Accidentally Hooked (The Naked Truth Series Book 1) (13 page)

“Not yet. Blake can be very persuasive, and poor Charlotte is too in love. I wanted to expose him with evidence. I care too much about her to let her marry that bastard.”

“Nice to know you care so much. Too bad your caring for her means jail time for my sister and me.”

He frowned. “You?”

Of course. The law wouldn’t care why she’d slept with a man for money, or the length of time she’d done it. “Well, I slept with you and you already paid me some. You were going to pay me the rest, weren’t you? Or was that another lie?”

He swung around and faced her. “That wasn’t a lie. I don’t want to see you in jail. I care for you, damn it.” His eyes burned and soothed, causing a shiver to zap down her spine. “Getting involved with you wasn’t part of the plan, but I’m not ready to let you go.”

Restless, she rose to her feet, the beats of her heart filling the charged air between them. “Let me go? You never had me.”
In a few days’ time, I’ll move out of Vegas with my sister and you’ll go to Australia. That is, if we aren’t jailed.

Slowly, he closed the gap between them, each step in her direction triggering a more vibrant thud that reverberated through her entire body, startling all her nerve endings. One. By. One. “I want you, Francisca Martinez. Not for money. Not for any other reason than this…the growing connection between us.”

Connection? She bit her lower lip hard, willing the rumbling in her mind, body and soul away. “How will you know that I’m not using you just to get on your good side before jumping ship? That I won’t betray you?” Her voice wavered, matching the changing shift of her legs. Staying was risky. Staying…was not an option.

He tipped her chin up, making her stare into his flicking eyes. “I have to trust you.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t trust me,” she said, and defeat dripped from her voice.

Dipping his head down, he brought his forehead to hers. “Too bloody late.”

Chapter Ten

Too bloody late.

She inhaled the three little words like second hand smoke, avoiding them at first. Then, a light headiness hit her. The touch of his forehead against hers, his skin on hers, made a surge of heat race from her drumming heart down to her tightening stomach; tingling her sex and buckling her weakening, betraying knees.

She nearly lost her balance, but Ryan grasped her waist, snatching her to him. She raised her gaze to his, and saw the sweet combination of a sense of wonder, layered by an honesty she had no idea where it came from. An honesty most men didn’t show, afraid of being labeled as weak.

Weak? The man within a breath of her was anything but. He was strong and brave, and unlike her, he took care of those he loved without being asked to; without a sense of obligation or a selfish search for redemption.

A chill shook her inside, warring against the spreading heat. Maybe sensing her hesitation, he withdrew his arms from her, not moving an inch backward. The message, clearer than the Polynesian Ocean Sea. It was her choice.

“This is crazy. I should walk away from you,” she said, in a low voice. “I just can’t.” The same way she wasn’t going to fall in love with him.

He planted a couple of kisses on her nose, and another arrow of lust surged in her system, smothering. She tip toed, offering him her lips which he didn’t take right away. Instead, Ryan started a trail of feather-light kisses on her cheeks, the curve of her jaw. Each time he approached her mouth, a tight knot pulsed, sizzled, in her sex. Each time his tongue licked near the curve of her lips, her body roared with need, and she clenched her hands on his shirt, scrunching the rich fabric under her palms.

At last, he brought his lips to hers, in a bone-melting, toe-curling kiss that encouraged her to link her hands around his head, pulling him to her. There was no way she wouldn’t have him now. He swallowed the moan forming in the depths of her throat, and she tore his shirt apart, buttons flying everywhere. Pleasure coiled low in her belly.

Delving his tongue in her mouth, teasing her with nips, he lifted her in his arms and strode to the bed. He eased her on the mattress, and she positioned herself amongst the tiny soft pillows. A tap on the empty spot next to her should have been enough to have him roll on that heavenly mattress with her. It wasn’t. Disentangling from her, he removed the remaining pieces of his creased shirt and soon, his pants and boxers dropped to the floor. She smothered a whimpering sound, the thrill of excitement surging through her, faster than a big fat discount at a shoe sale. Her eyes basked in the sight of that beautiful man, smiling at her with a rock hard erection. Licking her lips, she made a smacking noise.

Kika shifted on the bed, rumpling the sheets, the high temperature taking over her ability to stay still. With a cocky snicker, he joined her on the bed. The way his hands hovered over her dress warned her he had no hurry.

Over the cool kimono fabric, he scorched her with teasing kisses on her chest, down her belly, the tantalizing sensation torpedoing through her. Longing for more. He cupped her sex, his fingers outlining her swollen lips.

“No underwear. Someone wanted to get lucky tonight.”

She arched on the bed, spreading her legs and offering herself to him like a twenty-four hours, all-you-can-eat buffet. “This is Vegas, after all.” Her voice turned into a coarse plea, and the amused sound from his lips told her that it was too late to save face.

He slid down on her body, his open mouth following the trace of his exploring hands. She shook her head from side to side, clinging to the last thread of sanity. A rush of heat rippled inside her. That dress was going to suffocate her if she didn’t remove it. Stat.

She motioned to sit upright, but he pushed her down with one swift movement, and she plopped down on the bed with the grace of a sack of potatoes. “Ryan.”

“Patience is a virtue.”

One I don’t possess.
“I’m not into the mood for being virtuous.”

“Good, because I’m about to do something naughty.” He scooted on the bed and dipped his head between her legs. With his hands, he spread them, and her toes curled against the silky linen. She threw her head all the way back against the pillow.

He grazed his teeth on the inside of her thigh, the contrast of his sharp teeth against the softness of her flesh liquefying her sex. A moan escaped her lips, and he retaliated with a nip on her thigh. Oh, he was good…

She needed more. Her body ached for more. The sheen of sweat spread through the thick fabric of her dress. Her breasts strained so hard against the bra, she was afraid they’d rip it apart. Breathing in hitches, she savored the moment he caressed her sex, the circular movement of his fingers over her engorged lips magical.

He slid two fingers inside her pussy, and she clenched her inner muscles around his long fingers, never wanting that moment to end. He stroked her with steady movements, the thrusting and retreating rhythm sending a merciless thrill of pleasure through her.

“Ryan.” This time her voice didn’t ask. It demanded.

He replaced his fingers with his lips. She snaked her legs around his neck, and bucked her hips, her upper body starting to curl as waves of pleasure battered her. Without delay, he intensified the thrusting of his tongue, and flicked her clit with his thumb. Mercilessly. Recklessly.

A throaty sound from the depths of her lungs announced the climax consuming her, flooding her, destroying her, only to begin anew and shake her again. He kept on kissing her clit, caressing the back of her knees with his fingers.

Time stilled until her breathing slowed, and the ripples of pleasure ceased. With fingers lighter than the current state of her soul, he pushed her up on the bed and removed the dress. She followed his lead, lifting her weightless arms as he pulled it from her head. A merciless cold wave hit her body, turning her skin into a goose bump mess.

Why did a part of her fear the release wasn’t purely physical?

***

Ryan leaned over her, stretched his hand to the bedside table, and reached for the condom packet. The dim lighting allowed him to watch her curling her lips. Sliding his gaze lower, he focused on her full breasts, the soft indentation to her waist, the thin strip of dark hair disappearing between her shapely legs.

A sensation of warmth flooded him, bombarding his every cell with the tingling need for release. She was exquisite. Fully bare, not just naked without clothes, but bare to him. Was she? He swallowed. Hard.

He rolled on the condom and positioned himself, the tip of his cock teasing her sex. The rush of blood thickened, and he threw his head back as he plunged inside her, deep and strong. Adrenaline spiked. The pounding from his length reverberating in his heart, and overwhelming his poorly oxygenated brain.

She linked her legs around him, pulling him closer, sending shivers through him. He propelled toward her, and made an effort to move in and out of her, not wanting to distance his pulsating length from her wet flesh for a second.

“Ryan, I’m going to—

He intensified his rhythm and rocked his hips into her. The pressure of pleasure built inside of him to the point of no return. With a sexy, long moan, she climaxed, clenching her nails in his shoulders, nipping on his neck. It was like she wanted to take him, all of him, as she convulsed under his weight. The sound of sweaty bodies smacking added to their panting breathing.

He drove himself into her one last time, the peak drilling him, cell by cell. He wanted to give all of himself to her, even the swirling emotions he couldn’t understand. Didn’t want to—not right now.

He pulled her to him. The afterglow of sex manifested through the sweat washing over his body, their breathing more serene. He enjoyed running his fingers in her tousled hair, and also her legs entangled with his, her side to his side. Her hand on his chest, rubbing over his skin.

Peace filled him like it hadn’t in a long time. He’d dated a couple women after Lynn, but never imagined them becoming something else. They hadn’t affected him like Kika, not by a long shot. Come to think of it, did he ever feel this satisfied after having sex with Lynn? This complete? His heart contracted, a pang of concern twisting it from side to side. Better not take that route. If he started to care for Kika more than he had for anyone, what could come from it? He let out a sigh, the frustration consuming him.

“Worried?” she asked.

A need to know more punched him hard in the gut, even if knowing her could lead to dangerous outcomes. Especially when he wasn’t sure what the future held for her, or for them. She’d made it clear she wanted to start over somewhere new, with her sister.
Without him
.

He swallowed hard. “Tell me about Freddy.”

Her deep intake of breath opened a small gap between her stomach and the side of his thigh. Aware she’d slip out of that question if he gave her enough time, maybe even out of his bed, he put his arm around her and snatched her closer.

She started a soundless drumming pattern on his chest, her fingers the only part of her moving. “Freddy was my brother. We were triplets.”

He loosened his grasp on her, the caress on her back barely an outline. “Were?”

She shifted in his arms, the restlessness of her limbs preparing him for what was to come. “He died six years ago. Cocaine overdose.”

Overdose
. The revelation pumped frosty snow in his veins. Did her experience with her brother make her out of his reach, or did it give her the understanding a person like him needed? A rush of guilt thawed some of the cold.
This isn’t about me.
He ran his fingers through her hair. She was finally opening up, and how selfish was it to ponder the repercussions her past would play in the future?
Her future. Not ours.

She raised her head, propped her elbows on the bed, and stared at him. The blue shimmers darkened, the same color of her matte black irises. “Some of it was my fault.”

“How do you figure?”

“When Luna and I found out he was using, we confronted him. He’d admitted to using since our mom died in a car accident a year before. We got our savings together and paid for a rehab center for him. We did an amateurish intervention ourselves, and explained he was going to rehab.”

“How did he react?”

She rolled on the bed and sat upright, her back against the frame, her arms clutching her folded knees. “He agreed. We’d booked him a flight and everything. He asked for one more night at home, since coincidentally that was our mother’s death anniversary. Luna didn’t want to let him have it. We had a big argument, and I sided with him. I said I wanted to be there for him, so we removed the drug paraphernalia out of his place and vowed to sleep all under the same roof. Luna and I were supposed to keep an eye on him. To make sure he didn’t change his mind.”

He sat next to her, ignoring the tingle in his fingers to reach out and touch her. “What happened?”

“Next day, we woke up and he was dead.” She fidgeted on the bed, moving her hips from one side to another. “He must have slipped something we hadn’t seen. If only I had sent him away like Luna had insisted—”