Love Thy Neighbor (12 page)

“Nikki, if you want to learn how to turn on Matthew, you have to first know what it means to be turned on.”

Again she gave him that adorable puzzled expression of hers, those full lips turning downward. “I don’t know if I’ve ever really been turned on, either.”

He looked into her beautiful brown eyes and felt a stab of sadness. “I know that,” he said, running the back of his hand along her cheek. “And I’m telling you, Nikki Norris, if we ever had the chance, I could show you that there’s nothing boring about you. Nothing whatsoever.”

“You don’t have to say that, Dallas.”

He reached over and with two fingers lifted her chin, making her eyes meet his. “I’m not just saying that. I’m serious.”

She blinked, her eyes glassy.

He knew he had to tread lightly here. The last thing he wanted to do was mislead her. “Look, I realize you’re probably going to end up back with your fiancé and I know that’s what you want. And I’m happy for you. I am. Besides,” he said we a laugh, “we both know I’m not a relationship guy, right? But I want you to know how amazing you are. Inside and out.”

She took a deep breath, and he could have sworn he saw a flicker of disappointment cross her face.

“If circumstances were different,” he said, “I would love nothing more than to turn you on. I would show you how exciting and sensual you really are. I’d want to please you, make you feel good about yourself again. You deserve that. And you’d see that once you let yourself go, you’d drive Matthew—Hell, you’d drive any man wild.”

“Dallas, I’m not—”

“Listen to me. I felt the way you moved in my arms the other night when we were dancing. I could feel it when you kissed me. I know that you’ve got so much inside of you that you’ve never let yourself experience.”

They both fell silent, and he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and prove it to her.

“Listen,” he said, running his fingers through her silky hair, “I’m crazy about you, and if I thought you could handle it, I’d love to show you what I’m talking about. I’d love to help you get in touch with that side of yourself.”

She looked at him, her eyes half closed. “What makes you think I couldn’t handle it?”

His heart about stopped. Was she serious? Was she up for this? He felt the strain in his jeans and knew he was. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d wanted a woman this bad, and he couldn’t fight it anymore.

“Are you sure?” He leaned in and let his lips brush hers.

She never answered him with words. She didn’t have to. He knew by the way she kissed him back, her tongue so soft and warm in his mouth, and when he ran his hands down her back, she practically purred. The kiss they shared deepened, and when he tenderly brushed his fingertips across her nipples, her back arched and she let out a moan that sent a tremor down his body and straight to his cock.

They went on kissing while he deftly unbuttoned her blouse, stroking her skin as he slid her lacy bra straps down her shoulders. She breathed hard as he kissed the base of her neck and then, finally, he unclasped her bra and gazed at her perfect breasts, her pert pink nipples growing stiff and waiting for him.

“You are so beautiful, Nikki Norris,” he said, cupping her breasts gently at first, and then more firmly while he kissed his way from her neck to her nipples, teasing her with the tip of his tongue, feeling them growing even stiffer still at each playful nip of his teeth.

“Oh, Dallas.”

He smiled as her eyes closed and she pressed herself closer and closer to him. “That’s it,” he said, as he continued working his way down her body. “Relax.” Her rib cage heaved in and out as he kissed and licked her navel while his hand slowly moved from her ankle, up her calf and onto her silky, quivering thigh. She shook as he ran his fingers along her inner thigh, and when he brushed his thumb across her panties, she gasped and tilted her hips closer and closer to him.

He knew what she wanted, and he wanted to give it to her. He wanted to taste her so bad it was killing him. But no, not yet. He had to take his time. First he unzipped the back of her skirt and slid it down her hips. And there she was, naked except for her little white lacy thong with a landing strip of dark hair peeking through the sheer fabric. Running his hands over her, he could feel the wetness soaking through her panties.

“You feel good, Nikki Norris,” he said as he stood in front of her and dropped to his knees, planting himself between her legs. As he gently pressed her legs open, he kissed her inner thigh. The smell of her drove him wild as his fingers made their way to her slick, hot center. “You are so wet.”

She moaned and her breath quickened even more than before.

He peeled away her underwear, sliding them down her glorious legs and over her heels until they landed next to his knee. He opened her legs wider and she was even more beautiful than he could have imagined. Running his hand up her stomach and to her breasts, he leaned forward and kissed her just above that landing strip of hair, then down the one side and up the other.

“Oh, God.” She sounded like she was about to hyperventilate.

“Breathe, Nikki. Just relax.”

Running his hand back down her body, he came to her hot center, and spreading back the silky folds of her with his thumbs, he looked at her beautiful pink clit, slick and calling for him. With the tip of his tongue, he leaned in and tasted her, watching her hips go wild. He gave her one long lick, gliding over her opening and ending at the top. He felt her hands reach down for the back of his head, her hips tilting forward, straining.

“It’s okay, Nikki, give it to me. Come closer. That’s it, Nikki.” And he went in deeper with his lips and tongue, feasting on her clit even as it grew harder. He slowly eased a finger into her dripping hot core, and then another. In and out his fingers worked her to a frenzy, while he sucked and licked her hard pink nub.

“Dallas, help me. Help me.” One hand clenched the sofa cushion, the other pinched her nipple, all while her hips kept writhing.

“It’s okay. I’m right here. Let it go. Just let it go.” And he darted his tongue deep inside her, circling her clit with the ball of his thumb, changing the pressure of the friction, going from hard to light as the first wave came over her. He moved his tongue back up and licked her tip as she pulsed against his mouth, her body trembling. She moaned and went rigid and tight, letting out the wildest, hottest, sexiest growl he’d ever heard a woman make.

“I want to be inside you, Nikki Norris.”

She nodded and as he reached for a condom, he heard someone knocking on his front door.
Shit. Shit. Who the fuck is stopping by now?
He groaned as the knocking persisted. “Hold on a minute,” he called out. “I’ll be right there.”

Nikki scampered around the floor collecting her clothes while he cracked the door.

“Marco?”

“That’s a fine welcome. Did you forget?”

“Was it tonight?”

“Afraid so.” Marco nodded.

Dallas completely forgot that he was supposed to meet with his West Coast rep this evening. Where was his mind? It wasn’t like him to forget about an important meeting.

“Can I come in?” he asked, brushing past Dallas.

“Shit. Marco, I’m sorry—I didn’t realize we were meeting tonight.”

“That’s pretty obvious,” he said, gazing over at Nikki.

“I’m sorry. I really thought it was next week.”

“That’s okay,” he heard Nikki say and when he turned around, she was dressed and gathering up her things. “I need to get going anyway.” She barely looked at him as she picked up her paperwork and tape measures. “I need to go start on your designs and the estimate now anyway.”

“You don’t have to go.”

“Oh yes, I do. I really do have to go.”

And just like that, Nikki walked out of his loft as Marco walked in.

Dallas apologized again as Marco unzipped his leather briefcase, giving an elaborate song and dance about some fashion shoot he wanted to line up for Dallas in Santa Monica… Dallas could barely listen. He was bored with this shit. It was all so mechanical. Especially when he thought about what had just gone down with Nikki.

He’d never forget the sounds she made, and if that wasn’t sexy, he didn’t know what was.

Chapter Eleven

Nikki was still shaking when she made it back to her place. She thought she knew what an orgasm was but obviously she was mistaken. She’d never felt anything like what just happened with Dallas. Her ears were still ringing. Her legs were wobbly, her throat raw from crying out.

She wasn’t sure if she’d done the best thing for herself or the worst by getting so intimate with him. But it felt too good, too amazing to have stopped it. Yes, she knew she was especially susceptible after her breakup with Matthew. And yes, she was only too aware of Dallas’s not being in the market for a relationship. But for once she didn’t want to overthink things. She wanted to go on feeling what she’d felt with Dallas tonight.

And he was right about her. She wasn’t done yet. There was so much more inside her that wanted to come out.

When her legs were strong enough to hold her up, she reached for her phone and dialed the one person who could put this all into perspective for her.

“Hello?”

“Have you ever come so hard, your ears started ringing?”

“Back the truck up, sister,” Jenna said with a yelp. “What happened?”

“I just had the best orgasm ever. I mean if you took all the orgasms I’ve ever had in my entire life and stacked them all up, it still wouldn’t compare to what just happened.”

“Holy crap. This wasn’t with Matthew, I gather.”

“It was Dallas. All Dallas.”

“I knew it. How cool is that.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing. What am I doing, Jenna?”

“You’re letting yourself live a little for once. It’s okay. It’s good for you. No, scratch that. It’s freakin’ great for you. Now promise me something—”

“What?”

“Promise me you won’t ruin this by obsessing on it. Let yourself enjoy that man. When are you going to see him next?”

“I have no idea.” Nikki began to giggle over the thrill of it all. “I have no idea what I’m doing. I cannot let myself fall for him.”

“You don’t have to fall in love with every man who gives you the most intense orgasms you’ve ever had. Enjoy the orgasms and don’t think about falling for him.”

“I’ll try.” Nikki let out another deep sigh. “You were right about one thing, though,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“I’m glad I listened to you and kept up with my bikini waxes.” After she and Matthew broke up, Nikki almost canceled her standing waxing appointment at Sisters Salon in Water Tower Place, but Jenna persuaded her to keep going.

“You never know what’s going to happen and you want to be prepared,” Jenna had said. “And besides, remember how much it hurt the first time you got waxed? If you let it all grow back in, you’ll be starting from scratch again.”

They were still laughing about that when another thought came to Nikki. “Tell me not to feel guilty about doing this to Matthew.”

“Guilty? Why on earth should you feel guilty? Do I need to remind you that he took another girl to your friends’ wedding?”

“Good point.”

“Now go bask in your afterglow. I’m going out with Tyler but I don’t think I’m going to have the kind of night you just had. Bitch, I love you. Good-bye.”

Nikki laughed even after they hung up. She wandered over to her desk, and when she clicked on the lamp her eyes landed on a pile of bills, which immediately made her think about her dwindling bank account. She had to get a grip. She had to get her head out of Dallasland and back into her business.

Dallas was giving her a shot at redecorating his loft and that was great, but now she had to deliver. If she did an amazing job on his space, it could redeem her in the design community. This one project could be enough to get her back in the game. She would take before-and-after pictures, have it professionally photographed when she was finished for her portfolio. If it came out as good as she thought it might, she could submit the photos to places like
Chicago Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens
. Hell, if she could work up the nerve, she might even submit them to
Architectural Digest.
She knew she was getting ahead of herself. She had plenty of hard work to do before she’d be anywhere near ready to submit photographs, but she allowed herself to dream, and that was something she hadn’t done since Polly pulled the plug on their business.

Nikki took a quick shower, willing herself not to luxuriate in her post-orgasmic bliss. As she stepped out of the stall, she caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror and had to do a double take. Did the figure in the mirror, the one with the flat stomach and toned legs, the one with the water dripping down her shapely breasts and arms, really belong to her? She turned and looked at her backside, amazed that for once she liked what she saw. After years of refusing to look at herself below the neck when she was naked, this was a moment of self-discovery. This was a body she could be proud of. A body she could love.

She really had transformed herself on the outside, and now she felt as if Dallas was helping her transform herself on the inside. She never thought she’d be able to look herself in the eye and admit that she was a sexy woman.

She reached for her robe and wrapped the fluffy white terry cloth around her, belting it loosely at her waist. As she fixed herself a cup of tea, her phone rang again. Thinking it was Jenna, she answered saying, “Yes, I’m still basking in the afterglow.”

“Nikki?”

“Matthew?” She almost dropped her teacup. “I thought—I thought you were someone else.”

“I gathered as much.” His voice was deadpan. “Listen, I was wondering if you had time to meet for a drink later?”

“Tonight?” He wanted to meet with her tonight? “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to get together and talk. You know, I’m finally ready to talk about us now. I know I wasn’t ready before when you wanted to, but I’ve been thinking about a lot of things, and well, I think I’m ready to, you know, really open up about everything.”