Jaci Burton (5 page)

though, in fact, made room for Rick and Ava to find their

footing until they made their way to the second floor.

Ava studied the hal way that branched out in two directions

and led to lots of doors—closed doors.

“Uh, maybe we shouldn’t be up here.”

Rick cocked his head to the side. “Why not?”

“I think people came up here to find some privacy.”

He grinned. “I’m sure they did. But you wanted to find your

friend, didn’t you?”

“Wel , yes, but if she and Bo want to be alone . . .”

He shrugged. “It’s just sex. They won’t mind being

disturbed. Let’s go.”

Just sex? He was joking, right?

Apparently not. He started down a hal way. Ava ran after him

and grabbed his arm before he turned a knob. “Are you

serious? Stop that.”

“What?”

“You can’t just barge in on people having sex.”

“Why not?”

“First. It’s rude. And second . . . oh my God. Do I have to

spel it out?”

He leaned against the wal and crossed his arms. “Sure. Go

ahead.”

“Do you real y want to watch people . . . you know.”

“Fucking?”

God. The way he said it. She flushed with heat al over. He

made it sound dirty. And exciting. And compel ing.

“Yes.”

“I guess if people don’t want to be bothered they’l lock the

door. Unless they forget. Most don’t real y care. Watch.”

She took a giant step back as he turned the knob and

opened a door that was, as he said, unlocked.

“Anyone in here having sex?”

“Get the fuck out of here!” came a sharp retort from the

darkened room.

Rick laughed and closed the door.

“See? They didn’t want guests.”

She shook her head. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

He ignored her, took a few steps down the hal , and opened

the next door. “What’s going on in here?”

There was heavy breathing. Then giggling, fol owed by a

male voice that said, “Fucking. Why, do you wanna watch?”

“Maybe. I’l get back to you.”

He closed the door and turned to her. Ava put her hand over

her mouth to smother her laugh. “You’re something.”

He waggled his brows. “You have no idea, honey.”

“You don’t mean to go into every room and do this.”

“Sure I do.”

This time she quickened her step and rushed to cover the

next door, putting her hand over the knob in the hopes she

could spare another couple some embarrassment. “Real y.

Stop.”

Undaunted, he leaned into her, and her breath caught when

he placed his hand over hers. She felt swal owed up,

cornered, and for some reason didn’t mind at al .

He turned the knob and pushed the door open, sending her

flying into the room with him.

“Anyone in here?”

No one replied.

“Hey, we’re in luck. Looks like we have this one to

ourselves.”

Before she could say a word, he’d closed the door behind

him. Ava heard the click of the lock.

“The smart ones lock the door to prevent assholes like me

from coming in.”

She was now locked in a dark bedroom with Rick. And yet

she wasn’t at al afraid. Intrigued, yes. Excited, definitely.

“Are you there?” he asked, his voice lowering.

“Yes.”

“Keep talking and I’l find you.”

She licked her lips. “What would you like me to talk about?”

He was drawing closer. She moved farther away, though it

wasn’t from fear. She bumped into something with her hip.

Dresser, maybe.

“I don’t know. Tel me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking I’m locked in a bedroom with someone I don’t

know very wel .”

“Do you need to know me wel ?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“What do you want to know about me, Ava?”

He was getting closer. She inched farther to the right. “Tel

me where you’ve been for the past ten years.”

He went silent. When he spoke again, his breath brushed

against her cheek. “I was in prison for a while for theft. Then I

just rode freelance here and there, ended up in Chicago.”

She found it hard to breathe with him standing so close to

her. But at least he’d been honest. “In prison?”

“Yeah.”

“For how long?”

“Three years.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Seven years ago.”

“Not since then?”

“No.”

She inhaled, blew it out, then stopped breathing when he

wound his arms around her waist. “Does that bother you?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.” She thought about it. Just because

he did time in jail didn’t mean he was a bad person now.

People made mistakes. Some people learned from them.

She’d seen plenty of that.

He laughed, and took a step back. “Go away, Little Red

Riding Hood.”

“What?”

She heard the creak of the bedsprings.

“You can’t handle the Big Bad Wolf.”

Affronted, she moved forward, her knee making contact

with the mattress. “Now just a minute. I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to say a word. You’re a scared little rabbit.”

Dammit. “I am not.”

“Aren’t you?”

He sounded so smug. “No, I’m not. I just don’t have

indiscriminate sex with strangers.”

He laughed, the sound as dark as the room they were in.

“Sorry. I left my resume in my other bike.”

What an asshole. She should leave, march downstairs and .

. .

And what? “Do you often bul y women into having sex with

you?”

“I’ve never had to beg a woman to have sex with me, Ava.”

She believed that. Women probably fought each other for

the right to get in bed with him. And why not? He was

gorgeous, oozed sexuality. So what the hel was wrong with

her? She wasn’t a virgin. God knows the man got her juices

flowing.

“If you have to think that hard about it, you should go. I

promise not to chase you.”

“What if I wanted you to?”

“Wanted me to what? Chase you?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t chase women. I like them to be wil ing.”

She blew out a breath. He had a point.

“Ava.”

“Yes.”

“What’s wrong with letting go and just enjoying yourself?”

She didn’t have an answer to that because she rarely did it.

“I don’t know.”

“Want me to show you what it’s like?”

He was chal enging her, daring her to let go. Could she?

Her life was al planned out, so orderly, so control ed. This

moment represented everything that wasn’t her. And

everything that was Rick. He didn’t appear to be a threat to

her, at least not that she could discern. Then again, what did

she real y know about him?

What had she real y known about any of the guys she’d had

sex with in her lifetime?

Not much other than what they’d told her. She hadn’t known

them any better than she knew Rick. And she was way more

turned on by him than she’d ever been by them. Just standing

in this dark bedroom with him, listening to him talk to her, had

her wet, her nipples puckering and begging to be touched,

licked, sucked.

The thril of the forbidden, she supposed. Was that the lure

that pul ed Lacey in? The bad boy in leather offering the apple

in the garden? Tempting, oh so tempting.

Then again, what was so wrong about going a little wild?

She was certainly overdue for it.

She sat on the bed. And suddenly, he was right there, his

chest against her back.

And when he leaned in and pressed his lips to the side of

her neck, she shivered at the contact, tilted her head back,

and let him have access. She turned and he pul ed her against

him, her breasts pil owed against his chest.

She laid her hands on his arms and felt the corded strength

of his biceps flexing, and knew she wanted him naked,

wanted to explore his body with her hands and her mouth.

She wanted something she’d never had before.

The chance to live a little bit on the edge.

T
here were a hundred reasons why Rick shouldn’t be doing

this, but one primary reason—Ava was his assignment, not

some hot random babe to have a quick lay with.

Yeah, right.

Tel that to his dick, which rocked against his jeans, hard

and eager to get things started. Tel that to his senses as he

inhaled her clean, sultry scent while his lips were pressed

against the soft column of her throat.

He should have never brought her into this room, never

closed and locked the door, never started teasing her with this

cat-and-mouse game.

But damn, she was fun to play with. And right now she

wasn’t saying no. Oh, hel no, she wasn’t. Every sound she

made, every movement of her body was screaming yes. Oh,

hel yes. And she was touching him, grabbing onto him like a

lifeline in the dark.

In the back of his mind, this al spel ed epic disaster.

Unfortunately his libido had taken over and al logic was gone.

He had a sweet-smel ing and wil ing woman in his arms and

he intended to take ful advantage of that.

He slid his tongue along her throat, felt the wild beat of her

pulse in her neck, and he wanted to do anything and

everything to drive that pulse up higher. He’d bet Ava could get

real y out of control, wondered if any man had done that to her

before. Because what he’d seen of her so far led him to

believe that she was oh so reserved, which made him want to

tear away that reserve and find out just how wild she could be.

And maybe he was assuming, but he’d guess that she was

just waiting for some guy to strip down the wal s around her

and release the animal.

He kissed along her neck, then her jaw, heard her inhale,

then exhale as he neared her lips.

He cupped her jaw between his fingers and pressed his lips

to her mouth. Her lips were soft, trembling, and as he pressed

more firmly, she opened for him.

God, she was sweet. She tasted like innocence, something

he hadn’t tasted much of in his lifetime. She wasn’t at al the

type of woman he usual y went for—he liked the wild, knew-

exactly-what-they-wanted type. Ava was like forbidden fruit

—which only made him want her more. He supposed he’d

never quite gotten over wanting what he shouldn’t have, but

damned if he was going to care about that right now. He

gathered her close and slid his tongue inside to find hers,

testing the waters.

She wrapped her tongue around his and whimpered. She

was hot, and he was getting hotter, especial y when she

wriggled her body against his, making his cock jerk against

his jeans, reminding him of just how long it had been since

he’d taken the time to be with a woman. Work had occupied

him for too damn long.

Now it was time to play. And he intended to play al night

long with Ava. He swept one hand inside her open jacket,

smoothed it along the curve of her hip and over, letting his

fingers press in on the upper part of her ass. She moaned into

his mouth and moved closer to him, jacking his pulse up yet

another notch. He tilted his head so he could deepen the kiss,

used his other hand to slide along her back so he could crush

her breasts against his chest. Oh, yeah.

He slid her jacket off, letting it drop to the floor. He grasped

her wrists, held onto her, pul ed her closer, and felt her ful

breasts bang against his chest. Damn she had nice breasts.

He couldn’t wait to touch them, to bare them so he could lick

and kiss them. Ava had one incredible body and he wanted to

see it al . Maybe he’d turn the lights back on. It was way too

dark in here.

None of this was going to happen fast enough—too many

clothes between them. It was time to start shedding some

leather.

Until someone opened and slammed a door in one of the

rooms.

Ava tensed, her whole body going rigid as if she expected

someone to bust through the door. Not that they would since

he’d locked it. But her response told him a lot of things, the

main one that she wasn’t relaxed, wasn’t ready for this. That

was enough. Rick knew right then this wasn’t going to happen.

He let her slide off his lap and he stood, bending down to

retrieve her jacket.

“What are you doing?”

“Let’s go see if we can find Bo and Lacey.” He found the

light, switched it on, and immediately wished he hadn’t. Her

lips were puffy from his kisses, her hair messed up and out of

its ponytail. She looked as wild as he’d imagined she’d been,

her eyes a little glassy, her nipples tight points against

whatever flimsy bra contained them.

Damn. And his cock was in no mood to be contained.

He cleared his throat and held out her jacket. “Ready to go?