“How about a compromise?” she asked.
Nick lifted his head. “Meaning?”
“Sex can stay on your timeline. But other stuff…that can be on mine.”
“Other stuff?” he repeated.
Taylor gave a wicked smile and slipped her hand behind his neck, pulling his ear down to her lips once more. “I’m not wearing anything under this coat.”
It took Nick’s brain a full second to comprehend what she was telling him. It took his body half that to respond.
His fingers closed around her wrist, and he whipped her around so that their positions were reversed—her with her back against the door, his body pinning her there.
He expected to see triumph on her face, but there was only lust. The same sort of life-altering want that was rocketing through his own body.
It wouldn’t have mattered. He’d have kissed her regardless.
His mouth dropped to hers at the exact moment hers lifted to his, and they met each other in a hungry kiss that had been months in the making, even if neither had realized it.
She was sweeter than he expected. Or maybe he had been expecting it, and that’s why he’d held himself back this long, terrified by how irresistible she’d be to him. How one taste, one kiss would never be enough.
Her tongue met his, a little shyly at first, and then bolder. Her hands lifted to his shoulders, stroking him there as though needing to learn the shape of him, before her arms wound around his neck.
She pulled him closer and he let her, his mouth learning every corner of hers. Nick slid one hand around the back of her neck, holding her face to his as the fingers of his other hand reached for the knotted belt at her waist. He ordered his fingers to stay where they were. To satisfy himself with the taste of her.
I’m not wearing anything under this coat.
He groaned against her mouth, and felt her smile. He tugged at the knot until it loosened. They both went still, and he pulled back, watching her face flush as he pulled the knot all the way free.
She hadn’t buttoned any of the buttons. Of course she wouldn’t. Taylor preferred to live on the edge, and right now he wholeheartedly approved.
Nick held her gaze as he slowly pulled the sides of her coat apart. She gasped as the cool air touched her warm skin, her eyes slamming shut.
Only then did he let his eyes drift downward. Nick thought he couldn’t get any harder, but at the sight of Taylor Carr’s perfect body, his erection swelled under his pants.
He slid his palms along her sides, her flesh hot and soft beneath his hands.
Her eyes were open now, watching him as his fingers traced her flat belly, along the lines of her ribs. She was slimmer than he’d thought, almost frail in a way that belied her feisty personality.
Nick let his thumbs caress the lower curve of her breasts. Not small here, though, he thought, learning the weight of her. Here she was soft and heavy—the most perfect thing he’d ever seen. Touched.
“Please,” she whispered, her eyes gray and smoky and pleading.
He brushed his thumbs over the pebbled tips of her breasts and caught her cry with his lips, kissing her deeply as he molded her beneath his hands, alternating between teasing flicks and possessive strokes.
Mine.
Her fingers went to his tie, but he wasn’t done touching her yet. Didn’t want to be distracted from her body.
He dropped his mouth to her neck, and her head fell back against the door with a soft moan.
Nick’s hands slid down over her rib cage, moving outward to her hips, fingers digging into that perfect ass that he couldn’t wait to see up close. But that would have to wait until later, when they had all the time in the world.
“This other stuff you mentioned,” Nick said against her shoulder. “How far were you thinking it would go?”
“Um…” Taylor lifted her head as though trying to gather her thoughts.
His hand moved between her legs, one knuckle pressing lightly into the wet seam of her. She cried out, and his cock strained painfully against his pants.
He repeated the motion, pressing further this time, his knuckle brushing her clit so that her hips bucked against his hand.
Nick swore softly, his eyes dropping down to where his fingers touched her, each stroke making her wetter until she coated his fingertips.
“Nick.” Her voice was panicked, her nails digging into his shoulders. “This isn’t what I…too much…stop.”
“Like hell,” he growled, capturing her mouth. She might have started this, but he’d be the one to finish it.
He slid his middle finger deep inside her, his thumb moving faster over her clit.
Nick would have pegged Taylor Carr as a screamer, and he was ready to muffle her cries with a kiss. Instead she came silently but explosively, her slim body bucking violently against him, tightening around his finger again and again.
It was all he could to do to stay with her, to hold her up as she shuddered.
It was one of the most gratifying moments in his sexual life, making Taylor Carr come with his hand.
Her forehead dropped to his shoulder, and he resisted the urge to press his lips to her temple. The gesture felt too tender considering what had just happened in a public restroom, but it also felt…right.
It was because it felt right that he stopped himself. He wasn’t sure that either one of them would know what to do with that sort of instinctual affection.
Instead he wrapped an arm around her, letting her catch her breath.
Then he felt fingers at his belt and snatched her hand away. “I don’t think so, Carr.”
She looked up at him in surprise. “But—”
He brushed a quick kiss over her lips. “I need to get back to work.”
Taylor scowled. “I didn’t mean for it to happen like this.”
He arched an eyebrow as he went to the sink to wash his hands and neaten the hair her fingers had messed up.
“I meant for both of us to…you know.”
He dried his hands and walked toward the still-sulking Taylor, pulling her close. Her eyes lit, only to frown once again when she realized he was merely pulling the coat closed, belting it at her waist.
He smiled. “Is this how it’s going to be with you? Always hungry for more?”
“Is this how it’s going to be with you? Running off, leaving unfinished business?”
“Now, Taylor. Don’t be greedy,” he said, checking to make sure his shirt was tucked in.
“That’s just the problem,” she muttered, her eyes on his crotch. “I am feeling a little greedy.”
Nick nudged her aside and unlocked the bathroom door, giving her butt a playful swat as he did so.
He walked into the hallway, which he was thankful was still empty, but before removing his hand to let the door close, he turned back to her.
“Carr.”
“What?” she asked, still a little moody.
“The way I see it, I was the greedy one. Haven’t experienced anything that gratifying in a hell of a long time.”
He winked, but it wasn’t until he’d walked away to return to work that he realized a rather alarming truth.
He’d meant every word.
Chapter 19