Reveal Me (2 page)

Such a bitch.

Thinking of homecoming was the last thing she needed tonight. She’d never been a saint, but using a guy like Nicky— who she’d known had a long- standing crush on her— to make her high school boyfriend jealous remained her lowest point. A small part of her had cared he would be hurt by her actions. The rest had wanted what she wanted.

Her boyfriend had swiftly dumped her and Nicky hadn’t talked to her again after that night, except at graduation when he’d left his phone number in her yearbook.

She’d never called, but she’d thought of that number over the years. Wondered what would be waiting for her on the other end of the line.

She almost asked him his name.
Could it be possible?
Then he looked back at her and her guilt fell away, right along with the panties he reached under her skirt to remove.

Nicky never would have done
that
. It couldn’t be him. She could’ve asked who he was and put an end to the mystery, but the mystery was half the fun.

Besides, if she was just kidding herself about his identity, she’d rather not know.

Not yet. She wanted sex. Not more reasons to drown in recriminations.

“Right here,” he murmured, confusing her until his hand dropped to the fly of his jeans.

The temptress smile she put on as easily as she breathed curved her mouth.

“Condom? Preferably several condoms?”

He patted his pockets and, coming up empty, smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. Didn’t expect to need any.”

Alana tossed back her wild curls and reached for the bowl of latex on the bar.
Way
better than peanuts.

“Who comes to a sex club and doesn’t expect to get lucky?” She gave him a thorough up- and- down that turned up the sizzle between her thighs.
Very
nice. “You’re not ugly.”

“Same goes.”

Still smiling, he tucked the foil package she offered in his pocket then pulled her against him again. Strong lips feathered over hers. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever been kissed tenderly before— and at Kink, the idea was a bit of an oxymoron— but his gentleness had her melting in his arms like Alana- flavored sherbet on a sunny day.

“No more talking, Mac.”

She trembled as his thumb kneaded the underside of her breast. “No more talking.” Distantly, she heard her phone.
Sorry, Kelly. Again.

He was about to fuck his dream girl in a sex club. In full view of heaven knew how many people.

Carter Nicholas tangled his hands in Alana’s thick black curls and lost himself in the alluring flavor of her mouth. Tequila, salt and lime, with an overlay of strawberries.

He focused on cataloguing each of her tastes and scents— something floral with a hint of Ivory soap— rather than the unrelenting ache in his cock. Maybe then he’d last long enough to make her come first.

Imagining Alana caught in the throes of an orgasm ratcheted up the pressure but he couldn’t stop the image from forming— her depthless eyes glazed, her plump red lips parted. Sweet juice pouring over his hand.

His dick.

He groaned and ripped his mouth away but she didn’t give him time to recuperate.

As if no one but the two of them existed, she shimmied her skirt up enough to show off her toned thighs.

God. He’d envisioned seeing her golden skin bare years ago, back when the idea of getting his hands on breasts like hers was no more than a teenage boy’s wet dream. She wasn’t some skinny, insubstantial thing he couldn’t hold on to. Alana actually had hips and an ass he couldn’t wait to squeeze while he pounded into her.

But here? Where such an important moment in his life would be no more than one interlude out of many, and worse, possible grist for someone else’s arousal?

If someone had asked him a month ago, he would’ve said he’d forgotten her. He’d had his share of girlfriends and by nature, he wasn’t a piner. Alana had always been out of reach. The one time he’d tried, she’d smacked him back soundly. So he’d relegated her to the back of his mind, assuming he’d probably never see her again. If he were honest, he hadn’t been sure he
wanted
to see her again. She’d hurt him, even if he’d known he should have expected no less.

She needed the limelight, he liked being behind the scenes. But she also had a wicked sense of humor and a deep, abiding concern for the people she loved— like Kelly Crossman, who had been important to both of them— and an amazing eye for detail. For two years, her photographs had landed on the front page of their school paper. Everyone had agreed Alana MacGregor was going places.

And here she was, at a sex club. Somehow this seemed like just one more attention- grabbing antic. She couldn’t even have sex in private.

So why did just one look into her eyes make him feel seventeen and stupidly in lust again? Even though she didn’t realize who he was yet, he had to believe she’d give him a chance— a real chance this time— once he’d softened her up with really good sex. He glanced down at his hard- on then back up at Alana. The best sex of her life. Hopefully.

“Getting nervous? Because I’m only getting wetter the more you stare at me.”

Carter steeled his spine. “Who’s nervous?”

“Guess we’ll find out soon enough.” She leaned toward him until the generous swells of her breasts peeked over her white cotton top. “Do you want to see these?” She traced her nipples. “I know you do. I can see it all over your face.” His breathing quickened as she shifted her hand to his erection. “And I can feel it, right here.” Her smoky laughter snaked through his system as her fingers rode up and down his length, stuffed so painfully into the unforgiving denim. He knew he shouldn’t have worn new jeans tonight, but he hadn’t wanted to wear his usual khakis to Kink. Now he was paying for it.

As she playfully pulled on his zipper, barely tugging it down, he threw back his head to stare at the pinprick lights dotting the ceiling. They matched the stars shooting off in his brain when her nails skimmed his shaft through his jeans. Thank God she hadn’t fully unzipped him yet. He was afraid he’d go off like a rocket when her fingers touched his bare skin.

Dammit, not here.

“Why don’t we take this somewhere else? I only live a couple miles away.”

“You really think I’ll go home with a stranger?”

Stranger, my ass.
“But you’ll fuck one?”

Her mouth pinched. “Got a problem with that, stud?”

Carter glanced down at her, some of his lust ebbing. She’d always been a party girl and her penchant for trying anything once had held a big allure for a guy who’d spent most weekends in front of his computer. Alana was go, go, go, always moving, always looking for the next good time. But the glimpses of the softer side she hid beneath endless bravado had always intrigued him.

Tonight he couldn’t see anything but the sharp edge of her need. Apparently any dick would do. Maybe sleeping with Alana now wouldn’t change anything, because the girl he’d fantasized about had been just that. A fantasy.

He relaxed his shoulders as she cupped his balls. God, it had been a while. Not too long, as he’d made sure to make up for all the years his hand and an image of Alana naked had been his only company in bed. But long enough that her touch scorched straight through to the base of his spine.

Alana’s
touch. That was the part he couldn’t stop thinking about. And that was what kept him from walking away.

Fate had brought him here tonight and she’d been waiting. Maybe not for him, but just the same. He wouldn’t waste the opportunity he’d been given.

He’d come a long way in the eight years since high school. People changed, but that didn’t mean the qualities he’d once loved in her didn’t still exist. For all he knew, the sweet, soft Alana was buried deep and needed encouragement to come out and play.

Only one way to find out.

“No problems here,” he said quietly.

“Didn’t think so. Especially since I’d like to take these in my mouth, slide them right over my tongue. Bet they’re soft and pink, just like your cheeks.” She released him and teasingly toyed with his zipper. “Ever been with a girl like me?” He had a feeling she was referring to her heritage, which he remembered was part Cherokee along with about ten other nationalities, but he answered another question entirely. “No. But I’ve always wanted to.”

“You just want to see if my nipples are the color of milk or dark chocolate.”

His lips quirked. How would she respond if he said he already knew? “Actually, I—”

“Fuck! Cops are coming!”

That was the last distinct phrase he heard before pandemonium broke loose.

Chapter Two

Alana gusted out a sigh and pushed down her skirt. Figures. Here she had a chance for some action but nope. Why should she expect the end of this night to be any better than the beginning?

While people ran around like screaming maniacs, she called Kelly. Still no answer.

Maybe Kelly was finally letting loose. For all she knew her friend had could’ve had six orgasms by now, while
she
hadn’t even had six drinks.

“Uh, Mac,” her new acquaintance whispered against her temple. Or at least it seemed like a whisper in comparison to everyone else’s shouting and the sound of pounding feet. “Shouldn’t we be going?”

“In a minute.”

She’d been through one of these raids before. The cops never got here that fast. The patrons weren’t who the police wanted anyway. They just wanted to shut the place down for a while, maybe nab a couple of the proprietors in the process. They didn’t pick up the customers unless they caught them mid- fuck.

“Alana, come on. Seriously. Whoever you’re calling can wait.” She planted her feet when he foolishly attempted to lay hands on her person. Sex was one thing. But to drag her off as if he were a caveman and she some simpering female? No sir.

“My friend may still be here somewhere. She’s my first priority, not you.” He didn’t glower at her. That she would’ve expected. Instead he flashed a full- on, devastating grin.

“Not the tune you were singing a couple minutes ago.” She fought the urge to smile back.

“Take off, okay? Don’t want you to get in trouble on my account. I gotta see if I can find Kelly.”

“Kelly Crossman? Not her too.” His grin faded. “She must be here thanks to you. She’d never go for a place like this.”

“Whoa. You’re sounding mighty self- righteous for someone with a glow- in- the- dark condom in his pocket.”

“Why haven’t you asked who I am?”

Because I know.

She cleared her throat. She didn’t know, not really. He wasn’t Nicky. No way. He’d carried books of poetry in his back pocket, for cripes’ sake. This guy just smiled like him. And somehow, he knew how to defuse her anger, just as Nicky had.

One of the many reasons he’d scared her so fucking much.

“I have to look for Kelly,” she said, pushing past him and shoving her way through the crowd.

He followed her upstairs, shadowing her through the lounge and steam room.

Finally, when she’d examined every crevice to no avail, he gripped her hand. “Let’s go.”

Arguing seemed futile. Kelly was nowhere in sight. Sighing, she led the way to the back stairs, relieved the club had mostly emptied. At least she wouldn’t be trampled to death.

“We should split,” she said once they stepped out into the sultry night, though she didn’t hear much shouting anymore. Back here, the voices seemed fainter and she certainly didn’t hear any sirens. She wasn’t sure if a raid at a sex club warranted bringing out the big guns.

Truthfully, she wasn’t in a big hurry to go. He’d stayed with her even when leaving had seemed smarter, and he hadn’t rushed her. He’d even helped look for Kelly. Then there was what they’d started inside …

“Not yet.”

He leaned down, kissing her hard enough to scatter the last remaining marbles of sense in her head. His height dwarfed hers but she inched up on her tiptoes to devour his mouth. And the rest of him. His lips, his chest under her stroking fingers, the long cock she couldn’t stop brushing against like a cat seeking an eager hand. Patron had nothing on the liquid warmth this guy set ablaze in her belly.

Perspiration trickled down the backs of her knees. God, she was incinerating and it wasn’t due only to the scorching heat index. She plastered her body to his and absorbed the feeling of his heartbeat against hers. Knowing he wanted her made her crave him more.

“I have to be inside you,” he whispered, his hot breath wafting across her lips. “Where can we go?”

Alana waved a hand at the short embankment behind the club. She didn’t particularly want to lie down in the grass in the dark— who knew what squishy things could be creeping about?— but she wasn’t about to go home without more of where that kiss had come from.

He didn’t balk. His earlier reservations seemingly gone, he pulled her deeper into the shadows. They were completely alone, their only company the mosquitoes buzzing around the weak spotlight above the back door of the club. Crickets chirped and she smelled ripe, warm earth.

Slowly, he traced a fingertip down her cheek. The reverent way he touched her destroyed her reservations. Despite the heat, she shivered as he tugged her top down her shoulders. The more skin he revealed, the more her shivering grew. His gaze stayed steady on her breasts, encased in red satin, and her nipples pebbled under his inspection. His look was as potent as a touch, and everything inside her drew achingly tight.

Tonight was going to be the acting job of her life. Even if she managed to convince him she was just out for another good time, she’d never convince herself.

Too soon he slipped away from her to sit on the low- rise hill. The sound of his zipper opening broke the heavy silence and she almost panted at the idea of his fingers brushing his cock as he freed himself.

She’d done that to him, made him so hard and hot. From the moment he’d first glanced at her in the club, he’d only looked her way. She knew this wasn’t about some random fuck with him. Maybe she didn’t fully understand what made her special, but she couldn’t turn away now.