Touching Lace (Vaughn)

Okay, so she was into mystical mumbo-jumbo. He could work that to his advantage.

And damn she had a sexy voice.

He took his eyes off the road for a moment and glanced at Lacey. A small part of him believed in what she said. He really wanted to admit the truth. Hell, yes, he believed in love. He’d been in love with her from practically the beginning of their relationship. But Nick knew she wasn’t ready to hear that. The fact she hadn’t yet agreed to his plan was reason enough to hold back on his real feelings. One thing was obvious. Lacey was wound up and excited by the idea of being intimate with him. Nick knew a sense of primal pleasure when he saw the eager delight in the depths of her baby-blues. All her attention was on him tonight. It was enough to send his heart soaring to the heavens.

If he was forced to go home alone, to sleep in a cold bed, the least he could do is give her a taste of what he’d do to her once she surrendered.

With his eyes back on the road, he feigned a relaxed tone as he murmured, “I see what you mean now. And because I don’t want you to think I’m close-minded, how about I tell you my own version of magic?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Nick could see Lacey smiling over at him. His gut clenched in reaction. “Okay, I’m all ears.”

It was all the permission he needed. “Magic is going to be taking your clothes off. One small piece at a time, baby. So I can savor the sight of you.” He heard her startled breath and he smiled. Damn, he loved surprising her this way. Taking her off guard and slipping in under her defenses seemed the only way to reach the woman who lay just out of his reach.

“Magic is going to be bringing you to climax.” He looked at her, and even in the soft glow of the streetlights, he could see the way her face heated at his words. The talking was turning her on. He’d remember that little detail.

“I have a feeling you’re beautiful when you come.” She started to say something, but Nick turned his attention back to the road and kept right on talking. “It’s going to be magic, pure and raw and hot, when I slip inside you for the first time.”

He turned his SUV into her apartment complex and shut off the engine. “We’re here.”

“Uh-huh.”

She’d gone speechless, and he reveled in the knowledge. She was always so keyed up, so full of bubbling energy, to see her go all soft and quiet was a score for him. If he wanted to push, he could lean over and kiss her. Maybe entice her into inviting him up. Nick didn’t want her that way. He wanted her to want him for who he was. Not just to scratch an itch.

With that in mind, Nick took her hand off her lap, where she’d been clutching at her jean-clad leg, and placed a small kiss in the center of her palm. “I remember this one time when you tried to cook some gourmet meal for that asshole Jerry. You cut your finger. Right here,” Nick murmured, as he kissed the exact spot on the back of her index finger. “You broke up with him shortly after, claiming if it was Susie Homemaker he wanted, he was barking up the wrong dress. All I could think was how sweet your finger tasted against my lips when I kissed your boo-boo.” Nick looked back up at her and gruffly whispered, “Sweet dreams, baby.”

Lacey stared at him, slack-jawed for a moment then she began to frown in that mutinous way that had him grinning. She turned and opened her door and Nick chose to issue one other little demand.

“I’m not going to walk you up this time. I don’t want to be faced with the temptation of having your bed a few feet away. I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll meet at the gym and work out. You can give me your answer then, okay?”

Lacey nearly fell out of the door. “Tomorrow?” she squeaked.

“Yes, tomorrow.”

“I need more time.”

Nick winked at her. His little Lacey was backpedaling big time. “Do you, baby? Hmm, I wonder. How about we see what a good night’s sleep brings.”

She nodded, her lips firm and her back straight as a yardstick. As she shut the truck door a little too hard, he chuckled.

He watched her quick, even strides as she made her way inside the building. On the rare occasion that he didn’t walk her up, she would flip her lights to signal she was safely inside her apartment. Nick waited. When the lights flicked on and he saw Lacey standing at the window, he revved the engine and drove off, thoughts of her beautiful body filling his head.

Nick had had about enough of watching from the sidelines while she let other bozos have their way with her delectable body. Lacey Vaughn was fair game now. With any luck, by the time he was through with her, she’d see they could have something special together. Because he wasn’t about to let her walk away from him and into another man’s arms. Not ever again. His heart just couldn’t take it anymore.

He could sense her submitting to him, which meant she wasn’t quite as immune to his charms as he’d originally thought. A rush of possession ran through him, a foreign feeling for Nick. Apparently with Lacey, as far his emotions went, all bets were off. He had no idea what to expect. She affected him as no other woman ever had.

“Shit. Another cold shower.”

As Lacey watched Nick’s red taillights fade off into the distance, she became aware of one very important fact. She’d somehow managed to go from the frying pan and into the fire in a matter of hours.

When she’d broached the topic of magic, it was supposed to provide neutral conversation, but then she had to go and mention love. Nick’s seductively whispered words heated her body, and she’d forgotten her train of thought as erotic images filled her head. Not that she minded the heat, but coming from Nick, her best bud, it was all so unexpected.

Titillating, but unexpected.

She yanked at her shoes, not bothering to untie the laces first, and flung them aside. She started to pull off her clothes, tossing things willy-nilly, uncaring where they landed. Lacey was too old to change her slobbish ways. All she really wanted was to go to bed and forget about everything.

Slipping into her favorite flannel, penguin pajamas, Lacey replayed Nick’s words in her mind. He would expect an answer tomorrow, he’d said. God, the man was simply too much! Did he think she was going to fall into his arms and beg him to take her? Did he really think one night would be long enough for her to consider all the pros and cons of taking a perfectly good friendship and thrusting it to a new level of danger? Well, of course it wasn’t enough time.

As she crawled under her white goose-down comforter and flipped off the bedside lamp, Lacey couldn’t help thinking about the way his body moved. So fluid and masculine. He was every inch a hard, aggressive male, the kind she normally avoided as a sexual partner. Except in the privacy of her mind. At night, when no one was around, Lacey often let her thoughts wander into erotic territory. Only this time her mind was intent on having Nick fill the position of sexy lover. She’d be in a bucket load of want if her dreams took her where he wanted them to be. Maybe she should stay awake.