Page 47 of Pipe Dreams
As his nibbles became soft, open-mouthed kisses, Lauren’s nipples grew tight. And when he pulled her earlobe into his mouth and sucked, she felt slickness gather between her legs. But she stayed silent, a death-grip on her champagne glass, until his fingertips snaked around the front of her body and began to tease her breasts. Even then, the sound she made was just a needy, breathy gasp. Hardly audible.
His whole body stilled. “It’s been too long since I felt your skin on mine,” he said. He tugged her backward with his hands at his hips until her ass was tucked against his legs, and his hard cock could be felt through the fabric of his tuxedo pants.
The feel of it tightened her lungs and made her dizzy. Alarm bells went off in her heart. It was easy enough to just jump into bed with him. Lord knew she could use a night of naked fun.
But not with him.Anyonebut him. The hangover would be too much to bear.
Sucking in a breath, she stumbled forward out of his grasp. “I can’t, Mike. I just... I can’t have aflingwith you.”
“Who says I want just a fling?”
She spun around and checked his face. It was flushed with arousal, but his expression was dead serious. Her heart gave a quiver. “I can’t reevaluate my life choices just because you turned up in my hotel suite with a bottle of expensive bubbly. That’s not fair.”
“I’m not trying to rush you.” He shook his head and then ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, that’s a lie. Iamtrying to inspire you. But only because we’ve lost too much time already.”
“So all of a sudden you remember that I exist, and now you’re in a hurry?”
He walked over to the bed and perched on the edge. “Baby, I dream about you more often than it’s healthy to admit. You’re the one, Lo. There’s nobody else.”
Seriously?“You had a hell of a way of showing it.”
“You own me,” he said. “I never wanted to let you go.”
“It’s not easy for me to believe in you,” she said quietly.
He looked up at her. “I know. But I’m going to change that.”
FOURTEEN
Mike watched her expression from too many feet away. Her face was flushed with defiance. He didn’t know how to break through her anger, and there very, very few tools left in his arsenal. Charm hadn’t worked yet. And his apology had only gotten him so far.
Laying all of his cards on the table, he tried to make her understand. “What if I told you the last person I kissed was you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Since you ambushed me on the sidewalk just the other night, forgive me if I’m not impressed.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “Not then. Two years ago.”
Her disbelief was palpable. “What are you trying to say?”
Bracing a foot on the carpet, he leaned forward and snagged her hand, tugging her close to where he sat. As soon as she was in range, he put his cheek to her ribcage and wrapped his arms around her waist. “The last person I kissed was you. The last person I took to bed was you. Just you.”
Her body went still, but he could hear her heart pounding beneath his ear. “You can’t be serious,” she whispered.
Tilting his chin upward, he found her gaze. “I’ve never been more serious.”
“But...” she stammered. “You... Your wife...”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t like that with us. I was there to ease her pain. And Elsa’s.”
“That’s so incredibly sad,” she whispered.
Now she gets it. “Yeah, I noticed. I signed up for a whole lot of sad. But Shelly got one final year with her child, and she got a husband who came home whenever he could to tuck our kid into bed and try to convince the two of them that everything was going to be okay.”
Lauren’s arms closed around his head, her fingers gripping him distractedly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” His throat was rough but he cleared it. “Not trying to depress you. I’m just telling you how it is with me, and that I’ve always wanted you. Even if it’s only for tonight. I’m not dumb enough to ask you to make promises.”
Her fingers brushed through his hair, caressing his scalp, and he closed his eyes and tried to memorize the feel of her touch. She smelled of expensive perfume and sunshine. She smelled so fucking whole and alive that his eyes stung with happiness.
