Illegal Motion: A Loveswept Classic Romance (14 page)

“Is that so unusual?”

“Yes. I mean, no. It’s just that I didn’t picture you as a connoisseur of antiques.”

“Athletes have been known to possess some refinement.” He turned to face her. “We’re not all dumb jocks.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that you were lacking in intelligence. And I’d be the last one to—”

“I know, I know,” Nick broke in, his voice gentler now. “I’m sorry, Willa. It’s just that after years of putting up with the media’s constant stereotyping of athletes, I guess I get a little testy.” When Willa raised her eyebrows at his use of the word “little,” Nick added, “Anyway, a few rusty kitchen implements hardly qualify me as a connoisseur of anything.”

“Rusty or new, would you happen to have a clock?”

“What? Oh, don’t worry, we have plenty of time.”

“It’s not that. I just wanted to make sure we
hadn’t broken the ten-minute limit between arguments.”

“Or kisses.” Nick fought the urge to drag her upstairs to his bed.

All that talk about refinement and all you can think about is Neanderthal lovemaking tactics
. Nick turned back to the counter and started slicing tomatoes and ham, all the while debating the wisdom of handling sharp knives while in the same room with Willa. He glanced again at her. He was thinking how great she looked in his kitchen, wondering how much greater she’d look in his bed. Could he actually be contemplating the whole ring-on-the-finger routine? Especially with the very woman who’d helped create the mess in the first place?

Nick dropped ice into two glass tumblers and filled them with water.
I’ve just been celibate too long. Maybe if I spread that beautiful hair across the sheets for real. I’d get over this
.

He’d tried to convince himself of that the past few nights when he was alone in bed, hard with wanting her. But with her in person, in the cold light of day, he wondered if a lifetime spent in her arms would be enough.

He carried the plates to the table, realizing as he watched her that darkness wasn’t a prerequisite
for getting hard, and sat down before he attracted Willa’s attention to his arousal.

“I wish I had a bay window in my kitchen.” She smiled briefly at him before taking her seat. “You said something about being in the woods again. Where did you live before?”

“I was raised in Vermont. Not that Virginia is similar, but I feel closer to Vermont somehow when I’m surrounded by trees.” Nick’s face took on a faraway look. “Who knows, maybe when this is all over, I’ll move back north.”

Almost choking on her sandwich, Willa still forced herself to take note of his use of the word “I.” The mere thought of him moving far away was physically painful, but however much it hurt, she accepted the fact that her fantasy of happy-ever-after would remain just that. A fantasy. He’d all but told her straight out there would be no “us” after his name was cleared. But she’d deal with that harsh truth later. Her feelings for Nick ran deeper than she’d ever imagined possible, and foolish or not, she desperately wanted whatever time they had left.

Silence descended over the small table, but the desire between them fairly screamed as they picked at their food. Nick gave up trying to eat when he realized he’d systematically taken all the poppy seeds off his roll.

As if by silent agreement, Willa and Nick started to clear away the few dishes. Their hands brushed and the charged atmosphere intensified a few thousand watts. Willa moved her hand away, but Nick grabbed it, holding it until she looked up at him. “It never ceases to amaze me how simply touching you can affect me so much.” Holding her hand, he moved around the table, until barely an inch separated them.

“Nick, I …”

“Ding,” he whispered. “Our ten minutes are definitely up.” He closed the distance between them and pressed her back against the round oak table, then kissed her.

Her taste, the texture of her lips, the sweet smell of her enthralled him. When she deepened the kiss, his fingers began to tremble from the effort of restraint. She turned her head slightly, moaning softly as he took the invitation and continued his sensual assault along the soft line of her jaw, trailing tender kisses to the collar of her shirt.

“Willa.” He groaned against her heated skin. “I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted anyone or anything in my life.” He summoned his strength and pulled back to look at her. It was a calculated risk, because the look on her face would decide the fate of their relationship.

Her lips parted slightly as she choked back a
soft gasp, and he was a goner. He wrapped his arms around her, molding her to him, unable to decide whether he’d won or lost.

His kisses dipped to the opening at the front of her shirt; his hands slid up to cup her breasts, kneading them softly until she thought she’d scream from the need he’d created in her. She gasped, letting go of the table and weaving her fingers through the jumble of dark hair curling against his neck. She reveled in the feel of him and took full advantage of the knowledge that for now, she alone had the right to touch him, taste him.

For the first time Willa knew real lovemaking. An equal sharing of each other. Nick would share his body with her and demand she do the same. He would take precious care of the gift of her body—but what would he do with her heart?

She felt her shirt being tugged from her pants and a second later Nick’s lips grazed her nipples through the lace of her bra. And she realized that Nick Logan was as necessary to her survival as the air she breathed.

Her decision made, she let go, allowing her intense sensations to guide her. She quickly grew impatient to be as close to him as she could be. She wanted to melt into him, fuse her body with his. She drew his face to hers and kissed him,
watching him closely as she told him with her lips and tongue that she would be an equal partner in this seduction. Suddenly kissing him wasn’t enough; she needed to touch his skin as he’d touched hers, taste him as he’d tasted her. She pulled at his shirt, swearing softly at the fabric that hindered her goal.

“You do have a colorful way with words, Red.” Nick chuckled against her skin.

“I, uh, guess princesses don’t swear at a time like this, do they?”

Nick’s teasing smile turned tender, her lightly spoken words unable to cover her vulnerability. “Your response to me is beautiful and honest. How could I ever want more?”

He kissed her deeply, thoroughly, showing her just how strongly she affected him. Feathering kisses over her eyelids and cheekbones, he finally groaned and buried his face in her hair. “Willa, if you don’t tell me to stop now, in a minute I may not be able to.” This time he didn’t have the nerve to look at her face. He was too stunned by the depth of his need for her to say yes.

Willa loosened her fingers still twisted in his shirt, letting them trail slowly across his shoulders. She pushed gently until she could look in his eyes. “I want to make love with you, Nick Logan.”
Her green eyes sparkled, defenses gone, imploring him.

“You sure about this, Princess?”

In a sultry tone she added, “Please hurry, you don’t want to waste your ten minutes.”

Nick’s smile turned downright predatory. “I’m going to need a hell of a lot longer than ten minutes to love you the way I want to.”

EIGHT

Nick led the way back to the foyer. He held only her hand as they went up the stairs, afraid if he touched any more of her, they might not make it up the entire flight. As they reached the door to the master bedroom, he turned to her, needing to make sure she hadn’t had a change of heart.

Pure desire, and something else he was afraid to examine too closely, shone like a beacon in her eyes, welcoming him in from the solitary storm he’d battled for almost a year.

In that moment he knew he’d been fooling himself if he thought that once was ever going to be enough.

Bright sunshine poured through the blinds, but Willa’s only impression of Nick’s bedroom was from sunbeams playing across the midnight-blue bedspread, highlighting the waves of his
dark hair as he sat on the edge of the king-size bed, pulling her down on top of him. After that, everything became hazy.

As one, they slowly rolled to their sides, their gazes locked as tightly as their embrace. Willa trusted Nick with her heart, knowing that making love with him would be as special and unique as the bond they shared.

And it was love. Pure, if not simple.

She made a weak attempt to mask the depth of her feelings, but Nick was staring at her so intently, his eyes mirroring the desire in hers, she abandoned all pretense. He pulled her closer, the strength of his desire pressing against her belly. Confronted with his very real response to her, she was unable to suppress a delighted smile.

A slow, lazy grin spread across Nick’s face. They might have only a short time together, but he was obviously not about to rush things. “Want to let me in on the reason for that sultry little smile?” He reached out, twining a curl around his finger.

“Sultry? I don’t think I’ve ever been sultry.”

“Trust me. You could give lessons on being sultry to a New Orleans summer.” Nick punctuated his statement with a kiss on each corner of her mouth. “All this talk of heat is making me feel way overdressed. You?”

“Uh-huh.” Any doubts she had about being nervous with Nick vanished. His gentle teasing and slow, seductive smiles were guaranteed to keep her right there with him. She shifted back to pull off her shirt when he stopped her.

“I was kind of looking forward to doing that.” His expression was priceless and Willa knew then that he’d never be satisfied until she was. A concept Eric had been light-years away from understanding.

Letting go of the last of the demons and doubts Eric had so expertly woven into her mind, she practiced that sultry smile again. “So was I.”

“You’re trying to burn me alive with those green eyes, aren’t you? Why don’t I work on getting you naked, and if we still have any strength left when I’m done, you can return the favor.” Willa’s eyes widened at his suggestion, revealing how little she knew about playing in bed, and Nick felt his heart fill so tightly he thought it would burst with the tenderness he felt for her. “Just follow my lead, and I promise we’ll both have fun.”

Willa nodded, too busy biting her bottom lip as he bent to nudge the hem of her shirt with his nose, trailing his tongue over her stomach as he worked it slowly back over her breasts, to say anything.

“You’re perfect. I knew you would be.” Nick’s hoarse whisper fanned across her skin as he traced the swirling design on her silk bra with his tongue, watching her nipples create a new pattern under the exotic print. He slowly drew back the emerald lace trim that pressed into her skin, strained by the growing fullness of her breasts.

Willa gasped as the cool air caressed her newly bared skin. Nick pulled the dusky beaded tips into his mouth, gently sucking each one in turn. She arched into him, needing more. She reached out to him, needing to feel the warmth of his skin, assure herself that this was real.

“Uh-uh,” he murmured against her soft skin. “My turn first, you promised.” He pushed at her hand, held it gently beside her head until he was sure she would keep it there, then returned his attention to the waistband of her slacks. “Just relax.”

“But I want you to feel this way, too.”

“Then you have no idea how much this is turning me on. Believe me, I am supremely happy. In a perfect world, I’d stay right here, tasting you, touching you, all day.” Nick smiled at her, loving the way her pupils dilated even further with every suggestive comment he made. Dear Lord, he was going to enjoy opening her up to the knowledge of how wonderful lovemaking
could be. He winked at her, then bent his head to her zipper. He lowered it with one hand, then looking at her, he put his finger in his mouth and traced the outside edge of her belly button with it.

Willa arched against the damp roughness of his finger. She’d never thought of her navel as an erogenous zone before, but as he dipped his tongue into the slight depression, she experienced a rush of moist heat between her legs that was almost painful. “Nick, I …”

“What, Willa? Tell me what you want.”

What she wanted was for him to bury himself inside her deep enough to extinguish the flames licking at her core. But she couldn’t say that to him, not yet. “I want”—she broke off to clear the rough edges from her throat—“I want my turn now.”

Nick rolled her pants down to her hips. “Let me take these off first.” He slid them the rest of the way off, then turned and pulled himself across the bed to lie beside her, trailing a hand along her body as he moved. “I barely got started, you know.”

Willa didn’t answer, she was already working at his shirt. He cheated by pulling it over his head for her. She didn’t mind. She was too busy staring at each sculpted ridge of his body. She lifted a
tentative hand, wanting to touch him everywhere at once and not knowing where to begin.

“Touch me, Willa.” He pressed her hand over his heart and their eyes met. Her fingers felt the rapid pulse beneath his skin. “Yeah, it amazes me too. All that from just a look. Now tell me what I taste like, Willa.”

Unable to resist, she lowered her head and swirled her tongue against his nipple. It pebbled immediately and Nick groaned. She looked up to find him staring at her so fiercely that she wondered what she’d done wrong. “You okay?”