Merry Christmas, Paige (10 page)

“I want you now.” Her admission came without shame. She needed him naked and pounding between her thighs with the ferocity of the approaching storm. The scent of rain blended with Nathan’s earthy cologne, thrilling her. Yet it couldn’t compare to the strong hands that smoothed over her hips, down her abdomen to cup the small patch of hair below.

Her inner muscles clenched tight and a wave of desire lashed throughout. On a gasp, her lips parted. “Now, Nathan. Take me now.” With a single finger he applied pressure to her clit and she groaned. “Please.”

“Spread your legs.”

Paige thought it would be easy to follow his demand, but as she inched her feet apart her pussy spasmed. The need to pinch her thighs together was strong, but she prevailed, moving her legs shoulder-width apart. His wicked fingertips reached between their bodies and caressed her swollen folds for just a second before his hand retreated, only to return. On the third—or was it the fourth?—swipe, he flicked her clit, sending a ray of pleasure quaking though her core.

“Now,” she cried out. “Nathan, fuck me now.”

“So wet. Are you tight?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He shoved a finger deep inside her.

Her knees threatened to buckle. She felt dizzy as her sex tightened and released, over and over.

“Oh yeah. I can feel you sucking on my finger.” His seductive tone was nearly her undoing. “I can’t wait until your body is sucking on my cock.”

Her need soared. “Damn you, Nathan.”

The next release of thunder felt like it vibrated through her womb. As he pumped his finger in and out, she didn’t know how much longer she could hold on. She cupped her own breasts, fingers finding the taut nipples, and squeezed. A whirling mass of sensations burst through her swollen flesh and shot south to intensify the spasms.

“That’s it, baby, touch yourself.” His voice deepened. “Pinch them hard.”

She did and groaned with the pleasure/pain washing through her.

His finger vanished from her body and she whimpered. “Please don’t do this to me.”

Quick little kisses whispered down the small of her back. His large hand cupped her ass, parting her cheeks. She trembled. When his warm, wet tongue trailed a seductive path between the cleft of her ass, she almost lost it. Her heart jolted like it would jump out of her chest. She gasped as he swirled his tongue near her anus. Every muscle throughout her body grew taut, and her fingers on her breasts stilled.

Stars burst behind her eyelids. “Nathan!”

“Hold on, baby.”

Nathan released Paige and moved quickly around her. He fell to his knees and gazed up. Her head was thrown back, her hands gripping her breasts. The sight of her nipples between her fingers and thumbs made his balls throb with the need to fuck her and to do it now, but first he had to taste her.

Spreading her thighs wider, he settled between them. Her musk was an aphrodisiac calling to him. He dipped his head and circled his tongue over her swollen clit. She bucked against him and screamed his name for a second time. She trembled as he parted her juicy slit and lowered his head.

The taste of her exploded against his taste buds. Sweet. Tart. A mixture of heaven.

“Mine,” he murmured against her heated skin.

“Oh God.” She grabbed his shoulders, fingernails biting into his flesh. A low groan eased from her lips as her climax erupted and liquid fire burst upon his tongue. Her body convulsed around him.

A growl rumbled in his throat.

He drank greedily at her pussy until his khakis felt too tight. His cock strained against the zipper, demanding freedom, and still he devoured her. He loved the way she writhed against him. With each contraction her body pulled him deeper and deeper.

When he looked up, she stared down at him with the most sated expression. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her hands drifted to her sides. He pushed to his feet. Neither spoke as he tore his shirt over his head and flung it aside. She looked like a siren, naked in only her black stilettos. The wind blew her hair around her face and shoulders. Her pussy was slick, swollen and pink, urging him to take her.

He kicked out of his shoes and reached for the waistband of his pants. When they were unfastened, he pushed them down his legs and stepped out.

Lust reflected back at him when he looked deep into her eyes. Without a word, he grabbed her hand and led her to the small table. “Bend over.”

She did as he requested without hesitation. In the dim light he stared at her heels, his hungry gaze traveling up her long legs to the gentle swells of her ass. She glanced back at him. The image of her legs parted, bent over and waiting for him to fuck her, took his breath away. His chest grew tight.

“God, you’re sexy.”

As if to confirm the effect she had on him, his dick screamed in pain, begging to push inside her. He moved behind her and pressed the head of his erection against the moist entrance of her sex. Arching his hips, he watched as the swollen, naked lips of her pussy parted, inviting him in. He pulled back and pressed forward again. Oh yeah. He loved the way her body welcomed him as he worked his cock into her a little deeper.

Heat sizzled from the small slit of the sensitive head and down his shaft. With each thrust her tight body pulled and released his foreskin to slide against the ridged bands on the underside of his erection. A taut breath eased through clenched teeth. “Feels so good.” He threw his head back and pushed the last inches in, hips flush against her ass. When the suction of her body clamped down on him, he withdrew and plunged forward, again and again.

“Fuck.” His sensitive balls slapped her ass, the sound so erotic they throbbed with a vengeance. His cock lengthened almost to the point of pain.

And then she moaned. Her inner muscles clenched and flexed harder, faster, to send him careening into a frenzy of pleasure.

“God yes,” he hissed.

Thunder cracked and his release exploded, almost blinding him as it ripped from his scrotum and burned down his cock. All-consuming love for Paige wrapped around him. The connection he felt was as if his very soul was ripped from him and flowed into her. Collapsing against her back, he struggled to breathe. If he hadn’t been leaning against her, he might have fallen.

Cool, wet raindrops sprinkled on his back. They fell easy at first. Suddenly, a sonic boom of thunder tore open the sky and a torrent came down. Nathan and Paige startled, parting. As she ducked her head and ran for the safety of the bathroom, he gathered their clothing and his shoes, following her inside.

“That was a surprise ending to wonderful sex.” She laughed, shaking her head to send drops of water everywhere.

He spread their clothing on the countertop and towel racks, before he walked to the shower and turned on the faucets. “Want to join me?”

She kicked off her heels. “Sure.”

Lukewarm water rained over them as they stepped beneath the two-headed spigots. After several pumps of the liquid soap container attached to the wall, he placed his hands on her shoulders and began to cleanse her body.

“Mmmm.” She tilted her head to one side. “That feels good.”

His palms glided across her like silk until she was covered head-to-toes in suds.

She turned in his arms, pressing her body to his. “Now it’s my turn.” Instead of retrieving soap from the container, she slowly rubbed her chest over his. The hard peaks of her nipples whispered over his chest, making his cock twitch.

Looking deep into her eyes, he smoothed his palms down her arms and smiled. “I’d almost forgotten what a talent you had in the shower.”

She softly laughed, turning her back to him. With long, slow caresses, she slid her ass against his firming erection.

The ringing of a telephone cut through the heat building in his groin. He raised his head and listened. “I probably should get that.” No one usually called after nine and it was nine thirty. Cami would be in bed by eight, so it probably had something to do with the resort. Paige faced him, and he planted a quick kiss on her lips. He rinsed off and stepped from the shower, grabbing a towel off the rack to dry off, before he secured it around his waist. Padding across the room, he headed toward the telephone on the nightstand. The minute he was within reach the phone quit ringing. The caller ID revealed it was his mother. His fingers curled around the receiver, stopping midway when Paige entered the room.

Damn. She was beautiful.

He released the telephone. If it had been important, his mom would have called him on his cell phone. As he approached Paige, he made a mental note to call his mother in the morning.

“Dinner, dessert or another round between the sheets?” he asked. “I think I ordered a Hawaiian chocolate cake.”

“Cake or you?” She pinched her lips together. “Hmmm. That’s a hard choice.” She eased against him. “I choose you.”

He pulled the towel from around his hips and tossed it aside. He would never get enough of her.

“I’ve missed you so much.” She paused before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him to her. Just before their lips touched, she breathed, “Love me, Nathan, like you’ll never let me go.”

“What about dinner?”

“We’ll eat it for breakfast,” she said.

Slanting his mouth over hers, he caught her weak mewl. Her embrace tightened and she hardened the caress. Her lips moved over his with a need that was soul deep, before their mouths parted on a ragged breath.

Her head lolled back on a gasp and he took the moment to shower her neck with light kisses. His cock pressed hard against her belly as he grabbed her around the waist and raised her off the floor. He couldn’t wait to get her in his bed where she belonged.

With shuffled steps he headed toward the bed. The storm continued to rage outside. Rain pounded against the window as if demanding entrance. Gently he placed her upon the comforter and then took several steps backward.

His erection lengthened at the sight of her. Naked, her lips kiss swollen, she looked at him through feathered lashes. Red-hot desire flared with each shift of her body as she eased back, propping herself on a pillow. She raised her hips and jerked the forest green comforter from beneath her, tossing her purse to the floor. She softly patted the place beside her.

He kneeled on the mattress, and it moaned beneath his weight.

Her lips curved into a sexy grin as she inched her thighs apart.

Soft. Pink. Moist, swollen folds called to him. He crawled toward her and eased between her legs. His throbbing cock pressed against her entrance as he lowered his chest, sealing their bodies together. He was about to close the distance between their lips when he heard footsteps. The doorknob twisted.

“Daddy?” Cami’s voice made his eyes spring wide.

“Oh God,” he whispered. “What is she doing home?” A feeling of dread swept over him. The door was unlocked. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, making his heart pound faster. Cami couldn’t find him and Paige like this. With quick, jerky movements he rolled off her. As the door flew open, he and Paige reached for the sheet at the same time. Their struggle left them both half exposed when the door opened.

“Daddy, I’m home—” The sweetness in Cami’s voice faded as her eyes widened in surprise. The smile on her face crumbled. “Daddy?” Her bottom lip started to quiver.

“Hey, sweetheart.” His voice cracked. How the hell was he going to explain Dr. Weston in his bed? “I didn’t expect you home.”

“Obviously.” The snide comment was female and definitely familiar. When Sylvia stepped through the doorway, Nathan felt his ex’s presence like a blow to the stomach.

This couldn’t be good.

Chapter Ten

Oh. My. God.

Lying next to Nathan, Paige couldn’t believe the nightmare unfolding before her. His daughter and ex-wife stared at them as if they had committed adultery. Even though he was divorced, the heat of shame swept across her cheeks. She tightened her knuckles around the sheet stretched between them and looked into Sylvia’s eyes, which were filled with resentment. Cami’s silent tears were difficult to confront. The contempt on her mother’s face wasn’t much better, until her expression melted into one of sorrow and pain.

“How could you do this to our child?” Sylvia pulled Cami into the shelter of her tall, slender frame. “I can’t believe that you would introduce a woman into our daughter’s life s-so soon, especially
that
woman.” Her bitterness bled through her now-flowing tears. “I can’t stay here now. I’m leaving.”

Cami gasped, jerking her startled gaze to her mother’s. Grasping at Sylvia’s short skirt, the little girl burst into hysterics. “Mommy, no. Daddy, tell her to stay. Tell her you want her here.”

Nathan glanced at Paige. Her heart raced. What would he say?

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry.” The tears in his eyes were killing her.

Sorry?
Paige’s mind whirled. Sorry, that this was happening? Or sorry that he once again would walk out on her? The air in the room thickened. She couldn’t breathe.

“Baby, I need the sheet.” While he rose, securing the linen around his waist, Paige used the comforter to cover herself. When he reached Cami, he knelt so that his gaze met hers. “Remember your mother doesn’t live here anymore.”

Paige almost gagged on the relief she inhaled.

“She came back.” Cami released her mother’s leg. “Mommy said she’d stay if you wanted her to.” The child choked back sobs that made Paige’s chest ache. From the agony furrowing Nathan’s brow, his daughter’s sadness was breaking his heart too.

He blinked away moisture as he reached for Cami. “Honey, listen to me.” When she jerked away, burying her face back into her mother’s leg, he looked at Paige as if saying, “I don’t know what to do.” The anguish in his eyes was gut-wrenching. “Cami. Please.” His voice shook. “We talked about this. Your mother lives in New York now.”

“No!” Cami stomped her foot, refusing to face him. “She wants to come home.” Suddenly, she spun around and flew into her father’s embrace. Her little arms circled his neck. “Please, Daddy. Please let Mommy come home.”

“Janis,” he yelled over his daughter’s shoulder. “Baby.” His voice cracked again as his tone softened. “You know that isn’t possible.” When Cami didn’t hear what she wanted, her arms and legs flailed. She fought against her father’s hold. Her cries rose to a heartbreaking pitch. He held her close, burying his face into her shoulder. “Please understand.”

A tear rolled down Paige’s cheek. Cami was too young to understand grown-up games, and Paige had no doubt in her mind that this was a game. Even as Sylvia wiped at her alligator tears, Paige could see the smile within. She had no sympathy for a parent who used their child to manipulate their ex-spouse. In fact, it made her madder than hell.

Did Nathan realize Sylvia’s ploy?

When Janis came into the room, she glanced at Paige lying in the bed. Her eyes widened. “Oh my God,” she whispered before pinning her gaze on Nathan. “I’m so sorry. Sylvia said that she wanted to surprise—”

“Please take Cami upstairs.” He raised his head, and Paige could see tears in his eyes. His child’s pain was killing him.

“No. I don’t want to go,” Cami insisted, trying to hold on to him.

“Please, baby. Your mother and I need to talk.” It wasn’t his words that left a knot in Paige’s throat, it was Sylvia’s sudden smirk of triumph.

Nathan tried to hand Cami to Janis, but she jutted her arms out toward her mother. “Mommy.” She tore herself from her father’s embrace and ran to her mother.

“Come here, honey.” Sylvia hugged her daughter, brushing the child’s hair out of her eyes. “Go with Janis. I’ll be up shortly.” She kissed her on the forehead, and then she released Cami.

Janis picked the child up in her arms. “Did you see there are more presents beneath the Christmas tree? Let’s count them before we go to your bedroom.”

Before Cami left she turned her big blue eyes on Paige. “Get out of my house.” The child’s words were like a knife to her heart, slicing to the depths of her soul. Janis didn’t hesitate, carrying the child out of the bedroom. Paige glanced at Sylvia. The woman’s smile was all teeth and no warmth behind Nathan’s back.

Releasing a heavy sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I need to get dressed.” He sounded so forlorn. “Sylvia, wait for me in the living room.”

“Of course.” She headed toward the door as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Paige was about to throw back the covers when Sylvia drew to a stop and turned around. Daggers flashed in her eyes. “I hope you enjoyed my husband.”

“Ex-husband,” Paige reminded her.

Sylvia’s soft laughter was pure evil. She stepped farther into the room. “Oh please. You must be a slow learner. Nathan will never be yours. Do you think he’ll exchange Cami’s happiness for yours or for that matter his?” She released a harrumph of disbelief to solidify her point. “This divorce means nothing.”

Before Paige could respond, Nathan returned. He had donned only his wet khakis. Something close to disbelief filtered across his face, and then he frowned. “God, I should have known you wouldn’t do what I asked.” Barefoot, he crossed the room to the bed where Paige had inched into a sitting position. He dug deep into his pocket, extracting his keys. “Take the Hummer and go to the cottage. I’ll take the Lexus in the garage and join you in a couple of hours.” He dropped the keys into her palm. They felt cold against her trembling hand.

Heat flamed up her neck as she breathed in roughly and stared back at him. He was sending her away.

As if to rub her face into her insecurity, Sylvia raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Don’t wait up. He won’t be leaving here.”

Nathan spun around to face his ex-wife. “Shut up.” His voice snapped like a whip.

Sylvia flinched, but she held her tongue.

He turned back to Paige. “I need to make sure Cami is okay. You do understand?”

Paige nodded. She could understand his need to ensure his daughter was well, but if they were to become a family as soon as Nathan had inferred, then she needed to be included. Instead she was the odd man out, again. She tried to tell herself that this wasn’t a repeat of five years ago. That she would prevail this time. That Nathan loved her. That it couldn’t be worse than what she had already endured. Yet strangely it felt the same. The ache in her chest was increasing with each ragged breath.

Paige pulled the comforter around her before she rose from the bed. She felt the coolness of the floor clear to her bones as she rushed into the bathroom. The door closed behind her and she clapped her hand over her mouth in an effort to hold back her cries. Numbing silence engulfed the room for long seconds, and then she heard Sylvia and Nathan start to argue.

After finding her clothes, she looped the top over her neck, made the crisscross over her breasts, but had a hell of a time securing the clasp because her hands were shaking so badly. The material was still damp, clinging to her body. She dragged her skirt up her legs, hips, and zipped it quickly as the voices beyond the door rose.

“What were you thinking?” she heard Nathan say.

“Nathan, please. Don’t you see this is best for Cami? She needs us,” Sylvia sobbed.

Nathan’s silence was like a bullet to Paige’s heart, which felt like it stopped beating at that moment. Air left her lungs in a single gush. “Don’t listen to her. She’s manipulating you.” She choked on the plea clawing up her throat.

“You know I’m right,” Sylvia added.

Nathan said something Paige couldn’t hear. Did he agree with his ex-wife? Was Paige losing him all over again?

Frantically, she began to look around for her shoes. After locating them, she slipped one heel on and then the other. Her legs felt wobbly, unable to hold her, but they did.

When she stepped into the bedroom, Nathan and Sylvia grew quiet. His ex’s palm lay on his arm. The sight broke Paige’s heart. His broad back shifted, muscles rippling beneath his skin. He turned toward her and the emptiness in his expression chilled her. Behind his back Sylvia’s smug expression was enough to make Paige’s stomach pitch. She’d seen that same look years ago. He walked toward her. She swallowed hard, preparing herself for the worst.

Paige trembled when his warm palms slid up her cold arms. “I’ll see you soon.” He kissed her softly on the lips.

The caress should have given her the reassurance she needed, but it didn’t. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. She had to get out of there. Without saying goodbye, she spun around, spying her purse. She stopped to pick it up. When she rose, Sylvia had positioned herself by the door, her hand on the doorknob. She opened the door wide, allowing Paige to pass through it. On her way out, Sylvia whispered, “Don’t wait up for him. Trust me. What Cami wants, Cami gets. She’s like her mother.”

The door slammed shut behind her and Paige jumped, feeling more than the door separating them. The sting of hot tears burned her eyes and for a moment she didn’t move. When she did, she fled down the hall toward the exit. Her heels clicked against the floor. Her trembling fingers closed around the doorknob. She twisted and pushed at the same time, and the wind tore the door from her hands, nearly sucking her out of the house as if ejecting her. She fought to close the door, fought to restrain her emotion, but tears raced down her cheeks—or was it the rain falling from the sky?

Blurred vision hampered her steps as she made her way to the Hummer. She swiped at her eyes, but it did no good. Climbing inside the vehicle, all Paige could think of was that this couldn’t be happening again.

No. She wouldn’t believe the worst. He had kissed her, promised to come to her later tonight. With newfound determination, she stuck the key into the ignition and turned over the engine. She glanced into the rearview mirror. “Nathan loves me.”

They could work through Cami’s sadness.

They had to.

Nathan’s chest felt tight. He rubbed his neck. All he could do was shake his head, remembering the shocked expression on Cami’s face when she burst into the bedroom and found him with Paige. His daughter’s tears had a way of ripping his heart out.

Sylvia approached him with a sway in her hips that he wasn’t buying. There was no denying she was sexy and knew her way around a man’s body, but the truth always bled through. Her beauty was only skin deep. The woman was selfish. She thought of no one but herself. Even their child took second to her needs and wants.

“Nathan, I know we’ve had our differences, but we can make this work.” She placed her palm on his arm again and he cringed. He felt nothing for her but disgust. “For Cami’s sake we can be a family again. Please, tell me you’ll try.”

He shrugged out of her grasp. “Why did you come back?”

“For Cami. You.” She tried to touch him again, but he stepped out of her reach. “Us.”

Her bottom lip quivered. It was cute on Cami, but manipulative on Sylvia. She used her sensuality to achieve her objectives. When that didn’t work, she resorted to fake tears, like now. Her eyes welled with moisture, several drops squeezing from the corners.

“It’s Christmas,” she sobbed. “I couldn’t bear being away from you. Cami.” She said their daughter’s name as if it were a second thought.

“How could you do this to Cami?” he asked. She had to have known how devastating it would be to their daughter finding him with Paige like this.

“Me? I had no idea that you’d have that whore in our bed.”

The hackles on his neck rose at her demeaning words. “
My
bed, and Paige is more woman than you could ever be.”

Fire flickered in her eyes, but she doused it almost as quickly as it appeared. “Nathan, please don’t do this to us.”

“We had our chance.” Five years of fighting and bickering. There wasn’t any room in his heart for more of the same, especially for Cami’s sake. It wasn’t healthy for a child to be around fighting parents all the time. It tore him up inside, but his daughter would have to understand. He couldn’t live the life he had. Paige was the only woman he had ever wanted.

Sylvia huffed. Her backbone went rigid. “You never gave me or us a chance. That whore lay between us for the past five years.”

Red-hot hatred for the woman standing before him raced up his neck. “I’m warning you, Sylvia.”

“Can’t you see it’s fate, me showing up at this moment to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life?”

“Fate? It’s more like jealousy and a telephone call from Yolanda advising you that Paige was in town.” He should have known the minute that woman left his sight at the mall she’d called his ex.

Sylvia tossed her long brunette hair over one shoulder. “Jealous of her?” Her brows pulled inward. “Please.” As if realizing how she looked to him, her attitude changed swiftly. Her voice softened. “Don’t you see, Nathan, she’s like a poison in your veins. Why else would you toss our daughter’s feelings aside for another?”

He wasn’t tossing Cami’s feelings aside. It’s true that she hurt now. At four she was too young to understand the situation. Perhaps he should have treaded lightly. Maybe Paige was right about putting distance between them until Cami adjusted. Yet the thought of not holding Paige made him sick. His stomach churned.

“Send her away, Nathan.” Sylvia moved closer, and he could smell her expensive perfume, a musky scent used to tantalize men. “Let’s enjoy Christmas together, as a family. I’ve made all the arrangements. I’ve told your mother we wouldn’t be joining them.”

So that was why his mother had called him. She was trying to warn him that Sylvia was back. But why hadn’t she called his cell phone? He briefly closed his eyes, remembering that he’d left his cell phone on the table in the cottage.

“I’ve called the resort and they will deliver dinner at three. Maybe you could whip us up some of your fabulous French toast for breakfast to hold us over.” Excitement filled her voice. “I can’t wait for you to see what I got you. Nathan.” Her voice deepened, turned sexy as she gazed up at him through thick lashes. “We haven’t christened this new bed.” She sat upon the mattress that smelled of sex and Paige and gave a little bounce. “Let me love you tonight.”