Playing with Fire (8 page)

Reign didn’t have much of a problem with men ordering for her, but she was amused by
his
choice.

“Duck?”

“I like duck.” He shrugged those broad shoulders.

“I wouldn’t have thought.”

He set his elbows on the table. “Do I seem unsophisticated to you?”

Reign looked right back. “Apparently that boy from Sicily has some grown-up tastes.”

There was immediate enlightenment in his eyes. “You have no idea. It seems like you might have been checking up on me.”

“Would you respect me if I hadn’t?”

“I suppose that’s a good point. I’m a multifaceted man.” He lightened that comment with an engaging grin. “They didn’t serve a lot of duck when I was growing up, but hey, once I tasted it, I was hooked. How’s that? What else do you want to know?”

The music changed: “Spring” to “Summer.” A waiter passed by with a tray of food that smelled fantastic.

Her turn. Reign said frankly, “Everything.”

“How about we go for partial knowledge and explore it from there. Have I mentioned I like sex a lot?”

“I take it I might be enlightened soon.”

“Is tonight good for you?”

Those azure eyes were a weakness for her. The way he looked at her caused an interesting flutter in the pit of her stomach. She picked up her drink. “Tonight is good. This must be the oddest way two people have ever started an affair I can think of.”

“Maybe.” Nick added in a devastatingly soft voice. “I’ve been thinking about you since the moment you walked out my door.”

That was honest. Maybe more honest than she was willing to be, but she could give it a try. “I’m divorced and have a son.”

One of the waitstaff arrived with a basket of bread and a dish of butter that held a hint of garlic. It smelled like heaven and also prevented him from commenting at once. He offered her the basket first. Then he said carefully, “We all have a past. If a person doesn’t, they aren’t even remotely interesting.”

“I suppose that is one way to look at it.”

“
Bella
, it is the only way to look at it.”

“I take it you are
very
interesting, Mr. Fattelli?”

“I thought you wanted to call me Nicky.”

“Is that an invitation?”

*   *   *

Dinner was delicious, and the aftermath promised to be more so.

Nick knew when a woman had pulled out all the stops—and Reign really had. Her dress was svelte and flattering, emphasizing that, yes, she had full breasts, but also a small waist and that nice ass. He had to wonder if she’d designed the garment just for her figure, because it fit perfectly, though she just wasn’t tall enough to be one of those willowy runway models. When they’d left the restaurant, he’d known every single male there watched the sway of her hips as she walked by.

He did, that was for sure.

The matching pumps emphasized that her legs were athletic, and he’d found her lipstick bold but erotic.

This woman did something to him. He wasn’t positive how he felt about it, but the impact was there.

“Sorry about the cab,” he said as he waved one down. “I refuse to park my car down here unless it’s necessary.”

“Besides, you don’t want your name to pop up in a police report again and you just had two drinks.”

“That too.” A yellow vehicle slid to the curb next to them, and he opened the door for her. “I always hedge my bets.”

She got in and stretched out those gorgeous legs. “I suspect you do.”

He slid in beside her and gave his address. She’d told him she liked his apartment when she’d stayed the other night. It was plain with leather couches and white walls, but punctuated by bursts of color from a few paintings of boats and the sea done by his cousin. They certainly weren’t reproductions and lent the right flavor to the space. Austere, but at the same time bold and opulent, she’d said.

Not easy to achieve, and she knew something about style. More than he did, certainly.

When they pulled up to the building, he took her elbow and said hello to the doorman, guiding her to the elevator. The last time she’d been there was probably sort of a blur from the shock of the evening and the late hour, but this time she glanced around when he unlocked the door and commented, “This is nice. I remember it, but then again, I don’t recall the details. That was an eventful night.”

She swept the place with an assessing gaze. Terrific view of the city, big windows.… He paid a fortune in rent. The furnishings were minimal, but expensive, and while dark leather wouldn’t be her choice, it suited him.

She turned and he said, “The next morning was better.”

*   *   *

He dropped his keys on the table in the foyer. The clatter seemed very loud on the marble top. Nick smiled and said, “Take off your dress? A suggestion, not an order, and the heels can stay on in my opinion.”

Lucky for him, Reign was on board but had conditions, as usual. “I don’t take orders, you already know that. I’ll take it off, but then you’re naked on the bed. How is that for a compromise?”

“Give me a show?”

Those emerald eyes held a sultry look. “I’m not a stripper, but I’ll do my best.”

Nick reached out and touched her chin. It was just a brush. “I’m really looking forward to this, and for the record, I don’t visit strip clubs. Just improvise. I suspect you’ll do just fine.”

She glanced directly at his crotch. “I get that you kind of like the idea.”

His erection
was
uncomfortable, but then again, she just had that effect on him in general. “Reign, can we please just go into the bedroom?”

She swung around in a swirl of dark hair and glanced over her shoulder. “You have no idea how lucky you are that you put ‘please’ in that sentence.”

He had some idea about two seconds later, when that beautiful dress slipped down and she stepped out of it. It landed in a pool of blue fabric on the floor and underneath he discovered she wore a lacy black bra and a thong. He’d follow that ass to the end of the earth, he thought as he walked behind her, enjoying the view.

Bra next. He caught it as she tossed it over her shoulder, and he really, really wished he could see the movement of those fabulous tits as she walked, but the view was sexy enough with her heels and just that tiny black thong.

Then she stopped and bent over in the doorway of his bedroom, gliding her underwear down her hips and the length of her legs. Nick had managed quite a number of situations that required precise control, but he almost lost it right then and there, especially since he was fairly sure she’d prolonged it on purpose just to taunt him.

Heels only, she turned to face him. Those generous breasts were tight—yes, she was enjoying this too—and quivered just a fraction with each breath, betraying her excitement. “So?”

“So what?” Like a seasoned predator, he came into the room and reached for her. He was bigger, faster, deadlier.…

“Don’t touch me.” She evaded him, and sexy as hell—beyond even his vivid imagination—she stood there in just those stiletto heels and narrowed her emerald eyes. “Not until you take your clothes off. Wasn’t that the deal?”

“I don’t make deals.” Nick reached for her again.

“You keep your word with
me
.”

He stopped. There was a part of him that understood that certain equations added up to something that was more important to one person more than the other. This was apparently important to her.

So he’d obey her rules.

He caressed her shoulders, but then removed his hands and lifted them in the air in a gesture of surrender. “I do think I promised that.”

“Off, Mr. Fattelli. Strip for me. You won’t regret it.”

His suit coat hit the floor. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“Are we in some sort of hurry?” Naked and evidently in charge, she smiled and cupped her breasts, lifting them a little in her palms. “I thought you wanted to watch me give you a little entertainment.”

Damn it, he couldn’t get the buttons undone on his shirt with her touching herself like that, his fingers suddenly clumsy. Finally he stripped out of it and tossed it aside, and then unfastened his belt. “Keep going, sweetheart.”

She licked her lips provocatively. “Not until I see that big cock of yours.”

“I’m working on that.” He unzipped his fly and stepped out of his tailored slacks. To say he had an erection was an understatement..

“That looks very …
interesting
.” She purred out the last word. “Lie down.”

Nick moved to the bed because that’s what she’d said she wanted, and he reclined against the headboard, lifting his brows. “Don’t stop now.”

“I have no intention of stopping.” She brushed her nipples with her fingers, which was quite a sight. She had such a lush body. Reign asked him directly, still holding her breasts and absolutely knowing what she was doing to him, “I take it you like what you see?”

“Hell yes.” That was not a lie.

“Hmm. How often do you … well … how do I put this? Jerk off?”

He drawled with more nonchalance than he felt, “That’s kind of a personal question, Ms. Grazi, but I’m willing to answer it. I’m going to say it happens fairly often if I am not involved with anyone at the time. I’m a guy.”

She looked like a wet dream in those heels and nothing else. When she slid her hand slowly down the plane of her stomach and cupped it erotically between her legs, he had to stifle a groan. She said in a very sexy low tone, “Women do it too, you know.”

Chapter

S
EVEN

She was playing with fire.

Reign knew it.

Nick looked gorgeous in a purely masculine way lying there in his aroused state, his gaze focused on her every movement, his rangy body supine but hardly relaxed.

Not with that prominent hard-on.

His bedroom had the same view as the rest of the apartment. City lights everywhere, the sleek lines of skyscrapers, and the drop to the streets below.

“Masturbate?” He was obviously on board because his voice was just a little uneven. His bedroom had several retro posters and shining wood floors. The bed took up a lot of the loft space, but the rest of the furnishings were actually fairly sparse, which she liked. “Show me.”

He’d certainly been intent when she’d touched her breasts.

At the moment, he was
riveted
.

“Uhm … yes.” She lightly rotated her fingers, stimulating her clit as she stood there in her just her heels. Her head tilted back and she felt the sensuous brush of her hair on her bare back. “Feels good.”

“I think I might be able to help you out even better.”

“Haven’t you heard, Nicky, no one knows what you like more than
you
do? Just the right pressure and touch and … oh.” Sensation rippled through her body even as she spoke.

His voice was low and commanding. “Reign, come here. You’re driving me crazy on purpose and I think it’s over.”

All her life she’d dealt with dominant men and she knew that tone well. Independence was important to her, but picking her battles was always wise. It didn’t hurt that she was just as interested as he was in what was going to happen next, and he was dead serious. If she didn’t comply, he was coming to get her, so she might as well keep as much control over the situation as possible.

She approached the bed. “You have something specific in mind?”

“Those beautiful tits. My mouth.”

“That’s pretty specific.”

“Bring them over and I’ll be a happy man.”

Reign crawled on top of him. “I like this position.”

As she straddled his hips, his fingers lightly stroked first her hips and then the sensitive undersides of her breasts while she lightly rubbed her sex against his erection. His heavy-lidded eyes held her gaze. “Yeah. I like it too.”

Reign knew he could feel she was really wet and slick. “I should take my shoes off. They might tear the sheets.”

“No way.” He guided her up and down his hard length, encouraging the motion. “I like the shoes and I can afford new sheets.”

“Fantasy is fine, but—”

“Leave them on.”

“Yes, sir.” Reign grinned and ran the tip of her heel up his calf. It had to hurt at least a little.

“I need to be inside you.” He abruptly rolled her over, his breath warm against her lips, a lock of dark hair over his forehead. “I’m talking you have
no
idea how bad I need to be inside you.”

“Go for it,” she challenged because she was pretty on the edge as well. “Fuck me.”

Instead he kissed her, long but hard and fairly graphic about what he wanted. His tongue delved deep and then her knees were apart and he entered her so abruptly she caught her breath.

Immediately he lifted his head, concern in those pure blue eyes. “Okay? Did I hurt you?”

There was no doubt she was playing fast and loose with a man without rules, but he seemed at least intent on keeping the illusion going so she didn’t need to be afraid of him.

“We’re good.” She nipped at his shoulder, maybe even drawing a little blood from the salty taste. “Don’t stop now.”

“I’m not sure I could.” He sounded like he meant it even as he loomed over her, his mouth teasing her throat.

It was a disturbing thought that his intellect intrigued her, his open sensual appeal aside. She normally considered herself a very self-aware person. With her background, she needed to be. Nick Fattelli broke quite a few of her rules.

He began to move, thrusting in and out, the penetration urgent and possessive, and Reign moved with him, their bodies in an instinctive carnal rhythm that was so natural even in the haze of pleasure she noticed how well they matched each other.

He was dangerous in more than one way. Not just to her person, but to her peace of mind.

Deadly, even.

How could she possibly feel safe?

“Babe.” His lips touched hers as he withdrew and slid in again. “God, it’s good.”

It was. Reign was getting close, the tension moving her higher and higher. Her thighs tightened around his hips. She pulled him closer. “Kiss me again.”

He did, and she kissed him back, her nails raking his shoulders as it started to happen, her eyes closing as the pleasure crested and she sank beneath the tidal wave. As she came he reacted, his cry just strangled enough she registered it even though she was lost, floating, her body trembling. Her breath was caught somewhere in her throat.