Secretly Craving You Page 10

  Emily straightened and pulled back, heat and mortification scorching her. "You knew?" How had he seen her? She thought she'd been hidden.

  His grin widening devilishly, he drew her into his arms again, his hands circling her waist. "Yeah, I saw you. You naughty little voyeur." His hard cock twitched against her belly.

  Realization dawned, searing her with excitement. "You wanted me to watch."

  He shrugged. "If you wanted to. Hell, it turned me on, big time." His gaze grew darker, more serious and his voice lower and deeper. "I wanted to make you wet, even then."

  "You did make me wet," she confessed. It was a secret she'd kept to herself for three years, but it felt good to finally tell him.

  His raw honesty about wanting to turn her on and his commanding tone of possessiveness excited her. Even when she'd been married to his brother he'd wanted to arouse her? Though she should be disgusted or angry, she was actually breathless with disbelief and some fragile emotion she didn't know the name of.

  Could she be falling in love with Nick?

  Chapter Ten

  What the hell had just happened? All Nick knew was that he'd experienced the most stunning, scorching orgasm of his life. To know he'd made her wet, while she'd been watching three years ago, made him crazy. His need for her was so much more than simple physical arousal; it possessed him, body, mind and soul.

  Holding Emily under the warm shower spray, he wanted to tell her he'd fantasized he was having sex with her that night, three years ago, instead of Cassie. But now didn't seem like the best time. It wasn't something he was proud of. He had been curious about what she'd thought, and whether she'd gotten aroused by watching. Emily and Jared probably had sex on their wedding night, of course. He knew that, but he didn't like it. What he kept wondering was whether she had been thinking of Jared or Nick at the time.

  He'd had no claim on her, yet jealousy stabbed at him, and guilt gored him. Damn. He'd always worried he'd somehow caused their divorce. But he couldn't have. He was miles away by then. And one little voyeurism session shouldn't cause a divorce.

  Truth was Jared had destroyed their marriage because he'd been unfaithful. That was one thing Nick could never understand—why marry someone if you weren't absolutely certain you could be faithful? He wasn't the most traditional person, but he believed in keeping his word. A vow was a promise that should never be broken.

  Nick hadn't visited Jared and Emily during their marriage, except for having a beer with Jared one day when he was in Savannah. By necessity, he'd kept away from Emily. She might see the truth in his eyes—that he craved her more than a junkie craved a drug.

  But Emily, submissively on her knees before him moments ago, telling him exactly what she wanted to do to him…

  Mmm, I want to eat you up.

  When his cock had slid into her sweet mouth, and her plump, sensual lips stretched to accommodate his girth, she'd annihilated his self-control. Her tongue stroking, her teeth lightly scraping over the head of his cock had rocketed him toward orgasm so fast his head spun. That was a decadent, forbidden pleasure he'd never thought would happen with Emily.

  A fantasy.

  But no more. Now it was real, but he still couldn't believe it.

  When she'd stared up into his eyes, showing him how turned on she was, how much she was eagerly enjoying going down on him, he'd lost it. He'd never be able to tell her how much that meant to him.

  He turned off the shower, stepped out, then toweled her dry. He wanted to kiss and lick all her sweet spots, but restrained himself. He had to maintain control before he did something he would regret.

  She retrieved another blue towel from the bar and brushed it over his wet skin.

  "That feels good." He caught himself noticing the gentleness of her touch, attentive and caring. He had never noticed such things about a woman before. Usually, he didn't give a damn whether they were caring or simply horny.

  But with Emily, he noticed a lot of things about her, like that happy sparkle in her eyes. The adorable way she bit her lip when she was unsure. The way her eyes widened and her skin flushed pink when he shocked her, or the way her pupils dilated and her lashes lowered when she was turned on. He enjoyed observing the many moods and expressions that crossed her face.

  He shook his head, unable to believe he was naked with the woman of his fantasies. A woman who wasn't even supposed to be his type. A woman forbidden to him. And yet, she was so beautiful, his chest ached anytime he glimpsed her. That red-hot innocent gleam in her eyes was endlessly exciting.

  He loved making her moan and scream in pleasure.

  "I need to tell you something," she said.

  "What?" He helped her slide her arms into her silky pink robe.

  "I think that marble phallus has supernatural powers."

  He frowned. "Why?"

  "The times I've held it in my hands, I've felt more aroused than normal."

  Unexpected lust spiked through him at her mention of being more aroused than normal, but he had to focus on the important issue. If the object was paranormal, that could explain its value and why someone would kill for it. "Are you sure?"

  She nodded. "Do you want to try holding it and see if it works for you?"

  He pulled on his jeans, carefully zipping them over his growing erection. "I don't need anything to make me any hornier than I already am. But I'll give it a try. If it has aphrodisiacal powers, that could make it far more sought after and valuable."

  Trying to hide her naughty grin, she nodded and headed out the door. He lightly smacked her adorable ass beneath the robe, making her giggle, then followed her.

  Upstairs in her bedroom, she removed the stone penis, still in the plastic bag, from the safe and brought it to him.

  He held it in his hands, examining it as closely as he could through the plastic.

  "Do you feel tingling warmth, starting in your hands and spreading through your body?" she asked.

  Not feeling anything unusual, he shook his head. "No. Does it make you feel that way?" He handed it to her.

  After a few seconds, she nodded, her lashes drifting lower over her darkening eyes. Damn, she looked hot.

  He took the marble penis from her and held it, trying to feel what she was talking about. It just felt like a cold piece of stone to him. "Any arousal I feel right now is because I'm standing beside you," he said.

  She came closer and rose onto her tiptoes to give him a kiss. He laid the artifact on the dresser and pulled her into his arms. Damn, how he loved holding her and kissing her. He lifted her and laid her gently on the bed, then stretched out beside her.

  "Do you know how gorgeous and sexy you are right now?" he murmured against her lips.

  "I could ask you the same thing, Nick," she said in a husky tone. The way she said his name made his stiff cock twitch with frissons of excitement.

  Mmmm, her soft lips were divine. He parted them with his tongue and delved inside. Her tongue teased and tangled with his. Then, she sucked at his tongue, reminding him of how she'd sucked his cock. He felt like a villain for corrupting innocent little Emily. But it couldn't be helped. She'd made it clear what she wanted to do in the shower.

  Her fingers skittered down his stomach and rubbed against his cock through his jeans. Pleasure coiled through him, making him even harder.

  "Naughty girl."

  She nodded and licked at his lips. Arousal thundered through him. She could turn him into a wild man in ten seconds flat.

  Capturing her exploring hand so he could think, he laced his fingers with hers. He didn't know what the hell he was doing with her. He only knew once he crossed that line there was no going back.

  Guilt still gnawed at him, but that wasn't all. Never had sex represented such a weighty decision. Maybe because he'd wanted her for three long years, and now that burning lust had mushroomed into something profound that he could no longer understand. Was his mind playing tricks on him or was he falling hard for her? He didn't know. He only knew he had to be
honest with her before they went any further.

  "I have a confession to make," he said.

  "What?"

  "That night, three years ago, when you were watching…I was wishing that had been you with me. I know it makes me a bastard, but I was fantasizing about you, even then, on your wedding day while I was having sex with another woman. I know I'm twisted, but that's the truth. Hate me for it if you want."

  Biting her lower lip, Emily shyly lifted her dark blue gaze to his. "Then we're both twisted," she whispered. "I was wishing I was in her place, too. I felt extremely guilty. I loved Jared—at least I thought I did—but I was so attracted to you, it was insane. I had to pretend it was nothing. I tried to tell myself that any woman would feel that way because you're so sexy and gorgeous, but it didn't help. Months later, when I found out Jared had been cheating, I was hurt, of course. But I was also afraid it was my fault."

  Shaking his head, Nick frowned. Her words made his stomach ache. How was it possible they were experiencing similar things? The same want, need and guilt. "It wasn't your fault. He shouldn't have married you if he was only going to cheat on you and hurt you."

  A small, sad smile lifted her lips. "Well, as you know, he married me for my name and my family. Connections. And his parents approved of me."

  Nick snorted. That didn't surprise him. "He always did a lot of ass-kissing around them. Whatever they wanted him to do, he did, whether it was what he wanted or not."

  "I noticed. Why did he do that?"

  "Greed. He thought he'd inherit everything. None for black-sheep-Nick if Jared played his cards right, and if I kept annoying them."

  "What did you do to annoy them?" Emily asked.

  Hell, what didn't he do? They'd approved of very few of his actions and decisions from the time he was a kid. "I became a cop. They wanted me to be a lawyer."

  "Why did you want to be a cop?"

  He observed her for a long moment, wondering if she could understand. Not everyone did, but she deserved to know what drove him. And at the moment, he felt closer to her than he had to anyone in a long time.

  "When I was seventeen, a good friend of mine died of a drug overdose," Nick said. "He'd only been using a couple of weeks. I tried to get him not to take any more, but he was already addicted to the hard stuff." Nick shook his head, remembering how powerless he'd felt when trying to help Donovan. "It was such a damned waste. I know it was his own fault, but I couldn't help but blame the bastard who was selling to him. That's when I made the decision to become a police officer. I wanted to stop the dealers from getting to the kids who were too young to make such big decisions and destroying their lives."

  "Wow," she whispered, her eyes growing a bit misty. "I admire you more than I can say for that." She kissed his chest.

  "Thanks." He hugged her to him and kissed the top of her head, grateful that she understood.

  "I don't get why your parents aren't proud of you for the same reason."

  Nick snorted. Jared had accepted his decision. His parents were a different story. Even now, there was a rift in their relationship because of it. One day he wanted to patch that up, if they were willing.

  "Their disapproval of me goes all the way back to childhood. I got into trouble more than Jared, everything from accidentally breaking windows to crashing a car when I was sixteen." Nick shrugged. "I was a hell-raiser, pure and simple. They couldn't deal with that. I was supposed to be uptight Ivy League material."

  Emily stroked his face, her caring fingers brushing across his stubble. With dark blue eyes, she gazed at him with intensity. "You may be a bad boy, but you're way better than Ivy League material." She kissed him, then pulled back.

  He grinned, feeling her steal his soul little by little. Dammit, he was falling for her, and he didn't know how to climb back out of this pit of ensnaring need and hungry desire…or even if he wanted to. His heart pounded with excitement…and a little fear. In his job, he knew fear intimately, but he never let it stop him from doing what he had to do.

  He kissed her palm. "When I first saw you, I thought, damn, she's so beautiful and classy. But that sparkle in your eye told me something else."

  She lifted a brow, giving him a mischievous look. "What?"

  "That you had a hidden wild side."

  "Apparently, I do," she said, playful and breathy, trailing a hand down his abdomen. "You brought it out."

  He loved knowing he was the one who inspired her naughty, sexual side. "What do you fantasize about?" Nick asked, wanting to understand and uncover everything about her.

  "You really want to know?"

  "Yes."

  Emily pulled back a few inches, wanting to gauge his expression when she told him the truth. "You. I always fantasize about you."

  His pupils dilated, his lashes lowered and he seemed to take in every detail of her face. "And what are we doing in these fantasies?" he asked, his voice deep and curious.

  "Making love. Every kind of sex imaginable. Sometimes it isn't a fantasy at all. It's a memory of you wearing that kilt. You threw off the shirt, lifted the kilt and…that woman went down on you."

  "That woman?" He chuckled. "Wasn't she a friend of yours?"

  "Years ago, in college. Not so much after that."

  "So, what did you see that you liked?"

  "Your naked body. Your cock. The way you moved. You took her to the couch and…pounded her hard." Sultry animal sex, like she craved. He'd actually driven his cock into that bitch, making her scream out in pleasure. Sharp jealousy stabbed through Emily.

  "Did it turn you on?" he asked.

  "At the time. But now, not so much." Emily made sure some of her annoyance came through in her tone. "Clearly, you liked her better than you like me."

  "What?" He frowned. "You're out of your mind."

  "You gave her what she wanted. But you won't give it to me."

  Shaking his head, he chuckled, but there was little humor in it. "You have no idea, Emily."

  "About what?"

  "How fucking bad I want you." His voice was low and forceful, his face hard with passion.

  Arousal and emotion surged through her. "Then why—"

  "Oh shit!" Nick leapt from the bed.

  "What's wrong?" she asked.

  The sound of shattering glass from downstairs riveted her attention.

  Chapter Eleven

  "That sonofabitch is breaking in," Nick said.

  "Oh my god!" Emily jumped off the bed, fear lancing through her.

  "Go into the bathroom and lock the door. Hell, I left my gun in my room." Glancing around, he growled a string of four letter words. "Do you have a gun in here?"

  Yanking on a pair of panties, she shook her head. "I don't own a gun."

  "A knife? Mace? A baseball bat?"

  "No." She could hardly think, much less search for a makeshift weapon.

  "Then how the hell do you protect yourself? We're going to have a serious talk after this." He grabbed a heavy Victorian fire poker from beside the fireplace. It was an antique and valuable, but she knew some things had to be sacrificed.

  "Go into the bathroom and lock the door. Now," he ordered.

  She nodded at the same time the bedroom door crashed inward.

  Panic exploding inside her, she screamed. Nick swung the sharp iron poker at the black-clothed intruder's head, but struck him on the arm he lifted instead. Wearing a ski mask, the bastard jumped back and pointed his gun at Emily.

  Oh my god!

  "Hold it right there or I shoot your girlfriend!"

  Staring at Emily with a fierce expression, Nick froze and slowly lowered the fire poker. "She's done nothing to you."

  "Do you think that matters?" The intruder moved toward her. She shrank backward against the bathroom door. He grabbed her arm, yanked her forward and pressed the gun to her temple.

  Oh shit! Icy fear covered her.

  His face blanching, Nick dropped the poker. "Let her go! She's innocent." His voice was low and demanding.


  "Ha. She doesn't look innocent. You both know what I want. And I know you have it. I followed you to a museum today. Why would you go there carrying a briefcase unless you have the Clach Torach?"

  Eying him in that creepy black ski mask, Emily tried to figure out if she'd seen him somewhere before. But based on his medium height, blue eyes, non-descript mouth and bland voice, he didn't seem the least bit familiar.

  "We don't have anything," Emily said, hoping the psycho wouldn't see the artifact on the dresser among her other knickknacks. If he got what he wanted, he'd kill them, wouldn't he?

  "You're a bad liar, sweetheart." He leaned close to her and breathed into her ear.

  Revulsion shuddered through her.

  "Get your fucking hands off her!" Nick demanded.

  "Give me the Clach Torach or I'm putting a bullet in her brain," he ordered.

  "All right. But if you hurt her—"

  "I won't hurt her unless you're too slow!"

  Frozen in place, Emily hardly dared breathe. This disgusting creep had a bruising grip on her arm and the gun muzzle was way too close to her head. Her stomach churned and she hoped she didn't throw up.

  Nick picked up the stone penis from the dresser within the bag and held it out to him.

  "Yes, yes," the man hissed near her ear, as if in near ecstasy himself. "Now place it on the bed and leave the room."

  "Emily's coming with me," Nick said firmly.

  "No. Emily's going to help me with something." He rubbed his face against her hair.

  Ugh! She drew away from him, but he held her fast.

  "What?" Nick glared.

  "I have to test this thing and see if it does what it's supposed to."

  "And what is it supposed to do?" Nick asked, his gaze arrow sharp.

  "Give the man who uses it on a woman untold sexual powers."

  Emily's nausea intensified.

  "And how do you plan to use it?"

  "It's a dildo, Einstein. How do you think?"

  "You're fucking insane if you think I'm letting you do that," Nick growled.