris.

Her legs trembled beneath his fingers and she went up on her toes, shifting away from him, trying to escape his touch. Nate knew she was going to have an orgasm, could feel the tenseness in her muscles, feel it in the way she yanked on his hair. He didn’t want her there yet, not without him inside her.

So Nate stood up quickly, ignoring the pop in his left knee, and flattened his hand against the wall.

"Don’t stop," she demanded, smacking his arm, which struck him as both hilarious and hotter than hell.

"I’m not stopping," he murmured, lips against hers, rubbing his erection between her thighs, encouraging her to spread further.

"It feels stopped to me," she panted.

Nate buried his head into her hair and thrust inside her with both abandonment and gratitude, a biting urgency, and hot, glorious desperation.