Baby, Drive South (27 page)

One second she was upright and providing resistance, the next she was tumbling headfirst into the tub.

She landed with an
oomph
on his slippery chest, nose to nose and knees to knees. Only the towel at his waist kept things rated PG-13.

Nikki gasped. “You did that on purpose!”

But he was all smiles and innocence. “Sorry, doc, I slipped. Honest.”

She flailed, but couldn’t get a handhold on anything except firm, muscled flesh.

“Easy,” he murmured, putting his arms around her. “You’re going to hurt yourself…or make things worse.”

“I’m in a bathtub with you,” she said, shaking her head. “How could things be worse?”

He wrapped a hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her mouth to his for an unexpected kiss so hot she could almost feel the steam rising from the tub. He thoroughly explored her mouth, then ended the kiss, but held her face close to his. “I want you, Nikki.”

She was still rigid and trying to process where they were and how it was possible that he could elicit such wild responses from her body. Bodies, after all, were essentially the same—two of this, two of that, one of something else. From a scientific perspective, it didn’t make sense that this man could make her feel something different or better than another man could make her feel.

Yet here she was trembling, overcome with the sensation that she might die if he stopped touching her. She was intrigued by her own uncharacteristic behavior. Darren’s face popped into her head, along with the nagging sense that she shouldn’t do anything she’d regret until she called him back.

What if he wanted to get back together?

Nikki pushed aside the thought and attacked Porter’s mouth with her own, stabbing her tongue against his. He groaned and ground her closer, deepening the kiss, giving her his breath when she needed more.

He slid his hands down her back to cup her rear and press her against his sex bulging beneath the towel. Desire shot through her body, setting her on fire. She moved her hands over his chest and shoulders, massaging, caressing and dragging her nails over his skin.

He shuddered and broke the kiss to nuzzle her neck, sliding the straps of her dress down her shoulders and deftly loosening the front buttons until her bare breasts fell forward.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, then rolled the hardened pink tips between his fingers, sending exquisite pleasure shooting through her body. He tasted one point, then the other, laving them with his warm tongue and drawing them into his mouth. Nikki bit into her lip to muffle her moans.

“Does that feel good?” he murmured against her skin.

“Umm.”

“I want to make you feel good, baby.” He tugged the skirt of her dress to her waist, then lifted it over her head. The sensation of his springy chest hair against her bare skin was electric, sending moisture to the juncture of her thighs. He slid his hands inside her flimsy panties, kneading her buttocks. His eyes were hooded as he teased her secret flesh with his fingers. Nikki gasped and undulated into him. He plied her until she was practically faint, then he pushed down her underwear. Nikki fumbled to rid herself of them, registering dimly that she still wore her sandals as she sat up to straddle him.

“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned the position was putting too much pressure on his leg.

“One problem,” he murmured, and when she shifted, he pulled the towel from between them. His erection strained against her stomach, thick and unyielding. She clasped him, gratified at his sharp intake of breath.

Then he stilled her hand. “We have to stop… I wasn’t planning this. I have protection, but it’s in the bedroom.”

Nikki bit back a smile, then reached for the borrowed purse, still resting on the ledge of the tub. She fished out a condom and held it up.

His eyes widened. “Aren’t you full of surprises?”

“Long story,” she murmured as she ripped it open.

“Tell me later,” he said, exhaling loudly as she rolled it on. He pulled her mouth down on his for a bottomless kiss, then whispered in her ear, “Are you ready for me?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

He lifted her hips and settled her down on his sex slowly, staring into her eyes. Nikki’s head lolled from the overwhelming sensation of being filled. “You have no idea how good that feels.”

“Yes, I do,” he said as pleasure played over his face.

Still concerned about his leg, she allowed Porter to set the pace. They found a slow rhythm so incredibly languid and deep, it was almost unbearable. Nikki immediately felt a climax swirling in her womb.

“Is that good?” he asked.

“Umm.”

“Come here,” he said, and pulled her down for a stabbing kiss as he continued thrusting inside her.

“Umm.” An orgasm was gathering…forming…building…

“You’re so sexy, baby. You drive me crazy.”

“Umm.” The pressure in her womb climbed higher.

He flicked his tongue against her ear and suddenly Nikki’s body contracted involuntarily. She cried out as she crested, buffeted by some invisible force so powerful she thought she might shatter. The pinnacle lasted for several pulsating, white-light seconds, then she drifted down in long, pleasurable spasms that she didn’t want to end.

It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced.

Darn.

Porter watched Nikki’s face as she descended from her climax. Being buried inside her felt so amazing, it took every bit of his concentration to hold off, to make sure she was fully pleasured before he took his own release. Even now, he didn’t want it to end, wanted to prolong this intense feeling of looking into Nikki’s eyes and seeing her so raw and so vulnerable. It was heady to know he was responsible for bringing her to this sensual place…and gratifying to know that his instincts about her had been right.

All that emotion she kept pent up during the day as she went about her business exploded in the hands of the person who knew which buttons to push.

As if to confirm his theory, she leaned down to sigh in his ear, a noise that tapered to a satisfied moan.

The sound of her complete fulfillment sent him over the edge. He gripped her tiny waist and thrust deep into her. Then he came with such intensity, it was as if she were pulling the life force out of him. He released a long guttural groan and held her against him as his body pulsed over and over.

It was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

Damn.

29

N
ikki woke up, startled, and knew instantly something was wrong.

Darren didn’t snore.

She turned her head to look at the man lying in the bed next to her and the mystery of the loud rumbling was solved—the man wasn’t Darren.

Darren didn’t take up the entire bed and sprawl, spread-eagled as if he were lying on some deserted beach, sleeping off a hangover. Darren didn’t hog the pillows and kick all the covers from the bed.

Nikki scanned Porter’s long, nude body and was bombarded with images of what they’d done last night….

She squeezed her eyes shut. And Darren had never made her feel so indescribably, so deliciously, so incredibly good.

But Porter Armstrong did.

Sleepy street noises wafted through the window he’d left open in defiance of the air-conditioning. Nikki lifted her head to find the clock. It was still early…but not too soon for regrets.

The previous night with Porter had been mind-bending, for sure. They hadn’t made it out of the hotel room, opting for room service and creating their own entertainment. The man was a machine—and that was
with
the encumbrance of a cast. When they’d finally fallen asleep from sheer fatigue they were both utterly sated.

Nikki winced. And now what? They lived happily ever after?

Right. Just because she’d become dangerously attached to Porter didn’t mean he felt the same. Even his mother had expressed disbelief that he would ever settle down, teasing Porter for being such a ladies’ man.

Nikki bit into her lip. Although…that depiction didn’t exactly mesh with Rachel’s account that she’d let Porter know she was interested, and he hadn’t taken her up on it.

Then a revelation hit Nikki like a thump to the head. The reason he’d slept with
her
was because he knew she was leaving Sweetness. No muss, no fuss. The realization left her chilled…but it also kept her from forming fantasies that would only lead to more heartache down the road.

Nikki eyed the door leading to her room and reasoned the best way to avoid awkward morning-after chitchat was to not be there when Porter woke up. Keeping an eye on his snoring figure, she slowly pushed herself up, grimacing when her body rebelled, reminding her that she hadn’t used some of those muscles in…well, never.

She managed to ease from the bed without waking him and stopped to pick up clothes along the way, dodging a room-service cart and plates of half-eaten food, plus two empty bottles of wine.

He didn’t stir when she opened the door. Nikki held her breath and slipped through to her room, then closed the door behind her. Her unslept-in bed mocked her indignant insistence a few days earlier that Porter reserve separate rooms for their trip. She dropped her armful of disheveled clothing on the bed and shivered in the air-conditioning. She went over to switch it off, then noticed her cell phone was flashing to indicate she had voice messages.

Darren.
Her stomach knotted with a confusion of feelings. She shouldn’t feel guilty for sleeping with someone else after he’d so coldheartedly cast her aside. Chances were, he was only calling to ease his own conscience…assuming he’d grown one.

Feeling antsy, she walked into the bathroom to wrap herself in a towel. When she caught a glance of herself in the mirror, she did a double-take.

Who was that tousled, flushed wanton woman?

Nikki touched her kiss-swollen mouth and had a knee-weakening flash of Porter kissing her fiercely in the bathtub. At that moment, he’d convinced her she was the most desirable woman on the planet. It was in stark contrast to Darren’s slow, methodical pursuit of her based more on intellectual interests.

She had to admit that sleeping with Porter made her feel a little triumphant in light of Darren’s affair. It felt good to be wanted, even if it was only a one-night stand. It bolstered her confidence and her courage to deal with Darren.

Resolved, she turned on the shower and while the water warmed up, she pressed a button to listen to Darren’s latest message.

“Nikki…it’s me.” He sighed. “I’m worried because you haven’t called back. Are you okay? Where are you? I really need to talk to you… I’m an idiot. I can’t believe what I did to you, what I did to us. It’s over with Tori. I woke up and realized how stupid I’ve been. Can we talk?” He made an anguished sound. “Please call me. Please?”

Nikki’s heart sprinted in her chest and she closed her eyes. Her heart broken, their engagement over, their life together aborted…all for a woman he barely knew and was now through with. It all seemed so…unnecessary.

And now he wanted to pick up where they’d left off, as if nothing had happened.

Could she?

Nikki took a deep breath, then picked up the phone and dialed.

Porter jerked awake, then realized he’d woken himself up snoring. He only snored when he was dead tired, but that was how Nikki had left him—drained.

He swept his arm to the side of the bed she’d slept on, and came up with nothing. Disappointment gripped him when he realized she wasn’t there. He wondered, with chagrin, if his snoring had disturbed her. He glanced to the bathroom, but didn’t see a light. She must have gone back to her room.

Which was damned inconvenient since he wanted to make love to her again. And tell her he wanted her to stay in Sweetness.

To give the town a chance.

He massaged the sudden ache behind his breastbone, wondering if he should mention the pain to Nikki. Coincidentally, it seemed to be worse when she was nearby.

Porter pushed himself up and groaned. His body was as sore as if he’d put in a full day of jackhammering. He reached for his crutches propped on the nightstand and used one to snag his underwear lying next to the bed. He worked them on, then stood and made his way over to the doors that connected their rooms. She must have collected her clothes along the way…except for her tiny white panties, he noticed with amusement. He stopped to scoop them up, and got a rush remembering taking them off her…every time she’d tried to put them back on.

The door leading to his room was open, the door on her side was closed.

He knocked. “Nikki?”

When she didn’t answer, he tried the knob and found it unlocked. He stuck his head inside. “Nikki?”

She wasn’t in the room, but the bathroom door was ajar and the shower was running. Porter grinned—he wouldn’t mind seeing Nikki naked and wet. His body revved up for it. But as he approached the bathroom, he heard her voice. She was talking to someone…on the phone?

He stopped and held up his hand to knock.

“…I know you’re right,” he heard her say. “I’ve been thinking about this nonstop.”

Porter frowned. Was she talking to her ex? From the tone of her voice, she was fond of the person on the other end of the line.

“I’ve decided I’m definitely not staying in Sweetness,” she said.

His heart dropped to his stomach. So she
was
going back to her cheating fiancé.

Her laugh tinkled. “Of course I’ll call you when I leave…dinner would be great.”

Porter could tell she was wrapping up the conversation, so he turned around and made his way back to the connecting door as fast and as quietly as his crutches would take him. When he slipped back into his own room and closed the door, his heart was beating fast from exertion—and anger at himself. After promising Marcus he wouldn’t do anything to make things worse, sleeping with Nikki had apparently cemented her decision to leave Sweetness.

It smarted to know that she’d made the decision to go back to her fiancé while the bed they shared was still warm.

Damn, he’d thought she’d enjoyed the night of boundless sex as much as he had. He’d thought that somewhere between the bathtub and the second bottle of Bordeaux, they’d connected on an emotional level. But maybe he was losing his touch. He did, after all, have one leg tied behind him.