Private Arrangements Read online

  He glanced over at the waiter who had wheeled in the table set for two. “No, that will be all,” he said, signing the invoice.

  He was closing the door behind the man when Nikki returned. “Whatever it is smells good,” she said.

  Not as good as you smell and look, sweetheart, he thought, turning around and scanning her up and down. He really liked that outfit on her, admired the way the material clung to her hips and her rounded bottom and accentuated her curves. And then there were the shoes she was wearing. The sling backs did some serious business to her shapely legs.

  He then recalled what she’d said earlier about walking the Strip after their dinner. Not by a long shot. Little did she know he had plans for her after they ate. Um, he could easily switch the timing of those plans to before dinner without much hassle. The food would keep and they would definitely have worked up an appetite for it later.

  “I took the liberty of selecting something off the menu. I hope you don’t mind. I understand you’re a seafood lover and shrimp is your favorite.”

  “Yes, that’s right. How did you know?

  A smile touched his lips. “That’s my secret.”

  He decided not to tell her he made it his business to know about any woman in whom he was interested. However, he would admit he had taken more interest in finding out things about her than any other woman before.

  Before she could ask him to divulge those secrets, he said, “Now it’s my turn to wash my hands. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Nikki watched Jonas walk away. All the Steele men had a sexy walk—even the old man—but she thought Jonas’s was the sexiest. And the way his shoulders moved while the thick wavy hair flowed around his shoulders was eye-catching. She had never thought she would be attracted to a man who had more hair on his head than she did, but Jonas had proved her wrong.

  He had also proved her wrong about something else as well—that she couldn’t want him any more than she had before. And that surprised her, especially after that pep talk she’d given herself on the plane and most recently the one she’d had before stepping onto the elevator that had brought her to his penthouse suite. The look on his face when he had opened the door had reminded her of that night at Mavericks, when he had stared at her that same way.

  She must be imagining things, especially since they’d reached an agreement. And they had reached an agreement, hadn’t they? He would be keeping his hands to himself. No more kisses, no more intense attractions or talk of an affair, right? Then why did she feel he was stripping her naked with his gaze each and every time he looked at her? And why was she stripping him naked with hers? Her mind was envisioning what he was packing underneath his slacks and shirt. And why did she want to see it for herself just for the hell of it?

  She drew in a deep breath, not believing the way her thoughts were going tonight. But then why was she so surprised? Brittany had warned her about the battle—her head versus her heart. Her head wanted Jonas, the man, with all his flaws. Even if it was just to say she’d gotten a taste of the forbidden and was able to enjoy it and move on.

  But her heart was singing another song—one of Love and Happiness—and intended to give Al Green a run for his money. Her heart didn’t want her to waste her time on a man like Jonas, a man who could take that same heart, if given the chance, and break it. A man who would get what he wanted and then walk away without looking back.

  Her heart wanted more. It felt it deserved more, and although there was no sign of a Mr. Right out there for her just yet, her heart didn’t want her to give up too soon.

  “Ready?”

  She blinked upon realizing Jonas had returned. When she felt intense heat stir the lower part of her belly, she tore her gaze away from his, thinking of all the things she could be ready for. Those mesmerizing green eyes had an unnerving effect and were messing with her mind. They were hypnotic, spellbinding and luring her not to think straight.

  “So are you going to stand over there, or will you join me over here, Nikki?”

  The impact of his question had her staring at him. They were still talking about sharing dinner, weren’t they? Then why were emotions she always downplayed around him suddenly forcing their way to the forefront? Confusing her mind? Suffusing her with heated warmth at the juncture of her thighs?

  Nikki slowly crossed the room to where he stood beside the table. She had thought he would pull out the chair for her, and when he just stood there and stared at her, she felt her heart almost racing out of control. He moved and stepped closer, not just to crowd her space but to get all into it and take command. Hot shivers flowed through her.

  And why was he wearing the scent of a man, a sensual aroma that was inebriating her senses? Her heart was being pushed to the background, where only her head was speaking, and what it was saying wasn’t good. Definitely not smart.

  Get real, girl! You claim you want to make the transition from a woman who believes in fantasies to a woman who realizes the real fantasies are the ones you make for yourself. There are no knights in shining armor, just rogues in aluminum foil. At least you know where this one stands and there won’t be any expectations on your part. Cross over to the desire side by doing a smash and grab. Smash what has proved to be idealistic baloney once and for all, and grab what could be an experience of a lifetime.

  She swallowed, hearing all the things her head was saying, but still, when he took a step even closer, her heart fought back and she couldn’t stop the words. “If I remember correctly, things were going to be strictly business between us, Jonas.”

  A smile curved his lips. “Um, that’s not how I remember things.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “And just what do you remember?” His scent was driving her crazy, breaking down her defenses even more.

  He inched closer, and she felt him, his aroused body part pressed against her middle. Instead of recoiling from it, she felt fire rush through her veins and race up her spine. That same head that was trying to fill her mind with naughty thoughts began spinning. It was kicking out her common sense and replacing it with a whole lot of nonsense. Making her wonder such things as how it would feel to slide her fingertips along that aroused member, cup him in her hand, taste him in her mouth and—

  “I distinctively recall a promise to give you what you wanted,” he said, interrupting her thoughts and lowering his head down to breathe the words across her lips. “And I intend to push you over the edge, Nikki Cartwright, and make sure you want me.”

  And when he captured his mouth with hers, she knew she didn’t stand a chance because she was a goner the minute he slid his tongue inside her mouth.

  Chapter 8

  Jonas had developed a taste for Nikki from their first kiss. That had to be the reason he was taking her mouth with an urgency that was stirring all kinds of emotions within him. It didn’t matter that her mouth felt like pure satin beneath his or that her lips were a perfect fit. The only thing that mattered was the way they were connecting so intimately to his as he sank deeper and deeper into the warmth of her mouth.

  Tangling with a woman’s tongue had never driven him to the point where lust ruled his senses. The fire that had built up inside of him was blazing out of control, and that was the one thing he never lost with a woman. Control. And he knew at that moment there was no way he could regain it.

  There was nothing he could do to stop the flow of adrenaline that was rushing through his body, drowning his pores and playing hell with his molecules. And his erection was throbbing fiercely, sending a sensual warning that if he didn’t pull back now, there would be no pulling back later.

  If he didn’t ease his shaft inside of her, penetrate her deep while she moaned, thrust in and out and make her cream all over him, he would lose his mind. He wanted to make love to her so badly he could hardly stand it, and the thought of doing so sent shivers th
rough him.

  What he felt wasn’t just desire, it was hard-core desire. And he refused to waste his time trying to figure out why. He’d done so for eighteen months and still didn’t have a clue.

  He continued to kiss her as if her tongue had been created just for him to enjoy. And he could tell she was enjoying it too from the way her fingertips were digging into his shoulders. Her moans sounded so starkly sexual they were tapping into his emotions, both physical and mental, and he knew of no way to stop them.

  The need to breathe made him break off the kiss, and he stared up at her while every muscle in his body tightened in yearning. “I suggest that you tell me to stop now, Nikki, because if you don’t, I plan to mate with you all over this place.”

  He paused a moment and then decided to add, “And just so you’ll know, when I finish with you, the last thing you’ll have energy for is a walk down Vegas Boulevard.”

  He’d been so brutally honest, but he felt that she deserved to know what she was up against. He had a fierce sexual appetite, and with her it would take a long time to be appeased. There was something about her that was tempting everything male inside of him. And there could only be one possible outcome.

  Jonas watched the rise and fall of her breasts as she tried getting her breathing under control. He saw by the V-neckline of her shirt that she was wearing a pink bra. He couldn’t help wondering if her panties were pink as well. That curiosity had him shifting his gaze back to her eyes and what he saw in them almost made it difficult to breathe.

  Although she might never admit it to him or to herself, she wanted him as much as he wanted her. There was no if, and, or but about it. The eyes looking back at him were full of fire. As much fire as he felt thrumming through his loins right now. And at that moment, he planned on making good on what he’d told her. He intended to push her over the edge. Right onto her back with him on top.

  He leaned in and slanted his mouth over hers again. His hands moved from her waist, slid down to cup her bottom and squeezed it gently before bringing it closer to the fit of him. Without releasing his hold on her mouth, he shifted to bring his hard erection closer to the juncture of her thighs, eliciting an automated sigh from deep within her throat. He liked the sound.

  And he especially liked how she arched her back, bringing the firm tips of her breasts into his chest like heated darts, and sending shock waves of pleasure riveting through him. He felt hot inside and was burning in places that had never burned before. He moved closer, needing her curvaceous body even closer to his.

  This time she was the one who pulled back from the kiss. But before she could draw in a quick breath he was unbuttoning her shirt as swiftly as his fingers could move to do so, trying like hell not to rip any in his haste. She hadn’t told him to stop so he planned to make good on his threat. There was no way he could walk away from this, from her, even with all those red warning signs flashing him all in the face.

  Without wasting time he went to the front clasp of her sexy, pink lace bra and unhooked it, freeing the most luscious-looking breasts he’d ever seen and soliciting a growl that erupted from deep in his throat.

  His hands went still as he lifted his gaze from her breasts to her eyes. It seemed as if time stood still as their gazes connected, held, fused in a way that just wasn’t rational. But at that moment, he couldn’t break eye contact even if he wanted to.

  Silence surrounded them and the air seemed electrified, charged, pricked with an element so sensual, the components were unknown to mankind. There was this unexplained and undefined chemistry between them. They’d gotten primed, ready, saturated in lust, and there was no turning back. No letting mere kisses suffice any longer. No more denying what they both truly wanted, although they should be fighting it. That was no longer an option. They wanted the real deal and wouldn’t waste any more time getting it.

  Nikki hadn’t expected this, an odd surge of passion that splintered everything within her—every logical thought, every ounce of common sense. Instead she was feeling a burst of freedom that she’d never felt before and it was rejuvenating her all through her bones. She wanted this. She wanted him. She no longer cared that her head was winning the battle and her heart was losing this round. The main thing was that there was another war going on inside of her and it had nothing to do with logic, and everything to do with need.

  And what she needed at that moment was to make love with Jonas. No matter how many regrets she might have in the morning, she needed him to touch her, make love to her all over the place just like he’d threatened to do. So she stood there and watched him. Waited with bated breath.

  Now she understood the reputation he had attained. In the confines of the sauna rooms, ladies’ clubs and sorority meetings, the feminine whispers discreetly echoed around town that when it came to lovemaking, bad-boy Jonas Steele had a finesse that could be patented. She’d never doubted it then, and she was seeing it in action firsthand now.

  He slowly lowered his gaze to travel down her body, and she felt the heat of his green orbs on her breasts. Her hardened nipples seemed to tighten even more before his eyes. She felt it and knew he had to be seeing it.

  “I need to suck on them, Nikki. I need to let my tongue wrap around them. I need to lick them.”

  His words broke the silence and suddenly the air oozed with need. A need that was unbearable and fueled by a lusty craving. Her gaze followed the masculine hands that reached up to push both her shirt and bra from her shoulders, bearing the upper part of her breasts to him. From the look in his eyes, he more than liked what he saw.

  Before he could make a move she decided to play the Jonas Steele game by reaching out and all but snatching the shirt off his body, ripping buttons in the process and ignoring the fact that replacing the shirt would cost a pretty penny. At the moment she didn’t care.

  Nikki saw the tattoo on his stomach, a huge, raging bull. It was appropriate since he had the stamina of one. She was tempted to lick his stomach to soothe as well as tame such a fierce-looking animal. Then she would move lower and let her tongue wrap around him like he planned to do her.

  Do her.

  The thought of him doing her made the juncture of her thighs cream. And she felt the thickening moisture drench her panties. She tightened her legs together as sensations flared in her womanly core.

  If he was surprised by the way she’d torn the shirt from his body he didn’t show it. It seemed he was just as pushed over the edge as she was. And like her, he had inwardly conceded there was no turning back. No more discussions. From here on out there would only be action.

  Her head had taken over big-time, filling her mind with thoughts of doing him, and acting out the part of the vixen she’d bragged to Brittany she was but had never truly been. She suddenly wanted to see if she could handle the role.

  “You’ve done it now, sweetheart.”

  His words, laced with hot caution, spoken in that deep baritone of his, didn’t scare her any. If anything they sent shivers of anticipation racing through her body at the same time they kicked her courage and confidence levels up a notch.

  Before Nikki could dwell on anything else, Jonas reached out and pulled her to him in a way that had them tumbling to the carpeted floor, though he made sure his body cushioned her fall. Trying to regain the breath that had been snatched right from her lungs, she glanced down at him at the same moment she realized she was sprawled on top of him, her limbs entwined with his. She was shirtless and her skirt was hiked high enough she could feel air hitting her almost bare bottom. She felt her womanly core react to the hard erection pressing against it.

  “Kiss me,” he rasped before pulling her mouth down to his and immediately sliding his tongue between her lips. Sexual energy between them was surging out of control and she felt it in the sensual mating of their mouths.

  Her senses were overwhelmed with th
e scent and feel of him at almost every angle. Their bodies writhed against each other, as if they couldn’t get close enough, and his hands lifted her skirt even higher to palm her backside. His fingers traced a sensuous path along the crevice as if to verify she was actually wearing a thong. And then he released her mouth to latch on to a nipple, sucking it between his lips the way she’d seen him do that Tootsie Pop earlier.

  Nikki moaned deep in her throat and felt her inner muscles contract with the sucking motion of his mouth on her breasts. He wasn’t just trying to taste her, he was consuming her and propelling her body into quivers that rammed all through her. She had made love before, but never like this and never with this intensity or greed. And what frightened her even more was knowing there was pleasure still yet to be fulfilled. Areas yet to be discovered.

  She moaned again when his mouth moved to her other breast, sucked another nipple between his teeth as if his very life depended on it. And now his hands were no longer torturing her bottom but had traveled to the front, eased between their connected bodies, slid underneath the waistband of her thong to begin toying in her now drenched feminine folds, stirring up the air with her scent.

  He suddenly released her breast and gave her only a second to see the smile that curved his lips before he flipped her on her back so she was staring up at him. Before she could blink he had removed the shoes from her feet, and proceeded to jerk her thong and skirt down her hips and toss them aside, leaving her completely bare. Naked as the day she was born.

  She held her breath as his gaze roamed up and down her body from head to toe, and she actually felt the hot path his gaze took and knew what areas it concentrated on before moving on to another. Then he was lifting her legs, hoisting them high up on his shoulders and bringing his face up close and personal to her bikini-cut feminine mound.

  He leaned forward and she felt intense heat from his nostrils when he took his nose and pressed it against her, rubbed it up and down in her as if to inhale her scent as deep into his nasal cavity as he could. And then his nose was replaced with the tip of his tongue that jabbed through her folds, straight for her clit.