Love in the Air: Lopez Island Series #2 Read online

  “I have a confession to make,” he said, leaning forward on his forearms.

  She tilted her head, waited.

  “I can’t get that night out of my head,” he said, unsurprised when she leaned back, crossed her arms.

  “That was a one-time thing, Adrian.”

  He lowered his voice, drew closer. “Was it? Because I keep flashing back to that moment when you came in my mouth, and oh God, I really, really want to do that again.”

  “Not going to happen.” Her voice bordered on cold. If he hadn’t been watching so carefully, he might have missed her quick intake of breath, the way her eyes dilated.

  “I don’t think we’re done.” Adrian leaned back, assessed her.

  “I do.”

  “I can see the pulse beating in your neck from here,” he informed her, smiled wickedly.

  She blew out a breath, tapped her fingers on the table. “Look, Perez. Just drop it, okay? I don’t do Islanders.”

  “So romantic, Stewart,” he teased her, but his amusement turned to horror when her eyes filled with tears. “Jesus. Nell. I’m so sorry.”

  He slid out of his side of the booth and sat down next to her, draping his arm around her.

  “Don’t.” She tried to push him away, turned her face to look out the window, her movements quick and jerky as she dabbed at her eyes. “Nothing’s wrong. Hormones. Stupid fucking hormones.”

  “Like hell.”

  When she refused to look at him, he simply sat there, rubbing her tense shoulders gently. “I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  The silence stretched on for what seemed like forever before she let out a huge sigh, finally meeting his eyes. Her own were clear, as if the tears had never happened.

  “It’s got nothing to do with you. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s private.”

  Still he sat there, waiting. She blew out a breath.

  “Jesus. I see your mom passed that stubborn gene right on down to you.” She waved her arm to the other side of the booth. “Get over there; I can’t talk to you like this. I hate those couples that sit next to each other in booths, anyway. Like they can’t be apart for more than ten seconds.”

  Adrian had to agree, so he gave her shoulder one last rub, then moved back to his side.

  “You can’t tell Paul about this,” she said.

  “What?” Adrian drew his brows together at the mention of one of his best friends. “Why the hell would I tell Paul?”

  “Because that night that we slept together, I was upset because I’d told Paul that I loved him. He doesn’t feel the same way. He made a few jokes about me being unromantic, so I guess your comment just took me back. It’s stupid. I don’t know why the hell I cried.” She frowned, balling up her napkin on the table, then smoothing it out again. “Boy meets girl, girl loves boy, boy doesn’t. Happens all the time. End of story, right?”

  Adrian stared at her, reeling. What. The. Actual. Fuck?

  Chapter 5

  Of course, the waitress chose that exact moment to deliver their pizzas. Adrian didn’t even glance down at his, just kept staring at Nell, eyes wide. If the situation hadn’t been so damned embarrassing, Nell would have laughed at the absurdity of it. Why, oh why, did she start crying like some lovesick fool? She could count on one hand the number of times she’d cried in the past ten years, and half of them had been in the last few weeks.

  Nell glanced down at her pizza, slices of house-smoked pepperoni dotting the perfectly browned mozzarella. Surprisingly, she felt hungry—as uncomfortable as it had been to have Adrian giving her the, “there, there, little lady treatment,” she had to admit it had worked.

  “Your pizza’s getting cold,” she pointed out when Adrian just kept staring at her. She pulled out a slice and licked up one of the long strings of cheese. This seemed to break Adrian out of his trance and send him into another one, as his dark eyes followed her lips. Okay, so maybe it was a tiny bit satisfying that this sexy as all get out man seemed so turned on by her in her everyday, grubby gear.

  He shook his head. “Wow. Sorry. That’s a lot to take in all at once.” He took a bite of his pizza—the special of the day, which was red onions, arugula, and shrimp. “Great call on the pizza, by the way.”

  She had to smile. Damned if she didn’t like this guy. And if the edge of his tats peeking out on his left arm from under his rolled up sleeve made her want to strip off his shirt and lick her way around the designs—and then move onto the rest of his sculpted body—well, no one had to know but her.

  “First of all,” he said, eying her with that direct gaze that seemed to pin her in place. “I’m sorry that you got hurt.”

  Nell shrugged, but he reached across the table and laid a hand over hers.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She felt her eyes burn again, so she just nodded.

  “Not so sorry that it drove you to get drunk and seek solace in my loving arms, though,” he added, and a laugh burst out of her before she could stop it. “Do you want me to beat him up for you? I’m way stronger. Used to win at arm wrestling in college all the time.”

  “Did you spend a lot of time arm wrestling?” she asked dryly.

  “Sure. When you girls were having pillow fights in your underwear, that’s what we did. Shirtless, of course, with sweat gleaming on our muscles.”

  When she opened her mouth, he held up a hand.

  “Don’t say it. Leave me with my fantasies.”

  “Of arm wrestling Paul shirtless?” she asked.

  He laughed. “I walked right into that one.”

  They ate their pizza in silence for a moment. Nell eyed him.

  “So, you’re not upset that I used you that night? A lot of guys might have a bruised ego.”

  He winked at her, lowered his voice. “Honey, you were so wet for me. I wasn’t even trying, and you came twice.”

  Nell started to protest that four was about average for her, but decided against triggering his competitive nature.

  “I think you were trying a little bit,” she said.

  “Not really. I’m used to a lot more begging.” He shrugged, grinned when Nell smiled. “So, listen. I need to know something.”

  “Okay.” Nell finished up her pizza, wondering what made his voice turn so serious.

  “I’m not asking this to make you feel worse. Is there any chance you and Paul will get together?”

  “No.” She pushed away her plate, frowned. “He’s made it very clear. And, the whole thing made me realize I’m just not cut out for long term anyway.”

  “Hmm.” He stared at her, intent. “You sure about that?”

  “Yep. Can we not talk about this anymore?”

  Adrian pushed his plate away as well. “Here’s why I ask. I still want to fuck you.” His voice slid over the last two words, managing to be blunt and seductive at the same time, and damned if she didn’t get wet at the words. “But, I don’t want to hurt you. And Paul’s one of my best friends.”

  “He won’t care,” she muttered, then caught herself. “It’s a moot point. I told you, I don’t do Islanders.”

  “I think you should make an exception,” he said, his dark eyes fastened on hers. He reached across the table and captured her hand before she could yank it away. He flipped her palm over and traced his thumb across the underside of her wrist, and Nell’s breath caught. “You’re going through a tough time. I’m going to be buried working on my exhibit. There we are…two incredibly sexy, single people. Why spend the spring alone when we could be having hot sex?”

  “How romantic,” she mocked him, pulling her hand away.

  He shrugged. “You don’t want romance, you want a fuck buddy. No strings attached. Right? I’m willing. You know I’m able.”

  Nell took him in, his glossy black hair tied at the nape of his neck with a leather string, open necked black shirt fitted over his muscular chest, those long-fingered artist hands. What would it be like to have that focus, those
hands, on her body without the haze of too many drinks? She liked the way his eyes raked over her body as they sat there, frank approval and lust in his gaze. It felt pretty damn good after being rejected. And, there was no denying her attraction—she felt grateful for the sweatshirt hiding the fact that her nipples had hardened into pebbles at the thought of him pounding into her.

  But still, if they started having sex, he’d be right there. At the grocery store. At Hannah’s cafe. Hanging out with Paul and her friends. It’d get complicated, messy. That so wasn’t what she needed right now.

  “It’s not a good idea,” she told him, grabbing the bill the waitress had left and pulling out her debit card.

  “First of all, I asked you to lunch, I pay.” He yanked the bill back. “Second of all, I disagree.”

  “You can disagree all you want,” Nell retorted, exasperated. “It takes two to fuck. And I’m not going to.”

  Adrian smiled at the waitress when she picked up his card, and Nell watched the waitress bat her eyelashes at him and practically swoon. Get in line, lady, she felt like hissing at her. He turned his attention back to her.

  “So, it’s not that you don’t want to. It’s that you won’t.”

  “This conversation is over.” She got out her phone and texted the supplier to find out the ETA on the brewery parts. She rolled her eyes when he responded there’d been a mix-up with the delivery and the parts weren’t ready after all. If they’d been doing their damn job then she wouldn’t have had lunch with Adrian, made a fool out of herself by crying, and then been wildly tempted by his offer of sex. She made a mental note to charge them a late fee. A big one.

  Right as they were about to leave, a group of laughing teenage boys, clearly playing hooky from school, charged through the door, pushing each other in the way that boys do. Adrian put his hand at the small of her back to guide her through the throng, and while her brain was screaming, don’t react, her body shivered in response to his warm, strong fingers. The second they were outside, before she realized what he was doing, Adrian grabbed her hand and pulled her into the small alley next to the restaurant.

  “This isn’t over,” he insisted, eyes boring into hers as he gently but firmly backed her up against the wall and yanked off her baseball cap. He put a hand on either side of her head, leaned in until his mouth was a whisper away, his warm breath sliding over her lips like a caress. “Tell me to stop, and I will.”

  Nell opened her mouth to tell him no, then thought, goddammit, and pulled him to her. His mouth fastened on hers—immediately devouring her, his tongue hot and avid. He was hard against her, and she arched into him, moaning into his mouth. Adrian slid his tongue in and out to the same rhythm of his hips grinding against her, and Nell writhed, grabbing his ass to pull him even closer. When his hand snaked under her shirt and closed over her breast, she bucked against him, breath coming in hot pants. Her panties were drenched already, and fuck, she no longer cared about all the reasons this was a bad idea. As his mouth laid a trail of kisses and sharp bites down her neck, and his fingers found her nipple and rolled it, she wanted nothing more than to feel his cock sliding into her, hot and hard.

  “Please, Nell, I need to fuck you,” he breathed into her ear, so sexy she nearly came on the spot.

  “Yes,” she moaned, writhing against him. “Now. God. Now.”

  They pulled apart, Adrian’s breath heaving, Nell practically shaking with desire. The hotel they stayed at last time was close, and she led him there, thanking the universe when they were able to get a room. The elevator held a family with young children, so they stood there, side by side, not touching, until they got to their floor. Adrian led the way, nearly running down the hallway, and Nell would have laughed if she hadn’t felt the same way.

  The second they got into the room, he backed her against the door, just like last time, devouring her mouth. Except this time, he swung her around, his hands around her waist, and began walking her back towards the bed, kissing her the whole time. When they got to the bed, he pulled away, slid his hands up to cup her face.

  “You’re okay with this?”

  Torn between impatience that he wasn’t inside her already and appreciation at his sensitivity, she answered his question by reaching down and rubbing his erection, then pressing her body against his, biting his neck.

  “Just checking,” he breathed. “God, I’m going to make you come all night.”

  Alarm bells went off in Nell’s head, and she slapped her hand against his chest.

  “Hold on. This is just a one-time thing.”

  His mouth quirked in a smile. “It’s actually a two-time thing, if you’re counting…”

  “We’re getting this out of our system, but I’m not going to be your fuck buddy. When we get to the Island, it’s over. We’re not staying the night.”

  Adrian studied her for a moment, and Nell sighed, knowing one surefire way to end the conversation. She grabbed the hem of her sweatshirt and tugged it over her head. She was small enough that she wasn’t wearing a bra, and Adrian’s eyes darkened. Nell shimmied out of her jeans and underwear, then stood before him, hands on her hips, naked. She cocked her head.

  “Are we done talking?”

  Adrian reached for her, slid his hands up her face and into her hair. “I guess if it’s just the one time I better make it count.”

  He lowered his lips to hers, but teased with light brushes of his lips over her mouth, her face as his fingers caressed her scalp. When he nibbled on her bottom lip, she moaned softly, and tugged on the waistband of his jeans, unbuttoning the snap even as he laid a trail of kisses down her neck. She helped him out of his jeans, then licked her lips as she slid his briefs off and his cock sprang free. Her center convulsed at the sight of him so hard, so ready. Adrian whipped off his shirt, and Nell ran her hands over his muscular chest, slid her hands down to grab his ass and pull him closer.

  Adrian kissed her again, deep, open mouthed kisses with his tongue swirling around hers, and Nell lost herself in the feel of his mouth, his erection pressed up against her center, her nipples hard against the crisp hair on his chest. He began to move against her, and she moaned again, biting his lip. Shuddering, he pulled his mouth from hers and made his way down to her breasts, where he laid kisses around the edge of one breast, then the other, switching back and moving a bit closer to the nipple, back and forth, closer and closer until her nipples felt so sensitive she could barely stand it. When he finally flicked his tongue over one nipple, she gasped out his name, grabbed his head to pull him closer, but he just smiled and moved to her other breast, softly licking until her breath heaved and her legs trembled. She lost track of how long the delicious torture continued, her head thrown back as she moaned. Fuck if she wasn’t about to come just from this.

  Then he bit down on one nipple, and Nell bucked, cried out.

  “Adrian, please. Please,” she moaned, groaning when he bit the other nipple.

  He pushed her back on the bed, spread her legs. Lightly, he swirled one finger around her clit, and she pushed herself against his hand, urging him on. Adrian took one nipple into his mouth and sucked hard, slid his finger all the way into her, and Nell climaxed, gasping, shuddering, the contractions intensifying when he curved his finger and unerringly found her g-spot. The orgasm seemed to go on forever as he relentlessly sucked on her breasts and rubbed his finger deep inside her.

  She lay, stunned for a minute while he withdrew his finger and laid his mouth over hers again, holding himself propped up on either side of her with his strong arms. Nell grabbed his biceps and pushed him until he lay on his back.

  “My turn.”

  She straddled him, kissed his neck, teased his nipples as his breath quickened. But, she didn’t linger, wanting to feel the hot, hard length of him in her mouth. She slid between his legs, began to lick up and down his cock until he moaned out her name.

  “Mmmmm.” She licked the drop of precum off his head, sucked, swirled her tongue around the edge, then took
him into her mouth as deep as she could while he groaned.

  Nell enjoyed the sound of his breath heaving, the sexy deep moans as she caressed him with her mouth, until he breathed out, “Fuck, Nell,” and pulled her off, flipped her back on the bed.

  “I’m going to come if you keep doing that.”

  “That’s the idea,” she murmured, spreading her legs wide in invitation.

  “Not done with you yet,” he told her, and she shivered as he knelt between her legs. When his tongue circled around her clit she was so glad she’d given in to one more bout of sex. Because sweet Jesus, the man knew what to do with his tongue.

  He alternated between licking and biting her clit, and Nell propped herself up so she could watch his dark head between her thighs, until his tongue speared deep into her and she fell back onto the sheets, her hands reaching back onto the headboard to anchor herself. His tongue slid in and out, around, his teeth nipped at the edge, again and again until she shattered with another orgasm.

  “So fucking sexy. Again,” he demanded, coming up to claim her mouth. Nell could taste herself on him, and felt herself getting hot again. He ground his mouth against hers, desperate, fingers again teasing her nipples, and she bucked up against his erection, suddenly as frenzied as he. Adrian tore himself away from her mouth and laved both her nipples as she cried out, thrashing on the sheets.

  “Now,” she begged. “For god’s sake.”

  Instead, he let go of her breasts, but kept his mouth on her nipples, rubbing his hand against her core again. He slid one, then two fingers inside her and she felt the pressure building, building. His mouth was everywhere, on her neck, then on her breast, then lower on her stomach, and she bucked against his hand, wild for release. She groaned long and low when he removed his fingers just as she was about to come, and he went down between her knees again.

  “Is this what you want?” he asked, licking her thighs.

  “Please. Adrian.” Her breath came in quick pants.

  “How about this?” he licked her folds, lightly, and she writhed, hands gripping the sheets.