The Things I Do for You (The Alexanders) (11 page)

“Crap! I didn’t take my temperature.” Raina groaned and let her head drop back against the couch. She turned to Nick. “I should be ovulating today. I forgot to bring a thermometer so I could take my temperature, but I’ll just have to hope that everything stayed on track.”

“I can call down to the concierge and ask for one.”

“I was supposed to take it first thing in the morning. Once you’ve been moving around, it’s not accurate. For the purpose of pinpointing ovulation anyway.” She reached down into her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She had a missed call from Ridley and five from Sam.

“Oh boy. He’s pissed at me,” she muttered.

Nick looked over at her. “Who’s pissed at you?”
 

She held up her phone. “Sam’s been trying to get in touch with me. I texted him before we got on the plane.” After heaving a great sigh, she called Sam back. He answered immediately and after several very pointed questions about her sanity, she assured him that she was fine and would be back after the weekend.

After hanging up, she looked over at Nick. His jaw was clenched tight.
 

“Is he satisfied now that I haven’t chopped you up in little pieces and buried you in my backyard?” he asked.

“Sam’s been a part of my life for a long time. He looks out for me and keeps me safe while I travel around to different shoots. It’s his job to be worried about where I am. But it’s nothing more than that.”

He looked at her finally. “I believe you.”

“Good. Now, as to the reason we’re here, I think we should stay in tonight.”
 

“All night?” When she nodded, Nick whistled.
 

“Damn, girl. Not that I mind at all but were you going to let me out of the bed to eat?”

“Nick! Stop teasing me.”

“We have to go out sometime. So it might as well be to a show that you want to see.” He pulled her into his lap. “I don’t mind making love to you before and after the show.”

He reached into the bag in his lap. Raina hadn’t even noticed he carried something. “I brought you a croissant and some coffee. We can go downstairs and get something else if you want. Or we could order room service.” He fed her a small bite of the croissant. Raina sighed as it melted on her tongue like butter.

“Why are you being so accommodating? I feel like you must have an ulterior motive.”

“I do have an ulterior motive.” Nick broke off another piece of the pastry and held it to her lips. “My ulterior motive is to get you to fall in love with me. Because being in love all on your own isn’t nearly as much fun.”

Raina almost choked on the bite she’d just taken. After a few swallows, she sat back and glared at him. “Not fair.”

“It’s not fair to tell my wife I’m in love with her?” he asked quietly.

Raina pushed away and looked him in the face. “Oh my God. I thought you were just saying that to get a reaction. You’re serious.”

“I told you I loved you last night. Over and over again, if I recall correctly.”

“That was pillow talk,” Raina stammered. “Everyone knows you don’t trust what a man says in bed.”

Nick stared at his hands. “I always say what I mean. Even in bed.”
 

Raina stood up and faced the window. “Nick, I know things got a little… intense last night but my feelings haven’t changed. Well, they
have
changed. I’ve seen a different side of you. One I like a lot. But I don’t want any more than that. This is why I wanted to keep emotion out of it. It’s too easy for us to forget why we’re here. If you don’t feel you can stick to our original agreement, then we should stop this now before it goes any further.”

She held her breath, waiting for his reply. What if he decided to renege? Technically, she could already be pregnant with his child. What a mess. The seconds that passed before he answered seemed to take eons.
 

“No, I don’t want to stop this.”

She didn’t turn as he walked away. A moment later, the door shut with a decisive
click
.

She whirled around, shocked to see that he’d actually left the hotel room. Her shoulders sagged and she sat on the floor right where she stood.
 

Way to be sensitive, Raina.

Hurting him had never been her intention. She was trying to prevent either of them from being hurt by getting too involved. It was better if she went into this without any unreasonable expectations. What he thought was love was more than likely just the novelty of finally hooking up with one of the few women who’d ever turned him down. She imagined he wasn’t used to being denied.
 

Which made protecting her heart even more essential.
 

Nick was gorgeous and brilliant, but he was also immature and selfish. He didn’t mean any harm but he had the power to crush her whether he meant for it to happen or not. When he was tired of her, Nick would move on to the next available woman. Raina would be left heartbroken, raising their baby alone. Something she couldn’t let happen.
 

Nicholas Alexander could love any woman he wanted, except for her.

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NICK SCRUBBED HIS hands over his hair and blinked through the curtain of water in his face before picking up one of the tiny bottles of shampoo provided by the hotel. He dumped a glob in his hand and soaped his hair. After he rinsed it out, he used some of the conditioner. He was contemplating using the conditioner again—anything to prolong the shower—before he finally shut the water off.
 

He’d been in the shower so long his skin was starting to prune up, but it was preferable to what was waiting for him on the other side of the bathroom door.
 

Another dose of Raina telling him that she didn’t want his love, just his sperm.

“Damn it all to hell.”
 

He’d spent the entire afternoon hanging out in the casino. He’d wasted a large sum of money and made a new friend named Gino, all while replaying their argument over and over in his head.
 

“You just couldn’t play it cool, could you?” he muttered. If he weren’t in the shower he’d kick something. Clearly experience had taught him nothing when dealing with Raina. He kept making the same mistakes over and over again. Most guys would be happy with a woman who didn’t seem to want emotional involvement. It was the main reason he’d avoided any talk of marriage with his prior girlfriends. Just the thought of being with any of them forever had seemed so final. Like he was giving up something.
 

With Raina, he didn’t feel he was sacrificing anything since she was the only woman he thought about anyway.

 
His dick seemed not to care whether he was happy or not because it filled and stood straight up at just the thought of his wife. It seemed his body was ready to perform on cue even if his mind wasn’t.

He toweled off quickly and didn’t bother getting dressed. What was the point if he was just going to have to get naked again anyway? No more trying to find things that would please her. No more dressing up and trying to look good. He could just lay around all weekend stark-naked so she could jump on his dick and ride him whenever her temperature was right or whatever.
 

 
“If a stud puppy is what she wants, that’s what she’ll get.”

He yanked open the door to the bathroom. Raina sat on the couch looking out onto the sparkling lights of the Strip. It was an incredible view and he stood for a moment watching her, how peaceful she was sitting there, looking out into the night.
 

She looked back at him, then jumped to her feet when she saw he was naked. “Nick, what are you doing?”

He sat on the couch and patted his thighs. “Aren’t you ready for me by now?” He ran a hand down his chest and gripped his dick. “Stud puppy, reporting for duty.”
 

She winced. “Don’t say that. This isn’t what I wanted.”
 

He leaned closer. There were pale streaks under her eyes like she’d been crying. The sight hit him like a fist. The thought of her up here crying her eyes out over him didn’t make him feel any better. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

“I don’t want you to be angry with me.” Raina sat next to him on the couch.
 

He wiped under her eyes with his thumb. “I hate that I made you cry.”

Nick sighed. He was the one who’d changed the rules of the game after the fact. She’d warned him up front that she wasn’t looking for love. If he was going to change her mind, he couldn’t stalk off in a snit every time she hurt his feelings. The question was did he think it was worth it to endure a few blows while trying to change her mind? He looked over at Raina and his heart rolled over in his chest.
 

Hell, yeah.
 

“What do you say to a compromise?” Nick leaned back against the couch, pulling her with him until she relaxed against his chest.

“What kind of compromise?” She looked up at him warily.
 

“I’ll accept that you just want sex if you can accept that I feel more. I don’t think I can hide my emotions and I don’t think either of us should have to. Isn’t the point of this for us to communicate openly?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, I guess so
.
”

“Well, then I’ll accept how you feel and you’ll accept me caring for you. Can you do that, Raina? Can you let me care for you?”

She stared at him like she was trying to figure out what the catch was. “Okay. I can try.”

It was obvious when she remembered he was naked. Her gaze dropped to his waist before she looked back up at him, her eyes suddenly soft. Her breathing sped up a little. He probably wouldn’t have noticed if she wasn’t lying on his chest. But the little hitch in her breathing told him she was affected.
 

Nick groaned when she turned and placed her hands against his chest. She pushed lightly but when he didn’t move, she made a soft sound in the back of her throat and grabbed at his chest, her nails leaving little scratches on his skin. Before he knew it, she was pulling him down to her, threading her fingers through his hair.
 

She bit his bottom lip and sucked it into her mouth and he stopped thinking. He picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom. When he placed her gently on the bed, she got up on her knees and tried to pull him down on top of her.
 

“We have to get your clothes off,” Nick managed to say in between her kisses.
 

It was pure chemical reaction between them, her skin scorching him through her clothes. He yanked at the fastenings to her shorts, nearly tearing them off in his haste before returning to stand in the cradle of her thighs, pressing against the heat of her mound.
 

At the first touch of her lips against his chest, he groaned and grabbed her by the ponytail. She seemed to like the pain because she arched her back and cried out.

Which set him off like a match being lit.

He helped her pull her shirt over her head and it fell to the floor in a heap. Immediately she wiggled her hips to get out of her panties and in moments she knelt before him naked
.
 

“Scoot back.”

She looked at him with narrowed eyes as if she wanted to protest. But she backed up slowly until she reclined against the pillows
.
He crawled over her, the dim light of the lamp throwing his shadow over her.
 

“Lay back and put your hands over your head.” He pushed her shoulders gently until she lay flat, spread out like a feast before him. She looked good enough to eat with soft, dewy lips and buttery skin from head to toe.
 

Brushing a knuckle over the damp skin between her legs, he was pleased to feel her clench against his hand. Her body bowed into a beautiful curve as she arched at the contact. He chuckled as her eyes hungrily followed his movements when he sat back to look at her.

“Touch me, Nick. Please.” She trailed a hand down her stomach. When he didn’t move, she stroked lower.
 

He leaped forward and gripped her wrist. “Aren’t you a naughty girl? I didn’t say you could touch what’s mine.”

Her chin jutted upward in defiance. “Is it yours?”

“You tell me.” He rubbed his thumb over her cleft, the scent of her passion enveloping him, drugging him. Her eyes fluttered shut as he curled two fingers into her heat. Her body clenched him so sweetly, contracting around his fingers.
 

He had to get inside her.
Now.

He lifted one of her legs onto his shoulder and pushed inside, her wet heat sucking him in. He took his time, stroking slowly, willing her tight body to accept him. Her mouth fell open as he fed her his length inch by inch until their bodies finally met again.
 

She grasped at his shoulders, her nails digging in deep as she held on. He thrust deeply, joining them skin to skin, reveling in the crash and slide of their bodies. He kissed her hard, swallowing her cries of delight. Her head fell back on the pillow and he licked the curve of her collarbone and the soft skin of her neck. He loved having her taste in his mouth, her sweat on his skin, and her flesh in his hands. He wanted to get lost in her and never come back.

“Nick, I can’t…” She lost her words, her hands grasping at his back as her orgasm consumed her. Her hands tangled in his hair, holding him to her breast, her nails digging into his scalp.
 

“Oh God. It’s so good. Nick!”
 

His name on her lips was the stuff of fantasy. He turned his head and latched onto her breast, tonguing her nipple until it tightened in his mouth and her inner muscles clamped down on him. He reared up and took her mouth, tracing her lips with his tongue. He wanted her crazy for him, wanted to invade her in every way possible.
 

Wanted her hungry for him.

“I love you, Raina.” He held her head in the palm of his hand so she couldn’t look away. “And I am going to tell you every day until you believe it.”