Watching Nico do his thing in the kitchen had been sexy as hell. A man who had the patience to simmer a sauce all day had the wherewithal to pleasure a woman with just as much attention to detail.
God, it’d been so long since I’d had sex with another human being.
On the tail of that mournful thought, Nico returned, saying, “The car is coming. He should be here in a few minutes.”
“Oh! Yes, th-thank you,” I said, stumbling on my words, sounding to my own ears like an idiot. I shouldered my purse and started to reach for Grady, but Nico wasn’t having it and instead hoisted my boy up like he weighed nothing. Grady, adorable in sleep, his lips pursed, simply lay against Nico’s shoulder as if it were natural to do so. “You don’t have to do that, I can carry him,” I said, troubled by how much I liked the sight of Nico holding Grady. What the hell had Nico put in that spaghetti sauce? I was clearly losing my mind.
“Nonsense,” Nico said, going to the door. “Like I’m going to send you and the boy down to the car by yourselves. The city at night is no place for a mom and her son to be alone. I’ll feel better knowing you made it safely to the car.”
Again with the tingling. Were my ovaries doing the polka? “That’s very nice of you,” I said, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth. Maybe I’d had too much wine. I wasn’t thinking clearly. But I couldn’t quite help but wonder if maybe I’d misjudged Nico earlier. He’d been nothing but an entertaining and gracious host tonight. Aside from the one comment, he’d been on his best behavior.
And I hadn’t hated the fact that he’d noticed my ass.
I purposefully downplayed my looks and figure because I didn’t want to deal with the complications of entanglements, but I’d forgotten how good it felt to be noticed by the opposite sex.
To see that banked hunger in a man’s eyes.
To know that they were interested.
But I didn’t want Nico to be interested in me.
At least, the logical part of my brain didn’t want that.
The decidedly female part of my brain was cooing and purring and practically begging to thrust my ass in his face.
Had I mentioned that it’d been a long time since I’d had sex? That drought was making me pretty damn thirsty right now, and Nico was starting to look like a mountain spring of cool, fresh water.
We got to the bottom floor of the building, and true to his word, a shiny black town car idled softly, waiting for us.
“Do you have a car on retainer?” I joked as Nico gently put Grady into the vehicle and strapped him into the seat belt. He closed the door gently, standing between the car and me.
“It’s a perk,” he answered with a cheeky grin that sent my stomach flip-flopping. I’d grown up in the city, and having a car of any sort was a luxury most people couldn’t afford, except for special occasions.
“Well...um, thank you for a surprisingly lovely evening,” I said, thrusting my hand toward him for a benign handshake, but Nico just stared at me with amusement as if we both knew a handshake wasn’t going to happen. Instead, he accepted my hand gently and pressed a soft kiss on the top, his lips lingering long enough to create havoc with my nerve endings. The gesture was both gentlemanlike and erotic. My breath was suspiciously breathy as I said, “Th-that wasn’t necessary...”
“But I disagree,” he said, his gaze finding mine. Those eyes were killers. I could only imagine how many women had fallen to their doom in their blue depths—and gladly so. “What if I said, I want to see you again?”
“I’d say that’s probably a bad idea,” I answered, but my belly trembled. “It would be unprofessional.”
“And why is that?”
“Because it is.”
“So this is it?” he asked. I jerked a nod, shivering but not because of the cold. His subtle smile was my undoing. “Well, then, if this is to be it...” and then he moved in, slowly enough that I had plenty of time to stop him, but I didn’t. I tilted my chin and his lips were on mine. Electric heat zapped between us, binding us. Curse it all, I opened my mouth a little more, inviting his tongue to dance with mine. He obliged with a sexy growl that I felt to my toes. The sidewalk seemed to slant beneath my feet, and I clung to Nico, losing all sense of reason for a blinding moment. It was all sorts of wrong, but I wasn’t going to see him again and it’d been so long since I’d felt a man’s touch that I might’ve succumbed to the advances of the FedEx driver if he’d given me clear enough signals.
At least, I clung to that justification so I didn’t chew myself to pieces over indulging in this single moment with Nico.
Our breath mingled as our tongues twisted, the heat building between us enough to melt snow. My clothes scratched against my skin, an irritant. It was a blessing that Nico hadn’t tried to kiss me in his apartment because I might’ve stayed—with him, in his bed—and it probably would’ve been the best sex of my life.
How did I know that? Well, because oh, God, help me, he was an amazing kisser and I could only imagine what he could do when given free rein.
Orgasms for days.
Yep. That was what Nico would deliver. I knew it. My certainty was bone-deep.
Argh, don’t think of bone.
Time to stop. Time to be responsible.
Goddamn morals and ethics—why couldn’t I just be like the rest of the women who would gladly throw their panties at his feet for a single glance from him.
Because I wasn’t.
And because of that—I broke the kiss.
Reluctantly. Oh, yes, very reluctantly, but I broke it nonetheless.
“Good night, Nico,” I managed as I slid out of his grasp and ducked into the awaiting car as if the devil himself were leering at my soul.
I didn’t breathe until we were far enough away that I couldn’t still see his silhouette watching us leave.
Then, and only then, did I draw a shaky breath, my fingers lightly touching where Nico’s lips had been, closing my eyes to savor the lingering pleasure of being touched by a skillful lover...if only for a heartbeat.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Nico
I WATCHED THE car until it was out of sight.
The night had turned out like nothing I’d planned.
Never had a night bombed so bad and yet been so wonderful at the same time.
I had a raging boner—a
nd no one to ease the pain of my erection—and yet, I couldn’t stop smiling.
So, Lauren was a single mom with a fantastic ass. Never would’ve called that one.
Her kid was pretty chill. I didn’t usually dig kids, but Grady was entertaining and smart. Kinda reminded me of myself at that age, so of course, I thought the kid was brilliant.
Under most circumstances I avoided single moms. I didn’t have the patience to deal with the drama, and truthfully, I’d never met a single mother I’d felt worth the hassle to try to figure it out.
Until Lauren.
Yeah, Grady was a great kid. The little monster was different, precocious and very protective of his mom, and yet he’d spilled valuable intel with impunity. But the kid had definitely cock-blocked me, a fact his mother had counted on.
Lauren’s crafty intelligence turned me on in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time.
And that kiss.
Definitely worth exploring in the future.
Except, I knew the only reason Lauren allowed the kiss was because she felt safe in the knowledge that we wouldn’t see each other again.
I chuckled as I returned to my apartment. Naive woman. Now that I’d had a taste, I wanted more. Who took one tiny bite of New York?style cheesecake and then pushed away the plate with a satisfied “I’m good”?
Exactly. No one.
And Lauren was my New York?style cheesecake. On the surface, plain and unadorned with flash and extraneous details, but once a bite crossed your lips, you realized, nothing else was necessary. In fact, to add more would be to take away from the robust flavor of the dessert’s complexity.
Lauren was smooth and rich—decadent and forbidden.
How could I not want more?
As if punctuating the thought, my erection wouldn’t subside. I flopped onto the sofa as I jerked my jeans down around my hips. I palmed my cock, groaning as I closed my eyes, envisioning Lauren’s sweet lips closing over the head, her teeth grazing ever so lightly as I fed my cock down her throat.