Chapter Nineteen
His head still buzzing from the noise, Nick drove back to his place. Claire was at his side. She had told Adele and Mia to head home on their own. Because they’d all driven in with Mia, it hadn’t been a problem.
He had her all to himself.
After such a tumultuous night at the Bamboo Gigolo, and a successful return to the stage, he was eager to have some quiet time with Claire.
Not that he planned to keep her quiet. He planned to give her cause to make noise—lots of noise.
Specifically, by screaming his name.
Cocky, perhaps, but he couldn’t help it. He was on a high, and it was all because of her. With her support, he’d been able to reclaim his love for music. And thanks to her, he’d kept his cool during that interaction with the dude in the bar.
Claire, on the other hand, had seen red. She’d become a spitfire when the man had shouted the hashtag. If Nick hadn’t held her back, his tigress would have mauled that guy.
“Are you okay?” she asked, as he parked his car in his driveway.
“Yeah.” He meant it too. So he’d been forced to hear that hashtag again. So what? Tonight, it had officially lost its power over him.
What did Nick care about a stupid hashtag when he had Claire next to him?
“But I appreciate you being willing to jump into the fray for me,” he said, grinning. “I had no idea you were so protective.”
“That guy was a dick.” She rolled her eyes. “And you were so calm and collected. You took the wind right out of his sails.”
“That hashtag can’t hurt me, not anymore. I don’t care what strangers say about me. The only opinion that matters to me is yours.”
As she whispered his name, her eyes reflected the softness in her heart. Her chest rose and fell with uncertain breaths and her lips turned up in such a way that it made him think of a secret only they shared.
He needed to get her inside, pronto. As tempted as he was to take her right there in the car, he knew his neighborhood was densely populated. They wouldn’t get very far before someone walked by and saw them.
“Let’s go inside.”
As soon as they entered his house and he locked the door behind them, Claire was on him. His tigress backed him up against the wall and tried to climb him.
“Damn,” he muttered against her mouth. “You’re ferocious. So fucking hot.”
“I want you.” She released him long enough to whip her blouse over her head and throw it into a corner. “I need you inside me.”
She cupped him there, where he was hot and hard, and Nick spat a few more curses. This woman would be his undoing. She would cause his early death, and he’d go to it willingly.
They smashed their mouths together, seeking and finding respite in each other. His breath caught, but it didn’t matter. Claire breathed for him, into him.
Forget death. She gave him life.
She tugged at his shirt. Only then did Nick remember he wasn’t exactly at his freshest. “I got really sweaty tonight.”
“I know. Believe me, I was watching. It was so hot.”
“Really? Well, there’s good sweat, and there’s bad sweat. I may have entered the realm of bad sweat.”
“Don’t worry. You’re going to sweat some more anyway.” Her eyes were bright with desire. “And so will I. I plan to make you work very hard.”
“It’s not work, believe me.”
“Glad we’re on the same page.” She reached for his hand and pulled him into the bedroom.
Nick followed her like a cheery balloon trailing after a child.
He’d fucking follow this woman anywhere.
As they entered his bedroom, his head began to pound, but not with pain. With wonder. Every time he tried to maintain control around Claire, it fizzled. He had no control around her, and certainly not over what was growing between them. As a result, he’d never felt more at a loss.
She owned him, heart and soul.
He’d been a fool to think he could do friends with benefits. He’d learned quickly enough that there were no real benefits to that situation, not for him anyway. He wanted her, and not just in his bed.
From the first time he’d seen her, resplendent in her Small, but mighty T-shirt, he’d known. He wanted to dedicate himself to making her happy.
And making her come.
As they undressed, snatching kisses as they tossed clothing around the room, he marveled at her beauty. Everything entranced him. Her kind eyes, her breathtaking curves, the telltale glisten at her sex.
She lay down, raking her gaze up and down his nude body as he drew closer to the bed.
Fuck, he loved being naked with her.
He felt at home, perfectly at peace.
Cherished.
And he would die before he let her feel anything less than the same.
He crawled on the bed and kneeled between her legs. Such gorgeous legs, spread wide for him. For a moment, he just stared at her. The soft pinkness of her pussy called to him. It looked so silky and he could already taste her.
“Nick,” she said. “Get a condom.”
“In a hurry?”
“I need you. I can’t even think, I need you so badly.” She reached out a hand.
He grasped it and brought it to his lips. “You shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why not?”
“Because now I’m going to have to draw this out a bit more.”
She grunted.
“I like that noise.” He ran a hand up her side, sliding it so he could capture her breast. Determined to torture her, he pinched her nipple. “Make it again.”
Claire writhed below him, but kept her mouth shut in defiance.
“Is that how we’re going to play, sweetheart?” He lowered his body over hers. “I guess I’ll have to earn your sexy little grunts.”
Nick took her mouth, wanting to claim her completely.
She sighed as their bodies touched, and sparks of electricity lit up the room, or so it seemed.
Over and over their mouths came together, demanding lips and velvety tongues.
Her hands reached down his back toward his ass, holding him against her core.
“Not yet, beautiful. But you get extra points for being so greedy.”
Nick captured one of her nipples in his mouth, savoring her skin. God, he loved how her nipples tightened for him. He would never tire of tasting her, of pleasing her. As he teased the swollen bud, her lips fell open and her sighs became moans.
Fuck, yes. He loved that noise too.
As he moved between her breasts, eager to shower both of them with attention, she closed her eyes and said his name.
“Nick.” Her voice cracked. “God, Nick. Yes.”
He sucked harder, rewarding her for those glorious sounds. She wiggled against him, thrusting her pelvis upward. She was wet. He could feel it on his thigh, his hip.
He wanted to wear her juices all over his face.
When he dreamed of Claire, this was how she appeared. Groaning, wet and willing. So goddamn sexy.
Something dark and feral surged inside Nick. He wanted to roll her over, to gather up all her hair in his hands and pound her from behind. Like a beast, he wanted to suck and bite her.
To claim her and make her his.
Steadying his pulse with a deep breath, he moved from one breast to the other. As he licked and nuzzled her breasts, he danced one of his hands down her stomach. He found a home for it between her legs.
“So pretty,” he murmured. “So wet.”
“Nick, please.” Claire lifted her hips, making her thoughts clear.
“You want my mouth right here?” He circled her clit with a finger, round and round until it was swollen with need. She shivered as he touched her and scratched her fingernails down his back.
“Please.”
“I love tasting you.” He kissed her, dipping his tongue into her mouth. “I dream of it.”
“Nick.” A strangled sound emerged from her throat, the groan he’d wanted so badly to hear.
“That’s it. That’s the noise I love. Do it again.”
She did, pushing down on his shoulders.
Nick slid down her body, licking a trail toward her mound. When he reached her pussy, he gave up the fight. He had to have her. There was no way he could tease her for a second longer.
Besides, it would bloody well take five years off his life if he did.
Nick lowered his head, slid his tongue between her lips and drank.
So fucking good.
He wanted more of this, but not just for the time being.
He wanted Claire in his life going forward.
And the knowledge left him reeling. He lifted his head, just for a moment, and his world spun. It was as if he’d just stepped off a high ledge and was plummeting through space.
“More.”
Of course, he obeyed. He had no desire to argue with that kind of command.
Nick licked and sucked until her writhing turned into thrashing, and her moans into shouts.
“Yes,” she cried. “Yes! Harder. Oh, God.”
Just like that, she unraveled. Her whole body clenched as she came, then eased into the mattress. The most beautiful sight in the world.
Unable to stay away from her, drunk on her scent, Nick continued to gently tease her. This was one of the things he loved most. Knowing she was fully satisfied, but being able to work her into another frenzy. He loved putting an astonished look on her face as she came a second or third time.
Only his dick was rock hard, almost painful, and he wasn’t sure he could hold out much longer.
He dropped a few kisses onto her beleaguered clit then then reached into his bedside table and rummaged around for a condom. Hating that he had to lose contact with Claire for even a few seconds, he unwrapped it and rolled it on. He knelt between her legs and pulled her hips toward his body.
Although he was stiff and ready, he wanted to be sure. He slid his cock along her entrance, sick with lust. He couldn’t wait to sink inside her heat.
“Do it,” she whispered. “You feel so good.”
Nick couldn’t wait. Near his breaking point already, he thrust inside her.
“Yes,” she cried in apparent triumph.
He understood the sentiment. He never wanted her to stop coming. If he had his way, she’d come for him every day.
Buoyed by emotions he’d never felt before, Nick took Claire again and again. She was his, and he’d fuck her until morning came to prove it if he had to.