Need You Now (Love in Unknown) (15 page)

His breath hitched and his balls tightened. "Tease. Bet my hands would feel even better."

"Hmmm." She twirled her hair, mimicking the motion she always made when thinking through a serious problem. "You've been a good boy. But the lingerie stays on until I say so."

"You drive a hard bargain, Dr. Carr. Come here." He yanked her until she sprawled on top of him, then flipped so she was under him. Capturing her hands, he lifted them above her head and pinned them to the bed. Caine looked down at her, a starving man at an exquisite banquet, unsure where to start. It was his turn to tease now.

#

Mel utilized every yoga breathing method she’d ever learned to try and keep herself from panting. With her hands above her head, she was powerless against his teasing. “Too many delicious places to choose from,” he growled into her ear. “Where to begin?”

She wanted to make a suggestion that he start with the breasts that ached for his touch, but she held her tongue.
Don't give too much away if you want to keep the upper hand.

Instead, he started at her nose, moving across the line of her cheekbones, past her ears and down her neck. Little nibbling kisses that drew a deep blush wherever he touched. God, he was good. So good. She’d forgotten how strongly her body responded to his.

When he reached her collarbone, the nibbling changed to gentle nips that he soothed with long, slow swipes of his tongue. She pressed her lips closed to hold back a moan. As he worked his way along the lacy edge of the bra cup, she couldn’t stop a long sigh.

“Like that, do you? I’ve never forgotten how sensitive your beautiful breasts are. How responsive.”

To demonstrate his point, he moved the slow, wet kisses from her skin to the las covering her breasts. Fastening his hot mouth over the lace that protected her nipple, he sucked it in. Her breath caught in her throat as the tug sent a bolt of desire straight to her core. Involuntarily, her hips moved against him, held in place by his firm body. Still, he didn’t stop. The teasing didn’t stop either. For several long, deliciously maddening minutes, he showered attention first on one breast, and then the other.

“Caine. Please. I need…”

A warm hand slipped to cup her over the delicate panties, cutting off her fragmented thoughts.

“This?” He found her clit, massaging it. The mix of her own wetness and the lace had her sighing with pleasure, but she shook her head. Gasping for breath, she finally found the words.

“No. I need to feel you, skin to skin. I need you inside me. Now. Mo more waiting.”

To her everlasting relief, he slowly withdrew his hand and moved it to the waistband of the panties. With a rough gentleness that only increased the already painful ache at her core, he pushed them off of her, running his hand along the length of her leg as he went. As soon as he released her arms, she made quick work of her bra, tossing it aside like an old rag. He pulled away long enough to shove off his jeans and boxers. On his way back to her, he grabbed a condom out of the bedside table and tossed it beside her head.

Catching him off guard, Mel pushed against Caine’s shoulders, flipping him so she straddled his lap. The rock hard length of him jutted up against her, begging for attention. She knew how she wanted this. With shaking hands, she opened the condom package, sliding it over him with a slowness that was almost as painful for her as she knew it must be for him. They’d always desired each other, needed each other, but never with this much intensity.

She didn’t want this first reunion to be about either one of them on top of the other. Something deep inside of her needed this to be a joining of equal. Of partners. He must have read her mind, because he surged up, delving into a kiss so deep she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.

“Inside me. Now.” The words, though muffled by his mouth against hers, had the desired effect. Framing her hips, he lifted her, moving her into position. With torturous, tantalizing, delicious slowness, he slid into her. Situated as they were, his chest rubbing her breasts, his stomach against hers, she was able to take every wonderful inch of him in.

Even when he was finally inside her, Caine didn’t move at first. He waited until her eyes met his and locked. They stayed that way for a moment, breathing each other’s breaths, heartbeats synced to the same pounding staccato. Everything about this felt so real, so intimate. Even during her first time, the night she’d given him her virginity, she hadn’t felt this connected to him.

As one, they began to move, their hips as in tune to each other as their hearts. Every time he thrust, she moved her pelvis to meet him. Fire blasts of pleasure darted from the place where they were joined and went out to almost incinerate every cell. Bodies slick with sweat, they became thoroughly entwined, completely joined. With each passing minute, their rhythm increased and the pleasure inside her built. She shattered in his arms, her hips still moving, her body clenching his erection, only to feel herself rising again and again. The last time was too much for her to handle as she cried out before burying her face in the crook of his neck. Past his own breaking point, Caine groaned through his release.

Completely spent, but obviously unwilling to let her go, he collapsed backward on the comforter. Mel nuzzled into his neck, struggling to catch her breath. Thoughts swirled around her head, too numerous to make any sense.

Even when Caine gained enough energy to maneuver her between the sheets before going to the bathroom to clean up, then snuggled down beside her, they didn’t say anything to break the spell. This man had such a hold on her. She’d thought she’d escaped it, thought that what passed between them so long ago destroyed what she felt for him. She’d been wrong. Any other time that thought might have terrified her, but she was too sated to care about anything at the moment. Feeling like every bone in her body now had the consistency of pudding, Mel allowed sleep to claim her.

Caine had definitely accomplished his mission. She hadn’t felt this thoroughly relaxed in years. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

Chapter 10

Two thoughts popped into Melody’s mind once she finally surfaced from her first bone-deep sleep in years. First of all, she was immediately aware of a very warm, very hard, very male body pressed against her. Caine’s arm held her to his chest, her head in the cradle of his shoulder. She’d never woken up in his arms before. In college, if he’d slept in her dorm room, he would sneak out before anyone woke up.

The second thought she had was not nearly as pleasant as the first. It didn’t really surprise her though. She imagined any girl would have had the same reaction after spending the night in the arms of a man she’d sworn not to sleep with again. Especially when that man was the source of a great deal of pain and confusion for her.

I need to get out of here. Now.

The actual exit plan wouldn’t be easy. Caine was a light sleeper. Unless she stayed perfectly still, he could wake up any minute and make a potential quick exit awkward. Sleeping with Caine, while really fantastic, qualified as a mistake. A huge mistake. A bigger mistake than telling him about Andrew, if that was even possible. Moving forward and starting a new life did not mean she should go back and sleep with the only guy who’d ever had the power to hurt her. She couldn’t forget her eighteen-year-old self, curled up in her bed at home, sobbing and angry and scared while her father told Caine to stay away from her. Even if he had pampered her and clouded her judgment with good food, beautiful lingerie, and a look in his eyes that said he only saw her. And melted her defenses with words about how much he cared for her and trusted her.

Crap.

“Relax, sunshine. Even if you wanted to make your exit without waking me up, I drove you here, remember?” Caine’s sleep-roughened voice startled her. He tightened his arm around her and pulled her in to kiss her forehead, stubble rubbing her skin. A very firm, very insistent part of his anatomy pressed against the curve of her belly, reminding her of what he could make her feel.

Mel pulled away, burying her face in his chest. Damn it. That little detail hadn’t quite made it through her sex-addled brain yet. Only one option left: brazen it out. “How do you know that’s what I was thinking? Maybe I was trying to figure out how to sneak out of here to make you breakfast in bed.”

“You know, I would believe that,” he said, laughing, “except that you burn water if left alone in the kitchen. I get that you want to have some time to think alone, but I’m not going to let you do that until you have a good breakfast in your stomach.”

Mel watched as he rolled out of the giant bed, totally unconcerned with the fact that he was naked. Last night, she’d been vaguely aware of just how physically appealing his body was; now, in the morning light, she could appreciate every strong line of muscled covered by tanned skin. While she’d never her thought of herself as one of those women who ogled a man’s butt, Caine Maddox had one of the best examples of the male gluteus maximus she’d ever seen.

Enjoying the view, she waited for him to pull on a pair of ratty sweat pants and an old, gray Brown University t-shirt, faded to almost white with wear. Once he disappeared, she scrambled out of the bed and went in search of something to wear. The only real choice she had was to put on her clothes from the day before, although she put on the red lingerie underneath. If she made it up to her apartment quickly enough, no one would notice her doing the walk of shame in yesterday’s outfit.

Looking around the counter, she spotted a toothbrush and a comb. They’d shared a lot more than germs last night, she reasoned, Besides, she always felt more human after she went through her morning routine. Maybe she could even make it through breakfast without letting Caine gain anymore ground.

When she found her way back to the kitchen, Caine was whistling. It sounded a bit like “Make Someone Happy.” A quick look into the connecting dining room told her he’d already done the dishes from the night before. That, or he had his housekeeper lurking about. She chose to believe the latter. The less virtuous he seemed, the better.

A golden brown disk flipped in the air in front of Caine. “Still like pancakes?”

“Yes,” She said, taking a seat on one of the barstools. “You really didn’t need to do this, you know. A ride home would have been enough.”

He smirked at her as he carried two plates over to the bar. “Men make things too easy for you, pretty girl. Gage and Micah let you get your way too much. You need someone who’ll challenge you. Push back when you need it.”

“And I suppose you think that’s you?” She raised an eyebrow as she sliced into her pancakes. God, he was arrogant. “Challenge is a good word for you.”

Mel turned, looking him straight on. Those blue eyes of his tried to melt her, but she held strong. “But I want to make one thing clear, Caine. I know we said some things last night, but it doesn’t change anything. There’s too much between us. Too much…”

“Chemistry?” Caine offered. “Passion? Lu—“

She covered his mouth with her hand, just as he started to stick a syrup-covered bite in. Sticky sweetness smeared over her hand. “Too much baggage. I might be able to trust you, but that doesn’t mean we can be together.”

He wrapped his hands around her wrist, turning it over so he could kiss away the syrup in a slow, lazy motion, his tongue flicking out to aid the process. “That didn’t seem to be a problem last night. But I’ll let you go circle the wagons for now. Just know this, Melody. I’m not going anywhere.”

Mel blew out a slow breath. Her insides might turn to Jello when he looked at her that way, touched her that way, but she couldn’t give in. She’d learned a long time ago never to trust a pair of too blue eyes and a skilled tongue. It only led to heartbreak and disaster.

#

“Baggage. She said we had too much baggage.”

Caine tossed a baseball back to his brother. He’d called Gage over for steaks, baseball, and to come up with a battle plan. He’d driven Mel home in silence yesterday morning after breakfast and hadn’t been able to settle since then. She’d surprised him with her ability to close herself off from him, especially after how wild she’d been in bed. A woman who shared that much of herself between the sheets couldn’t be nearly as detached as she wanted him to believe.

“She’s kind of right,” Gage said, returning the ball. “Both of you went about everything so half-assed the first time and Mel came out more than a little bruised.”

Caine put a little extra force into the next throw, venting his frustration. He hated that his brother knew more about Mel’s reasons for ending things between them than he did. “She’s the one who ended things. Not the other way around.”

He’d come back from the Caribbean ready to fully commit to her, to give up the pretense of being in a no-strings attached relationship. They hadn’t been in a casual relationship then, no matter what they’d told themselves and he was ready to admit that. Instead, she’d let her dad send him away because he wasn’t good enough for Ethan Carr’s little girl. He was too wild, too selfish. At least that’s what Ethan had told him. Stupid kid he was back then, he hadn’t fought back. Things would be different this time.

“Mel’s brain is a seriously complicated thing.” Gage shook his head. “There’s more baggage with her than just what happened between y’all.”

“She told me about Andrew the Asshole. That doesn’t change anything. I told her that.” Caine threw the ball up in the air in front of him. “She say anything to you?”

The look on his brother’s face told Caine he wouldn’t get anything by prying now. One of the traits that made Gage a fantastic police chief was his ability to play things very close to the vest. He probably knew more about the people of Unknown than anyone else, but he never said a word. He just did his job and kept people safe.

“Any hints how I can help her get past these issues enough to give me a second chance? Because seducing her with a champagne, chocolates, and fancy lingerie didn’t work for very long.”