(Indigo Lounge #3) Spiral (7 page)

She continued to stare at him for several seconds before she shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing’s going on. I just...I’m not very savvy as to what...” She stopped and pulled in a long breath.

He caressed her nape until her shoulders lost a little of the tension that had ceased her. “I guessed as much, which is why I want to take this slow.”

She flicked him another glance, her eyelashes quivering as she lowered them. “You must think I’m a complete nut job.”

“Yes, I do.”

Her shocked laugh eased a little more of her tension just as he’d intended. “I guessed right, then. You’re no gentleman.”

“And you’re no lady. You bit me within half an hour of meeting me.”

Her eyes dropped to his mouth, the tiny cut raw again from their fevered kiss. “You’re going to make sure I never forget it, aren’t you?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“On where else on my body you intend to use those perfect, sharp little teeth.”

Her mouth dropped open. “I don’t!”

“Well, that’s...disappointing.”

“Noah...”

“You whisper my name as if you’re about to divulge a dark, dirty secret.” He let his hand drift down over her collarbone to rest on the pulse hammering at her throat. “Are you?”

“I—”

“Miss Michaels, sorry to interrupt.”

Noah fought the irritation spreading rapidly through him. Teeth set to grit, he looked up at the blond beefcake but the other guy’s gaze was riveted on Leia. “The ground crew in Switzerland would like to know if you’d be interested in the heli-skiing or the glacier climbing.”

“What’s the rush?” Noah interjected when Leia bit her lip in indecision.

“There’s a snowstorm moving in where we’d originally planned to stage the heli-skiing event so we need to confirm final numbers before we move it to another venue.” The guy took a small step back when Noah continued to glare at him. “I can come back later, if you’re not decided yet?”

Noah hid a small smile, satisfied his
hands off
message had gotten across to the other man and glanced at Leia.

“Do you ski?”

“Yes, since I was a kid.”

Noah turned to the valet. “Put us down for heli-skiing for two.” His tight smile left the other man in no doubt that he wouldn’t tolerate any further interruptions and to his credit he received a small nod before they were left alone.

“What makes you think I didn’t want to climb a glacier?”

“There are some new experiences you want to enjoy on this trip. This isn’t one of them.”

The brow that had arched with her previous question rose higher. He wanted to trace the beautiful curve with his fingers, see if her skin was as soft and delicate as it looked.

“You sound very sure about that.”

“I am,” he answered.

“Do you feel like expanding on that at all or should I just take your word that you know my every feeling?”

“Did I tell you what I do for a living, Leia?”

“We hadn’t quite reached there yet. And at this rate I’m not sure we will.”

He smiled at her curt response. “I’m a venture capitalist. Which means I gamble astonishing amounts of money on knowing what people will desire, sometimes even before they know it themselves. You’re irritated that I made the decision for you. But I’m willing to bet you’ve never climbed a glacier, correct?”

Her mouth compressed but she didn’t answer.

He leaned in closer, drawn to her like a magnet to iron filings. “I have. The preparation alone can take up to four hours. We have seven days, six and half if you think it’s now evening back in Miami. Do you really want to spend another half a day exploring how to climb a glacier? Or would you rather spend that time exploring me?”

Wide eyes met his. Her lips slowly parted and a breath oozed out.

“Don’t be afraid, Leia. Say it out loud. Tell me what I want to hear.”

“I’d much rather spend the time exploring you.”

––––––––

S
he thought he’d let loose another of those devastating smiles once she confessed the yearning beating underneath her skin. Instead he gave a solemn nod and inhaled a long, stead breath.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Leia tried and failed not to shiver at the look in Noah’s eyes when they collided with hers. She searched frantically for something else to cover the fact that she had taken to staring at him like a dopey teenage groupie every time he so much as breathed.

“You don’t like my valet.”

His mouth compressed. “I don’t like the hard-on in his eyes when he looks at you.”

“He’s been a complete gentleman so far.”

“For his own sake I hope to hell he stays that way.”

“Or you’ll stare laser beams into him every time he comes close to me?”

He shrugged. “I have a lot of weapons in my arsenal should the staring not work.”

She laughed. His eyes darkened as his gaze swept over her face.

“Fuck, you’re beyond stunning when you laugh.” Again he said it in that intense low tone that vibrated over her senses like the most beautiful musical instrument. Unable to speak around the volatile emotions swinging through her, she started to lower her gaze. He caught her chin in a firm hold.

“No. Don’t look away. You’re going to hear me say that a lot. So you might as well get used to it. You. Are. Fucking. Exquisite.”

“Noah...”

“Do you know what I think of when you say my name like that?”

She shook her head.

“I think of all the bad, fucking filthy things I want you to do to me with that tongue stud. The things I know you want to do to me.”

Fire stormed through her cheeks, the heat rushing through her body an all-consuming thing. It embarrassed the hell out of her that he could elicit such feelings in her with the barest effort. It also made her a little angry.

“You think you what I want just because we kissed once?”

He regarded her with shrewd, knowing eyes that made her want to run and hide. She forced herself to keep her gaze square on his. “I know you’re here for a specific reason but you unsure as to how to get what you really want. But you want to find and conquer it immediately.”

“You reminded me just now that we only have a few short days. What’s wrong with going after what I want immediately?”

The look in his eyes told her she’d asked the wrong question.
Hell
. She didn’t want him thinking she was some sort of sophisticated bed partner but neither did she want to put him off with how utterly green she was. Perhaps shutting up was her best option.

“What’s your favorite food, Leia?”

“Umm, Italian.”

He nodded. “Think of it this way. Great sex is like waiting in your favorite restaurant for your favorite dish but with all the time in the world to eat it. The bread basket is yours to devour the moment it arrives. But the first course takes a little bit of time to happen. Then when you have it, you breathe it in, savor every mouthful. When you’re done eating you should feel happy and sated, with each nerve ending alive with drowning in the experience, rather than discomfort from indigestion.”

“A food-sex analogy? Really?”

He shrugged. “I like food. I love sex. It tend not to do both at the same time but I can make an exception for you if you beg.”

“So you’re not the whipped cream, eating-sushi-off-naked-bodies type?”

Intense blue eyes scoured her face. “No. I prefer that nothing come between my mouth and your body. I want your taste pure and undiluted.”

“What if you don’t like what you taste?” Leia couldn’t believe she’d said the words. But she refused to blush again. Or look away.

“I will.” Succinct and confident.

She envied that trait very badly. And he also intrigued her by the second. “You seem very sure. What if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not. I can smell you, sweetheart. That need clamoring through you right now. That insatiable craving that no amount of reasoning or ignoring or fucking other people can assuage? It rides me too.”

Her senses jumped at the hard, rough note in his voice. “And you think you can make it go away?”

He took a sip of his drink before he answered, a look crossing his features that set her hackles rising in alarm.

“Hell no. But I can make it a whole lot better. I can make it so you can have a decent night’s sleep and not wonder whether you’re going to die from it.”

The intrigue escalated. Made her wonder what kept him awake at night. Whether he had nightmares like she did. Whether he slept with the light on like she’d done since she was seventeen.

“There’s just one thing wrong with your assessment of me, Noah King.”

He drew closer as if he couldn’t control the pull of their magnetism or want to even fight it overpowering strength. “Which part did I get wrong?”

“The part about me...fucking other people.” She whispered the words, as if she was afraid to say them out loud.

***

E
very atom in Noah’s body froze as the impact of her words slammed into him. “Elaborate.”

“I don’t...I haven’t fucked other people for a very long time.”

“Say that again.” He leaned closer, his breath non-existent.

“I haven’t been involved with anyone in a very, very long time.” Her voice broke and a tremble coursed through her.

His instinct blared a loud warning. But he was too hung up the idea of her, virtually untouched, needy and ripe for him to heed it too much.

He threw back the rest of his drink and set down the glass. Turning so he faced her fully, he caught her chin in his hand inhaled sharply when she raised her face to his. “How long is a long time, Leia?”

Gray eyes, wide and stormy clashed with his. He had a feeling she wanted to look away, to hide her expression but she kept his gaze. Somehow she’d trained herself not to back down, not to look away. And that turned him on more than he knew was reasonable.

His cock hardened, nudged desperately against his zipper. He needed to calm the fuck down before he did something rash, like slam her against the wall and fuck her like his life depended on it.

Her tongue slid across her lower lip. It may have been due to her nerves but it still made his blood fire to volcanic levels.

“Does it matter?” she asked.

“Only insofar as it would dictate the pace at which we take things.”

“Would you care whether you hurt me or not?” Again there was that curious note that sent bad tingles down his spine.

This time he heeded them. “Of course I would.”

“That’s...that’s good to know.”

He frowned as another tremble raked through her. “Hey, are you okay?”

She gave a shaky laugh jerked her head away, dislodging his hand. “No.”

He clenched his fists and braced his arms on his knees, fighting the need to touch her. Deep down he sensed she wouldn’t welcome his touch. She was far too skittish. Which made a part of him wonder what the hell she was doing here. “What’s going on, Leia?”

Her breath shuddered out. “The way you say my name...”

She was deflecting, changing the subject. He decided to allow her a little wriggle room. But he was determined to get to the bottom of his mercurial creature who turned him on more than he’d been turned on in a very long time.

“What about it?”

“You say it like you like it.”

He smiled. “That’s because I do. More than I think is wise, in fact.”

“You don’t have a Star Wars fetish, do you?”

He laughed. “No, at least not a Star Wars one.”

Her eyes darkened in a stormy grey that told him he’d sparked her interest. He was beginning to read her. The thought excited him more than he cared to admit.

“But you do have fetishes?” She moistened her lips and heat throbbed in his groin.

“Don’t we all?” he replied.

“Tell me one.”

“No.”

Surprise lightened her eyes. “And here I thought we were getting to know one another.”

“We are. But you’re not ready for that kind of information yet.”

One corner of her mouth tilted. He desperately wanted to taste her smile. “You don’t strike me as the kind of man who sticks to safe and predictable subjects, Noah King.”

“I’m not. Which is why I don’t want to scare you off, Leia Michaels. You intrigue me. I intend to take this very carefully because the last thing I want is for you to bolt.”

The seductive tilt arched higher. “Bolt? I’m made of stronger stuff than you imagine me to be.”

“No. You’re not. Despite what you want to make me believe, you’re very fragile.” He gave in to the urge and smoothed his hand over the shaved swathe at her temple. “Someone broke you, Leia. Some vile, faceless motherfucker that I intend to hunt down and wipe off the face of the earth. And before this week is through, you’re going to tell me who that person is.”

––––––––

S
he was running on a plane. For a hysterical moment Leia wondered if she was screwing up her body’s chemistry by running toward the back of a plane that was racing forward at hundreds of miles per hour.

The sound of heavy footsteps behind her refocused her mind and propelled her even faster away from the overwhelming force that was Noah King.

“Leia.”

She’d been crazy to think she could handle him. Beyond nuts to think the first time she attempted to break out of the fear-lined box she’d allowed herself to be placed in, would be with someone like him. But something in his eyes had answered a need in her, had called to the broken part of her that was too damaged to be fixed but needed acknowledging nevertheless. What she hadn’t anticipated was that he’d see right through to the core of her so fast. So precisely.

“Leia!”

She turned blindly down a hallway that looked vaguely familiar. Desperately hoping her radar wasn’t completely skewed, she headed for the stairs she hoped would lead her to her suite.

“Dammit. Stop.”

No. Way.

He saw too much. Way more than she was and would ever be comfortable with.

Avoiding confrontation is not a sign of weakness. Know when to walk away from a fight.

She shook her head, for the first time uncomfortable with Warren’s well-mannered voice in her head.

Seeing her door ahead, she sprinted to it and keyed in the security code. Firm hands seized arms before the light turned from red to green.