Breaking All the Rules (2 page)

To find that his
attention had never wavered from her for a second.

The intensity in
his stare sent another jolt through her and she nearly shivered.

When neither
Nina nor Bobby said anything, Ashley reached across and offered her hand to the
other man. “Since my friend can’t be bothered, I’ll introduce myself. I’m
Ashley.”

“Mac,” he said,
raising his voice to be heard above the music.

“Nice to meet
you, Mac.” Ashley chuckled. “I think they’re ticked we interrupted their
foreplay.”

“Then what do
you say we get out of their way? You want to dance?”

“I’d love to.”
She let him pull her from her seat and toward the dance floor.

Nina never took
her eyes off of Bobby, though she felt a burst of relief as soon as their
friends were gone. “Is that what this is?” she asked mildly. “Foreplay?”

“If we’re
lucky,” he said, leaning close. “Are you feeling lucky tonight, Nina?”

“More so by the
minute,” she returned with an easy grin. “So how long were you listening to our
conversation anyway?”

“Long enough to
know you had to pay for your own drink. Why don’t I get the next one?”

She pushed her
glass away. “That’s okay. I’d better not. I have a feeling I’m going to need to
stay on my toes around you.”

“I’d say the
same thing about you, but I’m starting to wish I wasn't the designated driver
tonight. I think I could use something if you break out any more of your
theories about men.”

“No one said you
had to listen the first time.”

“I couldn’t help
it. I heard the sound of your voice and I just had to know what a woman who
sounded like that was saying.”

Nina rolled her
eyes skyward. “Another thing I don’t like about men is that they always have
some smooth line prepared that’s too corny to be believed.”

“It’s no line. I
was almost scared to turn around in case you didn’t live up to your voice.”

In spite of
herself, she felt herself respond to the words. “And do I?”

He lazily moved
his gaze away from her face. His eyes trailed down her body, over her breasts,
past her belly, and below. Little sparks shot up on her skin wherever he
looked. It was all she could do not to squirm in her seat as a delicious warmth
began to lick at her from the inside out.

He took his time
returning that lingering gaze to her face. The appreciation darkening his eyes
left no doubt to his sincerity. “You look even better than you sound.”

A little thrill
shivered up her spine as she let the words wash over her. His eyes were the
most amazing shade of green. She'd never seen anything like it. They sparkled
like jewels in the dim light of the club. Nina suddenly felt like she could
stare into them all night without getting bored, taking in everything she could
read in their fascinating depths. The humor. The intelligence. The warmth.

The open,
unmistakable interest. She felt another charge deep in her gut as the emotion
registered, every instinct she had responding in kind.

Bobby leaned
back slightly in his seat. “So tell me. Is there anything you do like about
men?”

“Quite a few
things actually,” she said when she managed to find her voice.

“That’s a
relief. Anything you’d care to share?”

“Well...” She
pretended to consider the question. “They can come in handy when I have a jar
that won’t open.”

The corners of
his mouth twitched. “Anything else?”

She glanced down
at the biceps bulging in his sleeves. “They’re also good at lifting heavy
boxes.”

“Uh huh. Is that
all?”

“I don’t know. I
might be able to come up with a few more things if I really thought about it.”

“Maybe I could
help you think of something.”

“Yes, I’m sure
you could.”

This was what
she’d come here for tonight. Some light flirting, a little fun. Nothing too
serious. She certainly hadn’t been looking to go home with anyone.

But as she sat
there staring into his eyes and felt the molten heat spreading through her
body, she knew a little light flirting with this man wasn’t going to be enough.

He leaned
closer, invading her space. He might as well have touched her. She felt his
nearness that strongly. She took a long, deep breath. The scent of him filled
her senses, heady and unmistakably male. Intoxicating. “While we’re both
thinking about that, do you want to dance?”

“No,” she said
automatically, without thinking, the sound little more than a whisper. Surprise
flared in his eyes.

It might have
been because she’d been working so hard the last few months and this was the
first chance she’d had to cut loose with a guy in so long, or maybe he really
was the hottest man she could ever remember meeting. Whatever the reason, he made
her feel reckless and wild. Her whole body was buzzing with sensation. What she
was feeling had nothing to do with logic and everything to do with pure
instinct. She wanted him. No, more than that. At that moment, she needed him,
perhaps more than she’d ever needed anything in her entire life.

She leaned
forward in her seat, until her mouth brushed his ear. The urge to run her
tongue along the outside of it was there, but the words were too important to
delay. “Do you want to get out of here?”

He grinned
slowly. His voice was warm and intimate, a caress she felt all the way down to
her toes.

“I thought you’d
never ask.”

IN HER LAST
RATIONAL THOUGHT of the night, Nina tracked down Ashley on the dance floor to
tell her she was leaving. She highly doubted that going with Bobby would result
in her turning up dead in a ditch somewhere, but common sense she should let
someone know who she was with.

“Enjoy,” was all
Ash said, never taking her eyes off her dance partner.

She rejoined
Bobby at the table. He placed his hand gently at the small of her back as they
made their way through the maze of tables and the crowd of couples to the exit.
The feel of his large, warm fingers through the thin fabric of her top seared
through her. Her knees nearly buckled. Only sheer determination and the
reminder of what was going to happen as soon as they got out of the club kept
her on her feet.

“Where do you
live?” he asked when they reached the parking lot.

“Close.” She
rattled off the address.

“Good.”

He grinned when
he said it, and suddenly her apartment seemed impossibly far away. Too far. She
couldn’t wait that long.

He started to
take a step forward toward his car. Nina caught his arm, stopping him. His
muscles tightened beneath her fingers, hard steel beneath smooth skin and crisp
hair. The feel of it distracted her momentarily. She started to slide her hand
up his arm, wanting to feel more of him—

She regained
herself. “First things first.” And she took his face in both hands and pulled
his mouth down to hers.

If she’d caught
him off guard, he didn’t show it. He didn’t miss a beat. As soon as their lips
met, he was right there with her, kissing her back. There was nothing gentle or
tentative about it, none of the uncertain awkwardness of a first kiss. Their
mouths mashed together, their teeth clashed. His lips were warm and firm
against hers. His tongue sliced through her parted teeth with ruthless
assurance, exploring the moist cavern of her mouth in one long, smooth stroke.

It seemed like
he was surrounding her in heat and sensation, so much that she couldn’t begin
to absorb it all. She could only cling to him, her fingers molding to the hard
lines of his face, pulling him close. Some small part of her in the back of her
mind registered that his arms had gone around her, drawing her tight against
his body. It was too much to process. All she felt was the dizzy, delirious
rush filling her head, pouring through every inch of her. She met every thrust
of his tongue with a matching parry. He tasted so damn good and she couldn’t
get enough.

She wasn’t sure
who broke the kiss first. It seemed like they separated at exactly the same
time, both recognizing they’d gotten all they could out of it. They were that
much in sync.

She pulled back
to stare up into his face. His pupils had tightened, a heated glow burning in
his eyes. His lips curved in that grin she was already starting to love.

“Wow.”

“Back at you,”
she murmured, surprised she found the breath to speak.

“Do you want to
do that again? I promise I can do better.”

Nina pressed her
finger to his mouth. He nipped at it playfully.

“If we did, we’d
probably get arrested.”

“Then maybe we’d
better get to a less public place.”

“Agreed.”

Grabbing her
hand, he tugged her with him toward his car. She trailed after him, stumbling
and laughing. To any onlookers, she probably looked drunk. Maybe she was, but
alcohol had nothing to do with it.

When they made
it to his car, he reached past her and popped the door open, holding it for
her. Nice touch. Once she was in, he gently closed the door and made his way to
the driver’s side.

Sliding behind
the wheel, Bobby flipped on the ignition. The roar of the engine reverberated
through the vehicle, the vibrations passing through the chassis and up into the
seat. Nina felt the rumble all the way up through her body. A low moan pressed
against her lips. She closed her eyes and fought the urge to squirm in her
seat, to feel more of those delicious tremors against her body.

Then his hand
was on the top of her left thigh, squeezing gently, his touch branding her
flesh. She could no longer hold back the moan. The sound echoed loudly in the
enclosed space, mingling with his low chuckle. The impulse to open her legs
came automatically. She moved her thighs apart for him. The short skirt she was
wearing slid up, allowing him freer access to the core of her.

He didn’t take
advantage of it right away. His fingers slipped lower with painstaking
slowness, trailing along the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. Toying with
her. She almost moaned again, this time from frustration. It was all she could
do not to reach up and guide his hand right where she wanted him, to the
throbbing center of her begging for his attention.

She was two
seconds away from doing just that when his nimble fingers finally dropped down
over her panties. He had her so wet the fabric was already moist, practically
clinging to her skin. She could have cursed herself for wearing the damn thing
in the first place. The scrap of cloth formed a barrier preventing him from
reaching her. She waited for him to shove the garment aside. Instead, he let
his fingertips graze the cleft of her sex through the fabric, softly rubbing up
and down along the swollen lips. Her hips surged forward on their own, wanting
more than that faint, teasing touch. He denied her, drawing away for a split
second, then cupped her with his fingers.

The sudden
pressure came as a jolt, and she almost lost it. His middle finger came down
over the crevice of her opening, and he began to stroke it along the cleft. She
could almost imagine it was his entire body pressed against her, the hard ridge
of his cock grinding against her folds, demanding access. She wriggled in the
seat, unable to sit still.

“You want to
tell me which way to go?”

She somehow
managed to respond. “I think you’re doing just fine on your own.”

She heard his
smile in his voice. “That’s not what I meant.”

Her eyes blinked
open, and she saw that he’d pulled out of the parking lot onto the street in
front of the bar. They were heading in the right direction. “Just go straight,”
she mumbled. “And keep doing exactly what you’re doing.”

“I was planning
on it.”

He didn’t give
her time to anticipate his next move. He lulled her into a sweet sense of
contentment with the rhythmic stroking of his finger against her opening. Then
his hand moved, his fingers slipping beneath the elastic of her panties and
into the triangle of hair beneath. His index finger unerringly found its way to
the pouting lips begging to be filled. He pushed it inside, just the very tip
of his finger, enough for her to feel him there, enough for him to feel how
ready she was for him. That was all he gave her, just the tip, working it up
and down along the edge of her folds. Her needy body tightened around him. The
tension built in her belly with excruciating slowness, pushing high and higher,
ready for release. She held on, wanting it to last forever.

The ride to her
apartment passed in a blur. She must have given him directions along the way,
because suddenly they were there. Her eyes blinked rapidly to clear the fog
blurring her vision. Not a moment too soon.

With palpable
reluctance, Bobby pulled his hand free, an apologetic look in his eyes. She bit
back the frustrated sound that rose in the back of her throat and reached for
the door handle. The sooner they were inside, the sooner he could fill the raw
need pulsing through her. She’d never been so glad to have a ground-floor
apartment with an exterior entrance.

They practically
ran there. Her fingers unsteady, she somehow managed to get her front door unlocked.
They stumbled inside. He didn’t give her a chance to reach for the light
switch, spinning her around and pushing her up against the door. It slammed
shut under the force of her body. He lifted her straight off her feet and
pinned her against the smooth wooden surface. Then he was kissing her again,
his lips everywhere. Her hands fumbled against him, her fingers desperately
searching, feeling the breadth of his shoulders and the massive bulges of his
arms. Every inch of him seemed to be muscle, and she couldn’t get enough.

Between her legs
she felt a heavy weight pressing against her mound, long and hard and firm. The
real deal, at last. Before she even had a chance to appreciate it, his right
hand was there, pulling her panties free. She shimmied out of them as best as
she could, needing to be free of the oppressive garment. As soon as it was
gone, his hand was there, testing her once more.