Boots and Lace (11 page)

“She’s not too bright, is she?” Lacey faced Julia, giving the other woman a full-on view of her beautiful curves. “Nick, Cory and I have been having wall-banging sex since they moved in.” Lacey’s gaze traveled Julia’s length. “I take it you’re Nick’s ex?”

Julia nodded, wordlessly.

Lacey’s brows rose. “And you never had sex with both of them?” She clucked her tongue. “Missed an opportunity there. They’re pretty good.” Lacey grabbed for something on the counter. “There they are.” She held out her hand, a bright pair of purple panties hanging from her finger. “Spent all my stripper tips on that pair. Would hate to lose them.” She sauntered back across the room and paused in front of Nick. “See you at lunch? I’ve always wanted to do it in a mechanic’s shop.” Without missing a beat, she rubbed the panties along Nick’s jaw. “What’s it like, Jane?”

“Julia…my n-name is Julia,” Nick’s ex stuttered. “And I wouldn’t know.”

With her arm around Nick’s neck, her breasts pressed against his chest and her crotch straddling one of his thighs, Lacey looked over her shoulder. “You never did it in his shop?”

“Of course not.” Julia pushed back her shoulders. “It’s so dirty.”

“Haven’t you ever had dirty sex?” Lacey slipped her hand into the front of Nick’s coveralls and gripped his engorged cock. “Stick around. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

Her face flaming bright red, Julia backed toward the door. “I never—”

Nick would have laughed out loud, but Lacey had hold of his dick and he couldn’t think past how good it felt.

“Maybe you should have.” Lacey clasped Nick’s zipper with her free hand and pulled it down with slow deliberation.

Julia squealed and darted out the door, slamming it behind her.

Nick forced a grin and kissed Lacey’s nose. “Thanks.”

“For what?” She pushed the coveralls down over his hips.

“For getting rid of my ex.”

“Oh, her?” She marched her finger up his chest, much like Julia had, and touched his lip. “She didn’t bother me a bit.”

“Well, she was bothering me.” He caught her finger and held it close, pressing a kiss to the tip. “You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

“Who said I was pretending?” Her gaze captured his. “I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

Nick’s pulse raced, his groin tightening. “Funny. Neither did I.” He slipped an arm around her waist and crushed her to his chest. “Wanna know why?”

“I can guess.” Her hand tightened around his cock, easing it from the confines of his coveralls.

“You’re making me insane.” Nick grabbed her thighs and hiked her up, wrapping her legs around him.

“Ditto.” Lacey lowered herself over his cock, taking him in, her eyes fluttering closed. “My vibrator just isn’t cutting it.”

“Was that the humming sound I heard on the ceiling?”

“Yeah, it fell on the floor.” Lacey kissed his temple.

Nick liked it when she did that. Her lips were soft, yet firm, pliable but strong when wrapped around his…

“Wouldn’t we be more comfortable on the couch?” she suggested.

“Or in my bed?”

“Now you’re talking.”

“Ah, hell, I can’t wait another second.” He didn’t take a step toward the bedroom. Instead, he leaned Lacey’s back into the wall and held onto her thighs as he thrust in and out of her.

She wrapped her hands around his neck and rode him, her head thrown back, her breasts bobbing in his face. “Much…better…than…vibrator.” Her words ended on a scream, her fingernails digging into his shoulders.

When he shot to the edge and over, Nick thrust once more, his cock sinking deep inside her hot, slick channel. He squeezed his eyes shut, the excruciating beauty of their connection robbing him of breath. His dick throbbed inside her. As he returned to his apartment living room, he reached out and nipped one of her nipples.

Lacey batted at him. “Hey, what was that for?”

“Making me lose it before I can make you happy.”

“Oh, honey, I’m happy all right.” She locked her ankles behind his back.

“But it can and will be better.” He clamped his arms around her waist and carried her into his bedroom, laying her across the mattress.

“Don’t you have some cars to tinker with?” she asked, her knees dropping over the edge of the mattress.

“I’m my own boss. I can set my own hours. And I have some work to do here.”

“Oh, so I’m work, am I?” She pushed up on her elbows.

“The best kind of work there is.” Nick leaned over her, his cock skimming across her belly as he pressed her shoulders to the mattress and a kiss to her lips. “Trust me.”

“Show me that I can,” she whispered, her brown-eyed gaze staring up into his.

The way she said the words struck home to him. She was a woman who played hard and fast. Why?

Because she’d been hurt before and maybe her need to hit and run came from fear.

“I’ll prove it to you.” He kissed a path down the long line of her neck, capturing a peaked nipple between his teeth. “Trust me yet?”

“Hardly.” Her fingers laced in his hair, guiding him lower. “Show me more.”

“As you wish.” Nick slipped his lips along her rib cage, nipping the skin and tasting his way across her contours, leading to the triangle of curls hiding her mons. “Here’s where I seal the deal.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, her voice strained. “All talk, no act—”

He tongued her clit with the slightest of taps.

Lacey’s back arched off the bed, her heels pressing into the mattress, her hips rising to his mouth. “Oh, sweet Jesus!”

“Trust me now?”

“I trust that you can make me squeal.” She gripped his hair and shoved him close. “Don’t stop now.”

He flicked the tender nubbin of nerves again.

Lacey cried out. “I’m going to come!” Her muscles tightened, her breath caught in her lungs and she pulled so hard on Nick’s hair he feared it might come out. “Stop. No don’t.”

He continued his attack on her sweet spot, sending her flying over the edge, a thin sheen of perspiration coating her body, her eyes closed tightly, her lips pinched together.

Finally, she settled back against the comforter, her fingers loosening in his hair, smoothing down over his shoulders.

Nick climbed up on the bed beside her and spooned her back against his front, his dick, losing its hardness, pressed to her back.

Lacey reached behind her, cupping his ass. “Mind-blowing.”

“The sex?” Nick chuckled. “You deserved it.”

She stilled, her fingernails digging into his buttocks. “That wasn’t thank-you sex, was it?”

He pushed the hair away from her neck and kissed her. “Not at all.” Nick chuckled. “Though the look on Julia’s face when you walked in here naked was priceless.”

“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” Lacey waited for his answer.

“I would never lie to you, Lacey.” He tightened his arms around her middle and fit her snuggly against his body. “You’re an amazing woman and your ex didn’t deserve you.”

“Right answer.” She relaxed in his arms, her breathing returning to normal. “What am I going to do with you?”

His cock twitched between her butt cheeks. “More of what we just did?” he suggested.

“You mean you have something left in you?” She turned in his embrace. “Hmmm, you do.” She draped a leg over his hip, rubbing her damp pussy against his thigh. “I think I can muster up some energy.”

She touched his cock and it sprang back to life.

As Nick embarked on another earth-shattering orgasm, he wondered what was next in his relationship with Lacey. He was certain that letting her walk out of his life at this point was not an option.

Chapter Seven

Lacey left Nick and Cory’s apartment an hour later, walking up the steps a little stiffly, her legs strained from riding her cowboy for the second time that day. When she pushed through her door, she gasped.

“Took you long enough.” Kendall leaned against the back of the couch, her cowboy boot tapping against the wooden floor. “From all the noise you two were making down there, you’d have thought it was an orgy. How many of the McBrides were you onto?”

“Just one.” Lacey passed by Kendall on her way to her bedroom, a smile tilting her lips. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

Kendall followed. “Which one?”

“Like I said, it’s not—”

“Bullshit.” Kendall grabbed Lacey’s shoulders. “If it’s Cory, be careful. He’s young and impressionable.”

“Relax. Cory is safely away from this cougar and working hard at his studies in college.”

Kendall’s grip relaxed and she pulled Lacey into a hug. “Thank God.”

A nudge of anger spiked in Lacey and she struggled out of Kendall’s embrace. “You’d think you were the boy’s mother.”

“I wasn’t thanking God about Cory. I was thanking Him for giving you another chance to find love.”

A hammer slammed into her chest. Kendall’s straightforward statement hit her hard and almost brought her to her knees. 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She ducked into the bedroom, refusing to meet Kendall’s gaze. In love with Nick? That would be the height of stupidity. She’d been naive enough to fall for Randy and all his lies. She couldn’t put herself through that again. “No,” she whispered, reaching out to the wall to steady herself when her knees threatened to buckle.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Kendall leaned against the doorframe.

“So now you’re a mind-reader?” Lacey straightened her shoulders, grabbed fresh panties and a bra and entered the bathroom, hoping to shake the other woman off and avoid any pointed questions she couldn’t answer. Not now. Not after having the best sex of her life. Even more the walk they’d taken in the moonlight, without sex…well until they’d taken a devious dip in the judge’s pool. A warm flush washed over her. And then there was this morning…

Lacey flipped the handle for the shower, sending a cool, steady stream into the tub. Cool showers were becoming a habit when she thought about Nick.

“Doesn’t take much to read your mind.”

“Really?” Lacey stepped into the tub and closed the shower curtain, glad for a shield between her and Kendall. Her friend read far too much into her facial expressions.

“Yeah. You’re in love with Nick.”

Lacey’s gut clenched, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. She pounded her fist against the cool tile wall. “I can’t be in love.”

“What did you say?”

Lacey leaned into the spray, the water doing little to cool the heat radiating from her entire body. “I’ve only really known him a couple days. It doesn’t make sense to think I could fall in love that quickly.”

“My parents knew each other less than a week before they decided to get married. Love has a way of finding you, especially when you’re not looking for it.”

Lacey forced a chuckle when a sob was what wanted to come out. “Oh wise one, tell me what I’m supposed to do with this newfound knowledge.” What the hell was she supposed to do? If Kendall was right—and if the way her heart beat whenever she saw Nick across a room was any indication—and she was in love with Nick—holy hell!

Kendall ripped the curtain aside, one corner of her mouth quirked upward. “Go with it, Lacey. Give him a chance. Hell, give yourself a chance.”

As she stared across at her friend, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes, Lacey shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” Kendall smiled. “He’s a good guy.”

“I told him I didn’t want strings. And I didn’t.” Lacey stared down at her hands.

“Then tell him you were wrong.”

How in hell had she gotten so close to Nick? “He’s not interested.”

“Oh yeah? He’s been into the bar the past few nights. He never came to the Ugly Stick before he met you.”

“He’s divorced. He’s probably lonely and looking for a little companionship.”

“He came in looking for you, dufus.” Kendall laughed. “And you were looking for him.” She held up her hand. “And don’t tell me you weren’t. You dropped bottles, spilled drinks and nearly tripped over every pair of cowboy boots in the place watching the door for him to walk in.” Kendall patted her chest. “I saw it. Audrey sees it. Hell, anyone with eyes at the Ugly Stick could see it.”

Lacey pressed her palms to her face. “Everybody?” Her cheeks burned. “Was it that obvious?”

“Yes, chica. But don’t get your back up. We love you and want you to be happy.” Kendall turned off the water and handed her a towel. “So, if the man makes a move toward a permanent relationship, don’t push him away.”

“I won’t have to. He won’t.” Lacey patted her body with the towel and swiped at the tears that continued to fall, despite her resolve to never cry over a man. “We made an agreement up front. No strings.”

Kendall took the towel, turned Lacey away from her and squeezed the water out of Lacey’s long hair. “Then rewrite the agreement.”

Lacey spun to face Kendall. “I’ve been burned by a man before. It really hurts.”

“Don’t judge all men by Randy’s standards.” Kendall brushed the towel over Lacey’s breast. “Nick’s a good guy.” She shoved the towel into Lacey’s arms. “Now finish drying and dressing before I call Ed in for another nooner. Damn, woman, you make me hot.” Kendall left the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Lacey smiled, her tears drying, her thoughts on Nick in the apartment below.

Could she really walk in there and ask him to change the rules this late in the game?

Was this warm, sometimes-painful yearning really love or just a brief infatuation?

She raked a brush through her hair, slipped into her panties and bra and flung open the door. “I’ll do it.”

Kendall sat on the edge of her bed, her slim, shapely legs crossed. “Of course you will. You’re the one who taught me to take chances for the one I loved and look where it got me.” She grinned. “I now have the sexiest cowboy in the tri-county area.”

“Do you think Nick will run the other way?”

“You won’t know until you try.” Kendall jerked her head toward the door. “Go on, get down there and see where you stand with the man.”

Lacey hurried toward the door, forcing reason to the back of her mind, running on nothing but hope. 

“Wait.” Kendall’s voice called her back.

“What?”

“Put some clothes on. You want him to love you for you, not for a quick fuck.” Kendall tossed her a tank top and cutoff jeans. “Not that these are any less revealing than what you have on. But you don’t want to appear
too
eager to take things to the next level.”