Table for Two-epub (5 page)

“You’re not fooling me,” she told him.

“Fooling you?”

“I can feel your hand, and it really shouldn’t be there.”

“Yet you haven’t moved it.”

“I’m waiting for you to come to your senses.”

“I already have. It took eight years, but my senses are finally and fully intact.” They crossed the lobby to her ground floor apartment.

“Your senses are poorly misguided tonight,” she argued.

“Overstimulated, as opposed to misguided.” Including his sense of smell. Why had he never noticed how damn good Liv smelled? Like a rose garden in springtime, all floral and pretty.

“James.” She whirled around to face him while still speaking. “This has to sto—” 

She’d come to such an abrupt halt, he walked straight into her, leaving her gasping.

Instinctively, he placed his hands on her hips to steady her. No—to touch her. The whole holding-her-steady thing was just an excuse.

“Th-this has to stop now,” she repeated breathily, then balked. “Oh, God.” She glared at him, aghast. “You have an erection again.”

“Again?” He laughed softly. “Pretty one, it’s been there the whole night.” And for the first time since stepping into her room earlier, he felt a modicum of relief. His cock was pressed against her belly, right where he wanted it to be…for the time being.

“That is completely inappropriate,” she huffed. “You’re my friend, and friends don’t get aroused by other friends. Understand?”

“Understand? Yep. Agree? Nope.” He pulled her more snugly against him.

She smacked his shoulder. “Let me go this instant.”

Yeah, that was so not going to happen.

“Right now. Just move your hands from my waist.”

He didn’t.

“Okay, listen to me, and listen good. You walked in on me earlier, which was an honest mistake. You saw me naked, and you reacted. I get that. But it took place hours ago. The adrenaline rush is over. The excitement’s passed. Release me, and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

Not likely. He wasn’t letting her go, and he wasn’t forgetting. Not when she fit against him so perfectly and smelled like a warm spring evening.

“This is no longer a joke. If I’d known you’d take it this far, I truly would have poisoned your drink.”

Liv was on a roll, and he let her rant on, both amused and aroused by her.

“The last thing I need on my plate is another man refusing to listen when I say I’m not interested, and damn it, James, I am
not
interested.”

Her breasts said differently. The dusky pink nipples he couldn’t stop thinking about had hardened once again and were currently poking into his chest.

“You and I could never work. Friends can’t hook up and expect to stay friends the next day. Am I making myself—” 

He kissed her. Dropped his head, took her lips with his and kissed her.

And just like that, Liv stopped talking.

Oh, God.

James!

Her friend. Her mate. One of the gang.

He was kissing her. His mouth was plastered to hers, his tongue darted out to tease her lips, and damned if it didn’t feel unbelievable.

Heart-stoppingly, incredibly unbelievable.

Every iota of common sense told her to push him away—or at the very least, to pull away from him—but there was not a muscle in her body capable of such an extreme response. Her traitorous muscles seemed to have melted into puddles of nothingness.

Fortunately, his arms and hands supported her, because she doubted her legs could hold her weight. He was like an anchor—big, steady and safe, and if she accidentally dissolved where she stood, he’d hold her up. With his hands planted on her hips, she couldn’t fall.

Her lips succumbed to his teasing and parted to allow his tongue access. It explored every inch of her mouth, tantalizing and entrancing, encouraging her to kiss him back.

His kiss was hot and wet and deep, and Olivia sighed and against her better judgment, lost herself to the moment. Her arms wound around his neck, and she slid a hand into his silky soft hair, cupping the back of his head.

Bad idea. That’s what this was. A really, really bad idea. An idea that could ruin years of friendship. The whole night she’d tried to ignore her physical reaction to him. She’d pretended her sudden onset of horniness had nothing to do with James or his reaction to seeing her naked. But being trapped—in his arms, with his lips against hers—made denial impossible.

Liv was aroused, she was interested and she had tingles shimmering through her skin, making her feel all floaty and delicious.

Talking about delicious…that was how James tasted. Really yummy. So yummy, she couldn’t get enough. Perhaps it was the leftover flavors of Chelsea’s delectable food that tempted her taste buds, or perhaps it was his unique tang. Whichever one, he was a taste sensation.

A touch sensation too, all solid muscle and firm sinew. The man was enormous. As Spencer always said, James was built like a brick shithouse.

But she’d never been this close to him. He dwarfed her, his immense arms and chest covering every inch of her upper torso as he wrapped her in his embrace. His hips bracketed hers, and if anyone stumbled upon them, with James’s back to lobby, the only part of Liv they’d be able to see was her hand in his hair.

Her body had never been soft or curvy, but against James’s bulk, against his rock-hard frame, she felt tiny. Petite, dainty and incredibly feminine.

For a woman feeling so exquisite and feminine, she was acting like a bit of ho. At some point, James had slid his thigh between her legs, and she’d raised her own leg in response, bending her knee and hooking her thigh over James’s so she could…she could…

Oh, God, she was rubbing herself again him. Wantonly rocking her hips so the thick, ropey muscles in his thigh caressed her pussy. And to make matters worse, the action only aroused her more. Her breasts were swollen and tender, liquid heat pooled at the juncture of her legs and pulses of desire flared through her veins with every beat of her heart.

This was madness. Lunacy. She should pull herself together. Back off and end the insanity now, before she and James destroyed their friendship in a moment of stupidity.

But no part of Liv responded to her silent warning. Not her body, which burned with awareness of the huge man in her arms, and not her head, which had spent the last six weeks worrying about the rest of her life.

She’d spent so much time and energy wondering how she’d survive the pending storm at work, that Liv was only too happy to lose herself to the moment and to the pleasure of James’s kiss. If just for a heartbeat she could forget her problems, then risking their friendship would be worth it.

Maybe.

The passion that pounded through her was a welcome distraction. A sexy distraction—just like James had been the whole evening.

Yes, his unexpected presence in her room had been a shock, and his unexpected interest throughout dinner and the journey home an astonishing development, but Liv would be a liar if she said she hadn’t secretly thrilled in every second of it.

The winter air might well have accounted for her earlier nipple stand, but it hadn’t been the sole cause. It was the heat in James’s gaze that had caused goose bumps to rise over her skin. And it was the heat in his touch and kiss that made her breasts tight and achy all over again.

Talking about nipples… Liv ran her thumbs over James’s and moaned into his mouth as they tightened beneath her caress, the warmth from his skin burning her hands.

“Liv.” James broke the kiss with a hoarse groan.

She dragged her fingernails over his chest, relishing the rock-hard flesh and the pounding of his heart.

Breathing heavily, he dropped his forehead to hers. His hot breath fanned over her cheeks and mouth, making her hungry to taste his tongue again.

She forced her eyes open, intent on focusing on his mouth so she could press her lips to his. Instead, Liv blinked in surprise at what she saw.

James’s shirt hung open from his shoulders, the buttons undone from top to bottom. Her hands were pressed flat against his bare chest.

“Oh,” she gasped. At some point during his breathtaking kiss, she must have done that. Without even realizing it, she’d begun undressing him.

Liv stared in wonder. Her fingers looked pale against his tanned skin. They also looked slim and small, shadowed by his bulk. James had a deeply chiseled set of abs, each line of his six pack standing out in stark relief beneath his massive chest. Muscle rippled with every breath he took.

Mouth and kiss forgotten, Liv traced her fingers over the hard planes. The man was solid. Not a hint of fat to be seen or felt. Regular male flesh simply didn’t look as perfect as this. Ever.

Adding to the perfection was the bare chest and stomach. There was not a hair to be seen. And Liv should know. She spent a long time looking for some.

To make doubly sure there wasn’t anything there, she ran her fingers from one side of his chest and stomach to the other, her pinky trailing over the top of his jeans.

James’s breath turned harsh.

Liv dipped her head, found his nipple and licked. Again, his taste burst on her tongue, this time salty and delicious. She opened her mouth to suck on the tight bud, but never got the chance. 

Before her lips found purchase, he lifted her up, tossed her over his shoulder and headed for the staircase.

Liv yelped in surprise as the world turned upside down. James paid her no heed. He palmed her ass, held her tight and took the stairs two at a time, his powerful legs eating up eight flights of stairs with seemingly no effort.

James wasn’t even breathing hard by the time he reached the fourth floor.

Liv’s pulse, on the other hand, raced, and dizziness descended. Whether the giddy sensation resulted from being carried upstairs—upside down—or from the hottest kiss in history, Liv wasn’t sure.

James stopped, did something she couldn’t see, and then a lock clicked, a door creaked, and he was moving again. He walked over the threshold of his unit, flicked the light on, turned around and a banging sound told her he’d slammed the door shut behind them.

“James!”

As quickly as he’d picked her up, he set her back down. But she had no time to find her feet before his lips were on hers, his tongue slid between her lips, and he kissed her senseless. And there was the dizziness. Back again, and a million times stronger.

Any complaint she might have had died in her throat. Liv grabbed his shirt for balance, but when the backs of her fingers grazed over rock-hard flesh, she forgot to hold on. She ripped the shirt off and ran her palms over every inch of his chest, stomach and shoulders, relishing the contact.

James’s hands were not idle. He dispensed of her black blouse and tugged her camisole up and over her shoulders. Her bra vanished too.

And then Liv forgot all about touching him. She forgot all about everything except the sensation of his hot mouth leaving hers and landing on her right nipple. His tongue laved the taut peak seconds before he pulled it into his mouth and sucked.

She lost her breath.

James cupped her breasts. “I’ve been fantasizing about these beauties the whole night.” He spent long, exquisite minutes worshipping them. The contrasts of his silver-hot tongue, soft, full lips, and rough five o’clock shadow scraping her skin sent shivers skittering down her spine, and her hunger for James spiraled out of control.

The need, desire and pleasure grew, until Liv trembled beneath his assault, suspended on the brink of orgasm.

She twisted her fingers in his hair and pulled, tugging his head up.

He released her nipple with a wet pop, and when he straightened to his full height and looked down at her, his eyes were almost black, and his damp lips were swollen and slightly parted.

“James?” He looked so damn gorgeous her stomach lurched.

“Yeah, pretty one?” His voice was hoarse and rough and sexy as hell.

“Fuck me.”

The answering lust in his expression undid her. It was raw, basic and hungry.

Her knees buckled.

James caught her. “Wrap your legs around me,” he growled as he picked her up.

Somehow she managed to get the rubbery limbs to work, winding first one and then the other around his waist. Then she did the same with her arms, wrapping them around his neck.

James carried her to his bedroom and set her down on his bed. Before he could straighten, Liv scurried to sit on the edge of the mattress. She had a desperate need to tear his jeans off. Pull them over his hips and free the erection that had plagued him—and her—the entire evening.

She tugged at his button, and as he muttered her name, she yanked down his zip and shoved the jeans over lean and powerful hips. Even more enticing than his rippling six pack was the way his flesh hollowed on the insides of his hip bones, creating an intriguing valley on either side of his groin, pulling her gaze ever lower to where…his boxers annoyingly interfered with her view.

She muttered something nonsensical and slipped her fingers beneath the elasticized waistband. Nothing was getting in her way. Careful to stretch the front of the boxers over the large bulge of his erection, Liv pulled the underwear down his legs and pushed them to his knees. Then she stopped, mostly because she finally got to look at the erection James had complained about for hours.

It was no longer a shapeless bulge, but a thick ridge of engorged male flesh. A throbbing vein lined its length, and moisture dampened the rounded head.

Liv licked her lips, then shook her head in wonder. For weeks she’d had no appetite and no inclination to put a thing in her mouth, yet one look at the mountain of a man standing naked before her was all it took to make her mouth water.

Desperate for a taste, she leaned forward and licked the moisture off the tip.

James’s thighs turned rigid, and he swore hoarsely.

Suddenly she was ravenous. Starving for a helping of James. She wrapped one hand around the base of his shaft and grabbed a generous handful of his butt cheek with her other. Then she dipped her head and feasted.