The King Next Door

“That sound good to you?”

Beyond good. Because he was there, watching her, with hunger in his eyes.

“Sounds great.” She reached up for him as he leaned over her. “But Griffin, I still don’t want anyone to know. That’s still part of the deal.”

“Agreed.” He didn’t look as though he enjoyed saying that, but he had and that was what mattered.

If they were going to have a real affair rather than a one-night stand, then it was more important than ever that no one know about this. Because eventually it would be over and she really didn’t want sympathy from people when Griffin went back to his real life, leaving her behind.

Just the thought of that was enough to steel her spine. “So in public,” she said, “we behave just like we always have.”

“You mean argue and snipe?” he asked, a small smile curving his mouth. Honestly, Nicole had never seen a better weapon to use on a woman than that soft, secretive smile. “Shouldn’t be hard to remember to argue.”

Wryly, she said, “True.”

“But in private,” he whispered, leaning down over her, planting both hands on the bed, caging her between his arms.

“In private...” Caught in his eyes, Nicole swallowed hard and licked suddenly dry lips.

“We have each other as often as possible,” he said softly, dipping his head to claim a fast, hard kiss.

“Oh, yeah, that sounds fabulous.” Nicole reached up to cup his face between her palms.

“See?” he said. “No argument. You have more of those condoms handy?”

She nodded. “Bedside table drawer.”

He tugged the drawer open, grabbed a condom and ripped it open. Quickly, he stripped out of his suit and sheathed himself. When he was protected, he turned back to her, plucked the knot of her towel free, pulled the fabric off her and tossed it aside before laying her back on the bed. Nicole looked up at him. The moonlight glimmered on his skin, his hair, and shone in his eyes. Her heartbeat jumped into a gallop and every nerve in her body flared into life.

Griffin dipped his head to take first one of her hardened nipples into his mouth and then the other. And with each lick of his tongue, each tugging draw from his lips, she felt herself coming to life again. Heat bubbled inside her and that oh, so delicious swirl of something amazing settled in the pit of her stomach and then slid lower.

Her skin was bristling for his touch. Moonlight caressed his skin just as she wanted to. Her hands smoothed across his chest and over his shoulders, then down his arms. Then he covered her body with his. Skin met skin, mouth claimed mouth. Hands explored, grasped, held. Legs entwined and bodies arched. Breath huffed into the air on short, sharp gasps filled with need and desperation.

Everything Nicole had felt earlier came back in a rush and was magnified. The quilt beneath her was cool, Griffin’s body was hot and hard and oh, so perfect.

She parted her legs for him and watched him as he took her, pushing his body slowly into hers. His features tightened into a mask of need and pleasure. She lifted her hips, taking him deeper, higher. He filled her so completely, she felt as though he was a part of her. The long-missing piece that, once found, made her complete. Her body screamed for release as she worked for it, moving with him in an ever-increasing rhythm. He was so good. So...perfect. These thoughts and more raced through her mind in a blur, tangling her emotions with the sensations dazzling her.

She forced her mind to quiet. Now wasn’t the time to worry about what might happen in the still-nebulous future. Wouldn’t think about what she was feeling beyond the incredible pleasure erupting inside her. But though she forced her thoughts to stillness, Nicole knew that, sometime soon, she’d have to explore them.

It wouldn’t be a one-night fling, but what she had with Griffin was still temporary. There was no future here. There was only the really fabulous present.

“Stay with me,” he whispered, taking her mouth in a fierce kiss.

“Right here,” she assured him, and slid her hands up and down his back. She loved the feel of him beneath her palms. So hot, so strong...so hers.

Coiled tension strung even tighter at her center. Nicole reached for it, working, straining, moving with him as he set a fast, hard rhythm. Again and again, they separated and came together. Their bodies moved as one, their sighs and gasps sounded out in the moonlit darkness, creating a cocoon of heat and desire that tightened around them until they were both lost in the quest for the release that lay just out of reach.