New York, Actually (From Manhattan with Love 4)

Ignore him? How?

Molly opened the laptop again and tried to focus, but it was impossible with Daniel’s mouth on her skin. His touch felt so insanely good she closed her eyes, forgetting the computer screen in front of her. Right now she didn’t care what Bored did with his life. The only thing on her mind was what Daniel was doing to her.

She hadn’t ever felt like this before. Not with Rupert. Not with anyone. For the first time in her life she wasn’t hiding anything and it was surprisingly liberating. Daniel knew about her mother. He knew about Rupert. He knew all of it. It was the simplest, easiest relationship she’d ever had and as a result she felt relaxed and uninhibited.

She turned and stood up, winding her arms around his neck. She felt his fingers tug at her ponytail until her hair came loose and tumbled over her shoulders. He gave an appreciative groan and speared it with his fingers.

“What about Bored? You owe him an answer.”

“I think he needs to ponder on his problem a little longer. It’s not good to rush these big decisions.” She grabbed the hem of his shirt, jerking it upward, and he ripped at her top, his movements frantic. Everything about it was unsteady and uneven, from his breathing to the urgency of his hands as he stripped her to her underwear. It turned her on to see him so out of control because she felt the same way herself.

“I don’t want to go out.” His tone was rough and raw, his mouth fused to the smooth flesh he’d just exposed. “I want to stay in and feast on you instead. I’ll cancel.”

“No! We have to go. I love Eva and I want to meet Lucas.” She slid her fingers into his hair and then his mouth collided with hers and talking plummeted right to the bottom of her list of priorities.

She glided her hands over his shoulders and he lifted her onto the desk as if she weighed nothing. She felt a delicious shiver of shock and wrapped her thighs around him. And still they kissed, as if it was something it wasn’t possible to stop doing.

She felt the powerful thrust of him against her and instinctively moved her hips to be closer.

His hands stroked down her thighs and then she felt the skilled, gentle slide of his fingers as he explored her intimately.

She wanted him desperately, frantically, and she reached down, fumbling with his zip and the fabric of his jeans. He covered her hand with his, forced her to pause while he reached for a condom and then slid into her with a smooth possessive thrust that sent electric excitement shooting through her. For a moment she stayed still, allowing her body time to accommodate the thickened thrust of him, and then he moved and there was only the perfect driving rhythm, the bite of his fingers on her thighs and the heat of his mouth on hers. They kissed all the way through it, through the frantic, sweaty coupling, through the shuddering excitement, through the explosive orgasm that gripped both of them.

It was so intense, so shocking, that afterward Mol

ly didn’t move. She stayed with her head on his chest, feeling the strength of his arms holding her, locked together in the most intimate way possible.

“Dear Aggie,” he murmured, scooping her hair back from her face, “there’s this woman, and I’m so crazy about her that if she walks past me I want to grab her and strip her naked. What can I do? Yours, No Self-control.”

She eased away and looked up at him, still trying to process what had just happened. They were both out of breath and his shoulders were slick with sweat. “Dear No Self-control,” she said, her voice husky, “sexual attraction that intense can be exciting, but no relationship can flourish if one party is arrested for performing a sex act in a public place. I suggest you make sure the woman in question only ever walks past you when you’re in private. And I’m sure that intense chemistry will soon wear off.”

“You think so? For the sake of my sanity and physical comfort, I’m banking on it.” He eased away from her. “Just in case it doesn’t, you’ll need to sit on the other side of the table tonight.”

“Good plan.” She slid off the desk and grabbed her clothes from the floor.

She just hoped being on the other side of the table would be enough.

* * *

“So your next book is out in July?” Daniel reached for some of Eva’s delicious homemade walnut bread. “When do I get my advance copy?”

“They came in yesterday.” Lucas poured the wine. “I can get you one if you’re interested.”

Eva shuddered. “Take my advice and refuse. The cover alone is enough to make me want to sleep with the lights on.”

Molly smiled. “You don’t read Lucas’s books?”

“I don’t let her,” Lucas drawled. “The only time she did, she woke me up with screaming nightmares.” He glanced at Daniel. “Remember that time she answered the door to you with a knife in her hand?”

“I assumed it was your special brand of hospitality.”

“It was the night he made me watch Hitchcock.” Eva was laughing so hard she could hardly speak. Turning to Lucas, she said, “I blame you totally. If you choose to scare me, you have to live with the consequences.”

Lucas shook his head. “I have to lock the door to my office when I’m not in there because she’s been known to change a sentence here and there.”

“It doesn’t hurt to make the characters kinder.”

“But that’s one of the things that’s so great about his characters.” Molly leaned forward, her food temporarily forgotten in her enthusiasm. “They’re complex. That guy in your last book was incredibly kind to his neighbor. He was a fascinating mix of sociopath and psychopath with a sprinkling of narcissistic personality.”